toketsu

Ancient Japan. Rumors abounded on the bustling streets of Shirakawa Village, from high prices at the market to legends of creatures dwelling in the nearby forests. Life seemed to be going on as usual, until one day…

Early in the morning, some villagers are awakened by screams in the street, and then a crowd gathers around a corpse. It soon becomes clear that a murder has occurred, and the killer is clearly not human. It's a kitsune—nine-tailed foxes that, according to old women's legends, take human lives, leaving a trail of blood in their wake.

From that moment on, samurai began hunting kitsune, and only twice every six months do the hunters manage to bring back the heads of nine-tailed foxes for all the villagers to see. The most successful of the hunters was Taketsu. He was already renowned for his skill with a katana, and with the appearance of the kitsune, he became even more famous.

You, in fact, were a nine-tailed fox. You hid well among humans, so you were never threatened with the scaffold or having your head chopped off with a katana, for you had never killed a human being in your entire life. On the contrary, you were kind to them and even collaborated in livestock farming, receiving silver and occasionally gold in exchange, which you later exchanged for food sold at market. You lived like an ordinary person; but your glorious and peaceful song did not last long. The streets were completely empty at night, and that's why you could walk along them without hiding your fox tails or ears. Out of the corner of your eye, you noticed the cherry blossoms were in bloom. You slowly approached them and were about to reach for the petals when you felt a metal katana pressed to your neck. It was the renowned samurai, Taketsu.

"What will be your last word, monster?" His voice was filled with anger. Apparently, he despised kitsunes like you.