Chương 25: Book 1, Chapter 25: A Fox's Shadow

Yuki walked down the shaded path alone, the gentle light of the moon filtering between the leaves. She breathed in deep, soaking in the peace and starlight, and bothered not with a disguise other than uncomfortably weaving her tails together. The kitsune feared nothing this forest could offer. If the Nameless came en masse, she'd escape easily. There was no Unbound that could threaten her around.

If some random priest or official encountered her on the road, there was no way they could interpret her evening walk as a violation of the Grand Bargain. What a strange day it was. At least she managed to get back at John for that whole name fiasco. Ugh, she had her Yumi disguise go around calling him his given name, and now she's committed. A simple quest to find a few facts expanded endlessly, and now they had a new ally. On the logical side, Yuki had no objections.

Some extra muscle would not hurt in their upcoming battles, and she had poured herself entirely out during the fight earlier. Rin was almost eerily pure-hearted, if a bit unthinking. Under normal circumstances, she would be the perfect puppet, and the kitsune would have no problem leaving John under her protection as she went out to be proactive. Yet, she couldn't help but feel conflicted. The Dragon-Blooded clearly had issues. Yuki could see it in her eyes the moment she realized John was scolding her.

Her eyes widened, her pulse quickened, shame flooded her… And then she immediately tried to attach herself to him. Still, it should pose no threat to her goals in the long term. She and John would still be aligned. She would still be taught the secret knowledge of his homeland, which seemed ever more distant with every conversation.

"Coffee" beans were quite the hint. When she had headed here from her prison, she passed through many places, including a few port city markets where they were selling international goods, and she had never seen such a thing. That meant that wherever he came from didn't have any trade routes directly connected to here, at the very least. Her theory about a sealed realm was starting to look more and more probable… but where would the plant have come from to be placed there, to begin with?

Perhaps it was somewhere out in the world, but nobody but John's people had realized its potential as a drink, so it wasn't yet a trade good. Still, it was something to keep an eye out for. Then, there was another Presence. It was weak, barely a flicker and most certainly a yokai, but it was there… off the path and in the woods, perhaps fifty feet distant to her back and right.

Yuki suppressed the instinct to quirk an ear to face it, but even without that, she could barely hear whatever was making its way through the brush. Hmm. It sounded small, but it was hard to tell what it was. It was another matter entirely if it was something intelligent. It felt predatory, like a beast stalking in the grass, but the way it kept away from her made it seem like it was scared. It didn't feel like a yūrei; there was no hint of human Presence in it.

Sadly, a whole litany of yokai liked to stalk travellers, which made identifying this one challenging. It was too malevolent feeling to be a mujina, and a kotengu would be stalking her from higher up… not that she expected one of those mountain hermits to be down here in the valley. It was upwind, too, so she couldn't catch a whiff of it. She paused, and her stalker only took one more step before halting themselves, futilely trying to disguise their presence.

"Come out, or I will come get you myself," Yuki ordered sternly, although she didn't turn to face her pursuer. The kitsune flexed her Presence, bathing the area in a commanding aura. They remained still. She sighed, glancing in their direction, and quickly checked for Nameless webbing at branch level. Satisfied, she sprung into action, catapulting herself into the air and landing on a sturdy branch, with only a moment passing before she pushed off it toward the next.

Whatever they were startled and turned to flee, but she was faster. She was upon it while it tried to shimmy through the underbrush. Below the moonlight canopy, she beheld a pale, hairless canine bearing a few whiskers. An Okuri-inu? Now, that was surprising. They were a very low-order yokai, rarely powerful enough to do much more than maul peasants. Cowardly too, given that they generally waited for them to trip before doing even that.

It was rare that they grew potent enough to form a Name, and this one did not feel like an exception. While tragic victims of the Shape of All Things and the order of the heavens, they were nonetheless dangerous to the common folk. She sighed and pounced on its back, driving the creature to the ground with a yelp.

"Wait, wait!" the dog shouted in a feminine voice as Yuki drove the yokai's head against the dirt.

"Can't we talk about this? Come on, give me some slack! Yokai to yokai, I was just a bit curious is all. You're angling to be the new local kami, right?" Yuki remained silent, staring her down. Perhaps she could extract worthwhile information from her before she tore her soul out.

"You've heard of me?" she curiously asked.

"Yes!" she eagerly barked.

"The kappa down by the river told me about how you're ridding the forest of Nameless. You want to take over the empty spot, right? That's why you teamed up with the weirdo. Nobody higher up in the Celestial Hierarchy has been here to deal with problems in years!" Interesting. This place was well and truly isolated from the world, wasn't it? It might be even more of a suitable spot to rebuild herself than she previously thought.

By the same logic, her "sisters" may see that curious blank spot on the social map and realize the same. Competition would be… annoying, and some of their destructive tendencies were unbelievable. It was hard to believe that she could have—Yuki frowned and cut that line of thought off cold. The past didn't matter besides how it informed the future. Yuki loosened her grip slightly.

"You're part of his shōgi group, aren't you?" she asked, and the dog yokai frantically nodded.

"Yeah! I'm not any good, but I'm one of his buddies. Come on, we're meeting up tomorrow night. It would be weird if—" The kitsune pressed down, driving the air from her lungs to quiet her momentarily.

"Quiet," she ordered. That complicated things. Normally, she'd just slaughter her, and that'd be that, but someone might sense remnants on her were she to devour her soul. She didn't want to endanger the progress she made in gaining the trust of the river spirit, not to mention any other potential allies she had yet to meet. Still, she had to protect the poor townsfolk somehow, and an Okuri-inu this close to the town was a hazard. They had suffered enough… but perhaps she could make use of her?

In the long term, she might be able to nudge her nature in a new direction. A new Shape may not be out of reach.

"Listen well," she growled.

"You have good senses, do you not? I have two duties for you, and if you perform well, you'll be greatly rewarded. If not…" She trailed off, and the creature beneath her started to squirm.

"First, I would have you not attack any innocent travellers on the road… but if you happen to see groups of armed men travelling on the roads, I need to know. Furthermore, I would have you tell me of any Nameless nests you can find." The situation was a win-win. Either the yokai did what Yuki wished, and she got some valuable information for free while making the road safer, or she didn't and left. She doubted the yokai was suicidal enough to disobey a violent kitsune and stay around.

Oh, she knew that her social circle would hear of this… but it was well within acceptable behaviour for Yuki to partake in, so she expected little to no pushback. The beastly yokai squirmed beneath her.

"Are you insane? I can't do that, my instincts—""Then I would advise you to simply leave if you find yourself stalking an innocent traveller." Her voice was low, and she stared dead into the Okuri-inu's eyes.

"F-fine! Fine," the dog stammered, and Yuki finally released her, standing back up. The canine immediately skittered to her paws and darted away into the bushes like a scared rat. Yuki watched it go, tracking the Presence through the bush as it fled, and once it was out of view, she kept track of it with a keen ear. Eventually, she could no longer sense it as it disappeared deep into the woods. The kitsune headed back to the road. She hopped from branch to branch once more, retracing the steps she had taken before…

However, this time, it was less for expedience and more because she didn't want to get poked by a thousand bushes and have to pick twigs out of her fur later. She wouldn't give up her thick coat like some cowardly kitsune who she knew, even if it was a pain and a half to maintain. She supposed she could transform herself like them to let all that stuff fall out, but that would probably be incredibly difficult in her current state.

One day, she would be back to herself, even if the thought still unsettled her on some level. Memories of the depravity of some of her sisters once more came to mind. Ugh. It was terrifying to think she could have ended up like that if she had been less lucky. She'd like to imagine that she'd be above that… but on some level, Yuki knew she wasn't. Sighing, she disguised herself again, but not as 'Yumi.' No, this time, Yuki was a fifty-five-year-old poor lumberjack called Arakawa Itsu.

His face was scarred and dirty, and the years had clearly not been kind to his body. Where was once the vigour of youth was now a stooped, aging brittleness that threatened to have him collapse, with no family left to support him with a son long gone to the war front, a wife passed during a hard winter, and two daughters who were married off. Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings. Overall, he looked harmless and inconspicuous.

The edge of town loomed, and her shorter stride—and the limp she decided on for some damned reason, but she was committed now—made it feel like it took forever to come. Still, eventually, she was walking amongst the squat buildings once more. None were out amongst the outskirts, but she could still see candlelights in some of their windows. The night was still young, after all. Conversations filtered out from some of them, and in others, the sounds of a family enjoying a late dinner.

Sadly, she couldn't hear the former, given how much her disguise weakened her hearing. It was a shame; she'd love to better understand what was happening and how most were coping. Aiki and Haru's situation did not paint a pleasant picture, granted, but having more details rarely hurt. Things grew more lively as she cut deeper into town, stalking amongst them like an unseen ghost.

The scattered few she passed by in the streets were all either going to drink or clearly coming home from it, alcohol heavy on their breaths as they stumbled to and fro. Some, groups of siblings or friends. Others, miserable looking loners. None paid much attention to her despite being an unfamiliar face. Most would have wandered the streets for a good while to find their target. Yuki would not.

When they came to find Aiki and Haru, it was still reasonably early in the morning, so it was likely the first stop the tax collectors made that day, and their lodgings were likely in the same direction they came from. That left only perhaps a fifth of the town to search. In hindsight, she probably should have asked Aiki or Haru if the town had a ryokan-style inn. The higher quality of the inn would likely lead to the men hijacking it.

While they might have fled town entirely after the failed assassination, she doubted it. No, they likely sent some runners to report back to their Nameless puppeted leader while maintaining a presence to keep an eye on her and John. If they didn't flee after getting one of their own burned and John showing off some lightning, she doubted a failed proxy attack would do it. Fools. A group of men walked around the corner, and she perked. Now, there were some familiar faces in that group of five.

She didn't know any of their names off the top of her head, but she recognized all but one from that party that went to collect from Aiki and Haru. The lot were clearly upset, glowering and keeping to themselves as they headed across the street down another. After a quick glance around, she hurried to catch up to them. What luck! The coin purse of the one in the rear hung low and was… tempting. The tax collectors were heading to the north and, glancing around, she could confirm that nobody was watching her.

After they were out of sight, Yuki darted down a side street, unnatural speed carrying her silently ahead of them. Taking cover under the eaves of a closed-up shop, she waited for them to approach. The first passed, then two side by side, the fourth, and finally… Yuki's mark stepped forth, and her hand darted out of the shadows. With supernal speed, she gently opened his pouch and slipped a hand inside, grabbing a small handful of coins before retreating and closing it back up. Not many.

Certainly not enough to make the man believe that he had been robbed blind. She'd certainly not want to agitate his group and make them do something rash to someone undeserving. She slinked back and quickly counted her haul before stuffing it away. Eight copper coins and one iron. Eighteen mon. There was a time amongst the mortal realms when she wouldn't even bother carrying something less than a gold, if she carried anything at all and didn't just have an account things were charged against.

Beggar's money it may be, but it was money, and it was more than she had before, so she couldn't complain too much. This would buy… perhaps a few drinks? It depended on how badly those prices spiralled out of control here. Maybe some was brewed locally, but she couldn't imagine the Nameless would leave such a commodity unmolested on the roads. She trailed the five men, with none of them the wiser. Even if they decided to look back, she kept well out of sight, hovering the next street over.

When you had senses like this, tracking mortals felt almost unfair, although any sympathy was drowned under the weight of what they were doing here. More voices slowly drifted up from down the street, the sounds of spirited conversation drifting upon the night air. Yuki caught snippets here and there, and what little she did hear wasn't particularly positive. It seemed like the town was more in a "drink away our sorrows" type of mood.

Suddenly, the conversation quieted, and she knew the tax collectors entered the building. There was a reason they were going out to drink armed, and Yuki had seen less hostile territories occupied by foreign armies. Now was her time. Making sure she looked extra sad and pathetic, Yuki walked toward the bar, emphasizing her limp to make herself seem harmless. The building was a squat single-story and better maintained than much of the town, although the white paint was peeling in a few places.

"I can't believe that he did that!" she heard one of her targets bellow inside, and it was tempting to just stay out here and let them spill, but the kitsune decided to head in anyhow, in case she needed to give them some direction. Sliding the door panel open, Yuki walked into the building. The decor was simple but well made, yet what caught her eye the most were the patrons. Most were deeply uncomfortable, glancing toward the tax collectors and finishing their drinks. Some muttered about coming back tomorrow.

Some, too deep in their drinks, seemed not to notice. One, though, looked angrier and angrier by the moment. A young man, perhaps in his early twenties. No friends drinking with him. He was about to do something and get himself killed. That wouldn't do. It may be a bit rude, but Yuki sat across from him.

"Mind drinking with an old man, sonny?" she asked, settling down before he could tell her no. She glanced towards the menu. Four mon for a cup. Perhaps a bit expensive, but nowhere near as bad as she feared.

"I'll buy you a drink!" Despite all appearances, she was carefully listening to the men three tables over, although they'd yet to have said anything beyond complaining about how nobody gives them any respect. His muscles tensed, and he looked like he was about to object before deflating with a sigh and accepting.

"Thanks, old timer," he grunted.

"What's your name?"

"Ah, I'm Hideo Adachi. I'm just an old man passing through, but nobody should be drinking alone in times like this," she replied with a grandfatherly smile. The man glanced toward the group.

"Call me Akemi," he muttered. Was he trying to hide his name from them in case they were listening? Interesting, but foolish. Whatever he planned was likely doomed; the undead represented more power than what one mundane man could bring to bear. It still bugged her that she didn't know what it was. Still, she smiled gregariously and waved to the server as she walked by.

"Could I get one cup of sake for me and one for my new friend, please?" Yuki asked, putting eight coins on the counter. The woman nodded before giving a short bow and collecting the coins, speeding off into the back.

"... Why did you want to drink with me?"

'Akemi' asked after a moment of silence. Yuki shrugged.

"Nobody should be drinking alone in times like these," she blithely repeated. The man narrowed his eyes but said nothing. Soon enough, their drinks were served, and after giving their thanks, the pair started to slowly sip at them with all the care of people acutely aware of how little money they had. It'd never get her drunk, and a mere whiff of something capable of even slightly affecting her would probably kill everyone in this building dead, but it was much better than she expected. It was sweet, fruity…

perhaps a bit melon-y? It didn't have any incredible complexity like higher-end stuff might possess, but it was more than serviceable when she expected some awful gutter-swill to meet the demand for something to keep people's minds off things. There was probably a decent brewery nearby, she wagered. Anything similar from elsewhere would probably cost at least double due to Nameless-based attrition. They had nothing to speak about, and that suited Yuki just fine.

What didn't, though, was how her targets stubbornly refused to talk of anything of value. The kitsune decided to take that into her own hands. She bathed them and them alone in a slowly building stream of subtle Presence. If they were well trained, perhaps they'd notice and start to think about things. If. The sudden feelings of boredom and a sense of security did their job well, and they all shifted in their seats slightly.

"What a shithole town," one muttered.

"Even drinking is starting to get boring." Grumbled agreements filtered throughout the group.

"You heard the boss, we have orders from up top now. We hang around and keep an eye on that Unbound prick who shits in the woods all day." They were to… spy on John? Interesting. They don't seem terribly perturbed by their failure to use Rin to assassinate them. Did they even know, or was that a different group's job? Another roughly hushed him but kept his voice low.

"Shut it!" He demanded.

"What if he hears you?" Another round of cups was placed for them, and their conversation went quiet until the server left. Yuki noted they didn't pay.

"How the hell would he do that?" continued the first.

"You heard the boss. All he does is sit in the woods all day. Now that he got his two new servants, he'll probably go back to doing nothing." And that was confirmation that the rank and file weren't in the know, even if she didn't expect them to be. It did, however, give her an angle to work if she could somehow expose their leadership for what they were… Hmm. She supposed the big question was if they were directly being puppeted by the greater Nameless or just being manipulated by them.

"Something still gives me the chills about him. The way he looked at us was… weird. I'm no expert, but I have an Unbound step-cousin, and when that foreigner used those techniques—" the third began, cutting himself before glancing around the room like John might suddenly appear. He was familiar; what was his name again?

"It was like things just happened. Like there was no cause to them." Kaito! That was it. He was the one who was observant enough to figure out John burned that other one.

"Who cares?" groaned the fourth.

"We're going to get rotated to a new town soon. Collections are almost done here. He'll probably forget us by the time we get back, anyhow. Unbound don't give a shit about anything that's not one of them, a noble, or a yokai." Yuki sipped at her cup, filing that tidbit away for later. If they had their marching orders and she could get her hands on them… Oh hoh hoh. That would let her have some fun indeed. The second sighed.

"This tastes like piss tonight. Can't even have fun getting drunk. I'm not sure about you lot, but I'm going to go pass out. Not even any pretty ladies here." Pounding back the rest of his drink, he stood up, and a few moments later, two of his fellows followed him. The last two were less enthusiastic but evidently didn't want to be left as a mere duo in hostile territory.

The five of them left through the front unceremoniously, and the few remaining occupants of the establishment who hadn't fled untensed, like a battered dog whose owner had left for the day. Akemi's gaze followed them out, and Yuki saw him getting ready to rise.

"No," Yuki whispered, reaching over the table and holding his arm down with inhuman strength. In another era, she may have given him a few drops of her blood and empowered him to right whatever wrong they inflicted on him. Even if that wouldn't kill him on the spot, given what was pumping through her body and spirit, the timing would be off. It'd take weeks to train him, at the very least.

"Lord John will handle this." The man's eyes widened, but she rose before he could say anything, placing the single iron coin on the table before him.

"Have some more. On me." Then, she was gone into the night.