Come by Night 3: Kitsune No Yomeiri

Chapter Five - The Road to Izumo

I walk slower than I would otherwise, but I have no choice. Your steps are smaller than mine. We struggle, I to hinder my stride, you to keep pace. Unseen beneath my glamour, my tail twitches. We are not in harmony.

We travel closer toward Izumo now, falling in among the other late-arriving pilgrims. The humans have come from all over to pay homage at the Great Shrine. They go for blessings from the kami, but the truth is, the kami think little to nothing of them save as providers of precious energy. The gods give in order to get, and precious few concern themselves for the welfare of your species outside of their own interests.

I once believed my kami was one of the good ones... but I was wrong.

I glance down, and you up, our gaze meeting in between. We dare not speak to one another. It is safer that way where we are going. But as we enter Izumo, I hear your stomach gurgle and whine. Humans...

I sigh and stop. You look at me, guilt flooding your disguised features, nowhere near so pretty as the true you hiding beneath my web of illusions. I nod and we pick up the pace.

I hate myself for thinking this, but I wish you would not have come. I could travel faster without you. I do not have your human limitations. But the koi said you must come, and I trust it. That creature might have run me off when I first entered that little pocket in the fold of the universe. Instead, I was welcomed, and I think for the first time in my existence, understood.

If the koi says you must go with me, then you must. Despite this, I do not relish that we must take a longer, slower path than I would prefer.

I look around and see that with the festive event underway, I am not the only yōkai in attendance. Drawn by the mortals they prey upon, they lurk in the shadows. But they must be careful here, too, or they will find themselves exorcised, or worse. This is the time of the gods, and their holy presence bleeds into this side of the veil.

A demon must be audacious indeed to ply his trade here.

For the likes of us, my dear wife, we will be imprisoned should our presence be noted. They will separate us. I shall be bound and shackled to await the judgment of the kami I deserted and whose will I flout as a rebellious wild fox. But what will they do with you?

I begin looking for a likely place to take you for sustenance, and I stumble into a man."Hey—!"

"Pardon me! My toe hit a pebble," I apologize, pointing at the ground. He shrugs me away, muttering about idiots.

"What was that?" you ask.

I smile. You know me too well.

In lieu of answering, I take you to the nearest lodging. I pay with the coin I just stole from that merchant I 'accidentally' bumped into. I tell you none of this, of course. You never question how I can pay.

"We must wait until twilight," I whisper to you.

"For what?"

"To cross over undetected."

"I do not understand, Mitsu-"

"Shhh! Not that name! Not here!" I demand out of my fear.

You gulp and nod. "Gomenasai, Isamu."

I take a calming breath and explain. "A gate to the celestial realm dwells here, where multiple dragon lines intersect at the great shrine of Daikokuten. We must make the crossing there, posing as peddlers."

"But we have nothing to sell," you remind me.

"We will." I just don't tell you that I need to steal it first.

"How?"

"Trust me, I will see to it. I am paying for a room, and I want you to rest while I run out and prepare all we need."

"I can help," you protest.

"I know you can," I say patiently. "You are a capable woman. But I do not know when we will rest again, and humans are vulnerable when exhausted. I need you to be at your best." I caress your cheek and you sigh, then nod.

I feel absurdly guilty leaving you behind. You are not happy with me for settling you some place while I go play criminal. Your face is filled with anxiety.

"Tsukiko will need you at full strength." I offer again, to soften any rebuke my request may have caused.

"You won't leave me here and go find her without me?"

I blink. "No, of course not. Was that what was upsetting you? That I would abandon you? You would be safer in Daikokuten's prison than here in the world of men."

There are tears in your eyes, which perplexes me. Did I say something wrong? I tilt my head and blink, which makes you smile. Humans are so confusing.

"Whatever you look like, you're still you, Isamu. Thank you. I would die inside if you left me here alone."

I reach over the table and take your hand. "I will never desert you again. Now, please, trust in me and rest for a little while."