---
The stars were soft overhead, scattered across the night sky like forgotten memories. Yuki sat alone on the rooftop of a quiet inn nestled deep in a forested valley. The group had settled in for a few days, finally able to breathe after everything. Himari was meditating. Ren had passed out from exhaustion. Haru was snoring with his arms crossed. And Aiko… was quietly watching Yuki from the doorway.
Nogitsune stepped onto the roof beside Yuki without a sound, carrying two cups of tea. He handed one to Yuki, who gave a small nod.
"I never figured you for the tea type," Yuki said quietly.
Nogitsune chuckled. "There's a lot you don't know about me."
There was a long silence. Then Yuki asked the question he hadn't dared speak for years.
"Back when I was a kid… when my aunt raised me… She always knew what to say. She always showed up right when I needed her. But I never saw her bleed. Never saw her tired. It felt… fake."
Nogitsune's smirk faded.
Yuki turned to him, eyes hard but uncertain. "Was she even real?"
Nogitsune didn't answer right away. He looked out toward the trees.
"She was real… in the way that mattered. But she wasn't… human."
Yuki froze.
"I made her," Nogitsune said quietly. "A clone. Formed from clear spiritual energy. I needed someone to protect you when I couldn't be there myself. Someone who wouldn't question orders. Someone you could love, without ever knowing what you were."
Yuki's breath caught in his throat. "Why?"
"Because," Nogitsune said, voice barely a whisper, "the world wasn't ready for you. And you weren't ready for the world."
Another long silence.
Yuki looked down at his cup. "So everything I knew was fake?"
Nogitsune shook his head. "No. Her care for you was real. She was real enough to hold you when you cried. Real enough to teach you to be kind… even when the world wasn't. I made her with one purpose: to protect the best part of you."
Yuki didn't know whether to be angry, or grateful.
Maybe both.
He looked up at the stars again, letting the silence stretch. "...She made the best ramen."
Nogitsune gave a small, tired smile. "Yeah. I gave her that memory."
Yuki laughed bitterly. "Of course you did."
And for a moment, just a moment, the two brothers sat under the stars, the weight of truths and unspoken feelings drifting between them like wind through leaves.
---
The campfire crackled beneath the quiet canopy of night. After the chaos, after the prison, after the void... peace had finally returned—for now.
Yuki sat cross-legged, arms around his growling stomach, eyes twitching. "I've mastered void manipulation… I've bent reality… but I still can't make a decent bowl of ramen…"
Nogitsune, seated beside him like a smug shadow, gave a low chuckle. "I knew you'd say that." He pulled a small wooden box from the folds of his cloak and slid it toward Yuki. "Emergency instant noodles. Not everything needs to be warped into existence, little brother."
Yuki groaned, "I think the void's about to consume me."
Ren leaned against a tree, arms crossed. "You'll live. Probably."
A rustle cut through the calm, and suddenly—wham!—a pot clanged down in front of the fire. The group jolted to attention, weapons and energy flaring up—until a voice rang out, smooth and unbothered:
"Wow. That's a tragic excuse for a camp kitchen."
Out of the forest stepped a young man with messy brown hair tied back by a patterned bandana. His eyes glinted gold under the firelight, a wooden spoon lazily dangling from his fingers. Slung over his shoulder was a pack full of spices, herbs, and utensils, clinking like a traveling alchemist of flavor.
A tail—fluffy, striped, and unmistakably tanuki—swished behind him.
"You're cooking spiritual energy-infused noodles without garlic? Unbelievable," he muttered, already unpacking his own ingredients. "You know that's borderline criminal in most planes of existence?"
Yuki blinked. "...Who are you?"
The tanuki grinned. "Name's Kai. Mythic chef. Traveler. Survivor of ten near-death dining experiences and one food war against a flame spirit. I go where the flavor calls me." He threw a glance at Yuki. "And your void energy? Smelled like an empty stomach seasoned with tragedy. Had to come see for myself."
Aiko tilted her head, confused but curious. Himari whispered to Ren, "...Is he serious?"
Kai pulled out a cast-iron pot. "Deadly. Now sit tight, kiddies. I'm about to change your lives."
—
Moments later...
Steam drifted through the air, rich and savory. Bowls of glowing, mythic-infused ramen passed around the fire like sacred offerings. With each bite, warmth spread—not just through the stomach, but the soul.
Yuki's eyes shimmered. "I—I think I just tasted inner peace."
Aiko smiled behind her bowl. "It's… comforting."
Nogitsune raised an eyebrow at Kai. "You knew I was here."
Kai didn't even look up. "Hard to miss the guy who once cooked a phoenix egg over a rift flame. You still owe me for that sauce, by the way."
Nogitsune's smirk faded. "…You kept it?"
Kai winked. "I keep everything."
As laughter filled the air, and Ren grudgingly accepted seconds, the weight of battle melted—for just one night.
And somewhere deep in the shadows of the forest, something stirred.
But for now… there was ramen.
---
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