Before anyone could stop her, Tamayō rushed forward and scooped up a plush bunny doll, holding it with sparkling eyes.
"Gold, I can tell you rushed your clean-up," Onee-sama remarked flatly.
"What?! Again with your distrust!" Gold snapped, her hands clenching into fists. "How in the shadows are we supposed to live together in peace and harmony when you always suspect me of some crime?!"
"Forgive me, it cannot be helped when you are in fact a criminal," Onee-sama shot back without hesitation.
"Awful! You must apologize to my fragile maiden heart right this instant!" Gold pressed a hand dramatically to her chest.
Ignoring her entirely, Onee-sama began searching the room, sliding drawers open and peering beneath furniture.
"You won't find anything here," Gold muttered under her breath, whistling as she looked away.
"Hush," Onee-sama ordered curtly, before gripping the edge of the heavy mattress and flipping it up with ease.
"C'mon! Now you're just ruining my room!" Gold cried out, stamping her foot. "I am not arranging that mess back again!"
"Calm yourself, you aberrant," Onee-sama glared at her, "I will return it as it was if I find no illegal imports. But, my, look what we have here."
She gestured at the pile now revealed beneath the bed: several books with gaudy covers marked "R-18," others filled with illustrations and writings about domination and seizing control, and only one actual spellbook on illusions and misdirection.
"So?" Gold raised a brow.
"What do you mean by that?"
"You can't use those against me!" Gold defended herself instantly, hands flailing. "I tried to read it, but it refused to open, so I'm safe!"
"Fool," Onee-sama said, her voice cold. "At your current level, there are many books that will never yield their secrets to you. If you conducted yourself more properly, maybe the Empress herself would grant you access to many books of the Primordial Knowledge Library. Even I have come across scrolls and texts there that remain sealed to me. But that is beside the point. You will still be punished for stealing books from the library without permission."
"What?! But that's unfair! I didn't even read them!" Gold snapped back, her tail puffing up.
"Enough," Onee-sama raised her voice sharply. "Go entertain Haha-ue until I am finished exposing all of your evil deeds here."
***
After Onee-sama had thoroughly searched the room and found no further contraband, Gold smirked triumphantly, stroking Tamayō's hair as the "Great Dark fox spirit of Ravenswood" melted in Gold's lap.
"Hmph… Fool!" Gold declared, her voice dripping with pride. "I told you that you would not find anything here. I am a changed kitsune now; after all, I am aiming to be a powerful woman."
Onee-sama rolled her eyes, setting her hands on her waist with weary patience.
'Why do I feel like something is still out of place here?' she thought deeply. 'I searched every nook and cranny of the room, too... Sigh. What am I even doing? I should be glad that my little sister is maturing in mind.'
Onee-sama bowed slightly. "Forgive me, Gold," she said in earnest. "Because of your frequent mischief in the past, I wrongly accused you. That was my error."
Gold's face flushed at once. "Wh-what are you even doing now?!" she stammered, flailing her hand as if to wave the apology away. "Though, they do say foolishness is bound in the heart of a child. Even if you act all high and mighty, you are still only a few years older than me—still a brat! But... I suppose I will forgive you if you begin calling me your Mistress or your Queen."
"Do not tempt me, Gold," Onee-sama replied, slowly lifting her head. "You even dared to call me a fool earlier."
"S... Sorry, so very sorry..." Gold humbled herself immediately, her ears flattening.
"So, as agreed," Onee-sama said calmly, gathering the clothes that had tumbled from the bed.
She arranged them neatly into a bundle and began walking toward the large pink wardrobe. "I will put your room back in order."
"No, wait!" Gold raised a hand in sudden panic. "You d-don't actually need to do that for me."
"No. I said I would," Onee-sama answered firmly, pulling the handle of the wardrobe. "I refuse to let you handle it when I am the one who—"
She froze, staring blankly inside the opened wardrobe.
CLANG!
THUD, THUD, THUD, THUD!
The heavy sound of the door slamming shut rang through the air, followed by the hurried thumping of footsteps, racing away until they disappeared into silence.
Gold fled the scene.
"H-help us..." a voice whimpered faintly from the closet.
'But how is this possible?' Onee-sama thought grimly, ignoring the trembling plea. 'I was certain I searched everywhere, leaving no stone unturned... Ah!'
Her eyes flicked toward the bed.
'The spell book. She must have used a charm to cloud my senses, to disorient me from uncovering this atrocity. Should I be glad she managed to learn something... or saddened that she used it for such a shameful act of kidnapping?'
Her gaze returned to the wardrobe.
"Uhm... h-help?" came the voice again.
"..."
She did not answer.
"My, my!" Tamayō cooed, walking toward the wardrobe with foxlike curiosity as the figures inside began to shiver in fear of her. "And what are these flea bags doing inside my daughter's closet?"
Bound and trembling, five large dark wolves raised their heads. "We swear! We did not wander here on our own! She abducted us some time ago!"
Onee-sama sighed, glancing at their pitiful forms.
"Very well. I shall free you," she said, pulling them out into the light. "I can only imagine the torment you have suffered at her hands. You have my sympathy."
Despite her kind words, the wolves frowned uneasily, their bodies trembling.
Tamayō and Onee-sama then escorted them in silence through the courtyard, heading toward the great torii gate that marked the palace's entrance.
"Uhm... please..." one wolf whispered.
"My, why are you begging?" Tamayō asked, covering her mouth in surprise. "Do you truly believe our every response to you bunch is violence? That simply will not do."
When they reached the gate, Onee-sama turned sharply toward them.
The wolves instantly averted their gazes from her sneering smile.
"Alright," she said coolly, gesturing toward the threshold of their domain. "You may run off now. However, you are forbidden from using your signature Shadow Movement to escap— I mean, to run off. And do not look back while running. I also advise you to run in a crisscross pattern. It will serve you well."
Tears welled subtly in the corners of their eyes as they looked at one another.
They stood shoulder to shoulder, readying themselves. One wolf, trembling, turned his head slightly back toward the kitsunes.
"Is there truly nothing that can be done?" he asked.
"Whatever do you mean, Wolf-san?" Onee-sama replied sweetly, though the malicious curl of her lips unmasked her. "We freed you from the shackles of my sister, so we are your friends. Now... shut up and just run for us."
Dense spheres of dark magical energy began forming in the palms of both kitsunes as they chuckled darkly.
The wolf closed his eyes as the glow of the energy reflected on his face.
He exhaled slowly, then turned to his comrades with a smile that belied the terror around them.
"…Aniki...?" one of them whispered, his voice quivering.