the conclusion of the beginning

This wasn’t what he had wanted to meet her with but he wasn’t so optimistic that word had somehow failed to reach her—not when @Vistello made it her mission to meddle in his affairs, protective bugger. So as he sought out where Aika had been settled during her visit, M’Jakuna shook his fur out, head full of a pressure he hadn’t been able to shake since the encounter with Hikari.

Only a day lay between it and now, the scent of fresh blood following him as stubbornly as the absence of a portion of his left ear, so he knew that, too, would announce his arrival as the thump of his paws on the earth.

”Well, this isn’t quite a second date, is it?” he said, chuckling the slightest, dry as he… generally felt.

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She'd been relaxing just beyond the borders, not yet comfortable in encroaching within them without the company of MJ. Speak of the devil, his scent was easily noticeable, though what really drew her to her feet was the scent of blood that lingered with him. ”Well, this isn’t quite a second date, is it?” He said as he approached, and Aika gasped, her eyes immediately fleeting to the gash in his ear. “What happened?” She queried, trotting up to him with furrowed brows and concern gleaming in her eyes. “Who did this?”

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Ah, so Vistello hadn’t spread the news—mhm, perhaps she knew when he would’ve appreciated her tackless intervention.

His humor as dry as his throat, he said, ”I met your sister,” he lifted a forepaw to motion vaguely at his ear. ”Hikari is a charmer… has a real way with words.” M’Jakuna still loathed the thought the woman had planted in his mind… that somehow Aika had orchestrated this but as he had given her the respect of telling her about Meresankh, he wouldn’t pretty his words simply because it was her kin at the forefront of this. ”She told me something about you, too.”

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”I met your sister,” MJ said, motioning towards his ear. Aika's jaw dropped, a horrified look splashing across her face. Hikari, her own sister, had done this? ”Hikari is a charmer… has a real way with words.” “I'm so sorry, MJ,” She whispered, softly shaking her head. Gods, this would not go unacknowledged, she was sure of it. Hikari would await a fight back home. Then, he continued. ”She told me something about you, too.” What? What was there to tell? Aika wasn't a particularly secretive, nor sly woman. There was no reason to be such a person, though for some reason her heart sank nonetheless. “What did she say?” Aika begged.

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Notably, he didn’t acknowledge her apology; his mind decided and the topic not one he desired abandoning in favor of kinder sentiments or the instinct to touch Aika in search of some comfort—solace. M’Jakuna moved, circling Aika once, coming up on her side, his voice thick with something only comparable to utter hurt.

”She said you enlisted her to do this,” he told her, clearly warring with himself over the mere admission but he had to know. No matter what the truth was. ”…that you wanted me to be less? She even said that I was to leave you alone, completely.” M’Jakuna had to shake himself again to rid the tension of his body, for a moment… he was sent so distinctly back to his youth, when the packs which neighbored Juh’harah saw even him—still yet a boy—as something brutal, condemnable, and so he said to Aika in pre-defense, as if he expected her to accuse him of some offense. ”I didn’t retaliate—not a single fang of mine touched her.”

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No… no, no, no. ”She said you enlisted her to do this,” Aika furrowed her brows further. She'd never said, nor asked for such a thing. Slowly, she begun to shake her head. When? When she'd said she'd wanted him to be 'less pretty'? that was moons ago, she thought, things had changed. And that wasn't what she'd originally meant, either. “No,” She whispered, completely shocked. “MJ… please tell me you'd never think I'd… that I'd want something like this.” Her tone was exasperated as she begged, motion back up to his ears. She was so, so sorry.

”…that you wanted me to be less? She even said that I was to leave you alone, completely.” Goddamnit, Hikari. “She is missing… vital context, there. I don't want you to be less.” And she didn't want to be alone, either. “Please, don't listen to her.” A veiled pray. She didn't want to be left alone. She didn't even want to think about it, truly. MJ was at her side now, and she attempted to give him a brief kiss. She just wanted everything to be alright – why did Hikari have to try and take that from her?

M'Jakuna spoke again. ”I didn’t retaliate—not a single fang of mine touched her.” “Then it will be my fangs, instead,” She growled lowly, muzzle wrinkling as the fur along her spine began to rise. Hikari and Izumi – those two were the only two she'd told. Had they banded together? …She would not let this slide. “I know you are not the most violent of men, but I implore you to seek your own vengeance.”

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It wasn't as though he wanted this to be true nor was his uttering of it any confirmation that he thought it through and through but hiding the motivation wasn't something he could do—he needed to know, he had to know what Aika had to say... and he'd believe her. Why wouldn't he? Hikari had been a stranger who turned teeth to him before the slightest consideration; sister of Aika's or not, she didn't deserve his belief.

"I didn't believe her," he said, sincerely. "I don't... but I also don't understand why she'd come to me specifically for that." It was clear... what he didn't understand was why a family member would cause such strife without reason and the lilt of his tone would convey that confusion, that desire for her to maybe shine some light. "Whatever you say, I'll believe you... I know you, I know you wouldn't want this but it makes this all so much more confusing."

When Aika kissed him, he embraced it, some wordless acceptance as he moved to press his forehead to her temple; both seeking that comfort he had denied himself and seeking to soothe her. "No, darling, there's no need for that—I didn't, you shouldn't," he said, flicking the ear that still answered his nerves. "What would vengeance earn me—us—beyond bad blood? That's the last thing I want to brew with your family." A respect they debatably did not deserve—Hikari was more than willing to brew it with his but he wasn't Hikari, much to the sister's chagrin, he knew.

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His sincere reassurance coursed through her veins, akin to a remedy that combatted the odd mixture of guilt and fury that budded in her stomach. "I don't... but I also don't understand why she'd come to me specifically for that." Well, she didn't know, to be perfectly honest. She'd… told her, about him, but her plans were completely unknown to her. Unless… she sighed; perhaps it was out of fear. “I have… one suspicion, maybe.” A flicker of the man embodied in her mind – Homura… A shiver ran down her spine.

"Whatever you say, I'll believe you... I know you, I know you wouldn't want this but it makes this all so much more confusing." “Hikari… isn't the kindest, nor sanest of us all,” She was actually quite mean, she thought, and didn't sugarcoat anything for anyone. Aika loved her as a sister, of course – they shared blood, though Aika found it hard to actually enjoy her company, whenever she was subjected to it. She was a lot more… softer, than her sister. She required comfort and assurance, unlike Hikari, who seemed to only need cold hard facts. "No, darling, there's no need for that—I didn't, you shouldn't," Darling. She swallowed.

“No.” She growled, tone firm, yet not unkind. “She doesn't think of others, and if she did, I really doubt she'd care. She's only going to do this again; she needs to be taught not to.” And while, yes, Aika was nurturing and… not particularly aggressive in the slightest, she held the iconic Fujiwara Protectiveness that they all did, and she wouldn't let her own sister ruin everything for her. "What would vengeance earn me—us—beyond bad blood? That's the last thing I want to brew with your family." “To her? Respect, maybe…” But it was futile to someone like her; someone who was… generally a pacifist. She took a breath. “I'm still so sorry, my dear.”

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M'Jakuna thought that to be an understatement. It took someone so truly altered in the mind to cause such violence... such chaos with no concise and clear reason. "I won't speak of your sister in any ill way... but I also won't deny what you say," he said to her, letting out a sigh—it wasn't his place to tell Aika how to handle her kin in the same way he wouldn't find it her place to tell him how to manage his own... but as her... whatever he was to her, he found it his right to utter his concerns. "Maybe so but that doesn't mean you have to be the one to teach her.

He would prefer it if she kept herself far from bloodied... but if she didn't, well, he would be here to clean her up. M'Jakuna shook his head, dismissing her apology. "It wasn't you who did this," he said, swallowing. "I wish the next course of action wasn't so clear, I do—I wish you could stay... but it may be best that return to your island. As you said, she'll do this again; if she tries, I don't want her trying to use you as an excuse." Though he deeply hoped Aika returning would satiate the woman... as much as he loathed the concept of being without her for such juvenile matters, this was the way of courtship; neither was truly bound to the other yet and as such, other duties took precedent.

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"It wasn't you who did this," He said. "I wish the next course of action wasn't so clear, I do—I wish you could stay... but it may be best that return to your island. As you said, she'll do this again; if she tries, I don't want her trying to use you as an excuse." And what hurt the most, was the fact that he was probably right. If she stayed any longer, there was no doubt that Hikari would come back again… but if she stayed, she'd be able to confront her sister head-on, no? Aika felt horrible that she'd missed the two before the fight. She felt… so sawful. “Maybe…” She murmured quietly. She supposed she'd have to go back eventually, either way.

She couldn't stay for too long, anyway. Rounding on him, Aika leaned into him in a wolf-like hug, trying her best to posture her arm over his tall frame and… simply melting into his fur. It felt like the world paused, like everything stopped as she embraced her lover. “Thank you for having me.” Aika breathed, before pushing away. In a final hope, she blurted out loud; “Would you… like to come some ways with me?”

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