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1462, Nippon

A time of turmoil in the land if Nippon, as the Shogun still split control and often clash with one another. The Emperor holds an almost superficial rule as every province answered more immediately to their ruling Shogun. And as Shogun are meant to be war generals- they start fights better than they keep peace.

In the province of Bishu, the shogun Kasai Goichi starts the rumblings of another oncoming conflict. It had started as Goichi attempting to provoke Seishu province to their immediate west. Seishu had struggled with power for a great many years only to stand more firmly now closer to its former glory. Kasai wanted to indirectly start a fight to take advantage of their growing power, before they become too strong to fight back. Basically he intended to leech off their resources by pushing them over again before they regain balance. For this he initially looked to Washu- who Seishu had been at war with when it fell from power initially. Goichi was expecting an easy ally- but Washu's leaders were not keen to start another feud. Rather than earn an ally; Goichi received some firm advise about avoiding conflict. Goichi did not take it well.

Kasai Fumihiro had fought in the short but brutal conflict between Washu and Seishu- and fought WITH Seishu as one of their captains, so it seems especially sleazy to now turn on them, even if their alliance to Goichi was a few heads removed. But Washu managed to convince Goichi to turn his attention away from Seishu in the end. He now targeted Washu, for questioning his plans. No word was sent to Washu regarding the matter, but Goichi began his plotting immediately, sending a missive to another ally of his down in the Kishu province, and a 'gift' of a great weapon he came into possession of.

While all of these foolish human mind-games were in play, a black fox skitters down the laneways between buildings chasing a mouse for a quick meal. When the common folk see him bolt past they cheer him on- the mice will only get into their homes and crops if the fox doesn't deal with it first. Genki catches up to the little bugger and stomps on its tail- because it was moving so fast when he pinned its tail; its entire body lifted up and swung back into his open mouth from the shift in momentum and Genki ate him with a grin on his glossy black lips.

He sauntered back toward the main road and completely shifted his shape as he passed behind a cart; walking out the other side in the form of a human! Genki is a three-tailed kitsune, a nogitsune. What had been a single white hair in his black coat transformed back into a shamisen when he took his human form. An instrument strung with demon silk he had been gifted a very long time ago. She strummed at it with his ginkgo-leaf shaped pick as he strut and twirled his way down the street. Children and a few elderly people smiled and clapped along to the tune he plays as he goes but for the most part, people ignore him. Most of the people around these parts are so miserable even his whimsical music cannot lift their spirits. They have become deaf to joy- it is an unfamiliar melody here.

Genki grumbled and stopped playing eventually, slouching a bit. Tension was too high. No one was playing music for Genki to learn, and no one was listening to his music- so what was the point? Place is a real downer, he should probably skip town. He wandered the streets- his appearance shifting to different faces and sometimes even gender as he hid among the common folk to eavesdrop conversations trying to figure out what the problem is. Seems war is on the horizon, again. In this era war is always a threat, but by the sounds of it this Goichi character is already packing his bags to go kick down Washu's doors. Great. That means here in Bishu, over in Washu, Seishu, and heck even Kishu if his requested backup comes through- are all going to be a complete mess. So it doesn't really matter what direction Genki tries to wander in- he is going to end up in some section of the conflict.

He lolled his head back, looking to the matte grey sky. "Awwww maaan. Never mind finding a place to relax- I am going to catch a stray arrow at this rate. Do these humans have to be so damn confrontational all the damn time??"

A black fox dropped off from under the back of his shirt, stole an apple off a stand and then skittered back up Genki and vanished into him as he continued to walk uninterrupted. He stole the apple effortlessly- he has three tails and can thus split himself into three forms. As long as he keeps two tails together he can maintain a shapeshifted form, while the third tail can wander off as a normal fox.

Genki could see the shogun's palace in the far distance- up on a hill. He better sneak in to at least see the shogun's plans first-hand. He doesn't want to get stressed out over a rumor, and if shit is about to hit the fan; he would love to know where to stand to not be hit by it.

Genki got to the edge of the town and then glanced around to make sure no one was watching and quickly transformed into an all-black stallion. With the body of a horse he galloped off the main path and was able to race to the palace quickly without wearing himself down. In the form of a horse- the shamisen transformed into a saddle. He turned back human arriving at the city around the base of the shogun's palace, but ended up having to rest before actually getting to the palace itself. He stopped for a bite to eat and a drink, but ended up getting drunk and laughing it up with the pretty female waitresses and took one of them to bed at the nearby inn.

Genki woke up late the following day and decided to slip out the window of his room to head to the palace- since the inn keeper and the bar owner were probably going to be angry with him if they spot him. He is a fox- why would he have any human money? The 'money' he used to pay them was just shapeshifted rocks, and would have turned back into pebbles when he went to sleep last night.

Genki turned into a warrior, transforming the shamisen into a sheathed katana at his side as he approached the front gates of the palace. The guard was not familiar with his face even in this transformed state, and so lowered his naginata to block the way.

"And you are?"

"Yoshiro, I have come from my master to request elaborated plans from Kasai Goichi."

The guard shrugged, furrowing his brows. "And your master is..?"

"Really? You don't know who I serve?" The guard shrugged again. "Who else would have the authority to ask such things of the shogun t-than....thaaan..?"

"Nakatomi?"

"YES! Obviously. I thought Nakatomi's written request would have arrived already, but apparently not, if you did not know."

"So you are a vassal of Nakatomi Tessai? Alright, well, follow me and I will see of the shogun is not too preoccupied to see you."

Phew, good thing this guy said it out loud- Genki has no idea who that is. Genki transformed his katana back into its true shamisen form and started to strum at it. The guard glanced back toward him about to question why he even has an instrument but resumed walking a moment later. Genki specializes in ongaku- music based magic. He cannot take control of people; but he can shift their emotions rather abruptly by playing music. In this case- he can make the guard not actually want to investigate him any further, allowing his thinly veiled lies to actually work. Once inside, the guard returned to his post instead of consulting the guards directly watching Goichi. Genki started to play a soft, slow melody and the vibrations in the air created from plucking the shamisen strings hid his appearance entirely, making him invisible save for the ripples in the air.

Genki casually made his way up to where the shogun should have been but did not see the personal guards or the shogun himself. Great, did he go to a business meeting and Genki just missed him? Genki sighed and leaned against the wall, pausing his playing for a moment. What a pain in the ass, the only reason he even did this much is because it will save him a lot of pain in the future. Okay well... he only needs to confirm the shogun's plot, right? Doesn't actually need the shogun himself to do that, so Genki played a few abrupt notes and caused the door to unlock itself and let him in to Goichi's bedroom.

Genki wandered around carelessly, glancing around the room for clues like a tourist sight-seeing. Hm, armor stand and no armor, but his katana is still on its stand. So Goichi is out, but not to fight. Genki seen a pile of scrolls- well, he doesn't want to do much reading but the information he wants is probably on those. He froze in place reaching for them however when all the oil lights in the room suddenly ignited on their own- and their flame was not yellow and orange but blood red! Genki spun around a second too late as a giant hand grabbed him by the face and slammed him against an ornate wooden pillar pained crimson and gold.

Kasai Goichi was a pretty big man to start with- but Genki can literally see him growing right in front of him! Goichi swelled in size and muscle mass, causing straps and threads of his armor and attire under it to snap and burst around his hardening frame. The red plated armor seemed to melt, wrapping around him as he grows and then re-solidify, fused to his flesh! He is covered now in leather-like bright red skin! His nails grew longer, sharper, and thicker into claws. Goichi's normally brown eyes started to glow like embers as the brown burned away to reveal glowing orange iris.

His voice was deep and hollow. "Wrong house, fox."

"Ah...haha... how uh, how'd ya know I was a fox?"

"Because I am an Oni."

Oni are also yokai- only half mortal... which means Goichi can see Genki's highly spiritual aura. He couldn't see through Genki's illusions, but he could see that it IS an illusion.

---

weeks later...

---

Keiko is a red fox, and unlike Genki; well versed in combat. Her human master Juro had taken her along on many battles and unintentionally passed on his skill with the sword to her. Keiko has been wandering the land- originally from Washu- to find and stop conflict wherever she found it, to try and grand her master's final wish, that Nippon would stop being at war with itself. No simple task.

She travels with a silver toothpick tucked behind her ear- her master's former sword Suimintetsu transformed so that she can easily conceal it even in her normal fox form. Even as a normal fox she is hiding part of her appearance- she has not one but two tails now.

Keiko caught wind of Goichi's plans as murmurs in the street of unrest. Commoners whispering of the incoming conflict and how they should plan to retreat from where the combat is going to be the fiercest. Naturally rather than plot her escape- Keiko turned her nose to the source with the intent on stopping it. Though she still has much to learn about how humans work; even Keiko was able to pick up on how unusual the situation is. How would common folk hear about an incoming conflict before it happens? Generally when an enemy leader plans for war, they don't tell literally everyone it is going to happen. So then how does anyone know? Where did the rumors originate from? They might not even be true, but Keiko could not leave it alone. Washu was not preparing for war as far as she knew, so even their military was unsure of whether or not the rumors were true, but were equally nervous.

Keiko had been in Seishu before so she took her old route through Kuro Michi no Machi, though for the rest of the path she would be on her own. Rather than walk all that distance, she turned herself into a robin and flew. Keiko caught the attention of several people as she flew over- because her ability to shapeshift was not very good yet. She is not born a bird either, so her flying wasn't very efficient and she was not very used to doing it, so it took a lot out of her. Maintaining a proper shape while also flying was a bit too much for her current skill level, so while her shape was that of a robin the colors were all wrong- her legs and beak are black but most of the feathers are vermillion and fade to white on the tail feathers... she still has the colors of a red fox. She was not going to stick around in any one location long enough for people to question it much anyway.

Unlike Genki; Keiko did not think to fake human currency to stay in man-made structures. That would be stealing by human laws- she would never do that. When Keiko grew too tired to fly she would fly over a river and transform into a koi so she could just plop down in the water and float for a while. At least she can't mess up the colors of a koi- it's the same color she already is anyway. After three days of travelling she arrives at a Inari shrine at the edge of Seishu and Bishu. She resumes her true form to wander into the shrine, knowing a fox will never be out of place in Inari's shrines.

She wandered up to the main building of the shrine, her stomach gurgled angrily as she had been hoping someone left some food offering she could pluck up. Keiko has been travelling so continuously that she has yet to stop to eat anything... which does not help her energy level for travelling great distances.

A priest spotted her and knelt down beside her. "Ah, little one. Are you lost?" She yipped at him and he smiled offering down a tiny gourd of sake. "It is okay- I know you are more than you seem, two-tails. Often when you are lost; all you need is a different perspective on things."

Keiko took the gourd in her mouth and put it on the ground, steadying it with a paw and then pulled the cork with her teeth. Was there something special about this sake? Inari is the God of rice, and sake is made from rice, so it could very well be a blessed drink. She nipped the lips of the gourd and then tipped her head back to drink from it. It had a very pure, mild taste, almost hard to distinguish at all... perhaps a bit flowery tasting. She looked at the priest wondering what he was trying to tell her but he was completely gone! She did not see or hear him move but he vanished! The sake did not seem to do anything outside of just being obviously alcoholic. Different perspective? Did he mean get to higher ground? Climb the shrine building?

Keiko's wandering eyes settled on the torii gate. Wait... did he mean... the other side? She wandered around its outer side and then curled around the post to walk through the gate facing back toward the shrine. As soon as her eyes passed through the sky became a bright white and a lot of the surroundings changed. Most human structures vanished entirely except for the shrine which remains the same on both sides- Keiko has slipped into the spirit realm. Where the priest had been standing is now the Okami Inari with a smile on his face, as if waiting for her.

Inari had the appearance of a handsome but elderly man, his clothing well-made but of diffused, earthen colors. His face is shadowed by a wide-rimmed rice hat and a bushel of freshly reaped rice on his back, ready to be dried.

Keiko bowed. "So, it is you."

"It is I. No need to bow so low, young one. Your gourd still has some sake left, come, let us rest and tell me of your woes."

Keiko did not want to drink, now knowing it was just normal sake. Getting drunk did not help her cause any... but she supposed it was mild enough that this small container wasn't going to get her that drunk anyway, and she certainly did not want to be rude to the patron of all fox. She told the okami of her adventures here, seeking the truth behind the rumors of incoming war. Inari found it quite unusual that she would involve herself at all. Generally yokai don't mix well with mortals- choosing to avoid them, or only help or prank them in brief encounters, but Keiko was putting her life on the line repeatedly for them.

"It is my purpose! It is what my master taught me, what Juro wanted."

Inari chuckled, scratching his coarse, faded beard. "It is very noble of you, certainly. It is just a bit funny given the reputation of most kitsune- especially those who do not work for me directly. Your kind is infamously mischievous, playful, carefree... and yet you are in direct opposition to all of this. You are very stern, very determined. You fight your own nature."

"My master Juro-"

"I know of Juro."

Keiko studied his face a moment in silence. "It was you... wasn't it? The day he died- the merchant in the village..."

Inari crossed his arms, nodding sadly. "I knew you would need that blessed sake to help you make a fast recovery. We kami are not meant to interfere with mortal affairs... but Juro had more than earned my blessing at the very least."

Keiko fell silent for a while. On this side of reality the world was so... peaceful. So quiet. The wind is gentle. The towns and cities erased, in their place nature still ruled in vast abundance in the spirit realm. The utter tranquility reminded her of where she lived in the forest with her master Juro. It had been quite some time since she has been there, so she had started to forget silence like this exists. On the spiritual realm side of things the shrine shows no signs of being weathered by age; not a single grain of sand out of place, no dust present, like the shrine had just been built.

"I need all the help I can get to get to the bottom of these rumors. If it is true, I need to stop the shogun before he can start this conflict... even if it means killing him. I will stain my paws with blood if it means saving everyone else."

Inari shook his head sadly. "I am not a kami of violence. I cannot give you a blessing of battle. As it stands- I do not think you should be doing this, either. You cannot succeed."

"W-why?"

"You are carrying too much burden. You are weighed down by lofty dreams and are not so proficient in battle that you can do it with weights on. You can achieve your dreams, but not Juro's."

"My dreams ARE his!" She growled in frustration. "Fine, I will just do it myself I guess if you can't help. Even if I die, at least I will die trying."

Keiko got up and went to dash back out through the gate but Inari spoke up to stop her before she could leave. "Wait. There is another shrine, to an elder kami. The shrine may be hard to find because it is small and has no one to tend it anymore, but it is in the woods to the east of here- along the way you will be travelling anyway, just wander from the trail. Mishaguji may be able to assist you in ways I cannot." Inari tossed her a tiny satchel of rice.

Keiko resumed her travels, feeling oddly refreshed. Maybe that was not normal sake after all- she no longer feels hungry, and feels as though she got a full night's rest without actually sleeping. A bit frustrated at Inari, she was not sure she wanted to seek out this other kami at risk of him brushing her off too. She slowed her flight and once again returned to fox form when she seen several smooth stones that seemed out of place. Had she not known there was a shrine near here- she likely would have passed them off as normal rocks, but they were spaced evenly and formed an almost perfect line into the trees.

The shrine is small and decrepit- it has not been maintained, though there are a few small offerings in the bowl so at least someone still uses it. It is a shrine to a lesser kami that was worshipped long ago, but has fallen from the public view progressively over the years... and with less prayers and offerings, the kami has less and less influence in the mortal realm. They can only offer services as an exchange, so if the mortals don't offer anything up- the kami are prohibited from acting. Kaiko plopped the little satchel of rice into the bowl as an offering and waited. She seen a flash of white in the woods, spotted an albino snake approaching!

The snake was not only getting closer- it was also getting larger! The serpent had an oddly shaped head that was distinctly phallic in shape. It spiralled around the base of the shrine and suddenly transformed into the shape of a man! He was still held off the ground by a huge snake tail that wrapped around the shrine, but the main body is that of a pale skinned man. His hair is also pure white and trimmed into a bowl-cut, which still causes his overall head to look noticeably phallic in shape. He held himself up by his tail so his legs just sort of hung there, and his arms crossed. Keiko blushed a bit, glancing away a moment to brace herself before looking back at him- since he is entirely nude and his junk is just... out.

Leader of the Dosojin (path guardian), kami of boundaries and lesser spirit of fertility; Mishaguji.

Keiko told him of the coming war that Goichi was supposedly bringing about and her long voyage here to stop it.

Mishaguji nodded along. "How dare he? As kami of borders I find these constant incursions an incessancy of insults! The shogun constantly push on each other's borders, trying to take more land or resources. Does no one respect each other's space anymore?!"

"So, you will help? Inari could not... and turned me away, trying to tell me to stop entirely."

"Did he now?"

"Huh?"

Mishaguji let go of the tiny shrine and slithered around Keiko instead. "Inari offered you what he could- whether you are smart enough to understand his advice or not is up to you."

"He said I couldn't achieve my dreams."

"He said you couldn't achieve Juro's dreams."

Keiko paused, tilting her head in annoyance- oh, so he already knew the whole conversation. "Same thing."

"Not quite."

"Well I cannot see the difference- but perhaps as a kami of borders; you can tell me what defines this one."

"You are tense- even a mortal can see that, because you are trying to achieve Juro's dream. You are trying to live up to him, to not let him down." Mishaguji sighed. "Not to put salt in the wound but, you can't let him down; he's dead. He is already as far down as anyone CAN put him. That is the difference. The added stress, the added tension, and added weight of trying to live up to someone's standards that cannot even be defined because they are no longer among us."

"But... I have the same goal? I adopted his dream, of my own will."

"Which is a start, but you need to shift your focus to that. You need to do this for YOU, not him. You need to relax, before you cripple yourself." Mishaguji turned back into a snake and flicked a ring off from the end of his tail and Keiko caught it in her mouth. "That is one of my shintai."

The ring is made of smooth, polished stone. "So... it has your power in it?"

"I have many avatars, and that contains one of them, yes. It has the power to summon sekibo."

She flicked it up and over one of her ears- her shapeshifting magic turned it into a stripe of grey around her left ear. "What is a sekibo again..?"

Mishaguji bucked his head up a moment and a thick, smooth stone pillar erupted from the ground. Keiko was once again a little stunned, because the stone pillar was shaped into the glans of a penis on the end.

"This is a sekibo."

"It's a peni-"

"A barrier stone. It can be used to seal something in or shield something out. Mine is not a power of attack. You need to get into his palace to see if any of these rumors are even true in the first place- that should go without saying. Don't... try to do anything crazy. Just figure out what he is up to; if Goichi really is trying to push his borders, I will help stay the tide of battle. I will erect a barrier in the middle of his army, cutting them off from one another and sewing confusion, causing him to lose. Maybe then he will learn to respect the line."

"Erect, huh?"

Mishaguji lowered his brows. "Just get going."

Keiko travelled for another day before reaching the castle of a daimyo that worked under Goichi. Kasai Goichi's own palace was still another half day of travel away, but this may be just as useful of a stop. Keiko needs information first- she doesn't know if Goichi is even the enemy yet. The daimyo who lives here is Nakatomi Tessai, and of all the daimyo under Goichi; this is the most likely to be in on all the details of his plot. Because Tessai married Goichi's elder sister; Kasai Euiko.

Keiko fluttered around the castle, looking in the windows to see where everyone is and determine her best point of entry. After a bit of plotting while scanning the area, Keiko slipped into the room with Euiko in it, transforming into a bubble to encapsulate her in, and rolled right out the window again! Euiko tried yelling out in confusion, but Keiko trapped the sound in her bubble. Once outside Keiko popped, turning back into a fox while flinging Euiko up and before she even knew what was going on- Keiko used the shintai to summon a stone sphere and trap Euiko in, slamming into the grassy slope just behind the castle. Euiko is now trapped, unharmed but also unable to interfere.

Keiko stole her exact appearance including her clothing and slipped into the castle in her place! As Euiko; Keiko found Tessai, asking him if he needed anything to try to act as normal as possible. Keiko waited a bit- fighting her own impatience- before finally asking him about Goichi's plots.

"My young brother trusts you the most of all his vassals... surely you have heard his plans in more detail?" Keiko leaned into him, deliberately letting the obi on her kimono slip to flash him cleavage.

"I think he is already being too open with his plans on the matter. This is not a matter for a woman to be involved in." He waved a hand at her dismissively.

"But... I am worried about my brother. I need to know if he truly is going to war?"

Tessai sighed, pausing a moment before speaking up again, putting an arm around her to squeeze her closer. "Fine. He himself does not seem particularly interested in discretion. We will be going to war with Washu- he has taken their undermining his plans as an insult. At least... that is the public reasoning he will use... it is more like we are scavenging for resources, power... the usual agenda. We might not be alone on this though- he has a contact down in Kishu along with the Maho clan. He sent them a nice little gift too- a very powerful, very special sword. If he can garner their aid we will be assailing Washu from the east and south at the same time... they don't stand a chance."

Keiko put a hand on his thigh, gently rubbing it, closer to the inner curve. "So my brother will be safe?"

"Without a doubt."

"I am so proud to have such reliable men in my life. Such a good leader as a husband, and a powerful warrior as my brother."

Tessai kissed her and her hand shifted angle to cup his genitals through his kimono. The two of them scoot to the bedroom. Keiko went to prepare for him in bed, but then simply slipped out the window, taking the appearance of a common woman and snapped her fingers- releasing the stone seal on the real Euiko so she could find her own way back into the castle. She will be even more confused when she returns to a husband upset that she enticed him and then wandered off.

Keiko had what she needed- she knew the battle plans were real. She planned to sneak into Goichi's castle now to try and steal his actual physical battle plans- maps, any letters to his daimyo talking about plans; any physical evidence she can steal away and then deliver to Washu. If Washu already knows his full battle plan, he obviously isn't going to march on them, because he will stand little chance of winning at that point. It would be the equivalent of just marching his army off a cliff.

Keiko jumped the palisade wall and walked a ways to distance herself from the front gate before picking up speed. When she got to the corner, a man turned the corner and put his arms out to block her, but turned around too late for either of them to stop the collision! Keiko slammed into him, but he is heavier than she is, so he ended up falling over her- shoving his palms into her tits to stop his fall! They both looked at each other in surprise for a moment but then Keiko moaned unintentionally and her chest filled with heat! The man looked at her breasts under his hands swelling up firmer, and then larger and smiled!

They swelled to large breasts, then obscenely large, and then unnaturally large! They became so big their weight pulled the top of her kimono open on their own to roll off either side of her chest and rest in the crook between her arms and torso! Each boob was almost as big as her torso itself!

"Ah! W-waaAAHt w-w-whaat is... hAAAAAH-ppening!?"

Her breasts were blushing bright pink and felt hot from the sudden growth! She had no idea what happened! Her concentration broke a bit because of it, and the back of her kimono became pointed as the fabric frayed a bit starting to look like fur rather than fabric, and her ears became long and narrow- becoming black at the tips. Her arms and legs turned black up to her knees and elbows, but at a distance it just looked like she was wearing long socks and gloves.

"See?" He bounced his weight on her tits, causing them to squish outward and bounce rounder with each pulse. "You should look more like THIS when you are seducing someone."

Keiko narrowed her eyes, this guy isn't human! She kicked him in the gut hard enough to knock him up into the air and rolled out from under him. By the time he hit the ground Genki had resumed his true form, and as soon as she seen him; Keiko also turned back to her true form... sort... of. It seems the increased mammary mass didn't go away, regardless of what form she took. As a human she has two melons the size of a small beach ball; as a fox she has six ostrich-egg sized mounds shaped like soft cones, capped in reddened teats all mashed together, fighting for room on her midriff.

Keiko stumbled back awkwardly, spreading her back legs to try and give them more space and looking under herself at the jiggling masses in confusion.

Genki just huffed. "Hot."

"What... the... fuck. How... what even did you DO?!"

"Shapeshifting." He waved his three tails individually. "I am a threetails. Genki is the name!"

"Shapeshifting doesn't work on OTHER people! The object has to share your aura for you to shapeshift it!"

"Possession. When I touched you- I put part of myself inside of you, shapeshifted your form, pulled out. Tadah! A little bit of ingenuity goes a long way."

"...wonderful, now turn me back."

"Aww, but you'll be able to seduce people so much better in that form, haha. How was Tessai by the way? Couldn't have lasted very long."

"I didn't bang Tessai!"

Genki paused a moment before tilting his head in confusion. "You... snuck into a castle to seduce the daimyo, and then didn't do anything? I think you're missing the point of seducing someone."

"I wouldn't have come all the way from Washu to fuck some rich guy!"

Genki wheezed. "Oh, my. You came all the way from Washu to-"

"I wasn't trying to bang him! I came to stop a war."

That wiped the smile off his face quickly enough. "...what?"

"The shogun is going to start a war soon just because he is getting greedy for more territory."

Genki shrugged, starting to wander around her in a slow circle. "And? You are a fox- what the humans do isn't any concern of yours. Who cares?"

"I do. I am trying to bring an end to this in-fighting. For my master I will stop war within Nippon and see this land at peace with itself finally."

Genki let out a sarcastic laugh. "Well good luck with that mess. What is your name? I will make sure to stop by your grave to say 'I told you so'."

"Keiko, and I can look after myself thanks." He went to leave and Keiko quickly spun to face him again, almost stumbling because her many tits kept getting in the way of her back legs. "Wait, turn me back already!"

"Well I am definitely not turning you back NOW."

"Why?!"

"Why do you think I was at the castle in the first place? I work for Kasai Goichi."

"How could you side with him on this?! He is the one picking the fight for no good reason!"

"Yea, but he will win. And people who use their brains- stay on the winning side. Tah, tah." Genki bolted away before she could protest.

In her current condition she could not even attempt to follow him. It did not matter what form Keiko took- she still has oversized mammaries. The part of her that is shapeshifted is the part Genki inserted his own aura into- and she can't change the shape of someone else's aura. She could force the foreign energy out of her system, except Genki has three tails, and she only has two. He is just flat out stronger than she is. She slipped between buildings at the edge of the castle palisade and transformed into a horse quickly, groaning at the size of the udder. Now between her legs was a dark brown two segment udder with each portion the size and shape of a watermelon. At least her legs are a lot longer so they don't hinder her movement quite as much as in her fox form. Or attract attention so blatantly as in human form. She doesn't even want to know what happens if she attempted to shift into a form that isn't supposed to have mammaries in the first place. Pair of human boobs hanging off a tiny robin? Yea, no.

She trot as quickly as she could with tripping herself up on her own swollen udders, though she could still feel them bouncing all over the damn place with every step. Horse endowments are not supposed to be able to even get that big in the first place. She tried to go for Goichi's castle as quickly as possible. Genki was most likely going to try and intercept her again- this time she will be ready and give him nuts the size of a wagon wheel and see how he likes it!

Because she cannot move at full speed, it took a bit over another day for her to get to the town where Goichi's castle is, even though it was not that far away. A horse with giant udders walking into the city will be spotted and stopped immediately, so Keiko tried to turn into a mouse... that... didn't go well. Because a mouse's limbs are so short and its body so round when she turned into one she landed on eight swollen mounds of soft, jiggly flesh instead of her paws! Her limbs projected as far out from her as her tits do, so she was resting on a mattress of her own endowments, unable to get enough traction with her feet to move! She then turned into a snake just to see if she could maybe ditch them with a form that has no mammaries, but as she expected- no. Because snakes do not have any; she just retained the same mammaries she had in her last form, except now sized up for the new body, and spread out since a snakes torso is so incredibly long. Well, she can't slither on tits, so this form don't work.

Keiko groaned at her predicament. She doesn't even have any other forms. She isn't good enough at shapeshifting to take any other random form; those are all the forms she knows! Human is the most mobile, but if she is spotted directly by another human they are not going to stop staring at her, ever. She transformed into a woman, making sure to make her kimono grey and diffused brown, so she could just sort of blend into the background. She needed to hike up her kimono and wear it strangely just so there was enough fabric up top to cover the giant wobbling boobs and make sure they did not flop all over the place. There was a five foot blind spot on the ground in front of her where she could not see past her own endowments. Genki is SO going to pay for this.

She managed to get through at least a quarter of the city, taking only laneways and avoiding eye contact with anyone. Keiko has to slouch forward and often uses walls to lean on because her back isn't strong enough to hold up that much meat. Luckily she found a shrine which had a map of all the other local shrines- and located another shrine to Mishaguji. The white snake appeared almost immediately when she got there- sensing her presence but then paused and looked at her in confusion; frozen in place wondering why her form looked like that.

Keiko sighed. "Can you fix me?"

"Y-yea..." He took his humanoid form again and then took a deep breath and blew on her, causing Genki's energy to blow away, and her endowments to slowly shrink back to a normal B cup. "What... happened exactly? Did you learn anything?"

"The war is real. I came here to break into Goichi's castle next. I was intercepted by another kitsune though... Genki he calls himself."

Mishaguji crossed his arms in thought. "Another kitsune involved in the situation? That seems highly irregular. If he did this to you... does that mean he is working for Goichi?"

"He is, yes. I will have to be extremely cautious when sneaking into the castle, since Genki will be able to detect me through a shapeshift..."

"You're not seriously considering going to stop Goichi yourself?!"

"Of course I am! We have to stop this before it starts!"

Mishaguji sighed, shaking his head. "I can offer no aid in combat, and you are a fox. Yes, you have the power of a yokai, but Goichi has a yokai stronger than you are, in addition to an entire human army, possibly two entire armies, and is a well-versed samurai himself before he became shogun. I don't care how skilled you are- one fox cannot take on two armies."

"Nor would I want to- I am trying to stop blood shed not take part in it."

"Going to ask him really nicely to stop?"

"No, but if I cut off the head the body slumps over. All of this is his idea, and his alone. Remove Goichi and no one else makes a move."

"But-..." He sighed again. "Alright. It is still extremely dangerous, and I cannot jump in there to save you. That shintai ring is the entire extent of my aid."

"It will have to be enough then."

"And Genki?"

"He did not actually harm me. And I know to be on the lookout for him this time."

"You didn't try to attack anyone yet, either. He left ahead of you and could move considerably faster than you could- Genki is already in Goichi's castle and has probably been there for half a day already. Which means everyone else in the castle also knows about you by now, and is on the lookout for specifically you."

Keiko groaned. "Too many lives are on the line for me to back down, regardless of the odds. If I don't go, I save myself and thousands die. Doesn't sound like the proper thing to do, does it?"

"Just remember what we spoke of before- of Inari's advising. Good luck, Keiko."

With her body restored; Keiko scrounged for some food, finding a few crayfish in the local river after overturning many stones and made a meal of them before resting. She would need her energy for the coming battle. Hopefully this could be kept to a quick and simply fight between her and Kasai Goichi... Keiko has been in some massive battles, but never alone. Her master Juro in the past and then Sakurako. But this time she is on her own.

Keiko turned into a vermillion furred mouse and dashed to the front gate of the castle. At a glance you could tell this castle is both a lot larger than the daimyo's, but also much better guarded, at least on the outside. Bladed weapons are generally not permitted inside of the shogun's castle, so once inside her opposition would become a bit easier to fight. That isn't to say there are NO blades at all... or that Goichi hasn't made an exception. The castle is much less ornate than Tessai's as well... Kasai Goichi had no interest in flaunting his wealth. The closer she got to the building the stronger she felt an odd presence. There is a dark energy within the castle... does he employ more than one yokai? That isn't Genki's aura she is feeling. She picked up and threw a rock with her mouse tail, causing the guard to look to the source of the sound, and then transformed herself into a sheathed sword. When the guard turned back he glanced down, furrowing his brows at the misplaced weapon. Was that always there?

The guard picked it up and left his post a moment to bring the weapon inside and place it in the weapon racks before heading back out. The moment he left the room; Keiko returned to fox form and skittered silently through the room peeking in each doorway trying to figure out where the shogun's bedroom would be, or how to get there. There was no way it was on ground-level. The inside of the castle was not nearly as populated as the outside, so there ended up being a lot less guards to worry about than she was expecting. Goichi didn't start the war yet, and even when he did- this castle is so deep into his territory that the enemy forces aren't going to be able to reach it for a good while anyway, so there isn't much point in stacking security up here.

The second floor was almost entirely unpopulated- the highest concentration of guards was on the first floor because that is where they store most of their equipment and go to rest themselves. The third floor was completely empty, but also nearly the entire third floor is open air- more pillars than actual walls, and the entire central area is a shrine. The shrine emanated the strange aura Keiko had been feeling though, this is where the sickly feeling was coming from! There is a huge bell and a pedestal in front of it closer to the middle- on this there is only a simple flower.

Against her better judgement, Keiko was distracted slightly by this and wandered over to the pedestal to look at the flower. The aura was coming from the flower. Why would a flower have such a black aura? It is almost as if the aura was a void of energy, rather than a type of energy on its own. Like, it is repulsing life energy rather than radiating it.

It is not why she came here though, so at risk of being spotted in the huge room easily if someone approached; Keiko darted away to the stairs on the opposite side to continue higher. Every tier of the castle is smaller than the one below it, so she had less area to search every time she went up anyway. This fourth floor seemed to be guest rooms? She darted down the hallway, being able to tell at a glance through the many open doors that these were not Goichi's rooms.

A man stepped out of one of the rooms near the end causing Keiko to pause a moment, but she resumed immediately as she was able to sense it was Genki. Genki drew a katana and readied it to attack... Keiko doubted he knows much about swordsmanship. Genki was surprised and only half-attacked when she lunged at him, completely undaunted by the blade! At the last moment she turned into a mouse again and flew past the blade- too small to hit. She then turned into a human as she slammed into him, smashing him to the floor with her weight. Genki knocked her off and swung at her with a frustrated grunt and she flicked the metal quill up into the air and turned it back into Suimintetsu, catching it in her mouth and easily countered Genki's blow! She landed beside him and swung at him from the side and Genki barely got his own sword in the way in time just to barely deflect it and stagger back.

"Oookay, that is a real-ass sword. Why do you have an ACTUAL sword?! You need to chill out." Genki flipped his false sword into the air and returned its form to his shamisen, and started to play random notes to warm up. "Any song requests?"

"How about a dirge for your funeral?"

"A little too somber for an opening number, ya?" She lunged at him blade-first again but he flicked a string with his finger and thumb and the sound hit her like a wall of pure force; launching Keiko down the hall several feet, tumbling to the floor stunned. "Now now, I hate it when my audience gets too rowdy."

Genki could not manipulate her emotions like he could mortals- being a yokai made her immune. Maybe one day he could get there, but currently his ongaku skills are not great enough to overtake her. He also has what appears to be a toothpick tucked behind his left ear that is actually a koto- but unlike the shamisen its strings are horse hairs and will not endure a strike in battle, so he isn't about to swap out instruments. Keiko snarled and charged forward again, making Genki sigh. Still more effort- why can't she just give up? He has ranged magic, he can hit her before she even gets to him.

"Ugh, really? Demanding an encore?" He lifted his hands to the strings again, waiting for her to get a little bit closer so the wall of force hits her hard enough to hopefully force her to stop.

Keiko's six teats suddenly swelled up gigantically again, causing her to stop and tumble forward another foot and a half! "Oh no... my illusion wore off... I tried to overlap your shapeshift with another shapeshift, instead of trying to revert it."

Genki laughed, lowering the instrument. "Oooh- I was wondering how you kicked my magic! You didn't, that makes sense."

Keiko grinned, turning back to normal now that he fell for her feint. Her two tails split as she spun her body around and her original tail flicked the second one through the air, snapping its maw at Genki! Genki had lowered his guard so he could not counter in time and had to raise the shamisen to block with! This Keiko is the one with the sword in her mouth- but the strings of the instrument held firm, blocking the hit.

Genki smirked. "Strung with the silk of a Jorogumo- a normal sword cannot pierce them. That is how I have been plucking on them for over a hundred years with my fox claws without snapping any."

Genki shoved her off, but the other Keiko charged forward and the two re-united in front of him. Genki lifted the shamisen to play again but was struck from behind! Something narrow jammed him in the ass, causing him to scoot forward, turning back into his fox form and skittering up the handle of his shamisen- balancing the instrument upright to get as far off the floor as he could, turning to see what hit him. Keiko used her ring to summon a phallic stone pillar, but because they are indoors the wood of the floor had risen up and petrified into stone, forming a finger-thick pillar to jab Genki.

"What the heck; woman is playing dirty!"

Before he could turn back to Keiko, she swiped the bottom of the shamisen with her tail causing it to fall toward her and then snapped at Genki, biting his neck loosely and slamming him to the floor behind the shamisen. She let go with her mouth only when she had firmly pinned him under her body weight.

He felt his penis suddenly quiver and start to jut out of his furry little sheath on its own and shook his head. "Oooh no, no what do you think you're doing??"

He knew what she was doing- getting revenge. He can't attack her if she disables him like he had done to her- though he doesn't have mammaries to expand, so she is over-engorging his cock to the point where he simply can't move. She is putting a small node of her own aura into him and shapeshifting it while inside of his body to force a shape on him! He went from flaccid to erect in only moments and groaned, gritting his teeth a bit as his eyes rolled back from the feeling of tightness. It created an unintentional pleasure as well as the pleasure receptor nerves were pulled tightly and dragged wider by the rapidly expanding meat they are strung through, triggering all of them at once!

His penis started to bob rapidly and a single drop of pre hung on the urethral procession like a little gemstone. His phallus started to look disproportionately big to his still normal sized nuts. Keiko teasingly swept her tail lightly over his growing dick causing it constant but annoyingly mild pleasure too. His knot grew so large it popped its own way out of the sheath without being touched- just from lack of room. His dick started to grow up past Keiko's butt behind them both, then past her tail, then started to become visible over her back! It is almost twice as long as his actual legs are now! Which means on all fours he cannot walk with it- it would be dragging most of its mass against the ground under him, and his knot is now so huge it might not fit back into his sheath even when totally flaccid! There isn't enough room inside his pelvis to pack all this meat away, forcing it out permanently!

Keiko sneered at him and jumped back, landing on the floor behind him, then nudged his giant dick with a paw. "Since you seem keener on seducing for sex- I figured I would return the favor from before."

His knot alone looked like two cantaloupes pushed together, his actual penis was as tall as his entire body is long and almost thicker toward the tip. The rounded spike that is his urethral procession alone is almost as girthy as his penis is SUPPOSED to be. He groaned, rolling onto his side and flinched when his cock slammed into the floor with a loud thud. He had to lift his two left limbs and wiggle a bit to wedge the cock under himself before he was able to put all four paws down. The phallus was firmly wedged under himself, taking up all available space between both his limbs and between his body and floor.

Genki lowered his brows. "Cute, and yes; this probably would be fun to use. You did overlook one thing though."

"And what would that be?"

He lifted his three tails behind himself. "I have three tails- you have two. I am stronger than you are, I can just shove your aura back out and turn myself back to normal whenever I want."

Genki yipped in surprise when he was hit with another wave of changes! But wait- she isn't making physical contact with him anymore, so how? His eyes widened as his dick became itchy feeling with pressure; becoming so erect it aches! The veins turned black from the concentration of blood and his shaft started to blush purple from extreme pressure! What was she trying to do, make his penis explode?! It became longer than his body, jutting out from between his front legs, and wide enough to lift his body off the floor! First his back legs from the roundness of the knot and then his front legs too. The end even started to bulge strangely, becoming more bulbous, almost taking on the shape of the glans of a human phallus. The skin coloration started to change and turn grey pink, and then finally pure grey!

Genki tried to squirm and roll himself at least onto two legs to give himself some degree of mobility but he could not- his dick was now so tremendously heavy that he could not move it- it anchors him in place! She turned his cock to STONE! She used Mishaguji's power on his endowment to petrify it! Genki can easily counteract HER magic, but he can't fight a kami! Genki can't do anything at all about Mishaguji's power, trapping him in this state till Keiko releases him.

Genki sighed, resting his head limply on the bulbous end of his giant stone phallus. "Fiiine, whatever, I give up, go away now."

"You choose the side who is decidedly wrong in all of this, and then don't even stand by your decision? Have you no sense of pride?"

"You wanted me to stop, so I am going to stop. What is the problem now? I feel like you're just looking for reasons to bitch in my ear at this point..."

"The problem is your complete lack of morals! Many people could die as a result of this and you just make your decision haphazardly! You had no conviction to this cause, I can see that plainly in how quickly you give it up."

"Yea, a lot of PEOPLE could die- I am not a people. Not my problem."

"You don't think animals will suffer for this? Nature? You think you can let evil consume the land and it will just stay on the human side of things all neatly and in order?"

Genki had a flashback of 151 years ago... the year his sister died. They had been a small litter of kits to begin with, because resources were scarce. Driven to the edges of their woodland because food became scarce, and then wolves moved in looking for food too- and unfortunately for the fox... wolves look at THEM as food. While running for his life with his only surviving sibling; the two brothers could hear the wolves tackle and start eating their sister behind them as they continued to run. Human warriors need provisions to survive the battle... that means herbs and medicines from the woods, that means more hunting to get meat... and that means fewer resources for the actual inhabitants of the forest. Their violence attracts oni and other creatures of darkness that will play sometimes fatally cruel tricks and schemes out on woodland creatures just as readily as they will any other living being they encounter. Wood for repairs and fortifications thin the forests, fires started in battle consume them. His sister would still be alive if it wasn't for a war that 'did not involve him'. For this reason; Genki did not have a quick retort to snap back at Keiko this time.

"You say you simply side with the winning team... but in war- no one wins. One dies, one survives; everyone loses."

"Okay, well, I don't want to be on the side that dies. Better? It doesn't really matter what your intentions are- you can't actually sway the fight. You team up with Goichi and survive a bit longer, or team up with Washu and die. You don't actually influence the outcome either way."

"The war cannot start without Goichi, he is the only reason this is happening."

"Okay, but here is a little insider tip for you; Goichi isn't Goichi anymore. You aren't fighting one warrior, you are fighting an Oni."

"W-what?!"

"Did you see a pretty little flower on the way up?"

Genki explained to Keiko that the flower in the shrine that has an aura of void magic was plucked from the Hananoiwaya shrine... the grave of Izanami, God of Death. Located not all that far from where they are now- the mid-south of the neighbouring Seishu province. Formerly okami of life and creation, she was the bride of Izanagi. Together they became the parents of a great number of powerful kami through the land, but this ended with Izanami giving birth to the kami of fire. She died from the severe burns, and in a sorrow-fuelled rage Izanagi broke the kami of fire into many pieces and scattered them across the lands. Izanagi did not take Izanami's death sitting down, and sought out the gate to Yomi to recover her from beyond death. Anyone who eats or drinks of the resources in Yomi must stay there forever... but before they consume anything from Yomi- it is technically possible for them to leave the realm of darkness and be restored to life, if their mortal vessel is not too severely damaged.

When Izanagi got there, Izanami was flattered by his effort to recover her, but also distraught that he would attempt to destroy the natural order of things by seeing her in a place where the living is not welcome. She told him to wait, while her attendants attempted to make her... presentable. Izanagi was too wound up and could not sit still for long enough- and used the oil on his comb to ignite and use as a torch, and seen his wife before she was ready. Blackened skin sloughing off, maggot ridden and befouled. Izanagi was absolutely mortified by the sight and recoiled in fear; that was the last straw for Izanami. Enraged, she flew at him to punish him, but Izanagi fled; abandoning her to the depths of the realm of darkness, which only angered her further. Izanagi rolled a tremendous boulder in front of the cave opening that leads from the mortal realm into Yomi to seal the passage, but before it closed several of Izanagi's servants escaped into the outside world. Among them, the half kami, half demon brothers Fujin and Raijin- kami of wind and storms, sent by their mother to torment Izanagi. In purging the darkness from his body in a spring; Izanagi himself spawned three more okami; Amaterasu of the sun, Tsukuyomi of the moon, and Susanoo-o of storms.

Forever more, Izanami swore to be the end of one thousand lives every year to cause suffering to Izanagi for what he has done. But as an okami of life and creation still; Izanagi simply told her that he would restore one thousand lives to the land for every year that passes. And so ever since the two okami have been constantly clashing with one another- neither able to make any progress either way, as life and death perfectly balance one another. That means that Izanami can never actually get back at Izanagi, because she is no stronger than he is.

That is where Goichi comes in. He was a skilled samurai, and had been promoted to war general, taking the seat of shogun. He did this through his skill in combat, by bloodying his hands repeatedly. His long career of battle slowly ate away at him, and when he stepped away from the battlefront as one of the front-line men, he started to realize that battle was all that made him feel alive anymore, and so a thirst for blood began. Goichi became so blood-stained and hungry for carnage that Izanami sought him out. On touching one of the flowers from her grave in the mortal realm; Goichi seen a vision of her in the eternal darkness of the underworld. Izanami empowered him, and converted his unquenchable fury into dark energy, and Goichi transcended to become an Oni. Empowered by the okami of death herself; Goichi is no ordinary Oni either.

"He still puts up a human appearance as 'Kasai Goichi' but he considers his Oni form to be his true self now... calls himself Kotsuzui. " (named after bone marrow). Genki flinched at a doom from upstairs, then nodded up toward it. "He is there right now, but he would smash you into paste the moment you go at him. I am stronger than you are, and I didn't stand a chance- so you sure don't."

Keiko was silent a moment while the information sank in, but then slowly shook her head. "I still have to try. I have a shintai given from a lesser kami- that gives me a bit of an edge... though it is a defensive power. Between the two of us, perhaps Kotsuzui can be defeated by five tails."

"Hooono, no. I already got slapped around by him once. How do you think I came to be here in the first place? You think I just strolled in here looking for a job? Nah, waaay too much effort on my part. I am here because I have to be, to not have my bones ground into dust. I know I can't beat him, and it doesn't matter what you do to me; you aren't going to convince me to kill myself."

Keiko huffed and turned away to continue to the stairs up to Goichi's room. "Whatever. Stay a coward then. When evil is allowed to win, we all will suffer for it, some sooner than others- but everyone in the end."

"W-wait!"

"What?" She turned, cocking one of her white-dot eyebrows.

"Can my dick stop being a statue at least? You start smashing the building apart in a big fight- I am going to be squashed in falling rubble."

Keiko just sighed, turning to leave again but releasing the magic holding Genki. Once his phallus returned to flesh and blood he could repulse her energy from it on his own and return to normal size.

"Also, don't put any weight on the floor upstairs leading to his room."

"Hmm?"

"His room is the only one on the floor above this, and there is a long narrow hall leading up to the door. The floor leading to the door is uguisubari."

She had to use her mouse form in order to reach his bedroom unnoticed then- stepping with any weight on the floor will immediately alert Kotsuzui that she is there! The nails in the floorboards were deliberately put in crooked, so when you step down on it the nails slide against one another creating a chirping sound like the call of a bird- alerting all nearby guards that someone is present. There are no guards up here- but Kotsuzui himself will hear it.

Keiko shrank herself even in mouse form so she could slip into the door without opening it any more than a small crack, but did not see the shogun. She wandered deeper into the room looking around all the pillars while sticking close to objects so she can only be seen from one direction- but he was not here. There is one more small floor above this one, perhaps the banging around they heard was him leaving the room to go upstairs. The room is quite a mess and the lamp lights burn with an odd red flame, bathing everything in warm hues. Keiko spotted a ton of scrolls only half-rolled on a table and darted over. Maps! Battle plans! This is actually perfect- she can make it so even if she loses this fight Washu will still win in the end.

She snatched up several scrolls, rolling them up and darted to a nearby window, taking on her miscoloured robin form again, tweeting out the open window to summon whatever avians she could from nearby woods. Keiko's own powers are mori (forest) based magic since that is where she was born and raised. She lived under a human mentor, but Juro also lived in the forest, so that did not change her magics elemental alignment. That means she can naturally still communicate with the creatures of the forest, even if she does not know the actual language of said animal. She summoned three birds total, and had them grab up the scrolls she stole- asking them to take the scrolls to the shogun of Washu. If Keiko wins this fight, the war will never begin and Bishu can simply name a new leader. If she fails- the scrolls will still alert the leaders in Washu that it is coming, and Washu will be one step ahead of Bishu and defeat them. Kotsuzui loses either way. But hopefully he will lose without dragging his army down with him in a failing conquest.

Keiko resumed her normal fox form and went and went to dash quickly upstairs after Kotsuzui, but he stomped on her tail from behind, dragged her back, picked her up and threw her across the room back toward the doorway! Kotsuzui never left the room- he knew she was coming and was hiding behind a pillar by the stairs up! Genki played a loud note downstairs sending out a shockwave, which emanated weakly through the door upstairs in the opposite direction Keiko flew in, slowing her momentum and softening her fall for her. She turned Suimintetsu back into its full form in her mouth, ready for battle.

"Ruining this world in the name of revenge doesn't truly achieve anything. You live in this world to- you ruin it for yourself as well as everyone else. Maybe revenge makes you feel better for a short while, but there are any number of other things that could make you feel good to- that don't involve destruction."

Kotsuzui chuckled, slowly walking toward her as he grew out of his human shape again. The straps burst off his armor but the armor melted to his flesh, turning it to bright red and thick and leathery in feel. He grew not only in muscle mass but overall size as well; his footsteps thundering against the floor. His nails turned to short but sharp and sturdy claws on his hands and feet. The cloth clothing below his armor simply burned away, except around his groin, leaving the tattered remains of his burst pants as a loincloth dangling off him loosely. His muscles bulged so obscenely that his flesh was yanked tightly into the crevices, sinking so deep in between it looked like his muscles might start bursting through his skin! His veins bulged massively like a maze on his skin, trapped between flesh and muscle, black like his blood now is. His kabuto melted to his head, fusing with the flesh, but the large polished brass crest at the top instead turned to long, narrow metal horns! The menpo he wore over his lower face was already shaped like a mouth full of fangs, but now the crevice between teeth deepened and the fangs enlarged and angled outward a bit as the mask fused to his face, and became his actual mouth!

When Kotsuzui stopped in front of Keiko he stood ten feet tall and so wide with muscle that he could only half-lift his arms while standing between pillars from lack of room. Every time he moved his muscles bulged and his flesh sounded faintly of twisting leather; barely able to contain him, while his veins squirmed around like worms under his red skin. A thick wall of black hair trailed up from his groin to his navel. His fangs are so large he cannot fully close his lips, and his mouth is stretched slightly open at all times on the sides to allow two large tusks to point up, curving up. His ears are now long and pointed. His hair is long enough to touch the middle of his back, but also so bushy and wild now that is spreads out quite wide as well- now dry and stiff feeling, like straw. His iris glow orange, and his breath is so hot that it is visible in the air in spite of it not actually being cold.

His voice thunderously low, but hollow sounding. "Another fox for me to play with?"

"I won't let you hurt anyone."

"Then try and stop me."

Keiko lunged at him but Kotsuzui swung his fist to the side, slamming into her and crushing her against a nearby pillar hard enough to splinter the three-foot thick wood! The entire upper level of the building shook from the impact. Keiko fell to the floor winded. Kotsuzui cut the back of his own hand from swatting her while she was holding the sword out- and he just didn't care. His wound started to mend itself fast enough that you could SEE it slowly pulling shut.

He stomped down at her, but she split into two fox and went around either side of his foot and rejoined on the other side! Kotsuzui turned but she already dashed past, slashing the side of his leg in the process. Keiko jumped up and used the pillar as a foothold to jump still higher, and gouged him across his lower chest as he turned again. Kotsuzui grabbed her tail as she flew past this time however, swung her around by it and threw her completely through his large table scattering broken objects around the room off it, and tumbled across the floor. He slowly walked toward her to close the distance again, rubbing the open wound on his torso as it slowly closed again.

Kotsuzui occasionally glanced around, and became lost in thought for a moment here and there, like something was distracting him even though there was no one else in the room. Even with his divided attention- he is so large and strong that Keiko can barely hurt him, while he can very easily hurt her.

Genki winced- watching it from the opposite end of the hall leading to the room, just peeking his eyes cautiously over the edge of the floor. "I told her so..." He shook his head sadly.

To Genki's surprise however; Keiko did not stay down. She did not recover as easily as Kotsuzui, yet kept attacking. One or two cuts with her sword, but his muscle is so immense and tight that it stops her blade short. Kotsuzui at most flinches slightly from the blows before resuming his own attack, and every hit he manages to land on Keiko hurts her badly. Genki became increasingly nervous watching their battle thinking surely she must give up and join Kotsuzui like he has at some point... right? But no, in spite of how bleak the outcome looked, she keeps fighting. It doesn't matter how badly she is hurt, she will keep trying.

She licked at a hole where one of her left side fangs were knocked completely out of her jaw and groaned. Her stance trembled from the internal bruising. She needed to do this in her... well. For Juro... but also for herself. She wants to see the future Juro wished for!

She feigned an attack and Kotsuzui lurched forward trying to cut her off since Keiko moves twice as fast as he does. She used her ring and summoned a stone pillar from the floor, slamming into Kotsuzui's jaw as he lurched forward, knocking him back and dazing him! Keiko jumped at him before he could recover and slashed him across his right arm, landing and scrunching herself up to jump again but Kotsuzui stomped down toward her! She turned into her human form which allowed her to carry the sword with much more power, turned it backwards and fell behind Kotsuzui, thrusting back with her body weight and plunged the entire length of the blade into his side, entering his gut!

Kotsuzui panicked for a moment, realizing that if she thrusts forward and spins around him she can disembowel him! He can't regenerate from THAT. He leaned back quickly and grabbed her head, shoving down, forcing her to turn back to fox form momentarily or risk having him break her neck. That forced her to let go of the sword too- so Kotsuzui yanked it out of his body and tossed it to the side. He grabbed at the stone pillar and winced a moment, because it burned his hand. That only pissed him off more though; so Kotsuzui grabbed it and broke it off, swinging it to crush Keiko with it while she is still in fox form!

Genki jumped in the way, blocking the stone pillar with his shamisen, but the force still slammed him against a wooden pillar and winded him. Kotsuzui looked at his hand and growled- the stone pillar was formed from tengoku (heavenly) magic, so touching it seared off one or two layers of skin from his hand. Keiko and Genki both skittered across the floor quickly while he was distracted so she could pick Suimintetsu back up, and then both of them took their human forms to fight.

She glanced at Genki, not entirely sure if he could be trusted. "I thought you said it did not matter what I did to you, you would never join this fight?"

"It doesn't." He lowered his voice. "I joined because of what you were doing to yourself."

Genki jumped in to save Keiko, because she clearly wasn't going to give up till either Kotsuzui was defeated, or she was dead. Kotsuzui roared at them, rushing forward and slamming his arm down at Genki for betraying him, but Genki broke into three fox and scattered around the fist before it could hit him, then rejoined into a human behind Kotsuzui and started to strum at the strings on his shamisen.

"Keep him off me. I have an emergency plan but, uh, gotta work up to it."

Kotsuzui sneered at him turning around to face him. "Like hell you do, worm."

Genki was having a hard time remembering the exact melody, especially since he was in a fluster trying to stay alive too. Kotsuzui tried to grab at him but Keiko slashed him across his left arm- deeper than her previous cuts since she is in human form. Kotsuzui turned without missing a beat and punched her in the face hard enough to blow her completely off her feet! Keiko summoned the ring's power again and the stone branched from the floorboards and formed a stone bubble around Kotsuzui, trapping him!

He could not be inside of the bubble without touching at least part of it, causing his flesh to burn on contact with the sanctified material! Glowing purple veins appeared across the stone as he roared in rage from inside, and a moment later the bubble shattered. Black wisps of flame seethed off his body for a moment as he channeled void energy to break the barrier for him.

He growled at her. "I am going to cook you alive. When I crush Washu it will be with a belly full of fox."

Keiko backed up, but he knocked her so far back she bumped into the far wall after only two steps. "I already informed Washu of your plans. You will lose this war, whether I die or not."

Kotsuzui paused and then started laughing. "Oh, good! I would have been worried I might win otherwise." He motioned to the remaining scrolls now scattered around the floor. "That is why I left all of this in plain sight for you to find, and did not interrupt you when you sent word back."

"W-what?! You wanted to lose??"

"Yes. I work for Izanami, my goal is destruction. I have arranged for both sides to lose, to maximize the number of dead. I knew you were coming thanks to Genki, but set it up so that you would be the one who causes the losses on my side of the army. For my part, all I need to do is aim the army at Washu to cause bloodshed on their side. Samurai fight knowing their family and loved ones are promised compensation for their death. So even if they know for a fact they will die and their master's orders is a suicide mission- they will still do it. I could march them off a cliff and they will play the loyal puppet, because their honor tells them to obey my authority."

"Not if YOU are proven honourless."

"Well... that won't happen for us to find out."

Keiko looked nervously between Kotsuzui slowly approaching, breathing heavily in barely contained rage, and Genki behind him a ways playing an oddly familiar melody. Where does she know that music from? Keiko is not usually around musicians so where would she have heard the music? A shrine? Her eyes flashed in realization- kagura! The sound of a Shinto ritual dance, a melody to entertain kami! Genki was afforded a good bit of time as Kotsuzui flinched, looking to the side but not at anything- distracted again. Keiko noticed his power wane considerably and he looked angry, but not at anyone in the room with him. His power is being shared somewhere else... he is trying to preform two battles at the same time. Who is his remote opponent though? It seems they are giving him more trouble than he would have thought they could as well.

Kotsuzui flexed and was about to charge at Keiko again and pin her into the back portion of the room so he could just keep hitting her repeatedly- but another figure suddenly appeared from the air in between them, causing him to pause!

At first it was merely swirling cloth that seemed to fold out from the air itself, then fluttered into place as the kimono of a beautiful young woman. Her very long, beautiful hair was tied back with a very simple and inornate comb. She wore a many layered kimono beautifully colored in pink sakura blossoms against unblemished virgin white cloth. Her red gossamer obi was not tied on correctly, so her kimono remained barely on- and her enormous breasts only kept inside of the cloth because of how far out they project allows the cloth to catch on them! She wears wooden sandals with overly tall platformed bottoms, but she has no problem at all balancing on them. Her body doesn't seem to be affected by the surrounding room whatsoever- she is illuminated as if she were outside under the sun, even though she is in a dark room. Even her iris glow pink like the sky at dawn.

Keiko immediately prostrate herself before the okami. "It is an honor to be in your presence."

The okami blinked in mild confusion at Keiko. "U-uh, oh. Okay. You can stand up again..."

Genki chuckled. "Been a while since I was last graced by the presence of Ame no Uzume."

Okami of dance, revelry, and the Dawn! She is the origin of the kagura, the inventor of the taiko drums, and the reason the sun still sits in her throne up high. Genki saw her a long while back when she joined in the music at a shrine with his own instruments, trying to teach himself the kagura. Though he was only just learning and his playing was off- he was able to summon Uzume's attention, who appeared to dance along, always one to enjoy a good party. Because Genki is a yokai- he was able to see her unlike the mortals who were present, and the okami herself gave him some tips, becoming a friend of the fox.

Kotsuzui tried to storm past the okami, knowing she was not one of violence, but she simply stepped back into his way to shield Keiko. He swiped at her with his claws and she leaned back, dodging the attack easily. He stomped forward and swiped again but she twirled to the side. She is very flexible. She has no powers to use to hurt Kotsuzui, but also his odds of actually being able to land a hit on her is exactly zero. Even if he somehow actually managed to hit her; that would immediately call down the divine wrath of her close friend- and queen of the Gods. As much as his blind rage wants to hurt her, Kotsuzui can't lay a hand on her.

He is also still distracted, looking through everyone here at something else, something far off. If he were using his full strength Genki and Keiko would have been dead before they could summon Uzume in the first place, but Kotsuzui's power is also divided. Keiko came after him at a very inopportune time, when he encountered problems with the other portion of his plan. The forces he was trying to garner from the south west. Because his power and attention are split between trying to keep things together in two different locations, it is causing him to fumble both at the same time.

Kotsuzui stomped to the side, getting Uzume to follow but then quickly shifted back to his other leg and got to Keiko before she could get between them again! He smashed into Keiko, causing some fox features to pop out of her human form as her concentrated wavered from the pain. Genki played a harsh chord and caused Kotsuzui to stumble forward, smacking his own face into the back wall, allowing Keiko to distance herself again.

She glanced to Genki as she stood to his left. "Uzume cannot attack him."

"Yea... this was the only trump card I had. See, THIS is why I didn't try to kill him like you! I told you this was a dumb idea!!"

"She can't protect us forever... but we can still hurt Kotsuzui. We just have to... time our openings."

Genki sighed, bowing his head. "We are going to die..."

Keiko bit her lip in frustration. She had allies now, there has to be a way to finish the oni off before he fully regenerates. They need to hit him hard and fast. Taking small chunks off him won't do anything because he will self-heal. They can't. They won't win a war of attrition. The only way to kill him is all at once, but do they even have enough power to do that in the first place? Keiko remembered all the harsh battles she fought with her master Juro. Neither had any powers back then, but they still took down battles where the odds were severely against them. What would Juro have done in this situation if he still stood at her side?

Keiko's eyes flashed open in surprise. "Together!"

Genki cocked an eyebrow at her while Uzume remained dancing around Kotsuzui to slow and annoy him. "What? Sorry, I tuned out."

"We can hurt him but cannot endure his hits- she can evade him endlessly but cannot hurt him. Instead of trying to each go at him we need to do this together- which means putting ourselves in her hands."

"Aren't we already working together?"

"But I mean... hrm, like, we are each trying to do something to him individually. Your music is made to inspire more than it is to harm, no?"

"Damn right."

"That is what we need now. We only need one person to attack so we don't trip over each other's feet, we just work on supporting."

Genki shrugged and smiled- as good of a plan as any. Not like he had any ideas to add. Uzume seen they had a plan and Genki motioned for her to regroup, so she danced away from Kotsuzui's desperate attempts to swat her. Genki and Keiko returned to their true forms and they skittered up Uzume's barely held on kimono to her shoulders, and then down her arms.

Uzume smiled as the oni charged at her. "Oh, I do love learning new ways to move my body! Let's call this one- the Fox Dance."

Kotsuzui rushed at them shaking the entire level of the building with his footsteps, sounding like an incoming train. Uzume twirled about while the fox skittered around her, guiding her movement. As Kotsuzui lunged at her with his massive fist clenched, Uzume swept up with her hand and summoned a massive taiko drum from the floor and Genki shapeshifted into a huge black maul in her hand.

"See you in Yomi."

She slammed the club onto the drum and it thundered loudly- sending a shockwave of powerful vibrations through the building stronger than an earthquake! The entire surrounding city could feel the tremor and stopped to look at the source of the sound! The pillars shattered from the force and Uzume smiled, transporting herself and the two fox to the spirit realm as the walls of Kotsuzui's room exploded outward and the entire top floor caved in on top of him! It partially collapsed the floor under him as well from the force! The ruinous remains of the top two floors crumbled apart and scattered off the sides of the building to fill the courtyard as confused and frightened guards fled the bottom of the building.

Knowing this fight is completely lost otherwise; Kotsuzui summoned back his full power here, abandoning his campaign in the south west for now. He has several deep gouges from splintered wood and twisted metal crashing down around him and crushing him, but the floor gave out between his room and the shrine below it as well. As the ruins naturally rolled off into the courtyard, he freed himself enough to walk over to the flower and place it to the center of his chest.

The cut stem spread thin roots, digging into his flesh and connecting the flower directly to his veins. The muscles of his upper body increased in size so massively it almost looked like he has a hunch back now. His claws grew over an inch long each and his horns of polished brass grew massively to look like they belong to a horn-horned cattle if not for their position on his head.

His voice was now doubled over itself. "I will break you."

Uzume re-appeared seeing the job was yet undone. Genki and Keiko both transformed into a large paper fan for either of her hands- one vermilion and one black. Uzume cannot attack- but the fox can. She twirled around as Kotsuzui charged toward them again, then abruptly swept down with Genki, who sent out a gale-force wind, staggering Kotsuzui back from the force! Uzume then swung Keiko's fan from the side and thanks to still having Suimintetsu on her while transformed- the blast of wind this fan sent out was instead concentrated and narrow... a cutting wind. Kotsuzui was struck across his torso and roared in pain as his skin split open from the force of condensed wind! A gash across his entire lower body exploded open!

Kotsuzui grabbed a broken pillar and picked the entire thing up to use as a gigantic club and crush her under! From the streets, no one could really see anything. Uzume is a divine being so mortals cannot see her at all unless she chooses to be seen. Keiko, Genki, and thanks to being an oni- Kotsuzui as well were only partially visible to the mortals, looking like colored blurs. Many people in the streets had stopped to look, but no one could truly see what was happening. He smashed the giant pillar down and Uzume effortlessly twirled to the side, and jumped up- landing on top of the pillar, which made its weight juuuust enough that Kotsuzui could not lift it again.

Kotsuzui lunged forward with both hands trying to grab her before she could distance herself again but Uzume leapt back and slammed both fans downward! The force of the wind created from both blew all of the remaining ruins from the floor- slamming into Kotsuzui as it flew past, cutting, knocking him back, and bruising him several more times, but still he remained standing! Uzume slapped the two fans together and summoned a whirlwind into the sky- stirring then and drawing in the few scattered clouds above. To the mortals it looked like a pillar of faint light- on the spiritual realm side it looked like a massive pillar of blinding light that could be seen from miles away! Uzume jumped up, twirling around and dancing as she rose higher in the wind with the ornate cloth of her kimono fluttering and spiraling around her as we went, dancing into the sky.

Kotsuzui growled, putting his left arm over his forehead to try and see them- they had gone so high that looking up at them put the sunlight directly into his eyes, and oni do not like the light. He stumbled back in surprise if nothing else when the Keiko fan hit him lightly on the forehead! Uzume closed the fan and tossed it at him harmlessly! It did however distract him as Suimintetsu turned back to its true form, and flung by the force of the wind lanced Kotsuzui in his right arm below the shoulder! His sword arm. Keiko turned back into a fox as she fell from his face, grabbed the handle of Suimintetsu in her maw and then ran around his arm before yanking out and dashing away! Black blood sprayed in every direction as Kotsuzui screamed in fury and pain, watching his sword arm fall limp to the ground; completely severed from his body!

Before he could recover the twister petered out and Uzume gracefully landed to the floor in front of him and used the momentum of her falling all that way, to swipe the Genki fan down. Kotsuzui was hit with so much force he ripped through the floor diagonally and out the wall of the floor below them, and slammed into the ground of the courtyard hard enough to make a crater in the ground! Genki skittered up on his right, Keiko his left, and Uzume gracefully landed softly in front of him. Before Kotsuzui could react- Uzume lifted her arm and a hundred prayer slips spiralled out from inside of her sleeve and affixed to Kotsuzui's body! The divine magic negated his own entirely, and drained him so severely of his strength that he could no longer even stand! She motioned with her other arm and the ruins around them formed into a torii gate, and Uzume kicked Kotsuzui through it, sending him to Yomi in spite of still being alive. Without her influence; the torii collapsed back into ruin a moment later, preventing Kotsuzui from ever coming back. Without anyone to remove those prayer slips he will never be able to so much as stand up again, and even if someone did help him- his sword arm is gone, he cannot wield a weapon and can't leave Yomi even if he could. Kotsuzui was defeated in the most demeaning way possible to him- without a single death, including his own.

For her service in protecting the people, and restoring balance by removing the oni's influence over the mortals; Ame no Uzume herself gifted Keiko with the powers of a third tail! Keiko and Genki hung around with one another for a while- Genki trying to wrap his head around why someone would put that much effort into saving the lives of people she does not even know. Keiko enjoyed his music and tried her best to loosen up and maybe be a bit more like Genki?

Genki was too relaxed, and a bit too carefree. He almost willingly watched the world burn just to maintain his own peace... but you cannot be peaceful in a ruinous world. Keiko nearly killed herself rushing into an opponent she had no hope of defeating on her own; she is too high strung, too rigid. The two needed to be more like each other, and so they taught one another. Uzume also helped teach Keiko the joys life had to offer, with drink, dance, music, and party. How can she give her all to protect a life she herself has never experienced? She can use her fondness of these peaceful times and joy in future battles- to strengthen her heart and determination. This was a time for change for both of them, and the two would always fondly look back at the Fox Dance.