Foxfire in the Rain-Soaked City

Rain hammered Tokyo like the sky was grieving.
Neon signs flickered, headlights blurred, and the storm rolled heavy over a city that pretended magic never existed.

Under the thin awning of a convenience store, Aoyama Renka clutched her cheap umbrella and tried to steady her breath.

Late shift over.
Feet sore.
Instant noodles waiting.

Just another ordinary night.

Or it should have been.

A chill crawled down her spine — a silent warning, ancient and instinctive.
Thunder rumbled, but beneath it… something else.

A whisper.

Renka…

She froze.

Umbrella trembling.
Heart racing.

The alley beside the store stretched into darkness, breathing like a living thing.

“...Hello?”
Her voice cracked into the rain.

No answer.
Only stillness.
Only dread.

She turned—

A pale hand slammed into the wall beside her.

Renka jerked back.

A figure stepped out — woman-shaped, but wrong.
Neck bent. Skin too smooth.
Face blank except for a smile that tore open, revealing jagged teeth.

A Nopperabou.
A faceless spirit.

Found you…

Renka’s body froze.
No scream. No breath.
Only terror.

The creature lunged—

A streak of silver tore the darkness apart.

Foxfire ignited the rain, crackling white-hot.
A blade flashed — elegant and merciless — slicing the yokai into scattering ash.

Silence dripped into the alley with the rain.

Renka looked up.

A man stood before her, cloak flowing like storm-touched silk, silver hair glowing even in the shadows.
Fox tails shimmered behind him — ethereal, unreal, alive.

Golden eyes met hers — ancient, fierce, unbearably lonely.

"You almost died."

His voice was calm, tired — as if he had fought this battle a thousand times.

Renka’s lips trembled.
“W-Who are you?”

He stepped closer.
Rain slid off him like the world itself refused to touch him.

"I have watched you since your first breath."

Her heart lurched.

"I am Yue. Fox guardian of your bloodline."

Her world cracked.

Magic wasn't myth.
Yokai weren't stories.
Her life wasn’t normal — and maybe never had been.

She tried to speak.

The rain faded.
Vision blurred.

Darkness swallowed her.

Renka awoke to the scent of cedar and incense.

Not her apartment.
Not safety.

A shrine.

Paper lanterns flickered.
Distant bells echoed like memory.

Yue kneeled by a brazier, feeding flame with paper charms.
Moon-pale hair, steady hands, inhuman grace.

He didn’t look at her when he spoke.

"Fear makes humans collapse. You will adjust."

She glared. “Sorry I’m not used to being hunted by spirits.”

A subtle twitch of his ear — almost amused.

He rose, gaze soft but unbearably old.

"Your parents vanished protecting a secret. You inherited it."

Renka’s breath caught.

“My parents…? You know what happened?”

His expression dimmed with centuries-old sorrow.

"I was too late to save them."

Her chest tightened.

“Why me? I’m nobody.”

Yue stepped closer, voice quiet as falling rain.

"To the world, perhaps. But to fate — and to me — you are everything that remains."

Wind struck the shrine doors.

Wood shuddered.
Something clawed outside.

Yue’s eyes sharpened like drawn steel.

"They found us."

Renka’s pulse thundered.

Fear.
Fire.
A spark waking in her bones.

She rose unsteady, but defiant.

“What do I do?”

Yue drew his blade.
Silver tails flared like moonlit fire.

"Do not die."

The doors burst open.
Shadows flooded in — snarling, hungry, ancient.

Renka stood her ground.

If destiny wanted her, it could fight for her.
She refused to break.

Not again.

Not this time.