Chapter 177: The Kitsune Twins’ Grating Upbringing, Part 1

Those of us who are still awake gathered around the bed, watching Yukino and Ren sleep peacefully. I can relay what we've seen to the others through Nyra's powers tomorrow, so this was as good a time as any to get more of this Kitsune's back story and what happened with her sister. With the blade out, I focused on putting my mana into the weapon, harnessing Nyra's power that dwells inside while hovering it over Yukino's head. Purplish-black tendrils sprouted from the aura of the same color, the ends of them made contact with the sleeping Kitsune's head.

<Alright, Jinma, from where should we start?> Nyra asked.

<Let's take a look at Yukino's earliest childhood memories, the first one with her and her sister together that jumps out at you,> I said.

<You got it!>

With more of the purplish-black aura forming a large, oblong bubble before us, flashing, moving images started to fade in. It was like the sequence of events were playing backwards at high speeds.

<The T.V. from Obina's room inspired you to make this, right?> I asked as I watched this recording of Yukino's memories rewind.

<I thought it would be cool!>

"I've been wondering what Yukino's past is like after meeting her a couple times, but something about this seems a bit invasive," Tyvera said.

"I do pity her a little, but I'm not going to let her badmouthing off my husband be forgiven so easily," Ume said, "Whatever we find here, we'll use as payback for her attitude towards Jin."

"I get what you mean, but still …" Tyvera trailed off.

"She and Konjiro are basically members of the upper class along with the nobility," Sue said, "Their words and actions hold a bigger impact than those from the common folk, and those same things will come back and bite them just as hard. Whatever thoughts she had living the upper class life, it's time that she learns the cold, bitter reality that comes with it."

Finally, we reached our first clip of Yukino's early childhood, and we all watched with utmost curiosity.

~~

"Big Sisterrrr! Why are you runniiing?! Don't you want to see how cool this is?!"

"IIIYAAAAAAA! Get that disgusting thing away from me! Drop it and get yourself cleaned right now!"

"Ehhhhh? But it's not moving? It won't hurt you, and it's not that dirty. I just killed this huge rat minutes ago."

"What is wrong with you?!"

From Yukino's point of view, the first thing we saw was a little girl, maybe 4 or 5 years of age, with orange-red hair chasing after her. She was carrying a gray rat the size of a shiba dog with its underside cut and pried open like a dissection project in high school biology class.

Though she was much younger with a different hair and fur color, I can see how she resembled Yukino. If it weren't for the mess of blood on her body, I would find her pretty cute. It's unbelievable that this was the infamous younger twin sister.

Yukino's recording fast-forwarded a bit to where her sister was getting scolded by their parents. There wasn't a hint of remorse or fear on her face as she was getting ripped a new one by her father. On the contrary, she was quite bored.

"Toshino! We found more of those Large Rat Monsters in your closet stinking up the place with their stench of death! Just how long have you been doing this?!" the father Kitsune exclaimed.

"Over the past week and a half, I think? Those were all failed attempts. I was going to toss them after showing Big Sister my perfect dissection, and I kept all the magic stones for later, too," the twin sister, who apparently goes by Toshino, explained coolly with a shrug.

"Later for what?! Your past actions were questionable, but this is no behavior a proud Kitsune would display! We are not savages!" the father yelled, "You and Yukino have your magic evaluations soon, determining your future as Kitsunes! You need to shape up and get your head straight before it comes back to bite you! Now, take those disgusting rats out and clean that mess before the stench gets worse!"

"Yes, Father …" she said dronely.

"That girl … she doesn't look sorry in the slightest," Yukino, who was peeking in through the crack of the door, whispered to herself with grated annoyance.

The memories have fast-forwarded again to what looks like the day of this 'magic evaluation' the father was talking about. It was Toshino's turn, and the Kitsune who was evaluating her, an old-looking male with graying fur and a fox head wearing a monocle, was astonished beyond belief.

"Th-This is incredible! Toshino's mana recovery is astounding! She must have the Tenko's Recovery ability! Not only that, but even if you put her recent history of early Monster subjugation into consideration, her magic power is superb! This may be one of the top Tenkos we have of this generation yet!" the evaluator praised.

"You hear that, honey?! One of our daughters is a Tenko! One of the best, at that!" the mother Kitsune exclaimed with delight.

"With Toshino, our family will prosper!" the father exclaimed with the same enthusiasm.

Toshino didn't look like she had any idea of what was going on with the adults in the room. She probably didn't think being a Tenko was that big of a deal to her.

"... Why? Why her, of all people?" Yukino muttered under her breath, the hatred in it palpable.

During the fast-forward, there were glimpses of Yukino with her nose glued to books, training dummies scorched and pierced with arrows, and a pair of tiny hands drenched in sweat and blisters. At one point, Toshino actually used [Holy Magic] to heal some of Yukino's injuries that she got through her training, which really showed her talent in the magical arts being able to pull that off at that age. The little sister seemed quite pleased with the accomplishment, too, but the older one didn't seem to have similar feelings.

Finally, the next part of this recording portrayed Toshino meeting with a young Kitsune boy, looking a couple years older than her. Both of their parents were with them sharing introductions, but Yukino looked to be watching it all from hiding. It should be noted that this Kitsune boy was seen briefly a couple times during the fast-forwards, too.

"So, you are Toshino?" the Kitsune boy asked with a prideful air, "You may have already heard of me, but I'll introduce myself out of formalities. I'm Konjiro, a Tenko like yourself. From this point on, you'll be engaged as my mate. Be honored that you have been given the opportunity to be my lifetime partner."

"... Engaged? Konjiro?" Toshino asked in confusion. Either she forgot, or she was not in the know about this sudden arranged marriage, "... Ah! That Konjiro! Wait, huh? I'm engaged to you?"

Konjiro was clearly annoyed by Toshino's ignorance, and he wasn't good at hiding his displeasure as a kid, "... Yes. As part of our clan's tradition, we Tenkos must come together for an arranged marriage to produce more Tenko offspring and keep our Kitsune bloodline strong."

"... Mother, Father, do I have to get married? This sounds like something that will get in the way of my [Holy Magic] studies," Toshino said.

If it was possible, everyone but that blunt Kitsune twin would have turned to stone from that crazy statement.

"And besides, Big Sister has a huge crush on Konjiro. Why can't he marry her, instead?" Toshino asked.

"What are you doing, you stupid girl?!" Yukino whispered with anger and embarrassment.

"... W-Well, I'm impressed with the dedication to your magic studies, but, your sister, huh? Is she also a Tenko?" Konjiro asked.

Toshino only shook her head.

"Then my discussion with your sister ends there," Konjiro said, looking cold, "I'm only interested in keeping our Kitsune Clan alive and strong, and I need you and your Tenko blood to help me make that happen."

"No …" Yukino muttered, her voice cracked.

"Well, that sounds boring without Big Sister around," Toshino said while crossing her arms nonchalantly, "I don't really care about the Kitsune bloodline, either. You guys can marry more than one female, right? If you want to marry me that bad, then marry Big Sister, too. Either be engaged to both of us, or none of us, those are your choices, no further discussion."

"T-Toshino?" Yukino stuttered.

"... So, if I get engaged to your big sister, will you help me maintain the Kitsune Clan?" Konjiro asked.

"That, and you continue letting me research [Holy Magic] during our marriage, whether I have a child or not," Toshino said.

"... Very well, then," Konjiro said, "I, Konjiro, will ask your sister's hand in marriage alongside yours. If she's as … eccentric, as you and turns me down, you must be my primary mate and help me with the clan's bloodline, whenever I need you."

Toshino waved a hand, "You don't have to worry about Big Sister turning you down. Heck, I'd rather you have many children with her, instead, but I'll go along with whatever."

"Then, it's a deal," Konjiro said before the two of them shook hands on it, but the vision of them started to get shaky and blurry before zipping sideways and went on the move. It looks like Yukino was running and crying at this moment.

"... Why? If you don't want to be a Tenko, Toshino, just let me be one in your place. Why did you have to be a Tenko, and not me? Konjiro won't ever really love me, not when I'm not a Tenko. Stupid magic-and-dissection loving freak …" Yukino cursed.

~~

"... Yikes, so Yukino wasn't even Konjiro's first choice in prospective marriages. If it weren't for her sister, he wouldn't even look at her," I said as we waited for more of Yukino's memories to fast-forward to something of interest.

"I pity her, but that's just how things are in some Werebeast clans," Tyvera said before shrugging, "Strength can mean everything for them, physical, magical, or otherwise. Way back in the past, it can be difficult for some of us Harpies when seeking a Human male. If we pick up a weak one that we can overpower, we can produce a number of offspring quickly, but they likely won't get as strong as us. Stronger males are more ideal for us to have stronger offspring, but we couldn't get close since they can fight back. I heard it's been a bit better since the previous Demon King proposed that peace treaty to the other territories, but some of the more 'traditionalist' Demons want to keep their old practices alive. I doubt most Kitsunes would even think about having romantic relations with anyone that isn't someone from their own clan, let alone a human, so it's quite a miracle that you even convinced Yukino to sleep with you."

"Heh, no matter who or what they are, no one can resist my husband's charms," Ume said while puffing her exposed, giant chest with pride.

If there's one thing I know about Toshino so far, it's that despite her eccentricity—or maybe it's because of that—she has a strong independence of following her passions in magic research. It's possible she may have gained that independence during her research, too, whether her being a Tenko has anything to do with that would be up for debate. {Still, we've yet to see why we haven't seen Toshino here with Yukino today. Guess we'll have to sift through more of Yukino's memories to find out.}