FSE

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The rest of the night passed uneventfully. Hadir slept soundly with Kojoro in his arms, while Ranani embraced the illusory form of her fox companion Aboridah The owls and crickets made their usual racket as the land slept the night away.

Hadir awoke to find Kojoro missing. He was not worried however. She was ever the early riser, and she had many duties to attend to within his home. From cooking and cleaning, to feeding and grooming the animals, his "Little Maid" was always busy, which she enjoyed. If she wasn't constantly rushing about trying to get something done, she would often be unable to sleep throughout the night. So Hadir, in his infinite wisdom, granted the twelve-year-old the title of "Head of Duties", which meant that she could pick and choose who had what duties during the day. Naturally, because it wasn't in her nature to be lazy, Kojoro took many of the duties upon herself (though there were a few that she always assigned to someone else, like mucking the stables). Kojoro always woke at dawn, so when Hadir rose for the day, most of the house chores were out of the way, freeing the girl to spend breakfast time with her master before returning to work. The kitsune, reverting to his usual form, hopped out of bed and, after using a bit of magic to move the bed back against the wall, went next door to Ranani's room. He sat outside the door, waiting for her to awaken.

Ranani awoke with a yawn and a stretch, the illusion Abo standing up and stretching himself out like a dog. Ranani wasn't sure how she knew it, but she knew that this Abo wasn't the real Abo. And yet, that didn't bother her. Rather, she thought it was a nice of her father to provide her with the small comfort. But wait a second, thought the young girl, if Abo had come to her after she had watched Hadir and Kojoro do...whatever it was they had done, did that mean Bao-Hadir knew she had watched them? Ranani blushed a deep red at the thought. She climbed out of bed and walked to the door, sliding it open and walking out into the hall.

"Good morning, Ranani," said a voice beside her. The little girl jumped in surprise. She hadn't expected her father (she had decided he would be "father", but her blood father would be "dad") to be right there. Hadir chuckled softly. "I apologize, Ranani. I was waiting for you to awaken so we could have breakfast. Of course, you need to dress before that."

"Umm..."began Ranani, about to point out that she didn't have a dresser to get clothes from. She didn't get to finish the sentence, because suddenly she was dressed. The cotton gown she had worn to bed was gone, replaced with a simple cotton shirt and trousers.

"I considered dressing you in a kimono, but since you have no experience wearing one, you might trip and injure yourself. We will try the kimono another time, however. Come now, Ranani." He rose from his sitting position and, in a slight shimmer, he stood as a tall man with black hair and blue eyes, dressed in a robe. He smiled and offered Ranani a hand. With a shy smile, the girl took it and the kitsune led the way to the dining room.

The breakfast they had was rather strange in Ranani's opinion. She was so accustomed to cereal and toast for the morning meal that she was rather surprised to find bowls of rice and a plate of fishcakes sitting atop the low table. Instead of a knife and fork, chopsticks rested at each place setting. The smells that filled the room made Ranani's mouth water and her stomach rumble. Hadir laughed when the noises coming from his daughter's stomach became audible.

"Have a seat," said the kitsune with a smile, gesturing to a place setting. They were the only ones in the room, and only three places were set. Ranani approached the table and sat down cross-legged on the cushion in front of one of the place settings. With half a smile, Hadir took his own place and kneeled down on the cushion, sitting on his heels with his back straight, waiting in silence. Ranani followed his example, sitting up properly and silently, though it was uncomfortable.

Several minutes passed in silence before Kojoro burst into the room, out of breath and panting like a dog. Held in her hand was an envelope, which she held out to Hadir as she continued to pant. The kitsune stood rapidly and snatched the envelope from her outstretched hand. The stench of Heaven kitsune radiated from the paper container. With a soft growl, Hadir tore open the envelope and pulled out the waiting letter.

The letter itself was printed on rose red paper, and a heavy odor that was both offensive and alluring at the same time wafted up into the kitsune's nostrils as he read. When he was finished with the letter, he stuffed it back in the envelope.

"Damn," spat Hadir. Even though he was in human form, Ranani felt sure she could see the kitsune's hackles rise.

"What is it, master?" asked Kojoro, having regained her breath.

Hadir scratched his head and sighed. "The Bright Queen," replied the fox, "has requested my services."

"Services?" asked Ranani. Hadir jumped in surprise, seeming to have forgotten she was there. The little girl giggled. Hadir joined in with a laugh.

"I'll explain over breakfast," said Hadir. "Come now, let us eat." With that he sank back to his knees and picked up his chopsticks. Kojoro sat down at the open space to his left, directly across from Ranani. She too picked up her chopsticks and waited. Ranani, with chopsticks in hand, couldn't figure out why they were waiting.

"In my house, Ranani," said the fox, "guests are given the first choice of food from the table."

"Umm, okay," replied Ranani. She glanced over the table and selected what she wanted. When she had taken what she wanted, the other two selected their morsels and began eating.

The young girl was appalled at Hadir and Kojoro's table manners. They constantly chewed with their mouths open, making lots of noise. She decided to set a good example by chewing with her mouth closed and being as quiet as possible, the way her dad had taught her. All of a sudden, Kojoro stopped eating and looked at Ranani sadly.

"You don't like the food, Ranani?" asked the servant girl. She had made it herself, and the master always seemed to like her cooking.

"Of course I do," said Ranani, in a tone that made Kojoro feel foolish. "It's delicious."

Hadir gave an audible puff of breath out of his nose as he smiled. "Ranani," said Hadir with a small laugh, "it's considered impolite to chew with your mouth closed."

"What?!"

"Yes. If you do not chew with your mouth open, and make noises, it's an insult to the cook. It means that you dislike the food."

"Oh...I'm sorry. I love it, I really do." She tucked into her bowl with a wild abandon, slurping and chomping loudly. Kojoro hid a smile behind her napkin, pretending to cough. "So," said Ranani through a mouthful of rice, "what did you mean by 'services'?"

"You saw the meaning of 'services' last night, my daughter," said the kitsune.

Ranani choked on her mouthful of rice, coughing into her napkin. Kojoro's face turned a bright red in embarrassment.

"That was 'services'?!" "She saw us?!" Hadir simply chuckled as both girls stared at each other with bright red blushes, firing off questions and embarrassed answers. He let them continue for a few moments before he decided to intervene.

"Girls, quiet down," he said in a commanding tone. Both girls instantly fell silent. "Yes, Ranani. What you saw last night was indeed the kind of services the Bright Queen wants from me. Yes, Kojoro, Ranani did indeed see us last night. I moved the bed so she could watch and see. Yes, Ranani, I did know you were there, and no I didn't mind. Now, no more questions. Let's finish eating, and then we must go."

"We?" asked Ranani.

"I said no more questions," replied Hadir.

The meal continued in relative silence, the only noise being the sounds of the three of them eating. When everyone had finished, Kojoro collected the dishes and brought them back to the kitchen, leaving her master and Ranani alone to talk.

"You asked what I meant by 'we'," said Hadir, stretching with a groan. "I meant that you shall be coming with me when I go to visit the queen. I would like to introduce you to her. And anyway, we need to start feeding you energy."

"What do you mean?" asked Ranani. She recalled that Hadir had said something about teaching her to draw energy through deals and the land, but didn't understand what he meant.

"Listen carefully, Ranani," said the kitsune in a serious voice. "A kitsune cannot live on bread and water alone. I could eat three hearty meals a day, yet still starve to death. We kitsune do not need to eat solid food very often. The only reason I eat solids every day is because I enjoy the taste. A kitsune needs energy to survive. Life energy."

"Life energy?" asked Ranani. "Like life points?"

Hadir shook his head. "Not quite. Let's change 'life points' to 'life force'. Kitsune must take living energy into themselves to survive. I myself can take energy from the earth or from living beings."

"Sounds like a vampire," replied Ranani, thinking of Count Dracula and Nosferatu, whom she'd seen in a black-and-white movie a few months before.

Hadir tossed the term around in his head for a moment, then nodded. "Basically yes. I am a type of vampire. And it is very likely that you are too."

"You mean I can't eat food with garlic in it or go outside in the daytime anymore?!" asked Ranani, shocked and appalled.

Hadir let out a bark of laughter. "No, no. Nothing like that. I said a TYPE of vampire. We take life force, not blood. Follow me." The kitsune stood and walked out of the room. Ranani followed behind him after a moment, not quite trusting his word on sunlight.

He led her through the halls and to the back entrance. Sliding the door open and stepping out into the sunshine, the kitsune turned around to face Ranani, who cowered just out of the sun's reach.

"You see? Sunlight won't kill us. Anyway, here is what I meant by life force. Watch carefully." The kitsune kneeled down in the grass and placed one hand flat on the ground. Ranani watched in awe as the grass around his hand blackened and turned to ash, the blackness spreading out in a circle around Hadir's hand. When he finally lifted his hand, a patch three feet across was devoid of living grass.

"Poor grass!" cried Ranani, staring at the deadened patch of earth. She looked up at her father. "Do I hafta do that?" she asked in a saddened tone.

Hadir shook his head. "Don't worry. I took more than I needed so I could show you what I meant. If I'd only been taking enough for a meal, I would have taken energy from a variety of places, to keep the grass from dying. Come out here."

Ranani reluctantly came out of the house. The kitsune then explained to her how the vampirism worked, and had her do it for herself. She placed her hand upon the ground, just as he instructed, and focused her thoughts on taking energy from the ground. The young girl let out a long moan of pleasure as the earth gave up its energy to her. Her body glowed faintly with the power she had received.

"That...was amazing," whispered Ranani, hugging herself as if to keep the energy she had taken inside of her. She suddenly didn't care if the grass blackened, or that she had created a ring of blackness twice the size of Hadir's.

"How did it feel?" asked Hadir with a knowing smile.

"It...it felt wonderful!" cried Ranani, falling back on the blackened earth, giggling like a drunk. The dead grass beneath her collapsed into ash, blackening her back. She rolled around on the spot for a minute or two, spreading more blackness on her clothes, before she sat up suddenly, looking around with a confused look on her face. "What was that?" she asked, a quivering note to her voice, as though she were frightened by her own reaction.

Hadir knelt down beside her, then reached out and pulled Ranani's head against his chest, stroking her hair softly. She was breathing fast, her arms around the kitsune's back as she started crying. He could smell the fear that radiated from the girl's body as he stroked her, and he could see confused flashes of what she feared. It wasn't the taking of energy that had frightened her. It was the fact that it felt so good, and what it did to her. Hadir understood how she felt. More than seven hundred years had passed since he had first taken energy from the earth, but Hadir could still remember his own reaction to it, and the fear that followed. He still remembered running back to his mother and hiding against her, shivering in fear. She had held him in her paws and cleaned his head until he calmed down. But since Ranani wasn't a born kitsune, she probably would've been uncomfortable having her face licked by someone who looked human, so Hadir simply continued to stroke her hair until she calmed down.

When her soft crying and shaking stopped, Hadir helped her stand, then led her around to the front of the house in silence. When they came around the bend, the black cloud of sadness that seemed to hover over her dissipated in a rush of joy and excitement. Kojoro stood a few feet from the front entrance, a smile appearing on her face when she saw her friend. But though Ranani was happy to see the older girl, her joy was all for the creatures standing beside Kojoro. For Kojoro stood there with a pair of reigns in her hands, which connected to a pair of horses. Ranani gave a squeal of delight and ran the short way to the older girl, where she proceeded to pet and stroke each horse in turn, giggling with delight and bursting with words of praise for the horses.

While the younger girl fussed over the horses, Kojoro went to stand next to her master. Watching her friend, she spoke softly to her master.

"I wish to come with you, master," she said, not looking up at the kitsune.

"I know you do, Kojoro," replied Bao-Hadir. "However, the Bright Queen does not like her guests to bring illusory attendants into her court. If your aunt hadn't insulted the queen so severely that the queen unmade her, I might've been able to bring you along. But she has forbidden me from bringing any attendants with me ever again. So it will be just Ranani and I." He reached down and touched her face, causing her to turn to him. A small smile sat on his lips. "I'm placing you in charge of my estate while I'm away." Her eyes lit up and her lips split into a big grin. "Can I trust you to take care of things while I'm gone?" he asked with a smirk. Kojoro nodded her head quickly, shivering with joy. Her master leaned down and planted a soft kiss on her forehead; when he leaned up again, there was a half-moon mark upon her head. "This mark," he said, a mirror appearing in his hand, "will show everyone that you are in charge while I'm gone."

Kojoro stared at her image in the mirror, tears welling up in her eyes. "Master!" she cried, throwing her arms around his back and hugging him tightly. He stroked her back softly for a minute, then gently disengaged himself from her.

"Don't you have chores to do?" he asked slyly. Kojoro jerked like she'd been stung, then bowed to her master and ran off. She didn't even stop to say good-bye to Ranani, since she had found herself running seriously behind. Chuckling softly, Hadir went to Ranani, who was petting and talking to the horses. Though the horses didn't talk back, they did react by stamping and whickering. "Time to go, Ranani," said the fox. The blond child looked up at him with her hauntingly green eyes, overflowing with the power she had taken only minutes earlier. Hadir himself shivered at the sight of those powerful eyes. There was magic in those eyes.

He walked up to Ranani, picked her up, and set her on the horse's back. She gripped the reins like she'd been riding for years, and sat up straight, looking for all the world like a Lady about to join the hunt. Hadir shook his head at the thought, then swiftly mounted his own horse, a mare by the name of Shadow Dancer. She was a 'real' horse, taken as payment just before he left Japan. And after he'd established his territory in America, he'd returned for her. The kitsune could feel Shadow Dancer's excitement at the idea of a ride. He patted the beast on her neck and she calmed down.

"Are you ready?" he asked Ranani. She nodded with a smile. Hadir returned the nod, and gave a command. Ranani didn't understand what the word meant, but the horses must have, for they broke into a trot and went off through the main gate. With another command, the illusion horse leveled with Shadow Dancer and their steps synchronized.

"Ranani," said Hadir. She looked over to him. "There are some things I must tell you before we arrive at our destination. Will you listen?" She nodded. He cleared his throat and continued. "This is a bit of kitsune history that I'm going to tell you, and you must remember it, because it's important."

"Long, long ago, many years before I was born, two foxes, a black male and a white female, were caught out in the rain. They were tired and hungry, and were nearing death, and chose to seek shelter within a temple they came upon. Just before they could enter the main building, however, a being of shining light appeared before them, blocking their path. This being said to them, 'I am Inari, the god of rice. Why do you seek to enter my temple?' The male, whose name was Osusuki, stepped forward and kneeled before the god. 'We are tired and hungry, and we wish shelter from the rain. Please, will you allow us to use your temple to rest?' The female, whose name was Akomachi, stepped up beside her husband and kneeled before the god as well. Upon seeing their respectful natures, Inari considered for but a moment, before saying unto them, 'Very well. However, I have one condition. You each must swear ten oaths of servitude to me, and your children must do the same, and their children, forever into infinity. What say you?' Osusuki didn't hesitate in replying, 'Yes.' And thus Osusuki and Akomachi were bound to Inari, who that day became the god of foxes as well. In exchange for their servitude, Inari stripped away their mortal flesh and made them kitsune, the very first of their kind, the first heaven kitsune, the first myobu kitsune. Oh, a myobu kitsune is a kitsune who is bound to Inari. I'm a nogitsune, I'm not bound to him. I give him worship, but I don't pledge to him."

"Wow," said Ranani. "So those two were the very first kitsune?" She stumbled on the last word, having never spoken it before. Hadir nodded. "And they got to meet God? Wow."

Hadir chuckled and shook his head. "No, they didn't meet God. They met a god. Inari is the god of rice and foxes, and there're other gods besides him, like the god of rain, or the god of fish. There're gods for everything in nature, and once upon a time they were all worshipped fairly equally. But that's not the end of the story.

"Many years passed, and Osusuki and Akomachi had many children and grew many tails. And their children grew many tails and had many children as well. Yet none had as many tails as Inari's first messengers. For a thousand years had passed since the day they had bound themselves to Inari, and every century saw them grow a new tail, until they reached a total of ten each. To this day, they are still the only kitsune to have ten tails, save the Mother." With a look, Ranani conveyed a question to her father. "I'll tell you about the Mother later. Anyway, it came to pass that Osusuki became discontent with his role as a messenger. It's not so much that he thought it was beneath him, more like he wanted to be used. For Inari had stopped sending either of his first kitsune on message runs, and Osusuki didn't like feeling that he had no use. And he went before Inari, and prostrated himself before the god, and spoke thusly, 'My lord Inari, allow me to carry your will once more. It is a painful thing, feeling as though you had no use to your god. Grant me the task of carrying a message to someone, so that I might feel of use to you once more.' Inari refused, saying he needed Osusuki and Akomachi to guard his temples, even though it had been many long years since a bandit had been stupid enough to try to steal from a god's place of worship. Osusuki was enraged. Using his powers as a ten-tailed kitsune, he put much of his power into saying thus, 'I shall serve you no longer, god of rice and foxes. You have grown arrogant and cruel these passed years. I hereby break my oaths to you.' There was a flash of light, and Osusuki was freed from Inari's influence. The god simply smiled. 'And what of your wife?' he asked, and Akomachi appeared at his side. 'Mate, please, come with me,' he begged of the white kitsune. She looked down upon him from Inari's raised dais, then shook her head. 'I do not wish to leave Lord Inari,' she said. 'I hereby end our mateship, so I may be closer to my lord.' Osusuki felt anger rise within him, and struck at the god with his fox-fire. Inari was unaffected, and used his powers to force Osusuki to the floor. Then he stepped down from his dais and looked upon the fox with pity. 'I cannot destroy you, Osusuki,' said the god. 'You have grown too powerful, and you are still dear to me, traitor though you are. However, you cannot go unpunished for your betrayal. You are no longer tenko myobu. I proclaim you reiko nogitsune, a being of the Void. I cast you out of my temple, until such a time as you swear a thousand ever-binding oaths to me. Now go!' He let Osusuki rise from the floor, and the male walked away, with only a single look back at Akomachi. He was disgusted, however, seeing his once-mate now staring at the god with rapt fascination. He left the temple of Inari and went forth into the void, taking with him any of his children that would join him. Since that day, there has been a war among the kitsune between the heaven kitsune and the void kitsune."

"Wow..." whispered Ranani, staring at her father in awe. With his youthful appearance, and if she hadn't been told before, she never would've guessed her father had lived so long, and seen and learned so many things.

"Now, Ranani," continued Hadir. "There is a reason I told you this story. Osusuki and Akomachi are still around. Among the kitsune, they are the Dark King and the Bright Queen, respectively."

"The Bright Queen?" she asked. "The one we're going to see?"

"That's right. In punishment for her allowing Osusuki to leave his side, Inari forbade Akomachi from ever taking another lifemate besides Osusuki. Needless to say, she's become incredibly lonely. But don't let her fool you. She's still quick witted and wily. If she sees a chance to turn a situation to her advantage, she will do so. Thus, while we are there, you may only speak when spoken to, and you must keep your answers short and to the point, otherwise she'll trick you into doing something you wouldn't want. Do you understand?" She nodded. "Good. One day you'll get to meet the Dark King as well. Despite his name and position, he's a kind and generous ruler. He simply has fewer rules to worry about. And he's nowhere near as lonely as Akomachi. Though he misses her terribly, his not being bound to Inari allows him to take mates, though he only takes mortal mates."

"Why's that?"

"I really don't know. A morbid fascination with death, maybe? Anyway, you will likely meet him before you leave. Meanwhile, there is more that must be told.

"See, there is a was going on among the kitsune, like I said. Nearly all the kitsune have taken a side, either heaven or void, and for a long time there was much fighting. It was all based in Japan, since most kitsune didn't believe there were places besides Japan. I myself knew there were other places, since I'd staked out an airport and saw all the different people coming in from around the world. That's why I had your father bring me to America with him. Once here, I established my territory and returned to the realm of spirits."

"Realm of spirits?"

"Yes. All spirit creatures can enter and leave the spirit realm at any time. And it's possible to travel the world via the spirit realm. There is one drawback, however. The area must be connected to the spirit realm. The only way to do that is to have a spirit creature enter the spirit realm from an unconnected area. I was the one who connected America to the spirit realm, which was a shocking revelation to the older kitsune. I had discovered that there were other places besides Japan, and what followed was a global game of land grab. Kitsune of both heaven and void varieties swept over the planet, taking over any land that they could find. It took only six months for all the territories of the world to be taken over by kitsune. And the only territory that wasn't affiliated with either side was mine. When Akomachi and Osusuki met face to face to compare land totals, they were shocked to find that they were dead even. All the territories of the world were either heaven or void, except mine, and they were totally even. And suddenly, I went from a simple nogitsune that none would spit on, let alone look at, to one of the most important kitsune in the world. I hold the key to the stalemate. And it is a stalemate. They have a truce going on, until such a time as this last territory changes sides. By their rules, no heaven or void kitsune are allowed to injure or kill each other, and all the captured territories were merged with the leaders' own, so they can't be taken by force, unless one wanted to challenge a ten-tailed kitsune to death combat. And by the laws laid down by the Mother, who is even older than Inari, if a kitsune is the first to create a territory in a place where none had a claim, he cannot be harmed for his territory. It cannot be forcibly taken from me. I have to give it away to another kitsune. So for the past several years, I've been part of a political dance, where both sides have tried to win me over, any way they can. I might actually have tried to give it away, but then they tried to kill you."

"K-kill me?!" cried Ranani.

"Yes." Hadir explained the truth of those bad accidents and mishaps that had plagued the girl all her life. She looked close to tears by the end of it.

"Y-you've been protecting me all this time?" she asked, her eyes leaking a little.

"That's right. I didn't want them to hurt you, so I protected you with all my might. I swear that I shall continue to protect you as long as I live." She smiled. They were just crossing over a small river via a wooden bridge, when suddenly Hadir pointed. "Look!" he cried. "Over there!" Ranani turned her head quickly, looking where he pointed. Standing beside the river, just a short distance away, was a horse. This horse, however, was a greenish color, and had what appeared to be water weeds in its mane.

"That's a pretty horse," admired the girl.

Hadir chuckled. "That's no horse," he replied. "Well...I suppose it is, in a sense. It's actually a spirit creature known as a kelpie, or water horse. They live in fresh water and offer rides to people."

"Can I ride it, please?" she asked in a begging tone. The kitsune shook his head.

"Not right now. Maybe later. Anyway, I want you to swear you will never ride the kelpie unless I'm with you, is that clear?"

"I promise."

"Good. The thing is, kelpie are carnivores, and their favorite food is people. See, they disguise themselves as friendly-looking horses, and stand next to their body of freshwater. Sooner or later, someone will happen along, though the kelpie usually only change when they notice someone coming. That person will see the kelpie and try to mount it. The kelpie with then magically bind the person to itself and leap into the fresh water, where they will drown the person. As soon as the person is dead, they'll devour every bite of him or her, except the liver, which washes up on shore."

Ranani suddenly looked a little sick, and stopped looking at the kelpie. "T-that's horrible!" she cried.

"I agree with you," replied Bao-Hadir, " but he needed a place to live, since his river was dammed up, and I let him use my river, on condition that he doesn't harm anyone who lives here. But since he doesn't know you, I don't trust him not to try something."

They rode on in silence, until they reached a high, white wall. Ranani stared at it in awe. It looked to be twice as tall as the Great Wall of China, and might possibly have been longer, too. They had reached the end of Hadir's birdbath realm. Straight ahead of them was a small cottage, with a stable beside it. Hadir dismounted from Shadow Dancer, then helped Ranani off her horse. Taking the reigns of both horses, he led them to the stables. After getting them situated, he went over the front door and knocked loudly.

"Come in!" cried a feminine voice. Hadir pushed the door open and motioned Ranani inside.

The inside of the cottage was well lit, and there were paintings everywhere. There were no chairs, tables, doors, windows, or anything that a house should have. Only paintings. Not that the paintings weren't beautiful. The colors were vibrant and it seemed as though one could walk right into the scene. Up against one wall there stood a giant canvas, half filled with colors. And standing before it was a woman covered in paint. She didn't look at them immediately. Instead, she continued to paint with swift strokes. Since Hadir simply stood there watching, Ranani decided to do the same, and she did so in awe. To her, it didn't look like the woman was painting the picture, rather that she was uncovering what was already there. It took only a few minutes for the woman to finish the painting. As soon as she had done so, she set down her paints and brush and turned to greet her guests. As soon as she saw Hadir, she dropped to her knees and bowed.

"My lord!" she cried. "I wish you had told me it was you, so I could've greeted you properly."

"My apologies, mother, but I enjoy watching you paint," said Hadir.

"Mother?" asked Ranani. Hadir smiled.

"That's right." He kneeled down beside Ranani. "Ranani, this is Bao-Inori, my mother. Mother, this is Ranani, my daughter." Ranani looked up at the taller woman, in awe of the kitsune who had birthed her father. Inori likewise stared at Ranani, taking in the child's beauty. The older woman knelt before her. She tentatively reached out with a clean hand and touched Ranani's face.

"So this is the child you bore, my son. You were right when you called her beautiful. And those eyes...Such colors I have never seen! I must have that color!" Ranani felt reality around her shift for just a moment, then the woman was gone, replaced by an orange fox with nine tails.

"Hold still Ranani," said Hadir, putting his arm around the girl. "It won't hurt."

"What won't?" she asked, but Hadir didn't have a chance to reply. Two of the fox's tails shot forward towards her eyes. She didn't even have time to flinch as the tips of the tails just barely touched her eyes. She felt power pulsing into her, and the white tips of the tails in her eyes were turning green. A minute passed before Inori pulled away. A bucket appeared between her and Ranani, and Inori dipped her green tails into it. Ranani watched in amazement as the green drained from the tails and into the bucket. When at last it was filled, Ranani looked inside.

"Wow..." she whispered. "Are my eyes really that pretty green?"

"Oh yes," replied Hadir. "The color of your eyes cannot be duplicated by mortal means, so my mother simply copied the color from your eyes. I believe she wishes to paint you. Right?" He looked down at Inori, who shifted back into human form.

"By the gods, yes! I must paint this child! Promise me, my son! Promise me that you will bring her back so I can paint her portrait!" She grasped her son's robe tightly, shaking him gently.

"I swear I shall bring her back, if she wished it." He looked over at Ranani. "Would you like to return?" he asked.

"Of course, she would!" cried Inori. "Who wouldn't want to be immortalized in paint?!"

Ranani nodded shyly, giggling softly. The nod seemed to calm Inori down, for she released her son and sat back on her heels. She cleared her throat, embarrassed.

"Umm...I suppose you're here because you need to visit the Bright Queen."

"That's right. The Queen has requested my services, and I decided to bring Ranani to meet her. So would you be so kind..."

"Oh, of course. Here, allow me." Inori stood and went to one of her paintings. The painting was huge, and seemed to be of blue fog, with strange shapes within it. She waved a hand across it in a wiping motion. Ranani felt a pulse of power. Suddenly, the images on the canvas began to move. "There you are. It's all ready for you."

"Thank you, mother." He stood. "Come, Ranani. We're going into the painting. Take my hand." He held out a hand and she took it. "We'll be back later, mother. Please keep an eye on our horses."

"Of course."

"Then we're off." Hadir led Ranani up to the painting, then stepped over the border. He lifted gently and helped Ranani through the border. The moment she cleared the border, the window into Hadir's realm disappeared. "Come, Ranani. It's time to head to the Queen's palace. Don't let go of my hand, no matter what you see. Since you are still technically human, there will be things here that will try to scare you, but as long as you're with me, they won't try to harm you." Ranani's grip tightened on his hand, and Hadir waved an invisible tail, making his palm sticky enough that Ranani couldn't let go of him. Off they went, through the fog.

It took them only a few minutes to reach the Queen's doorway, but to Ranani it seemed like it took hours. Hadir had been right about creatures in the fog trying to scare her. A few times, she'd tried to run away, only to find herself pulled back to his side. For this she was grateful, since a few things had leapt at her as soon as she tried to run. Only Hadir's magical might had kept the creatures at bay. But the trip was definitely worth it.

The gateway into the Bright Queen's castle was a simple wooden door, standing in the fog. It wasn't attached to anything; rather, it simply stood there. Hadir turned the knob and opened the door.

There was a bright flash of light.

And they were there, inside the Queen's Palace.

They appeared in a large hallway, which was lined with suits of samurai armor. Between the suits were kitsune. They sat unmoving, with tails erect. As Hadir and Ranani started walking forwards down the hall, all the kitsune turned their heads to watch. Ranani felt a little unnerved, but Hadir kept moving forwards, eyes straight ahead, so she followed his example. They marched down the hallway, moving with a purpose, until they came to a giant door. Standing to either side of the doorway were people in white clothes. That was when Ranani realized that everything in the hallway was pure white, except for her and Hadir. An important-looking man stepped out from the attendants; he stood barring their path.

"State your name and business, please," said the man.

"I am Bao-Hadir, and the Queen summoned me," replied Hadir. From his sleeve he pulled the Bright Queen's letter and handed it to the man. The man looked it over, then handed it back. Hadir folded it up and stuffed it back into his sleeve.

"You may pass," said the man. Hadir attempted to pass the man, but the man held up his hand. "You may pass, not her."

Hadir frowned. Ranani looked up at the man in fear, then received quite a surprise. One minute the man was there, the next he was gone.

"Anyone else want to bar my path?" asked Hadir. The remaining attendants shook their heads. "Good. Now open the door." Six men ran forward and grabbed the door handles. While they struggled with the door, Hadir noticed Ranani looking up at him in awe. He kneeled down beside her. "What's the matter?" he asked.

"What happened to that man?" she asked in return.

"I simply stopped viewing him as real. As soon as I did, he dissolved. If you had been stronger when you almost unmade Kojoro, she would simply have disappeared. One day, we'll train your powers of illusion, but unfortunately we cannot today. But we will, don't worry." The door clunked open and Hadir stood. He took Ranani's hand and led her into the new room.

This room was massive, with a domed roof and tall pillars lining the walls. And all of it in white. In the middle of the room was a pillow-lined depression, which was filled with a huge and rather unhappy-looking white kitsune. It lay curled in a ball, watching the pair as they entered the room. Ranani caught sight of tails and made a quick count. Ten. This, then, was the Bright Queen, Akomachi.

The Queen unfurled her body elegantly and sat up. She had seemed huge when she was lying down, but sitting up she was almost twenty feet tall, and Ranani guessed that, if she was so inclined, the Queen could eat her in one bite. This thought made her shiver. Hadir stepped forward and went down on one knee, bowing his head. Ranani was quick to copy his actions.

"Rise, Hadir of Bao Clan," said the Queen. The voice didn't come from her mouth, however. Instead, it seemed to come from everywhere in the room. Hadir rose to his feet and looked up at the giant-sized kitsune, who was shifting her back legs a little, in obvious discomfort. Ranani could see the white pillows between the Queen's back legs were turning red...as if they were being stained by...

"Oh no!" cried Ranani. "You're bleeding!" The Bright Queen jumped slightly, as if she had only just noticed the tiny creature with the male. Her cheeks blushed slightly as she leaned down to look at the girl closely.

"It is of no concern," replied the Queen, staring into Ranani's eyes, just like many others had done. "Who are you, child?" she asked.

"I-I'm R-r-ranani M-masters, Your Highness," said the little girl, shaking like a leaf.

"She is my daughter, Lady Akomachi," said Hadir, laying a hand on Ranani's shoulder.

"This child?" asked the Queen. "This is your daughter?" Hadir nodded. The Queen laughed softly. "She looks almost exactly like your mate, doesn't she." Hadir stiffened. "What was her name, again?"

"Akane..." replied Hadir softly, and Ranani had to bite her lip to keep back to cry of pain when Hadir's hand gripped her shoulder harder.

"Yes...Akane...Except the eyes...The eyes are most definitely unique...Hypnotic in their own way..."

"Lady Akomachi, I have come as you have asked. State your business with me, please." Hadir's voice had gone from soft and sad to cool and businesslike. He released Ranani's shoulder.

The Bright Queen turned her great head to look at him. A blush appeared upon her cheeks again. "Do you really wish for me to say it, lover?" she asked.

"Yes."

"Naughty fox..."

Hadir frowned at her, eyes narrowing. He motioned for Ranani to stand. "Come Ranani, we're leaving." He spun the girl around and began walking away.

"WAIT!" cried the Queen. This time her voice actually came from her mouth. Hadir stopped. "Please don't go, Bao-Hadir. I need someone to help sate my heat. Please." Hadir turned around to see the Queen bowing to him. "Please, Hadir. I'm so lonely...Inari won't allow me to take another Heaven to my bed, and he does not suffer Voids trespassing in his territory. You're the only nogitsune who bears no grudge against me. Please..."

"How can you say such a thing, Lady Akomachi?" asked Hadir. "To say that I bear no grudge against you, when you know that I hate you twice as much as previously every time we meet."

"Please, Hadir, don't say such a thing...What can I do to set things right between us? If it's within my power to give, I shall give it to you. I pledge my fox-word on it."

As Ranani looked on, she felt a niggling in the back of her mind, then a bit of information flowed from her father into her, and she knew what a fox-word was. A fox-word was a kitsune's word, and when one gives their fox-word, they must honor it at all costs. Thus, most kitsune carefully word phrases they set their fox-word to.

"'What can I do?' you ask? And you set your fox-word on it? What I want is for you to apologize totally and sincerely for causing the death of my mate. Only then will things be right between us."

"You know I cannot do that, Hadir. To do such a thing would invoke the Sin of Regret, which would cost me my life."

"And that's why things will never be right between us. However, I didn't come here today for apologies and to make demands. I came because you asked me to sate your heat. And I brought Ranani with me so she could experience such a thing early on. Can she join in?"

The Bright Queen nodded.

"On your fox-word," continued Hadir, "that she will not be harmed by any Heaven kitsune while we are here."

"On my fox-word," agreed Lady Akomachi.

Hadir's human form shimmered and broke, leaving him in his fox form. "One moment, please," said Hadir, before gripping Ranani's sleeve in his teeth and pulling her towards a wall. When they were there, Hadir looked up at the girl. "So," said the kitsune, "what do you think of her?"

Ranani was silent for a moment, then replied, sounding a little embarrassed. "S-she's a lot bigger than I thought she'd be..."

"How big did you think she would be?"

"I thought she would be a little bigger than you."

"She is, though."

"Huh?"

"What you see now is me, but wrapped in illusions to make myself smaller. Without those illusions, I would be much, much larger. Now, disrobe."

"W-what?!"

"Disrobe. Take off your clothes." Hadir could've simply dispelled the illusion she wore, but wanted her to remove her garments of her own free will. If he forced her to do it, it could scar her for life, making it impossible for her to learn the kitsune art of seduction. If she didn't do it on her own, she might never learn some of the Bao Clans best tricks.

Ranani looked down at her father, blushing softly, before slowly pulling her shirt up over her head, then off, leaving her chest bare. She suddenly crossed her arms over her chest and shivered. It wasn't embarrassment that caused this reaction, however. Hadir could see with his own eyes that Ranani was feeling a bit cold. With a wave of his tails, he projected an illusion of warmth around her. As soon as she felt warmer, Ranani dropped her arms, revealing her smooth chest. Her body was too young for her to actually have breasts, but the sight of her bare chest made Hadir feel aroused.

Hadir was notorious among the kitsune clans as preferring children to adults when he chose his bed partners. And his mate, Akane had been no exception. She had been eleven when she'd met the kitsune who controlled the land she lived on. Eleven and more than willing to mate with (at the time) five tailed spirit fox. If one asked Hadir why he found young girls arousing, he couldn't explain it. He just did.

Ranani slowly, almost reluctantly, gripped the waistband of her pants and pulled them down. A calm and quiet girl, one of Ranani's favorite activities was sitting outside in the sunshine and reading a book. Sunblock had never touched her flesh, yet she never tanned or burned. Her skin was a pale white color, from the tops of her ears to tips of her toes. After she kicked her shoes off, she stood there with her hands at her sides, shivering slightly, her blond hair over her shoulders. If Hadir imagined what Eve, the first female human, had looked like, he doubted she would've been more beautiful than Ranani. Her skin...so smooth. She had a little bit of baby fat, but it was the kind of fat that would go away in a few years of growth. Her smell...by the gods, her smell...Hadir had refrained from scenting her nude form when he was undercover, since he was sure it would work like an aphrodisiac. And he was right. He slid along her nude form, taking in her innocent odor, releasing a few layers of illusion to increase his size. Suddenly he was her height at the shoulder. He prodded her in the back and she started walking, her mind in a daze as she moved towards the Queen's sleeping pit. The Queen herself sat just outside it, watching the little girl moving closer. True, she had never been a lover of either women or children, but she felt she could make an exception this once.

Ranani continued forwards, her tail swaying gently as she moved. How odd it was, that a human child would be born with a tail. Even the children of a full-blooded kitsune and a human wouldn't have tails. But this beautiful girl-child had one...And it made her look even cuter.

Ranani arrived in the pit and stood before the Queen, stark naked but unashamed and unafraid. Over the course of her life, Hadir had trained Ranani with subtle messages and complex illusions to convince her that nudity wasn't a crime. So she was comfortable in her own skin, despite her mother's warnings that going naked was bad. So she felt no shame in revealing her naked flesh to the Bright Queen, who leaned down to look the child in the eye again.

As Ranani locked gazes with the giant kitsune again, Hadir took a moment to taste her skin, licking at her shoulders and neck. She shivered, and now Hadir could smell her arousal. "Lay down, Ranani," said Hadir softly in her ear. "Let us take care of you..." She followed his command and lay down on her back. Hadir leaned in and lapped at the girl's chest gently, paying special attention to what would one day be her breasts. Ranani bit her lip, seeming intent on keeping any sounds she might make from escaping. Her face was slowly turning red as Hadir lapped and nuzzled at her neck. The Bright Queen hesitated for just a moment, before taking a long, slow lick from the tops of Ranani's feet to her slightly rounded belly, tasting human flesh for the first time, and drinking in the energy of the girl's pleasure. And what energy there was! Ranani was like a never-ending battery of sexual energy that the Queen just kept taking in. As she and Hadir continued to coat the young girl in kitsune saliva, Ranani's energy caused the Queen's heat to worsen, and she whined in discomfort.

Hadir looked up to the Queen, tongue hanging slightly out of his mouth, when he heard her whine. He saw her rubbing her hind legs together, and felt a brief moment of pity. He stepped away from Ranani and released the last layers of illusion that covered him. One moment he was simply big, the next he was massive, almost the size of the Bright Queen. And while previously his fur had simply been black like ink or shadows, it was now more like darkness given form, as though he were a black spot on the fabric of reality. His six tails waved gently, defying gravity as he moved behind the Bright Queen. He slid his long muzzle up between her legs, squeezing her swollen, aching, heat-stricken vagina between his nose and her waist. She let out a whimper of need as she leaked out a few drops of heat-blood and leaned forwards, her tails raised high, exposing her pussy in a presenting fashion. Hadir took in a few deep breaths of her heat-scent, shivering as his mating instincts took over.

The letter the Queen had sent him had been soaked in her heat-scent, but the scent had been somewhat faded by the time the letter had reached him. Thus, while the letter's scent had been alluring, but the aged scent had also instinctively offended his sense of smell. But this scent...This scent was fresh, right from the source. The scent of vixen-in-heat. If one bottled it and cast it into the spirit realm, male kitsune would come from every corner of the world to find the source.

Hadir lapped at her swollen lips a few times, before rearing up on his hind legs and mounting the slightly larger female. His upper body slid between her ten tails and his forelegs locked around her hips. His own hips thrust forwards a few times, his big red cock grazing her aching lips, but not making it in. The Queen obligingly raised her hips, spread her legs further, and lowered her head, letting out a yip as Hadir's next thrust entered her, partially quelling her heat simply by penetration. After a few thrusts, she realized that Ranani was beneath her, watching her face as Hadir mated her. Having told Hadir she would include Ranani in their mating, she decided to share the experience of being mated with the girl. She let loose her long tongue and lapped between Ranani's slightly spread legs, infusing her licks with the magic of sensation, letting Ranani feel what she herself was feeling. Just as the Queen began moaned and lapping harder, the young girl started gripped the pillows beneath her, her body shaking harder even as the Queen's tongue lapped at her savagely, borderline painfully.

Hadir continued to slam his hips into the Queen's, pushing harder and harder, trying to force his knot into her. Each thrust was harder than the last, and the Queen's juices spurted out each time, soaking the pillows in cloudy pink fluid. Hadir's head rested on the Queen's back, and he licked at her neck a few times, before biting down on her nape, hard. Lady Akomachi yelped in surprise at the fierceness of the bite, before yipping ecstatically as Hadir forced his knot into her. She in turn took made a hard lick on Ranani, causing the girl to achieve her first assisted orgasm. And again as the Queen's orgasmic experience was shared with her. Energy erupted from the three climaxing beings, flooding the room with power much the same way Hadir was flooding the Queen with his seed.

Normally, the energy released during orgasm was absorbed by all the participants, but Hadir used his power to shunt the energy away from himself and into Ranani, filling her small body with pure spirit power. The sheer volume of energy overloaded her senses and she lost consciousness. Lady Akomachi collapsed, and Hadir shifted himself around, lying end-to-end with the Queen. If she had been a different kitsune, he would've entwined his tails with hers, but though he had mated her in the way of a mate, he still felt nothing but hate when he looked at her. He lay there, tied to a female he hated, while she slept soundly. It would've been torture, if Ranani hadn't been there. He maneuvered a tail to wrap gently around the unconscious girl, lifted her up, and moved her closer to him.

He gave a tug with his hips and, to his great relief, managed to pull away from Lady Akomachi. He then rolled onto his side and placed Ranani between his forelegs. With her there, he was able to curl into a ball and fall asleep comfortably, embracing his daughter.