Kitsune

**Notice:** This **article** uses content directly taken from the Kitsune **article** at the Teen Wolf Wiki, and is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike License.

## Species Information

### Related Species

* Human
* Oni
* Witch
* Skinwalker

### Info

* Fox-spirits, thirteen types  (void, heaven, spirit, time, ocean, river, music, earth, mountain, forest, wind, fire, and thunder).

**Kitsune** are a supernatural species of fox spirits that are also commonly referred to simply as "foxes." They are creatures who live for many centuries.

## Overview

Kitsune possess a multitude of supernatural abilities, such as enhanced strength, speed, and agility; a natural aptitude for weaponry and combat, production of Foxfire; and accelerated healing. However, some of the powers possessed by this species are specific to an individual Kitsune type. Kitsune accumulate tails throughout their lives that increase their powers, and the most powerful Kitsune are said to have nine tails.

## History

Little is known about the history of Kitsune with regards to the *Teen Wolf* universe, but it has been implied that they have existed for at least a thousand years, as that is how long the oldest known Kitsune, the Nogitsune, is said to have lived. How Kitsune were created and when this occurred remains a mystery for now, as is where the Kitsune spirits who are not on Earth reside, such as the Kitsune ancestors Athena Beaumont referenced in *The Fox and the Wolf* or the Nogitsune prior to being summoned to earth by Athena.

## Types of Kitsune and their Powers

There are thirteen different types of Kitsune, according to the Argent Bestiary, each with their own set of powers:

* *Sanda*, or Thunder  *(Electrokinesis)*
* *Kasai*, or Fire  *(Thermokinesis and Pyrokinesis)*
* *Tengoku*, or Heaven/Celestial  *(Astral Projection)*
* *Umi*, or Ocean  *(Atmokinesis, Substanciakinesis, and Hydrokinesis)*
* *Chikyu*, or Earth  *(Terrakinesis and Agrokinesis)*
* *Kukan*, or Void, also known as *Nogitsune*  *(Zoopathy, Possession, Pain Absorption, and Illusion Casting)*
* *Kaze*, or Wind  *(Aerokinesis)*
* *Mori*, or Forest  *(Terrakinesis, Zoopathy, and Agrokinesis)*
* *Yama*, or Mountain  *(Terrakinesis and Cryokinesis)*
* *Ongaku*, or Music  *(Echokinesis and Musical Empathy)*
* *Kawa*, or River  *(Atmokinesis and Gelidkinesis)*
* *Jikan*, or Time  *(Chronokinesis, Gyrokinesis, Umbrakinesis, and Teleportation)*
* *Seishin*, or Spirit  *(Astral Projection, Photokinesis, Pathokinesis, and Possession)*

## Powers and Abilities

The full range of powers that a Kitsune possesses remain unknown, especially since there is very little known about the majority of the types of Kitsune. However, they all seem to have the same basic powers in addition to other specialized abilities based on the Kitsune's specific type.

### Common Powers

These are abilities that have been demonstrated on the series that all Kitsune appear to possess.

* **Super Strength**: Kitsune have been shown to possess superhuman strength, though the strength of most Kitsune is still inferior to that of average werecreatures unless they are especially old and/or powerful. After gaining her first tail and having her powers amplified and unbalanced by the Dread Doctors, Kira demonstrated heightened strength when she was able to slice Noshiko's katana in half with her own during a fight, and the Nogitsune was shown throwing Derek Hale, a then-Beta level Werewolf, across the room with ease. Noshiko was also shown using her sword to cut through a thick chain that was locking the front gates to Camp Oak Creek.
* **Super Speed**: Kitsune are extremely fast creatures; even young Kitsune such as Kira have been shown to run so fast that they're almost a blur, and she far exceeded the speed of Danny Mahealani, the most talented human cross-country runner on the Beacon Hills High School team. Kira was even shown to be slightly faster than Scott, a True Alpha, as he struggled to keep up with her when she first discovered her super speed and began to run through the woods.
* **Super Agility/Reflexes**: Kitsune are very agile beings who can jump very high and very far, as well as perform extraordinary gymnastic and acrobatic feats without any training. This also helps Kitsune in battle, because they are able to easily dodge, flip, and spin away from incoming attacks. Both Kira and Noshiko demonstrated incredible feats with their agility, including forward layouts, pirouettes, and spinning kicks during battle and sparring sessions.
* **Accelerated Healing**: Kitsune possess an enhanced regenerative healing ability that gives them immunity from any human illness or condition. It also allows them to heal from minor to moderate wounds in moments, and even severe injuries, such as being stabbed in the heart, can be fully healed within hours. However, in certain Kitsune like Kira, who has human heritage on her father's side, the ability to heal wounds must be activated with pain in order to work for the first time. It is likely that their perfect immune systems and accelerated healing ability means that they cannot become intoxicated by alcohol or recreational drugs due to their bodies repairing the damage that causes the intoxication effects too quickly, just like Werewolves, Werecoyotes, and other shapeshifters with enhanced healing abilities.
* **Longevity**: Kitsune are very long-lived creatures who can potentially live for centuries as a result of their advanced healing powers, which keeps them from dying due to most natural causes and slows their aging down tremendously. The oldest three Kitsune on the series are the Nogitsune, a 1,000-year-old Void Kitsune, Athena Beaumont, a 1,000 year old Spirit Kitsune, and Noshiko Yukimura, a 900-year-old Celestial Kitsune. As a Kitsune advances in age, they will also grow in general power as well, making the eldest the most powerful in the species. In fact, the Nogitsune has even shown a potential to be immortal, as he insisted he could not be killed due to his age, and every attempt to kill him has only resulted in the destruction of his human host, which doesn't truly end his life—it simply reverts him to his fly form, which can then be trapped in a mystical container from which he could possibly be released again in the future.
* **Intuitive Combat and Weaponry Skills**: Kitsune possess an innate ability to fight in close-quarters combat, especially with melee weapons. Both Kira and Noshiko have demonstrated a natural ability to fight at an advanced level with katanas with no known previous training. Kira has also demonstrated a proficiency in wielding *nunchakus* in battle, and was able to use both Allison Argent's mini-crossbow and a long length of chain as weapons without any prior training. Kira has even admitted that her expert ability to fight with katanas "just sort of happened," suggesting that there is some sort of supernatural/biological muscle memory involved in this ability.
* **Foxfire Production**: Kitsune possess the ability to create fire or lightning, known as *foxfire* or *kitsune-bi*, by rubbing their tails together. The foxfire can then be produced from within the body, though Kira, the only Kitsune shown to use large amounts of foxfire so far in the series, prefers to channel her lightning-esque foxfire through her hands. It has been implied that the form of foxfire produced by a Kitsune varies based on the specific type of Kitsune they are; Kira, as a Thunder Kitsune, produces ice-blue electricity as her foxfire, whereas Noshiko, a Celestial Kitsune, produces reddish-pink sparks from her fingers.
	+ **Immunity to Electricity**: Because they can create foxfire, Kitsune are immune to the effects of electricity.
* **Aura Manipulation**: All Kitsune have flaming fox auras around them, and, with age and experience, they can learn to both conceal the auras from supernatural eyes or make them visible to even human eyes.
* **Shapeshifting**: Kitsune are often referred to as "shapeshifters" due to their trickster nature, and at one hundred years of age, a Kitsune gains the ability to assume a human form. However, the full range of how this ability works remains unknown; they may be able to take the form of other humans, the form of a true fox, or the shape of other animals, or it may just be an ability specific to a certain kind of Kitsune and not a common power.
* **Oni Summoning**: Through breaking their tails, a Kitsune can summon an Oni Demon; the older the tail, the stronger the Oni Demon.

### Specific Powers

The following are abilities that have been demonstrated on the series that appear to be possessed by specific types of Kitsune. There are likely many more abilities than what is listed below that currently remain unknown, due to the fact that only three different Kitsune have been shown on the series thus far.

### Thunder Kitsune

* **Electrokinesis**: This is an ability possessed by Thunder Kitsune, and it can be considered an advanced form of foxfire production. Thunder Kitsune like Kira can siphon electricity from any source with no ill effect to themselves, can use their own self-generated electricity to turn on electronic devices such as light bulbs, and can create bursts of lightning that have been shown to do anything from stopping a person's heart to repairing a broken katana blade. Kira specifically has even demonstrated the ability to siphon so much electricity that she has caused large-scale blackouts on at least three different occasions. Because she is a Thunder Kitsune, Kira was able to create foxfire before she knew she was a Kitsune, despite the fact that she had no tails to rub together.

### Celestial Kitsune

* **Astral Projection**: Noshiko demonstrated the ability to project her spirit to Kira when she was taken hostage by Kate Argent at La Iglesia. With this ability, she was able to assist Kira in learning how to trigger her healing ability so she could survive the stab wound to her chest she sustained from Scott while he was a Berserker. It is unknown if this is an ability specific to Celestial Kitsune, or if this is an ability all Kitsune can use with practice and age.

### Void Kitsune

* **Nogitsune Flies**: This is an ability used by Void Kitsune like the Nogitsune to control flies. These flies, once in the Void Kitsune's control, can enter the bodies of others and allow the Kitsune to control them. These flies have been used by the Nogitsune to force William Barrow to kidnap Kira and to try to trigger her foxfire in order to jump-start the Nogitsune's control over Stiles Stilinski, as well as to increase the pre-existing rage in Derek Hale, Isaac Lahey, and the twins Ethan and Aiden, causing a fight between them that distracted the pack from what the Nogitsune was doing. It is implied that wild purple reishi mushrooms can counteract this fly possession, as can physical removal of the fly from inside the body of their hosts. When a Nogitsune's vessel is killed, its spirit will remain in the form of a fly, which can then be imprisoned within a magical object such as the Triskelion Box, which was made out of wood from the Nemeton. This fly can also enter the body of another being and possess them, as is what presumably occurred when the Nogitsune possessed Corporal Rhys and Stiles.

* **Possession**: This is an ability used by Void Kitsune (and possibly other forms of Kitsune) that allows them to possess the body of a human. This ability was used by the Nogitsune to possess Corporal Rhys in 1943 and to possess Stiles Stilinski in 2011. Though it was implied that Nogitsune can possess other Kitsune who have shapeshifted into human bodies (since Noshiko prayed to her ancestors for *kitsune-tsuki* so that the Nogitsune could possess her and give her the power to heal from her extensive wounds and get back at the corrupt Camp Oak Creek military members), it is unknown if they are capable of possessing other supernatural creatures.
* **Pain Absorption**: This is an ability used by Void Kitsune that allows them to siphon pain from a person through tactile contact, as Void Kitsune feed off of chaos, strife, and pain. This ability works in the same way as it does for a Werewolf—the Nogitsune places their hands on the body of the person whose pain they're trying to take, and the veins in their hands and arms become black as they transfer the person's pain into themselves. This ability then gives the Nogitsune more power and sustenance.
* **Illusion Casting**: This is an ability used by Void Kitsune (and possibly other types of Kitsune) to create lifelike illusions. In the case of the Nogitsune, he used this ability to create several dreams in which to communicate with his host, Stiles Stilinski, along with several visions to distract Scott McCall and Lydia Martin when they entered Stiles' mind to forcefully give Stiles control over his body again. He also used it to make Scott, Lydia, Stiles, and Kira believe that they were in Ikeda's Japanese garden, complete with falling snow and Oni demons; these illusions were so realistic that Kira and Scott both believed that they had been cut multiple times by Oni swords until they broke through the illusion.
* **Teleportation (possibly)**: This is an ability that is potentially possessed by Void Kitsune (and possibly other types of Kitsune) that allows them to travel from one place to another almost instantly without moving in the space in-between. This seemed to be demonstrated by the Nogitsune in *De-Void*, when he disappeared from Derek's loft in the blink of an eye and then appeared in the basement of Eichen House a short time later.

## Known Kitsunes

### Kitsunes

 Noshiko Yukimura | Noshiko is the mother of Kira Yukimura, the adoptive mother to Josie Yukimura and the wife of Ken Yukimura. She is of Japanese descent as well as a 900 year old Celestial Kitsune. She recently moved to Beacon Hills from New York; however, her family had been in Beacon Hills for many generations.
 Kira Yukimura | Kira is the daughter of Noshiko and Ken Yukimura, the adoptive older sister to Josie Yukimura and is a Thunder Kitsune. She moved from New York to Beacon Hills just as her abilities began to manifest as she came of age. The first true manifestation of her powers began when she absorbed an immense amount of electricity from an electrical substation after being attacked by William Barrow with a live wire, which then burst out of her in the form of foxfire and did so much damage to the substation that the entire city of Beacon Hills lost electricity for several days. Kira was initially an outsider in the supernatural community of Beacon Hills, and was even once thought to be evil or a trickster by Stiles Stilinski upon learning of her powers. However, as time went by, it became apparent that she was quite the opposite—she was just a nice girl who was unknowingly thrown into the supernatural world. As a result, she quickly became a trusted member of the pack and Scott McCall's girlfriend. After over a year as a member of the McCall Pack, Kira was cornered by the Dread Doctors, who used a lightning rod to summon a bolt of lightning to both overpower and unbalance Kira's inner Kitsune spirit.