"This blade is too merciful an end for a villain such as you. Enjoy a year of purgatory in my putrid stomach, fool."
Most consider ancient guardians to be rotting corpses, stone golems or ancient war constructs. No one ever pictures gorgeous kitsune battle priestesses... but that's exactly what Kimura is. Since the Feudal era she's been tasked with guarding a series of shrines deep in the forests and mountains of Japan, back when she only had two tails and was only about a third of her current height. Many a trespasser fell to her blade or her appetite, shrunken and swallowed or squelched into a soft, quivering tailmaw.
But the old ways slowly gave way to innovation, and people stopped coming to raid the shrines. Somewhere in those centuries they stopped being targets of raiders and started to become targets of conservators, humans who realized that these are important to history and should be kept and protected. Suddenly, Kimura found that she no longer had anything to worry about... the shrines that were always in danger from armies marching to war were finally places of quiet, respectful worship, with pilgrims of all ages as well as tourists from around the world coming to witness history.
Long story short, while she still -had- the task of protecting the shrines, it became mostly a moot point, and for the first time in centuries the kitsune was able to leave the forest behind and go be herself. Of course, she's still an immensely powerful nine-tailed battle priestess, and even with her tails hidden she tends to command respect wherever she treads, as one can feel the authority and power radiating from her shapely form.
There always seems to be -something- threatening someone somewhere, though... giant monsters attacking Tokyo, aliens, tentacle beasts going after schoolgirls, bullies, thieves... so Kimura still has plenty to protect (and eat~!).
And hell, she doesn't mind snacking on the occasional unoffensive human... nor do they seem to mind being snacks for her. She -is- pretty, after all~
WIP