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The following is a fan-based
FICTION
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Chapter 23: Mikon! Wife-Material spotted!
...Where am I?
For a very brief moment, for a blink of an eye- I woke up standing inside an unfamiliar school with... a school uniform on. I was somewhat de-aged, I found myself uneasy as I could tell that, despite the place I was in, there was this feeling of being watched from somewhere. Something about this whole scenario was wrong- how the hell did I get here?
I knew my name, I knew what was going on yesterday but... how did I end up here? I started to look around, trying to piece up whatever puzzle I could from the blurred memories of a few hours ago. I couldn't, not yet at least. I could tell that it didn't happen suddenly. I had this gut feeling that I had purposely stepped into this situation, but I didn't know the full extent of it. Could it be that I had entered a Mirror World? Right as I stepped outside, I could tell this was indeed a school. And the dread I had been feeling just mere moments ago had now increased as I felt someone watching from... nearby.
I tensed up, then I frowned and turned around, seeing someone shift from around the corner, trying to hide away from my gaze but failing to accomplish this in time because of a few extra details atop their heads which got my attention. Fluffy ears- this was... unusual and concerning. I slowly approached the source of my immense confusion and I spoke up, trying to guess what I had just seen. There were a few options available with what I have seen, but I decided to hit with the most obvious one first.
"...Tamamo, is that you?"
I heard a gasp, almost confirming my supposition and then the figure turned and showed herself to me. That was indeed Tamamo... but she was quite different. Her hair from pink had turned a light shade of violet, close to lavender, her skin was a darker shade and her kimono was now a dark-blue compared to the usual vivid shade it should have.
"Master knows who I am! I am so happy, mikon~!" The girl squealed, her foxy mannerism confirming my suspicions. This was Tamamo... So why does she look this different? "Oh? Master looks confused?"
"Your appearance-"
"Oh right, a proper introduction is needed," She giddily said, as she twirled a bit and took on a pose. "I am Tamamo-no-Mae Alter, nice to meet ya, Master~!"
...
"No, you are not," I replied flatly. I may be suffering a degree of amnesia, but I could instantly tell on the spot that wasn't the case for so many reasons.
Tamamo frowned, confusion entering her expression. "What? I am Tamamo-"
"You are Tamamo, yes, but you are no Alter."
She tensed up, and while she tried her best to appear annoyed, there was a sliver of hesitation. "I-I am an Alter."
"Nope."
"And how do you know that, Mikon!"
"Well," I hummed, taking a moment to get all the details down before listing them out to her. "First, your hair."
"What about it? It's paler-"
"It should be pale white," I interjected. "Literally all Alter versions have white hair."
Her shoulders sagged a bit. "R-Really?"
"Yep. And your skin tone. It should be pale too. The entire concept of an Alter's appearance is to appear inhuman. The kimono being darker is actually a good idea."
"Thanks~-"
"But you made a tiny mistake with your eyes."
She frowned. "What's wrong with them?"
Just as she asked that, I cupped her cheeks and had her shoulders tense up in surprise at the move.
"As I said, they should appear inhuman- cold and uncaring. Yet you are a good person, Tamamo. You carry love behind your eyes, wonderful love at that."
Her face burned up a bit at the comment. "I- M-Master, that's-"
"I know of your story."
Tamamo froze-
"And I know the truth of it. I know how you did nothing of what you were accused of."
It was possibly one of the saddest things that could happen to someone. Yes, Tamamo was no human and she lied by appearing as one and becoming Emperor Toba's favorite courtesan, but the way she got screwed was tied to the ignorance she already knew humans at the time bore within their hatred of her, but also because of the 'danger' someone like her represented to the Imperial politics.
Many would have paid a ton of gold to see her replaced with a courtesan they could use as spies, and what unfolded in her legend allowed them to actually tighten the hold over the imperial court. Beyond this, Tamamo was but a fraction of what she once was. No more a powerful nine-tailed Kitsune, but a small part of that entity, a 'tail' of what once was the Avatar of Amaterasu.
"M-Master," She muttered, tears swelling at the edges of her eyes.
I pulled her in a hug, she sobbed a bit onto my shoulder but recovered quite fast.
"Tamamo?"
"Hm, yes?"
"Can you turn in your usual form?"
She nodded while pulling away from the brief hug. And there she was, standing in her proper Casko glory. I unconsciously reached out and head patted her for a few seconds, the fox-girl seemed to deeply appreciate it as I could see a big grin forming on her face. She was soon answering my questions about how I got pulled in here, it was clear that Goetia was into this too and that he had found a way to key me before I could use Quartz to morph into my Power Ranger mode right as I passed through into the mirror world.
My memory was slightly suppressed due to this phenomenon and Tamamo was expected to hunt me down, subdue me or even go as far as murder me. The fox-girl admitted to having been confused by the entire situation, but ultimately decided to first see who she was expected to kill rather than comply with the order. When she found out that I had a Master-Servant bond despite there was no Holy Grail War unfolding, she decided to wait and see what was up.
"Why did you use that other form?" I asked and the girl hummed, retrieving a familiar class card from one of her sleeves.
"Well, the man that brought me here tried to mix me with this card containing an odd Saint Graph. I think he expected us two to be compatible but... I can tell that this one isn't part of my tails."
"Can I see the Card?" My inquiry was met with compliance as the item was passed to me without hesitation. And a quick look confirmed my suspicions... Goetia had tried to enforce a Caster card on her. It was Koyanskaya, of course it wasn't going to work- Goetia erroneously believed it was Tamamo Vicht! "Wait, and this school-"
"A little 'turf' the man allowed me to have. He told me to 'turn you into a puppet' by whatever means necessary so I asked for this pseudo-Reality Marble and for you to be like-"
"Him?" I guessed, thinking she was referring to Hakuno.
"Him!? No, I meant 'Her'. My beloved~!"
"Hakunon?" I further inquired and she smiled giddily. "Wait, your Hakuno was a girl?"
"Yes- wait, you know a 'male' version of her, mikon?"
"Yeah, but he isn't exactly a good version to follow if you are already accustomed to female Hakunon."
"Why not? He would be the proper husband-"
"He is dense, and particularly attractive to the other girls in the moon cell. And boy," I admitted, thinking back at the CCC/Foxtail situation. "Yeah, he is a bit more of a handful in that regard."
"...I see," Tamamo commented quietly. "But how do you know this much?"
"I just know a lot of things," I answered curtly. "And... how do we leave this place?"
She actually nodded, leading me to the exit and stopping there for a moment.
"Tamamo?"
"...Yes?" She inquired, looking a bit sad.
"Why are you not leaving with me?"
"Oh... I... well, I can tell you already have a Servant. So... so it would be wrong for me to-"
I walked up to her, reached for her cheeks and pinched both. She puffed them in frustration and I sighed.
"Tamamo, I have a Mystic Code which allows me to 'keep' numerous Servants at once. I am not leaving you behind, you silly kitsune."
Her eyes went wide at that explanation. "Really?"
I nodded.
"You're not lying to me, right?" Casko asked, eyes watering again. "You're not- not tricking me, right?"
"Nope."
She took hold of my hand and we both walked out of the school... unaware someone had followed our steps and was now staring at our retreating form with disgusts.
Another failed plan, this time caused by mere incompatibility. Next time... things were going to be different. If this peculiar individual was this capable and Zelretch had indeed picked him to handle the worst of him-
Then it was time to truly bring the worst in this pathetic existence.
"Mastah!" Eli found us first.
The girl literally latched herself onto me in a tight hug as she seemed to ignore the individual I brought through. Quartz didn't as he seemed to pick up what to do with the 'disconnected' Servant. Cu blinked a moment as he stared at the scene with a hint of surprise as he didn't expect to find 'Master' together with a gorgeous female Servant.
Once the binding was over, Eli seemed to realize that there was a 'problem' standing beside me. The two girls exchanged heated looks that promised me some irritation in the near future. I was surprised by this, but ultimately knew that it would have to wait since... today was also meant to be a big day. Kariya was expected to return to Fuyuki around today's afternoon. I had everything set to provide a proper explanation, give him some details on how to handle his niece's situation and also provide him with some guarantees that this whole mess was well beyond them now.
This sudden call to action had come out of the blue, and I could remember how I had been particularly distracted by any traps because of it. It was frustrating how this came to happen and the ride back home was... tedious. If before it was mere glaring, now Tamamo and Eli were exchanging verbal insults that forced me to stop and break them from each other. I was rather persuasive when it came to it, knowing that trying to sound too appeasing would just make them bolder with their claims.
I was quite sure Eli was just jealous, while Tamamo felt offended that she was being called a few bad things and, out of pride, was trying to appear close to me. It would be a lie to say that, at the moment, she considered me a potential husband-material. Not when she had someone in mind already and she has known me for so little.
Once back home, I pretty much spent about twenty minutes finding a way to split them apart for the day. Tamamo was more than happy listening to Ana as she gave her a rundown explanation of how the house worked, the various rooms and the fact she had to use her powers to appear more human-like around normal civilians. She was quite understanding of that.
Meanwhile, Eli was a bit miffed by my request but accepted checking on Scathach and spending some time there to see how Sakura was faring now that her uncle was going to come back home and that she was moving back there.
Everyone was suddenly busy, and I was finishing setting down a few things before starting to prepare lunch. I had a feeling Tamamo was going to tag along to see how I worked around the stoves. Still, I was putting down the card with Koyanskaya with the rest, paying it little to no attention when... I realized something was wrong with it. Specifically, the part where it looked like it was now an empty card. I frowned, I looked closer into it and I could clearly see that the Spirit once uploaded in it was now missing.
Which means that Koyanskaya somehow escaped while Tamamo and I left that Faux Reality Marble.
"Quartz?"
The Mystic Code hummed and was soon approaching me. "Yes, John?"
"Scan Fuyuki. Is there an anomalous Servant's energy pattern moving around?"
There was no question to that, the Kaleidostick quickly going through the query and then nodding at it.
"I detect a Saint Graph possessing a fraction of Tamamo's power. It's... currently moving towards the Church in town. I don't perceive any negative focus within its Graph."
...Crapbasket.
AN
Kariya is in town, Tamamo joins the team with two forms (one of which has yet to be revealed), and a certain 'fake fox' is on the move to try and accomplish something. Maybe. But was John correct in thinking this is indeed Koyanskaya? After all, she was not originally meant to be a Caster...
P.S. I now have a discord server! Discord .gg/ceBMM2Zz6c
REVIEW Q&A
SSIntrinity: Sadly, it's all true.
Guest (Chapter 23): Taiga got banged and cuddled.