On the other end of the colourful, swirling portal, Solus and co dropped down from above, landing in the middle of the shrine courtyard right outside the Sakamoto Residence.

  Landing on his feet while the others flopped onto their backs, Solus peered around at the courtyard, eyeing every single inch of the sacred spirit's section of the estate with unbridled scrutiny. As he searched with Nebula clinging to and pressing her body against his, Solus completely overlooked the out-of-place mascot outfit-clad individual floating overhead. Her mannerism a lax and unburdened, imparting a soothing air to her person as she lay gracefully in the air.

  "Greetings, my spirit-full nephew, it's so nice of you to drop in. Oh, and hi Cammie, Metsu, glad to see you've acclimated to living in the same house as Minia's and Tzo-Tso's kids," Nola said cheerfully from above, slowly descending into Solus' line of sight as Kusana's long hair was the first thing to enter the guy's vision.

  "Auntie Nola, what are you doing... here?" Nebula murmured, swiftly shifting her tone from expectant dread to utter confusion as she fixed her gaze onto Nola or more accurately, the mascot outfit from which Nola's voice emanated. Joining in on Nebula's confusion as each member of the group regained their bearings from the fall, the group looked upon the mascot costume-wearing Nola, barely taller than Lumina if you exclude the large chibi-cat-looking head.

  Landing gracefully on her feet with the snow coating the ground not as much denting under her seeming lack of weight, Nola gave the group a playfully energetic pose by bringing her middle and index fingers to the forehead of the mascot costume's head, adding a bit of rehearsed flair to her movements.

  "I owed Minia a favour, so I'm currently helping her by working at her Candy Catz Theme park by cosplaying as Portal Cat. But to answer your question, Papa, asked me to assist with Neb's damaged suppression crest, so I'm here to help while I'm on break," Nola stated, reiterating she'd like to get this over with quickly before Inaka asks for more Theme Park treats or Kusana notices she's here.

  "He noticed, huh?" Solus uttered with a defeated sigh, feeling Nebula press her face into the back of his head as she buried her shame-stricken face in the guy's hair. A cheeky snicker emanated from within the costume that housed Nola, containing and obscuring her amusement at seeing the duo's embarrassment first-hand.

  With a playful nod of her head, well, the mascot head, Nola explained, "Yep, he said that since she was able to speak while in her other form, he asked me to fully remove the seal."

  Gasping uncontroably, only muffled to an ear manageable level thanks to Solus's hair, Nebula swung her beet-red face to face Nola, glowering at the costume-wearing aunt without a shred of confidence backing her up as she adamantly denied going through with such action.

  "Well for your knowledge, I removed the seal the second I teleported you, so I'd say you have a better handle on yourself than you give yourself credit for, sweetie," Nola teased as she tapped a spot on Nebula's back, the spot being where the seal would've been at the start of the day. "My work is done."

  Not waiting for even a breath to escape from anyone's mouth or for Nebula to get out a refusal, Nola waved her hands in a bidding farewell before opening a spiralling rainbow portal underneath herself and dropping down into it, followed by it swiftly dispersing into particles.

  The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

  Her mouth agape, moments away from voicing her opposition to the decision, Nebula blankly stared at where Nola once resided, only to slump her body into Solus in utter pessimism.

  Seemingly sensing the departure of her aunt, Lumina stuck her head out the door, cautiously moving with the fear in the back of her mind that Nola had simply suppressed her spiritual energies to goad the quarter-kitsune girl into leaving the house once again. Her body shivered, not from the frigid morning air that she'd grown accustomed to but at the brief recollection of the last time Nola visited.

  The memory was fresh in Lumina's mind---— The familiar rainbow portal appearing on the ceiling of the bathroom, and Nola popping her head from the portal only to realise her aim was slightly off. Her hands slipping from the portal's frame, followed by her plummeting and crashing face-first into the large bath as Lumina was using it, striking the water with enough force that the resulting wave washed the two out of the bathroom and flooded the hallway.

  But, as she reminisced? Lumina detected the four unique spiritual energies belonging to her brother, and all of Lumina's dread vanished as she zipped out of the house and directly in front of him,

  "Oh, Solus; You're already back," Lumina remarked gladly, placing her hands on her hips and subtly telegraphing what she wanted out of him. Sighing at his sister's lack of shame, Solus pushed her away, covering her face with his palm, and grumbling, "Yeah-yeah, I'll make you some grilled cheese, you fire starter."

  Later that evening, the night was dark and the rain was especially heavy, drumming against the roof and windows of the Sakamoto residence along with the usual light trickle of snowfall. Such an occurrence was not uncommon, making the unusual part of the night not the natural weather, but the fact that Solus, of all people, was wide awake. "Those older kitsune... Granny most certainly put them up to this," Solus grumbled under his breath, taking refuge in his makeshift pillow fort "But gramps wasn't wrong, Nebi's certainly has more control than the first time she... what was the term again?"

  Mid-thought, a swift scuttle shot across the room, snapping whatever train of thought Solus had conjured off its tracks. As he leaned against the wall of his makeshift pillow fort, he gripped his head, grateful that Tsarina and Oshi were heavy sleepers and that they seemed oddly attached to sleeping in his wardrobe.

  "...whatever it is, she'd have torn through half the house, again, if she couldn't restrain herself."

  A dominating pressure shot across the room, snagging Solus' attention and forcing his gaze toward the other pillow fort on the opposite side of the bedroom. Within that other fort, an almost feral and unrestrained grin spread across the face of who Solus could only assume was Nebula, glowing a wicked dark pink thanks to her slowly transforming state. The temperament oozing from Nebula was nothing short of depraved, animalistic, and a third thing Solus would rather not consciously name.

  The sensation Solus felt in his chest alone grew from indifference into a form of mild concern, like he was a prey animal cornered by a wild animal. While his breath was held in his chest, he watched glowing neon pink marks form all over her hair, donning a galaxy-like shape that even seemed to move.

  "Once Nebula win the game, Nebula can make Solzi do whatever she wants, heh~," Nola giggled as she slithered around her pillow fort, maniacally clacking her fingers together and making a metalic ding with each deliberate collision.

  He slumped his head, anticipating the impending storm that was about to wake up everyone even remotely close to the shrine. He let out a sigh of begrudging acceptance and uttered, "And she's losing it."

  "Let's hope you can figure out what Mr Sol meant, so you and Tsarina can make a spirit weapon to stand a chance against me, Solzi~."