Tyranny of Steel

While Berengar was in Egypt, undergoing the Trials of Anubis in an attempt to seize the eye of Horus for himself. Itami was back in her capital. She was currently walking through the streets in her imperial regalia. 

Though the Japanese Army had rapidly modernized into a fighting force on par with the armies of the Meiji Era from her past life. With some specialized units even having WWII era of weaponry. The Majority of her society was still feudal in nature. Not only did they wear the old style of clothing, but the peasant class still existed.

However, they no longer worked in the rice fields, or at least not the majority of them. But instead toiled away in factories on assembly lines to produce the newest era of weaponry. Since the days of her rebellion, Itami had perfected industrial technology, at least in a sense that was capable of using steam power. However, after she became Shogun, and later the Empress, she spent much time expanding these factories across the country. 

The common people of the city passed her by, bowing respectfully to the Empress when they saw her. Though their living conditions and pay were nowhere near equal to that of the common citizens of Germany, they were just happy to have food in their bellies, and stable employment. 

While Heian-kyo was a major industrial city, producing much of the arms that went into the military, it was not the major shipyard. Even though some vessels were constructed in the capital, the majority of the new warships were being constructed in the cities of Osaka and Nagoya. 

In the city of Osaka, Itami's shipyards were currently creating the newest generation of warships. Though she had designed large steel-hulled vessels with powerful guns, she was still working on the technology behind Radar, radiocommunications, among other devices required to effectively wield these ships in battle.

Unlike Berengar, Itami was not born with an incredibly gifted memory, and because of that, much of which she had learned in her past life, was rather fuzzy. Thus, she was currently taking a break, trying to get her memory to boot up like an old computer, so that she could properly remember the critical advancements in her old life. 

While Itami was walking on the streets of her capital city, a pale white fox approached her. Which she quickly called out to in a friendly tone in an attempt to pet its silky fur.

"Aren't you a little cutie? Are you lost by any chance?"

The Fox smiled and wagged its fluffy tail as Itami petted its head. However, in the next moment, it bit onto her sleeve and tried to drag her somewhere. Itami realized that the lovely little creature wanted her to follow it, and she quickly smiled before nodding her head in agreement.

"You want to show me something? Very well, lead the way!"

Once the pale white fox had seen that Itami was being obedient, it let go of her sleeve and pranced off into the distance. Where Itami chased after it. Eventually, the dynamic duo ended up in the foothills below a shrine on the edge of the city. However, to her surprise, the entire area was shrouded in a dense fog. She could not even see a few feet in front of her, causing her to lose track of the little creature.

"Little fox, where have you gone?"

Itami continued to climb the steps, albeit with some difficulty considering she could not see far ahead of her, until finally she reached level ground. In that moment, the mist dispersed to reveal a shrine that was inhabited solely by little white foxes. 

The young Empress gazed around her in shock at what she was seeing. There were no shrine maidens, nor any priests. Only a horde of small critters which gazed upon her with curiosity in their eyes. Perhaps because she was in such an unfamiliar position, Itami felt a sense of dread in her heart, and had taken a step backwards before voicing her intent to flee.

"Okay... I'm sorry to disappoint you, but I think I forgot something back home. I will just be going now!"

However, the moment she turned around, she came face to face with a mature albino beauty. The woman was taller than Itami and sported an even more curvy figure with an outlandish bust. Her white and red kimono could not fully conceal her massive breasts, and because of that, ample cleavage was on full display. 

However, this was not the most noticeable feature of the beautiful albino woman, instead it was the fact that she had long-white fox ears on top of her human head, as well as nine matching tails behind her.  Before Itami could properly freak out over what she was seeing, the nine-tailed fox spoke in a sultry voice while grasping the Empress's dainty chin with her slender fingers.

"I have been waiting for you, Itami Riyo, or should I say Mizuno Ai..."

This sudden revelation that this strange woman knew of Itami's past life, as well as the combination of her fox like features, nearly made Itami pass out. She quivered as she struggled to find the words to express her thoughts.

"Who... Who-"

Before she could finish her question, the Nine-tailed fox smiled seductively before leaning over and whispering in Itami's porcelain ears.

"Who am I? I am Inari Ōkami, and I know all about you... Come inside, we have much to discuss."

Itami was having difficulty believing her ears, and gazed in awe at the woman's ample bottom as her hips swayed with every movement she made towards the shrine. Though the empress wanted nothing more than to flee at that moment, something compelled her to follow after the woman claiming to be a goddess.

Upon entering the shrine, Inari sat down at the table, while her foxes scurried about and prepared some tea for her and her guest. Itami merely gazed in awe at the nine-tailed-fox as she sat down across from her. The two remained silent until the tea was served by a particularly energetic young fox.  While Inari took a sip from her teacup, Itami still gazed in astonishment before asking the immediate question on her mind.

"How-"

However, yet again, Inari beat her to the punch, and voiced the same question Itami had within her own thoughts aloud, followed by her answer.

"You are wondering how this is all possible? There are things you don't know about this world, things lurking in the shadows. This is my divine domain, and it is separate from the mortal plane. What, you did not think you reincarnated into this world, because that's just what happens when you die, did you?

The goddess Amaterasu gave you a second life and brought into this world for a single purpose: to become shogun. And yet you have repaid her kindness by slaughtering her descendents, the imperial family. The rest of the Kami have forsaken you because of this, but we dwell in the same city, and I have watched your actions very carefully through the eyes of my many little pets. 

First you butchered the Imperial Family, claiming the title of Empress for yourself. Then you armed a madman and his army with your greatest weapons, allowing them to cause untold suffering across the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia.

In doing so, you have provoked the wrath of Odin's champion, a man far more capable than yourself. A man you were brought into this world to negotiate with, and ensure the survival of our religion. 

After provoking the might of the German Empire, you invaded Korea, and somehow botched that as well. Just how the hell did you manage to screw up so badly that you now only have half of the peninsula under your control? And for what, so you can build your navies to challenge the Reich on the seas?

You should really stop calling yourself the war goddess. It is insulting to Hachiman, for you are nowhere near his equal. To put it simply, you have fucked up so badly that now I am forced to intervene on your behalf."

Before Itami could even defend herself or her actions, Inari reached over and grabbed her chin with her delicate hands, before planting a kiss on the young empress's forehead. The moment she did so, Itami felt as if the shadows of her memories were cast away, revealing every memory she had ever had from her past life, and her current one. 

As if overwhelmed by what she was seeing, Itami broke out into tears, while Inari removed her lips from the girl's forehead before sitting back down and finishing her tea. With a confident expression on her cheery red lips, the Nine-tailed fox explained what she had done to the young empress. 

"I have given you my boon, and in doing so, cleared up your memories. Now you can rival Odin's chosen and hopefully lead your people to a fate that is not one of destruction and servitude. This will be the first and last time we meet until you fix the mess that you have caused!

One last thing, before I send you away, you should really look into those ancient relics that you have inherited from the previous dynasty. They might be of some use to you. Goodbye Itami Riyo, and may we meet again under better circumstances."

After hearing this, Itami woke up on her futon, gazing around her room in shock, wondering if what she had seen was truly reality. Though in the next moment she searched her memories, which were far more clear, as if she were simply pulling up the information stored within her mind like it was from a website. With this, she knew that everything she had seen and heard was in fact real. 

Itami sighed heavily before climbing out of bed and heading over to her desk. She uttered a single phrase before opening her notebook, where she proceeded to write down the blueprints for the technology that effortlessly came to her mind.

"It's time to get to work!"