Chapter 95

"I found her boots! Wow... are they healing themselves?" I heard Kunou say, as I kind of took in all the new sensations. My balance was unfamiliar, I lacked hands, my nose was super sensitive... That last one was actually kind of nice at the moment, since Akeno was currently under my chin and running her free hand along my... cheek? Muzzle? My nose felt dry, but I resisted the urge to try and lick it. It felt... it felt like I was simply piloting another body, and none of the buttons had labels.

I thought about speaking, saying something to tell them I was okay, but all that I managed was a kind of whiny huff noise. "There there, Ko-san." Akeno said.

"I'm sure you feel somewhat awkward." Yasaka said, my ears (that were big enough for me to actually feel the sunlight warming them up like little solar panels) turning towards her, "Let your mind adjust, don't try and make any sudden motions yet. A new form must be learned."

My first job would be standing up. I kind of didn't want to, since Akeno made such a nice pillow, but I didn't want to hurt her by randomly flailing my legs around until I managed to figure out walking. This must have been what it was like for Shinkage. I started by trying to push myself up off the ground. Left arm/front left leg... Right arm/front right leg... okay push back... don't try and stand on your back legs... I lost sight of Akeno, and had to look down to see her, but a pair of hands pushed against the tip of my chin.

"Careful Ko-san." She said. Apparently I hadn't stood up far enough, "There, yes, that's it."

"Your first steps will be the hardest." Yasaka continued, and I felt a hand on my leg/arm, prompting me to try and look at who was touching me, "Careful, Kodori-san." She said, a hand stopping my sudden head motion, again at the chin, "Slowly."

"Can someone help me?" There was a motion someplace within my collection of tails, "Or not?" I tried to turn around, the wind playing over the fur of my face and back as I tried. The motion felt clumsy, and with a great heaving motion, something was thrown into the nearby trees with a crash of shattering wood, "I'm okay."

"Kodori-san." Yasaka said, "Hold still."

It wasn't a... command. But Yasaka's words felt... very important, like someone just poked me to get my undivided attention. So, I stopped in place. I heard her move, the pretty kimono of hers swishing quietly as she stepped to my left, under one of my eyes.

"Relax." She said with a smile, "Your next lesson will be learning to look around without hurting anyone. Then we will teach you to walk."


It took about an half hour to just... get used to all the new feelings surrounding my new shape. I hadn't realized it at the start, but Yasaka had stopped the slowly building panic I didn't even realize I was feeling, and with the help of the others, was helping me just... move my head around. It sounds silly, but there is a huge difference between looking over the bridge of your nose, and down the length of a muzzle. For instance, I had to look to the side and tilt my head to look down at my front foot/paw. Or turn my head and body to look towards my back. Unless what ever I was looking at, was directly in front of me, I could only really see something with one eye at a time without moving a lot more than just my neck.

Only after Yasaka was confident I wouldn't smash my face off of something/someone when I wanted to look at them, did she actually get me to try moving around. Now that I wasn't trying to think of everything at once, it was much simpler. Kind of like crawling, except with proper legs instead of just hands and knees. I was slow at first though, just... trying to move and turn without toppling a tree (which I did...) or stepping on anyone (which I did not). Unlike when I was on two legs, I had far more blind spots. I couldn't tell if something had gotten under foot after my eyes had moved forward, which left a good metre or so of 'under the chin' that I couldn't see.

Akeno helped the most here. With my nose, and her hand on the point of my chin, she made sure I wouldn't trip on something while I worked on just moving forward. Thankfully, I didn't have to think about balance. I'd always trusted my tails to help keep me upright, so even like this I never felt like I might tip over or anything. Speaking of... I seemed to have another one, and to my surprise, it was a perfect mirror of Haruhime's. I wondered what she would say when I returned home... Maybe I could trade again? I kind of really missed seeing a golden tail on her...

Also speaking of tails... At least I had enough of them to at least hide the fact I felt more drafty then I was really comfortable with. This also reminded me that I'd ruined my dress.

"Kodori-san." Yasaka called, prompting me to turn my head only slightly then tilt it a little so I was looking at her, without moving my entire body to get both eyes on her, "Your next lesson, since it is just before dinner, will be changing back."

I turned and sat down (like a good giant fox doggo), my collection of tails sweeping around to curl about my legs, and I finally licked the end of my nose to get rid of that itchy dry feeling. Since all my attempts to talk had ended up in loud whiny fox noises, I nodded down to her silently.

"Most of us learn to do this early. Some use a mirror, others a picture, others still manage to do it with just their imagination."

I looked not at her, but Delly, who was sitting on Kunou's shoulder. I made my first non-whiny noise at her, a sort of rumbling huff. Yasaka's mention of a mirror reminded me I had no idea what I looked like.

"Oh! Sure I can do that." Delly zipped off of Kunou's shoulder, "I think you'll be surprised Boss, you're quite the looker." She hovered in front of me, clapped her hands...

And suddenly the air became solid, and I was looking at myself. I tilted my head this way and that, looking at how I'd changed. But only on the outside. I knew and felt like myself still. Just much taller and with more fur. I still didn't have really fine motor control yet, so it took a few tries to see the backs of my ears, but... yes. I'd taken on the image of what I'd seen my magic to look like. The only notable difference were the two silvery traces that went from just behind my (still itchy grr) black nose, along the top edge of my muzzle, and under my eyes. Carefully I brought a paw up to try and scratch at one of them.

"Probably a hint of Fenrir's influence on you Boss." Delly said, "I did my best, but I guess some of it still got to you."

To show her I didn't mind, I leaned forward just a little, and very carefully tried to nudge her with my nose. I missed, but she moved a little and gave the side of my muzzle a hug, "Thanks Boss. Wanna try getting back down to your usual size? I keep thinking you're going to sneeze at me or something."

Apparently fox faces could do even more impressive 'raised eyebrow' looks than a normal one. But she was right. I was starting to feel kind of hungry, now that Yasaka had mentioned dinner, and I didn't want to take the next step of trying to eat while like this just yet. I closed my eyes, and thought of the same advice I'd given to Issei, when he was trying to hide his second gauntlet. "Did you always have a red metal gauntlet for a hand?"

It felt a little like taking off a shirt that was far too large for me. Except, it wasn't just one shirt, but dozens of them, being pulled off, shrunk out of, then pulled off again. Like I was trying to stretch out my body in reverse. Thankfully, it didn't feel like I was un-growing my hair/fur or having my bones shift around into new positions, or how it felt when I started to pull in enough magic to start to expend my muscles. It was just... a feeling of slipping through a bunch of fabric.

"Welcome back, Ko-san." I heard from my left. I opened my eyes, and once again I was the proper height above Akeno, "Oh!" She pointed at me, or rather, my back, "Delly show her!"

"Hmm?" Delly zipped down to our level, shrinking the sky mirror she'd made and bringing it with her. "Ohhh, it moved again!"

"What's this?" Yasaka asked, walking so she could look as well, "My my... this is a very strange tattoo. This is Hestia-sama's mark on you?"

My being naked didn't seem to bother them, but my tails wrapped over my chest and hips to at least help me feel less exposed. "It is. A pure, emotionless reflection of who I am. Kind of like a very dry resume." I replied, looking over my shoulder and into the reflected status on my back. None of the numbers had changed, but the picture had. The fox, formerly six tails, was now showing my current eight, and had changed its pose slightly, sitting proudly, its body aligned with my spine, its tails spread out four to each side. There was a new line of text under the fox, where my perks and curses were.

"Hold the mirror still... Wait, can you flip it so it's a picture, and not a mirror?" If I was going to try translating it, it would be much easier if it wasn't backwards.

"Just a second... There."

The picture flipped, showing me what was on my back without reversing the words. No, the numbers were still the same, but reading it now, it wasn't just new. It had replaced something. Between 'Titan's stance' and 'Blood Alpha' something new was in place of what was once 'Kitsune Manifestation'.

"Beloved Kitsune of Hestia." I read. That was it. No longer did it say 'grants bestial form' or 'may lose control'... I started laughing, "When I get back, I'm going to give Her such a hug!" It didn't need to say any of that any more. It was no longer a 'manifestation' it was me. Just me.

Akeno hugged me suddenly, "That's wonderful!" She let me go, then handed me my ring back, "She'll be so proud of you."

"I'll have to tell her the news later." I nodded, "Ha-chan too." I smiled, "Now, if my Miko would be so kind? I seem to be naked."

As Akeno smiled and warmed up her 'instant Miko outfit' spell, Yasaka chimed in, "Preserving your clothes is a slightly more advanced lesson."


"Sorry partner." I said as I scrubbed Shinkage's body with a horse hair brush one of the 'faceless' had provided, "Was a little more of myself than usual." We had all gotten back up to the shrine, and were just waiting for dinner to be served.

"No harm done." He replied, "You seem different."

"Different how? I mean, I feel different, but I don't mind another perspective." I looked over to Akeno, who was looking at something with Delly and chatting quietly. Rias would be so jealous when Akeno told her about this little trip.

"These eyes you gave me can see the magic around a person. Yours has always been focused on your tails. Now it covers your body."

I nodded, pausing for a moment to think, then continuing to scrub while I replied, "That sounds more or less like what happened. I'm still trying to... let in all the new feelings. The closest thing I can think of, is if you and one of your previous hosts just became one person, not two. But not like one overwriting the other."

"I can imagine that, but it's never happened." He rolled over so I could scrub some mud off his belly, "We've always been too... distinct. Sometimes, the host suppressed me completely. Other times they were too timid, and I had to take matters in hand." He stood up again, "I suspect Issei is the closest to have come to a true partnership, though I'll never know without asking."

"He does seem to get along well with Ddraig." I nodded, "All clean. I think I heard some more pebbles in your foot though. Can you manage another day or two?"

"Yes." He carefully nudged me with his shoulder, "What do you think Yasaka will teach you next?"

"No idea. But I'm looking forward to it all the same."


After dinner, while we drank some very nice tea, we got into what was next on the 'Kodori's Kitsune boot camp' menu.

"You should be getting back soon." I told Akeno, "They'll need your help with the culture festival. Not to mention the rating game coming up."

"Are you sure?" Akeno asked. "If you wanted me to stay, just in case, I'm sure I could..."

"I think the most dangerous part is done." I replied, "And thank you for that. The clothes too."

"You're at least wearing them properly." She sighed, "I suppose I should be getting back."

"Please, give my regards to Rias-san." Yasaka smiled, "Though I am sure young Issei has done so already."

"Tell her she should visit too." Kunou said, "Right mama?"

"Yes, they are all welcome here." Yasaka nodded, "But, how will you be getting back?"

"Oh that's easy." I smiled, "Ahem." I turned my body to face Akeno properly, "For your service, Akeno Himejima of Rias Gremory's peerage, I offer payment of one back rub. To be given after I return to Kuoh."

"I find this acceptable." Akeno replied, "Thank you for using our services." She gave me a small bow and stood, "See you soon, Ko-san."

The ground under her feet lit up, a teleport circle forming with the Gremory crest at the centre. Then, with a final wave and smile, she vanished. "Since she was here under a summoning contract, she had a way back under the same conditions." I explained, "It's a handy system, if you don't mind the potential risks."

"It's good to see a Kitsune and her Miko getting along." Yasaka smiled.

"Risks?" Kunou asked, "You two are friends though, right?"

"Well yes." I nodded, "However, if a normal person called up a devil, and didn't word their wishes properly... Delly? You're better at this one."

Delly put down her tiny tea cup and walked across the table to stand in front of Kunou, "Think about how Kodori phrased her words." She held up a finger while holding her elbow with the other hand, "I offer payment of one back rub."

Kunou thought about that a moment, "Well... For her help, I suppose the price was a little low?"

"Well, that's just them being friends." Delly laughed, "And Kodori is amazing at giving them." Delly shook her head, "Under the exact wording of what was said, Kodori would only have to give Akeno a single rub." Delly hovered up and ran her finger over Kunou's forehead exactly once, "There done!"

"Oh! But I thought..." Kunou rubbed her forehead.

"Contracts with devils can be very tricky." Delly returned to the table, picking up her tea again, "A nice devil will honour the spirit of the contract, while a mean one, or lazy one, will only meet the words of it."

"Even when I called her here, I only asked for help. Being a wonderful person, she didn't question what kind of help, she just did." I explained, "If I had say, asked some other devil I didn't know, I'd have to word things carefully, work out payment before hand, write things down, give a receipt after..."

"Don't worry Kunou-chan." Yasaka gave Kunou's closest ear a gentle pat, "You will learn as you grow. Though... This brings me to thinking." She paused, and we all waited for her to continue, "Seeing as the Japanese Gods have signed to join the Three Factions and the Northern Gods, I have been giving thought to sending Kunou to school."

Unlike most kids, Kunou's eyes practically exploded with sparkling hopefulness.

"I'm guessing home schooling is fine to a point." I nodded, "Anywhere in mind? I think Rossweisse mentioned a school by the castle we found you at..."

"With the recent troubles, I was thinking someplace safer." Yasaka shook her head, "I had thought my territory secure, but a moment's lapse in attention was all it took for this recent trouble."

"I just happen to know Kuoh Academy has a junior school." I said, "Being the centre of the Three Factions on the mortal realm, there are few safer places."

Kunou managed to dial the sparkling hopefulness up a little.

"I wouldn't want to trouble them..." Yasaka said with a worried frown.

"Simply having her in Kuoh would afford her the same protection they put on the civilians." I replied, "And I think at this point, if you didn't at least ask Sona, who is the one in charge of the school affairs, not Rias, who is in charge of the territory, poor Kunou might melt." Something occurred to me as well, "I'd happily invite her to my territory as well."

Kunou turned her sparkling hopefulness towards me. I almost wanted to tint my sunglasses.

Yasaka smiled, "It would comfort me to know she would be welcomed." Then, pretending she hadn't noticed the glowing wellspring of hopeful fox eyes, "What do you think Kunou?"

Unable to contain herself any longer, Kunou pounced her mother, hugging her tightly, "Yes please mama! I'd love to go!"

Returning the hug, though far far calmer about it, the elder Kitsune gave her daughter a head pat, "Very well, I will arrange things."

"I'll send word ahead, get Kunou's sizes for a uniform and the like. With how efficient Sona is, she might need a week at most." I offered, trying not to feel incredibly jealous of the mother and daughter together.

"That would be quite helpful yes." Yasaka smiled, "It would also provide you opportunity to learn from her."

"I'd like that." I replied, "Would you help me learn more, Kunou-sensei?"

"Can you pay me in cookies?" She asked, reluctantly detaching herself from Yasaka and returning to her spot at the table.

"I'll make sure you eat properly." I said, "I won't spoil you with junk food, but there will almost always be cookies."

Kunou smiled happily, "Yay!"

"This brings us back to your training, Kodori-san." Yasaka said, "Shall we attempt the next lesson?"


We had moved outside the shrine, the sunset making the grandeur of the place light up with an almost ethereal glow. I stood a few paces from Yasaka, with Kunou between us, the both of them facing me seriously.

"The spirit fire, or foxfire as it is most commonly called, is much like the name suggests." With no apparent effort, a blue flame about the size of her head appeared above her, "It is as natural to us as our tails, born of our spirit."

Kunou held out a hand, scrunching up her face a little with concentration, and a smaller flame 'foofed' into existence over her palm. "I might have nine tails like mama... But my flame isn't that hot yet."

"She will grow into her power." Yasaka smiled, "Much like our shape changing ability, it is a natural thing. It might be difficult at first, but don't be discouraged."

I nodded, closing my eyes. I still hadn't tried to do much with the new 'shape' of my magic. So I really had no idea if I still had a problem pushing my magic outside of it, like before when I only had my black tails. But if this was going to work, I had to believe it would. I held out a hand, palm up, and tried to think of fire.

Nothing.

I wasn't trying to push magic out of my body, or use my usual spells to empower myself. Yasaka's explanation suggested that this was just 'a thing we could do'. I hoped that 'letting it happen' as I did earlier when I bonded with... well, myself really... that it would work here too.

Nothing.

Maybe it was because I was 'in total rejection of fire'? I saw the others use their flames to help me cook, and both Kunou's and Yasaka's flame were bright and warm. Would I have fire, but no heat? Bound by my curse to do no harm with anything but my own hands?

Nothing.

No... Fire was dangerous certainly. But I could still cook with a normal fire. I could create fire with simple tools, creating friction to light tinder. Even though that harmed something, it had worked... Daily, I used a little electric spark to light the gas forge in my workshop... Fire was something I could create, and work with. As a tool, I could use fire to create warmth or heat metal...

"A forge, a hammer, and burning passion." I said quietly, opening my eyes with a smile.

Something. A small wavering purple fire hovered innocently over my palm, bringing with it a gentle warmth, like putting my hand near a candle.

"My my... It seems you do have it." Yasaka smiled gently, "But..." She tilted her head slightly, "It seems strange."

I was trying to keep my little foxfire from going out, its connection to me feeling very... delicate. Not like usual, where I'd empower myself almost as easily as breathing, or casting Ha-chan's spell on others, this little fire was being powered by... something a little different, as well as my mana. "My curse." I guessed, the little flame wavering, "I can only harm things with something other than my natural weapons, if I am using it as a tool." I tried to open up that 'other' connection a little more, and my foxfire got just a little brighter. It was like turning a rusted faucet though, "I can cut food, use a fork, hammer steel, cut my hair, pull out hair with a brush... All things that 'harm' something."

"All those examples are from things that are not 'alive'." Shinkage said from outside our little Kitsune circle.

"True. I can't say, use a saw to cut down a tree, though, I can... could? cut down a tree with my aura, my summoned foxes or claws." Try as I might, I couldn't make my foxfire any brighter than a dim reading lamp, "Now that you mention it though... I threw you earlier, and I saw the broken trees."

"Wouldn't that... Ohhhhh." Delly smiled, "That's a good point Boss!"

"I'm afraid I don't understand." Yasaka admitted, getting closer and peering at my sad purple fire.

"It means, beyond a doubt, Shinkage is alive." I said, "I built his body out of lifeless metal, but it is more than just a container for his soul."

"I suppose you are correct." Shinkage rumbled, "Who says gods are the only ones who can create life?"

Yasaka poked her finger into my timid little fire, or tried to. Without my conscious command, it moved away from her fingertip. Another attempt had it change shape, wavering into a sort of circle shape around her finger. She looked at me, though I was just as puzzled as she was. "Curious." She backed up a step, "Well, it is still a success." She smiled, "How does it feel?"

"Very odd." I said with a frown, "It's mine, no doubt, but... Something is stopping me from making it more than it is. Hard to describe."

"Try."

"It's drawing power from me, but when I try and feed it more, the... connection seems too narrow. Like a clogged pipe."

"Ah, I think this is another instance of your adventurer abilities trying to mix with your innate ones." Yasaka nodded, "Or perhaps a byproduct of you holding your nature captive for so long." She put a hand on Kunou's shoulder, "Would you like to try?"

Kunou perked up, "I've been training hard mama." The little flame over her hand vanished, "Even if the others say I just play all day..." She brought her hands together, and started to link her fingers into a series of complicated looking gestures, reminding me instantly of Okakai when he made himself 'vanish' from other people's awareness.

With a final gesture, she raised one hand to her mouth, and exhaled a sharp breath through the 'O' of her thumb and index finger.

In short, she breathed fire, like a very small dragon.

We all clapped at the show, while Kunou gasped slightly to recover, "Well done." Yasaka said, "You've improved greatly."

Kunou smiled up at her mother happily, "It's not very hot, but I can do it every time I try now."

"Again, this is another more... spiritual power. More elemental in nature, much like us Youkai." Yasaka explained, "The techniques are far more dependant on your natural affinities than say, the magic of humans, who can simply add power to their magical calculations. While you may learn to make the seals with your hands, like Kunou has, any fire you create will be far weaker, if any at all."

"It's... still really amazing... I only had a vague idea that this stuff was real at all. The two Oni who live in my territory have used it a few times in my presence. How is it different from using charms though?"

She thought for a moment, "It draws from the same power as our fire or Genjitsu..." She paused as I gave her my best 'the what now?' face. "Oh dear... Come, we will spend the rest of the night teaching you the very basics. It is starting to get a little chilly."


We did indeed spend the rest of the evening talking about the various terms that Eastern magic had. Not wanting to be idle, I also tried to get reacquainted with my... 'old' magic. Thankfully that wasn't hard at all. My usual magic was in place and just as accessible as before, even easier to use in some cases. Of course, I also took the time to brush my tails, since I had a new addition, and I wanted to encourage them to behave themselves like they had been since I arrived in Kyoto.

Okakai used something called 'Genjitsu', something that effected the senses. Illusion magic basically. Maki had also used it, not just in the Rating game against Rias, but now when she hid her tails and ears from the students at Kuoh Academy. No matter how strong it was, it could never do direct harm to a person. Now, it could fool them into thinking they had been harmed, or hide the fact they were about to walk off a cliff, but there was no way to use Genjitsu to directly harm a person.

Kunou had used Senjitsu. In short, elemental or 'natural energy' manipulation. By using the hand gestures, you focused your mind and attuned your own energy (yes, Ki, or Chakra, or Chi, but not 'mana') to the flow around you, and create the effect you want. It had limits, and wasn't as powerful on a destructive scale as other magics, but it was by far more versatile.

"However." Yasaka, who was now giving the sleeping Kunou a lap pillow, the wide sleeve of her kimono acting as a blanket for the little fox girl, said, "Because of it being a spiritual ability, the deeper your connection is, the more dangerous it can be. Powerful negativity can corrupt you, if your will is not strong enough. I suspect, this might be the root cause of your rages."

I set my teacup down, "You might be correct. Every time it happened, there was something dire going on. Though... Maybe it wasn't an outside influence doing it, but my own emotions feeding it? I've drawn on it very heavily before, to the point where my body starts to change, but it was more like flexing a muscle, instead of other times, where it would be a fight or flight response."

"Maybe it was simply your inner self wanting out to be useful? I've felt that many times especially when my host was still young, and the connection between us was still growing." Shinkage supplied, "Before I split from Issei, I had to struggle to be noticed, relying on invading his dreams."

"Maybe it won't happen anymore. I'd be quite happy about that." I resumed brushing my tails, "Maybe... Maybe my wife got a little of my kitsune nature as well..."

It would be nice if she did... It might mean I'd never have to watch her die of old age... And that all of our children, and their children...

Delly landed on top of my head, and flopped herself between my ears, "You're on vacation." She whispered into one of my ears.

"Yeah." I mumbled, "Thank you for teaching me, Yasaka-sama." I said, standing and stretching my arms over my head, "But it's getting late, and I have a couple of calls to make before bed." I bowed to her deeply, almost dislodging Delly from the top of my head.

"Good night, Kodori-san. We will start again after breakfast."


I lay on the cinnamon scented mattress looking up at the wood ceiling. Already I was thinking of how I might implement my timid little flame into my work, be it in the dungeon or at the forge. I couldn't help myself really...

"Hey Boss?" Delly started, landing on my stomach lightly, "You gonna be okay? Thought you were going to call home tonight?"

I propped my head up on the pillow a little more, and looked down at her, "I'm still wondering how to tell them. I'm sure Hestia knows, She was there with me." I tapped a finger to my temple, "But She's really good about keeping personal news to Herself."

"Do you think it would matter?" Delly tilted her head a little, "I mean, come on, I've held her card, and talked to her, and your dreams with her are the best!" She pointed an accusing finger at me, "You are the mother and father of her children! Have survived all kinds of crazy things together! And from what Yasaka says, done the impossible!"

She held out her hands to either side, and my two golden tails flopped over her arms. "Yeah. All I have to do is return home. This change will just be another thing to help me do it." The tails on her arms wrapped her up and lifted her off me while I rolled over onto my side to get comfortable, "Thanks Delly." I put her down again, "Are you ready for the full moon?"

"All we need is a spot to start the circle. We have just over two weeks, and I've already gotten the mushroom spores ready." She tucked herself in, hugging a couple of my tails and laying down under my breasts, "yawn, might wanna remind that Ganesha person though. Just in case."

"As soon as I get back. I think the day after tomorrow, just so we can get in on the festival on Monday."


October 1

My first attempt at cooking with my own foxfire was... a little disappointing. The spiritual side of my power was still far too small, so the best I could do was make the metal stove top I was using to try and make breakfast just slightly hotter than my body temperature. I wasn't going to try and force it, so I asked one of the usual cooks to help. On the plus side, the temperature I was able to produce was just about right to heat up milk, something I might need to do when I got back.


After breakfast, and informing Yasaka about my plans to leave tomorrow, then working with her to help Sona start the process to get Kunou into school, we went outside to the shrine's courtyard and got down to business.

"While her training is far from complete, Kunou will certainly be able to help you start learning the basics of Genjitsu and Senjitsu." Yasaka said while looking with pride towards her daughter, "I can already feel your spiritual connection is stronger than it was, and I'm sure it will grow as you practise."

"It was a little stronger yes." I nodded, "Not much hotter than a light bulb, but stronger."

Yasaka nodded, "It has been dormant, and like a muscle it needs to be worked in order to grow. No, today we will work on the art that all Youkai, not just Kitsune, use to hide themselves among the humans."

"Ooo, this might be a tough one." Delly said from my shoulder, "Well, maybe not so hard now, but she's got a very solid sense of self."

"I agree."

"It is good to know who you are, and to have confidence in your self." Yasaka nodded, "But you are a fox. You are adaptable, your form able to change to the environment, be it a warmer coat, a sharper nose, faster legs... And while we may not hunt the largest prey, we are hunters."

"Well, I can't argue that I'm a hunter." I agreed, "But I'm... I dunno, I mean, my tails and ears are a huge part of my combat sense." I held out a hand for a tail, and had a black tail flop over my palm, "Yes, still a good tail." I gave it a light scratch, "I rely on them for a lot of things... What even happens when you hide them?"

Both Yasaka and Kunou smiled at my treatment of my tail, probably because it seemed silly to them. The two of them, with their nine tails behind them in a nice orderly fashion (well groomed fashion), seemed to have total control over them as well. Not once had I seen their tails look for attention, knock something over, or get in the way. Though, mine only went for attention... but that might have been because they were part of what I had locked away? Trying to reach a hand through the bars? I felt kind of bad now...

"Changing your outer form doesn't have to be an absolute." Yasaka smiled as her body got a little taller, her tails vanished, yet her ears remained, "You need not abandon everything." Her body changed again, her ears vanishing, human ears forming on either side of her head, and a single extra poofy golden tail rustling out the back of her fancy kimono. "Just as when you changed into a fox, your form is not a fixed thing." Her body glowed slightly, and she was suddenly a fox. Tall enough to look me in the eyes while standing.

I looked her in the eyes, closed my eyes, then pictured myself as I was, what felt like a lifetime ago, with only one long tail. It felt... Almost like Akeno casting her instant Miko spell on me yesterday. Like fabric sliding over my skin, except this time it was my tails. With a little shiver, I opened my eyes, then looked behind me.

One extra poofy tail. Mostly black, with two blond stripes from the base all the way to the tip. It swished lightly against my face to say hello. "Huh... That was easier than expected."

"Well done." Yasaka said, her form shimmering back to normal, "After such a large change as yesterday, this is much simpler."

"I will work on this... Though, I'll admit to a great deal of pride to my normal form." With a sort of weird shivering wiggle, my tails split up again, floofing out to their normal size with a shake, "And... Unless I want to hide what I am, when I return home, I will likely never do this again." I said honestly.

"Understandable, with such diversity walking the streets of your home." Yasaka looked a little sad, "Only here in the hidden Capital can we do that, so, we hide our selves in plain sight."

"I'll work on it." I nodded, "Though, only because I might not have Delly around all the time."

"At the very least, you must work on your fox form." Yasaka said, "While impressive, you may have trouble in smaller spaces."

Kunou looked up at me, then with a 'poof' of smoke, was now a fox. Maybe a little over an armful, she was a very pretty blond with white highlights through her fur and tails. "Before I do that though..." I knelt down, unable to resist giving Kunou a head pat, "I'm going to have to make sure I don't lose my clothes... I really liked that dress."

"You already know how to do that Boss." Delly said, "I mean, your armour..."

"True. But it's linked to a spell, a bunch of command lines, and some other stuff..."

"Let's work on that then." Yasaka said, "Delly-san, please help Kodori-san in case she doesn't get it on the first try."


It took many tries. Many many tries. Thankfully, we already had a secluded place to practise, (at the bottom of the mountain away from all the breakable things), and since I started by wearing Akeno's instant Miko outfit, I didn't lose any clothing.

About an hour into the exercise, I figured out more or less what I was doing wrong. But, once I figured that out...

Void and air. My two main elements. I'd actually done this before on my own, when I'd recreated the 'holy spear' for Rias's peerage. I only sort of knew what I was doing, and thought it was me creating a tube of my wife's power, and filling it with my own. But I'd actually made a tube of 'air' and filled it with 'spirit' or 'void'. After an hour of Delly making outfits for me, then me 'taking over' the spell, so it was linked to my power and not hers... I instead started 'filling' the outfit with my own power, then tried to change.

The first partial success had me return to human form with what amounted to bits of conjured rags. A dozen more tries and I had more or less kept myself covered. A dozen more after that, and I was able to bring out the exact same outfit.

With me constantly changing from humanoid to fox, I'd also tried to make myself more... indoor friendly with my size. Eventually settling on something about the size of Shinkage.


"Poor Akeno might be out of a job now." Delly said, "Well, except you can't seem to do colour."

"Black goes with everything." I said, looking down at my all black summoned body suit.

"Adding colour will be up to you." Yasaka said with a smile, "But in actuality, you've skipped part of the lesson."

"Well... I only packed two changes of clothing." A number one mom and dad shirt and two pairs of track pants and my 'under armour' body suit like I was wearing now, "And I don't want to risk my nice coat until I get it right. Maybe I'll just buy a few dozen pairs of boxers and practise later."

"I'm confident you will be able to master this as well. It's quite similar to how a familiar works." Yasaka smiled, looking at Delly.

"Speaking of..." I looked to her as well, "You haven't hidden in my mana for a couple days now."

"Eh... well... With how the ley lines were, and now your new balance, I didn't want to risk it." She scratched one of her silver ears, "You're my Boss, and my friend, and you've treated me amazing for someone so powerful, but..."

I reached out and snagged her for a hug, "I'm sorry, I didn't know it bothered you so much."

She hugged the side of my head as usual, "Well, I didn't want to worry you. I mean, it's not like the weird changes have been bad! I mean, I'm still adorable! But well..."

I tried not to look like I was suddenly feeling really bad about it. I'd honestly not given a second thought about the changes I'd put Delly through. Keeping her in my body early on in our relationship and nearly getting myself killed by draining Fenrir's power had changed Delly from a Fairy to... something more/else/different... Much like I'd gone from human to Renard/Kitsune. It must have been a bit of a shock.

"I'll wait until you think I'm stable enough." I nodded, "Suppose you'll need to eat more then. What a terrible shame." I smiled.

"Don't get too fat. I might try to see if I have a sense of taste after all."

"Meany."

"Noisy."

"Let's return for lunch." Yasaka said, gathering up the still foxy Kunou in her arms and cuddling her in that reserved noble fashion one might a little lap dog, "This time however, you must do it as a fox." She said to me, "No helping." She said to Delly and Shinkage."


As tempting as it was to simply change into a huge fox and simply walk up the back side of the mountain, my unbreakable grip and size making short work of the steep terrain... I instead changed into what I would probably use from this day forward as my 'default size'. That being about the size of a tiger. Larger than any natural fox, or even wolf, I was still sleek, nimble (looking, since I was still not used to moving as a fox), and easily identified as a fox.

My smaller size in no way changed my strength or speed, but I was still quite clumsy. After spending nearly two hours getting back up and around the mountain, tripping, falling, getting covered in dirt and leaves, and finally getting to the steps of the main road of the Hidden Capital, I reached the top of the steps.

I resisted the urge to change back then, and instead did my best to trot up the path, past a couple of fox masked priests, around a small garden, until finally I stopped at the entrance of the shrine, making a 'yip' to announce my arrival, and shaking myself a bit (nearly falling over with the momentum) to get a little dirt off me.

"Welcome back, Kodori-san." Yasaka said, "Did you enjoy your trip through the forest?"

I sneezed, then rubbed the side of my muzzle with a paw.

"You've done well. Please, return to your normal form, and join us for lunch." She smiled, hiding her hand, "Unless you've already eaten... I know the forest has all manner of things to entertain a hungry fox."

I gave her my very best foxy raised eyebrow, and went about changing shapes again.


"To continue from yesterday evening." Yasaka started after I'd finished eating a staggering amount of food. All that shape changing had taken more than just mana from me, "You were asking about the various seals and charms?"

"I sort of know what they do already, though, not how they work specifically."

In the background, I could hear Delly and Kunou wrestling, trying to settle the argument of what was better, four paws or two hands and feet.

"It is similar in many ways to how human magic or even devil magic works, in relation to the magic circles and calculations." She took out a little cut out of a paper person. Drawn on its 'chest' was a small mark that looked like kanji, but I couldn't really read it. "This is a simple paper familiar." She put the paper person down, touched the kanji with a fingertip. She raised her other hand in front of her as if praying.

I could feel a subtle... something. Again not quite like magic, but still 'magical'. She took her finger away from the figure, and with a wobble, it bent itself and stood up, swaying slightly as its paper body stood there. After finding its balance, it started to do a comical little dance. Yasaka still had her one hand up in prayer, and was watching the paper person carefully.

"By investing a little spirit into them, you can create all kinds of effects. This is the most basic of forms. But, as you become more advanced, you can add to it, refine it, and eventually..." She put both hands together this time, making a quick trio of motions. The paper person wobbled one last time, then with a little puff of smoke, it became a white bird. It was still clearly made of paper, but the original cut out looked nothing like it did now, nor did it have the volume to become so complex.

"Hm, so, mystic symbol, spirit, intent, result?" I asked.

Yasaka sighed, but nodded, "I forget that you are an outsider when it comes to this. While I can't argue that you are right, it stings slightly that you are so... casual about thousands of years of spiritual tradition."

"If I don't understand the basics, I'll never be able to learn it." I shrugged, "If you told someone to never mix..." I thought for a moment, remembering the online chemistry classes I'd started taking along with some others when I got internet access, "Cl2, 2NH3 and H2O. You'd never get your point across." She gave me a puzzled look, "Chlorine, ammonia and water. Makes potentially lethal gas." She perked up and nodded, "So, now that I know 'mystic symbol, spirit, intent, result', I can go about learning the specifics."

She nodded, and looked to the side. A moment later, a fox masked priest stepped over, placed down a pair of ink stones, brushes and a stack of blank rectangle paper, then vanished again. "Then with that in mind, I shall teach you some basic charms."


NOTES!

House training done, time to go to school. :)