Chapter 58

Inari conjured a blade of her own out of thin air before rushing at the two girls. Kaede stepped to the left while Yurika stepped forward, bringing her own sword up to clash with the fox’s.

Sparks flew off of their blades as Inari snarled, putting her full weight in her strike, pushing Yurika back. The island girl slid back, trying to use her own weight to stop the fox to no avail.

“Yurika-chan!” Kaede rushed to her friend’s aid but Inari turned on her heel and delivered a kick to Kaede’s stomach, sending her tumbling across the ground.

“Kaede-chan!” Yurika grunted, bringing her tucked left hand up and swinging a punch at the fox. Inari jumped back as the island girl lunged forward, putting both hands on her kodachi and swinging across Inari’s torso. The fox dodged the swipe, jumping back to the dais.

Kaede walked up to Yurika’s side, her hand across her stomach, but the island girl didn’t take her gaze off of the fox. “Are you alright!?”

Kaede nodded, panting slightly. “I’ll be fine, Yurika-chan. I’m not letting you deal with her alone.”

Yurika turned to say that she appreciated the sentiment and that’s when Inari pounced again, closing the gap between herself and the girls in a speed that would’ve made Kitsuya look like he was standing still. Her target this time: Kaede.

“I already said I tire of this! You two can just die already!”

Yurika cursed herself for taking her eyes off the fox and moved to step in front of Kaede but the oiran, her eyes narrowed, stretched out one of her arms and grabbed onto Inari’s kimono before grabbing the wrist below her extended blade as well.

Both the fox and the island girl were shocked but Kaede wasn’t done as she shifted her feet, lifting Inari off of hers and, using the former priestess’ momentum against her, tossed Inari over her. The fox slammed into the ground, the wind knocked out of her.

Kaede pivoted around and had both of her hands, palms out, pointed towards the fox as Yurika, wide-eyed, clapped emphatically.

“That was incredible, Kaede-chan! I didn’t know you could do that!”

Kaede, not taking her eyes off of Inari, laughing nervously. “I didn’t know I could either! Jiro-san has taught me some self-defense tips in the past, and while I did practice them on him, I never knew if they were actually useful.” She grinned slightly, glancing at Yurika.

“Now seemed the perfect time to test them!”

Yurika merely nodded, still impressed, before turning her blade back to the fallen fox. Not having to worry about protecting Kaede certainly made her role in this fight easier.

Inari stood up, one of her clawed hands pressing into her face, hiding one of her amber eyes. The other was wide in fury as she gnashed her fangs together, shaking with rage. “Yet another royal brat with all the luck!”

“That was hardly luck!” Yurika said.

“I don’t know why you hate the princess so much! What did Kagura-chan do that was so personal to you!?” Kaede yelled, still ready to grapple the fox if she rushed.

“I’m not telling the likes of either of you!” Inari snapped her arms down, conjuring a second blade in her other hand before throwing at Kaede. The oiran, momentarily shocked by the projectile, brought her palms together, catching the blade between them in a panic.

The blade turned to light and dispersed, as Kaede, eyes wide and panting frantically looked at her palms. Yurika, having also been surprised, turned back to Inari, pointing her kodachi at the fox.

“Are you crazy!? That’s dangerous. You could’ve killed her!”

“That’s the entire point!” Inari snarled. “But that brat is just full of surprises!”

Kaede, regaining her composure, slid her right hand into the pouch on her waist, before removing her kinusan, fanning it out in one swift move, as she stared down Inari. Her eyes were narrowed, her confidence having grown by stopping the fox’s previous two attacks alone.

Inari growled in irritation, looking between the two girls before her. By all accounts, they should’ve been the weakest targets and yet here she was struggling to take care of either one! She clenched her free hand into a fist before kicking off the ground and rushing towards Yurika, her blade raised. Yurika responded with a parry but Inari thrust out her claws, causing the island girl to jump back.

The sharp claws ripped through her sleeve, tearing a hole into it but Yurika pivoted on her left foot and thrust her blade out. The fox blocked the strike and swung her leg around to kick at Yurika, landing one square on the island girl’s hip. She turned to stab with her claws again but Kaede had rushed in and, using the full weight of her body, rammed into Inari, knocking the fox to the ground.

Inari landed on her hands and knees, growling more angrily than before as Kaede stood between her and the fallen Yurika.

“Why do you continue to struggle!?” Inari snarled, standing back on her feet. “It’s all pointless! Fighting against me! Against fate! The moon is going to fall! You can just die earlier!”

Kaede gazed at Inari, a look of pity in her eyes. “You don’t have anyone waiting for you… do you?”

Inari’s eyes widened, hearing that before she thrust her arm out. “What does that matter, girl!? That’s the reason you’re fighting!? Just because you have someone waiting for you doesn’t make you better…than me…”

Inari’s amber eyes met Kaede’s green ones and she gnashed her teeth once more. Her mind flashed back to the same gaze Kagura had given her on the moon centuries ago.

“Don’t look at me that way! I don’t want pity from another royal!”

Kaede opened her mouth to speak but Inari lunged forward, bringing up her sword, aiming to thrust through Kaede’s chest.

“Kaede-chan!” Yurika cried out, struggling back to her feet as the oiran’s seemed stunned at the rushing fox.

“I’ll kill you, like I should’ve done that accursed princess back then! She can watch as her avatar falls before the moon does!” Inari’s voice was crazed as she closed in on Kaede.

Kaede snapped out of her daze, bringing her kinusan up, her eyes narrowed on the fox. There was a quiet conviction to her, Yurika noted, that wasn’t there before as the blade inched closer to her.

The blade plunged forward as Yurika rushed towards Kaede’s back and time seemed to stand still as you could hear the blade sink in. Inari smirked, thinking she had struck the young girl…

However…

The tip of Inari’s blade was a mere grain of rice away from the tip of Kaede’s nose, the young oiran having caught the blade in her fan as she arched her back away. All three were stunned, in different ways, before Yurika turned her gaze on the fox.

In a flash, Kaede snapped her kinusan closed, before yanking the blade free of Inari’s grasp, tossing both items away across the stone slab. The oiran ducked and rolled to the opposite side, crying out: “Yurika-chan, now!!”

Yurika brought her blade up to thrust, the tip pointed at Inari’s chest. “You don’t have to tell me!” She called out as her kodachi sunk into Inari’s flesh between her breasts.

The fox snarled, wildly swinging her claws out at the island girl who tossed herself to the ground, avoiding the onslaught before it stopped. The two girls, laying protectively, glanced up just in time to see Inari, the ancient fox and leader of the thieves, fall onto her back, Yurika’s blade still stabbed into her torso.