Act 5: A Mishap

Kisuke was pacing; it had been four hours since Oboro had left for Narukami Castle. Surely, it couldn't have taken this long unless the banquet was lasting all night. Finally, he kicked a stone and spun around to face Yuzuruha. "Something's wrong! I know it. We have to do something."

The kitsune stared at the large castle in the distance, and then nodded. "Yes, I believe you are correct." She looked back at Kisuke. "What do you propose?"

"I'll try and sneak in to find out what's happened to Oboro," Kisuke said. "... why are you looking at me like that? I used to be a ninja! I'll be fine."

Yuzuruha shook her head. "No, I think sending you is far more dangerous," she said firmly. "Someone smaller will have to do." She looked at Kongiku. "It's time." The little fox looked excited. "I'll need you to stay in your smaller form, Kongiku, so you can sneak in. Thus, speak!" She snapped her fingers.

"I... I can talk again...!" the little fox exclaimed. "Oh my! I've been waiting so long to speak. Especially to Oboro, I felt like we were close friends."

Yuzuruha nodded. "Kongiku, I need you to sneak into the castle, and find out what's happened to Oboro. Quickly now!" she ordered.

Kongiku nodded and ran east toward Narukami Castle through the trees.

"I don't understand," Kisuke said to her. "Why couldn't you have sent me? If Kongiku gets caught..."

"She's a cunning one," Yuzuruha said with a smile. "I've known her to weasel her way out of worse situations. If I sent you, what you have done if you were caught?"

"I'd hide, obviously. And use my Muramasas if—I see," he said. Violence would be a terrible answer to guards. Kisuke knew it would only call more of them to trap him. He leaned on a tree, exhaling with irritation. "I hope she's not being marked for execution."

"You have a rather dark imagination, Kisuke," Yuzuruha said with a frown. She twirled her umbrella. "That wouldn't happen to her, even if they caught her as a 'fake.' ... but you and I both know that would not occur."

Kisuke nodded slowly. After all, she was.

-S-

Momohime was handed a lovely white kimono by one of the handmaidens. She smiled at Momohime, and asked, "would you like help getting changed, your highness?"

She thought about it for a moment, and then shook her head. "No thank you, I can handle myself," she said softly.

"Very well, your highness," the handmaiden bowed. The others followed suit. "If there is anything you need, don't hesitate to call upon us. We'd be happy to serve."

Momohime groaned within herself. "Thank you, you're dismissed," she said to the handmaidens. They bowed again and left the room. Why? Why am I Momohime? She wondered as she put the white kimono over her peach one. Why can't I just be some village girl? Like Oboro? I don't want to marry someone I don't love...

She heard a voice in your head. You are Momohime, it's who you are. She shook her head. "No! I... I... I don't want this identity." Momohime licked her lips and sighed. She walked over to the bowel of white powder on the dresser next to her. She reached in, and painted her face white as according to tradition.

Fighting tears of regret, she took the hood that was attached to the wedding kimono and put it over her face like a veil. She could still see fine, but even so, she felt lost.

"Who you see is lost in the light, but found in the darkness," the cloaked man's words sounded in her mind. She thought this whole time that he had been referring to himself. But now, had he predicted her identity?

As Momohime—enlightened—she never felt so lost, and yet as Oboro, she had felt like she had found herself... a little bit that was.

She took more of the powder and painted her hands white. She sighed again with disappointment. Momohime had expected something else out of her identity, not some beautiful princess to be used and forced into something she never desired. Maybe I shouldn't have left... I was so much happier back with my grandparents.

Except they really weren't her grandparents, she realized as she placed the lovely head ornaments of marriage in her hair, while keeping the comb and the flowers. They would fit, wouldn't they?

And what about Jinkuro? Jinkuro... Her heart beat a little faster as his name echoed in her mind. He's a demon... a demon... why do I seek him then? She didn't know, and worse, she would never find him now that she was being married to Yukinojyo.

Momohime walked over to the mirror; her black hair stood in stark contrast to her white face, hands, and kimono. She looked into the glass, only seeing a sad, frightened girl staring back at her. Her hazel eyes were filled with that fright, and Momohime shared her pain.

Turning away from the mirror, believing that she was ready for the ceremony, Momohime walked as slowly as she could to the door. She needed to give Kisuke, Yuzuruha, and Kiku time to save her. That is... could they? Do they even know what's going on? They have to! Yuzuruha is a kitsune! Yet, even the knowledge of the white fox did not comfort her.

-S-

Momohime was led by the handmaidens to the ceremony room. They had pestered her about the hair comb, but she had denied them their efforts. They gave in, mumbling something about 'traditions.'

A long table was set for sake drinking ceremony. At the head of the room and on the other side of the table was Yukinojyo, wearing a black kimono. He smiled kindly at Momohime, and she managed to return a weak, helpless smile.

"Welcome," Yukinojyo said with a gentle voice as she approached him. "You look lovely, Momohime. Are you ready to exchange your vows with me?"

No... she thought. If she could, she would run. But how could she escape? There were no windows to jump through, Yukinojyo looked like a strong man, and the handmaidens would certainly try to stop her.

After a moment, she merely nodded.

"Why the sad countenance?" he asked.

"It's... nothing," she said, stumbling over her words. "I... I don't have any family here, that's all."

"Yes, that does create a problem with the ceremony, we're going to have to change tradition a little," he said. He held a small band that could fit around a finger. "After we drink the sake, I want you to wear this as a symbol of our union."

Momohime's heart went cold. No, she couldn't accept that either! But what choice did she have? She nodded meekly at him, feeling as helpless as a cornered sheep.

Then, a flash of white caught her eye. She couldn't believe it: Kiku was underneath the table. When the fox saw her staring, she ran off, sneaking under the banners and between the columns to avoid notice.

"Kiku...!" she whispered.

"Momohime?" Yukinojyo said, catching her attention. "Is something wrong?"

"No, no," she lied, shaking her head. "Let's... just get started." She regretted those words.

"Very well."

-S-

Kisuke kept pacing; Kongiku had been gone for quite some time. "Dammit," he cursed. "Where is Kongiku? What's keeping her?" He glanced at Yuzuruha, who also appeared to be worried.

"I do not know, Kisuke," the kitsune said to her. She twirled her umbrella more quickly than usual, and turned her gaze to Narukami Castle. Kisuke did the same, staring at it as if it held all their answers... and Oboro.

Then, he heard a panting noise from the forest. A mere moment, and Kongiku jumped into the opening. Her eyes were wide with fear and she was trying to catch her breath.

"What is it?" Kisuke asked, dread filling his heart. "What happened to Oboro?"

After taking a moment to breathe, Kongiku said, "it's bad! Very bad! She's getting married to Yagyu Yukinojyo!" She looked from Kisuke to Yuzuruha. "I left just as they were starting to exchange their vows... and they have probably started drinking the sake."

"Oh... oh no," Yuzuruha muttered. She looked at Kisuke, and he returned her look. "Yukinojyo doesn't know the danger he is putting her in. If he tells Oboro too much about her past...!"

"Yes, I know!" Kisuke said, feeling the urgency of the situation. "Well, come on, let's go! We've got no time to waste! It's better to burst in there than to let her mind melt away."

"No, we still need to sneak in," Yuzuruha said. She licked her lips. "It'll be difficult for the three of us, but I'll use some of my Spirit Powers to assist us in not being noticed." She immediately morphed into her small fox-form; she was as tiny as Kongiku. "Come, Kisuke! We'll need your skills, too."

"Wait, why didn't you use your powers earlier?" Kisuke asked as he ran along with the kitsunes.

"Because..." Yuzuruha said. "It would have drained a little of my spirit fox magic. I need to have as much as possible to restore Kongiku. Hurry!" she added.

He nodded. The two foxes ran ahead to Narukami Castle, Kongiku leading the way. Kisuke dashed after them, worried for Oboro's safety.

-S-

It was done.

Momohime was now wearing the wedding band that Yukinojyo had made for her. She had been taken to the room that apparently had been hers when she lived in the castle. But now, it was also her husband's room.

Husband? She thought with disbelief. This can't be happening to me! Momohime went to the wash basin and immediately doused her head in the water to get the vile powder off of her face. She dunked her hands in and washed the whiteness away.

"Are...? Eep!" Momohime shrieked as she saw Yukinojyo was removing his kimono. He looked confused.

"What? We're married now," he said, raising a brow. "Don't tell me you weren't expecting me to change in front of you."

Well... I actually wasn't, but...

"Besides," he continued. "We need to prepare for the reception tomorrow. I'm sure the handmaidens will have your red kimono ready."

"Why did you marry me, Yukinojyo?" She asked quickly, trying to get his attention away from removing his clothes. "Why did you force me? I... do you even love me?"

He paused and faced her. After a moment, he shook his head. "You're a lovely and wonderful woman, Momohime, but... this was for a political alliance between the Yagyu Clan and the Narukami family. We—You needed this marriage, especially after the death of your father for reasons I already told you."

She sighed, he wasn't going to give up easily, was he? "Yukinojyo... I understand your concern, but..." she said very slowly. "I don't love you; I never wanted this marriage."

"Unfortunately, as my wife, you are now to be totally obedient to me," he said causally. "I'm sorry you feel this way, but—"

"Sorry?" Momohime stared at him, baffled. "You are sorry? I do not believe you, I am not an object, I am a woman with feelings and my own thoughts!" Momohime could not understand his logic. She glanced to her left. A window...! "I have other—"

"Silence!" Yukinojyo shouted. "Listen, Momohime, you must be obedient, but I promise that I will not force you to—"

"Liar!" Momohime said, clenching her fists together. "You forced me into this ridiculous marriage! And now, I have no freedom because I am merely an object for my 'husband's' use!"

"What is wrong with you, Momohime?" Yukinojyo asked, dumbfounded. "You were always a kind, soft-spoken woman. What has happened?"

Momohime frowned. "You. You're the problem," she said darkly.

"Do not make me strike you," Yukinojyo warned. "I don't want to, but if I have to make you obedient—"

"See? You did lie!" Momohime exclaimed, pointing at him. "You said you would promise me not to force me into doing anything! First, the marriage, now you threaten to strike me into obedience? Go ahead! Strike me!" She wanted it, if anything it would dissolve her marriage.

"I will not let my will be bent by a woman!" he said with anger rising in his voice.

"And they said you were a good man," she hissed, glaring at him. She spat in his face. And then it came—Yukinojyo struck her. "Ow!" Momohime rubbed her cheek tenderly.

He wiped the saliva from his nose. "Let that be a warning to you. I cannot believe that I have to be so harsh with you now," he said, frowning. "You were always a good woman, demure, and kind. What has possessed you to have a spider's venom?"

"As I said before: you. You're problem!"

He cornered her. "Don't force me to strike again, Momohime."

"Go ahead!" she shouted at him. "Strike me! See where it will get you! Nowhere! I would have never married a man who would hit me!" Momohime held out her left hand that had the wedding band on her ring finger. "I'm not your wife anymore." She swiftly clenched the fist with such force that it snapped the band into pieces.

Yukinojyo's face went red with anger. He struck her again, growled, and then hit her face again. With repeated blows, he started to beat her. He struck her face, her back and beat her into the ground.

Then, she had enough. As he brought his arm to strike her back again, it was caught by Momohime's hand. She rose. "I'm not a weak little thing." She swiped her foot, and knocked him to the ground.

"Damn!" Yukinojyo cursed. "Look... we shouldn't be fighting. We used to get along."

She snorted. "It looks like that's long past." Momohime turned to run for the window.

"Jinkuro's strength and defiance are in you," he said. Momohime stopped and spun around. He knew Jinkuro? "I should have guessed."

Curious, but still grinding her teeth together she asked, "how do you know Jinkuro? Who is he? I need to know! I've been trying to find out for months!"

Yukinojyo looked baffled. "You forgot who Jinkuro was?" He paused. "No wonder you didn't know my name. You have amnesia..." He stood up slowly. Momohime kept her guard up. "I'll tell you about Jinkuro. I know plenty about him." He sounded angry again, but she had the feeling it was toward Jinkuro and not herself.

"Very well," Momohime said, relaxing. "Tell me everything you know."

"Jinkuro was vile swordsman, who at point lost his body due to a fatal sickness," Yukinojyo began to explain. "He was then a demon, a soul. He gained the ability to possess others' bodies, effectively making him immortal. He is a power-hungry, selfish, and loathsome being. And he used you for awful things."

"Me...?" Momohime said, no longer gritting her teeth, but looking at Yukinojyo in wonder. Then, she realized her head was started to hurt. She could see images of a green wisp glaring at her, and could feel herself being torn apart. Yet, her body remained whole. "W-wait...!"

"You asked," he said, most likely not realizing the danger Momohime was in. "Jinkuro tried to possess me using the Kuromistu blade, allowing him to Soul Transfer. You interfered and he struck you instead. You became his slave. He took your body, and murdered others with it. He even attempted to murder me!

"He sought power, he went to the heavens to challenge the gods himself using your body. And nothing could stop him!

"You were helpless to this senseless beast. He never loved you one bit, and he continued to use your body despite the fact that he sought another for his own purposes! Even his servant, a kistune was merely a tool for his objectives! He cared for no one, and loved none but himself!"

Momohime's mind was starting to scream, and she grasped it. Momohime could hear voices from the past.

"Because you interfered, I'm going to take your body, girl! ... Don't interfere again! He intends to fight me, then he will fight me!"

"What?! You...? Defiling a woman's body for your own means?! Stop it! You shouldn't kill him, Jinkuro!"

"And you're going to stop me? He can't hear you. ... Give me the Kuromistu blade, Yukinojyo, or you will die."

"No! Stop it!"

"I said don't interfere, girl!"

Momohime could not make out anything else Yukinojyo was saying. Instead, all she could hear was her screaming, and feel her mind breaking down. She let out a blood-curling scream and fell on something soft. Momohime could vaguely hear Yukinojyo's voice calling out to her. Did he sound concerned? She wasn't sure. All that was happening now is that she was going to go insane.

-S-

"Momohime! Momohime!" Yukinojyo cried, staring at the shrieking princess rolling on the bed. "What is happening?!" He grabbed her body and desperately and shook her, but she continued to scream.

Is this because I struck her? Or... no, it can't be. I only told her about Jinkuro! Then what—

"What's happening?!" voices exclaimed behind Yukinojyo. He spun around to see the nobles who had attended the marriage ceremony. Their faces were pale. "What... what did you do to her?"

"Nothing... except tell her about—"

"Yukinojyo, I didn't know you would harm your wife, let alone our dear Momohime!"

"Listen to me!" he said, but his voice couldn't ascend above the panicked voices of the nobles. He looked around, panic filling his own heart. How was he going to get Momohime out of her horrid state?

Then, two white foxes dashed into the room. One jumped on the bed, and the other transformed into a humanoid form, wearing a green kimono. A kitsune! Receiving a glare from the kitsune, Yukinojyo watched as she placed her hands on Momohime's head. Slowly, she stopped screaming and entered a state of sleep. The fox on the bed began to lick her face.

"Is... is she alive?" Yukinojyo asked the kitsune. She nodded and then headed for the door. At that moment, Yukinojyo was surprised to see Kisuke burst through the group of nobles and run to Momohime's side.

"What the hell did you do to her?!" he growled. "She looks like she took a major pounding. Did you...?"

"Kisuke, silence," the kitsune ordered. She faced the nobles and her voice boomed over their own. "That's enough! All of you must leave now! Yukinojyo has done no harm to princess Momohime and she'll be fine. Leave! And if I hear any gossiping, you shall be cursed."

The nobles immediately clammed up, looking fearfully upon the white fox and backed away from the door. Then she slammed the door in their faces and turned to Yukinojyo. Fear entered his heart as he realized that the kitsune, Kisuke, and even the small fox were glaring at him.

"I... I..." he stuttered. "I don't know what happened! After telling her what she asked about Jinkuro, she started to scream like that!"

"Yes, yes," the kitsune said, her voice softer now. "What happened is you told her too much about her past for her fragile mind to handle."

"She... she is Momohime, isn't she?" Yukinojyo asked the kitsune.

"Yes, she is." The fox nodded. She twirled her umbrella, inhaled, and then exhaled. "How is she, Kisuke?" she asked, turning to the former ninja.

"Sleeping, and stable," he said, looking at Momohime's face. He glared at Yukinojyo again. "Why did you beat her? I can tell from the bloodstains and bruises on her face! You're not that type of person!"

"No, I'm not... I... I got caught up in a rage against her," Yukinojyo admitted, looking at the ground. "I shouldn't have struck her like that. Please... forgive me. She never deserved that." He looked at the kitsune. "What has happened to her? I assumed she has amnesia, but... I've never seen anything like this."

"Oboro... Jinkuro..." Momohime muttered in her slumber. Yukinojyo shot a glance at her; feeling dumbfounded. She's mentioning his name in her sleep? What does this mean? He wondered.

"It's a long story, Yukinojyo," the kitsune said. "Though, the one you should seek forgiveness from is Momohime. I had Kongiku here scout what was happening after we sent Momohime to Narukami Castle to find out more about her past. The fact that you were trying to marry her alarmed me. I'm sorry you did not know, but she has a deadly type of amnesia where she didn't even remember her own name, and any memories that return to her hurt her mind. Too many, and she'll go insane."

"Is there anyway to stabilize her mind?" Yukinojyo asked. Guilt wrapped around his heart like chains, and worry tightened them. "Or does her memories make it stronger?"

"Yes," the kitsune said. "Over time with memory by memory, her mind will grow stronger to the point where it can survive a large amount of memories. But not this time," she added.

"Is... she all right?" he asked slowly, now staring at Momohime.

"Yes, I was able to heal her in the nick of time," the kitsune said with a comforting voice. "Right now, she's probably suffering her nightmares. The poor dear."

"Nightmares? Please, explain to me what happened."

"Well," Kisuke said, sounding less angry now. "It started on Mount Kongo."

"Where you fought Jinkuro?" Yukinojyo asked. Kisuke nodded. "Yes, as I recall, you two wounded each other mortally. We thought Momohime was lost to us because... we only found you after the battle, Kisuke."

"Well, she survived, thanks to Jinkuro, at least according to Yuzuruha here," Kisuke said, folding his arms.

"What?"

"It's true, Jinkuro—" the kitsune started. Suddenly, Momohime shot up in the bed, shouting out Jinkuro's name.

"Oboro!" the little fox exclaimed. Was that fox also a kitsune? Yukinojyo didn't want to think about it. All he wanted to do now was apologize to her. He, Kisuke, and the other kitsune gathered around the frightened princess.

"What... what happened?" Momohime said, rubbing her head. "I thought I was going to lose my mind..." She looked at the kitsune. "Yuzuruha... did you heal me?"

"Yes," she said, smiling at her. "And just in time, too."

"Kisuke? Kiku? You all came?" She asked, looking around. Then, when Momohime met Yukinojyo's eyes, she scowled. "Even you?"

"Y-yes," Yukinojyo said, biting his lip. "Momohime, I'm very sorry—"

"No... I don't want to hear any excuses, you hurt me enough!" Momohime exclaimed, she shoved everyone out of her way. Yukinojyo tried to stop her, but he wasn't fast enough as the princess jumped out the window.

"Momohime!" he called.

"Are you crazy?" Kisuke called, jumping out the window after her.

"Kongiku!" Yuzuruha said to the small fox. "Go ahead, I'll talk with Yukinojyo about this."

The white fox nodded and bounded out of the window, leaving a stunned Yukinojyo behind. He looked at Yuzuruha with fear. Yet, she did not seem angry.

"I'll tell you what happened at Mount Kongo."