#isogitabilitten

thank you for your cooperation, dear guest. you've been very helpful.

y-yeah, no problem. i hope the clean-up effort won't be too difficult.

don't you worry about that. now, it's about time for the bus to be arriving, and i should report back to lord ninetails.

i don’t often go out of my way to go to kitsune forest, and not many of them pass through umibe town except for a select few that i’ve spoken to.

ah, wait... i never asked for that fox spirit’s name. do you think it’d be rude to stick my head out the window to ask?

[continued from here]

i think it’s pretty easy to contact the fox god, actually. they have offering statues all over the place, especially near shrines.

if you want to tag along, there should be one at the entrance to the forest. i assume there’s attendants checking that one regularly.

...from what i hear, it seems the fox god has people keeping eyes and ears everywhere once you set foot on their territory. getting a meeting with them might be easy for someone like you.

[the zoroark sitting on the ground chuckles as kappa flounders. though both of the visitors appear to be normal spirits, the ninetales clearly has a different aura surrounding them.]

kitsune village is exactly that: home to the kitsune who serve the god there. they’re very, ah... secretive. protective of their society, i guess.

i would be careful going through the forest, though. there are other fox-shaped spirits who aren’t servants of the fox god and like to trick intruders for fun, or to hunt them.

[the bus has arrived! please have your passes ready before boarding.]

[chai and the catbus are temporarily askable / hints have been updated.]

this stop is kitsune forest. please exit on the left.

[kappa looks around, as if expecting something else before the catbus takes off again.]

hm? would’ve thought that other fox would get off at this stop, too... anyways, this is where we part ways, i think.

[almost immediately beyond the gate, the forest becomes so thick with trees that it becomes too dark to see much farther, almost as if you would be stepping into another world altogether. kappa starts skirting around the edge, towards the thicket of birch trees.]

i’m just gonna be around this side. there should be some bamboo growing just beyond these birch trees. you’d probably have better luck getting entry to the village on your own, but if you need anything, just give ol’ kappa a call.

[chai and the catbus are now unavailable for asks. / ask hints updated.]

[as the bus prepares to depart, shirazaki looks out the window at his dad, who gives him a little nod. he waves in return, obviously reluctant to go, but he’s glad he was able to get his wish in the end.]

[meanwhile, kota peeks over shirazaki’s shoulder, a smirk on his face.]

who’s that? they’re kinda hot.

th-that’s none of your business!!

ah! no no, i don’t have a wish...

[the bus backs away further beneath the cover of trees, glancing around worriedly.]

i was a little curious, so i stuck around to watch for a bit, but... i can’t have people swarming me if i’m seen. it’s difficult to explain... i don’t suppose i could wish for invisibility, could i?

[a bus-shaped creature screeches to a halt among a thicket of trees. where it came from is a mystery, as it would be impossible to miss such a thing running around. two passengers exit the ‘bus,’ both of them just as strange-looking.]

kinda humid out here, huh... nothing like the mountains.

come on, no use just standing around. that festival should be around here somewhere.

[behind them, the bus looks around warily.]

alright, you two, don’t forget to come back here when you’re done. it won’t be my fault if you get stranded in this realm.

sure, sure, we got it.

[two guests are approaching the star festival, while the bus seems to be sticking around for just a little while longer.]