The stars above Kyoto bathed the heart of the Youkai in a quiet light.
But deep inside the temple...
in Tamamo's office...
an aura reigned that would have killed weaker beings instantly.
The floor beneath Tamamo's feet cracked slightly.
The air vibrated with power.
Even Akio was forced down to one knee by that force.
Tamamo's eyes glowed with rage.
"How dare those snakes..."
Her voice was cold as ice.
"...set their sights on my daughters."
The windows of the room trembled.
"Have they forgotten..."
"...why the Kitsune lead the Youkai?"
Her nine tails moved slowly behind her.
"Perhaps they need to be reminded..."
"...why they are our servants."
Akio fought against the pressure of the aura.
Her ears were pressed flat against her head.
Her eight tails lay flat on the ground.
A rare sign of submission.
"My lady..."
Her voice was calm.
"Please calm yourself."
"If you keep increasing your aura..."
"...even the barrier of this room will break."
She raised her gaze.
"Airi and Kaguya would not survive that power."
Tamamo froze.
For a moment, the room was completely silent.
Then her aura slowly weakened.
The pressure disappeared.
Akio was able to stand again.
Tamamo's gaze remained cold.
"Good."
"Then at the next council meeting..."
"...we will remind the clans of their limits."
Her eyes gleamed.
"They have forgotten their place."
That Same Night — Inside the Temple
Through the silent corridors, two small vixens moved carefully through the shadows.
One with fiery red hair.
The other with blonde hair.
Their fox ears twitched constantly as they picked up every sound around them.
"Big sister..."
Kaguya whispered nervously.
"Why don't we just go back to sleep?"
She looked around uncertainly.
"If Mommy or Akio catch us, you'll get house arrest again."
"Why do you absolutely have to go into the city?"
Airi only grinned.
"You didn't spend two years under house arrest like I did."
She crossed her arms.
"I finally want to go into the city."
Her eyes sparkled.
"I've heard the district is especially beautiful at night."
She leaned a little closer to her sister.
"And I heard from a maid..."
"...that a man arrived today in the human district."
"His name is Oda Nobunaga."
Kaguya blinked.
Airi's grin widened.
"He's trying to unite all of Japan under one banner."
For a moment, her expression turned thoughtful.
Oda Nobunaga was a great man...
But he would never fully achieve his goal.
I want to see the real person.
If I already have the chance.
Kaguya tugged nervously at her sleeve.
"But sister..."
"We can't leave the Youkai part of Kyoto."
"The humans will immediately see that we're Kitsune."
Airi was already standing on the temple wall.
She was just about to jump over it.
Then she turned around and tilted her head.
Her face showed a confused expression.
"Why don't you just transform into a human?"
"A girl of fifteen or sixteen."
"That was my plan."
Kaguya looked down shyly.
She nervously played with her fingers.
"Sister..."
"I'm not that good at it yet."
"When I get nervous... my ears always pop back out."
"So we should probably not do that."
Airi laughed softly.
Then she grabbed Kaguya's arm.
"No problem."
In the next moment, she jumped over the wall with her.
"As long as we're together..."
"...nothing can happen."
Just as the two little vixens disappeared over the wall...
a guard came around the corner.
A member of the Dog Clan.
He stopped for a moment.
"Hm..."
"I thought I heard something."
He looked around briefly.
But then he shook his head and kept walking.
The night over Kyoto remained quiet.
At least for the moment.
On the Way to the Human District
While Kaguya led Airi through Kyoto's Youkai district, the two of them moved through dark side streets and shadows.
Their steps were quiet.
Their ears twitched at every sound.
"Sister..."
Kaguya whispered nervously.
"We should turn back."
Airi was still holding her hand.
But as she kept walking, her body slowly began to change.
Her form grew.
Her facial features became older.
Only a few seconds later, she had taken the shape of a young woman of about eighteen.
Kaguya stopped and looked at her.
"I think..."
She tilted her head slightly.
"...we should transform into old women instead."
Airi blinked.
"Why?"
Kaguya clasped her hands nervously.
"If we appear in the human district like this..."
"...the men will probably not have good intentions toward us."
Without hesitation, she began her own transformation.
Her body shrank slightly.
Her back became more hunched.
Her hair turned gray.
Only a moment later, an old country woman of about sixty stood there.
Airi looked at her.
Then she sighed.
"You're right."
She let her own transformation continue.
Her form aged.
Her back bent slightly.
"Young women drew too much attention."
She shook her head lightly.
"And the talk about bees and flowers was very interesting..."
"...but that can wait a little longer."
Kaguya nodded in agreement.
"Yes."
"That can wait, sister."
So the two of them finally continued on.
Slowly they left the Youkai district...
and entered the human district of Kyoto.
The lights of the city sparkled in the night.
And somewhere in this city...
there was a man named Oda Nobunaga.
The Entertainment District
When they finally entered the human district, Airi quickly noticed something.
The exit they had used...
led directly into Kyoto's pleasure district.
The streets were full of people.
Samurai walked between the buildings.
Some of them sat on terraces and talked with women.
Most of those women were between eighteen and thirty-five years old.
Laughter, music, and voices filled the night.
But among all those sounds, Airi heard something else.
Something... very clearly.
Kaguya suddenly nudged her.
"Sister..."
She frowned in confusion.
"What are those moaning sounds I hear coming from almost all the houses?"
Airi sighed inwardly.
Why do Kitsune have to have such ridiculously good hearing...
I really do not want to hear forty different women moaning all at once.
She leaned slightly toward her sister.
"Sister..."
"That's nothing you need to know right now."
She cleared her throat.
"That will only become interesting when we're older."
Then she looked around.
"But thanks for the idea about turning into old women."
"Otherwise, we'd have a very different problem right now."
A few meters away stood a samurai.
His katana hung calmly at his side.
Airi walked straight toward him.
"My lord samurai..."
As she spoke, she discreetly cast a small charm spell on him.
The samurai immediately looked at her kindly.
"Where can I find Lord Oda Nobunaga?"
The samurai answered without hesitation.
"He is at the House of the Kitsune."
For a moment, Airi and Kaguya froze.
Both of them nearly fell over at the same time.
"...Uh."
Airi cleared her throat.
"Thank you."
She lifted the spell and sent the samurai on his way.
Then she looked at her sister.
The two of them stood in silence for several seconds.
"The House of... the Kitsune...?"
Airi suddenly felt a bad feeling in her stomach.
Please...
Please don't let there be any real Kitsune in there.
If Mom finds out I was in a Kitsune brothel...
I'm dead.
The two old women slowly made their way forward.
Directly toward the House of the Kitsune.
And Airi could not shake the feeling...
that this night was going to become much more complicated.
The House of the Kitsune
When the two of them finally stood in front of the House of the Kitsune, Airi suddenly stopped.
Her nose twitched slightly.
The scent was unmistakable.
Kitsune.
Several of them.
And loud sounds came from inside the building.
Laughter.
Music.
...and a lot of moaning.
Airi slowly turned pale.
I am so dead.
Now I also know why the maid knew that Oda Nobunaga was here.
She probably works here.
She sighed inwardly.
I know Kitsune are creatures of charm and desire, but why are we running an entire brothel...?
Beside her, Kaguya looked around nervously.
"Sister..."
Airi looked at her.
"Yes?"
Kaguya whispered softly.
"Do you feel it too... that someone is watching us?"
Airi nodded slowly.
"Yes."
She swallowed.
"And I think I know who."
Kaguya giggled softly.
"You mean Lady Shizuka?"
"Why are you saying that so fearfully?"
"She's only our dance and language teacher."
She smiled.
"Nothing will happen to us."
Airi turned even paler.
"Easy for you to say..."
She sighed.
"Come on. Let's just go in."
"We've already been discovered anyway."
The two of them were just about to head for the door...
when suddenly two hands landed on their shoulders.
Both froze.
Slowly, they turned around.
Behind them stood an elegant woman.
Long silver hair.
Calm violet eyes.
Even in human form, she radiated a powerful aura.
Lady Shizuka.
The seven-tailed Kitsune.
She looked at both of them calmly.
Then she raised an eyebrow.
"May I ask..."
Her voice was calm, but very strict.
"...what two of my students are doing in the middle of the night in Kyoto's pleasure district?"
Airi and Kaguya stood completely still.
Shizuka studied them briefly.
Then she sighed lightly.
"Especially..."
Her gaze narrowed.
"...when you are both far too young to have any business here at all."
Airi swallowed.
Kaguya smiled nervously.
Shizuka crossed her arms.
"So."
"Would one of you like to explain..."
"...why Lady Tamamo's daughters are standing in front of my brothel at night?"
Airi had only one thought.
I'm dead.
If Mother hears about this...
I'm really dead.
Shizuka sighed again.
Then she turned around.
"You are both coming with me now."
"And after that, I am taking both of you back to the temple."
She paused briefly.
"Before your mother realizes..."
"...that her two little vixens are missing."
Airi whispered softly to Kaguya:
"This is going to be worse than house arrest..."
Back at the Temple
Just as Tamamo had finally calmed down again, there was a knock on the door to her office.
"Come in."
The door opened.
Lady Shizuka entered.
In each hand she was holding one small vixen.
Airi.
And Kaguya.
Tamamo and Akio stared at them.
Their eyes slowly widened.
Tamamo looked at Akio.
"Akio..."
She let out a heavy sigh.
"I think she broke my record."
Akio nodded slowly.
"I believe so too."
She looked at the two girls.
Then at Shizuka.
"And if Lady Shizuka has appeared here in person..."
She crossed her arms.
"...then they were in the human district."
She raised an eyebrow.
"In front of the House of the Kitsune."
Then she looked directly at Airi.
"Why, Airi?"
"Can't you stay quiet for even a single day?"
She sighed.
"What was it this time?"
"Five hours of freedom?"
As she spoke, new cracks slowly formed in the ground beneath Tamamo's feet.
Her aura became dangerous again.
Then she suddenly looked at Kaguya.
Her voice became calmer, and somehow even more dangerous.
"Airi..."
"Please tell me..."
"...that you did not drag your little sister into this."
"Kaguya would never do something like this on her own."
Airi and Kaguya looked at each other.
Then they did something at the same time.
They grabbed each other's hands.
They huddled close together.
Their fox ears flattened backward.
Both lightly bit their lower lips.
And looked at their mother with their biggest, saddest eyes.
The ultimate attack.
The puppy-dog eyes.
Tamamo froze.
Akio suddenly held a hand to her chest.
Shizuka briefly closed her eyes.
"...This technique..."
she whispered,
"...is more dangerous than any demonic aura."
Tamamo visibly fought against it.
Her eyes twitched.
Her shoulders trembled.
Then she abruptly turned around.
"Akio."
"Take these two..."
She took a deep breath.
"...out of my sight."
Akio grinned slightly.
"Of course, my lady."
Then she looked at the two little vixens.
"Come along, you two."
"Before your mother changes her mind."
Airi whispered softly to Kaguya:
"That worked."
Kaguya nodded proudly.
Tamamo muttered quietly to herself:
"I should ban that technique..."
Shizuka only smiled faintly.
"Unfortunately, Lady Tamamo..."
"...it lies in the blood of the Kitsune."