A/N: New fic? Time for a beefy A/N! Putting this now, Zenkaina's name is a combination of two Japanese words (Google Translate, grain of salt and all that) Japanese for 'Calm' is Odayakana… and 'Benevolent Kitsunes' use the term yōkai, so I combined those two and made Zenkaina… though his name is Zen for short which happens to mean… Peace.

So, I've done variations with being raised by Anankos, Wolfskin, so the next logical step would be… Kitsunes! But, not just Corrin being raised by Kitsunes, oh no, that's not quite enough for me this time… Corrin is a Kitsune!

I'm also going to go ahead and include the beautiful 'names' list. I can say with confidence now, there will be 4 OCs in this fic. Well… technically 3, since one is just Corrin with a new name… again. Two are in this chapter, and the other two will be much later on.

Names (Translations) [Notes]: Zenkaina (Benevolent and Calm Kitsune) [Zen for short, well mannered and charismatic] | Kireina Shi (Beautiful Death) [Zenkaina's sister, far more dominant and aggressive]

Temporal King: You asked, you waited, and here ye shall receive. I hope you enjoy it!

Consort: Kitsunes. Beast-focused. There's not much more to ask for...

Zenkaina

"Yip! Yip!" A young Kitsune dashes across the mountaintop Hamlet he 'calls' home… not that he has learned to speak quite yet. This Kitsune, unlike his parents, has a primarily orange coat of fur, blazed with red stripes and markings on his back, sides, and hind legs, with his last difference being the last three inches of the tip of his tail, which is a distinct pure-white color. He got this specific coloration from his great-grandmother, who was of a rare sub-species of Kitsune, known for their more keen access to the powerful Foxfire… this coloration will allow him to have use of a single Foxfire Orb when he matures, and will raise to four when and if he can master Nine-Tails.

His parents named him Zenkaina.

"Yip!" A second young Kitsune, Zenkaina's sister who is named Kireina Shi, and unlike Zenkaina, has a coating of midnight black fur, streaked in gold in the same places where Zenkaina has red, lastly her last three inches of tail are almost dipped in a deep red color. She got this specific coloration from her great-great-grandfather, who was of a rare black-fur sub-species of Kitsune, known for their dominance and much higher skill and power at birth. This coloration will allow her to persevere in endurance and strength challenges that would break most Kitsunes… and she could, with practice, rival a below-average Wolfskin. Her Nine-Tails, should she master it, would have her tails at such a strength where she could use them to fight as well as any moderate bludgeoning weapon.

Kireina Shi tackles Zenkaina from a sprinting leap, causing the two to tumble on the grass for nearly five seconds before the rolling stops and she playfully snaps at his neck. Zenkaina stops, signaling the end of this particular 'battle'.

Shi growls as she dismounts from the top side of their play fight… again. Zenkaina tilts his head, unnerved by his sister's constant wins, but also not worried enough to let it get to him. Then again, he's only a kit.

His mother, a pure-golden fur Kitsune adorned with a white tail tip, nabs him by his scruff, causing him to move about wildly, akin to a 'moooom! Stooop!' manner.

Shi smirks at him, but then their father picks her up by her scruff, and she struggles, lashing back and forth in a far more defiant manner… that is, until he shakes her, to which she stops, though she still pouts. Once their parents reach their hut, they place their kits down. The father rolls Zen on his back and gives him a 'medical' sniff, making sure he didn't accidentally injure himself during their play fighting today. Their mother does the same to Shi.

"Good…" Their father speaks, his single tail swaying from side to side, before he begins to groom his son some. "You did well today, Zenkaina. Great-Grandmother smiles on you." Zen tilts his head, yips… and causes a puff of blue smoke to come out of his maw. His father sniffs it… "Foxfire, just as I remember my father describing it…" It's like the smell of fire, but there's a distinct 'spiritual' essence to it, which is dependent on the Kitsune's 'main' personality. For one such as Zenkaina, this unique scent is a combination of Lavender and Vanilla. "Fruit?" He simply asks, causing Zen to furiously wag his tail.

"And you as well…" Mother also proceeds to groom her daughter. "Your twice-Great-Grandfather would be proud." Zenkaina lets out a small Kitsune-style giggle, whilst Kireina Shi playfully swats at mother's snout. "Oh yes, you have his fighting spirit, don't you? You'll be a great defender of this Hamlet, won't ah!" Shi manages to land a particularly precise swat, causing mother to recoil. Shi immediately whines after, but mother shakes her head. "No, it's alright. Wow, you got some oomph behind those tiny paws of yours…" She licks Shi's paws, and then nuzzles her stomach. "Meat?" She also simply asks, causing Shi to yip and lick her maw. The parents nod at each other, both give a stern look to their kits and say one more Parental Power word:

"Stay." They speak in perfect unison, before walking out of their hut, and going out to snag some fruit and meat for their kits.

Once they are out of earshot, Shi stands up, and stares at Zen. Zen rolls on his back and happily lolls out his tongue. Shi yips, raising up her head in a sort of disgusted manner… her brother won't play after their parents say 'Stay', so… she begins chasing her tail. Zen doesn't understand why Shi just doesn't listen to their parents as much, so he watches her chase her tail whilst upside down.

Within a minute, Shi begins running in circles so fast that she is kicking up dirt, grass, and slowly digging a hole in the ground… again. She is so fast, that she is almost becoming a black and gold blur, with a tinge of red. She doesn't stop until she hears their parents return, which means they can hear Shi and see the dust cloud that has wafted out of their hut. By then…

Shi has dug deep enough to be completely under the ground. She hops up and places her front paws on the higher ground, then yips. "Shi…" Mother sighs, picking her up by the scruff again. "Stop doing that…" For the first time today, mother shifts to her human form, and starts filling the hole back in. "Go, eat your food…" She frowns. Kitsunes tend to lean towards loose-fitting clothing, such as kimonos since it won't mess with their fur too much, and their mother is no exception, a beautifully woven blue and white kimono, extending to her ankles. Shi yips, and happily devours the rabbit and bird their mother had snagged.

"Well, aren't you relaxed, Zenkaina?" Their father teases as he drops a bulging orange, apple, and a peach near his son's upside laying body. "Here you go…" He rolls the apple over, and while Zenkaina is still upside down, he bites it, letting out a very satisfied yip as his snout is splashed with some apple juice. He then proceeds to lick the excess juice, before going into another bite. "Now, we're going to head out and help out the rest of the hamlet, stay here…" He sends a particularly strong glare at Shi, "and enjoy your meals, we'll be back before nightfall."

"Yes, please don't go exploring again, Shi…" Mother specifies, before the two parents give each of their kits a lick, and the two leave out once more.

Shi dutifully rips off the meat from the rabbit's bones, while Zen takes another chunky bite from his apple. For a while, the two remain in noisy, smacking, and chewing 'silence'... until Zen finishes his Apple and Orange, while Shi picked her Rabbit and Bird clean. Shi glances over at Zen's Peach… he got three things, Shi got two. Zen is sprawled out, his peach is a few inches from where his tongue could reach…

Shi's stomach growls.

She may not favor fruits, but food is food. She rises from her prone position and creeps over to Zen's leftover food and… she snaps it. This causes Zen to try and lash out to get his midnight snack back, but due to his upside-down and relaxed position, could only watch in immature horror as Shi rips his peach to shreds within seconds… not even a half-second is spared to savor the sweetness… Zen is equally hurt by the theft and how she just devours the fruit without thinking about it…

He pounces at her, but she dodges and spits the core of the peach out. Zen growls, Shi gives a sort of… taunting yip. A set of sentences from body language.

Brother isn't strong enough, he lounges around when playfights aren't happening

Sister is too aggressive, training when she isn't playfighting.

Shi adjusts her body and pounces again, nailing the sightly slower Zen to the ground, and she lands a particularly reckless bite on his thigh. Zen yelps. Shi releases and jumps off… his thigh is scratched, and he lost just enough skin and fur to reveal a sheen of red. Zen backs off, the slightest of limps to his movement, Shi keeps a low stance until he lies back down. Another message of unspoken words.

You can't defend your own food, brother.

You didn't need to steal mine, sister.

Zen lies down and curls up, he makes a small whimpering noise, deprived of the peach his mother gave him. Shi remains tense for at least twenty minutes before finally lying down, but in a line, better to react with. The two kits simply look at each other, before finally falling asleep.

Zen wakes up, being nudged by his mother, back in her Kitsune form, and curled up around him. He pushes his head closer to her stomach, before rolling over onto his back and letting out a rumbling groan. He lolls his tongue out when he's on his back again, legs spread, and his tail lying under hers. Shi is lying on her father's back, still belly first and head on her paws. Though, right as Zen was about to return to sleep… his parents and sister wake up to the sound of the 'warning howl'. Within mere seconds, the Hamlet is up and awake, his parents give a quick and gentle, "Stay inside." As they rush out. Zen and Shi stay put, but Shi is tense and ready to fight, Zen shakes his head at her.

Stay in here, please… for once, sister.

I can fight, brother… but I will stay and defend you.

Zen backs off to the rear of the hut, and Shi takes a side corner, enough room to give her to unleash a terrifying pounce, but far enough for her to not have been seen if someone should poke their head in their hut. Zen shakes from fear… Shi shakes from a slight uncertainty. She isn't stupid, she knows she has only playfought with other kits… she never actually fought someone to the death. She's never fought against humans to the death. However, for the sake of her brother? She'll fight her best.

Tense seconds pass, but they feel like minutes, and every actual minute that passes, the sounds of Kitsunes stay high, but the humans start to lower. Good… good. The Hamlet has more than the lead… Zen starts to calm, Shi remains on high alert. Shi's ears twitch, and… it happens. Kireina Shi readjusts… to face Zenkaina. For a moment, he's confused, but since he's been so focused on listening for the Hamlet…

He was caught off-guard when the back of the hut is smashed and he's swooped up, but… the human was also surprised when he ended up getting a face full of black fur, ripping right into his face. One bite on his cheek, one claw to his nose… and her tiny left paw has its claws digging into his eye. She snarls, the human scream in agony and throws Zen towards the forest. "Lil, bitch!" He roars as he frantically grabs the kit, but she has already jumped off, but his spastic flailing means that she ends up getting kicked by his boot. Shi yelps, being much smaller and not as strong as a matured Kitsune, is nearly knocked out from the kick alone.

Zen scrambles back, first instinct is to find his parents, second is to run to sis, third is to just run… he hasn't developed the same 'fighting' spirit as his sister has. He yelps out, trying to hear his parents… and his sister is past that armed human that is… turning… towards… him. Run. Zen kicks up dirt as he scrambles away, yipping and yelping the entire way, trying to echo out to the hamlet that one of its kits is being pushed out. Zen rushes out, stumbling over several roots and bushes as the now one-eyed human comes rushing after him, and with sis trying to push herself up off of the ground. He glances back, and with his frantic running and general smaller size, he can't run as fast.

One particularly bad trip into a tree root later, and Zen is grabbed once more, the human's hands encircling his entire center. The man, not wanting to deal with more, just starts running again, his small 'prize' in hands. "Lil smaller than expected, but…" He mutters.

"Zen!" He is tackled by Mother, and considering who's involved, she strikes true. "Back to Hamlet!" She orders after she hits the man so hard that his head slams into the trunk of a tree, to which she dismounts and… shreds through his boots and back of his feet with deadly ease.

Zen, being as panicked as he is, looks around, then he stops to sniff… where? There! Zen stumbles as soon as he tries to run… then he dashes again, and… why can't he run?! Zen lets out a high-pitch yelp when his tail is yanked and he is taken again. He then hears Mother dismount the other man and run towards… she doesn't charge in. Zen sees a long weapon extend past him, and while he can't comprehend what it is, he can feel a chill in his body. "C'mon, bitch, give yourself up… and I'll let your brat go…" Mother pauses… then starts to back up. The man backs up, eyes locked on Mother. He keeps backing up, and the second he hits an unbidden root…

She pounces, closing the gap by the time it takes him to recover his footing. "Let. Go. Of. My. Son!" She snarls and snaps, slashing and clawing over the man, showing him no… right as she was about to take a chunk out of his neck, Mother lets out a painful yelp. Though, despite the pain, she finishes the man off, then pants, "Need to…" She turns back to see that the man that Zen thought she killed is back up, and throwing down some stinky smelling bottle. "Move… move!" She urges Zen, but instead of waiting for him, she picks him up by his scruff and starts limping away from the Hamlet. Zen retorts… safety in numbers. Mother swings her head and lops Zen on her back, then shakes her head, "I'll be targeted if I return, we're winning by far, but… trust me, Zenkaina. We just need to retreat for a few hours…" Mother sounds uncertain, Zen can feel it in her body, but… he doesn't know for what. "Hang on, Zen.." Taking a breath, she kicks up dirt and starts running, just as that man throws a dagger at Mother. Zen crouches down and digs his claws into her… fur, since his claws aren't long enough to get to her skin.

He whines as he presses his small body against his mother's back. But… what about father? Sister? He doesn't understand how running away helps. He's always been taught that numbers give better strength… the trees whizz by as his mother nimbully… wait, there's a lot of bumps on this 'ride', she sure is hitting a lot of extra things this time. Zen rubs his snout onto his mother's back.

"F-Fine… just, weary from… fighting." She responds. "Hang on, please." Within three minutes, mother breaks the boundary from the mountaintop to the ground, but there are still more. "Reinforcements…" She huffs, before forcing her body to keep moving. Her son needs to live, she knows she's on borrowed time, the Beastkiller toxin is sapping her strength at an alarming rate, and it's only due to adrenaline and a need to see to her son's safety that is keeping her going right now.

No longer in the forest, or even on an incline… Mother can now run at the legendary Kitsune speed, every stride covers more ground than a horse could even dream of doing, and while many might lose their grip… somehow it's smooth enough for even a young kit like Zen to keep hold. Mother runs for nearly twenty minutes straight before she yelps and trips… Zen falls off as Mother twists and turns and rolls for a distance longer than Kireina Shi could ever tackle him.

Zenkaina shakes his head and looks at mother after she finally stops rolling, her breath is labored… Zen yips, walking closer as his mother is having incredible difficulty pushing herself up… though she does. It takes about a minute, but she gets back up. "Keep… moving." She pants, and now… he can see.

There is a cut on her underbelly, bleeding not red, but… a sickening combination of green and red. Zen lets out a yip and steps… Mother backs off, "Don't." She snarls, not meaning to scare, but to express how serious she is, "That's a toxin… Zen. Very dangerous."

To...xin. Mother and father taught him about poisons and toxins, but this one seems far worse. It puts his fur on end. Zen keeps his distance from the green-blood Mother has dripping from her.

"Oh… oh my…" About this time, more humans start walking, but this time it's from the opposite direction, a very well-dressed female and male, with the female's dress having all of these gems and shiny colors on them, the male is wearing a suit of armor, and has a blade on his side. There are also at least a half-dozen more behind them…

Mother, despite her injuries, moves in front of Zenkaina, stance lowered, teeth bared. The humans behind the two really-well-dressed ones tense and reach for their…

"Halt." The man booms, "Can't you see? She's injured, do not give her more reason to attack." His stance is calm. Mother remains wary, but not wanting to strike unless she deems it necessary. "Greetings, fox… I-"

"Dear, I believe this is a Kitsune." The woman gently interrupts. "Hello, ma'am…" She slowly, slowly lowers her body… "You are aware of healing spells, yes? I have a decorated stick… a Festal, that I can use to heal with. Will you allow me to heal you?"

Mother stays her ground, glancing back to Zenkaina. "We only seek to help, ma'am. Men! Back up!" The man commands, and both he and all of the other armed men comply.

There is now no way they could hope to reach the woman in time if mother chose to attack. The woman speaks up again, "There, they are moved back… may I take out my Festal to heal you?"

"No… use." Mother spits back, still prone. Zenkaina yips in protest, "..." He doesn't realize that she won't make it. "Very well."

The woman tilts her head, wisdom shining in her eyes… Mother and the woman seem to have some sort of understanding that Zen can't grasp. "Good, thank you." She smiles, pulling out some sort of stick with a big top and… feathers? She raises the 'Festal' high and starts chanting a phrase, which closes the open wounds on Mother. Zen yips in excitement, Mother's wounds are closed! She isn't bleeding! He rushes up to her and rubs his head on her front leg, where there's none of that green stuff. Now… now she just needs rest, and food!

"...why?" Mother looks up to the woman.

"You were injured."

"I'm not so dull as to not be aware of the trickery that your kind holds." Mother accuses, but she doesn't prime herself to fight.

The woman thins her mouth, then lies her Festal down. "I empathize with the pain that must be coming from your emotions… but I also wish to assure you that I act solely from my own need to help. Here." The woman takes a few crouching steps forward, and then sits on her knees, she then raises her arms up and away from each other.

The armored men behind her seem highly concerned, but as soon as one even so much as twitches… "Your Queen knows what she is doing. You have your orders, and anyone that I catch as much as making a rude gesture towards this injured Kitsune will get double training next week. My wife is the least threatening person to this Kitsune." The fancy-armored man speaks.

Mother hesitates, but then slowly reaches out to sniff up her arm, and over to her neck… the woman gulps. Mother licks her neck, "Queen… you are their leader?" She asks.

"I am Queen Mikoto, and he is my husband, King Sumeragi. We were strolling through Hoshido for a special occasion…" Her cheeks turn a bit red.

Mother pulls back, satisfied that Hoshido's Queen just let her lick her neck, if Mother was some sort of evil Kitsune, she could've ripped out her neck right there, but… no. "You… help to… help?" Mother echoes a previous statement… and then falls down. Zenkaina starts yipping, to which he directs at Mikoto, then looks at Mother. This isn't resting, he knows the difference. "Son, shh… mother needs… rest." She looks up to Mikoto. "Request…"

She gently smiles, though it doesn't feel like happiness. "Of course, what is on your mind?"

Mother hesitates, while she is confident the battle went well… what of the future? The path back? If those poachers escaped, then her route back up would be infested with them… not to mention her near inability to get back, due to her Beastkiller wound. And she wouldn't dare send Zenkaina back alone… no. She needs to ask, it's the 'best' and 'safest' option for her kit. "Protect… my kit… Zenkaina." She just barely whispers. Zen yips in protest, nudging his mother's face. "Son. I was struck with the Beastkiller, and we don't have the cure for it… I can't make it back."

"We could escort you back to your Hamlet." Mikoto reasons.

"I would not… ask if I didn't consider… alternatives." Mother whimpers. "It pains me to ask, but… this, best… option for… survival."

"...As one mother to another, I swear I will raise him, Zenkaina, to the best of my ability." Mikoto lowers her voice. "Please, is there anything I can do for you? While I'm not truly aware of Kitsune traditions… it would pain me to have you pass on out here without any last requests for yourself."

"...only that… my body isn't…" She pauses.

"I understand." Mikoto nods. "I'm aware of those people. Would you care for a… proper burial? It'd be on Hoshidan ways, but…" She stops, and Zenkaina begins whimpering badly, nudging his mother's head, before he realizes what happened. "Zenkaina? That's your name, right? Can you understand me?" Mikoto whispers. Zen nods, "Good. Would you please come with me?" He shakes his head. "Zenkaina…?" Zen lets out a kit-bark, nowhere enough to be actually threatening…

Well, maybe if Shi was the one barking. Mikoto slowly reaches out and pats his head… he's acting out of stress and grief. "Shh, Zenkaina. Come into my hand, I promised her I will protect you, as one mother to another." Zenkaina watches as she extends an open palm to him, and he… walks onto it. "Good." She finally rises and turns to the others. "Gently carry her, we will offer her proper Hoshidan Royal burial rites." She smiles at Zenkaina, who hasn't quite stopped whimpering.

Sumeragi nods, "You heard your Queen, let's go! We have cloth, use it in place of a normal stretcher!" He then raises an eyebrow at her, "Royal?" Exactly three soldiers walk past with a white and red checkered cloth, and they carefully heft Zen's mother onto it, cradling her gently.

"Yes… I will raise Zenkaina as our own… and the only way to fully fulfill that is as Zenkaina, Prince of Hoshido." She looks to Sumeragi as she readjust and cradles Zenkaina in both of her arms, akin to a baby.

He smiles, "I know exactly what you are going to ask… and of course I agree. Zenkaina, you may not understand this now, but know you will be considered Royal, a Prince of Hoshido. Now, let us return… we need to prepare you for your new home… and siblings." He turns to a different soldier, a women with higher-grade armor compared to the rest. "Reina, return to Shirasagi. We need the spare bedroom repurposed for our new Prince, Zenkaina!"

"For the Glory of our King and Queen." She has a 'X' scar across her face, long blue hair, and she lets out a whistle. "Be safe!" Soon after, a flying beast comes into sight and lands, she mounts it and takes off.

Mikoto, Sumeragi, Zenkaina, his mother, and the soldiers make their way back to Shirasagi. Perhaps the strangest even to unfold after Mikoto's and Sumeragi's wedding anniversary picnic…

Kireina Shi

Kireina Shi groans as she opens her eyes, her ribs are still sore from when she was kicked after defending her brother. "Kireina Shi!" Her father exclaims, nudging her snout. "You're alive…" He breathes, licking her face. "It was a multi-sided attack…" He says, "we didn't realize it until the huts were being broken into…"

Kireina Shi yips, forcing herself up, then looks around…

Her father picks up on her gaze, "...They were separated from the rest of us. My love and Zenkaina have been forced out of the Hamlet by those humans." He hesitates, and Shi stares. "We smelled Beastkiller toxin, and there was a blood trail out of the mountains, but she wasn't dragged." He pauses again, hanging his head, his ears drooping.

Shi weakly swats his nose, then stumbles over and… stops herself from yelping.

Her father gently picks her up by her scruff and lies her down properly, "We won the battle, though. We killed the poachers, the hamlet is secured." He huffs. "Two are missing, you were knocked out, and only one had been heavily wounded. It… for the sake of survival, this is a win." His mood is barely improving, as is Shi's. It's true, they lived, they won, all of the poachers that attacked are dead, but… they still lost one matured female, one rare breed, one rare breed needs to recover, and one more matured male needs at least a week to recover. "Come, Kireina Shi… let us get some meat, we need to recover our energy for tomorrow."

Kireina Shi yips, rising up and… having to climb her father's fur to get onto his back.

"Good girl, now hang on." He walks out… time to hunt.

A/N: So, here we are… a brand new tale for Corrin, one where he was born a Kitsune… alongside his sister Kamui… Zenkaina and Kireina Shi, respectively. So, where to go from here? Am I suggesting a 'Divided Twins' style of fic? Though, it wouldn't be logical to say Zen for Hoshido and Shi for Nohr, but rather… Zen for Humans and Shi for Kitsunes… well, strap on in and we'll find out, eh?

And to put things in perspective (Using the Conquest Map): This Hamlet is located on a mountain top directly South of Hoshidan Capital, and to the South and East sides are the coasts to the ocean. Hence why the Royals were close enough to make this retrieval without risking that much.