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To Dream of Darkness

A story by DoggyStyle57

Chapter 46, Written April 2012

===

Chapter 46 - Probation

Kira stood very still. Then she asked, softly, "Why would you say that I am not from Japan? Everyone knows that it is forbidden for foreigners to come to our land."

"Yes, it is forbidden for foreigners to come here, or for our own people to leave. However, that law does not quite apply in the same way to a kitsune is it would to a mortal fox, or to a human," the head priest of the Fushimi Inari shrine replied. "When I asked you to look into the lake at the koi, I did so because I wanted to see your reflection. You are aware that reflections tend to show a person's true form? I could see in the water that your eyes are green, and your hair this... auburn... color that you say was the color of your mother's hair. But virtually everyone that has been born in Japan for at least the last century has hair that is black, and eyes so dark as to be nearly black. Hundreds of years ago, when your mother was born - things were different. If she did have three tails, that implies she was between three hundred and four hundred years old. It is therefore possible that your mother left this land before the Shogun sealed our land against all foreigners. The shogun also made it against our laws for anyone who left after the borders were sealed to return, or for those who had been in foreign lands to come back. That is probably why your mother never came back here, and did not try to bring you here."

"So... I'm not in trouble, if, assuming it was true, which I am not admitting, I am a foreigner?" Kira asked.

"Well, I didn't quite say that," the priest replied. "But you do appear to be half kitsune, and therefore it is our courts and laws that must determine your fate, and not the courts and laws of the Shogun. This is fortunate for you, for if the shogun believed that you were from another country, he would surely have you and your companion executed. It is also fortunate for you that I believe an attempt at executing you would be rather costly and disruptive to the Shogun, and thus a matter that is best to be avoided. Besides, I do not believe the ban on foreign travel will last much longer. We kitsune are not permitted to leave this land, but we are not prohibited from using our abilities to perceive what goes on beyond our shores. Indeed, the kitsune are part of the nation's defenses against foreign intruders. If you did come here from other lands, you would have had to pass through a powerful magical barrier, which prevents any form of magical travel to or from this realm. That barrier is kitsune magic, and it cannot function without some of us being aware of what happens beyond that border."

"I did not come here to fight. But I will defend myself if I am threatened," Kira said. "You are right. A conflict against me would not have favorable outcomes for the people here. I may be young, in your eyes, but I am quite powerful. Shall we call a truce, then? I have no desire to make enemies in this land, and even less desire to make an enemy of any kitsune. All I wish is to understand my heritage. I want to understand what my mother was, and what her people were like. Allow me that, and I will cause as little disruption as possible here."

"Let us continue our talk, then," the priest said. "Tell me, what are your intentions regarding your mortal husband, and his family? He is in favor with the Shogun, and we do not want to see his household harmed."

"If I had not taken the place of Hamada Kira, then she either would have committed suicide on the road to Edo before her arranged marriage, or she would have married Murakami Jiro, but would have become a most bitter and unhappy wife for him," Kira replied. "While I continue as his wife, he will have a compliant and pleasant spouse. Unlike the real Kira, I am not bothered by the fact that he prefers the bed of a geisha girl to that of his wife. I cannot give him offspring. But if he desires it, I would even go so far as to publicly claim a child of his concubine as my own, so he could appear to have an heir, assuming I remain in his household long enough. When I do depart, I intend to take nothing from him of any significance that was not mine when I arrived here. Even the torii gate that I offered to sponsor, I intend to pay for from my own funds, and that offer still holds. It has been my intent that when I do leave him, it will appear that Murakami Kira will die, with no fault to be seen on his part. He would be free to take another wife, or to enjoy his geisha girl, with no dishonor. Is that fair?"

"You will not disrupt the Shogun's court, or the lives of the samurai in Edo?" the priest asked. "I have your promise of this?"

"You have my promise in that regard. It is of absolutely no benefit to me to cause trouble there. At worst, I might discourage my mother in law from harassing me, and encourage her to instead annoy the wife of her firstborn son. But I will promise to you that I will not intentionally harm anyone in Edo, as long as they do not try to harm me," Kira replied.

"And what of Inari? You are a Nogitsune, and not bound to Inari's service. Will you accept that service, and become one of Inari's servants?" the priest asked.

"I cannot honestly answer that yet, for I do not yet know enough about Inari, and what it is to serve Inari. At this moment, I will admit that I serve no one but myself. However, if my path is such that it benefits me to do as Inari wishes, I would certainly be willing to do so. And I would also be willing to promise not to oppose Inari and her minions, so long as they do not oppose me directly," Kira replied. "I keep my promises. I may be, as you call me, a Nogitsune, but I have my own strict code of honor. I want to learn all that I can of Inari, and of Kitsune. I will not oppose Inari's will as I endeavor to understand what that will is, or what my mother's people are. You have my promise on that, at the very least."

"Very well. I will accept your promises, and place you on probation, watched over by the kitsune of Edo. You may return to Edo, Murakami Kira. And you may make your offering here, before you go, for a torii gate. When you are back in Edo, go once a week to the shrine where you were married. The priest there will be a Kitsune, who will teach you of Inari. In three months time, if you have caused no trouble, I will meet with you again, and we shall see at that time what else may be done about your... situation here," the priest said. As they walked back to the shrine, he told her the cost of the torii gate, and Kira unhesitatingly paid it, in Japanese coins from the small chest that Lord Randall had given her for her birthday. Then she rejoined Asha and their guardsman, and she returned to Edo.

===

When she returned to her husband's home in Edo, Murakami Jiro welcomed his wife courteously, and was eager to hear of her travels. She told him that the arrangements had been made for the torii gate to be erected, and that Inari should look with more favor upon their household soon. She thanked him for allowing her to make that journey, and said she believed it was most beneficial for their household.

As they made love that night, Kira could smell the scent of the geisha courtesan on her husband's fur, and she wondered how recently he had been in her bed. It was not difficult for Kira to invade his mind and determine that her husband had slept with the geisha girl - in Kira's own bed, no less - several times in her absence, and most recently the very night before her return. But rather than getting angry at his infidelity, she used his affection for the other vixen to her advantage.

"My Lord?" she said softly. "I have asked Inari to guide me in our mating, that I might please you better. May we try a few different things?"

"You already please me, my pretty Kira," he replied. "And if Inari blesses us with fertility, and a son, that will please me most of all. But yes, you may try whatever you wish to please me."

"Very well, my Lord. Some of what Inari tells me to do seems very strange to me, but I hope it will please you," Kira replied. Then she started to use some of the same techniques that Jiro appreciated when mating with his geisha girl. Acting tentatively at first, and with increasing confidence as he responded positively, she slowly increased the skill level with which she made love to him, until she was at something more closely approaching what she was actually capable of giving to her mates. Jiro was surprised, but very appreciative. That night, for the first time since their marriage, he remained with her all night, rather than retiring to his own bed after mating with her, and mated with her again when they awoke.

===

Kira did her best to uphold her promise to the kitsune high priest. For three months, she met once a week with the priest of the Edo shrine, and learned more of kitsune and of Inari. At home, she was a dutiful wife, eager to bed her husband, and equally eager to perform the duties expected of her in running his household. Even her mother in law begrudgingly started making respectful comments about what a good wife she was, though of course, her mother in law still complained that Kira's belly was not swelling with a child yet.

Kira often sent her maid, Keiko, into Edo to gather information about the Japanese people and their culture. The fire elemental assumed many forms, and spoke with many people, while also observing what she could. Sometimes she would bring back a book or scroll of useful information. Sometimes she brought back only stories which she had heard, or the names and locations of individuals her Mistress may want to learn more about.

On nights that Jiro was not in bed with Kira, the mage and her elemental mated with each other, to allow Kira's abilities to transfer memories more efficiently from the elemental to her Mistress. Their first mating had been a wild and almost disastrous affair, because of the sheer volume of life experience that the elemental had to offer, and the strange nature of many of her memories. Over seven hundred years of living, much of it spent in Hell and even less comprehensible planes of existence, was quite a burden for Kira to absorb in a single night. But after that first time, Kira found mating with her elemental to be quite pleasant, and a very effective way of transferring information between them.

During part of each day, Kira would sit alone in her room, or attended by Keiko, as she studied both the information provided by the priest of Inari, and studied also the magical texts that Kira had collected so far. But she did not have sufficient privacy to practice magic, so her studies remained at a rather esoteric and academic level.

===

Eventually, Kira's three months of 'probation' were over. When she went to the Inari temple for her weekly lessons, it was the high priest from the Fushimi Inari shrine in Kyoto who greeted her.

"You have kept your promises quite well," he said. "You have caused no trouble, and your husband's household prospers. You have diligently applied yourself to learning about Inari and about kitsune. You have learned enough, I hope, to not embarrass yourself before the Celestial Court of the kitsune. Are you ready to stand before them, as they pass judgment on what should be done regarding your violation of the Shogun's ban on foreigners entering Japan?"

"You make it sound as if I have a choice in the matter. Very well - I will go to the Celestial Court with you," Kira replied. "When do we go, and what arrangements must be made?"

"Now, and none," the priest replied. His tails swished behind him, and suddenly Kira and the priest were no longer at the Inari Shrine in Edo...

===

Kira found herself standing in front of a large torii gate, much like the ones she had seen at each of Inari's shrines, but three times as large, and with lettering on it that was gilded with pure gold.

Flanking the gate were two Kitsune guards, with five tails each, dressed in full samurai armor of red lacquered plates, and with helms that left their white-furred faces exposed, and their ears poking out through holed in the helms. The guards were armed with Naginata, the spear-length pole weapon version of the samurai sword. Kira looked closer at the guards, and realized they were both females.

Just inside the gate was an escort of four more guards, all males, and these each had seven tails swishing behind them. Their fur and hair were snow white, and like the first guards, their lacquered armor was bright red. Each of them was armed with two swords, one longer than the other.

The priest spoke briefly to the guards. As he did so, Kira was finally able to count his tails, and found that he had eight of them.

"Come along," the said amicably to Kira. "We are expected."

Kira followed the priest, and the four male guards fell in beside them, escorting the pair along a path that seemed to wind gently through a grove of cherry trees in full bloom. There were so many cherry trees that Kira had no idea what the surrounding landscape was like, other than the gentle incline of the winding path, as they ascended the slope before them.

They arrived at a clearing, circular in shape, and ringed with nine torii gates. By each gate stood two kitsune guards. In a semi-circle near the center of the clearing, nine kitsune knelt on silken cushions. Each was wearing a formal kimono, and appeared unarmed. They all had at least seven tails. The one in the center clearly had a full nine tails, and was an amazingly beautiful female, with eyes a stunning azure blue. The nine kitsune looked at Kira and the priest as they arrived, but said nothing.

The priest bowed low before these nine kitsune, and Kira copied his actions and bowed even lower.

The beautiful kitsune in the center spoke, and her voice was almost musical. "You are the one who calls herself Murakami Kira? You may address me as Lady Mariko."

"Thank you for agreeing to see me, Lady Mariko. Are you the rulers of this celestial realm?" Kira asked.

Mariko laughed, and replied, "Oh no! We are merely the tribunal that has been appointed to determine what is to be done with you. And do not thank me yet, young Nogitsune, for it remains to be seen if our ruling will be favorable. You may kneel and make yourselves comfortable," Mariko said, gesturing to two silk cushions at the center of the semi-circle. "Your trial will now commence."