Blind Faith

********************

The pair stayed at the park for a bit longer before leaving. They walked hand-in-hand back to Kaito's house, where Kokona departed from him, leaving to visit Yumiko. The nekomata warmly welcomed her inside, moving away to prepare some tea. Kokona took the opportunity to look around the home, thinking that it was perhaps exactly what she expected a tailor's house to look like. There were partially finished garments everywhere, with all sorts of sewing and stitching equipment. It seemed that she not only made and sold clothes, but also ran a repair service for tears and stains.

"Here you are," Yumiko said as she returned, carrying a cup of tea along with another clothing box. "Something for you to get changed into while I alter those robes. You can drink the tea while I work, too."

"You are too kind, Yumiko," Kokona said. "Thank you."

"It's nothing, really."

Kokona changed out of her clothes, handing them to Yumiko.

"Huh," Yumiko remarked. "Not bad."

"I'm sorry?" Kokona asked, embarrassed to be changing in front of a relative stranger, even if it was a yokai. Yumiko's eyes traveled all over her body, examining her.

"My daughter, Yui," she explained. "She did good work, figuring out your measurements. She even got the number of tails right."

"Can you really tell all that with just a glance?" Kokona asked, changing into the spare clothing.

"Yep," Yumiko grinned. "A family skill. But your bust is a little bigger than she measured, so I have to knock off a few points for that. Hang on while I go make the adjustments, this should only take a minute."

Kokona blushed and offered her gratitude again, not sure what else to say. She drank the tea in silence, looking around the room. Her eyes drifted to a picture of a younger Yumiko, with a foreign-looking man with brown hair. Her late husband, she presumed, feeling a rush of sympathy for the widow. Looking at her daughter, who had received her husband's hair...it couldn't be easy, being reminded of him every day like that. On some small level, she could relate. She knew that what she felt couldn't have possibly matched the pain of losing your most intimate and trusted partner, but she knew the bittersweet feeling of remembering something that was gone. That, she knew all too well.

True to her word, Yumiko returned after only a minute, carrying the altered dress.

"All done," she laughed, handing her the garment. A new hole, sizable enough to fit all of her tails comfortably, was present in the back of the robe.

"This was your handiwork," Kokona muttered. "How much do I owe you?"

"Eh, for that simple alteration? You don't really need to pay me."

"That's not what I meant," Kokona said, shaking her head. "You made this, yes? With the intention of selling it. So how much do I owe you?"

"Do you even have any money?" Yumiko frowned. Seeing Kokona wince, she sighed. "Yeah, I thought so. Look, just take it, alright? If you really want to pay me back, you can do so later, when you actually have money. It's really not a big deal for me to give away the odd piece of clothing now and then."

"I promise," Kokona said seriously, standing up and holding her hand over her heart. "I will return this favor someday."

"Okay," Yumiko blinked, taken aback by the serious display. "It's important to you. Got it."

"Sorry," Kokona apologized. "It's just...I can't keep accepting gifts and hospitality. I need to do something for all of this. So all I can offer you right now is a promise, but..."

"It's fine," Yumiko sighed, giving a sad smile. "I get it, really. You can pay it back whenever you're ready."

A living whirlwind of energy took that moment to burst through the door.

"Mom! Mom!" it cried. "I just got back from visiting Sensei, and there was this nice Jorou-Gumo lady at the temple, and she said that-"

Yui paused as she realized that her mother had company.

"Oh!" she exclaimed, bouncing up and down. "Hi, miss Kokona!"

"Hello," she offered, already feeling overwhelmed. Her mother must have had the patience of a goddess, to raise a child like this.

"Yui," Yumiko frowned. "What have I said about about bursting in through the door like that?"

"That it's going to get damaged," Yui sighed, grinding to a halt. "Sorry, Mom..."

"Nope," Yumiko shook her head, clicking her tongue. "Sorry's not cutting it this time; I've warned you about this. No dessert for you tonight. And a double serving of vegetables."

"Ah!" Yui faltered, her expression aghast. "But!"

"No buts," Yumiko said, withering her daughter with a fierce stare.

Well. Now Kokona knew how the nekomata managed to raise her daughter, at least. Even she was scared of that gaze, and it hadn't even been directed at her!

"Now, what were you trying to say?" Yumiko asked her daughter.

"Oh," Yui sighed, her earlier excitement replaced with a gloomy monotone. "There was this Jorou-Gumo lady at the temple...she said she was here for the festival, getting ready to set up a stall...I thought you might want to visit her, since she had cute scarves and stuff..."

"Oh!" Yui beamed, instantly happy again. "Miss Kokona! Did you want me to show you the way to the temple? Sensei said that you wanted to visit Lady Hana, right?"

"Yes, that's right," Kokona nodded. "Would you give me a minute to change clothes? Then we can go."

"Okay!" Yui saluted. "I'll wait outside!"

As Yui left, Kokona gave her mother a sympathetic look.

"I've never met anyone so energetic in my life," she said.

"It's exhausting," Yumiko agreed. "But I love to see her like this. She's so full of life."

As she changed clothes, a question slipped into Kokona's mind.

"Yumiko, may I ask something?"

"Shoot."

"Shoot?" Kokona's ears twitched, not understanding.

"Uh," Yumiko scratched behind her ears. "It means yes. Like, shoot the question. Go ahead."

"Oh, right. I was wondering, if...if you..."

Yumiko looked at her expectantly. Was...was it really okay to ask this?

"Go on," she prompted.

"What exactly is your relationship with Kaito?" she blurted out.

Yumiko blinked at her, as if she wasn't sure she had heard her correctly. Then she burst out laughing.

"Ahaha, really? That was the question?" She laughed heartily, then covered her mouth with a paw to calm herself down.

"Oh, honey," Yumiko said sympathetically, smiling at blushing Kokona. "Kaito is an amazing man, he really is. I have the utmost respect for him, and he'll always be welcome in my home for what he did for us. But no one will ever be able to replace my husband. So, you don't have to worry about me."

"Besides," Yumiko laughed, intertwining her paws above her head. "You two looked really cute together, holding hands like that."

"R-right," Kokona stammered, feeling like her face was burning up. Gods, she had never felt so embarrassed in her life. "Thank you again for your kindness. I won't let you down."

"Yeah, yeah," Yumiko said, shooing the inari out of her home. "Go on. I'll be here if you want to talk again."

********************

Yui led Kokona to the temple, which was only about ten minutes away. She supposed that made sense - Kaito wouldn't have lived where he did if it wasn't reasonably close to his workplace. The temple was an impressive sight - the entrance to the building marked by a giant gate, whose symbol spelled 'faith'. The building had multiple, curved rooftops made of black shingles, and the walls of the building itself were made of a deep, dark wood. The steps leading up to the temple were filled with travelers and locals alike, coming to offer prayers or to just admire the architecture.

Yui led her right to the chambers of Lady Hana, the five-tailed inari who managed the temple. Hana had red hair and tails, a rare sight, which she later explained was a result of her mother meeting her red-haired father while overseas. Hana greeted Kokona very respectfully, bowing deeply and giving her a traditional greeting befitting a revered, eight-tailed elder. Kokona explained her situation to her, albeit without the emotional outburst that had accompanied her with Kaito in the park.

To her shock, Hana actually knew of Kohuni village, and even knew who she was. When she asked how, Hana explained that Yuko, the last attendant to leave her, had come to Akyo, explaining the decline of the village as best she could. Unfortunately, Yuko did not stay in Akyo, having left for the capital several months ago. Still, Hana took the kitsune-tsuki's words to heart, and waited expectantly for the day an eight-tailed inari would come in from the abandoned village. She was all too happy to offer food and shelter to Kokona, expressing her honor at having an inari of her power in the temple. Hana seemed very excited, already beginning to plan a celebration.

It hurt Kokona to put a stop to her well-meaning plans, but she knew she wasn't ready for that yet. It was much too early for her to take on any kind of position of authority and power - she still had much to learn and resolve.

Understanding, Hana nodded and agreed to keep things quiet. Then, she suggested that she could send out a search party after the festival, to help scour the wreck of her old shrine for any sentimental or valuable items. Kokona considered that for a moment, but refused. Perhaps she would return one day, but her home and village were gone. She stated that she didn't want any mementos, other than hopefully to one day find the people that she had wronged, so she could make amends.

Impressed by her humility, Hana smiled, nodded, and asked if she would like to help her assist with the preparations for the upcoming festival. She readily agreed, finding that she was actually looking forward to it. However, she asked for a moment to write a letter. Hana agreed, offering to have one of her temple hands deliver it. So, Kokona held the pen to the paper, and composed her letter to Yui...

********************

After finishing the letter, Kokona threw herself into the work of preparing for the festival with vigor. She painted signs for stalls, helped hang banners, used her magic to uproot weeds and light fires, built paper lanterns, and personally helped Hana bake some kind of dessert treat, which Hana would prevent from going stale with her magic. The younger inari delighted in her companionship, and happily told her all about her temple and its people. Kokona found out that Hana had only come to manage the temple five years ago, when the previous leader had decided to move elsewhere. And it turned out to be Hana herself who originally proposed the idea of the new, multi-cultural festival, using her resources and attendants to spread the news and help prepare. The festival had been a huge hit, with far more people attending than expected.

"The food stalls ran out of stock in barely an hour!" Hana had laughed.

Each year, the festival had more and more people, with more cultures represented every iteration. This year, the festival had a sizable number of stalls coming from overseas specifically for the occasion, offering new technology, clothing, and foods. Hana's enthusiasm proved contagious, and Kokona found herself quite looking forward to attending the festival. She wanted to see the fruits of her labor, at the very least.

At the end of the day, Kokona tiredly fell into her new bed, a comfortable room within the temple, graciously provided by Hana. If Hana's temple hands were as reliable as she promised, Yui would have already received her letter and ferried the message within to Kaito, so she wouldn't need to go explain why she hadn't returned to his house. She did feel bad that Yui had gone to fetch those books and that game when she had barely touched them, so promised herself that she would make it up to her at the festival...somehow. She still didn't have any money.

She sighed and cast the thoughts away. Those were tomorrow's worries. Kokona let herself fall into a comfortable sleep, spurred on by the first day of honest work in a long time.

********************

There was still work to be done the next day. After waking up and having a quick bath and breakfast, Kokona once again set out preparing for the festival. At the festival grounds, there was a great deal of people there, setting up their stalls hours in advance. They seemed to be quite serious about this, the new tradition having caught on to the hearts of all in Akyo.

The hours passed by quickly, and before she knew it, evening was approaching.

"Enough, Kokona," Hana smiled sweetly, placing a hand on her shoulder. "You've more than done your part. Please, rest. You won't be able to enjoy the festival if you exhaust yourself."

"I might be getting a little tired," Kokona admitted. "But I've haven't felt this excited in a long time. I can't just stop now!"

"Hmm," Hana hummed, putting a finger to her lip and giving her a sly look. "I wonder how Kaito will feel when the lovely inari that invited him is too tired to actually do anything."

"Wha?!" Kokona reeled back. "How did y-"

Hana burst into a fit of giggles and puffed out her chest triumphantly, placing her hands on her hips.

"So I was right!" she laughed. "I knew it! You do like him!"

Kokona's shock turned into an annoyed pout. She had fallen hook, line, and sinker for that one.

"Heehee," Hana grinned. "Sorry. I didn't read your message or anything, I just put two and two together. Yui, the tailor's daughter? She's kind of...loud. I overheard her talking about the beautiful inari lady that Kaito had sheltered from the storm."

Hana tapped her finger against her lips, looking up thoughtfully. "Actually, there's something I want to show you. Come on, follow me!"

"Wah!"

Hana grabbed Kokona's hand, pulling her along with an excited giggle. She was only a few decades older than the five-tail, but the difference in their levels of energy was making her feel like an old woman.

Hana led Kokona to her personal quarters, which struck a careful balance between opulence and practicality. She took the older inari over to her closet, and unfolded a partition for her to change behind.

"Clothes?" Kokona muttered weakly. "Oh, no, I can't accept anything else..."

"Stop right there!" Hana shouted, striking an imposing stance. She placed one hand on her hip, and held the other out, fingers splayed. Her tails stuck out from her body, arranging themselves in a fan like fashion. It was as if she was making herself seem larger, like a peacock.

"I'll hear no more of this drivel. I will not allow you to protest!" she declared, voice strong and full of authority. "I am the caretaker and symbol of this temple! I am Hana Yatsumoto, and for as long as you shelter under my roof, I order you to accept my generosity without complaint!"

Kokona's jaw dropped. Where had this come from? Who was this inari, and what had she done with the Hana from earlier?

"O-okay..." she mumbled, nodding her acceptance.

"Great!" Hana cheered, clapping her hands together and instantly dropping the facade. "Now come on!"

"Quite the assertive little trickster, aren't you?" Kokona smiled, arching an eyebrow.

"Hey, I have to remind people that I have a serious side every now and then," Hana grinned. "Now, ooh, what do you think of this one?"

Hana held up a red dress with a floral pattern. The design was asymmetrical, revealing a significant amount of the wearer's right thigh. It was clearly designed for yokai, having a hole in the back to accommodate tails. The hole was also a bit larger than it needed to be...

"That?" Kokona gasped. "Isn't that a bit...revealing?"

"Haha, yeah," Hana giggled. "I just wanted to see your reaction. Even I don't wear this one."

"Besides, he wouldn't even be able to see your butt," Hana added with a frown.

"Everyone else certainly would," Kokona said with an unamused look.

A moment of clarity washed over Kokona. She looked over at Hana, who was smiling as she rummaged through her closet. It was refreshing, seeing how easily she fit into her role. When she looked at Hana, Kokona saw things that could have been. The younger inari was so informal, so cheerful and open, and yet she possessed a powerful sense of authority all the same. In another world, could she have been like her?

"You're putting me to shame, here," Kokona chuckled. "I'm afraid I haven't been able to laugh and tease like this for a long time. It...I think it will take me some time before I can keep up with you."

"Don't worry!" Hana cheered, reaching over and giving Kokona a tight hug. "I'll have you feeling tricksy and foxy again in no time! Then you can really put the moves on ol' Kaito, huh?"

"About that," Kokona sighed. "I'm...not sure I should do that."

"Eh?" Hana paused and looked at her, becoming more serious. "Why, what do you mean?"

"I've had...doubts," Kokona explained. "I've been wondering if...if I really feel for him, or if I simply 'latched on' to the first man I saw after being alone for so long."

Kokona bit her lip. "And...I never had a husband, so I'm not sure if I can even trust myself about this."

"Oh, geez," Hana sighed. "Come on, Koko! That's not very fox-like at all!"

"Koko?" Kokona blinked. Was that her nickname, now?

"You've just been away from people for too long," Hana said softly, offering a gentle smile. "You're been letting those ninetail blues get you down. Come on, trust your instincts! You're a yokai, and an inari at that. We just kinda know these things, you know?"

"But, I-"

"Nope!" Hana interjected. "Okay, I'm going to prove it to you right now! Are you ready?"

"I...guess?" Kokona had no idea what she was talking about.

"Ahem," Hana cleared her throat and leaned forwards, placing her hands behind her back. Her ears twitched cutely as she looked at Kokona.

"Do you feel grateful towards Kaito?" she asked.

"Of course I do!" Kokona exclaimed, fists clenching. "He practically saved my life!"

"Yep, that was an easy one," Hana nodded. "Okay, do you think Kaito is smart?"

"Incredibly smart," she nodded. "He practically invented a new language, and is using it to write a book all about helping people."

"Do you think he's handsome?"

Kokona hesitated, but nodded. "Yes. Very."

"Do you find it hard to look away from him? Do you feel warm and happy when you're near him?"

"I..." Kokona swallowed, trying to overcome her hesitation. "Yes...I think so..."

"You only think so?" Hana frowned.

"Okay, I know so!" Kokona blurted.

"Do you like spending time with him?"

"Of course I do!"

"Do you think he likes spending time with you?" Hana asked, tilting her head curiously. Her tails started to sway back and forth.

"I think so..." Kokona nodded. "I mean, I'm pretty sure he does..."

"Do you wanna see him naked?" Hana grinned, hopping up and resuming an upright posture.

"H-Hana!" Kokona protested. "That's-"

"You didn't denyyyy it~" she said in a singsong voice, waggling her finger through the air. "Yay, then that proves it! You're in love with Kaito!"

Once again, Kokona's jaw dropped. This girl was too much!

"Is it really that simple?" she asked aloud, locking her fingers together and looking away shyly.

"Koko, c'mon!" Hana pouted. "It's okay to trust your own feelings! Believe in yourself, okay? That's an order!"

Kokona stared at Hana. She blinked, then tears began to well up, and she lunged forward and wrapped Hana in a tight hug.

"Thank you," she said, voice choked with emotion. Hana, she...she was such a pure, kind soul. To offer such kindness to someone she had only just met...she was a shining example of what an inari should be.

"Gack!" Hana gasped, struggling for breath under the hug. "Too...tight!"