"I'm sorry..." I said weakly, surprised by the display of grief that Keru had shown, though I don't know whether or not for her siblings or for her parents.
"There is nothing you have done," Keru answered and wiped away her tears, "though all of this creates more trouble..."
"The ghosts?" I asked.
"Ghosts couldn't have killed them... not in a direct fight... they had enough magic to permanently banish a thousand ghosts on their own and perhaps two thousand five hundred if they worked together," Keru answered as she stood up.
"Suppose it wasn't a direct fight," I commented, "but an assassination."
Keru blinked and looked down, "but what could they have gotten into that would trigger such a thing? They were pretty firm in following the sort of hierarchical rules that run Kitsune society... to always respect those with more tails than you..."
I looked toward the shrine it self. I couldn't hear the voices, but I could see large numbers of figurines on a platform in the shrine, which I guessed represented Keru's ancestors going back beyond her parents and even grandparents. Some of the figurines had a soft glow to them, many of them were of a bluish shade, though softer in color when compared to Keru's fur. I really couldn't picture what would inspire such beings to murder each other, though I was still nervous over what was an apparent trick on both Keru and I. The deceiving of Keru into thinking I was a Nine-Tailed Kitsune. The declaration by my parents that I couldn't back out of the deal that married Keru to me. I could barely picture anything in the reasoning behind what had happened and wanted to find out why we had been married in the way that we were.
"What does the glow mean...?" I asked.
"Hmm?" Keru wondered, likely still in conversation with her ancestors, "Oh... that glow represents the magic that Kitsune carry. When we die... our magic doesn't just vanish, and neither do our spirits. They come back to these sorts of shrines where they live in a sort of afterlife, though they can converse with living Kitsune to a degree."
"So the ones that are glowing are actually here to talk to you?" I asked.
"No..." Keru said slowly and then gasped, "not in the way you're thinking. They can't leave the shrine..."
Her voice seemed to fall off. It was like she was sounding very worried. This only made me nervous.
"All of the statues should be glowing..." Keru finished slowly, "Someone... someone stole their spirits... their magic..."
I narrowed my own eyes at this. Several of the figurines that had lost their glow represented nine-tails. Others represented other multi tailed Kitsune. A lot of magic had been stolen, and on top of it, it had desecrated the spirits of dead. I may not have been familiar with Kitsune culture and religious practices, but I knew that mistreating the dead was horrible and completely disrespectful thing to do.
"What can I do?" I asked her.
"What can EITHER of us do!" Keru gave a groan, "I'm only a two tail. You're human. We don't know what parents got into... and we don't even know who could have done this... perhaps it was some rogue Kitsune with seven or eight tails... perhaps it was insane nine-tail..." she then shivered at that, "... maybe it was a servant who was a bit more rebellious than I've been within Kitsune society. We don't know... all we know is that something happened..."
Tears began to form in her eyes again. I couldn't stand the sight of that anymore and stepped forward and hugged her. I held her tightly to me and gently stroked her back. We might have only just begun to get to know each other, but I did know that Keru was a good person and didn't deserve to be so upset.
"My parents and I may not have been close... and we certainly didn't agree on everything... but that doesn't mean they deserved death," Keru whimpered into my shoulder.
"We'll get to the bottom of this," I told her, "surely there was something left behind that might indicate as to what your parents were involved in... a note or something like that... and surely desecrating your ancestors spirits would be worthy of reporting to you Council of Nine-Tails."
"But only a Kitsune can report to the Council," Keru answered, "You cannot come with me before them."
"I can stay here and look around for any notes," I answered, "besides... we haven't found anyone as we've wandered around. If it was an assassination, it's doubtful the assassin will return."
"But can you read Japanese characters?" Keru asked.
"No..." I admitted, "surely you'd have some sort of spell that would allow it...?"
Keru paused and thought for a moment. I watched as one ear twitched slightly. After a moment, she snapped her fingers and stepped back.
"I'm only a two-tail," Keru answered, "I don't have the power to give you the knowledge to not only understand the language but understand what is slang and what is not... but... I might be able to link us..."
"Link us?" I asked.
"A telepathic link," Keru explained, "I'd be able to see through your eyes and you through mine. You could read through my brain and I through yours. You could then use MY knowledge to look for anything that might help and we could communicate with each other... even while apart."
"This wouldn't hurt, would it?" I asked.
"No," Keru shook her head, "and it's the only thing I can do for the moment... short of staying here and looking, then dropping you off in the mortal realm, and then going back to report to the Council..."
"Okay," I sighed, "Go ahead."
Keru stepped back further and then flared out her two tails, which began to glow with a sort of blue flame at their tips. She then spoke softly.
"Mortal husband of a Magical Kitsune... be linked in mind and knowledge with your wife... so to read and understand the word and rune..."
With that the blue fire went from her tails and to my eyes, and held them open. I could only watch as the fire then bounced back into Keru's eyes and a beam of blue light seemed to flow between us as we looked to each other. Then after a moment, the light faded and we were both able to blink. I then glanced over to the shrine again and could now notice the names and ages of the Kitsune represented by the figurines. I could also feel some personal sense of grief and loss... loss for lost siblings and even lost parents. These had to be Keru's thoughts and feelings. I then glanced to Keru again to see that she had a sort of soft smile on her vulpine muzzle.
"So... you do find me beautiful?" she commented.
"I... I..." I stuttered, realizing that through this link, while I had access to Keru's knowledge, Keru had also gained access to mine. She only came forward and hugged me again.
"It is okay," Keru answered, "If we survive this, we'll have plenty of time to truly date and get to know each other."