Foxfather's Price

Key

Primary Cast
Pink - Sen Yamamoto
Blue - Tsugumi
Orange - The Foxfather

Part 1 - Ten Years Prior

Sen coughed as the incense assaulted her nostrils with an overpowering, bitter aroma. In the confines of the closed-off stone shrine she could scarcely breathe without inhaling more of the acrid mist, unconsciously sputtering and hacking at the intrusion. That she had been told to remain still did not help - it was dark, lukewarm and for the most part silent save for the tinkering of her mentor - there was little other sensation to focus upon than the bitter burn.

"Calm yourself," the elder's tranquil but firm voice cut through the silence, "as I told you, it would do no good to show disrespect to our visitor. Breathe - the sensation will pass."

"Y-yes, Lady Tsugumi." Sen's mind tried to calm even as the heavy smoke drew another cough. Despite her age, the child knew that such a level of incense was beyond extreme - yet, she had grown to know Tsugumi as a wise figure, not commonly prone to such simple mistakes - whatever this visitor was, this was what it preferred.

"Can I..." Sen's pause gave life to her anxieties, she had grown used to asking every question that passed her mind with her mother and tutors at the Academy, expecting wholehearted responses. The Grand Librarian was different, there was an aura about her that whispered at truths that should not be freely shared, secrets buried behind a mind that had seen generations - perhaps the entire village - fly past into history. She had been helpful many times and never truly scolding when the young girl unknowingly approached topics forbidden to her ears, but the child ever-feared the harsh response that had yet to come. "What is the name of our visitor? I would like to address them properly."

Tsugumi's aura turned serious at the question, no doubt carefully considering her response as she placed another wooden token - the twenty third and final in an irregular pattern around the room. "That depends on who arrives, their family does not always send the same messenger," although her head does not turn from her work, her gaze can be felt by the young kunoichi, "as for names, you remember what I told you - do not think I haven't noticed, young lady."

A gulp and nod of affirmation from the girl, "They-they don't like sharing their names."

"And what must you never do?"

"T-tell them my name."

"And if they ask for it?"

"Tell them a fake one?"

"Good."

"Won't l-lying to them make them mad?"

"No."

Silence reigned once again. Tsugumi's eyes were now cast about the ritual, looking for the tiniest misalignments or mistakes. When it came to the Fox Clan, a summoning was just as much an art as a science - the creatures were tempted by aesthetics, sights, sounds and tastes more than the numerically perfect arrangement of symbols or technical intricacies of seals - still, proper wardings were always useful in case one of the more unruly family members arrived. She had been preparing this ritual for six hours, twenty in all if the collection of materials was to be counted - there were sixteen dangling silver bells, twenty three wooden tokens bearing the visage of the primary members of the Fox Clan, twelve bundles of incense carefully gathered from the borders of Maboroshi Forest, a bowl of handpicked black-and-red berries, another bowl of sweet-sour sake and a third of mixed coin donated from Tsugumi's own pocket, saying nothing of the red string, sealing tags, summoning seals and all else...

"This should be more than enough, please stay where you are and do not leave the circle until I tell you, alright?" Tsgumi's worry for the girl slipped aloud for the first time - the Fox Clan were not truly dangerous unless provoked, nor did she expect anything untoward in her presence from them, but despite her history with the village she was not a Sage of Maboroshi, her relationship with the Clan was cordial, but far from authoritative.

"Yes, Lady Tsugumi!" Sen's face turned serious as she meshed her hands together - her chakra flared almost imperceptibly before calming as she entered the beginnings of a meditative trance. Around her were more seals, tags and tokens than anywhere else, designed to keep any Fox from approaching too closely. A paranoid precaution, perhaps - at worst the Foxes had been known to whisk students away for days at a time to worry their tutors, but they had always been returned safely, if a little disoriented.

"Very well." Tsugumi took up her own position behind the three bowls. Before her, a splendidly carved stone statue of a Fox was frozen in a leer as if curiously gazing about its surroundings. The Third Foxsister - young for its family, it was a spritely and enthusiastic patron to the Grand Library and ever-eager to bless its students - the ritual was crafted to her tastes in particular, ideally to entice her presence above any other that could answer the call.

Bird, snake, dragon, dog, dragon, tiger, rat, monkey, hare, dragon, ox - the handsigns continued until the serpent marked the fiftieth and final movement. Tsugumi could have done it in less, but there was no rush and certainly no need to take any risks. With the Jutsu finished, chakra flared through the room as a gust of wind, chiming the bells, gently swaying the wooden tokens and spreading the thick mist that had pooled at the ground through the entire room like a haze.

The elder withdrew a long, gilded scroll and in a single motion unbound it before her in a circle. She was not a summoner by any means - the purpose of the ritual was to make such a Jutsu possible despite her lack of experience in such matters - and this scroll, prepared by one of the Fox Clan's actual summoners, was a necessary component for her to complete the call. Loathe to pierce her own thumb with her tooth like an savage, she carefully drew a silver needle bearing the visage of her intented summon and struck her own skin before wiping the blooded digit gracefully across the complicated seals.

[Kuchiyose No Jutsu]

The Fox-statue's eyes lit up in a blue flame and many of the seal tags combusted in the same fashion, followed by the chattering of wooden icons and the synchronization of the bells into a rattling melody. A sudden rush of wind drew the smoke into the centre, shrouding all but the silhouette of the great Fox statue and its burning azure gaze. A moment of silence followed, Tsugumi's composure remained completely stoic - Sen's own broke with a tremble, but with enough self-control to stifle a whimper.

Behind the statue crawled another silhouette, identical in all save its movement. The blue flame left the statue to follow its eyes as it took stock of the room, slowly coiling about and above the stone simulacrum. It grew like a shadow puppet held too close to the fire - ten times did the Fox-shadow outscale the image that came before, yet it did not move from its perch even as it coiled.

"Third sister?" Tsugumi's question echoed her worry even if her tone did not betray her thoughts.

As if to answer, the Fox-shadow stirred. The black impression of a tail coiled about its form before retrieving a long, thin object. With uncanny dexterity the shadow placed the stick in its mouth and lit the other end with its tail - briefly burning with the same blue flame as its eyes - an audible inhalation followed as the shadow took in smoke from its pipe.

"Incorrect." Tsugumi's eyes had already tightened with worry at the presence of the object, but the sly, elderly, masculine voice caused her to grasp the kimono about her knees in tension - Sen could sense that something had gone deeply, deeply wrong.

A wry chuckle echoed from the creature as it exhaled, bathing the room in a deeper grey smoke than the white of the incense. Now even the tokens, the offerings, the seals and even the shadows were out of sight - Tsugumi could sense past the cloud, Sen could not, leaving her in a claustrophobic ocean of haze.