"Fox girl?"
Her golden hair shimmered in the light, and her eyes were the same dazzling gold. Judging by her face, she looked no older than a lower-grade elementary schooler. Her fluffy, pointed ears stood upright, and her cute tail swished restlessly. No matter how Yoru looked at her, the term fox girl just seemed to fit.
But the moment he spoke those words in a slightly puzzled tone, the little girl before him instantly became enraged. The beast-eared girl glared at Yoru, gritting her teeth as she shouted:
"I'm a fox spirit! You outsider! How dare you…! Get him!"
At her command, a large number of crow tengu with black wings and bird heads emerged from the forest, accompanied by many fox-masked priest-like figures.
"Hey, hey, what's with attacking without a word? Aren't you basically a fox girl anyway?" Yoru shrugged innocently.
The girl ignored him completely, pointing at him with her slender, delicate finger and yelling:
"Give me back my mother!"
In an instant, the crow tengu and fox priests charged toward Yoru.
"Mother? What do you mean? There's got to be some misunderstanding here. I only arrived today. Who is your mother?"
But the little fox spirit clearly didn't believe a word he said, her anger unyielding.
"Don't lie! My eyes can't be deceived!"
"Troublesome," Yoru muttered with a helpless shrug. He didn't move a muscle, but in the next moment, a chilling aura spread out from him.
For a brief instant, the little fox spirit's proud face showed a flicker of fear, as if her very soul had been pricked. She quickly masked it, but the scene before her still made her cry out in alarm.
"What… what are you all standing there for? Take him down!"
"There's no point wasting your breath. They can hear you, but they're not going to be able to respond," Yoru said calmly, a strange smile on his lips as he began to walk toward her step by step.
"H-how can this be? Hurry up and catch him!"
The girl desperately called for her companions, but just as Yoru had said, they had all turned into cold, unmoving statues, unable to respond to her cries.
"Now… how about you calmly explain this 'mother' situation to me?"
As the girl backed away in fear, Yoru's figure suddenly blurred, and in the blink of an eye he was right beside her, effortlessly restraining her.
"Waah! Let me go, you vile, evil being! You really are the one who took my mother, and now you want to take me too!"
Dragging the little fox into the Inari Shrine, Yoru noticed that there was no other presence inside—the group outside had been all there was.
"Could you quiet down a bit, little fox?"
"No! Let me go, you villain! I'll never forgive you! You filthy demon—you've defiled a sacred place! I'll never forgive you!"
Clearly, the little fox had no intention of listening, continuing to cause a noisy commotion as if Yoru were some heinous criminal.
"Tch. This is exactly the kind of bratty kid I hate most," Yoru said, displeased. He sat down in front of the shrine's sacred statue and lifted the struggling girl onto his lap in a horizontal hold.
"W-what are you doing?!"
The position, full of unwarranted intimacy, made the girl nervous and uneasy.
"What do you think? Of course, I'm going to spank you. That's the only way to deal with disobedient kids."
"You… you wouldn't dare! I'll never forgive you!"
"Oh? Do you think I dare, or don't dare?"
Speaking in a deliberately provoking tone, Yoru reached a hand toward the hem of her skirt.
"You… you… w-waaaah!"
His hand hadn't even touched her skirt before she pouted and burst into loud tears.
"Meanie! You big meanie! You took my mom, and now you're bullying me… Waaaah!"
"Alright, alright, stop crying. From what you're saying, your mother was taken? The Nine-Tailed Fox girl?"
He had only intended to scare her, but seeing her cry so pitifully, Yoru couldn't bring himself to go further. He softened his tone, speaking more gently.
"Fox spirit! She's a fox spirit! My mother is the Nine-Tailed Fox Spirit!" the tearful girl corrected indignantly, almost jumping out of his lap. But Yoru quickly pushed her back down into her previous position.
"Just get to the point. A fox is still a fox, isn't it?"
"You're bullying me… I want my mom! Give my mom back!" the little fox sobbed even harder, leaving Yoru momentarily speechless. Dealing with kids—especially crybabies—was a headache for him.
"Alright, tell me the details. What's your name, and what happened to your mother?" he asked, holding her steady and effortlessly lifting her to sit on his lap again.
"Villain! Demon! It's you who took my mom, and now you want to take me too!" she retorted stubbornly, still struggling.
"I told you, I only arrived in Kyoto today. Your mother is Kyoto's youkai leader, Kuzuha, right? Didn't she tell you someone from the Three Factions would be coming to visit today?"
At his words, the little fox in his arms froze for a moment, then looked at him thoughtfully.
"You're the representative sent by the Three Factions?"
"Do I not look like one?"
Yoru's answer made her tilt her head slightly.
"Kind of… You're really strong. What was that dark sorcery you just used to stop everyone from moving?"
"It wasn't sorcery—just froze them, that's all," Yoru replied lazily, then smacked his forehead as something occurred to him.
"Right… If your mother's been taken, that's a big deal. Looks like I'll have to talk to Gabriel and Azazel about this."
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