As Azi approached, Shizu tensed as she knew that Azi was likely going to tease her. Worst of all, they were in public and she would have a little time to avoid him due to how close they were. She had once again made Azi sit in her lap as they enjoyed the hot spring but it would seem that her teasing actions and words have backfired on her. She tried to back away but Azi pursued quickly nimbly for someone walking in the water. Knowing that she could do nothing to avoid him, she closed her eyes in a panic as her imagination began to picture what he was about to do. Darkness covered her vision for a few seconds but in the next moment she felt the unexpected sensation of two hands grasping her cheeks. “Azi?” Peeking one eye open, Shizu saw Azi’s head move close and then felt his lips upon her forehead. The nearby girls blushed at the sight while the men hooted and hollered at the somewhat sweet sight. Azi then lowered himself into the water and hugged her as he rested his head on h
As a red faced Shizu complained about Council Member Jerome being a pain in her ass for the past week, Azi comforted her by laying her head onto his lap. The floor was made of wood but the futon bedding acted as a comfortable cushion for them to sit on. He scratched behind Shizu’s fluffy ear as her head was turned away from his chest, which caused a throaty purr to emanate from her throat. Azi then noticed that Shizu’s long brown colored fluff of a tail was swaying in front of him. It was quite long and looked oh so pettable, so without hesitation he moved to gently coerce Shizu’s tail into his hands. Shizu noticeably tensed up and was about to shout at him to not touch her there as it was discourteous to touch another person’s tail, but Azi’s touch felt soothing as his hands began to sink into her tail’s soft fluff. He didn’t move his hands, but instead let the natural motion’s of her tail to guide his fingers as they sunk into her tail’s fluff. Eventually, Azi had a gentle grasp
After a night of intense cuddling, Azi was the first one to wake up. After wrestling himself out of Shizu’s embrace, which was much easier as she was somewhat weakened by the grape wine they drank last night. As he inspected himself, he noticed that the top of his yukata was somewhat sliding down his shoulders and it was the same for Shizu. Sighing to himself, he pulled up his yukata and helped Shizu do the same. She was currently nursing a hangover as she laid in bed. Patting her head to placate her, Azi informed her of his plans for the day. “I need to get going to set up for the blacksmith’s meeting. So, I’ll see you later. For now, stay in bed for an hour. I’ll tell the staff to come help you get dressed.” He then attempted to get to his feet, but Shizu stopped him by tightly holding onto his arm for support while she attempted to push herself out of bed. “No I’m fine I can, ugh.” Cut off by the pounding feeling she felt in her head, she slumped back into the futon with a no
From a luxurious inn in the northern section of Shisayama, Jerome awoke near noon time. He was a late riser as his work kept him up during the nights as most of the letters he received would come in during the afternoon or during the night. This included emergency calls for aid from his businesses or from his associates around the nation of Kujyuri. His day was mostly filled with desk work and he rarely left the capital. At most, he would leave the capital for a couple days but would always endeavor to return as quick as possible. He would rather work from the comfort of his home as he had the comforts of his wives and servants at his beck and call. But now, it has already been a week since he left the capital of Kujyuri and he could feel that his stress was building. Feeling his forehead, he noticed that the bruise on his head was still throbbing which made him remember how Shizu had punched him when he suggested changes to the blacksmith’s meeting days prior. Thinking back he rem
A couple hours after dawn, the festivities began. The official part of the meeting was scheduled to start in a couple hours and Azi had already finished his checks and preparations with enough time to look around. He was walking around the festival’s stalls and booth with Rulu as she had come to help out with the event’s preparations.Earlier, she was working over a large pot of what looked like chicken soup when Azi was wandering around. She was helping to feed the workers a hot meal during their breaks since she wanted to help the villagers. Azi offered to help but was prompted by the staff to take Rulu out for a break as they argued that children like them should make sure to have some fun during a festival like this one. Azi was thankful for the staff’s words and used the moment to his advantage so he took Rulu with him before she could correct the staff about his age or to make a retort. “Why did you not tell them about your age?” Asked Rulu, a bit confused by why Azi was not
Breaking the silence, the loud noises continued to ring out but what was concerning were the cries of agony that came from beyond the wooden bleachers that now filled the once festive atmosphere. The first to react was Shizu, who prompted the nearby guards to get her a report on the situation. Yashimu then directed everyone to stay calm while Kajima and Elder Sung aided him. Azi, who was left standing at the front of the forge, quickly helped Yashimu to calm the crowd as he directed the speaker at the side to call out in his loud and affirming voice to calm and instruct the now panicking villagers. 10 minutes passed and when he felt that everything was in a somewhat orderly state, he then made his way to Shizu who was listening to a report from a guard who was attending the festival. She grimaced at what she heard which made Azi ask. “Shizu! What is happening?” “A large horde of monsters are attacking the southern entrance, we suspect that all the southern outskirts guards were
Rulu’s POV (Point of View) I was such a frail child back then, I was always in bed and needed the help of others in order to live. I was unable to give anything back as thanks as I was too weak to lift heavy loads and I was not as intelligent as my older siblings. I loved to read but I wanted to do something more with my hands. I learned to sew from the artisans when I was not sick and I learned how to cook from the hired cooks who made my meals whenever I was bedridden with a fever. When I was finally freed from my bed and was able to walk on my own two feet without fainting from a lack of energy, I began to do what I could to help the people in the capital. I learned of their struggles against the monsters and harsh winters. So I learned to nurse the wounded and cooked a warm meal to fend off the cold. I made many friends and was able to meet Kokona, my long-time mount and best friend. She was an unusually large hororon and I helped nurse her back to health when she was only a
With a katana in one hand and her metal umbrella in the other, Shizu slashed through scores of gengiri as if their carapaces were paper. The quality of her new weapon made by Azi still amazed her, since as long as she kept fueling the weapon with magic energy it seemed to keep its edge.After making quick work of a group of 3 gengiri, Shizu stepped back from the fight to get a feel of her surroundings.In front of her were still a swarm of gengiri and kengiri, while a large figure stayed in the back as it watched over the fight. Shizu kept her eye on it and wanted it to stay away as she would not like to fight it again in this situation. To her left was Azi who was a few paces in front of her as he was in the middle of loading what looked like a metal square into his gauntlets.She then saw Kajima, forcefully pushing and dragging the group of old blacksmiths away one by one from the fight.“Lady Shizu! We are here to help. Where do you need us?”Behind her came a shout coming from Nos