Finding Tamamo-no-mae and Inari proved to be easy… getting to them less so. Both stood facing each other in an open area of gravel and volcanic rock, surrounded by blazing circles of fox fire, Inari’s a deep azure blue while Tamamo’s was a deep blood red. Where the circles of smoke-like spirit flames touched each other, midway between the two kitsune, the very air itself seemed to burn with a pure white light.

Evidently Tamamo-no-mae’s duplication of his appearance had been sufficiently convincing that Inari had stepped out of her concealment, at which point Paul guessed one or the other had gone on the attack.

From his standpoint, a dozen or more yards away, they appeared to be at a stalemate, standing glaring at each other, tails fluffed up to form clouds behind them, one white one black… Well Tamamo was glaring, Inari had her eyes closed and was standing legs braced, her hands in a position of prayer, with her left hand on her elbow and her right upright in front of her lips.

Paul frowned, it was hard to tell in the uncertain light from the combatant’s foxfires, but Inari seemed to be chanting under her breath, and sweat was beading across her forehead. Tamamo-no-Mae wasn’t showing any visible signs of strain that he could see, but Paul could see the scuff marks in the dirt where she’d been forced back, and she was leaning into whatever magic Inari was throwing at her as if it was a strong head-wind.

They seemed more or less evenly matched… and equally oblivious to his presence.

Paul took a deep breath, partly to steady his nerves, partly because he was winded from running, adrenalin having lent wings to his feet. His thoughts raced like chain lightening. On the one hand, shooting at Tamao-no-Mae, even if he didn’t hit her, would be catastrophic for her. At the very least it would poke a hole in her shields, if not collapse them completely, and Inari’s magic would hit her full force since it was doubtful Inari had even noticed his arrival and would be taken by surprise by Tamamo’s sudden vulnerability.

Paul didn’t relish the consequences of Inari accidentality killing Tamamo, any more than he did the idea of it being his fault.

On the other hand… the way both of them seemed to struggling, it was impossible to tell who’d win. Inari was still a long way from her full strength, and who knew how strong Tamamo was. So the fight could go either way, and while Inari was inclined to spare Tamamo her life, there was no guarantee that she would be equally merciful in return…

Ideally, Paul mused, he needed a way to separate them, and render Tamamo unable to fight without exposing her to the current magical firestorm raging around them both. The shifting hints of skulls embedded in the encircling foxfire didn’t bode well for her survival, their form reflecting the casters intent.

In a flash of inspiration, Paul realised he had a way to do that. He had an ace up his sleeve, or rather several blank talisman cards and a fountain pen full of silver conductive ink in his tracksuit pocket. Drawing out both he began to inscribe the ‘circuit’ to a spell within the raised bump that was a circle of iron wire layered between the front and back halves of the card.

It took him a scant few moments to complete the talisman, it had to be something simple because the talisman itself would last a fraction of a second at best. Paul blew on the ink to dry it, then held the card between his first and second fingers, before taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly to centre himself and steady his aim.

With a sharp flick of his wrist, he sent the card spinning through the air sideways like a frisbee. The talisman curved in flight, as Paul held his breath hoping his aim was true. Gracefully it arced, spinning, until it intersected the midpoint between the two combatants, where their respective spell circles met and flared with a flickering white light.

The talisman burned like a magnesium flare, an eye searing silver/blue/white as it hit the area of super-saturated magic. The iron circlet absorbing the randomised mana, powering the silver-inked ‘circuit’ turning it into an organised pattern of magic, microseconds before the talisman overloaded and vaporised. With a soundless blast of intangible energy the spell blasted outwards… cancelling out any and all magic within range.

Both Inari and Tamamo-no-Mae dropped like puppets with their strings cut. Almost before they hit the ground Paul was running forwards to check on first Inari and then Tamamo.

He breathed a sigh of relief finding both of them singed but mostly unharmed and unconscious. He hadn’t been certain it would even work. The ‘anti-magic’ spell generated a mana field that was essentially the inverted frequency of the mana it absorbed, so it couldn’t cancel out anything stronger than it was. However, by aiming it where he had, it was powered by the combined energies of both Inari and Tamamo-no-Mae, overwhelming both. He’d taken a leap of faith that their magic was enough alike that both would be affected by the talisman.

He’d also gambled that it wouldn’t have any adverse effects, that pulling the rug out from under them wouldn’t cause them to go into shock or something. But both seemed well, aside from being unconscious. Even without taking the magical effects into account, it had been like setting off a flash-bang grenade between them.

Paul removed from his backpack a pair of old fashion iron hand-cuffs, albeit ones engraved with a talisman of binding in inlaid silver, and cuffed Tamamo with them. If she tried using magic to escape, she’d be in for a nasty surprise. At least, he hoped. He hadn’t had any time to test them, only completing them hours before they’d set off that morning, and although they had a tiny scrap of mana crystal set into the binding talisman, it was just barely enough to do the job of restraining her, he hoped.

Just as he was checking the cuffs were securely on, he heard Inari groan behind him. Hurrying over to her, he helped her sit up.

“Wha.. what happened? Did she escape?”

“No.. sorry Inari, but that was me putting a stop to the fight before it ended in one or both of you being hurt.”

“How? By blowing both of us up?!”

Paul shook his head.

“Anti-magic talisman, tossed at the point where yours and hers spells intersected. It blew up almost immediately, but it nullified any active spells so it was safe enough.”

Inari frowned, shaking her head.

“Why though?”

“You said you wanted her alive, if I’d just taken down her barrier without warning you, I wasn’t sure you’d be able to pull your punch in time..”

Inari sighed, then slowly nodded before wincing at the motion,

“Aii, ow! Fair enough… I’m not sure I would’ve been able to sheath my claws fast enough if her warding circle collapsed without warning. Although my head rather wishes you’d chosen another way. Why do so many of your solutions involve blowing something up?”

Paul dug into a trouser pocket, producing a travel sized bottle of pain killers, and offered her the water bottle from his backpack..

“Sorry Inari, lack of time and resources to come up with anything more elegant. So… now what do we do? Um... apart from get out of here in the next ten minutes. Because I’m betting the activity here hasn’t gone unnoticed.”

Inari winced, but silently agreed, carefully nodding as if worried her head might fall off. She glanced at Tamamo-no-Mae and sighed.

“We’ll have to carry her… it’s unlikely she’ll recover soon. She badly underestimated my strength, and while I couldn’t force a victory, she was just barely holding her own when you brought things to an abrupt end. Since she was fully committed, she took the blow heavier than I did.”

Paul remembered Inari’s expression of total concentration, and suspected she was perhaps glossing over how nearly she’d come to being beaten. He glanced over his shoulder at the still form laying crumpled on the ground and asked.

“That’s not going to do her any permanent harm, is it?”

Inari shook her head carefully, before standing, with Paul’s assistance. Once she was on her feet she answered.

“No, her aura is dimmed, but it’s not rent asunder anywhere. She should recover, but slowly. I misdoubt she’ll be awake before tomorrow. It will take days before she has the strength to walk, and probably weeks before she even has a fraction of the power she did have. Thankfully, I have your strength to call upon my Herald, that is if you permit? With it I should be able to remain on my feet for a while longer.”

“Sure, if I can help then by all means.”

Inari took Paul’s hands in hers, staring into his eyes. For a moment Paul felt a sensation similar to lying in a bath as the water drained out, as if gravity suddenly increased, making his limbs feel heavier with leaden weight. Even his thoughts seemed to be sluggish and ponderous. At the same time Inari stood up straight, her tails and ears perked and her eyes shone. After a moment Inari let go and stepped back, subconsciously hugging herself.

With an effort Paul shook his head to clear the cobwebs, and mused.

“Once we’re back, I could supercharge the onsen at home with mana. If you soaked in that, it should help speed your recovery.”

Inari grimaced,

“If I must. I know you mean well, but last time I tried that it felt like ants crawling all over me. Although I do not deny it’s effectiveness, I’d rather not.”

Paul nodded.

“I hear you… we’ll save that for if there’s an emergency and let you recharge slowly instead.”

“Isn’t there another way?”

“Not unless you want to try standing in a shielding circle, and charge directly from the big mana convertor by sticking a cable in your..”

“Paul!”

“Mouth! I was going to say mouth. Really Inari, what did you think I was going to say?!”

“Oh...nothing, sorry. I’m tired, exhausted, and sore all over. I feel like I should be scorched black and still smouldering, like that cartoon with the American kitsune… er.. coyote.”

Paul huffed in mild amusement.

“Yeah, I’m feeling a bit like Wily.E as well… but since neither of us are going to feel better anytime soon, we’d better grin and bear it, and get moving or we’ll be sleeping on hard jail beds tonight instead of in a comfy hotel bed. Oh.. damn! I just realised, we’re going to have to smuggle her in as well. While she’s unconscious, which is not going to look at all suspicious, really!”

Inari closed her eyes, and Paul could lip read her swearing a rather pungent profanity under her breath.

“I do not have the energy to weave illusions of even the most basic kind. We’ll just have to smuggle both of us in unseen, or people will know there are a pair of kitsune staying there, and probably manage to work out whom.”

Paul sighed.

“Guess it’s down to me then… hopefully by the time we get back I’ll have thought of something. Meantime, we’ll carry her between us and with a bit of luck if anyone sees us they’ll not notice the profusion of tails and think she’s just worn herself out and we’re helping her home.”

As they reached park gates, they had to duck out of sight behind the visitors kiosk as a pair of police cars pulled into the parking lot. Waiting until the officers had entered the park to investigate, Paul lifted Tamamo-no-Mae onto his back and carried her piggy-back as they sprinted as best they were able, across the asphalt and out on the pavement, hurrying out of sight around the curve of the road.

Once they were safely away, Inari slowed and stopped, panting, as she sat down on the low stone wall with an air of finality.

“Go… leave me behind…I’m done.”

Paul didn’t say anything, just lowered Tamamo-no-Mae to the ground, propping her up against the wall before he too sat, slumped, next to Inari.

“Not going to happen.. although that’s partly because I’m not sure I can carry on much further either. For a little thing, she weighs a lot.”

Paul blinked, glancing down at the unconscious form of the black-haired kitsune, sprawled on the ground, or at least, on the fan of her black furred tails.

“Come to think of it, is it just my imagination, or is she smaller than she was? I mean, her clothes fit her before, but now she looks like a kid playing dress up in her Mom’s business suit.”

Inari glanced downwards, and then nodded.

“She was using magic to change her appearance, this is what she truly looks like. Although she is fully adult, despite her size.”

“Huh.. oh yeah, I recall reading somewhere that people long ago tended to be smaller. Lack of proper nutrition and so on… or something anyway.”

Inari shook her head.

“No, she’s just small, always was.”

Paul smiled rather lopsidedly.

“Pity we don’t have any kids clothes, put her in something pink and cute and I could get away with carrying her anywhere just about… you know, indulgent father with worn out kid cosplaying as a kitsune. What could be more natural?”

Inari chuckled weakly.

“You had best hope she doesn’t wake up at that point. If memory serves me, she was ever sensitive about her height and would be vastly offended by being made to seem even more child like.”

“Right… no jokes about that subject then unless I want to provoke her.”

At that point the sound of a phone ringing interrupted them, Both Inari and Paul patted their pockets, and more or less at the same time realised the sound was coming from Tamamo-no-Mae’s jacket pocket. Inari removed a silk bag from Tamamo’s inside jacket pocket and handed it to Paul. Paul slid out a smart phone, admiring the improvised shielding. The bag had talismans of protection sewn into it, although it looked like it started life as a ‘lucky fortune bag’ from one of the local gift shops.

The phone’s screen showed ‘Known Contact’ as calling, Paul guessed that was probably the default I.D if the number was known at least. He pressed accept, and even before he could say anything a young women started speaking.

“Tamamo, where are you? Is everything ok? What happened? You’re not back, are you alright?”

Paul interrupted the spate of frantically worried sounding questions.

“This is detective inspector Pōru Hōmuzu, to whom am I speaking?”

“Detective Inspector… where’s Tamamo, is she alright?”

“The young lady this phone belongs to was found unconscious… again I ask, to whom am I speaking?”

“Ah.. Ms Izumi Asuki, I’m a friend of Tamamo… is she alright?”

“She doesn’t appear to be injured, Her name is Tamamo?”

“That’s correct, Tamamo Maeno. What happened? Can I see her? Do I need to call a lawyer?”

Paul raised an eyebrow in an unspoken question to Inari, who nodded.

“Since she appears to be in good health, although unconscious, it would be best if she was allowed to recover and wake up at home. Do you know where she resides?”

There was a moments silence and then Izumi answered slowly.

“Um… she’s.. she’s staying with me at the moment.”

“I see… do you have transport of your own Asuki-san?”

“I have a car, yes… should I come and collect her?”

Paul smiled.

“That would be best, yes, far better for her to wake up with you, rather than strangers… We’re located between the Cheesecake workshop centre and the 7-11 by the entrance to the Nasuonsen Shikanoyu Hot Spring preserve. Do you know where that is?”

“Yes! I work near there at the Hotel View Palace. I can be there in a few minutes, I just need to leave work first.”

Paul nodded, thinking that explained how Tamamo knew where they were.

“Good, if you need permission from your supervisor I can talk to them?”

“Thank you, no, I should be alright. There is someone here to cover for me and it’s nearly the end of my shift anyway.”

“Good, I will see you shortly Asuki-san.”

“Can I ask what happened first please?”

Paul sighed slightly.

“I think that is a discussion best had in person, and not over the phone. But I can say she’s not in any trouble with the police.”

“Oh, okay… I will see you in a few minutes then.”

“I’ll be waiting. Goodbye.”

Paul hung up, and let out a heavy sigh.

“Phew… well that was tap dancing around the truth rather. Still, another little fish on the line and hopefully reeled in.”

Inari grinned tiredly, and nodded.

“And best of all, we won’t have to walk back to the hotel.”

-------

Paul recognised Izumi Asuki, when she drove up a quarter of an hour after the phone call. She had been the hotel receptionist who’d informed them about the mistake with room bookings, resulting in him and Inari sharing a room with a double bed, instead of two single rooms. Which now that he thought about, was somewhat suspicious in of itself, almost as if someone had been trying to distract them.

Judging by the way her eyes widened, she’d recognised him too, although he suspected she hadn’t before when he’d used the Japanese version of his name.

She half turned, evidently intending to bolt for the safety of her car parked by the 7-11, but two strides of Paul’s long legs placed him beside her. He flashed his badge at her, stopping her in her tracks.

“Please don’t run, it’s late and I’d really rather not. Just remain calm and hear me out.”

“Who are you, really?!”

“Paul Holmes, Herald to Inari Okami, and yes, actually a detective inspector with division four of the special police department. I just used a transliterated version of my name. Look, the person you know as Tamamo Maeno, is actually Tamamo-no-mae, the black fox spirit who’s been sealed in the Killing Stone until recently.”

IzumiI glared at him.

“I know! What have you done to her?”

Paul sighed, glad Inari and Tamamo were out of sight at least.

“She and Inari were fighting...actually I don’t know why or who started it, but I stopped it. Regretfully that knocked both of them out, Inari came round first, Tamamo should come around in a few hours, but other than probably one hell of headache, she’s unharmed.”

Izumi looked at him doubtfully.

“If you’re Inari’s Herald, why would you knock her out?”

Paul shrugged.

“Unavoidable. Fastest way of ending the fight, and the plan was to talk to Tamamo, not fight. Which is why I called you, hopefully you can stop her from panicking when she wakes up.”

Izumi still glared at him, suspicion written large across her heart-shaped face as she narrowed her hazelnut coloured eyes.

“Why should I trust you at all?”

Paul shrugged.

“Logically, you shouldn’t.”

Seeing the surprise on her face he continued.

“I mean, you have no reason to believe me when I say I have no intention of harming Tamamo. Also I have no idea what she’s told you to gain your help, and although I think you’re doing so of your own free will, logically I can’t afford to trust you in return. However for the moment our objectives align. I want to get off the street, and somewhere warmer. I also want everyone to calm down so we can talk, which is technically in my job description after all. Both of which are beneficial to Tamamo, whom I imagine you want to protect right now.”

Izumi regarded Paul, somewhat less doubtfully.

“Ok.. but aren’t you working against Inari then?”

“Not at all, before it all went wrong she wanted to talk to her cousin. And even if I was, what of it? I’m not her slave, regardless of what Tamamo thinks. I don’t have all the emotional baggage Inari does, and I’ve read what history there is of Tamamo while trying to be objective. After all, one man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter. The difference is motive and methods. So I’m more inclined to be lenient than Inari anyway.”

“I don’t understand… why would you want to help Tamamo?”

Paul sighed…evidently Izumi was overwrought, and he wasn’t getting through to her. So with a degree of calmness in his voice that he didn’t entirely feel, he explained.

“Probably because I can read between the lines. The stories say she’s evil, she seduced and drove men mad… but history says that the men she targeted were cruel and corrupt rulers and the people who benefited from their deaths were the ordinary folk freed from their tyranny. So I’m inclined to give her the benefit of the doubt. At least enough to hear her out for myself before making any kind of judgement. But to do that, she has to talk, not fight.”

Izumi sighed, shaking her head.

“Whatever… can I see her now?”

“Sure, follow me… just don’t do anything rash please. It’s late, I’m tired and I really would prefer it if there was no more ‘excitement’ tonight.”

Izumi laughed, rather despite herself Paul thought, as they walked in direction of where Inari and Tamamo were resting, hidden.

“I understand. This isn’t good for my heart either.”

Paul glanced sharply at her. From the slight hint of anxiety and bitterness in her voice he had the feeling that she’d meant that literally, and not in an exaggerated sense.

“Forgive me for asking, but do you have health issues? I ask in case it’s a risk…”

Izumi didn’t answer right away, but after a few moments silence she sighed, and nodded before explaining.

“Tamamo said she could help me, not right away, but after he’d regained her strength. But, yes… I was stabbed two years ago, in the chest. A.. an affair that ended badly. The icepick nicked my heart, then later there were complications, an infection. My recovery didn’t go well and my heart was damaged. I’m well enough to work, but anything that makes my heart beat harder could lead to the scar tissue tearing. Which makes the scarring worse, and too much would be very bad.”

“I see, thank you for explaining. I’ll take that into account and try to avoid anything that could hurt you. I’ll also have a word with Inari or Kiko..ah, that’s the Goddess of healing you might have heard of in the news?”

“I have heard… you’re offering to help me?”

Izumi glanced sideways at Paul, doubt, hope and confusion in equal measure warring across her face. Paul shrugged.

“Sure, why wouldn’t I? You’ve done nothing wrong here. I can’t promise anything, but I’ll ask if they can help you.”

Izumi blinked, surprise filling her face.

“Oh… you’re nothing at all like I thought you’d be!”

Paul chuckled, shaking his head.

“I suspect I probably don’t want to ask what you thought I’d be like. At a guess it wasn’t very complimentary.”

Izumi hung her head, a blush staining her cheeks. Paul mentally revised her age downwards by about a decade as she mumbled an embarrassed apology. Considering the degree of stress she must have been under, forced to work despite a life threatening condition, victim of an assault which she clearly was reluctant to talk about, it was no wonder he’d overestimated her age at first.

As soon as she saw Tamamo, propped up against the tree trunk, half covered in the fan of her tails, Izumi rushed to her side, dropping to crouch next to her she took hold of one limp hand. For a moment she stared worriedly at the unconscious kitsune. Izumi looked up at Inari as she approached.

“What have you done to her? She’s.. smaller!”

Inari shook her head.

“I did nothing. This is how she truly looks. She was always embarrassed at her lack of height and her child-like appearance, so she used magic to make herself seem taller and more grown up. This is how she is truly, without that.”

“Oh… she’s not harmed?”

“She’s not taken any lasting hurt. Although she will have a bad headache, and be sore from this, and she won’t have the strength to do much for a few days. Nor will I for that matter, but I am used to doing without much magic and she is not, which is why she sleeps and I’m just about able to stand.”

Paul blinked as Inari spoke, he hadn’t considered that point. That Inari would’ve developed a resilience to the lack of magic over the centuries since it had started to fade. A resilience that Tamamo would lack of course. He frowned, mentally revising what he’d assumed.

“Forgive the interruption, Inari, Izumi, but we need to move Tamamo to some place warmer, and I need to set some things up to aid her recovery.”

Inari gave Paul a sharp glance, but didn’t ask what he meant, only nodded in agreement. With her and Izumi’s assistance Paul managed to lift Tamamo once again onto his back, and carry her to where Izumi’s little car was parked. Where it became obvious that Paul was not going to fit, not with two nine-tailed Kitsune in the car as well. Paul sighed.

“Looks like I’m walking back…”

To his surprise Izumi shook her head.

“No Holmes-san. Sorry, but if you’ll allow me, the hotel has a taxi service on retainer for staff use. I will call them and use my code to order you a taxi back.”

“I’m not going to argue with that, I’m at my limit here as well. Put Tamamo in our room please. Inari, if you can keep watch over her a little while longer... Sorry if I sound bossy, but I’m too exhausted to be polite.”

Inari smiled, fondly Paul thought..

“Forgiven my Herald, I’m too tired to mind anyway.”

Paul chuckled, shaking his head slowly.

“Right, well, I’m going to get a coffee from that 7-11, and wait for the taxi inside. Try to avoid any more excitement tonight, please.”

Inari chuckled weakly.

“I’ll try, Paul-kun. I make no promises, but I’d prefer it to be peaceful from now on too.”