Aragami screamed in frustration and punched the tree next to him. Mori was concerned about the lifeless yama-uba they found. “I don’t know why you are so frustrated. I mean, it does look like the girl saved herself from this old hag”.
“But she could have returned to me, realizing that I am the only one who wants to protect her”.
“It makes sense she didn’t return. Maybe she just needed a quiet place to process”, Mori was trying to reassure his friend the girl was safe.
“She was recently abducted by this yama-uba! What if another yokai captured her?”
“First Shadow Empress, now her? What makes you think you can redeem either of them?” Mori questioned.
“Now where did that come from?”
“It’s a question that I’ve been thinking about for a while. And it looks like you are avoiding that particular question. Because you don’t know either right?”
Aragami just stared at his companion in silence. Mori smiled at that. “Neither of them are good people”
“Mori, good and evil are not separate colors. They are both grey, and people change”.
“How naïve”, the yokai grumbled.
“Wait…”, Aragami knelt to scan the corpse carefully. “This old hag was not stabbed. She was shot. I doubt it was Little Girl as she didn’t have any weapons on her. And whoever shot it was not using a regular gun. They seem too advanced”.
“There is only one group of people who use weapons like that here in Japan”.
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Azula and Miya were at a temple. She no longer felt a feeling of shock and amazement, after all that happened in her life. Nothing should surprise her anymore.
Miya stuck her finger into a short stool lamp post, that happened to have fire lighting it. The fire turned pink and the doors opened. She signaled Azula to follow her inside. As they walked across the front yard, Azula noticed how well-guarded the place was inside. Men in traditional shinobi suits were watching her with suspicion.
Miya went into the grand temple room to meet the leader(s) of the community. She bowed before some middle-aged men. Azula quickly bowed down as well. She usually felt no need to be polite or submit to anyone lower than her status of royalty. But she was in a different realm, meaning no one had heard of her. There were completely different nations, traditions, and lifestyles. She was just as special as this world’s community of peasants.
“Sensei, I apologize for the late return”.
“What is the meaning of this? Not only did you sneak out…again…but this time you bring an outsider into my fortress?!”
“Sensei, I left because I had another vision. It was about the girl you see with me. She is a target to the yokai, and she managed to escape a yama-uba a few hours ago”.
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“What makes you think that is a good enough reason to bring her in?”
“She came from the purple slits that appear in the sky randomly”.
The man’s eyes widened in shock and interest. “She is from another realm? You, girl! Where are you from?”
Azula took a deep breath. She had to be a little truthful with him. The people of this realm’s timeline may be soft but this island still lived its strict traditions. Some households anyway.
“I come from a realm where a major of it could control one of four natural elements. Because of this the earth had a total of four nations, each representing each of the four elements”.
She could tell the man was impressed. So she carried on. “Every animal was a mix between two different species in this world. The main and strongest of them were gigantic lion-turtles who gave people the power to bend for ten thousand years”.
“So, which ‘nation’ were you from?”
“The Fire Nation”.
The man hummed. “So you could control fires?”
“No, the fire benders could shoot fire out of their hands and feet”.
Miya looked at Azula with surprise as they were both sitting up on their knees. Miya muttered ‘yikes’ but cleared her throat. “Master, this girl is even more special than I have anticipated. She could be a valuable asset”.
“Would you care to demonstrate it to me?” He asked. Azula shook her head.
“Is it wise to ask me to use my bending indoors? Especially in a structure that I doubt is fireproof?”
“You are a smart girl, you are strategic?”
Azula nodded, “Some say I’m a fox in human form”.
The man chuckled. “In this realm, women like that are called a kitsune”.
Azula raised an eyebrow. “A what?”
“They are foxes that can have nine tails at most and can shapeshift into a beautiful man or woman”, Miya explained.
Azula’s eyes widened in shock. She remembered the day she came to this world. As the world vibrated she felt like she received memories of someone. Someone who was hiding in the bushes, preparing to pounce on a rabbit. Then she had memories of someone looking at their reflection in front of a group of old Asian men, her reflection was a fox standing like a human.
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Aragami and Mori went into prostitution. Mori being distasteful of the setting, was glad the place was closed as it was almost dawn. Why they were here? It was because Aragami had no desire to return home. So he decided to walk to the best place for a specific yokai species.
Some girls who noticed Aragami started humming flirtatiously. Aragami walked to one of the older women. “Aiko, I need to speak to the head vixen”.
“Oh, the boss’s prayers have finally come true! What a lucky kitsune”
“Aragami! Isn’t it a bit late for you? The sun is already rising”. An older but beautiful woman spoke.
“Hello Tamamo no Mae”.
“What did I say about using my real name?” She frowned.
“My apologies, I will be more mindful next time. However, I need to have a word with you”.
When they were in Tamamo’s office, there was silence. The kitsune smiled but then it dropped after the eye contact. “You are not here for me”.
“I’m looking for an adolescent girl. She came from another world and I need to find her before it is too late”.
Tamamo sighed. “So the rumors are true. You are a foster parent now”.
Aragami just stared in silence. Tamamo looked down to the floor. “Don’t be like that. You know I—”
“--Am I still in love with the Shadow Empress?”
“That’s not…(sigh). This isn’t about Yamiko!”
“You are right! This is some sort of pattern that you chose to walk into. Is friendship all you see in me?”
“This is about the girl, she was kidnapped. You are the only Kitsune I know who is helping me overthrow The Hand clan”.
Tamamo lifted her head and faced him. “I know a bit more about the girl than you do. For starters, her name is Azula. Secondly, there is an otherworldly fox spirit looking for her”.
“What?”
“We need to find the fox first before we find Azula”.