“Because I never wanted to trap you, only hold onto you. It was to my benefit to have you live with me, but you still had classes, and I knew you wouldn’t be happy if you didn’t finish them. I’ve tried to stay with you, so you could come home when you pleased, but it’s gotten harder.” Squaring her shoulders, Eiko looked Yuki in the eye. “I’m glad you know. Now if you stay, I’ll know it is because you love me, not because I have fooled you.”
Yuki clenched her jaw, not sure she could forgive so easily. “How do I get my things?” she asked.
Eiko rubbed her toe in the grass. “I’m afraid you don’t have much anymore. Your school things, a few changes of clothes. I can’t fit much in the burrow.”
“So I have to come back here,” she said, her throat rough and dry.
“No,” Eiko said reluctantly. She turned back into a fox briefly and Yuki caught sight of her many tails this time. Eiko emerged with several changes of clothes, which she handed to Yuki once she’d reverted again to human form.
