I didn’t need to open my eyes to know she was there. The sound of her footfalls would have been inaudible to normal senses, but I wasn't normal. Besides, I had been expecting her and the energy in the air shifted in a way I’d grown familiar with. Amaya. I held still, letting her think I was asleep, a small smirk tugging at the corner of my mouth.

  The door slid open with a whispered shhhick of wood against wood. Her presence filled the room, quiet but unmistakable. I waited until she was close, the faint rustle of her movements betraying her position. Then, just as she pounced, I rolled away, her outstretched hands brushing empty air.

  "Caught me sleeping, huh?" I said, crouching with a grin.

  Amaya froze where she knelt, then scowled, her hands dropping to her hips. She was wearing a tight black t-shirt with matching black leggings, perfect for infiltration. I couldn't help but notice her large breasts swaying as she knelt on the other side of the bed.

  "You were supposed to be asleep!" she hissed, but there was no real bite to her tone. Her dark eyes sparkled in the dim morning light, and her hair was tied back in a loose ponytail, a few stray strands framing her face.

  "Not my fault you’re slow," I teased, ducking as she swiped at me with a pillow. I rolled off the bed and darted toward the door, her soft laugh following me like music. Light and carefree, it was a sound I hadn’t heard in too long.

  "Cai!" she growled after me, but I was already halfway down the hall. The house was quiet, the early morning still clinging to the shadows. I could hear her bare feet slapping against the floor as she gave chase, and I picked up the pace, my grin widening.

  My childhood friend was faster than she used to be. I let her almost catch me before sidestepping into the stairs, racing down several at a time. My heart pounded, not from the exertion, but from the sheer joy of the moment. It felt like we were kids again, chasing each other through the house, the world outside fading into insignificance.

  Finally, I let her catch me in the kitchen, her hands latching onto my arm as she skidded to a stop behind me. I turned, and she tackled me, pinning me to the floor with a triumphant smirk. Her breathing was uneven, her face flushed, and her hair slightly disheveled.

  "I win," she said, sitting on me, her eyes gleaming with a mischievous light.

  "You cheated," I shot back, but my tone was playful. "No fair using your kunoichi skills."

  She raised an eyebrow. "I did not hear you complaining when I used those skills to steal anpan for you as children." She said, referencing the delicious sweet rolls we used to love.

  "True," I admitted, laying back with my hands behind my head. "But don’t think this means I’m going easy on you next time."

  She smirked, settling more comfortably on top of me. "Oh, how very scary. I tremble with fear." She mocked.

  The moment stretched, the warmth of her presence grounding me in a way I hadn’t realized I needed. I reached up, brushing a stray strand of hair behind her ear. "You’re still the same, you know that?"

  "In what way?" she asked, tilting her head slightly.

  "You. Just… you. Stubborn, competitive, impossible to win against."

  Her lips twitched into a faint smile. "And you are still the same too."

  "Not really," I said softly, but she just looked at me, her expression unreadable.

  The short silence that followed was comfortable, not heavy. It was the kind of quiet that only came from knowing someone so deeply, you didn’t need words to fill the space. Then, she rolled off me and offered me a hand up.

  As I dramatically brushed myself off, she leveled her gaze at me, filled with intent. I stared back for a moment, unwilling to give in so easily. Yet, I was no match for her in the end.

  I groaned in capitulation. "Fiiine! I'll make you breakfast." I grumbled as I moved to the fridge and started pulling out eggs to make tamagoyaki. That was her favorite breakfast. "What kind of childhood friend doesn't even know how to cook?" I asked rhetorically.

  I got out some rice to get it started as a side before glancing at Amaya, who raised a questioning eyebrow. When I understood her expression, I couldn't help but shudder. "No, you're right, you should sit tight. I definitely don't want you cooking. Where did you learn those skills anyway? Was brutal poisoning included in your ninja training?"

  I heard her move, and casually reached out to catch the chopsticks she threw at my head, then used them to whisk the eggs. I shook my head at her and clicked my tongue. "Tsk. I expected more from you. You should at least wait until I'm done cooking before taking me out. That way you still get breakfast."

  As I worked, I practiced using my telekinesis, levitating objects around me. In particular, I tried stirring the eggs. Fluids were still difficult to manipulate with accuracy. I remembered Ash once deflecting several droplets of water at once, something that was far beyond my current level.

  I also practiced with the spices, trying to sense and manipulate them as I sprinkled them over the food. I had noticed that my telekinesis skill came with a sort of spatial awareness. It was a subtle sense of the world around me, and I was hoping that I could increase it through practice.

  Amaya watched with a stoic expression as I worked literal magic to make the metaphorical magic that was her breakfast. I wasn't an amazing chef or anything, but I wasn't bad either. It was inevitable for me to pick up a thing or two when my aunt had so many late nights over the years. I never particularly enjoyed cooking before, but I had to admit that using magic made the process a lot more interesting.

  I was just finishing when my aunt came in from her morning run. She was wearing a comfortable track suit with her jacket zipped up to protect against the cold. I glanced down at my white t-shirt and shorts, wondering if I had slept in too much. Both women had obviously been up long enough to get dressed. I shrugged, and added a plate for Aunt Akari before we all sat down to eat.

  "What is it?" I asked my aunt when I noticed her disapproving look.

  She glanced down at my plate then back at my eyes before answering. "You are barely eating. I would expect someone who is training for combat to eat a great deal more."

  "Ah," I gave her a reassuring smile. "Don't worry. It's an effect of my cultivation. I subsist partly off of qi energy now, so I need less food and sleep." My breakfast companions exchanged a look, but I continued. "That's actually something I wanted to talk to you both about. I want to teach you both cultivation. I'm not as skilled as Yume yet, but I should be able to show you the basics. Once I establish a base on Earth, I'll be able to provide plenty of aether as well."

  The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

  They both paused for a moment, but my aunt gave a slow nod. "I still find it hard to believe you are learning cultivation from the daughter of Tamamo no Mae. I would certainly like to meet her." I noticed Amaya's eyes narrow, but she dipped her chin in agreement.

  "As for teaching us, I can only see it as a good thing. We should start after breakfast." My aunt picked up her water to take a drink when something else I said caught her interest. "What did you mean about a base?"

  I explained to her about being able to connect my domain to a location in the Material, as well as my thoughts on finding the right place to use as a headquarters. "I will be able to connect to multiple places eventually, but I need to find a place to start. Money will be an issue too."

  Amaya, who had been listening carefully, leaned forward as she spoke up. "Can you not make your base here? Perhaps we could even get the clan elders to support you."

  I hummed as I stood up and walked to the kitchen counter. I leaned on it casually as I began levitating the dishes to the sink. Manipulating multiple objects with a single split focus was difficult, but I was determined to improve, which meant pushing myself.

  "I've been thinking about it a lot, and I'm leaning towards building my first anchor in America." I rubbed my chin as I spoke, thinking out loud. "I love Japan, and it's tempting to build roots here, but I'm also hesitant. I want to build closer to a large city. Kyoto would work, but not this far out. I also worry about the insular nature of the Japanese government. They would want me to be a Japanese citizen only, and I'm trying to save the world. I don't want to be tied down. Plus, I have people in America who are already lined up to help me. I also have some information on three spire lords there. I would be starting over here." My mind went to the youtube clip of a guy working on his powers at an abandoned train station. I hadn't met him yet, but I knew he was in Miami.

  My aunt was nodding along, watching my clumsy attempt to scrub the dishes under the water with my power. "I can see your point. Even here in the village, you would not be welcomed fully. Whether or not the Elders of our clan agree to help you, there are plenty within the clan who remember and resent the choices your father made. That's why, other than Amaya-chan, most of the other village children avoided you, and why we had to work in America so much. Bigotry is everywhere, but here they have reasons even beyond your race to discriminate."

  Amaya's eyes flashed dangerously, and her knuckles turned white as she made tight fists. "I will not allow anyone to treat Cai badly." She looked at me with surging emotion behind her dark eyes. The corners of her mouth twitched, but her features were otherwise stoic. She watched me, taking several deep breaths to calm down.

  My aunt cleared her throat, reaching out to pat one of Amaya's hands. "As for money, you can use your inheritance. Your parents were successful spies and assassins, they didn't leave you with nothing. There is even a house on the outskirts of Miami."

  My eyebrows shot up in surprise, and I nearly dropped the last dish I was washing. "A house? I knew there was money, but a house could be perfect." I rubbed the back of my neck, a little sheepish for not having inquired about such things sooner. "I had wanted to earn my own way for a while, but with the challenges I'm facing now, a mundane life working for a living would be a hinderance. I have some ideas to earn a profit with my abilities that would take minimal time on my part, but the first has already hit a snag. How much money do we have to work with?"

  My aunt looked at the ceiling for a moment as she thought. "Well, your parents left nearly two million dollars, which I've had invested for the past twenty years in a long term portfolio. Probably between five and six million? It would take some time to access all of it, but it should be a substantial sum. Plus, I will invest everything I have if necessary as well. This is the fate of the world we're talking about after all."

  My jaw dropped when she told me the number. Apparently, being a world class assassin paid better than being a software engineer. My parents hadn't even been that old when they died. I was curious what my aunt had made after more than twenty years of the same work, but it would be rude to ask. I also wondered briefly why the people of the village lived so modestly if everyone here could earn as much.

  I shrugged such thoughts away though. I had plenty of other things to worry about for now. "That's a relief. It means I can focus a lot more on my work as a spire lord. As for training, we can start as soon as we get back." Turning to Amaya, I gave her a big smile. "Give me a couple of minutes to change, then we can go see your parents."

  ****

  "What is that for?" Amaya asked me, her eyes watching as I scanned the area with my mana-meter.

  "Normally, this is a tool for scanning electrical current." I answered, and she rolled her eyes at me like I was stating the obvious. I chuckled when she raised her eyebrow, clearly expecting a better explanation. "I've enchanted the sensors to turn mana into electricity." I pulled off one of the rubber caps to show her the intricate design on the metal rod. "I use it to detect aether fluctuations in the area. I already found a dormant rift forming in Miami. That's one of the reasons I need to go back. I don't know what to expect when it opens, but I don't think it'll be good."

  The kunoichi watched as I replaced the cap and continued scanning. She gave a nod of approval, but I could see she looked troubled. I watched her for several seconds, but I couldn't figure out what was wrong, so I finally asked her outright. "What's wrong? Is there something I can help with?"

  She let out a small sigh and looked at me, her eyes showing complex emotions. "You have always been good at so many things." She gestured at the scanner. "Now I can include magic to the list. I have always focused on one thing; becoming the best shinobi so that I can keep you safe."

  She grew quiet for several moments, collecting her thoughts. "You were holding back in the spar. You are not very good at hiding it consistently, at least not from someone who knows you. You were not even winded at the end." Her dark eyes grew distant and she pursed her lips. "I am just wondering how I can achieve my goal when you are now so much stronger than me; especially when the dangers you face are beyond my reach."

  We stopped outside her parents house. I returned the scanner to the bag at my hip before reaching out a hand to gently squeeze her shoulder. She stared sullenly at my chest as I spoke. "I never knew how hard you were working for my sake. Now that you told me, I can't express how much it means to me that you care so much. I can understand your intentions well. You're one of the reasons I decided to fight after all."

  I reached out with my other hand to her chin, gently directing her gaze to meet my own. "I will keep getting stronger for the sake of my goals. But I can't do everything alone. I will need you to get stronger too, and I have no intention of leaving you or my aunt behind. Your work up to this point is a great foundation. Now we can use it to make you even stronger." She searched my eyes for a moment, seeming to find strength in my resolve.

  Finally, she gave a curt nod before opening the front door to her parent's home. We were greeted warmly by her father, Kobayashi Kenzo-san, who welcomed us in. He was a bright and cheerful man whose energetic demeanor defied his age and slight belly. He had grey hair and the same dark eyes as Amaya. Despite his typical cheerful demeanor, I had seen him get serious on occasion when he came on a job with my aunt. It was almost like he had a switch that could be flipped. It made more sense now that I knew his true occupation.

  I hadn't noticed before, but what my aunt said about waiting to have children in the clan until semi-retirement helped explain a few things. Most of the parents and adults in the village were quite a bit older than might be found in other rural communities. It also might help to explain why they didn't have more wealth on display; if everyone semi-retired early to have kids, they wouldn't have as much money to throw around.

  "Come have a seat." Kenzo-san gestured to a cushion positioned around a low table. "Mizuki should be out soon with tea."

  Kobayashi Mizuki-san was Amaya's mother. She had a gentle and polite demeanor, and was very traditional in most ways. She was both one of the nicest people I had met, and one of the scariest. The older woman was somehow capable of giving off a terrifying aura while smiling sweetly at the same time.

  I still remembered when Amaya and I accidentally broke one of her vases while rough housing. She had smiled and said everything was fine, but I never learned a more lasting lesson than I did watching her clean up the mess while my bones shook from an unnamed fear.

  Sitting on a cushion by Amaya's side, I was still reassessing what I knew of Amaya's parents with the added insight of their original vocations, when her mother entered the room carrying a tray with tea and cups. We watched in silence as she prepared the tea, then maintained the silence, observing Japanese custom for the first cup of tea. That was another lesson I had learned from Mizuki-san early on.

  Once we all finished the first cup and waited a respectful amount of time, Kenzo-san broke the silence, peppering me with questions about my first year of living alone. We talked and laughed as we caught up. Well, Kenzo-san and I talked, while the two women seemed to have an entirely different conversation with their eyes.

  We had just said our goodbyes and were walking out the door to leave when Amaya turned back and declared, "I will be moving to America in a week to support Cai. I thank you for your support until now." With that she bowed deeply before grabbing my hand and walking away, leaving her parents with stunned expressions. I couldn't blame them. My expression was just as surprised.