Chapter 238: The Kitsune

The sun hung lazily in the sky as it was still the afternoon. The street outside the alleyway still had people going about their business. The kitsune stood blocking the alleyway, her claws out and a look that said she was hellbent on fighting.

She must’ve figured out that I set her and the others up in a trap.

Well, at least this way, I wouldn’t have to go looking for her.

“Kitsune, I’m glad to see you’re alive. I heard about what happened.”

“It was you! You’re to blame for everything,” she shouted.

She looked like a wild animal. As if she was on the verge of turning into an evil spirit.

She got down to mimic a four-legged creature, her three tails flowing gracefully behind her. With a burst of power, she exploded towards me with movements that reminded me of Sylvie.

When she was close enough, she leaped into the air with her claws raised high.

’Yes, she’s definitely like a feral animal.’

I adjusted myself the moment she swung at me and then caught her on top of my shoulder.

“Unhand me!” She screamed as I held her over my shoulders like a sack of flour.

She immediately began kicking and thrashing, but I held her firm. The kitsune wasn’t in her strongest form, but she wasn’t the weakest either. Give her a few more years and she would be a force to be reckoned with.

“I’m taking you back with me.”

“No, let go of me!”

The thing I liked about Purgatory is that no one pays any mind to a man carrying a girl who was screaming and thrashing around.

After a while, when she realized there was no hope of escaping, she finally stopped resisting.

“If you plan on killing me, just get it over with. I intended to die by your hands anyway. What you’re doing now is even worse.”

What she said caught my attention, and I couldn’t help but ask:

“Why would you want to be killed by my hands?”

“Because it’s honorable! I failed in my mission of protecting those people. Someone like you would never understand.”

“Honorable, you say? Look around. Right now, you’re in the midst of getting kidnapped, and no one is even batting an eye. A kitsune is supposed to be loved and cherished wherever they go, but here, you’re neither loved nor wanted. I’m the only one who used you; those people were too. None of them cared about you; they just wanted to use you to fight back against the vampires.”

“I…”

She couldn’t deny what I said was true.

“There is no place for me. I’ve searched for centuries, but I can’t find it. This place was my last hope…”

Her voice dropped as she spoke. She was wasted here. A loyal kitsune that would protect the place she called her home, to the cost of her own life.

Yet no one was able to see her true value.

I continued to walk with her over my shoulders until I arrived at Wolf District.

The gate was immediately opened upon my arrival. The settlement was already back to the way it was before the battle with Cassian.

It was as lively as ever, children and a few people talking on the streets. The moment they saw us, they began to gather around us.

Of course, I had told them how they should treat the kitsune. I told them that she would be their guardian, so they should treat her as if she was a deity.

I even got a small shrine built for them to give their offerings to her. Having a kitsune who grows stronger as the years progress protecting my pack isn’t a bad idea.

The people immediately brought forth their gifts and offerings. Her eyes widened when she saw them.

“What is all this?”

I set her down on her feet.

“You said you didn’t have a home. Allow me to offer you one. Be the protector of my pack and people. At least here, you will be needed and wanted.”

“Wait, but I…”

Just as she was about to speak, a group of kids rushed up to her. Their names were Kiki, Lizy, Kara, Andy, and Tommy.

I made an effort to know the names of everyone in my pack. Even the children. Kiki and Lizy were lamias. Kara was a vampire, while Andy and Tommy were ghouls. Their ages ranged from 5-8 years old.

For the children, I only turned them once they reached 5 years old. I didn’t know what effect my venom might have on them, and I didn’t want to risk it.

“Kitsune, our alpha told us you are a powerful spirit that came to protect us from bad people,” they said as they surrounded her.

“Woah! She has a tail just like Sylvie, except she has three,” the two boys in the group shouted excitedly.

The kitsune looked at the children surrounding her, seeming a little bewildered, but when she saw their happy faces, a small smile bloomed on her face.

They all surrounded her and began chatting up a storm. I took a step back to give them some space.

Some of the younger girls even began braiding her hair and tail. It wasn’t how I expected them to treat someone whom I told them to consider as a deity, but the kitsune didn’t seem to mind, so I let it be.

“Miss Kitsune, we prepared a surprise for you,” Kara, the little girl who was a vampire, said as she pulled the kitsune by the hand.

Everyone excitedly followed along as they brought her to the small shrine we built. It wasn’t anything majestic since it would only be used during our time here in Purgatory.

I will build her a proper one when we get back to Ryomen. The shrine had various statues of her, and there was even an altar there to sleep on and receive her offerings.

There was even a fire pit in front of the altar. It would be used to keep her warm.

“Miss Kitsune, do you like it?” Kara asked excitedly.

The kitsune stared at the altar and at all the people around her, and suddenly, I could see tears welling up in her eyes.

“Miss Kitsune, what’s wrong?”

The kids asked with a worried look when they saw the kitsune’s tears. They were afraid that they might have done something and looked to me in panic.

“Alpha, she’s crying.”

Just then, the kitsune reached out and patted their heads.

“It’s nothing to worry about young ones. I’m just really happy. Thank you all,” she said as she wiped the tears from her reddened face.

My entire pack gathered together to celebrate the kitsune joining us.

“Looks like it worked,” Kumo said as she handed me a cup containing wine. “You managed to recruit that old hag as a part of your pack. It’s a good choice. When she unlocks more tails, she’ll grow even stronger.”

“It’s all thanks to you. You told me how to win her over,” I said before taking a sip of my wine. “By the way, where’s Sylvie and Isabella? I haven’t seen them.”

“Oh, Sylvie is being chased around somewhere by the younger kids. They’re playing some sort of game. While Isabella has been quite moody lately. I offered her a cup of wine, but she acted even more strangely. She almost slapped it out of my hand. Even her mother is acting strangely.”

“Kaguya?”

It was normal for Isabella to be overly emotional at times, but for Kaguya, it was strange.

Now that I think about it, I haven’t seen her in a while.

Is she avoiding me?

I still remember that night when she came to me crying. It seemed something was bothering her then, but she didn’t tell me what it was.

Just then, the kitsune managed to escape the crowd gathering around her. She transformed into an orange, three-tailed fox and ran towards me.

She then leaped on top of my shoulder. Seeing this, Kumo frowned.

“Don’t get ahead of yourself, fox,” she hummed before departing. It looked as if she wanted to give us some space.

I reached out and began petting the fox that was on my shoulder.

“So what do you say, do you accept joining my pack?”

The three-tailed fox let out a soft purr. I took it as a yes. She then hopped down from my shoulder and retook her human form.

“I accept.” There was a blush on her face as she spoke and a smile that she could hardly contain. She then bowed her head. “Thank you for giving me this role. I’ll do my best to live up to your expectations.”

I raised her head and approached her. She was quite short. She stood about 5 foot 5 inches so in front of me she looked like a fox in front of a wolf.

“I’m sure you will,” I said before pulling her in by the waist and biting into her neck.

Her skin was soft, so my fangs pierced through her neck easily. A soft moan escaped her as she threw back her head and grabbed onto my hair. I also saw that her legs were shaking.

With that, my pack had gotten stronger.

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