Jihi nodded. “I do, in fact. What is it you wish to ask?” Her voice was light but mournful.

“How long has he been a shinigami for? Where was he from, originally? Who is he?”

“He's been a shinigami for one hundred and forty-seven years,” Jihi answered. “I don't know where he was originally from, but it wasn't Yamato. As for who he is, he is a kitsune, and a shinigami.”

“Two hundred and seven... that's not very long.”

“It isn't.”

“Not from Yamato...” Something was scratching at the back of Eitsu's mind.

“Perhaps he is from the same place as you. Although I do not think it is likely.”

“Me?”

Jihi didn't seem to blink much, but she did now. “Yes? You are not from Yamato either, I can tell.”

“If that's the case, it's been so long that I can't remember.”

“That happens,” Jihi agreed. “I myself cannot remember much about who I was before I was a shinigami.”

“What's it like? The job, I mean?”

“Well, it is fulfilling work, at least, for myself. Sometimes the dead are angry or upset, but in the end I am there to take them where they need to go. Or to leave them alone, if that's what they need.”

“It sounds... relaxed.”

“Oh yes, there's a lot of autonomy in the job, but we still have rules. There is only so much we are allowed to make our own judgement on.”

“Is there a shinigami rulebook then?”

“Not really. There are only a few rules to remember. One – do your paperwork. Two – be respectful. Three – don't kill anyone and give us more work to do.”

“'Don't kill anyone'? So Rei should have been fired already.”

Jihi's placid eyes became suddenly sharp. “What do you mean?”

“He's killed me several times. I'm on my last life thanks to him.”

“Hm, that is serious.” Jihi frowned. “As you are a kaibyou with nine lives, with each death you bypass the usual channels of reincarnation and proceed straight to rebirth. Only once your nine lives come to an end would you actually descend to Yomi for processing. So we did not realise what he had been doing.”

“Oh, is that how it works? Good to know.”

“I will have to bring this up with the regional supervisor. I am afraid your case is not so serious as kaibyou hold the benefits of instant rebirth, but this may be a sign of other misdemeanours of his. Is there anything else we might need to know?”

“Hm... I don't know the details, but there are humans from the Four Kingdoms who are investigating him for legendary beast poaching. There's a ryuu after him too...” Eitsu haphazardly filled Jihi in on the things she had seen and learnt at Yuhai.

“I see... Well, those things are likely out of the jurisdiction of Yomi, but it is not a good impression for others about the overall character of the personnel. I will have to report this. Thank you for telling me.”

“I didn't even know there was someone I could tell. I'm glad I met you.”

“Likewise, Eitsubyou-sama. Please excuse me. I must be on my way.”

The shinigami bowed and vanished.

Winding her way through the revellers, Eitsu pounced on Tsubaki. “Enjoying yourself?”

“The dances are good.”

“'Good'? Would it kill you to be honest?”

“If it did, I would be honest more often.”

Eitsu bit Tsubaki's ear, lightly. “Where's the kiddo?”

“Over there.”

Ayame had also gathered a group of admirers, showing off the basic martial arts she had learnt at Hanasan. As she executed a spinning kick, Eitsu grabbed her leg and hoisted her aloft.

“Hey! Eitsu-sama!”

“Having fun?”

“I was.” Ayame glared, although the blood was rushing to her head. “Put me down!”

Instead, she was pulled up so that Eitsu was cuddling her, covering the fact that she was whispering in the child's ear.

“You've kept your mask on?”

“Yes, Eitsu-sama.”

“Good, no matter what happens, don't remove your mask. I've given you enough luck that it won't slip, the only way it will come off is if you physically remove it.”

Ayame squirmed, caught between the childish desire to rejoin her new friends, and her slight fear and awe of Eitsu's divine aura. Eitsu let her down and watched her run back to the group of youkai children.

The parade was coming to its destination, a huge clearing surrounded by ancient trees, many tied with thick, braided hemp rope. They began to build a fire, and a big creature that resembled a sentient mountain began to produce huge watermelons from the caves and fissures in its body. Soon the air was filled with the sound of delighted yelling and sweet fruit fragrance.

The youkai danced around and around the fire. With a shiver, Eitsu relinquished her tangible form, her appearance no longer definable. Yes, there was a suggested of cat, when one looked at her. A suggestion of golden eyes and red markings, a hint of something feminine, of something mad. In this form, she could do anything.

She twisted lightly, turning somersaults in the air, flowing between the other youkai with ease. With each step, the sound of a suzu, a crotal bell, rang through the air. Eyes turned more and more towards her.

A bead of sweat ran down the side of her face, down her neck, and disappeared past the collar of her robes. The youkai came closer, brushing against her.

A woman with an impossibly beautiful face ran her fingers along Eitsu's jawline, and flickered her tongue suggestively. The tongue came from a huge mouth at the back of her head. The one on her face did not move.

A couple of young men, completely naked over than a band of black paint daubed across their eyes, slipped softly either side of her, pressing themselves close. She could feel something firm and large brush her each of her hands. There are certain parts of tanuki that are very famous.

“Play with us,” whispered the human-headed snakes that wound themselves around her feet, and up her legs. Eager whimpering and agreement arose from the others surrounding her.

Eitsu smiled, an idea of sharpness and knives. “I already have a wife. The moment I became hers, I will have no other.”

A hundred sets of eyes turned upon the fox-masked Tsubaki. The white butterflies on her red yukata shifted as she slowly approached the kaibyou. The fawning youkai fell back, watching avidly.

Strangely, Eitsu found that her heart was beating in her throat. It seemed that at any moment, the approaching figure would suddenly fade away and evade her grasp, or she would remove her mask to reveal someone else's face below.

“Tsu-bo?”

“Eitsu-sama.”

Their hands met. Even as Eitsu's flickered and changed texture in Tsubaki's hand, the woman held tightly. The very fabric of Eitsu's being was formed of whispers and thoughts, shadows and concepts, but Tsubaki leaned into her embrace.

Eitsu slipped the kitsune mask upwards a little, enough to reveal Tsubaki's lips, enough to press against with her own mouth, or the concept of her mouth. The youkai howled and whistled.

“Let's dance until morning!”

“The night is short, let's make the most of it!”

“More watermelon!”

The banging of drums and wild singing redoubled. Eitsu pulled Tsubaki away into the forest.

“Ayame...”

“She'll be okay. She's a smart kid, especially for a human. Tsu-bo...” Eitsu had returned to a more corporeal form, but her thoughts remained nebulous. There was something she wanted to say to Tsubaki, but she wasn't sure how to phrase it. Or what it was, really. So instead, she said, “I spoke to a shinigami.”

“Here at the parade?”

“Right. She said that there's a rule of shinigami that they're not to kill anything themselves. Something about paperwork.”

“... So then how did that man...?”

“That's what I said. She said she was going to report it.”

“To whom?”

“Fucked if I know.”

Tsubaki laughed. It seemed the excitement of the evening had made her giddy. “Did she say what the punishment was? Can we hang him up like a rug and beat him with a stick?”

“Wow. Violent.”

“What would you do?”

“I don't know. And I don't really care right now.”

“Where are you touching?”

“Nowhere I haven't touched before, my wife. Do you... not like it?”

“You sound worried. What if I say I don't like it?”

“Then I'll stop.”

“And cry, maybe?”

“Would you like that?”

“Mm. Maybe. I think it's about time that you took a turn.”

Eitsu tore the sash from Tsubaki's yukata and pressed her to the ground, a hand cradling the back of the dancer's head so that she wouldn't be hurt.

“Do you hate me, Tsu-bo?”

“I do, Eitsu-sama.”

“Would it be better if I just walked away right now?” She pulled Tsubaki's yukata open, exposing her naked body, shining with sweat from the humid night.

“Absolutely, Eitsu-sama.”

“Then tell me to stop. Tell me to leave and never come back.”

Tsubaki slipped from her robes and wrapped her arms around Eitsu's neck, pulling the kaibyou down. Her voice whispered behind the kitsune mask.

“Fuck me.”

Eitsu drove her sharp teeth into Tsubaki's neck, creating a halo of wounds around the heart-shaped birthmark. Some part of her wanted to bite hard, pull away the flesh and swallow, absorb the woman in her arms until there was no telling who was who and what was what.

Instead, she pressed her teeth again and again over the dancer's body, licking the wounds as she did so that they healed instantly, her fingers feeling between Tsubaki's legs and finding she was already dripping wet. Tsubaki's hands were doing the same, and she hissed and panted like she had gone feral. Eitsu's mind floated, clinging to the feeling of Tsubaki's fingers within her. More... More...

She desperately wanted to kiss the woman on her mouth, bite her tongue, nibble her lips, but the mask had to stay on. She relieved her feelings by letting her nails extend into claws, scraping lightly across Tsubaki's hard nipples, then she pulled the dancer close, entangling their legs so they could rub against each other.

“The mask,” Tsubaki gasped and whispered. “I want to take it off.”

“You can't. I'll kiss you as much as you want later. Come and sit up here.”

She fell back, pulling Tsubaki's hips up to her face, then gripped the dancer's knees tight to stop her moving. Tsubaki moaned aloud as Eitsu's sharp teeth grazed her.

“Am I hurting you?”

“Haven't I... told you... before? I...”

Her words were lost in a deep sigh as Eitsu began to suck delicately, pleased by the smooth, firm texture of the small thing under her tongue. She released one hand and let it creep down between her own legs, closing her eyes to fully enjoy every sensation.

“Too... Eitsu-sa... Too much...” Tsubaki jerked and shuddered, squirming convulsively. “St-stop! I'm...!”

“I'm not finished,” Eitsu complained, before thrusting the fingers of her other hand suddenly upwards. Tsubaki cried out loud, falling onto all fours, her hips moving involuntarily. Warm, sticky liquid dripped onto Eitsu's tongue, and she bite Tsubaki's thigh fiercely as she came, her mind dissolving into pure pleasure for a moment.

When she recovered, she stared dazedly at the wound on Tsubaki's thigh, automatically licking at it. The wound healed instantly.

“Eitsu-sama... that... tickles...”

“Nice?”

Still shivering, they rearranged themselves until the kaibyou was tucked into Tsubaki's arms, her face pressed in her favourite position against Tsubaki's neck.

Laughter and singing were still coming from the clearing. It sounded as though someone had found some fireworks.

“Tsu-bo, you don't want to go back to the dance troupe, do you? Did that guy do anything else to you?”

“That guy?”

“Your... manager? I remember he slapped you that one time.”

“Oh... yes, he did, didn't he...”

“If it makes you feel better, I peed in his sake in revenge.”

A wild laugh bubbled out of Tsubaki. She tried to keep it physically suppressed with her hands, but it wasn't long until she was laughing hysterically. “So that's! Oh no, that's... !”

Eitsu purred contentedly, her tongue darting out automatically to lick Tsubaki's birthmark until the woman finally gained control of herself.

“While it wasn't the best place, it certainly wasn't the worst, either. The world sucks, some places just suck less than others.”

“So the dance troupe was less-sucky than other places you could have been?”

“Ayame should go back.”

“And you?”

Cicadas screamed in the warm night, even as the sky was beginning to lighten. Sounds of disappointment floated over to them from the clearing. The party was coming to an end.

“Say it out loud, Tsu-bo.”

“I want to come with you.”

“I don't even know where I'm going though.”

“That's fine. I'm sure you'll come up with some kind of trouble. I won't get bored.”

“I'd better work hard to keep you entertained, then.”

“”I'm glad you understand the situation, my kami.”

Ayame's voice joined the others. Eitsu quickly helped Tsubaki dress, salvaging what she could of the yukata sash.

“So where are these clothes from?”

“They were offerings.”

“Did you steal it from some other god's shrine?”

“Hey, no one was using them!”

“Cats have no sense of ownership.”

“I do. I know you own me.”

“Stop that. Ayame-chan's calling for us.”