I Sealed Sukuna’s Finger#413+414: Hagoromo-Gitsune, Watching and Learning

The moment Itogami Island appeared in Kyoto's coastal waters, piercing alarms blared throughout the barrier hall at the Keikain clan's main house.

"Warning! Warning! Detection barrier issuing highest-level alert!"

"What's happening?!"

"According to the data, a massive object suddenly appeared in Kyoto's coastal waters! The scale is roughly... this size is insane, let me calculate... uh... about the size of all of Tokyo!"

"What... are you sure the detection barrier isn't malfunctioning? What kind of yokai is the size of an entire city?! And Kyoto has Lady Yasaka protecting it—if something that huge appeared, shouldn't Lady Yasaka have already dealt with it?"

"How would I know? Besides, the detection barrier doesn't just detect yokai—it picks up ships and planes too."

"Are you insane? You're saying a ship the size of Tokyo suddenly appeared in Kyoto's coastal waters?"

"Dammit, I'm just telling you what happened! The barrier detection results are what they are—understand? If you don't believe me, go look at the beach yourself!"

Just as the barrier hall descended into chaos—

A girl's clear voice rang out from the hall entrance, instantly silencing the commotion.

"Everyone stay calm. I'll go ask Lady Yasaka about the situation. Until then, everyone maintain your guard!"

Before anyone in the hall could react, the onmyoji girl had already turned and run off.

The hall remained deathly silent. After five or six seconds, the people who'd been arguing finally exchanged glances.

"That voice just now... was Lady Yura, right?"

"If I heard correctly, yes."

"So Lady Yura's gone to find Lady Yasaka. What should we do?"

"Follow Lady Yura's orders—stay alert."

"No, I mean what about this alarm? Just let it keep blaring?"

"Uh... better turn it off. Lady Yura's round trip will take at least three hours. Three hours of this alarm will destroy our eardrums."

"But won't that seem too un-alert?"

"What do you want then? Let the alarm keep going? If there really was a yokai the size of Tokyo in Kyoto's waters, what difference would our alarm make?"

"Good point. In that situation, we'd probably have to rely on Lady Yura."

"No, Lady Yura probably couldn't handle it either. The only one we could count on would be..."

"Who?"

"Never mind, forget I said anything. We probably can't count on them either—that person isn't in Kyoto right now."

❁❁❁❁

Meanwhile, in Yasaka Shrine's traditional room, the golden-haired fox-eared beauty sitting at the table with her teacup smiled gently at the youth's appearance.

"Bokue, I knew it was you..."

Yasaka set down her teacup, shifting to nestle into the youth beside her. She turned her face up, bringing her nose close to his neck, sniffing delicately before laughing softly.

"Hm? Bokue, what's this—coming to me with other girls' scents still on you? Just leaving those poor girls behind like that? That won't do~"

"It's not quite like that..." Bokue scratched his head. "More importantly, Yasaka, you don't seem surprised by my appearance at all?"

"Oh, I was surprised..."

Yasaka smiled slightly, relaxing as she rested her cheek fully against the youth's shoulder.

"You know, a fox's nose is very sensitive. The moment you appeared, I knew... along with that big thing you brought with you."

The big thing naturally referred to Itogami Island.

Currently, Bokue had parked Itogami Island less than ten kilometers off Kyoto's coast. The massive artificial island rivaled Tokyo in scale—even standing on the beach, one could clearly see Itogami Island's outline on the distant waters.

Especially for Yasaka, as the Eastern General of Japan's yokai world, whose yokai power formed a barrier covering all of Kansai.

With Bokue bringing an entire island like this, it would honestly be harder not to notice.

"Well, there's a reason for it, but overall it's to make seeing Yasaka more convenient."

As Bokue spoke, his hands grew increasingly bold.

His fingers tightened slightly on Yasaka's kimono hem, and the golden-haired fox-eared beauty's breathing immediately carried a hint of heat.

"Mmm... more convenient to meet?"

Yasaka raised an eyebrow slightly, the curves of her chest rising and falling more noticeably.

"But traveling between Tokyo and Kyoto isn't difficult for you anymore, is it?"

"True, but it's still not as convenient as living together with Yasaka."

Bokue's expedition continued southward, advancing toward the deep canyon.

"Ah... slow down, child, let's finish talking first..."

The golden-haired fox-eared beauty shifted slightly, her golden eyes instantly gaining a layer of moisture.

"So what do you mean by living together? Are you asking me to move to..."

"To Itogami Island, of course."

Bokue stopped beating around the bush, directly sweeping the golden-haired fox-eared beauty into a princess carry across his lap.

"That's why I moved the whole island here. This way, Itogami Island counts as part of Kansai, and you have to guard here every day because of your Eastern General position."

"But..."

Yasaka still hesitated.

Though objectively, as Bokue's first blood recipient, she should be the legitimate wife, their relationship wasn't exactly proper given their generational difference.

Over the years, she'd noticed Kunou's feelings for Bokue and supported them internally.

But moving in together would mean...

"Hm?"

Finding Yasaka's continued hesitation pointless, Bokue simply accelerated, turning the golden-haired beauty from her sideways princess carry position to face him directly, leaning in to kiss those full lips.

"!"

Yasaka's body trembled slightly. She realized what would happen next and only struggled symbolically.

"B-Bokue, keep it down... Kunou is napping next door right now..."

"Next door?"

Bokue's hands didn't stop as he raised an eyebrow questioningly.

"Wasn't Kunou's bedroom on the other side before?"

"Mm, she changed rooms..."

Yasaka explained vaguely.

But this only confused Bokue more.

Typically, traditional Japanese rooms had the best lighting and ventilation in the whole house. In summer, the room that felt warmest in winter became the hottest.

Moving her bedroom next to the traditional room in this season? Seriously?

But there was no time to think further—the golden-haired beauty with nine swaying fox tails, unable to hold back any longer, initiated a kiss herself.

What neither noticed was that a finger-thick hole had somehow been drilled through the previously intact wall.

A beautiful, pale-skinned girl with long black hair in a dark uniform sat in the adjacent room, her narrow, beautiful fox-like eyes calmly observing the traditional room through the hole in the wall.

Sister... you look truly happy right now.

But the four-hundred-year deadline is almost here. When that time comes, whether it's the Keikain clan, or those yokai from Edo and Shikoku, I'll sweep them all away.

Every last one!

<><><><><><><><>

Meanwhile, while Yura was still hurrying her way over—

At Yasaka Shrine.

“W-Wait, Bokue… I can’t… let me rest for a moment…”

After another dizzying climb to the very peak, Yasaka clung to the boy in front of her, her voice soft and broken as she pleaded.

The tatami mats beneath them told the story themselves. Compared to an hour ago, the darkened, water-stained patch had spread significantly.

But since Yasaka asked for a break, Keikain Bokue wasn’t going to just ignore her and keep going.

He stopped, shifted his position, and leaned back against the wall—holding the golden-haired, fox-eared beauty in his arms, her mature and alluring body relaxing into his chest.

Yasaka obediently rested her head against his shoulder, surrendering herself to a boy barely older than her daughter, allowing him to claim her as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

“…Hm?”

Bokue suddenly let out a questioning sound, raising his tone. He gently pushed her back just enough to see her face, studying her carefully.

“W-What is it?”

Even though she was already tired, being stared at so intently made Yasaka tense again.

“Nothing,” he said—though his hands refused to let her go.

“It just feels like… something’s different about you today. Are you hiding something from me?”

“I-Is that so?”

The moment he pressed the question, Yasaka’s eyes instinctively darted away.

“So it is something.”

Bokue sealed the matter with that calm certainty.

“Tell me. What’s really going on? What could make you hesitate like this?”

Of course, with his current strength, he could easily peer into her heart if he wanted. Just like when he exposed Dimitrie Vatler’s schemes.

But he never liked using that kind of violation on people he held close. He had no interest in prying into the thoughts of those he cared about.

“…Truthfully, there are two reasons why I don’t want to move to Itogami Island.”

After a long hesitation, Yasaka exhaled, as if resigning herself, and spoke.

“First—Yasaka Shrine is already in a fairly remote location, but even so, there are still worshippers who come every day. If I move to Itogami, even if you shifted the island close to Kyoto, it still wouldn’t connect directly. Those people would have nowhere to go.”

“And second, there’s the Keikain clan and the Kyoto government. You know how things are—most of Kansai falls under my watch. If anything urgent happens, Yura-chan and the government come to me immediately. But if I relocate Yasaka Shrine to Itogami, then they won’t be able to reach me quickly…”

In short: commuting problems.

Except—

“Yasaka, you’re a terrible liar.”

Bokue shook his head, his hands sliding back to rest firmly on her soft, curving waist.

“I’ve been away for years, but I know the truth. Nobody comes to this shrine at all, do they?”

“…”

Yasaka said nothing.

Because he was right. From the very beginning, Yasaka Shrine had never been meant for human worship.

Unlike Kyoto’s bustling temples along crisscrossing city streets, her shrine sat deep in the mountains. Even for seasoned climbers, it took over two hours to hike up from the base. For the elderly, or even younger people who weren’t used to exercise, it could stretch to three or four hours.

That was why Yasaka always had Kunou patrol the mountain trails morning and afternoon—just in case someone lost their way, so she could guide them back down safely.

The truth? Yasaka didn’t need incense money. She was a great youkai—the legendary Nine-Tailed Fox.

As the honorary partner of the Kyoto government, she single-handedly regulated the entire Kansai climate. If she ever wanted anything, the government would move mountains to provide. If the mountain roads couldn’t accommodate cars, they’d send helicopters within the hour.

But if Yasaka Shrine were too convenient, too visible—then all of Kyoto’s spiritual traffic would flood to her alone. The other temples and shrines would starve.

That was why she kept her home here in the secluded mountains.

And as for “urgent situations”… nonsense. Any real crisis would happen inside her barrier anyway. She’d know instantly.

And even if something slipped past her—wasn’t Bokue here? Was there anything he couldn’t handle? Even if Japan itself began to sink beneath the sea, he’d probably just lift it back up with one hand.

“…Mm.”

Caught without an escape, Yasaka turned her face aside, her beautiful expression torn between conflict and reluctant acceptance.

“If you really don’t want to move, then when Kunou wakes up, I’ll just tell her myself.” Bokue’s voice was casual, but the threat was crystal clear. “And you know her. The moment she hears, she’ll insist on moving to Itogami right away.”

“Sigh…”

Yasaka’s eyes went wide at his brazen suggestion, but no words came. In the end, she only sighed, shaking her head helplessly.

“…Fine. You win. I’ll move. But not yet.”

“How long?”

“Half a month.” She thought it through. “Even if hardly anyone visits, I still have to make a formal announcement before relocation.”

“Half a month it is, then.”

Bokue nodded. He didn’t push further.

But one question still nagged at him.

If it was just a matter of making an announcement—then why lie to him in the first place?

He’d have to keep an eye on that.

With that thought, Bokue tightened his hold on the golden-haired beauty—and started moving again.

“Eh? So soon—?!”

Yasaka gasped, startled by his sudden renewed assault. She had barely caught her breath, and already her back arched, her hand flying up to cover her mouth.

“G-Gentle! Bokue, be gentle—Kunou’s sleeping right next door! If you wake her she’ll—mmph!”

But as Yasaka’s head tipped back from the sudden jolt, her eyes flicked to the wall.

And in that instant, she froze.

Because through a tiny hole in the wood—

She realized someone was watching.

She’d been discovered.