Itami Hiratake's Story

“Shindoi wa!” A tired voice called. With an ink smothered calligraphy brush in one hand and another resting against his temple, the Dog Yokai Itami Hiratake let out a groan. His white eyes glared at the mess created upon a document. Itami ran a hand through his blueish black hair and sighed, "Kusokurae." Getting from his knees, Itami brushed his kimono off and stretched. Straightening his collar and hair ornament, Itami opened the Fusuma and stepped outside.

It was dark, beginning of night. The Yokai were out. Folding his arms through his sleeves, Itami gazed around. A Futakuchi Onna ate timidly in an open shop whilst her second mouth stuffed itself. Two Nekomatas hissed at each other over an unjustly sale. A gaggle of Hannya laughed over a chat as the stood randomly in the street. A Kuro Bōzu watching through an open window of a human inhabited home- most likely taunting a young soul as they slept. Itachi ran amuck, messing and playing with one another. Smiling, Itami strolled past until he came upon the waters edge, where he crouched down and stared at. The water was peaceful, the occasional Kappa and Ryuto, but peaceful.

Itami had yet to find himself a true place to stalk as an Okuri Inu, so spent a large amount of his time awake in the village. "Who deserves to be annoyed today? Well, who'd let me annoy them without killing me, rather?" He pondered, chuckling at the plans he made.

Itami let out a breath after a while and stood up, cracking his limbs. He had probably sat there for a few hours and hadn't realized the area had become quite dry of other Yokai. "Another one? They're making this village soft with ideals of love." He chuckled upon the realisation of another ceremony. He didn't despise the idea of the celebrations- for one, they were older than him, so he knew they had become common practice- he just disliked what they did to the Yokai who were supposedly evil and ferocious. He had good reasoning behind this disliking, he knew all to well what happens to the Yokai who make the wrong decisions.

Yokai had begun refilling the streets. Most staid away from the young Okuri Inu, a natural occurrence. He closed his eyes and walked, knowing his way of by heart. He still pondered upon which clan leader would be his victim. This was soon answered as the white-eyed spirit spotted a certain fox. A devious smile danced on his lips. Itami walked up next to the Kitsune, "Tut, tut, tut, smoking those pipes are bad for your health, fox." He chuckled, raising a sleeved hand to his mouth.

The fox spirit's left ear twitched slightly, and he let the smoke list lazily out of his mouth while he thought for a second, Its that Okuri Inu again. Touhou played dumb, feigning innocence as if he had only now noticed the pipe in his hand. "Oh my! How did this get here?!" he made a show of playing dumb while tapping the pipe out and returning it to his sleeve. He waved a hand in front of his face, "I swear the Yokai downtown get more and more mischievous every century." The fox finished the sentence while eyeing the Okuri Inu up and down, making it abundantly evident that the sentence included Itami.

With a flick of his wrist, an ornate purple gilded with gold folding fan appeared in his hand. Though, I suppose as far as mischief goes I'm in no place to talk Touhou opened the fan, hiding his mouth while he smiled slyly. With a thought and the slightest bit of effort, the fox-man was replaced by a near exact look-alike of Itami, except for with a comically long nose. "Now if you'll excuse me I have a few lady callers to attend to, and i absolutely cannot keep them waiting... It'd be a shame if the Tree of Bitter Love decided not to link my soul for all of eternity to some fragile mortal, wouldn't it?" With that he winked at Itami and sprang into the air, making for the nearby rooftops for his getaway. If there's one thing Touhou loved, it was a good game of the fox and the hound.

With a slight glare, Itami chased after, on the ground however. "Like you could ever attract a lover, no one likes an old man." He chuckled, getting onto the roof tops via a smaller building. He raced after, holding onto the handle of his blade in a deceiving way. He followed behind, almost on purpose as he darted behind with elegance. "Don't trip! Those old man legs of yours probably don't work well anymore!" He shouted behind.

The Hiratake couldn't help but chuckle as he ran. He could only plan his methods of annoyance. For a definite, he wouldn't catch up for a while, he was technically a dog, he didn't work well in a human form.

The fox kept chuckling as he ran, "Me? Of course not, I'm too far-gone for love. However... I can more than teach this dog some new tricks when it comes to picking up girls. Even if you're not present to learn; I'll make sure they know where to find you!" He enjoyed teasing the dog as he loped along the rooftops. By now he had spent more time in human form than in fox form, and he found his advantage almost made the chase boring. He could hear the dog spirit barking taunts at him, excitedly giving chase like dogs are want to do. Touhou could barely fight down a smile and the need to throw Itami a bone.

Nothing for it I suppose! A sly plan formulated in his head, and when his foot hit the roof-top the wrong way, a shingle gave way sending him tripping, crashing, and plummeting to the ground in a pile of shingles. Dust flew everywhere as the clan elder unceremoniously collided with the ground, kicking up such a cloud that it nearly obscured the motionless form sprawled out in a pile. Ow, that sort of hurt. I'm getting old...

Itami laughed at the fall, catching up and jumping of the roof with little effort. "Ye alright there, Oji-san?" he chuckled, bending over the fox. He had a goofy smile on his face. The dog held out his hand for Tohou. "I told you not to trip, you must have quite bad luck." He laughed.

His devious white eyes gleamed with enjoyment. This so beats making documentations that no one will ever use He thought, closing an eye.

The fox looked up at the dog and feigned shock. As Itami extended his hand to Touhou, the mischievous soul saw his chance. Reaching forward as if to take his hand, at the last second the fox spirit lunged forward, his plan having come to fruition. The Kitsune grabbed for the Okuri Inu's sword, drawing it in an instant. With the same motion, Touhou brought himself to his feet and began a dead sprint down the road. While running, the fox made sure to overtly examine the blade. "Ah yes, of course..." The Yokai nodded and yelled behind, as if the blade contained some universal wisdom that may bring him to enlightenment.

A bit of keep-away before I'm dragged back to Tu San? He darted down the path, weaving in and out of the crowds and ensuring each foot fall was perfect, taking pains to put at least a little distance between him and Itami so that he could get out of the Okuri Inu's eyesight. Touhou's eyes settled on the next target of his mischief, a Tsubaki tree, delivering tea somewhere by the fragrance of the box she held. The kitsune fought to keep a smile down and center himself so that this next trick would be delivered perfectly. As the trickster darted past her and made his way to weave through her and an Inugami, he pirouetted suddenly, and crashed into Umeko.

As he collided with her, he slipped the sword into the sash about her waist, as gently as possible to avoid being noticed. He assumed her form, and tried his best to keep the box from spilling as they fell. By then a few Kitsune had shown, desperately looking for their clan leader. The Fox in the guise of a Tsubaki turned to Umeko and quietly pleaded to her in a hushed voice, "I desperately ask that you play along for my sake. We're delivering this tea, yes?"

Itami lost the fox within seconds. He glowered at this fact. The dog lifted his head and sniffed. The scent of Fox tingled in with tea leaves. A smirk grew on his face.

"That old man still has a few tricks, shame I'm descended from wolves." He chuckle, skipping towards the scent. His white eyes followed a distinct trail. "He's gone home." He whispered, following the route. Itami followed swiftly, jumping onto the roof, the Okuri Inu bent down over the entrance which the fox had just entered. "And now we wait." He whispered, clear from anyone's view.

He closed his eyes, waiting patiently for the fox and Tsubaki to arrive outside.

The guards sent out from Tu San fanned out and began to search for their leader. Touhou glanced at each of their faces as Umeko led him along, helping her with the tea. After noting that no one he knew very well had been sent, he felt more relieved. They should have sent someone who recognized my scent, he began to smile, it felt slightly odd with Umeko's face, but for the sake of the joke he put up with it for awhile longer.

They arrived at Tu Shan, a short ways outside of the Ōbokeyōkai. The guard started forward, but as Touhou returned to his fox form the guard recognized him and welcomed them to Tu Shan. The city was nice, even if it had turned into a bit of a tourist trap as of late. The Matchmakers had become the largest industry, capable of supporting the entire clan in excess, and the economic stimulation in the form of the wedding celebrations had shops filled with all sorts of unique and hard to find things. A fan of Touhou's called out "Sensei!" Then began to approach the Kitsune, but he waved him away with a flick of his ears "I need to deliver this tea," he called back with a smile, hurrying ahead of Umeko.

"It's this way!" The fox explained excitedly as they passed sweet shops, shops that sold Onmyodo tools, shops that sold magic, teahouses, restaurants, street vendors, and a human and yokai couple Touhou had to preemptively way away before they said his name. They finally approached the estate his extended "family" lived and operated out of, the building was like a Japanese castle but almost looked small with the Tree of Bitter Love roaring up behind it.

Assistants ushered Touhou in, "Sensei nice to see you again, who's the lady?" Touhou waved the assistant away with a frown. "That reminds me we haven't been properly introduced! Thank you so much for saving me back there, let me walk you out. My name is Touhou Gesshou. Thanks for the tea also, I suppose." He put a thoughtful finger on his chin as he took Umeko to the entrance. I don't think I lost Itami, where in the world could he have gotten off to?

Shiori.

The first thing she knew – before she saw anything, before she’d even noticed she was alive – was that she had been named. The next thing she discovered? She could feel. Something was walking on her, leaving an imprint on her worn fabric. Despite that this was the first time she had felt any sensation, it was familiar. Warm, and… a little bit painful. Then she lost it all again.

Who knows how much time passed before she came back. All she did know was that she could feel again, and she felt something that was itching to open. And so, for the first time, she opened her eyes.

Or, eye.

One large chestnut eye stitched into the pattern of the carpet opened to look up into the dark, only just making out a wooden ceiling. A fairly unimpressive first view of the world and yet… she felt joy. A fat tear welled up in her fabric eye and immediately soaked back into her. She knew where she was, she knew what she was and she knew that she could… should… why couldn’t she move?

She curled up to see her bottom half trapped beneath the legs of a heavy writing desk. Oh. Um, let’s see here… soon it was quite apparent that there was little a carpet could do to move a weighed down desk. Well, shit. Nothing to do but wait until the humans of this house decided to take it off for her. Considering how much dust she had gathered beneath the table, it was unlikely her owners were the type to rearrange things often. Exactly how long had she been here, any… was… was that an ink stain?!

Shiori had been gifted with knowledge of many things when she woke up. Knowledge of her country, morality, time, days, weather, Yokai, Gods, mortality, immortality – so, so many things that came all at once, but did not overwhelm her. What had her overwhelmed was what she was forced to learn in these quiet moments alone after her awakening. What was she, other than Tsukumogami? Frayed corners and worn fabric and a horrid stain and forgotten...

The carpet began violently thrashing beneath the desk, eventually knocking off rolls of paper and an inkwell before she finally yanked herself free from her prison and floated up. The table legs had left dents in her that she would not be free of for a long time. Unable to find anything like a portrait of her owner, she rolled half of herself up so she wouldn’t trail over the ground and flew out of the room in search of them. After searching the entire house, it appeared they weren’t home. Ah, well, she’d know them the moment she saw them. Something told her that.

She floated over to the sliding paper door and eventually managed to open it, gazing out onto the street. The sun was down and the Yokai were out. Everything in the house felt annoyingly familiar, but out there… out there, she barely knew anything. Would her owner care if she left for a moment while they were out? It surely must have been expected of her to stay and protect the homestead, but… well, they didn’t know she was alive yet.

---

Soon the sentient carpet was floating above the Matchmaking Festival, listening to music and smelling food for the first time – and looking at the Tree of Bitter Love. She wanted to join the people beneath her. She also wanted to climb that tree – not because of the view, she could fly, duh, but just because she could. The crowds were… mostly Kitsune, it seemed. A flying one eyed, long-tongued carpet would be very out of place down there. Oh, well, time to change form. The carpet spiraled around, wrapping itself in a cocoon, when suddenly it exploded into a naked, human girl – and immediately began plummeting towards the earth.

“Ah,” Shiori said as she dropped from the skies that were once her domain, “Whoops!”

As Umeko and Touhou neared the gate, the Clan Leader could suddenly feel a new Yokai's spiritual pressure and for a moment Tohou felt uncertain. His jaw practically dropped, had he the sense of mind he might even have shifted into a form that would've allowed his jaw to hit the ground for dramatics. However, he was besides himself with the commotion, as he could absolutely NOT afford to let any ceremony devolve into shenanigans. The Fox Spirit Clan Leader quickly turned to address Umeko with sudden urgency in his usually lackadaisical eyes.

"I uh... I have to go see what that was all about!" He flashed her a quick smile before leaning forward and embracing her with a swift hug, simultaneously drawing the sword he had carefully placed on her. The fox started away from her with the sword in hand, before quickly turning around to address Umeko. Little did the Fox know, Itami lurked not far from them, awaiting a chance to get his sword back and perhaps even exact a little comeuppance.

"Ah! Could you hold onto this? I will be right back! Please wait for me!" Touhou handed her the sword, bowing formally before starting back towards the matchmaking ceremony. No, no, no! Things have gone off without a hitch for far too long. If Oda thinks I had a part in this it'll be full blown war between Tu Shan and the Shogun. As the fox ran, he increased in size, each step covering more distance than the last before a full-blown giant version of himself was lithely darting through the town, right up to the Tree of Bitter Love.

The Clan Leader shrunk down right outside the ceremony; with a final leap he jumped into the air above the Tree and almost instantly he was normal sized again, landing on the ground, and nearly face level with a stark naked young Yokai he'd never seen before. "Uhhh....." Tohou was more than a little shocked, usually the Kitsune guards would've stopped a streaker from interrupting such a ceremony, and yet here she was. "G-G-Gomen-nasai!" He blustered out before quickly manifesting his other eight tails and grabbing the naked young spirit's wrist; moving them both through a rip he tore into space and depositing them just outside his Clan's house.

The new female Yokai was still naked and Tohou felt a slight need to blush. Really? Clothes can't be that hard to manifest... With a slight wave of his hand, Touhou garbed her in an illusory Yukata to hide her nudity; but as it was still his spell he could easily see through it, and he held his free hand up to block a majority of her nudity from his view; all the while leading her with the other hand to the entry gate of Tu Shan.

As they walked, a few moments passed before he finally asked, "So typically I would imprison or destroy people who flagrantly interrupted the ceremony such as you did, but I can sort of tell from your spiritual power, that you meant no harm... No harm no foul." The Clan leader smiled gently at her as he took her back to where he left Umeko. "My friend is only slightly further up, care to explain what just happened?" Though his eyes didnt look at her, Touhou's ears perked up and twitched, eager to hear what she had to say.

Shiori had hit the ground with a shriek and a thump before the pale-haired Kitsune had found her, swaying and rubbing her bruises as she staggered back up. So, she couldn't fly in this form. Better to know now than later, she supposed. She let out a saddened sigh and lifted her head, opening her eyes to see - oh. A very shocked face staring down at her. She gasped and did a small jump backwards.

"I-I-I'm so sorry!!" Shiori yelped simultaneously with the Kitsune's own apology, then squeaked as she found herself yanked over and teleported elsewhere. Her eyes darted around and swirled with confusion. "Uhh..." Suddenly, she was clad in a pink, lily-patterned yukata. She yelped again, nearly jumping right back out of it when she noticed the sudden change. Ohhh, so that's what had been missing. She'd barely noticed, what with all the falling-to-her-death and - no... no. That wasn't an excuse.

Now she was being led along by the stranger without a word. She stumbled along behind him, finding it difficult to walk in the geta that had been conjured for her and getting herself dragged more than led. Her brain spun in circles trying to figure out what was happening. She looked at the Kitsune's grasp on her wrist and a terrifying thought formed in her mind, her face going white.

Have... Have I been captured?!

The Kitsune (Who was strangely holding up a hand to block her from view, despite the clothes she now wore. Shiori could only assume her human form was horrible to look at. She hadn't seen a glimpse of it herself yet so she wasn't sure if she'd gotten her face anatomically correct, but if it caused him stress to see her, he didn't have to...) finally spoke up, jolting Shiori to attention. At the words "imprison" and "destroy", she was about to fall to her knees begging for forgiveness. She had just come into this world! She couldn't leave it without ever serving her owner, or at least seeing them! Or... maybe she did deserve it, for going outside without permission...

But then the Kitsune smiled at her over the top of his hand, and she instantly had her fears lifted. With a single blink, the tears that were welling had evaporated.

"O-Of course!" she stammered, starting to lightly jog beside him to stay right at his side (but continuing to trip over her feet). She shut her eyes with a cheesy grin as she recalled, "Well, I heard music and I wanted to see where it was coming from so I followed it here and saw people enjoying themselves at this festival and I wanted to join them so I became like this because I thought they'd like me better as a human and then I fell... because humans don't fly..." Her cheery rambling became quieter and then stopped entirely as she grew too embarrassed to continue the story. She tugged on a lock of her chestnut hair and averted her eyes with a tiny, sheepish smile. "I'm sorry I caused you trouble." Not wanting to elaborate her story any further, she shook the blush from her cheeks and the Kitsune from her wrist, running ahead and looking around at their surroundings with sparkling eager eyes.

"So what is happening? Where are we? Why are people celebrating? What is this ceremony? Is it important? Can I watch?" She shot off questions like stones skipping on water. She turned to the stranger, bouncing backwards with the excitement of a child and her hands balled in fists in front of her chest. "Do you need help with anything? Can I help? Do you let people climb that giant tr-"

Itami watched the scene over carefully, before understanding the situation. With a swiftness, he took his sword from the Furutsubaki no Rei as he moved like the wind. The Okuri Inu whispered a quick thanks before disappearing out of the area His white eyes flickering before taking a breath. "Smells like a new visitor has arrived..." He sighed, placing his blade on his hip.

He bit the inside of his cheek before following the scent. "Has the fox already beat me there?" He asked himself, staring over the land. It was quite dry that day, not unusual for the area. Clouds had begun to emerge upon midday, signaling rain for later that day.

The Hiratake wasn't so sure where he was headed, only that the new Yokai and the Fox was already there. A grasp of wind was blowing. He couldn't be so sure if it was natural or not. His eyes locked onto a straw doll nailed onto a withering tree. A gentle growl could be heard from the Okuri. Diverting from his route, Itami went over to the doll. "A ward to all Yokai of Ōbokeyōkai?" He questioned, stopping as he felt a presence that worked to stop his movements. "These Onmyōji are uzai..." He sighed, turning around. "I'll have an unidentified Yokai take care of that." He sighed, mentally jotting down the location.

Carrying on, Itami quickly saw Tohou and an unknown girl speaking. "Fox! I thought you knew the rules about new Yokai! " He cheered, strolling over. "Act with extreme prejudice until they are known." He spoke, holding his hand over his blade.

Shiori twisted around to see the newcomer who interrupted her with a surprised expression. Her wide eyes were quick to narrow and her lips formed a pout when his hand went to his sword.

"Ehhh..."

A monotone utter escaped Shiori's lips as she shuffled backwards while staring the new Yokai down. He was... there was something about him that was... ... ... completely and utterly unfamiliar. She had absolutely no clue who the stranger was. She raised a hand to comb through her hair, unwittingly dislodging the blue dog hairs tangled in her locks, while looking back at the newcomer with an unabashed stare. What an idiotic rule. Why would anybody want to make themselves known to strangers treating them rudely?

"Oh, I'm sorry. I understand." She turned back to the Kitsune. "My name is Shiori," she said simply, her lips lifting in a bright smile. "It's nice to meet you." She finished her plain introduction with a small bow before gazing back up at the blue Yokai, just a tinge of annoyance behind her plastered smile and the tilt of her head. Her eyes darted down to the sword. "Are uh... there any other rules about new Yokai that I need to know in case... in case...?" She pointed a finger at his hand resting on the blade.

The newly found yokai was certainly talkative, and seemed innocent enough. When she pulled away and ran ahead he simply watched with a smile, dismissing his eight extra tails. "It's no trouble really... Can't you garb yourself in clothing? I did it for your as a courtesy, but still it should be simple enough for an Obake. Perhaps it is you prefer to be nude?" The thought was strangely foreign to the Kitsune, he was nude for the beginning of his life, but still covered in the fur of a fox. Perhaps it was the same for humans, and they became misguided in wearing clothes? Touhou looked down at his own clothes as the girl rattled off questions.

"Uh... We are celebrating the Union of Nobukatsu Oda and his wife Inoue Marina. They are making a bond before the Kǔ Qíng Shù, a bond that will last many lifetimes. We are now leaving Tu Shan, the home of the Tu Shan Fox Spirits, and headed for the Ōbokeyōkai, where humans and Yokai gather alike. People are celebrating because love like this is rare in the world, and the ceremony is in recognition of the Kǔ Qíng Shù's acceptance of their marriage. Only True Love is accepted by the Tree, from my perspective the ceremonies held here are the most important thing in the world. You are free to watch so long as you observe our customs and don't insult the great Lord Oda. My clan handles most of the work though we may find need for your help. As for climbing the tree, you'll have to ask it."

They reached the outskirts of town, outside the Tú Shān Clan's territory, and Itami greeted them with an errant question. "I am showing extreme prejudice!" The statement was said in a laugh, "After all, she merely came to see the festival and I'm not allowing it. That's about as extreme as my Clan is allowed to get with peaceful visitors! Otherwise I'd have called the Kurai Tsuki Guards to come execute her."

Touhou went to inspect the doll nailed to a tree, Oh...? Those Taoists are getting more and more brazen. To come this close to Tú Shān and place their wards... Well, perhaps it could be a valuable training exercise for the youngsters to remove it? His hand stopped short of the doll, and he turned his attention back to Itami and the strange new Yokai he had found. "Hmm? Okuri, she has questions, I'm afraid I might be too old and senile to answer them." His words were spoken soberly, but a mirth in his eyes betrayed the jest.

Shiori lowered her head, bringing a finger up to rest on her chin with a soft hum. The Okuri Inu's words sunk in. It was quite a lot to take in for a first day.

"I couldn't pledge my loyalty to a clan," she murmured quietly, "Not without my owner's permission." She shot the stranger a cheesy, somewhat embarrassed smile, "And I haven't met them yet."

Touhou's nose twitched slightly, the doll smelled familiar... too familiar, like someone he had once been friends with many lifetimes ago. Itami managed to bring his thoughts out of the past, however and he gave a simple smile and a twitch of his left ear as the Inu teased him. The kitsune had heard him recite the rules at least a thousand times by now, but he still enjoyed it all as much as the first time he heard them. The next generation is truly in good hands, Itami may like to act tough but he's a sweetheart deep down.

As the Inu finished up his short speech, and the Tsukumogami retorted, the clan leader found himself grinning wildly. I like her, she's just what the village needed to spice things up a bit. The fox spirit cupped a hand to his ear, and pretended to be hard of hearing "Ehh? Shofu? Don't peek at my matchmaking book, it'll make it awkward when you finally pop up in it." However, try as he might the old spirit couldn't quite stifle his laugh. Touhou wondered how many times Itami and him did this same dance, and the nostalgia made his heart feel light.

"So long as the girl gets it, it's no matter to me. I've more concern for these Taoists. Getting this close to Tu Shan Spirit Fox territory is quite brazen." His smile turned to a sneer at the thought, and it took a moment of thought to regain his composure. With a twitch of the nose, Touhou proclaimed "You smell quite familiar, new Yokai. I wonder why," he said all this while idly picking a blue hair out of the girl's hair; taking a long moment to examine it, turning the hair over and over, he knew who it belonged to of course, but it often paid to play coy.

Itami shook his head lightly, "Like I'd ever end up in that book of yours, anyway." The dog chuckled, "And it wouldn't surprise me if you were a shofu, really." The dog joked, smirking lightly with a chuckle under his breath. He wasn't one to get close to new Yokai, especially the ones who had just arrived- more for their benefit than his, he was an Okuri Inu after all. His attitude towards the much older fox was quite light hearted and comedic compared to what he had with almost everyone else.

His white eyes glared at the fox gently before flickering over to where the doll was. "She seems to get it." He shrugged. "And about them, I'll get a Dorotabō to come an get it off. There's two around here with vengeance against Taoists," He spoke, sighing slightly.

The Okuri Inu despised Onmyōji with a passion. He just didn't understand why even the peaceful Yokai get targeted by them. The Dog bit the inside of his cheek and nodded to himself. "A lot of Yokai smell familiar to one another, especially when they're new and just created," he pointed out. "It's nothing new, old man."