FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

1631, Japan

The four-tailed fox Keiko had been circling the Mt. Hiei area; essentially looking for trouble. Trained by her human master long ago to help those in need, she has dedicated her life to using her supernatural powers to help others. For this reason; she paused at a forest to the north east that had a particularly dark aura.

Keiko could sense a suppressed demonic presence around the woods. When she looked around she could not see anything out of place, but did notice the woodland creatures seem to concentrate toward the center of the woods, near a stream. The kitsune is a woodland creature herself, so it was odd for all of the other creatures of the woods to remain so silent in her presence. Even the birds above did not sing. Something was amiss. Without a torii gate it would be harder to slip into the spirit realm, but Keiko could still do it, and the scenery changed drastically when she did. Normally slipping into the spirit realm caused most human structures to vanish and reveal a much more overgrown world. This time it MADE a castle appear where there had been nothing a moment before!

There was several tanuki in demi-human forms walking about the castle as its owners, all looking uncharacteristically stern, and several appeared to be training other woodland creatures how to FIGHT. Well... that isn't normal. When Keiko attempted to enter the castle's property a giant onikuma named Nemuke stepped onto the opposite side of the bridge. His aura was incredibly menacing causing her to back off, even though his expression made him look like he was barely awake, and he moved slowly and lumbering. Bears are already scary by default- a yokai bear is large enough to pick up and carry an entire horse over its shoulders to eat. His claws alone are as long as Keiko's entire head.

Keiko shapeshifted into several other animals to try and get closer as she circled the place and attempted to put together the story of what is going on- and it all seemed to lead back to the acting head of the tanuki family; Lord Daisuke. This thighs were a bit pudgy and his gut very large- painted with a three sided tomoe, and his arms and upper torso in contrast are very muscular. Like the bushy cheek fluff of a feral tanuki- he has very bushy sideburns. The only clothing Daisuke wears is a black happi with the kanji for spirit painted on the back in bright yellow. He stands cross-armed overlooking everything, chewing on a sprig of bamboo. He had grown his hair long to try and make himself more intimidating- since his hair is so wild rather than simply get longer it got WIDER, turning into a wildly lashing mane of diffused brown.

It seems the forest has come under threat of some demons. They originally badgers the forest dwellers and raided the woods for resources, but against his father's wishes; Daisuke eventually said 'no'. He claimed the forest as his land, erected a castle, and named himself lord- in defiance of the invaders. Well, as you can imagine the demons didn't much care for that. Now they planned a violent retaliation, and Daisuke was training the forest dwellers how to fight in preparation.

Keiko stood at the other side of the bridge over the river and called to him, since Daisuke refused audience otherwise. "I want to help!"

Daisuke looked at her a moment from across the way, thinking on it but then shook his head. "You are not even from our forest."

"Why would that matter?"

"It is not your fight. I don't think you realize what we are up against, but... let's see what you got. If you can beat me, then sure."

Nemuke plopped his giant bear butt down on the ground and sat to the side of the bridge to let his friend past. When he left his castle- Daisuke had to tweak his demi-human form so that his balls no longer dragged on the ground so he could move a little faster; though they are still larger than a medicine ball even when suppressed.

Keiko glanced at the huge round nuts and then back to his face with a blush. "Uh... you want me to beat you up?"

"Defeat me in a duel. If you cannot beat even me, then you wouldn't be much use in the coming battle."

Well, he is unarmed so she obviously isn't going to pull out her sword- she has her master's sword Suimintetsu tucked behind her ear, shapeshifted as a silver toothpick. Keiko also took on the form of a demi-human- the trailing cloth of her kimono still took the shape and color of four fox tails and her ears were still those of a fox. Her hands and feet were tipped with claws and her skin black up to her elbows and knees, but otherwise she is human.

Keiko surprised Daisuke with the suddenness of her attack, but he went to grab her fist and she vanished entirely, leaving only a leaf in her wake! She shapeshifted a leaf into a decoy copy of herself! Keiko jumped up and did a spin-kick into the side of Daisuke's head from behind! Daisuke groaned from the hit, but was otherwise unmoved. He lunged at her but she moved back easily out of the way. Daisuke then returned his balls to full size and his belly swelled a bit larger still. He took a sumo wrester's wide stance and stomped his foot down before rushing forward again! His stomp shook the earth, taking Keiko by surprise and putting her off-balance so she could not get out of the way in time! He thrust his belly forward as he lunged and slammed her so hard she flew back through the air, hit one of the pillars holding the castle over the stream and bounced off of it, back toward him! He caught her in his clawed hand before she could even hit the ground, threw her onto the ground, jumped up, and did a cartwheel to bring his gigantic nuts down on her full-force; crushing her against the ground! Each testicle was bigger around than a wagon wheel and weighed almost as much as a horse!

Daisuke huffed, looking at her limbs squirming around trying to get out from under his nuts. "Yea... you aren't doing this."

"I... was caught off-guard! Uuugh... it... smells so strong..."

Daisuke blushed a bit, dragging his nuts off her so she could at least stand up again. "I have been training all day, what do you expect?"

"Your house is built over a stream- you can feel free to bathe yourself at any time." He started to walk back to the castle. "Hey! We aren't done here!!"

"I am not- you are. We have enough problems with outsiders as you have probably figured out by now, we don't need you tripping us up."

"You... but- I- ARGH! Fine, I don't WANT to help you then, you buffoon!"

Keiko puffed up her cheeks and stormed off while Daisuke returned to the castle. In truth; he could use all the help he could get, but he was already feeling guilty about picking this fight in the first place. He already endangered the denizens of his own forest, he did not want to drag anyone else into this. Daisuke is not mean, stern, or intimidating at all normally. Like all tanuki he is friendly and timid by nature. He has become this form to prepare for battle. He is being hard on the other creatures here to toughen them up. If they cannot endure his training and taunts then they cannot hope to fight the demons, and he does not want them to get involved only to die for him- so he is deliberately pushing people away to test who has the fortitude to stand in battle with him.

Unfortunately Keiko did not see through to his true intentions any better than anyone else had at the time. Keiko attempted several times to argue with him, but Daisuke knew there was too much staked on this coming battle for him to afford any mercy, so he kept pushing her back, even though he secretly WANTED her to overwhelm him and prove herself ready to fight. Keiko had mostly known how to fight with a sword however, and she felt bad hitting a tanuki in the first place; she was definitely not whipping out a sword to fight an unarmed tanuki.

Keiko left the forest, but loomed around the immediate area. She wanted to get back at the lord tanuki but did not know how. Nemuke barely ever moved, yet still made a very good guard for the only bridge into the castle. There is no way she is going to get past him- even if she did use her sword Nemuke has enough raw strength that he could defeat her regardless. Not to mention he is so large the sword is like a pencil to him. Keiko learned of an ally Daisuke had earned however- a Kappa that lived in the stream that runs under the castle.

Shironami is real scrawny for a kappa- utterly worthless in a fight. He joined Daisuke to offer his services as a chef instead! Prizing himself as a master chef; Shironami feeds the tanuki family and the few forest creatures that were fit for battle. Keiko wandered the bank of the stream on the spirit realm side, till she found the small clan of kappa. Their presence was almost impossible for her to sense- it is so powerfully water attuned that it is almost indistinguishable from the river water itself. She first seen the suiko because it is so much larger than the kappa- standing as tall as a house, his name is Suitora. He growled at Keiko as she approached, but did not attack. If she were a human; he would have snatched her up and crushed her against the bed of the river for invading their territory. Uzu- the eldest kappa and head of their clan lifted a webbed hand to silence the behemoth and make sure he did not kill the interloping kitsune.

Kappa look humanoid, but are often shorter than the average human due to a heavily slouched posture. Their spine and rib cage arch out, forming the massive shell of a turtle. The plastron plates of a turtle's underside adorn their front, but take the exact shape of human musculature. Their hands and feet are tipped with small claws and webbed to allow them to swim. Their face is dominated by a wide, but sharp beak. The most bizarre and unique trait they have, is their skull has no top. Where a brain would be is instead a dish that contains water- that water is essentially their soul, if they spill it; they die instantly. Kappa guard bodies of water, but unlike dragons they are not so noble, or as friendly. Humans often place cucumbers into the rivers to satisfy the local kappa as it is their favorite food by far. Otherwise- kappa have been known to eat humans.

Shironami seen her coming, but remained skinning and gutting fish till she stopped in front of him, affirming his assumption that she must have come to see him specifically. "Did Lord Daisuke send you?"

"N- yes."

Shironami furrowed his brow at her abrupt answer change. "What do you want?"

Keiko sighed, seeing he was not falling for it. "Look, he is being a real ass to everyone in that forest, and they are already stressed enough. I tried to help and he just slapped me around and told me to get out!"

"Oh right- I seen him defeat you the other day. A shame."

"It was an accident! He surprised me once and announced himself the winner, and he won't re-match me!! Uuurgh, he makes me so mad! He thinks he is the king of the damn world! I have never known a tanuki to call himself lord over anything! This pretender forest-king or whatever he calls himself needs to be taken down a peg, before he gets that swollen head of his chopped off, thinking he can win a fight solo with a demon."

Shironami paused a moment then slowly turned back to her, finally putting down the knife and fish that were in his hands. "You... realize he is my friend, right? I work for Daisuke. You're asking for help to hurt him, from his friend?"

"Not hurt him, just... mess him up a little. Look- I would prank him myself but I can't even get into his castle in the first place, and he won't come out to rematch me."

"I am a chef, not a prankster." He turned to resume working on the food he was preparing.

"Just like... how about this; something spicy. Like, reaaaallly spicy- something that will burn as much coming out as it will going in."

A large globule of water lifted from the river and splashed all over Keiko, summoned by Shironami without even turning around to face her again. "No. How about this; you cool down, and leave Daisuke alone?"

"Hrrrgh, is everyone so infuriating around here?! You want to make food- I want to make trouble, why can't we work together? What is it going to take to prank Daisuke?"

"You've nothing to even offer me in the first place so it doesn't really matter, now does it?" He motioned a clawed finger up to Suitora. "I suppose you could have yourself flayed by Suitora. I have never cooked fox meat before."

Keiko sighed and started to trudge away, shaking herself to try and get as much water back out of her fur as she could before letting the sun dry the rest. Shironami turned suddenly, pointing his knife at her.

"W-wait, how willing are you to travel?"

She turned back to him and tilted her head. "Where?"

"Osaka. The Shinmachi district."

That was quite some distance- but the river itself could take her almost directly there. Keiko transformed herself into a koi and just let the flow of water wash her toward her destination- only needing to be aware enough not to get caught by a fisherman or hungry bear along the way. Shironami told Keiko that there was a woman in distress in Osaka. Her voice resonated through the river so the kappa clan had heard her tears against the river water. Shironami had attempted to visit the beautiful woman before to try and see if he could dry her eyes, but he could not even get to her. The woman is dead, you see. She drown herself at the mouth of the river, but as a yurei (ghost) her mind has become faded and her thoughts a jumbled mess of grief. Shironami could not get through to her- she is not aware enough to hear him. But a kitsune has a great number of powers. Perhaps Keiko can succeed where Shironami failed.

Keiko was able to find the location fairly easily, but that was never meant to be the difficult part. A derelict brothel by the name of Mankai (full bloom). It has been abandoned for a while now- because the place was known to be haunted... the ghost within angry enough to make itself known to even mortals. Keiko would seem out of place wandering around such a populated area, so as soon as she left the river and turned into her demi-human form she slipped into the spirit realm so mortals cannot see her. As soon as she did however she yipped in surprise and darted away from the water- which is now filled with black threads! No... not threads... hair. Keiko spun around in morbid awe and seen the hair everywhere! Strung through trees, clogging the river, settled into the cracks between stones in the road, and all getting progressively denser as it collects into the cracks between boarded up windows leading into the brothel. A Kejoro- the ghost of a Yujo (prostitute). They are known for their hair- which no matter what you do to it, will always be long enough to completely obscure the face of the kejoro; it's impossible to see their whole face. Keiko approached the brothel, being very careful to avoid touching as many hairs as possible, as the kejoro can likely sense her through them.

Keiko had to transform herself into a sheet of paper to get through the boarded up doorway and turn into her true fox self on the other side. The inside of the building was musty- it has been abandoned long enough that the air is moist and the wood of the building is starting to rot from the moisture. Only narrow slits of light illuminate the inside of the building through the boarded windows. There is some furniture still in the building left to decay- so it was evacuated rather hastily. Keiko heard what sounded like someone plucking an out-of-tune guitar string and seen a glint as something came at her through the dark! She jumped back just in time, as the metal shaft of a tall oil lantern was cut in half! One of the hairs suddenly pulled tight, and acted as a snare! Singular hairs are thin enough to cut like a blade- the kejoro could kill Keiko before the vixen is able to reach her; without even being aware that it was a fox coming to see her in the first place.

Several more hairs pulled taut through the room and Keiko had to scramble and leap her way to the other side! The hairs are tied at different points in the room, so the snares all face different directions, on top of the fact that they are incredibly thin and hard to see in the first place. Keiko could feel an aura of anger coming from the woman, but when she got to the room and burst in, she lowered her guard a bit. The ghost was dormant. She is very angry, but is not actively thinking of, or doing anything. Like it had given up its own existence, wanting to fade away but her own hate preventing her soul from leaving this place. Her kimono is grey and black, tattered and frayed at the edges. She is on her knees, slumped back a bit but being held up by her hair which has woven itself between the boards of the building. There is a large hole in the wall that was hastily boarded up as a make-due repair. The mirror in this room is shattered, but the fragments of reflective glass remain floating in the air in front of the broken mirror- unable to fall to the floor.

In the shards of mirror Keiko can hear the whispers of the past and occasionally catch flickers of memories from the kejoro. Keiko did her best to listen to the memories, but every shard reflected a different one and played it on repeat, creating a cacophony of faded whispers that was hard to listen to.

"Your name is Zankoku..?" The word for cruelty made for an unusual name.

"Kiku... and Zankoku..."

"Ooh- Zankoku is your 'performance' name. Gotcha. So... what is troubling you so?"

"Nothing..." Her voice is airy and distant sounding, even though she is right beside Keiko. Her lips do not move when she speaks.

"You wouldn't be lingering here if it were nothing..."

"No point. Never existed... I was only ever... a character... in a tragic play."

Keiko heard a bang loud enough that it startled her, but when she turned she realized it was a memory in one of the shards- of Zankoku already in this form, forming a giant hand from her hair and slamming a woman straight through the wall and dropping her from the second floor of the building! That is what happened to the wall in this room- she killed someone here as her first act as a vengeful spirit.

Keiko tucked her ears down. "Who... was that?"

"Who..? She... Saya? No. Hiina. She ruined... she killed me, with the truth."

Oh, so it was eye for an eye- Hiina killed Zakoku, and then Zankoku repaid the favor. But if that were it- she would be gone already. Hiina is dead, so she already avenged herself. Also Shironami said that she threw herself into the river to drown? The stories did not match up.

Keiko shuffled back and forth trying to look at the face of the mirror shards while they slowly twist and turn mid-air. "So... what was the killing truth?"

Several hairs flopped loose from the roof and walls, recalling themselves and pulling in several bits and pieces of broken items and furniture and held them in the shape of a human figure, and started to make it dance around like a puppet on strings.

"Pointless. Nothing I have done has influenced anything in a meaningful... way." Her brow twitched- the first physical movement she has made this entire time as if she were starting to wake up from her trance. "My life had no consequence, and my death meant nothing."

Keiko shook her head, her brow hardening. "I can assure you, without learning anything about you- that you are absolutely wrong on that account. What made you think that?"

"Hiina... told me the truth. Men... came to use me, but the moment I tried to go to them... I failed utterly and absolutely."

Keiko seen the glint of movement again as several mirror shards united in mid-air creating a larger fragment that displayed a man walking, but the shard turned several times while the memory played. It took Keiko a moment to realize each rotation was a different day- the same man walking past the same place on many different occasions, then finally Zankoku walking up to him to flirt as he passed the brothel and he barely acknowledged her, not even slowing down. It made her feel like a puppet in someone else's show. The brothel decided who she interacted with, and made it seem like she was very popular, but then as soon as she tried to take things off-script it failed. Hiina was badgering her constantly as well- taunting her and trying to drive her away, because they were rivals. Everyone liked Zankoku better, so Hiina seen very few customers- she was trying to sabotage Zankoku. In death; her mind has become fragmented like this mirror, but as a spirit she would have been able to sense Hiina's intentions. She knew Hiina did that specifically to screw her over, and killed her in an act of revenge without even knowing what the plot actually was.

Keiko seen a beautiful ornate smoking pipe on the dresser just below the dancing mirror shards and went to pick it up and examine but the moment she made a move for it; Zankoku lurched toward her! Zankoku wasn't looking at anything- her eyes are vacant, and her body shuffled forward while her limbs remained limp, as if the hair was carrying her like it had her puppet. She was barely aware Keiko was even here- but she immediately knew something was going to happen to the pipe. Keiko left it where it is- it has a powerful enough connection to the ghost that she does not want to mess with it. The head of the pipe is a beautiful metal phoenix- the mouth of the phoenix the opening, and the long tail feathers coil the handle of the pipe. That is a rather opulent item for a prostitute to possess. It is also visible with perfect clarity even though she is still in the spirit realm- every other mortal object appears blurry or absent from this side of reality.

Keiko studied the man's face and what direction he was travelling from and to every time in the shattered memory, then left the brothel. Keiko returned to the mortal realm and quickly took on a human shape. She deliberately went with a more bland appearance than she normally would so no one mistook her for a prostitute too. It is the red light district after all. Keiko began hunting the man. It had been many years since the most recent memory in the mirror, so he wasn't going to be particularly easy to spot. He was on foot every time and made the same route repeatedly, so he can't be walking that far; both the start and end of his path have to be relatively close.

Based on what she knows so far; the man was probably in love with, or at least wrapped deep enough in lust for another woman, in another brothel already. Why else would he be in the red light district and completely ignore a prostitute? She found another woman from Zankoku's memories- a prostitute named Aguri; though goes by 'Hato'. She apparently seen Zankoku in her ghost state- because she has been scared mute! She is still a prostitute at another brothel though. Apparently being mute is a selling point for some men. It took Keiko two days of looming around the surrounding area to finally locate the man in his house. Ironically she could have found him faster if she never left the brothel! He is still following the same route he always has- because he wasn't going anywhere in the red light district. He was cutting through the area as a shortcut to a blacksmith he was being mentored by! He was going to work!

Hmm, but that did not help Keiko's case with Zankoku, because why then did he utterly ignore her? There is no way Zankoku's life was truly without consequence- Keiko didn't believe for even a moment that was even possible. She is glad Shironami set her on this task, because this tortured soul needed help. Keiko followed the man, turning into a mouse to go unnoticed as she followed him to work and then back home again trying to learn something of him. When that failed- the waited till he went to sleep, and then slipped into his body using her possession powers, and then while inside of him she read his memories and feelings directly. She was only in him for a moment before learning all she needed to and quickly skittered out of the house and to the brothel again to see Zankoku. She once again had to dodge several hairs that nearly cut into her to get to the bedroom again.

Zankoku is still slumped forward exactly like Keiko left her, completely unchanged. Keiko can see one of her eyes from between the long raven hairs- her eyes are a very pale green.

"Zankoku... that man you tried to seduce?" There was no reaction so she just continued anyway. "No one could have seduced him- it was impossible, and Hiina knew that, that is why she chose him as a task for you specifically. She knew you would fail, because he is gay. He has no interest in ANY woman."

"WHAT?!" Her voice was loud, almost a growl.

Several shards united into another large sheet of mirror with Hiina's reflection on it- the hairline seams where the cracks were started to drip blood.

Zankoku suddenly started to move, looking furious for a moment before Keiko had to jump to the side and flinch back to avoid all the mirror fragments falling to the floor- no longer suspended by anything. Zankoku looked around the room, her expression turning to confusion a moment and then she shook her head and backed up against the wall.

"N-no. I don't... want to wake up."

Keiko approached her cautiously. "Why? What is wrong? I am here to help."

"No.... don't. I am not worth it."

"Your life is never pointless."

"My family abandoned me when I was 9. They never knew what happened to me beyond that, so they could not mourn me, I was already lost to them. All I was used for was sex... the men could have just as easily used their own hands. My presence changed nothing."

Keiko looked hurt for her, shaking her head and taking on her demi-human form so she could sit with Zankoku. "No, because then they would have just used their hands. They paid a good deal of money to see you and... use your services. You brought them joy and pleasure- in a world where all too much hate and pain can exist. Without you this place crumbled on itself. Your name was known all over this district. Yea your job was to give pleasure but you did it very well, you made a lot of people happy and people were talking about it. Even if you had done absolutely nothing- your presence takes up space, your body is visible, your words still make a sound. The wind moves around you, the light refracts off of you; you influence the environment. Your presence is felt, even if no one knows who you are, even if you don't do anything. Those influences on the environment affect people around you, who affect the people around them. Everyone influences the entire world in some tiny way." She sighed. "Most importantly... it mattered to YOU." She motioned to the pipe sitting on the dresser. "That wasn't yours originally, was it? I saw memories of a kabuki show? Before it was banned?"

Zankoku nodded slowly, some of her hair receding back into her head, grabbing and dragging the pipe over to her in the process. "Her name was Kane. She... taught me kabuki. But we were robbed of that when it was banned, and she was killed."

"But for that window of time you brought a different kind of entertainment and joy to the people. And... you still have that knowledge. Maybe you cannot put on any official shows, but you can still use those skills for yourself. You're beautiful besides- you could make people smile just by being around."

"Nnngh... Kane wanted me to go on in her stead. After the ban, my memory of her and her art was all that could be carried on, but I failed her in this when I too perished. My mother named me after chrysanthemums wishing me longevity even though she could not watch over me. If my life was truly meant to be a long one, and it had meaning as you have said..." She bowed her head and Keiko heard the quiet thud of several tears hitting the floor under her. "Then that only makes it all the more heartbreaking, for my story has already ended."

"Has it? You are still here."

"What?" Her hair started to draw back in, untangling itself from the environment around the building and creating a quiet hissing sound as it drags itself through the cracks of the building to return to her.

"You don't need to be HERE. You know that chapter of your life is already gone, there is no reason for you to remain tethered here to those old memories. You could find your way to Yomi... but you could also go anywhere you want, as you are now."

"W-what would I do? I can't... see... everything seems so distant... blurry."

Keiko looked around blinking in confusion a moment. "Oh, that is because you are in the spirit realm. Hmm, I guess you don't know how to manifest in the mortal realm- you only managed to do it once and it was through sheer rage that you pulled it off. But, on this side of reality you can still see and interact with yokai. We are only half mortal so yokai are visible on both sides."

Her hair receded till it was only long enough to brush the floor when she stood finally. Her decrepit kimono stitched itself back together and the coloration faded back. Grey turned back to white- a funerary kimono, but then her personality influenced it and pink buds appeared all over it, and bloomed into sakura to adorn it. The inner layer turned to maroon and the obi turned to gold- matching the kimono she wore when she drown. Kiku is dead- now it is time for Zankoku to live in her stead. She attempted to brush hair from her face but the curse of being a kejoro made it impossible. Keiko caught glimpses of half her face at most at a single time- the hair always moved itself into the way to block the view. Because of the fragmented state of her mind; even Zankoku's memory of her own appearance is hazy and she herself cannot even view her face in its entirety. If you tried hard enough you could see her entire face- just not all at once.

And so began a long journey back north east, following the river so they do not become lost, without also having to take populated roads. Along the way Keiko did her best to teach Zankoku how to... well, exist in her new reality. As a ghost she can phase through structures, but also most structures are not even visible to her because she exists in the spirit realm. It is difficult for her to manifest in the mortal realm for any length of time, and currently she does not have enough spiritual strength to even do it without the aid of a torii gate. The only mortal item she has with her is the pipe- but it embodies the presence of two different ghosts, allowing it to pass into the spirit realm with her. Mortals can still be seen from the spirit realm side but they are blurry and you have to get really close to a person to be able to see them at all- more than five feet away and they become invisible to you. It can be a bit confusing at times- if someone is on the second floor of a building but you are looking at them from the spirit realm side it will look like they are walking on thin air; because you can't see the floor they are standing on.

This side of reality is above the moral realm but still below the heavenly plane. The sky is always bright white- there are no sun or moon or clouds here. It can still rain here- you just can't see what the rain is coming out of, and day and night don't really exist. The wind still blows but it is untarnished by the smoke of human fires here. In place of most human structures is unblemished nature- forests where villages stand, grass over paths. Statues, waystones, shrines, and structures like that usually exist on both sides, so not ALL human structures are missing. The brothel Zankoku was cursed to was visible in the spirit realm because of her. Once she left it, it became intangible to that side; looking like it melted into thin air.

Zankoku was sad, and leery to accept any of Keiko's kindness. It took her some time to start to open up to the idea that this could be a second life for her. She can still experience the world, even if it is not as something that breathes anymore. When she becomes tired and they have to pause their travels for the day, it is obvious and Keiko can see it without Zankoku needing to say anything. Her form starts to become translucent blue, and starts to evaporate into pale blue spectral flames- unable to retain its shape when she loses strength. Once they rest for a while she is able to re-assume her true form easily enough. Her hair also apparently acts like a limb would! Zankoku has full control of it and can mold her hair into whatever shape she wants- like into an actual usable arm. She also demonstrated that she can summon fire from her pipe as well- helping Keiko set up temporary camps for them.

Zankoku seemed to brighten up a bit when she spoke of the good old days- at the peak of her popularity as a mortal. Keiko asked her to give her lessons as well. As a yujo who nearly attained the rank of oiran; Zankoku is a very good actor, and a good lover. She can read a man's reaction and use coy subtly to coax them into revealing their true desires- even the ones they are ashamed to admit. As a woman who studied kabuki; she is also very good at dancing. Zankoku embodies grace and beauty. Her death only punctuated this- for beauty is often fleeting, like the short lived existence of a sakura.

Her kimono changed to wild red and green covered in golden patterns as she twirled around reminiscing with Keiko. Her hair became bushy and turned vibrant red! A white mask adorned with kabuki makeup seemed to materialize hovering in front of her face- as if crumbling to dust in reverse. The blocks in the middle of her sandals grew tall, adding a full foot of height to her and narrowing her balance, but still could not topple her.

"Fluid motions keep your balance and prevent wasted energy."

"Good advice for sword fights too."

"Yes. You lose balance and fall when you try to stop, or go against the motion. Keep the momentum and you keep your balance, but also pace yourself so you do not waste energy with too wild a motion. Kabuki uses extremely exaggerated motions and expressions, it makes it more entertaining and easily read. Sometimes this can be useful for bedding someone as well. Deliberately make yourself easy to read, so they do not try to look behind your mask and upset themselves imagining what you could mean, rather than what you actually mean."

Keiko transformed into her default human shape. "This is the form I usually go with as a human. What do you think?" She twirled around to show off and Zankoku giggled.

"Pretty. You can take on any shape though, no? Perhaps something less... overt."

Keiko slouched a bit. "Didn't you just say to be more obvious?"

"With your actions, your words... not your appearance. You are pretty, but untamed. You wear your kimono loose, your hair is not adorned or tied in any way. You will certainly get looks from men, and I don't doubt you could seduce them just fine, but older, more experienced men, or trying to hook someone for more than a night- leave more to the imagination. Men like a wild girl for a wild night, but they would proffer a refined woman to make a home with. Wild girls generally don't do housekeeping."

It took almost a full week to return to Shironami up the river- because Zankoku cannot shapeshift, and Keiko can't ride the river because it flows in the opposite direction. The two of them had a nice relaxing journey anyway. The further they got from the place of her death, the more questions Zankoku asked, and the more she opened up. A few times she got Keiko to sidetrack a bit to wander into a town, so she could get close enough to people to see what the women were wearing and change her own outfit to match, but ultimately defaulted to her own most of the time. She can make minor changes to her appearance since her body isn't really a solid object anymore- but she cannot actually shapeshift, and it takes energy to do it, so as soon as she starts to tire it will revert anyway.

Keiko did not bring up her prank when she returned with Zankoku, and just sat off to the sidelines to let them get to know each other first. She told Zankoku on the way over that Shironami was the one who sent Keiko to find Zankoku. It was the kappa clan who found her in the first place since she made the river her grave. It was so awkward when they first met that it was comical. Shironami is already rather timid, and has never spoken to a human before, er... former human. Zankoku knows about the kappa but has definitely never seen one- and people are generally taught to fear them and be careful around them because kappa can eat humans. Of course; now that she is a ghost she is considerably harder to eat.

To feed her normally- you need incense, the only thing a mortal can offer a spirit to eat. Being a kejoro specifically though; Zankoku can manifest physically if she tries hard enough, and in that form she eat whatever she wants, and so Shironami got to work communicating with her the only way he really knew how- through cooking. Almost every dish his clan demands of him contains cucumber, and you could tell Shironami had to make a conscious effort not to include too much in his dishes for her- something he also had to consider with Daisuke's forest army. Zankoku only knew how to cook simple meals since the brothel could not afford any of the ingredients Shironami uses, but appreciated the effort and passion he puts into it, and smiled along to him talking about how he likes to cook his favorite dishes.

Not knowing much else herself; Zankoku showed Shironami her dances, and did her best to recall the kabuki plays she actually did before the ban was set in place- though that is doubly hard without any cast members other than herself, but Shironami was plenty entertained regardless. In the river there is not much in terms of entertainment, and he does not find nearly as much amusement in frightening humans as the others do. He even introduced her to Daisuke and she spent a whole day gasping as Shironami lead her through the forest introducing various yokai she had up till this point never knew were real creatures. The tanuki can play the taiko drums, so they even added a bit of music to her dance, and she put on a show for the whole forest over the dinner Shironami cooked.

Shironami and Zankoku were floating on the river a week later, looking up at the stars while they drifted on a simple raft. Shironami created a whirlpool so while the raft was always in motion; they were not actually going anywhere, just around in a circle.

"So, what do you plan on doing now that you are a yurei? You don't have to obey human laws anymore, so you could really go anywhere, and do whatever you want."

"Oh... well. Hm."

"What?"

"Ah, I just... hadn't thought about it really." She lowered her voice. "I thought I would just stay here with you for a while..."

Shironami huffed with a small smile. "I am not too boring for be around longer than you need to be? I am sort of a one-trick pony. I cook... and that is about it. Although the rest of my clan is a one-act show of scaring away humans, so I guess in comparison I am the better of the two."

"No, no! I enjoy being around you, it is fun to watch you and your family bicker, haha. And all the forest creatures and the tanuki you introduced me to! You are very kind." Some tears started to pool in her eyes, though not enough to fall free. "I would be condemned to that dark, abandoned building for eternity if it was not for you. I wasted my first life, but if it were not for you; I'd have wasted my second one too."

Shironami turned around and put a webbed hand on her upper arm- he could not quite reach her shoulder. "Hey, it is okay, you are free of that place now. Actually, I was told about you from another of our clan members, and it was Keiko who got you out of there. I was basically just a relay for the message." He shrugged. "I tried to get you out of there myself but I couldn't figure out how. Did you even hear me calling to you when I was there?"

She shook her head, looking a bit puzzled- she was entirely unaware he was there at all, she was in her dormant state. "It is the thought that counts. Not to imply Keiko is any sort of a tool- but for lack of a better analogy; a tool needs someone to direct it before it can be used. Without you Keiko wouldn't have even known I existed, and it's your caring nature that compelled you to send her."

Zankoku knelt down and hugged him since their difference in height made it a bit awkward to do it standing. She is only very slightly taller than he is- but he slouches forward since his spine is encased in a bone shell and can't bend, at all. She let go of him and noticed him blushing- only then realizing she unintentionally mashed her boobs into his groin when she hugged him. "O-oops."

"Those are... breasts, right?"

Her blush deepened even further. "O-OH. You... you've never... seen them before? Wait, I guess kappa females don't have any?"

"No, we are an egg laying species. The top two plates on their plastron are large and rounded, but it isn't the same, since they are hard."

Zankoku watched his expression carefully as she loosened her obi and parted the top of her kimono to let them out, and his eyes widened like a kid in a candy store. He has never seen bare breasts- never mind breasts as large as hers. Each breast at least the size of a watermelon, capped with pale diffused red nipples and small bumpy areola.

She smiled and glanced away a moment. "I guess I don't have to ask you if you like them. Hehe~"

Shironami looked down and panicked, quickly shoving his loin cloth back down- his growing erection was causing it to point completely horizontal out from him!

"Oh gosh, I am so sorry!"

"N-no, no, don't be!" She laughed musically. "You think I have not seen my share of erections in my line of work?" She looked a bit more serious. "Do you... want..?"

"A-a-ah, n-no! I mean... well, not... like that, you know?"

"Like what?" She cocked her head back a bit.

"Just for fun." He was about to cross his arms to look more confident but his loincloth sprung back up and he immediately had to yank it down again. "If- when I get a woman I want it to mean something."

"Oh... I see." She sounded sad.

He smirked and looked back up at the stars trying to get his erection to go away. "I am just a river yokai, we must look hideous to you. I wouldn't expect you to seriously consider anything like that, so, don't want to get my hopes up pretending it could be something it can't, right?"

She wrapped her arms around him from behind, standing up but leaning over to rest her bare breasts against his cool shell, causing her nipples to stand in attention. "The eyes and the heart are two different organs, Shiro."

"Y-you..? You don't think I am an ugly river imp?"

"I think you are weird looking."

"Oh. I... guess I will take that."

"I think you have a beautiful heart, and I think I owe my afterlife to you. Your funny appearance is already starting to grow on me. You are Shironami first, a kappa second."

"Wait... so... you aren't doing this as a reward or something? You actually like, like... me?"

"I know my previous life makes it hard to discern my intentions that way... but yes."

Shironami turned to face her and the two were silent for several moments before he shakily reached up to undress her further. His green, webbed and clawed hands looked so wrong against her soft, supple pale human flesh. Kejoro were actually well known and prized among yokai- because they are beautiful and experienced in bed by default. Once they become ghosts they are suddenly a more viable option for a relationship and everyone jumps at the chance. Shironami did not know any of that, he had just been told about a damsel in distress and did his best to free her, now he has unintentionally won a coveted 'prize'.

She just stood there and let him undress her, caressing him gently from the side with her long, mobile hair. Zankoku has quite the bush on her crotch too- but luckily nowhere near the hair on her head. There are some instances where it is all body hair affected.

"So... soft. I mean- compared to kappa! You know- shells and all."

She chuckled at him. "It is okay- looking soft is a complement to human women."

She knelt down, folding her legs beside herself and she gently took his loin cloth, looked into his eyes once more and then unfastened the strap. Zankoku moved back in surprise but still did not move fast enough- his large phallus swung up without the cloth to hold it back and smacked the bottom of her breasts, sending them into a jiggling fit before pulling itself up through her cleavage and pointed up, looming over her.

He winced at her reaction. "It is okay if you think it's hideous."

Zankoku blushed. "N... no. I was just... surprised by its size. You are not very tall- but that certainly is."

The general rule of biology is that in order for a phallus to work, it needs to actually reach the creature's partner. So the less mobile the creature is- the bigger its penis needs to be in order to work properly. And a turtle isn't known for being flexible. The shaft is pink, and as long as her entire arm! It turns mottled to grey and then entirely grey on the last third of it. The glans is almost a complete invert of a human. The bumpy corona faces straight forward- the end of the cock is shaped like the end of a trumpet, with the urethra at the lowest point of the bowl shaped head. It is slightly leaf shaped if you look at it straight-on as well, with the top pointing the furthest forward and the bottom point the furthest back. These are all traits shared with a turtle; unique only to kappa however is a large stiff bump on the furthest point of the corona's edge which marks the start of a whole row of bumps leading back to the base of the cock. Due to their immobile, arched backs- kappa mate while facing one another, so those bumps are aligned to stimulate the g-spot and clitoris of the female. Their balls are entirely internal- since a scrotum is not hydrodynamic and they are cold blooded so body temperature is never an issue anyway.

Shironami knelt down and gently cupped her breast and pushed her back into a laying position, though had to shuffle back a bit to aim his phallus since it's so long. There is no way it will fit into her flared- she has to help him compress the funnel shaped head so it has any chance of getting inside of her- once it slides in it is fine to flare out, and does immediately causing her to yelp in surprise and squirm a bit. Zankoku has taken some fair sized members- but never one that spreads that WIDE. The bumpy corona drags up the walls of her inner passage stretching her open as it goes while she clamped down on the shaft after it in pulses as her pussy sucks on his member, daring him to go deeper. With every one of the rigid bumps that pops into her along the spine of the penis; Zankoku shudders in pleasure again.

A curtain of black hair rises up around his side and coils his body in a gentle full-body hug. His torso is so hard, since it is encased in bone and keratin plates- but the plates on the front look like human muscle, which creates the illusion that Shiro is stronger than he actually is. The divots however still expose a very tiny amount of bare flesh between. Unlike a turtle the bottom and top shell do not align correctly- there is a gap between his back and the sides of the shell on the sides where you can potentially put something in side of his shell. He has several holes drilled into the edge toward the top he sometimes hangs items on when he travels- so he can take his cookware with him.

Once he was far enough in- he was able to balance himself with a webbed hand over either of her breasts- though even bottomed out there was still a neon pink arch of bent shaft between him and Zankoku- she could not fit all of him, even as a ghost she ran out of room. They stared into each other's eyes- but Shironami could see the stars above reflected in her pale green eyes. He was awestruck by her; he is a virgin, but even still- he has never known anything as soft as this. Her smooth supple skin, her squishy, rubbery breasts, her rippling inner pussy; everything about her is impossibly soft. Even her hair is softer than his!

Zankoku kept glancing at the water sloshing around inside of his head- a bit nervous he would thrust a little too hard and spill it. It is not normal water though- and kappa are able to shape water freely so he can keep it in place even if he turned his head upside down. You CAN trick a kappa into spilling its soul- but that is only because most kappa are not particularly intelligent. It felt so different for Zankoku. For the obvious reason that she has never had a phallus shaped remotely like this before, but also because she has never had sex like this before. On a raft, in a river, under the stars... and with someone who actually cares about her. Not as a thing of beauty and pleasure but as herself too. He found her as a tangled mess of hair in a dilapidated building and still tried his best to save her. He watches her eyes and slows down when he starts to peak- waiting for her to catch up. He wants her to have as much pleasure from this as he does. He places a hand on the bulge on her lower gut his penis is making.

Zankoku orgasms first, but she could tell Shironami had been sweating holding himself back till now. The walls of her pussy start to ripple wildly and her legs tremble as the pleasure burst is so loud that it mutes the muscle control of her lower body! When she lost strength however her physical form also wavered- her lower body became partially translucent blue- allowing Shironami to SEE his own dick through her body! Her pussy going wild around his dick quickly sent him toward the edge himself and he was happy to finally let loose. He shoved into her hard enough that the exposed portion of his shaft bent- and the urethra bulged along its bottom. The trumpeted end of the cock created a cap over her cervix though; fluid can't get around it. He blasted straight into her womb filling her like a water balloon almost instantly, winding her from the sudden internal pressure shift. She then started to slide up the raft! The liquid pressure from his penis was pushing her entire body off of him! He came so hard he managed to blow her off his shaft! His orgasm did not last long, but he ejaculated an obscene amount of fluid. Which she supposed she should have expected from something attuned to water.

Once it returned flaccid- his giant dick drew into itself and tucked away back into his shell inside his lower torso and out of sight even without the loincloth. He curled up to her and they went to sleep under the starry sky. Zankoku went to sleep a good bit after he did, gently cradling his head to her breast and looking at the sky. She nearly gave up all of this, because some jealous witch convinced her it meant nothing. No, it means everything, actually.

Shironami returned to the rest of his clan further up the river the next day with Zankoku close behind. He seen Keiko in her fox form waiting patiently by the table at the river bank where Shiro decapitates the fish to bleed them out.

He sighed at her, even though he had a bit of a smile at the flesh-edges at the base of his beak. "And what do you want, vixen?" He immediately got his fishing rod, and Zankoku automatically used her hair to gather the pail to drop the fish in as well as his bait at the same time without actually needing to walk anywhere.

"So how spicy can you make a piece of food- theoretically?"

He glanced at her as he walked into the shallow water at the edge of the river. "For you? As hot as Kagutsuchi." (kami of fire)

Kuronami glared at him from across the river and smirked himself. "And you think that tanuki will take it lying down? He is doing his best to puff up his chest, he could have you beaten for insubordination."

Shironami shrugged. "Daisuke and me are friends. I just... also consider Keiko a friend, too. He wouldn't stay mad at me, besides; I can take it."

Kuronami laughed. "Oh, now look who thinks they are cool."

Zankoku spoke up defiantly. "Shiro IS cool. I think he is even cooler than a cucumber!"

All the kappa gasped and turned to look at her, but old Uzu was the only to speak up. "Damn."