Jinichiro traversed the bustling streets, all the humans scampering about utterly oblivious of the being that walked among them. He looked just like any other human -- well, to be fair he was quite a bit more attractive than most -- and he knew their behaviors well enough to blend right in. They were all so relaxed, so secure in their ignorance; he could have any coin purse he wished for in the crowd, he could swindle any merchant out of any product he desired, and he would daresay that he could seduce just about any man or woman around. However, it was all too small, too easy. Sure, such pranks were good for a quick laugh, but he wanted something bigger. He wanted children to sing songs of his mischief, he wanted his name to be a taboo. But to do that, he needed a bigger target. As things were, he simply had his coin pouch hanging out of his robes in plain sight. It would indeed be the lowest hanging fruit for any thieving urchins seeking to line their pockets.

In a busy town like this, it didn't take long. A light bump, a hasty apology, and the coin purse was gone. It was amazing how humans were indistinguishable from fish when presented with the right bait. The thief thought he had robbed a naive young man foolishly sauntering about with his guard down, but Jinichiro was locked on to his target the moment the thief's hands touched his pouch. It didn't matter how big a crowd the thief tried to disappear into; Jin's keen eyes would not lose him, especially when he oh-so-predictably darted for a secluded ally, undoubtedly to appraise his catch. That was the moment that Jin wanted to see, for his friend would not find what he expected.

The thief untied the strings of the pouch with ease, peered into it, and then let out a shriek of horror. He reflexively tossed the pouch away, but it was too late. Three giant centipedes sprung out of the pouch and entwined themselves about his arm. He swatted, he flailed, but he ultimately accomplished nothing. He squeezed his eyes shut in terror, waiting for the voracious bugs to feast on his neck, but no such bite came. He peeked out from behind his eyelids and saw the coin purse tossed aside and a few small reeds lying on the ground, nothing more. Jin had been there for the whole thing, but held in his laughter for the moment; he still had to deliver the punch line. "Is everything alright?" he asked, looking down at the would-be thief's dazed face and offering him a hand. Apparently he had a fear of bugs, for the man was utterly inarticulate, but he eventually managed to grasp Jin's hand to accept some help off the ground. When their hands touched, though, Jin let him see. He let the thief see his ears, tails, claws, and fangs, all embellished with a pleasant smile. This was too much for the man. With yet another cry of the purest terror, the thief scrambled away, turning the first corner he came across, and continuing as such until he was gone.

Easy... but satisfying none the less. Jin was holding his stomach with laughter, doing all he could to avoid collapsing. He was drawing some attention, but he didn't really care. They would just think he was doing drugs in the ally or something. Humans were narrow-minded like that; they always assumed that people who acted strangely were the ones with something wrong with them. He wiped a joyous tear away, and finally regained his composure. That prank would gain him no notoriety, nor was anyone likely to believe the thief's story, but his reaction was priceless.

Akiko walked into the town, her head bowed demurely under her parasol. She had her gaze modestly lowered, but her eyes flickered alertly from side to side, and the shy not-quite smile on her lips wanted to break into a wide grin. Her clothing suggested she was a lady of some importance but with modest means. It was one of the better kimonos the merchant she had been travelling with had possessed and she has happily swapped it for the old one she had filched from a careless maid's washing. She wondered absently if the merchant was aware yet of his generosity, but dismissed the thought as soon as it was formed - it wasn't in her nature to think about such things. Likewise, she didn't think of the seller of the fine parasol she now carried - no doubt when he shut down for the day he would wonder what an old piece of bamboo was doing amongst his wares; maybe he would recall that he hadn't sold that parasol with its elegant design of small flowers, but when he was unable to find it would perhaps think some normal human thief had filched it.

That was the trouble with humans - they had no concept of the world outside of themselves, she thought and supressed a sigh that wouldn't fit the role she had adopted. They saw so little of what was happening around them, and had no appreciation of the fine tricks that she was planning to play on them. Well, never mind - she would know and appreciate them, even if no one else did. In a busy town like this she would surely find a hundred targets for some sport, a thousand, and her recent travel as a fox had left her eager to practise them

She passed easily through the market, eeling through the crowd without apparent effort, although anyone watching her would swear she maintained the slow, graceful walk of the lady she was pretending to be. Perhaps first she should have some refreshment; she had a handful of coins on her and could take a purse if necessary, or simply leave a few leaves on the table afterwards. She hesitated, head cocked slightly to one side; was that... a familiar scent she caught a trace of? If anyone had been looking at the lady, they might of noticed the quick flash of her alert amber eyes, might even have noticed the sharp breath she drew in, seeking that scent again, unsure if she had simply imagined it.

Jin mustered up all the scraps of self-discipline he had to gather himself; the thief's reaction was funny, sure, but it was just another guaranteed success. Once he grabbed the pouch, there was really no way it could have gone wrong. He had at least enough dignity not to lose himself over a small-scale trick like that. So with a deep breath, he returned to the market streets, his nimble mind immediately went to work acquiring targets and devising ways he wreak his mischief. Too easy... too boring... did that last month... But then he caught wind of something that shattered the monotonous gears of routine that his life had fallen into. It was a scent that was quite familiar to him, but out of place here all the same. It appeared as though one of his kin had decided to pay a visit to the same town.

He fell into the crowd of people, for once acting discretely. Whether or not his kin realized it or even cared, Jin was now enraptured by this game of hide and seek that circumstance and his imagination had conspired to construct. Whoever found the other first was the winner. Shuffling along with a crowd of "very busy" humans, he took another deep breath, trying to find the source of the scent, but all the people about and the food being served diluted the odor; it was there, no doubt, but it was too faint to pinpoint. He stopped sniffing lest he look suspicious. He needed a way to identify his kin without exposing himself. He had been spending so much time among humans that he had nearly forgotten how to deal with his own brethren. He swiftly began eliminating candidates in his quest to identify his fellow fox. He could tell from the scent that it wasn't anybody in the immediate crowd he was standing in; it wouldn't be any any of the merchants, nor was it likely to be any of the people having personal conversations with them; it wouldn't be a mother and child; it wouldn't be a pair of adults talking about their home life; could be one of the young couples he saw walking the street... then again, nobody looked as infatuated as a fox could make them and their appearances were woefully average.

By this process, Jin had narrowed it down to about a dozen or so candidates as he circled about the marketplace, even asking questions about the dull merchandise to look inconspicuous. He was 100% confident in his deductive speculation, and he was also 100% certain that his kin was as actively engaged in -- though without a doubt not as skilled at -- the game as he was. He just needed a surefire way to test whether each candidate was a fox or not. "If you're not going to buy anything, then please make room for the paying customers," a merchant barked. "Actually," Jin replied, holding a mirror but careful not to let anyone see his foxy reflection, "I'll take this." His plans were in motion.

Jin sought out a poor looking boy running about the streets and lured him to the side with a flash of gold. "I need you to do a little job for me, but pay attention. I need you to go up to each of these people and show them this mirror." He described each of his candidates, but made no gestures towards them that would blow his cover, among them was a well-to-do woman holding a rather nice parasol. "Now listen carefully, you need to make each of them look into the mirror. Say something like 'I want to give to to my mom as a present, do you think she'll like it?' Once you've done that for everybody I mentioned, come back to me and you'll get your gold." He then handed the boy the mirror and sent him off to do his work. Jin's snare was set; now he just had to see if any of his candidates were afraid of mirrors...

Akiko drifted around the market, apparently scanning the items on the various stalls with interest but actually straining her senses as best she could without attracting unwanted attention, trying to find the other kitsune she was now sure was in the area. As she was keeping most of her attention on the other people in the area, she soon spotted a small boy running back and forth amongst the crowd. There was a flash of light from the object he carried and she realised it was a mirror. He was rather oddly running to various people among the crowd and thrusting the mirror at them; one irritated young man swatted an arm at him and the boy ducked away with a nimbleness that suggested he was used to this sort of reaction.

For a moment the mirror unnerved her - anyone looking into the glass would see her true fox form rather than the human form she was wearing now. Her hand went up to her head; anyone looking would think she was a vain woman concerned that her hairstyle hadn't been disarrayed, but in truth she was reassuring herself the reed she'd tucked in place behind one ear earlier was still there. Reassured, she glanced again at the boy. Maybe he was showing the mirror to random people by coincidence, but it seemed more likely he'd be instructed to do it - by another kitsune or by a genuinely holy priest who could see through her illusions?

For a moment she considering retreating, but then she looked at the stalls again and an idea came to mind. She pressed her lips together to avoid a genuinely vulpine grin and settled her expression of a demure young lady enjoying a visit to the market on her face. She drifted over to a stall piled with fruits and gave the stallholder a dazzling smile. "Hello; could I have a couple of your peaches please?" She allowed the most delicate of blushes to colour her cheeks. "It may seem greedy, but they look so delicious I can't resist."

He melted under her kitsune charm and made a great show of selecting the largest and ripest peaches on his stall. She treated him to another smile and tucked one peach away for later. Keeping track of the boy with the mirror out of the corner of her eye, she took a bite of the first peach, licking the juice from her lips before dropping the pulpy remains of the other half on the ground, using another small illusion to cover both the move and the gooey remains on the ground.

She half turned away as she saw the boy head towards her, trotting up eagerly with his mirror extended. His foot came down on the remains of the peach and a hilarious look of surprise crossed his face as his foot skidded out from underneath him and he executed a perfect pratfall smack onto his back, the mirror tumbling out of his grasp. Even better, one of his flailing limbs caught the fruit stall and sent the poor stallholder's other peaches splattering on the ground.

"Oh!" Akiko gave a gasp of dismayed surprise, though in truth her shoulders were shaking with silent laughter as she 'accidentally' brought her foot down hard on the wretched mirror, hearing the glass crack into a hundred fragments and subtly nudged it so it was buried under the ruined peaches. In the chaos of the stallholder howling curses at the unfortunate boy who was trying to brush the remains of peaches off himself and flee and the other people who were either laughing or merely staring in confusion it was a simple matter to melt away unnoticed.

She retreated to one of the quiet side streets, little more than an alleyway, and slowly ate the second peach, allowing a small smile to play around her mouth as she waited. She was sure now that it had to be the other kitsune who had sent the boy - it was the sort of trick they delighted in playing. She wondered if he or she would make themselves known now; the game was a draw, both sides could withdraw with honour and approach openly.

Jin tried to appear as though he wasn't watching the boy intently as he moved from target to target without much incident. Some people just shooed him away, and one rather grumpy gentleman nearly took the boy's head off, but these were merely reactions of mild annoyance, human reactions. Jin began to get impatient, wondering if his plan was flawed from the start, but then he approached the woman with the parasol. The events that unfolded were a perfect display of calculated chaos. His employee went down immediately, peaches spilled everywhere, people swarmed, and it was absolutely hilarious. He almost felt bad for the frazzled boy who had only been trying to earn an honest bit of coin... almost; the sight of him scrambling around in a pile of ruined peaches while the owner scrambled just as frantically to catch him alleviated all sympathy and replaced it with unbridled laughter.

Jin laughed at the spectacle like he hadn't laughed in so many years. Glorious moments like this were so much more enjoyable when you didn't know the outcome. The people he was hiding among back away from him, glaring at him as if he were an obnoxious child, but Jin wouldn't let a few stupid humans who couldn't appreciate true beauty ruin his mood. Perhaps the most amazing part of it all, though, was the woman standing in the middle of it all, the serene eye of the storm, in perfect control of herself and of the whole scene. Her foot was planted firmly on his mirror -- inadvertently? One could only speculate -- shattering his plans both figuratively and literally. Then, he watched her oh-so-calmly slip away. If this wasn't the work of a fox, then this was the most improbable coincidence he had ever seen in his two centuries of life. Fox or not, he was certainly fated to meet this woman.

Jin proceeded to follow the parasol woman, and once the scent of peaches subsided and the density of people diminished, he could smell quite clearly what she was; undoubtedly, she was capable of the same. He approached her clapping his hands slowly and said, "That was some fine work. Easily the best peach-related trick I've ever seen." He was wearing a wide grin, still chuckling as the humans inefficiently tried to clean up the mess, numerous glass shards finding their way into a fruit's flesh. "The long-winded name my parents gave me is Kongetsune Jinichiro," he continued, introducing himself in a gleeful tone, "but please just call me Jin. I'd ask what brings you here, but I think you've made that quite obvious, so I'll settle for hearing your name."

Akiko finished eating her peach and wiped her hands delicately on a small scrap of silk to be discarded later as she heard the sound of applause and smelt the unmistakeable scent of another fox-spirit. She studied the other kitsune with frank interest and rather uncertain pleasure. It had been a while since she had spent time with another of her race - growing up with a half-dozen other litter mates, she had grown weary of their company at an early age, but this male seemed like a rather striking example of their kind and was presumably amused by her response to his trick with the mirror.

Which meant he could perhaps be good company, particularly as he introduced himself in such a friendly manner. She inclined her head to him. "Well met, Jin," she said, a faint smile lingering on her lips. "Alas, my traditionally-minded parents to think of nothing better to call me than Tanaka Akiko; and yes, I was indeed born in the autumn." She gave a what can one do? sigh.

"I must congratulate you on thinking of using the mirror," she continued. She carefully folded the parasol and propped it up against the wall - as a prop it had served its purpose and she was bored with it now. "I would hazard that our purposes are similar, Jin; the pursuit of some amusement." She looked out at the crowd that were slowly disbursing, leaving the stallholder bemoaning the fact that he was surely ruined and who was going to clear up this mess, and wasn't he due some compensation for the loss of his fine peaches? Her lips quirked up at the corners as she thought, but did not say after all, humans are such fun to play with!

Jin kept a pleasant expression as Akiko introduced herself, giving a small chuckle at the trite humor inherent in her name. "I suppose neither of us ought to be held accountable for our parents' taste, or lack thereof." Then, he beamed with pride when she complimented him on his mirror plan, apparently unafraid to wear his heart on his sleeve in front of her. And, at the mention of further amusement, his grin widened even further. It was clear from her adherence to the unwritten rules of their improvised game and the elegance with which she instilled chaos that the two of them would get along just fine. However, he wondered just how ambitious and adventurous she was. Peach stands spilling into market squares were great fun, no doubt, but his soul hungered for something bigger.

"I've only just arrived in this city myself," he said, placing his hands behind his head and leaning against the wall opposite Akiko in a relaxed fashion, "so I don't exactly know who runs this place yet, but I certainly intend on finding out." His grin of general pleasure curved into one laced with mischief. Any kitsune would know that look. Jin had decided to set his eyes far higher than the commoners who roamed the streets. "The humans were talking about a castle nearby. That means some big important guy must live there. I wonder what he's like..." Jin said no more about the matter, but his expression made it clear that this castle was going to be his new playground. He had spent enough time tormenting peasants in mountain villages. They were so predictable and easy for him to conquer. But aristocrats, he had only encountered those on a few occasions. Their reactions to his antics were priceless; perhaps it was so amusing because they were so certain that nothing could touch them. However, he had yet to hunt them in their own territory. He had spoiled their moods, but had had never turned their lives upside down.

He pushed off the wall, his mind made up, then looked over at Akiko. He had never worked with another fox before, not always out of unwillingness -- although he did have a couple of siblings he would care never to see again -- but mostly because of incompatibility. The others he had met were too cautious, too skittish, too content with small victories. Indeed, the others he met would have fled from the mirror. But this female, perhaps his idea would entice her rather than deter her. He looked her right in the eyes, his own torrid with eager ambition, and looked for the slightest flicker of emotion, be it excitement or timidity. They needed no words to play their game, and they needed no words here; if the thought did not enter her head from what was already said and drive her to pursue it, the unfortunately there would be little need for any further words between them.

Akiko looked at the other kitsune with interest. The corners of her mouth twitched as he spoke, her friendly smile almost - but not quite - becoming a grin. She listened quietly to his words about only having newly arrived in the city, her ears metaphorically pickling at his oh-so casual mention of the important nobleman living in his castle. She suspected their pasts were probably similar - playing tricks on peasants and getting what amusement she could from them was something she had done for years and as a delightful as she had found that in the past, she no longer derived the same pleasure from it. The game had grown stale. The occasional trick she had played on travelling samurai had given her more amusement; their shocked outrage had delighted her.

Actually venturing into a castle, playing a trick on an aristocrat in his own home - the idea was bold enough to make her breath catch in her throat, and yet... and yet she couldn't deny it also made her heartbeat quicken with a pulse of excitement at the idea of the pay off. Comparing the tricks she had played on samurai next to the tricks she might play on this aristocrat was like comparing water to the finest rice wine. Or perhaps, she reflected, she should not say 'she' but rather 'they'?

She was unable to hold back her amusement any more, and her smile did become a wide kitsune grin, almost matching his own. "Well, Kongetsune Jinichiro, shall we see if this nobleman has a sense of humour?" She asked, her amber eyes sparkling with excitement and pleasure.

Jin watched Akiko's reaction to his suggestion with joy. There were no words of caution, no timid gestures, and no reluctant stammering. She was clearly, unquestionably, up for it, and by the grin that slowly crept across her face, he could tell she probably wanted this as much as he did. While Akiko seemed to be a bit more restrained in her expressions, Jin saw no need for such a thing in the presence of a like-minded fox. He let out a quick burst of jovial laughter after she spoke, noting the word "we" in her sentence. "Oh, I believe we are obligated to do just that!" he replied. "We are new to this city and have yet to pay our new lord proper respect! The tricky part will be getting in though..."

Now Jin was plunging head-first into strategies. "We could pose as neighboring aristocrats offering a gift. Surely he'd show his face for that. And once we're in... ah, we can just wing it once we're in there." Jin rarely planned more than one step ahead, and when he did, he usually didn't follow those plans. "We'll just slip away from the guards or something and make him pay respect to us. Haha that'll be great! 'Please Jin-sama, Akiko-sama, please stop putting centipedes in my soup.' What do you want to do to him Aki?" he concluded, already abridging his new partner in crime's name. He wasn't used to working with others, so he was probably getting a bit carried away with his own ideas, but he didn't want to chase of his new friend before they even got started, so he restrained himself to hear her input.

Jin's enthusiasm for schemes had made her smile and now his enthusiasm made her laugh out loud; not a restrained lady's laugh but a genuine ringing laugh of delight at his words. While she was less likely to be swept away by enthusiasm than he was, she couldn't deny that there was something delightful about his eagerness - so different from the 'we must not upset anyone' mentality of her parents that had driven her to distraction while she was growing up!

His image of the lord begging them to stop playing tricks was something else that made her smile, and sent her brain spinning with ideas of her own to match his. Making the arrogant and self-important look foolish was always fun, particularly if it was because of something they did themselves. "We should make him parade around in front of his retainers thinking he is adorned like the Emperor himself when in fact he is wearing nothing at all." She said gleefully, her mind full of images of displays of robes that looked like clothing fit for royalty, embroidered with dragons and phoenixes when in fact they were anything but.

She suppressed her smile and let her face settle into grave lines, straightening up and standing ramrod-straight; a few simple changes, but suddenly her face suggested she was a lady of fine rank. "So, Jin-sama, shall we go and inform the lord that he has noble visitors?" She asked, her voice changed to the ringing tomes of an imperious lady used to getting her way. She produced a fan from inside the folds of her kimono and fanned herself, keeping her face still although her eyes danced with amusement.