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Yakumo Ran knew from the looks on Yakumo Sou and Chen's faces that they had something they were afraid to tell her. "What's going on?" she asked, bracing herself.

"Um, Ran-sama…" Chen kept shuffling her feet while trying to avoid looking directly at the kitsune.

"We were wondering…" Sou also seemed quite nervous and Ran noticed that the young girl was holding something behind her back.

"What do you have there?" Ran asked as she peered over. "Is it another stray cat?"

"Actually…" Sou sheepishly revealed what she was holding and Ran found herself looking at a young fox cub, a little creature with light red fur curled up into a furry ball as it slept. The little animal looked a bit sickly and Ran instantly knew that it was a runt. "We found her near the donation box at the shrine."

"We couldn't just leave her there, so we brought it back," Chen said, giving Ran a wide-eyed pleading stare. "Please let us keep it! We promise we will take good care of her!"

"Sou, Chen…" Ran gave a sigh. "Listen to me, alright? Taking care of an animal is not an easy task; it is one that consists of many responsibilities. Sou, you need to understand that taking care of an animal doesn't mean just feeding her or brushing her fur. Baby animals like that are quite fragile, especially since it looks like that cub is a runt; you need to make sure that its need are taken care of, needs such as being fed, keeping her body in good condition, and giving her some space to exercise. Are you ready to take care of such responsibility?"

Ran turned to Chen next. "Chen, I know that you have taken care of many kittens, but a fox is quite different from a cat. You will have to make sure you are knowledgeable of the proper ways to care for a fox cub and that Sou knows them as well."

"I…I can do that!" Chen insisted. "So does that mean…?"

Ran gave the two girls a smile. "I suppose it would be a good experience for little Sou to learn how to take care of a pet. But Sou, you should talk to your parents about this. If they say yes, then you can keep her."

"Th-thank you!" Ran couldn't help but chuckle at the look of pure happiness on Sou's face; it was an expression she had often seen on Chen's face when the nekomata was younger, an expression that usually surfaced whenever Chen had done something that made Ran proud.

'To think that Chen would be the one tutoring Sou on how to take care of a pet…she's definitely matured over the years…'

"I'm sure Yukari-sama would let you keep her!" Chen said excitedly to Sou.

"I hope so…I've never asked Mommy and Daddy for a pet before…"

"Oh? What do you have there, Sou?" The voice of Yakumo Yukari caused the three to jump; the Youkai of Boundaries still kept her rather bad habit of appearing out of nowhere and was currently peering down at her daughter and the two shikigami from a gap she opened up. "Oh my, what a cute little fox!"

"Sou, did you pick up a stray animal?" Yukari's wife, Reimu, emerged from the gap as well, trying to get a closer look. "Where did you find it?"

"I found her near the donation box at the shrine!" Sou replied. "Please, can I keep her? I promise that I will be responsible and take good care of her!"

"Well, it's a big responsibility…" Reimu began before being interrupted.

"Let her keep it," Yukari gently insisted. "Sou has always been a good and responsible girl; I'm sure she can handle it."

"I can't argue with you there," Reimu said with a smile. "Alright Sou, you can keep her."

"Thank you, Daddy! Thank you Mommy!"

"But you know, that little cub sort of reminds me of Ran when I first found her," Yukari mused as she watched Sou and Chen celebrating. "To think she used to be so small and only had one tail…time sure flies."

"Did you have to ask anyone for permission to take her home?" Reimu teased.

"Does Yukari-sama ever ask for permission when she wants to take something or someone home?" Ran asked, a dry smile on her face.

This caused Reimu to burst into laughter as Yukari gave Ran a look of mock hurt. "No, she doesn't!"

For information on OCs, it would be best to read "Mundane Musings of the New Generation Introductions."

It was kind of nice writing Chen in an older sister role; hopefully there will be more chances to write her like this