A hunter's tail

Those who knew Itori well would know to find her in the kitchen, or anywhere else where one might quickly acquire a meal (although the kitchen was always the safest bet). Actually one didn't even need to know Itori very well for this: it wasn't a secret that for all the kitsune's formal behaviour and preference for the ascetic lifestyle she was an absolute glutton for food and would spend hours on end preparing and eating if nothing else demanded her attention. The fact that this never caused her to gain weight was a mystery for the ages and had been the cause of envy for many women throughout said ages. Itori was aware of their plight, although she would have to point out that if they were aware just what the side effects were of such amazing metabolism they might not have been quite as envious.

Fat could be gotten rid off with exercise, but if eating caused you to amass more magical energy than your being could contain and it began to manifest itself as minor illusions it could cause a heap of problems.

Regardless, Itori was in the kitchen. She'd already finished the cooking so she was now busy with the favourite part, the feasting. She did enjoy the cooking a lot: she'd had years and years to become very good at it and it was a good way to keep yourself busy with something innocent but productive. But the eating was still the end goal and the best goal. Millennia of travelling all over the world, encountering so many different dishes and learning so many different recipes... it was no lie to say that most of Itori's expenses ended up being related to food as she filled with dining area of Yggdrasil with a ridiculous variety of dishes and then set to slowly but surely eat all of them. One of the bigger challenges was keeping them all warm for as long as it took for her to eat, compounded by the fact that despite her gluttonous nature she still ate just like she did everything else: calmly and with care.

This was the situation that Kite walked in on, and given that he had encountered her like this before the kitsune knew that he wouldn't raise any objections. Especially if she let him share in the bounty which she had no objections to herself. She might cook up a storm for herself but that didn't mean that she would be greedy and demand that she got to eat all of it. She had a habit of eating much more than she actually needed to fill her stomach, relying on her insane metabolism to take care of the excess (although because of this she usually feasted where there weren't others so any accidental illusions didn't cause panic).

"Greetings master. I am not currently busy with anything of importance. Is there something you need of me?" She greeted the guildmaster even as she deftly used her tails to push some plates she hadn't eaten barren yet into a position where the man would have easy access to them. When he talked about a job where she had to accept before she was told the details she frowned, but curiosity quickly won her over. "You can eat as much as you like master, although I must say it is unlike you to withhold information until someone has already accepted the task. Nevertheless I shall accept." While a mission of which the details weren't known could be dangerous she trusted the guildmaster to not intentionally put his subordinates in situations they truly were unequipped to handle. That wasn't to say that the mission couldn't be taxing... but he wasn't going to send people to their deaths if he could avoid it.

She kept eating as she patiently listened to Kite's explanation. It wasn't very long, but it left the seven-tailed fox with more questions. The most pressing question was why he would try to get her to accept the mission if it was this straightforward. People had gone missing, they had to find out where those people had gone and preferably help them get back to their villages. If he didn't want to provide such details beforehand... "I understand. I might be well suited for a mission revolving around missing villagers, given that my own kind is well familiar with luring the unsuspecting away from home and family." It was one of the less pleasant parts of the kitsune species, but Itori wasn't one to deny the fact that her people weren't perfect (although plenty of the vulpine spirits would prefer to act otherwise. Vanity was another reoccurring flaw).

"That said I shall go and retrieve the missing villagers, and take care of whatever entity of phenomenon has been causing their disappearance. While I wish to avoid giving myself unduly credit I have confidence that I shall be able to resolve the matter." There weren't many things which could match up to a seven-tailed fox. Of course Kite himself was powerful enough that Itori would have done her best to avoid angering him even if it wasn't her nature to be amiable, but Kite wasn't exactly your average person.

Once the meal was done Itori stood up, bowed towards Kite, and headed out towards the exit so she could go to the indicated region where villages were suffering from disappeareances. On the way there she thought about the two reasons her fiery guildmaster might have had for withholding information. The first reason was that the disappearances were happening inside the realm of Yggdrasil, a dimension between realms where usually not a lot happened. While the world tree itself served as a bridge between numerous different realms the surrounding area was usually left alone, in the same way that people wouldn't bother with stealing copper and iron if there was gold and silver in sight. For something to be happening in those out of the way villages meant that there might be something stranger than usual going on.

The second reason was both more and less sinister: perhaps Kite knew more about these disappearances than he was willing to tell her even after she accepted the mission. She'd gone on a mission with him before to deal with disappearances back in Earthland, and he'd definitely been more forthcoming back then. So if he told her less this time was that because he knew less... or because he wasn't sure whether to share what he knew?

Well, that was important to keep in mind but currently wouldn't help her. She had already set out towards the area where the villagers were reported to go missing, she didn't have the luxury to go back and ask for more details. Especially when she had no reason to believe that she would be given those details even if she asked. Kite wasn't the kind of guildmaster who'd neglect to mention something important out of sheer forgetfulness. If he didn't tell her something it was with a reason, and she doubted that it was that he wanted to test her inquisitiveness.

No, she was stuck with what she currently knew. Which was very little.

---

Wading through the undergrowth Itori looked around warily while her ears stood sharp. After visiting the villages she'd arrived here in the forest, where the people kept going missing. According to the villagers this forest had been safe for years, and they didn't have a single clue what might be causing the disappearances. She'd asked around after folkloric tales or fables that might have some clue, but even those didn't seem to have any hint the seven-tailed fox could use to unravel this mystery. It was as if out of nowhere something had showed up to capture random innocents without any previous history.

Which was highly peculiar. While most acts could appear random to the observer each event could eventually be sorted as part of a chain. A necromancer occupied a cave and began raising the dead because there was a forgotten crypt. A dying monk travelled to a village in the middle of nowhere because he'd seen a painting of it once in his youth and wanted to see it with his own eyes before he passed away. The world was made out of stories and those stories made sense if you knew all the details. But here it seemed she might be dealing with a truly random occurrence.

She wasn't sensing anything unusual either: neither ears nor spirit could pick up on anything out of the ordinary. The only thing that could be called even remotely strange was that the animals around here didn't seem to be afraid of her, and even that could just be because they noticed she wasn't human and therefore didn't have reason to fear being hunted by her.

In fact one of the deer got close enough that she could almost touch it. Humming under her breath to help the beast feel at ease the kitsune reached out with one hand and softly stroked its fur, then reached further up to pat it on the head as well. Until she froze, her eyes widening in shock. After a second she move her hand again, but with much more care as she rested it on top of the deer's head while she closed her eyes and concentrated. She only noticed it because she could sense someone's thoughts and feelings upon contact with them, but this deer... had the soul of a human trapped within.

She was still processing this, including how this had happened and whether this had happened to all of the missing villagers, when her ears twitched and she jumped to the side, an arrow burying itself into the ground several feet away from her. If she hadn't moved that arrow would have pierced her torso, and seeing how much of the shaft was now hidden inside the ground it might actually have gone straight through her. The vulpine siren's head shot up towards the source of the attack, her vermilion eyes narrow and one hand on the hilt of her sheathed white blade. There stood a woman, radiant in her beauty but her gaze cold. More worryingly Itori hadn't noticed her arrival, and she hadn't noticed the various other huntresses who were now also showing up all around her.

As she stared at the leader, the most beautiful and the most powerful of them all, four thoughts flashed through her head: this woman who'd just tried to put a hole in her obviously wasn't mortal. All the disappeared villagers had been male. There were only women present here. There was a myth not tied to the villages, but one known in Earthland: that of a goddess who would punish any man who laid eyes on her. Sometimes that punishment was to turn into prey, to wander and be hunted down in time.

"What is the goddess of the hunt doing here?" Itori's voice was calm, but her guarded stance and wary gaze showed that she was aware of the troublesome situation she suddenly felt herself in. Artemis was a true goddess, and she was famous for her skill with the bow. If she and her followers had claimed these woods...

"I didn't expect the Teumessian Fox to appear here of all places. Didn't Zeus turn you into a constellation when Amphitryon tried to catch you with Laelaps?" Itori opened her mouth to reply, not knowing what the Teumessian Fox was supposed to be, but Artemis silenced her with a swift hand motion and aimed at her with her bow. "No matter. In fact I'm most pleased. The stories say you cannot be caught, but it looks like you're rather easily cornered. As the Mistress of the Hunt it's a challenge to say I wouldn't be unable to catch you, so I'm looking forward to skinning you."

With that the hunt began. Before Itori could try to placate the goddess and her followers she suddenly had an arrow sticking out of her leg, with more on the way. Hissing with pain the vixen quickly wove an illusion which caused her surroundings to spin violently while she herself dove out of the way and deeper into the woods. The hunters who had been aiming at her lost their balance, stumbling and holding their heads as the unusually aggressive illusion messed up their heads and even left some nauseous. Artemis was the only one who held her ground without issue, although even she apparently was affected enough to let Itori run away and get a headstart.

---

Ripping the arrow out of her thigh Itori healed the wound within seconds, not giving herself the chance to rest as she ran farther and farther. behind her she could already hear the hunters giving chase, even if they weren't the type to blow their horns and release their dogs. They were the wild types of hunters, who moved in silence as they tracked down their prey. If it wasn't for Itori's blessedly sharp ears she wouldn't have known that they were hot on her heels until they were already poised to drive an arrow between her shoulder blades.

She had been called the Teumessian Fox, and Artemis had said something about how it was supposed to be impossible to catch her. It was probably a myth from the same culture which also had stories about Artemis, but it wasn't one Itori had known of until now. She'd lived a long time and learned of a great many things, but she wasn't omniscient. There were plenty of things that she had never encountered simply because even with thousands of years to live it was a big world and it was easy to overlook things.

But that wasn't going to help her right now. She had to do something about the goddess and her followers. They weren't going to listen apparently: they'd begun shooting at her as quickly as Artemis had finished speaking. That didn't give the impression that they'd suddenly change their mind if she tried convincing them that they were mistaken. Did that mean that she had to disable all of them?

Swerving to the side she felt an arrow fly right past her head, almost cutting off some of her hair. One of the huntresses had been a bit faster than the rest, and was already taking aim with the second arrow. The kitsune didn't want to fight but it looked like she didn't have a choice here... although on second thought maybe she didn't mind fighting after all. She hadn't thought about it until now, but... given the past elders and their connections, wouldn't Artemis be one of them as well? It'd explain why she had such a highly hostile nature. The elders were deities who appeared to not give a damn about the well-being of anyone other than maybe their direct followers.

The last time she fought an elder she was primarily serving as backup for Kite. It looked like this time she'd get to take one down herself.

Ducking behind a tree Itori crafted the illusion of something white and swift moving forward and away from her. Meanwhile she herself turned ethereal and stepped backwards through the tree. When the huntress ran past her she reached out and grabbed her by the neck, deftly flinging her onto the ground while making sure to let her cursed prayer beads touch the bare skin of the woman.

Jumping away she began to run again, but at the same time she let her cursed prayer beads drain away the life from the woman. She wasn't aiming to kill just yet, but with how much life essence she'd pulled away that one wouldn't be part of the hunt any longer.

But that was only one of many. She'd have to step up her game and take care of the rest as well. And then Artemis... That would be a tricky one.

Jumping up into the trees Itori used this brief moment of peace to prepare herself to take down some more of her chasers. She crafted a larger illusion, one which changed the appearance of the entire forest. The changes were subtle, but enough that she could use them to trap the huntresses and then leave them unconscious. She'd decide whether to kill them later or whether removing their leader would be enough to render them harmless.

Soon enough a handful of the hunting women passed by underneath her. Of course Itori had prioritized removing any traces of herself beyond one which led further into the forest, so they had no clue of her being above them now. She'd also disguised the unconscious one as a boulder so they wouldn't realize that one of their own had already been caught.

Once again she waited until they were past her, and once again she then jumped onto them once they showed an opening. This time she used her blade, the white edge flashing through the darkness of the overgrown wilds as she sliced open their hamstrings. Ignoring their cries of pain she then once more sliced the small of their backs to make sure they would have a hard time doing anything other than lie on the ground, after which she brought her fingers along the edge of her blade to take some of the blood and lick it.

More energy began to transfer from her adversaries to her, but this time she summoned her essence orb and fed it the life force. The trees and the other plants were now bathed in a ghostly, otherworldly light, although realizing that this might give her away given the circumstances Itori covered that light with another illusion so only she would see it. Twitching her ears she heard that the rest of the hunters were closing in on her position. With her tails she grabbed the three unconscious women and deposited them somewhere where they wouldn't be found, disguising their tracks with some more illusions. She couldn't keep throwing illusions everywhere but she only needed to maintain them for as long as it took for the rest to pass by ignorant of the truth.

Then she resumed running into the depths of the woods, towards where the hunt would become even more hectic.

---

Itori's blade jolted as it ran through the hand of the huntress and pinned it to the tree even as the kitsune grabbed the exposed neck and pressed it firmly against that same bark, her vermilion eyes sharp as she met the gaze of her latest victim. This one had definitely been one of the stronger ones: she wasn't as nimble as some of the others, but she'd managed to avoid getting ambushed by Itori and had done a good job fighting back until finally the seven-tailed swordswoman had found an opening.

At this point the only reason why Itori wasn't bleeding all over was because she was healing her wounds almost as quickly as they formed. While she'd done her best to hide the bodies the ones still remaining had eventually figured out that their prey wasn't just running away, after which they'd become a lot more cautious and a lot more eager to attack the moment they caught a glimpse of her. Itori had tried to evade attacks by turning into a ghost, but that had ended up as a painful experience when it turned out these arrows could hurt her even in her ethereal form.

In hindsight she should have seen that coming: the subordinates of an elder whose pride was to be able to hunt any beast weren't going to be deterred by the existence of spirit beasts.

Still, even with Itori's healing there were several patches of blood dirtying her clothes. Some of it was from her assailants, but some of it was definitely her own. It was also a good thing that she had resorted to draining their life force rather than just killing them, because evading so many at once and taking them out while simultaneously getting wounded and healing the wounds meant that she was using up a lot of stamina and energy. She would be panting and sweating if it wasn't for that.

But the good news was that there should only be two minions left, after which she could try to take care of the elder as well. Now that she'd been convinced that she was dealing with an elder Itori had stopped calling her Artemis in her head, and was quite prepared to do whatever was necessary. The villagers could be turned back eventually, but the elder would remain a threat as long as she was alive.

Having dropped all the illusions she'd been using so far she crafted a new one. This one simply removed all trace of her existence, the kitsune drawing her blade and standing at the ready as she waited for the last two to arrive. She wasn't sure why she hadn't encountered the goddess yet, but she was grateful for it. She'd have suspected a trap if she wasn't certain that there weren't any illusions in this place other than her own.

The last two were working together, and ran straight towards Itori. When she was about to strike at one the other suddenly pulled the both of them back, out of the reach of the kitsune's sword. The one she'd been hoping to strike didn't waste any time pulling back the string of her bow, shooting an arrow at where Itori was and forcing her to jump backwards while keeping her blade at the ready. She'd hoped that she could take care of these two with the element of surprise, but apparently she'd have to fight.

Neither of the huntresses spoke as they began to circle her. The siren didn't say anything either, focusing on making sure she would be able to react. Some of the others had also attacked her with daggers and even short swords, and she saw that one of these two also had a sword at the ready.

Stepping forward the one with the sword slashed down towards Itori while at the same time she could hear the whistling of an arrow from the other huntress. Rather than turning into a ghost or dodging Itori disappeared entirely, leaving the two adversaries blinking as surprise until suddenly a white figure appeared behind the one with the bow and wrapped an arm around her neck. While an attempt was made to break free the struggle was brief before this one also fell limp, her energy drained while Itori locked eyes with the last huntress.

That one was once again lifting her sword, not moving for now but clearly not planning to let Itori go. For now the fox had a shield in the form of the unconscious maiden (they were all virgins, weren't they?), but the moment she tried anything else she would be attacked. Of that she was certain.

The two stared at one another for nearly half a minute before suddenly the vulpine prey dropped her shield and drew her sword, holding it with both hands. The huntress quickly dashed forward, aiming to bury her weapon between the ribs while her target was still busy switching the position of her hands. Because of her hurry she noticed too late that one of the seven tails displayed behind Itori was fake, and that the real one invisibly wrapped around her neck and harshly pulled on it to choke her and leave her flailing, the sword uselessly falling to the ground.

---

Itori had barely dropped the last of the minions when suddenly she cried out in pain. She'd been hit again, but this time by another arrow which went straight through her. This one had pierced her arm near the shoulder, the limb only barely remaining attached to the rest of her body. As she began to heal the wound the kitsune turned around towards the goddess, who was suddenly standing there and looking down at her with that same cold look.

"I hope you've enjoyed yourself playing with my girls, because your luck has run out." Her arrow was aimed at Itori's heart, and the seven-tailed fox didn't doubt for a moment that she would shoot. "I wanted to give them the chance to catch you, but it looks like it'll be up to me-"

A flash of light illuminated the area as Itori dodged to the side. The arrow flew past her, the sharp edge digging into her side before it glanced off and flew off to embed itself into the trunk of a tree. Itori herself rolled over the ground as the impact was enough to throw her off balance, mud and dirt sticking to her clothes and to her wounds. While she'd healed her arm enough that it wouldn't fall off it was still bleeding heavily, and having dirt get added to the mess made it feel like it was on fire and under attack by a thousand pins.

Gritting her teeth Itori pushed herself back upright and hid behind a tree, putting some more power into healing both her wounds and curing herself of any disease or poison that might have tried to enter her body. Her concentration was nearly broken when the entire tree shook, one of Artemis's merciless arrows having slammed straight into the trunk with enough force that Itori could feel the impact clearly on the other side.

"Hiding now? I thought the Teumessian Fox was supposed to run, not cower in its den." The elder called out before suddenly appearing in front of Itori, another arrow aimed right between her eyes. Itori didn't hesitate and quicly stepped backwards through the tree, feeling the very tip of the arrow pierce the skin before she disappeared behind the tree's bark and instead splinters flew everywhere.

On the other side Itori began to craft a complex illusion which would leave Artemis feeling like gravity had turned upside down, one of the nastier things she could think of. While she didn't think the goddess would care much about spinning and turning even she wouldn't have an easy time if suddenly it felt like the world was trying to drag her off into the sky.

"In the light of the moon you won't be able to hide behind your lies!" With that everything was bathed in a silver light, and Itori could feel her illusions falling apart, unraveling under that pure luminescence. The fox felt despair touch her heart as she realized what that meant. She tried to weave another illusion but that one fell apart even as it came together... this elder could nullify illusions. For a kitsune like her that was one of the worst situations, especially if that same elder could also harm her spiritual self as easily as her physical form.

With no other option left to her Itori once again run. However this time she put everything into it, her entire body turning white as she sprinted like she was trying to outrun the dawn. Or in this case the nightfall. She could feel how the moonlight chased her together with the cold-eyed goddess, even as she wove between trees to at least avoid being struck by an arrow. So far she hadn't been struck in any vital areas, but she knew for a certainty that if Artemis got a clear shot things would be a lot more dire than just an arm being torn off.

Illusions nullified, her ethereal form as easily threatened as her physical form... Itori was quickly running out of options. She always relied on misdirection and the ability to avoid attacks to find an opportunity to strike down her enemy. But now she was dealing with someone who nullified both of those advantages. She had her spirit magic, but how much would that help in this scenario?

She couldn't keep running. Artemis was in her element currently. She had to try and throw the goddess off balance, or she'd end up being hunted down and killed just like so many other prey had been throughout the years.

Dodging behind another tree Itori suddenly turned around and dashed straight through, straight towards Artemis. Due to her spiritual form she didn't have to worry about acceleration, so she went from moving forward at high speed to moving just as quickly in the other direction with barely any transition. The goddess, however, wasn't impressed and responded with another arrow, once again aiming straight at the fox's head. Pushing herself to the limit Itori formed a ward in front of herself, essence of the spirit realm coalescing into a shield. As the arrow struck the shield the barrier cracked and quickly gave away, but that little pause gave Itori enough time to evade and keep running forward. Artemis jumped backwards while readying another arrow, but the vixen disappeared and reappeared behind the goddess in a flash of white, blade shooting towards Artemis's neck.

"Too slow!" Spinning on her heel the deity's blessed bow blocked the sword while a silver dagger embedded itself in Itori's stomach. Gasping the fox was kicked backwards, slamming against a tree with the dagger still piercing her innards. The dagger was blessed with Artemis's divine essence, and now that it had found its mark Itori couldn't escape any more.

As she leaned against the tree Itori could feel the divine energies running through the dagger. It actually felt very similar... It felt like... Her head swam as suddenly she felt something welling up from inside her.

"A brave attempt, but you'd have been better off running Teumession Fox. That's what you're good at after all." With Itori gasping for breath and clearly out of sorts Artemis grabbed another arrow and put it on her bow, taking aim. "You did your best but you couldn't match up against an actual goddess."

As Artemis prepared to loose the arrow that would take Itori's life suddenly... something happened. It was difficult to explain. Itori's already white form suddenly glowed with renewed intensity even as the world around her shifted. It didn't shift from one state into another, it just felt like suddenly reality wasn't as stable as before.

And then it was back to normal, but Itori was gone.

"Another illusion?" Artemis asked out loud as she once again let her lunar light bathe everything. However the fox didn't appear. Instead she saw one of her own followers aiming an arrow at her. The projectile flashed through the air but was knocked aside by the goddess, who looked at the traitorous huntress... who wasn't there any more either.

A frown crossed the elder's expression, but she remained on guard. Hearing something behind her she turned around and launched an arrow, which embedded itself into the trunk of a tree. The ground suddenly grabbed at her feet but she stomped on it hard enough to make the trees tremble, rising dirt crumbling and falling back down.

Then something struck her from behind, not hard but hard enough to make her take a step to regain her balance. And before she could look around she was surrounded by foxfire from all sides, a sea of ghostly flames which rushed towards her. Artemis could feel the spiritual fire ravage her skin, but with a yell and a flash of moonlight that would have blinded any mortal who directly looked at it she scattered the assault.

At which point Itori appeared, the dagger having disappeared from her stomach and her own sword already striking. The white blade, capable of cutting both the physical and the spiritual, was moving with much more speed than the elder had anticipated, and with a lot more bloodlust as well: the normally calm and composed vixen had eyes harder than steel and colder than ice, and the edge of her blade was moving to behead the goddess and destroy not only her physical self but her spiritual self as well.

One would be excused for failing to notice at this time that where before there had been only seven tails, now there were nine spreading out behind Itori even as she was putting all her strength into this final attack.

WC: 5,373
TWC: 5,373/3,000 (Completed)

Itori's senses were different from before. She could sense her surroundings as if they were a part of her, she could feel how the air brushed against the trunks of the surroundings trees, how it was parted by her blade as the mysterious metal moved to kill the one who had pushed her to this point. It was strange to be aware of your surroundings like this, and normally Itori would have dedicated the next week or so to becoming used to it while pondering its meaning.

However right now the highest priority was the elimination of this threat, both towards the kitsune and many others. These Elders had done nothing to make the fox believe any of them had any respect for any lifeforms other than themselves and maybe their direct followers.

Time appeared to slow down as Artemis's demise stared her right in the eyes, a vermilion glare which carried no mercy or sympathy. But then the Goddess of the Hunt suddenly fell down, time resuming its normal pacing as Itori's blade cut through mere air and she had to halt her momentum before it carried her off balance.

She had noticed the arrival of the newcomer, but before she could become alarmed she'd already become aware that it was Kite, her guild master and the one who'd sent her into this scenario. He had been the one to make Artemis drop to save her life, which put the illusionist in a difficult situation: if Kite was aiding the Elder that might make him an enemy, which would be a whole can of worms she didn't want to open.

Pulling her sword back she held it at the ready as she looked at the other two sentient entities now accompanying her. Kite's relaxed attitude made it clear that he wasn't worried about fighting Itori, either because he didn't think it was a real possibility or because he didn't think she posed a threat. For now the fox would stay on guard, but also withhold judgement until she could be certain who deserved to be struck down. While she was capable of undoing any wounds inflicted on others it was more difficult to undo the effect such an act would have on their interactions. Not impossible, given that she could combine matters of the soul with her affinity for illusions, but not something she wanted to resort to if she could avoid it.

Brainwashing was something she found very distasteful.

"Given the context I must assume that you were fully aware of the situation here, in contrast to what you told me when you gave me this assignment." Her voice was as calm and polite as ever, but there was a colder undertone to it, a sharpness that made it clear she wasn't entirely pleased. "You do not appear to be surprised that I managed to place the Elder in a dangerous position..." She wasn't so foolish to believe that Artemis was no longer a threat either: she had been able to outwit the goddess, but that was partially because of a development so abrupt that Itori herself hadn't been aware of it until the very last moment. Now that Artemis knew that Itori could twist reality beyond what her moonlight could negate she would be able to come up with countermeasures.

As she stood there casting a suspicious gaze onto Kite and Artemis the area around her slowly changed. The dirt darkened into a darkness as if rotting, the bark of the trees became a smooth pale white as if bone, and the leafs a rich red as if drenched in blood. Even the sky shifted into a blue so pale that it was almost white, bathing the lands below in a cold light which made everything look sharp and brittle while the sanguine leafs stood out in stark contrast.

Behind Itori her nine tails were spread out, forming an unusual halo. While the last two tails had formed without warning in the midst of battle that did not reduce their magnificence, the full-fledged nine-tailed fox standing there in newfound divine splendor as all wounds and signs of battle had disappeared from her form. Combined with the lifeless scenery and the cold light it made her look anything but human, and at the same time it reflected her less than pleased mental state.

"I was already suspicious of your motives when I set out, but I ignored it because I believed that the master of Sabertooth would not give me limited information without good reason. Given your lack of hostility I must conclude that you knew of this but also expected me to overcome this Elder." Artemis opened her mouth to speak, but suddenly the tip of Itori's blade was resting between her eyes, ever so lightly pressing against the skin. The vermilion eyes never left Kite. "If I have answered your expectations, master, I will return to the guild and meditate on what I have gained here today. Now that there is no more use for this scenario I have full confidence you were thoughtful enough to think of how to best deal with the aftermath: the villagers will require an explanation which does not result in them feeling like mere pawns in the games of higher beings." There was the possibility that the villagers had been in on the plan this entire time, but Itori doubted it: not a lot of people could lie well enough to deceive her.

She gave a simple bow before straightening up once more. "All of the lesser hunters are alive and will wake up eventually. Now if you will excuse me..." Turning around she walked away, her path leading to her passing behind a tree and disappearing from the area. The only sign that remained of her having been here was the unconscious hunters and the part of the forest which now looked like it came straight from either a nightmare or an artist's tortured mind.