Night had fallen. Su Bai tossed and turned in bed, unable to sleep. He never would have guessed that Yae Miko, that pink-furred fox, would alter the clothes in his wardrobe into a shrine maiden's outfit and try to trick him into wearing it.
If he hadn't felt something off about the fabric's weight, he might have actually fallen for that pink fox's scheme.
"Ara~ Little Bai is still awake? What's the matter? Can't sleep without your big sister's embrace?"
The door gently creaked open. A long, beautiful leg came into view—warm, fair, slender, and elegant. Enticing, no matter how you looked at it.
"How about big sister lets you use her lap as a pillow? I can sing you a lullaby to help you sleep~"
"Sister Miko, that was when I was a kid. Stop bringing it up."
Su Bai turned his head away, his fair cheeks slightly flushed. Yae Miko was talking about things from his childhood—he was grown up now. Yae Miko chuckled softly. It seemed Little Bai was still just as easy to embarrass as before.
"Still getting shy~ When you and that little oni boy fell into the ladies' hot spring as children, I don't recall you being shy then."
"That was completely different! Itto dragged me up a tree branch to look at an Onikabuto he'd found. We broke the branch and fell into the spring!"
Even now, the memory made Su Bai's teeth ache. He was completely dumbfounded when he fell in. That idiot Itto took advantage of the chaos and ran off, leaving him behind to be 'tormented' by those female demons. If he hadn't been quick-witted enough to use a clone and escape, they probably would have stripped him naked.
"Enough about that. Sister Miko, how has Hanachirusato-san been lately?"
"Hanachirusato-senpai? She's been quite idle recently. Ever since her resurrection, she hides in Chinju Forest every day playing cards. She's dumped all of Inazuma's administrative affairs on me."
"And here I am, a little fox of insignificant strength and low seniority, locked away in the Grand Narukami Shrine working day and night without rest. Boo hoo~"
'Hmph. As if I'd believe a single word of that.' Su Bai rolled his eyes. At best, half of what came out of Yae Miko's mouth was true. He refused to believe that Hanachirusato, who didn't have a scheming bone in her body, could possibly be a match for Yae Miko.
"In the two years I've been away, has Hanachirusato-san's body shown any abnormalities? I've been studying soul-related adeptal arts lately. Once I've mastered them, maybe they can help her."
"Even Little Bai, who hates studying the most, has started learning for Hanachirusato-senpai's sake. Such devotion. Truly enviable."
Whether Yae Miko genuinely envied it or was simply teasing, Su Bai couldn't tell. She stretched lazily, then used her slender, fair finger to tilt up Su Bai's chin, her slightly alluring gaze examining his face.
"If I became like Hanachirusato-senpai, would Little Bai learn these things for me too?"
"No, I wouldn't."
"As long as I'm here, Sister Miko, you won't ever become like Hanachirusato-san. I'll definitely protect you."
Yae Miko chuckled softly. She didn't refute his words. Instead, she gently pulled him into an embrace and began softly recounting the amusing stories of Hanachirusato's recent antics.
The matter of Hanachirusato's resurrection began when Su Bai was wandering through Chinju Forest. At just fourteen years old, he'd heard rumors that Chinju Forest was haunted. Fearless in his youth, Su Bai charged into the forest armed with talismans he'd drawn himself.
He didn't catch any ghosts, but he did find a fragment of a soul calling itself 'Sairento no Kitsune.' After he told Yae Miko about it, that same day, that old woman Ei went completely mad—she commanded the collection of a massive amount of precious materials and constructed a puppet in only a few days.
Even the high-quality cinnabar Su Bai used for his talismans was forcefully requisitioned by Yae Miko. Having no idea what was going on, Su Bai spent a good deal of that period badmouthing Ei behind her back.
But when Su Bai 'accidentally' learned that Hanachirusato-san, who had always been so kind to him, was a manifestation born from Saiguu's memories and 'filth'—and that she could vanish at any moment—he joined the plan to resurrect Hanachirusato without hesitation.
To ensure that fragile soul wouldn't be harmed again, Su Bai didn't hesitate to pluck all the fur from his tails and twist it into a cord.
Thanks to the excellent conductive properties of Su Bai's fox fur, the puppet, soul, and memories were ingeniously bonded together using that fox-fur cord as a medium. There was no resistance whatsoever.
But it also meant Hanachirusato had to keep that cord wrapped around her waist at all times. Still, such a minor inconvenience was nothing compared to being brought back to life.
Perhaps fate had finally grown tired of toying with Su Bai. Through every means available, Ei, Yae Miko, and Su Bai managed to let Saiguu walk the lands of Inazuma once more. Only this time, Saiguu didn't reclaim the name 'Saiguu.' She continued to go by 'Hanachirusato.'
"Oh, right. A month ago, Hanachirusato-senpai heard that Ei owed you a meal from way back. She's been staying in the Plane of Euthymia teaching my old friend how to cook. I haven't seen her in a while."
"The last time she came out to buy ingredients, her clothes reeked of smoke. Maybe the Plane of Euthymia caught fire."
Yae Miko laughed without a shred of sympathy. It seemed her old friend was in for quite the ordeal. Hanachirusato-senpai was not one to give up easily.
"Ugh, Sister Miko, I'd completely forgotten about that until you mentioned it. Now I'm actually curious what that old woman Ei will cook for me."
Now that Yae Miko brought it up, Su Bai did vaguely recall Ei mentioning something like that after Hanachirusato's resurrection. He'd just been too excited at the time and completely forgot.
"Speaking of which, Sister Miko, how is everyone in Inazuma? Has there been any trouble?"
"Well... there's certainly a bit of trouble. The Sakoku Decree and Vision Hunt Decree have thrown all of Inazuma into turmoil. Even Hanachirusato-senpai couldn't talk sense into my old friend."
Yae Miko sighed softly. Inazuma weighed no less on her heart than it did on Ei's. Seeing Inazuma in its current state, she didn't particularly want to return either.
"Oh, that's right. That oni boy you used to play with—what was his name? Itto? His Vision was confiscated."
"What?! Itto's Vision was taken?!"
Su Bai shot up from Yae Miko's embrace. People who lost their Visions became like walking corpses. No dreams. No aspirations.
"How is Itto doing lately? Is he alright? Has he become really depressed?"
These three questions from Su Bai piqued Yae Miko's interest in Itto's oni constitution. From what she remembered, after Itto's Vision was confiscated, his personality hadn't seemed to change much at all.
Based on the messages on the bulletin board, that little oni had actually become more outgoing after losing his Vision. My, my. Challenging Kujou Sara to sumo wrestling in the middle of the street—just thinking about it was amusing.
If Sara actually accepted the challenge, she'd definitely go watch. Perhaps the inspiration for her next light novel could be found in these two. Yes... the title could be The Untold Secrets of the Hot-Blooded Idiot and the Aloof General. It would certainly sell well.