The Opposite of Indifference

Yuuki yawned, opened his eyes, and again was amused by the pains taken to make the room look more like a guest suite than a hospital. He supposed there must be some initial comfort to the humans who entered here, but looking at the young couple’s tired and strained faces, he imagined whatever soothing effects the pastel print wallpaper or ruffled duvet offered were forgotten hours ago.

He helped himself to a discarded glass of water, hoping it wouldn’t be much longer. Yuuki had never been to a human birth before, even though he had plenty of opportunity. Births were reminders he was still a captive, still bound to a family he detested and who grew to detest him back. Hatred eventually faded to forgetfulness on the humans’ part.

Yuuki could never forget – there was no getting around the oath he swore - though he too had let go of hate, for the most part, decades ago. His oath required him to serve one hundred generations of this family, whether they acknowledged his existence or not. Three centuries to the day he made his promise the newest in the family line was about to make her grand entrance.

“Do you know how many of your kin’s deaths I’m responsible for, small one?” Yuuki said out loud. 

No one in the room noticed, as none had the skill to hear him. Though one nurse must have had a small sensitivity to fae creatures as she gave a tiny shudder and crossed herself after he spoke.

Yuuki smirked under his kitsune’s mask, pleased to see any reaction, even a small one. Being ignored for over a century was demoralizing. If the nurse could truly see him, kimono clad with a sharp toothed smile painted on his fox’s mask, she’d probably run out of the room screaming prayers. So would the young man holding the hand of his laboring wife. It was not an unwise choice when dealing with kitsune.

But fae-blind Fernando had never once in his life seen Yuuki for what he was, and likely never would. Yuuki slumped on a plump chair, resting his face in his hand and addressed an unaware Fernando. “To be fair, I’m responsible for saving a few lives too, as well as helping you look away from your books long enough to find a woman to create this one.” Yuuki nodded towards Angela’s swollen belly. “Fernando you are a good, but sublimely boring and unimaginative man. I don’t hate you, but I certainly won’t miss you. Hopefully your spawn will be somewhat more interesting, though that is hardly a high bar to reach.”

By the fussing of the various hospital staff and yelling coming from Angela, Yuuki realized the time had come at last. A few moments later, what looked like a slimy gore and membrane covered raisin emerged and shrieked her first cries into the world. The staff jumped to clean off most of the mess, and once that was done, laid the child in her mother’s arms.

“God has been good to us Angela,” Fernando said.

Yuuki rolled his eyes behind his mask. “You’d never have met your wife if it wasn’t for me. I’ll let you call me Jesus Christ if you promise to give me some sake every now and again. Or tea. I’ll accept tea,” he said.

“He has. Look at our little princesita  Fernando, our little princess,” Angela said.

“I’m a lucky man," Fernando said, stroking the fuzzy patch of  hair on the baby's head. "I've always felt like I've had more than my fair share of good fortune. But whatever luck or divine grace has guided me to this moment, I wish it all go to our little Ana. May whatever saint or guardian angel that has been watching over me give themselves completely to the care of her. I want nothing else from life.”

Yuuki felt a strange shift at Fernando’s words. He looked from him to the baby girl and realized that his time protecting Fernando had come to an end.

“If you wish for a diaper change, I am not doing it. That is still your parents’ job,” he said, making a horrible face appear on his mask.

The girl child looked up at Yuuki and smiled. Yuuki blinked and waved his hand in front of her. A tiny fist grasped his finger tight.

“You see me,” Yuuki whispered.

“Look at that Fernando,” Angela said. “Our girl is smiling!”

“It’s not a real smile,” one nurse said. “She’s too young for that. It’s likely gas.”

“It’s not gas, you simpleton,” Yuuki said as the nurse walked out of the room. “This girl sees me. After all these years…”

When a plush fox doll appeared among the gifts for Angela and Fernando’s new daughter, no one noticed it among the sea of toys that arrived from family and friends. By the time she could walk, it was a joke among her family that you could offer her the fanciest doll in the world, but the only thing that could calm her was that toy fox. Once she was old enough to talk, Ana practiced most of her new skills babbling to her favorite toy.  The plush fox presided over every tea party Ana held, though she insisted on serving real tea instead of pretending over empty cups.

“Tell me again about the day I was born,” Ana often asked.

“You were covered in blood and guts, not minding it a bit. And you were smiling. That is how I knew we would be friends,” Yuuki always replied.

"Cool," Ana said.

Song Choice: All-American Girl by Carrie Underwood

This blog post is part of May Monster Madness, hosted this year by Little Gothic Horrors, Magaly Guerrero, Holly's Horrorland, Maynard's Horror Movie Diary, and Not This Time, Nayland Smith. Be sure to follow the link and enjoy more monstrous fun with the other party goers. 

Myth in the Blood

I asked for stories.

There are plenty you said.

No, not those.

I want old stories.

I want stories of blood.

Where did things start?

Where am I from?

It doesn’t matter you said.

That was there,

we are here.

There’s nothing more to be told.

It’s not enough I said.
These are your stories too!
Don't you know them?
Can't you feel them?

I went out looking for a myth to adopt.

Instead, the myth hidden in my blood
adopted me.

  Art used with kind permission of the artist: Dreaming by Amanda Clark

Visit her etsy shop, Earth Angel Arts to see more of her work

Song Choice: Rainbow Connection
This poem was created from a prompt offered by Magaly Guerrero for NaPoWriMo (Day 12: Poems of alienation and detachment. Process note: Since I had so much fun writing from Yuuki's point of view, I wanted to write a bit from Ana's view as well. The topic fit so off I went. )

An Excerpt from Titi Rina's Journal

Anna looks like any other little girl when she’s asleep. It’s funny how in some ways she reminds me of Angela, when she was little. There are so many ways Anna is different from mi hermanita, though energy level isn’t one of them.  I wondered if Anna would stay up all night. But she’s out like a light now.

I thought Angela and Fernando would be the hardest to convince to let her stay over. But they were so thrilled to have an evening to themselves, that it didn’t seem to matter that they normally think of me as strange, and possibly not the greatest role model for their imaginative child. Maybe this was an olive branch from Angela for the years we spent not talking to each other. 

No, it was Yuuki who had difficulty letting Anna stay by herself. I don’t know what I expected Ajani to find when I asked him to investigate the presence I felt, but realizing that Fernando has Japanese ancestors if you go back far enough, and by the way, hundreds of years ago one of them managed to trap a fox spirit into serving them, was a little bit of a shock. Oh and said fox spirit had questions about me. And my ability to protect my own niece.

So yeah, I showed off a thing or two. Magdalena would have been proud. The fox seemed satisfied enough to go with Ajani to Philly tonight, doing whatever fae in a city do.

I guess it’s fair to say I have my doubts about Yuuki too. Yeah, I believe that there's genuine affection there. But I’ve done a little research. How far can a creature known for tricks and general mischief be trusted with the welfare of a child, even when they do mean well?

Anna adores Yuki. Even her taste in cartoons shows that (tonight’s feature was Anna’s choice – some Japanese cartoon where a little girl goes into a fae world with a giant bathhouse at its center).

But does she know this world isn’t as cute as a cartoon one? And that for every Yuuki there are things that don’t care she’s only a little girl and wouldn’t hesitate to cause her harm?

Tonight between cartoons, pizza, and toenail painting I taught her some basics. How to ground, center and most importantly, shield. She took to it quickly, just another fun game for her and her crazy Tía to play. I tucked her in and reminded her to do it again before sleeping because it would help keep nightmares away. She told me she never worried about that before. Yuuki always keeps her safe. And she said she knew that I would too.

It would have been nice to have someone like that when I started seeing and feeling things. It was months before I understood what was happening to me, before I found Magdalena. And it was years before I felt competent enough to deal with it. There was no fox spirit standing at the gate for me to make sure the dead were at least polite when they tried to get my attention.

I’m looking out the window now. The usual assortment of ghosts are there, flitting around, trying to get someone to listen, and annoyed at that heavy shield I have up. I'm grown though, so they’re mostly harmless, just annoying. There’s one, a little bolder than the others, who is floating right at the edge of my shield. When she noticed me looking, she put a finger to her lips.

I don’t know if Anna has a hard time sensing the dead, the same way I have a hard time sensing fae, but I don’t feel like finding out now. I let them know that for tonight at least, I’m not taking any visitors, even the ones I do know, no matter how quiet they promise to be.

But I think I’ll check on Anna one more time before I go to sleep.

Song Choice: Dragon Boy from the Spirited Away soundtrack

This bit of flash fiction was written as a response to the picture prompt given by Magpie Tales. For previous stories about Anna and Yuuki, check here. 

Snow On Fire

“Anna, I need you to bring some more plates outside.”

“Un minuto mama,” called Anna from her room.

“Anna,” her mother said with a note of exasperation.

“Sorry. Yes mom, just give me a minute.”

Her father came down right afterwards, carrying several speakers to set up on the patio. “Angela,” Fernando asked his wife, “Did Rina let you know if she was coming?”

“Titi Rina might come?” Anna squealed.

“Yes,” her mother said. She looked at Fernando and said, “And Catarina is bringing el loco.”

“El loco?” Anna asked, picturing a man in a straightjacket, with foam in his mouth while he laughed like a maniac.

“Angela, you'll give Anna strange notions, as if she needed any help with that,” Anna’s father said to his wife. 

He then turned to his wide-eyed daughter. “He’s just an eccentric friend of your Aunt Rina’s, probably no crazier than you are mihijita."

“Sometimes I wonder which one of us has the crazier family,” Angela said. “Though it’s always funny when she’s in the same room as your sister Natalia. She’ll probably be crossing herself all day once Titi Rina arrives.”

“If you both think your families are crazy, then why are we throwing a family reunion?” 

“Because family is family,” Angela said. “Now go on and get those platters out there.”

The guests began arriving shortly after Anna’s father finished setting up the sound system. The lively music only made Anna more restless as she waited for her Aunt Rina to arrive. After dutifully kissing and hugging every aunt, uncle, and cousin she sat and picked at her food until she saw her come through the patio doors, carrying a gift bag and accompanied by the person she presumed her mother called “el loco.”

“Titi Rina!” Anna yelled, deserting her plate and propelling herself into her aunt’s arms.

“Reinita!” Rina answered, hugging her niece. Rina’s wavy, dark hair was swept back from her face by a large, colorful swath of fabric. Stifling a giggle, she noticed her Aunt Natalia look their way, making a face. She didn’t approve of Aunt Rina’s tattoo on her arm, a star in a circle surrounded by pretty flowers, which was very visible because of the sleeveless summer dress she wore. Anna knew her parents didn’t care for it either; the words “midlife crisis” were often mentioned when the topic was brought up.

“Reinita!” said the man standing by her aunt. “I didn’t know I was in the presence of royalty!” He dropped to one knee, flourishing his arm. “Milady Anna, it’s an honor. Your aunt has told me a lot about you.”

Rina laughed. So did Anna, even though she thought he was more goofy than funny. As crazy people went, he seemed pretty ordinary to Anna. His pale skin and hair certainly stood out among her relatives, but she couldn’t see anything she would consider crazy. She thought he looked a little like what people thought of as hippies, but older, with his salt and pepper hair pulled back into a ponytail. She noticed that the fabric of her aunt’s head band matched the fabric of the man’s shirt. Their purses were different though.  Crazy? No. But definitely kind of weird, which was good because she liked weird.

“Anna, this is Orion. Orion, Anna,” Titi Rina said.

“What did my aunt say about me?”

“Well for one, she said you liked dolls,” Orion answered.

“That’s true,” Anna said making a face. “But a lot of kids do.”

“She also said you were very imaginative and liked learning about different countries. So when I saw this little guy,” Orion said, reaching into his bag and pulling out a small doll, “I figured you’d give him a good home. He’s pretty special.”

“We got him especially for you,” Titi Rina added.

Anna took hold of the doll and looked him over. His shirt and pants also matched the print Orion and Titi Rina were wearing, and a smile was stitched onto the doll’s warm brown face.  Anna ran her finger over the yarn making up the doll’s hair, studying it for a moment before breaking into a large grin.

“Cool!” said Anna. “Thanks Mr. Orion! Gracias Titi Rina!”

“Just Orion, Anna. Now, I’ve also heard that there were going to be empanadas at this party. Mind showing me where?”

Anna led Orion and Titi Rina to the platter holding the savory, meat-filled pockets of dough and helped herself to one as well. After she finished hers, she excused herself to go play hide and seek with her cousins.

Anna giggled as she ran towards the park across the street where her cousins were playing. Hide and seek was as good an excuse as any to take the time to examine the doll Mr. Orion gave her more carefully. She was fairly sure she knew what was so special about it, but a crowded back yard was no place to find out. She didn’t even think inside her house was a great idea, with so many people wandering in and out. That was too bad, because she would have liked to have Yuuki meet whatever was in the doll as well. She sometimes wondered if the kitsune had any other fae friends.

As she stepped up on the sidewalk leading into the park, a fox came up from behind her, snatching the doll and heading towards the more heavily wooded running trail. Anna stopped herself from yelling; she didn’t want any of the grownups nosing in on this. But she didn’t want to be left out either. She ran after Yuuki, but the fox quickly pulled ahead and out of sight. Anna kept running. It might take her a while, but she had a good idea where Yuuki was going.

Ajani figured there might be some sort of confrontation; this was just a little sooner than he expected. The red fox tightly gripping the doll that Ajani had hid in didn’t have the feel of an ordinary fox. He waited until they were well into the path; no use in scaring the little girl or any other humans that might be nearby. Then he slid out of the doll as easily as slipping off a coat, grew to human height and leveled his favorite sword, an ida, at the fox

The fox snarled, took a step back and went through its own transformation. Red fur became long red hair, coming from a face hidden behind a snarling, bestial mask. The figure grew, also to human height, wearing a deep purple kimono tied by a yellow sash. The opposing fae had its weapon, a lethal looking katana, at the ready as well.

“I will give you one chance,” the kimono-clad fae said in a musical voice. “Leave now and do not return or I will cut you to ribbons.”

“Nope. I made a promise to make sure that little girl isn’t being bothered by anything, well, anything like you.”

“She is not being bothered,” the mysterious fae replied. “You can return to where you came from now.”

“Nothing personal, but that’s just not going to cut it. If I knew what kind of fae you are, I’d have a better idea if you could be counted on to be helpful or even just truthful. Nah, you’ll need to come with me. I have a buddy who can give me a better idea of your motives. If you haven’t harmed or don’t plan to harm the girl, there’s nothing to fear.”

The painted on eyes of the mask the other fae wore narrowed. “Leave with you? That would be convenient for any partner you had waiting for me to leave that home defenseless so they can enter.”

“Suspicious much? I’ll give you my word there’s no other fae but me interested in what’s going on in there,” Ajani said.

“As you do not know what I am, I do not know what you are. You say you are kami, or fae rather, but you dress in the form of a young human male of this era. You say you have no other fae accomplices, so if you are telling the truth, which I am far from certain about, then there is still the matter of the friend you wish me to see, obviously human and probably a mage. Mage or not, I have no way of discerning the human’s intentions and again, I am not leaving this home open to attack, especially if the human is skilled in magical arts. Whomever it is can come to me.”

“Sorry. I’m not leaving you alone and giving you a chance to get up to no good while I’m gone.”

The fae made a motion with their hand. Immediately, the world around Ajani shifted and blended. Disoriented, he looked around. The landscape around him had become bizarre.  Trees grew sideways from rocks, the small pond that had been behind him floated above Ajani and patches of grass and ground splattered in among sky. The spot he had been standing on had vanished into air and instinctively Ajani scrambled onto what looked like the nearest piece of earth he could stand on.

“Have it your way.” The fox fae’s voice floated around Ajani like dandelion fluff caught in a breeze. “Neither of us will leave. But you will answer my questions to my satisfaction or I shall see if I am still as adept with my sword as I was two hundred years ago.”

Ajani closed his eyes and the feeling of vertigo left him. He shifted his foot, feeling firm ground beneath him. A glamour, and a very powerful one at that; glamours didn’t normally affect other fae so strongly. Ajani still had the rest of his senses left, which as a fae of the hunt were very keen indeed. Though Ajani hadn’t done more than what he considered “gentleman’s hunting” with Orion in the last few decades, he was still a hunter down to his core.

And foxes? Foxes were prey.

Ajani swung out with his ida and felt the jolt of steel connecting with steel. He stepped forward, eyes closed the whole time using every instinct he had to parry the fox’s blows and strike a few of his own.  

He barely noticed the first meeting of the katana and skin. Ajani definitely felt the second though. By the fifth cut, he was fuming. It didn’t matter what part of the world they came from—a fox is always going to fight dirty, he thought. A fetid smell rose up around Ajani, not only interfering with his ability to find the fox but making him fight down nausea as well.

Before the sixth cut had a chance to hit home, a scream interrupted the fight. Ajani finally felt his ida strike a solid blow as it happened. The fox fae cried out “Anna-chan!” in a panic. All at once the rotting smell evaporated.

Ajani stumbled towards the sound of the scream. The glamour that fox put out was strong enough to severely effect a fae; any human caught in it could go permanently mad if exposed to it for too long. 

“Sit tight Anna!” he yelled, not knowing if it would do any good.

“Yuuki-kun,” he heard Anna whimper. And then a new scent filled the air.

Baking cookies… snickerdoodles? Ajani thought. Mingled with the smell of cookies were the flowers.

Ajani tentatively opened his eyes. At first, he thought the world had returned to normal, but patches of purple flowers were in bloom where there hadn’t been any before. The light in the clearing also changed, making everything seem softer. Ajani took a look at his sore body. Most of his wounds were superficial, though the one on his leg would require a bit of care.

He got a bit of grim satisfaction at seeing the fox fae. Ajani had managed to slash it deeply on the left arm. But that didn’t stop the fox fae from cradling the girl with the right.

“Anna-chan, are you alright?”

“Yuuki-kun, I had a nightmare while I was awake. The world was melting and rotting away…”

“Pffft. No nightmares here. Don’t you know I eat nightmares until there’s nothing left of them but my farts?”

The girl giggled. “You’re a kitsune not a baku!”

Ajani breathed a sigh of relief. At the sound, the fox fae remembered Ajani was still there and glared. Ajani put his ida down. The fox fae nodded after a moment and turned back to Anna.

 “Is she going to be OK?” Ajani asked.

“Who’s that?” Anna asked, opening her eyes. In the second before she did the fox waved weakly with its free hand and both of their wounds faded from sight. Ajani could still feel his though and was pretty sure the same applied to the fox but was glad the kid didn’t have to open her eyes to anything more horrible than patches of lavender in a running path that looked like it belonged in a kid’s cartoon.

“Oh hey,” she said smiling. “I was wondering when you were coming out of the doll.”

“You knew?” both Ajani and the fox fae asked.

“Of course. I can see people like you and Yuuki-kun pretty easily. Do you live in the city? It’s usually city fae that dress normal. Did my aunt meet you in the city?”

“Your aunt?” Yuuki asked. “Natalia?”

“No silly! Titi Rina!” Anna laughed. “She’s the only one in the family that gets me,” she said looking at Ajani. “I always wondered if she could see fae too, but I was too scared to ask. People either think you're a baby or you’re crazy if you say you can see fae. Can she see too Ajani?”

“Not quite,” Ajani answered. “She can feel if fae are around, but not much more than that. She’s working on it though. That’s why I’m here,” Ajani shot a look at Yuuki. “She asked Orion and I to help figure out what sort of fae was hanging around her niece.”

“It’s just Yuuki-kun.”

“Oh yeah, just a cross between Morgan LeFay and O-ren from Kill Bill, yeah, nothing major.”

The fox fae started laughing.

“Should I have said Darth Vader?” Ajani asked.

Just then they heard the murmur of voices a distance away but coming closer. Titi Rina’s voice was the clearest “The scream came from over there.” Quickly Yuuki became a plush fox toy and Ajani got back into the doll. At least it was a good place to rest, Ajani thought. He was going to need it.

“Anna querida,” Titi Rina said as she saw her niece. Anna’s parents’ faces went from concern to relief as they saw their daughter sitting there safe and sound, holding her toys. “We heard you yelling and were scared. What happened?”

“I – I thought I saw a bear.”

“Dios mio!” Anna’s mother exclaimed. “Those things are getting out of hand. I read about one that was found near the supermarket last week. Thank god you weren’t attacked!”

As the chattering adults brought the young girl back to the house, Ajani thought he’d feel very sorry for any bear dumb enough to try to go after this particular kid. Real damn sorry. 

Song Choice: Headstrong by Trapt

Blooming Howls 2014

This is my posting for the fabulous Magaly Guerrero's blog party, Witches in Fiction: Crafting Blooming Howls

Tradition Lies Deeply

“I am telling you Fernando, esa chica es rara.”

“Fernando,” Angela said, “do you want to tell your sister goodbye this time or shall I do it?”

Ana could see the weary look in her father’s face from the crack of her bedroom door. “Natalia, we all know how you feel. Now please go and let us deal with our daughter.”

Ana couldn’t quite hear what her aunt mumbled as she went out the door, but her mother’s disgusted “idiota supersticiosa” and the slam of the door carried quite clearly. She scampered back to her bed, clutching her stuffed fox tightly, knowing her parents would be in to see her soon.

They didn’t appear to be much more pleased with her than they were with her aunt.

“I’m sorry I didn’t behave at dinner,” Ana said quietly.

“Ana, you are a big girl now,” her mother said. “You must know better than all this locura about fairy tales and talking foxes – or at least be old enough to know to hide your baby games!”

“You were rude to your tía, mí hija. Whatever possessed you to say such things?”

Ana looked down at her blanket and said nothing. She didn’t think her parents would appreciate “because she’s mean” as an answer.

When it was clear no answer was forthcoming her father sighed. “You know, if I were rude to an adult like that when I was young, my parents would have brought out un cinturón and I wouldn’t sit right for days.”

“Or anything hard, wooden, and nearby” her mother said with a nod.

“I won’t do it again. I promise.”

“I’d tell you have to stay in your room the next week, but you are already in here alone all the time as it is. Why don’t you go out and play more with the other kids?” her mother shouted.

“Angela, por favor,” Fernando said, laying a hand on his exasperated wife’s arm. “No postre, for a week. And no more fairy tales. Just school reading or something we pick.”

They walked out of the room, her father only stopping to remind Ana to say her prayers before he turned out the light. Ana could hear that they were still talking. Creeping quietly to the door she opened it a fraction to listen.

“You don’t believe your sister’s tontería about demonios, do you Fernando?”

“Of course not. But you said it yourself. Ana needs to get over thinking she’s in a fairy tale or people will think she’s crazy.”

Ana closed the door and went back to her bed. All the talk of demons made the shadows in the room seem extra ominous. She lay under her blanket, saying every prayer she learned in Catholic school. But it was no use. Ana was sure demons were lying in wait for the bad child who told her aunt that a fox would pluck out her eyes for snooping in her room.

“Yuuki” she whispered.

“I am here Ana-chan.” A three tailed fox leapt onto her bed and curled up beside her.

“There aren’t any demons in here, are there Yuuki?”

“Nothing besides me.”

“You aren’t a demon. You’re nice,” Ana said as she sat up. “I’ll bet you’ve never got in trouble for saying something you shouldn’t have.”

The fox shook its head, “Wrong on all three. I’ve been called a demon many times. I’m most assuredly not nice. And yes, I’ve acted and spoken in haste only to repent later.”

Ana’s skeptical look amused Yuuki. “Alright small one, I suppose I shall have to prove it. Your father said you could not read any fairy tales, but he did not say you could not listen to one. You can judge for yourself afterwards, though the very fact I am telling you a story despite the fact we both know your parents would not approve shows I am not nice. Nice creatures do not help young ones disobey.”

“I had been trapped for many generations at this point, bound to serving one family to its 100^th generation. My homeland had begun to change since the arrival of Admiral Perry, but my family weathered the changes well, with my help of course. The age of the samurai had gone, but wealth and status were always in style, and my family kept theirs.

The one I served at that time was a lovely, but very spoiled, woman. Her husband had met with an unfortunate hunting accident soon after she bore him a son, but she was not lonely. She often attended social gatherings, reveling in the attention she received as a beautiful, tragic figure. Eventually, the attention began to fade, as other topics became more interesting to the circles she traveled in.

She did not care for calling upon my aid too often, but after my assistance with her husband's final hunting expedition, she became less shy about such things. So one evening she called me, demanding I do more to keep her the center of attention.

‘My lady,’ I said, ‘I already use my powers as a kitsune to enhance your beauty so that you are admired by all men and envied by every woman. You know how these aristocratic groups are. Only the most recent gossip of the moment is of interest.’

Her eyes lit up at my last sentence. ‘Yes, it is so,” she replied. ‘It is also so that the one who knows the best and juiciest gossip never wants for attention.  Kitsune, could you sneak into the houses of some people and bring me back whatever news you found interesting?’

Of course I could. It was possibly the easiest thing I had ever been asked to do by a member of that family. So for a week, I crept in and out of the finest and most noble households of that district, reporting every salacious deed I saw. She clapped her hands with delight at all I told her and at the next gatherings she attended, my lady sprinkled the stories onto very attentive ears.

Inevitably, the remarkable accuracy of her tales was soon noted. In my travels I observed that several of the individuals I had reported back on were attempting to send spies of their own into my lady’s household, to see how she came by her knowledge. I advised her it would be wisest to discontinue our activities for a time, at least to allow me to deal with the other spies, but she was reluctant to give up her popularity.

‘My Lady, surely you must see they will not be satisfied until they have some sort of explanation. They will not rest until they know what skilled spies you have or magic you possess to know so much.’

Again, my words provided a spark to her mind. Magic, yes, but not the magic of a lowly servant - magic of her own was the answer. She started putting it about that since the death of her husband she had become more sensitive to spirits and could hear all the secrets they uttered. When pressed for evidence of this power she started giving spiritual sessions as a diversion at parties. Of course, I needed to be close by to feed her information. She decided I should be beside her during all these events, in the guise of a simple lady's maid, giving her information through secret signals. I have no great skill in fortune telling, but with all the time I had spent prowling through the various households it was easy enough to predict the outcomes of many of the questions she was asked.

The charade amused me on so many levels. The majority of the people she was impressing normally would trip all over themselves to prove how modern they were, how they had left silly, old beliefs behind. But oh, how those sons and daughters of Old Japan loved tastes of the old tales, provided they weren't too frightening or threatening to their image as modern, enlightened people.

I don't believe anyone really thought she was a medium. There were too many attempts to find out what lay behind her knowledge to presume they fully accepted her story. From my creeping about, I found that the general consensus still was, rightfully, she had some sort of secret access through a clever spy or group of spies. But they loved playing along with the story. 

Her fame and popularity grew once more, but it was not long before she was dissatisfied again. Discontent came in the form of a simple girl, the daughter of farmers, who was making a name for herself in some of the villages as a skilled medium. Certainly, the girl was of little real threat to her popularity, but all it took was a tart remark or two implying in this modern era that a peasant was the equal of an elite woman for my lady to conspire to have the girl thrown in jail.

I was not part of that directly as I was quite busy with spy work. But because of information I gave her, my lady held a certain amount of sway over the local magistrate and the girl was brought in. My lady wanted to see her punished for her insolence, so made sure she was available at the time of the girl’s arrest. I stood beside my lady, as was my place as her handmaiden, and watched as they flogged the girl and then threw her in a cell.  

Two things came to mind as I watched. First, was that although my oath bound me to serve the family, it did not say I could not serve others as well. The second was that although my oath was to protect my charge from physical harm, nothing was ever said about gossip.

I arranged to spend time at the jail between spying missions, disguising my voice to resemble that of one of the guards. I brought her small treats of good food, to gain her trust and get her to talk. She indeed was a seer of remarkable talent. She only needed to touch another person’s hand and she could see who they were and where their path was leading them.

I convinced my lady she should be there the day of the girl’s release to make sure she had been properly humbled by her experience. Gleefully, my lady agreed, and together we went. As the girl was led out of her cell, I put on my haughtiest voice and said “Wretch, you are in the presence of your betters. Show the proper respect!” And I made sure to grab the exposed skin of her wrist as I pulled her forward.

Of course she knew the second she felt my touch. She pushed me away in horror, as any sensible person might, causing me to lose my balance and fall, revealing my fox tails under my disguise. 

“Kitsune!” she screamed.

All the villagers who had assembled in curiosity at my lady’s visit now were yelling in horror. Perhaps I have a perverse sense of humor, but even during what followed I could not help being amused by how quickly these modern, rational people became no different from the people who lived hundreds of years ago when they faced something out of the ordinary.

“Demon!”

“Evil deceptive spirit!”

“The lady is kitsune possessed!”

“Get out before you curse us all to suffer at the hand of the kitsune!”

I managed to get us both out before any of the stones that were thrown could hit us, as was my duty. My lady stayed shut up in her room in shock for several days. Her other servants left quickly once word had spread that their mistress consorted with evil creatures, and of course there were no more invitations to fine parties after that. Happy with my work, I thought all I needed to do was wait for my lady to waste away in grief over not being the most admired woman in the district and my service would pass into the hands of her insipid son.

But my lady proved hardier than I thought. In a month’s time, this time disguised as a manservant of her son’s, I was boarding a large ship set to sail far away from my homeland, never to return. I heard my brothers and sisters wail for me as the boat departed, but what could they do? The terms of my service were clear: serve for one hundred generations. So where my lady went, I was compelled to go as well. It was well that my lady never addressed me again as long as she lived because I was filled with nothing but bitterness in this strange new land, not understanding a word that was said with no one I could call friend.

Oh yes, I regretted my actions. And how nice can I be if I spent years regretting a helping a luckless girl? The villagers knew me for what I was, a demon,” Yuuki concluded.

Ana looked back at the three tailed fox. “A really evil demon wouldn’t have felt sorry for her in the first place.”

Yuuki gave a barking laugh. “So you’re determined to see me as nice?”

“No,” Ana said. “You like sneaking around and playing tricks. You aren’t nice. Neither am I. Because I am not sorry you had to leave Japan, otherwise I’d never know you. And I am not sorry I said what did to my aunt. She’s awful and someone needs to tell her so. I just could have been smarter about it. That lady you worked for was awful and someone needed to show it. Maybe it wasn’t the nice way to do it - and I still think people should try nice first - but sometimes I think not nice is needed to get the job done.”

“You are an incorrigible child.” Yuuki said. “Do you need me to stay until you are asleep?”

“No. I feel better now. Especially because I think you are trying to go so you can play a trick on someone.”

“I must be getting more obvious as I age.”

“Nope. I know, because it’s what I would do if I were you. Just remember to tell me what my aunt’s face looks like when you scare her.”

“Of course.”

Song Choice: Goodnight Demon Slayer by Voltaire. If Yuuki ever sang a lullaby, it'd be this one

Etiquette for Attending Weddings

This post is for the Five Sentence Fiction blog project. The theme is Rain.

“In my country, when there would be a day like today, where you had sun and rain at the same time, it was said to mark the occasion of a kitsune’s wedding,” Yuuki told Anna.

“It must have been beautiful with all the kitsune dressed in their best robes and the rain sparkling in the sunlight and – oh – there must always have been rainbows at every one!” Anna said.

“Yes it was a grand sight only open to a select few; not that there weren’t those who tried to go where they were not invited.”

“What happened to people who tried to sneak a peek?”

Yuuki pulled out a small, worn pouch of indeterminate color and dubious scent, contemplated it a moment before he tucked it away again and replied, “They learned sneaking into a wedding won't do you any good if you cannot see the bride and groom.”

A Masked Soul's Wish

This is the second of my postings for Magaly Guererro's All Hallows Grim 2013. 

 For all my little kits, both the ones I bore and the ones I didn't

And for Mike, who loved tails and tricks

"...He is a prankster, that one, cousin to Old Man Coyote. 

He wears a hundred faces and knows a thousand tricks"

Sarah knew a measure of relief. "So I shouldn't take him too seriously?"

"That is more difficult to say. He is like a still pool in that he reflects your heart."

- from Moonheart, by Charles deLint 

A Masked Soul's Wish

“Tell me a story!” Anna asked. “Tell me a fairy tale!”

Yuuki considered Anna for a moment.  The baby roundness of her face was steadily giving way to the features of a young woman.

“Aren’t you a bit old for bedtime stories?

“No,” Anna said. “Besides, I asked for a fairy tale. Everyone knows that real fairy tales are too dark for little kids anyway.”

Yuuki laughed. “True. Very well then…

Once, a very long time ago in a land far away, there was a proud samurai, a veteran of several battles and honored by all his peers for his nobility and valor.

If it were noted that he had survived some skirmishes while some of his closest allies fell, people would speak of his cleverness and cool head for battle. If some observed that he was very fortunate that a nice portion of some of the wealth of his fallen allies found its way into his hands, people would speak of how he also took in the families of some of his comrades, even going so far as to marry one of the young widows to ensure she would be looked after. If there were whispers of dark circles under his new wife’s eyes or bruises on her arm, well those would be countered with declarations of how fortunate she was to be the wife of such a distinguished man and that the costly silks he kept her clothed in covered most of the unsightly marks. And if busybodies, who had nothing better to do with their time, spoke of how odd it was that he never seemed to keep the same servants for very long and that a good many of them seemed to have vanished from the earth once they left his employ, they were told that it may be better for their health if they found other things to occupy their time.

Well, a reputation like the samurai had does attract some base attention, and eventually it attracted the notice of the most infamous of yokai, kitsune. Now I have seen the word yokai translated in your language as demon, but personally I am not sure that is entirely accurate. I think a better description might be found in the old storybooks you love so much Anna. Yokai are fairly close to the idea of fairy creatures. Not the insipidly sweet sort that flit about, only speaking in tinkling voices, but the sort that creep about the darkest corners of the woods with voices filled with either honey or brambles depending on their whim.

In any case, a skulk of kits began to frequent the samurai’s estate, first drawn to it by the curious piles of bones and meat sometimes tossed just beyond its borders. Later, it became a game for them to go into the estate itself and boldly steal some of the samurai’s belongings. The samurai eventually noticed and began to observe the creatures, finding out where their den lay. One day, he hid behind a nearby cluster of rocks. When the kits ran off to find some mischief, he left his hiding place and laid out some traps for the little beasts. He had just finished setting up the last one when his attention was caught by a faint shining inside the den. Using a nearby fallen branch he managed to nudge and roll a pretty jewel to where he could just reach it. The samurai admired it for several moments when suddenly he heard a loud noise behind him. A very small kit had stumbled into one of his snares. Pleased that he was successful so soon, the samurai started preparing a fire to burn the creature in.

Terrified, the kit called out “Oniisan!” and at once a slightly older kitsune appeared, caught partway between human and its true fox form, with its mask obscuring its features. The samurai smiled even more broadly, now quite pleased with his good fortune, and addressed the kitsune.

“It seems I have two things that are of great interest to you,” he said holding up the glowing jewel with one hand and indicating the kit with the other.

“Please,” the kitsune said, “let my little brother go.”

“Oh, you ask for that before your hoshi no tama? Your little brother’s life over the gem holding your soul?  That is quite noble for a yokai! It is always heartwarming to see those who value family above themselves. I am a reasonable man; I will give you both back in exchange for 3 promises. One promise for your brother, one promise for your hoshi no tama and one for all the items your brothers and sisters have stolen from me. Is that a deal?

The kitsune nodded.

The samurai’s smile grew as large as an oni’s. “Firstly, I ask for you to follow my orders and be my protector. A man does not attain the level of prestige that I have without leaving a few people unhappy. I want you to protect me from assassination attempts or other such harm.”

“I will serve you and protect you so no enemy’s blade or fist harms you.”

“Second, I want you to always tell me the truth.”

“I will not lie to you.”

“Thirdly, you will serve not only me, but my family, for a hundred generations.”

The kitsune hesitated a moment but when the samurai moved to throw the little kit into the fire, the kitsune agreed to all the terms.

“Wonderful!” the samurai exclaimed. “The timing for this could not be more auspicious. My daimyo will be visiting in a few weeks and I need to have everything in readiness to meet him. I want you to prepare a feast, something magnificent to raise me in my daimyo’s esteem.”

The kitsune look startled. “Sir, I am honored by your estimation of my abilities, but I cannot conjure all of a feast from nothing. The best I can do is create an illusion of a feast which will leave your daimyo and his company famished.”

“Then what good are you?” the samurai fumed.

“Please sir, I can still be of help. I have some familiarity with your daimyo’s tastes. Perhaps I can see what the abilities of your servants are so I can suggest how to improve upon them where necessary.”

The samurai grumbled, but agreed this was a good idea.

First the kitsune sampled the meals prepared by the samurai’s cooks.

“Not bad,” the kitsune said, sipping on a delicate broth.

“But is it good enough for my daimyo?” the samurai asked.

“Well, it will do…”

“That isn’t good enough. I want the best!”

“If it is the best you want,” the kitsune said, “I do know of an exceedingly talented cook whose meals will be sure to please your daimyo greatly.”

“Where can I find this cook?”

“Ah sir, that is the advantage of having a kitsune as a servant. You do not need to go looking for this cook, I can use my skills to enchant him and bring him here to you this very evening!”

“Wonderful!” The samurai declared.

“Very well sir. Now that we have the food taken care of, what of the entertainment? Surely a feast of this caliber needs some talented musicians to add another level of refinement.”

“Why yes, of course! We can hire some musicians from the neighboring village.”

“Well,” the kitsune said hesitantly. “Are you sure they are the proper caliber of musicians to perform for your daimyo’s retinue?”

The samurai was not sure. “Should I have them play for you to see if they will be suitable?”

“There’s no need for that,” the kitsune replied. “I also know of a group of musicians complete with a singer whose skills will impress your daimyo. I can bring them here in much the same way as I can bring the cook if you wish.”

“That is an excellent idea!”

That night the kitsune brought the samurai all the people he had promised. The samurai sampled the cook’s food and listened to the musicians’ and singer’s performance to make sure he was satisfied. As the kitsune had said, all of them were exceptional. Still the samurai pushed them hard to practice their skills until the appointed day, to make sure that their best efforts would be given. He dealt with these new additions in much the same manner as he had always run his household and if they were a few bruises richer, at least their skill sets had improved during the time spent under the samurai’s supervision.

The daimyo and his retinue arrived at the appointed day, with the samurai’s household more lavishly decorated than anyone had ever seen before, thanks to the kitsune’s skill with illusion. The daimyo however was distracted, and in a somewhat sour mood, responding only as much as courtesy demanded and hardly commenting on the loveliness of the samurai’s estate at all. The samurai was not too concerned by it, certain that the feast he had planned would raise not only his daimyo’s spirits, but his own rank in the daimyo’s eyes.

 At the feast that evening, the samurai watched his lord to see if the meal agreed with him. From the very first bite the daimyo smiled. The daimyo’s retinue noticed the change in their lord and began praising the samurai for the exquisite meal.

One took a moment to whisper to him, “This is wonderful! I have not seen him happy since his favorite servants disappeared.”

The complimentary chatter in hall ceased abruptly when the musicians filed in. The daimyo’s eyes fell on the lovely young singer.

“What is the meaning of this?” he roared.

One of the daimyo’s men shouted, “What is our Lord’s favorite concubine doing here?”

A terrible commotion followed right after, wherein tables were upset, the singer fainted, the cook was dragged out of the kitchen and the samurai was seized by the daimyo’s retainers and ordered to commit seppuku at dawn the next day for the insult of kidnapping and mistreating the daimyo’s favorite servants.

The kitsune visited the samurai that night.

“You!” The samurai shouted. “You lied to me. You said you would protect me!”

“I never lied about anything. I knew all those servants would be pleasing to the daimyo precisely because they were his favorites. Also I have kept my word about no outside harm coming to you. No one has actually struck you. You are merely being held until you commit seppuku tomorrow and even that is harm you will be inflicting upon yourself. No enemy is responsible. In fact all of this has come to pass because of your own greed and pride. How am I to protect you from yourself?

But I am not without sympathy. Even now I can help you. If you wish me to unlock this cell and let you escape I can.”

As the samurai rose to head towards the door, the kitsune spoke again. “However, your daimyo still is staying at your estate and has your entire household at his disposal. I wonder - what will he do if he finds you gone? Will he ask another member of your household, your son for instance, to take your place in committing seppuku to restore your family’s honor?”

The samurai glared at the kitsune, knowing full well that would be the daimyo’s course of action if he escaped. “That is no choice then!” He sat down again.

The kitsune turned, leaving the holding cell and said, “It is always heartwarming to see those who value family above themselves.”

At dawn, the kitsune’s whole family turned out to witness the samurai’s seppuku ritual. The kitsune had one last promise to keep before passing over to serve the samurai’s son. When the kaishakunin, the second in the seppuku ritual, went to cut the samurai’s head, he found that he could not, no matter how hard he tried, so the samurai died slowly of the cut he made himself in his own belly.”

Anna shuddered delightedly at the conclusion of the story. “And what of the samurai’s son? What was he like?”

Yuuki replied, “He was not the man his father was, but he could not be called pleasant to interact with either.”

“What of the third generation? The fourth? The fifth?”

“Much the same. Arrogant, rude, but not quite reaching the lofty standards set by their ancestor.”

“And the hundredth generation?” Anna asked, her eyes wide.

Yuuki smiled tucking the sheets around the girl, “Ah that one! She is as noisy as any kit, chattering when she should be sleeping. She is a hard worker and has a far kinder heart than her ancestors. But her guardian will nip her toes if she doesn’t go to sleep soon!”

Anna yawned. “Liar,” she said. “And it’s my choice to stay up late listening to stories. You can’t save me from myself.”

Yuuki laughed, gave Anna a quick kiss on her forehead and with a flick of red tail, slipped quietly out the window.

Song Choice: Tricksters and Fools by Lynx