One in the Same

Chapter Seventeen

   It had been at least a week since the last time Cat stepped foot into the village. Saito himself had come to tell them that Hina told the story how Cat expected her to. Hina was innocent and tried asking Cat a question and Cat reacted with violence. Botan pulled him aside and explained what Cat had told him.
   "Naze soko ni setsumei shinakatta nodesu ka?" Saito asked looking back at her.
   "Sore wa anata no min no kotoba ni taisuru watashi no kotobadeshita. Watashi wa shinji raretadarou ka?" Cat asked raising an eyebrow?
   Saito looked at her for a moment then bursted out laughing. "You are learning!"
   She smiled at Botan then turned back to him. "I had great teachers."
   Both men chuckled amongst themselves. "That makes me very proud," Saito commented.
   Cat couldn't help but let a smile show.
   Saito smiled back at her with a nod and took a sip of the tea that Botan had offered. "Tsugini, hoka no mondai ni tsuite setsumei shimasu."
   Here we go, Cat said to Botan and they shared a look before looking back to Saito.
   "Yui kazoku no shokuji o yōkyū shite imasu." He says with a smile, looking between the two of them. Botan and Cat shared another look. "Soshite kanojo wa sokode min'na o nozonde iru."
   Cat puffed her cheeks and Botan leaned back a bit. "Kanojo wa itsu kono dinā o tabetaidesu ka?" Botan asked.
   "Kanojo wa kon'ya sore o motsu koto o konomudeshou. Shikashi, kōun'nimo anata ni ashita no yoru ni kanojo o settoku shita. Junbi suru jikan o ataeru tame." Saito replied proudly as he took another sip of his tea.
   Cat kept her cheeks puffed as she looked over at Botan. He sat his cup down and sat back straight with his hands on his knees. "O jikan o itadaki, arigatōgozaimasu. Shin mo soko ni iru to omoimasu ka?"
   "Mochiron sō shimasu. Kanojo wa soko ni otokonoko o nozonde iru." Saito replied with a soft smile.
   "Kare wa watashi ga soko ni iru koto o dono yō ni atsukaimasu ka?" Cat asked, slowly taking a sip from her tea.
   "Kare wa hatsugen-ken ga arimasen. Anata wa ōshitsudesuga shōtai sa remashita. Soredemo nao, kare no hahaoya. Shin wa sore o ukeirenakereba naranaideshou." Saito replied as he finished his tea.
   "Would you like some more?" Cat asked moving for the pot.
   "No, thank you," Saito replied holding his hand up as he stood. Cat and Botan followed suit. "Modottekita ni chigainai. Okurenaide." He said the last as he bowed to them.
   Cat and Botan returned the bow then saw him out. Cat looked up at Botan. Are we ready for this?
   We don't have a choice, Botan replied with a smile and looked down at her. Mama's orders.
   Cat smirked as she looked away. Botan wrapped his arm around her and pulled her against him. You have no reason for worry. I'll be right beside you the whole time.
   I know, my love, she replied. It's not that.
   Then what is it?  "Where go?" He asked the last out loud.
   The two people that want to see me gone more than anyone else in Nihon will be at this dinner. One of them going so far as inviting me to this dinner. What if something goes wrong? She looked up at him.
   Botan kissed the top of her head. When has my love ever been scared of going on an adventure before?
   When the adventure is bigger than she is.
   He chuckled gently in her hair. You are learning indeed.

   Cat took a deep inhale through her nose and puffed her chest slightly as they walked up to the palace. There wasn't as much tense coming through as there normally was. Her time there has ebbed that slightly. Tonight could be the night that decided how long she stayed there, if truth be told. One wrong move and both Yui-San and Shin could send her packing. She knew that. She understood that. She didn't want to give them that satisfaction, but at the same time she didn't want to prove them right either.
   Naturally, Shin gave her a dirty look with a cocky smirk as soon as he walked in. Yui embraced Botan and patted his cheeks, again telling him he looked too thin. Like he wasn't eating enough. That would change this evening though. As she looked to Cat, however, her attitude shifted. They bowed to each other, but she didn't move any closer to her. They sat and servants came and brought them broth for the first course. Cat noticed that there wasn't any blood. She pushed the thought away as quickly as she could.
   "Watashi no chikoku o yurushitekudasai." Saito said as he came in holding a large canister of sorts in his hand. "Watashi wa rōgo wa sore hodo hayaku ugokimasen." Yui gave him a concerned look. A communication went between them and she nodded as she turned back to her broth.
   "I believe this will be more to your liking," Saito said once again to Cat as they bowed to each other and he handed her the canister.
   She took it with a smile and he replied with a wink as he slowly sat. Cat opened the lid and smiled as the coppery smell of blood filled her senses. But with it came a static that shot threw her body and brought up goose flesh. Cat immediately turned to Saito who was beaming at her. "Is this?"
   "Being a ruler does come with it's perks. It may not be warm but it is fresh," he replied.
  Tears filled Cat's eyes as she took the spoon attached and ladled the human blood into her broth. She closed the canister and took the first sip. Her eyes closed as a new wave of goose flesh crept up her arms. A man, perhaps in his mid thirties. The blood was clean, though not exactly pure. He was right, it wasn't warm but indeed fresh. Perhaps from earlier that day. Preserved as well as it could be not coming from the source but wonderful all the same. There wasn't much. Enough for perhaps three spoonfuls per meal course, but that's all she would need. Shin and Yui made a face in discussed but paid no other mind. Botan watched her intently, but a smile played at his lips.
   "I cannot thank you enough." She said turning to Saito beaming. But as she looked at him the smile faded.
   With the human blood in her now, she was stronger. Not where she use to be, but much better than the animal blood. Much more powerful. Her senses were hightened and with it...
   Saito's coloring in his face was off. Much paler than normal. His movements were slower and his hands were shaking terribly. He seemed thinner as well. He also smelled different. Where he had smelled much like Botan in their previous interactions, he now smelled sour. Like an animal that had sat for too long with a festering wound. Like a man who was close. Like sickness and death.
   Tears of a different kind filled her eyes. Botan frowned and looked at him then back at Cat as she looked away and took another sip of broth. What is it, my love? Where did you go?
   I don't know yet.
   Cat wanted to end the night there. But with each meal and more blood, came new signs. Cat could taste the sickness in the air now. She had to fight to keep the tears at bay and her voice calm when she was spoken to. Botan was constantly asking if everything was alright. She informed him about the blood and what it was. He told her he expected as much but knew there was something else bothering her. She told him they would speak about it soon. That didn't settle him at all.
   Once all the meals were completed, they all sat back with full bellies. Cat had stopped eating when Saito did. He only made it half way threw the second corse. There were five all together. She would take bites from them of course to say thank you. But she didn't eat much anymore. That made Botan even more nervous and his questions pressed more intently. She did everything she could to keep him calm. But he was feeding off of her unease. And there was no calming that now. Cat could help starring at Saito and watching him closely. He seemed suddenly older than when they had first met. The pepper gray in his hair had more white. His face held new life lines coming from his eyes and lips. She knew that she was just seeing things that she had missed before, and the change hadn't been as sudden as she thought. But all was there none the less. And it was enough to make her scream.
   "Sumimasen?" Cat said as she slowly stood up. "Soto ni deru hitsuyō ga aru. Kibungawarui." She said the last looking directly at Saito. He nodded back, and before Botan could even stand she was out the door.
   It didn't take her long to reach the court yard. Cat sucked in the night air and closed her eyes as she sat next to the pond with the koi fish swimming lazily. A moment later Saito came and sat next to her. "They are my favorites." He said looking down at them. "They are so peaceful and calm. They remind us how we should be."
   "How long?" Cat asked simply not looking up at him.
   He sighed heavily. "Since before you came. But...it has progressed."
   "Is that why you gave me the human blood?" She finally forced herself to look up.
   Saito looked into her eyes for a moment then finally shook his head. "No. I gave you the human blood as a gift. To make you feel more welcome and less tense. I did not know what it would do to you. But as dinner progressed...well..." He looked up and slowly stood a took one of the flowers from the tree before securing it gently behind her ear. "You are the most beautiful."
   "Does he know?"
   "Will he after we speak?"
   "I've just found out the father of my mate is dying from a sickness that we don't understand or even know about for that matter, and your concern is if he will find out?"
   "Sometimes we need to worry about the things no one else will worry about."
   "This isn't something to joke over."
   "Has someone made a joke? Yes, Cat, I am dying. I am old. It is what old men do. No, Botan does not know. Yet. I'm sure he'll know shortly, as he is alone with his mother. She's not one for keeping secrets, my wife."
   "Saito," Cat started.
   "Cat," he interrupted.
   She inhaled through her nose and gave him a look crossing her arms. "You can't do that. What can I do? How can I prevent this?"
   "First you would need to know if I wanted it prevented. I do not. I have family waiting for me in...wherever the fuck." Cat couldn't help but smirk. "I have friends that have been greatly missed. A brother, who owes me money."
   "You don't seem like the gambling type?"
   "It was in my youth." He replied dismissively, waving a hand. "There is a love I lost as a young man. I wish to kiss her hand again." Cat smiled softly. "Oh yes. It is my time. I feel it in my bones. And I am ready, Little Cat. I have been ready for a long time. And now that I know Botan is in good hands and have finally chosen one to imprint upon...my affairs are in order. My tasks, complete. It may not be this night, or the next or the next and so on. But it is near. And I am ready."
   Tears filled her eyes. "It would be selfish of me to say I'm not. You were the first, after your son, to show my any kindness here." She looked up at the sky and blinked as the tears fell. "Do you wish me to tell him?"
   "No," he shook his head and held his hand out. "But it is time."

   Shin reacted in a way Cat didn't expect. He grew angry and threw things. Demanded to be told there was a joke. Father is good at his jokes. Where is the punch line? Yui held Cat as she cried watching her son. Cat stayed silent and cried with her. Botan, however, was silent the entire time. When Shin finally gave up and sat, Saito nodded. "Kore de kanryōdesu." He said gently. "Watashi no toki ga kimashita. Anata no okāsan wa jibun o junbi shi, sakebigoe o agemashita." He reached over and took her hand. She grasped his gently but fiercely and sniffed, still keeping an arm around Cat. "Kodomo-tachi ni motto ie ni kaette hoshī. Minasan to issho ni dekiru kagiri no jikan o sugoshitai to omoimasu."
   Cat nodded, Yui patted her arm and sniffed, dabbing at her eyes again.
   "Hai," Botan and Shin both said in unison.
   Saito nodded and closed his eyes. He excused himself, saying he needed to rest.
   Shin walked Botan and Cat to the gate but as they got there, Yui called from the porch and ran out to them. "Cata-Chan!" She said running up.
   "Hai?" She said catching her gently in her arms.
   "Thank...you" she said slowly, looking up at her. Cat blinked in surprise as Yui leaned forward and kissed her on the cheek. She laid her hand over her cheek. Yui patted her other cheek then turned and moved back to the inner house. When Cat turned around, Botan was smiling at her, but there was no happiness there.
   Shin was the second to surprise her. As they stepped through the gate he spoke. First to Botan through a silent connection then to her. "We...change?" She looked up at him and Botan wrapped his arm over her shoulders. She didn't need an explanation. She didn't need him to find the words. They already hung in the air. And she already understood.
   Cat nodded with a smile. "We change."
   Shin nodded with a sad smile then closed the gate.
   He's not wrong, Cat said to Botan as they walked.
   No, Botan replied. Everything is about to change.