Grand Narukami Shrine.
"Kitsune Saiguu?" Yae Miko stood there, stunned, a look of disbelief in her eyes. "Is it really you? Kitsune Saiguu!"
To Yae Miko, Kitsune Saiguu was like an older sister. After learning that Kitsune Saiguu had perished during the calamity, Yae Miko had also sunk into despair for a time. However, unlike Raiden Ei, who had completely sealed herself away in the Plane of Euthymia, Yae Miko had awakened from that nightmare after some time.
"Miko... you've really grown this big." Kitsune Saiguu began to look Yae Miko over. "But, where are your ears?"
"..."
Yae Miko had never imagined that when she saw Kitsune Saiguu again, the first thing Kitsune Saiguu would say to her was "Where are your ears?" Yet, Yae Miko was still filled with joy.
"Kitsune Saiguu, you're teasing me again." In Yae Miko's memories, Kitsune Saiguu loved to tease her the most. Back then, she was just a little fox who couldn't handle Kitsune Saiguu's teasing at all.
Sister Makoto had actually resurrected Kitsune Saiguu; this was quite surprising to Yae Miko. But since even Raiden Makoto, who had passed away during the calamity, had returned, it stood to reason that Kitsune Saiguu would return as well, didn't it?
"Back then, you were just a little fox being held by Makoto, weren't you? In the blink of an eye, you're now taller than me." Kitsune Saiguu's tone was gentle. The two fluffy ears atop her head began to twitch, and the fluffy tail behind her was swaying.
She was very happy right now.
For Kitsune Saiguu, it was as if she had simply slept for a while. She had no idea what had happened over the past five hundred years; she only knew that after she woke up, she saw her best friend, Raiden Makoto.
"It's just that you don't look like a Fox Spirit at all right now." Kitsune Saiguu remarked with some emotion. Yae Miko looked exactly like a human, with no fox ears on her head and no tail to be seen behind her.
"I was never a Fox Spirit to begin with, Kitsune Saiguu. The Fox Spirit of Inazuma has always been you..." Yae Miko never considered herself a Fox Spirit; she was merely the Guuji of the Grand Narukami Shrine and a retainer of the Electro Archon, Beelzebul.
Because of Kitsune Saiguu's passing, all the Celestial Kitsune and Earth Kitsune of Inazuma had fallen into a deep slumber. Now, she was the only fox left in Inazuma who was still active.
"If you want to see my true form, Kitsune Saiguu... it's not impossible..." Yae Miko's pretty face flushed slightly. As two pink, fluffy ears appeared atop her head, her pink-furred tail also emerged from behind her.
She had done that only to better integrate into the human world, which was why she had hidden the marks of her fox heritage.
Raiden Makoto looked at Yae Miko, who now displayed her fox features. Why did she feel that Yae Miko had gone from her original pure-yet-alluring style to something even cuter?
"Mmm..."
Being watched by the sisters Raiden Makoto and Raiden Ei, as well as Kitsune Saiguu and Hanachirusato, Yae Miko felt incredibly embarrassed. However, since this was Kitsune Saiguu's first request upon meeting her, she had no choice but to comply.
"Hahahaha, not bad, not bad."
"Miko, you're very cute." Kitsune Saiguu stepped forward and rubbed Yae Miko's fox ears. "I just wonder..."
Were Yae Miko's fox ears as sensitive as her own?
"Eep..." Yae Miko's pretty face turned even redder, and she even let out an indescribable sound.
"Miko... so this is what Miko is like?" Raiden Ei finally discovered her friend's true colors. "My old friend, because she revealed her fox form, she was ravaged by Saiguu, so embarrassed that she had a mental breakdown, crying and making a fuss—boo hoo hoo, how pitiful!"
She still remembered the remark Yae Miko had made about her in front of her sister. Now it was her turn to be sarcastic toward Yae Miko. Sarcasm—who didn't know how to do that?
"Kitsune Saiguu..."
"So you're just like me." Kitsune Saiguu quickly withdrew her hand. As a retainer of Raiden Makoto, she knew all too well how helpless that feeling of embarrassment from having one's ears and tail ravaged could be.
She could understand Yae Miko.
"Miko, this is Hanachirusato, whom you mentioned. She has no family or relatives in Inazuma now. Why not have her serve as a shrine maiden alongside you at the Grand Narukami Shrine?"
"Do you think that's acceptable?" Raiden Makoto turned to look at Hanachirusato. How to handle this was entirely up to Hanachirusato.
Hanachirusato was stunned for a moment, but she then nodded. Being able to become a shrine maiden of the Grand Narukami Shrine was, of course, absolutely no problem.
Her life now was entirely given by Raiden Makoto. If not for Raiden Makoto, she would have already completely vanished during the Sacred Sakura Cleansing Ritual.
"Shogun, I will follow your arrangements completely."
The Grand Narukami Shrine was the shrine that served the almighty narukami ogosho, god of thunder; it was originally a shrine serving the Electro Archon. Therefore, becoming a shrine maiden of the Grand Narukami Shrine meant serving Raiden Makoto, and Hanachirusato was, of course, willing.
Moreover, Hanachirusato had once seen Yae Miko, but it seemed Yae Miko couldn't see her at that time; otherwise, she would have already completed the Sacred Sakura Cleansing Ritual for Yae Miko.
Why would she have needed to wait until meeting Raiden Makoto later?
"Mm."
Raiden Ei looked at Yae Miko, who was acting so obedient in front of Kitsune Saiguu, and felt a sense of schadenfreude.
Yae Miko finally got what was coming to her!
"Since Kitsune Saiguu has returned, the position of Guuji of the Grand Narukami Shrine should rightfully be held by Kitsune Saiguu... I..."
However, Yae Miko's words were rejected by Kitsune Saiguu. "You are very well-suited to be the Guuji of the Grand Narukami Shrine. As for me... I should enjoy my time traveling around Inazuma from now on."
Although five hundred years had passed and things had changed, with all her former friends having passed away, Kitsune Saiguu preferred to enjoy a peaceful life.
"Mm."
"Saiguu, do you still remember your promise to Ioroi?" After Yae Miko's emotions had completely stabilized, Raiden Makoto spoke slowly.
"How could I forget? Ioroi, he... what happened to him?" Kitsune Saiguu was worried. Back then, she had intentionally played a game of hide-and-seek with the simple-minded Ioroi; she knew that Ioroi absolutely could not survive the calamity.
"Ioroi has been waiting for you in Chinju Forest all this time. I also told him that you would return before long to fulfill the promise you made five hundred years ago."
Even to this day, Ioroi remained simple-minded; he naively believed that Kitsune Saiguu would return to find him again.
"Mm..."
Chinju Forest.
"Five hundred years—the changes to Narukami Island are truly immense..." Kitsune Saiguu said with emotion. "Makoto, if not for you, I wouldn't have been able to return."
She would have never known that Ioroi was actually still waiting for her in Chinju Forest, while her friends from five hundred years ago were long gone.
"Yes, the changes are great."
"Mm... the changes are great..." Raiden Ei echoed Raiden Makoto with a guilty conscience; she always felt that her sister was about to lecture her the next second.
"Five hundred years ago, after the calamity disappeared, Ioroi caused a ruckus trying to find you. He took the Ward of the thunder sakura tree and was then completely sealed away by Kamuna Harunosuke."
"So, for five hundred years, he has been in Chinju Forest."
"He is still such a simple-minded little bake-danuki." After Raiden Makoto told Kitsune Saiguu the information she generally knew, Kitsune Saiguu fell into complete silence.
That was a white lie; who would have thought that she would really never return, and that Ioroi would actually stay hidden inside, waiting for her to come back and complete their game of hide-and-seek?
And since Ioroi was simple-minded, she had anticipated that result, but she still felt a bit of guilt in her heart.
That was basically leaving without saying goodbye, wasn't it?
"This is the lens you gave to Hiiragi Kōji; he took it to Fontaine and had it made into a Kamera. Let me return it to you now." When Raiden Makoto handed the lens to Kitsune Saiguu, Kitsune Saiguu was somewhat angry.
"That young brat Hiiragi Kōji actually turned the lens into a Kamera? If I had known, I wouldn't have given it to him!" Although Kitsune Saiguu didn't know what a Kamera was, the lens Raiden Makoto handed her now had lost all its magical power; it was no longer the powerful Catalyst it once was.
Hiiragi Kōji was simply squandering a precious object!
But angry as Kitsune Saiguu was, she felt even more lamentation; things had long since changed.
Hiiragi Kōji, that once dashing young man, must have long since turned to dust.
"But the descendants of the Hiiragi Clan are truly not very promising." Raiden Makoto sighed. "The Tenryou Commission is now completely corrupt... they..."
"But you will find out about those things later; there's no rush to tell you now." Raiden Makoto felt that Kitsune Saiguu would sooner or later learn what had happened in Inazuma over the past five hundred years and what changes had occurred.
She decided not to talk about those matters for now.
"Let's go, Ioroi is still waiting for you."
Deep within Chinju Forest.
"The Shogun said Kitsune Saiguu is coming soon; she wouldn't be lying to me, would she?"
"But how could the Shogun lie to me?"
"I don't believe the Shogun would be like that Stinky Fox and that detestable white-haired man..."
"The Stinky Fox will definitely come to find me... Should I hide better so she can't find me?"
"No, what if she can't find me and stops looking?" At this moment, Ioroi was muttering to himself. "I wonder when the Stinky Fox will finally come to find me."
"Ioroi, you better hide well." While Ioroi was deep in thought, that familiar voice from five hundred years ago rang in his ears once again.
"Stinky Fox? Is it really you, Stinky Fox?" He was overjoyed; that couldn't be an illusion. The Stinky Fox had really returned to find him!
"Stinky Fox! I'm here!" However, Ioroi was still sealed and could not move at all.
"Stinky Fox!"
As a figure that thrilled him appeared before his eyes, Ioroi heard Kitsune Saiguu say, "Found you, little one."
"Stinky Fox! It's really you... it's really you!" Ioroi's tone was filled with joy and excitement. He had waited for Kitsune Saiguu for truly too long—so long that he didn't even know how much time had passed.
Ioroi saw Raiden Makoto and Raiden Ei beside Kitsune Saiguu. He was now certain that the person in front of him was truly Kitsune Saiguu, that Stinky Fox who used to tease him.
"Stinky Fox, I lost."
"I missed you!" However, he couldn't move at all right now. "Stinky Fox, hurry and help me break the seal!"
"If I hadn't gone outside to look for you, how would I have been sealed by humans? The bake-danuki clan has also been sealed and turned into Shitou."
"Mm."
But Kitsune Saiguu had just obtained the puppet body, and her former Fox Spirit magic had completely disappeared. She was currently unable to cast any spells. She didn't know if it would have any effect, but for now, she didn't care too much.
"Makoto?" Kitsune Saiguu could only turn her gaze toward Raiden Makoto. The only ones who could help Ioroi break the seal were Raiden Makoto and Raiden Ei; she could not do it herself.
"Alright."
Ioroi's seal had been set by an onmyouji centuries ago. Compared to her, the seal set by humans was too simple; she could break Ioroi's seal with a wave of her hand.
The reason she hadn't broken Ioroi's seal the first time she saw him was simply because she felt that Ioroi might run around aimlessly after being unsealed.
After all, Ioroi was a mischievous bake-danuki, and the bake-danuki clan loved to play and frolic.
As Ioroi's seal was broken, the stones on his body began to crack slowly, and then, one by one, they fell to the ground. A jet-black bake-danuki appeared from the Shitou; that was Ioroi's true form.
"Stinky Fox!" Ioroi's true form was naturally a large bake-danuki, a large black bake-danuki. He was a bit angry at this moment. "Why did you take so long to come find me!"
"I waited for you for so long... but..." Ioroi was angry, but he felt more like crying, though he couldn't quite bring himself to do so.
"Stinky Fox..."
"Little one, I'm sorry..." Kitsune Saiguu looked at the somewhat angry Ioroi. She didn't know how to explain it to Ioroi; all she could do was apologize to him. "I didn't want this either..."
All she could do was be better to Ioroi in the future.
Watching Kitsune Saiguu hugging Ioroi tightly, Raiden Ei felt touched, and she directly hugged Raiden Makoto from the side.
"Sister... we'll always be together, right? Never to be separated." Raiden Ei looked at Raiden Makoto with particular seriousness. As she held Raiden Makoto, she was also imagining her future life with Raiden Makoto in her mind.
She would still accompany Raiden Makoto's side as a Shadow Clone, staying with Raiden Makoto.
"We will." Raiden Makoto rubbed Raiden Ei's head. "We shouldn't be separated again; that event... will not happen again either."
Because she had passed away, Raiden Ei had sealed herself in the Plane of Euthymia for five hundred years; she felt some guilt toward Raiden Ei.
"Mm-hmm."
"Let's give them some space." Raiden Makoto smiled. In Kitsune Saiguu's eyes, Ioroi was probably equivalent to a "son," otherwise she wouldn't have taken such good care of Ioroi.
As a bake-danuki, Ioroi was naturally optimistic and innocent by nature. Even after five hundred years, his temperament remained the same as it was back then.
He was simple-minded, and that was exactly why she had taken Ioroi under her command, though partly it was also because Kitsune Saiguu had orchestrated it.
"Mm-hmm." Raiden Ei was perfectly happy with this. If she and her sister were alone, wouldn't it be better to be intimate with her sister? She could be closer and cuddle with her sister even better.
"Shall we go then?"
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