Chapter 1 The Name Nobody Spoke

There were three rules every child in the royal palace eventually learned.The first:Never challenge Queen Tamamo to a training match.The second:Never ask Emperor Toba to tell a joke.The third:If adults suddenly stopped talking when you entered a room...You had accidentally discovered something important.Kuzuno had always been very good at discovering important things.Usually by accident.The conversation stopped the moment she entered.Immediately.Completely.Suspiciously.The young princess froze.Several nobles froze.Two attendants froze.One council member looked like he wanted to jump through a window.Interesting.Very interesting.Kuzuno narrowed her eyes.The council members immediately became nervous.That was even more interesting.The young princess slowly entered the chamber.The adults attempted to resume their discussion.Poorly.Very poorly.Years later Kuzuno would realize that politicians were excellent liars.At the moment...She thought they were terrible."Good afternoon.""Good afternoon, Princess.""What were you talking about?"Silence.Kuzuno immediately knew she had won.One council member coughed.Another looked away.A third suddenly became fascinated by a vase.The young princess smiled."You're doing the thing."The room collectively regretted everything."The thing?""The thing where adults pretend they're not talking about something."No one answered.Because she was correct.Later that day...Kuzuno found Kayo in the library.The future queen sat beside a mountain of books.Naturally.Kayo actually liked studying.Which Kuzuno considered deeply suspicious behavior.The younger princess immediately sat across from her.Kayo looked up.Then immediately frowned."Why do you have that face?""What face?""The face that means you've discovered a problem.""I discovered a mystery.""That's worse."Kayo wasn't wrong.The younger princess leaned forward dramatically."Do you know someone named Yeounui?"The effect was immediate.Kayo froze.Completely.The book in her hands stopped moving.The page she had been turning remained half-turned.Even the air seemed quieter.Kuzuno blinked."Oh."That wasn't encouraging.The younger princess slowly sat back."You know her."Kayo closed the book.Carefully.Deliberately.The way one handled dangerous things."Where did you hear that name?"That answer was significantly worse.Several moments passed.Neither sister spoke.Then Kayo sighed.Because she already knew what would happen next.If she refused to answer...Kuzuno would investigate.And somehow that would be worse.The future queen looked toward one of the library windows.The afternoon sunlight illuminated the room.Dust drifted through golden rays.The peaceful atmosphere felt strangely at odds with the conversation.Finally she spoke."She's our aunt."Silence.Kuzuno blinked.Then blinked again.Then stared."Aunt?"Kayo nodded.The younger princess immediately looked offended."We have an aunt?""Yes.""Since when?"Kayo stared."Since always.""Why has nobody mentioned this?"The older princess immediately regretted answering.Because now Kuzuno had activated.And an activated Kuzuno was one of nature's most dangerous forces.The younger princess leaned forward."What is she like?"Silence.Kayo hesitated.Because the truth wasn't simple.Nothing involving Yeounui was.The future queen searched for the right words.Eventually settling on:"Complicated."Kuzuno groaned.That was the worst answer in existence.Adults loved that answer.Complicated.It explained nothing.Kayo looked down at the table.Then quietly added:"Mother doesn't talk about her."The room seemed smaller.More serious.More real.The younger princess noticed immediately.Because despite what everyone believed...Kuzuno wasn't oblivious.She noticed things.Especially when people were hurting."Did something happen?"The question hung between them.Kayo remained silent.And that silence became an answer all by itself.For the first time...Kuzuno realized something.Families could have scars.Not visible ones.The kind nobody talked about.The kind everyone remembered anyway.That evening...The young princess sat beneath her favorite sakura tree.The palace gardens stretched around her.Peaceful.Beautiful.Familiar.Yet her thoughts remained elsewhere.Yeounui.An aunt she had never met.An aunt nobody discussed.An aunt whose name changed the atmosphere of a room.The mystery bothered her.Not because she was curious.Well.Partly because she was curious.Mostly because she had seen the look in Kayo's eyes.And she had never seen that look before.Not fear.Not anger.Sadness.The wind brushed through the branches overhead.Pink petals drifted toward the earth.And for the first time...The Fox Realm felt like it was hiding something.Something old.Something painful.Something waiting.Far above the mortal realm...A goddess stood beneath a sacred tree.Nine tails swaying behind her.Ancient eyes fixed upon the world below.And for the first time in many years...Inari found herself thinking of another fox.White hair.Nine tails.A broken heart.Yeounui.The goddess closed her eyes.Because some wounds never truly healed.And some stories were not finished.Not yet.