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"It should be around here-shu." Shushutan informs Kurea as the pair walk deeper and deeper into the forest. The guild had sent the two of them, and only the two of them, to find a kitsune. It was seen spreading lies in the nearby city, causing mass panic and paranoia. Kurea would've much preferred doing this alongside another hunter, given that she only recently rejoined the guild again. The sparkle in her says otherwise, that there's something she's not being told on why she's chosen to do this alone.
They continue to traverse the shrubbery, the only noises being the leaves crunching under her weight and the distant chirping of birds. Eventually, the flora thins out, revealing a sizeable clearing. Peering past the last set of vines, Kurea spots the kitsune.
Her sparkle begins to tingle, there's something familiar about the kitsune. The way the light reflects off of its dusty blonde fur, Kurea's sure she's seen this before.
She approaches the creature, watching its bushy tail sway calmly in the breeze. Step by step she gets closer, taking extra precaution to not make any sort of noise. The last thing she wants is for it to get startled and flee.
Kurea is a few meters away from it when a purple blur charges towards her. Kurea manages to avoid it by rolling to the side. Shushutan, on the other hand, is not as lucky. Her tanuki partner is slammed into a tree, letting out a yelp of pain. Unfortunately, that was enough to stir the kitsune.
It slowly stands up, surveying its surroundings to find the source of the disturbance. It notices Shushutan but pays no mind. Then, it locks eyes with Kurea.
There, in the gorgeous amethyst purple of its eyes, Kurea's sparkle burns bright in her chest. She knows where she's seen them, or more accurately, who's eyes it is. And based on it's- no, her reaction, she knows Kurea knows who she is. 'What did you do?' she wonders.
"L—" Kurea couldn't get out even the first syllable of her name before the kitsune came charging at her. Eyes narrowed as if she was trying to hunt Kurea.
She can't, or more-so doesn't, dodge to the side, taking the attack head on. She's thrown into the ground, sliding until she hits a nearby tree. The kitsune pounces, claws digging into her shoulders, though not deep enough to puncture her skin thanks to Kurea's leather bolero.
"Luluka!" She finally manages to get out, placing her hands on what would be Luluka's shoulders. She actively avoids putting unnecessary pressure, fearful of pushing the other deeper into her rage. Luluka doesn't care, snarling and gnashing her fangs at Kurea.
"Kurea!" Somewhere behind the pair, Shushutan calls out for her partner, trying to assist. But she's once again knocked down by the same purple blur, clearly intent on keeping the human-fairy pair separated.
"Shushutan!" Kurea exclaimed, quickly tilting her neck to the side to avoid a bite. Her voice lowers to a mumble, "forgive me for this." She calls upon a small fraction of the magic running through her veins to push Luluka off, wasting no time to rush over to Shushutan.
She blocks the purple blur - who she's sure is Mashutan trying to protect Luluka - before crouching down to lift the tanuki onto her shoulder.
Luluka tries to attack her again, which Kurea is able to avoid. "Luluka! Stop it!" She shouts, hoping to knock some sense into her. The kitsune only growls in response, preparing another attack.
Kurea braces herself. 'If Luluka isn't going to listen, then…' She doesn't get a chance to finish that thought when Luluka charges at her. She leaps up, claws brandished in an attempt to leave two long claw marks snaking along Kurea's body. Kurea taps upon her magic again, using the additional speed to grab Luluka by the ankles, stopping her in her tracks.
"Careful Kurea." Shushutan reminds her as her hands glow aqua, "don't push yourself-shu."
"I will." She replies, slowly pushing back against Luluka's attack. Kurea doesn't get far when Mashutan barrels into her back, sending her stumbling forwards and landing on top of Luluka.
Those brief moments of recovery is more than enough for Luluka to turn the tables, paws driving Kurea's shoulders deeper into the dirt.
Luluka opens her jaws wide open, preparing to take a chunk out of Kurea's neck. Except, when she's mere millimeters from drawing blood, her jaws stop. Kurea can tell from her expression that this isn't on purpose — some force is keeping Luluka from hurting her.
She backs out of the biting plan, trying to scratch Kurea's face instead. This too is foiled in real time, a claw dangling precariously above Kurea's right eye.
As Kurea locks eyes with Luluka again, her sparkle tingles again. The answer to this turn of events is right there, just a little further and—
Kurea smiles. 'I understand.' If she squints hard enough, she can see a red string connecting their hearts together, thin yet unbreakable; a telltale sign of being soul bound. Kurea's unsure if Luluka has noticed it in her blind fury.
"Are you mocking me?" For the first time since the fight started, Luluka talks. Her voice is seeping with anger, both at her inability to hurt Kurea and her supposed mockery.
She tries another bite, once again stopped before her fangs can come into contact with Kurea's skin.
"Luluka."
It's clear that she was using all her willpower to try to overpower the soulmate bond between them. To hurt Kurea and leave her a bloody mess. To eliminate the last person who knew the old Moria Luluka.
"Luluka."
"ENOUGH!" Luluka shouts at Mashutan, snapping her head up to glare at her own partner. A pang of sadness shoots straight through Kurea's heart, seeing how consumed in anger her ex is.
'Luluka, what happened?' She wonders, feeling tears well up in the corner of her eyes.
"Can't you see that what you are trying to do will never work?" Mashutan remains calm at her partner's outburst. "Or has your anger dulled your detective's edge?"
"No. I'm almost there. I can feel it." Luluka's answer is resolute, stubbornly resolute. It's almost as if their roles from their previous partnership (and relationship) have been reversed — Kurea, the one who remains level headed during any hunt; Luluka, impulsive and stubborn, sticking to her guts until proven otherwise.
Kurea takes a moment to glance over at Mashutan, who gives her a look that all but says "please, stop her."
She once again taps upon her magic, thankful that the soulmate bond only prevents them from injuring each other, so any sort of non-harmful movement is fair game. It doesn't take long for her to push Luluka off her body, giving her the chance to sit up.
Luluka attempts to attack her again. Kurea resorts to holding her snout shut, muttering a quick apology for the discomfort it'll bring her. With her free hand, she twirls the proof of their bond around her pinky finger, willing it to become visible to Luluka.
It takes a few moments of her ex awkwardly staring at her pinky before the red string manifests itself. Kurea watches her eyes follow the string, first to Kurea's chest, then to her own chest.
Her first response is to paw and tug at the string, trying to see if it's some sort of illusion Kurea conjured. Even though both of them know Kurea can't do that.
"No…" for the first time, Luluka's voice is filled with disbelief. "But the- it said that-"
Noticing her panic, Kurea tries to reach out. "Luluka—"
Luluka leaps backwards, growling.
"I swear, I'll take you down." She starts. "This god forsaken string isn't going to stop me. I will find a way."
Luluka turns around, using her tail to signal to Mashutan that they were leaving. Kurea can only sit there, watching her ex disappear into the shadows.
"Kurea…" Shushutan mumbles, clearly holding back tears for the sake of both of them.
"I know Shushutan, I know." she replies. "It hurts seeing her do this."
"What's our plan?"
Kurea purses her lips. A small lie would have to do. "We hide this from them. Just tell them Lulu— the kitsune fled before we could fight."
Her partner's tail twitches, she's nervous about this idea, understandably so. The consequences for them would be dire if anyone found out the truth. That Kurea let her get away, that Kurea knew her real identity, that Kurea couldn't hurt if she tried.
But she had no choice. 'I need to know what happened when I was gone. Why Luluka abandoned the guild, why she's so angry at me, why she let herself be turned into a kitsune.' The answer to those wouldn't come if Luluka was captured, or if both of them were six feet under from Luluka's newfound rashness.
Her sparkle remained uncharacteristically quiet. As if it knew the reasons.