(零) Prologue; A Samurai's Apprentice

In the distant land of the eastern sea lies the kingdom of Nichimoto, a small island nation of fifteen million and a place of many wonders.

High in the mountains of northern Nichimoto, where the air was thin and the winters were particularly harsh, lay a small house.

The home of an old man named Hayagawa Jukai and his apprentice, Nagayori Hinatsu.

Hayagawa Jukai was a retired samurai around ninety years of age. He wore an old, gray kimono along with wooden sandals and carried a long stick, which he used to assist with walking. His head was bald, and despite losing sight, his other senses were as sharp as they could be, especially for someone his age. His back was slightly hunched over, and he stood at around one-hundred seventy-five centimeters in height. Jukai could best be described as incredibly strict yet wise and kind.

On the other hand, Nagayori Hinatsu's apprentice was around ten or eleven. She wore a simple red yukata and wooden sandals. Her hair was long, black, and silky, while her eyes were dark brown. Hinatsu's skin was of a pale shade, almost like that of a porcelain doll. She carried a wakizashi that was sheathed in her belt. Hinatsu could best be described as a reckless and naive young girl, yet also quite firm and resourceful.

The two of them were undoubtedly poor yet very much happy. Every day, Hinatsu would practice swordsmanship the day until the late afternoon. Then forage for materials such as wood, fruit, medicinal herbs, fish, and occasionally animal bones, hide, and meat. She would have to return home when the sun began to set. However, if there was one rule that Hinatsu could never break, it was never to go beyond the mountains. She could never understand why that would be the case, yet she obeyed that rule without hesitance.

However, one day on Hinatsu's eleventh birthday, while she was out gathering resources. She encountered an unfamiliar face and slowly approached them. The stranger introduced himself as Kaneko Enomoto, a young man that lived in a nearby village. Enomoto offered Hinatsu to follow him.

"It's getting late, isn't it. Don't worry, I know somewhere for the two of us to stay for a little bit. This cave will be the shelter we'll stay in tonight." He said while pointing towards the location mentioned earlier of the cave, which seemed a little suspicious. However, Hinatsu simply pushed it aside and followed Enomoto.

However, as soon as the two arrived at the cave, Hinatsu found an enormous pile of human bones and skulls; some still had tiny pieces of flesh remaining. Then a batch of dried grass, leaves, and sticks lay in the corner of the cave. At that moment, Hinatsu knew something was off about the stranger.

Then suddenly, a silk string formed out of Enomoto's throat, and Hinatsu quickly pulled out her wakizashi to counter the attack.

"You're a Tsuchigumo!" Hinatsu exclaimed, causing Enomoto an enormous grin to form on his lips.

"You're smarter than I initially thought." Enomoto said, as his body reshaped itself from a young man into a giant spider of around three times the size of a grown adult with the face of an oni, the body of a tiger, and ginormous clothes. He then continued to assault Hinatsu.

She glared at the menacing yokai as she readied herself to kill the beast. The silk shot out from his mouth, then Hinatsu countered it with her blade again, repeated two more times until the silk wrapped around her left arm. However, Hinatsu slashed it before the Tsuchigumo could drag her into the air. Unfortunately, when the beast grabbed her right leg with its tread, it lifted the girl high. It closed its eyes and opened its mouth wide as Hinatsu's body dangled from the thread as she held her wakizashi below her head. When the young girl fell into the mouth of the creature, she drove her blade into its throat. The Tsuchigumo screamed and cried in pain and agony as his throat bled rapidly. It tripped on one of the skulls before spitting Hinatsu out of its mouth. Unfortunately, her right leg snapped as she let out a painful cry. She was fortunate enough to land on the batch of grass, sticks, and leaves.

A few minutes later, a red fox with bright red fur, green eyes, and eight tails dashed into the cave and found Hinatsu drenched with blood, covered with scrapes and bruises, and screaming in pain. Right beside her was a Tsuchigumo corpse.

"Tetsuya!" Hinatsu managed to exclaim in between screams. Tetsuya looked down at the girl before sighing.

"Hinatsu, what happened here?" He asked before the young girl explained everything that had happened leading up to this moment.

"I see; well, you really should be more careful. Also, don't trust strange people you find around here!" He said in an almost scolding manner.

"Are you able to walk?" Tetsuya questioned, earning himself a nod from Hinatsu. However, as soon as the female attempted to stand up, her legs collapsed in agony.

"Consider yourself lucky you did not endure worse injuries. Now let's get you home," The fox said before taking one of the skulls along with a bone. Tetsuya placed the skull on top of his head and bit on the bone as hard as he could. His body quickly reshaped into that of a man who appeared to be in his late teens, with short black hair, slightly tanned skin, black eyes, and a plain yukata.

Tetsuya then picked Hinatsu up by the legs and shoulders before heading towards a nearby river so the young girl could wash off the blood covering her being. The pair then made their way towards Jukai's house.

Tetsuya was an eight-tailed kitsune, a type of fox youkai. One could tell he was at least eight hundred years of age just by the number of tails he had. He was immensely wise and capable of speaking human language, shape-shifting, and many other things. He and Hinatsu were very close friends and shared an almost familial bond.

By the time Hinatsu made it home, along with Tetsuya. She was greeted by the sight of Jukai, standing on top of the wooden engawa veranda. He did not seem very pleased.

"You're late." The old man said with a gaze of disappointment.

"I am so sorry." Hinatsu apologized as she bowed her head.

"She allowed herself to be deceived by another malicious youkai," Tetsuya explained to Jukai.

"There's no doubt you're right; I expect her to have learned her lesson by now," Jukai added. Hinatsu then looked down at the ground out of shame before Tetsuya opened the sliding door, bringing her into the house so she could be treated.

In the entrance hall lay a cabinet where people store their footwear upon removal. It was also paved with rock. The walls were made of wood and thick paper, allowing the sun's natural light to illuminate the residence. The floors were covered with rectangular tatami mats made of straw and woven grass. In the middle of the main room was an isolated plot of earth where a wooden stove hung over a pile of firewood, which would be used for cooking and provide heat during the winter. To the right of the hibachi, a wooden stove lay a chabudai, a low table, while two small chests lay at the left. Windows were relatively scarce, with only about three present throughout the residence. There was only one other room, which served as both Hinatsu and Jukai's bedrooms. Clothes were hung there, and two futons were rolled up in wooden cabinets, waiting to be used.

The spirit soaked some bandages in wax and resin, then wrapped them around her right leg. He then temporarily left home to grab two tall, thin tree branches to help her walk. Once he returned, he passed them to the young girl, who lifted herself up while holding onto them.

"Can I be left alone for a little while?" Hinatsu questioned, to which the spirit nodded before turning back into his fox form, leaving behind the skull and bone. She then entered the only bedroom in the house, set the tree branches aside, unrolled her futon, and silently spoke to herself.

'I feel ashamed that I cannot distinguish between a youkai disguised as a human and a real person. However, my greatest understanding of the world beyond the mountains comes from the descriptions Jukai has provided. I have no doubt those are, in fact, true, yet I'm not sure if I've ever met a genuine human being, aside from Jukai and some of his relatives, of course.' Hinatsu said to herself.

Tetsuya snuck into the bedroom after waiting for her to finish talking to herself.

"I can tell you're embarrassed by what happened and if it makes you feel better. I'll just let it go for now," Tetsuya said silently before Hinatsu turned her attention toward the eight-tailed fox.

"Tetsuya, what are you doing here?" Hinatsu asked curiously; Tetsuya just shrugged.

"You didn't seem like you wanted me around when you talked to yourself. Unfortunately, I can hear even the faintest of whispers from a hundred meters in the distance." Tetsuya uttered.

"Oh..." Hinatsu said, then went back to thinking about the matter.

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Later in the night, a band of five ordinary people made their way through the mountains. One carried a sword wrapped in cloth, two held small boxes, another brought a bottle of sake, while the remaining one was empty-handed. Hinatsu gazed out the tiny window inside her bedroom.

Among them was Hayagawa Ryouichi, a poor rice farmer, and among the two who carried a small box. The man was in his early thirties, reasonably tall, about two meters in height, and slender as a stray cat. He had medium-length, longer hair, which was tied up. His facial features were rugged and severe. While he had a skinny mustache that ran from his upper lip, across his upper jaw, and attached by the nose to his upper lip. He wore a black yukata with a cotton belt.

Ryouichi was accompanied by his sister, Hayagawa Rukia, a struggling prostitute and the one carrying the second box. She was in her late twenties, relatively tall, around one and three-quarters meters tall, and very thin yet slightly curvy than her brother. Her black hair was tied up in a high bun, her short bangs, and her skin was pale and soft. She wore a white kimono with a straightforward leaf pattern.

The siblings were joined by their cousin, Watanabe Seto, a low-class swordsmith and the one carrying the weapon. He was in his late twenties, a similar height to Rukia, and quite skinny. However, his hair was short, his facial features were softer than Ryouichi's, and his mustache was slightly thicker. He wore a plain brown yukata.

The three were accompanied by Seto's brother, Watanabe Oda, who worked for a small sake business, and the one carrying the bottle of rice wine. He was in his mid-twenties, slightly shorter than Ryouichi, and not as slim as most of the party. He had medium-length hair, and his face was clean of any facial hair. Oda wore a gray yukata.

The four were joined by Seto and Oda's sister, Kaiyaba Ono, a seamstress and the one who brought nothing. Unfortunately, she did not have the money or resources to afford a gift. She was in her early thirties, her body was slim like Ryouichi, and she was also the shortest of the group. Her hair was medium length, her bangs were reasonably long, and her skin was olive and soft. She wore a pale pink kimono with a straightforward flower pattern.

The five would usually come every month or so to bring supplies such as rice, clothes, certain medicines, and the list continued. They also would come during special occasions such as New Year. All of them were things Hinatsu could not find through foraging.

"Teacher's grandchildren are coming!" She exclaimed happily. Tetsuya then slipped under Hinatsu's bed.

"By now, I expect you to know them fairly well," Hinatsu commented. However, the fox did not reply.

The band of people crossed the area before arriving at the small house where Jukai and Hinatsu lived. The door creaked open, and out stepped Ryouichi as he carried his tiny box, as the rest of the band of five stepped inside.

Jukai, looking quite tired, hobbled out the door to greet his grandchildren.

"It is good to see you again, Ryouichi," Jukai said with a smile, then turned to the rest of his grandchildren. "You, Rukia, Seto, Oda, and Ono, come on over." He said, then the five of them went inside the home.

Hinatsu watched as they entered the home before she left her bedroom to greet them. Some gazed at her with sympathy, while others were disappointed. Once the five saw Hinatsu walking with two long tree branches, her right leg was cast with bandages covered in wax and resin.

"Don't tell me; she broke another bone," Oda told Jukai.

"Don't be so harsh on her, cousin. She's young and naive. Of course, she's going to make mistakes." Rukia uttered.

Hinatsu tried her best to ignore them at times, harsh commentary from something she was already ashamed of herself for doing.

"Ryouichi, Ono, Oda, Seto, and Rukia! I'm glad to see you all." Hinatsu said. Seto approached the young girl with the clothed sword in his hands, then knelt down to the young girl's height.

"Happy birthday, Hinatsu!" Seto said happily, then ruffled the girl's hair before unwrapping the blade. Hinatsu's eyes lit up with astonishment as she gazed at the shiny katana. She would have reached out to touch it if not for her current handicapped state.

"I brought your favorite, onigiri," Ryouichi said as he opened the tiny box revealing seven rice balls. Hinatsu temporarily set the tree branches aside, so she could reach out to one of the rice balls. As she consumed her rice ball, Oda poured some rice wine into tiny cups for everyone at the house aside from Hinatsu.

"Teacher, when will I be old enough to drink sake?" The young girl asked curiously.

"When you come to be an older, more mature person." He said before taking a sip of the alcohol. He then lightly pat her head.

"Well, when that day comes, I'll be able to drink with you and everyone here." She said, to which the six softly chuckled.

"Hey, Hinatsu! I brought these for Tetsuya." Rukia uttered while passing the young female a box containing some tried tofu, Tetsuya's favorite food. She nodded her head in response before turning her attention towards Ono.

"I apologize for not being able to bring anything. Times have been tough." The seamstress said as if ashamed over something she could not do, yet everyone else could. Hinatsu reached out her hand to hold that of Ono's.

"It's fine. I'm simply glad you took the time to come all the way here with the others." She said with an innocent smile, which lifted the older woman's spirits.

After an hour or two, Hinatsu entered the bedroom, carrying the box on her right shoulder and a pair of chopsticks in her mouth. Once she set aside the tree branches, she laid the box on her lap and pulled out the chopsticks.

"Tetsuya, I brought you some abura age." She said before the fox slipped out of her bed; Hinatsu picked up a piece of the tofu with the chopsticks, which Tetsuya devoured.

"Since emperor Yonku came to power, our economy has been in the ditch. Not to mention his oppressive policies and the aristocracy getting away with things that would kill us, common people." Hinatsu heard Ryouichi say behind the thin walls.

"You know speaking that way about the emperor will get you impaled.." Oda replied.

"Well, who's here to enforce that law? Also, let's be honest, I'm speaking well-known facts." Ryouichi replied. Hinatsu could not wrap her developing head around the subject matter Jukai's grandchildren were discussing.

"Tetsuya, do you have any idea what they're saying?" She asked, looking directly at the fox.

"All I can tell you is that your mind is too innocent to understand." He said, even though Hinatsu could not exactly see why that may be the case. However, she also decided it was best not to pry.

Soon Hinatsu let out a yawn before slipping under the covers of her futon bed. Tetsuya quickly snuggled close to her as the two drifted off into a peaceful slumber.

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