After her first century, she continued to study, but was also given official duties to attend to. They weren't particularly taxing, nor particularly engaging, but Kyubi saw each one as a chance to earn her lord's confidence.

She continued to do so for until on the night of her five-hundredth birthday, she had planned to do as she usually did and leave the sanctuary to stare at the moon, but as she left the sanctuary she found herself seeming to stand in the midst of space.

Initially she was scared of the absence of anything akin to solid ground, but then she caught sight of the single most beautiful moon she had seen, as well as its reflection in what seem to be the night sky in liquid form.

"Kyubi, it has been far too long."

"L-L-Lord Tsukuyomi, a day is too long, four hundred years has been torture."

"You honour me with such love, but do not forget to enjoy life and your family."

"Sorry Lord Tsukuyomi, but I have no love for anyone but you. I couldn't possibly bring myself to love another."

"Dear, would you deny me more of your kind?"

The words left Kyubi speechless, twisting herself into knots as she wondered if this was a test, him rejecting her devotion, a misunderstanding, or at worst his way of saying "You're overstepping your bounds, pet."

"Sorry Lord Tsukuyomi, are you wanting me to reproduce so you have more fox-spirits?"

"Hahaha! You are certainly one of my beloved fox's when your feelings get hurt. Kyubi, you have been an example to your species and I am very proud of you. I do not reject them, but they will never be reciprocated, the moon is supposed to be alone in the dark."

"Lord, with all due respect, if that were true then no stars would accompany it."

"Kyubi, do not waste your heart on me in that manner. I am physically incapable of falling in love, I am able to feel anger, loneliness and contentment. The reason I adore your kind so much is that I can experience the emotions of those who adore the moon and you feel things so strongly it makes me complete. The truth is Kyubi, I'm no more than a parasite that has latched on to your kind, hardly different from that leech Dracula."

The words broke Kyubi's heart to hear, she didn't know this "Dracula" he was speaking of, but she could tell by the tone it was spoken with that he held a good deal of animosity for him.

"Lord, I swear to love you then, because if I feel love, then that would allow you to as well."

"Unfortunately not, because the truth of love is that it is not a single emotion. Love, my dear, is the act of feeling with one's entire heart in unison. Since my heart is a patchwork, it can never be in complete unison."

"Why did you bring me here Lord? Was it solely to break my heart?"

"if that is the result, I suppose so."

"I understand Lord, then I feel no shame in ignoring your rejection. I am, and forever will be, your most devoted servant."

After that Kyubi asked to be sent back, arriving to find that it was morning. Unwilling to rest, she went straight to the room her class was taught.

"Kyubi. Did you celebrate your birthday too heavily?"

"No, Sir. I was summoned by Lord Tsukuyomi. I was taken to a place where I stood amongst the stars."

"The Twilight Realm? What did he have to say? If he has honoured you with a task, you should be seeing to it and not be here."

"It's fine, he told me not to love him and I told him that was simply a task I was not able to complete."

Most of her class were Kitsune, with how rare it was for the spirit fox to be able to speak, it would be difficult to teach them. Unfortunately, that meant that her classmates were all rambunctious Kitsune who liked to push boundaries.

Finding out she had been bluntly rejected by their Lord was enough for them to tease her about it, though she was actually grateful, it gave her a reason to ignore those she had already largely ignored.

It didn't last long however, it came to a screeching halt when one of them did something that managed to anger Tsukuyomi himself.

In an attempt to push the joke even further, one of the boys used their innate understanding of the law of Mind to create the illusion of their lord's voice telling her he rejected her over and over again.

His arrival was instantaneous and his intentions vengeful.

"You dare to use my voice to cause a fellow fox grief?"

everyone had dropped to their knees and put their heads to the ground immediately, it wasn't the first time a fox had angered him so and the teacher guessed what had happened and was also growing furious.

Kyubi herself could feel the fear and anxiety building in the one who had done it, but more over, she was growing angry herself at how he was acting like he wasn't responsible in the least.

That was when she raised herself and stared into Tsukuyomi's eyes, no longer as beautiful as the full moon, but as foreboding as a lunar eclipse.

"Who di-"

"I hardly think you have the room to scold him for pales in comparison to the grief you inflicted."

The room was speechless, a Kitsune misusing their abilities was common and all but persistent, but a spirit fox scolding their patron was a first.

"Brother, it seems you are the one who needs scolding. Breaking a poor maiden's heart at such a tender age."

A woman had suddenly appeared next to their lord, she was bright and beautiful in her own way, the way her hair burned like fire and her kimono was made of reds, oranges and golds.

The woman smiled at Kyubi, admiring the infantile spirit's bravery and passion.

"He did break my heart, but that doesn't mean I stopped loving him. The trick the boy played is meaningless, those words will repeat in my mind forever, with or without others abusing the law of Mind."

"Hello there little fox, I am Amaterasu, your lord's sister. Thank you for being such a devoted follower of my brother."

"I need no thanks for devotion to one so beautiful, it is my pleasure to gaze upon him and my honour to serve him."

"Let's go, Tsukuyomi. Be lucky Mother isn't around anymore, though have fun explaining this to Lady Ishtar."

"Kyubi, before I go. You will not be following the usual pattern, you are already set forth to become a celestial fox, your unwavering devotion is humbling. When you evolve into a Kitsune, you will go for special tuition in a realm of Nothingness and be raised by a celestial fox suited to groom you into a shrine priestess."

"Oh you mean that one? Are you sure that's wise, Brother? That Elf-god is currently attending his realm for education too."

"Kyubi, your task is to make friends with the one my sister speaks of. Her name is Illlerion and she has shown limitless potential, her nature though is somewhat chaotic, so your task will be to help her grow up before she seduces you to chaos."

Amaterasu was growing angry on Kyubi's behalf again, the difficulty of the task he had set alone seemed insurmountable, but the fact that the girl in question was still a child in the maturation of an Elf and already had the legend of the three-thousand flayed ones to her name, made it fatal.

Tsukuyomi didn't give his sister a chance to argue with him in front of everyone however and opened a gate beneath her that she fell into angrily, making the room they were in get a dozen degrees warmer in an instant.

He then followed his sister through the portal without another word, leaving the sanctuary to tremble in the wake of his announcement. No one could tell whether it was the honour he said it was, or a disguised punishment for her outburst, all they knew is that one way or another it was best to avoid her wherever possible.

For the next five-hundred years, Kyubi continued to study and practice, though it was now done apart from the others. It had been decided that she should be taught independently by one of the wisest of the Kitsune adults, less chance of others being punished for teasing her or simply getting caught as collateral when she did.

In this more direct setting though, Kyubi truly shined as a cut above the rest. Her dedication and focus truly did start to act as an example for all of the instructors to have the children aspire to.

Finally the long-awaited day had arrived and Kyubi ascended to the next stage of her life. becoming a Kitsune.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.