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To Dream of Darkness

A story by DoggyStyle57

Chapter 44, Written March 2012

===

Chapter 44 - Murakami Kira's life begins

Two days after they arrived in Edo, Saburo finally managed to get a chance to speak with Kira when no one else could hear them. He had been assigned to guard outside her doorway, and the nearest guard was at the far end of the passageway - far enough that either Saburo or the other guard would have to raise his voice to be heard by the other. The distant guard was looking outward, at a second passageway that led to the street.

"Kira-sama?" he said quietly. "Are... you there? Are you alone, my Lady? It is I, Saburo, who guards you now."

Kira answered from the other side of the paper and wood door, "My maid Keiko attends me, but no one else. Saburo? Why have you not left yet?"

"They will not let me go! They have reassigned me to Murakami Jiro's household guard, and I have duties assigned to me every day, at least between now and the wedding!" Saburo said in an agitated whisper. "What am I to do? You know that I must go, and why."

"Well, it seems simple enough. You must travel to Yokohama, and contact those two Samurai who protected us," Kira replied quietly. "Let them know that you cannot depart until five days hence, at least."

"Impossible! I would have to steal a horse to get there and back in less than a day, and still I could not return swiftly enough not to be missed," Saburo said forlornly. "I have little more than two hours at any time when my whereabouts could remain unknown. If I am away for any longer than that, my absence will be missed. I have failed. If I leave now, they will track me down and kill me for deserting my post. If I do not leave, then... those who wait will surely be caught. I should kill myself now, and end my dishonor!"

"Messy, and doesn't accomplish a thing," whispered a voice from beside Saburo. A voice that sounded exactly like his own!

Saburo looked fearfully to his left. And it was like looking at his reflection in a polished sword blade. "But... how?" he stammered.

"You saw Kuro become Keiko. Why is it hard to imagine that Keiko can just as easily become Saburo? Stop imitating a koi fish out of water, and step into Kira-sama's room, before the guard down the hall notices there are two of you standing here," the false Saburo said to the real Saburo.

The shoji screen door slid silently open, and Kira beckoned for Saburo to enter.

Saburo stepped into the room, and Kira closed the door again at once.

"The one you knew as 'Kuro' can take your place as easily as she can take Keiko-chan's place. But he must know what you know. Relax, and open your mind to me," Kira said, as her eyes glowed a sickly acid green.

Saburo felt almost as if he was falling into a deep green pool of water. He surrendered his will to the Kitsune, and saw the events of the past several days flashing before his eyes. Who he had met here, what they looked like, what they said to him - he saw all of it in a heartbeat. Details he had already thought forgotten, such as the face of a messenger that he had seen only briefly. He suddenly opened his eyes, disoriented, and realized he had somehow fallen asleep.

"Shush. The one you knew as Kuro will now take your place here. I have given them your recent memories. Could you depart now, if you had a way to do so? Or are there things you must get before you go?" Kira asked.

"I have my swords, my money, and my life. I can replace the few things I would leave behind, if such a miraculous escape was possible, oh Kitsune. But will not your maid also be missed?" Saburo asked.

"Not as swiftly as you would be," Kira replied. "And that will be our problem, not yours. My magic can send you back to Yokohama. But you will be on your own after that. Kira and Saburo will be seen here for as long as is necessary. Possibly we will arrange for 'Saburo' to perish in an unfortunate accident. We will do what we can to give you time to seek a new life, far from Edo. Are you ready?"

"To say no would be to dishonor the great gift that you offer me, Kitsune. For the one I love, I will risk anything. What must I do?" Saburo asked.

"Do not cry out. I will work Kitsune magic now, which may be very strange to you. Hold your tongue, and when I tell you I am ready, you will know what to do." Kira said. For dramatic effect and to impress the young samurai, she temporarily became a three tailed while vixen again. Her tails waved sinuously behind her, as she cast the spell to open a portal to the place beside the inn where they had parted from the disguised Kira and Keiko.

When the portal stood open before them, she said, "This magic door will take you to Yokohama. Step through it, and there is no turning back. Farewell, Saburo-san, and good luck to you, and to Kira-sama and Keiko-chan."

"Thank you, oh Kitsune. I cannot thank you enough. Wherever we go, Inari will receive our prayers and thanks," Saburo said. He stepped through the portal, and it vanished at once, leaving no trace of him.

"Will they make it?" the new Saburo asked from the far side of the door. "And how will you explain Keiko being missing?"

"I do not know. But we have given them a good chance at a new life," Kira said, as she resumed her red single-tailed vixen appearance. Then she cast an illusion of a sleeping Keiko-chan on the floor beside her. "I can handle Keiko being absent when you must play Saburo, I think. I have a small oil lamp here, which I will keep burning. You can use it to speak to me, if you are too far from my mind to reach you," Kira said.

She heard Asha reply in her mind, 'Mistress, that lamp will not be needed. So long as I am bound to you, we are never too far apart for me to hear your thoughts, or for you to hear mine. But I would rather play the part of Keiko, and be female, than the part of Saburo.'

===

Most of the remainder of the week was spent preparing for the wedding, and instructing the bride in how she was to be dressed, and what she was to do and say. There were elaborate outfits to be worn - clothes that would be worn by Keiko only for this one day. There was one kimono and an elaborate wig and veil that was specifically for the wedding procession from the bride's family's temporary home to the home of the groom. There was a completely different and more elaborate outfit for the formal procession from Murakami Jiro's home to the Shinto Temple, on the North side of Edo. A third change of the bride's clothes took place after the wedding, for a procession from the temple to the court of the Shogun himself, to formally declare their marriage to the Shogun, and receive his approval. This, she was assured, was merely a formality, since both the bride's family and the groom's were of sufficiently high rank that the wedding would not have been permitted in the first place without approval of the Shogun. Only after all of that had taken place would she be allowed to wear a final outfit, and to dress as befits a married woman, and go to her husband's home, and to his bed, to consummate the marriage.

She also learned more about her suitor, and his family. Murakami Jiro was the second son of a well-established Samurai family. His father was a high ranking officer in the diamyo's armies, and a hatamoto, meaning he had personal access to the diamyo at all hours, even while armed. These were times of peace, however, and there were other pursuits than military service that occupied many samurai's time in service to their lord. Murakami Jiro had a hereditary job as a fireman in Edo, a very critical and highly valued profession that was very honorable for a samurai, as in such a densely populated area fire was a great fear, and the source of much loss and suffering. Two year ago, Murakami Jiro had personally saved the life of the diamyo's firstborn son and the diamyo's wife, rushing into a burning tower and carrying them to safety. In reward for that selfless act of bravery, Murakami Jiro had also been granted the rank of hatamoto.

But the life of a fireman in Edo also gave Murakami Jiro a great deal of leisure time. While there were no fires to fight, he could spend most of his days however he pleased, so long as he remained available if the alarms were sounded. He was a poet of reasonable skill, his calligraphy was beautiful, and he enjoyed painting mountain scenes. He went often to both of the temples of Inari in Edo, and made generous donations there.

But Kira's mother warned her that her future husband was also well known for being a patron of certain Geisha performers from the Yoshiwara pleasure quarter, who would come to his home and play music for his guests, and that he would also often visit them at the tea house where they lived and worked. There was one Geisha in particular that he seemed to favor, and Kira's mother said that Kira should act quickly to exert her authority once she was married, and not allow her husband to do unseemly things with a lowly Geisha girl.

Keiko's absences were explained as being sent on errands for her Mistress, or with the maid being asleep in her Mistress' room. Kira was glad that Asha needed no sleep, and could move from place to place through open flames. Together, Kira and Asha maintained the illusion that both Keiko and Saburo were still in the area, performing their expected duties. On the wedding day, Keiko was complaining of a stomach ache, and remained in the home of Kira's parents, unable to attend the ceremony, while Saburo was on duty guarding the empty home.

===

On the evening of the wedding, a grand procession was held, in which Kira, her parents, and their guards walked through the streets to Murakami Jiro's home, with servants carrying many of the beautiful wedding gifts. The people of the district lined the streets to watch the procession, and to wish the bride luck. Kira wore a lovely red kimono, embroidered in gold, and of a style suitable to an unmarried young girl.

In Murakami Jiro's home, Kira was dressed for the wedding, in an elaborate multi-layered all-white kimono, with a wig that was covered by a white hood, and veil. Then the second procession was held, with the addition of Murakami Jiro, his parents, and their retainers, to the larger Shinto Temple, on the North side of Edo. This temple was at the same site as a Buddhist temple, and the two temples had coexisted there for over a century. It was considered a particularly auspicious place to be married. The Shinto priest was a white furred fox, and although he showed only a single tail, he looked at Kira, smiled, and for a moment she saw many tails behind him - a sure sign that this priest was a Kitsune himself, and an ancient one, at that! He said nothing out of the ordinary, however, as the wedding ceremony was performed, and Jiro and Kira each drank sake from the same shallow saucer-like cup.

After the ceremony, Kira changed her clothes again, as did the groom. Her kimono now was of midnight blue silk with gold embroidery, and the sleves were of the style worn by a married woman. Her husband's formal outfit was no less elaborate. As the moon rose, they began a procession from the temple to the court of the Shogun himself.

At the end of this procession, they were admitted to the court of the Shogun, who was attended by thirty or more courtiers of various species. He called the newly married couple closer, and spoke briefly with Jiro. Their conversation was limited to a pre-defined ritual in which Jiro proclaimed his marriage, and the Shogun acknowledged this change in status. Then they were politely dismissed.

Kira, who had no speaking role to perform, was sorely tempted to reach out with her mind, and see some of the thoughts of the ruler of this land, and of those close to him. But as she looked at the Shogun's advisors, she saw one fox that had many tails, though no one else seemed to notice his being any different than the other dogs, foxes and wolves in the court.

That Kitsune also smiled at Kira, rather like an indulgent parent would smile at a petulant child, and she heard a voice in her mind warning, 'We Kitsune can recognize each other, yes, young one. The others here cannot see what you so readily perceive. Do not do magic in the presence of the Shogun, except by his command, young one-tail! We know you are here, and we will talk much, later. Seek us at either of Inari's temples, and we will have much to discuss. And cause no trouble, until we have spoken, or your time here will be brief indeed.'

Kira simply nodded, and continued to play her appointed role.

===

That night, Murakami Jiro took the virginity of his bride, Murakami Kira, who as was expected lay almost immobile in her bed, whimpering submissively and allowing her husband to do as he pleased with her. But even as Jiro sought to impregnate her, Kira absorbed all of the samurai's memories and knowledge. She confirmed that the Geisha that Jiro was said to favor was in fact his favorite concubine, and his preferred lover. Kira smiled, and in her responses to Jiro's lovemaking she faintly emulated the responses of the Geisha girl that had most pleased her husband when he mated with that other vixen. Kira could not, of course, show him the other girl's level of skill, as she was supposed to be an untouched virgin. But it was sufficient to make Jiro thoroughly enjoy mating with his new bride.

She also planted one thought in Jiro's mind. She made him feel that he didn't quite like the way that Saburo looked at Kira, and that it would perhaps be a wise precaution to send the boy back to his former duties, in the far south of the island kingdom. Not that he had any reason to doubt his wife's virtue, or the boy's past actions, since Jiro had just taken her virginity himself! But just to keep possible future trouble from happening. The boy was said to have been a childhood friend of his new wife, after all.

===

The next day, at the order of Murakami Jiro, Asha, in the appearance of Saburo, set out on the road to Yokohama. The young samurai was, unfortunately, not seen alive again. A merchant travelling the same road the next day reported finding a body on the roadside, burned almost beyond recognition. But the fire-damaged swords that were found under the burned corpse were sufficiently recognizable to identify the remains as the late Saburo.

Asha resumed being Keiko, and reported to her mistress that she had left the burned corpse of a ronin bandit on the road, to explain the disappearance of Saburo. Asha also confirmed that, by seeking through various flames, she had located the real Saburo, Kira and Keiko, and confirmed that all three were alive and well, and apparently had settled in a distant fishing village to the West of Edo, on the far side of the island. They were dressed as peasants, and seemed happy.