At the window of a palace in Kyoto stood a warrior who had brought large parts of Japan under his control in recent years.
He watched the snow fall slowly over the city of Kyoto.
He knew that the meeting with the Kitsune he had requested would change his fate.
An hour earlier, a servant from the House of the Kitsune had appeared
and delivered him a reply from Tayū Tamamo.
If memory served him, he had seen her years ago at a festival of the Emperor,
where she and another tayū — Akio, or something similar — had entertained the guests.
It was considered almost impossible to obtain an audience with those two women.
And now, he was about to meet one of the most famous women in Japan.
"My lord, are you certain you wish to meet these Yōkai?"
Hayama Seijūrō knelt before him after voicing his concerns.
"They have hidden themselves in our world for who knows how long
and live among us as humans.
We cannot trust such beings."
Oda Nobunaga slowly turned away from the window.
"Hayama. Only because of your eyes did I learn the truth about our world.
That the old stories of the Yōkai are real.
And the Kitsune are among the easiest to find—with their houses standing openly in the pleasure districts."
A faint smile appeared on his face.
"Besides, I look forward to meeting this beauty.
If fortune smiles on us, we may be able to form an alliance
that could secure my rule over this land."
Akechi Mitsuhide, kneeling beside Hayama Seijūrō, slightly raised his gaze.
"My lord, we should not draw these beings into our affairs.
This is a matter for us humans alone.
If we accept their help, the peasants will believe
that you stand under their spell
and that they, in truth, are the ones pulling the strings.
We cannot allow such a thing."
Oda looked at him.
Akechi Mitsuhide was one of his finest generals.
His concerns were not without reason.
Yet at the same time, Oda knew that the power of the Kitsune might open a path
to complete the conquest of the land with less bloodshed.
Deep inside, he had grown weary of endless bloodshed.
"You are right," Oda finally said calmly.
"But we will hear what she has to say about my proposal."
The walk through the streets of Kyoto was pleasant despite the snowfall.
With every step, the group left prints in the freshly fallen white.
Thirty men accompanied Oda on the way to the largest House of the Kitsune.
Even in his hometown there had once been a House of the Kitsune.
He could still remember how his father had taken him there for the first time.
That night with the courtesan Reika.
How she had introduced him to the world of adulthood.
Unfortunately, she had no longer been there a few years later.
Today he knew why.
She had been a Kitsune.
If he closed his eyes, he could still smell her scent.
Even after all these years.
Back then he had come as a young man.
Today he came as a conqueror.
And only now, with the help of Akechi Mitsuhide and Hayama Seijūrō, had he learned what the Houses of the Kitsune truly were.
The Houses of the Kitsune were scattered throughout all of Japan.
To humans, they were merely places of beauty, music, and desire.
But in truth, they formed a hidden network through which the clan protected its daughters, gathered information, and covered its tracks.
And if even part of that was true, then the influential men who visited them lost not only their gold there, but perhaps far more.
Who knew what thoughts the Kitsune had quietly sown in the hearts of men?
When they arrived before the House of the Kitsune, a woman stood at the entrance whom Oda had not seen for almost fifteen years.
Her appearance had not changed in the slightest over all those years.
It was the courtesan Reika.
"My lord, welcome to the House of the Kitsune in Kyoto," she said with a polite smile.
"I will lead you to the room. Please follow me."
Oda stopped.
The mere sight of her made his heart beat as it had not in fifteen years.
As Oda and his men slowly followed the courtesan Reika through the House of the Kitsune, they quickly noticed that no customers were present tonight.
The house was silent.
Almost unnaturally silent.
Oda's voice trembled slightly as he touched Reika's shoulder.
Reika stopped at once.
"My lord, in this house it is not permitted to touch a lady unless she has been assigned to you."
Her voice was polite.
And precisely because of that, it struck him harder than open coldness ever could have.
"Such a violation may result in a ban from the house. I therefore ask you to withdraw your hand."
Oda immediately pulled his hand back.
But her response hurt him more than he had expected.
"Are you the Reika… who worked in the House of the Kitsune in Nagoya until the year 1559?"
Reika was silent for a moment.
Then she continued on.
"I am, my lord. That is where I served before I was called back to Kyoto."
Her voice remained calm.
"And five years ago, I returned to my duties."
Oda looked at her sharply.
"What did you do during the ten years in between?"
Reika's steps did not slow.
"My lord… there are questions one should not ask a woman."
For the first time, an almost imperceptible smile touched her voice.
"And that is one of them."
For a moment, Oda thought back to that night.
To her scent.
To her warmth.
To the small gift he had given her back then.
He had believed he had long since left Reika behind.
Apparently, he had been wrong.
As they slowly approached the room, Reika spoke again.
"There are rules we Kitsune must follow during certain phases of our lives."
Oda slightly raised his gaze.
"Phases?"
Reika did not answer immediately.
"If we break those rules, we are called back to Kyoto."
Her voice remained flawlessly calm.
"For ten years."
Now Oda briefly stopped.
"What phases do you mean?"
Reika turned her head slightly toward him.
"That is not something that concerns you, my lord."
Then her gaze glided toward the door ahead.
"With some luck, Lady Tamamo will explain it to you."
Slowly, the sliding door was opened.
And Oda was led into the room.
When Oda entered the room with his two loyal companions, he was already being awaited.
Two courtesans stood there.
But they were unlike any he had ever seen before.
For the first time in his life, he saw two Kitsune in their true forms.
One of them possessed seven tails and carried herself with a calmness that immediately revealed that she was more than an ordinary courtesan in this house.
The other was also seven-tailed.
Lady Shizuka bowed before Oda.
Then she guided him to a large, softly cushioned sofa while servants were already arranging food and drink on the low table before him.
"My lord," Shizuka said in a courteous voice,
"Lady Tamamo will arrive shortly. There was a small incident, which is why she will be delayed by about twenty minutes."
A gentle smile touched her lips.
"But if you wish, my daughter Mito and I could keep you company in the meantime."
Meanwhile, Hayama Seijūrō and Akechi Mitsuhide were led by two other Kitsune to seats of their own.
There too, a quiet, perfectly orchestrated entertainment had already begun.
As Shizuka and Mito seated themselves beside Oda, it became clear to him that this encounter was far more than mere hospitality.
They offered him fruits that should not even have existed at this time of year.
That alone was enough to show him that different rules applied in this place.
But it was not only that.
The scent of the two women rose to his nose.
It was different from the scent he remembered from Reika.
Sweeter.
Warmer.
Stronger.
Oda did not know whether it was the scent, the room, or the nearness of these beings.
And deep within him, a desire stirred that he had long believed buried.