Life was good. The sun was high in the sky, a rabbit roasting over an open fire, wafting plumes of succulent smelling smoke into the lungs and even the light chirping of insects could be heard from all around.
"…." A small girl, with cute little fox ears atop her head looked at the meager meal and dirty surroundings with some visible levels of disgust. Her once pristine clothing now possessing a thick ring of dirt around it's hems. Large golden eyes tried, and tried they did to not look so pleading but her desire to complain was growing stronger with every moment. A spoiled princess through and through. "Mother….have I done something to upset you?"
"Of course not!" An aged version of the girl shook her blonde locks, a mischievous glint to her own orbs of gold. One hand slowly turning the expertly prepared rabbit, letting the crackling flame create a nice crust. "Can a mother not want to spend time with her daughter? Is that a crime?"
"No….it's not." Kunou carefully answered, scratching at her neck as yet another insect dared to nip at her skin. Tails flicking out suddenly to remind the paltry things of their place, slapping most of them away. But they would be back, she knew. They always did. "But, wouldn't it be better to have dinner in our estate?"
Her confusion was adorable, making Yasaka want to reach through the flames and pinch at those puffy cheeks. Maybe she did spoil her child rotten. Her kit never had to worry about food, water or shelter ever in her life. Hell, she'd never even slept outside a single time. Which was fine, what kind of parent would she be if she didn't provide the bare minimum?
"Is something wrong with my cooking?" She teased, that grin growing wider. But frankly, even if she was willing to admit that all this was simply theatrics. Maybe it was caused by nostalgia, her wanting to go back to simpler days where serpents didn't hide their fangs behind pleasant expressions and honeyed words. "I'll have you know, if I were to claim second place as a chef, there's no Yokai that would dare claim to be first!"
A boast skirting the edges of the truth that even she began to feel her cheeks heats up a hair.
"…." Those eyes looked off to the side, probably hoping to not be brought into that particular discourse. "That doesn't answer my question."
"Take a bite first." The older women plucked a single skewer off the heat and held it carefully aloft, before blowing on it. On the skewer, a rabbit with a crispy exterior glazed in some sort of dark sauce and sprinkled with a few herbs and spices. "It's good! This recipe is over 2 hundred years old! And I haven't heard a single complaint about it once!"
"Mother." The child's tone was firm, but nonetheless, she still took the skewer and bite into it's flesh with that daintiness that only a princess could possess. Eyes going wide, all her training went out of the window as she tore into morsel with gusto. Finishing it all in under four bites, cheeks bulging as she chewed. Seeing her mother smiling, Kunou quickly tried to compose herself. "I do believe I am due an explanation. You did whisk me away in the middle of the night to this…place. Why? I really can't believe it's just so I can eat your cooking."
Yasaka was silent for a moment, inwardly debating and wishing her daughter didn't inherit her own cunning. But even then, only a dullard wouldn't believe something wasn't up. And foolish kitsunes were dead kitsunes. Or worse, enslaved.
"Fine." She leaned back, taking a skewer for herself as she stared up into the night sky. Something she use to do with all her fellow disciples back in the day. Before all those constellations developed universal names. "As you know, talks aren't going so well right now. The Devils have begun to drag their feet and won't let up until we bend to their demand. And they have enough pull to also cause the other factions to delay as well. That in itself isn't so bad, we know none of that will matter once the first augmented spiritual trees begin to bloom. By then, we'll have so much leverage over them they'll be gnashing their teeth at their own stupidity and greed. We just need to wait...but as you know, The Five Principal Clans have also shown their desire to be involved in this deal."
The slavers. Mages that used Yokai to subjugate other Yokais. There was no lost love on both sides of the conflict. And she would even be the first one to admit that she hated them more than any other faction out there. They were human, short lived and prone to forgetting. There was no real guarantee that the future generations would even deem any possible deal between the two of them as valid, chalking it up as Yokai tricking them or something convenient like that.
Seeing her daughter holding onto her every word, she continued, "That normally wouldn't have been a bad thing if we already had this new deal in place. We would have the combined might of all those factions backing us, so putting us in a more advantageous position with them. Making them more cautions to deal with us fairly. But that's not the case."
"They're sending an envoy to Kyoto soon. And one of their heirs, a host of one of the Sacred Beasts. Creatures, will be leading this expedition. Along with many Shinshokus, some high leveled, each with their own heirloom Shikigami. And what can you tell me about how Shikigami grow in strength?"
"Shikigami are...bound spirits. And like specters, they can grow stronger the longer they exist." Combine with their Kami's support, it was why taking out a family of Shinshokus was so difficult. Most of them possessed Shikigami passed down generation to generation, acting as their last line of defense against complete annihilation.
"Correct." Yasaka nodded sagely, "And this force is coming here. An entire lineage of mages built upon the idea of capturing Yokai and binding them to their will. I fear they will try to use you to get better terms. Not all of them of course, from what the reports say on the heirs none of them seemed like the type of person. But like us, they have extremist. Loyalist, purists, traditionalists. Zealots. Who will not see us intelligent. But as simple beasts to be corralled. These humans won't heed the warnings of their Kami and might try something. Ignorant to my master's wrath. But, I would rather not give them the opportunity to experience his judgment. For then, it would already be too late. You are my most precious treasure and I cannot live with myself if something were to happen to you. So until they leave, you will be staying here. Where it is safe. I will be sending Riko and Daichi over here soon, along with a contingent of battle maids to guard this location."