Chapter 52

Shakily, from both fear and strain after fighting Kitsuya, Yurika unsheathed her kodachi pointing it at Inari. “You’re going to have to get through me first, fox-gir–”

Yurika’s voice trailed off when she realized Inari was no longer facing her and, in fact, had somehow gotten past her. The fox was leaning down, brushing her hair over her shoulder as she stared into Kaede’s face.

“You don’t want this burden anyway, right, Kaede?” Inari was about to place her hand on the oiran’s head when the Hound appeared from Kaede’s shadow and gripped the fox’s wrist firmly. She growled, glaring up at him.

“A beast has no right to touch a maiden so casually!” She slapped his hand away, before thrusting her hand towards his chest, her sharp nails flashing in the mix of light from the other side of the room.

The Hound disappeared again as Inari’s claws pierced the shoji behind where he had stood and the fox snarled. Yurika took that moment to drag Kaede, who was still frozen in fear, out of the corner and behind her.

Inari turned around, bringing her hand up, her sharp nails stretched out ready to pounce. She looked around for the Hound, her fangs gnashing together in irritation.

“You’ve always hidden in the shadows, so it would seem you’re not ready to fight shadow itself, wench.”

Inari lunged towards his echoing voice, her claws sinking into the tatami. “Shut the hell up, you accursed beast!” She freed herself and slammed into another tatami, chasing after the shadows created by the swirling starlight beyond.

The Hound seemed pleased at the fox’s struggle, as his chuckle surrounded the room. “You were always out of your depth, fox. Your only win was getting me banished, but you suffered the consequences by latching onto me. Why don’t you give it up?”

Inari let out a growl as her amber eyes searched the room for any sign of the Hound, Instead, they fell upon the two girls and she pounced in their direction. Yurika raised her blade once more, pushing Kaede behind her but the Hound appeared from the shadow and brought his hand up to block her strike once more.

However…

“Those two are your weakness here, just like Kagura was then!” Inari snarled as her pouncing form disappeared from view. The Hound muttered a curse under his breath as he turned around but it was too late as the fox had grabbed his extended arm with one hand and clutched the shroud with the other.

She wrapped one leg inside the Hound’s, her other leg wrapping around his waist before she grappled him to the ground, pinning him.

“It also seems that you forgot about my illusions, foolish beast!” Inari’s eyes and mouth were wide in rapture at having captured the Hound. He snarled, struggling against her, but as the fox kept his face against the tatami, he lacked the leverage to break free from her hold.

Inari looked up at Yurika and Kaede, her fangs exposed in her revelry. Her amber eyes looked wild, as if she was staring down her next prey to devour.

“I think we should drop all pretenses now.” Inari’s gaze went past Yurika, who quivered her blade still raised, to Kaede.

“Kaede-chan isn’t going to stop this. The Hound isn’t going to save you both. That boy, Gakuto, is going to die at Kitsuya's hands.” Inari narrowed her eyes at Yurika. “And you, poor deceiver, will suffer by watching it all before the moon crashes down killing everyone else!”

Yurika gritted her teeth, glancing back at Kaede before turning to face the fox. “You know that the villain in stories instantly fails when they list things like that, right? They end up wrong on all counts…”

“Nice bluff, but you aren’t very good at it. Especially not under the eyes of the fox!” Inari snarled, slamming the Hound’s arm into the ground as she felt him try to reposition. “And if you think I’m the villain…”

“If you’re not, then explain all of this!” Kaede cried out from Yurika, still trembling in fear. Her eyes went from the trapped Hound to Yurika’s quivering back before finally meeting Inari’s amber gaze.

“You deceived the whole village for how long!? You tore the reins from the Divine Serpent, causing Kagura-chan to be sealed away? You’re the reason the moon is falling! If that’s not villain behavior, I don’t know what is!” Kaede yelled, shocking all three in the room.

“I see you’ve gotten your voice back…” Inari regained her composure quick enough, her gaze turning down to the pinned Hound. “...but don’t talk as if you know things, child!” She brought the hand gripping the shroud up and bunched it up around the Hound’s neck before lifting his head and slamming it into the tatami.

“There’s more to the story than you can even know!”

“Then why don’t you tell me that!?” Kaede stepped around Yurika.

“Kaede, stop!” The Hound bellowed. “This wench does not deserve your sympathy!”

Inari’s expression went cold, her amber eyes gazing down at the Hound. “You palace dwellers are all the same…”

Suddenly, a pair of thick silver fox tails extended from her lower back, one pushing down on the Hound keeping him pinned, the other rifling through his shroud as she released her grip on it. Her gaze, devoid of anger turned back to Kaede and the oiran felt that same twinge of melancholy exude from Inari.

The room was silent, besides the pulsating sound from the swirling starscape before the soft thunk of a metal object fell out of the shroud, onto the tatami.

The Hound’s altar bell rolled across the ground.

“Yurika.”

Inari’s voice being directed at her shook the island girl to attention.

“The key to good deception is having all the cards.” Inari wasn’t looking at either girl as she leaned over and picked up the bell, gazing at it. “Whose illusion did you think you broke through on the stairs? Telling me that you left this bell with Isshin when the Hound was hidden in Kaede’s shadow the whole time.”

“The bell won’t work for you! It doesn’t make a sound anymore!” The island girl called out to the fox.

“You don’t really listen, do you?” Inari said quietly, glancing over at Yurika. She forcefully grabbed the Hound’s arm and bent it towards her, sliding it into his hand.

“I just told you, deception requires having all the cards. None of you have any.” Inari squeezed the Hound’s wrist tightly before swinging it, the chime of the bell echoing across the room.

“But I do.” The sound of glass shattering sounded across the room as Inari released her grip on the Hound and stood up, walking towards the boundary between the shinkan and the starscape, her pair of tails disappearing.

Inari turned her head back, a sinister grin on her face. “And now, I will play them.”