Reborn as a Kitsune

Another day, another headache.

The moment I stepped into my apartment, I let out a long, exhausted sigh and tossed my bag onto the couch. The room was dark, save for the dim glow of the streetlights filtering through the blinds. I didn't even bother turning on the lights. What was the point? It was the same routine, day in and day out.

I kicked off my shoes, shuffled into the kitchen, and grabbed a convenience store meal from the fridge. Microwave. Three minutes. The dull hum filled the silence of my apartment.

"God, I hate my job."

I muttered it out loud, even though no one was around to hear me. Maybe I just wanted some kind of acknowledgment, even if it was from the empty walls.

Data entry. That's what I did. Sitting in front of a screen for eight hours, clicking away at numbers that didn't matter, answering emails from bosses who probably didn't even know my name. The pay was mediocre, the workload suffocating, and the only reason I hadn't quit was… well, what else was I going to do?

The microwave beeped. I grabbed the meal, plopped onto the couch, and turned on the TV. Some mindless variety show. The hosts laughed at their own jokes, the audience clapped on cue. I stared at the screen, barely paying attention as I shoveled food into my mouth.

This wasn't the life I wanted.

I wasn't some hopeless dreamer. I knew reality wasn't kind. But damn it, was it too much to ask for something interesting to happen? Something to break the monotony? I didn't need to be a hero or a chosen one, but at the very least, let me wake up with some actual purpose.

I glanced over at my bookshelf. The only escape I had—light novels, manga, fantasy stories about people getting transported to other worlds, gaining powers, fighting monsters, forming harems. Ridiculous. Unrealistic.

Yet, deep down, I envied them.

I leaned back against the couch, exhaling slowly. "Maybe in my next life…"

A sudden pain shot through my chest. I gasped, clutching at my shirt as the world around me spun. My vision blurred, my breath came in shallow, ragged gulps.

What the hell…?

I tried to move, but my limbs wouldn't respond. My body felt heavy. The TV's flashing lights grew distant, my thoughts turned sluggish. Cold sweat dripped down my forehead as my heartbeat pounded in my ears.

Heart attack? No, I was too young. Was it something I ate? Some kind of freak medical condition?

I collapsed onto the floor, my meal forgotten, my body trembling.

Ah… so this is how it ends?

A bitter laugh bubbled up in my throat. So much for getting an interesting life. I didn't even get to finish my dinner.

The last thing I saw before everything faded to black—

A faint, golden light.

And then, nothing.

Warmth.

A gentle breeze brushed against my skin, carrying the scent of blooming flowers and fresh earth. Birds chirped somewhere in the distance, their melodies unfamiliar yet soothing. I inhaled slowly, my senses awakening one by one.

Wait… warmth?

I should've been lying on my apartment floor, struggling to breathe. Instead, I felt soft grass beneath my fingertips, the air rich and crisp in a way that no city could ever provide.

Slowly, I opened my eyes.

The ceiling above wasn't made of drywall, but of dark wooden beams, intricately carved with ancient symbols that pulsed faintly with a golden glow. I turned my head, taking in the surroundings—a spacious hall, open to the elements, supported by elegant wooden pillars wrapped in ivy. Cherry blossom petals drifted through the air, carried by a lazy breeze.

A shrine.

But not one I recognized. The architecture was too pristine, too untouched by time. There were no modern signs, no offerings, no tourists with cameras. Just the eerie silence of a forgotten temple.

I pushed myself upright, and that's when I felt it.

Something was off.

My body felt lighter, stronger, yet… alien. My hair, long and silky, cascaded past my shoulders, far longer than it should have been. And my clothes—no longer the cheap work uniform I had been wearing, but a flowing white and red robe, soft to the touch.

Then I saw them.

Tails.

Nine long, silvery-white tails, fanning out behind me, their fur shimmering under the morning light.

Panic gripped my chest. I scrambled to my feet, nearly tripping over myself. My balance was different, my height slightly taller. My hands—slender, delicate, yet powerful—were no longer mine.

"What the hell…?" My voice was smooth, sultry, undeniably feminine.

I staggered back, my breathing uneven. This had to be a dream, right? Some bizarre hallucination? I had read enough isekai stories to recognize the signs, but that didn't make it any easier to accept.

I needed answers.

Stepping out of the shrine, I found myself at the edge of a vast forest. Towering trees with silver leaves stretched towards the sky, their trunks glowing faintly with magic. The air hummed with energy, the kind that made my skin tingle.

I took a hesitant step forward. Then another. The soft crunch of grass beneath my feet grounded me, but the surreal beauty of the world around me left me breathless.

After what felt like hours of wandering, I heard it—the sound of trickling water.

Driven by thirst and curiosity, I pushed through the foliage and stumbled upon a lake.

The water was impossibly clear, reflecting the sky like polished glass. Strange, luminescent fish swam beneath the surface, their bodies glowing in shades of blue and violet. But what truly caught my attention was the reflection staring back at me.

A woman.

Tall, impossibly beautiful, with golden eyes that flickered like foxfire. Silver-white hair framed her face, and behind her, nine ethereal tails swayed.

I touched my cheek.

So did she.

This wasn't a dream.

This was real.

I stumbled back from the water's edge, my heart hammering against my ribs.

No. No, no, no. This had to be a mistake.

I lifted my hands again, turning them over, flexing my fingers as if expecting my old, calloused hands to return. But these were slender, elegant, almost unnaturally perfect. My nails were longer, smooth and well-manicured without ever having seen a salon. My arms were delicate yet toned with a hidden strength beneath their graceful form.

And then there were the tails.

Nine of them, each swaying gently in a breeze that didn't exist, their silver-white fur gleaming under the morning light. They were… a part of me. I could feel them, could move them with ease, as natural as moving my own limbs. The realization sent a shiver down my spine.

This wasn't some temporary illusion.

I had become something else.

I turned back toward the lake, staring at my reflection once more.

The woman staring back at me was… breathtaking. Ethereal, almost unreal. Golden eyes burned like twin embers in the water's reflection, filled with an otherworldly allure. My lips were soft and full, my cheekbones high and delicate. My silver-white hair cascaded down my back, reaching my waist, with golden tips shimmering like strands of woven starlight. My robes clung to my frame in a way that emphasized every curve, my body shaped like something sculpted by divine hands—a figure that was both enchanting and intimidating in its perfection.

I swallowed hard.

This was me now.

I clenched my fists. "There has to be a way back."

Panic surged through me, my mind grasping at possibilities. Maybe this was some kind of dream I'd wake up from. Maybe if I found a spell, a portal, something, I could return. But then… return to what?

I froze, staring at my reflection as memories of my past life resurfaced.

An empty apartment.

Long, grueling hours at a job that drained the soul from my body.

Eating alone, sleeping alone, existing just to repeat the cycle.

No real passion. No real purpose.

I had wished for something more, hadn't I? A break from the monotony, an escape from the chains of a life that never truly felt lived. And now, here I was—reborn, free, standing in a world untouched by the dull, colorless reality I had left behind.

Wasn't this exactly what I had longed for?

I looked down at my reflection once more, this time with something different in my gaze.

Acceptance.

I exhaled slowly, my shoulders relaxing as a weight I hadn't even noticed began to lift from my body. A burden, an invisible shackle, something that had tied me to my past life—it all started to fade.

But something was still missing.

A name.

The one I had before… it didn't fit anymore. That name belonged to someone who was tired, someone who had given up. This new body, this new existence—it needed something else. Something worthy.

I closed my eyes, letting my thoughts drift.

A name, a name…

And then, it came to me.

"Akari."

The word left my lips, soft yet powerful, like a declaration to the universe itself.

Golden light flared around me, shimmering against my skin. My tails flickered, my entire being thrumming with newfound energy. The name felt right. It wasn't just a label—it was a mark of acceptance, of embracing this new reality.

I opened my eyes, a small smile curling at the edges of my lips.

"Akari Noctis."

As the last syllable fell from my lips, a strange sensation washed over me. It was as if a weight I hadn't realized I was carrying had finally been set down. My breathing felt lighter, my mind clearer.

The past no longer bound me.

I was no longer the exhausted office worker who lived a dull, unremarkable existence.

I was Akari Noctis, a nine-tailed fox, reborn into a world of magic and possibility.

And for the first time in what felt like an eternity, I felt truly, completely alive.