Kiko stretched, rubbing her neck as she approached the Dragon Castle. Another meeting with S.P.E.A.R and her brother Fukushu had proved unproductive. At the rate things were progressing, she wondered if she would have her seventh tail before Fukushu was released.
Nearing the castle, Kiko raised an eyebrow as she noticed her brother's Chisai and Takeo. Both looked as if they had come from work. Chisai, the massive grey furred kitsune blacksmith coated in grime while Takeo, her three tailed brother was cleaning his glasses on his white lab coat.
"Hey you two," Kiko called, the fuchsia six tail all smiles as she approached.
"Hello Kiko," Takeo replied. "Did Mom and Dad call you too?"
"No I'm just getting back from a meeting with S.P.E.A.R," Kiko sighed. "And our stubborn ass brother."
"Oh really," Chisai asked. "How is Mr. Grumpy pants doing?"
"Well," Kiko sighed. "He's alive but, I've never seen him look so defeated. That and it's really weird seeing him in an orange prison jumpsuit."
Chisai and Takeo looked struck, surprised to hear their brother wearing a prison outfit.
"Prison outfit," Chisai exclaimed. "Why the hell would they do that to him?! Didn't he turn himself in voluntarily? They should treat him with respect!"
"They are," Kiko countered. "But...it's complicated. Fukushu...well he understands that this is the uniform he must wear."
"Did he say anything?" Takeo asked.
"We all know we'd have better luck squeezing blood from a stone than getting Fukushu to open up," Kiko grumbled. "But, talking with him...I kind of got a sense of what's going on with him. He feels.... guilty."
"Guilty?"
"Yeah," Kiko sighed. "About Akira.... and Mason."
"Mason," Takeo asked. "What happened to Mason?"
"Mason stopped Fukushu from killing the Kanes," Kiko stated, a small smirk spreading across her vulpine face. "Freaking brave ass kid blocked Fukushu's killing blow, but ended up getting a cut on his forehead. That kinda knocked some sense into our scary big brother. Last thing in the world he wanted to do was hurt the kid. I....I think it freaked him out."
"Huh, never known Fukushu to be freaked out by anything," Chisai shrugged.
"First time for anything," Kiko grinned. "So, either one of you know why Mom and Dad said it was so urgent we come here?"
"You're guess is as good as mine," Takeo shrugged. "I came straight from the lab when I got the call."
"Is that why Aiyo's not with you?" Chisai asked.
"She's busy anyways," Takeo said. "Something about meeting another artist who recently adopted a couple of orphaned kids. I think they're working on a group project."
As the siblings entered the castle, they were pleasantly surprised to see their youngest sister Mika waiting for them.
"Mika," Chisai said happily, rushing to the green furred kitsune and scooping her into a massive bear hug. "How's the family?"
"Good Chisai," Mika wheezed. "Ya want to put me down?"
Chisai nodded, the massive kitsune lowering his sister to the ground. Mika dusted herself off, studying her siblings carefully. With Fukushu technically out of the picture, the remaining siblings now found themselves trying to pick up the slack. The population at large was unaware of Fukushu's current situation. If it were discovered, there would be an outcry throughout the capital. Worse, considering the civil war was only recently put down, the loss of the famed general could lead to an outbreak of war once more.
"So Mom and Dad called you too?" Kiko asked.
"Actually we were already here," Mika replied. "Showed up with Claudia and the kids. Mom and Dad have been stressed out lately, so I was hoping to cheer them up. But....things got complicated."
"Complicated how?" Takeo asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Probably better if I show you," Mika stated. "That being said, what I'm about to show you, we can't tell Fukushu."
The siblings paused raising an eyebrow, what could possibly be so dire that Fukushu couldn't be told? Chisai stepped forward, the massive kitsune sporting a confused expression.
"Look, I may not be the big brain in the family Mika," he said. "But if it concerns the family, Fukushu should know."
"I have to agree with Chisai," Kiko added in agreement. "About Fukushu knowing, not being the big brain part. We know I'm the smartest in the family."
"Real modest Kiko," Takeo sighed, rolling his eyes. "Did you forget I have a doctorate from Harvard and Yale?"
"And I have a doctorate from Oxford and Cambridge," Kiko smirked. "Plus, I don't sweat and stammer when I have to give a public speech."
"Can we focus please," Mika groaned. "Look, I enjoy the banter between you three but when you see what I'm talking about you'll understand. So, can we be serious for a moment?"
Chisai and Takeo nodded before giving Kiko a critical glance.
"Why are you all looking at me like that I'm always serious?!" she exclaimed. Chisai, Takeo, and Mika simply raised an eyebrow, giving their sister a critical look.
"Okay most of the time," Kiko sighed.
Mika now led her siblings forward, taking a turn toward a small study. As the green kitsune pushed the door open, her three elder siblings gazed inside and immediately gasped.
Slowly Yomi now stood, the eight tailed kitsune, nervously tugging on her purple kimono as she shyly gazed at her siblings.
"Hello," she said softly. "Mika wanted me to wait here for you. I was reading."
The siblings stood frozen, unable to utter a sound as they stared at their older sister. Mika wasn't even sure they were breathing at this point, shocked to find their long dead older sister quietly reading inside a small study. Yomi fidgeted, unsure what her siblings would say.
"Guys," Mika asked nervously. "Are you okay?"
"It can't be," Chisai whispered. "How... how is Yomi alive?"
"It's a long story," Mika said quietly. "And complicated. Travis, the son of Life and Death made a deal with Demon Queen. She....she released Yomi for helping destroy the Superior Church."
Chisai and Takeo said nothing, simply staring in stunned silence. Both siblings now looked to Kiko, the six tailed kitsune speechless.
"Kiko?" Takeo asked.
Kiko sprinted forward, burying her face in her older sister's shoulder as she began to cry.
"I missed you," she sniffed. "How did you get here?"
"I'm not quite sure," Yomi replied. The eight tailed kitsune now began to stroke her sister's fur, gazing down at her slightly shorter sister. "My memory is a bit muddled, but....I have missed you little sister."
Kiko lifted her head, tears freely flowing as she stared at Yomi's face. The white vixen sporting a warm smile as she soothed her sister. Memories of Kiko's childhood flooding back as she recalled her older sister always offering her a kind smile and shoulder to cry on. It was overwhelming as the fuchsia kitsune lip trembled and she burst into tears, burying her face into Yomi's chest.
"Yomi," she wailed, her tears darkening the purple kimono as Yomi stroked the top of her head, trying to comfort her. Chisai and Takeo rushed forward, the three tailed kitsune, slightly taller than his sisters hugging the pair as the massive Chisai scooped the trio into a massive hug. The group clinging to one another, tears flowing as they welcomed back their long lost sister.
Mika smiled, the reunion a touching scene. Mika couldn't help but let out a few tears as well seeing the marvelous sight. The sight of Yomi causing the siblings to go quiet. There was something wholesome about Yomi's reappearance for Kiko, Chisai, and Takeo; a certain return to innocence and warmth they did not share with Fukushu. Yomi was the older sibling that was there when Fukushu was away. The sibling they turned to throughout their childhood for comfort. When she died, that innocence was lost.
Now she was back, a nostalgic reminder of something they missed but hadn't realized. Kiko now blindly raised her arm beckoning Mika closer as she continued to cry. Doing as she was told, she felt her usually confident sister hug her as the reunited siblings gripped Yomi in a welcomed embrace.