Suddenly on a Leash (1)

Chapter thirty eight

My breath caught. Always? What did he mean...? "...you...?"
Sora looked out at the bright morning sky as he continued in a quiet voice.
"I'm sure you don't remember. It was such a long time ago... But I used to see you all the time when you were little." He smiled gently  at the memory. "You were such a weird kid..."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Lookie! I made another necklace!" A six year old Ayano cheered, holding out yet another necklace of flowers out.
"Another one?" Sora smiled down at her, bending over to let her hang it around his neck. Ayano's eyes lit up happily and she clapped in excitement. "You look so pretty!!"
He laughed lightly. "Is that a compliment?"
Ayano giggled. "Of course! You look even more like a prince!"
Sora knelt in front of her. "A prince, huh?"

"Mhm! You're my prince! And one day, I'm gonna grow up and be your princess!"

Sora smiled down at her warmly. "Of course."

Ayano came and played just outside of the shrine for years. Until finally... She stopped coming to visit.

"-"-"-"-"-"-"-""-"-"-"-"-"-"-"-"-"

"... So you knew me..."
I could hardly believe it... How could I have forgotten something like that...?
Sora gave a gentle smile. "I always knew you were something... And I was right."
I tilted my head. "What do you mean?"
Sora turned his sharp eyes to look at me. "I kept an eye on you for a long time... You never realized it... But you had a hidden power."
There was that talk of a hidden power again... What did it mean...??
This was the exact same thing Tarou had been talking about.... What power?? What could a girl like me possibly possess?
"What do you mean?? WHAT power??" I was almost accusing. Power this, power that... Not knowing was frustrating..
"... I don't know."

"You don't know??"

"It hasn't shown itself in you yet... It's like a dormant trait."

I frowned, unable to comprehend. "I don't understand..."

"That's the reason I took you here, Ayano."

I looked at him, confused. "What do you mean...?"

"Even if I don't yet know what you're capable of, I am able to sense the power within you."

I squinted hard, trying to wrap my brain around this. Power...? Why would somebody like me have something like that in my possession...? I held myself, unable to understand. Sora quietly went on explaining.
"While your inner power hasn't seemed to have made any appearance yet, with puberty it has grown in you... Any youkai within a hundred mile radius could find you easily. To eat a human like you, with such power? They'd be invincible."
My eyes widened. What...?
"You weren't safe, Ayano.."
Sora...?
"... That day... When I rescued you from the lake... I was already on my way to find you."
My stomach twisted.
"... So, wait... You...?"

"... It was just luck that I managed to have a practical reason to convince you into coming back with me..."

The gears in my head weren't turning fast enough. "... So you... You wanted to take me back from the beginning...?"

"It was the only way to protect you from people like Tarou who wanted to use you."

My chest tightened. "... Why did you keep this from me?"
Sora looked at me apologetically. "... Ayano... I'm sorry.."
I paused for a long moment. "... So what, then? You were just going to keep me locked up here for the rest of my life?"

"Ayano.."

"Were you ever even going to let me go out? See my family? My friends?"

"Ayano."

"I am not a prisoner!"

My heart hammering in my throat I stood, storming off the porch and slamming myself in the bathroom.
This was all too much...