[3rd POV]
In a modern bedroom, two girls sat across from each other. One was perched uneasily on a couch, clutching her knees to her chest, while the other sat brazenly on the floor with her legs sprawled out. The one on the floor was not difficult to notice—her foxlike ears twitched lazily, a long tail flicking back and forth like a metronome. She was naked, her hands shamelessly kneading at her own modest chest as though this were the most natural thing in the world. The smirk on her face was unsettling, like a cat caught halfway between playing and killing its prey.
The other girl—Rachel—was a stark contrast. Pink-and-white hair spilled down her back, her trembling white wings giving her away as angelic. Her tear-streaked face was twisted in a miserable expression, not just crying, but full-on wailing, the sound bouncing off the walls like a funeral dirge paired with a broken violin.
If one looked only at the fox girl, one might mutter "pervert." If one looked only at Rachel, one might whisper "victim." But together in the same room, the entire scene was an absurdity that could have been mistaken for the opening act of a very niche, very illegal play.
[3rd POV End]
[Kitsuna POV Earlier]
I looked between my sister, Amari, and her friend Rachel, utterly confused. They were both staring at me like I had grown two heads.
"Did I say something wrong? If I did, I'm sorry. This is my first time talking in my fox form," I said, ears twitching. No response. They just gawked at me.
I tilted my head to the side.
"Waaaah!?" Rachel exploded into louder sobs, practically shaking the walls with her wailing. Amari, on the other hand, looked like she had seen a ghost. She stood up stiff as a board, muttered nothing, and bolted from the room like she was fleeing a crime scene.
"…Huh." I sighed. "So much for family bonding."
I turned back to Rachel, who was now in full breakdown mode. She hiccupped, snot running down her face, shoulders jerking. I had no idea how to comfort crying angels. In fact, I wasn't sure I cared enough to learn. Still, it seemed rude to just sit here naked while she cried.
So I decided it was time to switch forms.
Being human before made it simple—like flexing a muscle I'd forgotten I had. Bones shifted, skin stretched, and hair spilled down my back, and when it was over, I stood taller. Much taller.
Stretching my arms, I felt the weight on my chest and blinked down at myself. "Oh… well, hello there."
My hands cupped my new breasts instinctively, groping. They weren't huge—maybe a handful at most—but compared to what I'd had before, it was a promotion worth celebrating.
"Hehe, I have boobs now. I can brag about them to Stacy. Keke."
I smirked at my reflection in the nearby mirror before catching myself. Shaking my head, I forced my hands away. "Right. Focus."
I stepped into the bathroom to get a better look and froze.
"What the hell happened to me!?"
The girl staring back in the mirror was still me, but… not. My hair had shifted from its black-red gradient to mostly blood-red, streaked with black, ending just below my shoulders in a stark fade to white tips. My ears mirrored the same gradient. My tail, previously a short swish of fur, now stretched long—nearly one and a half meters—with a snowy white tip. It swayed hypnotically, alive with its own rhythm.
"I don't know why, but I like this. A longer tail feels… freer."
Leaning closer, I inspected my eyes. They'd reversed. Once black with crimson irises, now the red consumed the whole eye, leaving the iris black as a pit. Predatory. Creepy. The kind of eyes you saw glowing in the dark just before the screaming started.
"I thought my old eyes were scary," I muttered. "These look like Satan went shopping for contact lenses."
Then I noticed the curse marks. My body stiffened.
The old separate streaks of fire and lightning tattoos were gone, replaced by a fused design that crawled up my arms, across my shoulders, and coiled around my throat. It stopped just under my jawline—except one streak of lightning branched higher, curling up my cheek and ending just beneath my right eye like a scar carved by a god's fingernail. Flames pulsed faintly, and lightning sparked in brief flashes.
"…Cool," I said flatly. Then I screamed, "BUT WHY THE FUCK DID THEY CHANGE AGAIN!?"
The whole bathroom rattled as my voice cracked through it.
Breathing hard, I stripped off the panic by stepping into the shower. The water hissed down, hot enough to sting, but it did little to wash away the sense that I was both something more and something far less human than I used to be.
When I stepped out, I raided my drawers. My old clothes were now comically short. I tugged on my oversized hoodie and hacked up some shorts with a pair of scissors until they resembled something wearable. Bandages made do for a bra. Functional, if not stylish.
"I'll need to go shopping again," I muttered. "Maybe Rachel and Amari can take me. Assuming one stops crying and the other stops running."
[Back in the bedroom]
Rachel was still on the couch, reduced to sniffles now. Her eyes darted nervously around the room like she expected monsters to crawl out of the walls.
"Ah, you calmed down. That's good," I said.
Her head jerked toward me, eyes widening. She saw me in my new form and shuddered as if I'd walked in covered in blood. Tears welled fresh.
"Wait, don't cry. I'm Kitsuna — Amari's sister. I won't hurt you," I said quickly, waving my hands like a frantic shopkeeper denying refunds.
"You promise?" She whispered, trembling, those big angel eyes wet and pleading.
I couldn't help a laugh. "Of course. A friend of my sister is a friend of mine."
Her wings twitched uncertainly, but she dabbed her face and nodded. "So… you're Amari's sister. She said she had an adopted sister, but she's never even met you."
"Yeah. I was at the border mansion the last few years. She stayed in the capital."
"You mean the mansion that was destroyed yesterday?" Rachel blinked.
"…Yesterday?" My eyes narrowed. "That incident was hours ago, tops."
"No, it's been longer. Wait—" she tilted her head, "have you seen a talking fox around here?"
"You're looking at her." I smirked, pointing at myself.
Her mouth fell open. "You—"
A sharp whistle cut her off.
Instinct screamed. I pivoted, arm snapping out. My fingers closed around a spear midair, its tip already hissing with my mana as it melted like cheap wax.
The doorway Amari had bolted through now framed a man in armor, black hair slicked back, and brown eyes blazing with fury.
"Get away from my sister," he snarled.
"…You know," I said, rotating the melting spear in my hand before letting it clatter harmlessly to the floor, "it's not polite to throw pointy sticks at strangers."
"Bitch," he spat, drawing his sword. "I said get away from her."
"Brother, wait—she's—" Rachel's voice cracked.
"Don't listen to her! That's a monster!" His blade gleamed as he raised it.
"Really?" I sighed. "That's the card you're going to play? 'Monster equals bad, must stab?' You people need new material."
His jaw tightened. "This is your last warning."
I shrugged and lifted my hands in mock surrender. "Fine, fine. Step away from your precious sister. Look, a whole meter between us."
He vanished in a blur of speed. To Rachel, it must've looked like he disappeared. To me? He moved like a drunken snail.
He swung. I raised a blade of ice in my left hand, let the steel clang against it, and with my right, I seized his head. My grip tightened, and then—slam.
The ground cracked as I drove his skull into it. He bounced once, dazed, and I kicked him sideways. His body sailed into the wall, plaster exploding around him.
"Ugh!?" His grunt ended in a wheeze as he crumpled.
"Brother!" Rachel screamed, rushing to him. She knelt at his side, frantic, then looked at me. "What… what happened?"
"You didn't see it?" I tilted my head. She shook hers wildly.
"He attacked me. I defended myself. End of story." I turned toward the door, bored now. "Anyway, I'm going to look for my mother."
And just like that, I left them—the crying angel and her broken brother—behind me in a room that smelled faintly of tears, ozone, and scorched spear.