— — — — — —
"Well, well!"
So ti later, after dragging the thoroughly defeated golden fox (Ran) back to Hakugyokurou, Yakumo Yukari was t with an unexpected sight: the little white fox she'd let go earlier was now curled up comfortably in Veyron's lap, happily nibbling on snacks offered by Yuyuko Saigyouji.
Yukari raised an eyebrow.
Then she gave the golden fox a few teasing pokes. "Tsk, tsk, tsk. See the difference in treatnt? If you'd just let capture you peacefully, you'd be enjoying so pampering too."
She smiled mischievously. "Oh well. Ti for little Ran to officially join the family."
Yukari dragged her over to an open spot in the courtyard, plopped the golden-furred fox down, then opened a spatial gap. From so unknown corner of existence, she reached in and pulled out what looked like the soul of a tiny golden fox.
"A deal's a deal," Yukari said, holding her hand out. "I've prepared the body for you, just like we agreed. I assu I don't need to walk you through what to do next?"
She bit her fingertip, and a drop of blood slowly ford — glowing with swirling streaks of violet-gold energy. She offered it to the fox spirit.
The spirit nodded and swallowed the drop.
The mont the blood entered her mouth, those golden-violet markings burst to life, spreading across her body like intricate tattoos.
Once they stabilized, the fox spirit didn't hesitate — she dove straight into Ran's body.
It was like watching a replay of history.
The spirit's glowing markings began transferring to Ran's body, sinking beneath the surface this ti, not lingering on the skin. Once they stabilized and fused completely…
One breath. Two. Three…By the ninth breath—
Ran's eyes slowly opened.
"Lady Yukari!"
She looked up at Yukari with joy and reverence.
"Take on human form," Yukari ordered.
"Yes, ma'am."
Ran nodded and transford into a woman with golden short hair that brushed her neck, a pair of fox ears poking out from the top of her head, and nine golden tails swaying gently behind her, each tipped with white.
"Hmm, not bad."
Yukari gave her an approving once-over. The new shikigami was dressed in a long white robe with wide sleeves, layered with a modified blue Taoist coat — quite similar to Yukari's own fashion.
"Your na is Ran," she said. "Now that you've beco my shikigami, you'll take on my family na as well."
"Ran Yakumo. That'll be your na from now on."
After bestowing the na, Yukari introduced her new shikigami to Veyron, Yuyuko.
Ran greeted all three with deep, respectful bows.
Then Veyron, who had been watching the whole ritual unfold, tilted his head curiously.
"So… after Ran took over the body, what happened to the original golden fox? Is her 'self' sealed away sowhere, or did it just… vanish?"
"She's not gone. But I wouldn't call it a seal, either," Yukari replied after a mont's thought. "If I had to put a na to it, I'd say… suppressed is more accurate."
Yukari hadn't spent years chasing Ran down just to end up with an empty husk of a yokai. No—what she wanted was the potential locked inside this pure-blooded, golden-furred nine-tailed fox.
A bloodline with the promise of evolving into a millennia-old daiyokai (Great Yokai)… now that was worth all the effort. That potential was the reason she'd selected Ran—a compatible animal spirit from the Beast Realm near Hell—and fused the two.
"So what you're saying is… one day, the golden fox could co back?" Veyron asked suddenly, processing the explanation.
"??!"
Ran visibly flinched.
"Relax," Yukari said, shooting her a side glance. "That'll never happen unless you willingly give up complete control of this body. The most she'll manage is surfacing for so fresh air now and then… and only if you let her."
"I'm sorry, Lady Yukari," Ran bowed her head. "I shouldn't have doubted your technique."
"It's fine. Just make sure you complete the tasks I assigned you."
Yukari waved it off casually.
"Yes, ma'am," Ran nodded. Having already received her orders through the link between shikigami and master, she turned to the others and offered a polite farewell: "Lord Veyron, Lady Yuyuko—I'll take my leave now."
With that, a gap opened behind her, swallowing her figure whole.
"Guess it's my turn to move," Yukari muttered, opening a gap beneath her feet. "The weaker ones or those with ties to , I'll leave for Ran to contact… but when it cos to real cannon fodder, I'd better go handle that myself. Just to be safe—"
"Hold up."
Before she could vanish, Veyron opened a portal of his own and yanked her back. "Earlier, you said that the Hagoromo Gitsune also had the potential to beco a full nine-tailed fox, right? Do you know how she's supposed to reach that level?"
"She doesn't know?" Yukari glanced down at the little white fox curled up on Veyron's lap.
"She said she feels like it's possible," he replied, "but she has no idea how to actually do it."
"I didn't get much more than that myself," Yukari admitted. "All I saw was that it seems related to 'rebirth' in so way. Maybe she'll understand it better once she breaks through and becos a full daiyokai."
"Alright. Guess we'll wait and see how she does."
Veyron nodded lightly.
Hagoromo Gitsune: "…"
…So to people like Veyron and Yukari, that near-impossible wall between High-Class Yokai and great yokai—a bottleneck that's blocked countless yokai for generations, one that I spent over a hundred years trying to overco—is just sothing you wait to break through?
Seriously?
.
.
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