chapter forty-three;

━━━━━━ KISA WASN'T ONE TO WAIT around for an answer. especially not from todoroki or an angry pomeranian that had a strong sense of morales.

     hence why she left the day dabi confronted the other todoroki, letting inasa take charge if anything were to be out of order.

the girl made sure that no one knew where she was going, not even her dear husbands or brother. and especially not her father.

kisa had traveled to a distant land all by herself, with little to no interaction with the other yōkai.

     the dark-haired girl had made it to a wondrous part of abandoned land, where trees and flowers blossomed with life as the dew drizzled down the differently shaped leaves.

     not only did few people know of this place, but even fewer knew of what resided here.

     or better yet, who resided here.

     standing with great confidence in the middle of the field, kisa chuckled.

     "can you come out yet?"

a bright light appeared before the girl, to which kisa had squinted her eyes as she shielded them from the overly dramatic effect.

a male with luscious, obnoxiously long white hair that flowed amongst the grass, had appeared. his thin golden eyes stared at kisa meanwhile his fox ears twitched.

his nine tails waved leisurely from side to side as his pure white kimono matched his fur.

"long time no see, kisa", the inari ōkami grinned.

the fox girl simply rolled her eyes, crossing her arms as she held no respect whatsoever for the fox god.

     "as impertinent as ever I see", the fox god chuckled as he inched closer to the girl.

     "now, tell me what is it that you want?"

"you know what I want, so stop wasting my time and give it to me", kisa demanded, to which the fox god had only laughed.

"such impatience. you'd think that after all this time, you would be more nice since I'm the one who gives you what you desire".

kisa scowled. "I'm only but entertainment to you, so if you'll please hurry up. I need get back to the show".

the inari ōkami just hummed. "what is it that you specifically want this time?"

"I want the powers of a full-blooded nine-tailed fox. it doesn't matter how much pain it gives me; I want it", kisa boldly stated.

"I cannot give you that".

"why?", kisa calmly asked, though there was a sharp tone to it.

"you're born a half-blood, and that's unchangeable. I cannot give you powers to that equal of a full-blood, however, I can give you a weapon that might aide you", the inari ōkami said.

kisa was slightly intrigued, considering she never knew what the fox god had in store. after all, everything was just a game to him.

"a weapon? what can a weapon do that my own hands can't? we could probably kill the same amount, with me being faster of course", kisa scoffed, thinking that it'd most likely be a sword or a bow and arrow.

     "ah, but you see...this fan is not your average war fan", the inari ōkami stated.

"a...fan?"

that might've been the most ridiculous thing kisa has ever heard. was a fan going to help kill her father? she sure hoped so.

the inari ōkami wore a devious smile. "this fan can be summoned whenever, great for transportation. if you're hot, you can even lightly fan yourself", the fox god joked, only humoring himself.

     "though it is made of silver, which is what makes it so special. with a harsh fan, you could send your enemies hundreds of miles away.

     and though it may not look like much, don't be deceived by its appearance. the fan's sharp edges can easily slice through human or yōkai skin.

     one cut is all it takes for their soul to forever linger in between heaven and hell. their soul will never find a place and will roam earth as they're trapped".

     now that had caught kisa's attention. "and you're saying that works on yōkai too?"

     the fox god nodded. "however, you must create a bond with it. drop some of your blood onto this white fan and it'll heed to you and only your commands".

     instantly, kisa had created a petite cut at the tip of her pointer finger, letting her blood drip as she extended her other hand out, expecting the fan.

     the inari ōkami blew out a puff of air as the fan had magically appeared in kisa's left hand, to which the girl had opened it, letting her blood drip onto the pure white object.

     though to her surprise, her blood didn't splat onto the fan like she had thought it would. instead, it rippled onto the pearly white fan, tainting it effortlessly as it grew in colors, creating a surge of black, red, orange, and blue.

kisa smiled, content with the beauty and elegance of the fan. it was similar to her, beautiful on the outside, but quite deadly.

"I suppose good luck now", the fox god said, to which kisa had stopped him momentarily.

     "why did you help me? it's been decades, and you've yet to reveal your true intentions", kisa questioned, skeptical of the sly god.

     the inari ōkami didn't even turn around as his voice was as clear as one of kurogiri's clean shot glasses.

     "it's just fun to watch. after all, it's been a while since someone as interesting as you has come along".

     kisa watched as the inari ōkami disappeared into thin air.

     to say that the two were friends was too close and absolutely not true. friends were there for each other and hung out often.

     but to say that they were strangers were once again not accurate. to be fair, kisa has only met him six times, with this being the seventh.

     their relationship could better yet be described as a mutualistic one; perhaps just mere acquaintances.

━━━━━━ • ✿ • ━━━━━━

     "LIKE HELL I'M JOINING THE VILLAINS!"

     "katsuki, calm down", todoroki ushered.

     "HOW THE FUCK AM I SUPPOSED TO CALM DOWN WHEN YOU'RE QUITE LITERALLY JOINING THE VILLAINS AND DELETING ALL YOUR HARD WORK?!"

     "it's not like I'm becoming a villain myself", todoroki calmly stated.

     "you might as well be with what you're going to do!", bakugo scowled. "honestly, I had higher hopes for you, shōto".

     todoroki's eyes widened as he immediately stood up, facing off bakugo.

     "katsuki, you know what my father did. you know he's not the hero that he claims to be. why can't you understand that?! why can't you just understand that not every hero is good?!"

     "you've been brainwashed by that vixen! you don't even know what you're talking about anymor—"

     "I do!! dabi, he's my brother touya! I know exactly what I'm talking about", todoroki huffed, making bakugo absolutely stunned.

     "shōto..."

     "katsuki, if you love me, you'll understand that I need to do this. not for only myself, but for touya, fuyumi, and natsuo. for...for mother..."

     bakugo's scowl softened along with his harsh gaze as he inched closer to todoroki, putting his hand on his shoulder.

     todoroki had taken the chance to slip into bakugo's embrace as he snuggled his face in the crook of his neck.

     "I don't ask for you to join me...but please understand where I'm coming from", todoroki mumbled, sending slight chills down bakugo's spine.

     the explosive boy huffed, hugging todoroki back.

     "let me think about it for a while, icyhot".

     todoroki smiled. "thank you, katsuki".