Snippet #2742972

"Nandaayyoo," the tired voice called out yet again, snapping his folding fan shut with obvious exasperation. The preparations for a Matchmaking ceremony were both a source of great pleasure and deep anxiety for Touhou. Ever since the Ōbokeyōkai had started growing, and practically enveloped Tú Shān, visitors had never been more frequent. Even with the small toll they charged first-time visitors, their service had become overrun with matchmaking orders.

As clan head, Touhou liked to personally ensure that his family was putting its best paw forward, which meant every matchmaking ceremony had to go off without a hitch. It was the final step in the process, and "After so much planning, the Oda can't be disappointed! The Emperor will have your death warrant signed..." He thought about what he had said for a moment before adding, "And I will oblige him in extraditing your useless wastes of fur!" The clan head rubbed the bridge of his nose, praying to the essence of reality to help things go over smoothly.

Touhou was relaxing in one of his favorite trees in the , when it happened. He had been watching pedestrians pass him by, terrifying an unattended child with foxfire while he lounged in the cherry trees, when the Kitsune's book of reincarnation began to cause his soul to pulse. Yare, yare. A new assignment so soon? Can't this wait..? He opened the book, and let himself hang from his legs as he looked at his new assignment. Let's see here, T-The Oda clan?! The shock nearly sent him crashing to the ground, but at the last second he remembered himself and caught himself with his ankles.

"Didn't this clan fall from power..." He studied the particulars of the entry very carefully, and they informed him that Nobukatsu Oda was alive and currently serving as, "Daimyo! The remnant of this dead clan is a Daimyo?!" A Jurogumo had apparently fallen in love with him and had been shielding him and his name from misfortune for the past few decades. It was up to Touhou to find the couple, ensure their love was true enough to stand the test of the Kǔ Qíng Shù, and then seal their bond with it for the eternity to come. "I wasn't done

The Huli Jing (Kitsune) of Clan Tú Shān had served as matchmakers are far back as anyone in the clan could remember. Oftentimes it was simple enough work, and the clan flourished as a result. However, as love knows no boundaries, and many Yokai are immortal, but still human enough to love a mortal sometimes the two would be successfully paired; the time limit on one's life, but not on the the others, meaning the matchmaking would end in inevitable heartbreak. To that end, the Tú Shān Kitsune Clan had long ago taken up the job of using their spirit magic to ensure true love doesn't wither.

The Tree of Bitter Love (Kǔ Qíng Shù) can make a reincarnation bond if two people truly love each other at the time of the bond, though it often requires an important sacrifice from the couple to ensure their resolve. These vary, but oftentimes are family treasures, and sometimes even one's prowess with a sword. These treasures are then split between the lovers, and stored in the mortal's soul to be reincarnated again and again; until such time that the Kǔ Qíng Shù decides their love has come again, and their name appears in a Kitsune Matchmaker's (Musubi) book. The matchmaker then uses their magics and whatever is at their disposal to re-unite the long-lost loves. Sometimes this is as easy as finding the two and reuniting the two halves of a whole they each carry, other times the mortal's memory has faded over many cycles of reincarnation, or they have misplaced or lost their split treasure somehow.

If Touhou were being perfectly honest with himself, he hated the job. Kitsune were meant to be free, mischievous creatures, and being clan head of the most hard-working Kitsune clans in existence was not exactly on his long list of to-dos. However it was a fate he was born into, and one he was raised to take pride in. So, for not the last time that day he yelled at the decorators that "The Emperor will serve your cooked flanks on a platter at the reception if you don't hurry up and get the fox-fire right!" The Jorogumo and Oda Daimyo had indeed been madly in love when Touhou found them together not a day after the assignment started. Only a week had passed since Nobukatsu proposed and after she accepted, he began to demand daily for a Reincarnation Matchmaking to be had. And they say true love is dead, he idly thought to himself as he watched the various yokai and humans frantically preparing for incoming royalty.

Touhou slipped out shortly after the ceremony; not that he wanted to it simply made losing his entourage easier. In fact, Touhou loved parties as they allowed him to relax, but also do the parts of his job that he had come to love. He simply shrugged the thought off, his shoulders loosening as he did. I'd rather pay a visit to my favorite sakura tree, the fox thought smiling to himself while headed for the center of Ōbokeyōkai. He produced a small pipe from his sleeve, and for a moment his worries dissipated like smoke