A Fox in the Works
Chapter 1
Wake up.
Kakita Toshiki was on his feet before his eyes opened, leaving the quilted blanket draped over the figure in his bed. The cold told him the brazier had gone out in the night; the scent of cherry blossoms that his Lady was near.
Two steps to the right in the darkened room, then a step forward. His kimono and obi, exactly where she knew he would look for them. A tie for his hair; the azure and silver one, from the feel of the metal and inlay under his fingers. Salt and water for his hands and mouth.
Hurry.
He slipped open the shoji and left without looking back. Misao's futon and blankets in the hall were properly mussed; she always thought of the little details. As his lips formed a question, his Lady's voice in his ear again:
The Gates. You will miss him.
---
Toshiki used his diminutive size and speed to his advantage, slipping through hidden paths in the elaborate gardens in the heart of the Kakita Academy with ease. In passing he broke off two fading branches and a withering blossom with clever fingers, barely noticing the act as he suppressed his yawns.
The path took him to a small post set close to the gate. Visitors mistook it for a decoration and generations of Kakita had indeed decorated it well. Its real purpose was as an anchor for the long ropes which suspended lanterns or kites for events. Enterprising young men and women, however, had found another use entirely, one they imagined hidden from the generations who came before.
Up he went, agile as a monkey, and not a moment too soon. The Gates were always open but sometimes they opened wider than others. Now they were flung wide, as if to welcome Imperial guests. Which was the truth. The golden chrysanthemum of the Otomo, above the sigil of the Otomo Yuriko-hime. His wife. His world narrowed to that gold and green banner…
LOOK.
…and opened wide to a riot of colors and sounds; shapes and textures. The red of dawn's touch on the horizon. The slight thump of the horses hooves on the muddy road. A lark's muted colors so at odds with its glorious song, contracted with the green of the trees, the fox red of the samurais' hair, the hunter green of their kashimono…
His eyes focused again on what his Lady wanted him to see. Four samurai, with hair like a fox's coat wearing green. Kitsune bushi walking well behind the Princess and her guards, but here. Now. But she had not awoken him just for that. He drew in a breath and looked again, accepting the truth the world had to show him.
One's hair was darker, coarser than the others. His armor looked off; as if he didn't quite know how to put it on. His head snapped up to look at the little Crane on his carved perch then quickly turned away, not wanting to be seen to have seen.
"Asooo…the fox has come back to play?"
GRANDSON!
---
The four bushi entered the emissary's chamber. A small man with long white hair stood looking out through an open shoji into the gardens. He turned as they entered, an incandescent smile lighting his face. "Kenichi-san! Maito-san! Niobi-san! It is good to see you again." Guileless grey eyes regarded the fourth. "And you, honored guest?"
The fourth bushi felt his color rising. This was a mistake, she isn't even here. "Kitsune Renshin."
"You are as welcome as your brothers. I confess that I thought I knew all of the survivors of that dreadful day, but I am glad to see that I did not. May I see your papers?"
Kenichi stepped forward, only at the last going to one knee. When he did so the other two knelt as well. Renshin followed, too slow, but grey eyes gave no indication of having seen.
The gunso raised his outstretched hands over his head, holding out papers covered with kanji, wax seals, and ribbons. His hands trembled a bit as the papers were taken, examined, and returned.
"All is in order, Kenichi-san. Please, rise."
"Hai, Kakita-sama!" The three sprang to their feet; again Renshin guessed wrong and it took a moment longer to stand than it should.
"None of that. We were friends on the long march; we are friends now. Unless something has changed?" The Kakita's tone was mild and gently reproving. His scent was that of a calm man who had recently been with his woman.
"Iie, Toshiki-sama. But that was the march. This is the Kakita Academy itself." Kenichi lifted his head, his scent sharp with submission. "And you…"
"Yes, yes. So, have you been shown to your rooms yet?"
"Iie."
Toshiki clapped his hands. A young woman with long black hair tied back with a silver cord approached on light feet from down the hall. She paused, close enough that Renshin could smell Toshiki's scent on her. "Misao. Please guide our guests to their chambers and see to it they are refreshed. I would like to speak to them after dinner."
"Hai, Kakita-ue. Please, Kitsune-samas, come with me?"
The four followed, but Renshin paused so that Kenichi drew close. "What was that? I thought he was an artist in the Academy?"
Kenshin did not look at his companion as they fell into step. "Toshiki would never say it, but his family traces its line to the second daughter of Doji and Kakita. He is married to an Otomo. His twin guards Golden Petal Village, where Hantei shook the dew off his cloak and created the golden trees. By right of blood and marriage, he is likely the highest ranked person in this building unless the daimyo himself is present. But neither he nor his twin would assert such privilege."
Kaori was kuge? And highest kuge, at that? Renshin felt his heart fall. This form was a mistake such as will be told with laughter in the Forest for a hundred generations.
---
Yoriko carefully poured her husband tea, the bountiful "prepared by her own hand" meal spread between them. The cooks had, naturally, done their duty perfectly down to the little imperfections one would expect from a spouse. Husband and wife sat together in silence for a moment while she watched his fine hands caress his tea cup. Was that what they looked like when…
She shook herself. "So. Husband. All is well here in the Academy?"
Toshiki looked up from the tea. "Hai. The gardens grow ever more beautiful. The students grow less talented, or I am just a poor teacher of children."
She sipped from her cup. "And your post?"
"Your inquiry at the Court may yet bear fruit. Kakita-sama is unwilling to let me leave the Academy, saying that I am not yet ready. Ichiro-sama has expressed interest in our proposal to join our line with his."
"Hai."
Toshiki looked back down at his tea cup. "And your work? How fares the Ministry of Calligraphy and Seals? Have you gotten the ink stains out of the golden kimono I sent you?""
She felt her face hardening, saw the look of hurt in his eyes, quickly veiled. Oh Lady, why… Heard her own voice snap crisply, "Hai, husband. The robe you sent was repaired. I am honored to wear it every day."
…why is it this way between us?
She looked at his closing face, his hunched shoulders. She remembered laughing with him in the gardens of Otosan Uchi, attending performances, kissing in the rain as everyone ran indoors at a ruined Dragon fireworks show.
Standing, she shrugged out of her kimono, letting the silk fabric fall free. She reached for him, and he for her, and maybe it would be enough.
After, laying in her bed alone, she silently cried herself to sleep again.
----
Kaori's feet ached. Her back ached. She suspected that the foot of her back ached but she didn't really want to know. It was also raining, which made the beautifully sculpted road up to the Academy muddy. And horses had been past recently. A lot of them. Recently fed.
It was, in short, exactly the sort of moment that a young man would step into her field of vision from the side of the road. A tall, handsome young man with fox red hair and piercing green eyes. Handsome enough that she could feel herself straightening, smiling, even though he didn't say anything. He stood there, watching her watch him as she walked past. It would not have been courteous to turn and gawk at him after she walked by, so she hurried her steps towards the gates.
She could hear him laughing behind her. At her? She turned to see him sitting up, covered from head to toe in mud and other things. His fine hair was plastered to his head, his clothing soiled, and his face covered. Yet his laughter rang through the air like a bell. She felt her smile widen, tried to stop it, then felt her footing slip…
Mud. And horse. In her hair, her armor, her clothes. Everywhere. Followed by a sharp pain from her left ankle, quickly blooming into fire.
"Kakita-sama," said a man's voice. A tenor, probably. 'Please, let me help." She looked up at the smiling man, felt herself smiling as he drew her up, grabbing her as her left leg collapsed. "I have you." A warm arm slipped around her waist and he held her up, muck to her muck.
Oh Lady…why today of all days?
Together they hobbled up to the Academy and clean, hot water.
---
Miaso lit three sticks of incense and placed them in the bowl before the statue of Lady Doji, founding kami of the Crane Clan and wife of Kakita, the mortal who won her hand from the Emperor and her heart on his own merits. She bowed low, pressing her face to the silk pillows in front of the shrine.
His Lady, he calls you, Lady Doji o'wise and fair. Please don't push him so hard. Please don't break him.
Lady, please, make the Princess see…
Tears stained the pillow as she pressed her face down harder, willing the Kami to hear her, and the sounds of the Princess voice singing out for the last three nights from her ears.
…let her see not just his fine face but the trembling in his hands after You have kept him up for six nights without stop. Let her see the pain he feels when his students cannot draw, and see the look in Toshi-kun's…
She rose up and slammed her head on the pillow. Never, not even in her own thoughts, could she dare that name. It hurt too much. She was who she was, a servant of the Hida brought from mud and fire to this perfect, beautiful place. This was her fairy tale come true.
..Toshiki-sama's eyes when it's too much and he can barely breathe. Please let her see him as I do. Please.
Misao looked into the jade statue's cold, hard, beautiful face.
Please?
Chapter 1
Wake up.
Kakita Toshiki was on his feet before his eyes opened, leaving the quilted blanket draped over the figure in his bed. The cold told him the brazier had gone out in the night; the scent of cherry blossoms that his Lady was near.
Two steps to the right in the darkened room, then a step forward. His kimono and obi, exactly where she knew he would look for them. A tie for his hair; the azure and silver one, from the feel of the metal and inlay under his fingers. Salt and water for his hands and mouth.
Hurry.
He slipped open the shoji and left without looking back. Misao's futon and blankets in the hall were properly mussed; she always thought of the little details. As his lips formed a question, his Lady's voice in his ear again:
The Gates. You will miss him.
---
Toshiki used his diminutive size and speed to his advantage, slipping through hidden paths in the elaborate gardens in the heart of the Kakita Academy with ease. In passing he broke off two fading branches and a withering blossom with clever fingers, barely noticing the act as he suppressed his yawns.
The path took him to a small post set close to the gate. Visitors mistook it for a decoration and generations of Kakita had indeed decorated it well. Its real purpose was as an anchor for the long ropes which suspended lanterns or kites for events. Enterprising young men and women, however, had found another use entirely, one they imagined hidden from the generations who came before.
Up he went, agile as a monkey, and not a moment too soon. The Gates were always open but sometimes they opened wider than others. Now they were flung wide, as if to welcome Imperial guests. Which was the truth. The golden chrysanthemum of the Otomo, above the sigil of the Otomo Yuriko-hime. His wife. His world narrowed to that gold and green banner…
LOOK.
…and opened wide to a riot of colors and sounds; shapes and textures. The red of dawn's touch on the horizon. The slight thump of the horses hooves on the muddy road. A lark's muted colors so at odds with its glorious song, contracted with the green of the trees, the fox red of the samurais' hair, the hunter green of their kashimono…
His eyes focused again on what his Lady wanted him to see. Four samurai, with hair like a fox's coat wearing green. Kitsune bushi walking well behind the Princess and her guards, but here. Now. But she had not awoken him just for that. He drew in a breath and looked again, accepting the truth the world had to show him.
One's hair was darker, coarser than the others. His armor looked off; as if he didn't quite know how to put it on. His head snapped up to look at the little Crane on his carved perch then quickly turned away, not wanting to be seen to have seen.
"Asooo…the fox has come back to play?"
GRANDSON!
---
The four bushi entered the emissary's chamber. A small man with long white hair stood looking out through an open shoji into the gardens. He turned as they entered, an incandescent smile lighting his face. "Kenichi-san! Maito-san! Niobi-san! It is good to see you again." Guileless grey eyes regarded the fourth. "And you, honored guest?"
The fourth bushi felt his color rising. This was a mistake, she isn't even here. "Kitsune Renshin."
"You are as welcome as your brothers. I confess that I thought I knew all of the survivors of that dreadful day, but I am glad to see that I did not. May I see your papers?"
Kenichi stepped forward, only at the last going to one knee. When he did so the other two knelt as well. Renshin followed, too slow, but grey eyes gave no indication of having seen.
The gunso raised his outstretched hands over his head, holding out papers covered with kanji, wax seals, and ribbons. His hands trembled a bit as the papers were taken, examined, and returned.
"All is in order, Kenichi-san. Please, rise."
"Hai, Kakita-sama!" The three sprang to their feet; again Renshin guessed wrong and it took a moment longer to stand than it should.
"None of that. We were friends on the long march; we are friends now. Unless something has changed?" The Kakita's tone was mild and gently reproving. His scent was that of a calm man who had recently been with his woman.
"Iie, Toshiki-sama. But that was the march. This is the Kakita Academy itself." Kenichi lifted his head, his scent sharp with submission. "And you…"
"Yes, yes. So, have you been shown to your rooms yet?"
"Iie."
Toshiki clapped his hands. A young woman with long black hair tied back with a silver cord approached on light feet from down the hall. She paused, close enough that Renshin could smell Toshiki's scent on her. "Misao. Please guide our guests to their chambers and see to it they are refreshed. I would like to speak to them after dinner."
"Hai, Kakita-ue. Please, Kitsune-samas, come with me?"
The four followed, but Renshin paused so that Kenichi drew close. "What was that? I thought he was an artist in the Academy?"
Kenshin did not look at his companion as they fell into step. "Toshiki would never say it, but his family traces its line to the second daughter of Doji and Kakita. He is married to an Otomo. His twin guards Golden Petal Village, where Hantei shook the dew off his cloak and created the golden trees. By right of blood and marriage, he is likely the highest ranked person in this building unless the daimyo himself is present. But neither he nor his twin would assert such privilege."
Kaori was kuge? And highest kuge, at that? Renshin felt his heart fall. This form was a mistake such as will be told with laughter in the Forest for a hundred generations.
---
Yoriko carefully poured her husband tea, the bountiful "prepared by her own hand" meal spread between them. The cooks had, naturally, done their duty perfectly down to the little imperfections one would expect from a spouse. Husband and wife sat together in silence for a moment while she watched his fine hands caress his tea cup. Was that what they looked like when…
She shook herself. "So. Husband. All is well here in the Academy?"
Toshiki looked up from the tea. "Hai. The gardens grow ever more beautiful. The students grow less talented, or I am just a poor teacher of children."
She sipped from her cup. "And your post?"
"Your inquiry at the Court may yet bear fruit. Kakita-sama is unwilling to let me leave the Academy, saying that I am not yet ready. Ichiro-sama has expressed interest in our proposal to join our line with his."
"Hai."
Toshiki looked back down at his tea cup. "And your work? How fares the Ministry of Calligraphy and Seals? Have you gotten the ink stains out of the golden kimono I sent you?""
She felt her face hardening, saw the look of hurt in his eyes, quickly veiled. Oh Lady, why… Heard her own voice snap crisply, "Hai, husband. The robe you sent was repaired. I am honored to wear it every day."
…why is it this way between us?
She looked at his closing face, his hunched shoulders. She remembered laughing with him in the gardens of Otosan Uchi, attending performances, kissing in the rain as everyone ran indoors at a ruined Dragon fireworks show.
Standing, she shrugged out of her kimono, letting the silk fabric fall free. She reached for him, and he for her, and maybe it would be enough.
After, laying in her bed alone, she silently cried herself to sleep again.
----
Kaori's feet ached. Her back ached. She suspected that the foot of her back ached but she didn't really want to know. It was also raining, which made the beautifully sculpted road up to the Academy muddy. And horses had been past recently. A lot of them. Recently fed.
It was, in short, exactly the sort of moment that a young man would step into her field of vision from the side of the road. A tall, handsome young man with fox red hair and piercing green eyes. Handsome enough that she could feel herself straightening, smiling, even though he didn't say anything. He stood there, watching her watch him as she walked past. It would not have been courteous to turn and gawk at him after she walked by, so she hurried her steps towards the gates.
She could hear him laughing behind her. At her? She turned to see him sitting up, covered from head to toe in mud and other things. His fine hair was plastered to his head, his clothing soiled, and his face covered. Yet his laughter rang through the air like a bell. She felt her smile widen, tried to stop it, then felt her footing slip…
Mud. And horse. In her hair, her armor, her clothes. Everywhere. Followed by a sharp pain from her left ankle, quickly blooming into fire.
"Kakita-sama," said a man's voice. A tenor, probably. 'Please, let me help." She looked up at the smiling man, felt herself smiling as he drew her up, grabbing her as her left leg collapsed. "I have you." A warm arm slipped around her waist and he held her up, muck to her muck.
Oh Lady…why today of all days?
Together they hobbled up to the Academy and clean, hot water.
---
Miaso lit three sticks of incense and placed them in the bowl before the statue of Lady Doji, founding kami of the Crane Clan and wife of Kakita, the mortal who won her hand from the Emperor and her heart on his own merits. She bowed low, pressing her face to the silk pillows in front of the shrine.
His Lady, he calls you, Lady Doji o'wise and fair. Please don't push him so hard. Please don't break him.
Lady, please, make the Princess see…
Tears stained the pillow as she pressed her face down harder, willing the Kami to hear her, and the sounds of the Princess voice singing out for the last three nights from her ears.
…let her see not just his fine face but the trembling in his hands after You have kept him up for six nights without stop. Let her see the pain he feels when his students cannot draw, and see the look in Toshi-kun's…
She rose up and slammed her head on the pillow. Never, not even in her own thoughts, could she dare that name. It hurt too much. She was who she was, a servant of the Hida brought from mud and fire to this perfect, beautiful place. This was her fairy tale come true.
..Toshiki-sama's eyes when it's too much and he can barely breathe. Please let her see him as I do. Please.
Misao looked into the jade statue's cold, hard, beautiful face.
Please?
