Shortstacks in Another World 08

Chapter 8: Freeing the Foxes

Part 1: Hina

Hina was in trouble and had been since the day her god died. For over twenty generations since they had left the land of Asahi and settled in Tani Valley, Inari-sama* had watched over the kitsune** and kept them safe from the world outside the valley.

* Sama is an honorific that indicates deep respect for superiors, such as lords and gods

** Fox folk

"I am no god," Inari-sama was fond of saying, "I'm just old." Strictly speaking, she was right. If a kitsune lives to be one hundred years old, their body is renewed and they grow a second tail. It is said less than one hundred kitsune live this long. If they live a hundred years more, their body is renewed and they gain another tail. And so it goes until they reach their ultimate age of 900 years and nine tails. A kitsune may take a lifetime to master a single skill. A kyūbi no kitsune, or nine-tailed kitsune, may as well be a god in terms of wisdom, skill, and power to those with a single tail. Their records said that there were gods in Asahi, but they had abandoned the kitsune, so they left Asahi and settled in Tani Valley. Since then, their guardian had been Inari-sama, and they worshiped her.

As one of the few kitsune with the spirit-sight, Hina was allowed to attend the death-bed of Inari-sama as a witness. To the great surprise of the priests, Inari-sama had called the ten year-old Hina to her side and took her paw in hers.

"Hina-chan*, listen well my words," she said, looking at her with sightless eyes. "The future is but shadows, but I see shapes. Death and destruction come to Tani Valley. It can not be stopped. But you can save this people, Hina-chan."

* Chan is an honorific of endearment

"How, Inari-sama?" Hina said. "I'm just one girl. I am not a goddess."

Inari-sama wheezed a laugh. "I am no goddess, either. Gods don't die. You must seek a true goddess. Her champion will come. He will help you."

"Goddess? What goddess?"

"And when you find her champion, return to this land and free my children."

"Inari-sama, what Goddess? What champion? What are their names?"

But Inari-sama said no more. Her paw fell limply to her side. Hina saw her spirit rise. She witnessed the ceremony that returned Inari-sama's spirit to the land where it would feed the earth.

Over the next few years, regional leaders, rich merchants, and master swordsmen took advantage of the power vacuum left by Inari-sama's death and fought for territorial rule. Their once united people divided into a scattered mess of small fiefs vying for dominance.

In the first year after her death, the humans found their valley. Shortly after, the raids started. The divided territories were unable to put up a united front. The kitsune samurai, while skilled, were too reduced in numbers after years of civil war and strife to pose a challenge to the human soldiers nearly twice their height and over five times their weight. In ten years, all the kitsune of Tani Valley had been killed or captured and carried away into unknown human lands to be sold as slaves and pets.

Hina was in the last fortress to be captured. Now she sat in the cage of a slave wagon, her only comfort to be found in hugging her fluffy tail. Hugging her tail was a juvenile habit, but she was beyond shame right now.

The spirits of kitsune slain by humans floated in the air behind her wagon. "I'm sorry," she whispered to them, "I can't do anything for you." She was ashamed that she had failed her people and her goddess's command. At the same time, she wondered how she was ever supposed to save her people by herself. She wondered if any of her people had escaped slavery. If so, she hoped her sister was with them and not slain or enslaved.

Who was the true goddess that Inari-sama had mentioned? Hina wished she knew the names of some gods so she could pray to them, but the names of gods other than Inari-sama were neither known nor taught in Tani Valley. The humans who captured them worshiped Myatrad, a god of light, but Hina did not want to pray to him. Firstly because his believers had destroyed her valley, and second because Inari-sama had told her to find a goddess.

The slavers, a human man named Matath and his wives, had been very pleased with Hina. Besides her thick coat and fluffy tail, she was exceptionally curvy for a kitsune. She sometimes wondered if the magic Inari-sama had taught her to make the ground more fertile and abundant had affected her breasts and hips as well. Matath said her curves would fetch him a higher price for her. She didn't know why; kitsune men desired slim and sleek wives. Unfortunately, her duties at the temple had not left her much time for maintaining her figure.

In the cage of the slave wagon with Hina were three other kitsune, as well as a pair of sisters who looked like more compact humans. They called themselves "halflings," and said that their people were often kidnapped for slavery as well.

One day, Hina saw one of the halfling sisters kneeling in the wagon, her head bowed, her lips moving. It was the shape of the girl's spirit that intrigued her. Her soul looked like it was opening up like a doorway or a cup.

"What are you doing?" Hina asked.

"Praying," said the halfling.

Hina had heard of prayer. It was how one spoke to a god one could not see. "Which god are you praying to?" she asked.

"Shorsena," said the halfling. "She is the goddess of fertility for us small folk."

"Small folk?"

"You know, halflings and gnomes and such. Anyone smaller than a human." She gave Hina an appraising look. "She might even take your folk."

Hina cocked her head. "How will a fertility goddess save us?"

"Well," said the halfling, looking around to make sure none of the slavers were listening, "mostly folk pray to her for romance and births and such. But it's said that if one of the small folk is beyond hope, they can pray to her and she will take them out of this world. But you have to be willing to leave it all behind." She leaned her head against the side of the cage and closed her eyes. "Doesn't seem to be working. Maybe I'm not despairing enough. Maybe in a couple of weeks I'll have lost all my hope and then she'll take me away from here." Indeed, the girl's soul looked like it contained more hope than Hina felt.

"Shorsena," Hina felt the name in her mouth. She doubted that the first goddess she heard of would be the one Inari-sama said would help her. But she was a goddess, and the halfling said that she could help any folk smaller than a human. And Hina felt out of hope.

Hina had never prayed before. When a kitsune needed help from Inari-sama, they petitioned at the temple. She began by standing up to straighten and dust off her kimono. She thought she should appear presentable before a goddess. She didn't think she could kneel like the halfling did. Halflings, like humans, had strange legs. Rather than walking on toes and paw pads, they walked on their heels. So instead she assumed the dogeza, a position of supreme supplication where the rear is settled over the feet, hands and elbows are on the ground, and the head is lowered in deference. Even beneath her kimono and bound in a sarashi*, her breasts still reached the floor before her elbows did.

* Chest wrapping

"Shorsena-sama," she mouthed, "this unworthy one rudely implores you for your divine and wondrous aid. Inari-sama has told me to seek the aid of a true goddess and her champion. If you are the true goddess, I pledge my meager and paltry service to you and your brave champion in exchange for saving my people. We are surely small and insignificant to your great and all-seeing eye, but still I ask for your wondrous aid."

She sat back against the bars of the cage and hugged her tail. She was quite proud of her tail. It was the only part of her that caught any attention from kitsune men. She was normal height for a kitsune, about three shaku* tall, but her tail was just over two shaku long, and extremely fluffy.

* One shaku is about 30 cm, or one foot.

Not long after she sat back, her ears, as sensitive as a fox's, picked up the sound of shouts at the front of the caravan.

"You!" shouted a strong, feminine voice. "Why are you still alive!?"

"Oh shit!" said Matath, "it's that dwarf bi-oof!"

"Take them out!" shouted the feminine voice again. "No mercy!"

Everyone in their wagon, which was third from the front, stood up to see what was happening. They were just in time to see Matath get thrown off the wagon and a dwarf in full armor wielding a war hammer and shield leap after him and land on his back. The dwarf's soul showed patience, determination, and duty. Some of the hired guards rushed the dwarf and those that were not thrown back by the dwarf's shield had their limbs broken by the dwarf's hammer.

A green blur rushed ahead of the dwarf, and where it passed, guards fell to the ground, clutching at their heels. As it passed Hina's wagon, it paused just long enough for her to make out the ears and green skin of a goblin, it's soul full of curiosity and mischief. It looked at the prisoners through smoked glass goggles and gave them a toothy grin before running off.

As the dwarf passed Hina's wagon, she saw behind it a gnome with bright red hair wielding a crossbow. Her soul was full of math and calculations. Everyone she shot with her weapon fell to the ground, convulsing, and the distinctive smell of urine told Hina's sensitive nose that they had wet themselves.

"Back up, fuckers!" shouted the gnome. "We've got a dwarf and we're not afraid to use her!"

An orc at the back of the line took this at a challenge and rushed at the dwarf, scattering her allies at the same time.

"FOR SHORSENA!" the dwarf shouted. Her hammer glowed white as it impacted the side of the orc's jaw, and Hina saw one of the orc's tusks shatter as the brute fell to the ground.

"Shorsena," the dwarf had said. This less than a minute after Hina had prayed to the goddess. She thought it was more likely that Shorsena-sama had answered the prayers of the halflings, but Hina would accept a rescue, no matter who prayed for it.

Even the trees appeared to be working against the guards. The music of some kind of flute or pipe floated over the battlefield and coordinated with branches of the trees surrounding the road striking the slavers.

Most curious was what appeared to be the largest slime Hina had ever seen. Somehow it had a soul both old and young. It slid through the battlefield, shrugging off blunt force blows from the guards and shooting liquid into their faces, after which which the hapless guards would fall to the ground screaming and clutching their eyes.

Fighters were mundane. Magic could explain the trees. How had they trained a slime?

It was over in a moment. The motley group of fighters had overwhelmed a group of slavers and guards three times their number.

And they were all small folk.

As the dwarf passed by, dragging the unconscious orc, Hina asked her "excuse me, are you the champion of Shorsena-sama?"

The dwarf chuckled. "No, I'm just her paladin. You'll want to see my husband. He is her apostle."

If such a mighty dwarf would not call herself Shorsena's champion, her husband must be powerful indeed.

A few minutes later, a male human dressed in the bright and motley clothes of a bard approached the wagon and unlocked the door.

"Right this way, ladies," he said, doffing his cap and bowing.

The halflings immediately walked out the door, but the other kitsune cowered at the opposite end. Hina saw the fear filling their souls and knew why they were afraid. The first humans any of them had ever seen were the ones that invaded their homeland and captured their people. Memories of village after village raided and plundered by humans flooded her mind. To them, this man was a dangerous symbol of their suffering.

But Hina had honed her spirit sight under Inari-Sama herself. "Do not look at the body," the kitsune leader had taught her, "look at the spirit. The body deceives. The spirit cannot lie."

The human's soul was full of music, like that of a bard. It was also full of love for the world around him, even the kitsune in the cage. He beheld the world with a serenity Hina had only seen in old monks. Most surprisingly, his soul was open like the halfling's when she prayed. But where her soul looked like a cup, his looked like a vast lake, as though he was praying all the time. Or more like his life was a prayer. Hina had never met an envoy of a god, but she imagined their soul would look like this man's.

She approached the human.

"Kannushi*, no!" one of the kitsune cried out to her.

* Priest or priestess

Hina turned to her and smiled. "I think I have found what I have been looking for." She turned back to the human. "Are you the apostle of Shorsena-sama?"

His eyes searched her face. "I am."

"I thought so," she said. Then she fell to a dogeza. "Apostle-sama, I need your help. My people have all been captured by humans and taken away to slavery or worse. When Inari-sama, the protector of our people died, she told me to seek a true goddess and her champion. My people have never worshiped Shorsena, but I will spread her word to them if they can be saved. I have nothing to offer except for my service. Please help us apostle-sama!"

"Please, stand up," said the apostle.

She did, and saw noticed that a gem on his necklace had started glowing. She was sure she would have noticed it glowing before; it glowed with a spiritual light. A red string seemed to stretch from his soul to the gem, and from the gem to Hina's soul.

He glanced down at the gem then back up to her. "What is your name?"

She bowed to him. "I am Hina, Apostle-sama."

He swept a bow to her. "And my name is Allan. I am very pleased to meet you, Hina-san." He gestured out of the door. "Will you and your friends come with us? We have a humble meal prepared, and blankets. You can tell us more about your people and the help they need."

Hina beckoned to the other kitsune in the cage, but they shook their heads.

"He's a human," one of them said, "we can't trust him!"

"I trust him," Hina said. "Will you trust in me?"

Reluctantly, they followed her out of the cage. They followed Allan-sama to the front of the caravan. A faun, who's soul was full of music and a love of nature, directed the freed prisoners into a stone hut on one side of the road that didn't seem big enough for all the people filing in. Hina could smell something delicious cooking within. Hina told the other kitsune to get some food and she would catch up with them later. Her stomach growled, but something else caught her attention.

A series of red threads, the same as those that stretched between Allan-sama, the gem, and Hina, also connected Allan-sama's heart to those of the dwarf, goblin, gnome, slime (which was now in the shape of a short woman), and the faun. Hina wondered what it meant. The dwarf had called Allan-sama her husband; were these other women also his wives? And what did the red thread mean for Hina?

The dwarf, goblin, gnome, and slime were standing guard over the slavers, who had been tied up on the other side of the road. Some of them moaned because of their injuries. The slavers' souls all had oily taints.

As Allan followed the freed slaves into the house, Hina realized that he had addressed her as "Hina-san." She had not met anyone outside Tani Valley who knew their honorifics.

Hina approached the dwarf and bowed. "Thank you for rescuing us," she said.

The dwarf touched her gauntleted hand to the side of her helmet. Hina saw a glimpse of blue eyes. "If you thank anyone," said the dwarf, "thank Shorsena for putting us in your path. Goddess's blessings be upon you. Now, if you go into that house over there, my sister Holmaera can get you a blanket and a warm meal."

"Forgive me, but Allan-sama, the apostle, he is your husband?"

The dwarf smiled at Hina and Hina saw the love in her heart. "Aye. The year we've been together has been the best of my life.

One year? Hina was even more surprised. In that time she would expect to see only infatuation in her soul, but this dwarf truly loved Allan-sama. When he returned, dragging a large ax, the dwarf, goblin, slime, and gnome all turned to look at him as he walked up, and all of their souls showed love towards him. What's more, his soul showed love for each of them, in turn. Now Hina understood why a goddess of small folk would choose a human to be her apostle.

He arrived and handed the ax to the dwarf, staggering under its weight. "Floret said you wanted this," he grunted.

The dwarf took it in one hand and rested it on her shoulder. "Yes," she replied.

Allan-sama clapped the dust from his hands and looked over the prisoners. "Well, if it isn't our old friend, Mr ... Matath, wasn't it? I must say, I'm surprised to see you this side of the dirt. It was the magistrate right? Couple of coins to grease the palm? Well, you both looked greasy to me. And there're a lot more women here than before. New wives? You have been doing well for yourself, haven't you?"

A bound elf woman spat. "Please, as if we'd marry him. We all know how greasy he is."

"Bacon is greasy and bacon is delicious!" insisted Matath's orc wife.

"She's got you there," said Allan-sama to the elf. "Now, I think Stolna has something to say." He backed up, conceding the floor to the dwarf. He glanced over at Hina and gave her a sad smile. He did not ask her to leave, so she stayed.

Hina hoped that wasn't her heart fluttering.

The dwarf, who's name was apparently Stolna, stepped forward with the ax. "As the justice of the Kingdom of Calendem has failed, and the Kingdom of Georbama is corrupt, it falls upon me, as a witness of Shorsena, to dispense justice on her behalf. I find all of you guilty of repeatedly enslaving Shorsena's beloved, and sentence you to death."

If any of the slavers didn't take the small folk seriously because of her stature, despite being defeated by a small team of them, they took them seriously now. They all shouted protests and outrage, demanding a fair trial.

"A trial?" the dwarf asked, incredulously. "Very well. Let us speak to a witness." She turned to Hina. "You, fox. Do you swear before Shorsena to tell the truth here?"

Startled, Hina took a second to answer. "Um, yes?"

"Were you in one of those cages?"

"I was, yes."

"Do you recognize these people bound before you?"

"I do."

"Are there any you do not recognize?"

Hina looked at all of their faces. "No."

"Were they all complicit in the enslavement of the people we took from those cages?"

"Yes."

"Were there any who showed mercy, or appeared to doubt their cause?"

"No."

"Thank you." The dwarf turned to the slavers. "We pulled thirty-one prisoners from those cages. Can any of you name a single one who will speak on your behalf?"

The slavers looked at each other, but none of them spoke.

"Then my judgment stands," declared the dwarf. She hoisted her ax in both hands. "Cherry, I'll need them kneeling forward, if you will."

"Okay, Stolna!" said the slime-woman cheerfully. She extended herself longer and thinner until she wrapped like cables around Matath, then constricted until he knelt forward. His speech varied between curses, pleading, threats, and finally, weeping.

As Stolna raised her ax for the execution stroke, Allan-sama spoke. "Hold a moment, Stolna." He knelt before the weeping slaver. "Let me look into his eyes, Cherry." Hina sensed a change in his spirit. Before, he spoke like a bard. Now, he spoke like the envoy of a goddess.

The slime's bonds loosed and Matath was able to look at the apostle, who had a newly somber look on his face.

"Stolna is within her rights as a paladin of Shorsena to execute you for enslaving her people," the Allan-sama said. "That is Shorsena's Justice. However, Shorsena is a goddess of fertility and life, not war and death. Even this necessary killing does not please her. So she offers you a chance. If you will agree to atone to her and her people for your crimes, she will grant you her Mercy as well as her Justice." He turned to all the slavers. "I leave it to each of you to choose. Will you accept her Justice and die here, or will you accept her Mercy with her Justice and atone to her and her people?"

Matath smirked. So did some of the other slavers. They obviously thought they had found a loophole provided by a weak goddess and her naive followers.

"Yeah," said the oily-souled slaver, "I'll accept her mercy. I'm very sorry, you know. Aren't you all?" he asked his associates.

There was a chorus of murmured agreements.

"Do you all swear to accept Shorsena's Justice and Mercy and to atone to Shorsena and her people for your crimes?" asked the apostle.

They all agreed.

"Swear to it," the apostle commanded.

They each swore an oath to him.

"Floret," he said, "is the door to the house closed?"

"Yes, Allan," said the faun.

"Good," said Allan-sama. "None of them should witness this." He glanced at his glowing necklace, then at Hina, "Hina-san, will you keep what you are about to see here a secret?"

She nodded her head. "Yes, of course," she answered.

Allan smiled sadly again and nodded. "Floret, please bring out your lyre. I'll need some backup chords for this."

He swung his lute off his back and held it as though it weighed as much as Stolna's ax. The faun pulled a lyre out of a pouch on her belt and began to play along with him.

Matath sneered. "Oh, is this the justice of Shorsena? We have to listen to your playing?" Then his sneer faltered. His eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "Wait, what's happening? What are you doing?"

For a moment, Hina couldn't tell what he was worried about. Then she noticed that his head, which had been about at her level, was slowly lowering. In fact, all of the bound slavers were getting shorter!

"You all swore to atone to Shorsena and her people," said the apostle Allan-sama. "That means to become 'at one' with them. You are becoming her people."

The slavers all cried out, struggling more frantically against their bonds. As they shrank in height, all the woman became significantly more curvy. Then their cries of fear became moans of pleasure. While their bonds were slipping off their hands, none of them moved to attack or run away. Hina watched in fascination as the breasts of one of Matath's wives expanded until they burst through her shirt. She rubbed at them, pinching the nipples and moaning. Her rear expanded until her pants split as well. As soon as her crotch was uncovered, she thrust a hand between her legs to rub herself. And she wasn't alone; all the women were experiencing a similar transformation combined with similar pleasure. A few started to scream in orgasm. They thrashed around, not able to withstand the pleasure they were experiencing.

Hina saw their souls consumed with nothing but pleasure. To her spiritual eye, it looked like a purification, not by fire or water, but by pure pleasure.

Even the men weren't spared. As their heights reduced, the front of their pants darkened with what Hina's nose told her was semen. As some of them became too small for their pants, Hina thought she saw their testicles expand.

And then it was over and all the slavers fell unconscious. Allan-sama and the faun stopped playing. He went limp and almost dropped his lute to the ground. Stolna caught him and helped support his weight.

Each of the slavers had become one of the small folk. The humans had become halflings, the elves had become gnomes, and the orcs had reduced to goblins.

"Quickly," he said in a raspy voice, "we need to find some other clothes for them before they wake up."

They found a box of ragged clothing meant for small folk slaves in one of the wagons, and Hina helped the other women remove the former slavers from their clothes that were, in most cases, too long and too narrow, and dress them in the rags. Allan-sama dressed the men himself.

About the time they finished, Matath woke up. "What happened?" he asked, rubbing his head. "Where are we?"

"By the grace of Shorsena," said Allan-sama, "we were able to rescue you from slavery. I'm afraid you were all enslaved for quite some time."

"Oh," said Matath. "Um, do you know who I am? I can't seem to remember anything."

"I'm sorry," Allan-sama said, "but you were all traumatized by the horrors you faced at the hands of the slavers. By her Mercy, Shorsena has cleared your memories so you may start anew without your past holding you back. I wish we could have preserved more of you, but least we know your names. Yours is Greg, and the three with you are your wives, Sara, Jessie, and Betty." Allan indicated each in turn.

"Ah," said "Greg." "Yes, their faces look familiar." He wiped a lock of hair from the forehead of "Sara," who was starting to stir. He looked at Allan. "Thank you."

Allan gave him a sad smile. "May Shorsena's grace lead you to happier times."

As the former slavers woke up, Allan explained what "happened," told them their names, and sent them into the house to be fed with the other refugees.

"What the hell happened there?" asked the gnome, after they were all alone.

"Gods and goddesses are restricted to the bounds of their domains," answered Allan. "That's why Shorsena can normally only save her followers by sending them to soul mates in other worlds. They are allowed a bit of leeway when it comes to justice. In this case, her Justice and Mercy involved transforming the slavers into Her people and bringing them under her protection, and flooding their minds with so much pleasure that they forgot themselves. Although, I'm not sure which part of the change is Her Justice and which is Her Mercy." He turned to the others. "If anyone outside the family asks, we found more of the slave caravan and freed those prisoners. It's not entirely false."

When the others agreed, he turned to Hina, brightening up. His soul switched from that of an apostle to that of a bard. Hina wondered how much of a toll being a vessel for a god took on a person.

"Now, everyone," he said, "this is Hina-san. She has requested our aid. Hina-san, Allow me to introduce my wives," here he gestured at the women with him, starting with the dwarf, "Stolna," the goblin, "Fern," the gnome, "Clavery," the faun, "Floret," the slime-woman, "and Cherry. Now, let us go inside. I'll introduce you to my other wives Holmaera and Medis, we can all have something to eat, and then we will discuss this as a family."

Holmaera, it turned out, was a cheerful and plump halfling who's curves made even Hina's look small. She fed Hina a delicious stew and made sure she was comfortable. Her soul was full of hospitality and laughter. Hina saw another soul developing in her belly.

Medis was a heavily pregnant cat woman who checked all the recent prisoners and slavers for diseases and other health issues. She had the soul of a healer. She gave Hina an herbal tea which helped with a sore throat she had been developing. Hina saw three healthy souls growing in her bump.

Holmaera and Medis also had red threads stretching between their souls and Allan's.

In addition to his wives, Allan-sama proudly introduced his children to the refugees: two half-goblin girls named Lavender and Daffodil, and a half-dwarf boy named after his father. Hina was amazed at the contrast between the dwarf warrior who fought and prepared to execute slavers, and the same dwarf mother who tenderly nursed her son. She had rarely seen so much love in the souls of any family.

Having grown up around kitsune, she was not used to being around so many people with bald skin. It made her uncomfortable at first, but she was used to looking past people's appearances to see their spirits.

While they ate, Hina and the other kitsune told their story to Allan-sama and his wives. They started with their ancestors leaving Asahi and settling in Tani Valley, and finished with the death of Inari-sama, the division of their country, and the human raids.

After dinner, Allan-sama and his wives Holmaera, Cherry, and Floret entertained the refugees with singing. It was different from the musical styles of Tani Valley, but their voices were pure and their harmonies were perfect.

After the entertainment finished, the refugees were shown to various rooms on the ground floor of the house. Hina stayed in the main hall with Allan-sama and his wives to discuss the future.

"Back in the cage," Allan-sama began, "your friend called you something. Kano-something."

"Kannushi," said Hina. "It means 'priestess.' But I'm not a priestess to anyone. Not since Inari-sama died, and she herself admitted she wasn't a real god."

"They still had a lot of respect for you," said Allan-sama.

"Before she died, Inari-sama gave me a prophesy. She said I had to find a true goddess, and that her champion would help me save my people. After that, I was promoted from shrine maiden to priestess. They look up to me because of Inari-sama's words, but I don't have the knowledge or experience to be a leader. I'm not even from the ruling class."

"In my experience," said Allan-sama, "the gods find more use out of empty vessels that they can fill than with full ones. And they care more about solid and deep vessels that won't leak than fancy ones."

Hina nodded. "Your soul is deep, like a lake."

Allan-sama raised his eyebrows. "You can see my soul?"

"Yes. I was born with the gift and taught how to use it by Inari-sama herself. Your souls are beautiful. So full of love."

Allan-sama smiled. "There is a lot of love in this house."

"Did you know that your souls are all linked, too?" Hina asked.

"Linked?" Allan-sama asked.

"Yes, by a red thread," Hina explained. "It connects each of your wives to you. And right now, there is a thread that passes from my soul to that gem you wear, and into your soul. Can you explain that to me?"

Allan-sama glanced at his wives and then back to Hina. "Do you know what this is?" he asked, holding the gem up.

"That gem holds a lot of spiritual power," said Hina. "If I had to guess, I'd say it divines fate. Each of your wives' souls are connected to yours by fate, and it helps you find others."

Allan-sama nodded. "You're partly correct," he said. "Our souls are connected, but not through fate. This gem was given to me by Shorsena, and it lights up when I'm in the presence of one of my soulmates. That means that Shorsena believes that I would be a good husband to her, and she would be a good wife to me. That is how I met all my wives."

"Then Shorsena-sama believes we are soulmates?" Hina asked.

"Yes," answered Allan-sama.

Hina placed her hands on her knees and bowed to Allan-sama. "Then I accept the will of the goddess. If it will save my people, I will become your wife, Allan-sama."

"Please look up, Hina," Allan-sama pleaded. "First, please don't call me Allan-sama. It's too much honor on me. I'm just a man. Second, I don't want you to get married for your people, I want you to get married because it's what you want to do. The goddess has not commanded us to get married, nor are we destined to get married. All that this," he held up the gem again, "means is that if we get married, we will make each other happy."

"Allan-san," she said, "I know all this, and I choose to do it for multiple reasons. I can get married to save my people, to serve the goddess who saved me, as well as because the goddess believes it will make me happy. I see your family. Your souls overflow with love for one another. I want to be a part of that. And I would be a fool to defy fate."

"I told you, it's not fate, it's the advice of a goddess," said Allan-san.

"If she is a true goddess," said Hina, "then I would be even more of a fool to ignore her council. If you will have me, Allan-san, I will marry you. But there's one more thing you should know. In her prophesy, Inari-sama said that once I found the champion of a true goddess, I should return to Tani Valley. From there I would be able to save the kitsune."

"You mean that you want us to go to your conquered homeland, which is full of your enemies?"

She nodded her head. "Yes."

Allan-san rubbed his chin in thought. "That's a lot to ask. Were Inari-sama's prophesies accurate?"

"She could only see glimpses of the future, but when she saw them, she saw true."

He rubbed his chin some more. He turned to the other women. "Wives, what do you think? This could be our most dangerous quest. Would you trust me to go with her alone, or would you all come with me? I will not ask this of you."

They all looked at each other. Stolna spoke first. "You are the most attuned to the will of the goddess," she said. "Whatever decision you make, we will trust you."

"But don't think you're going off on your own, dickhead," said Clavery. "Where you go, we go!"

The other wives agreed, though not in such crude terms.

Allan smiled at their loyalty, but he continued to pace the room. He picked up a lute which was sitting in a stand nearby and started to strum it, listening to the sound.

"What is he doing?" Hina asked the nearest wife, who happened to be Holmaera.

"Listening to the music," she replied. "He says there's a song in the world that he tries to follow the tune of. It doesn't control him, just tells him when the best time is to jump in the song, or something. I still don't quite understand it."

Finally, he set down the lute and returned to the group. "I am hesitant to take my family into this danger. Something is missing from this song, and I don't know what that is yet. Yet I can't shake the feeling that all will be well." He nodded his head. "It will be well. I will marry you, Hina-san, and we will go with you to Tani Valley. Is there a special ceremony you want to observe for your wedding?"

Hina felt a weight lift from her shoulders, and another one enter its place. She now had help, but she was placing the burden on a new family just for her own gain. She felt determined to make it up to them.

She shook her head. "Our ceremonies were before representatives of Inari-sama. She told me to seek a true goddess, so I will be married before her priestess."

"Well, too bad we don't have one of those here," said Clavery, the gnome. "All's we got is a paladin." She hooked a thumb towards Stolna, who rolled her eyes.

"A paladin will be sufficient," said Hina. I would like to hold the ceremony in front of my people. At least the ones here. May we hold it tomorrow?"

Allan nodded. "I see no reason why not."

Hina went into a room occupied by other kitsune and joined them in the pile on the bed.

In the morning, she explained the situation to the other kitsune. As she expected, they were opposed to her marrying a human. She spent almost an hour explaining to them about Inari-sama's last words, her prayer to Shorsena-sama that preceded her rescue, and the red thread of fate that bound her to Shorsena-sama's apostle. Finally, they relented.

They held the ceremony in the garden of the portable house. To the delight of the kitsune, the portable house had a garden which held an orchard with cherry trees that were in full bloom. Even those who were most skeptical of Allan-san saw this as an auspicious omen. The other kitsune helped Hina style her long red hair and pinned it up with combs they borrowed from Allan's wives. Her kimono was stained and worn from her captivity, but she was able to borrow a dress from Holmaera who was kind enough to let them open a hole in the back for her tail to stick through.

The ceremony was simple. Under the cherry trees, Stolna led them through swearing oaths to love and care for one another. One ritual from her homeland that she asked to be included was their families drinking liqueur from the same cups to symbolize the union of two families. Hina had no family present, as her parents had died years ago and she hadn't seen her sister since her capture, but the other kitsune stood in for her family and drank with Allan's wives (minus Holmaera and Medis). They didn't have any sake, which was more traditional, but they had some delicious fruit wine that was almost as good. After that, they ate lunch on blankets under the same trees.

After the lunch, Allan carried his new bride into his bedroom. Hina had grown up expecting to marry a kitsune who was maybe a little taller than her, not to be carried by a husband who was two and a half shaku taller than her and over four times her weight. She had thought the size difference was obvious during the wedding ceremony, but it was even more so now when he carried her with no apparent effort. It was comforting to be held in arms that were so big, even if they were practically bald.

Her sister-wives had explained to her that it was family tradition for Allan to be alone with his new wife after the wedding so they could consummate the marriage. It wasn't something she cared about at this moment as it wasn't her time of the month, but she would endure for him.

He sat down on the bed and held her close. Then he leaned down and kissed her. She barely knew him, but she knew just from watching his interactions with his other wives that he was very sweet. She licked his lips. He looked taken aback, but then he smiled and licked her back. She melted into his embrace. It was nice just to touch him. She had been living in fear for so much of the past decade, that to be in his arms made her feel more secure.

"Are you ready to consummate our marriage?" he asked her.

"Yes," she said, "if that is what you desire."

"Is something wrong?" he asked.

"No," she said. "Have I done something wrong?"

"Well, it doesn't feel like you really want to do this right now," he said.

I'm not unwilling," she said, "it's just not my time of the month."

"Time of the... oh!" he said. "Do you mean that for kitsune, you are not usually aroused except for a few days a month?"

Hina was confused. "Of course. Isn't that how it is for everyone?"

"Actually, no," said Allan. "Most races are able to go just about any time."

"Ara ara," said Hina. "That must get very distracting."

"Well, it's not like we want it all day every day. More like it's triggered by erotic situations or intimacy. But yes, it can be distracting. Medis is like you, though."

"The cat woman?" Hina asked. "Where are her people from? I've never heard of a cat woman."

"She doesn't exactly have any people," said Allan. "Although I suppose we're her people now. She was a normal cat that was made half human by some botched magic. Anyways, when we got married, she didn't want to do it for about three weeks. Then she went into heat and I could barely keep up with her. So yeah. We can wait, if you want to."

"But don't you want to?" she asked.

"I'm not going to enjoy this as much if you're not into it," said Allan.

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry," he said. "You've done nothing wrong. Sex is supposed to be equally consensual between both of us."

"But you're aroused," she said, "I can smell it."

Allan chuckled. "Of course I'm aroused. I am surrounded by my beautiful, sexy wives all day, every day. I am always on the verge of arousal. I've learned to deal with it."

"But you won't be..." she gestured with her hands, trying to find the right words.

"Frustrated?"

"... yeah."

"I have eight wives now," he said. "I assure you, my sexual needs are being met. But don't ever feel like I'm spurning you for them. Look, sex is great. It's one of the best ways for us to share intimacy, but it's not the only way."

He sat her in his lap, which is what humans called their thighs when sitting. Then he removed the combs that held her hair in place, letting it tumble down the back of her dress. He ran the comb through her long, red hair. He was very gentle. Hina thought he must have had much practice.

When he finished, he undid the buttons of her borrowed dress and helped her out of it. He undid the borrowed bra -- a strange garment which she currently wore in place of her usual sarashi -- which caused her huge breasts to flop on her belly. She covered them self-consciously out of reflex and shame for their size. Then she remembered that Holmaera's breasts were even larger than hers. Maybe he didn't mind hers. Shyly, she removed her arm.

"Do I... please you?" she asked.

He smiled. "I think you are very beautiful. Do I please you?"

She looked away from him, embarrassed. "You have less fur than I'm used to." She took his hand. "But you're kind. I was taught by older women that you should just submit to your husband. I never imagined that mine would want to wait for me to be ready."

"Some things are worth waiting for," he said as he ran the comb through the fur on her back, "and they are more valuable because they are rare. Like the cherry blossoms outside. They come once a year and that makes them more special. I will wait for you, and it will be worth it."

Ah, so that was why all these women loved him.

After he finished with her back, he removed a wad of fur from the comb and dropped it in a bin next to the bed. Then he moved on to her tail. He was very gentle with it. It was very soothing, being groomed this way. She felt more of the stress of the last ten years leaving her with each stroke of the comb.

After he finished with her tail, she rolled onto her back and he combed the hair on her belly. Her breasts flowed up to rest in her armpits. Finally he gently combed the hair on her breasts. She wondered if this was the sort of activity that would trigger arousal in the women of other races, as Allan had described. As usual, she felt no arousal, but brushing was a very intimate activity, and the breasts were an intimate area.

When he finished, she took the comb from him and, after removing her fur from it, ran it through his hair. He only had hair on the top of his head, which was still strange to her. He had some hair on the rest of his body, but it was very thin. Certainly not enough to keep him warm or protect his skin. She wondered why humans had any at all. When he sighed contentedly, she knew she was doing a good job.

When they finished, they lay down on the bed and he draped his arm over her. Cuddling was intimate, too, though she was used to cuddling in a pile of kitsune. She imagined she would be cuddling with Allan and his wives from now on. That sounded nice.

They were interrupted by a knock on the door. Allan put a robe on and answered it to find Holmaera out of breath.

"Allan," she gasped, "sorry to interrupt. Well, I knew you weren't doing anything." She grinned.

The others had explained to Hina that Holmaera possessed a sort of "house magic," which told her where people were in the house and what they were feeling. Hina felt embarrassed, but she knew that true secrecy in a household was hard to manage.

"Anyway," the halfling continued, "there's something happening right now in the grove. We may need both of you."

Allan and Hina looked at each other, then got dressed and followed Holmaera out to the garden.

End of Part 1: Hina

Interlude:

There was something wrong in the house, Fern was sure of it. She just didn't know what it was. It was like her ears and nose were hearing and smelling something and weren't telling her. This made her nervous. Goblins were very good at sensing danger, and she was sure there was something dangerous in the house. She thought it had entered with the foxes and halflings they had brought in the day before. After the wedding between Allan and the new fox girl, she decided she needed to figure out what it was.

After she nursed Daffodil and Lavender.

She loved her babies and was going to be a better mamma than her mamma was with her. The goblin god, Tak, taught that goblins needed to survive, so most goblin mammas were not kind, since the world was not kind. After the babies ate, she changed their diapers and put the old ones in a bin that Cherry would clean out. It was handy having a sister-wife who could clean dirty stuff just by eating the dirty. Then she put the babies in the crib and wheeled it next door to Stolna's room.

Stolna, the dwarf, was Fern's first sister-wife, and the wisest. She gave good advice. Fern explained to Stolna about her nose and ears, but Stolna hadn't noticed anything. She agreed that Fern should look for any danger and offered to watch Fern's babies while Fern searched. Fern happily agreed. Her babies would be safe with Stolna.

Next, Fern visited Clavery, the gnome. She was Fern's second sister-wife, and the cleverest. She could solve any problem. Clavery hadn't noticed anything, but suggested that if it was Fern's ears and nose that noticed something, she should shut her eyes to search. It was so obvious! Fern was glad to have such a clever sister-wife.

Next, Fern visited Holmaera, the halfling. She was Fern's third sister-wife, and the best at house-things. She had a magic that knew everything about the house. Holmaera closed her eyes -- like what Clavery had suggested Fern do -- and said that she felt someone was angry, but couldn't tell who or where it was. She encouraged Fern to keep looking.

Next, Fern visited Medis, the cat woman. She was Fern's fourth sister-wife and the smartest. She had a big belly of babies. She also had the next-best hearing after Fern's. She said that she felt uneasy, too, and didn't know why. She agreed with Fern that there was something or someone sneaky around. She told Fern to be careful.

Next, Fern visited Cherry, the slime woman. She was Fern's fifth sister-wife and her smelling was almost as good as Fern's. Cherry said she had smelled something that wasn't the new halflings or fox people, and offered to come with Fern as she searched.

Next, Fern and Cherry visited Floret, the faun. She was Fern's sixth sister-wife and lived in the woods behind the garden instead of in the house. When they stepped into the woods, they both paused. There was a smell in the air. Actually, it was a smell of no smell. Like something was erasing a smell. Floret was close to the trees, and they told her there was something there.

Fern lowered her dark goggles over her eyes. She had been depending on her sight too much lately. With her eyes closed, she clicked her tongue and heard how the clicks bounced back to her ears. Medis had told her that bats did the same thing. She heard the clicks bounce off the trees. She heard the clicks bounce off the ground. She heard the clicks bounce off Floret's lean-to. She heard the clicks bounce off of Cherry and Floret.

There was one spot the clicks didn't bounce back from. It was where she smelled the scent of no scent, and heard the sound of no sound. She dug her toes into the ground, crouched down until she felt her huge, muscular butt touch her heels, then she leapt.

It was time to defend her home.

End of Interlude.

Part 2: Tsuki

Tsuki, Hina-nee's* younger twin sister, was in trouble. Fortunately, she had trained for trouble. After the death of their parents, Hina-nee had been taken in by the temple because she could see ghosts, and Tsuki, who had always been good at hiding, had been trained by the shinobi. The shinobi served as the eyes and ears of Inari-sama throughout Tani Valley. From them she learned to conceal herself, to hide from sight, sound, and even smell.

* Nee is an honorific for an older sister.

After the death of Inari-sama, and the invasion of the humans, the kitsune shinobi had found themselves hired by rulers of the various factions vying for power. The samurai were out of practice, having lacked a real war for hundreds of years, but leaders and rulers always needed spies and clandestine messengers. The shinobi were trained to kill, when they needed to (though Tsuki never had), but their real skills were in being unseen and unnoticed.

Tsuki had chosen to stay and serve whichever would-be lord was protecting Hina. Inari-sama's prophesy, that Hina-nee would save the kitsune, had been witnessed by a lot of the head priests and priestesses. Hina-nee was therefore valued by them and kept safe in Inari-sama's old castle in the center of Tani Valley. When the castle had been taken and Hina-nee had been captured, Tsuki had hidden and watched over her, waiting for the right chance to spring her sister from her cage and escape together. Perhaps even kill the slavers.

The day of the night that Tsuki planned to spring her sister, she overheard Hina-nee speaking to the halflings in the cage with her. They told Hina-nee about a goddess named Shorsena who watched over the small folk. She was a fertility goddess, but would save those who prayed to her by taking them out of the world to a more secure one. Then Tsuki saw Hina-nee bow in a dogeza and watched her lips move in a prayer to this goddess. Her sister was asking to leave this world!

But Tsuki knew never did anything without reason, and she had reason enough. Tani Valley had fallen. The proud kitsune culture was no more. Eight hundred years of history all lost. They had no home. No family. They had nothing to stay in this world for. Maybe in another world, she and her sister could have a new start.

"Shorsena-sama," she'd said in her hiding place, "if you are a true goddess like my sister was looking for, please save my sister. If it be your will, take me, too. There is nothing in this world we have left to remain for. Our civilization is over. Please save us, goddess."

It probably wouldn't do anything, but it was worth a shot.

That's what she thought, but right after she finished, she heard a commotion at the front of the slave caravan. Then a group of small folk led by a dwarf warrior defeated the slavers with ease. Tsuki mused that if their own samurai could have fought like the dwarf, or worked together like this team, they never would have fallen.

Tsuki almost believed that this was truly a group led by a real goddess. Then the fighters revealed that they were all the wives of a human! She hadn't even met the group, and still she felt betrayed.

She felt betrayed again when he prevented the death of the slavers. Death was more than they deserved. Her grip tightened on her tantō* and she considered killing the slavers herself. Until the human used some strange magic to turn them into small folk, proclaiming it the judgment of Shorsena-sama.

* A type of dagger

Well, Tsuki was a fan of ironic punishments, too.

Hina-nee was convinced that this human was Shorsena's champion, but miko* were raised to have faith. Shinobi were more skeptical. So far, the group didn't seem to be dangerous to Tsuki's sister, so she decided to watch for now and see if she could discern their true intentions.

*Shrine maidens

It took all of Tsuki's skill to sneak in to the human's house after Hina-nee. She was sure she was unseen, even though the goblin kept glancing in her direction. Fortunately, the house was magically huge on the inside. There was a lot of room to hide.

All through the evening she waited and watched. She muted her presence to stay hidden, even when her stomach grumbled at the smell of the delicious food. Even when she wanted to dance to the music that was played. She just had to remain hidden for a bit longer, then she could get her sister out of the house and they could escape.

Then before Hina-nee was ever alone long enough for Tsuki to sneak her out, her foolish sister married the stupid human! Even if he was the champion of a goddess, he already had seven wives and Hina-nee had known him less than a day. Now she was joined to this family of zealots, and Tsuki had yet to figure out how to get her out.

Then the goblin attacked. Somehow, the goblin had figured out not only that she was in the house, but where she was with enough accuracy to attack her.

But Inari-sama's shinobi were well trained. Even if they found her, she would find a way to escape. Through the forest, that was somehow still in the house, she dodged and hid from the goblin. Then some eerie music started up and the very trees started trying to grab her! She dodged, ran, ducked, and hid, but they somehow always found her.

Just when she thought she'd escaped, she landed in a puddle and immediately felt her feet rooted to the spot. Then the puddle sprouted a head, and she realized that she had landed on that weird slime creature! She drew her tantō and slashed at it. The creature quickly reformed itself, but Tsuki had been able to weaken its hold on her long enough to escape.

Unfortunately, it had held her long enough that the goblin was able to catch up to her and slash at her with her daggers. She dodged out of the way, barely avoiding a bloody gash, but the dagger cut through her robe and one of the bands of her sarashi, which kept her bosom in place. As she continued to dodge and fend off the goblin's attacks, her sarashi began to unravel.

Finally, the unwinding reached a tipping point and completely came undone. Her breasts, which were larger than her head, even larger than her sister's, burst forth and popped out between the left and right sides of her uwagi*. She wrapped her arms around them, partly out of modesty, but mostly to keep them from flopping around as she ran and dodged.

* A shirt worn by martial artists that wraps like a robe

Fortunately, the goblin thought this was hilarious and fell to the ground, laughing.

Unfortunately, losing her balance slowed her down further, allowing tree branches to grab her around the middle. Other branches grabbed her arms, pulling them out straight and leaving her bare bosom to flop out in the open.

Tsuki screamed in frustration and thrashed about trying to pull the branches from her arms. All she succeeded in doing was making her breasts flop around more.

The goblin continued to roll around on the ground and laugh at her predicament.

The faun took pity on her and gently pulled the two sides of her uwagi over her breasts, preserving some of her modesty. It was difficult, as without the sarashi, her breasts protruded beyond what the uwagi could normally handle. She at least got Tsuki's nipples covered.

The goblin finally got herself under control and removed the scarf covering Tsuki's face. Tsuki glared at the goblin who took off her goggles and glared back with yellow eyes.

"Why you sneak in?" asked the goblin.

"Where's Hina-nee?" Tsuki growled.

"Fox sister-wife?" asked the goblin, "why you want her?"

"Tsuki?" said a familiar voice. Through the trees walked her sister, Hina-nee, accompanied by the human.

"Onee-san!" cried Tsuki. "Tell these maniacs to let me go!"

"Tsuki!" Hina-nee cried and ran forward, gripping Tsuki in a hug. "I thought you were dead or worse!"

"No," said Tsuki, "I'm okay. Just get this slime off of me."

"Let her go, Cherry-chan," said Hina, "this is my sister!"

The slime unwound from around Tsuki and reshaped herself to looking like a vaguely human-like shape a little shorter than her. As soon as the slime was off of her, Hina-nee grabbed her again and began shuddering. Tsuki realized that she was crying.

"You're alive, you're alive!" she kept repeating.

Tsuki patted her sister. "It's okay," she said. "I'm alive, and we can go now."

Hina-nee pulled back and looked at her, puzzled. "Go? Go where?"

"Anywhere," said Tsuki. "We can escape."

"Tsuki," Hina-nee said, "I'm not going to escape. This is my home now. This is my family."

"Onee-san," Tsuki whispered, "I'm your family."

"Yes, you are. And they're my family, too. And they're going to come with us to Tani Valley."

"I heard you talking about that," Tsuki said, "but I didn't think you were serious! Please don't do this!"

"Inari-sama said it could be done," said Hina-nee. "She said that if I took the champion to Tani Valley, we could save our people. And I want you to be there."

"She will be," said Allan-san, joining the conversation. "She's coming with us." He crouched and bowed to her, "Hello, Tsuki-san. I'm Allan, Hina's husband."

"I know who you are," she said. "The supposed champion of the goddess. Well, why didn't your goddess protect us?"

Allan-san sat on the ground in front of her, putting his eyes at about her level. "I promise you," he began, "that Shorsena sheds tears for all the small folk she can not save. Unfortunately, all gods are limited in their reach, and she is no different. She can only act in the domains of fertility, childbirth, and love, and only for the small folk. Unless any of your people petitioned her aid in one of those realms, she was powerless to act. As far as I understand it, your people were worshiping another goddess."

Tsuki lowered her gaze. "Goddesses don't die."

Allan-san nodded sadly. "No," he said, "they don't. But yours gave what I think is a true prophesy. And I think you're instrumental to it."

"What do you mean, Allan?" asked Hina-nee. She'd met him the day before, then married him that morning, and she was already saying his name without honorifics.

"The last voice in the song," he said to Hina-nee. "There was a piece missing that I couldn't hear. It's your sister. Together, you two are going to save your people."

- - -

Somehow, Hina-nee and Allan-san convinced Tsuki to go along with their mad scheme. She couldn't figure out if he was just very persuasive, or if she couldn't bear to leave her sister to do it on her own. She thought it was a bit of both. So they all traveled back to Tani Valley.

Along the way, Tsuki took the opportunity to get to know Hina-nee's new sister-wives. Mainly because she wanted to know what family her sister had married into. Then she could find reasons to convince her to escape with her. To her consternation, they all seemed great. The halfling Holmaera's cooking tasted even better than it smelled. Clavery, the gnome, could make just about anything. Stolna, the dwarf, and Medis, the cat woman, acted like wise older sisters to everyone. Cherry, the slime woman, kept everything clean and spotless. Fern, the goblin, helped where she could, but spent most of her time tending her babies and learning how to read. Floret, the faun, enchanted the food they grew to be more delicious and nourishing than any produce Tsuki had eaten outside of Tani Valley.

And speaking of food, they had rice! Apparently, every time Allan-san married a wife, the house expanded. When he married Hina-nee, the garden gained a rice paddy. Rice was practically unknown in this country outside of Tani Valley, so Tsuki was glad that her sister wouldn't suffer without it. Hina-nee and Tsuki knew the basics of harvesting and processing rice -- most kitsune did -- so they taught the others what they knew.

If only they could get their hands on some soybeans.

In all, the sister-wives all worked together and seemed genuinely fond of each other.

Over them all, though, was that confounded human. He did his best not to loom or tower, despite his height, but his presence couldn't be ignored. Over the two weeks it took them to travel to Tani Valley, she saw him a lot, so she felt like she was getting an idea of his character.

She hated how good of a husband he seemed. When he wasn't practicing his (admittedly beautiful) music, he helped out in every aspect of the housekeeping, including cooking, cleaning, and gardening. He was even an attentive and affectionate father. She had seen many fathers give more attention and love to their lone sons and ignore their daughters, but she could not discern any difference between how he treated his half-goblin daughters and half-dwarf son. He showed affection to all of his wives every day. Her sensitive ears could also tell that he was having sex with multiple wives practically every day. How did he have the energy?

Despite her best efforts, she was unable to find any reasons her sister should not stay married to him by the time they arrived in Tani Valley. She committed to try harder.

Why did he have to be so nice? And he was even kind of handsome, for a guy with a flat face and no fur. At least, she could see how others would think so.

- - -

Tani Valley was full of humans. There were soldiers in abundance, but even more were settlers, claiming plots land for themselves. Tsuki saw thousands of kitsune continuing to work the land they used to own, but now as slaves.

Traveling to Inari-sama's castle at the center of Tani valley was another week of walking. During the day, Allan-san would carry the house in its shrunk form and walk in the open. No one stopped a human, after all, and bards were popular. At night, Tsuki and Fern traveled together.

The castle was, of course, occupied. The human occupiers had set up the government of their new territory there, so it was full of guards and soldiers.

But this was no problem for a shinobi. Tsuki snuck in easily. The grave of Inari-sama was in the courtyard of the castle in the middle of a rock garden.

There Fern expanded the house, and out came Allan-san and Hina-nee. Along with Stolna, Clavery, and Cherry.

"I hope no one sees us," said Stolna, looking around. "There's no way to defend this space, and we're surrounded."

Tsuki had to agree.

Hina-nee immediately went to the black stone grave marker and knelt.

"Inari-sama," she whispered. "I've brought the apostle of Shorsena, like you told me to. I don't know what to do next."

"The next part is for me, Hina-chan," came a voice on the wind. To everyone's shock, from the grave marker rose the luminous white shape of a kitsune with nine tales.

"Inari-sama!" gasped Hina-nee.

"Look at you," said the apparition. "You're all grown up!" She turned to Allan-san and bowed. "Thank you for watching over my daughter."

"Daughter?" asked Allan-san.

"After eight hundred years and forty or so generations, all the inhabitants of this valley are descended from me. I think of all of them as my children. These two are my..." she counted on her fingers, "thirty-seventh great-granddaughters. You have brought them back to me, and now we can save all my children."

"Why couldn't you do it before?" asked Allan-san.

"Well," she said with a smirk, "I was dead. In all seriousness, I needed to die to learn how to cast this spell." She turned to Hina-nee. "Hina-chan. I would like your permission to bond to your spirit. This will let me cast magic through you. Together we will cast the largest spell I have ever cast."

"When we sealed the spirits of the dead to the ground in our funerals," Inari-sama continued, "we did not dissolve them into the earth to feed our crops, as is commonly taught. Their souls are just sleeping. Over forty generations, there are tens of millions of souls bound to this land. Hundreds of thousands of them were warriors. We are going to wake them up and bind them to the souls of the living kitsune. Then we will have a whole valley of warriors, able to drive the invaders from our lands!"

Everyone took a moment to process this.

"We've been shackling souls to the land?" asked Hina-nee, horrified.

Inari-sama shook her head. "No, they've been resting. To them, no time has passed."

"So, all the kitsune will be warriors?" asked Tsuki.

Inari-sama nodded her head. "Yes. Imagine it! A whole nation able to take up arms at need, strengthened by the spirits of their ancestors!"

"And what is my part in this," asked Allan-san. "Why did she need me?"

Inari-sama smiled warmly at him. "You brought her back to me and gave her hope. In addition, your souls are bound. Not just yours and hers, but your entire family's souls are linked by the love you all share. I believe that when a kitsune binds with the spirit of one of their ancestors, it will place a strain on their soul. Not an unbearable one, and it shouldn't cause them permanent harm. However, I am proposing that Hina-chan bind to the soul of a kyūbi no kitsune. My soul is denser than that of most kitsune. Her bond with you and your family will take some of that burden from her. Not to the extent that it will endanger you, but it will help her, and might be the difference between life and death."

She turned back to Hina-nee. "Hina-chan, even with their help, my soul and the magic I mean to channel through you might still be too much for you to bear. Even so, will you help me save our people?"

Tsuki looked at her older sister. Even though she was older by just a few minutes, she had always looked out for Tsuki, and everyone else around her. Tsuki knew the decision Hina-nee would make. She wanted to shout out and stop her, but she knew that she would be stopping Hina-nee from being Hina-nee.

"I'll do it," said Hina-nee, determinedly.

"Wait!" Tsuki called out.

"Don't stop me Tsuki," said Hina-nee.

"I won't," she said, shaking her head. "But," she turned to Inari-sama, "you said that the burden on her soul will be lessened by her bond with the family."

"Yes," said Inari-sama with a slight smile.

As a shinobi, Tsuki was very good at reading people's expressions. Inari-sama was usually hard to read, but Tsuki could tell that she was letting her read her face. Inari-sama knew what Tsuki was going to ask. It infuriated her, but she still had to ask.

"If the family were bigger, would that lessen the bond?"

Inari-sama's smile grew bigger. "It would. What are you suggesting?"

The blighted kyūbi no kitsune was going to make Tsuki say it out loud.

"What if... what if I joined the family? What if... I married Allan-san, too?"

"Well," said the smug kyūbi no kitsune, "one more wife might not do much, or it might be just the grain of rice to tip the scale. What do you think, Allan-kun?"

Allan-san regarded her. "Are you sure about this, Tsuki-san?"

Hina-nee took Tsuki's hands in her own. "You don't need to do this just to save me. This is a lifetime commitment. Marry who you want to marry."

Tsuki looked into her sister's eyes. "This way, we can be together forever. And I can make sure he treats you right." Then she turned her head, unable to look Hina-nee in the eye. "But he's not so bad. I ... wouldn't mind marrying him, I guess. I mean, it's not like I really like him or anything."

"Tsuki?" Hina-nee probed.

"He's a good man." she whispered to her sister. "This is a happy family. I've watched many families in my work. In most of them, there's a hierarchy among the wives and they compete for the husband's favor. I've never seen a family with so many wives where all the wives were treated equally. And I've never seen a father give so much attention to his daughters when he has a son to dote on. I want to be loved like that, and I want my daughters to be loved like that."

"Tsuki-san," said Allan-san, "do you really want to marry me? It will mean committing yourself to this family and our quests."

Tsuki realized that everyone was watching her. She didn't know who was the more embarrassing audience: Inari-sama or Allan-san's wives. Shinobi were not used to being seen.

"Yes," she said.

Allan-san nodded his head and reached into his pocket. He pulled out a necklace with a glowing gem. Tsuki gasped when she recognized the Gem of Shorsena. So it wasn't just the fake goddess who seemed to know what was best for her, the real one did, too.

"My goddess approves," he said with a smile. "We are soulmates. Let's go inside and do this with the whole family."

The spirit of Inari-sama sat down on her grave marker. "Be quick," she said. "I don't know how long I can maintain this form. And bring the other kitsune when you return."

They followed him into the house and gathered all of his wives. Stolna led them through a quick marriage ceremony where they swore their love, loyalty, and service to each other. When they finished, Allan knelt and kissed her on the lips. She licked his lips. He smiled and licked her back.

When they finished, they went back out to Inari-sama, bringing the other kitsune as she had ordered. The other kitsune, seeing Inari-sama, bowed at her feet.

"Rise," the kitsune spirit ordered. "I have an order for you: protect Hina-chan."

They didn't understand, but they agreed.

Hina-nee approached Inari-sama. "How do we do this?" she asked.

Inari-sama extended her hand to Hina-nee. "Hina-chan, I offer you my power in exchange for some of your life force. Do you accept?"

Cautiously, Hina-nee extended her hand and accepted Inari-sama's. A flash of light blinded the sight of everyone present. When they looked back, Hina-nee was floating in the air. Her entire body shone with light. Behind her, eight spectral tails joined her solid one. Her eyes glowed like torches.

Tsuki felt a spiritual pressure resting upon her soul. Allan and his other wives staggered with the weight, but caught their balance.

Hina-nee, or perhaps Inari-sama, raised her hands and spoke. She did not shout, but her voice reverberated and everyone present had to cover their ears.

"I call upon the warriors who have slept," she said, "I call upon the children of Inari-sama who died in the defense of this land. Your queen and mother calls upon you again. Awake and arise! Aid your children who suffer and grant them the strength to escape their bondage! The kitsune will be free again!"

Light spread from her fingertips. In streams or bursts, Tsuki could not tell.

Whether it was the light or the voice or both, Tsuki didn't know, but it was enough to draw attention to their presence. Tsuki could hear shouts of alarm and drew her tantō, knowing it wouldn't be enough.

But she had to try.

Then she heard a voice as though it came from everywhere and nowhere at once. "A shinobi, eh? I was a tenth-dan ninjutsu master. Share your life force with me, and I will share my skill with you."

Ah, so this is what Inari-sama meant.

"Agreed!" she said and held out her hand. A cool grip enclosed it and she felt power rush into her. Immediately, her skills deepened. Techniques that she used to find difficult now seemed so simple.

When the first soldiers appeared with spears, she hid herself in the darkness and rushed at them. She slipped inside the guard of one without him seeing her, leapt up and slit his throat. She paused for only an instant to realize what she had done.

This was the first person she had ever killed. Was it the influence of the master shinobi she had bonded with? She didn't know.

But she knew this: he was trying to kill her sister. Each of these soldiers was trying to kill her sister.

She rushed from soldier to soldier, slitting throats and major arteries.

But for each one she felled, two more took his or her place. She was not enough to defeat them all.

Fortunately, she wasn't alone.

With a cry of "For Shorsena!" Stolna leapt into the fray, bashing human soldiers left and right. Fern ran between their legs, slashing leg tendons. Cherry sprayed acid in their eyes and got under their feet, causing them to slip. Clavery shot at them with her crossbow. The ones she hit fell to the ground convulsing with whatever lightning artifice she had worked into the bolts.

Tsuki heard Allan playing music behind them. She was angry when she realized he wasn't helping them, until she heard the music give her energy and take her fear.

So this was the support of a bard in battle. She lost all distraction, her mind focusing to a point, each movement deadly and precise.

So this was how her new family fought together.

But it wasn't enough. The courtyard was huge, and the castle even bigger. Soldiers approached from all sides, and the family had no cover.

But they weren't alone.

The other kitsune joined them. They rushed the attackers, wove between their spears, then struck pressure points, causing them to lock up and fall to the ground. They then grabbed the dropped spears and used them against the other soldiers coming in.

Tsuki saw that each had a spectral tail in addition to their solid ones, and realized that they had formed spiritual contracts with ancestral spirits like she Hina-nee had and had gained their fighting skills.

She spared a moment to glance back and saw that she had a spectral tail as well.

But it still wasn't enough. They were still outnumbered and surrounded. They needed more. Tsuki needed to be faster.

She held out her hand. "Ancestors!" she cried, "I must move faster!"

"Share your life force with me," said a voice, "and I will give you power over darkness."

"Yes," she replied, and felt a cool hand enclose hers. Suddenly, the night belonged to her! She faded into the shadows of the courtyard. Now she could be anywhere there was a shadow! She emerged in the shadow of a soldier just long enough to strike a killing blow before sinking back into the darkness. Her tantō dulled against some armor, but she just made new ones out of shadow.

But it wasn't enough. The soldiers who were coming now had taken the time to put on their armor. Knives weren't enough.

She held out her hand again. "I need better fighting skills."

"I was a samurai and master kenjutsuka*," said a voice. "Share your life..."

* Practitioner of swordsmanship.

"Yes!" Power flowed into her. She formed darkness into the shape of a katana and faced the armored soldiers head on. She could fight and dodge, but her shadow blade was weak.

She held out her hand. "I need a better sword."

"I was a swordsmith. Will you..."

"Agreed!" A perfect katana of shadow materialized in her hands according to the form she saw in her mind. She used the shadows to speed from soldier to soldier, slicing them down with the moves of the master swordswoman she had bonded with.

But she started taking cuts.

She held out her hand. "I need armor!"

"I was an armorer..."

"Join me!"

As the knowledge entered her mind, samurai armor made of shadow formed around her. She could now fight the soldiers on their own level! The battlefield was hers! Battalions fell before her.

Then archers appeared on the upper levels of the courtyard. Even with her shadow-step she couldn't reach all of them in time.

She reached both hands out. "I need bows and arrows!" she commanded.

"I was a bowyer..."

"I was a fletcher..."

"Yes and yes!" Knowledge flooded her again. A bow, taller than she was and made of shadow, materialized in her left hand. As she drew the string back, a perfect arrow of darkness formed in her hand. Arrow after arrow she loosed, the training of the samurai landing each shot perfectly.

But she wasn't fast enough. The soldiers kept coming.

She needed more, but her soul was at its limit. With each soul she contracted with, she could feel the pressure building up, and now her soul felt close to bursting, like she'd drank too much water at once.

But she needed more.

"I need... power!" she gasped.

"I was a fire sorcerer," said a voice. "Will you share your life force with me?"

She hesitated. This might be too much for her. But the soldiers were still coming.

She glanced over at Hina-nee. The light of Inari-sama shot from her, spreading all over Tani Valley, waking their ancestors and giving the kitsune the power to take back their lives and home.

Tsuki would not be the reason they failed.

"Yes." she said. She screamed in agony as her soul stretched far past what it was supposed to.

But she had the power she needed.

She drew the bow back one last time, an arrow of flaming shadow manifesting on the string. The words of the spell she needed to cast came to her mind.

"Ryū ga waga teki wo kurau!" she cried, releasing the arrow, which formed into a dragon made of dark fire and circled the courtyard, engulfing and burning all the soldiers attacking. Then it continued to circle, killing everyone in the castle outside the courtyard.

Tsuki lost her strength and fell to the ground. Pain coursed through her entire body as though her soul had shattered. She wanted to scream, but couldn't move enough to do so. Her breath shuddered and tears fell from her eyes.

"Hina!" she heard Allan cry. "Hina, say something!"

Ah, well, it made sense he would care for Hina-nee more than her. They'd only just married, after all. She could hear Hina-nee's breaths coming out in shudders like hers did.

"Tsuki!" Allan cried. She heard his running footsteps on the gravel of the rock garden. He knelt next to her. "Please tell me you can move!"

She tried to speak to move, anything, but could only groan. She felt his arms gingerly tuck under her knees and neck and he lifted her with no apparent effort. If she weren't in so much pain she would have thought it was romantic.

He carried her over and laid her next to Hina-nee. Inari-sama had emerged from her and hovered over her tombstone, wringing her paws. Her light had dimmed considerably.

"I'm so sorry," Inari-sama whispered. "I thought that your entire family sharing the burden would be enough to spare her soul from damage. I did not anticipate Tsuki-chan bonding with eight souls, which placed almost as much burden on her soul as mine did to Hina-chan's. There is a space where the soul joins the body. Their soul spaces have been rent, like a wine skin filled full to bursting. Their bodies can no longer hold their souls. They are dying."

In addition to the pain, Tsuki was now wracked with guilt. If she hadn't been so greedy for power, Hina-nee wouldn't have gotten hurt. More tears leaked from her eyes.

Inari-sama hovered over Tsuki at that moment. She brushed an incorporeal paw along Tsuki's cheek. Tsuki couldn't feel it, but she thought her fur prickled. "Do not blame yourself for what happened to you and your sister," Inari-sama said. "It is possible that even with the support of the entire family, her soul might still have been rent. It is also possible that without your sacrifice, she would have been killed by the human soldiers that occupied my castle before the spell was complete."

Before the battle, when death was hypothetical, Tsuki had been willing to give her life for her sister. But now, she didn't want to die. Or at least, she didn't want to linger in this pain of the soul, waiting for the inevitable end.

"Isn't there anything you can do?" asked Allan.

Inari-sama shook her head. "I wish there were," she said, "but the state of the soul after death is still new to me. And even had I the knowledge, the spell I cast through Hina-chan took all my magic and power. I have nothing left, and must now travel to the world beyond. Pray to your goddess. She is their goddess now, too. Perhaps she can help."

"How long do they have?" Allan said, his voice choked with emotion.

"Dawn, perhaps," she said. She turned back to Tsuki and Hina-nee. "I'm sorry, little ones. If it is any consolation, because of your sacrifice, the kitsune will be free, and will remain free, even after we are gone. And wherever you go now, at least it will be together. I wish I could do more for you, who have done so much for my children." Tsuki could hear true sorrow in her voice. "But I am spent." Inari-sama raised a paw, said "farewell," and faded to nothing.

"No!" Allan shouted. "Goddess damn you fox sorceress!" He fell to his knees between his kitsune wives. He ran his fingertips along the sides of their faces. "I wish we had more time," he whispered to them. "Stolna, are we safe?"

"That last attack seemed to clear the castle," said the dwarf. "I think it burned their bodies up."

Allan nodded. He looked so sad as he looked into Tsuki's eyes. Why was he so sad? He barely knew her.

"Let's get them in the house," he said. "Stolna, carry Hina. Fern, take us away from here. Somewhere away from people." He picked up Tsuki and carried her into the house.

Everyone except Fern went into the house. Allan and Stolna carried Tsuki and Hina-nee into the bedroom and laid them on the bed.

"I don't know what having your souls rent feels like," Allan said, "but I will try to give you what comfort I can." He turned his eyes upward. "Goddess Shorsena, if it is in your power, please do not take my wives from me so soon. But if you will not save them, let me take their pain."

He started to play his lute. As he played, Tsuki felt the pain lessen, and thought Hina-nee must have felt it too. She could breathe more easily.

And he played on. When he took any breaks, the pain in her soul would increase, and breathing became harder. He must have noticed this because he stopped taking breaks. For hours he played, and Tsuki listened.

He really was talented. The music was very different from the folk music of Tani Valley, but she thought he was the most talented bard she'd ever heard play.

And she'd only married him the day she was going to die. How much time had she wasted with her pride and anger, when she could have been with him like her sister had?

She stubbornly refused to sleep. She didn't know how hard it was to play the lute, but playing for hours couldn't have been easy. If he was going to endure just to bring them some comfort in their last hours, then she was going to listen to every note and bring the memory of his music to the other side.

She was vaguely aware of the other wives coming in from time to time. She was sure Medis monitored them as best as she could.

Finally, Tsuki saw the dim light of dawn through the bedroom window. She briefly wondered how a collapsible house that was bigger on the inside could have windows. She knew it was her time to die.

Then the light got brighter. And brighter. And brighter. The light became blinding, and Allan stopped playing.

Tsuki was too shocked by the light at first to realize that her pain was gone. Until she realized that Hina-nee had sat up. She turned her head, to look, realized that she had turned her head without pain, and then sat up herself. She realized that her breasts were swinging freely, her sarashi having been removed while she was resting, probably to help her breathe. She pulled the sides of her robe a bit tighter when she realized who was in the light.

Before them stood Inari-sama. Not incorporeal as she had appeared last night, but solid, almost more solid than the world around her. She shone with the brightness of the sun and with a glory that defied description.

"At last, I can return," she said. Her voice was beautiful and terrible and filled the house. Tsuki saw some kitsune in the room beyond fall to their faces in dogeza. Tsuki and Hina-nee also knelt before her.

"Rise, Hina-chan and Tsuki-chan," she commanded, and they obeyed.

"Good," she said, "I was able to return in time."

"Inari-sama," asked Hina-nee, "what has happened? How have you been able to return? Are we healed?"

Inari-sama smiled like the sunrise. "I have ascended to godhood. I am now the goddess of the kitsune of Tani Valley."

"In one night?" asked Allan.

"Time works differently on the other side," answered Inari-sama. "It has been less than a night for you, but has been countless ages for me. Millennia, perhaps. I don't know what prayers you made, but Shorsena-sama has taken me under her tutelage."

"All I did was play," he said, holding up fingers with bloodied tips.

She smiled again. "I know. And for that, you have my thanks." She took his hands in her paws and in a flash of light, the blood was gone.

Allan examined his hands. "That is a neat trick, goddess," he said. "Shorsena must have been a good teacher."

"She was," said Inari-sama, "but not for free. But we will come to that in a moment. She turned back to Hina-nee and Tsuki. "As a goddess, I need an apostle in the mortal realm. Will you accept this responsibility, Hina-chan?"

Hina-nee was momentarily speechless. "What... what would be my duties?" she managed to ask.

"You would complete the work of freeing my children from their bondage. Then you will work to defend them. In return for Her sponsoring me to godhood, I have also pledged your assistance to Shorsena's apostle in continuing Her great work. As these works do not compete, I find this arrangement more than acceptable. Do you accept?"

Hina-nee's face became determined. "My goddess, I will accept this duty and burden."

Inari-sama smiled. "Good," she said. She turned to Tsuki. "My apostle will need protection in her duties. Will you be my samurai and guard her?"

Tsuki fell into a dogeza. "Kami-sama,*" she said, "I am not worthy of this calling. I will protect her as well as I can, but I am only a humble shinobi, not a samurai."

* A respectful way of addressing a god.

"You have bonded with eight spirits, including the spirit of a samurai, have you not?" asked the goddess.

"I have, but it nearly killed me."

"To be able to bond with more than one spirit at a time proves you have a great spirit. You will retain your bonds, though I recommend you bond no more than three at once, and only one for any long lengths of time. Should you stay within these limits, I foresee no potential damage to your soul. I ask you again, will you be my samurai and guard my apostle?"

Tsuki raised her head and looked at her goddess. "Yes, I will."

Inari-sama smiled again. "Good," she said. "I look forward to seeing how you both progress in My work. And one last thing." She leaned forward and kissed both sisters on their foreheads. "That's a parting gift from Shorsena." Then she stood up straight, winked at Allan, said "farewell," and disappeared in a flash of light.

"What did she mean," asked Hina-nee, "by one last gift from... oh!" she cut off, then moaned.

Tsuki knew exactly how she felt, because she felt the same way. She took a deep breath, and Allan's scent filled her mind. "The goddesses," she panted, "they moved... our monthlies... to right now." She looked at Allan with all her desire.

"Ah," said Allan, with wide eyes. He moved to the doorway, where the other kitsune and some of his wives were gathered. "Medis, it appears that the twins have entered their estrus. Would you please mix up some of that energy drug for me? And ask Holmaera for several gallons of that salted fruit juice?" At her assent, he shut the door. He turned back to the two sisters looking at him with eager anticipation.

Tsuki quivered. She had been in this state many times before, but had always controlled herself. Generally, unmarried kitsune women withdrew themselves from the company of men during their times of heat so they didn't make decisions they would regret later. Some would seek to control themselves through meditation, while others spent that time pleasuring themselves or each other. Tsuki had done a mixture of both. She knew that Hina-nee had used meditation during her religious training, and Tsuki had done the same during her shinobi training. Afterwards, when Tsuki and Hina-nee lived and worked near each other, Tsuki had tried to depend on meditation, but almost always found her sister so they could "comfort" one another. Hina-nee always chided her afterwards, but Tsuki knew she didn't really mean it.

But now, they had a husband of their own. There was no more need for meditation or pleasing each other.

As one, they leapt on their husband, pushing him back against the door. Despite their double weight, he was able to grab them around their waists and support their weight. Tsuki's feet scrabbled for purchase on Allan before hooking his belt. The sisters licked his face passionately, and he kissed them back. He walked forward and tried to deposit them on the bed, but they grabbed at him, desperate for his touch and his taste.

"Girls," he said, chuckling, "I want this just as much as you do, but I need to get my clothes off. You should probably take yours off, too."

Tsuki and Hina consented and quickly doffed their robes. It only took a few seconds to undo the knots at their waists and drop the robes, but by the time they were done, Allan had completely dropped all their clothing to the floor.

They gazed at his smooth skin. It was almost even more embarrassing to see a man without any fur. It was like seeing someone double-naked. But as he stood before them, he exuded so much confidence that it was almost easy to forget that he was a different race from them. He was so tall, too, almost twice as tall as them. If one of the twins stood on the other's shoulders she might be able to look him in the eye. Beneath his skin was lean muscle and he stood and moved with the grace of a dancer. He smiled at them, and despite his flat face, he was handsome.

And he was theirs.

Almost in unison, their eyes gravitated downward to his privates, on which their heat-affected brains wanted to focus. They were confused by what they saw. While neither had been with a man sexually, they had both seen men undressed and knew what a penis looked like. This did not look like any penis they'd seen. The penises of kitsune men were red and emerged from a sheath like a dagger when they were ready to be used. Tsuki had heard from other women that they also had a knot at the base that locked them into the woman until they came. Allan's phallus was the same color as his flesh and shriveled and wrinkly. Tsuki wondered if it came out of the sheath like that. She hoped it didn't.

"Is it supposed to be... so floppy?" Hina asked.

"Huh?" Allan asked, then saw what they were looking at. He chuckled. "Oh! This is how it is, most of the time. When it gets ready for sex, it gets bigger and harder."

Both sisters looked at him, agog. It was already the size of the phallus of a normal kitsune male.

"Bigger?" asked Hina.

"How?" asked Tsuki.

"It inflates," he said.

"Inflates!?" the sisters said together.

Allan laughed at their expressions. "Yeah," he said, "do you want to watch?"

Both sisters nodded mutely.

Allan took his shriveled penis in his grip. It was about the size of his thumb. He began to rub it, pulling it out and stroking it. It was utterly alien to the sisters, but strangely erotic. As they watched in mute fascination, the penis began to swell. He pulled it forward and stroked it back, and it grew in length and girth until it was almost half a shaku long! No kitsune had such a phallus!

As he stroked, both sisters could smell his arousal growing with his member, and that fed their own arousal until both were rubbing their moist sexes. Hina saw his arousal growing in his soul. Both of them started to pant, their tongues lolling out of their mouths.

Allan leaned forward, cupping Hina's face in his hands, then he kissed her on the lips. She licked him in return. Then he cupped Tsuki's face and kissed her. Tsuki also kissed him.

"Now," he said, "I have a mouth and a penis. With how much bigger I am than you, I think I can please both of you at the same time. But who wants my mouth first, and who wants my penis?"

The twins looked at each other. Tsuki gestured for Hina to go first. Hina nodded.

"I've been kissing you enough for the last few weeks," she said, "and Tsuki has hardly kissed you at all. Let her have your mouth first."

Allan smiled. "As you wish," he said. Then he pushed Hina on to her back.

She landed back with a yelp, her breasts flowing up and resting in her armpits. She raised her legs and her tail wagged in anticipation.

Her husband loomed over her and held his penis in his right hand. She noticed that his hands were so big that one could wrap around his huge penis. He rubbed his left thumb over her labia and she moaned with pleasure. Then he slid one of his fingers inside of her. She had noticed early on that humans had shorter and blunter nails than kitsune did, and his fingers were longer and more dexterous. In this moment, she was thankful that his finger didn't end in a claw. His touch was gentle, but firm. She squirmed as he probed around inside. She gasped when he curled the finger tip and rubbed a particularly sensitive spot and her legs kicked out.

"You're so wet down here," he said, withdrawing his hand. "seems like you're ready for me."

She was panting too hard to speak. "Yeah," was all she could breath out.

He positioned the head of his penis at her opening below. "Are you ready?" he asked.

She nodded her head.

Then he slowly slid inside of her.

She gasped and clawed at the bedsheets as his huge phallus stretched her out below. She had pleasured herself before, but this was like nothing she had ever felt. It was a level of physical intimacy she never could have imagined before.

"Are you all right?" he asked.

She nodded her head.

"Want me to continue?"

She nodded her head again.

He started to thrust inside of her and her mind went blank with pleasure and sensation. She gasped with each thrust and her breasts shook and wobbled up and down uncontrollably to the rhythm.

While he thrust into Hina, he brought Tsuki to him and kissed her again. Tsuki liked the novel display of affection; it was different than licking, but no less intimate. Then he picked her up in his arms and kissed down her jaw, then her neck and collarbone, then down the slope of her breast until he found her black nipple and sucked on it.

Her moan joined those of her sister's, though Hina's were rhythmic and Tsuki's was long and drawn out. Tsuki had been shocked to discover how voluptuous Allan's wives were. Kitsune vixens tended to be more svelte, as kitsune males preferred. Tsuki had often been ashamed of her sizable breasts, and was relieved and gratified that her new husband seemed to enjoy them so much.

Then he tilted her backwards and lifted her up so his mouth was at the level of her sex. He licked it tenderly and she bucked her legs, nearly kicking herself out of his grasp. He held on to her, though, and continued to stimulate her with his tongue. He started by licking her entire pussy with his tongue, then tickled her labia with just the tip, then kissed her clit. When he sucked on it, she came, squirting into his mouth.

"You taste delicious," he said, her juices running down his chin.

She curled forward and gripped his hair, pulling herself up. Her back paws rested on his shoulders and her breasts rested on his head. He was so big and strong, being able to not only support her weight, but please her with his mouth while thrusting into her sister at the same time.

Hina, meanwhile, was lost to the world. His huge penis felt amazing inside of her. The combination of the pressure caused by the stretching, the heat of his phallus, and the friction of his thrusts was everything she had ever wanted in all of her unsatisfied heats.

Both sisters quickly lost themselves to orgasm after orgasm until with one final thrust, Allan came inside Hina and set Tsuki down on the bed. Both of them shuddered from aftershocks. Their tongues lolled out of their mouths as they panted heavily.

Allan shook out his arms, which Tsuki figured must have been sore from holding her up. "You can come in now, Medis," he called.

Medis waddled in holding a small cup. Holmaera bustled in after her with a tray holding a pitcher and three mugs.

"Well," said Holmaera, looking over the twin kitsune, still twitching on the bed. "looks like you showed them a good time."

"A little bit," Allan conceded. "If they're anything like Medis, they'll need a lot more from me."

Medis sniffed the air. "While they have an increased libido," she began, "I'm sure it isn't quite as strong as mine was. Remember, theirs is naturally occurring. Mine came from a miscast spell. If kitsune got as amorous as I do during their estrus, they never would have developed the culture they did. It should still be more than you're used to, so I've brought you a lesser dose of the medicine." She handed him the cup.

He drank it down and made a sour taste. He reached for a mug that Holmaera handed him and swished it in his mouth before chugging it down. "That's better."

"What's that?" asked Hina.

"It's a drug made by Medis that should let me keep up with your libidos for today," he said. "And Holmaera is going to keep us supplied with a salted juice which should keep us hydrated."

Tsuki's eyes grew wide. "We're going to do this all day?" she asked.

He shrugged. "As much as your bodies need."

Hina and Tsuki looked at each other, their eyes wide. A whole day of making love? Their monthly cycles had dreamed of it, but they'd never dared dream. Not with how busy their respective callings had kept them. Not to mention their body shapes.

"Well," said Holmaera with a mischievous wink, "we'll let you get to it." She and Medis left and closed the door.

Allan loomed over the sisters. His breathing had deepened and his pupils had dilated. His penis had swollen again and the tip was an angry purple. The sisters could smell the lust emanating from him. Medis's potion had worked, it seemed.

"I can't smell pheromones like you can," he said, panting. "So I need you to tell me: are you ready to go again?"

Tsuki quickly turned over and got in a position similar to the dogeza, with her bottom in the air. She whipped her tail back and forth in his face. "Take me!" she cried. "My sister got to feel you in her; now it's my turn!"

She yelped as Allan grabbed her tail and pulled her towards him. Then he rested his hands on her ample but firm behind and asked "ready?"

"Yes-eeeee!"

She had hardly given her consent before he gripped her haunches and thrust into her.

She saw stars. Literal white stars crossed her vision as she came the instant he entered her. His penis was so big! She was stretched beyond belief! It was firm, yet soft. And it was so warm, too. She was jealous of Hina-nee for getting this before her. She was jealous of all his wives who'd experienced this before she'd even met him. But mostly, she was thankful to Shorsena who had delivered him to her.

Or she would be, later, when she had a moment of cognizance to process all the sensations she was having. At the moment, she was having trouble just maintaining her sanity, it felt so good.

Then he reached over her and began kneading her breasts. His hands ruffled the fur covering them, then smoothed it out. His fingers found her nipples and squeezed them. That was the point she lost her sanity and gave herself over to pleasure and cascading orgasms.

Hina watched her sister get taken from behind by their husband and started rubbing herself. Allan's semen was still trickling out of her vulva and she used it as lube as she fingered her vagina. With her other hand she pawed her breast. She imagined Allan taking her in the same way and caressing her breasts at the same time. She came to that thought, but compared to when Allan was inside her, her orgasm was agonizingly slow in coming.

Finally he came inside of Tsuki and she dropped to the bed, insensate. She twitched with orgasm aftershocks. When she came to her senses again, Allan was already thrusting into Hina from behind and groping her breasts in the same way he'd groped Tsuki's.

When he finished with Hina, they took a moment to rest and cuddle. Even kitsune in their estrus need to take a breather. Allan lay back, his head propped up on pillows. Hina and Tsuki lay on either side of him, their heads resting on his chest. His hands caressed them, alternating between their hair and the fur on their breasts, sides, and tails. They all gulped down the juice Holmaera had prepared.

When they had recovered their strength, his hands made their way south to their sexes and they went again. Then rested. Then went again. And rested. And so on until the night when Medis's drug wore off. Exhausted, but not as much as his new wives, Allan carried them into the bathroom where they washed off and soaked in the tub.

After they dried off (helped by a new air-blowing machine invented by Clavery), they got into bed and snuggled. They were soon joined by Medis, then Clavery, then Holmaera, then Cherry and Floret, and finally Stolna and Fern wheeled the cradles into the room and joined the family in bed.

Only a month before, Hina and Tsuki had watched the final destruction of their civilization and had lost all hope. Now they had a new husband, a new family, and a new purpose in life.

Surrounded by their new family and exhausted from a day of love making, they promptly fell asleep.

End of Chapter 8: Freeing the Foxes

Interlude:

In the middle of the night, Hina bolted upright. There was someone in the room with them. She could sense them. Someone Hina hadn't met before.

"There's someone in here!" she shrieked.

Everyone woke at her cry.

Allan quickly hit the switch to the magical lights and looked around. "Hina? What's wrong?"

Hina pointed to the woman at the foot of the bed. She was a little shorter than Stolna, about four shaku high, and a little bit curvier than Clavery. She wore an elaborate ruffled dress of black and pink. "Who is that?" Hina asked her family. "Who are you!?" she demanded of the intruder.

The mystery woman didn't speak, but looked around in a confused panic at Hina's attention.

"Hina," Allan asked cautiously, "who are you talking about?"

Hina pointed more emphatically at the intruder. "The woman in the frilly dress right there!"

"Hina," Allan said even more cautiously, "there's no one there."

Hina looked at Allan in shock, then looked back at the mystery woman in horror.

"Can you see me?" Asked the woman with wide eyes.

End of Interlude.