The night wind drifted softly through the woods, making the leaves dance and whisper.
Before the three of them stood a statue of a heavenly fox.
Fischl eyed it curiously. "I remember the first time we met Hanachirusato, there was a statue just like this beside you. You even asked us to retrieve something sealed within it, saying only those favored by Electro, with courage and true friendship, could take it out."
Hanachirusato looked a little sheepish. "The whole 'favored by Electro' thing… wasn't exactly true. But yes, it was a test for those who came."
Fischl leaned closer, tracing her fingers along the smooth stone. "There's a hollow here too. Was something originally placed inside this one?"
Hanachirusato nodded, her tone strangely wistful. "Yes. After Lady Saiguu laid the barrier around the Sacred Sakura Tree, she entrusted the sealing charms to her kin across Narukami Island. When she disappeared into the darkness of the calamity, her kin—turned themselves into stone, waiting for her to return."
Fischl blinked in surprise. "Wait, so this isn't just a statue? It's a real fox?"
Hanachirusato smiled faintly. "Yes, though not a normal one. It's a heavenly fox."
Fischl, curious as ever, reached out to touch the statue, then pulled out her phone and took a quick photo. The flash burst in the dark, followed by the soft click of the shutter.
As she tucked her phone away, she lifted her gaze toward Oz perched on a nearby branch. "Oz, you're my familiar too. If I ever disappeared, would you turn into a statue and wait for me to come back?"
Oz hesitated before replying, his voice calm and even. "My lady, our bond is a contract. If you were to vanish, I would simply vanish with you."
Fischl sighed. "Ah… I see."
Qiqi stared quietly at the fox statue. "But it's empty now," she murmured. "The object that was inside seems to be gone."
Hanachirusato nodded again, a thoughtful look flickering across her face. "Normally, it should've been us who removed it."
"Huh?" Fischl blinked.
"The charm inside was meant to open the seal on the Sacred Sakura Tree. To perform the Sacred Sakura Cleansing Ritual, you first have to retrieve it…"
Her voice trailed off, growing a bit awkward.
"I just didn't expect the helper I hired through the Adventurers' Guild to be that strong."
Hanachirusato still remembered that night's ritual vividly.
They hadn't even needed the charm.
She had simply led the group straight to the spot where the Sacred Sakura Tree needed purification. And there, Mr. Xia had taken out a small key, turned it once at the barrier—
and the entire seal shattered open.
If she wasn't mistaken, that same key he'd used earlier that afternoon to disable the [Ruin Grader] was the exact same one.
The purification process had been absurdly fast.
Speedrunning with a top-tier adventurer—yeah, that was the good life.
But because of that, she'd had to come back to Chinju Forest afterward.
Qiqi tilted her head. "So now, besides finding the tanuki called [Ioroi], we also have to retrieve the missing charm?"
Hanachirusato shook her head. "The [Sacred Sakura Cleansing Ritual] is already complete. The charm isn't important anymore. All we need to do is find [Ioroi]."
Fischl asked, "Any clues?"
"Clues…" Hanachirusato's eyes softened as she recalled the past. "When the world turned dark, Lady Saiguu feared that Ioroi might try to protect this forest by fighting an enemy he couldn't possibly defeat—and die because of it. So she made a bet with him—a spell duel of [hide-and-seek]. She told him, 'No matter what happens, remember this: everything you see is just one of my tricks. Don't fall for it. Don't show yourself.' And since the tanuki clan are naturally skilled at transformation, just like Rii—even the newly transformed ones could look exactly like Zhu Zi—I honestly have no real clue."
Hanachirusato sighed quietly.
Fischl's eyes widened. "Wait… you mean that tanuki has been hiding all this time? For five hundred years?"
Hanachirusato nodded. "Ioroi's a very stubborn one. That's exactly what I was afraid of. That's why I came here to confirm it myself."
Fischl's expression brightened with understanding. "I see! So, Kirara, Lady Yae, Rii, Ioroi… Inazuma's youkai are actually pretty interesting! They're nothing like the scary ones in the bards' tales."
Hanachirusato smiled faintly. "That's because all the truly dangerous ones were slain by Lady Ei—by the Raiden Shogun herself—long ago. The youkai who remain… once held the same status here as the Adepti in Liyue."
"I get it now." Fischl nodded firmly. "Then let's look around a bit! Oz, let's go!"
Oz spread his wings and took flight. "As you command, milady."
Qiqi chose another path, waddling off with her little bird companion, Babbah.
Hanachirusato stayed where she was, gazing up at the heavenly fox statue. Her expression wavered.
After inhaling enough [Calming Incense], her memories had returned—most of them, at least. Including the arts once mastered by Kitsune Saiguu.
Before, her impure body couldn't wield those arts, even if she remembered them.
But now, as a magical girl blessed with Electro power, she could.
She had the ability to awaken this sleeping heavenly fox.
The question was—should she?
The foxes were once Saiguu's messengers. When she disappeared, they turned to stone, preserving their strength, waiting to walk the grassy fields of Byakko Plain with her once more.
But if Hanachirusato awakened them now…
They'd be expecting Saiguu.
And she wasn't Saiguu.
Bringing them back might only lead to disappointment—or despair.
Hanachirusato lowered her gaze, hesitated for a long time, then turned away in silence.
She still wasn't ready to bear the name "Kitsune Saiguu."
Walking deeper into Chinju Forest, she eventually heard faint voices carried by the wind.
"…Did you hear footsteps?"
"Nah, nobody's coming. Even if someone was, they wouldn't understand us anyway."
"Ugh, that annoying brat… I'm so bored…"
Hanachirusato froze.
That voice… it sounded familiar.
No way. It couldn't really be—
But the more she listened, the more certain she became.
"…Hey! Over here!"
"This scent… leaves and fresh soil… another tanuki?"
"Over here, hurry! Can you see the majestic tanuki statue?"
"Ooh, it's been so long since I met someone this strong! I can't wait!"
Yeah. It was him.
Her steps slowed slightly as a fox mask appeared over her face, concealing her expression—the same face as Kitsune Saiguu's.
Then, she stepped into the clearing before a huge tanuki-shaped statue.
"Huh? A masked shrine maiden? Weird… why do you smell like a tanuki? And so strongly, too!"
He must've sensed the faint traces of tanuki magic she'd used earlier when testing spells as a magical girl—techniques originally stolen from Kitsune Saiguu's mischievous experiments.
Hanachirusato looked up at the statue and spoke softly. "Ioroi?"
"Eh? You know my name? Wahaha! Impressive, shrine maiden!"
"…Still the same idiot," she muttered.
"I thought you were the great Tanuki King. What's with this statue business?"
"Cough, cough… I turned into this on purpose!"
"Really."
"Of course! I was in a duel with a certain stinky fox! We bet on hide-and-seek—if she couldn't find me, I'd win! So I turned into a rock. And guess what? She still hasn't found me!"
A stinky fox, huh…
Hanachirusato smiled faintly under her mask. Fine. I'll let that one slide—for now.
"So you're not sealed, then?" she asked.
"I—of course not! Don't slander me!"
"Then go on, change back."
"I…"
"Well? Change."
"Hey! Don't kick me! You vile woman!"
"Vile?"
"Stupid shrine maiden! You'll pay for this!"
"Stupid?"
Hanachirusato chuckled softly.
A hammer materialized in her hand.
"Wait—wait, mercy! Mercy! I was wrong!"
"Pathetic," she said, tilting her head. "Just a stone statue mouthing off like that."
"I'm not a statue! Just… temporarily sealed, that's all! I'm the mighty tanuki, Ioroi, feared across the land!"
"Yeah, yeah. Keep living in the past. It's been centuries, old man."
"Centuries? Wait—how long have I been sealed?!"
"You don't know?"
"How could I?! It's pitch-black here all the time—I can't even count the days!"
"…Fair point."
The hammer vanished.
"So," she asked, "you were hiding from that fox, right? How'd you end up sealed?"
"Well, I was hiding at first, but after a while, I realized she never came. I think I was tricked."
"I got mad," he continued, "and went around wrecking stuff to lure her out. Still no luck."
"Then I found a comb inside a fox statue—so I figured I'd piss her off by stealing it! Wahaha, genius, right?"
"You stole the charm," Hanachirusato said flatly. "The one meant to seal the barrier."
"The charm? Oh, you mean that comb thing?"
"Where is it?"
"Why do you want it? Gonna brush your fur? Careful—it might still smell like fox!"
Bang!
Her kick sent the statue flying, crashing hard into the ground with a thunderous thud.
A few faint groans echoed from the impact site.
Hanachirusato exhaled calmly and lowered her foot.
The noise was loud enough to draw attention—
Fischl and Qiqi hurried over.
"Hanachirusato, what happened?"
"Is someone in trouble?"
She turned toward them with a serene smile. "No. Everything's fine."
"I could've sworn I heard someone shouting for help…"
"You must've imagined it."
"No, really! It came from that direction—"
"No, it didn't."
"Uh… okay…"
"Let's head back."
"Wait, we're not going to look?"
"No. Whoever's there seems to really like this place. Let's leave them be."
"…Alright then."
Fischl and Qiqi exchanged puzzled glances as they followed her out of the forest.
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