March of the Kitsune
by Kakita Kaori
From above, Kitsune Mori was a sea of silver. Grey mists filled the valley, tinted faintly pink in Ameterasu's red glow. The tops of trees poked through the rolling waves like origami ships on a broad ocean. To dip below the tree line was to plunge into pale waters, through which loomed the tall, dark trees like masts. Everything in the Forest of the Kitsune was alive. It breathed, it whispered, it spoke of mysteries begun before the Empire was ever founded, doomed to be lost, still, until the last stars fell from the sky. The forest was alive, and it was…curious.
A rustle led the way, ferns parting in near silence among the mist-soaked woods as the russet and green-clad scouts trod new paths through the trackless forest. Behind them, the first shugenja, giving supplications to the spirits, and leaving offerings and prayers at shrines too overgrown with weeds to have seen use in five hundred years. Behind them, cutting the plants when there was no other way to pass and asking forgiveness, the front of the column of bushi. They were led by the Standard of Ryosei and the Fox, warriors armed with yari and naginata, yumi and katana, moving through Kitsune Mori on ways never walked before. The column was long, hundreds of Fox Clan samurai and shugenja passing through. Their eyes were dark in the pale mists, though here and there the flecks of green shone. The samurai were marching to war, and the forest watched.
Near the end of the column, one of the samurai-ko marched a little distant from the others, skirting the edge of the trees. She was different…pale eyes and pale hair and too young for her armor. Too young to be wise. The forest drew close as she lagged behind.
A monkey crouched on the branch above, his face wrinkled, his back hairy, his ears large from seeking out secrets,. He chittered from his place in the trees, calling out to her. "Samurai-san! Tell me where these soldiers are marching!"
The Samurai-ko looked up. She said to the monkey, "What will you do if I tell you?" she asked.
The monkey grinned, showing all his teeth. "I will bring you Kashi and Shiruko and all the finest Foods in the forest to carry with you on your journey, so you will never be hungry, Samurai-ko. I will make all my brothers and sisters weave you the finest silk with our nimble fingers, so you will never be cold. How is that?"
The Samurai-ko bowed to the monkey, and said, "I am very sorry, Saru-san, but I may not tell you. I need to catch up with the Fox." And with that, she hurried on her way.
Some time later, as the mist began to burn off and shafts of red sunlight were reaching under the forest canopy, a rat looked up from underneath a mushroom. His eyes were bright pink, peering out to see many secrets, and his tail coiled around him like a rope. He saw the Samurai-ko passing near him, and called up to her as she passed, "Samurai-san! Tell me where these soldiers are marching!"
The Samurai-ko crouched down to look at the rat, and said, "What will you do if I tell you?"
This pleased the rat and he polished his teeth as he said, "I will make for you a fine house by the waterfall, with new tatami mats made by my brothers and sisters every day, so you never need sleep without shelter again. I will show you to sources of iron and jade, so that all the samurai of Rokugan will respect you and you will be wealthy."
The Samurai-ko bowed politely to the rat, and said, "I am very sorry, Nezumi-san, but I may not tell you. I need to catch up with the Fox." With that, she hurried after the column of Bushi and disappeared with them amongst the Trees.
Several hours later, when the first traces of night were creeping over the woods and turning all into blackened shadows, a fox approached the end of the column from his position, hidden amongst the ferns. He was sleek and rust-red, with a fine brush of a tail, and his nose was sharp for the sniffing out of secrets. He called out to the Samurai-ko, "Samurai-san! Tell me where these soldiers are marching!"
The Samurai-ko, leaning on her yari, turned to the fox and asked, "What will you do if I tell you?"
The fox thought about it for a moment, and then replied, "I suppose I would tangle your hair into knots while you slept wrapped in your cloak, and steal the riceballs you were going to eat for breakfast. I might bite your feet so you dream of being pursued by goblins, or whisper in your ear so you dream of the handsome man you cannot have."
The Samurai-ko nodded, and knelt by the fox and whispered something, very quietly, in the fox's ear. The fox began to laugh, and laugh, rolling on the ground with his feet in the air in his humor. He yipped and chuckled until the tears sprang from his eyes.
By the time he had stopped laughing, he realized that the Samurai-ko had gone ahead of him, marching with the rest of the army. He raced down the trail after her, catching her under the branches of a tall cedar tree. The fox had heard of the monkey and the rat, and so cried out, "Wait, Samurai-ko! Why did you tell me this, when you did not tell the monkey or the rat?"
The Samurai-ko turned with eyes which had seen too many things, and said, "I am not wise, Kitsune-san. But I know that all things will act according to their nature. And I know the Shadow lies."
The Samurai-ko rejoined the March of the Fox.
From above, Kitsune Mori was a sea of silver. Grey mists filled the valley, tinted faintly pink in Ameterasu's red glow. The tops of trees poked through the rolling waves like origami ships on a broad ocean. To dip below the tree line was to plunge into pale waters, through which loomed the tall, dark trees like masts. Everything in the Forest of the Kitsune was alive. It breathed, it whispered, it spoke of mysteries begun before the Empire was ever founded, doomed to be lost, still, until the last stars fell from the sky. The forest was alive, and it was…curious.
A rustle led the way, ferns parting in near silence among the mist-soaked woods as the russet and green-clad scouts trod new paths through the trackless forest. Behind them, the first shugenja, giving supplications to the spirits, and leaving offerings and prayers at shrines too overgrown with weeds to have seen use in five hundred years. Behind them, cutting the plants when there was no other way to pass and asking forgiveness, the front of the column of bushi. They were led by the Standard of Ryosei and the Fox, warriors armed with yari and naginata, yumi and katana, moving through Kitsune Mori on ways never walked before. The column was long, hundreds of Fox Clan samurai and shugenja passing through. Their eyes were dark in the pale mists, though here and there the flecks of green shone. The samurai were marching to war, and the forest watched.
Near the end of the column, one of the samurai-ko marched a little distant from the others, skirting the edge of the trees. She was different…pale eyes and pale hair and too young for her armor. Too young to be wise. The forest drew close as she lagged behind.
A monkey crouched on the branch above, his face wrinkled, his back hairy, his ears large from seeking out secrets,. He chittered from his place in the trees, calling out to her. "Samurai-san! Tell me where these soldiers are marching!"
The Samurai-ko looked up. She said to the monkey, "What will you do if I tell you?" she asked.
The monkey grinned, showing all his teeth. "I will bring you Kashi and Shiruko and all the finest Foods in the forest to carry with you on your journey, so you will never be hungry, Samurai-ko. I will make all my brothers and sisters weave you the finest silk with our nimble fingers, so you will never be cold. How is that?"
The Samurai-ko bowed to the monkey, and said, "I am very sorry, Saru-san, but I may not tell you. I need to catch up with the Fox." And with that, she hurried on her way.
Some time later, as the mist began to burn off and shafts of red sunlight were reaching under the forest canopy, a rat looked up from underneath a mushroom. His eyes were bright pink, peering out to see many secrets, and his tail coiled around him like a rope. He saw the Samurai-ko passing near him, and called up to her as she passed, "Samurai-san! Tell me where these soldiers are marching!"
The Samurai-ko crouched down to look at the rat, and said, "What will you do if I tell you?"
This pleased the rat and he polished his teeth as he said, "I will make for you a fine house by the waterfall, with new tatami mats made by my brothers and sisters every day, so you never need sleep without shelter again. I will show you to sources of iron and jade, so that all the samurai of Rokugan will respect you and you will be wealthy."
The Samurai-ko bowed politely to the rat, and said, "I am very sorry, Nezumi-san, but I may not tell you. I need to catch up with the Fox." With that, she hurried after the column of Bushi and disappeared with them amongst the Trees.
Several hours later, when the first traces of night were creeping over the woods and turning all into blackened shadows, a fox approached the end of the column from his position, hidden amongst the ferns. He was sleek and rust-red, with a fine brush of a tail, and his nose was sharp for the sniffing out of secrets. He called out to the Samurai-ko, "Samurai-san! Tell me where these soldiers are marching!"
The Samurai-ko, leaning on her yari, turned to the fox and asked, "What will you do if I tell you?"
The fox thought about it for a moment, and then replied, "I suppose I would tangle your hair into knots while you slept wrapped in your cloak, and steal the riceballs you were going to eat for breakfast. I might bite your feet so you dream of being pursued by goblins, or whisper in your ear so you dream of the handsome man you cannot have."
The Samurai-ko nodded, and knelt by the fox and whispered something, very quietly, in the fox's ear. The fox began to laugh, and laugh, rolling on the ground with his feet in the air in his humor. He yipped and chuckled until the tears sprang from his eyes.
By the time he had stopped laughing, he realized that the Samurai-ko had gone ahead of him, marching with the rest of the army. He raced down the trail after her, catching her under the branches of a tall cedar tree. The fox had heard of the monkey and the rat, and so cried out, "Wait, Samurai-ko! Why did you tell me this, when you did not tell the monkey or the rat?"
The Samurai-ko turned with eyes which had seen too many things, and said, "I am not wise, Kitsune-san. But I know that all things will act according to their nature. And I know the Shadow lies."
The Samurai-ko rejoined the March of the Fox.
