1 The day before the end
A light, the beginning of everything. It all starts with one light, a light that gently caresses your newly opening eyes and then, wind you can that lows every so softly with your newly realized hands, stench that invades your senses as your own nose ever so politely makes itself apparent, talking you flowing in and out of your ears gently as ever as your mother stares at their precious daughter. yes , i remember it well, my birth ontop of mount haruboko. Even now in the middle of a dark and peaceful night on that same mountain I can still feel the calm wind as it caresses my delicate skin. How far I have come, I was so small and delicate then, and everything was so big. So here I am now, as I sit in the old ruined temple, looming over the seemingly small town in the distance along with the ever peaceful forest. Just as when I was born I can feel the cold wind dance around me as if the spirits themself were celebrating my return, the cold and hard stone under my hands. So cold and firm, yet welcoming as if the temple itself wishes to hold me and reminisce. I can feel the soft moss, a moss newborn to me, so gentle as if letting itself gently be grasped by the soft hands of its superior. Too can I hear the song of the birds and roar of the rivers. The bustle of creatures undisturbed by my presence as I am welcomed here by nature itself. I reach down into the soft and wet grass, so delicate, yet it feels as if it trusts my guiding gentle hand as I lightly comb through and pick a flower, a poppy, my favourite.
I am tomomitsu, 10 million years old. I have had many of ventures, fought oni and spirit alike, and befriended some as well. Today I visit my birth place as it is my time to be crowned as kitsune queen.
I hop up with excitement, as all nine of my fluffy white tails sway with excitement, I smile as I take out a hand mirror and inspect myself,I brush my silky white hair out of the way of my crystal blue eyes. Once I feel confident enough I head off, the coronation is only tomorrow and it's late at night. I wave bye to the looming old ruins, the wind blows softly at me as if to wave back, I tear up slightly but quickly wipe them away as I continue down a paven path through the forest. I look in awe as the wildlife live their beautiful and natural life. My eyes shine as rainbows reflect off waterfalls and fish swim through rivers. As old as I am, nature never ceases to fascinate me, its natural beauty is unparalleled and even the fragrance of the beautiful and delicate flowers is nearly hypnotizing. Such a calm and peaceful place, even after 10 million years, feels too perfect to be true.
Not long into my graceful venture down the still mountain am i greeted by a majestic kitsune who bears 9 fluffy golden tails, her beauty and stature unparalleled by all except the gods and perhaps me. Me and her share the title of nine tails, however as daughter to the queen i get to be queen next despite them being older. I greet my old friend, tamamo, a trickster known to even be malicious at times however very respectful when need be. She waves at me and smiles before talking in a gentle and excited voice, her grace unwavering even in casual conversation.
"Good luck on your coronation tomo-, i've been rooting for you as envious as i may be. That being said, I bear no hard feelings and truly do wish you luck" she says to me respectfully as ever. I smile and return the gesture,
"I wish you luck in future endeavors as well, even if you are told as malicious, your true nature is as gentle as the summer breeze and your elegance glimmers like the stars." I was raised to treat every creature with the utmost respect, thank the ground you walk on is what I was told. I'm naturally inclined to compliment people, however even if i wasn't i would have told tamamo that anyway. As I stare at her elegant stature,and her graceful gold tails, it's as if I am standing in front of Amaterasu herself. Meanwhile her jade green eyes pierce my soul like a spear that has been sharpened by hundreds of blacksmiths, i am truly encapsulated. She smiles bashfully in return.
"thank you tomomitsu for being ever so kind, i shall see you again at the coronation." she pardons herself politely before disappearing to who knows where. I was always amused by her mysterious and tricky nature even if she could be a little malicious at times. I found it charming as long as she committed no great evils or sins against Amaterasu. I believe everyone is impure and to give into an evil now and then is simply inevitable.
After 10 more minutes of my silent venture the path of the forest ends ever so suddenly as it opens into a beautiful and vast grassy land, the grass waves in the wind as it dances to the rhythm of nature, scattered among the grass were a variety of flowers who's delightful aroma invade the nose of any who come within distance and attack with sweet pleasures. My smile grows wide as the vast land and the expansive heavens greet me. the dark, starry, calm and still sky juxtaposing the waving grass fields that were not just green but a plethora of colors as many flowers called this field their home. Many of small animals graze this land, the bees who must venture into the forest to get here just to collect pollen, or the rabbits who simply find this place nice. Regardless of reason it is calming to see everything serve its purpose, its own natural order in nature, whether for survival or simply out of want. The way it all simply works together is mesmerizing, may this peace remain undisturbed, here if not anywhere else atleast, forever. As I finish reflecting on natures elegance I refocus myself. I still have a walk of many hours until I reach home, and thus I continue.
The walk felt like a dream, however there is nothing to be said that i have not already spoken. Eventually I come across the village gates, stretching hundreds of kilometers in each direction, though known as a village, it is truly more of a kitsune kingdom. The gate towers 60 feet into the air, made of wood yet not fragile. This is wood collected from the realm of sun goddess Amaterasu, more durable than any iron and reinforced with magic, to force your way through this gate would be a bigger achievement than conquering any other kingdom. Luckily we kitsune do not get many enemies, and are quite capable of defending ourselves, we learn very slowly but only due to the fact we live so long. Kitsune pride themselves in strength and skill, one cannot gain their next tail without a equal balance of both, therefore me and tamamo are seen as beacons of power. However that is not all, there is an elegance that comes with age and with us being the oldest we have quite a bit. Even sun goddess Amaterasu compares us to her.
As I walk closer to the gate I am greeted by the guards, one is a tall and stoic kitsune with 6 black tails, her name is yoiraiti, she used to be a childhood friend and now works as a guard. She, along with the other guard, a much smaller and playful kitsune donning 5 pink tails who I recognize as Amai, though I never talked much to them, greets me happily. I give a signature smile and slowly wave my tails back and forth. This is a costum of kitsune when talking to those of a lower status to them as a way to communicate we see them as an equal and friend. While recognizing my current status as princess I do so enjoy acting as equals to all the kitsune below me, each with their own type of beauty and elegance, each so fascinating in their own way, to show myself as superior would be to diminish what makes us different and them special. They happily wave their tails back, the look of joy on those younger than me fills my soul in a way i cannot simply describe, i hope to see this look of joy much more when i become queen, the thought of standing upon a balcony and looking down at hundreds of thousands of kitsune, all smiling, all awaiting direction, all so graceful and beautiful so pretty and pure, all looking up to me. It truly feels like a dream. Before I know it yoiraiti and amai are by my side asking if I'm okay, without me realizing I spaced out and started crying. I sniffle as i wipe away my tears and wrap them both in a fluffy embrace with my tails as i softly whisper,
"Yes I'm fine, thank you so much." As my soft spoken words reach their ears they simply smile softly and hug me back, we sit in solemn silence for a few minutes before the two break the hug to allow me in, slowly opening the giant gate. I thank them once more as I walk into the kingdom sized village. Due to the magical property of the gates no noise from inside could actually be heard even if directly outside the gate, so as it opened and I stepped inside I was very calmly approached by the peaceful sound of the calm yet still stirring village, though it was night many still wandered. I walk slowly through the village like a beacon of light, an angel surrounded by a peaceful void, however I was not alone in my graceful juxtaposition to the dark town, many of beautiful kitsune wandered the streets at night. Kitsune who's hair and fur colors varied greatly, however they were so scarce among the dark and sleeping streets I imagine from a aerial view it must be like a starry night sky with various colored stars every now and then. Some were just heading home while others were preparing to have the time of their lives at the bar. I did so wonder what the lives of a commoner was like in this silent and peaceful town, especially so during the night. As I continued to walk I appreciated not only the many solemn kitsune simply enjoying their night but the beautiful and expansive architecture . Some houses were very simple wood houses with maybe an extra floor or two, some were rather big and decorated in many of ways whether to show wealth or simply personality, all beautiful in their own distinct way.
My journey would soon come to an end as i would reach what is the main fortress or castle* of the village. As i come upon the large golden doors of the castle i stare longingly at the castle doors engraved with a depiction of the sun god amaterasu and who is suppose to represent the first kitsune however she is more representative of every kitsune queen as the gold doesn't allow you to see the color of the tails or hair regardless. I am quickly greeted this time by the royal guards of the queen and castle, both of whom are friends I've known since birth. Though not related to me, I always saw them as sisters. As a child, I'd even tell others we were blood siblings which would end in a funny amount of confusion as I am pale as the moon however they are moreso black.
The first to greet me was dakubyuti, or byuti for short. As she approached me i had taken notice of her well groomed long straight black hair and 8 large white tails she always did take ever so care of almost to compete with me furthering our position as non blood siblings. It was however a friendly rivalry than never went beyond a imple 'i am much prettier than you' and a reply of 'no i am prettier than you'. Additionally despite being only slightly smaller than me at 6'7 and only a couple years younger, almost apparing as a mini me, throughout our lives it feels as if she's been the one taking care of me. As elegant as i am i am also notoriously playful and every now and then i would cause some mayhem she usually has to clean up, though she still adores me and I adore her just as much. As she walks to me I can't help but recognize the dignity of which she carries herself with, her gracefulness and kindness dare i say surpasses my own, and with a sort of stoic and dignified but still playful attitude she is a kitsune anyone can look up to.
Before she can speak to me though, her sister, karakaosu or kara for short, hops right onto my shoulder from behind. She's quite lightweight due to being smaller than her sister by about half a foot however she has nearly ten times the energy. She is incredibly energetic and playful, however despite my reserved nature I too enjoy keeping pace with her at times. in a way i'm a somewhat middleground between their two attitudes despite being oldest.
That being said, her playfulness is not merely innocence. She enjoys the heat of battle and continues to try to be stronger every day. Matching her 7 purple tails, she employs the use of purple lightning. a magic she has created on her own, despite seeming rowdy and reckless her battle intelligence is nothing to scoff at, as why she is one of the strongest fighters in the kingdom, even on the verge of achieving her 8th tail.
From my shoulder kara gave off her typical playful and excited grin as she announced with happiness in an energetic voice full of youth in spite of her age
"Tomomitsu! Your back! Hell yeah! I've been waiting for you, you know we should spar in a bit." Kara eagerly announces. Byuti simply sighs and pets kara's head as she speaks in a much softer stoic tone
"Kara, I'm excited too, but don't get too hyper right now. even at night your energy doesn't end does it? I missed tomo too but it is night and coronation is tomorrow, she should rest." Byuti turns to me with an expression of which to indicate I should take her advice. I nod and pet kara as well.
"Thanks you two, you're the best and i love seeing you again, but Byuti is right i really should rest. After tomorrow we'll get to see each other all we want, after all I'll be cooped up in the castle doing queen things and you'll be my guards right?" I say with a hint of joking to my voice and a tinge of slight worry at the realization I'll likely lose a lot of free time. However I've already accepted that fate and would have it no other way.
Karas expression lights up as she nods eagerly and hops off my shoulder. I say a final goodbye as i walk inside the expansive castle, i waste no time now in rushing to my room, my room is rather barren containing only a large white bed with many fluffy blankets of all colours, a nightstand with a lamp and a desk over to the side where i keep beauty products. I hop onto my bed after turning the lights off and curl up in many blankets and even hug my tails. I lay there silent and cozy awaiting the next day. however an odd feeling tugs at me. Something feels off, something I haven't felt before, and I can't stop thinking about tamamo as well. Alas no point in dwelling on it while tired reassure myself as I slowly drift off to sleep to awaken to the next day….
*these are in the style of a japanese castle which i couldnt explain since japan doesnt exist in this story
