Around the time Ahri left the group, she reaches a small town populated by merchants and local business owners located near the Institute. The urge to take a closer look at Ruri made Ahri take a detour into a bar that was having a slow day. Taking a sit in a booth and placing the Blood Moon Shen on the table, Ahri orders a drink from the barmaid.

Ruri was sitting quietly and looking up at Ahri's sparkling eyes, waiting for instructions, but instead was made to wait as her eyes scanned him closely. He wore a traditional red ninja outfit, a black headband with two small horns and a rope serving as a belt with a large gold bell tied on the back. He still had his big blue eyes along with white hair in which his bangs were significantly longer compared to the other parts of his hairdo. He also had his red markings on his cheeks appearing like whiskers and three fluffy tails instead of one.

Ahri was resting her chin on her hands observing Ruri some more but later breaks out of her trance after his stomach rumbles in which he grabs his tummy with an upset expression.

"Hmmm, I'm hungry as well, why don't we share a meal set?" She suggests as she rubs the top of his head, feeling his pointy ears fold under her palm.

Ahri sets him on her lap and orders a meal after receiving a cup of plum sake. Though at first, the bar was empty, after word of Ahri eating at the bar reached the ears of the towns folk, the establishment was quickly crowded with men who had a crush on the Nine-tailed fox. Many had the idea to approach the gorgeous woman, offering to pay for her meal and possibly score a date, but the moment Ruri came into view, the image of their sexy goddess who is single was crushed as thoughts of her being a mother destroyed their fantasy. Without question, Ruri had the tails and ears that could convince anyone that they were related, unfortunately Ahri never picked up on that and never cleared up the misunderstanding.

Their food finally arrived, a simple meal consisting of grilled fish, a bowl of rice and chilled vegetables. The barmaid was kind enough to buy a juice box from another shop for Ruri's sake. Ahri took a pair of chopsticks and started feeding Ruri small pieces of their meal. Unfortunately, she didn't realize how hot the rice was and looks down to Ruri, who was letting out small whines with tears in his eyes, opening his mouth as wide as he can in an attempt to cool down the serving of rice. She slightly panics and begins to blow lightly into his mouth to cool it down until he could finally chew it properly without burning his mouth. Ironically fox fires are fine, while hot foods aren't.

"Sorry, sorry. I'll be more careful." Ahri tells him in an apologetic manner, wiping his tears away.

Like she promised, Ahri started to cool off every bite for Ruri which later sparks another fantasy for the men in the bar to dream about. Watching her move her beautiful bangs out of the way of her lips in order to cool off the rice then feed it to a small creature while holding a gentle expression, did indeed pierce their hearts. It was the moment when she took the grain of rice that was sticking to Ruri's face and ate it that everyone started to be consumed by jealously. After drinking his juice box, he would offer some to Ahri who gladly accepts the gesture causing more jealous to swell up in the others. They finish their meal and leave their payment on the table before walking outside.

Ahri sets Ruri on the ground while a crowd slowly begins to form after catching a glimpse of the champion. The men back at the bar were building up confidence again to talk to her, but that soon gets shattered as well.

"Do you remember how to become fully-grown, Ruri?" Ahri asked while squatting to get closer to him.

"Yes, Ahri-sama." Ruri answers adding honorifics fitting for a champion.

The men finally make their move, but stop in their tracks when Ruri turned into a blue fireball that grew to a massive scale. The end result was the same frightening creature that even forced Thresh to back down. The beast wasn't elegant in any sense of the word, it was something on the lines of a creature spewed from the depths of the Shadow Isles and Ahri adored it still. Ruri lowers his body for Ahri to find a place to sit then runs off at incredible speeds, leaving the town dumbfounded.

Ahri ordered Ruri to go back to the Institute where the other Shens were left in a box hoping to adopt them as well, but finds an empty box. Slightly disappointed, she orders Ruri to return to his other form to hold him for consolation and cheers up instantly when he hugged back.

"I was wondering about the sudden rumor I heard about you having a child, but to my surprise it was only the fox cub that you found a few months ago. He is that fox that went missing, right?" Wukong says after making his appearance.

"Yeah well he's a bit different from before, but it's the same Ruri." Ahri tells him while Ruri waves hello.

"Rrrrright, anyway that little one has a particular scent but I can't quite put my finger on it. *sniff* Great Wuju! That's the Eye of Twilight's child isn't it? Ha ha ha, you had a child with that emotionless tank of a ninja all this time!" Wukong bursts out laughing after his analysis, but stops after his face gets crispy from her fox fire.

"You were not far off, but Ruri is not my nor Shen's child. He is in fact, Shen. Apparently this was a side effect of Lulu's magic, so I'm taking care of him until he returns to normal." Ahri explains further with a fake smile plastered on her face while petting Ruri who fell asleep soon after.

"Bwah ha ha! Really? This just gets funnier and funnier. Well, Shen never shows his face so maybe this child version can shed some light on that matter." Wukong claims after laughing some more.

"I doubt that, but that is an interesting thought. Anyway, I'm turning in for the day due to these circumstances and probably won't attend any matches any time soon." Ahri says.

"Can't be helped, just make sure you actually look after him. You don't really give a caretaker vibe."

"Challenge accepted, you Wuju obsessed simpleton!"

Ahri sticks out her tongue before walking off with Ruri cradled against her chest. His occasional sleep talking, which were mostly mumbles of her name gave Ahri confidence. Though fired up, it wasn't long before she herself took a long nap with Ruri curled up next to her. As they continued to sleep, neither were aware of the conspicuous piece of paper tied around one of his tails.