Mahiro sat down beside Yuuichi at the table.

"Did you enjoy your walk?" The tall, white haired boy asked, his eyes closed.

"Yes." Mahiro huffed. "How did you know that was where I was?"

"Suguru told me before he went into town with Tamaki and Takuma." His eyes parted slightly and he glanced to the side, at the small boy sitting beside him. "You look troubled."

"Where is everyone?" The irritated boy asked. "It's strange being just you and me."

"Like I told you, Tamaki, Takuma and Suguru are in town for the evening." Yuuichi sighed. "Shinji and Mitsuru are in the kitchen preparing dinner."

Mahiro slammed his fists on the table. "Why is everyone acting like everything is fine!?" He yelled.

Yuuichi opened his eyes all the way and looked at the fuming guardian. "What is wrong Mahiro? What happened while you were in the forest?"

"I met a girl." His cheeks turned a light shade of red.

"Oh?" Now Yuuichi was really curious.

"Onishi. That was the only name she would give me." He crossed his arms.

"Onishi?" Yuuichi rubbed his chin. "I too met a girl with that name today."

"What!?" Mahiro jumped up from where he had been sitting. "Why didn't you say anything?"

"She hardly seemed like a threat, Mahiro." He turned back to facing the table and closed his eyes.

"Didn't seem like a threat!?" He continued to yell as he stomped around the room. "She threatened to kill me if I didn't tell her about the Onikirimaru! She was rude, loud and mean!"

Yuuichi's face scrunched into confusion. "That doesn't sound anything like the girl I met."

Again, Mahiro sat down at the table and crossed his arms. "Well, what was she like when you met her?"

"She was shy, sweet and reserved." He rubbed his chin. "She wasn't demanding at all. She did ask about the location of an immense source of power. I knew she meant the Onikirimaru, but I didn't tell her anything and she didn't seem upset by that."

Mahiro pouted.

"Don't let it bother you." Yuuichi patted him on the shoulder. "Maybe she thought you were younger than you are. So she tried to bully you."

Mahiro grew red with rage. "YUUICHI!" He screamed and turned to take a swing at the smiling boy.

"Dinner is ready!" Shinji called as he opened the screen door. He froze looking at Mahiro trying to pummel Yuuichi. He sighed. "Can't we just have one peaceful night?"

"Is this where you saw her?" Yuuichi pointed to the tree tops on the main path through the forest.

"Yea." Mahiro sighed, his arms stretched back, behind his head. He was trying his hardest to look disinterested. He wanted to forget all about the rude girl he had met in the forest, but Yuuichi insisted on dragging him out to try and find her.

"If she is asking after the Onikirimaru it is important for us to know if she intends to harm Tamaki." He pointed out over breakfast.

"But the Onikirimaru is gone!" Mahiro yelled. "She wouldn't have a need to do anything to Tamaki."

"That doesn't stop the petty, jealous nature of gods." Yuuichi sighed.

There were no traces of the girl in the forest so the two boys decided to head to the field where Yuuichi had seen her.

"She was over there." He pointed to the tall grass. "Hiding from me most of the time. I was only able to catch glimpses of her pink hair and burgundy eyes a few times."

"Pink hair?" Mahiro scratched his head. "She had blue hair."

"You are both right." A commanding, feminine voice said behind them.

The two guardians whirled around, taken off guard. There, standing side by side were two girls.

"Sisters." The one who had spoken before clarified. "I am Tsubaki Onishi, and this is my sister Kanako Onishi." The timid, pink haired girl hid partially behind her more confidant sister.

"Onishi?" Yuuichi rolled the name over in his mind. "You are descended from an Oni tribe."

"Yes." Tsubaki smiled. "Our mother was from an Oni tribe. We have different fathers, but share our mother's Oni blood."

"You look like normal girls to me…" Mahiro huffed and crossed his arms.

Tsubaki smiled. "Would you like to see our true forms?" Still avoiding the gaze of the two boys, her eyes half lidded as though she were lost in thought, the pink haired girl stepped out from behind her taller sister, so she was fully visible. Their silhouettes began to shimmer and glow. The light became so bright that the guardians had to shield their eyes. Once the light faded they lowered their arms and were shocked at the sight before them.

Tsubaki stood proudly before them. Her dark blue hair had grown, ending just behind her knees and was tied in a loose braid. She was wearing a short, sleeveless black kimono with white trim. It was tied loosely so it hung around her shoulders. Peeking out from under her bangs were two small horns, similar to Takuma's, but much shorter at about two inches tall. In her right hand she held a long naginata.

Kanako was still looking away from the guardians. Her short, light pink hair hadn't changed much, but sticking out from under the spikey hair cut were two small white fox ears. Unlike her sister, she wore a long, traditional yukata. It was a light pink that matched her hair with white flowers pooling around the bottom and sticking out of the back were three white, fluffy tails. Over her shoulder was resting a huge zanbato. The blade itself was easily a foot wide and five feet long, and the grip was another two feet, wrapped in a pink cloth.

"You're a kitsune!" Yuuichi breathed, looking at Kanako's tails.

A faint blush spread across her cheeks. "Yes." She replied, barely above a whisper. "My father was a fox-god."

"What about you?" Mahiro glared at Tsubaki. "You don't have ears or a tail."

The girl gave a short, mocking laugh. "My father was a tengu, a crow-god."

Yuuichi had been slowly making his way closer to the girls. "So you are direct decedents of beings similar to our ancestors."

Kanako nodded. "We could sense the yokai blood in you." She smiled slightly. "I was pleased to meet another fox."

Yuuichi returned her smile. "As am I." He glanced again at her tails. "When I am in my guardian form I have four tails, but they aren't a true representation of my age. They are a connection, linking me to my ancestors. Are yours…?" He trailed off.

"Yes." Her smiled widened slightly. "They are an indication of my age."

He stopped moving towards the girls. "That means you are…"

"What?" Mahiro yelled, irritated at being left out of the loop. "What does that mean!?"

"We are over three hundred years old." Tsubaki grinned at him. "We have been seeking out human shrines for three centuries and protecting them from weak minded gods who would use the power contained within for their own gains."

"Wait." Yuuichi relaxed a little. "Protecting human shrines?"

"Yes." Kanako spoke up, finally meeting his gaze with her half lidded eyes. "Our mother was taken by some human monks when she was in need. We grew up in a small land-god shrine."

"We heard the call from the great, evil power just over a month ago." Tsubaki took a step towards them. "We my sister and I discussed the implications of a god gaining that much power and decided we needed to make sure that didn't happen."

"The power coming from your shrine was immense." Kanako's eyes seemed to glaze over. "I had never felt such evil, blood thirsty power." Her grip on her zanbato tightened. "No one should have that much terrible power."

"No one will." Yuuichi sighed. "The keeper of the Onikirimaru has rid this world of it."

Tsubaki tightened her jaw. "They just got rid of that much power?"

"The Tamayori Princess held the power to seal or destroy the sword!" Mahiro strode towards the dark haired girl. "She only had to wish it to leave for it to be no more."

"That may be so." Tsubaki met him toe to toe, matching his challenging tone. "But we came across many powerful Oni and gods alike seeking the source of the initial call. They will find their way here and try their best to find it."

"We would like to lend our assistance in guarding your shrine and it's keepers." Kanako gave a small, sideways smile. "We are only here to help."

The two pairs stood across from one another in silence, each group sizing up the other when a large boar-like Oni burst from the nearby trees. He paid no notice to the guardians as he plowed into the girls. His sudden appearance caught Tsubaki off guard and his club found her side, flinging her like a rag doll into the trunk of a tree.

"Tsubaki!" Mahiro yelled and ran to her side. Yuuichi smiled, noting the concern on the smaller boys face.

Tsubaki sat up and spit out some blood. "I am alright..." She wheezed, nothing that won't heal. She grinned, her eyes were looking past the concerned guardian at her sister who was still standing in the exact spot they had been before.

The boar-god's eyes rolled in their sockets and he clapped his hands over his ears. "Was it you, fox!?" He yelled at Kanako. "Was it you who set the noise in my head spinning!?"

"What is he talking about?" Mahiro turned his eyes from the injured girl to her smaller sister.

"The initial pulse the source sent out drove most of the lesser gods insane, whipping them into a frenzy." She continued to stare at her sister.

"Yuuichi!" Mahiro called. "Get her out of there!"

Yuuichi nodded and began to make his way towards the girl who was frozen in place, her eyes on the ground.

"No!" Tsubaki yelled, wincing at the pain in her side. Yuuichi stopped moving towards her.

Mahiro looked at her. "Why?"

"All our lives I have sparred with my sister." She spit out more blood.

Mahiro returned his gaze to the fox-girl. It was then that he saw her face, her eyes were open wide now but the look in them was one he hadn't been expecting. Her sideways grin had stretched across the bottom half of her face, curling up at the corners. She looked as though she were mad.

"I have never beaten her." Tsubaki breathed and Mahiro could hear the grin in her voice.

In an instant Kanako had begun to run towards the boar-god. Her huge zanbato, still held in her right hand, trailed behind her. She was fast, unbelievably fast. Leaping into the air she brought the sword up, over her head. Gripping it with two hands now she yelled. "Fiery…" She brought it down on the boar-god's head. It collided with his skull with a loud crack. "Judgement!" The blade burst into blue flames that propelled the blade the rest of the way through the boar-god, splitting his entire body in two.

Once the smoke cleared and the ashes of the boar-god's remains had taken to the wind all that was left was Kanako, perched on top of her zanbato that had driven itself into the ground. Her eyes had returned to their half lidded state and her grin was cocked to the side.

"That was beautiful." Yuuichi held out a hand to her, helping her down from the hilt of her sword.

"Thank you." She blushed at his touch and averted her gaze.

I hope you all are enjoying the beginnings of this story. I know it seems a little fast-paced, but I got impatient with trying to draw out Kanako's awesomeness. :)