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."
Green and Gold exchanged a secret handshake, evil little smiles tugging their lips as the rest of the kitsunes gathered eagerly around their mother.
***
Tamayō began to recount how she had first met the Supreme Lord, weaving a tale of grandeur; how his eyes could not stray from her the very moment they met.
The story grew bolder and more embellished with each breath of smoke she exhaled... which brought them to now:
"So? So? Has he kissed you yet?" Gold leaned forward, probing cheerfully.
Tamayō's face instantly flushed a light red. "E-Eh? T-To kiss the Supreme Lord... that would be overstepping boundaries beyond measure..."
"What?!" Green shrieked, astonished. "If he has not kissed you yet... could it be that Haha-ue is playing hard-to-get with him?"
"Huh? Uh, y-yes—that must be it," Tamayō stammered, her eyes darting about the large hall in panic.
"...Well, since you are the only beautiful woman close to him, I suppose there's no problem then..."
"..." Tamayō nodded stiffly, taking a long pull from her Kiseru, smoke masking her unease.
"...But you don't have rivals, do you?" Gold pressed, tilting her head.
"Hm? Well… I cannot possibly be the only woman in the Supreme Lord's lif—"
"Oh no!" Green and Gold wailed together, clutching each other dramatically. "Haha-ue, if you are not aggressive enough, someone will take your man away from you!"
"Eh?! Truly?!" Tamayō's voice broke in alarm, her composure shattering.
And somehow, the kitsunes had turned the tables; teaching their mother about love instead of the other way around.
"Before we continue with this lecture," Silver raised his hand calmly, with Blue clinging to his other arm, "I must ask something. Since I and Blue are planning to marry, Onee-sama told us we should first learn the meaning of love. So... what is 'love,' exactly?"
A sharp whack landed on Silver's head from behind.
"I did not say it was fine for you to marry her," Onee-sama interjected coldly, her broom in hand. "I only told you to go tormen— I mean, to seek education about why you should not kiss your sister from Haha-ue."
She turned her stern eyes onto Tamayō. "I caught them earlier, kissing and speaking of marital rites, claiming to love each other."
Tamayō's eyes widened in horror, her kiseru now slipping from her hand. "What... did you just say?"
Gold and Green gasped in unison, their own faces mirroring her shock.
Meanwhile, Brown, Red, and Shiro seemed entirely detached, not particularly following the escalating chaos in the hall.
Onee-sama thought to herself with a weary sigh, 'I truly did not wish for matters to escalate this far. Yet no progress was being made with them constantly pestering Haha-ue for advice.
'This, regrettably, is the only way to prevent such dangerous, incestuous notions from ever rooting themselves within our domain. Now, Haha-ue… please, I beg of you, temper your scolding. They are still children, after all.'
"Well… you should have said so earlier!" Tamayō exclaimed, her face lighting up with sudden delight. "You two have always been inseparable, but my mind never wandered in that direction. Marriage, you say? Indeed, you are at a suitable age for it!"
Onee-sama froze in horror, her body stiffening like stone at Tamayō's cheerful declaration.
"Awww!" Gold squealed, rushing over to embrace Blue tightly. "So you actually took my advice, huh? I told you it would work, didn't I?"
"Congratulations on your engagement, Brother, Sister," Green declared in a ceremonious tone, giving a proper salute. "Allow me the honor of joining the wedding committee. This grand celebration shall shake the very foundations of the Shadow Realm!"
"I don't even know what's happening anymore," Red muttered, scratching her head with clear confusion. "But… congratulations, Blue and Silver!"
Brown, not wanting to be left out, nervously glanced around before blurting out, "Ah—uhm! I… I also want to get married! To Red!"
The already-cracking Onee-sama shattered completely, as her stone form crumbled into rubble upon the polished floor.
"Ehhhh?!" Red spun around to stare at him, utterly shocked. "Wh-why me, though?!"
Brown's eyes darted frantically from Red to anywhere else, unable to meet her gaze.
"Well, you know… you're really, really cute. And you always take me along on raids and heists in the wolves' domain… and, um, I—I love you. I guess."
"Awwwwnnnn!" Gold, Green, and even Tamayō squealed at once, cheeks flushed, swaying with excitement at the romantic confession.
"W-well," Red stammered, her face turning bright red as she fidgeted with her sleeves, "I love Brown too. And… I guess I would marry you as well. Whatever 'marry' really means."
Onee-sama, reduced now to rubble, gave no resistance as the entire hall erupted with thunderous cheers and joyous applause.
Tamayō rose to her feet, her expression turning solemn despite the noise. "I am deeply moved that all my children are finding love and arranging marriages—even before I, their own mother, have done so."
She wiped the tears at the corner of her eye with delicate grace before turning toward Gold and Green. "And… what of you two?"
Gold and Green blushed furiously before embracing one another. "We suppose… we're also getting married!" they announced in unison, their voices bright and full of mischief.
The palace walls shook as yet another wave of cheering echoed through the grand hall. "Banzai! Banzai!"
Shiro then raised a hand politely, her calm demeanor oddly out of place in the raucous scene. "Pray tell, might I also indulge myself in this marriage custom?"
"Hmmm," Tamayō placed a finger to her chin, pondering deeply, "but who would you marry? Everyone else here is already betrothed, and… well, the purple one over there has been reduced to ash."
"Then why not have Shiro marry Haha-ue?" Brown blurted out, earning yet another round of gleeful cheers from the rest of the siblings.
"Banzai! Banzai!"
"Eh?!" Tamayō cried out, shocked. "But I already intended to marry the Supreme Lord! I fear he may no longer accept me if he learns I married one of my own children."
"Hmmm. A predicament indeed," murmured several voices at once.