Yuzu grabbed my hand, her black eyes sparkling with excitement. Her tail swayed from side to side in an eager rhythm, her boundless energy radiating through every movement. Even though the cold air of the shrine still clung to the atmosphere, Yuzu’s warmth was undeniable. She beamed up at me, her smile so bright it could have melted the lingering frost.

  “Oki then, let’s go hom!” she chirped, practically bouncing in place. Her excitement was contagious, and for a moment, I couldn’t help but smile at her enthusiasm.

  But as my gaze drifted, my expression faltered.

  Ai stood a little distance away, her delicate hands resting in front of her as she watched us. Her usual calm expression remained, but there was something different in her eyes, a soft melancholy, hidden beneath the surface of her serene demeanor. Her lips curled into a quiet, bittersweet smile. It was subtle, almost imperceptible, but I saw it. The kind of smile one wore when they knew they had to let go of something dear.

  A strange heaviness settled in my chest.

  Before I could dwell on it for too long, Yuzu suddenly clapped her hands together, her movements fluid and natural, as if she were performing a well-practiced habit.

  "Wait, wait, Yuzu!" I yelped, grabbing her wrist before she could finish whatever she was about to do.

  Yuzu blinked up at me, tilting her head to the side in pure confusion. Her fox ears twitched slightly, reacting to my sudden outburst. "Is something bery wrong, Mashiro?" she asked, her voice laced with genuine curiosity rather than concern.

  I hesitated, feeling incredibly dumb for stopping her without knowing exactly why. It was a gut reaction, an instinctive feeling that something was off, even if I couldn’t immediately put my finger on what. I shifted uncomfortably, still holding onto her wrist as I tried to find the right words. "What… were you gonna do?" I asked cautiously.

  Yuzu’s tail flicked behind her, her expression completely nonchalant as she responded in a matter-of-fact tone. "Bery teleport hom?"

  I stared at her.

  For a moment, my brain struggled to keep up. I felt the words register, but the meaning lagged behind, like a delayed reaction in a slow-motion scene. I processed each syllable carefully, rolling them over in my mind, before the weight of her words finally crashed down on me like a sack of bricks.

  Teleport. Home.

  Oh no.

  An awkward smile crept onto my face, the kind that screamed ‘I just realized something really stupid, and I don’t know how to fix it’.

  Yuzu’s confused gaze flickered between me and Ai, who had gone completely still. A heavy silence settled between us, thick with the weight of unspoken thoughts.And then, as if a switch had been flipped in her mind, realization dawned on Ai’s face. I swore I could almost see the snowfall around her transform into floating light bulbs.

  "Miss Mashiro," Ai spoke slowly, her normally tranquil voice edged with disbelief. "Don't tell me… You've never prayed at any Inari shrine in Vulprithal?"

  I opened my mouth. Then I closed it. Then opened it again, feeling increasingly like a malfunctioning machine.

  “Uh…”

  Ai’s face remained calm, but there was no mistaking the sheer exasperation behind her piercing gaze. Yuzu, on the other hand, gasped dramatically, her tiny hands clutching my sleeve like I had just confessed to some unspeakable crime. "Mashiro bery… never? Not even one time?!"

  I laughed nervously, scratching my cheek as my tail flicked behind me in agitation. "Well… I meant to?"

  Ai let out a long, measured sigh, pressing her fingers to her temple as if she were physically trying to ward off the headache that I had just given her. "Mashiro… how did you expect to teleport if you never registered at another shrine?"

  The weight of my own obliviousness hit me like a meteor. I felt like I had just failed the most basic common sense check in existence.

  “Um…” I muttered, shifting awkwardly under their scrutinizing gazes. Their expressions, Ai’s calm but judgmental stare and Yuzu’s dramatic disappointment made me feel like a child who had just been caught sneaking snacks before dinner. I fumbled for a reasonable explanation, but nothing came to mind except the obvious truth. “Well… I was transported to this world randomly, okay?! No one said anything to me about that!” My tail flicked behind me in frustration, as if it could physically swat away the embarrassment creeping up my spine.

  The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

  Ai and Yuzu didn’t look convinced. If anything, their stares only grew more intense.

  Yuzu huffed, crossing her arms with a pout. Her eyes narrowed slightly, her ears twitching as she let out an unimpressed sigh. “Mashiro bery dummy liar,” she muttered under her breath, shaking her head like a disappointed teacher lecturing a failing student.

  Ai, however, took a different approach. She didn’t immediately scold me, nor did she dismiss my words. Instead, she looked at me with a strange mixture of curiosity and confusion, as if she were trying to solve a puzzle that didn’t quite make sense. After a long pause, she finally spoke, her voice calm yet laced with genuine intrigue. “What kind of life did you live, Miss Mashiro?”

  I blinked at her. “…What do you mean?”

  Ai’s tail flicked, her gaze sharp and calculating. “Well,” she started, folding her arms neatly in front of her, “Vulprithal is way on the west side of the continent, while we’re nearly at the edge of the east, close to the Dragon Nest.” She gestured vaguely around us, as if that alone should explain everything. “For you to have traveled that far and never once prayed at another Inari shrine… It’s strange.”

  I froze.

  The realization hit me like a splash of cold water.

  Vulprithal was that far away?!

  I had just accepted that I woke up here as Mashiro, never questioning where here actually was in relation to the rest of the world. But now that Ai spelled it out so clearly, I couldn’t ignore how bizarre my circumstances really were.

  Yuzu gasped dramatically, her hands flying up to cover her mouth. “Nnai?! Mashiro… kidnapped?!” she exclaimed, her tail fluffing up in shock.

  I immediately jumped at the opportunity. “Yes! Exactly!” I answered, nodding so fast I was surprised my head didn’t fall off. Technically speaking, I was thrown into this world without my consent. Reincarnated? Summoned? Either way, it wasn’t like I had bought a one-way ticket here willingly.

  All I knew was that a random silver-haired classmate that I had never even talked to suddenly started stalking me out of nowhere. Furukawa Shiro. The quiet, unassuming girl who sat near the window, the type you wouldn’t even notice unless you were actively looking for her.

  And then… one day, it all came crashing down. I died. Just like that. Damn you, Furukawa Shiro.

  It wasn’t technically a lie.

  Ai, however, only raised an eyebrow, her expression unreadable. “Huh,” she muttered, tapping a finger against her chin. “I suppose that could explain things…”

  Yuzu nodded rapidly, her tiny fists clenched with determination. “Mashiro bery tragic heroine!” she declared, eyes shining with dramatic flair. “Yuzu protect!”

  I couldn’t help but laugh, a mix of relief and amusement bubbling up inside me. At least one of them bought it.

  As Yuzu and I finished preparing to leave, I felt a slight pang in my stomach. At first, I tried to ignore it, but the dull ache quickly escalated into a persistent grumble. I pressed a hand against my belly, willing it to be quiet. I had eaten breakfast at Viola’s mansion not too long ago, but it seemed like the luxurious meal was already wearing off. My body, now that of a fox girl, seemed to burn through food far faster than I was used to.

  Above us, the sky had shifted from the soft golden hues of morning into the bright, unrelenting light of noon. The sun blazed directly overhead, bathing the landscape in a harsh glow. The cool morning breeze had disappeared, replaced by a dry warmth that made the air feel slightly heavier. My fox ears twitched at the distant rustling of leaves, the occasional chirp of birds, and the soft crunch of our footsteps against the dirt path.

  Yuzu and I turned back one last time, waving our hands to Ai and Yuki, who stood by the shrine entrance. Ai gave us a small, composed smile, while Yuki, still lounging under a tree, lazily lifted a hand in farewell. Her snow-white eyes gleamed slightly in the sunlight, but she didn’t bother standing up.

  “Oi, don’t go dying on the way,” Yuki called out in a halfhearted tone.

  I rolled my eyes, smirking. “Wow, what a heartfelt sendoff.”

  Yuzu giggled, her tail swaying. “Yuzu bery survive!” she announced proudly, puffing out her chest.

  Ai, on the other hand, remained quiet for a moment before she took a step forward. “Be careful,” she said simply, her voice softer than usual. “And remember, if you ever need to return, the shrine will always be here.”

  I nodded, feeling a strange warmth at her words. Ai had been distant in her own way, always carrying that ethereal presence, but there was no mistaking the sincerity in her tone.

  With that, she pointed down the dirt road, indicating the way we needed to go. The path stretched forward, winding gently through the trees and disappearing over the horizon. “Follow this road. If you keep walking, you’ll reach the next village,” Ai explained.

  I exhaled, already bracing myself for the journey ahead. This was the village that Yuzu, Catherine, and I were supposed to reach in the first place, if not for the NONO stuff that had thrown everything off course. I didn’t even want to think about all the nonsense we had been through since then.

  Shaking off those thoughts, I gave Ai one last grateful nod before turning to Yuzu. “Alright, let’s get moving.”

  Yuzu grinned, grabbing my hand with a small bounce. “Oki then, let’s go hom!”

  And with that, we stepped forward, leaving the shrine behind as we set off toward our next destination