Ch-20-Adoption (First Edit)

(Raina POV)

In my excitement, I pulled out a crystal from my storage neckless before remembering something I had forgotten about.

I did not know if the girl had figured it out or had been told, but she was not the only reincarnator in this world. Recognizing this for what it was, I sent up a quick prayer to Stephanie, the goddess in charge of reincarnation who allowed me to come here.

Raina: "Goddess Stephanie, I am calling on your name to see if you were the one who brought the reincarnator before me to this world. I am sorry for not telling you of her name, as I forgot to ask due to her cuteness and wanting to be the first to ask for her adoption."

Saying this prayer in my mind while I closed my eyes to block out any outside distraction, even if it was useless as I could see everything thanks to my domain, I felt the connection to the goddess, which felt oddly devoid of power, light up with divine energy. 

Stephanie: "Raina, is that you? How are you speaking to me? Don't tell me this is one of those waking nightmares again. I thought that I dealt with those two thousand years ago."

The goddess sounded confused at first before saying things that started to confuse me. I mean, why would I be the subject of a waking nightmare for the goddess?

Raina: "Of course, it is me who is talking to you, and why would you think that I am some sort of waking nightmare?"

The goddess did not seem to hear my words as she kept going on without stopping.

Stephanie: "Well, that is the first time you have responded like that in a long time. It is almost like you're the real thing. But the only way that could happen is if the mainframe was used, and the only ones who could use it were new gods that were fulfilling their first tasks... Oh no, she didn't; I mean, we told her not to, so there is no way she would have... Right?"

At the end of her musings, she seemed to grow slightly worried about something I had no clue about.

Raina: "Hello... Earth to Stephanie... You alright up there?"

This seemed to snap her out of whatever thought process she had succeeded in.

Stephanie: "Oh, yes, what is it you were asking about.?"

Raina: "I was asking if you were the one who reincarnated this cute little kitsune girl in front of me?"

Stephanie: "Oh... I don't know who it is if you don't describe her."

She suddenly seemed quite interested in what I was talking about as I felt more of her power start flowing through the link.

Raina: "I would say that she is about a sixteen-year-old girl that stands at around six feet tall with blood red hair, fur, ears, and eyes on top of a-"

Stephanie: "CR*P!"

Stephanie's shout interrupted what I was saying and startled me a lot, as the goddess rarely curses unless she is drunk.

Stephanie: "ELINARIA! What the h**l were you thinking! I thought we told you not to touch the part of reality unless you were given permission and someone was watching you the entire time! So why did you go and touch it!"

Elinaria: "Ah! Stephanie, why did you start shouting at me all of a sudden?"

Stephanie: "All of a sudden? All of a sudden?! Did you really think that we wouldn't find out that you tou-"

???: "That's enough, Stephanie. You're starting to scare the girl. All you need to know is that I was the one who gave her permission and supervised her. While I was at it, I chose to fix a few things and rewrote the timeline slightly so things will be a little different. Now, here is a packet of information about all the changes I made. Oh, and it's fine for you, little eavesdropper, to hear this as you did plan for her to join us up here, so she would inevitably learn about this anyways."

While all this was going on, I was completely stunned at what I was hearing and even a little frightened when I heard what the unknown person said, as I was not even doing this intentionally.

Stephanie: "Oh, and one more thing. The champion that I have put on that planet is asking if she can adopt your champion that you just sent there recently?"

Elinaria: "What!? No, she is mine!"

Stephanie: "Alright, that should be f-Wait, Raina. Did you touch between her ears?"

Raina: "Yeah, what about it? She was just so cute with that confused expression on her face that I just had to rub her head!"

Elinaria: "Well, it doesn't matter because I already did that."

??? and Stephanie: "Oh S**t."

Raina: "Why do I feel like I am not going to like what comes next."

Elinaria: "Same here."

Stephanie: "It looks like I am going to have to teach you two a bit more about Kitsunes. Long story short, unlike what you have both probably been told, a Kitsune can imprint twice. It is just that the parents will usually leave one open, as a Kitsune will almost always imprint on their mother first. The way for a Kitsune to be imprinted on someone as a parent is for a person to touch them between their ears, which is also the main reason why you do not touch a Kitsune ears without permission unless you are their parent as when they are old enough they can resist the imprinting process along as they know of it."

Elinaria: "So what you're saying is-

Raina: "We are both her parents."

???: "Would you look at that they are already finishing each other's sentences.

Elinaria and Raina: "We are not!"

Stephanie: "And they're already in sinc too."

???: "Alright, that is enough. Little Eli needs to go back to her schooling, and you need to get back to what you were doing."

Stephanie: "Well, there you have it. You have now successfully adopted a cute little Kitsune, and I now have a cute little granddaughter (Finally)!"

Raina: "Wait, what do you mean, granddaughter?"

Stephanie: "I meant grand disciple or something like that. Yep. Nothing to see here."

Raina: "Alright, ignoring you being suspicious again. Are you going to tell me what you were shouting about?"

Stephanie: "Well, you see, the entire region of reality where you are had to be erased because of something that happened over there, so you and all of Astérion got erased with it before any of us could do anything. In fact, it even happened while I had an open link with you. The experience of having something that was there, just not be anymore. The feeling of the mind you are connected to, the person themselves just cessing to be. It leaves a mark on a person's soul... That happened a few millennia ago, so you can imagine my shock at hearing a voice that was part of my waking nightmares for a millennia ring out in my head once more, only to find that it is the real thing this time. Just please don't die on me this time Raina. You have to promise me."

When my wanting to adopt the little kitsune was brought up, it was interesting, to say the least. From at first being told that I could not adopt her to being told that I already did accidentally. Then, having Stephanie and another unknown god tease both another poor young goddess and me by insinuating that we were already married because of this, with all the embarrassment and, though I would like to deny it, funniness to it, what I was faced with now hurt me to my core.

The goddess who was supposed to be strong and powerful was now broken and hurting, asking for something she knew I could not give her. For, unlike some would want to say, neither she nor I controlled fate and what it would throw at us.

Raina: "I promise I won't do anything reckless and get myself killed."

Stephanie: "That is not what I am asking, Raina! Promise me you won't die again!"

Hearing her words filled with desperation this time, I did as I was asked as I could not stand hearing her this broken.

Raina: "I promise that I won't die again."

With the promise made, I felt the power receding as I heard a faint whispered thank you from Stephanie before the connection cut entirely. Feeling a pain in my heart I put a hand to my chest as I look up at the kitsune as she finishes her work.

Elinaria had claimed the girl as her daughter. I wonder if that was what Stephanie did with me. If she did, then I can see why Stephanie reacted this way as I know the reaction of a mother when she sees her child now lost forever to them.

Though I don't have that level of connection with the little kitsune now, I probably would in the future, and I hope I never have to feel that same feeling in the future.