The Heart of a Fox

by T. Isilwath

  “Hanyou,” she said, addressing him calmly, her voice neutral.

  Years ago, she used to call him by his real name until Ichiro had heard her say it. The beating her father had given her had been the end of his dreams.

  He nodded to her and lowered his ears in submission. She said nothing more and the other women did not speak to him at all. Instead, Suzuka led them into the forest and he followed behind. He was careful to keep track of how close they traveled to Johrannah’s camp. Since the grove was deep in the forest, and the herbs they needed could only be found in open fields, he doubted that there was any chance of them finding her, but he kept alert just in case.

  The women chatted amongst themselves, but no one spoke to him. He crouched down on the edge of the field they were in and kept a sharp look-out for any dangers. The most excitement they had all afternoon was when one of the women frightened a doe and her two fawns out of a patch of tall grass.

  Screaming erupted as they thought a demon was going to pounce on them, but as soon as they saw it was only a fleeing deer they calmed down again.

  ‘Idiots. Don’t you think I would have warned you if there was danger? I knew the doe was there. It isn’t my fault that you humans can’t smell.’

  The rest of the herb gathering expedition passed in much the same way.

  Suzuka led the women to the places where the herbs they needed could be found, and they would commence to pick.

  ‘You’re taking all of it,’ he wanted to tell them. ‘Don’t you want to leave some for next year’s harvest? How can you expect there to be more if you take all there is and leave none to grow and reproduce?’

  He hunkered down, scowling at their ignorance and disrespect, then smiled softly to himself. Before he had met Johrannah, he wouldn’t have even noticed or thought about such things. Now he was thinking like her and seeing the natural world through different eyes.

  ‘Two more days until I can go back. Tomorrow I will go to Edo, and then return to her the following day,’ he thought happily.

  Movement close to him caught his attention, and he looked up to see Suzuka staring at him with an odd expression on her face. He blinked at her and she narrowed her eyes, her mouth turning down into a slight frown.

  “Is something wrong, Suzuka-sama?” he asked.

  It took her a moment to answer, but then she slowly shook her head. “No, Hanyou, there is nothing wrong.”

  “Okay.” ‘Then why are you looking at me like that?’

  The young miko turned her back and walked away without another word.

  They returned to the village just before the evening meal was to be served, and Kaemon had once again left a bowl of grain out for him on the porch. This time, however, he had brought a carp he had caught while the women were herb gathering, and Suzuka took it from him with a small word of thanks.

  “Suzuka-sama, I wish to tell you that I am going into the forest tomorrow and will not be close-by,” he told her as she moved to enter the house.

  “You will not be nearby? Why?”

  He knew she would ask so he had prepared an answer. “Before the oni-gumo charged, I overheard two exterminators who were waiting in ambush talking to each other. They spoke of a kitsune roaming near Edo. I intend to go and find him. I may be gone for a number of days.” It was true. He had heard two of them talking about hunting a kitsune.

  “You will warn him of the threat?”

  He shrugged and glanced up at her before dropping his eyes again. “He is my kin. If he is not a dark kitsune then he is no danger to anyone.” She leveled him with a measured look then nodded. “I will tell my father.”

  “Of course, Suzuka-sama. I will ring the bell when I return.” He bowed to her and backed off of the engawa, retreating into the trees.

  Returning to the flat spot he had tramped down, he was glad the day was over, and he settled down to get some rest. In the morning he would leave for Edo.

  ********

  He left for Edo before dawn and arrived there just as the first rays of the sun were rising over the horizon. Before he set out, he retrieved the money Johrannah had given him from the hiding place where he had stowed it, and took it with him along with a carrying sack for his purchases. Ota Dokan had built Edo Castle in the fishing town on the bay, and a small market now flourished nearby.

  He decided to acquire a disguise to supplement his magic. What he was doing was different from a true shape-change and required less energy, but the spell would still be a significant drain on his strength, and the less he had to maintain with his own power, the easier it would be for him to hold the illusion.

  He let his nose lead him to the castle’s laundry room. The servants were eating the morning meal so the washing room was empty, and he slipped inside undetected. Rummaging through the cleaned clothing, he chose a woman’s full length kosode because women primarily did the shopping. He stuffed the garment into the chest of his short kosode, along with a head scarf and two obis, and quickly snuck out. Hopping over the roofs of the waking town, he hid in a storehouse and waited for the markets to open.

  While he waited, he prepared his disguise. He used a narrow obi to lash his tail to his thigh. It had a nasty habit of having a mind of its own, and the last thing he needed was it deciding to stick up at an inopportune moment. He slipped the kosode over his clothes and fastened it closed, then he took the head scarf and covered his ears. Once his costume was complete, he closed his eyes and reached into himself for the bright center of power within.

  Kitsune were masters of illusion and shape change, and he had inherited some of his father’s magic. Carefully he built his outward illusion, creating the shape and visage of a human female layer by layer until he took on the appearance of a middle-aged woman: the type of matron who would be responsible for the household purchasing. There was no mirror in the room so he had no idea exactly what he looked like, but judging by the amount of strain he was under to hold the illusion, his spell was complete.

  He left the storehouse and made his way down to the market. Because he was so early, there weren’t too many people roaming the stalls and the selection was excellent. From his years of accompanying his mother, and listening to her haggle for the maximum amount of supplies with their meager funds and barter, he knew the routine of offer and counter-offer very well, and he negotiated fair prices for almost all of the items on his list. The miso was easy, and he found both white and red miso for sale. The paste smelled ripe and ready, and he bought measures of both varieties. He found the vinegar, soybeans, grains, ginger and oil, but the honey was elusive.

  As the morning wore on, more people came to shop in the market, and the effort of holding the illusion became more of a strain because he had to sustain it as he navigated through the crowd. Still, it was quite a thrill. There he was surrounded by humans, and none of them had any idea that he wasn’t one of them. If he had been evil, most of them would have been dead ten times over already.

  He smelled it before he actually saw it, and he made a bee-line for a cart at the end of the market. The man had come all the way from Izu with a variety of crockery and baskets, but he had a small supply of wildflower honey for sale.

  He haggled heatedly for the sweet treat, knowing that the merchant was well aware of the item’s value, and finally managed to negotiate a decent sized jar of the honey for one of Johrannah’s silver mon pieces. The price was exorbitant, but the look and smell of the honey told him it was worth every sen.

  Quite a bit poorer, but ecstatically happy to have found all of the items on Johrannah’s list, he put all of his purchases in the carrying sack and prepared to leave Edo. It couldn’t come too soon because he was running out of energy to hold the illusion, and he could feel his power waning. He trotted hurriedly down the trade road that led out of the town, and, knowing that his time was short, he decided not to bother returning the kosode and head scarf to the castle.

  He would leave the “borrowed” items on the trade road, and they would be found
later, hopefully by someone in need of a new garment.

  His only warning of trouble was the jingle of a monk’s staff behind him, and he quickly ducked down an alley between two houses as the hairs on the back of his neck stood up.

  “Halt mononoke!” an angry voice ordered.

  He gasped and glanced over his shoulder. His pursuer was a man in Buddhist robes, and a cold shiver of fear ran up his spine. Somehow the monk must have been able to see through his illusion or sense his demonic aura. Either way, the man knew he wasn’t human, and he could not afford to be trapped.

  “What have you done with the woman whose skin you are wearing?”

  ‘Skin? What the?’

  Being that the monk had several ofudas in his hand, it didn’t look like he was interested in having a conversation. The sealing prayers had the ability to bind his powers, and he had no illusions as to what would happen to him if the man succeeded in hitting him. He’d be immobilized and helpless.

  ‘He thinks I stole a woman’s body. Shows what he knows if he can’t tell the difference between an illusion and a body-stealer.’

  He didn’t wait for the monk to speak again before he made a run for it. He wasn’t clear of the town yet so he had to keep up the illusion, but the effort of holding the spell made him slower than normal, plus he was tired from maintaining it for so long. Unfortunately, the alley came to a dead end at a high wall.

  ‘Crap.’

  “Accept your punishment, evil spirit!” the monk commanded.

  This time he didn’t look, he just leaped, jumping up to the roof of the nearest house. He heard the flapping of the ofudas behind him and knew that the man had barely missed Sealing him to the wall. Turning around to balance on the edge of the roof, he peered down at the monk still in the alley.

  “Mononoke!”

  “I’m not a mononoke!” he cried knowing that he wouldn’t be able to hold the illusion for much longer.

  “I see through your disguise! You cannot hide from my holy powers! Did you eat her insides and take her skin?” the monk accused.

  “I’ve done no such thing!” he insisted, then jumped as the monk threw more sealing prayers at him. ‘I have to get away! I can’t… I can’t let him hit me…’

  Fueled by his growing terror, he took the opportunity to leap across the alley, and he landed on the roof of the next house over. The effort took the last of his energy and he had to release the illusion. He untied the kosode and dropped it, and the head scarf, down from the roof.

  “Kitsune?” the monk questioned, seeing the transformation.

  Ripping the obi that tied his tail to his thigh, he let the belt fall as well. He was breathing heavily and fast becoming aware of his vulnerability. He was now in the middle of Edo with no illusion and not enough energy to cast another. The monk was staring up at him, another ofuda ready but he wasn’t throwing it. He didn’t know why the monk wasn’t moving, but he wasn’t about to question him.

  Kitsunes were agile and quick, and had an incredible sense of balance.

  Teetering on the peak of the roof, he ran across it and took another leap to the next house. Shouts from below told him that he’d been seen, and he clutched his carry sack to his chest as he raced down another roof. Blind panic hit him, and instinct took over, as he pulled what little power he had left and poured it into his escape.

  The wind blew past his ears as he jumped from rooftop to rooftop. The world was a blur beneath him, and he wasn’t even certain how he was able to judge each leap without losing his balance. He had only one thought in his brain, and that was to get out of Edo. He landed heavily on a dirt side street and turned sharply to duck behind a building. His fox instincts told him to double back, mask his trail, confuse and confound the ones who followed him. He twisted and swerved, navigating the narrow alleys and back streets by scent alone until he jumped over a high wall and tore through a shrine garden. He hit the other side, hurdling over a second wall, and spying the safety of the forest.

  If he could get to the forest, he could lose them in the trees. He didn’t know if he was still being hunted, but he wasn’t taking any chances, and he bolted, running in one last mad dash. He didn’t stop when he made it to the forest, but kept going, fueled by adrenaline and his panic, and he made it back to the village faster than he had ever thought possible.

  But there was something lacking in the place he had run to. His fox brain did not associate the shrine with welcome and safety, so instead he turned north, heading back into the forest, his memory leading him to a place that was safe; where he knew no one would hurt him, and he would find sanctuary.

  The scent was familiar and comforting, and he barreled into the grove of cedars at full speed. She was there, the one he had run to, and her face displayed her shock and concern.

  “Akihiro!” she cried, and he had a memory that the word was his name.

  He skidded to a halt and fell to his knees as she hurried to him.

  “Akihiro, are you all right? Akihiro, what’s wrong?” she begged, her hands on his arms, the ones that he had clutched around a carrying sack.

  He was panting heavily, his heartbeat thundering in his ears, and his vision clouding with black spots as exhaustion turned his limbs into lead. He lost his grip on the sack, and it fell from his numb fingers as he leaned forward and pressed his face to the hollow of her throat.

  “Safe,” he whispered.

  Arms came around him, holding him, comforting him, and one hand stroked his ears. “Yes. Yes, you’re safe now. I promise.” He sighed, swallowing deep mouthfuls of air full of her smell.

  “So frightened,” he murmured.

  “Shhh. It’s okay. You’re all right now.”

  As the adrenaline wore off, and his fox brain calmed down, coherent thought returned and he was able to put a name to the safety scent.

  “Johrannah-sama…”

  “I’m here,” she replied, tightening her grip around him.

  He relaxed against her, knowing he was protected and sheltered, and a moment later the darkness reached up to swallow him whole.

  Chapter Nine

  It was raining. It had been raining nearly nonstop for the past three weeks.

  It had started the day after Akihiro had come running into the grove as if all the demons of Hell were chasing him, and it hadn’t let up since. She knew about the summer rains in Japan. She’d read about them, been warned about them, but nothing had prepared her for the constant downpour that drenched and drowned everything. Hunting was much more difficult, spear fishing nearly impossible, herb gathering and root foraging was made miserable by soaked clothes and feet, and inches of mud caked on everything it touched.

  Akihiro, genius that he was, had dug drainage trenches all around the grove to prevent it from flooding, and used large bamboo tubes to shunt the water away from the camp. More tubes were tied in the branches of the trees, acting as a primitive gutter system to catch most of the water dripping from the largest boughs and guide it away from the firepit so they could still manage to get a cooking fire going. She had taken the rain tarp and made a covered “entry” to the hollow so there was a place to shake off water and leave her muddy boots.

  Still, all of their efforts offered only minor relief from the wet, and everything was always soggy.

  Joanna normally didn’t mind the rain. In fact she rather loved summer thunderstorms with their mountain shaking booms and fantastic lightning displays, but this… This was ungodly. There were days when she despaired that she would ever see the sun again. The only good thing about the rains was that Akihiro didn’t have to constantly run back to his village every other day. Now he stayed three, sometimes four, days before heading back to make an appearance. No one moved much during the rains, he had explained. People stayed indoors, prayed for the rice, and ventured out only when necessary.

  She and her fox would spend the entire day in the hollow. Their long hours of confinement had greatly improved her Japanese, and she was learning so much about her
new friend. He was a study in extremes, at once bold and straightforward, yet shy and easily spooked at the same time. So much of his behavior was influenced by his kitsune blood, and there were times when he was so fox-ish that he was almost an animal. But she had noticed that the more she treated him as a man, the more human he behaved, and he would only “revert” as she called it when he was under stress or threatened.

  He was insatiably curious and quick-witted. He asked endless questions, always wanting to know why and how. “What’s this?” was his favorite sentence, and he would hang on her every word when she answered. He was an excellent mimic and only had to be shown something once before he mastered it. When he was uncertain about something, he would imitate her exactly and remembered the procedure perfectly even days later. She’d never seen anything like it.

  He was picking up English almost four times as fast as she learned Japanese, and he now spoke in a unique conglomeration of English and Japanese words all mixed together with a few Cherokee words tossed in for good measure. He liked nothing more than to sit with her and read the dictionary, matching the characters he knew with the Romanji type. He was a sponge that sucked up knowledge at an amazing rate, and she couldn’t believe that the people of this time thought he was illiterate and stupid when the reality couldn’t be farther from the truth.

  Apparently, the only person who had ever treated him as anything other than dirt had been his mother, whom he worshipped and never breathed a word of complaint. From what she could gather, the woman had given up everything in order to keep her child safe. His abject devotion was now translated to her; the only other person who had ever treated him with kindness, and he desperately wanted to please her. A kind word from her could make his eyes light up and his ears perk, but anything that could be considered to be the slightest reprimand would be taken badly, and his whole countenance would change. He agonized over things he had done wrong and prostrated himself before her in apology, and she was often at a loss to assure him that she wasn’t upset or going to reject him.