Come by Night 2: Winter's Moon

Chapter One - Three Years Ago Today

kitsunetsuki - possessed by a fox

I am tired. Even in my sleep, I am exhausted. All I do is work. The villagers say nothing to me, treat me as filth, but they pile their work upon me regardless. By day, I sew in the sun, and by night I squint beside the lamp. My hands are cramped, my fingers raw. And I go on, no matter how much it hurts.

I can't watch over my daughter properly. There is no one willing to help me. I feel like a failure. I want to be strong, I was trying to be, but I am overburdened. When I sleep, I dream of sewing. It is all I do. I wonder if I died in that river and I'm in some kind of hell.

I take a deep breath. I can be strong. For Tsukiko and Isamu, I must be! I promised. I stick my finger again. I stop and sigh. I tend to it, not daring to get blood on the silk.

At last, I finish sewing the garment back together. Thank goodness. Only a few more and I can sleep. I rub my eyes, turn and... the room is filled with clothes! They are folded up in stacks, and I can't see the walls! It never ends! I blink, and there's more than there were before!

I can't take it. I sob, bury my face in my hands, crumpling to the floor. Someone, please, help me...

I feel a breeze, it flaps the hangings. I look up and see a male figure approaching from without. I inhale, my heart in my throat.

"Hello?" I manage to keep the quaver out of my voice.

I know how vulnerable I am, a woman alone. It is night. No villager will defend a former kitsunetsuki. I fear the night one of the village men gets bold enough to try it. And if I speak up, I'll be the one they condemn! I grab my cutters, the only thing I can stab and cut with. I will not be taken or robbed without a fight!

The figure enters. White hair frames a narrow face. And those beautiful ears. My lips tremble and my breath catches. "Isamu?"

"Hotaru!" He comes to me and sweeps me into his nine-tailed embrace. I collapse in his arms and latch onto him. The scissors drop to the floor with a thunk. I can't stop crying. Is this relief or joy?

I breathe him in, unable to speak. His scent is wild, inviting. He is strong and I cling to him, allowing myself to be weak just this once.

"Hotaru?" I hear him ask. I manage to nod.

"I am all right now. I missed you. I tried to speak to you in my head." It seems stupid when I say it aloud like that.

"I heard. I think it only goes one way. I have been working to get back to you. The priest wouldn't let me save you! I tried. I am so sorry, Hotaru! For everything..."

I hear the sincerity in his voice, feel it in the way he cradles me protectively. I feel like I am falling in love all over again.

"I believe you. I was afraid I would never see you again." I raise my tear-filled gaze to that beautiful face I know so well. I touch his soft ear, am comforted in his arms and tails. "Please don't leave me again. I'll die."

His face turns stricken. "I wish... Hotaru, I will never stop fighting to be by your side." That's when I know.

"Isamu? Is this...?"

"Do not say it. Not yet. Just a little longer, please." He is begging me. I clutch his kimono, but already the threads are unraveling. So many threads... slipping... sliding away...

"Hotaru!" I hear him shout over a distance. "I'll return tomorrow night."

I awake on my mat in a dark room. "Isamu,"
I whisper. Did that really happen? Or was it merely a dream?

His woodsy scent lingers. My fox found me. I smile, my eyes leaking wet rivulets into my hair. Am I happy or sad? I cannot tell. But this much I know: I have found new strength to endure. For Isamu and Tsukiko-chan.