“Oh my.”
“You’re the guy from Akasaka&h.e.l.lip;&h.e.l.lip;no, Tameike, right? Kusamakura, was it? What’s the matter, you’re panting.”
When he lifted his face, a man in a human form was sitting on the branch of the pine tree, smiling. Being seen at one of his worst moments, Kusamakura kept quiet and tried to run away from that place. However, that man stopped him with a gentle voice.
“Wait. I’m in a good mood today.”
Fufu, the man let out a laugh before softly jumping down from the branch. His feet hit the ground weightlessly. He smiled. The man—Misura, was the fox who managed Edo. Kusamakura hadn’t seen his fox form before, but he heard his true form was as large as an ox, and his tail was split into nine. More than manage, he was more accurately head of the youkai. He was always settling disputes calmly with death from the top of the mountain with an air of composure. However, he didn’t by any means have a violent disposition, during his free time he drank, had fun, and lived his happy-go-lucky life. Kusamakura rarely interacted with others, let alone start fights, so he never had to rely on him for anything good or bad. He had long, thick hair, tied back loosely, and a large fur around his neck that almost consumed his face. He had never seen one before other than in book ill.u.s.trations, and woodblock prints, but he looked like a kabuki actor. His hair shone silver without relying on the light of the moon which he heard was the same color as his true form’s fur.