The Culprit Identified

“What a monster!” Kasane exclaimed, her nostrils flaring in horror and rage.

Kazuya had just shown their family the pictures of murdered and eaten teenage girls from the century-old case he and Inuko had been assigned. He extracted the case files from the email Chief Shinemori sent him that afternoon. However, the Chief had just dismissed Inuko and him from the case because the perpetrator, a rogue fox, kidnapped his 18-year-old daughter, Yumi. So, Chief Akechi Shinemori had taken the matter into his own hands.

But Kazuya couldn’t sit still when Yumi’s life was threatened. Due to Akechi Shinemori’s close friendship with his and Kasane’s father, the late Detective Jin Hattori, the children had grown up together. Therefore, Kazuya and Kasane cared deeply about Yumi.

“Goodness!” Rin, Kazuya’s and Kasane’s grandmother, covered her mouth with her hands. “Poor Yumi! Can’t we do anything?” She looked around the table at her brother-in-law, Hiroto Kagurayama, his daughter Nene, and the latter’s husband, Dragon God Dairyū.

Nene, Rin’s marital niece, turned to Dairyū with the frown of a demanding wife.

“Can’t you find the girl?” she asked in her deep, androgynous voice. She straightened up in her seat and crossed her arms to underscore her seriousness. After all, despite her husband’s godhood and omnipotence, he was not the boss in this family – that much Nene had made clear.

Dairyū chuckled, his cheeks burning. He saw Nene like a human would do a cute pomeranian barking at him. Just as the pomeranian’s evident fear hidden under her courageous stance would make her seem all the lovelier, so did his wife’s ostentatious posturing melt Dairyū’s heart. But alas, he had to disappoint her.

“I gave up my omniscience when I left the God Realm.” He smiled ruefully. “Even though I still travel there every month, I can’t regain my full powers.”

“Hmph!” Nene pouted and turned away from him. “What a useless kami…”

Kenzō, Nene’s and Dairyū’s son, laughed at his mother’s grumpy attitude around his dragon father, so characteristic of her. Dairyū blushed harder and scratched the back of his head. But the old Hiroto Kagurayama shivered at his daughter’s continuous disrespect towards the dragon god. Dairyū was Ryūjin’s oldest and most powerful son. His anger could bring disastrous storms, or worse.

“I’m so sorry, Dairyū no Kami-sama!” He bowed reverently to the dragon. “M-My daughter_”

“Don’t mind it!” Dairyū laughed, his voice tinkling like a thousand pearls. He gently rubbed Nene’s head. “She’s right, I’m useless in this matter.”

“You’re not, Uncle!” Kazuya cut into the conversation, his green eyes shimmering intensely. “Please, look at these reports! My Absolute Sight Magic tells me the perpetrator is a powerful fox with nine tails. But, perhaps, your divine gaze can discern more?”

He slid his phone to Dairyū’s side. The screen showed the gruesome pictures of young women’s bodies, or rather, their heads and bones, for the killer had eaten the rest. Dairyū knitted his brows and ran over the reports, tapping his clawed finger on the phone screen. His friend, Shiroki – Inari Ōkami’s oldest guardian fox – bent over the table and observed the pictures alongside him. His nose wrinkled, and his fluffy white tail stood erect. He was disgusted by the images and felt that he’d grown to hate demonic foxes more than ever.

“Maybe it’s a filthy bakegitsune from his clan?” He glared at Yukihiro Kagenashi, the fox yakuza heir and Kasane’s friend.

To Shiroki, Yukihiro and his family were an abomination. They shared the blood of Ginrei – the oldest guardian fox of Inari Ōkami, who had killed innocent people, lost Inari’s blessing, and turned into a nine-tailed bakegitsune. No one had seen him in a long time, but Shiroki was sure he was still alive. For all they knew, he could be the perpetrator of these century-long murders.

Yukihiro’s nine tails bristled, and his white ears shot up. He snarled at Shiroki, unfolding his claws amidst his crossed arms.

“Who do you think we are?” he shouted. “My foxes don’t eat people like barbarians!”

“You want a medal for that?!” Shiroki scoffed. “You’re killing thousands! If you were as kind as you say, then you and your clan wouldn’t have permitted freaks like these”—he pointed to the pictures on the phone screen—“to run loose!”

Kazuya lifted his head from the phone screen, eyeing the two foxes. Shiroki had a point.

The Kagenashi Clan could’ve identified and stopped this murderous fox long ago, given their extensive network. He thought. He gave Kasane a look of accusation. She believes Yukihiro is kinder than the rest of his yakuza. But he hasn’t moved a finger against the rogue foxes that eat people. How can she explain that?

Kasane had the same thought, for she cast a sorrowful, curious glance at Yukihiro. However, he didn’t notice it, too enraged by Shiroki’s remarks.

“You think I run a charity fund?!” He screeched. With his lifted chin and his nine tails spread like sunrays behind his back, he now resembled a proud yakuza kumichō rather than a mere wakagashira. “We protect the Inari Woods and our members. Random lowlives aren’t my concern!”

Kasane furrowed her brow. She always knew that Yukihiro had the same murderous streak as his family, but she didn’t want to believe that he looked down on humans this much. And yet, he had just confessed his disdain for humanity. Her heart stung.

“And you dare call yourself Inari Ōkami-sama’s guardian after that?” Shiroki hissed at Yukihiro.

“She abandoned me long ago, so I might as well commit to my stance as a ‘bakegitsune’!” Yukihiro retorted.

“Abandoned you?” Dairyū cut into the conversation, raising his eyebrows at Yukihiro. His blue lips formed a predatory smile. “Interesting… I thought it was your ancestor, Ginrei, who fell from her grace.”

“Well, i-it’s the same,” Yukihiro stammered. He shivered at the dragon god’s smirk and looked away. “I mean… Ginrei’s fall affected our entire line.”

“Oh?” Dairyū chuckled. He turned to the whole family, and the corners of his lips lowered. “Anyway, I know who the killer is.”

Everyone grew tense, especially Kazuya. He clutched his knees with his sweaty palms, waiting for Dairyū’s verdict.

“A male nine-tailed fox of tremendous power, indeed.” Dairyū nodded to Kazuya, acknowledging his input. He gave the phone back to him and added, “He’s no less than 900 years old. And his killing streak goes far beyond a century.” He turned to Yukihiro with a smile, making him squirm. “Mr Kagenashi, does it ring a bell?”

Kasane glared at Yukihiro. Did he know something and hide it? She grabbed his shoulders.

“Yumi is my childhood friend!” she cried. “I suggested the name to her mother when she was born.” Tears gathered in her eyes. “Yuki, if you know something, tell us!”

Kazuya eyed his sister with a sunken heart. He wished he could comfort her in some way. Yukihiro was just as touched. He embraced Kasane and pressed her to his chest. His ears and nine tails slumped.

Nothing is worth her tears. He thought. I must help her, even if it’ll be the end of me.

“The culprit must be Kasai,” he said. “He’s about 999 years old, the oldest nine-tailed fox… if we don’t count Ginrei. His favourite meal is fresh human meat. My clan and I don’t associate with such filth.” He glowered at Shiroki. He sighed and kissed Kasane’s head. “When Detective Hattori showed us the reports, I suspected it might be Kasai, but I wasn’t sure and didn’t want to worry you. However, after Dairyū no Kami-sama’s input, I’m certain. It’s the worst outcome, Kasane.” He frowned. “Kasai plays with his victims before eating them. That’s why he chooses young girls.”

All of the women – Kasane, Rin, Nene, and Inuko – gasped. A 999-year-old freak preying on innocent girls?! Kazuya and Hiroto felt their blood boiling, while Shiroki snarled, his pupils narrowing to slits. Kenzō and Dairyū emitted vapours from their nostrils and drew stormy clouds above the mansion, so wrathful they had become.

“We must save her!” Kasane shouted. She clasped the collar of Yukihiro’s black shirt. “You must take us to him, Yuki! I’ll strangle him!”

“Settle down, Kasane!” Nene frowned. “We must think this through. You’re too young to battle a millennium-old yōkai.” She turned to Dairyū, her husband. “Can’t you find and eat that fox?”

“He must be in the Demon Realm, because I can’t locate him,” Dairyū replied, having already scanned the land through a divine pearl he summoned out of thin air. “That’s the one place where we, celestial kami, have no access.” He looked at his son, Kenzō, with an encouraging smile. “A half-kami can, though! And if all the kids go together, with a suitable guide,”—he glanced at Yukihiro,—“they can defeat Kasai.”

“But, they’re still young!” Nene insisted.

“There’s no time to lose!” Kazuya sprang to his feet. “Let’s go!”

“Here are your bullets I promised yesterday.” Kenzō summoned a bag of fresh bullets out of thin air and threw it to Kazuya. Then, he summoned a sword and passed his fingers on its blade. “I doubt my kami power will manifest fully in the Demon Realm, but my Water and Crystal Magic will do just fine.”

“I’m coming, too!” Inuko barked and jumped from her seat. “Raijin Kami-sama was born in the Demon Realm. As his guardian dog, I have access there!”

“You’ll need a healer.” Kasane stood up and cracked her knuckles. “I’ll skin that fox alive for kidnapping Yumi!”

“Alright.” Yukihiro sighed and stood up, too. He wrapped his arm around Kasane. “We’ll teleport.”

He swung his other hand, spreading some purple mist of burning wisteria fragrance. It enveloped the youngsters and made the elders, other than Dairyū and Shiroki, cough. When the smoke dispersed, Yukihiro and the youngsters were gone.

“Are you sure they can handle it?” Nene turned back to Dairyū. “It’s the Demon Realm!”

“Only Kazuya and Kasane are full humans among them, and they’re strong mages.” Dairyū shrugged. “Moreover, they’ve got that white fox.” He smiled, rather enigmatically. “They’ll be fine.”