In the Shadow Realm, the residents never truly sleep... Because the chaotic kitsunes are always appearing from nowhere, indulging in unreasonable violence and orchestrating deathly pranks without end.
It is, without question, a vile realm for any pacifist to live in...
Behold! The lethal and apocalyptic foxes of Chaos!
"So? So? Has he kissed you yet?"
"E-Eh?! T-To kiss the Supreme Lord... that would be overstepping boundaries beyond measure..."
Except today, the chaos engines were silenced. Or rather, they had been redirected toward another matter entirely: Romance.
It all began when Onee-sama, broom in hand, was cleaning the palace.
By chance, she happened upon Blue and Silver. "Hm? And what are those two doing over there?"
She halted her sweeping at the entrance of the throne room and quietly drifted toward the pair, who sat near the fountain in the center of the palace courtyard.
Meanwhile—
"Silver, I... I love you!" Blue declared, clutching desperately at Silver's arm as though she feared he might vanish.
"I know," Silver replied, his voice calm and steady. "I can know many things, almost anything, to the point that it often saddens me."
"So... you love me too?" Blue's eyes shimmered like jewels as they locked onto his.
"...You are my dear sister," he answered plainly. "So yes, I love you greatly. But I also love our other siblings. And I love Haha-ue as well."
"Kyaaaah!" Blue squealed, shaking slightly in place from excitement. "Then that means you love me the most in the whole wide world?! Hey, hey, does that mean you will marry me too?!"
"...I am… uncertain," Silver tilted his head. "Were siblings ever allowed to marry...?"
But in his heart he thought: 'Oh well, if it makes her happy...'
So he nodded softly to her. "Understood. When the time is right, we shall perform the marriage rites."
"Oh, Silver..." Blue was overcome with joy, so much so that tears spilled down her cheeks. She leaned in slowly, tilting her face toward his.
'He can see into the future,' she thought. 'If he doesn't want this, then for sure he will evade me.'
And with that belief, she pressed her lips firmly against his.
Silver's silver eyes widened slightly.
"…"
She was about to kiss him again when—
"Alright, that will be all!" Onee-sama appeared suddenly, tapping Blue's cheek with the end of her broom. "No kissing your brother. So this is what you do when no one is watching? Who in the world taught you such things?"
Blue bowed her head, ashamed. "I am sorry, Onee-sama. But I love Silver so much, I just wanted to show him."
"Do you even understand what 'love' means? And who told you that kissing is the way to express it?" Onee-sama pressed sternly.
"Gold did," Blue answered innocently. "She said she read it in a forbidden book from the Library of Primordial Knowledge."
"Tch. Of course..." Onee-sama muttered, falling into thought. "She will ignore meaningful texts but instead search through grimoires for salacious secrets. Am I to restrict her from the archives altogether?"
Her gaze shifted onto Silver. "And you… you knew she intended to kiss you, yet you allowed it?"
"My predictions do not always land with complete certainty," he explained evenly. "I believed she might change her mind at the last moment... And besides..."
For the first time, his ever-stoic face betrayed him. His pale cheeks glowed faintly crimson. "I have never received a kiss before. I grew... curious."
"Well, that kind of thing is not permitted in this family," Onee-sama judged sharply.
"As you command, Onee-sama," Silver bowed respectfully, but after a brief pause, he lifted his eyes again. "But... may I ask why?"
"What?"
"Why can Blue and I not share a kiss, if it is born from love?"
"..."
Onee-sama froze, caught in a dilemma she had not expected. 'Tsk. Gold will most certainly be punished for this nonsense. Ah… but perhaps I can torment Haha-ue with it instead.'
Her lips curled into a smile. "I know. Why don't you both ask Haha-ue? She often visits the outside world, mingling with men there. Surely she will be able to answer your questions better than I. Now, away with you. I have cleaning left to finish."
***
"Hm? And where are the both of you going?" Gold asked, intercepting them as they ascended the stairs to the throne room.
"Onee-sama has asked us to talk with Haha-ue about romance," Blue answered, still bright with eagerness.
"Eh?! I also want to talk about romance with Haha-ue!" Gold chirped, waving her hand as she called to Brown, who was strolling closer. "Hey, Brown! Call the others—except Onee-sama. We are going to do romance talk with Haha-ue!"
"Huh? I don't want to do that," Brown replied flatly, refusing outright.
But then, before he could resist further, he suddenly found himself bowing down unwillingly, as Gold stepped firmly on his head.
"Would you just listen to me already and call the others, you brat!"
"Hai, Gold-sama," Brown muttered, forced into obedient compliance.
***
Inside the vast throne room of Tamayō, the walls glittered with veins of gold, while a grand purple throne stretched long and wide enough to support her reclining form.
She lay there lazily, smoke curling from the kiseru (basically this long, Japanese pipe) she was enjoying, as Shiro dutifully refilled kizami into the pipe's bowl for her.
"Haha-ue!" The six kitsunes burst noisily into the hall. "We believe it is high time you tell us the story of How You Met Our Father!"
"Eh?!" Tamayō flinched, nearly dropping her kiseru. "What nonsense are you spewing now? Leave my presence immediately!"
Gold then suddenly covered her mouth, eyes squinting as though she was in pain.
"Gold! What's wrong?!" Green cried out, immediately clutching her sister's hand in worry.
"Ha... Haha-ue refuses to name us, refuses to show us to our father, and now she won't even tell us about their love story... Not even for research purposes!"
Green pulled her sister close and hugged her, tears welling in her own eyes.
"It's alright, Gold," she sobbed softly. "Haha-ue knows best. She will tell us when the time is right... But..."
She turned her gaze on Tamayō, her expression earnest. "But wouldn't it be wonderful to hear the beautiful romantic tale of the Great Dark Fox spirit herself? After all, Haha-ue, you are the fairest of all in the Supreme Lord's court. Am I wrong?"
"Hmph. At least you know some truth," Tamayō exhaled through her long pipe with a haughty air. "Since you begged me with literal tears, I will reconsider. Come, sit down, and let me indoctrinate you all about... love."