Trekking through Japanese forests had been just what the doctor ordered for Walter Treadway IV. The British aristocrat had explored the jungles of the Amazon as well as the deserts of Egypt and had begun feeling like there was not much left to challenge him on this world, and so the deisolation of this hermit realm was perfect to bring some excitement back into his life. Oh, the staff back home hemmed and hawed, asking him to reconsider, but of course he would not be deterred by the help. They knew not the British desire to expand one's horizon, to conquer the wilderness. And where there was wilderness to be conquered, oh, Treadway would be there, and he would be there alone. Was it perhaps dangerous? Absolutely. But would it mean that he would not have to share any of the glory? Absolutely. If there was to be a statue of him in Trafalgar Square, then he would have to go it alone. It would not be a statue of Walter Treadway IV and about a dozen helpers, darn it.
After stumbling upon a path and following it, he eventually reached what seemed to be the ruins of an old village, left to the entropy of time and mostly reduced to base foundations. Only a vague layout remained, giving him the impression that whatever was here, it was left abandoned a long time ago. Perhaps a fire or some other calamity caused a mass exodus? He did not know, but there was something about this place that was particularly curious. While most buildings here were completely gone, one still stood, even if it was in disrepair: a building that seemed to be a temple of some sort. Curious, the explorer wandered over to the grounds of the building. Some degree of vegetation had already reclaimed part of this area, but it was almost like its sacred status had nature itself holding back. It was a fascinating sight, with most of the damage apparently superficial.
But just as he was taking in the sight, a voice boomed out behind him. "Hol' it right there, mortal! Don't ya dare move an inch!" Shocked into compliance by the suddenness of it all, he froze up as something floated into view: a woman wearing a garb similar to temple attendants he saw in some of the villages he stopped at during an earlier leg of this exploration. However, there were a few stark differences, namely for one the aforementioned floating, and then also the fox ears and several fox tails she had. Recollecting what he heard before, he gathered that this appearance matched descriptions of a divine being known as a kitsune, which threw him for several loops. "Alright, mortal, yer in for it now. Ya done stepped on holy ground, 'n ya gotta pay the price! Either ya clean this place right up, or I'm gonna smite ya with lightnin'!" she yelled, a clear intent in her voice.
"L-Lightning?" he asked, flabbergasted.
"Lightnin'!" she retorted, and with a wave of her hand, a crack of thunder sounded out and a bright flash of lightning struck the ground between the two, leaving a scorch mark behind. "Made myself clear?"
With that show of force, Walter found himself nodding before he even knew it; he wasn't about to die somewhere he'd never be found. "Yes, crystal clear. But I would need to go and pick up some supplies first, so if I could just come back later..." he trailed off, interrupted by another lightning strike.
"Oh no, ya don't! The last guy pulled that on me a century ago, I ain't fallin' for that again! I'm gonna cast spells fer whatever ya need, 'n ya ain't gettin' outta here 'till the job's done," she explained. "Grub, materials, whatever, I can magic it up, so I ain't gonna hear no excuses from ya, got it? Ol' Takara might be a lil' slow, but I ain't been born yesterday!"
So her name was Takara, and that name did ring a bell for Walter, having heard something about her being a local divine being that had fallen into some degree of neglect from the populace. Her magic abilities, however, did throw up new questions for the explorer. "Wait, if you can just cast spells to create new material and such, can't you just cast spells to fix up the temple?" he asked, confused.
The kitsune shook her head. "Look, ya ain't from 'round these here parts, so ya ain't got a clue how this works, that's alright. I can't just fix the place up myself, it's gotta be the guys that worship me. A god can't build her own temple, that just ain't right. Now, ya ain't worshippin' me, I figure that much, but we're gonna figure that out once we're done. Maybe yer gonna end up worshippin' me by the end anyway, ya should, anyway. I mean, ain't I a right pretty goddess?" she asked, shaking her hips as she floated there. Looking her over, she was rather small in certain areas, petite, even. She certainly didn't have the kind of physique one would expect from a divine being.
At that point, Walter couldn't resist a sly comment that he would come to regret. "Well, you might find work in some lower class whorehouses with those little bits back where I'm from."
It became very quickly apparent that that was a sore point, with Takara's expression turning to an angry pout. "I'll have ya know I'm above average fer a kitsune! Why, I oughta slap the snot outta ya fer that! ...y'know what? Damn the temple right now, I'm gonna fix this worshippin' right now! Git over here!" she yelled, quickly floating closer, practically lunging at Walter and sending him tumbling to the ground, with her straddled on top of him. It barely took a moment before she kissed him with a ravenous intensity, then broke it off again. "Yer gonna worship mah divine form when I'm done with ya, mortal, 'n that's fer true," she added.