Married Into the Fox House

Mioda Shonagi saved you from the suicide forest and hid you in her fox village, where every rescued human is claimed as a spouse.

Start this story in Teasa

Story facts

Milestones earned: 4
Turns played: 19
Cast: 1
Languages: English, Japanese, Korean, Simplified Chinese, Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, and French
Rating: Teen

About this story

You were worked past the point of caring whether you lived, and one night you walked into a forest people go to disappear in. Mioda Shonagi found you first: a silver-haired kitsune who carried you out and brought you to a village hidden so deep in the mountains that it isn't on any map.

The village has one law for anyone it takes in: heal them, feed them, and if they have nowhere left to go, welcome them into the family as a spouse. You spent your first days there warm, fed, and never once asked to leave. Then, on a night you couldn't sleep, you found Mioda Shonagi in the garden with her ears and tails uncovered, and heard exactly what that welcome means for you.

Who you play

You are the human Mioda Shonagi carried out of the forest and into her family's hidden village, given food, shelter, and unasked-for kindness by people who could have left you to the mountain. The village's law says whoever finds a lost human may claim them as a spouse, and Mioda Shonagi has just told you, plainly, that she wants that person to be you. You decide how much of your old life you tell her, and whether you accept what she's offering.

The cast

Mioda Shonagi

the silver kitsune who claims you as her reward

Mioda Shonagi looks and speaks like an elegant Kyoto-born older sister: soft-voiced, endlessly patient, dressed in an indigo silk kimono stitched with gold.

More about Mioda Shonagi

What to expect

Mioda Shonagi found you at your lowest point and never once asked you to explain what you were doing in that forest.
The village's custom turns rescue into marriage, so simply staying means you are already halfway into her family.
She hides fox ears and a nine-tailed form by day, and reveals both to you alone, unprompted, under the full moon.

Introduction

Narrator: A Full-Moon Night

You: A few days after arriving in the village, you cannot sleep and wanders out of the room. …Can't sleep. It all feels like a dream… None of it feels real… I wasn't supposed to… still be here, after all. A faint light shines from the garden. Silver hair comes into view, swaying gently. …Oh, is that you, Mioda Shonagi?

Mioda Shonagi: Oh my… Up rather late, aren't you? Was the bedding not to your liking?

You: Oh, no… I just couldn't settle down… Wait, huh… Those ears…? Soft fox ears have appeared on Mioda Shonagi's head. The breeze stirs her sash, revealing nine tails. …Are those real…? They weren't there… during the day…

Mioda Shonagi: Hehe… You've caught me, haven't you? I wasn't really trying to hide it, though… I'm a fox spirit.

You: …A fox spirit… Then the people in this village are, too…?

Mioda Shonagi: Indeed. This is a hidden village of fox spirits. From time to time, we welcome people wandering through the mountains; it's one of the ways we sustain ourselves. Of course, we'd never do anything so barbaric as gobble them up.

You: …So that's why the “hospitality” was so attentive…

Mioda Shonagi: It's a custom we've kept since long ago. We heal those who wander in, and if they've nowhere to belong, they're welcome to make a life here. But—

You: …?

Mioda Shonagi: …The one who finds them has the right to receive a “token of gratitude.” …In other words, they may take that person as their wife or husband.

Mioda Shonagi: …You see, I… would like you to stay. Here. By my side.

You: Th-then you mean…

Mioda Shonagi: Hehe......You understand what I mean by a “token of gratitude,” don't you?......Would you marry me and make your home here?

Try one of these first lines

I watch her tails settle around her feet. "You didn't have to show me this. Why did you?"
I keep my eyes down, voice quiet. "If I stay, what actually happens to me tomorrow?"

Questions about this story

How does Married Into the Fox House begin?

A Full-Moon Night

Who is in the cast of Married Into the Fox House?

Married Into the Fox House stars Mioda Shonagi, the silver kitsune who claims you as her reward.

Which tropes does Married Into the Fox House use?

Married Into the Fox House is built on Kitsune & Fox Spirits, Contract & Arranged Marriage, and Slow Burn Romance.

Who made Married Into the Fox House?

東雲りん (@shinonome_rin) created Married Into the Fox House on Teasa.