The Tomboy.(Izayoi's Intro.)

Why had Izayoi suddenly left them? No matter how many times Itori thought about it she couldn't get a proper answer from the confines of her own head. She had found Izayoi's note and read it, but that actually didn't help her a lot. The contents had been very simple: apparently Izayoi objected too much to some of the guild's deeds, and felt like she could no longer force herself to be part of it. That actually wasn't difficult for Itori to understand. She herself had done plenty of questionable things in the many years that she had been alive, just to survive and get by. She wasn't fond of violence or inflicting harm, but she was too determined to let herself be stopped by apprehension, and the more often she had to do those dirty things the less they bothered her. These days she actually was rather apathetic to it all.

The problem wasn't that Izayoi left the guild. The part which the fox girl couldn't understand was why she had also left her two sisters behind. If she had wanted to leave that badly she could have talked with them. Itori narrowed her eyes and glared into the darkness ahead of her, still angry thinking about it. She could understand that her beloved sister had felt pressured and didn't think she was safe with the idea of leaving the guild. But had she truly believed that she wasn't even safe when confiding in her sisters? Did she think that her sisters wouldn't look after her and help her? Was she that afraid that she would try to hide this even from the two people in this world who had been with her since birth and who would do everything in their power to stay with her until her death? If she truly took their bonds that lightly Itori would have to actually scold her for that. For thousands of years she had wandered while trying to find her sisters. Throughout all those years her determination to find the other two parts of the triplets had never wavered. She had encountered plenty of situations which had attempted to tempt her, trying to dissuade her from continuing her journey. People she had liked and loved, places and sceneries where she would have loved to stay her entire life. And every time she had left them behind because she had yet to find those two people who meant the entire world to her.

If Izayoi had taken those bonds lightly she would be reminded of their strength as soon as Itori found her. And despite what Izayoi might think Itori was hot on her tracks, following her as if a hunting dog. Or rather, a hunting fox. Izayoi might have had a head start because she hadn't given Itori any warning, but she should have remembered that silent stubbornness which had allowed the self-imposed mute fox girl to keep going and make good progress. She knew Izayoi's scent, soul and magic signature as good or better than her own. The moment that she had found the note she had gone after Izayoi, walking without rest as she used her nose and other sharp senses. She felt somewhat bad for leaving Iniki behind, but Iniki should be safe in Tartarus while Itori caught up to Izayoi and figured out what her deal was. Hopefully she could convince Izayoi to return, but otherwise she might have to go back and take Iniki away from Tartarus as well. As a dark guild they might not like losing the triplets, but Itori had long ago stopped being scared by something like dark mages. There were several mages in that guild who could easily defeat her when it came to strength and magical ability, but Itori hadn't wandered through the world for so long without learning a thing or two. Especially about how to be as cunning as the foxes that the Kumiho showed similarities towards.

It had been a long journey, the fox girl moving through day and night silently as she kept herself religiously focused on the trail. Sometimes there would be rain, sometimes there would be sun, sometimes there would be snow. Although the snow thing didn't happen often, and when it did the snow melted away almost as quickly as it touched the ground. Regardless of the weather Itori had kept going, and now she was very close. In fact she should be able to catch Izayoi within the next half an hour. Knowing this made her increase her step, her skirt swirling around her legs as she moved faster forwards, her tail swishing behind her as she had not bothered to hide her true form. However that was soon to change, as Itori found Izayoi's trail heading straight into a village. Sighing Itori changed into her human form, her hair changing from pure white to raven black and growing long enough to reach past her waist, her tail also disappearing. The rest of her features stayed the same, although her clothing was also somewhat altered to look a little bit more high class. Humans were inclined to treat somebody with good clothing and an air of dignity and nobility better than somebody with ratty clothes and a suspicious aura. Of course Itori's Kumiho form wasn't that bad either, but her human form was basically designed to give off the impression of being the daughter of a wealthy family, her culture very similar to that of the exotic country of Midi. Striding into the town Itori looked around, scanning her surroundings as her long raven hair trailed behind her. As usual her dignified and elegant behaviour combined with her appearance at least allowed her to pass through without being held up or accosted. If this was the countryside there might have been bandits to deal with, but in a town like this those wouldn't survive for long.

The trail was very clear, and it led right to the centre of the town, where there was a grand castle. Izayoi's scent went inside, which made Itori stand there for nearly a minute as she considered the possibilities. Izayoi was also good when it came to disguising herself and infiltrating places, but she didn't think Izayoi was that good that she could just walk into this place with ease. Either she had underestimated her sister or Izayoi hadn't been alone at this point. Either way she had no choice but to press forward. Luckily she could use some light charming magic to keep anybody from getting in her way as she walked on Izayoi's trail with determined footsteps, although to keep up the impression of belonging here she had to compromise and also make them elegant and precise. A noblewoman wouldn't be in a hurry, regardless of the circumstances. At least, that's how it should be.

Eventually Itori found herself standing in front of a lachrima, a magic orb which was located in the centre of the castle. Izayoi's trail led right up to it and then stopped abruptly, meaning that for now Itori stood still. Actually, she was slowly tracing circles around the teleportation crystal, appearing to admire the beauty of the ballroom whilst actually making sure that this was indeed where the trail ended. She circled around it several times, carefully and meticulously, but in the end she had to conclude that this was in fact the end of the line. Which meant that there was only one thing left to try. Itori looked glanced around at the decorations in the large room, her eyes gliding past the inhabitants without a pause, even though she was making sure nobody was paying attention to her right now. She had been using some silent illusions to make herself less interesting, so anybody still present would at best glance at her once before focusing on more important matters. Convinced that she was practically unnoticed Itori reached out and swiftly touched the orb with a finger, standing still as the magic took effect and she disappeared into thin air.

Itori looked around warily once she reappeared in another location, although within seconds she was homing in on the most important thing. Izayoi was standing there in front of the gates leading to another grand building, and she had two of her Legions with her. That made sure that it was really Izayoi, since the mute had yet to find anybody but her sister who would use those beings as their servants. Itori would immediately have approached Izayoi, but another woman was already addressing her beloved sister, and Itori felt a droplet of sweat trailing down the side of her face as she realized that this woman wasn't somebody to be trifled with. She was long and slender, a beautiful appearance, but more importantly her magic power was matching her beauty without issue. Itori's thin eyebrows lowered slightly as she quickly tried to think of what to do next. She had to make sure that she could speak to Izayoi, which meant she would have to do her best to make sure that this powerful mage wouldn't get in her way. The best method for that was to give her no reason for doing so. For now Itori would wait, and hope that maybe Izayoi would notice her before she would have to deal with the other female present personally. At least she had made sure to hide her guild tattoo very carefully before leaving Tartarus, a precaution she always used when she went out. It had taken several tries to perfect it, but nobody should be able to tell that she was from Tartarus. She just hoped that Izayoi had been just as careful in her preparations for her departure...

The bartender servicing her in the main part of the guild hall had to be the best one she had ever met! Not only did he realize she was telling the truth about being a happy drunk, he was still pouring out drinks WELL past the amount they would normally tell people to stop and take a break after! "All right! Another Ungrateful Dead please!" The words sounded kind of funny to her ears, a slight slur filling part of the words as the bartender glared ever so slightly at the ridiculous tolerance that kept him constantly remaking the same drink.

The night had been quiet, with very few people actually hanging around at this time of night. The celestial spirit did not need sleep, however, and found she only did so when she felt like closing off her mind for a spell; always being awake got really boring when no one else you knew could do so. It was during this quiet hour that she heard a noise that drew everyone's attention; the guild hall main doors opening. What was at the doors was a strange site to behold. A girl with fox tails was there...wait...fox tails?! And she had....demons with her? WHAT WAS GOING ON? WAS SHE HALLUCINATING? No, it couldn't be that. Her vision, while slightly blurry, was definitely not giving her false information.

"Well! I can tell you're not part of the guild. My name's Aiyana, the Paragon of Conviction. Just a special title for what is an Ace of the guild." Unsteady feet would hit the floor as she carefully stood up as she finished the brand new drink of quite quickly before walking towards the girl. The stranger was quite pretty, though the two...demons(?) that were with her made it feel like she was not too sure on what was going to happen. So what brings a pretty girl to Sabertooth at such a late hour?" The words were not perfectly said, Aiyana slightly swaying as she spoke. From outside she could Hika speak as well, funnily enough, as both awaited a response as to what was going on.

Izayoi had been to distracted with worried about what people would think that she was caught unaware by a voice behind her, almost the same time the drunk fox girl spoke to her to. Izayoi didn't know who to address first, one had identified as a Ace of Saber Tooth while the other one had not identified at all. Izayoi looked at the fox woman and gave a short bow. "I-I am Izayoi Formerly of the... guild Tartarus..." Izayoi didn't know why she had relieved that she had been in a dark guild but it was to late now. "I have come looking for a new guild... one that does not support the murder of innocents." Izayoi straitened and looked at the woman behind her, "I have come her looking for a new home and new allys." She didn't know what to say, they might think she was a criminal or something. It was know that she felt her sisters presense, her eyes snapped wide. Had her own sister come to kill her? Had Tartarus come to silence her? Izayoi's panic was clear, The legions dropped her stuff and stepped in between Izayoi and where Itori was located, Izayoi took a few nervous steps back

The situation was only getting more complicated as another figure showed up after Izayoi had opened the doors to the floating guild hall. Itori watched the new appearance, her eyes widening as she realized that she had fox ears and nine tails. How was that possible? Was it some kind of magic which gave her those limbs? Or was she perhaps another Kumiho, the first one that Itori had encountered aside from her sisters ever since they had lost each other? The disguised fox girl tried to quickly regain her composure, not wanting to betray herself just because she had shown something rather shocking. Finding another Kumiho would be a big deal, so she had to make sure that this woman was in fact a Kumiho. Itori didn't have any way of making sure immediately, asides perhaps convincing her to show some of the basics that all Kumiho are thought about magic. Their basics appear to be different from what the humans of these lands are taught, so that would be helpful towards making sure that this woman was in fact one of their own kind. Although if she wasn't Itori would have to figure out what she actually was, and if she should actually do something with that knowledge. She wasn't really interested in the fact that she had fox ears and tails, although the sign of nine tails was alarming. The important part would be whether she actually was a Kumiho or not.

However that was a secondary objective. Itori could look into that later on, at least if everything would go as she wanted it to go. She wanted to see what was on Izayoi's mind and then convince her to come back to Tartarus so they could at least discuss this with Iniki in the room, so she could partake. However the tricky part would be bringing Izayoi back. The not had given the feeling that her sister was pretty disgusted by some things that Tartarus had done, so getting her to return just to talk about what they should be doing would already be a challenge. However they were triplets, Itori had gone through thousands of years just to find both her sisters, she wouldn't let them just disappear again like that. She couldn't control her sisters' destiny, but she would do all she could to make sure that they would at least be together for as long as possible, if she had any say in it for as long as all three of them lived. But for now Itori would have to wait to see what Izayoi would do when faced with these two mages from Sabertooth, both of them too powerful for the disguised fox girl to stand a chance doing something that they didn't want her to do. Rushing forwards to grab Izayoi would be a bad idea anyway, and these two females would most likely treat it as a sign of hostility and restrain her. She also wasn't sure if she could use her illusions to deceive them... One of them had some really impressive magic presence, and the other was both strong and could possibly be a Kumiho, in which case she might very well laugh at Itori's attempts. An experienced and older Kumiho rarely got caught by the trappings of the younger, and nine tails could only mean that if this woman was truly a Kumiho, she was a very powerful one indeed.

Although from what she saw so far letting Izayoi just do what she wanted wasn't the best idea ever. For one thing one of the very first things said by her sister was an admission of having been part of the dark guild Tartarus. Hearing her sister actually say that made Itori nearly freeze, both in lack of movement and the lowering of her body temperature. She had done her homework on Sabertooth, and it was a guild of heroes. Letting them know that you were a villain could get you meeting your end as either a living being or a free person very quickly. Saying that she had enough of killing those who didn't deserve it might not help a lot. If it wasn't for her self control Itori would be chewing on her thumb right now as she stared at Izayoi, wondering what her sister was planning. She couldn't be expecting to get accepted so easily after having classified herself as one of the biggest criminals, a dark mage. She had to have some kind of plan to make sure they would accept her even with her plan, right? Her sisters were just as intelligent as Itori herself was. Still, the noblewoman stood there with some clear hesitation as she looked at the fox girl with her two abominable guardians.

And then those very same monsters were placed as if to protect Izayoi from her very own sister. Itori's vermilion eyes went wide as she saw Izayoi back away from her, as if afraid of her own sister. The noblewoman stood stunned, watching her sister as she tried to figure out what was going on. Why would Izayoi be afraid of her? She knew that this form was the one Itori always took when she mingled with humans to avoid being discovered as a Kumiho. She didn't know why her sisters were not as careful as her when it came to disguising themselves. Humans were tricky and dangerous creatures, and it was much better to make them believe that you were one of them than to try and face them as something strange and exotic. However her sisters went about with their fox trait out to see for anybody, which left Itori wondering what they were thinking. But that wasn't the important thing right now. What was important was that it appeared that Izayoi was afraid of her, a thought which made Itori herself take a step back at first as she barely even heard what the most powerful of the two other women said. Why would Izayoi be scared of her? Did she think that Itori would do something to her because she left Tartarus without warning or saying goodbye?

That thought made Itori quite angry very quickly, her eyes narrowing as she glared at her sister. She was no longer stepping backwards as she tried to figure out what was going on with her sister. Instead she began to stride forwards, and her facial expression and her firm footsteps made it clear that she wasn't amused. Her footsteps resounded clearly through the quiet night, and her eyes was narrowed as her lips formed a thin line. She looked like a mother ready to scold her child for doing something stupid, and to be honest Itori somewhat felt like doing just that. Of course she had to make sure that the other females wouldn't get in her way, so even as she walked she glanced at them both before pointing at herself and then at Izayoi, then holding up two fingers and pointing at them before pressing them together, attempting to make them understand that she and Izayoi had a bond.

As for the Legions that Izayoi had put up, those were paid no attention to. Itori very much doubted that her sister, even in a panic, would actually dare to use those against her. Izayoi was stronger when it came to actual fighting, so if she did Itori would be in trouble, but there was more to the balance between the two than just raw magical and physical might. For one thing it was hard to use Legions against somebody who you cared about, and Itori did not doubt that if she just kept moving the Legions would part. That and there was also the fact that this wouldn't be the first time that Itori had scolded her sisters. She was the one of the triplets who was the most careful and looked after the other two the most, and part of that was making sure they wouldn't get themselves into trouble. Carrying that aura of the stern mother Itori kept walking, the fact that she was taller than everybody else here only accentuating that appearance as her long raven black hair swayed behind her and her loose clothing made soft whisking noises with each of her steps.

"Iza..yoi....of Tartarus?" Words were mumbled a but too loudly, the woman's mind thinking of the name before realizing she had named off one of the dark guilds. A flinch of surprise ensued before her mind registered the rest of the words. So she was here to join, due to her conflicting beliefs with those of the guild she was coming from. A light hiccup would leave her lips as she began to walk forward to tell the girl that she would be welcome, and safe, here before she began to look panicked and defensive. Moving as fast as she could, in a half drunken stupor, the celestial spirt nine-tailed fox walked up to her and the creatures with her before speaking up.

"Don't you....worry. You're safe here from everything, I'll make sure to protect you if it's needed!" The words sounded right at the time, as right as they could be. The woman offered a hand to the panicked girl, looking out to see Hikari and another fox girl coming towards them. "Oh man, more girls with tails...more for me to stare at..."