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They traveled for several minutes longer before coming to a building. They entered the shop
O’aka~welcome to o’aka’s. I will be right with you, I will
Ann~take your time o’aka. I can wait a little longer to collect my debt
O’aka~I’ll have you know I am no longer in debt. I paid it all off years ago
Ann laughed evilly, and he stopped stocking the shelves. The triplets even hid behind kiba, having heard that laugh when ann decided to punish someone. O’aka turned around, then bowed deeply
O’aka~lady ann! I-I didn’t realize it was you. What can I do for ye?
Ann~oh, nothing too troubling I hope, but I was hoping that you could loan us a room for tonight? I’m sure you have at least one room to spare, don’t you?
O’aka~aye, I do, I do! Down that hall, the very last room to the right m’lady. I’ll lead you down m’self
Ann~that’s okay. Someone needs to mind the shop. It doesn’t seem your brother is in to help. Come along kids.
Kiba~go ahead. I’ll stock our supplies.
The triplets nodded and obediently followed ann down the hall. Once they heard the door click, o’aka collapsed over the counter
Kiba~I am so sorry. I haven’t seen her act like that all trip
O’aka~it’s not like it wasn’t well deserved though. Ye see, it was me younger brother that angered her. He thought he could be discreet and groped her. He tried to apologize but she had already started beating the shite out o’im. I tried pulling her off, but she started wailing on me next. Sir auron didn’t do anything to help
Kiba~must’ve really deserved it then. He would have helped otherwise.
O’aka~I was told the same thing. Just before she broke us, I offered to owe her some favors. She hit us both once more and accepted. Hasn’t forgiven us when she left
Kiba~I’m really sorry. I know she hold grudges, but hopefully she’ll finally forgive you guys. You at least since it was your brother that got you into this mess
O’aka~what makes you say that?
Kiba~so far, everyone who remembers ann has said she’s calmed down quite a bit. Still scares them, but doesn’t quite come off as terrifying anymore
O’aka~but didja hear that laugh?! It was evil it was
Kiba~I know. She even scared the kids. She doesn’t laugh like that unless she’ll get something good out of it or when someone is going to get hurt really bad
O’aka~aye, and she will get something good. She still likes weapons?
Kiba~got any that will interest her?
O’aka~I hope so!
Kiba~I’ll let her shop for those then. What items do you have in stock though?

Reiketsu~mom?
Ann~yeah?
Reiketsu~w-what happened that you beat him to near death?
Ann~what makes you think I almost killed him?
Tenka~we haven’t seen anyone that terrified of you this whole trip
Ann~you got a point. So, what happened-wait…well…you’re only three years younger than me when it happened. Anyways, I was about 13 at the time, and O’aka’s brother was there too. We were all on the airship. Wantz, that’s the brother’s name, already gave me the creeps, but I thought he wouldn’t do anything with everyone around
Koneko~then what did he do? And why is the shopkeep involved?
Ann~wantz faked tripping down the steps in the bridge and fell on top of me. He got a couple of gropes on the way down. Choked him out and held my sword over one of his arms.
Tenka~who tried to stop you?
Ann~everyone but dad. They stopped trying to pry me off after he said that there’s a better chance of me killing him that way
Reiketsu~then how did you still not kill him?
Ann~your grandpa told me that he’ll let me punish him the way I wanted to if I leave all my weapons and take him to the cabin, so they could patch him up right away. I agreed and dragged him off. Along the way, O’aka tried to stop me, so I pulled him along too. Had just enough sense to ease off when dad told me to. I told wantz that if he was going to plan to grope a girl to make sure they were of age first. They were baffled when dad told them that I was 13
Koneko~well, they’re not used to children being able to kill, so there’s that
Ann~yup. O’aka promised that he will fulfill any favors that we may need and to give us good discounts on weapons in exchange for not holding a grudge on him or his brother
Tenka~how has that held up?
Ann~very good actually. They’ve been bowing like that to me since
Kiba came into the room and laid down with them
Kiba~he sells items considerably less than other shops, so I bought a lot of things
Ann~that’s fine. It’ll help us, especially on mount gagazet
Koneko~is the shopkeep okay?
Kiba~yeah. As soon as you guys left, he collapsed. Kinda like how zabuza and kisame fall after mom scolds them
Tenka~that’s pretty bad…mom, you must’ve really hurt him
Ann~yeah. I’m pretty sure I almost broke something too
Kiba~he said that you did hit the two of them one last time for good measure after they apologized
Ann~I definitely remembered that. Dad yelled at me since he already had to stop me from killing them
Kiba sighed~alright, time to get changed. It’s pretty late and I still need to lay out your other clothes to dry
Koneko~will you tell us how grandpa got excommunicated?
Ann~tomorrow. You already had a story
Reiketsu~but mom, we didn’t know it was a choice we had
Ann~hehe don’t worry. Tomorrow we’ll be taking a break and resting. Once we’re at the calm lands there won’t be much left to explore
Kiba~we’ve been here for about a month…maybe a month and a half. Do you know how long the pilgrimage was?
Ann~dad said both times he went took about a year. He got into a lot of trouble. When we went, we got to zanarkand in about two to three months. Wanted me to see everything first before I was allowed to drag him around to train in a few places for a couple weeks at a time.
Reiketsu~so after this, we’ll just be training?
Ann~yup. Where ever you wanna go, for however long you want. We can stay at the calm lands for a few days too because I know you’ll want to be with the chocobos.

The next morning, ann let her family sleep as she got ready. She went out to the lobby
Ann~morning O’aka.
O’aka~morning m’lady. Wasn’t sure when you was going to be up, so-
Ann~don’t worry. I’ll cook breakfast. We’ll be spending the night again, so the kids can try out some of your weapons.
O’aka~they fight too? Well course they do. They’re your kids after all
Ann~yup. My uncle helped train them when I’m not around
O’aka paled and stuttered
Ann~don’t worry. They’re not as violent or as strong as me. You shouldn’t have to worry about getting hurt by any of them. Although, try not to stare at my daughter for too long, or else reiketsu will stare daggers into you
O’aka~why’d I stare at her? I ain’t me brother
Ann~you’ll understand when you meet them. Oh, will wantz be joining us?
O’aka~aye, he will. I’ll not tell’im you’re here
Ann~awww, thanks O’aka. This way I can scare him and make sure he doesn’t touch my baby girl
O’aka~that’s the idea m’lady. 20 years is too soon to have another beating like that
Ann giggled~don’t worry. The only ones who got a beating was brother and buddy. Go ahead and wake the kids and my husband in an hour. We’ll do some shopping after we eat
O’aka nodded and bowed as ann went to the kitchen to cook.

After a while, ann called out, so O’aka went off to gather his guests and brother
Wantz~oi, why’d you let these guys stay the night eh? This isn’t an inn anymore
They stepped into the kitchen area and wantz paled
Ann~good morning everyone!
Reiketsu~shut up mom
Ann hit him over the head
Ann~I let you sleep in. don’t make me regret it brat
He grunted as he took his spot at the table. Ann walked around to lead her hosts to the table
Ann~I didn’t get a chance to introduce my family yesterday. My husband, kiba, and our triplets reiketsu, tenka, and koneko.
she sat the two down and lingered a moment next to wantz
Ann~if you touch my daughter, I won’t stand idly by like sir auron had for you. He knew that if I did it myself I would have the satisfaction of punishing you myself and he wouldn’t accidentally kill you otherwise
Ann went to take her seat between kiba and reiketsu
Ann~go eat before breakfast is cold. We still need to train.

After breakfast and selecting new weapons, ann and the kids went off to train outside. Kiba stuck around inside but stayed by the window. Wantz had grabbed O’aka
Wantz~why di’n’t you tell me lady ann was ‘ere?!
O’aka~cuz you ******** it up royally years ago! Who am I to stop her revenge?
Wantz~cuz it was years ago!
Kiba~a tip then
Wantz~huh?
Kiba~ann does this back home to some friends over stuff while we were five
Wantz~she holds grudges for that long?!
Kiba~not at all. She’s already forgiven those. She does this revenge thing for amusement. In your case wantz, take her threats seriously, but just play along. She won’t hurt you unless you cross the line, so just don’t give her a reason for her think otherwise
O’aka~you sure have a lot of trust. The two of you must’ve been together for years. You must be the same sweetheart
Wantz~you’re the exact opposite of her
Kiba~not really. She’s just more hotheaded than me that I come across as level.
O’aka~ever been on the receiving end?
Kiba~hardly. Only when I don’t let her do something that may not end well
Wantz~then why still let her threaten me?
Kiba~you did grope her when she was 13. Our kids are turning ten this October
Wantz~I didn’t know she was 13! The aura she let off made her seem older
Kiba~well you know now our kids are only 9
Wantz~aye…

Reiketsu~these swords are heavier
Ann~do you need something lighter?
Reiketsu scoffed and swung full force at her. She blocked the attack with her own sword then kicked him away
Ann~tenka, how’s this spear?
He lunged at her then swung the other end to try to hit her from behind
Tenka~I like that it’s double-ended like this. It’s easier to balance too
It made contact, causing ann to stumble forward into koneko’s attack. She quickly regained balance and hopped over her daughter
Ann~how’re yours?
Koneko~they feel a bit weird. A good weird
Ann~heavy, light, full of energy?
She swung her sword and koneko hopped over it and immediately charged in. when her strike hit ann’s sword, it burst into flames
Ann~full of energy! Like mine
Koneko~wait-
Ann’s sword frosted over, and she kicked koneko back. The other two came over
Reiketsu~our weapons can be elemental? This would have made fighting those flans easier!
Ann~but then you wouldn’t have been as good with your magic.
Reiketsu~but then we wouldn’t have to worry about our energy consumption!
Koneko~mom has a point though
Reiketsu was about to yell again until tenka hit him to listen
Koenko~don’t you remember mom said her magic sucked because she always missed with the stronger spells? We can cast the third level spells without any issues
Ann~yup. Your grandpa taught me too much too early and I didn’t bother with perfecting the basics of magic thinking I’d get it along the way. There are a lot of fiends resistant to physical attacks and using a skill to make them unresistant takes a lot out of you after a while. Trust me.
Reiketsu~and if we are stronger than you?
Ann~you’d have beaten me already
He screamed and swung at her
Ann~he is so much like zabuza. He might be a carrier if he doesn’t gain the ability in a few years
After a few minutes kiba came out since their sparring became too one-sided
Kiba~alright guys, take a break. It looks like you’re going to go too far
Reiketsu~mom started it…
Kiba~and you don’t have to take the bait either. You know she does this to uncle as well
Reiketsu grumbled but nodded
Ann~let’s go in and warm up a bit. The three of you can help the brothers do some heavy lifting before we train again
Tenka~what will we train next?
Ann~well, since you guys now know about the weapons, I’ll teach you how to use that whenever you want.
Inside, they sat down for a bit before O’aka came over
O’aka~all tuckered out?
Kiba~no, just trying to prevent a serious injury
O’aka~I see…well, since you’re here, like some tea?
Ann~that’d be lovely. Kids, will you go help?
Reiketsu sighed but got up anyway. The other two nodded and followed
O’aka~d-did I see that right? One o’ your kids…I thought I was seeing things at breakfast?
Ann~Nope, she has cat ears and a tail.
O’aka~but you said they’s triplets
Ann~they are. They’re not identical.
O’aka~I see…and they won’t…
Ann~they’re more behaved than I was, but they’re still kids, so they will get into trouble.
He nodded then ran off to the kitchen
Kiba~why’d you make him panic?
Ann~wanted to nap
Kiba~haha alright. You go do that then. I’ll keep the peace
O’aka~you kids doing okay?
Tenka~wantz won’t help us make tea
Wantz~I ain’t risking nothing
O’aka~they’s behave better than lady ann. Just keep your hands to yourself
He hit his younger brother and moved him to get to the teapot. He handed it off to one of the triplets before grabbing some tea leaves
Koneko~won’t mom hurt your for talking about her like that?
O’aka~aye, she will, but she said that herself. You can use that tray to carry out the cups
She placed the cups on the indicated tray
Tenka~wantz, how did you not know mom was 13?
Wantz~she was almost as tall as the gullwings. I didn’t think she was that much younger than them. Not to mention the way she acted and her aura felt adult like
Reiketsu~you do know that she’s killed before, right?
Wantz~what do you mean?
Koneko~I don’t think that’s something we should tell them. Mom doesn’t share that information unless she’s scaring someone.
Reiketsu~all the more reason to
Wantz paled, and O’aka sighed
Tenka~if you two really want to hear stories of home, just ask mom. Brother will exaggerate just to see you fidget.
Wantz~I don’t really want to know what she could have done
Koneko~or will do
She gave a sly grin and her brothers chuckled at the thought
O’aka~you’s gonna blackmail us, huh?
Koneko~I know that offer you made was only for mom and grandpa, so we want something else
Wantz~what can we give that you don’t already have?
Reiketsu~we’ll think of something. If you refuse, I only have to hurt kitty and she can blame it on you
Koneko~why do I still need to get hurt?
Tenka~needs to be believable
Koneko~oh…I get some of your snacks if we need to do that
The both nodded. O’aka and wantz sighed but agreed to their terms knowing they won’t be able to get out of it without creating a bigger mess first.

The rest of the day went smoothly and without any mishaps from anyone. When the triplets were being tucked in that night, koneko smacked ann’s arm
Ann~yes kitty?
Koneko~what did grandpa do at the temple?
Ann~helped kill a summoner
Reiketsu~he did? I thought he was soft
Ann~no. he just doesn’t prance around saying he can kill a person
Tenka~is that how grandpa got lady yuna and them excommunicated?
Ann~haha yeah. Being the cynic he is, he told me that the others were kinda baffled at how calm he was about it all
Reketsu~that sounds like him
Tenka~then how did the temple sink?
Ann~the pyreflies in the temple and the fayth were the cause of the lake never melting. Since sin is no longer a threat and was the main reason for needing the fayth to begin with, the temple eventually lost power and sank
Koneko~not as exciting as I thought…go back to grandpa killing the summoner
Ann~well, this summoner was also a master, so that was double bad. He wanted to marry yuna but didn’t want her to continue her pilgrimage. They fought, and he died.
Tenka~must’ve either been a jerk or evil
Ann~evil. He murdered his father
The three looked down as the words sank in
Kiba~I think that’s enough for tonight
Ann~yeah. It turned out well in the end. Yuna was able to send the guy and she finished her pilgrimage bringing the eternal calm. What happened in between are stupid details of grandpa causing more trouble
Koneko~how can you cause more trouble than killing a maester?
Ann~sabotaging the wedding
The three looked at her funny
Ann~another story for different night
They groaned as they got comfortable under the sheets, knowing their mother wouldn’t change her mind. Ann and kiba sat at the table for a while to make sure they had fallen asleep
Kiba~that event was a lot more serious than you put it out to be
Ann~politics and religion were the same thing at the time. To dad, he was just reliving his first pilgrimage. To me, it was something that could had been avoided had they been able to do what we can
Kiba~yeah. That’s true, but what can you do now? Like you said, it was all worked out. Probably not right away like if you had influence, but it got resolved.
Ann~yeah, it did. Let’s get some rest. We’re going to bevelle tomorrow. Its’ not far from here so we can go straight to the calm lands after.