i hope fenris is ok

Yoshitsune: If you leave now, I will spare your life. However, you must leave the fox behind. When Yoshitsune raised his sword again, swirls of dust blew into the air around my feet, as if being sucked into the swirling wind surrounding him. Yoshino: (He’s so frightening…) Yoritomo: …Yoshino, leave. Yoshino: But… Yoritomo had briefly paused to collect himself, but soon ran towards Yoshitsune again; Morinaga immediately followed him. Yoshino: (I want to get away from all of this madness right now!) Yoshino: (But…) Yoshino: (I’ve already given this little fox medical treatment. After I saved its life, am I really going to leave it here to die again…?) Yoshino: I can’t abandon the fox!! With a new sense of urgency and resolve, I held the little fox tightly in my arms with all my strength… …And all of a sudden, I began to hear the sound of many bells ringing from somewhere in the distance. Yoritomo: …What is that sound? ??? (Tamamo): I’ve taken a liking to you, woman~ Yoshino: (Whose voice is that…?)

Bright white light overflowed into my field of vision, making everything around me invisible before the faint silhouette of a figure appeared in front of me and began to approach me. ??? (Tamamo): Your soul is simply beautiful. So… Will you allow me to make a contract with you? Yoshino: (It has animal ears and a tail… It’s not a human?!) Yoshino: What are you? Where did you come from…? I was too dazzled by the glare of the light to think straight. Amidst my confusion, I felt the stranger’s arms embrace me—he had gotten close enough that I could see him clearly now. ??? (Tamamo): Why do you speak so coldly towards me? Even after you protected me so bravely in your slender arms… I’m almost heartbroken. Yoshino: Tried to protect… Ahh!!! Yoshino: (Impossible! There’s no way!) Yoshino: (Silver hair and golden eyes, and that mysterious decoration… And more than anything else, his ears and tail remind me only of one thing.) Yoshino: The little fox from before?! ??? (Tamamo): My name is Tamamo. I won’t mind if you use it. ….Call my name, Yoshino. Yoshino: Tama…mo… Tamamo: Good. Do remember it well. It is the name of the ayakashi to whose soul yours is connected, after all. Yoshino: Ayakashi?!! In a single graceful motion, Tamamo gathered both of my hands into his and brought them close to his lips. Tamamo: We can explain all of that later. Right now… There’s something I must do with your body first. Yoshino: (With my body…?! Nn-!) Tamamo gently brushed my fingertips to his lips, and a sweet tingling sensation shot all the way through my body, making me feel numb with euphoria. Moments later, a mysterious heat began to pulse through my bloodstream… Yoshino: (What’s happening?! My body feels so… hot…) Yoshino: Ah…! The overwhelming heat flowed through me like a crashing river, filling every corner and crevice of my body. Tamamo: Don’t be afraid, now. Just like that… Slowly… Accept me within yourself. He strokes my back with his hand to calm me down. I couldn’t help but relax at his gentle touch. Yoshino: (…Nn…) At that moment, a particularly strong sensation surged down my spine, making my whole body tremble. I shook my head in a daze as the bright light around me subsided. Once I could see normally again, I felt that something was wrong with the colors I saw in my field of vision. Yoshino: My hair… The color changed?! Tamamo: The color of your eyes has changed as well, you know. Your hair is silver, and your eyes are gold. Just like mine. Tamamo smiled smugly in response to my astonishment, his beautiful lips forming a perfect arc. Tamamo: Forming a pact will partially change a human's appearance to match the ayakashi they contracted. I think you turned out beautifully. Yoshino: Magic…? What did you do to me?! Tamamo: Magic is the power of ayakashi. Tamamo: I bound your soul to mine and gave my spirit power to you. That is the result of the contract that I formed with you. Yoshino: (I was given the power of an ayakashi?! But… Except for my appearance and the heat in my body, it doesn’t feel like anything else about me has changed…) I opened my mouth with the intent of asking him more questions, but the bright white light surrounding us suddenly disappeared.

When I regained my bearings, I felt everyone’s gaze on me, staring in surprise. Morinaga: You—What happened to you? Are you alright? Yoritomo: Yoshino, what happened? Yoshino: I think I’m alright. But I have no idea what happened to me… Upon seeing Tamamo standing beside me, Yoshitsune-sama raised his blade and pointed it at him. Yoshitsune: …Did you form a pact with that fox spirit? Tamamo: Indeed she did. Yoshitsune, you seem to have done me a favor not long ago. Tamamo: Thanks to you attacking me in my sleep, I have now lost much of my power. What do you have to say for yourself about that? Yoshino: (So it was Yoshitsune who injured Tamamo so badly…) Yoshitsune: I don’t particularly care for you. My grudge is only against Lord Yoritomo, who went so far as to transport the killing stone to Kamakura… Yoshino: Killing stone…? Yoshino: (What kind of stone has a name like that… It almost sounds like this is all just a huge prank! This is getting ridiculous!) I had intended to keep my murmur to myself, but Morinaga picked up the sound of my voice and turned his gaze on me. Morinaga: There is a large rock in the town of Nasu that poisons those that come near it or touch it because this fox spirit had been sealed within it. That is what we call the killing stone.

Notes:

Ayakashi (あやかし) is an archaic term for a type of supernatural spirits/demon/monsters in Japanese folklore called yōkai (妖怪). In more modern usage, the term ayakashi refers mostly to a specific type of yōkai that are found above the surface of bodies of water. From my understanding, ayakashi are more like strange apparitions that are generally malevolent, while yōkai can have a wide variety of animal or humanoid features and are of varying moral alignment—in certain contexts, especially in archaic usage, the terms can be used interchangeably. 

Tamamo is a type of yōkai known as kitsune (狐) or yōko (妖狐), which are foxes with the ability to shapeshift into human form and are known to be cunning and mischievous. They gain a new tail for every hundred years that they live; once they have lived long enough to have 9 tails, they ascend to their most powerful form, known as tenko (天狐) meaning “heavenly fox”, and their fur turns white or golden. I’ve translated all these terms as “fox spirit” for the sake of simplicity.

It was the year 1189, and a battle was coming to an end. ??? (Yoshitsune): …Is this the end? ??? (Yoshitsune): It can’t be… I can still… While trudging up a cliffside near the battleground, a man clad in armor stumbled and fell to his knees. His blood bloomed on the wet earth before being washed away in moments by the rain. As the man let out a shaky breath in pain, a dark figure descended from the sky and landed in front of him… ??? (Kurama): Hah. You’re a sorry sight. ??? (Yoshitsune): Kurama… ??? (Yoshitsune) : Did you come to take my soul? Kurama: That’s right. Got any last words? His mortal wounds continued to bleed, but his eyes burned with determination as he turned them towards Kurama. ??? (Yoshitsune): …I want to make a deal with you.

Three years had passed since then. It was now the year 1192, in the city of Kamakura. ??? (Yoritomo): I can’t believe that man is still alive. ??? (Morinaga): I agree… To be honest, I still half-doubt it. Two men walked briskly through a stately wooden corridor. ??? (Yoritomo): He has already ransacked our warehouse. The “killing stone” was destroyed as well. It is true. ??? (Morinaga): Kagetoki and Shigehira are already tracking down his whereabouts. ??? (Morinaga): But according to Yasuchika-dono, the… “contents” of the killing stone are still not dead… ??? (Yoritomo): Heh… This is getting interesting. ??? (Yoritomo): It seems our battle isn’t over yet. Morinaga, we’re heading out soon. Morinaga: Understood.

As the threads of fate were being woven, one ordinary woman was about to become tangled up in them all. Yuino: (I wonder if I should ask someone for directions just in case.) Yuino: Um, excuse me! Is this the road leading to Kamakura? The merchant I had just addressed heard my call and stopped, looking at me before gently nodding his head. Merchant (Sueharu): That’s right. You’re headed to Kamakura? Yuino: Yes. I was hoping to arrive before nightfall, but the journey took longer than I thought it would. Yuino: (I need to be more confident if I’m going to get out into the world and be a doctor in my own right!) Until now, I’d been working as a doctor’s apprentice in my small hometown. Now I’d left that town and my old life behind to venture out and open my own practice in the prosperous city of Kamakura. Merchant (Sueharu): … Yuino: (Why is he just staring at me??) Merchant (Sueharu): What if I told you that you should stop? Yuino: …Huh? My response was quiet as I looked incredulously at the man. Merchant (Sueharu): Why don’t you take a break and come have dinner with me tonight? I wouldn’t let you get bored if you were with me—I’d make sure of it. Yuino: (Is he coming on to me?!) Yuino: (This man… He has a handsome face despite his eyepatch. But I know better than to be swayed by that.) Yuino: S-Sorry, I’m in a hurry tonight… Merchant (Sueharu): Mm. Well, that’s a shame. But I get the feeling we’ll meet again. Consider it fate! Merchant (Sueharu): I’ll be looking forward to it. Until then… look out for yourself. The man gave me a broad smile as I hurriedly bowed to him and left without a response. Yuino: (He was charming… That was a dangerous encounter!) Yuino: (“Look out for yourself”… It won’t be long before I reach Kamakura. I have nothing to worry about, right?)

The merchant looked pensively at Yuino as she continued along the road. Merchant (Sueharu): (Ah. She’s gone.) Merchant (Sueharu): (Well, she’ll probably be fine. Unless she’s really unlucky, she won’t get caught up in all that unpleasantness…)

Later that night, when the moon had risen high in the sky… Yuino: (Alright, it’s time to stop for a break. Once I get to the town, I’ll stay in an inn for tonight, and then find a place to settle down tomorrow!) Yuino: Huh…? Small Fox: Kuuuun! Yuino: (A white fox?) I stopped in front of where it laid in the grass, bewitched by its luminous golden eyes. Yuino: …! Oh no, you’re hurt! Yuino: (It looks like it was cut… With a knife or a sword?) I hurriedly knelt in front of the little fox and rushed to staunch its deep wounds with a piece of cloth. Yuino: It’ll be alright now. I spent some time cleaning and treating the fox’s wounds. Once I had finished, I gently laid it down in the grass again. Yuino: (This fox is quiet, and it has a decorative collar around its neck… I think it might have been kept as a pet. I wonder what happened to it.)

I was sitting on a rock a short distance away and taking a break when… Suddenly, someone grabbed my wrist from behind me and pulled me up, speaking in a rough voice. ??? (Benkei): Hey, you! What the hell are you doing here? Yuino: (What’s happening all of sudden? Who is this?!) Yuino: I-I’m not doing anything! I just— ??? (Benkei): Not doing anything, huh? So you’re in a place like this for no reason? Yuino: I’m telling the truth—! Benkei: If you are, then I’m sorry. Benkei: But I can’t tell whether or not you’re lying right now. And you’d better not be lying. As the man’s voice grew louder, his grip on my wrist got tighter. Yuino: (That hurts!!! This person is so strong!) I started to grimace in pain involuntarily. At the same time, I heard the sound of footsteps in the dirt behind us. ??? (Yoichi): Hey, Benkei. Hands off. ??? (Yoichi): What are you doing, bullying a lady like that? Benkei: Huh?? Yoichi! Who’s bullying⁠— Yoichi: Take a look at that hand of hers you’re holding. Benkei: What? What about her hand–!? The man named Benkei looks down at where he’s holding my wrist⁠ in a vice grip, then at my face—and suddenly lets go of my hand. Benkei: Oh! S-Sorry! Benkei: Hey, are you okay? Is your blood circulation fine? Are you breathing normally?!

Some translator's notes:

IkeGen has very quickly become one of my favorite otome games ever, so despite the kanji and archaisms in this game being way beyond my comprehension level I’m still making an attempt to translate it! …Which is why I really can’t guarantee that my translations will be accurate. I’m so sorry in advance! T_T

The characters’ names will be written in the Japanese name order, with their surname written first and given name written second. Honorifics will remain untranslated. Otherwise, I’ll try to translate as much of everything into English as I can, and if I choose to leave something in Japanese I’ll leave a note about it. 

I’ll be referring to the protagonist using her default name, 由乃. It can be read as Yuno, Yūno, Yoshino, Yuino… I’m using Yuino because I like it the best!

Ikemen Genjiden’s story is a fantasy+alternate history imagining of the aftermath of the Genpei War, which was a civil war that took place from 1180-1185 during the late Heian era of Japanese history. The Taira clan, which had previously dominated Japanese Imperial politics, was overthrown by the Minamoto clan, and a military dictatorship called the Kamakura shogunate was established as the governing body of Imperial territory, with the Emperor of Japan and the Imperial court in Kyōto now only serving as figureheads. However, discord between the Minamoto clan’s leaders, Yoritomo and Yoshitsune, led to conflict between them which resulted in Yoritomo’s victory.

The final battle of the Genpei War, referenced at the very beginning of the IkeGen prologue, was the Battle of Ōshū in 1189, when the Kamakura shogunate led by Yoritomo clashed with the Northern Fujiwara clan which had offered asylum to Yoshitsune. The real Yoshitsune was assassinated before the Battle of Ōshū had even begun. Nonetheless, Yoritomo attacked the Northern Fujiwara city of Hiraizumi and conquered their territory, solidifying the Kamakura shogunate’s domination of Japan. 

Dolphin Hat Simeon and Shark Hat Raphael

The Kiss

*sighs* Elves who hide their pain, insecurities and emotions under a mask of aggression, sarcasm and sassyness...