[AYAMI]
"Don't do anything I wouldn't do, Aya," Kujo said as the wolves from different kingdoms started streaming in for the mating ceremony. It had barely been two days since Ayami had seen her favorite Kurayami servant, and honestly, she wanted to see her again.
She needed to see that beautiful smile again. It was something that she couldn't fight and at the same time, it was a realty that could fuck her over and over. She knew that and still wanted to be around her ever so desperately.
It was a dangerous game she was playing, but what the hell was she supposed to do?
"You worry too much, Kujo," Ayami sighed softly.
"It doesn't look like nothing, Aya. Be careful. Tonight, all eyes will be on the king and most especially you. You are the king's enforcer, and everyone will be expecting you to be at your best. You know what happens if you stray, right?" Kujo reminded.
She knew her friend didn't like being reminded, but given the distractions and how the rumors had spread about the enforcer having been interested in someone, they had to do this.
They had to be on the same page. It was a need and there was no compromise there. Perhaps a part of Ayami had known that too, but then she couldn't help but wonder if the servant from Kurayami had a mate.
She was the prettiest thing that Ayami Araki had ever set her eyes on and it was infuriating just how much control she had over a woman who was supposed to have all her shit together.
"I do hope to see peaches though," Ayami said in earnest like she wasn't stressing her friend. This was not what she had imagined for herself either; perhaps there was just no way around this right?
"A servant… Aya. A Kurayami servant. You have everyone kneeling before you and desiring you, the untouchable enforcer. Hell, if I didn't have a mate I would probably have considered you, even though you are a constant pain in my ass.
"Have you seen yourself? You are the most powerful woman in Yamashita. The one with the king's ears. The woman who terrifies the king, and yet you want to settle for a servant, not just any servant— a servant from the mad queen's kingdom?
"You're wild, sister," Kujo sighed.
She could already sense that Ayami wasn't going to listen to her. It was expected, after all, some matters of the heart were just that… Complicated and couldn't easily be understood.
Kujo knew Ayami enjoyed playing around with hearts and yet it didn't seem like that was the case with this woman she referred to as peaches. It was as if she was seeing a whole new version of the lethal enforcer and that horrified her.
Ayami on the battlefield was lethal, but Ayami with a crush on a Kurayami servant was pathetic.
"I have gone to bed with other servants before, Kujo. This one won't be any special. Besides, once I have her under me, I can finally have a taste of a Kurayami and let her go," Ayami said as she put on the final layer of her armor.
It was like this wasn't even stressing her out, while Kujo was almost losing all her hair because of her oblivious best friend. Why the fuck was her best friend so focused on a servant who wouldn't even matter at the end of the day?
"If you want a Kurayami servant, you know they always come to the community tavern. There are lots there. What is special about this one?" Kujo dared to ask even though she wasn't ready for the answers she would get.
She knew she would soon regret her questions but something had to give, and Ayami Araki wasn't being as open with her anyway. This woman was insane. There was no other way around this and that scared Kujo.
"You wouldn't understand, Kujo dear," Ayami said as she grabbed her sword and began walking out, with her best friend tailing beside her, while the other warriors walked ten feet behind her.
"What if she was sent to seduce you?" Kujo asked worriedly.
Ayami straight up snorted at that.
"Seduce me? She didn't even… Oh, Kujo. I can't believe you think that I, Ayami Araki, the realm's lethal enforcer, would be seduced by a mere servant. You do realize that many have tried and failed over the years, right?
"Just because I took interest in her doesn't mean that I want anything more than to fuck her, Kujo. She is a woman, and I want her writhing beneath me. That is all there is to this. Think of her like a target for me, yeah?
"Besides, I wouldn't stoop that low if I were to find a mate," Ayami reassured Kujo, who seemed to agree with what she had just said. However, deep down, Ayami knew what she wanted. She needed to talk to that servant again; she needed to see her again.
It was all that she wanted. She didn't care as long as she could just see her or watch her from a distance. There was something about the servant that had her heart clenching so hard it hurt.
The woman made her feel everything and nothing at the same time, and that terrified Ayami. She had never had a mate, and never cared to find one, but why did it feel like this servant was waking up things that she didn't know she had in her?
She had meant it when she told Kujo that she wouldn't understand. Hell, Ayami herself didn't understand what the fuck was going on right now. She was desperate for a sight at the woman and she would find her.
Even if she had to use every bit of her power to filter out the servant among the masses, tonight, she would get her answers… but what answers were those? Oh, Ayami.
"Well then, I hope common sense wins tonight, friend," Kujo said.
"You worry too much. Let's go to the entrance and see if there is anything we need to sort," Ayami said and Kujo stilled. That was an unusual thing for Ayami to do and now Kujo was back to suspecting her.
"You're not going to be by the king?" Kujo asked.
"I am an enforcer, sister. Not a guard dog for the bastard that wants to parade me like a trophy to every single high-ranking wolf he wants to start a fight with. My service is to Yamashita, and the king is part of that. But he is not the only one I serve.
"Come along, the rest of the warriors can go guard him," Ayami said carefreely.
Kujo couldn't help but snicker at the statement.
Ayami had always been like that about the king and while to everyone she was a loyal lethal warrior, her friends knew she despised the king on the low, but couldn't say shit about it because well, Kazuya Yamashita was sometimes an insufferable asshole.
"Alright, alright. The entrance it is," Kujo said.
However, before they could even make a step in the direction of the gates, Ayami stilled, making Kujo follow her line of sight. And right there, in the near distance, was the object of the enforcer's undoing.
Her peaches… was here.