Ichiro smiled despite his thirst and aching muscles as the sun began to set and Kumiko finally led him to some lodging as promised. She wagged her tail, then rose on her hind legs to beg to be picked up. He sighed and slipped off his bag. "I suppose it's wise this time. We don't want to be turned away."

Kumiko squeezed inside the best she could. Ichiro stood up and winced at the increased weight. The small inn, if he could even call it that, awaited ten or so ken from the road, yet his heart still filled with trepidation at having to walk further. I never want to travel again when this is over. Clan wars be damned...

A leashed dog was the first living thing to greet Ichiro when he approached the entrance. The dog reared its wolflike head and gave a snarl that made him flinch. He felt Kumiko wriggle inside the bag, so he raised his hand while drawing in a deep breath. "Don't worry, this creature can't hurt us. It's tethered to a post..." 

Ichiro paid no heed to the dog's ensuing growls and knocked on the door of the so-called inn. "Is anyone there? I need a place to stay for the night!"

"I'm coming!" A man shouted from inside before the door opened and Ichiro was regarded with suspicion. "Look at you. Something tells me that you can't be trusted to behave around my wife."

"Uh..." Ichiro glanced at the imprint left by Kumiko's body and hoped that she would continue to stay still. "Why would you think that? I'm an honest man who has never hurt a soul..."

"That's what the last guest said, but he made an advance all the same." 

Ichiro couldn't afford to sacrifice his safety by being stranded out in the cold, so he persisted. "Well, I'm disheartened. Only one woman has caught my interest, and I'm sure your wife could never compare."

The innkeeper frowned and smacked his lips. "If that's how it is, then follow me. We need the money any ways." 

"Thank you." Ichiro placed a hand up to steady his heavy bag while the innkeeper led him inside. Steam wafted through the air as a plump woman tended to a pot of bubbling broth and scolded her restless children at the same time. 

"Mother, look!" The oldest boy squealed with a point of his finger. He came up only to Ichiro's chest and could not have been more than seven or eight years old. "Father has brought us another guest!"

"That he has. Sit back down, or I'll strike you like I did yesterday!"

The boy pouted before dropping to the floor. Ichiro gave the child an amused smile for he had been much the same way twelve years earlier. He hoped the centuries-old violence plaguing this country wouldn't destroy that boy's innocence the way it had done with so many others. 

Ichiro followed the innkeeper into an empty room that contained only a thin mattress on the floor. "Here we are. It's not much, but I hope you can make yourself comfortable."

The innkeeper left him alone to unpack. Ichiro peered inside his bag and raised a finger to his lips before letting Kumiko out. She gave her head a shake and stretched her limbs to relieve herself, then raced across the room to curl up on the mattress. 

Her eyes fell shut in slumber as Ichiro sighed. He retrieved the rest of his possessions and picked a chew stick to clean the inside of his mouth with. He didn't know when he would have to kiss Kumiko again, so it was best to be prepared. He wasn't making the effort because he cared, though. It was simply his nature to want congress with a beautiful woman. 

Several moments later, Ichiro remembered the words of the crone at the market in Kyoto and lowered his head in defeat. He couldn't deny his growing feelings, but was he really falling in love? It had once been his belief that he would marry someone of his parents' choosing and produce as many children as possible, so he wasn't sure how to handle this new course of events. 

He glanced at Kumiko's curled up form and wondered if marriage would even be possible with her proclivity to turn into a fox. One careless mistake would turn everyone against them, and there was a high chance that he would become an outcast for the rest of his life. 

The wise thing to do was give Kumiko up, yet Ichiro knew that he didn't want to. He'd reached the point where he was willing to endure any misfortune to stay by her side, which was perhaps a sign that he was in love after all. 

May you become human again soon, he thought with a tender smile while folding Kumiko's pretty pink robe and laying it over her like a blanket. My darling...