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Kyōkotsu... oba-san?
Hearing that form of address, Bokue Keikain felt his entire being hiccup slightly.
After all, just moments ago he'd heard Kunou call Hagoromo-Gitsune "oba-san."
That hadn't been a problem—after all, Hagoromo-Gitsune really was Yasaka-neesan's biological younger sister, so being called aunt by Kunou made perfect sense.
But this "Kyōkotsu-oba-san" thing... could it be that Yasaka-neesan had other sisters?
With that thought, Bokue looked down again to examine the kimono-clad girl he was holding—currently with both arms stretched forward and short legs dangling in the air, as if fate had grabbed her by the scruff of the neck.
He didn't see any fox ears, did he?
"Kyōkotsu is Hagoromo-Gitsune's sworn sister from four hundred years ago..."
Yasaka spoke up to explain at this point.
"Though there's no blood relation, they truly address each other as sisters. Plus, she's always been very respectful toward me, so Kunou also recognizes her as an aunt."
"I see."
Bokue made a sound of understanding, indicating he got it now.
However, before he could say anything more, the kimono-clad girl he was holding completely lost it.
"Y-y-y-you... what are you doing?! How long are you going to hold me?! Put me down already! Get away!"
Kyōkotsu suddenly threw her head back, raising the arms cradling her skull upward, pointing the skull's hollow eye sockets at Bokue behind her.
What's she trying to do?
Bokue raised a small question mark.
The next second, two venomous snakes formed entirely from demonic power shot out with lightning speed, lunging at the young man's face at practically point-blank range.
Huh? So that skull's like some kind of magical artifact? Here I thought it was just decorative...
As Bokue thought this, he raised an eyebrow, the golden light in his eyes concentrating slightly.
Hummmm—
In an instant, like a pebble dropping into a calm lake, ripples of golden light spread outward in concentric circles through space, using the young man as their epicenter. Slight tremors shook the entire mountain where Yasaka Shrine was located.
!!!
Feeling this terrifying power fluctuation, Kyōkotsu—who'd been mustering courage to attack just a second ago—froze completely. The venomous snakes she'd just generated with demonic power inside the skull instantly dissipated into nothing before they could even launch.
But it lasted only the blink of an eye. Like a fleeting flower, Bokue immediately retracted his power.
Space returned to calm, as if nothing had just happened.
Bokue slowly set down the kimono-clad girl who now didn't dare move a muscle, even gently patting and rubbing the top of her head.
"Don't be so tense. I'm not going to do anything to your sister."
"..."
No response came. Kyōkotsu stood frozen in place as if scared witless, still immersed in that vast, ocean-like spiritual power from moments ago.
Fortunately, Hagoromo-Gitsune's voice came through the stone door in time.
"Let them in, Kyōkotsu."
"...Yes."
As if triggered by her elder sister's voice, the kimono-clad girl finally snapped back to awareness with a response.
She looked up, taking one more deep look at the young man behind her, then stepped aside to clear the path inside.
"It's okay, Kyōkotsu-oba-san."
Bokue and Yasaka had already entered through the stone door. Walking last, Kunou came before the kimono-clad girl to comfort her.
"Bokue-oniisan isn't a bad person. He won't hurt Hagoromo-Gitsune-oba-san."
"But..."
Kyōkotsu still seemed hesitant.
But Kunou had already taken her hand.
"Don't worry, don't worry. Bokue-oniisan is a very gentle person."
"..."
Kyōkotsu had no words, only silence.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the stone door, Bokue and Yasaka—who'd entered first—arrived before a pond.
The pond was also inside the cave, at its deepest point. The circular pond, about twenty meters in diameter, occupied eighty percent of the space within the stone door. Beneath stalactites hanging in clusters overhead, the pitch-black water resembled ink spreading without a single ripple.
And Hagoromo-Gitsune stood with her back to them in the very center of this pond, the ink-dark water reaching just to her hips.
She'd completely shed the black sailor uniform she usually wore. Her long legs—normally wrapped in black stockings—were hidden beneath the water. From the waist up, her absolutely perfect upper body was exposed to the air. Combined with her jet-black hair styled in a hime cut that reached behind her knees, falling from both sides of her temples to drape across her chest, it just barely covered the important parts of her body.
Hearing the movement behind her, Hagoromo-Gitsune slowly turned around. Her legs alternated beneath the water as she approached the pond's edge step by step. Her body leaned forward slightly as she bent her arms to prop herself up on the shore, looking up at the young man before her with that same ambiguous half-smile she always wore.
"Since you've come this far, you must already know about the last three branch families of your Keikain clan..."
"I know."
Bokue shrugged without avoiding the topic.
"I don't care either way. They're dead."
"...That's true."
Hagoromo-Gitsune paused slightly, raising one eyebrow.
"After all, when I found them last night, they seemed to be discussing how they'd conspired with the Hero Village from the Kantō-Tōhoku region ten years ago to ambush you, and how you'd held a grudge. I hadn't known about any of this originally, but hearing them mention it suddenly made everything click into place."
"So you've already used my hand to eliminate everyone who plotted against you back then. What do you plan to do now?"
Hagoromo-Gitsune propped her face on one hand, gazing at the young man on shore with great interest.
Though she appeared calm and composed right now, she was actually gambling.
After all, she'd already learned why Bokue had allowed her to freely slaughter the Keikain branch families.
And now that all the branch families were dead, naturally Bokue no longer had any reason to continue letting her run free.
At least judging by the power the young man had unleashed outside the stone door just now, even Hagoromo-Gitsune—having reclaimed all her power and transformed into a nine-tailed celestial fox—had absolutely no confidence she could fight him.
Moreover, she had to conserve her power for the rebirth ritual.
If Bokue directly attacked her here, then she...
"No plans."
Bokue spread his hands.
"I told you, if you want to be reborn, I'm not going to stop you. So is that ritual of yours ready or not?"
"Or if your power still isn't quite enough, I can lend you some."
As he spoke, the young man raised a finger. A golden sphere of light—considerably larger than the one he'd given Yura—condensed at his fingertip.
"This is..."
Though she should have maintained vigilance against someone who was supposed to be an enemy, when Hagoromo-Gitsune saw the light sphere appear, she couldn't help leaning closer.
She vaguely sensed an inexplicable attraction from it, like a cat catching the scent of grilled saury.
Then Bokue gave it a light tap. The light sphere drifted forward leisurely, meeting no resistance whatsoever as it easily merged into Hagoromo-Gitsune's body.
The next second, a massive pillar of light erupted from within the mountain where Yasaka Shrine was located, shooting straight up to pierce the sky and break through ten thousand miles of clouds.
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