"Mama, tell me a story?" A girl with long silky blond hair and chocolate eyes asks the person in front of her, with long black hair and eyes of the same color.
The person, with a silver heart-shaped pendant with details in ripple and inside a round stone with two colors, brown and green; I smiled, giving the girl a kiss.
"Very well. It's still early and Daddy is still working, so you can tell some stories until he arrives. "
The girl screams with happiness, running from the person's arms and going to a shelf, taking an illustrated book and handing it to the person, who upon seeing the cape, begins to laugh.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes. And then you tell how you met Papa. "The girl asks, gaining a hug from the person.
"He told you that life is bound up with this story, is not it?" The picture asks, receiving an animated affirmation from the girl. "Very well. So I'm going to divide the story into three parts. So we can have breaks to drink water and snack, what do you think? "
"Perfect," the girl says, running to the couch and throwing herself at him, giving loud laughs.
The person joins her, who comes to sit on her lap, opening the illustrated book entitled Tamamo-no-mae, the story told and not told.
Legend has it that in times gone by there was a beautiful young woman who arrived at the palace of Emperor Konoe. She was Tamamo-no-Mae, and she was so beautiful and captivating that the Emperor was charmed by her immediately.
When he asked her what she could do for such a special visitor, she told him she would like to stay at the palace. The Emperor could not resist his charms and, quite seduced, he agreed.
The longer she stayed in the palace, the more people around her worshiped her. She was the most beautiful woman they had ever seen. Tamamo-no-Mae was not only beautiful, she was also very polite, elegant, and above all, intelligent. She had infinite knowledge in all disciplines. Scholars of the palace often liked to test their knowledge, and she always passed her tests, surpassing all her expectations. It was noticed that her clothes never got wrinkled or dirty, and that she always smelled wonderful.
The Emperor, who also liked his company, found himself deeply in love. One day he asked if she wanted to live with him inside the palace. Let's face it, Mae agreed.
As the days passed, she and the Emperor became a couple, they were always together, day and night, every day of the week, they were almost inseparable.
As time passed, the people of the palace noticed that the Emperor was getting weaker. Until one day, he was so seriously ill that he could not get out of bed! The palace officials also found it strange that at first Tamamo-no-Mae was apathetic, showing no signs of sadness or any emotion. It was only when the Emperor had a near-death convulsion that Tamamo-no-Mae showed signs of restlessness and concern, sometimes even looking rather confused.
One of the palace scholars became very suspicious of his mysterious visitor, that he sought help from the monks high in the mountains. These told her that as the almost perfect Tamamo-no-Mae came to her town and delighted everyone, including the Emperor, they feared that she might not be what she appeared to be.
The monks gave the scholar a little wand, and they told him to deceive Tamamo-no-Mae to touch her. They were told that when she touched it, she would reveal her true nature.
Returning to the palace he immediately searched for Tamamo-no-Mae. She was in her room, staring absentmindedly out the window.
The scholar taking advantage of Tamamo's distraction opportunity, asked if she wanted to go with him for another test of knowledge, suggesting to relieve his mind of concerns. He then offered his hand as if to invite her, and when she reached out, he immediately pressed the wand against the palm of his hand.
The moment the wand touched her skin, it began to smoke, Tamamo-no-Mae frightened her hand in pain, but it was too late. A blinding light came out of nowhere, and amidst the light and smoke, the scholar was shocked to see a number of tails unfurl behind the beautiful young woman.
The scholar shouted at the guards who burst into the room, cornering Tamamo-no-Mae, who in panic completely transformed into a kyuubi (a nine-tailed fox). She jumped out the window fleeing through the city at high speed.
The people, who had once venerated her, saw her and threw stones and pointed objects, wounding her, desperately fleeing the city and heading toward the mountains.
Back at the palace, the scholar informed the Emperor of the true nature of his beloved Tamamo-no-Mae, a kitsune who had purposely taken him to his throne. Kitsunes (and Kyuubis) are creatures known to use their charm to absorb people's energy, especially those who feel closer to them.
Desolate and still weak (but in recovery), the Emperor with sorrow in his heart, authorized them to "do whatever needed to be done", for the good of his people.
Two warriors, known as Kazusa-no-suke and Miura-no-suke, specialized in hunting and killing foxes were hired.
It took a long time before the two warriors found her. Tamamo-no-Mae, the fox, was found hidden in the mountains, victimizing the errant travelers for their food. When she saw the two warriors, he attacked them at once, but they were very skillful dodging easily from their attacks.
Suddenly, Miura-no-suke said out loud, "Under the Emperor's order, a traitor like you must have a painful death !"
The fox stopped suddenly, then a dazzling light returned, and the two warriors saw standing before them the beautiful Tamamo-no-Mae, with nine tails on his back, and his eyes full of tears. She stood there trembling, staring at the ground, looking half hateful and half afraid.
"Do what you have to do," she finally said. "But I will not die without fighting." After these words, she redoubled her attacks on the warriors with sharp teeth and claws.
The three had a long and difficult fight, getting seriously injured, with Tamamo-no-Mae turning again into a fox and fleeing into the mountains.
The fox ran toward the plains, again at high speed. The warriors pursued her, but she was very fast, so one of them took a bow and arrow. He watched the fox flee, and after several attempts, he successfully hit an arrow in the fox's chest.
The fox, once dying on the ground, once again became the beautiful woman that everyone admired. Hot tears of sadness, anger and pain ran through her beautiful face, before finally dying.
The moment she breathed her last, she turned into a cursed black stone (Sessho-Seki). The stone released a magical poisonous gas, killing anyone who passed it.
The stone stayed there for many generations, victimizing many. Until one night, a monk passed, and prepared a ritual around the cursed stone. He prayed all night, murmuring spells and lighting bale candles and incense around the stone.
The next morning he got up and approached the stone, placing his hand on its surface, but miraculously he was not harmed.
He then shouted at the stone: "I have heard of your story, Tamamo-no-Mae; of how in the skin of a kyuubi you bewitched the Emperor and had what he deserved, a painful and lonely death. But I know there's more to it than the story tells, and I'd like to give my heart to hear it. Please, I want to know your real story. "
He waited a few moments, until a soft voice came from the stone:
"I'm Tamamo-no-Mae, but I was not always Tamamo-no-Mae. My real name is Mizukume. My adoptive father found me in the woods like a child, not knowing that I was already doomed to be a nine-tailed fox, which is probably why my true parents abandoned me. When I was 17 years old, my adoptive father was charged with treason and sentenced to exile from the palace, which led to his death.
"I was very angry and alone, so I decided to hug my kyuubi half and immediately seek revenge for the palace. And eventually gain the trust and love of the young Emperor, slowly draining his life force, but I came across something unexpected; I found myself in love with him, which was not part of the plan. Part of me did not want him to get hurt or die. I was very confused about everything. I had my heart broken even before the arrow pierced my chest, and that's what really killed me in the end. I beg you, monk, I can not take it anymore. I have been cursed since I was born, and even after I die, I am still cursed. I have killed so many, in my life and in death, that I am deeply sad. Please, I beg you, set me free from this agony. "
The monk closed his eyes, and still with his hand resting on the stone, he murmured a solemn spell, which ended with "Thank you, Mizukume. Be free!".
A bright ball of light rose from the stone, ascending to the sky. The stone, without its curse, fell apart, scattering it all over Japan.
Or not.
After telling his whole story to the monk, who listened with great patience, Tamamo-no-mae eventually fell in love with him. But she could not, and because of that, the stone she had created filled with hatred turned into a baby whom she asked the monk to create in her place.
The baby, who was given the name Hoshi-no-Mikoto, appeared to be a normal child until an illness spread throughout the city in which he lived and he was the only one unaffected by her, soon receiving the name Miracle Boy. The boy, when performing at a festival for the sick, ended up using parts of his powers to purify the wind that circulated around the city and thereby heal people. This caused an uproar, because some of the people came to venerate the boy and the other, began to fear him.
The monk, fearing for the boy, made him accompany him on his journeys of pilgrimage through Japan, teaching him always. But old age comes to the monk, and decides to take him to his mother's grave, where the young adult now knows what to do. Alone, the boy travels with a long wooden staff, where at the top there is a hook for his flashlight that is always lit and a necklace with 108 beads on his neck. So he goes on to use his now refined powers to exorcise and purify the environments he visits.
But he was not happy. He was not, because he was alone. As he watched people talking around him, he began to feel lonely. But when he least expects, a woman comes into his life and he falls in love. They stay together, have a child and both travel with him. Time passes and their son also gets married and has children. The woman died and he found himself alone again. So, for the first time, he shed his first and only tear, which as it fell from his face, turned a round transparent stone, like glass. He, old enough, hid the objects in an abandoned temple in the same city that his son had established himself, and with the possibility now of traveling abroad, he travels by ship through various countries until he reaches Russia today.
There, he had his end, in the company of a local resident, to whom he delivered the stone. When the stone touches the Russian's hand, it emitted a huge glow and gained two colors. Light blue and dark brown, like the eyes of the two present. With that, the souls of the two were bound and destined for each other forever, even prisoners in their home countries. The two of them went through several lives without being able to meet, waiting for the day when they could finally be together.
"And they did it." The girl says, when the figure closes the book.
"Yes. They did it. They finally got to be together. And you're the proof, Sakura Katsuki-Nikiforov, "the figure says, kissing her forehead again.
Suddenly, a cell phone on the table next to them begins to play, a melody on the piano to which the person picks it up and answers the call.
"Hello, Vicchan!"
"Yuura! I need you here! "The voice on the other end of the line speaks, desperately. "Bring Sasha too, I don't care!"
"Vicchan, any problem?"
"Yes, a serious problem! I'm missing you two! "
There, Yuuri Katsuki, shares the cell phone with his daughter, Sakura, to listen to the drama of Victor Nikiforov on the other side of the line. At the sound of their laughter, Victor groans.
"How terrible! My two loves are laughing at my disgrace! "
"Okay, Vicchan. Sacchan and I are on our way. So we can tell our story together. "
"Oh! I'm excited now! I'm waiting for you!"
"Okay, we'll be there soon," Yuuri says, hanging up the phone. "Let's go now? Dad must be feeling really lonely without us. "
"Come on!" Sakura says excitedly.
And together, they get out of the car. In the streets, Yuuri outdoors is hugged with her husband, Victor, with a heart-shaped necklace with a transparent jewel in the center and the sayings: Stammi Viccino Jewels Love Collection! Find your soul mate with the Soul Stones!
"Mama, your stones are very popular now," Sakura says, looking at Yuuri.
"Indeed. But all this is thanks to Dad, who defended me and helped me. "Yuuri speaks, smiling. "Did you know I was robbed when I came to St. Petersburg?"
"What?! Who was the villain? "The girl asks, her eyes wide.
"You'll know soon enough. And do not worry. Daddy already deal with it. "With a laugh, Yuuri dismisses the matter, as they both arrive at a large store with the name Stammi Viccino Jewels.
~ Continues ~