The Fox's Offering - An Outfoxed Holiday Special

Holiday greetings from StrawberrySunrise and John Drake!

This is the first of two holiday specials for Christmas. This takes place after One Life, but contains no meaningful spoilers for any story, and can be read by anyone.

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The mountain had already breathed its last for the night, every particle of air on the ridge cold enough to bite bare skin open. Thick drifts banked the slopes, the snow so fine and dry it would squeak or crackle under paw or boot. Moonlight, blue and sharp-edged as a blade, poured in from a sky so clear it could have been made of glass. Below the ridgeline, a frozen lake stretched in a black mirror, the surface unmarred and dusted by recent snow. The wind rolled down from the summit in gusts, carrying the faintest tang of cedar and burnt rice straw from the nearest settlement.

From the forest's edge on top of Mount Petegari, a torii gate stood sentinel over the winding path, lacquered crimson so pure it seemed lit from within. The wood glowed softly against the night, its top beam weighed heavily by a crown of rime. Hundreds of fluttering paper ofuda were lashed to the uprights, their edges curled and ink running in the damp. Each should have been frozen, but they weren’t; the kanji of desperate prayer or warding inscribed upon them blew like hundreds of small flags. The blessings rustled and snapped in the wind, a chorus of whispered hopes spiraling up the mountain—keep her safe, let him return, banish the hunger, bring the child home.

The path beyond zigzagged upward, each step lined with stones half-swallowed by frost. On either side, the forest pressed close: ancient cryptomeria, their trunks thick and straight as the columns in a cathedral, branches latticed with spider-silk ice. Between the trees, darkness pooled, deep and shifting. Few lights blazed at this hour: Any of the guardians or shrinemaidens in the building were asleep and dreaming of shoji screens and warm blankets. The roofs were heavy with snow that reflected the moonlight, lighting the mountaintop in soft tones that reflected off of them. A single rope of sacred straw, shimenawa, thick as a thigh, stretched along the main sanctuary's gable, studded with zigzagging paper shide. Every now and then, the rope shuddered as if something enormous brushed past on the other side. The torii, the rope, the white fox statues guarding the steps: all held their charge in silence, waiting.

Above it all, the mountain itself loomed: Petegari, white and spectral, the peak lost in a halo of low cloud. The ancient ones said it was a hinge, a place where the old gods’ bones came close to the surface, where worlds ran parallel and sometimes bled across.

That was where a white-haired woman stepped out of thin air at the forest’s edge.

Akari materialized at the edge of the shrine grounds, her nine white tails swishing silently against the freshly fallen snow. The world around her glittered with moonlight. She flexed her fingers, adjusting the weight of the bulging sack slung over her shoulder, and a smile curved her lips as she imagined the faces of those who would find her gifts come morning. She was one of the guardians of this place… but tonight, she would be their guardian in more ways than one.

She stared up at the monastery, its wooden frames dusted with white. No one noticed the kitsune as she stepped into the open, their occupants lost in dreams as Christmas Eve deepened toward midnight. Akari moved forward, and her bare feet left no imprints in the snow… evidence that she wasn’t entirely there in the physical world. The path between the torii gates stretched before her and she walked past them… the hundreds of blessings and wards had no effect on her. Her kimono, pure white with a cloudburst of gold over one shoulder, clung to her frame as if the wind had painted it on. The silk shimmered in the moonlight, every fold crisp and deliberate. The obi was brocaded in a deeper gold, tied with ceremonial exactitude, but even that formality could not cage the casual predatory grace in her stride. The cold had no purchase on her skin; she was fire embodied, the foxfire that was her soul running hotter than any mountain blizzard could hope to freeze. Her hair, long enough to brush the small of her back, was pinned up and framed her face in a rippling mane: white as a drift but for the glinting gold pins that kept it swept up and away from her sharp, beautiful features. Blue eyes, almost luminous, caught every fleck of moonlight and burned it back into the night.

She moved in silence, nine tails trailing behind her in a fanned arc. They caught the wind and seemed to flutter in it, but did not submit to it, swaying but never being blown off course. She looked up at the sanctuary. The monastery was ancient, but tonight it felt young, ready to be remade. Akari reached the base of the steps, each one rimed with frost, and began her ascent. The snow-covered fox statues, white even beneath the rime, regarded her with the blank patience of the sculpted. She stopped for a moment in front of the larger of the two, resting a hand against its chest, and stared into eyes clouded with windblown ice. Then she hefted her sack and continued to walk.

The Western concept of Santa Claus amused and intrigued her. The superstition of a magical being who somehow visited every home in a single night, delivering precisely what each person deserved or desired? In her eight hundred years of existence, she'd never encountered any entity in the Shinkai capable of anything resembling that. She wasn’t sure if anyone actually believed in him in the West or if they merely pretended to, but he almost certainly didn’t exist.

But someone like him should.

Akari looked up and let out a large breath, exhaling a small cloud of steam that drifted upward to join the gently falling snowflakes. People needed someone around who remembered everyone, who knew what they needed more, and what they deserved. She reached up to adjust the red Santa hat perched between her fox ears, the soft velvet tickling her sensitive ear tips. The sensation sent a little shiver down her spine. She straightened the hat with a delicate flick of her wrist, then hoisted the sack higher on her shoulder.

Inside were dozens of packages, each wrapped with care. Some contained practical items—healing salves or medicines, protective talismans, or specially crafted weapons for those who wished to become one of the guardians of this place and were learning to defend themselves against supernatural threats. Others held more personal treasures: books of knowledge, enchanted crystals that captured and soothed nightmares, and even simple human comforts like handmade scarves and sweet treats. Each gift had been selected with intimate knowledge of its recipient—knowledge gained through months or years of watching over those who had sought sanctuary within the shrine where they could be safe.

People deserved someone who saw them and brought what they needed. Tonight, she’d be that person.

Akari's sapphire eyes gleamed in the darkness as she approached the first building, one of the dormitories. Its solid wooden walls kept heated, but they posed no obstacle to one of her power. She gathered her foxfire and felt it rise within her, a warm tide of golden energy illuminating her from within. Then she stepped through.

The transition between physical and spirit worlds was as familiar to her as breathing, yet it never lost its intensity. Her body shimmered, becoming translucent for several heartbeats. The magic caressed her skin like a lover's hands, flowing down her hair and across her shoulders, over her breasts and down between her thighs. Akari bit her lip, feeling the sensation as her form passed effortlessly through the solid wall. The spirit realm briefly overlapped with the physical one, complete with colors more vivid, sounds more resonant, sensations heightened to almost unbearable intensity. Then, before she fully slipped inside the Shinkai, she stepped back and reconstituted herself inside the corridor on the other side of the wall.

The wooden floor was cool beneath her bare feet as she padded silently down the hallway. Her heightened senses detected the sleeping breaths of the shrine's inhabitants, each distinct as a fingerprint to her trained ear. Behind the first door slept the young woman who had arrived just a month earlier, half-drowned and traumatized after an encounter with a vengeful water kami in one of Japan’s lakes.

Akari extracted a small package from her sack, its wrapping the blue-green of deep water. Inside was a charm carved from driftwood and bound with strands of Akari's own hair: A powerful talisman that she hoped would help the girl overcome her newfound terror of water. She slipped it beneath the door with a gentle push of her power, imagining how the young woman's fingers would tremble when she discovered it, how hope would gradually replace fear in those haunted eyes.

The next door concealed the elderly shrinemaiden who tended the shrine gardens despite the arthritis that gnarled her once-nimble hands. For her, Akari left a small, wrapped ceramic pot containing salve she had infused with her foxfire and herbs gathered inside the Shinkai. She could almost see her applying it in the dawn light, the relief spreading across her weathered face as the pain receded. Akari couldn’t always be here to offer relief in person, but this way, maybe a fraction of her magic could be here for the woman in need.

Room by room, Akari continued her silent journey. For the shrine's historian, a set of calligraphy brushes to replace her old ones. For the young warrior-in-training still bearing scars from his encounter with a Jubokko two years ago, she gave a leather wristband embedded with protective sigils that would warn him of approaching danger. One by one, Akari stepped into the rooms and deposited them, slowly emptying her sack onto bedside tables, desks, or beneath pillows. Her movements were graceful and purposeful, her presence leaving no trace except for the carefully placed packages. Her tails swayed behind her as she walked, sometimes brushing against walls or furniture but never disturbing so much as a dust mote.

In the final corridor of the first dormitory building, Akari froze as the young shrinemaiden appeared at the end of the hallway, her slight figure illuminated by a single candle she held trembling in her hand. One of the shrinemaidens had risen unexpectedly and had discovered her midnight visitor. The Japanese girl couldn't be more than twenty, and her wide eyes reflected the dim light as they fixed on Akari's pale form. The maiden's lips parted in silent shock, her thin nightgown swaying as she did a double-take.

The shrinemaiden took a hesitant step forward, the candle wavering in her grip. "A… Akari-sama?" she whispered, the word barely travelling the distance between them.

Akari moved with supernatural grace, crossing the distance between them in three silent steps. She lifted a single finger to the maiden's lips, the contact making the woman’s eyes widen further. A tiny spark of energy traveled from Akari's fingertip down the maiden's spine, making her back arch slightly as warmth pooled in her core. "Shhh," Akari whispered, her voice melodic and hypnotic, wrapping around the maiden's mind like silk. "I was never here. I’m just bringing gifts to those who have nowhere else to go this holiday."

Recognition dawned in the girl's eyes, followed by wonder that bordered on worship. Akari inhaled subtly, catching the scent of the maiden. Then she reached into her sack, her fingers unerringly finding the package meant for this particular devotee. "For your dedication to the shrine," Akari murmured, placing the small gift wrapped in shimmering paper that was like starlight captured in paper into the girl's trembling hands. Their fingers brushed during the transfer, and the maiden let out a tiny gasp as another spark of power shot through her body.

Akari leaned closer, her lips almost touching the girl's ear. "Your service pleases me," she whispered, her breath warm against the maiden's skin. "Now return to your dreams, little one."

The maiden nodded, clutching the gift to her chest as she backed away, unwilling to turn her gaze from Akari until the darkness of the corridor swallowed her once more. Akari could hear the rapid pattering of her heart long after she disappeared from view, the rhythm gradually slowing as the girl returned to her room.

With a small smile playing on her lips, Akari continued her journey through the monastery. She could sense several of the guardians who protected the shrine about, but she could move around them, avoiding their notice… they were competent to keep this place safe from most threats, but against something of her weight class and abilities, they were outclassed. She left one of them a small wooden box bound with silver wire. Inside lay a medallion cast from meteoric iron, inscribed with protective sigils that would strengthen him and increase his endurance. He would probably consider himself unworthy of such a gift… but he was exactly worthy.

Akari continued through the monastery buildings, delivering her carefully chosen gifts. For rooms where the occupants slept soundly, she used her magic to pass through walls, her body dissolving into golden light that reassembled in the next chamber. Each transition sent spiritual energy washing over her naked form during the brief moments between solid states, caressing her body. The sensation of moving between worlds heightened every other perception as well… the cool air against her skin, the whisper of her robes as they slid across her body, the subtle energy of the sleeping mortals with their dreams and fears and desires all pulsing in her awareness like a hundred beating hearts. She could taste their emotions on the air–hope and fear, joy and sorrow, desire and contentment, all the complexities of mortal existence distilled into essences that tickled her supernatural senses.

As she approached the final dormitory wing, Akari felt her heart beat faster. This section housed one particular arrival that she brought here… Seiko, the fragile human man whose soul she had reclaimed from a parasitic spirit that had nearly consumed him completely. Akari paused at the entrance to the wing, her tails swishing with anticipation. Seiko's room lay at the far end of the corridor, and the thought of seeing him again, even in peaceful sleep, sent a peculiar warmth spreading through her chest that had nothing to do with physical desire and everything to do with protection, possession, and pride in what she had saved.

Akari gathered her power close around her body, focusing on the solid wall that separated her from Seiko's chamber. She let her form become insubstantial again, and her flesh dissolved into golden light as she moved between this world and the boundary of the spirit. She shivered as her consciousness pushed through the physical barrier, her spiritual essence momentarily expanded beyond normal boundaries before reconstituting into solid form within the room. Her feet touched the tatami floor without a sound, and she exhaled softly as the last ripples of pleasure faded from her skin.

Moonlight streamed through the single window, painting silver patterns across the simple furnishings. Seiko lay curled on his futon, one hand tucked beneath his cheek, his breathing deep and even. Akari's tails swished gently behind her as she approached, her steps silent on the woven mats. The man had lived a hard and painful life. Akari knelt beside his futon, studying him with the intensity of a being who had witnessed centuries of human suffering. His remarkable blue eyes were hidden behind closed lids, but she remembered their color well… like the robin's eggs she'd collected in springtime during her own distant youth. Those eyes had been empty when she first found him in the forest of Aokigahara, his wrists bleeding, his soul nearly consumed by a particularly nasty algea spirit that had ruined his life before feeding on his grief and despair. He had always looked hurt, but in sleep, the young man's face shed the looks of wariness and pain from his miserable life. The shadows beneath his eyes seemed less pronounced, and his features relaxed into a peaceful expression that made him appear even younger than his twenty-two years.

And he was softly smiling in his sleep.

"You're healing," she whispered, her voice barely disturbing the air between them. Something tightened in her chest as she watched the subtle rise and fall of his breathing. Humans were so fragile, so easily broken… yet they were also capable of such resilience when properly tended. Like rare flowers that could survive even the harshest winter if given the right protection.

From her sack, Akari withdrew a small package wrapped in midnight-blue paper scattered with tiny silver stars. Inside lay a wooden charm carved in the shape of a fox, its nine tails curling protectively around its body. She had never thought of herself as much of an artisan by the standards of her family, but maybe she was being unfair to herself; Akari had spent weeks carving the talisman, and she had to admit it looked pretty good. She had infused the wood with her foxfire, creating a gift that would ward off nightmares for the poor man. It was, in many ways, the most she could do for him.

She placed the gift beside his pillow, positioning it so it would be the first thing he saw upon waking. Her fingers hovered over his hair, tempted to brush the dark strands from his forehead in a gesture of affection. Something about this human called to the most protective instincts within her… perhaps because she had literally mingled his soul briefly with hers during the ritual that saved his life. She had successfully saved him, refusing to let him die… and his recovery showed her that she had been right. That he was worth the risk to save.

Akari withdrew her hand without touching him. He was not hers to touch so intimately, not anymore. The healing ritual had required a physical joining that transcended ordinary boundaries, but she was not his lover, and would not invade his privacy the way the algea had. Her role was that of his guardian, not a lover.

As she straightened, she paused… a small package already placed by his bedside caught her attention. It was wrapped in silver paper with an intricate pattern of snowflakes, tied with a ribbon of purest white. A folded note accompanied it, written in elegant calligraphy she recognized instantly—bold strokes tempered by artistic restraint, characters flowing like water across the page.

Her heart quickened in her chest.

Akari inhaled deeply, confirming what her eyes had already told her. A familiar scent hung in the air, masculine and warm, with hints of sandalwood and the distinctive magic belonging to only one being in her long existence. It was a scent she would know blindfolded, one that had been imprinted on her senses for centuries. “I didn’t expect to see you here,” Akari whispered.

"I thought you might be doing this," came a whispered reply from behind her.

Akari turned, not startled but genuinely surprised. In the shadows, leaning against the wall, stood Sai. The tall zenko’s figure was partially cloaked by the darkness, but nothing could hide the pure shine of his white fur. Then he stepped forward into a shaft of moonlight, and Akari felt a rush of warmth spread through her core at the sight of him. He wore his usual elegant kimono of red and silver, and his heterochromatic eyes gleamed with affection as they traced over her form. His long white hair fell loose around his shoulders, framing features that would make human artists weep with frustration at their inability to capture such beauty.

But what drew her attention… and nearly made her laugh aloud… was the red Santa hat perched at a rakish angle between his fox ears. The same incongruously playful human accessory atop the head of another ancient, powerful zenko kitsune was so unexpected that Akari had to press her fingers against her lips to contain her amusement.

Sai raised an eyebrow at her reaction, one corner of his mouth lifting in a smile that had made her heart race for three centuries. "Is something amusing, Kari?" he whispered, one lip quirked up.

Akari rose to her feet, her own lips curving into an answering smile. The Santa hat should have looked ridiculous on him… Sai was strong enough to tear a mountain of this world and drag it into the Shinkai if necessary, and he had stood against the dangers of predatory spirits for longer than Akari had been alive. Instead of looking silly, though, it made something in her chest tighten with an emotion that transcended mere affection. It was a sign he wanted to help her… and that made her proud.

"You're here," she said softly, the simple statement containing centuries of shared history, of battles fought side by side, of nights spent in each other's arms. The warmth in her core spread outward, becoming a heat that pulsed between her thighs as she took in the full sight of him—her companion, her lover, her friend.

"What are you doing here?" Akari whispered. She moved closer to Sai, drawn by the magnetism that had pulled them together across centuries of shared existence. The space between them seemed charged with electricity, and each inch she closed sent currents of anticipation through her body. His scent intensified as she approached—powerful and familiar, a little like the faint aroma of woodsmoke and sage. It also carried hints of fear… not terror, but the fear of anticipation, the enjoyable fear of not knowing what would come next. That scent made Akari’s pulse quicken and her tails flick back and forth as her sex dampened. Despite his strength that surpassed even her own, despite his experience and authority and wisdom, he had always yielded to her in ways that satisfied something primal within her soul.

"If you're going to give your time and effort to everyone else instead of to yourself," Sai murmured, reaching out to brush his fingers against hers, "then I wanted to carry some of the burden, and make sure someone was taking care of you."

The brief contact between their hands was electric, his skin against hers sending sparks of arousal racing up her arm and down into her core. His touch lingered, a silent promise of more to come, and Akari felt heat blooming in her cheeks and between her thighs. Three hundred years as lovers, and still the simplest contact could ignite her desire like tinder catching flame.

"We should leave him to rest," she said softly, glancing back at Seiko's sleeping form. Sai nodded, and together they slipped from Seiko's room, moving through the monastery as a synchronized pair. Their centuries of companionship were evident in how they anticipated each other's movements, how they communicated with the slightest gestures or expressions. When Akari paused before a door, Sai would already be reaching into his own sack for the correct gift. When she tilted her head toward a noise in the distance, he would shield them from the guardian with illusions without needing to be asked.

Akari led naturally, and he followed her lead despite being the elder. She moved into the next dormitory and down each corridor one by one. She decided which rooms to enter next. She set the pace of their silent procession through the sleeping shrine. Sai followed her cues perfectly, his powerful body always positioned slightly behind hers in the traditional stance of a devoted servant or protector—close enough to intervene if needed, far enough to acknowledge her authority.

"The young shrinemaiden in this room," Akari whispered as they approached a sliding door decorated with calligraphy. "She still wakes screaming from memories of an oni attack."

Sai nodded, producing a small wooden box from his sack. "I made this. Dreamcatchers woven with strands of our fur," he explained.

“I don’t want to block all the bad dreams,” Akari warned.

Sai, however, was already nodding. "It will filter the memories, letting through only what she can bear to process. Let her heal over time."

Akari smiled approvingly of the thought he had put into the present, watching as Sai knelt to slide the gift beneath the door with a gesture of surprising tenderness. His robes stretched across his broad shoulders with the movement, and she allowed herself a moment to appreciate the elegant strength of his body—a body she knew as intimately as her own. When he straightened, she deliberately brushed her hand across his lower back, feeling him shiver at her touch.

They continued through the shrine, delivering the remaining gifts—a set of protective scrolls for the shrine's cook who prepared meals for traumatized survivors; a new tea set for serving the newest arrivals still adjusting to knowledge of the supernatural world; blessed weapons for the warriors who defended the shrine from spiritual threats. Each gift was placed with care, either by Akari's hand or Sai's, but always following her direction.

In one particularly narrow hallway, their bodies pressed together as they squeezed past a wooden support beam. Akari felt Sai's hardness against her hip, his arousal evident despite the layers of their clothing. She deliberately slowed her movement, letting her ass graze against him, satisfied by the sharp intake of his breath and the momentary closing of his eyes. The scent of his desire intensified, mingling with her own until the air between them seemed thick with it.

"Careful, Kari," he whispered against her ear, his voice strained with controlled need. "We still have work to finish."

She turned her head just enough for her lips to nearly brush his. "And when have I ever been careless with what's mine?" she murmured, the possessive word sending a visible shudder through his powerful frame.

Sai's submission to her guidance manifested in countless small ways—the deferential tilt of his head when she spoke, the brief lowering of his eyes when she gave a command, the way his body responded instantly to her lightest touch. This beautiful, ancient being with power chose to yield all of it to her, and that knowledge was more intoxicating than a kitsune could find even the most potent sake.

After nearly an hour of silent work, the final gift was placed—a protective amulet for the newest guardian, a young woman still learning to control her spiritual sight. Akari and Sai stood in the central courtyard under gently falling snow, their breath forming clouds in the cold air, the night silent except for the soft crystalline sound of snowflakes landing on stone. The monastery buildings surrounded them like sleeping giants, their roof tiles gleaming with frost in the moonlight.

Their eyes met, a thousand unspoken words passing between them. The gift-giving was complete, the shrine's inhabitants tended to. Now, at last, they could tend to each other. Akari saw the question in Sai's dual-colored eyes, the hunger barely restrained behind his composed exterior. She answered with a subtle nod, watching as relief and anticipation washed across his beautiful features.

Without speaking, they joined hands, fingers intertwining intimately. Akari felt the calluses on his palm from centuries of swordplay, the strength in his grip tempered by gentleness. She summoned foxfire to the surface, feeling her soul rise within her like a tide of liquid gold, and knew without looking that Sai was doing the same. Their energies met and merged where their hands joined, creating a swirling vortex of power that surrounded them both.

Akari focused on the boundary between worlds, that all-too-thin veil that separated the physical realm from the Shinkai. With Sai's power joined to hers, the transition would be even more intense than usual, the sensations magnified by their combined strength. She felt a thrill of anticipation as she began the shift, their bodies dissolving together into golden light one final time.. but this time, they weren’t just brushing it. This time, they sank deeply into the other side and left this world behind.

Around them, the physical world faded, its already snow-bleached colors bleeding away to shades of grey. They weren’t going to last. Moments later, the far more violently vibrant hues of the spirit realm began to paint everything instead. Akari felt the transition washing over them like a wave of sensual energy, caressing every inch of her being and, through their joined hands, every inch of Sai as well. His grip tightened as pleasure coursed through them both, their shared power creating a connection that transcended the merely physical. "Come with me," she whispered, though whether the words were spoken aloud or directly into his mind, even she couldn't say. The shrine courtyard disappeared completely, replaced by the shimmering boundary between realms as they crossed over together into the waiting embrace of the spirit world.

Their home.

A few moments later, the spirit world materialized around them in a rush of sensation that made Akari gasp. Colors more vivid than any ever seen beneath the light of the sun bloomed in the darkness, the deep purples and blues of the starlit night sky intensified to almost painful beauty, like every mote of stardust reflected a different shade of light, and each twinkling star pulsed with living flame. 

Her body thrummed with energy as they fully manifested beneath an enormous spirit tree that towered hundreds of feet above them, its branches glowing with ethereal blue-white light that cast shifting patterns across their pale fur. Winter kami, beautiful, semi-transparent spirits of frost and snow, drifted peacefully through the air around the mountaintop shrine on this side, their delicate forms leaving trails of sparkling energy as they danced on currents of spirit wind. In this realm, Mount Petegari appeared far larger than its physical counterpart, its essence distilled to pure spiritual significance rather than mere stone and soil. In this realm, their true forms shone through the human shell, casting massive fox-shaped shadows with nine tails fanning out behind them. 

"You didn't have to help me tonight," Akari said softly as she guided Sai to sit beside her at the base of the massive tree. The sound of her voice resonated directly with her soul rather than her ears, joining the faint singing of the winter kami, the ancient heartbeat of the mountain beneath them, and the whisper of spirit winds carrying fragments of prayers and dreams from across the physical world. The bark of the more-real-than-real tree behind them pulsed with energy and was warm despite the winter landscape; the ancient spirit within recognized and welcomed the zenko here. Her nine tails naturally curled around his form, their white fur glowing with internal light. The spiritual energy of this place heightened every sensation—the silken touch of her tails against his skin felt almost unbearably intimate, the rustling of their clothing as they settled together sounded like exquisite music.

"I wanted to," Sai responded, his voice reverent as he looked up at her. The submission in his posture was so effortless that it almost could have been an accident, but Akari knew that it wasn’t: The slight tilt of his head exposing the graceful line of his throat, the way his hands rested open on his thighs, the way his legs were parted and he sagged so that his head was lower than hers despite his height. "You give so much of yourself to make the world better—to help even the most ephemeral of people. It… makes me feel young again. Reminds me of the way I used to be, a long time ago. I wanted to be part of that tonight."

His words touched something deep within her, a place even older than her centuries of existence. Akari reached out to cup his face, her thumb tracing the line of his cheekbone with deliberate tenderness. The contact sent visible sparks of golden energy between them, their spiritual forms responding to the depth of their connection in ways only seldom possible in the physical realm. "My faithful one," she murmured, the possessive endearment making his pupils dilate with pleasure. She leaned forward, capturing his lips with hers in a kiss that began gently but rapidly intensified as centuries of shared passion ignited between them. The taste of him was intoxicating, and she growled slightly against his lips as she pressed him back against the trunk of the spirit tree, her body covering his, her hands finding his wrists and pinning them above his head in a gesture both possessive and needy.

Sai yielded beautifully, his back arching to press his hardening cock against her thigh through their robes. A soft moan slipped into her mouth as she deepened the kiss, her tongue claiming his with possessive strokes. The scent of his arousal filled her senses here in the spirit world, sharp and sweet and utterly masculine. "You took care of them," she whispered against his lips, her free hand sliding beneath his robes to find him already fully erect, hot and pulsing in her palm. The velvety hardness of him made her mouth water with hunger, her sex clenching with anticipation. "Let me take care of you now…"

His sharp intake of breath as she stroked him sent a flood of wetness between her own thighs, her body preparing for what they both needed. She could feel the pulse of him against her fingers, the slight trembling of his powerful body as he surrendered to her touch. Despite his strength that could shatter mountains, he melted beneath her hands like snow in sunlight.

With deliberate movements, she disrobed them both, her fingers working the ties of his garments with practiced ease while her dexterous tails helped shed her own clothing. The chill of this place was amplified in the spirit world, but neither of them cared with Inari’s fire burning inside them, and soon their bodies were bare to the ethereal light that seemed to caress their skin like a physical touch. She had explored Sai's body dozens of times, but she never failed to be impressed by his magnificence… the way his broad shoulders tapered to narrow hips, and how defined her muscles were beneath his fair skin. His cock stood proudly from a trimmed nest of silver-white hair, thick and flushed with need, a drop of moisture already gathering at its tip. Akari leaned down to lick it away, savoring his taste as his hands fisted in the grass beside him, fighting to keep his posture.

"Good boy," she praised, rewarding his control with another slow lick that made him groan deep in his throat. "So proud of you, Sai."

Then she lunged forward and straddled his lap, perching on top of him as two of her tails floated down to guide his length to her entrance. Her wet pussy had no difficulty easing the way as she began to take him inside, and the two of them gasped as one as she sank, taking him completely in one fluid motion that joined them as intimately as two beings could join. Even for mortal beings of flesh and blood, sex was an intimate connection, as much spiritual as it was physical. For two zenko kitsune, in the Shinkai… spirit was all that they were, and the connection was profound enough to create visible waves of golden light that pulsed outward from where their bodies met, synchronizing with the beating of their hearts.

"Look at me," she commanded softly, and his heterochromatic eyes locked with hers. They were both vulnerable and trusting as she established a rhythm that built steadily in intensity, rising and falling back onto his lap. Her tails wrapped around his body, some teasing his nipples into hard peaks, others caressing his face and throat with deliberate gentleness. Though she controlled their pace completely, she was gentle. Each rise and fall of her hips was a gift, each squeeze of her inner muscles around his thickness a promise of devotion and care. She rode him with the confidence of a being who knew exactly what her partner needed, what would bring him the greatest pleasure.

"You are mine to cherish," she told him as their movements became more urgent, her voice husky with pleasure and affection. "Mine to pleasure. Mine!"

"Yours," he agreed, the word half-broken with need as his hips began to thrust upward to meet her downward strokes. He could barely move with her on his lap, but he tried regardless, and it was adorable. Together, their bodies found a perfect counterpoint rhythm in their joys. "Always yours, Anta."

The spirit tree above them responded to their building passion, its branches swaying though no physical wind blew, its luminescence intensifying with each passing moment. Winter kami drawn by the energy paused in their eternal dance, hovering at respectful distances to witness the union of two ancient powers.

Akari felt her climax building like a gathering storm, pressure coiling tight at the base of her spine and between her thighs where Sai filled her so perfectly. She rode him harder, her heavy breasts bouncing with each movement as they slid over his chest. Akari threw her head back in abandon as pleasure mounted toward its inevitable peak. His thickness stretched her deliciously, the angle of their bodies ensuring he rubbed against the spot within her that sent white-hot sparks of pleasure shooting through her core with each thrust. "With me," she gasped, feeling him swell even larger inside her as his own release approached. "Cum with me, my love."

Their climax, when it came, was simultaneous and overwhelming. Akari felt Sai's seed flooding her depths at the exact moment her inner walls clamped down around him in rhythmic pulses, milking him, squeezing on his very soul like a boa constrictor. That only increased his pleasure, which in turn increased hers, and soon their joint release was sending a tsunami of golden foxfire rippling through the air around them, temporarily illuminating the entire mountaintop in warm light that radiated outward like a spiritual shock wave. Winter kami twirled in the energy they released, their forms briefly taking on golden hues as they absorbed the overflow of power. The spirit tree above them showered them with luminescent petals that dissolved into motes of light before reaching their sweat-slicked skin.

For several heartbeats, the boundary between their individual beings blurred completely, and they were one… the way Inari-Okami always insisted they were in spirit. Akari could feel Sai's pleasure as her own, his wants, his needs, his fears and desires and dreams and worries all hers. At the same time, his emotions flowed through her consciousness, and hers flowed through his in turn, their souls momentarily as joined as their bodies.

Neither of them moved for a while after that.

As they slowly returned to awareness, still intimately connected and breathing heavily, Akari cradled Sai against her chest, her tails forming a protective cocoon around them both. His arms encircled her waist, his face pressed against her neck where he placed reverent kisses against her pulse. "Merry Christmas, Anta," she whispered against his hair, feeling his smile against her skin. His tails intertwined with hers in spiraling embrace, white fur against white creating a nest of softness that glowed with residual energy from their joining.

Together they watched the spirit world continue its timeless movements around them—kami dancing on currents of spiritual energy, the stars above pulsing in rhythm with the ancient heartbeat of the mountain, the boundaries between worlds thin enough that faint echoes of sleeping humans' dreams drifted past like cherry blossoms on a spring breeze. In this moment of perfect connection, Akari felt content. She had so many duties, so much responsibility… but she was not alone. She had her friends, and the guardian monks, and the shrinemaidens. She had her sister, returned from the dead.

And she had Sai.

His fingers traced patterns on her back as they held each other, neither willing to break their physical connection just yet. "Next year," he murmured against her skin, "we should leave gifts for the shrine inhabitants together from the start."

Akari laughed softly, the sound carrying through the spirit realm like music. "Are you inviting yourself to join my Christmas tradition permanently?"

Sai lifted his head to meet her gaze, his eyes serious despite the smile playing at his lips. "I'm inviting myself to join everything you do, Kari."

She kissed him then, and the gentle press of her lips conveyed more than words ever could.