#karasuko

[justcafewriter]

haikyuu scenes from the last episode of this season since now we need to wait for the next season :")

[sunflw3rs]

KUROTSUKI CHAT? KUROTSUKI CHAT.

[kaijime]

Hey!! About the sfw event!

Can I please have a selfship mood board??

I selfship with Tsukishima.

The confession was accidental, like the boys were training and it bam! It just happened.. there's teasing 24/7 (also from the other Karasuko boys) Oh! And we bought matching dinosaur pajamas.. he asked for it. thanks!

And congrats on 5k!! Love your writing :3

thank you for requesting <3

lemon boy. cavetown

[aithne]

(Illume) Epilogue: Wear Red When You Bring Me Offerings

Yukiko delivered her child, a healthy son named Ryutaro, on the second of October. Iyotushi Akechi was crowned Emperor on October fifth, 1583.

When the smoke cleared, all of the retinue but Reiko could be healed and returned to life. The spirits were dispersed into the land through Tadaki's tower, and there they reside to this day. After the coronation, the retinue departed for the four corners of Japan, to see if the war-torn land could be salvaged.

The Crane Clan was decimated by the machinations of Arenro, and on Lord Akazawa Tsuneyasu's death in 1585, the Crane was simply folded into the Scorpion, Tomika and Funitsu ruling jointly over the combined clan. The pair stayed married (though why they did so was the wonderment of all who knew them, except Yukiko), and eventually had three children, two boys and a girl. Soshi Tsutsako never married, preferring her shujenja studies to all worldly affairs, so she claimed.

The Crab did survive to rise again, though Hideyoshi did not return to his former position as Clan Lord. Haku's daughter Kita was adopted into the clan and ruled them for forty-four hard years, as the Crab fought to regain even a shadow of its former glory.

Haku married within his clan and had five children--not including the one who was Yukiko's son. Few ever guessed Ryutaro's parentage, as he took strongly after Yukiko's father. Those who did guess never spoke of it; Haku took the secret to his grave. It is unknown if Yukiko ever knew who the father of her child was.

Hideyoshi served under Akechi as the general of the Imperial Army for seven years. His body never fully recovered from his extended spirit possession, and as his health declined he gave up his position and went to live in Sapporo, in the newly rebuilt Phoenix palace. He died in his sleep in 1598.

Hiroshi found that life within the Unicorn suited him and kept both of his wives pregnant almost constantly for years. Sun Bear took over leadership of the clan when she gained her majority, and proved to be a fierce and wise leader. Hiroshi died in battle in 1622.

Panda and Nibori eventually had a number of children, most of whom were hengenyokai, two of whom were nearly pure Air Spirit Folk, the twin heirs of Skyhome. Tadaki visited regularly until Nibori's death in 1642. Panda outlived her husband by twenty years, but on his death gave leadership of the Lion clan over to her eldest son and retired to Skyhome. To her dying day, she went for daily flights with Gryphon.

Gryphon found himself a mate--a number of them--and lived quite happily in Skyhome for the rest of his days. He always seemed to have a kitsune or two around him, the only gryphon to ever keep pet foxes.

Tadaki moved the City of the Sun to a large island far off the coast of Japan, and used his now-formidable arts to cloak the island with spells that even today prevent any who are not of hengenyokai blood from finding it or even being able to think of it for very long. He married Kintro, a childhood friend, in 1585. (When she told the story of their betrothal, Kintro never failed to point out that Tadaki, when Kintro told him he was going to marry her, looked around panicked, in hopes that it somehow wasn't him she was speaking to. He did eventually reconcile himself to the notion of marriage.) As of the early 1700's, he still lives in the City of the Sun, the staff that he carries extending his lifespan far beyond the usual for hengenyokai.

Iyotushi Hirohito, at a strongly worded suggestion from his brother, surprised everyone by marrying Soshi Karasuko, Funitsu's stepmother. Thus he cemented the Imperial family's ties to the Scorpion clan. He held the official position of Imperial Advisor for the rest of his life. He and Karasuko had no children.

It turned out that the Demonbane had been holding what was left of the original Thrykreen and the entire remaining population of kitsune in a secure cell under his now-destroyed palace. There were six of each, and by the time they were found they had all paired off. Fortunately for mankind, the two halves of the race decided that they vastly preferred each other's company to living parasitically off of humans. To this day, the myobu (as they call themselves, after the Celestial kitsune who were all killed by the Demonbane) live very quietly in small communities that are usually walled away from the human life around them. A number of them also live in Skyhome.

All of the altered Thrykreen died within six months of the Demonbane's death. The Warresh still slumber in their crystal city, and hopefully always will.

Jeron spent a time wandering the length of Japan, occasionally dropping in on those who had been his compatriots, attending each wedding and funeral alike. For a while, he sailed on the Benevolent, becoming friends (and, it is rumored, lovers) with the copper-eyed second mate, Kalva. When Japan opened its borders in 1642, he traveled west, first through China and India, then Europe, eventually settling in London for a number of years. In 1685, he returned home, settling down to write an English translation of the events of the Spirit War.

The Phoenix Clan passed to Yukiko's son, Ryutaro, and Yukiko served as both the Phoenix regent and Empress until he reached his majority. Akechi ruled for thirty years, overseeing the rebuilding of Japan after the Spirit War, but insisted on keeping the borders of the country closed to outsiders. He died in 1613, followed by Yukiko in 1618. Ryutaro passed on the rulership of the Phoenix Clan to his firstborn daughter and took on the mantle of Emperor. Under Ryutaro's rule, the borders of Japan became progressively more open and the Clans began to fall out of power, as the Emperor worked to make Japan a part of the world.

Takumi Yamashita and Edi-lo were buried in the same shrine, on the grounds of the Phoenix estate in Sapporo.

Takumi Reiko was buried on the Iyotushi estate, just outside of Kyoto, in a shrine built for her by Akechi and Yukiko. The shrine is on a hill overlooking a river. From the torii of the shine, one can look down to the riverbank and see the place where a mage and an immortal once met and fell in love.

Her grave is one of the few places on the earth that the myobu hold sacred.

--Saruwatari Jeron, September, 1703

September 12th, 1703

Jeron leaned back at his desk, looking at the manuscript in front of him. "That's it, then," he said aloud to the empty room. "It's done."

Even with Reiko's spirit gone, he still retained the habits that having her around for a century had ingrained in him: speaking his thoughts aloud, leaving offerings at the small altar under one of the windows in this small house, double-checking to make sure he didn't accidentally close the door on her tails when she was frisking around in fox form.

He had begun the translation after she'd gone, almost twenty years ago, returning to Japan and finagling his way into the Imperial vaults, where Yukiko had stored her journals and letters before she'd died. There was currently a fad in London for myths and stories from the Orient, and Jeron had a publisher interested in his translation. The desk before him was littered with paper and parchment, covered with elegantly handwritten Japanese script.

"Funny. Only the myobu and hengenyokai will ever realize what this is, if they ever read it. The humans have already forgotten us. It's probably for the best."

He stretched and rose. He'd go visit the shrine on the Iyotushi estate tonight, he decided. Since he had returned, visiting Reiko's grave had become another habit. Seemingly by accident, he had ended up living only an hour's walk away.

Though I am not certain what I will do, now. Return to London, I suppose, for a little while.

That evening, he walked into the shrine overlooking the river. A young woman, fine-boned and very small, was standing on a stool, lighting lanterns. She heard his step behind her and turned, smiling. "Welcome, stranger."

Jeron stopped cold.

The girl's eyes were amber as topaz. He felt the prickle of her life force against his skin, like a subtle wind. She was kitsune, and from her raised eyebrow, she knew that he was Thrykreen. He bowed slightly, and went inside. The shrine attendants were usually human, though he supposed it made sense that a young kitsune might come here to serve a few years.

After paying his respects, he returned outside. The shrine attendant was standing at the torii, looking down at the river with a wistful expression on her face. He sat on a stone beside her. "How goes the hunting?"

She quirked her mouth in a small smile. "Well enough. Tell me, have we met before? You look familiar, though I can't place you."

"We might have. What's your name?"

"Ishimaru Kaede. I grew up in Skyhome, and my parents finally let me out into the world on the condition that I do a turn as a shrine attendant. I picked here, because it feels very peaceful to me."

"I haven't been to Skyhome since Panda died. That was--has it really been forty years now?" He looked over at her, and in the light from the lanterns saw something that he had missed before, a pure white streak in her black hair.

She saw where his glance went, and self-consciously patted the streak. "I was born with it. The priest said it was a sign that I had a troublesome last life. And, yes, it's been forty-five years since our Panda died. I'm only nineteen, so I never met her, though my parents are friends with her sons. What's your name?"

He hesitated. His name was legendary, and he felt a great reluctance to give it and possibly ruin the first good conversation that he'd had with one of the myobu since Reiko's spirit had left him. He couldn't bring himself to lie, so he said, truthfully, "Saruwatari Jeron."

The girl blinked. "Oh." She considered this, and her hands crept to the hems of her sleeves, fidgeting with them. The gesture was unconscious and so reminiscent of Reiko that Jeron's heart gave an unexpected twist.

Nonsense, he told himself. I need to stop looking for her in the face of every woman I meet. This is a pleasant girl, a pretty young kitsune, nothing more.

"I've heard stories of you my whole life. It's interesting to have the reality sitting beside me. You're not as tall as I thought you would be. The stories make you sound like you're a giant."

He chuckled. "Things get exaggerated. I'm a Thrykreen like any other, Kaede. I'm just a bit older than most."

Kaede tilted her head, considering this. "And you were a part of the Spirit War. And you knew Takumi Reiko. What was she like?"

He closed his eyes, remembering. "Small, smaller than you, even. Confused, much of the time. She held great sorrow within her, enough to almost drown her at times. She loved fiercely, and she was one of the bravest souls I've ever known. She died the death of a warrior, fighting for something she believed in."

"Is it true, that her spirit is still attached to you?"

Jeron shook his head. "A century to the day after she died, her spirit disappeared. I believe that she had finally worked out her sorrows, and was ready to move on--whether to another life, or to whatever afterworld waits for myobu."

"Ah. I'm sorry, Jeron."

An odd question occurred to him, and it came out of his mouth before he had time to think about it. "Tell me, do you have nightmares?"

Her eyes widened, and she stared at him. "I do. How did you know?"

"I don't know. What do you have nightmares of?"

Kaede looked down to the river, her eyes distant. "I dream of battles with demons who spit molten copper. I dream of sailing ships, of another kitsune dying because I could not protect her. I dream of standing in front of a man who I am terrified of, even though I don't know why I am. I dream I am walking naked on the deck of a ship, and a black-garbed man stops me from throwing myself into the ocean. I dream that my father tells me that I am no daughter of his--though my real father loves me dearly. And other things. I don't know why I dream these things; my life has been a happy one so far, and I count myself very blessed."

Jeron said, softly, "Perhaps they're just echoes of the past. Sometimes stories take on lives of their own. But I doubt it means anything, really. They're probably just nightmares."

"Probably."

He stretched and rose. "I must be off home. I do visit regularly, though, so I should see you again. It was good to speak with you, Kaede."

"Likewise. I'm glad to know there's another myobu living in the area. My parents would be pleased to know there's someone around who can keep me out of trouble."

He grinned briefly, the first evidence of the sense of humor he evidently kept well hidden flashing in his eyes. "I'm not so sure I'm the one to keep you out of it. Perhaps we could find some to get into, one of these days."

Kaede's eyes glittered with amusement. She watched the Thrykreen walked down the road and away from the shrine, murmuring to herself, "I think we may both be in trouble already, Jeron."

(Ishimaru Kaede and Saruwatari Jeron were married in April of 1704.)

Here ends Illume, a chronicle of the conflict that became known as the Spirit War. 3/2004 - 10/2004

[solstiiiiice]

red alert

my roommate just got a Tumblr so follow her @karasuko but don’t tell her that I exist here hgfhdjslkgd

[nixdomina-blog]

with Ran || karasuko

Kasumi was walking back home from school when she passed by a being that gave off a rather familiar, yet unknown aura. Her dark brown eyes shifted to glance curiously at a young female, who looked around the same age as her. 

It seems that lately there has been a lot of youkai appearing around Japan. It's as if something mysterious had brought the legends and myths to life. Well, the truth is, youkai have been around for centuries. It's just that mortals never notice because they blend in too well. 

With a flick of her jet black hair, she turned her head away from the female, but continued searching her mind, trying to decipher exactly what kind of youkai the other was. Just earlier, she had met a futakuchi onna. 

After some pondering, she had finally came to an answer, or more like an educated guess. 

"Tengu." Kasumi muttered, so quietly that perhaps only the winter wind could hear her voice. 

[aithne]

(Illume) From Lady Yukiko's Journal, 7/14 - 7/20: What I Saw On This Journey

7/14/1583 at sea

Sailing for Tokyo today. We have a strong south wind and the sails are belled full; if this keeps up, we'll be at our destination in a day and a half. We're going to moor overland from Tokyo instead of sailing right up the dragon's throat; once we moor, we'll go into the mirror and then Gryphon will fly near to Tokyo. From there, the librarian will take over. He'll get us as close as we can, and then we'll fight in the rest of the way.

If we are successful, we will have my husband back with us by nightfall.

Funitsu saw something in that scrying orb of his that none will tell me about; I don't know if what I can imagine is worse than what is actually happening, but it is indeed cause for fret. I have been absentmindedly petting Miu all day; the cat's marvelously patient, staying on my rapidly disappearing lap. I have become noticeably more unwieldy in the past week or so, and if I thought the child was restless before...

Funitsu is...brooding. I didn't think the Scorpion had any brooding in him, actually. He's not usually moody. Actually, the shaman's somewhat moody as well, but I expect that from her.

But Funitsu? My ever-cheerful shujenja? I wonder what's worrying at him. Perhaps he's just realized exactly what the price of leadership is. We'll see, I suppose.

My entire retinue is worried and silent, actually. It feels as if it is the silence before the storm.

7/15/1583 at sea

An uneventful day at sea, until sunset. Haku spotted a ship flying a pirate flag and heading towards us. Tadaki saw that there were a number of carp hengeyokai swimming towards our ship, obvious intending to foul our rudder and poke holes in our hull. He flew over to the other ship while Gryphon dove into the water to try to eat a carp and Haku dropped a barrel full of black powder over the side. The explosion echoed for miles.

Tadaki went over to the other ship. After some discussion, the captain of the other ship called it off, but not before we killed one of the carp. The captain was another Sparrow, and he flew back over to the ship with Tadaki.

Evidently, there is a General--named Hotaku--who is trying to kill all the hengeyokai in the world. Evidently, there is a prophecy that a hengeyokai will bring down an emperor, and they don't want that to happen. So all of the hengeyokai are banding together to try to avoid getting killed. They thought our ship would be easy pickings, being a gaijin ship.

The hengeyokai ship agreed to draw off the general who was guarding the harbor for us. Lure him out to deep water and eliminate one potential enemy out of the many we'll find there.

Tomorrow, we'll moor near a tiny village called Hasaki, and fly overland. Panda has asked if we can stop on the way and get some pickles. Evidently, she's craving them. I wonder if she's figured out that she's pregnant, yet?

I find myself restless, nervous, unable to sit still for more than a few minutes. I both fear and look forward to what we may find tomorrow.

7/16/1583 sailing south from Tokyo

My mind whirls, my heart is still in my throat. Akechi is back with us! No gift of the kami could be more precious.

But, wait, I will start at the beginning.

Gryphon flew us in, and then the librarian went out and the gryphon and Haku came back into the mirror. They described Tokyo; there was evidently large patches of the city that were totally burned out.

And then, there was nothing to do but wait. In the heart of the enemy's strength we lay, a foxglove in their very garden. Waiting for the opportune moment.

The librarian presented himself at Crane Clan headquarters, the Akazawa complex. He asked for the General who we'd drawn off, and was told tat he'd have to wait a few days for him to return. He quickly scouted the complex; Tomika had given him a good idea of what to look for, and he found the place where Akechi was probably being held soon enough. The building is shaped like a crane--two outspread wings, a tail, and a head. Akechi, he found, was being held near where the eye would have been on a living crane.

Lord Tsuneyasu (Tomika's father, Arenro's brother, who we'd helped before) was in residence, and spied the librarian as he wandered the halls. He conferred with him, away from prying eyes and ears, and mostly confirmed what he already knew.

The librarian waylaid a guard and finagled his way inside. Such a clever man, the librarian. Finally, he called my retinue out, saying that he could go no farther by himself, and we'd have to fight in the rest of the way. Winter told Tadaki to change into sparrow form and he'd chase him down the corridor. Tadaki was uncertain of this plan but, in the end, complied.

(Again, this is compiled from the combined tales of my retinue, who were more or less obliging when I asked them to describe what had happened.)

Half of the twelve guards ran after the cat and the sparrow when they shot past them down the corridor. Then the rest of us, including the Thrykeen, engaged the six who were left, including Yashiro, the General who was in charge of keeping Akechi captive. We had some intelligence saying that Yashiro was being unwillingly controlled, so Haku was going to try to get him to swallow some of the true source.

Things happened very quickly right about then. The Thrykeen were effective in killing the minor guards, Yashiro opened several great wounds on Haku, and then Tadaki and Winter bust through the door at the end of the hallway--

--loosing into the corridor a fireball spell.

Several crisped guards (and singed retinue members) later, Tadaki and Winter were in the room with Akechi. They captured the guards and the wu jen who were in the room--evidently, Winter has some sort of ability to slow down time. So that's how he killed those three oni, a few days ago! A tricky, tricky man, that one.

Reiko, noting that Haku had just told a Thrykeen to open a door we knew for sure was trapped with another fireball, was running flat out towards the room at the end of the hall. She got caught in the outside edge of the next fireball, but ignored it, sliding to a halt in front of Akechi, her red kimono smoking. "Hi, Lord. Let's get out of here, okay?"

"It's good to see you too, Reiko."

Tadaki shouldered the captured wu jen, and they made their way back down the hallway.

Meanwhile, Haku was in the room that Yashiro had been guarding and that the Thrykeen had given his life to open, and was chopping to pieces a wooden table and the body that was suspended under it. I had to dig for details about that; Haku was remarkably unforthcoming. Evidently, they were making a simulacra of Akechi, to try and convince the world that he had joined Arenro and Hideyoshi. I shudder at the thought; the copy was less than a week from being done. What would it have done to us, to think that Akechi had joined the other side?

A near-miss, indeed.

A quick discussion ensued, since Panda had knocked the General unconscious with the flat of her blade and had fed him some of the true source, another portion of Hideyoshi's spirit flying into Tadaki's orb. Panda wanted to remove the crystal, but Reiko pointed out that removing the crystal was a piece of fairly delicate surgery, the crystal lying as it does beside the spine. "I can't do it in a hurry if we want him to be whole, and we don't have time, Panda!"

My samurai shook her head and said, "Fine. We'll leave him and hope for the best. Come on, I hear more guards coming."

Akechi asked, "Panda, where is Yukiko?"

She answered, "Safe, and close by. But, Lord, we must be gone. There will be time for explanations, soon."

Funitsu carved a hole in the air with the two wakizashis, and we all stepped through.

We arrived, a mile away from the palace, in th middle of one of those burned places that we'd seen from the air on our way in. Our luck was running quite typically, because the place we came out was at the feet of ten samurai.

Led by a General whose colors Panda recognized--General Kenichi. Who was, from Funitsu's intelligence, in charge of burning out the resistance in Tokyo itself. He called out, "Halt! Who are you?"

Panda stood straight. White hair scorched, wounded, soot on her face, still she fixed Kenichi with those black, black eyes and with a voice that rang out across the burned earth, proclaimed, "Panda. We have no quarrel with you. We are simply passing through. Let us pass. There is no need for more bloodshed today."

Long moments passed, as Panda and Kenichi's wills battled. And then Kenichi snarled. "Another day, then. Panda." And he reined up his horse and whirled, leading his battalion away.

A cheering rose up behind us. We whirled, and towards us were running a large crowd of peasants, all of them shouting Panda's name.

The samurai looked...remarkably disconcerted.

It turned out that Kenichi had taken his orders to burn out any resistance literally. We had happened upon the end of one of these burnings; they would surround a block with men and set it alight, killing any who tried to escape. A brutal but effective method of quelling rebellion. Haku told them to be on their way, and at that point all except Hiroshi (who had accidentally put himself to sleep with his own dart and had been recovering inside the mirror with me and Karasuko) went into the mirror, so Hiroshi and Gryphon could fly us back to the ship.

Karasuko and I were waiting in the entrance hall for my retinue's return. I had no idea if we'd been successful, and I fear I was pacing the hall. Karasuko's gasp told me to turn around.

And standing in the entrance hall was Akechi.

The world spun around me, and all I could do was stand and stare. And then he smiled, and my paralysis broke, and with a wordless cry I ran to him. Finally, finally back in his arms once more, I wept and laughed at once, my heart full to bursting. We clung to each other, both of us shaking. I murmured, "I thought I would never see you again."

And in a low voice, he answered, "And I thought I was dead for certain. But I am glad I am not." His arms tightened around me, and I looked up and saw that his eyes, too, were shining with tears.

I pressed my mouth to his, kissing him with all the passion of my uncertainty, my sorrow, my joy at seeing him again. And he returned it in kind, and at that moment I have never been so sure of the man I married.

We broke the kiss to find my retinue standing in a half-circle around us. Panda bowed and said, formally, "Lord, your request has been fulfilled."

He nodded. "As always, Panda, you are my most faithful warrior. And the rest of you, too, have evidently discharged your duty most admirably. We will have to discuss what comes next, but for the moment, I need an explanation of where we're going."

Funitsu said, "We're heading back to our ship, which is moored about sixty miles from here. We have much to tell you, Lord, and with luck we will have a few days in which to do it. I believe your good Lady has been keeping a record of our travels, which you may want to read."

He turned to me, eyebrows raised. "I was not aware you were a writer, Yukiko."

The smile on my lips was trembling. "I...found it a comfort."

The nine weeks we have been separated have changed both of us. Akechi looks years older than he did, new lines on his face and grey in his hair that wasn't there the day of the coronation. But the thing that has changed the most are his eyes. There's something different. Not unpleasing. Just different. An awareness of something that wasn't there, before.

We have both become different people in the last two months. But, perhaps, we have both changed for the better.

I can but hope.

Tonight, we sail for Miyazaki, the Clan Scorpion stronghold.

7/17/1583 at sea

We questioned Izumi, the wu jen who we stole from the Crane fortress, today. Evidently, she was assigned to discover the traitor within the Crane clan. "I wasn't very successful," she muttered. "Whoever it was was both well hidden and probably highly placed." I bit my tongue and didn't smile. Tomika's father is safe, at least for a little while longer.

Without the possession of the spirit, she seems to be amenable to helping us. Especially when we pointed out that since she had disappeared at the same time Akechi did, Arenro would assume that we had come for her at the same time, and she was the traitor within the Crane Clan. Which means that her life is likely forfeit, and if she's at all attached to living, she'll place herself under our protection. Plus, Funitsu and Tomika both being her superiors now, she's rather bound to obey them.

She, being a reasonable sort, did so.

We were all together on deck, and discussion turned to parents, for some reason. Someone asked Reiko about hers, and she shrugged. "I've never met my father, as far as I know, and I don't remember my mother. I wouldn't know her if I saw her on the street. I don't even know if she's still alive, she might not be."

Winter coughed. Reiko's eyes narrowed. "Do you know something I don't know?"

He refused to answer. Reiko, being afflicted with the curiosity of the fox, pressed him, and Winter finally told her to ask her "brainchild spirit" more about her sigils.

She rolled her eyes and said, "Tsuyoshi, do you know something you haven't told me, about my sigils?" A pause, her head tilted, listening. "Something about me being connected to the Demonbane?"

Another pause, this one longer. Then her soprano voice, very slow, very controlled. "Are you telling me...that the Demonbane...is my father?" She had gone very pale. "My immortality feeds his, doesn't it? Oh, dear kami." There were tears standing in her amber eyes.

Finally, she realized that we were all standing there, looking at her, and she said, "He has much to answer for." I remembered her story of what had happened to her at Akita and, silently, agreed.

Panda said, her voice wondering, "Doesn't that mean the Lady is your sister? And that you, um, married your brother?"

She blinked. "Half-sister and half-brother, respectively." Panda made a disgusted noise, and she said, "It was five centuries ago. Things were different back then. I didn't know he was my brother until this moment; somehow, it doesn't seem to make much difference. But to know that my most hated enemy is my father..." She was putting on a brave front, but I could see her hands trembling. This wound went to the bone.

Winter said, slowly, "It's worse than you think, kitsune."

"What could be worse?"

"What do kitsune legends say about the Demonbane?" Winter's voice was cracked but, somehow, merciless. I didn't see that he was enjoying this, but, for some reason, he thought it needed to be done.

She frowned in thought. "They say he is the bane of all demons but kitsune in particular. They say he is immune to our charms, and his appearance was once handsome but is now marred with scars, all over his body. The scars are long and straight, very obviously self-inflicted, and all over his arms, legs, and chest, with a few on his back. Each scar represents a kitsune he has killed, and there are several hundred of them. We abhor the idea of deliberately ruining beauty, and thus he becomes even more of a creature out of nightmare."

(I have seen those scars. Not for a moment did I imagine they were self-inflicted. The things I never suspected of my dearly loved father...)

Winter said, "Those scars are self-inflicted, yes. And each symbolizes a life. But it's not immortal lives he's counting, it's mortal ones. The lives of mortals his kitsune daughter has taken. He inflicts the pain she has caused on himself. He pays the price for her actions. She escapes the consequences, so he takes them for her."

Were it possible, I would say that the kitsune went even paler than she had been, all of the blood running out of her face. She swayed, as if in shock. Her wide eyes were fixed upon Winter's, and I could almost watch as her entire world came crashing in on her head.

The only kitsune in history to develop a conscience, and, now, the only one to ever know the pain of guilt. I feel somewhat sorry for her, poor thing. Though, knowing the number of people she has killed over the centuries, not that sorry.

Reiko disappeared, and I haven't seen her all afternoon or evening. I'm not sure where she's hiding herself, but eventually she'll come out of her sulk.

Funitsu, on the other hand, was very much in evidence, and I felt compelled to pull him aside and ask him what on earth he was brooding about. He said, "My sister, Lady. Who is calling herself Minaku, and who is married to our worst enemy."

Ah. I understood. "Perhaps she's not acting of her own free will. Perhaps she, too, is dominated by the spirit that resides in Arenro."

His voice was more bitter than I'd ever heard it before. "She did not appear on the list of those who have a piece of the spirit. I believe she is acting of her own free will. And it may happen that I have to kill her. My favorite sister. Everyone adored her, you know, and we all grieved terribly when she went missing."

I didn't know what you say. I reached out and put a hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry, Funitsu. It seems...a terrible form of loss."

His expression was distant, eyes scanning the horizon. "Did I tell you, she's making a bid to be Lady Soshi? She's evidently on her way down to try to convince Kaigen to hand his power over to her, since his mind is failing. Izumi told me that's why Arenro wasn't in Tokyo. We're likely to run into her, if we're in time."

I had no words to respond to that.

7/18/1583 at sea

Another day of sailing. We should be at Miyazaki on the 20th. I and Akechi have been immured for most of the day, talking over the events of the past few weeks. Panda has been sitting with us for most of that, adding her own recollections to mine, discussing strategies with Akechi. I realize that I have come to rely on Panda for her tactical mind as well as the strength of her sword; I will miss her sorely when we are parted.

And parted we will be. Akechi and I have decided that it's too dangerous to be wandering the world, now. He and I will shelter in Kyoto, on our ancestral estate. Once our son is born, we'll look at the situation and decide what to do. Perhaps we'll rejoin my--our--retinue. Perhaps some other situation will call us. We cannot know what the next two months will hold.

Oh, but it is good to have Akechi back with me. There has been so much that I haven't known about him, so many stories from his time looking for Skyhome that he hasn't ever told me.

He doesn't speak much of his time kept captive. I will be patient. Eventually, if he decides to tell me what happened...I will be here to hear.

7/19/1583 at sea. still.

As much as I empathize with both of them, the shaman and Funitsu wearing near-identical long faces is starting to grow tiresome. At least the shaman has been scarce today. I'm not sure how she manages to disappear on a ship, but I assume she has her ways. I did see Ito around; evidently, Reiko's trusting him enough to let him wander...or she has become so distracted she has forgotten to keep a close eye on the male kitsune.

I hope it is the first and not the second.

7/20/1583 Miyazaki

An extraordinary day, today.

We discussed how to approach Soshi Castle; Akechi said that he'd hidden the last part of the key to Skyhome in the place where Soshi Badayshi is buried--the prophet whose love letter contained a prophecy about Funitsu and the other clans. We entered the Shadow of the Scorpion, the cave system below the castle, and found Badayushi's grave.

Reiko was happily chattering away to various spirits she was seeing. She told Funitsu, "Badayushi's okay with you getting the key out of his grave. He says hi, by the way."

Funitsu gave the shaman a doubtful look, but opened the barrel that contained Badayushi's remains. The body was remarkably well-preserved, the air within the cave had desiccated the body rather than rotting it. He came up with two things--the third part of the key, and another of the wakizashis that cut holes in space and become tattoos when pressed to flesh.

Reiko now has the whole key to Skyhome. She looked down at it in her hand after the last piece was joined to it, and murmured, "How extraordinary."

The wakizashi was given to the librarian, and we continued upwards. As we approached the great hall, we could hear music--pompous music, in fact.

Coronation music.

As we ran into the hall, Funitsu in the lead, we could hear Kaigen's voice, slow and unsure, ringing out into the Hall. "I hereby transfer my position and power within the clan to--"

He raised his head as Funitsu burst in. Surprise widened his eyes, as he said, "Funitsu!"

Funitsu's heart stopped, just for a beat. His brother had just transferred the position of Lord Soshi. To him.

The scream from Minaku was quite impressive, I hear. Reiko murmured into Gryphon's ear. "You can eat Arenro, if you want." Gryphon, of course, bounded forward, towards Arenro.

Arenro, his face purple with rage at the victory that had just been stolen out from under his nose, snapped, "You are not meant to live--much longer!" And with that, a hole in the air opened behind him, and he and Minaku stepped through, disappearing out from under Gryphon's nose.

And so now our Funitsu is the Lord Soshi. How far we've come from the ragged little retinue we were nine weeks ago; now we have two people who are Lords in their own right, a librarian highly placed in the Black Hand, a Sparrow with extensive connections among the hengeyokai, a gryphon who, as it turns out, really is the Chosen One, and my seven-century-old half-sister. (Though that, honestly, is still surprising. And a little disturbing.)

Funitsu is obviously shaken, both at achieving a rank he never expected, and at seeing his beloved sister arm in arm with Arenro--and looking quite happy to be there.

After we spend a few days here, we'll be going back to Kyoto, where Akechi, Karasuko, Izumi, and I will stay for the time being, in the heart of Yashahiro's armies. So this will be my last entry documenting the adventures of myself and my retinue--for a while, at least. The Wheels of Heaven often turn in ways we do not expect, after all, and I would not be surprised to find myself among them once more, some day.

I find myself both glad that my adventuring days are over for the moment, and unexpectedly melancholy. For though I am glad beyond words to have Akechi back, I find that I will miss my retinue, who will be carrying this fight on without us. Stalwart Panda and brave Haku; Tadaki, a Sparrow to the very bone; my charming Funitsu and his arch yet somehow endearing bride Tomika; our enthusiastic Gryphon and our secretive librarian; even confused little Reiko, I'll miss, my poor torn sister. And I'll even miss the excitement and the danger of the road. I at last become a semi-competent sailor, and I'll be land-bound for the next while.

Haku, Funitsu, Tadaki, Hiroshi, and Gryphon will continue to travel and try to defeat Arenro, each for reasons of their own. Funitsu has asked Akechi if he can borrow Panda, and he's assented. Tomika has declared that she'll follow the retinue--and her husband. And Reiko, though she was torn, has decided to stay with the rest. Her heart is divided against itself, with the news that her most hated enemy is also the father she's never known. Our mutual father, who I always knew carried within him some great grief. But I never expected something like this, this demon child of his who, alone among her tribe, has a conscience. And can feel guilt.

I've told Tomika that she needs to write me on a regular basis to let me know what's going on. Reiko also volunteered herself to write me letters, surprisingly enough. I forget that kitsune are sentimental creatures who get attached to the humans they're around. The transition to thinking of her as my sister has been startlingly easy.

I will continue to keep my own records, though they may not be so interesting as they have been. And, soon, I will have a child to keep me busy; I find myself tired of being pregnant, though I know that the longer the child stays in the womb, the stronger it will be when it emerges.

We shall see, won't we? We shall see, indeed.

Quotes:

"Haku is like a violent Jesus." (Kris, referring to Haku's habit of walking on water)

"Noooooobody expects the Japanese Inquisition!" (Laura)

"It's a bird, it's a plane, it's...Mothra?" (Bryan, during a discussion of whether a griffon flying over Tokyo would be too conspicuous. For some reason, going to Tokyo was the occasion for many bad, bad movie jokes.)

"Why are you prodding that dolphin, Graham?" "If it didn't want it, it wouldn't be dressed like that." (Bryan, Laura. Many quotes involving Graham are queries about something odd he's doing.)

"Naked her all you want, just don't take off her bonds!" (Tadaki, expressing his preference for a tied-up Izumi)

"I'm not that smart, I'm not that stupid--thingie!" (Laura, tripping over her tongue)

"I'm going to kill you." "I can run faster than you can." (Laura and Graham)

(Play date: 8/1/2004)

[aithne]

(Illume) July 1st - July 6th, 1583: Bad Blood

From Lady Yukiko's Journal

7/1/1583 Sapporo late evening

I walked into the library where I'd heard raised voices coming from into the most extraordinary scene. My father was at one end of the room, Reiko at the other, the rest of my retinue in the middle. My father and the shaman weren't *quite* glaring at each other, but had the shaman been in her fox form I am certain her ears would have been pinned back to her head. The anger in the room as electric, the small hairs on the back of my neck stood up, prickling.

Funitsu glanced from one to the other. "Are you going to play nice, or are we going to have some unpleasantness here?"

My father growled, "I have been told by my daughter that the kitsune is valuable to her. I will not kill her--today."

"And because he's Yukiko's father, I won't try to kill him. Today, at least. But you and I have had an appointment for six centuries, Demonbane. I fully intend on keeping it."

I broke in. "Demonbane? Six centuries? Could somebody please explain to me what is going on here?"

"I was explaining why Emi had wanted me under control, but I need to go get someone to show you something. I will be back in five minutes." My father strode from the room, leaving silence in his wake.

I rounded on the kitsune. "Reiko. What, exactly, is your problem?"

"Remember those dreams I've been waking from screaming? Your father plays a starring role, Yukiko. I'll let him explain to you, though. It should be...interesting." She would say no more until my father came back, a very handsome young man in tow.

"I am, among other things, a necromancer. About six centuries ago, my son was killed by a kitsune. He was meant to either die in battle or commit seppuku, not be drained to death by an immortal. And so I created these warriors, to hunt down and kill all immortals. But especially kitsune. Before Setto died, I hunted demons that were plaguing humans. Afterwards, I knew that all immortals needed to die."

My mind was reeling already. My father, a necromancer? I thought he was a warlord. And six centuries old... I heard the shaman who was standing next to me take in a hissing breath, and as I glanced at her she sidled over a bit so she was standing behind Panda and Gryphon. I didn't blame her, honestly.

My father continued. "These warriors are designed, in particular, to kill kitsune. Warrior. Reveal yourself." The handsome young man standing beside my father shook his head and....unfolded.

Seven feet of gleaming carapace and scythe-like front legs stood before us. It looked nothing so much like a very mantis--if mantises were that tall and their front legs were edged in metal. The warrior stood and looked at us, surveying the room with faceted eyes.

"I call them Thrykeen warriors. Their human form is beguiling, and draws kitsune to them like moths to a flame. And when the kitsune attempts to feed, they get a very unpleasant surprise. I have about six thousand of these warriors, waiting to be woken. That is why Emi needed me under control--Arenro would have found an instant, completely controllable army quite useful."

"How successful have they been in killing kitsune?" Funitsu wanted to know.

"I would estimate that there are perhaps a few dozen kitsune left in the world."

Reiko, her voice quiet but deadly. "And we breed very, very slowly. Even if you stopped killing us today, it would be millennia before we could rebuild our number."

"When I am done, there will be no more kitsune living. And when the last kitsune dies, I will finally be able to rest."

Panda spoke into the silence. "And you're not immortal yourself? You are, after all, six hundred years old."

"I will die someday. But not until my work is done and my son is avenged."

Reiko stepped out from behind Panda, gave a cool glance to the mantid standing next to my father, and said, "Setto chose his death. He asked me to be his instrument of seppuku. He had to do some very fast talking to get me to agree, and being the instrument of his death nearly destroyed me."

He looked at her, his eyes holding an expression I've seen only once from him--when he discovered that one of his samurai had betrayed him. "Kitsune are liars, every one of them. I would believe that only if I heard it from the mouth of my son."

Her eyes narrowed. "This may be able to be arranged."

The librarian broke in at this point, saying, "Wait. This person wants to kill Reiko. Why are we not killing him again? Isn't he evil?"

Panda said, "Because he's the Lady's father. He is our ally, archivist. His enmity with the kitsune seems to be personal, and they've agreed to call a truce for the moment."

And the shaman remarked, "And evil is in the eye of the beholder. I am reasonably certian that the hatred on both sides is fairly earned--though genocide seems to be an overreaction, really."

I was amused at the librarian, though smoothing his outburst over took a bit of doing. Protective of our little kitsune much?

It turned out that a couple of hours before, two ships, heavily loaded with Thrykeen warriors, had departed for the south, presumably to Arenro. My father asked, "You have a wu jen among you, correct?" We indicated Tadaki. He handed Tadaki a crystal that would allow him to control the Thrykeen that were on the ship.

A few more arrangements, like deciding to take Karasuko and a midwife along with us (Karasuko more as company for me, I believe; the midwife because my time is approaching in about two months), and we were off chasing the ship to the south. My father gave us a dozen of the Thrykeen, under Tadaki's control. He saw how they were looking at the kitsune, and said, "All of you, stay three feet--wait. How long are your swords?"

The Thrykeen replied in a dry voice, "Four and a half feet."

"Stay at least seven feet away from the kitsune at all times. You are not to harm her."

It was nearly dusk by the time we caught up with the ships--both flying the Scorpion flag, oddly enough. Tadaki changed and flew over to the two ships. He came back and said, "The vessel on the left is actually a war ship; the one on the right is actually a merchant vessel, and is carrying all of the Thrykeen warriors. Someone was trying to wake them, and I took control, told them to wake, and kill everyone on the ship. That should take care of our problem, pretty much."

Evidently, the warship had figured out that something was wrong. As we sailed around them, giving them a wide berth (and doing the nautical version of whistling innocently while walking through a bad neighborhood), they opened fire on the merchant vessel, sinking it quickly. We picked up a wounded Thrykeen from this ship, and it was revealed that the Thrykeen had indeed killed everyone on board, except for the person in the iron chamber, which they had not been able to breach.

We sailed out to sea for the night. We'll return in the morning.

7/2/1583

This morning, we sailed back to where the merchant vessel had sunk. The warship had departed, and we found the place where the ship had gone down. Much engineering happened, and we finally managed to drag what looked like a very large iron box to shore. There was a Scorpion symbol on it, and below that was a slot for a key. Funitsu pressed his signet ring into the slot and the box slid open.

Inside was an orb that looked much like Tadaki's, and a monk. We asked him who he was, and he wrote on the wall, "I will answer one question from each of you, absolutely truthfully. Be careful what you ask."

Funitsu asked what the orb was, and the monk replied, aloud, that it was meant to contain the spirit that belongs to Akechi, much like we have in our possession the orb that collects Hideyoshi's spirits.

Reiko asked what he was doing in the box. The monk told us that the Scorpions were very, very wary of him, and were transporting him away from Hideyoshi and Arenro, fearing that he would fall into their hands.

Gryphon asked how to get to Skyhome (I recalled that was where he was from, and he didn't know how to get back). The answer was that there are three pieces of the key, one of which we already have. The other two pieces are located in Tokyo and the catacombs beneath Nagasaki--and we would find the lock that the key fits in Nagasaki.

I was mulling over my question, and instead of any one of the number of other questions I had, I elected to ask what the three spirits that had caused all this trouble.

The answer was...surprising. I will set down the story as best I remember him telling it.

The story comes down from the past, so many generations gone now, that its time is lost to us. But it begins like this:

The Gods were born and drawn from their image they created the first shining ones, the first Japanese. The gods waited and watched as their images grew and came to understand how to create children. They watched them practice and watched them succeed. The first woman was with child, but not one but three children. They watched as her stomach grew and they watched as she gave birth to the first one in the dark of the night, the next was born in the time between, night and day and the last was born full into the light. They watched as the three brothers grew and they watched as they grew into men. The gods were impatient and they created more people, but they watched the first ones with greater care.

Their names are lost now in the mists of time, so we shall call them as they were born, child of the dark(Kurada Riku), child of the twilight (Matsuo Riku) and child of the sun (Ishimaru Riku). Like all brothers they fought, but Kurada took things too far. One day while watching Ishimaru and Ishimaru's wife, he grew covetous of the wife. Kurada made some advances and was rejected. His hatred grew of his lucky Sun Brother and in the dark of the night when Kurada ruled, he killed his brother's pregnant wife. Ishimaru's rage was great and he lashed out at his brothers, not knowing which had betrayed him. He killed both Matsuo and Kurada's wives and children.

The gods saw them fighting and took each of them up to the heavens, where they took a single drop of blood from each and dripped them onto the earth. Where the drops landed, the 3 islands of Japan formed. Each brother was assigned an island, Kurada the north island, where it was cold and sun never shined much. Matsuo the larger island in the middle was to be a buffer between the two more headstrong brothers, and Ishimaru was given the south and sunniest. They created water between them and let their anger cool over the centuries. The gods watched as they remarried and watched as they had children, but they had neglected one thing--the children grew up and had children and they had children and on and on it went, never growing old and never dying. They decided that all things must die to make way for new growth, so they instilled in the others the ability to grow old and die. And die they did, but the brothers as they grew older, the land started to act strangely. Created from the blood of the brothers who were now dying, the land was dying with them. In the end the gods had to make them immortal again so the land of Japan would never die.

In time, men learned to sail and upon seeing other men in their lands who were strangers to them, they learned to make war. The three brothers learned again of each others existence and they warred upon each other. The anger had never went away, it had just smoldered until they saw each other again. Japan's waters ran red with blood.

The gods could no longer abide these wars and decided to let them fight it out, whoever lived, their island would stand and the rest would fall. Fate sometimes lends a hand to things, the three brothers met in battle. They killed each other at the same time. There would be no Japan if they all died and so the gods decided that they would live, but not in the way that they were before. They took the bodies of their first children and burned them and then divided the ashes into 75 urns, 25 for each body. Thinking that it would be just that if all the lands were to live in peace a portion of each body was buried on each island. So 25 urns were buried on each of the three islands, eight urns of the brothers whose island it wasn't and nine for the one that it was. Each urn was identical to the other, so there was no way to tell whose urn was whose.

Time passed and the gods forgot, but man had grown and some of the urns had been found. Some were worshipped, others were lost in people's piles of things, and others still buried and forgotten. Emperor Yoshikuni took interest in the urns and for the rest of his life and the lives of 4 of his generations, collected the urns.

So it was that Yoshikuni the Fifth found himself in possession of 75 urns. Now that you had them what do you do with them? He brought together the greatest minds of the times and sought the source of their powers. They yielded no secrets to him but one, that they were the spirits of another age. He crafted with others three orbs of power to be able to communicate with the spirits of the urns, but cut into so many pieces the spirits were unable to talk coherently. He opened the urns and trapped each spirit piece into an orb. Soon they were able to talk again and the anger arose again and each tried to influence Yoshikuni into absorbing the spirits of the dead into him. Yoshikuni was a smart man and had listened to them talk over the months of the hatred they had for each other and how if one of them truly died, part of Japan would die with it. Yoshikuni locked them away in the imperial vaults for all eternity, its secrets only passed on to the emperors of Japan.

After that tale, we sat in silence for a few minutes, trying to absorb that information. Haku finally asked where some scrolls from his home village were, and he said that the Dragon clan had them somewhere.

The librarian asked an odd question. "What are the things I don't want to know?" The monk whispered in his ear for a few minutes, leaving the librarian pale and shaken.

We decided not to ask any more questions, and the monk will be traveling with us for a while.

Off south; Funitsu has some more or less urgent business with his clan, and we're going along for the ride. The Scorpion is looking quite worried these days. He's not asking for help, though, and until he asks I can't really offer.

We're going to sail down the western coast and stop by Akita on the way so Panda can see Nibori again. She seems quite excited (in her usual understated way) by this. Perhaps, indeed, she's found out how much fun certain things can be. I'm glad Nibori seems to be working out in that way--I didn't know what sort of man he would turn out to be, but if he can handle Panda, he very likely has much to recommend him.

7/3/1583 at sea

I tracked down the shaman. She was easy to find on account of four of our remaining six Thrykreen warriors were alternately pacing exactly seven feet in front of her and sitting in front of her, staring. Reiko was sitting cross-legged on a crate, looking as if she were trying to meditate and failing.

She opened her eyes as I approached. "Afternoon, Lady. What can I do for you?"

I looked at the warriors. "I was hoping to talk to you privately. But..."

Reiko rolled her eyes. "Every time they finish with a task and Tadaki hasn't told them what to do, they come bother me. It's very, very unnerving. And, I might add, irritating."

"One moment, I think I saw Tadaki on deck a couple of minutes ago..." I headed to the back of the ship where I found Tadaki sitting and watching our wake. "Wu jen? Could you please tell the mantises to do something other than bother Reiko for a few minutes? I'd like to have a word with her in private, and, well..."

The Sparrow raised an eyebrow. "Are they at it again? I'll think of something that will keep them at this end of the ship for a while."

"Why don't you tell them to stay farther away from her? I can imagine what it would be like to be stared at all day long by people who, if they weren't under command, would kill you very, very dead."

He shrugged. "It's not that big of a ship. Besides, it's good to feel hunted sometimes. Builds character. I should know. Foxes eat sparrows, you know."

Sometimes, certain members of my retinue make little sense to me. "If she goes mad from this, I am holding you responsible."

"How would you tell? She's already crazy."

"Just call them off for an hour or so, all right?"

I went back to Reiko, the Thrykeen coming past me single-file. Their beauty is disturbing, when you know what lies just beneath.

The shaman had loosed her hair from its habitual bindings, and was combing her fingers through it, letting the wind play with the strands. I eased myself up beside her, trying to settle myself comfortably and only managing to find a position that was slightly less uncomfortable than the others. She glanced over at me, and said, "Thank you. I know they can't hurt me, but being stared at like I'd be something good to eat is going to drive me batty." She grimaced. "Of course, according to everyone, I'm already nuts so there's not a lot of difference there."

I looked at the little shaman, her face half-hidden by her hair. "All right, Reiko. I know there's bad blood between you and my father, and I know you haven't told us the whole story. Something's waking you screaming at night, and it's connected to him. I need to know what it is."

She turned towards me, settling herself nearly facing me. "It is not a pleasant story, Lady, and it...reflects badly on almost everyone involved. Including your father."

"I imagined it would. I just found out that he's a centuries-old necromancer as well as the warlord I've always thought of him as; I'm braced for anything at this point."

She nodded. "All right. It doesn't reflect well on me, either, just in case you were wondering." She took a breath, seeming to wonder where to begin.

"I am nogitsune, Lady. A Wild or Void kitsune. My Celestial kin are--well, were, since I don't know if any still live--bound to Inari and serve as temple guardians, but we Void kitsune are bound by no law and no vows. A bit over six centuries ago, before I fell in love with and later married Setto, I was spending some time near Akita--playing pranks, tumbling most of the village lads and not an insignificant portion of the girls. The usual kitsune games. I was a three-tail then, and a hunter came upon me as I slept deeply one afternoon and captured me. He was carrying a cage meant to contain demons and shapechangers, and since I am counted as both, I was well and truly stuck.

"I'd have managed to work my way free eventually, but I was brought back to Akita, where I'd never been before, and they called a man whose name I'm sure will be familiar to you. Takumi Yamashita. I knew him then as the Demonbane; his fame was spread far and wide in those days, since he had made a career out of capturing, binding, and killing demons. We felt about him much as you would someone who, for no apparent reason, was killing humans in a deliberate and often quite brutal manner. He was a menace, a terrifying one, and he'd declared a war on us we wanted no part of."

She paused, reflecting. "All right, the kitsune wanted no part of it. The gaki were quite happy about it, actually. Anyway. So the Demonbane comes to see me, forces me to change to my human form, and then binds me. He bound my powers, my ability to shapechange, and my ability to feed. And then he told them that in two months without feeding I would starve to death, and gave me to the village."

She had pulled both knees to her chest, seeming to want to make herself as small as possible. I asked, gently as I could, "What happened?"

Her voice was bitter. "I was bound, in the form you see me in now, and helpless, and the Demonbane told them I was not human and not a thinking being. I was...used." She choked; I waited for her to continue. When she did, her voice held a vast anger. "They kept me, and starved me, and raped me over and over again, Lady. I have an appreciation for the atrocities humans can think up when they have in their possession a being that looks female but that they believe is not sentient. Fifty days passed, and I was nearing death, when a choice of sorts was presented to me."

She had been looking out over the ocean as she spoke, and now looked at me. "This is the part that does not reflect well on me, Lady. I was not, then, the person I am now. I am shamed by little of my life, what I remember, but this is an exception to that. There was a visitor in from Kyoto who wished to see me--and, I assume, make use of me. They sent in the daughter of the headman to wash and clothe me in preparation. She was an untrained shujenja with the Water element, and she unknowingly washed away the sigils on my skin that bound me.

"I was free. And I was starving; the pain in my bones and muscles had nearly crippled me. The girl was an innocent, and young--perhaps thirteen or fourteen. I spent nearly the last of my own life to enthrall her, and then drained her to death."

Her hand was raised to her throat, her fingers caressing a pendant I hadn't noticed the shaman wearing before. It was a topaz in a plain setting, the yellow of the topaz nearly matching the kitsune's amber eyes. "Her name was Mei. Before I killed her, I learned that she was a very bright young woman, smarter than most of her age-mates in the village, and she intended to become the leader of Akita after her father. Autumn was her favorite season, and she had a tree behind her house that she would climb and dream away summer afternoons. I got to know her, magically seduced her, and then killed her to save myself.

"I went a little bit mad after that. After Mei, I drained dry the next three men I met. With that power, I took control of the minds of the ten best warriors in the village, and with their help butchered every adult in Akita. Innocent or guilty, I hated them all. The worst ones I had my warriors hold down while I opened their bellies for them. Wounds like that take a long time to kill people, and they die screaming." She recounted the story mercilessly, not bothering to try and justify her actions. I could hear, in her voice, still that deep anger, tinged with self-loathing. "And when I was done, when those I'd ridden had killed each other, I set the village on fire and walked away."

The shaman was looking out over the ocean now, her eyes distant. "The Demonbane knew exactly what would happen to me when he bound and left me there. He wasn't expecting me to survive the experience. I swore I would kill him, but he was as difficult to catch as a ghost, and my memory of what he looked like was somehow distorted. When I began dreaming of Akita again, my one consolation was that time had done its work and the Demonbane was dust for five centuries. Imagine my shock when I finally remembered his face--and he was your father. And Setto's father, as well. I cannot even attempt to kill him, and doing so would be certain death for me anyway, since I am not the kitsune I once was. And so, here I am. Yamashita's creatures watch my every move, he has decimated my kind, and he blames me for Setto's death--which I was responsible for indeed, but I was only doing as my husband asked."

Emotions warred in me as I listened to the fox speak. If she was telling the truth--and I have no reason to believe she was not, and the enmity between my father and her was real enough--then my father is not the man I thought he was. I felt protective of him, but also felt angry on behalf of the little shaman, who had been forced to such terrible things that I never wanted to know existed, much less know had been done to--and by--a member of my retinue.

I remembered something that my father had said. "He said that if he can talk to Setto and settle things with him, then he will no longer hunt your kind. He's one of your spirits, isn't he? Couldn't you arrange that?"

She shook her head slowly. "We would have to bring him back to life, I think. We know it can be done, now, since Lin did it. But...I don't know."

"Wouldn't you want to have your husband back with you? You've said before that you love him."

She gave me a small, tentative smile. "It would be nothing but wonderful to have him back with me. But losing him once nearly killed me, even though I had his shade with me. I do not know if I could willingly embrace that pain again. I can't count on catching his spirit, when he dies the second time around. And now...I am not the woman he married. I am much changed, and it's been five centuries, even if I don't remember most of them. It was a different age entirely when we were married. One wonders if there would be room for him in my life, or room for me in his. Or even if we would love each other as we did half a millenium ago."

"What does Setto have to say about it? Isn't he listening right now?"

"He hates the story of what happened in Akita, even if it was the event that made me develop enough of a conscience to be able to fall in love with someone as honorable as he is. He's been out of earshot since I started telling the tale; he, ah, prefers to not hear it again. But, to answer your first question, he's not being helpful. He just shrugs and says that it's my decision." She shifted, pulling her hair over one shoulder. "If I did not know that my spirits can be stripped from me, I wouldn't even consider it, but as it stands, I may lose him either way. I just don't know. The farther I get along this journey, the more I wonder if I'm up to it. The more I remember what I used to be, the more I despair of what I have become and my ability to protect my family." She started, blinking, as she remembered who I am. "I am sorry, Lady. My tongue ran away with me. I'm sure you didn't need to hear all of that."

I smiled at her. "It was most enlightening, Reiko. I confess to not knowing you well; you were more Akechi's confidante than mine. But I have to say that you seem much saner in the past few days than you have for a long time."

Her voice was soft. "Worry about that, Yukiko. Remember the story I just told you. Remember that I am nogistune. And think about this: if I am no longer kept bound and confused by my spirits, what will I become?" The immortal that I had seen flicker in her eyes before was there again, this time stronger. "I will do what I have to to survive, and ensure the survival of my family. Fortunately, Lady, that includes you. And now, I think I'm going to take advantage of the absence of our little mantid friends to go do some serious meditation. It's very difficult to calm one's mind when you're being stared at by very, very attractive death."

She scooted to the edge of the crate and jumped off, landing soundlessly on the boards of the deck. She walked with that feral grace of hers towards the bow of the ship, leaving me to my thoughts.

The kitsune, as time goes on, is becoming a bit unnerving. And now I have to wonder, indeed, what she is going to become. I know Akechi's spirit is working within her, but whether it's going to be enough, I have no idea. Can a kitsune change its colors?

Perhaps. And perhaps not.

7/6/1583 Akita

The city's cleaned up a bit--Nibori has evidently reasserted control over the army and has been keeping the worst of the rabble off the streets. Panda's off for the evening, leaving Haku as my only bodyguard for the evening. When Nibori came to escort her away, he mentioned that there was a Unicorn samurai hanging out in town. Not doing anything, but we might want to speak with him anyway.

Well, what else were we going to do? Knowing that Unicorn is currently the only uncorrupted clan, we decided to go have a chat with this fellow.

Funitsu and the Unicorn sparred verbally together for a while. Storming Bear was the name he gave us, and he was a giant--over six feet tall, wearing hide armor, with a cloak that looked like it was made from a wolf of some sort on a chair next to him. He said he was there for battle, and he was hunting someone named General Jiro. The odds were very long that a lone warrior could overcome Jiro and his retinue, but he was sworn to try anyway. When asked why he was after Jiro, he said, "He was attempting to disrupt the leadership of my clan. I am assigned to disrupt his life in as fatal a manner as possible."

Quite bloodthirsty, these Unicorns. I rather liked him, really.

He then invited us to join him for the battle, and Funitsu misinterpreted him, thinking that he wanted to fight against us rather than with us. I couldn't correct him without causing Funitsu to lose face, so I had to listen helplessly as Funitsu backed down from what he thought was a pointless fight.

When we got back to the ship, I told Funitsu that Bear was trying to invite us to fight with him, and pointed out that it might be useful for the Unicorn to owe us a favor.

We're going to go back tomorrow morning and offer to join him in this battle, I believe.

The gryphon quite likes pickled eggs. I need to remember to pick some up as treats for him.

7/7/1583

Panda returned this morning with a half-grown dog in tow--a gift from Nibori, she said. We're becoming quite the menagerie these days--the fox, the sparrow, the gryphon, my cat, Panda's dog.

We went and talked to the Unicorn named Bear again, and agreed to join him in battle. We unloaded our horses (and hired some for the Thrykeen, who we brought with us) and rode off north to join battle. Bear had much useful information about the foe--Jiro had a retinue of six warriors and two Wang-Liangs, a kind of giant who could turn invisible when they wanted.

We caught up with Jiro and his retinue. Spying from a distance, we saw that they all looked a little battered, as if weary from battles. Evidently, crossing the Unicorn Clan isn't the best of ideas. Tomika agreed to guard me, Reiko turned Gryphon invisible, and we agreed to let Bear kill Jiro, send the Thrykeen against his human retinue, and we'd take on the Wang-Liang.

Once we could see one of the two giants, Reiko snapped out a word or two that froze it in place, and we made short work of it. The librarian hit the other, and it dealt him a great blow, enough to knock him unconscious. Reiko healed him, baring her teeth at the giant and then kneeling to kiss the worst of his wounds closed. Panda, Haku, and Funitsu closed with the last giant and after a brief but fierce battle it fell, the giant almost killing of Funitsu in the process.

When we looked up from that battle, all of the human retinue were dead, and Bear was delivering a last blow to Jiro. He fell to his knees, stunned, and the samurai took his head.

And again, a spirit rose from the corpse and flashed into Tadaki's orb. One more piece of Hideyoshi's spirit, safely contained.

Bear thanked us for our help and said that the Unicorn clan now owes us a favor. We took a few things off the various corpses, buried the bodies, and rode out to the coast to meet the ship, which Thomas had been sailing up to meet us.

We're sailing south this evening, and we'll be in [get city name] in another week or so, if the winds are kind.

I cannot help mulling over what my father is, now. So many years I have loved him--how do I integrate what I know now about him? It troubles me greatly, disturbing my sleep, and the thoughts I hear from the child within me are also somewhat disturbed. I can grow used to so many things--I am almost used to the fact that I have no idea what my child is going to be when he is born--but this? The father who I love, whose strength I've always counted on, is in the process of committing genocide on a race of immortals.

And yet--what indeed is the role of the kitsune in today's world? The world belongs to humans, now, not spirits and immortals.

I'll have to think more about this. And watch the shaman closely.

Quotes:

"Yak's blood! Yak's blood!" "What are you on about?" "It's a Winnie the Pooh song." "I have led a sheltered life." (Graham and Bryan)

"Don't confuse the gryphon. If you can't see it, you can't see it biting your ass." (Tadaki, as I recall.)

"Is pooping on things an attack?" (Gryphon)

"You're not a fighter, you're a damn mage!" "He's got a wakizashi and he feels entitled to use it." "His family isn't really known for its brightness, is it?" (Tadaki and Haku, talking about Funitsu)