Tama

  “Look, all I am saying is that she is a menace, and we do not need her, Tama!” Saki said as she tapped her foot impatiently at me.

  “Then tell her to go away, Saki,” I said simply as I gently rubbed Tristy’s back with my tail.

  Saki stared at me for a long moment before asking, “What do you think we should do, Tama?”

  “Saki is the smart one, not Tama. Saki knows best,” I stated simply. A simple fact of life I had accepted back when I first met her. It had never led me wrong yet.

  Saki sat there in silence with me for a long time. Eventually, Anna returned. She attempted to reattach herself to me, and I let her. Saki only watched this happen and sighed. Finally, she asked, “Tama, you said Anna is like a child, that she feeds on emotions. I know you trust me to find an answer, but I need more information about her first. How does she feed on emotions?”

  I looked up at her from the ground and said, “Oh, all spirits feed on their host’s emotional states. They are able to disconnect, but it starves them. They feed on their emotions, thoughts, and feelings, and end up being a lot like the person they are attached to.”

  “Can you explain more?” Saki asked, leaning in curiously.

  I paused, thinking for a second before realizing I could simply show her. “Watch,” I said. I stood up and ejected Anna off of me. Then I leaned over and spoke. “Anna! Aren't you the cutest little water spirit! Does Anna want to be Tama’s clothes? Yes, she does!”

  “Yes! Anna wants to be Tama’s clothes! We will be the best of friends!” Anna said excitedly and jumped back onto me, turning into my gi. I looked back up to Saki and made a gesture. “See?”

  Saki stared dumbfounded at the scene like she could not believe what she just saw. “Are you telling me she is a damn mirror of us?!” she said in a shocked tone.

  “Not exactly, more like she is a mirror of your emotional state. It is like a body: how you feed your body affects how it turns out,” I said, happy to explain.

  “But, but she is so intelligent, Tama. She cannot really be that simple?” Saki said, clearly confused.

  I smiled and shook my head. I looked down at Anna and spoke. “Anna, you should give Saki a hug! She is feeling super down and wants hugs!”

  Anna formed off of me and bounced onto Saki before Saki could respond. She then turned into her little girl form and hugged Saki. “I like giving hugs!” Anna said giddily.

  “But, but, but you can hear us, right? She is literally manipulating you to do what she wants?!” Saki said in shock.

  Anna paused and looked up at her. “She is?!” she said in shock. She turned and looked at me in surprise, and I giggled.

  “Yes, is not it so much fun!” I said excitedly. My ears and tail lashing back and forth excitedly.

  Anna smiled widely and nodded. “So much fun!”

  Saki stared for a long moment before speaking. “I spent literal days with you, Anna, and you are telling me this whole time, you would have been nicer and sweeter if I had been nicer to you?!”

  I snorted at that. “Tama means, that should go without saying. Being nice tends to make people nice back, Saki! Silly!”

  “That is not what I meant, Tama!” Saki snapped at me.

  Anna let go and took a step back. “Why are you so silly all the time, Tama! This is serious!” she said, glaring at me. I cried with laughter, and Saki looked ashamed.

  “Anna, Tama is cold, come be her clothes!” I said as I held my hands out. Anna rushed over and jumped on me, flowing onto me and turning into my gi again.

  Saki was silent and thoughtful. I turned to Tristy and asked, “Tristy, the bad goblin said your parents were dead, is that true?”

  “Just like your parents, Tama!” Anna said happily.

  I sighed and nodded. “Yes, Anna, just like Tama’s parents.” My tail wrapped around my leg, and I tried to stay positive. Anna was very good at hitting sore points. It is why she was so important. It is what sensei had always said: The best way to train is to find your weakness and focus on making it not a weakness.

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  Anna had been my gi for less than two days and had already brought up more sore points than I thought I had. She was a mirror, and for that, I was grateful, even if I did not feel grateful.

  Tristy’s eyes watered, and she tried to turn her head away, but it was like an invisible force forced her head to stay looking at me. The runes on her collar began to light up, and after a moment, she looked to be in intense pain.

  I quickly opened my mouth to tell her she did not have to speak, but before I could, her mouth opened as she tried to force it shut, and she spoke. “Yes, I watched them die to the goblin raiding party that took me and sold me as a slave to you, Mistress Tama.”

  She fell to her knees after speaking and began to sob quietly. I wanted to comfort her, but I was terrified anything I did would activate the collar again. So, I watched silently as rage bubbled in me.

  Finally, I could not take it anymore. “Nya! Tama is going for a walk!” I said as I turned to leave the camp.

  “Make sure no one sees you kill him, Tama,” Saki said quietly. “But make sure he suffers.”

  I looked back at Saki and saw the look in her eyes. She had seen the same thing I had. Pragmatic as she was, even she did not like slavery. I nodded once. Normally, I did not think torture was ever necessary, but this goblin had changed that rule for me. He deserved worse than torture, and I was sad I would only get to do that.

  I made my way back to the city, but went around the side and, after watching a patrol pass, blinked my way up the side before hopping down into the city proper. I made my way to the tent, dancing along shadows and making sure no one saw me.

  I reached the tent without issue and slipped inside after making a small cut in the cloth.

  I walked through the tent and to my back room. That creature being inside of me felt horrible, but nowhere near as bad as losing all my merchandise. I spat on the ground and looked at all the empty cages. The boss was going to be livid. Those brats were as good as dead when I told her what happened.

  Opening the door to my back room and walking inside, I went over to my desk and sat down. The chair creaked with my weight. “What a garbage chair ! M aybe I will make a new one out of that blonde-haired fox girl when I get her!” I said with a grin.

  I looked up and noticed my door was ajar. That was strange. I was positive I had closed the door when I came in. I stood and walked over to the door, closing it all the way. Turning around, I walked back to my desk and sat down.

  A sharp pain suddenly came from my right hand, and I pulled it up to see my right index finger was completely cut off from the knuckle up! Horrified, I stood and looked around. “Who is there!” I snapped. I reached for my bag to grab a potion of regeneration, only to realize it was gone. I began to pale as I realized what that meant.

  “What, here to finish the job? Robbing me blind once was not enough? You are worthless garbage, and once my boss gets a hold of you, you are all going to die!”

  Silence met my statement, and I huffed. “Must have scared them off,” I said quietly as I pulled a cigar from my pocket with my left hand.

  My hand never left my pocket . J ust a stump where it was supposed to be, gushing blood. I stumbled back in shock and horror.

  Quickly, I spoke as I held my stump. “He he, perhaps I was a bit hasty in my words earlier. I am certain we can come to a bargain, eh? You want your gold back? I have it right here, I will just go get it for you.”

  I looked around, but there was no one, and silence filled the hall. I made a dash for the door. It would not open, barred from the other side. I cursed under my breath before turning around to go for my weapon.

  In front of me stood a purple-haired NekojinTama. Her rage from earlier was nowhere to be seen. A calm, almost serene smile was on her face as she leaned in. I felt a sharp pain in my shoulder and looked to see a dagger pierced clean through, nailing me to the door.

  I turned back to face her, all sense of reasoning gone. “Listen, I will give you anything you want. We can make a dealI know lots of people. I can make you rich, rich, I tell you!” I said, hoping she would accept my offer.

  Her smile never faded. She never spoke a word. Instead, I felt extreme pain as my right leg from my kneecap down simply vanished, and I was forced to fall to the side, causing the dagger in my shoulder to rip clean through.

  I screamed in agony for only a second before a gag was placed in my mouth. Tears filled my eyes as I tried to beg for mercy.

  She pulled a collar out of the bag at her waist. My eyes widened at the collar. It was a blood collar, like the ones the slaves I sold had. She leaned down and grabbed my head, forcing the collar on. I tried to resist, but she moved so fast. She grabbed her dagger from the door where it was still embedded and cut her own hand as she walked over to me. She grabbed the collar, and the blood soaked into it.

  She looked me dead in the eyes the entire time the collar activated. Then she licked her lips, and her smile widened. Yet the rage in her eyes only grew. Her hand seemed to instantly knit itself back together.

  The last thing I saw before everything went black was her sapphire eyes looking deep into mine. Her features were hidden behind long waves of deep purple hair. She moved her hair out of the way, and I saw it. That smile , so carefree and simple. Yet the eyes told a different story. In that moment, my final moment, I felt something I had never truly felt before. Unbridled, unhinged, unbelievable terror.

  She walked over to my desk and gently picked up my dagger from the desk. She twirled it in her hand as she walked over to me before she spoke. It was only one word, but it spoke volumes. “Die.”