Chapter Text
Some of her first memories were of her parents, of their voices and smiles, and their touch. Her most vivid ones were of Obaa-chan, the feel of her wrinkly skin, and her eyes and how they, on occasion, glowed.
As Kiriko grew, she noticed a lot more.
Living in the Shimada Castle offered her a lot of freedom, especially as Hanzo and Genji played with her, but the castle was still a prison.
She couldn’t go anywhere without bodyguards of some sort, even when she stayed with her Obaachan at the Shinto shrine in Kanezaka. They were always there.
Kiriko didn’t mind. It actually it gave her lots of opportunities to play tricks and games on them, with Genji and Soba’s help, but that didn’t shake off the feeling that something wasn’t right.
They tried to shield her from the darkness of Shimada Sojiro and the Elders… but she saw the bruises on Hanzo. Kiriko knew that he was beaten to protect Genji.
“Why do we stay here? Can’t we all leave?”
Kiriko was still too young to understand, but when she was eight, it all became clear.
The Fox connected with her at the shrine.
Obaachan was so happy.