72. Auslin

Chapter 72

Auslin

M itsuki was conspicuously absent from the castle life over the next few days, which suited Auslin just fine. Auslin was walking back to his room from the library when he ran into Kizoshi. She was in a beautiful emerald-green dress trimmed with ornate gold embroidery. He was excited to see her. "Hi!"

"Perfect timing! I was looking for you," Kizoshi brightly said. "It is good to see you again, Vanra."

"Same! I didn't know you were coming for a visit." Kitaro hadn't mentioned reaching out to his sister before he left for his meeting with Tatsuki.

"I had to come admire your handiwork for myself." Kizoshi laughed behind her hand.

"My handiwork?"

She gestured for Auslin to follow her. "You certainly showed Mitsuki why he should never mess with you again. I thoroughly enjoyed rubbing that in his miserable face this morning at breakfast."

Auslin could only imagine what Kizoshi had said to Mitsuki when they didn't get along on a good day. He frowned. "I'm not proud of that."

"You should be. That smug bastard deserved it and worse. He is lucky you are too kind to remove him from this Realm the way you should have."

Auslin didn't know what to say to that, so he switched topics. "Have you met with Kitaro yet? He wanted to speak with you about some things."

"No, I wanted to see you first." They arrived at Kizoshi's room, and she led him into her elegant sitting room.

Auslin took a seat in front of the fireplace. "Thank you for the ring you gave me. It kept me safe just like you promised."

Kizoshi seemed pleased. "Hibiki would never let you down."

"How did you know his name was Hibiki?"

She waved her hand in a small circle. To Auslin's shock, Hibiki jumped out of the ring and curled up in Kizoshi's lap. She affectionately scratched behind his ears. "Hibiki and I go back a long way. There is no better guardian for you than him."

"Then how did I know his name?" Auslin asked. "Out of all the names in the world, how did I accidentally pick the right one? "

"Because he told you in his own way." Kizoshi continued petting Hibiki.

Auslin hesitated before asking a question he wasn't sure he wanted an answer. "Did you give him to me because you knew I would be hurt in an attack?"

"The roads are dangerous, so it was natural to suspect that something would inevitably happen while you were traveling." Kizoshi rubbed under Hibiki's chin, who stretched into the petting.

Auslin suspected Kizoshi knew more than she was saying, but he let the point go in favor of his other questions. "Satsuma said you would have some enlightening knowledge about my heritage. What did she mean by that?"

"Alas, it is still too soon for that conversation. What I can say is that you and I have a great deal in common."

"In what regard?"

"Eventually, we will piece together your clues," Kizoshi promised him. "It is too soon to do so now."

It was a frustrating answer. "But how do you know that?"

"I am best friends with the Fate Power, Sophina. Because of our friendship, I occasionally glean some helpful insights about the future," Kizoshi explained, although it did little to help clear things up for Auslin. "Please rest assured I will always have your best interest at heart. I promise I will tell you when the moment is right. "

That wasn't terribly comforting. He wanted to ask questions about Liros, the Power his temple worshipped, but it wasn't the time. Auslin refused to give up on his quest for answers. "Does the Day of Ascension mean anything to you?"

Kizoshi shook her head. "I have never heard of such a thing. Is it something Satsuma told you?"

"She said it was a date not yet written, but I would return to my time without leaving Kitaro, which makes absolutely no sense." Auslin huffed in annoyance. "Most of what she said went way over my head, which is frustrating."

"Satsuma has a way with riddles."

"Did you learn that from her?" Auslin asked it half in jest, but it was true he often had the same problem when talking to Kizoshi.

She chuckled at the accusation. "Fair point."

"Can you tell me anything about what I learned at Satsuma's?" Auslin wanted at least one concrete answer.

"All will happen as it is supposed to," Kizoshi promised. "The most important thing is to keep living your life. Fate will take care of the rest."

"But all I want to do is stay with Kitaro."

"And you will," Kizoshi assured him. "You will not lose him."

Auslin swallowed down his irritation. "That's the same thing Satsuma implied, but I don't understand how both things are possible. "

"You will in due time. Unfortunately, I cannot say more than that."

Auslin scowled. "You know how exasperating that answer is, right?"

Kizoshi looked more smug than repentant. "Then it is a good thing that I am so damn cute."

The response made Auslin laugh despite his consternation at being denied a straight answer.

Kizoshi gave Hibiki a final loving scratch before he scampered off her lap to jump back into Auslin's ring.

Auslin was about to ask another question, but a knock on the door interrupted them. A servant announced, "Your Highness, your presence has been requested by King Tatsuki."

"Right on time," Kizoshi said with a playful wink at Auslin as she rose. "We will talk again soon. Be well, Vanra."

Why did Kizoshi's words feel so ominous?