8 Matatabi

Sato slowly stood up from his crouching position and looked directly at the two tails.

If this was a normal big cat, Sato would start moving back while keeping eye contact.

But this was a tailed beast, doing so would be insulting her IQ, it would probably get him killed quicker.

*Whoosh*

Sato almost stumbled when he saw the two tails rushing towards him from above.

But he remained standing.

'I can't outrun her, the most I can do is outsmart her.'

The more critical the situation was the more calm Sato was.

He swiftly moved away from the edge and stood close to the mountain wall.

Two tails was a massive fire cat, she might accidentally knock him down even if he managed to talk his way out.

*Fizzz*

Sato calmly watched as the two tails came to a stop before him, looking at him from above.

The air around him was twisting from the sheer heat released by the two tails, the blue fire covering her was extremely hot.

'I am not immediately burnt to crisp, I should have been, blue fire is the hottest kind of fire.'

Quickly picking this up, Sato understood two tails was doing this on purpose.

Either two tails was scaring him or Yugito was controlling the temperature.

Whatever it was, he wasn't in any immediate danger.

He could work with that.

"You are the one who lives with my sister?"

"You are quite beautiful."

Sato said with a smile, his wide smile showing his teeth.

The two tails widened her eyes for a second before she brought her head down to Sato's level.

Making Sato sweat, both from heat and from nervousness.

"Beautiful? You call me beautiful?"

A mature woman speaking softly, that was the impression two tails Matatabi gave.

One can almost mistake her for a motherly human woman if not for her being a big fire cat.

But Sato didn't let this fool him, she was a predator cat for a reason.

Predator cats might be soft to their pack but they were still the most brutal hunters.

If possible he wanted to be considered amongst her pack more than her food.

"You are a graceful cat who's on fire."

"What's there not to like about you."

"You are beautiful.."

Sato stopped speaking and put his hand on his chin with a curious look.

"By the way, what's your name?"

"I am Sato, four years old."

Two tails froze in her place, she couldn't believe what she was hearing.

Unlike the nine tails, two tails didn't know how to sense negative emotions, she didn't know if Sato was acting or what were his underlying thoughts.

All she knew was Sato both praised her and asked for her name while sounding genuine enough.

Even when he knew she was the 'monster' his sister warned him about.

Although a little boy this age being such a good actor was almost impossible, humans were cruel and could easily lie to survive.

Matatabi just had to see for herself if he was being geniune or not, she after all always remembered the words of her father.

That tailed beasts and humans should get along.

"Did you forget who I am Sato?"

"I am the monster your sister told you about."

"I might just eat you."

When the two tails said this, Yugito Nii who was inside her mental world widened her eyes and yelled at Two tails.

"Two tails! We had a deal! You said you only wanted to talk to him!"

Two tails who was generally cooperative until today, all of a sudden refused to obey.

"Be quite."

Matatabi snapped.

Yugito was taken aback by the sudden shift in attitude but she wasn't going to sit and wait for Matatabi to eat Sato.

Yugito immediately started to fight for control yet this time around Matatabi refused to give up and fought back 

A desperate battle started happening inside Yugito while Sato remained unaware outside.

Even if he knew, he wouldn't be able to change anything but his own situation.

"I know you are that monster."

"But when I heard monster, I imagined a big beast with ten hands destroying something."

Sato laughed lightly while rubbing his hair.

"I don't think you are a monster."

"Real monsters don't talk to people, they only destroy."

Two tails instinctively shook when she heard his discription of a monster.

He basically described the ten tails by accident.

This made her smile a bit, tailed beasts really did come from the monster ten tails, yet tailed beasts themselves weren't monsters.

This boy described them in a really good way, all by accident.

'Or was it fate?'

'But he dosen't have blue eyes..'

Matatabi thought while looking closely at Sato's black eyes, she remembered how the sage, their father, told them that a boy with blue eyes will be the world's saviour.

Sato didn't have blue eyes, he probably wasn't that boy.

"You have a rich imagination."

Matatabi shrugged off the comment about ten tails, and Sato didn't bring the topic back either.

All he was doing here was guiding the conversation and make two tails put her guard down.

He refused to be eaten by her because of a dumb comment.

"I am four, what do you expect!"

"It's the best I could come up with."

Sato said with a twitching lip.

Then asked once more.

"You still haven't told me your name."

"What do I call you?"

Matatabi silently looked at him for a while before saying.

"Just call me what everyone else does, Two tails."

But Sato looked unsure after hearing that, which made the two tails ask.

"What's the matter?"

Shaking his head, Sato pursed his lips and said.

"That sounds a bit weird how do I say this.."

"Calling you two tails is like calling me two eyes or one nose."

"It doesn't feel right at all."

Now Matatabi was curious, she even stopped fighting Yugito Nii inside her body and trapped her tightly using her tails.

"What do you think I should be called then!"

Asked Matatabi, eagerness in her voice faintly audible as her fire blazed to life.

Sato saw that and almost thought he might have made a mistake to get her this excited, before he calmed down again.

It must be the name.

"Well, I can name you if you want."

"But it's your name, you should choose it."

"It's something everyone would know you for all your life after all."

Looking at Sato's pure smile, Matatabi's heart moved for the first time in many years.

She remained quiet for a while before bringing her head down.

*Clamp!*

And bit down on Sato.

"Two tails!!!"

"I'll kill you!!"

Yugito Nii screamed with bloodshot eyes inside her mental world, she almost tore apart Matatabi's tails trapping her in place.

Two tails just bit her brother when he was distracted, how dare she hurt Sato!

Advanced chapters ahead on patréon

www.patréon.com/ImagineMaker