“Before we get any further, I’d like to ask just one question.” Came the professor's voice from Eva’s phone as she tried to gesticulate in a vaguely apologetic manner towards Hanako as she moved to her own room. “Why didn’t you ask the Inari that took you to that cruise for assistance first?”

“Because that would be myself.” Eva admitted as she slid the door shut behind her. “I got handed this position out of the blue a bit over a month ago.” She finished before letting out a sigh.

“I see.” The professor stated with a surprisingly melancholic tone. “Well then it is probably quite good luck my father informed you about myself. While I wouldn’t presume to know much about the duties of a Kami, I have more than enough experience helping students settle into new circumstances and unfamiliar surroundings.”

“Definitely.” Came Kurt’s reply. “But can we move on to the actual issue at hand?”

“Of course, of course.” The older man concurred, “though it would help immensely if one of you could tell me what the actual problem is.”

“A Tengu dropped by my shrine this morning, brandishing a weapon, nearly stabbed one of the visitors, all because his daughter had been staying with us and he wanted her back. Which said daughter didn’t appreciate, at all. So she’s now run off and trying her best to evade her Father, as she wants to stay here in Tokyo.”

“I see. Do you know where she might be now?” The professor inquired, “Getting her input on why she wants to stay here, as well as learning more about her father would help with finding a solution.”

“Yes, she ran into me and I let her stay in my apartment for the moment.”

“Splendid, Miss Mayer, I presume you know how to get there?”

“Yes”

“Great, Mr. Wagner, come with me, I’ll get us there faster than the train.”

“Well I guess we’ll see you soon then.” Kurt said as he terminated the call.

Putting away her phone, Eva turned into a fox once more. Taking a moment to focus, she slowly wove the same illusion she used that morning to appear invisible. It took her two tries, as the first time she didn’t quite manage to make it change correctly as she moved. Once the Kitsune was confident she’d not be seen, she focused on finding her way to Kurt’s place. While she knew the way to the closest Torii of her shrine, stepping off of the Foxroad at the right one was still beyond her.

She soon arrived near her destination. But when she looked up towards Kurt’s apartment, she stopped in her tracks at what she saw. Running across the sky was a giant white fox, its feet always finding a cloud to step on that held the beast's weight. Sitting on its back were an old man in a suit and Kurt. As it approached Kurt’s balcony, it slowly shrunk, ending up as a big dog once it landed besides the old man, who Eva assumed was prof. Yamanaka.

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Quickly running up the side of the building to join them, Eva barely got a glance of the professor leading Karasuza into Kurt’s tiny bedroom.

“Hi Fuchs.” Kurt greeted his friend as he closed the balcony door behind her. Noticing Eva watching the recently closed bedroom door, he continued “Prof. Yamanaka asked to talk with her in private about why she ran away as well as her father.”

“So we just wait here for them to finish?”

“Well I had planned to make some tea and see if I have any sweets or snacks around.”

Nodding to show she understood, Eva sat down on a chair as Kurt got started in his tiny kitchen.

It took quite a while, in fact dusk was well underway by the time the professor and the runaway left the small bedroom again. Seeing the tea and biscuits laid out on the table, prof. Yamanaka led the young woman to a chair, and pulled it out for her. Sitting down next to her, he turned to look at Kurt. “Ah thank you Mr. Wagner, the tea is quite appreciated.” After taking a quick sip, his gaze fell and he led out a deep sigh before continuing. “But I fear this problem will not be solved easily. While her father would respect it if someone beat him in some form of contest to decide Karasuza’s fate, that wouldn’t solve the larger issue of him becoming bored and restless without her there to keep him occupied.”

“But how would we even get that far?” Karasuza burst out. “As I said he has been a master of Go and Shogi for centuries. I don’t want anyone to risk getting injured fighting him for me in actual combat.”

“So he would honor any agreement we make?” Kurt asked stroking his beard.

“Yes, the only ones I know that value their word more than old fashioned hermits like him are Kitsune.” the professor confirmed.

“Didn’t you say he missed deciding the fate of armies and the outcomes of wars with his advice this morning?” Kurt then asked Karasuza.

“Yes, but what does that help us, there’s no wars going on in Japan for him to influence.”

“Where are you going with this Mr. Wagner?”

“Well we could offer him to face him in a contest involving not only one's skill in commanding an army and knowledge of tactics, but also approximates the influence of logistics on the outcome of a battle.” Kurt said before making a dramatic pause. “Why not try to convince him to face someone in a real time strategy game.”

“An interesting proposal. From what I have read, these games model fictive armies closely enough that they might give him the feeling of commanding mortals once more. But the abstraction involved might give him a handicap he would not have if he were playing something he was well practiced with.”

“That, and if we get him a laptop and mobile internet, he could face off against millions of others online.” Kurt elaborated. “So even if he won this contest, there is a good chance he would allow Karasuza more time to be away from home.”

“Now we only need to figure out how Ms. Mayer can convince him to agree to such a contest.”

“Why me?” Eva shouted in surprise, her head snapping to look at the professor.

“Because Karasuza has been offered and accepted sanctuary from your shrine. Thus, at least from his perspective, you are responsible for her.” Professor Yamanaka explained with a friendly smile on his face. “Don’t worry, I am sure between the four of us we will come up with an argument that should sway him.”