The two kitsunes remained seated on the fine grass.

For many moments now, the much older kitsune continued to caress the younger kitsune’s head as she cried her heart out.

To the individuals who stood nearby, bearing witness to this sight, it was a sorrowful display.

But to the two kitsunes who were kneeling down on the ground, while it was painful, there was some peace in this moment.

To the young girl who had lost everything, there was still a light that remained.

To the older girl who had feared the idea that her dream would never become a reality, the light in which that reality existed only grew brighter.

Kōkatsu: [Crying is not something that should be shunned. You are free to do so for as long as you need to.]

The girl did not answer her, but instead, followed in her words by continuing her bawling.

Unbeknownst to Kōkatsu however…

Silvia: [...!]

Silvia quickly picked up her coat, put it on, and grabbed her sword in one fell swoop.

Nero: [Damn!]

Shiro: [Kō!]

Behind Kōkatsu was something that none of them had expected to appear.

From the very beginning, since they had arrived at this location, the trees around them had a disgusting look to them, along with the blood that resided on them, likely being from the family that the young kitsune girl once had.

Despite this, the trees themselves had not moved an inch since they had arrived at this location.

That was until…this very moment.

The roots of the trees extended at a rapid pace, and in the shape of a small spear, lunged towards Kōkatsu. The eyes on the roots changed the direction in which they were looking sporadically.

Kōkatsu: [Honestly…I’m not in the fuckin’ mood for this…]

There was less than a second in time that had passed, but in that moment, Kōkatsu swiftly drew one of her blades and chopped the roots in half.

The remaining roots hesitated for a brief moment, before returning back to the location of the trees. A mere second had passed however, and the roots grew once more, only much larger. It had grown to the size of the average house, while still making the same spear shape as before, and rushed towards Kōkatsu once again. Its eyes once again moved in all directions.

Kōkatsu slowly turned her head over her shoulder. An intimidating glare resided on her eyes.

But before she could perform a single action…

Nero: [That’s as far as you go.]

Nero stepped forward between Kōkatsu and the roots of the tree. His matōki bursting out of his body in order to push back against the entity.

The roots once again halted its movement.

It stayed still for several moments.

Before performing it’s one and only action…

The eyes of the roots, along with the eyes on the trees in the area…looked at Nero.

It gazed upon his figure for multiple moments, before retreating completely. Not just the roots of the trees, but the trees themselves had started to slide away in a slime-like form, into the forest that laid ahead.

Shiro: [Wait!]

Silvia: [It issss besssst that we do not try to chasssse ssssuch an entity.]

Shiro: [But…]

Nero: [Though I am quite perplexed as to what happened, I must agree with Silvia here, Shiro. Chasing that creature would be quite the large risk for us.]

Shiro: [...I guess that’s fair. Still, I’m worried about what that thing is, and what it was doing here.]

The three of them stood there silently, confused as to what they had witnessed, before Kōkatsu, who was still stroking the little girl’s hair, broke the silence.

Kōkatsu: [Oi, Nero…]

Nero: [Hm? What’s wrong?]

Kōkatsu: [Yer a good friend at this point, so I don’t wanna go doin’ anythin’ stupid. At the same time though, if ya don’t follow my orders, both the roots on the floor and ya are gonna be one in the same, ya know what I mean?]

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Nero: [...Oh!...Well, yes I understand what you’re saying….Though I’m not sure the second half is very comforting.]

Kōkatsu: [Here’s what’s gonna happen. Yer gonna write down the details I tell ya to. Those details are, we traveled to this village, some odd shit happened on the way, we found a village that was slightly unrelated but was still attacked nonetheless, we went through a different path, we got to the proper village, there were some odd tablets destroyed in the area, some blood on the weird flesh trees, and some destroyed houses. Yer free to add whatever descriptive details ya want to, get any pictures of the place here that ya need to, but ya got one rule for this whole thing.]

Nero: [...That rule would be…?]

Kōkatsu: [Don’t write a single thing ‘bout Kaoru.]

Nero’s gaze looked down at Kaoru, before returning back to Kōkatsu. As her name was called, Kaoru’s gaze had also looked towards Kōkatsu’s face.

Nero: [Very well. I will do as you have requested.]

Nero nodded to Kōkatsu, and pulled out a notepad to write the details of the assignment down.

Kaoru: [Ah! Ma’am!]

Kōkatsu: [Hm?]

Kōkatsu looked down at the girl kneeling in front of her upon hearing a shout of surprise. A worried look rested on Kaoru’s face.

Kaoru: [Your shoulder! There’s an injury there! Please, let me heal it! I can fix it very easil–ah!]

Kaoru moved her hands towards Kōkatsu’s shoulder in order to heal the scar that was on display for all to see. A scar that had come from the training she had gone through with Shiro. Before Kaoru’s hands could reach Kōkatsu’s shoulder, she was stopped by Kōkatsu’s own hand grabbing her wrists.

Kōkatsu: [It’s quite alright. This scar is nothing.]

Kaoru: [But it looks as though it still hurts, so it would be best if I–]

Kōkatsu: [The pain of this scar is nothing compared to the immense joy I’m feeling now. You also do not have to refer to me as “ma’am”. Please, call me Lady Kōkatsu, or Mother, whichever you would like to choose.]

Kaoru: [L-Lady Kōkatsu…]

Kōkatsu: [There you go. Much better.]

Kōkatsu started to pat down the dirt on Kaoru’s kimono.

Kōkatsu: [I must say, you’re rather filthy at the moment. Though given the circumstance, I suppose that makes sense. You need not worry, I promise I shall bathe with you once we find somewhere to do so, along with having your clothes washed.]

Kaoru: [Th-Thank you…Lady Kōkatsu…Oh!...I cannot bathe with this in my clothes!]

Kaoru reached towards the back of her kimono, and pulled out a disheveled book that was hidden inside her obi.

Kōkatsu: [What is this?]

Kaoru: [It’s a book…that the people of my village had created…I’m unsure of the contents…but they mentioned that it was related to the pieces of the tablets on the ground!]

Kōkatsu stared at the book, before turning to Shiro.

Kōkatsu: [Shiro, take this. I’m not sure what’s in it, but if anyone here has a good chance of decipherin’ it, then I’m trustin’ ya with it. That said, there’s no guarantee we need it right now, so ya can just keep it on the side for now.]

Silvia: [It issss rather odd how her acssssent turnssss off and on like that.]

Kōkatsu: [Oh, and that book. Don’t report that either, Nero. I got a bad feelin’ ‘bout it.]

Nero: [Understood.]

Shiro: [With all that said, I think we should get moving again. We’ve successfully completed one of our tasks. Now we only have the three other ones to do.]

Kōkatsu: [Yeah, we should get goin’. Despite that though, she’s comin’ with us, and I’m not hearin’ a single objection ‘bout it.]

Silvia: [I did not plan to object.]

Nero: [I wasn’t going to object.]

Shiro: [I mean you asked her to become your child so I just kinda assumed we were bringing her alon–]

Kōkatsu: [Good. Let’s get movin’ then.]

With that, the party then–

Kōkatsu: [WAIT!]

Shiro: [What’s up?! Did we forget something?! Is she safe?! Did that thing come back?!]

Kōkatsu: [We need titles.]

Silvia: [Come again?]

Kōkatsu: [Me and Kaoru. We need titles.]

Nero: [Titles?]

Kōkatsu: [Yeah. The cool shit people usually say before sayin’ your name. Ya know, titles. But what would be some good titles for us…]

Kaoru: [I believe our titles should reflect what we are!]

Kōkatsu: [Exactly! Well I already have Kōkatsu the Almighty in my name…but I need somethin’ else. The Almighty is just a last name.]

Shiro: [Does that mean her middle name is “the”?]

Nero: [I think it does…]

Kōkatsu: [Shhhhh! Tryna think!]

Kōkatsu pressed her finger against her forehead while closing her eyes. Despite the silly situation, she now had a distressed appearance.

Kaoru: [Oh, I have an idea! What is your dream, Lady Kōkatsu?]

Kōkatsu: [Huh? My dream? Well that’s real simple. I’m gonna be the mother of my own great big family. Not the biological kind, but the adoptive, crew kind, ya know what I mean?]

Kaoru: [I see. Then let’s go with…”Mother of All” Kōkatsu the Almighty!]

Kōkatsu: [Hey, I love the ring to that! It’s perfect! Alright, from this point forward, that’s how I shall be referred to!]

Kaoru: [Oo! Oo! What about me?]

Kōkatsu: [Well, seeing as I am the Mother of All, ya’ll be…”The First Child” Kaoru Teppen!]

Kaoru: [I am The First Child, Kaoru Teppen!]

Kōkatsu: [Yahahaha! That’s the spirit!]

The two kitsune mimicked each other in pose. Both of them had been facing forward with a confident expression on their face, their arms crossed, and their legs spread out a few feet.

Shiro: [They really are a perfect mirror of each other. Their hair color is the same, their mannerisms are the same minus Kōkatsu’s accent, and….hey wait, Kaoru, how many tails do you have?]

Kaoru: [Oops! I was hiding them! I have eight, ma’am!]

Kōkatsu: [I’VE WON THE JACKPOT! YAHAHAHAHA!]

Silvia: [Thesssse two are quite ssssomething.]

Kōkatsu: [I should introduce everyone to ya, Kaoru. That very nice girl there is Shiro Fuloreen, who also jus’ so happens to be my best friend! That boy there is Nero Virtuoso, and that snake girl there is Silvia Hemobi!]

Kaoru: [I see! It is very nice to meet all three of you! I am The First Child, Kaoru Teppen, and this is my Lady, Mother of All, Kōkatsu the Almighty!]

The three friends stood there with confused looks.

Shiro: [Did she…]

Silvia: [I think sssshe…]

Nero: [She just reintroduced us to Kōkatsu, along with herself, yes.]

Kōkatsu knelt down to match Kaoru’s height, and put her hands on the girl’s shoulders.

Kōkatsu: [Once I get the chance, I shall craft ya the finest weapon with my finest steel–]

Kaoru: [I would like a staff if that is alright, my Lady!]

Kōkatsu: [-The finest staff with my finest wood, and the two of us, along with many other family members, shall become the strongest to exist!]

Kaoru saluted back at Kōkatsu’s words, as if she were a soldier receiving an order from her captain.

Kaoru: [Yes, Lady Kōkatsu!]

Kōkatsu pushed her knees with her hands in order to stand back up, before making the same arm crossed pose she made earlier.

Kōkatsu: [Good! Now, let’s head out!]

With that, the party then–

Shiro: [Hey so seeing as Yoro is our next task, shouldn’t we find somewhere for Kaoru to stay or is she completely coming with us to confront Yoro?]

Kōkatsu: [...Let’s now discuss our plans with how we shall handle Yoro, as well as keepin’ Kaoru safe!]

…With that, the party then discussed the necessary details that were required to discuss, and headed towards the desert that awaited them.

Their next task would involve the fearsome foe herself, Yoro of the Sands.

△▼△▼△▼△△▼△▼△▼△△▼△▼△▼△△▼△▼△▼△△▼△▼△▼△△▼△▼

Upon a throne, sat a girl who had stayed seated for quite some time.

Shortly after her birth, she was seated at this throne, and had yet to truly leave the castle that she rested in.

To some, a luxury such as living in a castle, living in such a high position, would be a blessing.

But to this girl, it was incredibly depressing.

???: [Booooooring.]

She sat there, with her head being supported by her arm. Her cheek was pushed near her eye due to the hand that rested on it.

She sat there, day after day, saddened by her confinement.

???: [It’s all so booooooring. I always get to fight some strong people, they lose, they die, blah blah blah. I just wanna leave. I wanna see the world.]

The girl with effulgent red pigtails, that cascaded down her body, along her elegant black dress, continued to sit upon her throne. Her eyes now casted towards the floor.

???: [I just wanna be free…]

She sat there, and would likely continue to do so for the rest of time.

△▼△▼△▼△△▼△▼△▼△△▼△▼△▼△△▼△▼△▼△△▼△▼△▼△△▼△▼