3000 years ago, when i first opened my eyes in this world. I was welcomed by loving parents.
Born just like any other human did, i grew up filled with love and hopes for the world.
I saw great plains, the rays of the rising sun, the endless blue sky.
All the pleasant things one can see.
I loved the world and the people unconditionally.
I was taught by my parents to be always kind to people, whoever they may be as one day, that kindness will return.
i grew up with that belief in my heart.
for that, I too was loved by people. That belief did proved itself true
I was so loved that even the King i served has grown fond of me and eventually becoming the known favorite consort of this certain Chinese King.
I served the King with all my heart, and loved him genuinely.
I did so, believing we would be happy like that for the rest of our life.
But i was wrong, our so happy relationship didn't last that long. The Beloved King fell deathly ill and eventually died, Bad luck filled the country, different rumors spread through the country.
While I cried within my room, the people were in chaos. I paid no attention to it, instead I kept on mourning my beloved king's death.
Day and night.
The people didn't see it like that however.
They had hired someone to examine the King's sudden death, and the results has it all pointed to me.
The nine tailed fox has possessed Lady ****!
You demon!
Begone evil spirit!
Out of nowhere, i was accused of being evil, being a Bad Spirit that brings nothing but misfortune.
The news spread like wildfire.
I heard many different things from the people who used to love me, now say the harshest words one's ears can ever hear.
Why do they hate me? despite all the things and the kindness I gave to everyone, they flipped their heart so easily and loathed me.
I was hunted down and brought to execution.
It was a terrifying experience, all I did was run for my life.
After some time, I somehow was reborn again. Ancient India.
I knew none of anything from my previous life as ****
I then become a certain prince's concubine.
and was promised marriage.
But it happened again, bad luck filled the place, terrors occured. thousands lost their life, and of course, it was me who was responsible again.
The same words and faces were presented to me just like my previous life before this.
Thrown away like I wasn't needed, like I was never with them.
I was hunted down again, and killed.
The same thing happened again, with the same ending
Reborn, hunted, killed, reborn, hunted and killed again.
Killed.
Hunted.
Killed.
Hunted.
Reborn.
Reborn.
Reborn...
The same pattern repeated for a long time.
It's always me. I watched those I loved die before my eyes, and the people I trusted turn their back against me.
Is that how fragile our relationship is?
They won't even listen to me, The only response I received were cold stares and hateful words.
All of that repeated again on what would seem endless, Now In my last reincarnation and current life, I finally understood why I was unwanted.
Why I was Thrown away and Murdered Brutally.
Why they turned their back against me so easily.
Why i brought misfortune to those i loved...
The Fox Spirit, my true nature, all thanks to that.
In this life, I did my best as Mizukume.
Yet again, I was loved by the parents who raised me.
I want to pay their love back so bad, I don't want to be thrown away again. i don't want to see those cold stares again...
My ears hurts from all those words, my heart ache so much.
So I did my best on everything, Sacred Arts, Music, Astronomy, History.
And again, people loved me for it, I was given the Name Tamamo-no-Mae and was taken as a consort of the Emperor who was really fond of me, and so was I to him.
Yet again, the Emperor I loved fell ill, eventually dying. They couldn't figure out what was the cause of the illness, although i myself already had an idea, that time I was slowly rotting inside, slowly becoming more numb.
Will this ever end?
An onmyouji was then called to examine what the emperor died from, it's that same scent again, the same scent that chased me down in all of my lives to kill me.
Of course, the results of the death was all pointed to me. This same pattern, over and over and over and over AND OVER AGAIN!!!!
I see no end to it. eventually i will be hunted down again. IS IT BECAUSE I'M A DAMNED FOX?! IS THAT WHY I CAN'T FIND A PLACE TO CALL HOME?! GODDAMNIT ALL!!! please.... if you won't let me be happy, just end me. don't give me hope by putting me in different lives WHERE THE SAME PATTERN REPEATS OVER AND OVER AGAIN!!! this must be a punishment of some sort. damn it.
It's like the world is giving me everything, just to take it all away from me in the end.
I've grown to be hateful of all these people.
But I'm sure it's not the people I hate, It's myself for being like this.
I ran away. once again being chased by those who desires to end me.
We both want the same thing, to end my life yet i run.
As my last resort, i embedded myself inside a rock.
I've become a so called "vengeful spirit" who killed all those that got close to the rock.
It was a product of my desire to be left alone and never be bothered again.
I will slumber here, to be away from everything. I'll just run from it.
and yet these people weren't content with it, they even sealed me.
That might be for the better, if they're able to seal me, i may never return again.
I drifted within the darkness for a really long time.
This is for the best. I kept on sleeping until one night...
I basked on the gentle moonlight that illuminated the night. i wonder how long has it been since then?
It seems i had been freed.... i was sure i would wake up where i was sealed but...
I might've subconsciously placed myself here.
Lot of strange noises filled the skies and air.
Strange things I've never seen before, at the sky, i could see strange flying vessels filled with humans.
and when i got out of the forest, even more strange yet amazing things greeted my eyes.
Many different vessels like carriage but not powered by horse.
4 wheeled, 2 wheeled, these vessels were everywhere.
And on top of that, the town was filled with lights. almost like night doesn't exist here.
different colors sparkled.
I breathed the new air of a new world.
I felt everything, i can feel that there's no longer any onmyouji here.
Humans no longer possess attachment with mystics on their palm.
None of them even recognize me. humans would usually greet me everywhere.
I'm nothing but just another person now, no one special.
This made my heart warm. no more pursuers.
Maybe here, I can find my home...
That's where my modern life started.
I would embark on a journey to find a job.
I went with things I'm most familiar with such as house services.
I still have no place to stay in but it's not like I need to sleep anyway.
slowly my money started accumulating as I progressed with my daily life.
I am now renting an apartment with basic needs. food today is really convenient, you can buy food everywhere ready to go.
I also met different kind of people, all of them are kind to me.
Be it Old People or Children, they all greeted me a smile.
It's a simple greeting, but i like the sound of it.
As time passed, I spent more time doing different works through different towns, people again started giving me recognition and i gained reputation once again... this might be something i can't do something about, perhaps something about charisma?
More politically powerful people started being fond of me.
But i know, I won't get in the same situation i was for all of my past lives, intimate relationships is a big no now.
Still, people loved me again. it doesn't have the same feeling it used to give me before however.
But just roaming through different towns with different part time jobs isn't enough.
That's when I took advantage of the political people to move some strings for me.
I need a proper and permanent work, something I excel at.
They would do anything to grant a beautiful maiden's wish after all.
And what I excel at is teaching, memorizing, learning.
The person I asked to hook me a job used everything in his power to give me the position I desired. a teacher in a school.
Of course, my knowledge from the past won't suffice.
I spent an entire week to read and memorize all books in different libraries beforehand, thanks to my strong memory, also known as photographic memory, such task is no difficult to me.
I also learned many interesting things from my read, things that weren't known back in my days. I also read some legends regarding me, although a lot of it has been misinterpreted, that's expected.
I am portrayed as an evil spirit.
But I'm still going by the name Tamamo-no-Mae, some people find it weird, some pay no mind to it.
I will not change it, it's the name given to me by the emperor i loved after all.
This is the only treasure I possess from the past now, I do not wish to lose it.
And for the past year, I have been a teacher.
A normal peaceful and happy daily life, it warms my frozen heart.
I have experienced many new and interesting things in this new world. they have a lot of forms of entertainment here.
Fiction adapted into something called movies, amusement parks, and the popular arcade and many more things.
There's also this small device known as smartphone, it lets you do many things like talk to someone from far away, record any moments as an image or a video and you can listen to music too.
You may also access this thing called Internet which I find rather interesting, it's a place where different people from differ places gather and connect to each other.
There's this Blue Bird app which is full of stupid people arguing abour stupid things all day, very skilled artists that posts their beautiful works which sometimes can be very sexual, and there's this Blue alphabet letter app that is full of stupid but funny people and some people who are only stupid.
Sometimes when I get back in the complex, I just lie in my bed laughing at these silly videos, especially the cat videos for hours.
I've gotten really accustomed to this new life.
Everything was going well, until one day.
When I was on my way to my work...
I've noticed two people with their eyes on me. one woman and one man who just left a convenience store.
this scent, tch.
The scent I hated and never wanted to smell again.
This time, I won't go down without a fight.
I assumed they have figured out who I am and plans on ambushing me, so I lead them to somewhere, a place i can finish them off.
I made use of all my strength just to get rid of them.
But i was utterly defeated.
The man pinned me down with his excellent form of martial arts.
Holding my arms while his left foot pins my back down.
The Man started using Sacred Arts.
So he's an Onmyouji after all.
Too much for wanting to live a new life free from my pursuers. I guess i can't find my peace after all.
Just when i thought my heart was finally recovering, my life would be snatched once again.
I told the man that I give up but he did not let go.
come on! I'm finally starting to enjoy this new life! so why arrive now...?
I feel like I'm gonna cry, might as well as beg for my life.
" please spare me " I told the man.
of course I didn't expect him to do it, it's just an act of desperation.
All those that lives, in the brink of end, seeks for the smallest light to cling and chase for, they will do whatever it takes to reach it.
Unexpectedly, he did let go.
I charged in without thinking, I let my anger take over and was utterly defeated.
But he chose to spare my life. were they serious about letting me serve them if I lose?
Aren't they Onmyoujis? shouldn't they be killing me?
No, this man holds no grudge or killing intent towards me.
He even told me to call him Boss!
It felt like the chains holding my heart with worries has been broken.
So he's not going to kill me?
My chest was relieved. I can breathe again.
I prostrated myself, I am thankful they spared me.
I just needed someone to show me that deep down I really want to live, it seems like... I really want to live after all, despite experiencing all of the things I went through, deep down, I still wish for good things to come.
But if they really intended to not kill me
Then why did they even chase after me in the first place? I asked them these question.
They were just checking me out, they told me.
What's that? randomly stalking a Fox Spirit for nothing? These guys can't get any more insane than that.
I hold pride over my agreements. by that, I will start serving this man.
But he told me that i may be his servant now, I'm still free to do anything I want. to continue my work.
Does he really care at all?
But the woman interfered, she told me that as long as I live with them.
So she wants to monitor me?
I told her that I have many things back in my complex, so moving would he difficult.
Furthermore, I have work so I can't afford to be busy with something else.
She assured me that it's fine, she'll do something about it she said as she smiled.
The man then told me to get up, we should introduce ourselves to each other he said.
He lead tne introduction. His name is Sorasaki Hikari.
He might use Sacred Arts, but he's definitely not an Onmyouji but he is a Servant of Heavens he said.
The same goes with this Kaguya girl, she also introduced herself as a princess and a goddess.
what a weird bunch.
I introduced myself as Tamamo-no-Mae, which of course they already know of.
The man happily welcomed me, stretched his hand to me.
He even asked me if i can let him touch my tail.
Humans shouldn't be able to see my tail and ears as I have disguised them with the use of Sacred Arts, implying that he's not just any other human.
but he still welcomed me, knowing that i am a Fox.
When people loathed, feared, and was disgusted by me, this man gladly welcomed my company.
Is he a fool? does he have some screws loose?
I just couldn't help but cry and laugh at the same time.
For the first time, there's someone who knows my true nature and accepts me?
Am i dreaming? if so, it's not a bad dream...
Our conversation didn't last that long however, I still needed to go to work.
They let me go but we made an agreement to meet up by his house later.
The day went like how it usually do, the burning sunset filled the sky.
My mind was still stuck on this morning while i tought the students throughout the day. it's just unreal to me. someone accepting me.
So I couldn't wait until our meet up again.
I arrived at his house and was invited inside.
His family apparently is not home today so it's just the two of them.
I excused myself and entered their house.
it's not really a big house but it does look like a happy family lives in it.
I just smiled to that thought.
I asked them what am I here for.
Which the Kaguya girl answered, It's about me living with them... i already told them that's difficult but they insist.
I arrived at the man, my boss, at his room.
We entered it. i held my shoulder bag tightly.
Ow—!
a sudden prick of pain i felt in my head, The girl Kaguya pulled a strand of hair from me.
I will be using this to connect your Complex and this Room.
She straightened the strand of hair and dissolved it to what seems her divine treasure.
She held tightly on her divine treasure and cut the wall on a rectangular shape resembling an entrance.
To my surprise, what showed at the other side was the room at my complex.
W-What's this?! I asked in awe.
My boss explained that Kaguya's Divine Treasure holds the ability to cut distance and allow to traverse any of it within zero time.
I never thought such ability do exist, but I have read about similar theories in the library.
And that's how i met these two strange folks and started leaving with them.
I am still grateful that he spared my life, so I will do my best to serve him.
I entered the newly created entrance to my own room many blocks away.
Thanks for this, and for letting me live, boss.
I smiled and told him as I left his room.
He had already told me that he never intended to kill me, But I'm still thankful for a different reason.
Kaguya snapped her hand to that same entrance and an illusion of wall was created to disguise it. this girl is a genius.
Good night.
Tamamo-no-Mae is originally a soft hearted woman, she's forgiving and loving. She always seeks company of people as she hates the feeling of being alone, one of her adorable but troubling sides is how she easily trust people, yet she holds the fear of people suddenly turning against her once again thus what makes her want to stay by their side almost all the time, she did well handling everything by herself this time, now, she won't be alone anymore.
The Fox Woman will sleep in peace tonight.