A Fox's Whisper

27: Ҝ卂乙ㄩ卄卂

"This is a bad idea," Inari told me for what had to be the hundredth time. "We shouldn't be doing this. Miko is insane."

"Inari," I said, turning the page of a book I'd found lying around the Shrine. (Though I admit I wasn't focusing very much on it. Even now I couldn't tell you what it was about.) "If you pace any more, you'll wear a hole into the floor."

She raked her hands through her hair, ceasing her back and forth journey across my room. "Festival or not, it will be a disaster. We'll be found out and then--"

I shut the book quietly, turning my full attention to her. She looked frazzled. Nervous. Rather a wreck, if you are so inclined. I thought it almost amusing. I didn't say so, however.
Nearly getting strangled by a kitsune was not something I wished to relive, and saying Inari was 'amusing' when she was so on edge would definitely result in strangulation.

"We won't be found out. Lady Yae has thought this through rather well, I think."

Just the other day, Yae had announced to us that Inazuma City would be holding a summer festival of such a grand scale that it would be almost criminally easy to avoid the Raiden Shogun's soldiers detaining anyone's Vision. The plan was simple: we would find Thoma, have him assist us in skimming through the records, and then take what information could be used back to Yae.

Of course, Inari was vehemently opposed to it all, and she was still in denial that we would in fact be braving the festival to find Thoma. As the festival drew closer, her protestations grew more adamant. Now here we were. The very day of the festival. I hadn't thought it possible for Inari to dig her heels in further, but I was wrong.

"No, she hasn't thought it out at all!!" Inari groaned. "If this festival is as big as she claims, then who's to say that we'll even find Thoma?"

"We'll find him," I reassured her, as much as I was reassuring myself. We had to find him. "Besides. Yae appears to be even more confident about this since you've been practicing your fox magic. I have to agree with her, you know."

Inari flushed. It was hard to believe an entire week had passed since she'd first told me about this strange new power she'd discovered. I didn't quite understand it, but neither did Inari. I merely assumed it was power imbued in her from the Abyss. It was sensible enough. Too little was known of the Abyss in the first place to prove otherwise.

Inari turned away from me and crossed her arms. "All that aside, it's still a dreadful idea. You shouldn't be going."

I laughed. "Whether or not I should be, I will."

"What's worse," Inari said loudly, ignoring my previous statement. "Haru insists on going, and he wants Sora to come along too."

"I see no harm in that."

Akio Haru loved festivals for two reasons and two reasons only: food and girls. Perhaps with Sora around, he'd be less inclined to behave poorly in reference to the latter. I didn't expect him to be a help to Inari and me, but I thought it was alright for him to come anyway.

"They deserve to have a little fun, don't you think?" I added.

Inari shrugged. "Oh, I don't know. I have a feeling we'll just end up having to supervise them." She sighed deeply, her shoulders sagging. "You know I've never actually been to a festival?"

I gave an incredulous laugh. "You haven't?"

"You must think it funny, I know. 'Good heavens, a kitsune has never seen a festival in all the decades of her life.' I understand."

"I'm merely surprised," I explained. "After all, festivals are such bright, vivid places. They're the perfect setting for one such as you. Why have you never been to one?"