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I keep a hand upon the hilt of a dagger while Miyu leads us through the twisting halls of the kitsune's home. The sarugami 'guest' we guard, Taiki, keeps his head low and hands clasped where I can see. Our fluffy four-tail kitsune guide is as tense as I am, her bright and clear eyes turning toward us whenever we pass a corner, and she keeps a hand near the sword on her waist. Our unspoken threats weigh on the monkey. Taiki makes no complaints, even when he was watched over while washing. I saw no hidden weapons anywhere, nor did Miyu find them in his clothes, but after this long in the home of kitsune, I know fur can hide much.

I'm ill at ease being near a monster that's kin to man-eaters, let alone monsters I've recently killed. There's no stench of tainted breath in these halls, however. That holds my urge to plunge a dagger in Taiki's neck, for now.

We pass no one in the halls, nor do I recognize the path taken. Miyu either means to confuse the sarugami's sense of direction or delay our arrival before the master of the mountain. The four-tail does bring us past the room I'd stayed in until a few days ago, so even several turns later I might make it back outside on my own if needed. This kitsune home doesn't make the skin prickle from malice like certain old forests I've been through, nor sink the gut with bewildered dread as in the land of the faeries.

Miyu stops before a door-wall like any other in the hall and makes a quiet clap. I make certain the sarugami is an arm's length from her and watch him.

The resignation of a dead man hangs on Taiki's face. A good deception, if it even is one.

A dozen breaths later, well worn and oiled wood hisses as the door-wall slides open. Shizuka, hair pulled back and done up with silver ornaments, bows lightly to her sword carrying sister. All while keeping her eyes off of me, though I still feel watched by the golden haired seven-tail.

Malice has been the least of my concerns among the kitsune.

"Is this one of our visitors?" Shizuka asks, standing straight.

"The politest one," Miyu says. "He is here by the bidding of his master, Morigawa no Izumi."

Shizuka appraises the sarugami, expression perfectly polite yet cold, before glancing at Miyu's sword and mine.

"I see," she says. "Come, sister. Tell me what has happened."

The seven-tail retreats a step and Miyu joins her, the door-wall closing behind them.

I'm left alone with something I know could turn into a man-eater.

The sarugami stands as he walked: hands clasped before him, gaze low, and head slouched. I doubt it's because of the unspoken threat of my fingers itching for a blade. The man-like monkey's humble demeanor hasn't once changed. I could respect such fortitude had his kind not attacked the ruined village. He must know only a single frayed string of my nerve holds back the sword of his death. For now, I can appreciate the lack of trouble the sarugami has given compared to the monk left waiting outside the gates.

I hear nothing from the room. After long enough for my feet to feel cold against the wooden floor, I notice a shadow moving behind the screen walls. It comes to the door, Miyu opening it up and moving astride the entrance.

"Sarugami. My eldest sister has deigned to grant you audience," Shizuka softly says from farther in the doorway.

Taiki bows instead of speaking, the formality of his motion defeated.

"She also asks," Shizuka looks at me, gaze honed as steel, "for your wisdom and presence, Egil, if you will lend both."

"She has it," I say, careful not to mention Rin's name. It feels right, be that for manners or concerns of magic, and I need no other reason.

Shizuka, sleeves held before her, steps back for the sarugami to enter the room. I'm close behind him, while Miyu remains on guard outside. I don't watch for who or what closes the door, my eyes taking in the room for half a heartbeat.

A painted screen, different from the one I saw when arriving, obscures a large space at the far end; lanterns or magic flame offering no hint of shadow behind a scene of inky branches and flowers. Nothing else in the room, not even cushions.

Taiki seems aware of the proper way to do things, unlike me, as he shuffles with a bowed head to stand in the center of a mat before quickly prostrating himself. I glance at Shizuka, wondering whether there's a proper place for me to stand, but the seven-tail is already walking to kneel beside the screen. I decide to remain near enough to draw and use my sword, but to the side so the sarugami would have trouble kicking me and Miyu can still get a clean strike if she rushes in.

It's good that my battle won instincts have a proper place again, the blood of my ancestors happy to have a potential foe no matter how much I might protest.

A hidden door-wall behind the screen clacks open. Cloth shuffles then settles, a blurry shadow appearing behind the painted screen, but I won't assume it's Rin until I hear her.

Silence stretches on painfully. I'm left wondering if there's a purpose to that other than making the sarugami uncomfortable from his position on the ground. He doesn't move, speak, nor show any hint of fear when there's a man ready to slay him.

Shizuka turns from the one behind the screen, but remains seated on the floor. "What is your name, sarugami?"

Though her tone is polite, the look on her face regards the spot the sarugami kneels as if a dying beetle had crawled into the room. Does the seven-tail hate sarugami for what happened to her little sister Miki? Or was I simply treated favorably?

The man-like monkey lifts his head just enough to speak, but not look up. "Taiki. Nothing more. I set aside clan and family when I devoted myself as vassal of Morigawa no Izumi."

I'm unfamiliar with who that is, let alone whether it's a name or title, yet a subtle change in the kitsune tells me much. Shizuka knows, and chooses not to hide all of her disdain. It never occurred to me she could hate anything.

"Do you know, servant of that tengu," Shizuka says, soft and measured yet somehow leaving a lingering poison in her words, "whose mountain you are upon?"

"Yes."

"Then why are you here, speaking her name as your master?"

Taiki lifts his head a finger's breadth, not looking up, and slams his forehead down. "To give my apologies for what my kin did, and surrender my head for our failure to catch them."

Behind the screen, shadows of tails fan out.

"Explain your failings, and why man-eaters of your kind were here," Shizuka instructs, no doubt conveying Rin's will.

There's an insult woven in all this formality, that much I can tell, though its sharpness is lost upon my foreign ears and wits. Yet the sarugami accepts the scorn as if it were well deserved and all but grovels.

"At winter's first freeze, we, my brothers and I, captured two of my fallen kin," Taiki says, speech polite but rougher than all the kitsune. "Our master wanted to execute them for what they'd done. But we pleaded with Morigawa no Izumi, 'Wait until spring to execute them,' and our great master agreed out of trust we did not deserve. We wanted to cleanse our brethren, ease their journey to the next world. But a full moon ago a kappa arrived in our master's domain. The kappa, feigning a simple message from his clan, proved us wrong and my master's reluctance right. This kappa, he returned eleven days ago with more of my fallen kin in an attack. They broke free many Morigawa no Izumi's bound away."

An angry tsk rises behind the screen, shadows of tails writhing. Shizuka, however, keeps her displeasure from her face. Perhaps hiding, as well, the clench of her fingers within her sleeves.

"We slew those we caught," Taiki continues, voice loud with contrition. "However, most of our fallen kin were cunning and escaped. My brothers chasing our kin got thrown off their trail many times, losing precious days."

"Why," Rin speaks at last, her murderously cold and polite voice no better than an axe striking the flinching sarugami, "was no message sent to me before you? It takes less than a single day for one of Izumi's winged messengers to reach me."

"There was a message, we - we-" the sarugami chokes upon his own tongue, shaking with frightened strain as if serpents crawl all over him.

A writhing shimmer hangs about Taiki, glistening like dew upon a spiderweb, and I have to wonder what horrid glamour and magics the kitsune use on him. Yet I have no pity. The sarugami can barely gasp, making the sounds of a drowning man. There's a faint glow in Shizuka's eyes, and Rin's shadows behind the screen seem sharper, if not deeper.

"No message came," Rin states, her final word breaking whatever spell she held the sarugami in.

A desperate breath rattles his prostrate form. He can't lift his head, or maybe he refuses. I can't decide if it's ragged terror keeping him down or a desperate attempt to be polite, for he trembles as if wanting to flail.

"I beg forgiveness," Taiki struggles over each word, still catching his breath, "O Venerated Heir of Tenko, for my crass tongue's insolence. I didn't mean to make it sound as if you lied."

"Your master," Rin's tone could crack a glacier with its chill, "failed to teach you properly."

The sarugami's head slams down again. "It's my ignorance. The messenger sent, we found what was left of him at the river's edge. Frozen and chewed on by kappa."

"Then why was another not sent?"

"I am he," Taiki says, "traveling with my brethren on their hunt. They tracked our fallen brethren headed towards the domain of this Tenko blessed mountain. I traveled with them, to protect our master's message. We hadn't known we were too late until we arrived in the dark of night and saw the tragedy in the village below."

"A distant kappa clan and a half-breed committed the slaughter," Rin says, iciness lessened unlike her polite edge, "not your escaped prisoners nor fallen brethren. However," she twists the word as I would a dagger, "were it not for Egil, those vile kin of yours would have taken one of my precious sisters. It was your mercy that left your fallen kin alive, and it was your kin who set that prisoner loose. That prisoner who savaged and scarred my precious little sister."

I can't believe my breath doesn't mist or freeze upon my beard. Is there magic in her words, making the room colder, or is this nothing more than fury that Rin's been hiding away?

Being on her side, I can only admire her control. I'd have killed the sarugami by now.

"My brothers and I take responsibility for our kin," Taiki says, words strong again.

I understand his newfound strength even without looking at him. The sarugami is prepared for death.

Rin lets out an annoyed huff. "Where are your brothers that would offer their heads with yours?"

"In the village," Taiki says, "watching over the monks we met. We only avoided bloodshed by agreeing to send one messenger each to your manor, O Venerated Heir of Tenko."

"And so you try to turn my ire to the monks," Rin intones, "knowing my displeasure with their temple?"

"Never!" Taiki calls out hastily, realizing his mistake too late.

"Did the monks have a change of heart towards your kind?"

"Their fear of my master spared bloodshed."

"Enough to talk, I see." Rin almost sounds disappointed.

The sarugami's mouth twitches as if restraining a grimace in the first real show of emotion I've seen. "They did most of the talking."

"Such a poor messenger your master sends me," Rin says, and I can imagine her head tilting to give a sharp gaze. "Yet I will commend your apparent sincerity, sarugami, and sense of duty. Most would run away instead of willingly walking into my home after their foolishness led to the harm of one of my precious sisters."

Taiki doesn't react to the threat. Instead he unsteadily adds, "My master also sent me with a written message."

Shizuka is the one to stir from that. "And you did not present it first?" she demands, sounding angry for the first time I can recall.

"I was bade to offer it after I explained what brought me here," the sarugami grovels.

"Deliver this message," Rin commands.

The sarugami sits up just enough for both his hands to rush towards his chest. Taiki's fingers vanish within his clothes, grasping something against his chest. My oiled sword scarcely hisses as it comes free, the sarugami stopping and eyes turning to the sound. That alone spares the floor from a splash of blood, my blade halting before it bites through the base of his neck.

"Egil's instincts are sharper than his blade, and the only reason I still have as many sisters as I do," Rin says, sweetened tone amused to my ear, but no doubt terrifying for everyone else.

I'm glad my instincts have a use instead of being a constant threat to her family, though I hardly feel anything right now. There's a potential snake on the floor before me. I flick my sword from the nape of Taiki's neck to his throat, lifting his head up. His acceptance of death hasn't changed, which is all the more reason to hold him at the sharp point of steel. Is there a message hidden away or some weapon?

I'll take no chances for my hosts.

Nor, it seems, will Rin. "Unless you want your head decorating the gate, sarugami, so you might help future messengers with their manners, tell Egil where this message is."

"Here," the sarugami utters, shifting the clothes folded over his chest, just enough for a crinkle of paper to nudge into sight.

"Kill him, should he so much as breathe," Rin instructs, as if asking for a stone path swept of leaves.

Taiki's chest stops mid rise. I switch the sword so I can skewer his throat and reach a cautious two fingers toward that slip of folded paper. A slight tremble shakes his hand, kept where it rose, but otherwise he's still as any man can be when someone like me is ready to slaughter them. I can tell, from his eyes, that he believes I can't be appeased, but I'll listen to Rin.

Wise, for someone who has made so many mistakes already.

I pull the paper out, holding it like an enraged serpent. Shizuka is there in an instant to take it, retreating back to Rin.

I consider searching him again for weapons, but not a moment later Rin says, "Sit upright, sarugami. I tire of hearing you talk to the floor."

I take that as a sign to move my blade off his neck, but not put it away.

Taiki draws in a short breath before doing as he's told, his posture making it easier for me to kill him should the need arise. I glance at the kitsune for only a heartbeat, wondering if I should sheathe my sword, but Shizuka is unfolding the paper and I can only see that shadow of Rin on the screen. I'll trust my sharp instincts, then. I keep my sword in a false rest, ready to cut or stab in a heartbeat.

While I stand ready, Shizuka whispers to Rin, too low for me to make out the words as she reads the message to her sister. I can see its writing from here, though nothing I can read. The characters flow and twist in streaks of ink, written by a sure hand interested in artistry as much as writing.

When the reading of the message is finished, the two kitsune murmur in deliberation.

I keep an eye on the sarugami, yet the script on the letter has much of my thoughts not needed for killing. The writing is the same I saw in the land I departed before arriving here, but that means little. The merchant I came with told me that every civilized people writes that way, praising the grandeur of the central kingdom it came from and making it sound as if the world and knowledge flows from that single royal city. How small his idea of the world is, but he believed few of the stories he asked me to share.

Paper quietly folds, my eyes snapping to Shizuka as she closes the message and sets it aside. I focus on the sarugami again, but he hasn't moved. Other than that hat-like headpiece resting unevenly after all the forehead bashing he's done, he hardly seems bothered by the fury of kitsune or bare steel of my sword.

"Do you," Rin addresses the sarugami, "know what message you were sent with?"

"Yes."

"All of it?"

The sarugami is caught unaware by the heartless tone, while my fingers start to tense. With but a word I'll strike.

"You don't know, do you?" Rin observes. "Is your master not cruel, abandoning your fate to me after giving me such a message?"

"If you command it, O Grand Kitsune of the West, my brothers and I will not miss our heads."

"Enough with the titles I inherited, little forest ape," Rin commands, tone not insulting despite her choice of words. "Your heads are of no use, even upon your shoulders. Stuck on our gates they wouldn't inspire manners in visitors, only frighten them."

Choosing that moment, I sheathe my sword on instinct alone, the clack of hilt against scabbard followed by a thoughtful hum from Rin. Without speaking, she's made it seem as if she ordered me to be at ease.

"Tell me, Taiki," Rin says, voice heartlessly polite, "what would you do about the oni trapped upon my mountain?"

Rin might as well have told me what else was in the message, saying it like that.

The sarugami, however, doesn't appear to understand her deeper meaning. "My master said the oni is recruiting help through the kappa. My brethren suggested sneaking into his domain disguised as our fallen kin or traitors, so we might put an end to him."

"And how would little forest apes stop an oni so recently fed?"

"With the weight of our lives," he answers.

"If you aren't led astray," Rin corrects. "You know that Kenta isn't the only danger in that twisted forest."

Taiki nearly trips over his hurried words. "We only know of kappa and our fallen kin going to the oni."

"Do not try to deceive me with faked ignorance."

That shimmer creeps around the hem of the sarugami's clothes, his eyes scrunching shut and head slamming into the floor in apology.

"We would only do to your fallen sister as you command!" he pleads, voice trembling in terror.

"I'm sure you believe that," Rin intones, "but I know your master's cruelty. She suspects the oni might plot a distraction with allies, man-eaters or heartless warriors, so he might escape easier."

Needles prick across the back of my neck at the thought of more man-eaters swarming to this mountain. Thoughts of kappa and sarugami lingering about the destroyed village, using it to siege the kitsune while more man-eaters arrive by the day flit through my mind. How have I not considered such a possibility before? Because I've been distracted by my scar and love cursed heart that didn't want to see more troubles? I must have a witless mind when it comes to war.

Taiki is slower to understand. Either from the dewy web of magic on him causing some unseen torment, or from less wits than me. He still manages to speak, albeit slowly. "Th-that is right. My master fears more will come to aid the oni."

"Has she sent messages to anyone else?"

"Only you, O Venerated Heir of Tenko."

I'm about to speak my mind on such a fool's word, but Rin is quicker.

"Those are the messages you know of," she says.

"Y-yes," Taiki replies, voice wavering as if he'd never considered it.

"She burdened me with quite the messenger," Rin scoffs, angry despite the glamour of magic upon the sarugami fading.

Taiki gasps like a man ashore after waves tried to drown him.

"Those kin that you traveled with," Rin says, "have they fought an oni before?"

"No."

"Have any of you survived a furious kitsune?"

"I might be the first," he answers.

Rin makes a disappointed tsk. There's silence in the room. My teeth grit at the thought of man-eaters swarming to this mountain, while all my sinew and muscle ready to cleave flesh and bone with steel.

One breath at a time I loosen my fingers, curled and clenched in place. It's only words so far. We know hardly anything, and I certainly don't trust this sarugami or his tengu master.

"You will wait, Taiki," Rin declares, "while I decide what to do with you."

The shadows behind her screen curl in on themselves, her tails twisting away until there is only a vague outline.

"Morigawa no Izumi still has a foul sense of humor. Sister," the shadow on the screen waves at Shizuka, "show him to a room and have Miyu on guard. He is no guest, but do not yet treat him as a prisoner."

Shizuka flows into a bow. "As you say, eldest sister."

When the seven-tail rises, a door-wall opens nearby, my fingers resting upon a dagger hilt until I see Miyu standing there. Of course she listened in.

Taiki makes a bow toward Rin. Then, when he's on his feet, he makes several more, the number too purposeful to be nerves. I'm ignored, the sarugami putting his back to me as he's escorted out of the room. If I was meant to go along then Rin surely would've said something. So I wait and uneasily watch the door-wall clatter shut. Floorboards creak, quieting with each step down the hall.

Only after they're long gone do I feel my arms relax away from blade hilts. I'd been ready to draw dagger and sword, one to throw and the other to cut, without thinking about it.

Head clearing breaths and focusing on the situation don't do anything for the lingering, crawling feeling along the back of my neck and scars. Uncertain dangers swirl about this kitsune home I've grown so comfortable in. If I hadn't been sleeping well recently, I'd give into the urge to stalk off on my own in a foolish hunt.

Instead I wait and swiftly have my patience rewarded.

"Would you join me, Egil?" a welcome voice asks from behind the screen.

I nearly nod, then think better of it. Rin will hear me cross the floor, and I don't trust myself to say anything.

I step around the screen, no doubt violating the proper way and manners for a guest, to see Rin sitting in regal repose. She's always beautiful, from flowing locks to elegant and commanding poise, but it's her glacial colored eyes that so easily captivate me. They're not looking at me but the folded paper message resting before her.

"Sit, if you desire," Rin says.

I tap my sword. "Not while I need this."

"Wise as that is," she says, eyes turning to me, "don't tire yourself. The worst has yet to come."

I return her stare. There's already suspicion of more man-eaters coming here and more plots from the oni. "What's worse than the message delivered?"

"Enduring the monk's manners." The words leave her mouth sharply, disdain bitter as it is polite. But her gaze soon softens. "You must wonder why I am not in a panic with all that was said."

"Seeing you're still calm has been reassuring."

The nine-tail manages a weak smile.

"I want to fret, but wisdom and responsibility keep me from it." Rin's smile fades. "Izumi won't act for several days at the earliest, and she swore to send a message - though I must have her explain why this most recent one couldn't come on wings."

Tails turn and fold over each other, Rin thinking through my attentive silence. The nine-tail soon continues, "That tengu and I have an unpleasant past, but she has always kept her word. Izumi mentioned in her letter," she flits a tail near the folded paper, "that she will have her disciples watching the trails and paths through the mountains. Due to her own recent captives, she believes more will try to aid the oni or gain his favor, though she has doubts about many coming here before spring's first blooming."

"Has anything like this happened before?"

"No," she says. "Had it, I would have sent for help after that first kappa abducted a child in the village."

I rub my shieldarm, the break a distant memory after how quickly my strength has returned. "Your distant family, or this tengu?"

"Family. But," Rin makes the word sound a sigh, "that matters little now. The trouble of more man-eaters is no different than it was days ago. None can approach my home or free the oni directly. And even if Izumi or her scouts outside my domain cause more strife, I know what to expect from her. The monks, however, are unpredictable."

Seeing me give a curt nod, she rubs her forehead as if it will help with the situation. "I suspect the monk you met, Kenshin, will be trying to prove to himself that my sisters and I are demons. If he doesn't already have an answer for himself."

There are a hundred questions I want to ask, but I won't let them touch my tongue.

Instead I speak the simplest one possible, "Why not send the monks away? There are plenty of excuses."

"I would if he was alone. Knowing there are more down at the village..." she shakes her head. "That's a decision I must make later. So tell me," Rin tilts her neck, hands resting back in her lap, "what do you make of the sarugami messenger, Taiki?"

Rin understands the dangers right now better than I do, and I want to trust her more than my instincts. "The sarugami isn't seeking death, but he's been ready to accept it."

A white brow rises. "As you were when we first met?"

"He's prepared to die as a sacrifice, not fighting."

"True. That and you wanted to talk if you could," she says, smirk in her words instead of upon her face.

It doesn't last as that serious, head of the family tone returns. "Tell me, Egil. Do you believe the sarugami's story? Or am I being deceived and cannot see it?"

I have to consider all that happened, rubbing at my short beard as I do so. So much was said yet little of it is certain. "He seemed a touch witless instead of cunning, and I don't believe he has wavered once in his intentions. Whether that's been truthful or deceitful, I won't guess.."

"Then we're of the same mind. Considering his master," she snatches up the letter in two fingers, dropping it just as quickly as if it had thorns, "I dislike either possibility. If Izumi once more decided I could not be trusted..."

Rin's words drift off and she looks like she wants to scowl, or perhaps scream in frustration.

Far too much darkens our moods. We both know the only path to truth is waiting and seeing what happens, and from the sound of her voice neither of us like it. I do, however, find it reassuring that Rin is talking with me like a confidant. Giving in to a selfish feeling or two such as that will keep me from a foolish hunt for an oni.

Yet of all the matters on my mind, there's one I cannot leave unspoken any longer. "If there's doubt for the messenger and message, how certain are you that the oni isn't waiting for a small army to come help him?"

"I expected to see your hand upon your sword when you asked that," Rin says.

"But you expected me to ask."

"Yes."

"Then how certain are you?"

"Morigawa no Izumi won't lie, though she will weave around her own words. If I know her at all, she'll have my sh?en surrounded with as much as she can spare." Rin grimaces distastefully at the thought, but her expression smooths out. "Should a message come upon a crow's wings, then I will worry about any large groups coming to help the oni. Otherwise we shouldn't think much of the warning."

"Not until Saki is back from her scouting," I guess.

"We'll have much to worry ourselves about when she returns," Rin says. "I will hardly have a moment to rest with all the preparations I must make. Once all these visitors have been seen to, I shall question the prisoner to see what little he might know. I want both of you there."

I might need Saki there to keep me from killing the half-kappa, but I don't say that aloud. The expression on Rin's face, drawn tight despite her eyes wavering, makes me worry for her more than my own unseen scars.

"We'll make sure you get rest," I promise the nine-tail.

"A pleasant thought," she says, trying to convince herself.

Quiet drags on. A knot creaks in my chest, pulled taut by conflicting concern for the nine-tail and a hatred for the unseen man-eater that's tormented her family for so long. I might not know much about war, but I know what a doomed hunt looks like. Giving into the fury inside me won't help anything, only send me walking into traps.

Yet the longer this silence stretches, the more dark thoughts start to twist through my ribs. I dare not let them take root, nor allow Rin's inner thoughts to darken further.

"This tengu, Morigawa no Izumi," I believe I speak that name properly, "what history have you two had?"

The look Rin turns my way wants to know if I could hear her thoughts.

"She and I were always more rivals than friends," Rin says. "That only worsened since my mother ascended. Izumi has strong convictions, and little hesitation."

Her voice lowers, as do her tails. "After Meiko was lost to us, any faith I had in Izumi shattered. She knows I never want to see her upon my mountain again."

If I dig too deep for dark secrets, she'll let me know soon. "That sounds like the start of a grudge."

"Perhaps it was," the nine-tail muses, stare looking beyond me in a way I know too well. She's seeking a memory hard to escape once stirred. "Shortly after Meiko was taken, Izumi..." Rin holds her tongue, considering her next words carefully. "Suggested, firmly, that I burn that part of the mountain down to 'purify the taint of an oni.' She offered to do it herself since, in her words, I am too beset by strange ideas of purity. I refused."

Before I can ask if that blaze was meant to include Meiko, Rin adds, "A day after I told her no, Izumi started a fire ready to engulf the small area we'd confined my sister and the oni within."

I strain every muscle in my back and arms to avoid curling my fingers into fists or touching a weapon, but at least it's all hidden from the kitsune. I hadn't expected such a swell of rage at hearing of something that happened so long ago. I do, however, have control over it.

"I was furious," Rin utters, distant voice trying not to feel much, "and was ready to kill Izumi if she didn't help me stop the blaze. Then, in the midst of screaming at her, as if to mock us both, a thunderstorm roared in the sky. The rain became a torrent that prevented the fire from spreading, but flame and water together damaged many seals I put up to trap Kenta. In an unspoken frenzy Izumi and I enlargened the barrier to keep him contained, and though I expected further betrayal it never came from her. Still, I could not trust Izumi after the fire. I demanded an explanation and found it no different than what she said before betraying my misplaced trust. So I forbade her from the lands I inherited."

A tiny, bitter laugh shakes her shoulders. "And she's kept to my demand as if she swore it herself. Yet I know she'll return if she deems there to be a need."

A grudge thicker than spilled blood would've formed in my homeland over such a thing. I keep quiet about that and say, "I know how dangerous that kind of dedication is."

"That's why I can get along with you. But everything with Izumi is in the past." Rin takes a deep breath to steady herself.

I can tell she wants to talk about anything else, so I wait for her to continue. Anything I might say comes back to the oni and this tengu, with even a few thoughts wondering what would've happened if I went to Morigaw no Izumi’s home instead of Rin's.

"Izumi's sarugami messenger," she says after a few moments, "is of little threat, now that Izumi has given his life to me. Yet there are more layers of uncertainty to her that I must endure, more than there are layers of this dress."

Taking care of my own words, I say, "Such a cruel, cunning, and swift heart as Izumi's would be admired by some in my homeland."

"But not you," she observes, looking up at me curiously, "with that frown upon your lips."

I hadn't realized my heart slipped free in the moment. I'm at a loss for words, my thoughts split between regret and disappointment in showing such weakness. It must still show upon my face.

Rin laughs into her sleeve at the sight of me trying to relax a scowl. It's not a happy laugh from her, but tense and seeking some kind of relief. Eventually, the nine-tail ends it with an exhausted sigh.

"We're both at the ends of our patience and nerves," Rin says, gaze catching mine. "If you want to-"

"I'm staying with you," I say, unwilling to let her suggest I do something like go off and rest.

She blinks once, twice, then nods. "I will welcome your stubbornness, then. Though once all is calm tonight, I'll be having you ask those runes of yours about what dangers are real."

I reach for the pouch of carved bone, but don't open it yet. "If there's time to talk like this, I can cast them now."

"Please, save the fortune telling for my rooms," she all but demands, though it's calm enough to sound like a request.

Even if some part of me might not like delaying, I nod and move my hand away, resigning myself to uncertainty for a while longer. Not that I've had a good understanding of the runes' meaning lately, so perhaps it's wise to be patient instead of hasty.

"There are still troublesome matters that must be seen to," Rin says, looking at her painted screen. "The monk here to see me, and the ones waiting below that the messenger mentioned."

"Those monks and sarugami could come to blows if left alone," I point out.

"At the monks' goading," she nods. Before letting out the worst sigh from her yet, her hand rubbing at the side of her head. "Izumi made it worse for me by giving the lives of those sarugami to me, not that I can believe she'd mean to. She hates those monks more than I do. If she knew they were here, Izumi would've been outside instead of her messenger. She still might, if her scouts noticed them."

"Then why might the monks be here?"

Her hands rise as if in defeat. "Chasing wounded pride? Another visit from an insufferable elder? For all their proclaimed wisdom, I find their arrogance to be unpredictable."

I'm tempted to sit with Rin, to do something to let her know beyond brittle words that I'm here for her.

No, why am I hesitating and seeking a reason not to do just that? As soon as I think that, I take a step closer. Once I do, tender longing peers up at me, happy to have me nearby and listening. If I do more, would either of us have the strength to face the rest of the day? I don't stop, only slow in my approach.

"Tell me, Egil," Rin speaks softly, weariness she's not aware of creeping through, "would you fight with sarugami as allies? Should you be certain they would not betray?"

I've stopped without realizing it, longing to sit beside her and not trusting myself to keep my hands off her if I do. That question from her almost hurts to consider when my heart wants her, but I dive through into the clarity of planning.

"I can't trust them," I admit, "but if I must fight for the same purpose then I will."

"Do not force yourself."

"All I am doing is restraining myself, Rin."

"Then you have more strength than I feel within myself," the nine-tail mutters.

Her stare is oblivious to what I mean, reminding me once more that she's inexperienced with matters of love. That or I wasn't obvious enough.

"I will take your willingness to help under consideration, Egil. For now I won't be agreeing to the plan Izumi 'suggested' in her message," Rin says, starting to rise in her many layered dress, making it look effortless.

"Plan?"

A pleading gaze looks down at me. In a measured voice, that realized her slip up, she says, "It's nothing either of us can change right now."

Perhaps, but I could certainly distract her burdened heart for a few moments. She's inexperienced, not unfeeling. A single step is all I'd need to take. Yet that's not what she needs.

"Then do we deal with that monk for now?" I ask, pleased to see her relax at the question.

So she has been, rightfully, worried that I'm plotting to go hunt the oni on my own.

"The monks can wait," Rin declares. "There's something more important to my heart at this moment."

"What could that be?" I ask, expecting thoughts more innocent than mine.

"A visit to my dear little sister Miki," Rin says, unable to wear any polite or noble mask for that admission. There's only sisterly, if not motherly, concern guiding her. "Would you care to join me? I believe she would appreciate seeing you."

I almost smile at being right. Before I give an answer, there's a hunch boiling in my gut. I have to ask, "The sarugami are staying here, aren't they?"

"I will decide that after seeing how rude the monk waiting outside is," Rin says, drifting to within my reach, practically begging to be touched. Somehow I restrain myself long enough for her to continue, as I'd not be able to stop at a mere touch. "I heard from Miyu and Akemi what happened. I'll not be leaving the sarugami and monks together, in my home or the village. One must stay or be seen off, but neither can be trusted around the other."

"You have my sword arm," I tell her. Especially if that means helping Kenshin understand how a guest should act, and eventually slaying that oni behind all these tragedies.

"Thank you, Egil," she says, making her bow seem simple yet formal.

With that, and a look that shares our desire for more time together, she starts toward the door. I follow, encouraged closer to her by a tail tip tugging on my elbow. I don't stand right next to her, but close enough for fluffy warmth to be shared from a few lively tails.

Suddenly, she stops before the door-wall.

"Ah." She looks me in the eye, ragged concern cutting deep into her harried mood. "I am most sorry, Egil. I am in such a hurry to ease my worried heart, I didn't even wait to hear if you'll join me in visiting Miki."

I reach past her, sliding the door open. "Lead the way."

Rin, deep in thought, stares at me.

"It is no trouble, is it?" she asks, as if it truly could be.

"Seeing to your family will put both our hearts at peace," I say, offering my arm in defiance of any customs in this land.

Her brows lift, followed slowly by her mood. She doesn't take my offered arm, but stepping towards the door, the kitsune uses several tails to keep us connected. Some understandings don't need words, especially between lovers needing each other's comfort.

---

How Rin moves so gracefully under that many layers of dress I don't know, the nine-tail seemingly floating down the halls.

Our destination turns out to be the warmest part of the house with more wooden walls than screens, reminding me of the room I recovered in while nursing my own misery. Rin chooses a door like any other in this hall, half wood and half screen. Without a word she motions for me to stand slightly beside and behind her. Then she announces herself with two claps that softly shake hidden silver bracelets.

"A moment," someone says behind the door.

Muffled steps thump up, the door sliding open soon after.

At the open entrance is a kitsune with dark furred hands and ears along with deep, dusky orange fur, the only dash of white being tips of her ears and five tails. Startle fluffs her tails and she starts to dip into a bow. Rin catches her shoulder to prevent it.

"Natsuki, there's no need for that," Rin says, soft and matronly smile slicing through any need to seem formal. "Forgive me for visiting while still dressed for our guests, and before settling all those matters. I'm here as a caring sister, nothing more."

"Even so," Natsuki says, trying not to eye me with suspicion, "it is too rude to meet you so unprepared."

"Nonsense. The only rudeness today is among our guests, and myself for appearing like this." Rin folds her hands and gives as much of a bow as her dress will allow. "Might we come in and speak?"

"Of course," Natsuki says, clearly being careful with her words as she makes way.

Rin doesn't move. "Is that alright, Miki? I don't want to disturb your rest."

From within the room a familiar voice, tired as I've not heard before, answers. "Company is no trouble."

Guilt reaches for my heart upon hearing the wounded two-tail. Those brambly fingers of a dark mood clutch slower than Rin's tail. Without even looking my way, she hooks silken soft fur against my elbow, urging me to follow.

"There's more company than any of us expected," the nine-tail says.

Upon hearing that, I make myself move and join Rin in a room warmed by a small hearth of smokeless coals and herbal scents. Natsuki shuffles back to the hearth where she kneels to oversee a pot, returning to the medicinal concoction she'd been making. It smells better than the few I've had to drink this winter. Within arm’s length of Natsuki, Miki lies propped up on a few folded futons, somewhere between sitting and leaning back. Heavy bandages wrap around the two-tail's head to cover an eye, while curled in her lap is her halved tail bundled up protectively. No blood stains her bandages, though upon noticing me, Miki's one seeing eye widens as if gazing upon a fresh wound.

I blink when Rin's tail suddenly shuts the door behind us, and when I look back at the two-tail, her expression seems more startled than hurt. Did I imagine Miki's reaction?

"Please, sit and rest, Egil," Rin says to me while drifting by.

She goes to her youngest sister while I sit on my knees near the door, ready to leap up if steel is needed. Rin sits elegantly in her dress, making every effort to be gentle instead of imposingly polite. I can't tell if it convinces Miki, the younger kitsune seeming as flighty and uneasy as a deer met upon a forest trail.

"Little sister," Rin begins, "how are you feeling?"

"No worse than yesterday," Miki says, fingers fidgeting together and intact tail curling forward in her lap. "You needn't worry about me."

"What big sister would I be if I didn't worry?" Rin asks, formality stripped from all but her posture. I don't know if that helps or not, as Miki's gaze hardly rises from her lap. Still, Rin persists. "Any new pains?"

"There's an itch on my tail, but I know to leave that alone."

"Has anyone checked it recently?"

"Shizuka did this morning," Miki says, "after scrambling awake with the news about visitors."

"Let someone know if it's more than itching," Rin says. I can't tell if she's disappointed or concerned that Miki won't lift her head. The nine-tail shifts her sleeves into her lap, striving to soften her posture further. "Is something amiss, Miki?"

"No, I'm fine. I only..." The two-tail seems to glance at me before her fingers fuss with her whole tail.

"Was not expecting to see Egil so soon?"

"No. But I did hear from everyone that he's, ah," Miki's gaze fidgets away from me, "happier."

"No longer a brooding mess, you mean," Rin smiles.

I keep a still face, though no one glances over.

"Are you and Saki happier as well?" Miki mutters, anxiously watching her eldest sister to see if she overstepped.

Rin's gentle laugh tilts her head. "Yes."

"I'm glad it worked out for you three," the two-tail says, a weight off her shoulders as soon as the words are out of her mouth.

Uncomplicated smiles swap between sisters at an understanding found.

I haven't known what to think of this two-tail since she ambushed me in drunken desire on my first night here, other than she's been struck by youthful infatuation. In my heart I suspected she'd take this news poorly, yet I cannot tell if she's hiding it or remains unwounded in at least one way. So I watch her sisters, as they know Miki best; Natsuki is busy at the hearth and Rin appears relieved to hear her little sister speak.

Natsuki is the one to end the moment of silence. "Word travels quickly among our sisters, even after dinner, though Miki seemed to already know." The five-tail lowers her voice, a sly smile feigning a whisper. "Probably a certain older sister who has helped with her bandages."

"Natsuki," Miki chastises weakly.

"Don't get her nervous over nothing," Rin says, in just the right way to make Natsuki turn her smile towards the hearth and for Miki to breathe out in relief.

I sift through my recent encounters with Miki and a certain golden haired seven-tail that helped her try to seduce me once, wondering if the two-tail is sharper than I noticed. Or perhaps she realized something after I stopped the half-kappa and sarugami from abducting her. That thought lodges a guilty stone into my throat.

I try to ignore it.

"Even though Egil has heard, and agreed, to your request to see him," Rin says, once she's certain Natsuki won't speak back up, "I regret that's not our reason for being here."

"Still," Miki mumbles, at the edge of whispering, "I'm glad he's alright."

The stone in my throat is sharp enough that I can't keep quiet. "I have your quick wit to thank for that, Miki."

The two-tail fidgets as if crept up upon, nearly leaping out of her fur.

"I didn't... I..." She starts to look up, but cannot manage it. What horrid, scraping pain is in her heart? "I should have-"

"We'd both do things differently, but it's in the past," I say, speaking carefully to keep what I feel from my voice. "And in the past it must stay."

My words get her gaze to lift, confusion crawling onto the two-tail's face.

"Believe me, my dearest little sister," Rin says, a delicate smile on her face. "Your heart isn't the only one that's been troubled."

"I haven't known how to face you, Miki, after what happened on the steps," I say, shuffling a little closer. "It's been the same for you, hasn't it?"

She shrinks in on herself, but manages a tiny nod. Somehow she finds her voice to say, "Yes. But you're not to blame. Not at all. So please don't feel guilty, Egil." She cradles her reduced tail, almost curled into a sorrowful ball. "These scars are my fault and my shame alone."

"They are no shame," I say, conviction making her ears flick down.

The entire room stares at me, but there's no anger. I have enough of that for myself for not being gentler. I soften my tone to be more fitting for this land.

"Scars carved in defense of another are worthy of nothing but respect, Miki. Should someone try to stir shame in you, remember that your courage has us sitting here to be fussed over by your eldest sister instead of grieved."

Jaw slack and ears flustered, Miki doesn't know where to look. I'd not known I'd speak so passionately, yet there's a fire in my chest that I cannot smother.

"If there's any fault, Miki," I keep a steady voice I do not feel, "it's mine. I read runes the night before the attack and failed to understand their warning until far too late." I dip my head, but don't go so far as a bow. "I'd apologize, but even I can tell neither of us wants the other to be sorry."

"You shouldn't be," she utters, weak and uncertain, and with many unspoken words tangled around her like a net. "Sorry, I mean. I'm the only one that should be."

"Little sister," Rin starts to say.

"It's true!" Miki bursts out, before casting her wet eyes down in shame. "If I hadn't been so weak and inattentive, none of this would've happened!"

Rin and Natsuki mutter a few words to their sister. I don't hear them, nor, I think, should I.

What words could a man like me offer? That I'll open my heart and arms up to her, when I can scarcely accept Rin and Saki? Another man might, but not me. And even if I could, looking at the wounded two-tail wrapped in bandages makes my battered scalp hurt more than my heart. The way she wrings her intact tail, gripping it to hold back tears while her sisters try to comfort her, reminds me of the frightened, bloody kitsune holding my sword. Had I…

No. If those thoughts shouldn't trap her, they shouldn't bind me either.

Yet maybe there is something I can give her that will outlast a mere man like me.

Silently hoping Rin will understand my intent, I untie the sword from my belt and tap the scabbard against the floor, balancing my palm against the pommel, and watch Miki. She huddles away from the sight of it, but doesn't let herself give into terror. What memories and sensations have come back to her? The hot burn of a fresh wound in winter's chill, the unfamiliar grip of a blade, the rattle of a strike skipping across bone?

"I cannot make your wounds whole again, Miki," I say, drawing every eye in the room, "though I wish I could. But I can sharpen that courage in you, and make it strong enough to strike true with a sword." I tap the hilt with my thumb. "With your sister's permission I'll teach you, hopefully with Saki's assistance," I cast a short glance at Rin, "if she'll give it."

"Saki will like such a wise, generous offer nearly as much as I do," the nine-tail warmly assures. "If anything can lighten your heart, my dear sister, it's learning to master what frightens you."

I'd meant it as a way to quiet the questions of what could have been by strengthening the skills needed, but Rin is right.

Miki's mouth tries to work, finding no words she can speak. Heavy thoughts shadow her face and I'm left worrying that I made a misstep.

"You needn't give a hasty answer," I bow slightly, trying not to angle it into an apology.

"I'm no good at fighting," Miki says to the ground, eyes scrunching shut as a wave breaks over her.

Natsuki, quiet since the subtle threat of a scolding, leaves the hearth and shuffles over to her sister. The five-tail wraps her into a hug from the side, careful of the bandages, and whispers something into Miki's ear. The two-tail tenses up, saying nothing back.

Then Rin moves to the other side of Miki, whispering something to her little sister that makes her healthy tail twist and turn. Whatever goes on between the sisters takes several more moments of whispering, but it makes Miki less fidgety. After a while she even manages to speak up.

"I-if you really don't mind teaching me, Egil," she says, unable to meet my gaze, "I'd like to try."

"Then focus on resting, body and heart," I tell her, "until your sisters say you can start training."

Miki dips her head. "Would you and Saki visit sometime? A-and you as well, eldest sister, if that's possible with all your duties," the two-tail starts to bow, only to have Rin grab her by the shoulder and stop that cold.

"We will," I say, meeting blue eyes for a moment.

"Of course we'll visit," Rin says, patting her sister's head, mindful of the bandages. "But only as long as you aren't frustrated with being so crowded."

"I'll be fine, as long as I can get out in the sun soon," Miki mutters, exhaustion sagging the two-tail.

"A few more days of bed rest, then you can visit the gardens," Rin promises, finally getting a timid smile from her youngest sister.

I don't know how things have truly changed between the two-tail and myself. The guilt doesn't feel so sharp, though it's there all the same. Miki and I still can't easily meet each other's gazes, nor will I push it. She needs to recover, and there's still a matter of an unwelcome visitor for Rin and I to deal with.

"So, ah, what is it you're really here for?" Miki asks Rin.

Natsuki feigns exasperation, while Rin's quiet laugh is sad despite the comforting look on her face. "I already told you, I wanted to see my little sister. That I also need to ask you something as the head of the family doesn't change that."

"Sorry if I-" Miki is stopped from bowing by Rin putting a palm on her shoulder.

"Don't make me steal Egil's words about neither of us needing to apologize," Rin says. "But I misspoke, and I'm sorry for that scare." The nine-tail lets her vulnerable heart show through the motherly comfort she offers. "I have wanted to know if accepting more guests into our home would unsettle your rest in the slightest."

Confusion draws Miki's eyes between her sisters. "Do I need to greet them?"

"No. Not at all," Rin says. "You needn't have anything to do with them, though I'd like to know your heart on which group to accept. If any of them."

Brow knitting, before wincing and stopping such an expression from returning, Miki stares in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"Our visitors," Rin strains the politeness of that word, "are monks from the temple we have a sour past with, and servants of Izumi."

"Ah," Miki mouths. Judging by her nervous eyes, she's already got a good guess, but she asks anyway. "What sort of servants?"

Not letting any doubt show, Rin answers, "Sarugami."

Under our concerned watch, Miki doesn't move for several heartbeats. Then her head turns, looking at my sword still balanced under one hand. A wicked tangle of feelings haunts Miki's gaze. I'm afraid she might start crying, or that I'll say something to send her tumbling over the edge if I open my mouth. The half-kappa might've been the one to leave her injured, but it was sarugami that had wretched intentions for her.

With great effort I keep my hand from tightening on the pommel of my sword as I remember what the man-eater said before I rushed to kill it.

"Neither need stay," Rin softly says, hand and tails on her little sister. "You, and your heart, matter more to me than any of these rude visitors."

"If..." the word chokes in Miki's throat. Her voice doesn't shake, yet she can't hide the anguish from my ears as she starts over. "I trust whatever you decide, eldest sister."

"I know you do," Rin says, rubbing Miki's back. "Which is why I want to hear your thoughts, my precious little sister."

The two-tail's conflicted gaze hasn't moved from my sword, as if she's trapped. Her mouth, however, still works. "They're here for something," she utters. "Don't send them away because of me."

"Are you certain?"

"So long as..." Miki flinches, gaze flicking to me for a hopeful moment, and then away. "I'm certain, sister."

Natsuki hugs Miki from the side. "My silly little sister. Just speak your heart before Rin's cracks."

A flash of disbelief gets Miki to turn towards Natsuki, then Rin as if the nine-tail should say something chastising.

There's nothing but the love a mother would have for a daughter. Slow realization of the truth turns Miki's mouth down. She must finally see what I have: a nine-tail desperate to protect her wounded sister, all while trying not to let any inner agony show.

"I know it's not my place to ask," the two-tail's hands wring together, "but could I have someone nearby as a guard, wh-whichever group stays?"

"You're wrong," Rin ruffles Miki's fur, patting her on the head, "it is your place to ask. I was going to put up a guard, should I let either of them stay."

With her two-tail sister quieted, Rin turns a quick, unspoken question my way.

It's obvious what Miki couldn't ask for. I mouth an unspoken reply to Rin, saying I'm willing to take watches as a guard for the injured kitsune.

Gratitude lightens the nine-tail's expression before she turns away, while I keep in mind that she can read my lips. That has many uses.

Miki whispers something to her sisters, the three quickly getting lost in another private conversation.

While they're speaking, I tie my sword back where it belongs and feel a hundred heavy thoughts creaking atop one another. Closest to my mind are matters of family. I left my own home and kin so long ago, I cannot recall their faces anymore. Not in a way I can trust. Ignoring my feelings of cowardice, there should be regret or guilt at such a loss, or even relief, yet my heart isn't moved. Even remembering the first moment I put hands on the old family sword to steal it for my escape, when shame and guilt had nearly made me sick, I now feel nothing. If I returned to my kin, nobody would recognize me, as I'm a full blooded man wrought of scars, and none would believe the tales of where I've been nor what I've slain with this ancestral blade. To them I'd be nothing but a coward returning home seeking support from kin I abandoned, telling braggart's tales and lies.

That's if there's even a home and kin left after the war I fled to escape. No word of clans or events ever reached the lands I travelled since at least past my encounter with the faeries.

I squeeze the sword's pommel. This guilt is mine alone, but I have oaths to uphold and people nearby to keep safe. I'm not a frightened young man anymore, nor should I be a wounded, brooding wretch any longer.

"Is the stern set of your brow contemplation or brooding?" Rin asks, smiling as she walks toward me.

I didn't hear her rise, making me a poor excuse of a guard. Determined to be more vigilant, I answer as I stand. "Pondering the past."

"That's what that look meant?" she says, looking bemused while not sounding it. "I'll dig up what makes you ponder another time. Are you ready to accompany me to the last visitor?"

I look beyond the nine-tail where Natsuki hands Miki a steaming cup. The scent of herbal medicine reaches me, making me pity the injured kitsune even more.

"Just like that?" I whisper.

Rin floats toward the door, and once her mouth is close enough she whispers, "Miki is too flustered for awkward partings. Seeing us again will be enough for her."

"Then let's make certain she can have a peaceful night," I say, reaching for the door.

A tail moves faster than me, sliding the entrance open without touching it. "Arrangements must be made first," Rin says. "The monk can practice his non-attachment until they're done."

---

On our trip through and around the home, inside and out, Rin finds several of her sisters and sets them on tasks. I need to do nothing but accompany her. It's a chance to stretch my legs, still unhappy with having to sit on their knees earlier, and warm my heart.

Once she's settled everything, wasting no words and hooking a tail around my arm, the nine-tail leads me back to the room with the painted screen.

Akemi, Mariko, and Shizuka appear before we can even talk. The three of them set up more screens in the room, almost creating a half circle before which a simple straw mat is set up in place of a cushion. There's a good four paces between that mat and the nearest screen, offering me plentiful opportunities to stop any sudden charge.

Rin sits behind the screen as she did earlier, beckoning me to join her while the helping kitsune come in and out with paper talismans and knotted ropes they arrange around the room. Lamps burning with smokeless blue flames get placed to prevent any shadows casting from behind the screens. When the kitsune are satisfied with the eerie and unsettling magical preparations, all three of the younger sisters leave as quietly as they appeared.

"They're changing into appropriate dresses," Rin explains, curling tails about me.

It will be nothing as grand as their eldest sister's many layered and colored dress, I'm sure. I keep those thoughts, and teasing compliments, to myself for now.

"What's all of this for?" I motion to the ropes and talismans.

"Readiness," she breathes out. "The monks have tricks, though they're usually weak alone."

"What sorts of tricks?"

That icy blue stare pours over me, warmed by her satisfaction. "Nothing that would work on you. Kitsune can have trouble with - ah."

Rin's gaze tilts, ears fidgeting. Only for a moment, her composure returning with a soothing expression.

"My apologies, Egil. We're still alone," she says, touching my arm.

I take my hand from a dagger, not aware of when I grabbed hold of the hilt.

"Saki can slip by notice on the mountain path until leaving it," Rin explains. "I'd hoped she would return for this last guest, but she must have decided to see whether they've told the truth about their numbers."

I don't need to say that we'd both feel better with the eight-tail here, it's in Rin's eyes. Instead, I ask, "And the oni won't bother her in its territory?"

"No, though Saki hopes Kenta will try." Rin regards me from the side. "She'd sacrifice more than a hand to kill him, and he appears to know it."

That's a grim thought I can't dwell upon, for either our sakes.

"What will the oni do about the monks?" I ask.

"Kenta gave up on catching the monks many winters past. Meiko still tries to lure some off the path, though I cannot say if it's to mock them or a true attempt now." The nine-tail considers something about my face. "I understand the monks also walk through Kenta's territory with their eyes closed and rattling the annoying staves they carry."

I think over how quick the monk at the gates had been to block my spear. If the others have half that skill, they'd be dangerous as a group, to say nothing of any magic or tricks to those staves. "I surely speak too soon, but what if the monks can help me in drawing Kenta out?"

"Could you trust them?" she asks, tilt of her brow serious.

"I might've stayed as their temple's guest, but I don't know them as you do. I was nothing more than a curiosity to their elders."

"You would have been more, had you told them that tale of your gods and the wolf," she says, a dry laugh turning her gaze away. The laugh fades far too quickly. "Even so, I must ask you to endure any rude manners they show your friend."

"That depends on how rude they are to my lover."

Rin keeps her composure with the help of a sleeve hiding her mouth, though I sense a tinge of warmth beneath her fur and pleasure in her eyes. Her delight can't be hidden.

"For a would-be guest," I say, trying to keep us focused, "Kenshin's manners seemed lacking."

A muffled groan of displeasure comes from behind her sleeve.

"Their teachings hold interesting," the word drips with subtle poison, "views on the spiritual burdens of women, and how they drag men from so-called enlightenment. To say nothing of the deceitful nature they see kitsune as embodying."

"Am I going to be left wondering about those views?"

"Sometimes I forget how little you know about us," Rin says, sleeve lowering so she can stare at the landscape painted on the screen before us. "Many in these lands see kitsune as deceivers, and their temple has simmered with harsher beliefs over these many years."

"I heard nothing about kitsune while I was there."

Rin doesn't laugh, though it creeps at the edge of her complicated grin. "What did you hear?"

"Lectures about 'giving up desire' and compassion that made little sense, but their elders had patience for a foreigner trying to show manners."

"Expect more of that concern and pity," she says, "should they have the eyes to see what my sisters couldn't."

I grunt a laugh. "Not all of your sisters seemed unaware about us."

"I dare not guess at Shizuka's intentions," Rin sighs, "other than she means no harm. But I am serious, Egil. The monks will pity you, perhaps as one being led astray, and it can sound quite rude."

I shrug. "Trading insults as poetry is something of a game in my homeland."

"Those of their temple strive to ignore any insults. Or so they say when not lecturing on the horrible punishments in the next worlds awaiting those who harm their monks."

"Is that experience speaking?"

"Not directly," Rin assures me.

After one of the monks' own twisted himself into a wretched man-eater far beyond human, all for some mad plan to protect or capture his kitsune lover, it's remarkable the rest haven't raided this mountain for revenge or honor in all these years. Even if their elders must have kept most of the story of Meiko and Kenta a secret, shame will fester after eighty years. That's the sort of prideful wound that a foreigner wouldn't be permitted to see. But if that foreigner shares futons with kitsune like the one who, in the monks’ eyes, helped one of their ancestors become an oni...

"Ah," I say after a moment, "So that's why you have me hidden away with you."

A single curious eye tilts toward me. "Oh?"

"The monk might try to start a fight if I was helping fetch him."

"You are mistaken." Her heavy sleeve rustles, delicate fingerpads coming to rest atop my hand, "You're here because of my selfishness, Egil. It would've been wiser to have you alone escorting that monk here with how his temple views women and kitsune. He'd try to show you respect, as you could find his enlightenment, while we're impure enough in his eyes to be too difficult. His elders might try to give us counsel, but we might make him go astray from enlightenment."

I shrug, not understanding what enlightenment is supposed to be despite hearing a few lectures about it. "Then it's good I'm here. You'd risk losing me in those ever shifting halls if I went."

"They're getting used to you," she says, sincerely enough to convince me there is indeed magic in every bit of this home. "Not that I can change my self-serving choice now. However," fingers weakly squeeze mine, as if I'll leap from her touch, "we should have the time to talk about your dreams."

Slowly, so she won't flee, I weave my fingers in with hers. "When I've got you and Saki in my arms, we'll have that talk."

"Egil," she says, dropping any playfulness, "this is no small matter."

"I'm not running from it or you, not anymore," I say, taking her hand in both of mine. "Talk of dreams is fit for comfort and good company, not waiting for a miserable audience."

"You only say that because you don't know the truth," Rin squeezes my fingers, "and I'd rather you hear it from one of us, even if I must apologize to Saki later."

This matters more to her than I ever expected. Letting Rin know I'm going nowhere with a squeeze of my own, I gaze into deep wells of blue and reminisce upon my encounters with the overburdened nine-tail. Rin's amusement and resigned surprise at my ways, her painful balance between head of the family and her heart, and even half remembered conversation over rice wine all float through my head. I can't explain why I'm drawn to her as I am Saki, as it's our nature as warriors drawing me to the eight-tail, yet my desire to scoop Rin into my arms is all the same. She often seems as weary as I feel, only for that all to float away when we get lost in company and conversation.

I notice a dry chuckle leave my mouth, drawn forth by how foolish I've been this winter. She has more patience than I can ever imagine, to endure a dreary and moody man for that long.

Rin's expression tenses at my sudden laugh, and I can have none of that. There's been enough hurt, and I'm not the dull witted foreigner I must seem to so many.

"What truth could you tell me?" I lift our hands so I can kiss soft fur. "That you and Saki have been using some sly magic to settle my dreams while I've been here?"

I savor the surprise widening her beautiful eyes, and continue, "Having peaceful sleep once more, I didn't want to think about why. After all, could those desperate, savage memories return to my now pleasant dreams if I dwelled on why?"

"You knew we've slipped into your dreams?" she asks, belief wavering as if balancing upon slippery river stones.

"Not quite. But it seems obvious, doesn't it? Dreams of you two and the same place over and over?"

Words start to move her mouth, only for a twitch of an ear and a deep frown to stop her. Both ears turn from me while her gaze doesn't, a most unwelcome distraction silently appearing somewhere outside the room.

Rin ignores whatever she senses, speaking in a hush and a hurry. "I first stole into your dreams to see what sort of man had hunted rumors all the way to my home. Until I wanted to see more," she whispers. "I am sorry, I have done to you a-"

Rin's wavering voice halts, a clap announcing an arrival outside the room.

The nine-tail's expression twists between her frightful confession and a frustrated grimace. But only for a moment. Heart grinding regret glances at me, apologizing wordlessly, while a desperate clench of my hand asks me not to abandon her.

How could I do such a thing?

I kiss her gentle fingers once more, whispering quietly as I can, "My tender hearted love, don't you dare apologize for that gift of rest you've given me. Had I the wits and courage to sooner see what's been happening in my dreams, this wouldn't have been a trying winter."

Stillness overtakes Rin, save for thoughts swirling behind icy blue eyes that keep flicking from my hands back to my face. A blushing hue deepens in her ears and teases beneath her white cheeks. Quite the sight to behold when she's dressed and adorned for her noble role.

"It's not so simple," Rin insists at a whisper, seemingly unaware that she's got both of her hands on mine now. "What I started, and Saki aided in, is seen as no better than possession. We tried to talk to you about it in dreams, only to be frustrated by your distracting indifference every time. Yet my reluctance to tell you cannot be excused now that-"

I start to move. Fear flickers in Rin's gaze, the conviction that she made a fatal misstep striking her deeper than any sword could.

My freed hand settles into her warm cheek fluff and I lean in, making sure our eyes can't move apart no matter the next distraction from those waiting outside the room.

"If even a hint of apology leaves your lips," I whisper, thumb stroking that border between colors on her cheek, "I'll carry you off somewhere quiet and comfortable for this talk. That way I can properly untangle those briars clinging to your heart and ease your burdens, even if it means the visitors have to wait a while longer."

I'm stared at, searched for lies or hollow comforts, with the utmost seriousness. Every beat of Rin's heart balances her at the edge of fright and disbelief.

"How long have you known?" she mutters, tone composed despite the many emotions betrayed by her eyes.

I caress her soft face. "I've had suspicions since we woke, not that I've had much time to think about it. Perhaps I had known somewhere in my heart before, but none of that matters to me."

"Why not? Is it not a betrayal of your trust, of your dreams, what we did?"

"Betrayal of what?" I ask. "You protected your family. And then kept a tattered, faded wanderer from nightmares that are twisted memories, haunting him even while he's awake. I should be thanking you, Rin."

With no small hesitation, as if grasping a vine, Rin leans into my willing hand. "Would you truly steal me away if I apologized?"

"Only for a while," I promise. "I know your heart won't let you abandon your duties, but there's no hurry if you haven't answered whoever's out there."

"Hrm," she grumbles under her breath, leaning into my touch. Her eyes lower to our held hands. "Now you're seeing through more than magic. Had I no duties, then..."

She trails off, cheek warming as if only now realizing she'd spoken that last part aloud. Fox ears fidget, listening to the hall outside, and that alone keeps me quiet. The matter of the waiting monk and her sisters, whether Rin believes me or not, would do nothing to stop me from upholding the word I gave her. Let anyone else think what they will, all I care for is keeping that fear I saw from taking root in her. And if my ancestors in their halls laugh at me for that, I'll break their teeth should I see them soon.

Rin sighs, soft and slow as it trails into a groan, leaning into my hand. Instead of speaking, she drags her gaze from our joined fingers, seeking something upon my face.

"Regardless, you're plotting to carry me off when this is over, aren't you?" she murmurs, trying, and failing, to appear suspicious instead of hopeful.

"Only so I can get back to what we were doing in that dream."

"There's no warm sun or wild field to bask in, but... hm." A faint glimmer returns to her gaze. Whatever it is lurking there, it makes tails curl around me and brightens my own mood.

I don't tease her as I'm tempted and instead silently reassure her.

Only a few moments pass before she mutters, "You truly aren't upset?"

"Don't you know what my usual dreams are?" I ask, raising a brow.

"Dark and frightful, tied to those scars upon your chest," she admits, "though we've never seen the terrors. Only the shadows."

"Nor should you see them," I utter.

"Saki told me that you would say such," Rin whispers, peering into my gaze. "I'll have to trust you two, then."

How strange it is to have two lovers working together, when the tension between us all couldn't have been hewed apart with an axe weeks ago. It's relieving, if anything.

"Anything else I can do to put your heart at ease?" I ask, barely a hand's breadth from her nose.

It's not the master of the mountain or head of the family, or even the eldest of the kitsune sisters, staring back at me. There's nothing but a woman's yearning love afloat in her eyes.

"May we return to your dreams?" Rin asks.

I nearly say why even ask. If it weren't for a tiny, hair thin crack in Rin's composure I would. She's not hiding behind a mask, not this time. I'm seeing all that's beneath. A tired and lonely woman who fell in love with a hard headed fool.

My fingers stroke fur. "Return whenever you please, Rin. Both of you."

That flaw upon her heart does crack, shattering away a shell instead of her. She couldn't dare hope I'd accept. Her fingers cling, ears perk up, and Rin barely keeps herself from making a sound as the fear of months is banished. It takes a few breaths before she settles, trying to cling back onto her noble calm. If we weren't delaying an audience, what would have happened? Aside from her collapsing in my arms.

"I'll tell Saki," Rin promises. "For now, if you really have no questions about dreams..."

I shake my head.

"Then," she takes a deep breath, her sigh slight, "I need to get on with my duties. Before I beg you to take me elsewhere."

Despite saying that, she doesn't move. Neither do I, except to stroke the fur upon her cheek. After all, Rin needs to let the pinkish blush hardly hidden in her ears and face fade.

I don't let thoughts of dreams, now spoken aloud, worry my heart or head. There's only her soft fur and beautiful smile, tinged with excitement instead of weariness. For her, it's whatever strength she's seen in me that keeps her from horrid thoughts.

Yet our selfish moment cannot last.

Eventually, a resigned sigh leaves Rin's mouth, breath washing over my hand as she pulls from my touch. Not, however, before she sneakily kisses my hand.

"Since I need to mind my words to keep you from stealing me away," she says, trying to compose herself and banish the warm color in her ears, "shall we?"

"I can get the door," I offer, pulling my hand away before I do something stupid like pull her in for a real kiss.

"Stay beside me."

It's not a plea or command. I stop, then nod.

"Then begin," Rin declares, letting her voice rise above a whisper.

It's loud to my ears, used to the murmuring we've been doing, but a clear signal to those outside the room.

Aware of what sitting beside the head of her household during the reception of a visitor could imply, I remain kneeling next to her. Of course, I check the weapons on my belt and recall the layout of the room, trusting in my ferocity more than the monk's manners. Should he try anything, I must be ready.

The door-wall far from us hisses open, shutting just as quickly. Subdued steps shuffle over. Akemi comes around the screen, eyes shocked to see me with her eldest sister. That tells me the shadows don't betray what's behind the screen this time.

An expectant glance is all Rin needs for Akemi to bow, then sit on her knees and whisper what's going on.

I catch enough to know Hotaru is outside as a guard, and that Shizuka and Yuuko are waiting in an adjoining room to enter before everyone. Rin has Akemi hurry off to get the waiting two kitsune ready. She leaves through a different door-wall I hardly hear, then the nine-tail leans toward me and lifts a sleeve to whisper.

"Try to ignore Kenshin's insults," she says, not needing to repeat herself. "But if I angrily tell him to leave, please go and escort him with Hotaru."

I hope she knows I'll be leaping up if I sense any danger. "Should I keep silent?"

"If I address you, speak your mind. It will disturb the monk," she chuckles into her sleeve, drawing back and folding her hands upon her lap. "Otherwise, let him walk off a cliff if he so chooses."

Rin's haste is well timed, as a door-wall behind one of the other screens opens. The same that Akemi left, and she's got her sisters with her. Yuuko and Shizuka, adorned in more elaborate dresses than before yet nothing compared to Rin's, come to greet their eldest sister. Their surprise at my presence is put away for bows. There's no trace of a sly smirk on Shizuka's face when she rises, yet I can feel it anyway.

I have enough trouble, I don't need the seven-tail trying to give me more. Even if she might mean well.

"Take your places," Rin quietly instructs with a wave of her sleeve. "If you notice any tricks, remind him where he is."

"Yes, elder sister," they say and bow as one.

"Shizuka will speak first, then you, Yuuko."

"Should she not go first?" Shizuka asks, looking at her younger, four tailed sister.

"You cannot escape your duties just yet, Shizuka," Rin intones, leaving no chance for disagreement. Softening for only a few words, the nine-tail adds, "I hope next winter that will start changing, however."

The seven-tail Shizuka bundles away whatever she wants to say, subserviently bowing with a face kept placid as a mask.

With a faint gesture from Rin, the two leave for the other screens on either side of the room. Cloth rustles over the floor as they settle in. Once it's quiet, as if called for, Akemi appears and settles into a deep bow, awaiting Rin's orders. The master of the house lifts a hand to whisper. Then the four-tail scurries off as quickly as she appeared.

Without any of her sisters lurking, the nine-tail throws me a hopeful glance, eyes clear as they were in that not-quite-a-dream. I must smile back, and a determined and graceful presence settles over Rin. Another mask, perhaps, or how she readies herself for a conflict of words.

Not a moment too soon either, as a door-wall opens with a hiss.

Akemi gravely announces to the hall outside, "You may enter."

Two different footfalls leave barely creaking floorboards for orderly mats. I'm uneasy, seeing nothing but the back of the screen and Rin at the corner of my sight. I make certain I'm in a good spot to stand up swiftly and draw a weapon. Daggers for this range if I don't throw the screen.

Paws and feet reach the center of the room with a flap of cloth and click of beads. Hotaru should be escorting the monk, and I wish I could see how she was handling this. Is she behind him, ready to draw her sword and cut him down? Does she have a staff or a club? Will those harmless flames fool him again? The uncertainty grinds like stones behind my ears, all the peace I found with Rin gone.

"What have you done, fox demon?" asks the monk, Kenshin, from a few strides away.

Rin tilts her nose down just enough to glare at the screen, but she's not the one that speaks up.

"Silence," commands Hotaru, a soft blue glow summoned by her mystical flames.

Steel would be more threatening. I keep my grip loose on a dagger and remember to breathe slowly.

"I am before the master of the mountain, aren't I?" Kenshin asks.

"Hold your tongue before it is held for you," Hotaru warns.

"If I'm not before your master, it's wrong to give proper greetings."

This is going to be difficult.

Just as the kitsune expected, judging by the tone of Shizuka's voice. "You are in the presence of the mountain's master. Manners must be upheld."

"Then until I know where those villagers went, master of the fox demons upon this mountain, I can give no greetings."

That's the voice of a man assured that his death is either far away or a blessing for himself. I can spare only a glance at Rin, expecting her to be tense at the implied threat, but learn nothing from her placid poise.

It's Shizuka who talks for her. "Kappa attacked."

Beads on a string clink.

"You," the monk Kenshin says, hollow tone somehow accusing, "allowed river demons to devour your followers?"

"The kappa," Rin speaks up in polite disdain, "were slaughtered for their cruelty."

"Including the half-kappa child? Taro, was his name?"

Ever so slightly, Rin lifts her chin as if to stare down at the monk she can't see. "Your temple knew of his troubles and offered nothing? That is most unlike your predecessors. Have your elders' minds started to wither and rot before passing on their duties?"

"Your provocations hurt only you, fox demon," Kenshin says, as if describing a cloud in the sky. "The elders' decisions are not mine to contemplate."

"Their decisions are mine to be concerned with when they send soldiers to my mountain. All while the monk who visits my home refuses to offer any greetings? I would think your temple plans to ignore me and attack that which none of their elders were alive to remember."

"I am to see whether you have fallen along with your spiteful sister," Kenshin replies.

Rin's eyes narrow.

"Did they tell you what happened all those years ago, childish monk?" she asks, letting none of the emotion in her gaze come out. "Or did they send you to the home of kitsune with ignorance enough to turn you arrogant?"

"We were told you'd deceive and claim no responsibility for the Oni your sister created."

A scoff leaves the nine-tail's mouth. "That's the story they told you?"

"Should I believe a fox demon that presided over a village no longer there? A fox demon who has a tengu's sarugami here to block my fellow disciples from journeying with me for answers?" The beads clink again. Is he shaking his head? "A fox demon I cannot even see, so how do I know I speak to the claimed master of this mountain?"

I turn to Rin and mouth that it's obviously a trick.

Her eyes flick to me and one of her hands rises enough to encourage me to have patience.

"Should you be surprised you might not speak to the master of the mountain?" she asks the monk.

"If I'm not, it would mean you foxes are devious as they say."

"Be grateful I give you an audience," Rin intones, domineeringly polite, "instead of having my honored guest turn you away. We have recently suffered two attacks to aid the oni Kenta, one upon the farmers of my lands and one upon my sisters tending to rites and rituals."

Rin leans forward just enough to change from domineeringly polite to creeping toward polite hostility. "For all I know, childish monk, you bring the third attack upon my home."

"Our journey here is for peace and compassion for those living under the shadow of a fox demon and her Oni." Kenshin's beads click again. Moving through his fingers perhaps? "Instead we found no living villagers and the lingering rites of you fox demons." His beads click at a steady pace. "What have you done?"

"Do you mean to accuse me of murdering farmers I let settle on my land?" Rin asks.

"Speaking in circles with you will gain nothing. I am here to learn what you've done. To the village, to that half-kappa child the elders never interfered with, and why a tengu has sarugami here," Kenshin states, beads still clicking. It's not a request or demand. He expects his words to be listened to the way an elder expects behaved youths to obey. "If there is any guilt, fox demon, speak it. Without a screen, so I will know if you have impure intentions."

"No," Rin replies before I can even think to warn her he's plotting something.

My gut tells me Kenshin won't take that answer well, and Rin seems to expect the same.

Instead of saying anything, the monk's beads keep clicking at the same steady pace.

"One of my sisters is gravely wounded and another ill from the second attack, by sarugami that have devoured men," Rin says, crossing her hands in her lap. "We must take precautions."

"So you let the tengu's into your home?"

And to let the sarugami speak before him, but that's only a hunch from me. Kenshin's voice barely wavered.

"I needed to know if they threatened us," Rin says. "Do you, childish monk, mean to?"

"Look upon me and know I have come for peace," Kenshin says.

I start to mouth that she shouldn't while quietly rising to one knee should things turn violent.

"Offer your greetings as a visitor to my home, and I will overlook your arrogance," Rin offers, hand raising to calm me.

The beads click once more, then rattle.

Hotaru lets out a shout of effort, a pair of feet stamping. I stand, putting myself between Rin and the screen. No sooner am I up than the fight ends with a thump that travels through the floor and up my legs. A body hit the ground.

I'm deciding in half a heartbeat whether I should knock the screen over or go around when tails press soft fur into my chest and shoulder. There's no strength or pressure in them, only a delicate ask from Rin for me to hold back.

I spare a precious moment to look at her, two of her fingers lifted to her mouth for quiet. A glimmer of something immense, and worse than the illusions she tried on me when we first met, shimmers beneath her cold blue eyes. Kenshin won't see a fox that dominates the sky, trying to make him feel small, but he will learn of all the ancient fury buried away in Rin's heart.

I wait and listen to the frustrated sound of exertion and struggle. I was wrong, the fight went to the floor. Angry shouts from the monk are muffled by what must be cloth.

"Do you need help, sister?" asks Yuuko from behind a screen I can't see.

"Not yet," Hotaru answers in a huff. "He tried to bind me with those beads, then pulled something out of the stitching in his clothes and won't let go."

"Akemi," Yuuko calls out, "go aid her."

The soft tails asking me to hold back barely manage to keep me from kicking that screen down.

"Drop it and cease struggling, else I'll get someone to break your fingers," Hotaru snaps, voice straining with effort.

A door-wall hisses open, clacking shut just as swiftly. Paws hurry over the mats, a few thumps of limbs against the ground go on long enough to turn my knuckles white against a dagger. The struggle ends with a surprised fox yip.

Only Rin's hand reaching for mine stops me from rushing out there.

"I got it!" Akemi shouts, living shadows leaping across the screen in front of me.

"GYAH!"

Akemi's scream severs any restraint I've got left.

The screen rattles away, not from my swinging arm but Rin's tails, and somehow she keeps it from falling away.

I'm mid stride before I see everything: three tailed Akemi stumbling backward, chased by wisps of a wriggling black ink stain floating in the room as if in clear water; Hotaru dragging Kenshin away face first on the ground, his arms locked behind his back and a loop of cloth gagging him; the other screens moving aside, Yuuko and Shizuka in the midst of standing up.

My foot stomps down, fingers diving into a pouch I've left alone since coming here, all while my heart thunders in my ears.

Lunging ahead I scarcely manage to catch Akemi as she's thrown by a vine of the smoke, cord of my pouch snapping as I rip the entire thing off my belt. I swing it at the advancing fog of swirling ink. The stones and silver within the pouch jangle but don't fly free as I hoped.

Instead, a strike rattles up my arm as if I swung a rod against an iron pole instead of writhing fog-smoke.

That dark, smoky vine rings like metal from the blow. Twisting and kinking, it snaps back to the roiling cloud of ink in the middle of the room.

I only then notice Akemi's weight held in one of my arms, the three-tail clutching her fingers and eyes staring straight up in a daze. She's not limp, or obviously injured, so I drag her back from that vile, inky cloud. Shizuka meets me, taking her three-tail sister's weight and pulling her even farther back, freeing my hand while I glare at the swirling black thing.

Yuuko, standing a couple of paces from us, throws something at the fog. A folded paper talisman, I think, but it puffs into a short lived flame. The lashing vine of smoke that struck it down curls back into the cloud.

Hotaru binds Kenshin's hands and legs together with a silk rope, much like the one I got from Saki, then draws her curved sword. She rushes into the range of the swirling black, swinging up in a cut while ducking the vine that swipes out. Her sword rings off, sputtering sparks and blue flames. Another vine lashes around Hotaru's lead leg, knocking her off balance and trying to drag her closer to the black mass.

Sword and flashing fire ring against the smoke, both snapping back uselessly. I sprint to help, swinging my pouch of trinkets and silver. The inky blotch lurches away from me after one loud bash, and right behind me, more paper talismans flit into the cloud. The vine around Hotaru's leg lets go of her to strike down the talismans, a wailing shrieking scratching at the back of my neck when a single folded paper makes it through the defense.

I haul Hotaru away by the shoulder, menacing the smoke with my pouch as more talismans protect the retreat.

I get the fiery kitsune to something like safety, her appreciative nod quick. Hotaru's not as dazed as Akemi, but she favors a leg after being grabbed by whatever that magic is.

Someone else looms near me, probably Rin or Shizuka, but I don't pay them any heed.

Blackness seethes in the center of the room like a tiger playing with its prey.

I've never seen magic like this, but the trinkets I swung did something useful. I hastily open the offending pouch. Was it the silver, faerie gifted river stones, or strange pebble gifted by a being made of fire?

"So that's what you dared to bring into my home," Rin says to the inky smoke cloud, sounding unimpressed by what's happened. "The grudge's vessel must be on him somewhere, sisters. It will be gold, a jewel, or small wood carving. Until you find that, I'll confine the spell."

Walking past me, the nine-tail reaches out. Streaks of inky fog start towards her - before snapping back as if swatted. The closer she gets, the smaller and thicker the smokey cloud becomes. Her hands held outstretched, eyes and tail tips alight with burning blue flame, Rin stops as if pushing against a wall. She can't get any nearer, that much I can tell, but nor can the eerie blotch of ink-like smoke move.

Yuuko and Hotaru hunch over the restrained monk, not being gentle in their search.

"What is that thing?" I ask.

Though I half-hope Rin would answer, her jaw is set tight and concentration absolute.

It's Shizuka, from behind me where she's got Akemi resting against a wall, who says, "A captured grudge, given guidance by years of those monk's prayers, shaped to addle and bind."

"Does it only work on kitsune?"

"Let us not find out," Shizuka says evenly, yet politely pleading for me not to do anything rash.

Was I that obvious? I try not to think about the concern in her eyes.

"The monk had to carry it here in a vessel, as eldest sister said," the golden haired kitsune adds, "else we would have noticed. Something small enough to hide from a search. If you see it, tell us."

I heft the pouch I used as a weapon. "I may have something."

I dig in the pouch, fingers moving past the silver to the smoothed stones below, each cursed so that I'd forget them except when I might need them. But if these stones seal or steal my memory, couldn't it do worse for resentment and prayers given wispy form? Would I make it worse? I dig at the stones, each slipping from my fingers and doubts, as if resisting my desire to use them now.

"Swiftly, my sisters," Rin says, voice faint and mouth taut. "This is the third worst spell I've had to hold back."

"Cut his robe," Hotaru instructs, moving her hip so that Yuuko can take a well hidden dagger from her belt.

Cloth starts ripping under a sharp blade and quick claws, but the hunch of Rin's tails makes me worry it won't be fast enough.

"I've got it," I say, fingers finally curling around a stone.

"Steel and iron won't help," Rin replies.

When I pull the river stone out of the pouch, every kitsune in the room is suddenly staring at me. Even the dazed Akemi has her eyes pull towards me and the far too smooth, far too round, and far too neatly hollowed out stone. If I hadn't seen a faerie pull it out of the river myself, I'd have never believed the stone was shaped by water instead of a craftsman.

Rin's glowing eyes snap back to the inky cloud, crackling blue flames flickering between her fingers. "That cursed thing might work if they cannot find the vessel, but you must tell me why you have something so burdensome. And how I never sensed it before."

"I'll tell you if I can remember."

A twitch of something displeased tugs at the edge of Rin's mouth. She wants to say more, but a shudder from the blot of angry ink demands all of her concentration. A wispy trail tries to break off, as if to escape from her, but she takes a half step forward to stop that. The white of her fur deepens, the orange seeming to fade until it's replaced with white, as if to overtake her into something majestic and so much more than a kitsune. Then she's only Rin again, orange and white and straining against something mystical she can barely hold back.

That was no trick or glamour, my eyes saw something that might've been and still could be.

"Swiftly, my dear sisters," Rin urges. "Egil, take that frightful stone to the other side. Opposite to me."

I hold the stone out and start to circle the room. When I try to hurry, a vine lashes at me, stopping short only because I swing the pouch with the remaining few stones in it. The slower I am, the less it strikes at me, so I grit my teeth and keep shuffling my feet. Curling wisps of flame course through Rin's tails, her eyes watching me hopefully with each step I take.

All the while strips of the monk's robes scatter into a pile, Hotaru wrapping an arm around Kenshin's neck to choke and lift him up. Yuuko slices through seams and sleeves, somehow avoiding poking or cutting the monk in her hunt. She's too kind.

Finally, I stand on the other side of Rin. The stone I hold up is icy cold one moment and soothing warm the next. That hole in the center has a draft spill through, twisting and turning away, almost whistling but not making a sound. I've only ever bargained and threatened with these stones before, and the faeries that gifted it to me were hard to understand at the best of times. Yet whatever the river stone is doing, the inky black hates it.

The inky blotch pushes against the forces Rin uses to hold the spell back. Lashing vines start trying to strike at her, so I take a step closer.

A wail of fear hums in the smoke and fog.

The blotch trembles as I take another step, and I start to see screaming faces twisted with ancient rage and grief in the cloud of black.

On my third step, the vines try to strike me instead of the nine-tail.

I batter and smack at them with my pouch. Those that I miss pass over me with only a cold unease, unable to find any hold against my clothes or flesh. I can barely lift my feet, but I make a fourth step – and the inky swirl folds in on itself in a wail of fear. Not of me or the stone, but because all its rage might end.

"Keep," Rin utters between her teeth, "that stone up."

How much more can Rin endure? Are my eyes tricking me or is her fur starting to lighten? I swear all the rich orange shifts to gold or white, red markings upon her brows and cheeks, before she's the same as I've always known her.

Rin is doing what she must. I glance to her sisters, still searching the monk. He's in tattered rags and held on the edge of choking by Hotaru.

A slice of cloth near his armpit tumbles out a thumb-sized chunk of shining metal, the monk flailing in Hotaru's grasp to dive atop it. The heel of Yuuko's palm catches the underside of Kenshin's chin, shoving him back into Hotaru's hold. Kenshin comes off the ground, legs kicking uselessly, arms held behind his back while the furious faced Hotaru chokes him.

Diving past those kicks, each suddenly aimed instead of flailing, Yuuko snatches up the little golden trinket that fell.

Held in both hands as if it were a great weight, the four-tail brings it to her eldest sister.

"Set it at my feet and back away," Rin instructs, not daring to break her gaze from the shuddering, twitching bundle of foggy ink. "Egil, use your stone to chase the grudge back to the vessel."

The inky cloud shudders, growing larger as if aware of her intent. It soon looks misshapen as a pile of dried briers instead of ink dripped into water, made up of fingers pulling at twisted faces of unthinking hate and loss.

Yuuko sets the bit of gold, shaped like a small man seated in prayer, before her sister and scurries backward. She rushes to help Hotaru restrain Kenshin's legs, the pair hauling him to the side of the room while I force my feet to move from the ground. I feel like trudging through deep mud, where the slightest misstep will send me face first and drowning. Sweat beads on my brow and Rin's ears pull back, her face almost twisted into a snarl of effort.

My outstretched hand almost touches the hateful bundle of black.

Rin's tails fan out, flames dancing upon each tip and in her eyes. Her hands rise, coming together before her so that only her fingerpads touch, something muttering on her lips.

Like a trapped boar trying to gore a hunter, the grudge reaches out towards the ceiling and rafters. The ropes and charms strung about glow red and rustle. A vine lashes towards my throat only to get smacked by my pouch, the grip the spell has upon the room weakening.

Rin swipes her hands down with a quiet shout from deep in the lungs, same as a swordsman cleaving through a shield.

The inky blotch of briers twists in on itself, dragged bit by bit into the golden figure. Every heartbeat it gets smaller, the room feeling brighter and more alive. Rin drops to her knees and shoves against an unseen force. A last pitiful cry is all I hear before the inky blotch flickers into nothing, the room suddenly as if its hate never existed.

The stone in my fingers cracks, crumbling as whatever power it held is spent. I grip the pieces, wondering if I actually forgot their purpose or if it's something no man can understand.

Rin breathes in for the first time since the spell started to seal, her tails drooping. She picks up the small golden figure, and I help steady her.

She turns her glare towards the monk Hotaru and Yuuko are tying up. They've put his shredded robes to good use, the scraps knotted together to bind and gag him further, but not the fury his eyes have for Rin.

"A blessed and favored monk he must be," Rin says, disdain seeping into the edge of her polite voice with each word, "to not have our most honored guest standing over him when he made such an insult."

I stuff the broken faerie stone back into the pouch and tie it onto my belt best I can. "I'd hate to have shed his blood in your home."

"I would not have minded," Rin replies. "The monks' worldly passions for kitsune have soured, not faded, it seems."

Kenshin says something into his gag, eyes defiant despite our serious threats.

"Oh, you shall explain yourself," Rin says, barely hiding a chilling smile behind her sleeve, "though perhaps I should ask if my honored guest and dear friend has a way of making you speak more earnestly."

"I've learned a few ways," I say, remembering a desert man, a friend even, that taught me much of the skill. "The reliable ones are brutal, not magic."

My admission doesn't move Rin at all. "Should we need to ensure such honesty from this childish monk, would you need anything?"

"Depends on how intact you want him," I utter, trying not to remember the grieving rage of that man I called friend. We found his daughter before raiders sacrificed her to a fiery spirit that itself was insulted by the entire affair, but we were too late to preserve her honor. The raiders had their 'fun' with her. She was alive, if those sunken eyes at the time could be called that, though she recovered some after we were through with those raiders. It took a couple of days, after all. "Does the monk need his fingers or feet?"

"Starting with the fingers would make his prayers more difficult," Rin smiles to the side, aiming it at me, "but perhaps it would help Kenshin understand, and eventually transcend, his worldly suffering to be reminded of his arrogance every time he held hashi to eat his rice."

The venom woven into each polite word could slay an ox. She's serious, but so am I. I'd feel nothing if I started breaking Kenshin's fingers one joint at a time.

There's no fear in Kenshin's eyes. For now.

I crouch before the bound monk, slipping my new dagger free and pressing the tip against his reddened chin. Yuuko's strike didn't leave a bruise, but there's enough of a mark for it to be sensitive. Instead of the blade, Kenshin stares at me, muttering something that's lost in the gag. Even when I move the dagger across his face, making him wonder where I'll start cutting, his gaze never wavers.

A cruel thought bubbles up in my head, of something I'd never do. But the monk doesn't know that.

"No guest or honest visitor comes with poison instead of a gift," I say. "So why not use him as bait to draw out Kenta?"

There's only a slight twitch and widening of Kenshin's eyes, but it's a greater fear than if he started screaming. The monk buries it away swiftly and glares at me as if seeing me for the first time. I'd feel much the same in his position, and I can only hope the kitsune know I'm bluffing about this threat.

Rin draws near my side, keeping me between her and Kenshin. The nine-tail lets out a soft sound of consideration.

"None can know what happens upon the path up here, when they cannot look back. Kenshin could have quietly strayed into a trap," she muses, "and the sarugami accompanying him hurried to us in a frightful panic about the lost monk."

I can't tell if Rin is sincere or not, and that makes a chill run down my back. I know she is capable of cruelty, as I certainly am, but that's not it. I'm unnerved that I don't yet know her well enough to see through all her polite masks.

While I'm uncertain, Kenshin finds his answer. The struggling against his tied up wrists stops and his muffled words match the demanding glare he gives me.

Surrounded by kitsune, the man threatening to break his bones and drag him to a man-eating oni is still more trustworthy. I suppose Kenshin is right since I'd never let him be sacrificed to a man-eater, though he has no reason to believe such a thing. Perhaps it's because of what Rin warned me about with the monks and their views of women and kitsune. A foolish part of me hoped it wouldn't be so.

"Shall I soften him before he speaks?" I ask, not breaking glares with Kenshin.

"You wish to let him speak?" Rin replies curiously, and I can tell from her voice alone she's got her sleeve in front of her mouth. The look upon her face must be mockingly pitiful.

I want to think I know her that well, at least.

"No," I answer honestly, "though we might as well listen to more of his accusations and excuses. See if we can draw something useful out."

"Then," Rin draws the word out, "let us see if he has the bravery to bite his own tongue off and drown in his blood."

I keep my dagger at the ready, should there be any more magical surprises, and yank the gag below his chin.

Kenshin sputters, mouth twisted in anger before he fights most of it back.

"I know what you are now, fox demon," he spits. "Old sins will be undone, by my hands or my fellow disciples. And you."

Kenshin, surprising me even if I don't twitch a muscle, abandons his rage and resentment. There's peace in his eyes, the sort a man like me can hardly hope to find while awake, as he looks through me.

"Passivity will loosen the circlet crushing your brow," he says. "You should not trouble yourself with these demons and their deceptive temptations. Go back to the the temple and the abbot, he will-"

"That's enough," Rin says with an annoyed sigh, and Hotaru moves to stuff the gag back into Kenshin's mouth.

"Do not be swayed by their seductions of the night," the monk struggles, "their nature is cunning and deceit. They stray men from righteousness, as they did Kenta. Walk away, foreigner, and we will see that he is finally made to atone with these fox demons-"

His lecturing ravings are muffled, and I feel nothing.

Should I? Am I being deceived by the kitsune, manipulated so subtly that our winter of self-imposed torment was all a ruse as his eyes beg me to believe? My sinew is too ready for battle for me to know, and were I a wise man, I'd have never gotten myself involved with faeries all those seasons long past. No, I'd have stayed home and fought in the war my kin were readying for instead of fleeing.

Standing up, I look at Rin. There's no doubt in the stark, cold blue that meets me. And I feel no doubt for her.

I made my choice long ago, perhaps in a dream.

"We have wasted enough time on his foolishness," she scoffs. "Come, Egil. My sisters will see him held somewhere, there's no need to sully your hands on loosening his tongue."

"We'll keep him near the kitchens," Shizuka says.

"Good. Keep him within stone walls," Rin nods, not looking at her sisters.

Without a second glance at the monk, I follow the nine-tail out of the room, chewing on many thoughts. The faerie stones, the oni, what these monks are here for, why all the attacks on the kitsune happened since I came here, what that spell was – there's too much. I want to think about none of it. So I focus on keeping aware of any threats to me or my nine-tail lover as we leave down the twists and turns of many halls.