The smell of iron.
The feeling of sand.
The loud cheers of a grand audience.
It filled the room around the new champion.
It was exhilarating.
To think something like this could be obtained by the means of fighting in a tournament.
A single thought sprouted in their head.
More.
They wanted more of this.
Perhaps not now, but at some point in time, they would like to gain their own course of seconds.
As they took in the cheers of the audience, they watched as the silver-haired, wolf woman commentator ran towards them. She stepped over the fallen teeth of defeated foes before finally reaching the champion.
Commentator: [I apologize for my late arrival to the ring, folks! It seems like our other champion has sadly already left, but that's alright! We still have one of our champions right here!]
Lightly grabbing the arm of the new champion, the commentator triumphantly raised the mighty victor’s fist into the air.
Commentator: [OUR WINNER IS–]
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Growing and withering, the glistening grass that stood beneath the feet of many had continued its cycle for ten long years. From small sprouts of green, to the refined shape it now took, it spread out towards the air above.
Much of the grass had been trampled upon by many who were still standing outside of the large music hall. It likely did not have a mind of its own, but had it been capable of thought, it would likely wonder why so many were gathered around the building.
???: [I don’t really like the idea of picking one…but…]
The grass continued to be crushed under the weight of the many. However, unlike those who had stood around, there were multiple sets of feet that continued to move. Perhaps this would even raise a question to the thoughtless grass.
???: [Ya don’t need to answer that, cause I think we’d both have the same conclusion. And trust me, I don’t like thinkin’ ‘bout it either.]
Different types of footwear continued to touch upon the grass, before moving across to step on a new patch.
???: [Really?! Damn…Now I just feel extra ba–AAAAAAH! NO! YOU AREN’T DISTRACTING ME WITH THESE QUESTIONS!]
What was once calm footsteps that glided across the grass, was now a fierce shave that trimmed the pointed edges of green.
???: [In what right mind would you even think this was a good idea?!]
???: [What? I didn’t do anythin’–]
???: [Yes, you did! I found things a little odd over the past few days, but now I think I’ve finally figured it out! This place in and of itself is ridiculous, but to think you’d reach that point…]
???: [Hey, hey! Chill! I didn’t do anythin’! I said a few things, maybe, but nothin’ happened!]
???: [Oh really? So if I go inside to check, right now, I won’t find anything suspicious?]
???: [A hundred percent! There isn’t a chance ya’ll find anythin’, Shiro!]
Standing there, as furious as possible was a woman adorned from head to toe in white. Her heels, pants, and the formal overshirt she had worn were all the same as her hair, white. White like snow. The only difference being two areas of her outfit. A dark gray turtleneck that laid beneath the overshirt, and a silver choker that rested by her neck. The woman had grown in many ways, such as her height which inched above even the larger scale of men, or her chest, which had grown substantially since she had been sixteen. This woman was Shiro Fuloreen, a goddess of the world and one who was currently on duty.
Accompanying her was a kitsune woman with long orange hair, whose height even towered above that of Shiro’s. She wore a white kimono with blue stripes across it, along with a red hakama and geta that wrapped around her toes. There were two main differences from what she had once worn as well. Across her shoulders was a white haori, with an orange flower made up of nine tails on the very back of it. On the left side of her voluptuous chest, was the symbol once again, sewed onto her beautiful kimono. This woman was the “Mother of All”, Kōkatsu the Almighty. Another goddess of the world, and the closest friend of Shiro Fuloreen. She had also been the woman to cause such great rage to burst forth from within Shiro. Following behind her were a few kitsune, those of which had been adopted into her family.
Kōkatsu: [Everythin’ will go down real simple. We go in, if they have an arena, we shut it down. From there we can keep lookin’ if we feel like it, but I can guarantee it’ll be a waste of time.]
Shiro: [And if it isn’t? What then?]
Pausing at the sound of Shiro’s words, Kōkatsu closed her eyes as she placed a hand on her chest while raising the other.
Kōkatsu: [I will never ever speak ‘bout anythin’ like this ever again and I will follow yer every word.]
Averting her eyes away from Kōkatsu and focusing on the music hall in front of her, the irritated Shiro continued to walk.
Shiro: [Fine. I’m going in to check now. You’d better be right behind me when I turn around.]
Kōkatsu: [Yep, yep! On my way!]
Kōkatsu excitedly shouted back to her friend, before giving a brief pause. She turned to face an eighteen year old kitsune girl, who just so happened to look incredibly similar to her. The only areas that did not match were their kimonos, to which the girl had an orange and green kimono. Their hair, in which the girl had styled into a ponytail. Their tails, the girl having one single tail less than her mother. And their shoes, which the girl had the correct fashion for her kimono, a pair of green tinted zori. The girl with the title of “The First Child”, Kaoru Teppen.
Kōkatsu: [Kaoru–]
Kaoru: [Lady Kōkatsu, please.]
Kōkatsu: [Look I know s’not great…but…]
Giving a brief sigh at the sight of begging hand gestures, Kaoru proceeded to pull out a phone from the crimson hakama residing on her hips.
Kaoru: [...This is the one time I shall do so. I will not help after this.]
Kōkatsu: [Aw! Thank ya so much, Kaoru! Ya know I love ya!]
Tightly squeezing the girl in a hug, Kōkatsu gleefully swung her back and forth before looking at another one of her children. This child had been much older than the girl beside her, and was taller than even that of Kōkatsu, which was odd even for an adult kitsune. Adorned in a black kimono with the sleeves torn off, and fur around the shoulders was a kitsune of wild black hair with two tails of the same color and maroon skin. The woman known as “Strong Second”, Kiyomi.
Kōkatsu: [Kiyomi, do ya mind helpin’ out as well?]
Kiyomi: [I have the same thoughts as Kaoru. But just like her, I’ll do it this once for you, Lady Kōkatsu!]
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Kōkatsu: [Yahahaha! S’what I like to see! Kagami, make sure everythin’ else is all good if yer able to, sweetie!]
Speaking the third and final child among them, Kōkatsu turned to face a kitsune with short white hair and long white ears atop her head and five tails along her back. Her sharp, narrow yellow eyes stared back towards the woman she served. The woman had worn an outfit that was much different than the other two, that being clothes similar to that of a miko, with the same symbol as them placed on the left side of her chest. Resting at her feet was her asagutsu, which elevated her stance from the ground a tad bit more than the other two, even if Kiyomi had still been taller. An addition to the family that had not been affiliated ten years ago, “Stealth Foot” Kagami Zennami.
She closed her eyes and kneeled down to the smiling Kōkatsu.
Kagami: [As you wish, Lady Kōkatsu.]
Her words were uttered, and less than a second after, her presence disappeared, only to reappear far off in the distance in front of them.
The three kitsunes then turned towards where Shiro was headed and followed closely behind. Kiyomi began to separate from them halfway through, and instead moved towards the back of the large building.
Kōkatsu: [Alright then, let‘s get this show on the road!]
Punching the open palm of her other hand, Kōkatsu confidently shouted to both herself and Kaoru, who continued to follow closely beside her.
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Underneath the large music hall had been a secret underground arena. While this had often thrived in recent times for the entertainment it provided to many, the entire operation had quickly come to a close as the ringleader was spoken to by the woman in white.
Following this interaction, the woman continued to investigate the arena to find more details about it. After all, the crime of such a thing existing was certainly bad, but there could have been extra factors to it that provided something much worse.
She walked across the arena, attempting to avoid the broken teeth that were laid across the floor.
Shiro: [Well there’s one thing that’s certain. This isn’t exactly the nicest of tournaments being held. Guess I’ll have to note this stuff down.]
As she looked around, Shiro noticed some of the unconscious fighters that were put into a separate room for care. Gaining permission to enter the room, she inspected the knocked out individuals one by one.
Shiro: [Yeah. These injuries seem to be what I was expecting. There were enough teeth scattered out there to at least occupy a majority of each mouth. Unfortunately, they don’t seem to be in a state where they can talk. I guess trying to find someone might be a little bit harder than I thought, so I’ll just focus on my report for now.]
Exiting the room, Shiro continued to move down the long hallway that split into multiple different halls.
Shiro: [This might take a bit to go through, but luckily Kō is with the head of this whole thing. Honestly, out of all the things to annoy me with this week, I really wasn’t expecting this.]
Feeling her irritation grow stronger, Shiro tried to quickly shake it off while she proceeded forward.
Shiro: [So let’s see, there’s enough injuries around here to make a big problem as is. Whether any action is taken towards the participants is for them to decide, though I’d say if they came here, they knew it was illegal. Then there’s the whole idea of hiding it under a music hall. Maybe that would count towards a fraud related charge? I still haven’t found anything more than just that, so maybe–]
In that moment, before she could even finish speaking her thoughts, a sharp presence became known to Shiro.
Upon feeling such a presence, her eyelids closed ever so slightly, and her face began to wrinkle in annoyance.
Shiro: [And then there’s that.]
Her calm but focused walking started to speed up as she followed what she had detected.
Shiro: [I swear, if this is what I think it is, Kōkatsu isn’t going to hear the end of it.]
There was a chance that this very thing was what she had wanted.
There was a chance that the situation of this arena could be much worse than one could imagine.
She wanted to believe that it would not reach that point, but at this point in her life, Shiro was aware of many things.
More and more, the pace of her walking began to speed up.
She had increased her stride to such a level that it could not even be considered merely walking anymore.
Shiro: [I’m starting to get real close, and if I–]
Once again, her train of thought was interrupted.
Another presence was felt, but there was a catch to it.
Shiro: [What the hell…This one feels …Wait, hold on. Is it the one I’m following or is it that one? There’s even an extra one above, and that extra has a copy of its own. What’s going on…Are more people learning about the same trick I pulled on Mom?!]
Lost in a train of thought spurred on by confusion, Shiro hardened her resolve as she looked towards the nearby presence rather than the one she had followed.
Shiro: [In that case, if I had to guess, it’s likely this one. Even if it’s an attempt to be sneaky…Wait…]
Though her confusion had faded, a new emotion had filled her brain to the brim.
Worry.
Shiro: [What if…What if it’s not what I think…Oh no. Oh no no no. This could be bad! Alright, calm down, Shiro! Calm down! There’s no guarantee it’s…well…Look! There’s a chance it could be or it couldn’t, so just think calmly, m-me! Let’s say it’s what I expect. Boom, instant big report right there AND Kōkatsu is gonna receive a lashing from my words! And in the scenario it’s not, then I have to speak…about everything…most likely…]
Nervously spinning her fingers around each other, Shiro took a strained gulp of her own saliva before moving her eyes around the hallway.
Shiro: [Maybe…I’ll just go file my report and get this place shut down for now…Yeah, that sounds a lot better…]
Slowly walking back to where Kōkatsu had been, Shiro gave her complaints and filed a signed report in regards to the entire arena operation.
Her appearance confused Kōkatsu, as she had seen sweat falling down Shiro’s skin while she stuttered her irritated words to the organizer of the underground building.
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As payment for her lack of trust towards Kōkatsu, Shiro had brought Kōkatsu along with another individual to a nice afternoon lunch at an expensive restaurant.
It was not uncommon for the gods to be given free service in many locations. However, for these three, they often did not enjoy the idea of taking advantage of their status, and thus they would still pay for what was required.
The group enjoyed the beautiful breeze that gently streamed across their hair as they continued to enjoy the shade provided from the umbrella attached to their table.
With her head cast low, Shiro apologized to the pouting kitsune who sat across from her.
Shiro: [I’m very sorry that I did not believe you, Kō. Please forgive me.]
Kōkatsu: [I’ll forgive ya, but honestly, the two of ya get to have all these nice things, and yet I don’t get to have shit!]
???: [Issss it not true that you have many children that you have adopted?]
Responding to Kōkatsu’s complaints was the third member of the female trio. A snake woman with purple hair that matched the scales across her long tail. At the end of her tail was a dignified, large rattle that created music as it rapidly moved. The only piece of clothing that this woman had accompanied her was a large red coat with fur circling the collar and ends of the sleeves. This woman was someone the two had known for ten years now, much like how they had known each other for just as long, Silvia Hemobi. However, her previous last name was only known by them and a few of their associates, as she had gained something entirely new within the following years of her life after school.
Kōkatsu: [I mean, I have a few I guess…]
Shiro: [Hundred. You forgot the hundred in that statement.]
Kōkatsu’s dream was to build a family of her own, and over the course of ten years, she had done just that. Abandoned kitsunes, those who were enslaved, those who lost their families, every circumstance that could be thought of for them to be rescued was a circumstance of the past. Kōkatsu had begun to adopt every child she had met, eventually leading to her now massive family. A family so grand in fact that she acquired her own extraordinary shrine in the Babylon District that took up an even larger size than that of a school. However that was merely the beginning, as her very own bedroom encompassed a bed that was far greater than any others. If it were to be documented, it would likely hold the record for the largest bed in the world. All of this to accommodate for her sleeping time, in which she would lie in bed with her hundreds of children.
Yes. Hundreds. The Kōkatsu family had been built to an almost full scale army that served each other as a family. It only continued to grow as Kōkatsu moved forward with her desires in making the world of such a race a happy one, where not a single child would need to cry.
Kōkatsu: [Still! I love my children to death, and I wouldn’t trade a damn thing for them! With that said, I'm still upset!!]
Shiro: [I feel like we have this conversation a lot.]
Silvia: [We do.]
Kōkatsu: [Fine, fine. I’ll move on to somethin’ else. What do the two of ya think of Divinia?]
Shiro: [She seems decent.]
Silvia: [Could be better.]
Kōkatsu: [Fantastic. I sure am glad that we’re havin’ this very thoughtful conversation. New question, do the two of ya wanna hang out after this?
Silvia: [I would not mind, though I would assssk that it issss ssssomething that would not take very long.]
Kōkatsu: [Yeah, yeah, ya gotta go be all ooey and gooey. What ‘bout you, Shiro?]
Shiro: [I’d love to…but I’m a bit busy. I have some things at my office space to sort out, and I wanna visit Sarah’s church if I can.]
Kōkatsu: [Come on, ya can’t jus’ put all the work on yerself. Ya gotta relax every now and then!]
Shiro: [I do take time to relax on occasion, I just can’t do so today.]
Silvia: [I do not wissssh to judge your method of work, however I musssst agree with Kōkatssssu. It would be besssst to allow your body to heal rather than overworking it.]
Kōkatsu: [Yeah! ‘Sides, ya got the human guy and the snake woman to help out as well, right?]
Shiro: [Oh no, I could never ask Asher and Lily to take over with my work. I don’t want to force tough jobs on them, so I like to focus on giving them the lightest amount of work possible!]
At the sounds of her words, Kōkatsu and Silvia turned to each other and raised a singular eyebrow. They then turned back to face Shiro, only to perform the same action again.
Shiro: [Look, I’ll make time at some point, it just can’t be today.]
Kōkatsu: [Fine, fine. Enjoy yer work, Miss Bookworm.]
Ignoring the verbal jab thrown at her by Kōkatsu, Shiro looked up at the clock provided at the restaurant.
Shiro: [Damn, I’m running kinda late. Maybe I’ll visit the church first before going to my office. Hey, Kō, I’ll put the cash to pay under my cup but if you don’t mind–]
Kōkatsu: [Yeah, I’ll head over when we’re done. I, personally, have some time to myself. So I don’t mind spendin’ it doin’ that.]
Shiro: [Thanks, you’re the best! And of course you are as well, Sil! Anyways see you two later!]
After putting her money underneath the cup of espresso, Shiro allowed her wings to appear from her back as she soared into the air. The two women at the table continued to wave their farewells to her, followed by Kōkatsu then turning to face Silvia.
Kōkatsu: [How come you get a compliment without any action provided?]
Silvia: [Sssshe ssssimply enjoyssss my company more.]
Giving a boastful smile back to Kōkatsu, Silvia slowly moved the cup of tea to her mouth.
Despite ten years passing since the trio had first met, their friendship had still remained as close as always.
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In an extravagant castle was a large board that had files and photos pinned all across it.
Many individuals in classy attires continued to gaze and ponder, as well as adding and removing things from this board.
As those individuals continued to move however, two others had stood out far more than them.
Two people who were of a much higher class than those who had walked within their space.
???: [Don’t you think what happened earlier was kinda odd?]
???: [I’m unaware of what you are speaking of.]
???: [I mean the presence stuff! It was a little weird, right?]
???: [I must remind you that my ability to detect the presence of others is much weaker than that of your own.]
???: [Ah! Right, right! Sorry! But it was just strange to me.]
They turned to face the opposing individual they had spoken with.
???: [There were three really weird presences. I kinda wanna meet who each of them are!]
An excited reply was given by a woman colored in a beautiful white dress that hid much of their tanned skin, and only made their mauve ponytail pop out more. The woman with blood red hair and aqua blue skin looked towards her, before turning back to the board in front of her. The other woman proceeded to follow suit as she puffed her cheeks in ignored frustration.
The two women standing in front of this grandiose board were two that many of the world knew by name alone.
The former competitor for the throne, Tequi Tensetsu.
And the former ruler of the world…
Devi Bloodfire.
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