Come by Night 2: Winter's Moon

Chapter Three - Happily Ever After

ayakashi - an older term for yōkai
biwa bokuboku - haunted, old biwa instruments that have taken on life
tsukumogami - inanimate objects that have come to life

I keep expecting to wake, but everything is so vibrant and real. How can a place like this exist? Or Isamu? Yet, it's all true.

I adore when he looks at me this way. His love for me is manifest in his miasma, something I now recognize. Yōkai exude this emotional aura, and Isamu is no exception. Just now, his love is an invisible force. It surrounds me. I don't think he's aware of it.

Most humans would not bother to understand. But I am bound to this fox, surrendered my heart to him, born his child. I would do anything for him. I want to take him inside me right now. And by the look in his eyes, I know he feels the same.

"Mother!" Our magical moment is broken by Tsukiko, who runs back out of the castle. "Come see." She looks so happy.

"Hold on." Isamu picks her up and gives her a good looking over. "You look different than your dream self." He frowns, pretending to ponder while she giggles.  "I know! It's your hair. Do you like that color, or do you want your own?"

"Mine!" Tsukiko yells, pinning her father's ears back. Poor Isamu. Our daughter can be quite shrill.

With a smile he casts his magic, and I do not know if it is an illusion or if it is real here. Passing his hand over her hair, Tsukiko's long, sleek mane turns as radiant white as her father's. She is his child to the bone.

Seeing them like this, my heart is full and happy. I have the family I always wanted. Tears sting my eyes, I am so overwhelmed by emotion. This moment makes everything I suffered worth it.

"There," Isamu says. "Now everyone shall know you are mine." He is so proud of her. He lifts his head and smiles at me. My heart melts. "Come," he says, and I do.

One of his tails slides behind my back like a protective arm. Side by side we enter his splendid castle, and it takes my breath away. Dreams do not do his kingdom justice. Unlike the ruined shrine, this is an opulent palace. The illusion of a simple man he showed me at the shrine was merely a display to seduce me. My love has extravagant tastes.

But it is not the magnificent architecture nor the furnishings which draws my attention. I gawk at the curious yōkai who serve Lord Isamu. They likewise stare at me. Many are tsukumogami, former household things that grew so old and filled with their master's energy, they came to life. Many are not in the best repair. Regardless, they fawn on Isamu. And the various others, all of them are... different, misfits in some way.

And like him, the demons who dwell here also give off miasma. It doesn't appear to affect Tsukiko at all. I, however, feel lightheaded, my neck hair standing on end.

"Are you all right, Hotaru?"

I nod. It is the best I can do. Two more tails wrap around me.

"I know this will be an adjustment." He is anxious. He does not know how I will react living in what is clearly a yōkai's lair.

I smile to reassure him and Tsukiko. "I will be fine. I can live happily in a castle full of ayakashi if it means never sewing again."

Isamu laughs. "I will introduce you. Everyone?" he announces to the growing throng of curious monsters. The assorted yōkai kneel or bow, depending on rank and if they have knees. There is a karakasa kozō, a ratty parasol with an eye and a tongue that is leaning foreword, propped up by two bakezori, sandals with eyes and limbs.

"This is my lady, Hotaru and our daughter, Tsukiko. They will live with us now. Treat them as you do me."

A couple of biwa bokuboku begin filling the hall with strange, slightly discordant music. Soon we are seated on the raised tatami platform, while a feast is prepared for Isamu's demon court. My beloved takes my hand.

"It is a happy occasion, for they have seen my sorrow and pain at losing you. You have brought joy back to my house. We will have a proper kitsune no yomeiri when the sakura crowns the trees." He means a fox wedding. I've heard of those in legend. But one thing keeps troubling me, and my rumbling stomach forces me to ask.

"Isamu-sama? I have heard that humans cannot eat the food here. Is that true?" 

"Fear not, your food is from your world. It is true if you eat our fare for too long, you will eventually turn into one of us. I promise I will not starve you or trick you into it against your will."

Is he hopeful I will choose this? Do I want it? What kind of yōkai would I be? I suppress a shiver. It is a lot to think about.

"Not yet. But thank you, Isamu-sama, for giving me the choice."