#if she's easy to persuade then it necessitates that there's someone persuading her

[fideidefenswhore]

His 'merciful inclination and princely heart' meant he was always ready to 'take pity and compassion on all offenders repentantly crying'. In the case of his daughter, since she was, 'frail, inconstant and easy to be persuaded,' he would be glad to remit some of his displeasure.

The King’s Pearl: Henry VIII & His Daughter Mary, Melita Thomas

[auncyen]

What do you think Kamiizumi and Minette's life together is like after BS? I never found any fanfiction of them. Can you be the first?

I need to apologize a little--ideas for individual scenes weren’t hard, but the flow didn’t quite come.  This will probably need to be continued at some point for a more definitive conclusion.  But I didn’t want to leave you waiting, either.  SO.

Tsubaki padded along the boat without ever once losing his footing in spite of the waves rocking it.  For a cat to lack such grace would be unthinkable.  He had a few years tipping his whiskers, but he still had pride--and besides that, two masters who would be dismayed were he to start showing age.

Master Kamiizumi gave his head a light scratching when he walked by, callused fingers reaching behind his ears, and Tsubaki purred his satisfaction.  Though the swordmaster was steering the boat, the man was always observant and well capable of double tasking for important matters.

His other master, Minette Napkatti, sat only a foot away, humming happily as she awaited a bite on the fishing pole.  Or at least she was humming, until her head tilted toward Tsubaki's purr.  Then she glanced his direction and saw how his tail was swishing in lazy delight, head pressed into Master Kamiizumi's grasp.

Tsubaki knew well what would happen next, but he still could not resist creasing his eyes shut and letting out an exceptionally loud purr.

"Kameowzumi," Minette all but cried.  "Don't leave me-out!"

The swordmaster chuckled.  "I have only two hands, Minette," he said, and of course, between petting a cat and steering a boat carrying the three of them, steering the boat won out (narrowly).  So Tsubaki accepted it when Master Kamiizumi stopped scratching him to pat Minette's head.  He stopped paying them any mind at all, instead nonchalantly cleaning his leg as some seawater had sprayed onto his paw.  He wasn't going to get jealous with a kitten, after all.  Oh, Minette did know her way with cats enough to be one herself, and she might be bigger than him, but Tsubaki knew that she wasn't full-grown by human standards.  Still a kitten.  A kitten that squeaked with delight to be given attention.  He wouldn't begrudge her it.

That didn't mean he wouldn't claim whatever attention Kamiizumi had left over, though, and soon enough the swordmaster found himself pinned in his seat between the matter of steering the boat, patting Minette's head as she purred, and having Tsubaki climb into his lap and lazily stretch out over both of the man's thighs.  Tsubaki let himself melt into the warmth, turning his chest and belly toward Kamiizumi and the rays of the sun.  Here, the sea salt spray would barely bother him.  Ah... paradise.

"...I will need to move at some point, Tsubaki."

"Yes," Tsubaki answered, knowing Kamiizumi didn't understand the feline tongue.  His master's only shortcoming.  "And until then, I'm going to sleep."

Minette's purring was interrupted for a moment as she giggled.

That day, and many others like it, were good days.  Kamiizumi now had more time to spend fishing on the water, rather than darting this way and that after his human companions, and Minette was a more skilled fisher than he--as any cat should be, really.  She caught fish for herself and Tsubaki quite easily, and Kamiizumi managed to get his own dinner.  Once they were done for the day, they would meet up with Bismarck a little ways off from the dock and ensure that the big cat had caught enough food to fill his belly too.  Then, they all set off for the cabin Kamiizumi called his own.

"It's so small!" Minette had said the first time she saw it, and it truly was.  Tsubaki did not mind the size when there were rafters to climb and windows to slip out for a while, but he had seen many other human residences and knew it was small by comparison.

"A man should have no less than what he needs, and no more than what he can care for," Kamiizumi explained as he removed his shoes, gesturing for Minette to do the same.  Tsubaki lightly patted the dust of the road off his paws at the entryway, then licked them to make sure they were clean.  "I need very little, and I am frequently away, so a small house suits me fine."  The swordmaster stepped over to the nearest window, opening it to let the sunlight in; Tsubaki could see the specks of dust swirl at the motion.

A moment later, the cat sneezed.  Yes... he imagined the stale air would be even worse in a large house, what with his master's frequent travels.

"It's just, Bismarck won't find it easy to catnap in here," Minette said with a little worry, puffing out her cheeks.  Then her eyes widened to alarm, and Tsubaki's tail went stiff at the pitch her voice reached.  "When mew travel, will mew leave Minette here?!  Please take Minette with!"

Kamiizumi looked from the window to her with a small frown, but thankfully, his tone stayed calm and steadying, letting Tsubaki relax.  "Of course I would let you come with me, Minette.  But you know I do travel at times.  After all, that was how we first met."

"Minette...remembers," the girl said, her eyes casting down to the ground at the reminder.  The first meeting was no longer a proud moment for her.  She swayed on her feet with an awkwardness ill-befitting a cat, and Tsubaki rubbed himself against her legs to get her attention.

"Enough of that," he told Minette firmly.  "We're not strays anymore."  He rubbed his cheek against her again to emphasize that point.  She was his kitten now, just as he was her servant.

She smiled.  "Thank mew, Tsubaki.  I'm sorry."

"There is no need to apologize," Kamiizumi said.  "I know...as does Tsubaki...it can be hard to trust again sometimes.  I would not abandon you, Minette. I have no expectation of needing to travel soon, now that Luxendarc has found peace, but should the occasion arise, I would be glad to have you by my side on the road.  As for Bismarck, the nights are still warm at this time of year, and I shall get started on a shelter for him immediately.  He will not have to sleep in the cold."

Bismarck roared dully from outside.  Tsubaki snickered a little.  The big cat was a little hard to understand with his rumbling calls, but it wasn't hard to tell that anyone would be grateful for shelter.

That time was not the last time Minette worried.  Kamiizumi could not dine solely on fish--and frankly, neither could Minette, even if she tried to insist she could.  Tsubaki did not exactly consider this a bad point of humans when it meant more fish for him, but it did necessitate that Kamiizumi make trips to the nearby village to trade fish and pg for other food.  Minette went with him the first time, and it was no secret to Tsubaki that she was only going to stay near Kamiizumi instead of wanting to actually see the small town; her paws dragged as they approached.

People did not know what to make of a kitten that was both girl and cat.  Oh, they found her feline garb appealing (as they should), but as soon as conversations started, there was confusion at how she spoke, bemusement at the meows interspersing her human speech.  And from some, derision, and then outright laughter.  Minette grew tense with anger, her hands shaking even as her voice broke, and Tsubaki knew she was on the verge of ordering him to attack and unsheathing her own claws.  He was ready for it, too, spitting and yowling with his fur stood up to warn the brats just what a mistake they were making.  It would be better if they backed off before it came to a fight, but he wasn't opposed to raking their smug faces with his claws.

Kamiizumi called them off with a voice as sharp as his blade before they could have the satisfaction.  It made for a strained trip back to the cabin, and Minette had refused to go back to the village since.  Kamiizumi had let the matter go for about a week or so, but following that he had tried to persuade her to come with once more.

"A lion does not flinch from a hyena's laugh."

"Minette's not a lion," the girl grumbled, keeping to the perch she'd found in the rafters, where the beams were strong enough to support her.  "Bismarck's bigger."

Kamiizumi sighed from below, still preparing himself for the road.  "You are a capable young woman, Minette.  Do not let the small-minded bother you, when you could find others who do appreciate you."

Tsubaki caught Minette's dark look from where he sat to watch all, his own corner of the rafters.  Her unhappy eyes said it all: people could be unpredictable, more trouble than they were worth.  He opened his mouth in a faint meow of sympathy.  Most people were entirely too much trouble.  There were some good ones, and he had been lucky enough to find a few of them.  But it was still nice to be able to hide and watch and be alone when he so desired.

Privately he thought Kamiizumi must understand that sentiment somewhat, to live the way he did.  But the man was persistent.  "One who does not wish to be alone must learn how to exist with others."

"Minette's not alone anymore," the girl protested, kicking out and swinging her legs.  Master Kamiizumi caught one foot as he passed underneath, looking at her seriously with his dark eyes.

"Minette.  Come down from there."

Tsubaki looked away when he saw Minette puffing up and began to slink off; this wasn't an argument that concerned him.  And he knew it would be an argument; even if he wasn't looking, he could hear Minette standing up on the rafter, carefully but quickly, so that Master Kamiizumi couldn't touch her.  Claiming every inch of high ground that she could.  Not that the man would have used force, but no self-respecting cat let someone touch them when they didn't wish for it, and she obviously did not right now.  Tsubaki slipped out of the window, letting them hash it out for themselves.

He was unsurprised to see Master Kamiizumi leave the house alone.  The cat trailed after the swordmaster through the tree branches for a moment, gauging the harsh but weary look on the man's face, before he neatly jumped down onto the man's shoulder.  The swordmaster, to his credit, did not jump.  Tsubaki had gotten him quite used to this as a matter of routine.  Going with Kamiizumi meant leaving Minette alone for the same time, but the girl had Bismarck for company, and... well, he did not like seeing either of his masters unhappy.

Kamiizumi let the cat ride on his shoulder, scratching his head gratefully.  "She has so little trust in people that I worry about breaking her faith in me... I see once more why my old friend had so much trouble disciplining a few of his own.  But she needs to learn."

Tsubaki mewed cautious agreement.  Minette was both a cat and a girl; she probably should know some things of humans.  But being a cat himself, he didn't have the first clue of what humans did that was important, let alone any inclination to learn for himself.  It would be up to Kamiizumi to figure that one out.