Page 33 of Shadow of the Fox

“The monks taught me,” I replied. Not the whole truth of course; I’d been able to see the spirit world—kami, yokai, yurei and the rest of the unnatural—for as long I could remember. One of the perks—or curses—of being half kitsune. Though the monks did teach me the differences between the myriad spirits in Iwagoto. There were the nine greater Kami, the named deities who were worshipped throughout Iwagoto: Jinkei, God of Mercy, Doroshin, God of Roads, and so on. The lesser kami were minor gods, spirits of nature and the elements; they existed everywhere, in the earth, the sky and all places in between. No one knew how many kami existed in the world; when people spoke of them as a whole, it was common to say “the eight million gods,” and leave it at that.

But besides the kami, many other strange, magical creatures roamed the land. Yokai were creatures of the supernatural; sometimes called monsters or bakemono, they could change their forms or had some amount of magic power, tanuki, kamaitachi and, of course, kitsune being prime examples. Yurei described the many restless ghosts that wandered the mortal realm, zashiki warashi, onryo, ubume and more. There were even some monstrous plants that preyed on humans and a handful of creatures that didn’t fit into any category, so the list of gods, ghosts and monsters was endless. But, even though some yokai were dangerous and some yurei had malicious intent, all were residents of Ningen-kai, the mortal realm, and were to be respected.

Unlike the demons—the amanjaku, and terrible oni like Yaburama. They hailed from Jigoku, the realm of evil and corruption, and did not belong in the mortal world at all.

“Master Isao and the others revered the kami,” I went on. “They strove to exist in harmony with all forms of life. The most spiritual among them could see and even speak to the kami on occasion. I sort of had the talent for it, I suppose.”

“Is that why the kamaitachi listened to you?”

“Well...not really. I listened tothem.”

The kodama was joined by a friend. Then three more appeared between tree roots, and another materialized near the edge of the fire. I looked up to see dozens of the tiny kami perched on rocks and branches, watching us through the rain. A sound rose into the air, like hundreds of dry leaves fluttering at the same time.

Tatsumi, observing the growing number of kodama around us, didn’t move, but his posture remained tense. I could sense he was trying very hard not to go for his sword. “What do they want?” he asked.

“Um...” I closed my eyes briefly, trying to focus on just one voice. Kodama were difficult to understand at the best of times. “Slow down,” I said, holding up a hand. “Please, one at a time. I can’t hear if everyone talks all at once—it’s like trying to pick a drop out of a waterfall.”

The sound of whispering branches stopped. The kodama on the rock stepped forward, chattering in a soft voice that sounded like a leaf skipping around the ground.

“They want to know if you are the bearer of Kamigoroshi,” I said. “And, if you were the one who slew Kiba-sama today.”

Tatsumi blinked, then glanced at the now dozens of kodama, watching us from the trees.

“I had no choice.” His voice was calm, neither boastful nor repentant. “I would have avoided that fight if I could. But Kiba-sama would have killed us both.”

The kodama broke into chatter again, like thousands of leaves being rustled by the wind. Which was strange, as there was no wind. Finally, the noise died down, and a trio of kodama approached the fire. The kami in the center carried a single leaf like a flag, the stem held upright, the edges bobbing as it walked. Though their faces were tiny and indistinct, I felt this was a very solemn affair. The tree spirits marched up to Tatsumi and bowed, and then the kodama in the center stepped forward, raising the leaf over its head, toward the demonslayer.

“What is this?” he asked warily.

“A gift,” I said in amazement, listening as the kodama chatter went on. “It seems that, long ago, Kiba-sama lost himself to his hunger and greed,” I translated, as their voices flowed over me, a faint tickle in my ears. “And it corrupted him until he was no longer a bear, but something unnatural and tainted. Even while he slept, the miasma of dread he produced could be felt by all living things. The birds never sang in Kiba-sama’s wood, the animals were constantly afraid and in hiding, and the humans rarely ventured into the forest. Fear was suffocating the land, but now that you’ve put him to rest, it can flourish again.

“That leaf signifies that you are a friend of the forest,” I continued, as Tatsumi reached down, carefully took the leaf by the stem and held it up to his face. It glowed faintly in the darkness, pulsing with a soft green light. “If you are ever in need of the kamis’ help, whisper your request out loud and release it into the wind. It will carry your message to any nearby kodama, who will aid you in whatever way they can.”

His eyes darkened, and he shook his head. “I can’t accept this,” he murmured, lowering his arm. The kodama voices rustled overhead, echoing my own question.

“Why?”

“I kill demons. It’s what I do. I didn’t slay the bear out of mercy, or kindness, or anything but survival. If Kiba-sama hadn’t attacked us, I would have been content to leave him there.”

“Nonetheless,” I said after a moment of listening to the voices of the kodama. “They want you to have it. You did the forest a service today, and the kami always repay their debts.” When he still hesitated, I added, even though the kodama didn’t say it, “You really shouldn’t refuse a gift from the kami, Tatsumi-san. They might always repay a debt, but they never forget an insult.”

He nodded gravely; that at least made sense to him.“Arigatou gozimasu,”he told the nearest kodama, lowering his head in a bow. “I’m not worthy of such a gift, but I will accept it.”

The tiny kami returned the bow, straightened and then floated away, like a leaf picked up and carried by the wind. The rest of the kodama vanished, fading into trees, until it was just me and Tatsumi once more.

He stared at the glowing leaf, watching it flicker in the darkness, before it vanished into the pouch beneath his obi. But his brows were drawn into a slight frown, and I cocked my head at him. “Is something wrong, Tatsumi-san?”

He shook his head. “No. But...the leaf should have gone to you,” he said, finally meeting my gaze. “You were the one who spoke to the kamaitachi. You figured out how to free them so they would turn on the witch. If you hadn’t done that, we would’ve both died.”

“The reward wasn’t for slaying the witch,” I returned gently. “It was for putting Kiba-sama out of his misery and returning the forest to its natural state. The kodama don’t care about individual human lives as much as they want the forest to be healthy. You were the one who killed the demon, thus their favor goes to you.”

Tatsumi frowned. “I’ve killed dozens of demons and yokai,” he murmured. “Perhaps a few kami, as well. Until today...I didn’t know that yokai could be talked to or reasoned with.”

“Not all yokai are evil,” I said quietly, surprised to feel a tiny flicker of hurt. “They’re part of the natural order, just like the kami. Sometimes, you don’t know what they want until you talk to them.”

He didn’t say anything to that for several heartbeats, staring into the fire as if lost in thought. I tossed a few twigs into the flames and watched the fire consume them, and wondered what would’ve happened had the wind witch exposed me. Would Tatsumi be sitting here with me now? Would the fact that I’d saved his life have any impact on the revelation that I was kitsune? Or would he take his terrible glowing sword and try to cut off my head?

I’ve killed dozens of demons and yokai, he’d just told me. Did that mean he had killed kitsune, too? According to the monks, my full-blooded kin were tricksters and opportunists, but there were a few cases in which they were truly dangerous. Had Tatsumi’s clan ever sent him to kill a fox, and if they had, didhethink all kitsune were wild, treacherous creatures that should be put down?

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