12. Kitsuki

Chapter 12

Kitsuki

A fter Auslin left, Bancho gestured for Kitsuki to sit on the bench next to him. "Please make yourself comfortable, Your Majesty. It has been a long time since we last met."

The latter comment puzzled Kitsuki. "This is the first time we've had occasion to meet."

"In the present, yes," Bancho agreed. "However, we met once when we both went by two different names, names that have gone unspoken for centuries."

Kitsuki looked questioningly at the elder mage but said nothing.

"I'm now known as Bancho, but I once went by the name Roltan."

It took a moment, but Kitsuki remembered that name as the young mage he questioned outside of Fate's Gate the day Auslin disappeared. "But that is impossible," Kitsuki immediately denied, unsettled because he couldn't detect any lie in Bancho's words.

"If I had known then what I do now, I might have been able to provide you some comfort when you lost Vanra."

Kitsuki's eyes went wide in shock. "A mere human could not live long enough to know of such things."

"That is true," Bancho agreed with a chuckle. "A distant relative of mine was a turtle shifter, blessing me with his prolonged lifespan. I have used it to dedicate my life to this temple with the goal of bridging the peace between humans and shifters."

The revelation stunned Kitsuki. It was only after being told that he could smell the faintest trace of the turtle shifter scent lingering under his human one. It was a minor detail easily overlooked.

"You have my gratitude for showing me that path in life," Bancho continued, further mystifying Kitsuki.

"I do not follow."

"When I was known as Roltan, I saw the humanity in you with your interactions with Vanra," Bancho explained. "I realized even a fearsome shifter monarch such as King Tatsuki could be touched by human kindness and that we are not so different, humans and shifters. I have guided this temple by those principles."

"How do the humans not know about your heritage when you have spent hundreds of years in residence here?" Kitsuki asked, finding it baffling they wouldn't suspect something.

Bancho chuckled again. "They all expect me to be here because I have always been here, I suppose. They believe I have been granted such a long life for my devotion to the Powers. No one would ever imagine I had any shifter heritage because of my infirmities."

While Kitsuki could understand the logic, he couldn't comprehend how the humans wouldn't realize something was different about Bancho and his seemingly eternal life. "That is certainly something." Kitsuki shook his head in disbelief.

"If I may be so bold, what are your intentions with Auslin, Your Majesty?"

"I lost Auslin once. I will not lose him again," Kitsuki swore. "He is to be my bondmate."

Bancho once again pivoted in a confusing direction. "Dragon shifters have such remarkable magic powers. It's no wonder that Auslin felt so comfortable staying amongst your kind."

The transition in topics puzzled Kitsuki. He looked questioningly at Bancho.

Unconcerned that the shifter monarch seemed to be lost in the rapidly flowing conversation, Bancho gave a pointed look at Kitsuki's regrown arm. "You already share a remarkable magical bond with Auslin."

"Are you implying it is a permanent bond?" Kitsuki asked, trying to find the meaning in Bancho's words.

"It is fortunate for you Auslin is not a mere human," Bancho commented with a knowing look. "A mere human would never have been able to go through Fate's Gate, let alone twice. Only those touched by the Powers could answer Sophina's beckoning call of fate."

While Kitsuki was accustomed to cryptic conversations because of his sister, Kizoshi, he still struggled to read between the lines. "Are you implying Auslin is not entirely human?"

"In all your long centuries of existence, have you ever met one who had even a fraction of Auslin's spiritual powers? Certainly no one at this temple does, not even those who have dedicated their long lives to learning the higher meanings of life."

Kitsuki assumed it was a rhetorical question, so he remained silent and waited for Bancho to go into further detail.

"Shifters aren't the only ones with power after all," Bancho commented while gazing with his unseeing eyes over the large rock garden before them. "It is fascinating, you know. Auslin has never met his father, but he knows him well while knowing nothing of him at all."

Auslin had rarely spoken about his parents. Kitsuki had gotten the impression he knew very little about his father beyond the fact he was a healer who had passed into the Beyond Realm. "What exactly are you trying to imply?" Kitsuki asked, feeling the same sense of weariness circular conversations with Kizoshi caused.

"I have dedicated my life to the Fate and Knowledge Powers, along with their creatures," Bancho enigmatically commented while staring at a statue of a former Power in the stone garden. "He has always been so close and yet so far for Auslin."

"You are saying he is one of their creatures?" Kitsuki guessed, still trying to piece everything together.

"We all are in some form or fashion," Bancho replied with a smile.

Kitsuki's eyebrows furrowed. "Are you saying Auslin's father is one of the Powers?"

Bancho answered the shifter monarch's question with one of his own. "Do you notice anything unusual about the garden?"

Kitsuki took a better look at the surrounding area. The rock sculptures all seemed to be representations of Sophina and Liros, the two powers the temple worshipped and provided services for. It wasn't until Kitsuki scanned the garden again that something unusual caught his eye. "Why is there a sculpture of the former Healing Power?" Imeyu had passed into the Beyond Realm almost thirty years ago. It had devastated Kizoshi since she had a deep affection for him. "Are you saying Auslin is Imeyu's son?"

Bancho smiled at the statue. "It certainly would explain a lot, wouldn't it?"

Kitsuki was about to press for more details, but Auslin knocked on the door before reentering the veranda area. "Is everything okay?" Auslin asked.

Bancho mirthfully laughed. "All is well, young Auslin. Do not mind us old men who are pondering the mysterious ways of the world."

"Okay," Auslin uncertainly replied. "Your Majesty, Sephen came back, so I'm meeting with him now. Would you like to join me?" It was strange hearing Auslin call him by his formal title, but he appreciated the mage maintaining a respectful decorum out in public.

Kitsuki walked over to Auslin in silent acquiescence.

"If you'll excuse us, Elder Bancho," Auslin requested. "I promise I'll come back and have a proper catch-up with you soon."

"I shall look forward to it," Bancho said in agreement. "It was a pleasure reacquainting with you at long last, Your Majesty."

"Indeed." Kitsuki warily watched the old mage, who never stopped looking at the statue of Imeyu with a faint smile on his face.

Bancho waved goodbye to them both. "Until next time."

Returning the wave, Auslin led Kitsuki back into the temple, shutting the door behind him. As soon as they were out of earshot, Auslin apologized, "I wasn't sure if I was supposed to call you by Your Majesty or King Kitsuki in front of Elder Bancho. I want to be respectful of your role while out in public. I should have thought to ask you about it earlier."

"It is unnecessary for my intended to stand on such ceremony," Kitsuki told Auslin.

"Yeah, but it's different in front of other people," Auslin insisted. "I never want to look disrespectful in front of your citizens."

Since there were no witnesses, Kitsuki caressed the back of Auslin's head. "Do not trouble yourself with such thoughts. All is well."

Auslin changed topics. "Why did Elder Bancho say reacquainting himself with you? Have you met before?"

"Once, a very long time ago," Kitsuki replied, still stunned by the revelation that Bancho was the young Roltan he had met all those centuries ago. "But that is a story for another time."

"Okay." Auslin smiled up at Kitsuki before continuing to lead the way to his younger brother's room.