"...Maiko Hiko!" Kyūri boomed.
"Ha!" Maiko laughed. "Was it ever in doubt? Time to claim what's mine!" The kitsune starlet practically danced up to Kyūri and his chankonabe pot to accept, relishing the feel of the wind in the black fur of hir uniformless body.
"I pity the Americans," Yuna whispered to Misaki. "As fond as I am of Maiko, shi's a yako kitsune, and that's always trouble."
"I guess that explains hir black fur," said Misaki.
"It is a common coat color for yako, yes," said Yuna. "Just like my snowy white fur is more common among zenko such as myself."
"Maiko isn't... evil, right?" Misaki asked nervously.
"Shi's actually pretty okay by yako standards," Yuna answered. "Shi isn't malicious, but shi's very rebellious and mischievous. It really is a miracle from Ame-no-Uzume that Maiko hasn't been expelled yet. The Takarazuka Music School is really strict. Maiko has a list of infractions a mile long. It hasn't earned hir many friends at school."
"How come?" asked Kijo.
"Because when one of us breaks a rule, we all get punished," Yuna answered. "It's like being in the military, and Maiko acts like shi doesn't care. Which shi absolutely doesn't, of course."
"Yeah," said Kijo. "I can see why that would be a problem."
Maiko accepted hir certification with a wide grin and no trace of humility whatsoever. "Thank you so very much, Kyūri! About time I expanded my audience overseas, don't you think?" Maiko let off a celebratory display of many-colored foxfire. "Oh, do you mind if I stay up here while you choose the musumeyaku exchange student? I was hoping to duet with the winner."
"I do mind, as a matter of fact," Kyūri said gruffly. "But I suppose you can, if you absolutely insist. This is your special moment, after all."
"Oh, believe me,, Kyūri," Maiko grinned impishly at the old kappa, "I do."
"Well, next bag!" Kyūri said, a bit more aggressively than he'd meant to. He dumped the unchosen paper slips out of the pot before setting it upright again. Nariko handed him the bag of musumeyaku entries, which he emptied into the pot. He then reached in and grabbed a random paper. He removed it and read. "And the second and final exchange student from the Takarazuka Music School is..."