Shikigami Summoning in Konoha

Chapter 4: The Nine-Tailed Demon Fox!?

Strictly speaking, although the Three-Tailed Fox wasn't the strongest among R-ranked yokai and didn't possess any particularly special abilities, she did have an agility some SR—even SSR—yokai lacked. That was her greatest advantage.

"Fox Sis, can you hear me?"

Having familiarized himself with the Three-Tailed Fox's abilities, Katsuragi sat in his house, sensing the courtyard in his mind. He spoke quietly, having discovered he didn't need to immerse his entire consciousness there in order to communicate.

"Huh? Little Katsuragi, where are you?"

Under the cherry blossom tree in the courtyard, the Three-Tailed Fox heard his voice. She glanced around, failing to see him anywhere, and murmured in confusion, "Am I hearing things?"

"It's me, Fox Sis!" Katsuragi chuckled. "It seems I can talk to you without fully entering the courtyard, and I can still move my body out here at the same time."

"Wow! It really is you, Little Katsuragi!" the Three-Tailed Fox exclaimed in surprise, then pouted. "Isn't this kind of unfair? I want to see the village you call Konoha, too!"

"Uh…"

Katsuragi was momentarily taken aback. He hesitated before saying, "Okay, Fox Sis, give me a minute. I'll see if there's a way for you to see what I see."

Perhaps the courtyard recognized the Three-Tailed Fox's wish, or maybe it always had this feature. In any case, Katsuragi actually managed to find a way to share his vision. The discovery both surprised him and made him appreciate the courtyard even more.

"So this is Little Katsuragi's home?"

Leaning against the cherry blossom tree, the Three-Tailed Fox inspected Katsuragi's surroundings through his eyes. She observed everything with mild curiosity. "It doesn't look that fancy."

"It's not bad at all!"

Katsuragi wasn't exaggerating. His parents were both ninja, so while the house wasn't luxurious, it was definitely above average—and it even had a dedicated training room.

Time passed without him noticing, and more than half a month had slipped by since Katsuragi moved into his new home. Perhaps due to his introverted nature in his previous life, combined with the Three-Tailed Fox's company, he never felt lonely. Each day, he only left his house for meals and to complete simple Bounty Seal missions; the rest of his time was spent training his chakra indoors.

Early in the morning, when Katsuragi appeared in the courtyard, the Three-Tailed Fox immediately bounded over to him. She brushed her fluffy tails against his face, her voice somehow both coquettish and playful.

"Little Katsuragi, my dear master, you should really get outside more! If you stay cooped up all day, won't you get moldy?"

"… …"

Katsuragi gave a wry smile. "Fox Sis, you have no idea how scary the future of this world is. If I don't work hard to grow stronger, I might end up dead one day."

"I won't let anyone kill you!" The Three-Tailed Fox's eyes gleamed with sudden menace. "Whoever wants to hurt you will have to step over my dead body first."

"Thank you, Fox Sis!" Moved by her concern, Katsuragi checked his calendar. It happened to be the day he was supposed to collect his monthly living allowance from the orphanage. "Alright, fine. I'll go outside for a bit, but I can't be out for too long. I still need to come back and train."

"Mhm, mhm!" Once Katsuragi agreed, the Three-Tailed Fox's fierce aura disappeared at once, replaced by an enthusiastic nod. Katsuragi couldn't help smiling—her mature appearance contrasted sharply with her lively, almost childlike personality.

On his way to the orphanage, Katsuragi gave Fox Sis a mental tour through his eyes. "This is where I stayed before—Konoha's orphanage. The Director here is a really nice guy."

"Katsuragi! You're back!"

"Katsuragi, where've you been all this time?"

"Hey, Little Katsuragi, good morning!"

No sooner had he set foot inside than a group of little kids swarmed him, full of questions. They didn't know he had moved out, so his absence over the past few weeks had them all curious. The staff, who likely did know, just greeted him with a knowing smile.

After finally shaking off the cluster of inquisitive children, Katsuragi let out a long breath and headed for the director's office. The Three-Tailed Fox teased him mentally, "My, my—you sure are popular!"

"Of course!" Katsuragi replied smugly, wiping his nose in an exaggerated gesture. "I'm, born handsome you know. If I can't even manage good relationships, I might as well give up and call it quits."

Chatting with Fox Sis, he soon arrived at Tengen Seizou's office. Katsuragi noticed the old director seemed even more wizened than before. Smiling sweetly, he greeted, "Good morning, Grandpa Director!"

"Ah, it's Little Katsuragi!"

Tengen Seizou chuckled and stood up, circling around Katsuragi twice. Finally, he nodded in satisfaction. "You haven't lost weight. Looks like living on your own is treating you well."

"Grandpa…"

Katsuragi felt a surge of complicated emotions as he looked at the kindly director. He couldn't help feeling thankful he'd been born in Konoha instead of, say, the Bloody Mist Village. His life might have been entirely different then—definitely not this peaceful.

"But…" Tengen Seizou suddenly scowled. "You didn't come back to the orphanage once in all this time. If today wasn't allowance day, would you have bothered to visit at all?"

"Uh… Sorry, Grandpa," Katsuragi said quietly, lowering his head. In truth, he'd been so absorbed in training that he'd nearly forgotten about everything else—if not for the Three-Tailed Fox pestering him for a change of pace, he might've missed today as well.

"Alright, alright. It's fine. Just remember to come around sometimes. Everyone's been asking me about you since you left." The director wasn't really mad and waved off Katsuragi's apology when he saw how guilty the boy looked.

"Understood. I'll remember." Katsuragi nodded seriously.

"Here's your living allowance for this month." Tengen Seizou returned to his desk and took out a small envelope from a drawer. Handing it to Katsuragi, he said with a smile, "Make sure to buy yourself plenty of good food. You're still growing, so don't worry too much about saving up. If you run out, just come to me—got it?"

"Mm!" Katsuragi accepted the envelope happily.

"Oh, right!" The old director sat down again, as if recalling something important. He fixed Katsuragi with a solemn gaze. "Little Katsuragi, there's something I need to tell you, and you must remember it clearly."

"What is it, Grandpa?" Katsuragi asked, puzzled by the serious tone.

"Should you come across a boy about your age, with blond hair, blue eyes, whisker-like marks on his cheeks, and a spiral crest on his clothes… do not interact with him. Understood?"

"Blond hair, blue eyes, whiskers, a spiral crest…"

A face began to form in Katsuragi's mind. He found himself silently muttering, Uzumaki Naruto…

"But why, Grandpa?" he asked aloud, feigning confusion. He knew the real reason was Naruto's status as a jinchūriki—but the "normal" him wouldn't know that.

"This is an order from the village!" Tengen Seizou replied bluntly, not offering an actual explanation. A flash of hatred and uncertainty crossed his eyes before he muttered under his breath, "Because… he's the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox."

"Nine-Tailed Demon Fox?!"

Tengen Seizou had lowered his voice, but Katsuragi still heard him clearly, thanks to the heightened senses he'd gained from the Three-Tailed Fox. Surprisingly, the exclamation wasn't from Katsuragi but from the Three-Tailed Fox in the courtyard.

"Little Katsuragi, what's this Nine-Tailed Demon Fox? Is it another fox like me?" She curiously swished her three big tails. "Does she really have nine tails?!"