[AYAMI]
"You're going back to her?" Kujo asked as she stared at the enforcer, who had already dressed up in her training clothes. She had been doing this for more time than they both could remember.
The worst part was that this time, she seemed to have a different motivation, one that wasn't King Kazuya or Yamashita. It was like the woman had finally gotten something to obsess over, and as much as Kujo wanted to be happy for her, she couldn't.
The woman she was looking forward to seeing was a Kurayami woman. Servant or not, she was a Kurayami wolf. Their queen was bad news, and Ayami knew that too well, yet even then, she didn't seem to mind at all.
It was like she had suddenly gotten the answers to a question that she had been thinking of for years. Her questions' answers were always found within the walls of the Yamashita palace, so this was surprising for her, too.
"I am going to train, Kujo. You more than anyone knew that. Besides, just because I took on training daily doesn't mean Yamashita is going to be in danger. The mating ball is in two weeks, and we have to be ready.
"The Kurayami servants are nice and don't pose a threat to Yamashita. Relax, will you? After all, I won't be crossing the border. I just want to watch them work while I train from a distance. There has never been any harm in looking," Ayami defended.
Kujo stared at her friend like the realm had finally gone to shit.
There was no way the lethal enforcer was thinking like that.
It made no sense that Ayami herself should have known by now that there was a chance those servants were intentionally sent to spy on her and her training, and yet for the first time, she didn't seem bothered by their presence at all.
It was like she had finally gotten what she was looking for, which was strange. Because Kujo had noticed over the years and even the past few days that Ayami had only still smiled at the king alone in the entire palace.
Yet she had managed to laugh with the Kurayami servant and let her get so close. It was a very dangerous move, one that needed the woman to be more than careful.
She needed to understand that there was so much danger coming from Kurayami, but who better to know that than the Yamashita enforcer herself? She had always known the threats and dealt with them before they could bother Yamashita.
And if the servants were truly threats, surely Ayami could have already dealt with them, too, right? But the only question that lingered was whether Ayami was thinking rationally or had gotten a few breaks in between because of the Kurayami servants.
"Fine… I won't be coming along today," Kujo said, and Ayami raised a brow at her.
"You're breaking routine?" Ayami asked, her curiosity perking up at her.
She just didn't understand how someone was as responsible as Kujo could be doing this to her right now. She needed to make peace with it and regardless of how shit had gotten, they needed to have a consensus either way.
"I don't know, Aya… Am I the one breaking routine, or are you the one breaking routine by going to the border for a woman you know you are not allowed to have by the laws of both kingdoms?
"Or is this your attempt at making peace with the people of Kurayami while serving King Kazuya?" Kujo asked, and Ayami had never felt slapped like that.
It was like someone had smacked her in the face with a bucket of cold water, which did nothing to quench her thirst for the woman on the other side. It was an attraction she couldn't understand, but at the same time, she truly understood Kujo.
This was so unlike her. She had never done anything like this, and for a moment, Ayami wondered if the servants had used magic on her. It was something that she couldn't put past the Kurayamis, but the woman she had seen was lovable.
She was kind and looked like she didn't mind what she did. She was beautiful, and Ayami couldn't get her long hair out of her mind. It was like this was the phase of life that she needed to come to terms with.
"Is that what you think this is?" Ayami asked in earnest, and Kujo stared at her friend defeatedly.
This was not like Ayami, and surely the woman had to have felt it too. There's just no way the formidable enforcer was suddenly whipped for a mere maidservant. It just didn't make any sense whatsoever.
"You tell me, Aya. You think this is okay?" Kujo questioned calmly.
"She didn't do anything. She is not a spy, Kujo. I feel like I have seen her before—" Ayami tried to explain, and Kujo couldn't help but snort at her friend's madness.
This was not the woman she had grown up with and it certainly wasn't the warrior that the people of Yamashita needed. The king's enforcer was compromised and she was in denial about it.
Earlier, Kujo had scanned for any magic on Ayami, and she hadn't found any. The woman's affection for the servant was way too normal. If anything, if Kujo didn't know any better, she could have assumed that they were mates.
But that wasn't something she could try to spell out in front of the woman who had made the decision to never get bonded to anyone. Ayami's decisions were always tough to catch up with, but they were hers nonetheless.
So, this was not okay, not at any point in time, and she needed to see that.
"Are you in love with her?" Kujo asked, cringing at how the statement sounded on her lips. For Ayami Araki, love was an illusion. Many women and men had tried to woo her over the past mating ceremonies, and she had never spared them a glance.
If anything, she always emitted pheromones that scared the hell out of her potential suitors. And yet she hadn't tried to release them when she met the woman at the border. It was strange, and Kujo wasn't sure what the hell she was to make of that.
"You're definitely losing your mind, Kujo. I won't go to either, if it makes you stop coming up with such heinous theories. You need to understand that she didn't drug me. I know I have been acting out of order with her, but I can't resist the pull to her.
"It has nothing to do with magic or manipulated bonds. I just can't help it when she is around. You've known me all our lives Kujo… just give me time to figure this shit out alright?
"Maybe a day away from her will make it all make sense," Ayami said, and Kujo sighed. There was no telling what the result of this would ever be, and regardless, she had to admit that she hadn't expected Ayami to fold that fast, too.
"Figure it out fast because the whispers have started reaching the king's ears. It won't do thee realm any good if you are considered a foe in Yamashita, friend," Kujo said, and Ayami just nodded in understanding.