I was Betrayed then Reincarnated as a Kitsune

Special Bonus Chapter

[Some time after Luna’s ascension and the waves it caused in the world calmed to ripples]

[Beast Kingdom]

All throughout the capital city a special energy could be felt. People lined the streets that were decorated as if a massive festival were about to begin, waiting for a signal. Though the groups were large, not one person said a word, some even seemed to be holding their breaths. In the biggest plaza of the city, the king and his family waited on a grand stage.

All of a sudden, the sky rippled, and the calm blue turned to a light purple dotted with stars. The ripples spread as far as the eye could see, covering the entire continent. To the people it was a grand display and it made it feel like even the air around them was heavier and charged with power.  Those that were close to the stage all turned their eyes in that direction and what they considered a miracle happened.

Standing next to the king and his family a silver light shone. When it faded it revealed a 10-tailed kitsune woman with black hair, tails like the night sky and glowing silver eyes. The smile on her face full of mischievous joy.

“Hello, hello, mortal people of the continent.  It is with great pleasure that I, Goddess of Space, Stars, and Abyss of Fluff, Luna, announce the start of the biggest, most spectacular festival this world has ever seen!”

As soon as the kitsune goddess’s words ended, lights of various hues flashed around, revealing more gods and goddesses descending onto the mortal plane. The mortals were awed at the sight. They had heard news of this from various Apostles and had decorated their cities accordingly, but they still held a small bit of doubt. Only now that it was happening in front of their eyes did they finally, fully accept such a thing was actually happening.

The kitsune on the stage smiled as the crowds surged so they could hopefully be able to even just interact with a god. Unnoticed by anyone, she vanished into the air like an illusion.

[Celestia Kingdom]

A similar scene can be seen here as well as every other major city across the entire continent. Gods descending to the mortal plane while the mortals remained in awe and electric excitement.

[Temple of Stars innermost chamber]

[Luna POV]

{Luna, calm down.}

“How can I?  While especially in the Beast Kingdom, do you know how many people were looking around trying to see my tails?  I usually don’t mind, but just that short bit made me feel sticky.” (Luna)

{Hmm.  Maybe we should add an extra layer of protection for the other too.  I know all of us came up with several precautionary measures to make things as smooth as possible, but we may need to add more.}

“Should I alter the domain a bit and fit an illusion that makes everything feel like a shared dream?” (Luna)

{No.  Remember when Tonya tried that?  It led to so many near depraved actions from mortals.}

“Oh yeah. Hmm. This would be easier if one of the Judges was present. Their intention reading would be very welcomed right now. Then we could just exclude anyone with indecent intent from the Domain.” (Luna)

As Tamamo and I started getting deeper into our conversation, the doors to the chamber slammed open.

“Oi!  No working, you two!  It’s a festival, so get out here and have fun!” (???)

“Oi!  What if we weren’t working, Nat!?” (Luna)

“Then I’d never be able to get in here!” (Natalia)

{Ufufufu.}

My sister from my first life wedged herself between the two of us, grappled our arms together, and started pulling us toward the door.

“I can’t believe the two of you were locking yourselves away from something you and everyone else put together.” (Natalia)

“Well, it’s not like there is particularly much I considered doing myself. I mean, I am maintaining this entire thing.” (Luna)

“Mind translating, sister-in-law.?” (Natalia)

{She wanted to use this as an excuse to hide away with me and cuddle.}

“Don’t you two do that every day already?” (Natalia)

“Don’t you eat those skewers every day?” (Luna)

“This and that are different.” (Natalia)

“Lies!” (Luna)

“Truths!!” (Natalia)

{Calm down, you two.}

“Fine.” (Luna)

We finally left the temple grounds, me and Tamamo gently walking downward using steps made of hardened space while Nat pretended like she was walking but in reality, she was just flailing her legs.  When we got to the ground, we found several of the others waiting for us. Soleil, whose height, not including her ears, now matched Velvet’s.  Skadi and Ophidia were hanging around one of the gates to my temple, Skadi having Ophidia’s arms wrapped around her from behind as her head rested on Skadi’s shoulder. Fenrir was sitting on a small chair made of aurora with a cat-form Mio sitting on her lap.

“I got em guys!” (Natalia)

“So, they were working after all.” (Velvet)

“Tch.  What did I bet again, Velvet?” (Soleil)

“I get to use your tails as pillows for a month.” (Velvet)

“Fine.  But you’re washing and drying them when you drool in them.” (Soleil)

“One, I keep winning here, and two, if you’re trying to sound upset, then try to keep those two whirlwinds of fluff from moving so much.” (Velvet)

Soleil then smacked Velvet on the back of the head with her new, second tail.

“I’m still trying to get used to having two of these.  It’s so much different than having just one that I don’t get how Big Sis managed it so naturally.” (Soleil)

“Can’t tell you, just felt right to me, so it worked.” (Luna)

{I have no useful advice either.}

“I didn’t expect either of you two have any…wait, that sounded ruder than I meant it to.” (Soleil)

“It’s fine, Soleil.  Neither of us were offended.” (Luna)

Tamamo smiled, nodded, and patted Soleil’s head.

“Ehehe.” (Soleil)

While this was going on, Mio finally stretched and hopped off of Fenrir’s lap before transforming into her normal form.

“Nyaaaaaa.  You two are slow nya.” (Mio)

“Nice to see you again too, Mio.  You two been well?” (Luna)

“Yep nya.  Fen has been working on her aurora nya, and I’ve been feeling funny nya.  Weird strength nya…hard to describe nya.” (Mio)

“In other words, I think Mio is nurturing an Authority and it’s been making things weird.” (Fenrir)

{Oh!  This should be fun, though I wonder what happens when she ascends?  Does my Apostle of Night spot open up again, or do she also stay as my Apostle?}

“No clue, only time will tell.” (Fenrir)

“GUYS!  CAN WE GO AND HAVE FUN NOW!?” (Natalia)

“You could at least wait until we said hello to everyone.  We haven’t even gotten to Skadi and Ophidia’s turn.” (Luna)

“You all talked literally yesterday!  Let’s go have fun!” (Natalia)

Nat ran further into the city, stopping every few steps while turning to us and bouncing impatiently.

“You’d think she’d calm down, it’s not like she’s a kid.” (Luna)

{But she’s been like this ever since she moved to this world, hasn’t she?  And we both know you’re happy about it.}

“Yeah, but I feel strangely…perceptive, no, that’s not the right word…aware of it.  That’s it.  Like, her acting this way makes me wish I didn’t know her…or, to put it better, her actions wouldn’t reflect me…no, that’s still not right.” (Luna)

“We get it, Master, but isn’t this just usual embarrassment that family members cause one another?  I remember when Skadi’s mother tried to tell me stories and Skadi dragged me out of the room before I could hear any of the good stuff.” (Ophidia)

“Of course I’d stop her, there are things about myself that I want buried by history.” (Skadi)

She got a far away look in her eyes which I completely understood. Everybody has a part of their past they wish to forget. I tapped Skadi in the shoulder, bringing her focus back and patted her with one of my tails.

“There, there.” (Luna)

“Thanks, Luna…Are they getting even more potent?” (Skadi)

“Yes.  I’ve talked to our friend, and he taught me a way to mitigate it for a little while.” (Luna)

“That’s good.” (Skadi)

We turned a corner and the noise hit us like a wall.  It took a second to get used to, which was nice, and we continued forward. Looking around and seeing the things me and the others put in place so things could actually proceed without turning into a mess of bowing and prayer were holding well and mortals and gods were mingling wonderfully.  After a few steps though, I noticed something.

“How’d we end up by ourselves?” (Luna)

{It just happened. I don’t really know either.  Not that I’m complaining. I love seeing everyone, but it’s been a long time since we’ve actually had a chance to have a date like this. I think we should take full advantage of it.}

“You’re right. Let’s go then, my love.”

Tamamo waved her hand, and a small barrier covered the two of us.

{Just some slight illusion magic. Don’t want to be bothered on our date after all.}

I smiled at her as we started walking hand in hand. In the back of my mind, I felt a bit like this was set up, but ignored it so I could enjoy the moment more.  Passing through the crowd, a few of the gods glanced at us before shifting out of our way while mortals hardly even glanced at us, yes, they also made way.

Walking around, we passed stalls and little quick shops seeking small trinkets. A few of the vendors were gods or goddesses trying to sell small nicknacks while most were mortals doing the same. A few food stalls caught our noses, and we decided that food came first.

Following our noses, we wound up in another part of the city-wide festival containing myriads of food stalls.  Tamamo and I walked around, sampling some things here and there until we found a stall that was interesting. They were serving something that reminded me of takoyaki. I went up and bought a small paper bowl of them and a stick to eat them with before getting back to Tamamo. We decided to find a spot to sit and found a good spot next to a small bridge with a waterway. We sat on a bench overlooking the waterway, snuggled close together.

“Serene spot. I like it.”

{I like it too. Kind of want to replicate it back home for a while.}

“Same.”

I used the stick and picked up a ball. I was about to eat it when a nice idea occurred to me. Using one of my tails I turned Tamamo’s face my way and held it up to her.

“Say ahhh.”

{Ufufu. Ahh.}

Placing the food in Tamamo’s mouth, she bit down only for her eyes to shoot wide open.

{Sho hot!}

She breathed rapidly to hopefully cool down the takoyaki thing and finally managed to after a few minutes.

{…It was so hot I couldn’t really taste it well, but it was good from what I CLULD taste.}

“Then let’s wait for them to cool down a bit first.”

{Yes…after you eat one.}

“Ahh.”

{Ufufufu.}

Tamamo picked up another one on the stick and placed it in my mouth. The second my teeth sunk into it, if felt like my mouth was on fire.

“Hoo, hoo, hoo, hoo…”

{Ufufufu.}

I was tempted to use my ice magic, but decided against it because that would go against the experience of the situation. True to what Tamamo said, it was too hot to taste anything, but I managed to get a faint essence of what these were made of.

“I think these are…wyvern…mixed with kraken?”

{Hmm.  One from our farm?}

“Not sure. Needs to cool down some for me to get a better taste.”

I scooted closer to Tamamo and laid my head on her shoulder, two of my tails intertwining with two of hers.

“There’s just something about down here, Tamamo.  Something that feels…nostalgic.  And I’ve never even been to this specific place before.”

{I think it’s the air.  It’s not filled with as much mana as the Divine Domain.  Plus, it’s been a while since you were down here after spending a long time back home.}

“That’s true. Honestly, it was weird in the beginning, not being able to be down here.  Granted, I got used to it relatively fast, but still.”

{That’s true. Though, if I’m being honest, I prefer the way things are now. Seeing you once a month and then eventually whenever with the constraints of a week or two was nice, but all day and night, every day and night is so very much better.}

“Fufufu.  A rare selfish Tamamo has appeared. I must savor the sight.”

I nuzzled into her neck, giving it a slight nip before moving my head off her shoulder.

“They should be cool enough now. Ahh.”

{Ahh.}

I took another takoyaki thing and fed it to Tamamo.  She chewed on it slowly, savoring it.

{Definitely wyvern, but from down here.}

She took the stick from me and fed me one. After savoring the taste, I nodded my head to her assessment.

“I’d say it’s from somewhere in the Beast Kingdom.  Probably a part I never went to…ya know, now that I think about it, I didn’t really explore many places down here. I really just followed the roads.”

{Do you regret that?}

“Not really.  Exploring is good and all, but knowing my personality, I’d end up so sidetracked I’d still be a mortal right now.  Good thing I didn’t have a mini-map in my head.”

{True. I’ve seen you play games; you’d get too sidetracked that you’d have no time for me.}

“That’s not true at all!”

I moved and straddled Tamamo’s lap so I could stare directly into her eyes, my tails splaying out creating a cage around us where the only light that could be seen were the glow of our eyes and the twinkling of the stars in my tails.

{How romantic.}

“Tamamo, don’t you dare ever think I’d not have time for you.”

{I believe you.}

“Good.”

I went to pick up another takoyaki and noticed it was the last one.

“Fufufu.”

{And what’s that laugh for?}

“Well, seeing as no one can see through my tails right now, and we only have one piece left.”

I picked it up and put it in my mouth. I then leaned forward and brought mine and Tamamo’s lips together. I bit the takoyaki into two and let her younger fish the half I was giving her out from my mouth.  Breaking apart, we finished out snack.

{That was nice. Tastes like you.}

“Was gonna say the same thing. Tastes like you.  Makes me want more.”U//ppTodat𝒆d fr/𝒐/m nô/v/e/lb(i)n.c(o)\/m

I leaned forward to kiss her again, but she put a finger against my lips, blocking me.

{Before that, there is something else that needs to be done.}

I tilted my head in confusion. Noting my confusion, Tamamo picked me up and stood up, breaking my tail cage. Looking up at the sky, I saw the constellation representing the two of us staring down at me with their foxy smiles.  Between them like a giant, shining crown a fluff moon glowed its silvery-blue light.  Tamamo placed me back on the bench, the moon now becoming a backdrop similar to the day we first met.

{Luna, happy birthday.}

Out of nowhere, Tamamo produced a small tiara of what could only be called crystalline moonlight.  I was speechless as she smiled brightly and placed it on my head.

{I thought for today’s special occasion, I’d make something myself instead of just buying it. And frankly, it took an embarrassing amount of time to make that perfect.}

I crystallized some space next to me with my image captured in it and looked at the present.  Saying it was beautiful would be an insult as it was much more than that. All I could do was turn to Tamamo as my vision blurred with tears. I jumped up and hugged her tightly.

“I…I love it.”

It was all I could manage to say. I’d forgotten my own birthday was today seeing as all the planning for this giant, continental festival blurred the time, but now that I remembered and realized how this all seemed planned, I felt dumb, but happy.  I felt Tamamo move, and she broke our hug and turned my face toward hers, her elegant fingers smooth against my chin.

{I’m so glad my gift made you happy.}

She gently kissed me.  This kiss felt better than the one from earlier, softer, more tender.  It was like our first one.

{What do you say, my Starlight?  Shall we continue our date, or is there something else you’d like to do?}

I wiped the happy tears from my eyes and grabbed Tamamo’s hand.

“Let’s go, we have a festival to enjoy…and some fun for when we get home.”

{Then lead the way.}

“Of course, my lovely Moonbeam.”