Akiko groaned as she stirred, her head pounding like a drum in her skull. Cold air bit against her skin. She blinked up at sterile white light, disoriented by the too-clean buzz overhead. Her ears twitched reflexively, tracking sound.

A faint hum. Engines. Shipboard.

She sat up fast, and nearly slumped back down. Her hand flew to her neck. Nothing. The necklace was gone. The neural anchor for her suit. The link to Takuto.

No HUD. No shielding. No readout of time, location, or mana levels.

"Perfect," she muttered.

The chill scraped at her nerves. She was dressed in underclothes. Bare minimum for modesty, useless for warmth. Her suit was missing entirely.

She wrapped her arms around herself and scanned the room.

Metal walls. No windows. No obvious vents. Just a reinforced door and a camera in the corner, blinking red like an unblinking eye. The light above buzzed with static boredom.

Akiko's tail twitched.

Just a kitsune girl in her underwear. No tech, no plan, and barely a spark of magic. Back to square one.

She drew a breath. Focused. Foxfire flickered at her fingertips. A single claw of blue light. The effort made her head swim. Her mana was still depleted. At least that meant she hadn't been under too long.

She let the magic gutter out. "Well. At least it's not a collar."

The ship's hum vibrated faintly through the floor. Sustained burn. They were en route. To where?

Her gut had an answer before her brain did: somewhere bad. Whoever these mercenaries were, they wanted her alive. For now. That ruled out bounty chasers hoping for a corpse.

And where was Sifra?

The last thing Akiko remembered was the fairy screaming at the mercenaries before the world went dark. Had she escaped? Or ended up in another cage?

Her tail curled tighter. If Sifra was free, there was still a sliver of outside help. If not...

She closed her eyes, steadying her breath.

"Alright," she muttered. "Let's see what I can do with a spark of foxfire and a lot of bad decisions."

The door clanked open with a heavy groan of disengaging locks.

Akiko tensed.

Boots echoed into the room, slow and deliberate.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

The mercenary leader stepped through, pistol raised. His grin was the same sharp line it had been before, but his eyes were colder now. Cautious.

"Don't even twitch, foxy," he said, smug curling in every syllable. "I'm not in the mood to patch holes in you."

Akiko leaned back, arms crossed, feigning calm. "Nice to see you again. Hope that dart didn't set you back too much. I bet Haven's offering you pocket change"

He snorted. "Haven's bounty? We've got a better offer."

Her ears perked. "From who?"

He smirked, pacing closer. "You've made some enemies in your little adventures. Real powerful ones. We're taking you to Zephara. Someone there's paying top dollar to see you in person."

Akiko's expression flickered. Zephara?

"Who the hell on Zephara wants me that badly?"

He wagged a finger. "Ah ah. Don't ruin the surprise. Let's just say... they're curious. About what makes you tick."

That sank in. Deeper than she wanted it to. This went deeper than a bounty, deeper than someone seeking retribution. This was interest. The bad kind of interest.

She masked her unease. "Sure this isn't a long way to flip Haven's scraps?"

The merc laughed. "You really don't get it, do you? You're not just the prize. You're the experiment. And lucky me, I'm cashing out early."

He turned and walked out, the door sealing behind him with a hiss.

Akiko exhaled through her teeth.

Her mind spun through angles: the pistol's position. His stance. The ship's layout. Her own limits.

She was cornered, yes. But not out. Not yet.

"Looks like someone's in a bit of a pickle."

Akiko's ears twitched. She spun toward the voice.

Sifra hovered just inside the spill of overhead light, perched on the edge of a ventilation shaft Akiko hadn't even noticed. Had it been veiled from her?

Her iridescent wings shimmered faintly, catching motes of dust as they stirred the stale air. The fairy's grin was pure mischief, smug and radiant.

"Sifra," Akiko hissed. "How the hell did you get here?"

Sifra examined her nails with exaggerated nonchalance. "Oh, you know. A little shimmy here, a bit of clever weaving there. I'm full of surprises."

She gave Akiko a slow once-over, and the glimmer of amusement in her eyes only grew.

"Speaking of surprises," she said, tone syrup-sweet, "looks like they left you a bit underdressed for the occasion. Not exactly your best look."

Akiko scowled. "They took my suit and locked me in here. I don't exactly have options."

"Well, lucky for you," Sifra said, her wings flicking behind her, "I'm feeling charitable. I could help you get out of this… predicament."

Akiko narrowed her eyes. "What's the catch?"

Sifra gasped, hand flying to her chest in theatrical offense. "Catch? Me? I'm wounded, fox girl."

"You're a fairy," Akiko said flatly. "There's always a catch."

The grin returned. "Alright, you got me. I don't work for free. So, what do you have to offer?"

Akiko's mind raced. What could she offer that wouldn't cost her dearly?

"I just broke you out of a cage," she said, arms crossed. "Shouldn't this count as payback?"

"Oh, darling." Sifra's voice went saccharine-sharp. "You don't think I'm going to pass up an opportunity, do you? Besides, that deal is already agreed on. You're clever, so I'll make it simple. I want treasure."

Akiko blinked. "Treasure?"

Sifra nodded, expression bright and expectant.

Akiko frowned, then her eyes lit with sudden inspiration. "Alright. Treasure it is. But you'll have to wait until we're back on my ship."

Sifra tilted her head, curious. "And why's that?"

"Because my ship's got vaults full of shiny things. More than you could carry," Akiko said, doing her best to sound casual. "You'll love it. Gold. Jewels. Trinkets. All yours, as long as you help me get out of here."

Sifra's wings fluttered excitedly. Her grin widened to impossible proportions. "Now you're speaking my language. But if you're lying…"

"I'm not," Akiko said quickly, raising her hands.

It wasn't lying if she followed through, right? Tanya could whip up something shiny in the fabricator. Sifra didn't need to know gold was as common as dirt out here.

The fairy studied her for a long beat, then clapped her hands together.

"Deal!" she chirped. "Let's get you out of this tin can."

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