The air in the small countryside town carried a chill, but the warmth of paper nterns and the mouthwatering scent of yakitori filled the streets. Luna had insisted they stop here on the way to Kyoto, ciming she could "feel something fuzzy and divine in the air."

  Daphne, arms folded, narrowed her eyes at a particurly suspicious tanuki statue near a food stall. "Why do I feel like this is going to get weird?"

  "Because it is!" Luna beamed, spinning on her hooves and fring her wings dramatically. "We're going to a shrine festival! Come on, Daphne, there's magic and mischief in the air!"

  Indeed, the town was hosting its annual Inari Matsuri, celebrating the fox spirit of prosperity, agriculture, and absolute chaos. Luna was thriving.

  People stared.

  Children gasped. Shrine maidens dropped their nterns. A priest fainted.

  Within minutes, whispers began.

  "A kami... she's descended!"

  "Look at her aura!"

  "She must be Inari's messenger!"

  Luna, of course, soaked it all in. "Daphne, they think I’m a minor goddess! Isn’t that amazing?"

  Daphne sighed. "You are a goddess. You could've just corrected them."

  "But where's the fun in that?"

  Before Daphne could protest further, a group of enthusiastic shrine maidens wrapped Luna in a ceremonial robe, pced a fox mask atop her head, and began chanting. A parade began. Drums. Dancing fox masks. Fireworks.

  Luna danced with the performers, each step lighting up the cobblestones with dreamlike shimmer. Paper charms fluttered in her wake, glowing faintly with stored wishes. Daphne stood at the sidelines, arms crossed, clearly regretting every decision that had led to this moment.

  A hush fell over the crowd as a gust of cold wind snuffed out several nterns. The firelight dimmed unnaturally, and from the dense woods behind the shrine came a slow, deliberate growl.

  Luna perked up instantly. “Ooooh. Fuzzy energy approaching.”

  From the forest shadows stepped a massive white fox, its fur aglow with pale fire, golden eyes filled with the kind of ancient wisdom that only came with centuries of dealing with idiotic spirits.

  Daphne straightened. “...Is that a divine fox?”

  The wolf did not acknowledge the crowd. It walked calmly through the gathering, parting people like a ship cutting through water, until it stood directly before Luna.

  It sat.

  It stared.

  Luna, utterly delighted, leaned forward and offered the fox a sweet bun. “Want a treat? I stole it fair and square!”

  The fox bared its fangs—not in aggression, but what looked suspiciously like a grimace of spiritual disapproval.

  “You are not one of ours,” the wolf said, its voice like rolling thunder and rustling leaves. “And yet you wear Inari’s colors. You ride her fire. Expin.”

  Daphne muttered under her breath, “This should be good.”

  Luna tapped her chin, tail swishing thoughtfully. “Well! I was just passing through. Then everyone started worshipping me. And the fire fox kinda summoned itself. And now I think we’re married? To the town? Maybe?”

  The wolf blinked.

  Then blinked again.

  Then turned to Daphne. “You seem like the responsible one.”

  Daphne gestured helplessly. “She is a goddess. Just… not your goddess. Good luck telling her no.”

  The divine wolf sighed—an ancient, tired sound of someone who had seen this kind of mess far too many times.

  “…I must report this to Inari.”

  “Tell her I said hiiii~!” Luna waved

  The wolf stared a moment longer, as if reconsidering all its life choices, then turned and trotted back into the forest, muttering in celestial undercommon about “moon ponies,” “unregistered deities,” and needing a drink.

  Deep in the spirit realm, where torii gates float among clouds and the scent of rice wine lingers in the wind, Inari ōkami—goddess of prosperity, agriculture, and the occasional chaos-fueled fox prank—sat in quiet meditation atop a silk cushion, sipping sweet sake from a porcein cup.

  A ripple passed through the misty air.

  One of her divine messengers, a great white fox named, padded into the chamber with the weariness of a spirit who had just witnessed several realms' worth of paperwork being created in real time.

  Inari opened one eye. “You look troubled.”

  The byakkosan bowed low. “Lady Inari… I bring news from the mortal realm.”

  “Let me guess—someone disrupted the festival again? Are humans pretending to be spirits? Another prank from Raijin?”

  “No, my dy. It’s worse.” The wolf hesitated. “You… may have been married.”

  Inari blinked. “I’m sorry—what?”