The next morning...
CLANG!CLANG! CLANG!
The deafening crash of a wooden mallet striking a brass gong shattered the peaceful morning silence, echoing through the long wooden corridors of the Mizuki estate.
"Wake up! Wake up, my sweet sons! Time to wake uuuup!" Yako chanted in a cheerful, sing-song voice.
Still holding the massive gong, she slid open the door to their bedroom, fully prepared to drag a sleepy six-year-old and a lazy fox out of bed. But as she looked inside, her cheerful chanting died in her throat.
The room was completely empty. Furthermore, the thick futon had already been meticulously folded and tucked neatly away in the corner, looking as if no one had even slept there at all.
Yako blinked, her mallet hovering mid-swing. "Are? Arererere?" she murmured in utter confusion, tilting her head so far her fox ears twitched. "Where did my precious Ren-chan and little Konyo go?"
"AH! What happened?! Intruders?!"
Suddenly, the paper doors slid open with a violent bang as Ren barged into the hallway. He had his heavy steel sword raised high above his head, his eyes fiercely scanning the room for a threat. Right behind him, Kon trotted in completely unbothered, yawning lazily as he was already far too used to his mother's deafening morning antics.
"Arararara? Ren-chan? What are you doing with a sword?" Yako pressed a delicate finger to her cheek and tilted her head cutely, completely ignoring the fact that she was still holding a massive mallet and a brass gong.
"Um? Yako-kaasan? There are no intruders?" Ren asked, blinking his battle-ready eyes in utter confusion.
"Ara? How could there possibly be intruders with Mama here?" Yako chuckled softly, radiating an aura of confidence. "Now, what is a little child like you doing awake so early?"
Hearing this, Ren let out a breath and smoothly slid the steel blade back into its sheath. He looked up at Yako sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. "Ah... I was just out in the yard doing my morning sword training."
"Oya? Sword training, you say?" Yako's golden eyes took on a soft, nostalgic gleam. "I remember little Shiori used to practice swordsmanship every morning, too. Hmm... but if I remember correctly, she certainly didn't use a heavy European blade like yours," she commented, gesturing toward the straight, double-edged sword strapped to the six-year-old's waist.
"Um... they only had these types of swords back at the Ritsuzen estate," Ren explained, glancing down at his heavy hilt. He looked back up at her earnestly. "Should I switch to a nihonto?"
"Well... I don't think it matters! A sword is a sword, after all. No difference!" Yako chirped brightly. "They just go swish, swish, swish, right?"
She cheerfully mimicked a few clumsy sword swings with an invisible blade, making exaggerated sound effects with her mouth. It was immediately obvious that the ancient Yokai Sage possessed absolutely zero knowledge about the nuances of human martial arts.
"Well, anyway! Today, let's go to Yasaka-chan's place to pay our respects." Yako easily put the topic of swords to rest, switching back to the actual reason she had woken them up with a gong.
"Yasaka?" Ren asked in confusion. Down by his feet, Kon suddenly looked incredibly gloomy, his ears flattening against his head.
"Yasaka is the leader of the Kyoto Yokai Faction," Yako explained, her playful tone shifting into something far more solemn. "Listen closely, Ren-chan. You are a part of the supernatural world now. It is an unwritten rule to always inform the local leaders of your presence, lest they take your sudden arrival the wrong way and assume you are a threat."
"Mm!" Ren nodded firmly, committing the lesson to memory.
"Ugh..." Kon groaned softly, completely wrapped in a dark aura of misery.
In truth, Kon and the esteemed Yasaka were childhood friends, but time and status had slowly driven a wedge between them. The root of that distance was Kon's own crippling inferiority complex. Yasaka was a pure-blooded Heavenly Kitsune, possessing the most noble and powerful bloodline in the entire fox race.
Kon, on the other hand, was a half-breed born of a common Field Fox and a Heavenly Fox. The mixed bloodline had drastically stunted his spiritual talent. Although his mother was a legendary Yokai Sage, Yako was considered a once-in-a-millennia anomaly among the Field Foxes. Unfortunately, Kon had inherited almost none of her monstrous potential, leaving him with nothing but the ability to conjure fox fires and some spiritual techniques.
**********
After a quick but hearty breakfast, the trio set off toward the hidden heart of the supernatural world: Inner Kyoto.
Stepping through the shimmering, invisible barrier that separated the human realm from the Yokai domain, the atmosphere instantly shifted. The ancient, cobblestone streets began to hum with an unusual, chaotic mix of monstrous roars and the lively shouts of merchants.
Lining the sides of the bustling thoroughfare were vendors sporting twitching fox ears, fluffy rabbit tails, and twisting Oni horns. Ren even spotted bizarre oddities, like a one-eyed paper umbrella stubbornly haggling with a merchant over the price of oil. All around them, animated iron pans, chipped teacups, and floating swords bounced along the road, perusing the displayed wares with a vibrant liveliness that easily rivalled any human marketplace. High above on the curved rooftops, vigilant figures with sharp, avian beaks and pitch-black crow wings patrolled the tiles, keeping a strict, watchful eye over the chaotic scene below.
"Woah..." Ren breathed in absolute wonder, his wide eyes reflecting the fantastical sights.
"Hehe! Welcome to the Kyoto Inner City," Kon introduced proudly from his perch on Ren's shoulder, his previous gloom already completely forgotten in the face of his hometown's glory.
"It's amazing, isn't it, Ren-chan?" Yako commented softly from his side, a warm, maternal smile on her lips as she watched the pure, childish awe etched onto his face. "Now then, let's go see Yasaka-chan!"
Taking Ren's small hand in hers, Yako cheerfully led the way toward the grand, towering palace situated at the very centre of the bustling city.
A short walk later, the trio arrived at the gates of a sprawling, majestic compound. It boasted pristine white walls and elegant, sweeping roofs that stacked toward the sky like the tiers of a grand pagoda.
"Halt! Unauthorized personnel may not enter the Tenko-jō!" barked a stern voice. A heavily armed Karasu Tengu, standing guard at the castle's massive wooden gates, crossed his spear to block their path.
"Ara, ara. No need to be so tense," Yako hummed playfully.
Reaching into her kimono sleeve, she produced a smooth, gleaming plaque carved from flawless green jade. The edges were intricately etched with lifelike foxes dancing among the clouds, while two bold kanji characters were engraved dead in the centre: 野狐 (Yako).
The Tengu snatched the plaque, his sharp eyes examining it strictly. But the exact moment his brain registered who the name belonged to, every single feather on his body stood on end. A torrential downpour of cold sweat instantly burst from his forehead.
"H-here you go, Yako-sama!" the guard stuttered in sheer terror, violently thrusting the plaque back into her hands and bowing at a perfect ninety-degree angle. "P-please, go right in!"
There was absolutely no way he was going to risk drawing the ire of the supernatural world's most infamous prankster.
"Fufu~" Covering her mouth with a delicate hand, Yako shot the trembling guard a playful wink before confidently leading Ren and Kon through the grand gates.
Seeing that wink, the Tengu snapped to attention, standing as rigid as a board. The cold sweat was now flowing down his feathered face like a literal waterfall as he silently prayed to the gods she hadn't just placed a hex on him.
**********
Deep inside the Tenko-jō...
Yako confidently led Ren and Kon through the winding, polished corridors toward the Faction Leader's personal quarters.
"Yasaka-chaaaan!" Yako sang at the top of her lungs, her voice echoing off the ancient wooden walls. "Mama Yako is here to visit youuu!"
Inside a dimly lit office, Yasaka sat at a heavy wooden desk, entirely buried under mountains of paperwork. She was a stunningly voluptuous woman, elegantly draped in a yellow and black floral kimono. Her brilliant blonde hair cascaded down her back like liquid sunlight. Her eyes, a warm and radiant gold to match her hair, were currently narrowed in deep, exhausted concentration as she read through a scroll. Behind her, nine massive, luxurious golden tails swished rhythmically back and forth.
But at the sudden sound of that sing-song voice echoing down the hall, the rhythmic swishing completely stopped.
Every single hair on Yasaka's nine tails stood straight on end. Her golden eyes widened, slowly filling with dread as the ink brush slipped from her trembling fingers.
'It's that woman again,' the supremely powerful Faction Leader thought, a cold shiver of apprehension running down her spine.
BANG! The heavy wooden doors to the office slid open violently. Yako unceremoniously invited herself inside. "Ara? Yasaka-chan, still doing paperwork?" she teased, taking in the exhausted state of the Faction Leader.
"Ugh..." Having her sore spot so casually poked, a dark, depressed aura settled over Yasaka. How she wished she could be like this infuriating woman—carefree, without a single worry, traveling the world and frolicking wherever she pleased.
'And whose fault do you think all this paperwork is?!' Yasaka thought angrily, her eye twitching. A massive portion of the apology letters on her desk were a direct result of Yako's international pranking sprees, which constantly caused diplomatic nightmares for the Kyoto Faction.
"Maa, maa. Put down the brush for a second. I've got someone to introduce to you." Seeing Yasaka's murderous glare, Yako quickly switched the topic. She stepped aside, finally allowing Ren and the little fox on his shoulder to come into view.
"Konyo-chan..." Yasaka murmured softly, her golden eyes locking onto the small spirit fox. A complicated, bittersweet emotion washed over her. She had always thought of Kon as a precious younger brother and cherished him deeply, but as the years had passed, his insecurities had caused their once-close bond to deteriorate into an awkward silence.
"Y-yo," Kon squeaked, raising a single paw in an incredibly stiff, awkward wave. He rigidly averted his eyes, clearly embarrassed to be face-to-face with his childhood friend.
"Yasaka-oba-chan," Ren greeted solemnly. The six-year-old stepped forward and executed a flawless, highly respectful ninety-degree bow.
"Oba-chan?!" Yasaka screeched in absolute horror, the respectful title striking her right in the heart like a physical arrow. 'Do I really look old enough to be called Aunty?!'
"Pfft... HAHAHAHAHA!" Yako threw her head back and laughed uproariously, wiping a tear from her eye at Ren's accidental, yet lethal, critical hit.
After finally recovering from her laughing fit, Yako gestured proudly to the boy. "This is Ren-chan. Shiori's child."
"Oh?" Hearing that name instantly sobered Yasaka up. Pushing past the trauma of being called "Aunty," she leaned forward over her desk, focusing her glowing golden gaze intently on the boy. "He really does have her eyes," she murmured softly.
Although Mizuki Shiori had come from a relatively minor Onmyoji lineage, she had become good friends with Yasaka years ago through Yako's chaotic introductions.
Then, a sweet, terrifyingly forceful smile spread across the Faction Leader's beautiful face. "Ren-chan. It is Onee-san by the way," she corrected him smoothly, absolutely determined to rewrite his perception of her age.
"O-oh. Yasaka-onee-san!" Ren squeaked. Seeing the genuinely murderous, Oni-like aura radiating from the beautiful woman, he quickly nodded his head in fearful agreement.
"Good." Yasaka nodded, looking quite pleased with herself. Her golden eyes then flicked back to Yako. "Now, what have you actually brought him here for?"
'This woman wouldn't bring a child here without an ulterior motive. Just for an introduction? A woman as chaotic as Yako doesn't care a single bit about formal etiquette,' Yasaka reasoned silently.
"Maa, maa. No need to be so stiff. You will really turn into an oba-san if you keep frowning like that," Yako teased mercilessly. Ignoring Yasaka's fiercely twitching eyebrow, she finally revealed her true reason. "Ren-chan has already started learning swordsmanship, and he possesses a rudimentary understanding of Ki and spiritual power. I am here today to ask for a little favour. Can you arrange for someone to properly train him?"
"Oh?" Intrigued by the sudden request, she closed her eyes and extended her spiritual senses toward the six-year-old boy. The moment her energy brushed against his, her eyes snapped open in genuine shock.
'Such terrifying quantity and quality!' she thought, feeling the dense, powerful energies swirling within his small frame. Recovering her regal composure, she nodded firmly. "I will arrange it."
Ah..." Ren hesitated slightly, completely overwhelmed by how quickly things were moving, before nodding his head frantically. "Thank you, Yasaka-oba... no! Onee-san! And thank you, Yako-kaasan!"
Deeply moved by Yako's thoughtful request and Yasaka's immediate acquiescence, a warm feeling of gratitude blossomed in the young boy's chest.
Yako smiled softly, reaching down to gently ruffle the boy's hair. Behind the desk, Yasaka merely hummed in amusement, the towering stacks of faction paperwork momentarily forgotten.
'Tsumugi-nee... I will get stronger quickly, and then I will find you!' Ren thought determinedly, his small hands clenching into tight fists at his sides.