It took a few more hours until Eva was practiced enough that prof. Yamanaka was satisfied. Though by that time, it was decidedly too late to put their plan into motion that evening, and after confirming with Kurt over a short call, they decided to do so early the next morning. The Professor then put down a spare futon for the Kitsune in his Tatami room, and left her to rest for the night.

The next morning, Eva was woken by a knock on her door. “Miss Mayer, it would be good if you could get up soon. I have put a towel for you near the sink in the bathroom. Just across the hallway. As I need to leave for work in half an hour, it would be most appreciated if you could hurry with getting ready to leave.”

As the Professor walked away from the door again, Eva slowly rolled onto all four paws, stretched her legs and three tails, then pushed the door open with one of the latter. While making her way to the bathroom, Eva transformed into her normal human form, and stepped into the surprisingly spacious bathroom. After quickly taking a shower, she used some more shapeshifting to get ready instantly.

Leaving the bathroom, she took a look around and soon found prof. Yamanaka enjoying a small breakfast.

“Thank you for your hospitality and your instructions.” Eva said with a slight bow. “I left the towel where I found it.”

“It is no problem. You were a student that needed help, and I was in a position to give it.” The Professor said between bites of food. “Though now that I am no longer able to help, I wish you the best of luck going forward.”

“Thank you.” Eva said, before turning into a fox again. She then stepped onto the balcony again, before heading down the side of the building to the nearest convenience store to get some breakfast.

Stepping inside disguised as a vaguely local looking woman, Eva got herself some fried chicken without issue. Stepping outside once more, she pulled her phone out of her pocket, and with the first piece of chicken in her free hand began a call with Touya.

It took the Tanuki a few moments to pick up, but when he did, his slightly sleepy voice greeted Eva with a mumbled. “Hello Eva.”

“Morning Touya. I finally found a solution to the issue of our unfriendly visitor.” She informed him happily before taking a big bite from her breakfast.

“Do tell.” Came the snippy reply from the other end.

Taking a moment to swallow, Eva continued. “I’ll not go into too much detail, But when Kurt arrives later, please give him my laptop, he knows what to do.”

“Anything else?”

“Oh, yeah . if you could keep people away from the Honden today, that would be great.”

“And how do you suggest we do that?” Touya asked, the eye roll audible in his tone.

“I don’t know, can’t you think of some excuse if your Kami asks for privacy in her shrine?” Eva asks after finishing another bite of chicken.

Touya sighs deeply, before replying. “I’ll ask Komaki, maybe he has a list of excuses ready to go.”

“Thanks.” Eva finishes as she hangs up and unwraps her second piece of chicken.

After finishing her food while walking, the Kitsune ducked into an empty side street. Quickly turning into a Fox once again, she then quickly took off to a nearby Torii to speed up her walk to Kurt’s place considerably.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

Arriving on the balcony, she saw her two friends enjoy their breakfast. A quick knock on the door caught the other woman’s attention. A quick conversation Eva couldn’t make out later, Kurt got up and opened the door for her with a mumbled “Hallo Fuchs.”

“Morning. Everything good to go with you two?” The three tailed fox inquired as she stepped inside, with the werewolf closing the door again behind her.

“As good as it can be.” Karasuza hesitantly said after finishing her current bite of toast.

“Bit nervous but otherwise fine.” Kurt said as he moved back to the table. “You want anything?”

“No, I got myself something on the way here.” She replied while sitting down on an empty chair.

“So are you ready for this?” Kurt asked, a hint of concern unwilling to leave his voice.

“As ready as I can be I guess.” The Kitsune said with a deep sigh as she leaned back against the chair. “Is it still fine if I stay here until this is over?”

“Sure thing Fuchs. If you feel that helps keeping your secrets.”

“Thanks.”

After this a companionable silence fell over the trio, until Kurt and Karasuza finished their breakfast and took their leave. Eva meanwhile laid down on the floor, so her body wouldn’t fall over and get injured.

It only took a moment to push herself to the mindscape where she was equidistant from all her shintai. As expected the area representing her flesh and blood body was black, matching with her closed eyes. Her mirror showed the normal scene of closed shrine doors. What surprised her for a moment was the view she got representing the mask Hanako owned. Instead of being all black like usual, the view was overlooking a tiny bedroom, with a pair of slowly burning sticks of incense sticking up excessively close to the point of view of the mask.

Huh, so Hanako made a small shrine in my honor recently. Eva thought to herself as she pushed forward to enter her mirror. Being a mirror was still a strange experience for her, but after a moment she began to focus on materializing nearby.

While she didn’t have the mental crutch of focusing on the air she exhaled, Eva still managed to materialize herself rather quickly.

A few minutes of unsure waiting later, she heard the voices of Komaki and the angry Tengu approach. Deciding to wait for them to arrive, Eva sat down on the table her mirror was placed on, careful not to disturb any of the ornaments or artifacts.

When they opened the doors, Eva tried her best to sound high and mighty, as well as displeased as she spoke up immediately, not giving the two men a chance to get a word in.

“Greetings. While you would deserve nothing less than being banished to the farthest mountains in solitude for attacking my helpless worshipers and servant unprovoked, I shall show you the honor and respect you so clearly lack.” She began to recite the speech they had settled on the evening before. “While your daughter came to me of her own volition seeking sanctuary, I shall graciously allow you one, and only one, chance to prove your worth as her guardian.

“As she ran to escape your old fashioned views and lifestyle for one more in tune with the modern world we all live in, you shall have to triumph over a challenge from this world she deemed superior.” At this point she carefully raised her hand to silence any protests from the Tengu before he could voice them. “Do not worry, for the challenge I choose, shall pit you and a champion of mine against each other in a contest of Strategy and Tactics, both fields your kind is said to excel in. If you win I will let you take your daughter back, this time. If my champion should beat you however, you will leave in peace, and not return to this place.”

The Tengu clicked his beak a few times, trying to take all of this in. A few minutes under Eva’s judging glare later, he finally responded. “Very well, I shall accept. And I will defeat this champion of yours.”

“Splendid.” Eva said with a faint smile. “Komaki, Kurt will arrive soon and explain the contest in greater detail than I ever could.” With her final words said, Eva returned to her mirror, and then moved on back to her body.

Getting up from Kurt’s floor, she hopes everything will go as they had hoped. Stepping out onto the balcony, she closes the door as much as she can behind herself, turns into a fox and begins to make her way back to her shrine.