“Would you just hold still for a second?!”

Deflecting the boulder tossed by the rampaging Oni with a flick of his wrist, Yoshimitsu clicked his tongue as you inched further along the tree branch.

“First you try to usurp my master’s shrine, now you’re trying to destroy it?”

Another flick of his wrist launched a flurry of cherry blossoms towards the Oni, each petal razor sharp despite the delicate beauty of the flowers. Yoshimitsu’s frown deepened as you protested against the accusation, his evaluation of your person plummeting further by the second.

You suddenly showed up at the shrine one day, carrying his master’s scent and their authority as the shrine’s deity. Why his master ever deemed you worthy of receiving his power was something beyond Yoshimitsu, and he resented you for your pompous attitude and subsequent claim over the shrine. It was him, the most powerful kitsune in this land, who had been patiently guarding the shrine for his master’s return, the flawed and clumsy leadership of an impudent brat is unwelcome and unnecessary.

If his master was so worried about the shrine, why couldn’t he tell Yoshimitsu directly? Why has he not returned in the last ten years?

The branch Yoshimitsu was resting on shook, and a shriek from you pulled him out of his thoughts. Shaking his head to rid himself of unnecessary thoughts and feelings, Yoshimitsu sneered as you clung to the swaying branch, eyes squeezed shut.

See? This ‘stand-in’ you’ve chosen makes for a pathetic excuse of a land-god.

The yokai of the shrine will never accept you. He will never accept you.

The Oni roared, sound reverberating up from below and reminding Yoshimitsu why you were in his tree in the first place. Pulling his gaze away from the eyesore that you were, he watched as the Oni picked up another boulder and tossed it at the tree.

It’s been nuisance after nuisance recently…

Lifting his fan, Yoshimitsu prepared to unleash another attack before a sudden wave of dizziness hit him.

Shit—-

Years of neglect was causing the contract he established with his master to weaken. Without any way to renew the contract, his strength had been slowly dwindling with each passing day. It was getting harder for him to remain in the outside world, and Yoshimitsu was preparing to retreat from the outside world to continue guarding the shrine from within while he waited for his master’s return. However, your sudden appearance and the ensuing influx of yokai after the land god’s power made securing an appropriate time for hibernation difficult.

Tipping backwards, Yoshimitsu slipped from the steady surface of the branch he was perched on. As he fell, he faintly registered a hand tugging on his robes. Air rushing past him, Yoshimitsu smirked at the sight of your panicked face, amused by how helpless you were before his vision faded out completely.

Then—power. It surged through him, pouring in endlessly and burning through his veins like wildfire. Yoshimitsu greedily drank up all that he could, tilting his head to chase the source of the power. His descent towards the ground slowed as he instinctively weaved a spell to catch himself, and his blood began to hum once more with a familiar energy.

Opening his eyes, Yoshimitsu found his face centimeters away from yours. You pulled back immediately, cheeks red but impossibly smug. A dawning sense of dread pulled at the edges of Yoshimitsu’s mind, and before you could open your mouth to gloat, his eyes drifted downwards to his wrist.

The once fading purple band on his wrists now shone brightly against his skin, signifying the establishment of a new familiar contract.

“You—” Hands shooting out, Yoshimitsu grabbed you by the front of your shirt. Teeth bared and tails trembling with fury, he dragged you closer to him. “How dare you?!”