Friendship? Why did Niamh assume that Katsumi had been requesting friendship? This was not like the days spent in the school yard, or even the thrilling nights roaming through neon washed streets in adolescent rebellion, where a single gesture could bind them together.
"I was speaking of a formal alliance," Katsumi clarified, the brief flashes of memory giving an edge to her voice. "A bond that is formed between two parties for their mutual benefit. It could be something as simple as an assurance that neither of us will act against the interests of the other, or we could specify that a favor is owed to each of us. That way, all expectations are clear, and should we decide that we do not wish to pursue anything more, then there will be an end in sight. If we should decide the opposite, nothing is preventing us from doing so."
Katsumi paused for a beat, and then held up her hand forestalling an answer from Miss Fox. "Do not answer in haste, please. Think on it as I tell you my story. The night is still young. There will be time for your answer later. For now, please, join me."
The bushi gestured to the sand beside her and then waited to see whether Miss Fox would sit or whether she would merely move closer. Or perhaps not even that. Truly, it didn't matter. Mostly, Katsumi just desired a few moments more to gather her center as she considered what story she was going to tell. Finally, however, she decided to simply borrow the words that her Sire had shared with her.
"Almost four hundred years ago, in the season where Amaterasu's reign was felt by the lowliest of peasants and the mightiest of lords, a samurai rode through the hamlet that lay on the edge of his territory. The people lived in poverty, many starving even though they were responsible for butchering all of the meat. The samurai's heart was that of a demon, and when his eyes fell upon one of the butcher's daughters, his hate and lust was inflamed. The atrocities that followed are too numerous to name, though it ended in fire and blood. The father of the murdered daughter vowed that he would seek vengeance against the samurai and all of his descendants, on and on through the ages, unless they proved themselves to be pure. He called upon the foulest magics that he could and the most reviled knowledge in his quest for vengeance, and one night when even Tsukiyomi hid his pale, luminous face, the father found a way to enact his revenge. He became a Kindred, and he preyed upon the ancestors of the samurai for centuries. The samurai was my ancestor."
Katsumi found that she could not continue the story, a bloodthirsty killer though she may be. Hopefully, the water demon would just assume that she had fallen silent to allow for comments, or for artful effect.