Chapter 202 — Inspection and Transformation

Yuki

Azazel-sensei immediately cackled at Odin-sama’s request. 

Rossweisse-san looked up from her spot kneeling on the ground and glared at him. 

Rias’s expression didn’t change, but she sighed.

Issei looked shocked.

Akeno raised an eyebrow but still refused to look at her father.

Koneko narrowed her eyes at Odin-sama. 

Like Rias, I let out a sigh.

Apparently, almost every faction leader was strange in some way. 

“Hahaha, you sure have great taste, Chief god-dono! That’s a plan I can get behind! Let’s go right now!” Azazel-sensei said excitedly. “Some of the girls from the Grigori opened up a shop for VIPs nearby. We can head there!”

Odin-sama stood excitedly.

“Perfect! To be expected from you, Azazel-boy! Your organization has its priorities in order! Call ahead and prepare me a busty girl! I’m going to be sure to enjoy my time in Japan!”

Azazel-sensei stood with a grin.

“Follow my lead, geezer! I’ll show you the wonders of Japan! Do you want a chance to untie their Kimono obi? It’s something you need to experience at least once while you're here! I'll make sure you don’t miss out!”

The two of them started to head to the exit of the room.

“I can’t wait! The leader of the Fallen Angels truly will be a great guide!” Odin-sama cheered.

Just before they could leave, Koneko called out to them.

“Odin-sama!”

Odin-sama and Azazel-sensei stopped by the door and turned to Koneko. 

“What is it, small girl? Azazel-boy and I are about to enjoy fine Japanese culture,” Odin-sama said. 

Koneko’s brow furrowed at the small comment, but she didn’t comment on it.

“…Before you go, could you inspect the seals placed in Yuki-senpai? Azazel-sensei said that you would be able to help her.”

Odin-sama looked to me after Koneko finished speaking. 

“I am assuming that the fix girl with the mess of spells attached to her would be the one you’re speaking of.”

I nodded.

“Yes, Odin-sama, I am Shiramine Yuki,” I said, stepping forward and giving a small bow. “I would like to humbly request your assistance with identifying the seals on me.”

“Sorry about that,” Azazel-sensei said, stepping back into the room. “I got a bit carried away with the Geezer. I did say that you should talk to him about this.”

“…Sensei is lecherous,” Koenko murmured.

Azazel-sensei grinned at her.

Odin-sama stepped closer and looked me over.

His gaze was more focused now. 

He hummed.

“So what exactly would you like to know, lass? The spell work on you is interesting, to put it kindly, and a rat's nest to be less so.”

“Each time a portion of the seals on me are removed, I regain enough power to gain another tail. I’d like to know how many more seals I have left or how many more seal removals will be needed until I am free of them,” I explained.

Odin-sama nodded. 

“I see…” he said as he squinted at me. “You’re one of those fox spirits, right? A Kitsune? Could you transform? I’m not very familiar with your kind or Youkai in general, but I’d be able to give you a more accurate answer if I saw your true form.”

I grimaced.

“I… I can’t. My true form has been misfigured because of the seals. I can’t transform properly.”

“That’s too bad. Well, I can’t tell you much right now, but I’ll be around for a while, so I’ll be able to try and learn more later. I wouldn’t mind getting a close look at a fine young woman more often,” he said with a lecherous grin.

I had to stop myself from showing disgust.

I still needed him to help me.

“But did you figure anything out now, Geezer?” Issei asked.

Odin-sama nodded while stroking his beard.

“The seals on her are a mess and impressive at the same time. It’s a rat's nest of twisted magic structure and intertwined spells, but because what look like the oldest seals were designed to grow with her as she aged, it’s become impressive. The newer seals were absorbed into the base ones because of their growth properties, and the whole thing became one large, tangled construct,” Odin-sama paused to rub his brow. “Besides that, I can tell she is an anomaly. She has an abnormally strong tie to bölvan. I'm not sure what it’d be called here, but that’s what I know it as. I need to observe her more closely to say anything more.”

“Bölvan? What’s that?” Xenovia asked, looking lost.

“Doom,” I answered. “It’s essentially the Norse version of curses. Here in Japan, they are known as noroi. Though the Norse put more emphasis on ruin and shame in their curses.”

“…Why do you know that?” Issei asked.

“I specialize in curses. I’ve done research into other cultures before.”

“Well, now that I’ve completed the small girl’s request, it’s time for the Oppai-pub! Let’s go, Azazel-boy!” Odin-sama shouted with a grin.

“Right! I’ll still need to show you the wonders of Japan!” Azazel-sensi said as the two of them quickly left the room.

“Odin-sama! I-I’m coming too! I’m your assigned Valkyrie!” Rossweisse-san said as she chased after them. 

From the hall, we could hear their conversation continue. 

“No, no. You can stay here, Rossweisse. I’ll be fine with Azazel as my guide. You stay here at this house. I’ll be back eventually,” Odin-sama said.

“No! I am your Valkyrie! I’m going too!”

Their conversation continued as they moved out of earshot.

There was a collective sigh as the two lecherous old men left.

Rias rubbed her face with one hand.

“At least Odin-sama was able to give you some information, Yuki.” Do you think you will try to change into your fox form so that Odin-sama can get a better read of your seals?” She asked.

I thought for a moment before responding.

“I think I need to. He only checked for a moment, but he already figured out things that I wasn’t aware of.”

“…Are you sure you’re ready for that, Yuki-senpai? Koneko asked. 

“Y-Yeah, you don’t need to if you’re n-not ready,” Gasper-kun added.

I shook my head. 

“I don’t want to put this off. If it means understanding more about the seals on me and how they work, then I’m ready to face this. I’ll have Asia with me in case it goes wrong again.”

“Of course! I’m not letting you do this without me there!” Asia said with a determined look in her eyes.

“…I want to be there too,” Koneko added.

I turned to her.

“If my true form isn’t stable again, it won’t be pleasant to see,” I said with a frown. 

The less of them I could expose to that, the better.

“That's why I should be there. Asia-senpai isn’t the only one who can heal you. I can use my Senjutsu to help.”

I wanted to insist that she stay away during my attempt to transform, but I could see that she wasn’t going to back down.

It wasn’t worth seeing which of us could be more stubborn, and she did raise a valid point. 

“Fine, but only you and Asia. Everyone can see me if things go well, but they’ll need to wait outside of the room,” I said as I looked at the others. 

“So when do you want to try this?” Yuuto asked.

“Now.”

“Alright. If that’s the case, Asia and Koneko, go with Yuki to one of the practice rooms in the basement. That will be the best place to test Yuki’s transformation ability in case there are issues,” Rias ordered. “The rest of us will wait outside the training room until we are told to come in or leave.”

“And you will stay here,” Akeno said coldly to Baraqiel-san. “I don’t want you near my friends during this.”

Baraqiel-san watched Akeno for a moment before replying.

“Fine. I will wait here while you test the Kitsune girl’s ability.”

“Good. Let’s go, everyone,” Akeno said as she turned and left the room.

The rest of us followed after her while Baraqiel-san watched us leave.

We made our way down to one of the training rooms in the basement.

Koneko and Asia entered the room ahead of me. 

I stopped as someone grabbed my sleeve. 

“I-I just wanted to wish you luck, Yuki-senpai,” Gasper-kun said to me. “I hope that everything works out. I don’t want you to get hurt.”

I patted him on his head and gave him a smile. 

“Thank you Gasper-kun. I’m sure that Koneko-chan and Asia will make sure that I’m alright.”

“They will, but we are still worried for you,” Yuuto added. “None of us want to see you hurt.”

“Yeah, but she’ll be fine!” Issei said with a grin. “I’m sure everything will be fine, and we’ll get to see Yuki-san’s cool fox form soon.”

“I hope it goes well, Yuki,” Xenovia said with a nod.

“I-I’ll pray for you! I’m sure Michael-sama will protect you!” Irina said while clutching her cross necklace.

“Good luck, Yuki,” Rias said simply.

“Once you do this, you’re a step closer to freeing yourself of your seals, Yuki-chan. I’m happy for you,” Akeno said, her usual teasing gone from her voice and expression.

I could tell that her father's presence was still bothering her, but she was still smiling softly at me despite it.

“Thank you, all of you. Hopefully I’ll see you in a moment,” I said.

Then I turned and entered the training room with Asia and Koenko.

Koneko

After Yuki-senpai finished speaking to the others, she shut the door, leaving only her, Asia-senpai, and me in the room.

“…Just tell us what you need us to do, Yuki-senpai,” I said.

“If everything goes right, you shouldn’t need to do anything,” Yuki-senpai said as she walked to the center of the room. “For now, just stay where you are.”

“Got it, Yuki! We will be there in a moment if you need us!” Asia-senpai said with a kind smile.

Yuki-senpai stood in the middle of the room.

Her arms were relaxed by her sides, and her tails shifted back and forth behind her.

She closed her eyes and lowered her head.

She let out a long, slow breath. 

For a few moments, nothing happened. 

Then a flickering amethyst colored flame appeared in a circle around her feet.

The flames writhed and rose slowly at first.

More purple fire began to form sporadically around Yuki-senpai.

I could sense Ki coming off of the unnatural-looking flames.

The purple flames quickly engulfed Yuki-senpai, obscuring her from us.

The flames flickered and burned m brightly around her.

Then the flames began to move again.

This time they changed shape as they moved.

They moved lower to the ground and expanded backwards.

The flames combined to writhe and shift in place for a moment longer before disappearing in a burst, revealing Yuki-senpai.

She had changed into a silver-white colored fox.

I quickly looked over her body to see if something had gone wrong.

Luckily, it seemed that she was totally fine. 

The transformation worked as it was supposed to.

However, there were a few concerning things about her fox form.

She looked smaller than she should be for a Kitsune with her number of tails.

She was the size of a large dog, while a five-tailed Kitsune should be around a meter and a half to two meters tall. 

On top of that, she was far too thin.

She looked like she could be malnourished, and I was worried that if her fur wasn’t in the way, her ribs would be showing.

Even if her transformation worked correctly, it seemed that she was still not in the best state. 

“…Yuki-senpai?” I quietly called out. 

One of her ears twitched towards me, and she turned to look at me with her piercing deep purple eyes.

“I am fine, Koneko-chan. My transformation seems to have finished without issue. I just need a moment to get used to being in this state again. It had been a while, and I need to adjust.” Yuki-senpai said.

She spoke without her mouth moving.

It was like her voice was projected from the air around her.

Her voice sounded slightly different than normal, lower and a bit rougher, but otherwise was the same.

“That’s great, Yuki! I’ll go tell the others so that they can come see you!” Asia-senpai said excitedly.

As soon as she spoke, Yuki’s head snapped towards her. 

Then, as Asia-senpai quickly moved out of the room, Yuki-senpai tracked her movements until she left.

“Are you sure you’re alright, senpai? I asked as I moved closer to her.

Yuki-senpai sighed.

“As I said, I just need some time to get used to being like this again. My senses are different, and my instincts are more active as well. But I—“

Her voice cut off as a low, warning growl came from her throat.

Her tails spread behind her, her fur bristled as she stared at me, her ears flattened to her head, and her teeth were bared slightly.

Then, just as suddenly as it had started, it stopped.

“I-I’m sorry, Koneko-chan. I don’t mind if you want to be near me, but could you wait until I get more used to this? I couldn’t stop myself from reacting defensively when you got close,” Yuki-senpai said.

I took a step back.

“It’s alright, senpai. I should have been more careful when you mentioned your state,” I said.

The door to the room opened before she could reply. 

The rest of the peerage and Irina-senpai came in.

Yuki-senpai’s tails spread behind her, and her fur bristled again immediately. 

I could see Yuki-senpai force herself to relax.

“Hello, everyone.”

“Whoa… It’s so weird to hear you talk without your mouth moving,” Issei-senpai said.

“That’s what you focused on? Not the fact that Yuki-san is a fox now?” Yuuto-senpai asked.

“But we knew that would happen! The whole disembodied voice thing was a surprise!”

“You look nice, Yuki-senpai,” Gya-kun said.

“Right! Her fur looks so pretty,” Asia-senpai said, nodding rapidly.

“Thank you, Gasper-kun and Asia,” Yuki-senpai said to them

“But aren’t you rather small for a Kitsune?” Xenovia-senpai asked, tilting her head. “I’ve read some books on Kitsune, and I read that a five-tailed Kitsune should be larger.”

“Xenovia! You shouldn’t just ask that!” Irina-senpai chastised her.

“And why did you read about Kitsune?” Issei-senpai asked. 

“To better understand Yuki, among other reasons,” Xenovia-senpai said as she looked at Yuki-senpai.

I frowned at what she could be implying.

“Yes, I am smaller than I should be. To put it bluntly, my true form seems to have been stunted by my seals’ interference.” Yuki-senpai said as she shifted her body around to look at herself. “Hopefully, now that I can properly enter my true form, my body will correct itself over time.”

“That’s good to hear, Yuki. You should take some time to get reacclimated to your fox form during your training. I’m sure being out of it for so long must make this jarring,” Buchou said.

“It is. It will take a little while, but I’ll be able to use this form when I need it soon. But right now I think I will be too weak to do anything useful in combat with it.”

I wanted to shake Yuki-senpai as soon as those words left her mouth.

She had just regained a part of herself that she had lost years ago, and was already trying to think of ways she could use it for the peerage.

It made sense to think of how she could use it in future fights, but it didn't need to be talked about right away.

“Don't worry about that yet,” Buchou said, shaking her head. “I want you to focus on yourself before you start thinking about using your fox form in a fight. And when we get an opportunity, we should get Odin-sama to inspect your seals now that you can use your true form.”

“...Are you going to try exercising your fox form now, senpai?” I asked.

Yuki-senpai tilted her head again as she thought for a moment.

“No, just standing and maintaining this form is tiring me. Transforming took a lot out of me, but future transformations should be easier. I pushed through the roadblock today when I changed, and my Ki flow should be better now. I’ll start testing my limits tomorrow.”

I was surprised that Yuki-senpai would turn down training, especially with how she had been recently.

Transforming must have taken a lot out of her.

“Do we need to leave when you transform back?” Issei-senpai asked.

“No, I don't mind if you stay for that,” Yuki-senpai replied.

“Cool, I was really curious what it would look like,” Issei-senpai said excitedly.

Yuki-senpai chuckled.

It sounded interesting coming from her projected voice.

“Here I go,” she said as she closed her eyes.

Purple flames formed around her feet again.

They looked more stable this time as they didn't flicker or fade.

The fire spread over her until her form was obscured again.

The fire shifted upwards and narrowed before dispersing in a burst again.

Yuki-senpai opened her eyes as she stood in her human form again.

“T-that was cool!” Gya-kun murmured.

“It was very interesting to see,” Xenovia-senpai agreed.

“...But where do her clothes go when she is a fox?” Issei-senpai wondered aloud.

Yuki-senpai and I each gave him a look.

“What? I was just curious! It’s not like she had clothes on while she was a fox!”

“...Did you expect her to change back naked?” I asked.

“I mean, the thought crossed my mind, but I figured she wouldn't!” Issei-senpai said defensively.

Buchou gave him an exasperated look.

“Let's all head back up to the VIP room,” Buchou said. “Azazel left behind some documents regarding our guard detail for Odin-sama.

We all began to exit the room.

I moved next to Yuki-senpai.

“...I'm happy for you,” I told her.

“Thank you, Koneko-chan…Today was a good day.”

I nodded and walked with her out of the room.