The Reluntant Kitsune

[American Otter]

Matthew Cole looked his pocket watch, denoting the time of the day. He smiled; he had more than enough time to take a walk before having to go to his grandparents' home for dinner. Thus the reason he was dressed up in his Sunday best, he was going to enjoy a before Christmas dinner with his family; a tradition that he greatly enjoyed. He put on a blue winter coat, zipped it up, and then put on a warm winter hat, with his winter coat's hood covering the winter hat, and tied the cloth strings around his neck to keep the hat snug on his head before placing on his hands black furry gloves with small threads of grey threads to made them a little more colorful. He opened his front door and stepped out into the cold of December. He turned around and closed the door, having twisted the doorknob to lock it; he turned around and placed his key into the dead bolt and locked that as well. His parents were Christmas shopping so they had agreed that they would meet up at the grandparents' home, he smiled. He walked from his house onto the bare pavement of his street, taking a short cut through his old Elementary School playground. He looked at the sky and the low grey clouds. He had grown accustom to seeing the clouds and he knew that more snow was on the way, his snow boots making a soft crunching sound as he began his trek to his destination.

Soon however he was pulling the blue hood down further down his head, the temperature had dropped quickly and faster than he had thought possible. He was regretting not going with his folks to shop for his cousins; but this way, his folks could at least maybe shop for him at the same time. He was now regretting that train of thought but now, he needed to push forward; he was already halfway there and he just needed to get through the schoolyard. However as he entered the schoolyard, a strange sight befell his eyes. In the chilling air, sitting on one of the large red swings was what looked to be a young lady, blondish gold hair and what looked to be the top of a winter coat. He couldn’t see well because the chair’s back blocked most of his view. But something threw up warning flags as he realized standing over the lady, whose head way bowed down, was a man, who looked like he had come from the pages of a war movie. He had two belts of bullets strapped around his chest, with a small dagger in his hand, the hard face of a buzz cut marine want to be was looking solely at the girl. The clothing the man wore was what looked to be military surplus winter gear, but he couldn’t tell the expression on his face at the moment.

Matthew picked up his steps and began to run only to hit a patch of ice on the road and began to slide. In doing so, Matthew let out a startled yelp and began to wave his arms widely before falling on the ground hard, just as he heard a soft noise that he recognized from the Bond games he played with his brother that it was a silencer gun. Standing up, he looked around and realized that he was in danger, without thinking he ran while crouched and hit another patch of ice on the snow. Losing control, he hit the back of the swing, pushing it forward. The girl moved her legs which were tied together to slam them into the chest of the military man, who went stumbling backwards into the snow.

She began to mumble something and Matthew not knowing what he was getting himself into, or why someone was using the school as an execution place, he yanked the gag from the girl’s face.

“Thank you,” she said before trying to get up, but she winced at the pain of the ropes that tied her down to the chair. “Can you get me undone?” She asked, staring at the unconscious man, worried about him waking up.

Matthew, still running on adrenaline and not knowing what was going on, only nodded dumbly and did as he was asked. He picked up the fallen knife and noticed that there were strange carving on it, and the hilt was rather strange, however before he could look too closely he was kicked in the leg by the two feet of the girl.

“Stop standing like a deer in the headlights, and cut the ropes," the woman shouted. He only nodded his head and began to saw through the rope with the knife, noticing that for some reason there were pieces of paper with weird writing, like Chinese characters that were attached to the rope, his mind was snapped back from his musing as he looked at the strange paper by a snap, the ropes right away became lose and the girl without thinking jumped out of the chair, leaving Matthew little time to get out of the way, in the moment that it took for him to look away, the girl was already gone.

Matthew stood in the playground stunned, how could someone move so fast? How could they get away… why… He suddenly grunted as he looked down at a burning pain to see a small switch-blade now sticking out of his clothing. He looked and saw the military dressed man stagger up with anger in his face.

“You lost my quarry, you stupid, dumb boy. You just did things that you will never fully understand. Now… I will want my knife back,” With that he walked forward, grabbing the handle of the knife and yanked it out, staining his coat a blood red, and then he pushed Matthew onto his back. For a moment the man looked saddened but the same coldness and hatred returned. “I will let you see the snow one last time, but be warned, you have paid for interfering with the Hunters.” With those words the man began to walk away.

Matthew no longer felt cold, but warmth running through his body. He was saddened, he knew he was dying and that no help would arrive in time; most people would be inside out of the cold. He already could see the darkness spread from the edges of his eyesight toward the center. He was losing feeling and his hearing seemed to be duller. He saw a blurred figure over him, but he couldn’t seem to focus correctly anymore. He was trying hard to see who was there and even tried to sit up.

“Whoa, easy, don’t you dare sit up, you need to rest, rest, you saved my life from death, and now… I need to do the same, but rest; all will be fine, just try and relax.” The voice was soothing and reminded him of the warm cozy nights staying up late talking with his family and enjoying the warmth of family. He soon drifted off to sleep thinking that he would wake up and face his judgment.

He slowly regained his senses and tried to open his eyes, however he found no bright light, no smell of hospitals or anything else but a wood type smell, along with an interesting musty smell. He looked around and realized he was in a bed, in a small room, the blinds were closed and a fire was in a stone fire place. The entire scene looked like it belonged in an old Western movie. He blinked and then yawned; he raised a hand to his mouth and blinked yet again. Something was wrong, he remembered the cold, the strange encounter and… he sat up fully this time and realized that he had been stabbed, in the heart no less, he looked at his chest and found that it was freshly bandaged and that it covered his entire chest. Whoever did this sure went overboard on the bandages, he thought to himself. He moved his hands and felt the spot where the wound should have been, but he only felt the bandage and no red spots appeared on the linen wrap. He only blinked and decided that he should try and sit up and see what is going on.

He slowly swung one leg and was about to swing the other when he noticed something about his foot. It looked odd and strangely shaped. He blinked again, bending his knee to allow his hand to feel the foot, what met his nerves and what his hand told his brain was an almost impossibility. There was a fine hair-like feel to it, along with what felt like rough pads on the bottom. He blinked and walked over to the fire, and noticed that he was still wearing his suit pants and then he saw in the fire light a sight that made him waver on the spot and to put a hand on his head. He had paws, a red like fur to them, and he was standing on his toes, not his entire foot. He then realized that something felt odd as well about his head, realizing that there was a reflective surface, a rough looking mirror and he walked over to it, only to blink, there staring back were two blood red eyes, however his eyes grew adjusted and the red turned to gold and the shadows of two large triangle like ears on his head also became clearer and he saw that they were black in color, also covered in fur. He then noticed something twitching and moving back and forth at about waist level, he moved a hand to feel it, and he stumbled back; a tail, he had a tail, he had received two signals at once, one from his hand and the other from the new appendage. He was wavering on his feet and felt sick, that is until he heard the soft sound of something moving a lock like item on the door. This was too much and next thing he knew he was on all fours and standing on all his limps; his mind made a finally connection before an overwhelming instinct took over. He was most likely a fox and a rather scared one, because his tail went between his legs, and he pulled his ears back; his eyes showed fear and he crawled away from the door and ended up under the bed where he shook and quivered in fear of what would happen next. Where was I? What happened to me? Why did that man attack me when I was running on nothing but fear? Why, why, why? He asked as the door swung open, allowing what looked to be sunlight into the room, then he heard footsteps, which stopped and the continued on, suddenly the door shut, the room was plunged into darkness, before he heard the sound of metal scraping upon metal and the room let in more lights, he then heard and recognized the same voice he had heard before.

“Little boy? Are you in here? Please don’t hide, I apologies for what I am putting you through, but I need to explain some things, please do not be afraid.” Matthew only shook still when suddenly the two feet he saw, a light blond colored fur, almost suddenly became four legs on the ground. Suddenly the fox head poked its head underneath the bed and smiled. “I found you, I see you wanted to play hide and go seek, but there is no time to play. I need to explain my actions to my clan, and you have to come with me.”

With those words the larger fox grabbed in her jaw his scruff. He thought she would kill him, but instead he was dragged on the ground before being lifted up off the ground. He realized something right then; he was not just a fox, but a baby one at that. He looked around and blinked, for there were two blond tails he could count, and his mind finally locked up and he passed out once more, as he was carried from the small cottage and into a world he was not at all prepared for.

[American Otter]

Chapter Two

Matthew Cole sighed as he looked up at the strange blue sky, it looked like Earth somewhat, with trees growing all around, grass and moss, with dead leaves on the ground just like any forest on Earth, only… It was summer, there was no snow anywhere. The sun warming the air around him like it was really summer-time. There were what looked to be butterflies fluttering around as well, it was downright confusing him, last he remembered was it was the middle of winter, a cold spell had descended upon his hometown, and it wouldn’t lift for another couple of months. He was at the moment being carried by the scruff of the neck in the jaws of the female Kitsune.
Suddenly he felt his body swing around and next thing he knew he was put down on the ground, they had stopped it seemed to him. He looked around, not knowing that if there were any little five year old girls his actions would have gotten screams and exclamations of Cute and ‘Oh, so adorable.’
The Female Kitsune only smirked and smiled at the actions of the small kit in front of her, his wide eyes and almost oversized head on a small body made her smile a little, well, as much as a Kitsune could without it turning into a look that most people would right away think about plans and schemes. “Okay kid, I need to tell you a few things before we go to the council, and you need to pay attention.” She almost stopped when the small kit in front of him turned and looked right at her, right in the eye, she would have to teach him not to do that, it could be taken as a challenge.

“First off, look at my muzzle or my ears, never into the eyes of a Kitsune…” She stopped as she could tell she would be interrupted.

“Why do you keep saying Kitsune? Is that some kind of sub species of fox?” He asked, and without thinking he had tilted his head to the left, a way of body language saying it was a question he wanted answered.

The Kitsune only smiled and laughed. “Oh silly boy, no, we are not a sub species of your Fox, we are our own species, well, more like a spirit, ever heard of Japanese Mythology?” The black look was all she needed to know. “Well, you should look it up, but suffice to say and you to know at the moment, we are magic foxes, able to use it to trick each other, humans, for good and the little mischief, or to punish those that are bad to us. Oh we can take on human shape.” Here she bowed her own head. “And I must thank you for saving my life, though our debts to one another is paid, I will still stay by your side and guide you, this time through how to be a Kitsune.”

The boy… well young man was hearing it, but like a human mind can, and was at the moment, he was latched onto one word. ‘boy’ “Okay, but first, can we get something straight, I am not a boy, I am twenty years old and almost legally an adult.”

The Kitsune only laughed at this, a sound that was to the ears of Matthew Cole, both very beautiful and pleasing, but at the same time, a shiver went down his spine, because he could almost feel the weight of her knowing something he didn’t. “That was a good one.” She finally said when she regained her breath, “But you just told me you were a kid, you see, we age differently, and you, in our time frame is two years old, a rather smart and dim at the same time two year old.”

“Dim? I am not Dim, I was one of the best in my class in High School.” The small kit shot back, making this scene a comical one.

“Oh, I meant it in a good way, rest assuredly, you are really smart about human customs and ideas, but in our ways, you need to have some catching up, but no worry, it will come to you, it comes to all of use sooner or later.” She smiled as she tried to move but them stopped again. “Ah yes, as to why we stopped, I give you a warning, you must not give your real name, and don’t even tell me it, you see.” Here she sat down, signaling that they were going to stay for a while so Matt only stretched out on his belly to listen. He face asking the question of why.

“You see, our names hold a certain power, and now that you are a Kitsune, you name, the name your parents give you, well, that has become your real Kitsune name, and as such, you must never, never give it out, so, since you are not wise in our ways, I will give you your Kitsune name that you give to others.” Here she stopped and stared at Matt until he became uncomfortable and began to shift a little, finally she stopped and looked right at him. “You shall be called Seito from now on.”

Here the small Kitsune stopped, for one brief moment he thought he understood what she meant by that word. “Did you just call me Student? That is a strange name.”

The Kitsune only smiled, she was not surprised but rather pleased that now that he had a proper Kitsune name, he would begin to fit in… or as much as he could at the moment. “Yes, that is correct, you are learning already, and please call me Akarui, it means light.”

“Okay, Miss Akarui.” Seito said with a small bow of the head. He didn’t know why he did it, but he just did. “Anything else that  I need to know?”

“Yes,” She said as she got up, “Two things, number one, call me Sensei, since I will be your teacher, and never use Miss again, okay?” She waited till she got a nod of his head. “Okay, second, you need to be prepared to be ignored and not listened to until they ask you direct questions, at which time, you shouldn’t stumble and trip over your words, and… they will see you as a baby, and maybe with contentment because of who you once were.” She then moved forward and began to transport him the same way as before, by the scruff of his neck in her jaws.

Seito was rather disconcerted at how a creature that could most likely kill him in his weak state would be so gentle, almost treating him like a son, and that was what got him worried, he already had a family and he didn’t want to lose them as well as his human life.
He watched as the sun began to set in the western sky and then… he began to notice other things, smell was a big thing, he realized that he had a certain smell, and so did Akarui. He was wondering what was all the noise as well, it sounded like dull thunder in the distant, but then as they got closer and it seemed to also become night as well, it was voices and that what he was smelling was most likely more of this… ‘Kitsune’ that Akarui mentioned, he was a little worried and at the same time afraid when he heard muttering from Akarui, he could pick it up rather well, mainly since his ears were very close to her mouth.

“Do not fear, and do not get too fearful, we can smell it, and it might make you the victim of some of the council’s tricks and illusions. But do not worry you will have one friend there.” She stopped talking and he could feel her become what he figured was a Fox or Kitsune equilivent of straightening one’s back and squaring one’s shoulders. Next moment he was in a meadow, in the middle was a strange fire, for it gave off light and shadows, but there was no heat, or sound coming from it, and it looked to be burning nothing, not even the logs in the middle, suddenly the flames changed colors and what was once a red color became a rainbow of colors, and he realized that each color represented a Kitsune surrounding the fire, a red one with nine tails sat on a log by itself, and the others were two a log.

“What is the meaning of this Akarui? Bring a mere Kit here, I don’t recall even seeing or scenting him at any of your training lessons.” One Kitsune asked, having four tails, Cole noted, as well as being an icy blue color mainly with small splashes of pink in her fur, for the voice sounded female to him.

“I don’t think the Kit is even Kitsune, but a human, he reeks of the mortal realm.” The red Kitsune said with a sneer, this caused the rest of the council to begin to talk and chatter all at once, and so much that Cole found it hard to hear anything but barking and yipping, sounds he would associate with foxes and canines in general.

Suddenly a voice silenced all of them; it was the same one that caused the uproar in the first place. “That is enough, I vote that we have him removed from this meeting, since it deals with information that he should not even know about.”

“I say otherwise.” Akarui said as she moved her paws to withstand anything else. “He saw the hunter, and his face. He also saved my life, and on top of that, I think he needs to be protected, the hunters know about him and if they see him alive…” She left it hanging in the air.

The others only sniffed the air in disgust. “Please, I am the leader at this meeting and I…”

“Will do nothing at all,” a silky female voice said as a pure white Kitsune walked out of the woods, the fire in the middle erupted to a bigger fire and all white.

Everyone fell silent as they watched the new Kitsune walked to the middle of the group. She looked at Akarui and smiled at her with a nod of her head, “I take it you have a reason why you have brought this Kitsune in Training to this meeting?” Seito stared, he was wondering how many tails this creatures could have, for this one had ten tails all together and he was unsure if there were more or less, because they all moved around, all as if they had somewhat of their own mind.

Akarui only smiled. “I will allow the Kit to speak, since he can describe the Hunter, ever since they were able to mask their faces and scents from us, we cannot really go too far.”

Seito only blinked, everyone had their eyes on him, and he was suppose to talk to everyone… he took a deep breath and look at this new Kitsune, he almost looked into her eyes but at the last moment remember the advice and focused on her ears. “Well… I was walking to my Grandparents home for a Holiday dinner, and I was making my way through my old Elementary School’s playground when I say this man, about… six foot, with military winter gear, two belts of ammo, making a cross over his chest, was standing in front of one of the red seat swings, he was hold a knife and seemed ready to strike whoever was in the seat… by this time I was close enough to see blond hair and the top of a green winter jacket, well the hood of the jacket at least. He had brown hair, buzz cut like a marine, and had a square jaw.” He was realizing that he was putting things together and half of them he was unsure how he was doing it. However as he looked around, he saw the face and body of the man in the fire and Let out a growl, for the man was holding the knife and he felt that he was about to attack him all over again. He shut his eyes as he could feel the pain in his chest, he could feel the blade and from the pain and fear he started to whimper and cry a little… Not realizing that his thoughts and final actions were being played out in the flames, from his stumbling into the chair causing him to get the knife, to the point where he was on the ground almost dead.

He opened his eyes as he felt something wet move over his head. “Easy, Easy, do not fear, it was just my powers making your story visible for others to see, I am sorry I scared you.” He didn’t know why, but he felt calmer, more at peace and he looked up, and by mistake into the eyes of the Kitsune, and indeed for a moment he felt as if something was about to enter his mind but instead he got a name.

“Thank you, Inari.” He said quickly and with a small bow of the head. The others gasped and looked right at the Kitsune. Some of their faces showed concern, other wonderment, and one, the red nine tailed Kitsune seemed to be angry at this. But he said nothing. “May I ask a Question?”

Inari only laughed. “Oh, I think I can answer, only I have ten tails, and the others, they have from one to nine.” She then turned her attention to Akarui. “So, did you find it?”

“Yes, but, the man took it, the Hunter took it from me, saying that anything a Kitsune wants, they will take to keep us from our plans from succeeding, but Do not worry I have a plan on retrieving it.”

Inari only smiled and shook her head. “That you may, but you have something more important, the Hunters can wait, and for now, I will call back my scouts from your area, but you must train this Kit, I am going to have your other pupils moved to other Sensei’s, so you can focus on catching our newest member to the correct speed.” She smiled and looked at the small red Kit.

“Usually, I ask for a vow of allegiance from any Kit’s that I meet, but for now, I think it best if you just learn first, you have twenty years of catch up to do, and not much time.” She smiled and left the place where the flame turned to a blond color.

The Nine tailed Kitsune only growled in annoyance. “Very well, Inari,” He then turned around, “Since we have catching up to do, I call the meeting to adjure for now, and… as the Master Sensei I think I will oversee this Kit’s training.”

The way he looked at Seito was unnerving and he felt that he would have a rough time, how long he was not sure, but he hoped that he was just wrong and the butterflies were just from having to cope and most likely relearn many things… he just hoped he doesn’t become a burden for all of the Sensei that he most likely will encounter…

As he was picked up and carried away from the meadow and watching the sky lighten as dawn approached. He yawned and wondered as his eyes blurred and his eye lids closed. How do they teach a Kitsune? With one or many Sensei, was it like Elementary School, or High School? He however didn’t get far in that train of thought before his thoughts became dreams, of home, of the first day with four paws, and a part where he was eating at a table where one half were like what he saw in the mirror this morning and the rest human, and there seemed to be an argument going on, but he couldn’t understand a word either side was saying.

[American Otter]

Chapter Three

Seito slowly awoke to noises around him, he soon realized that he was in the same cabin that he first awoke in, he stretched and realized that he was doing what felt like some yoga moves when his mind snapped awake, he looked around and realized that everything was taller than him. That he was on all fours and he was still this ‘Kitsune.’ He shook his head in sadness, for he thought that all of this insanity was just some bad dream brought on by the terror of the attack.

He sighed and closed his mind, he wanted to be human again, just to stand on two legs and just be normal… He felt light headed for a second and he wavered a little on his feet, but he realized that the weight distribution was off, he was taller. He opened his eyes and stared back at himself in the mirror. He still had the fox ears and eyes, and the tail, but at least he was standing. He started to move when he realized something else. He was wearing the cloths that he had been killed in; only, there were no holes or rips to denote that the clothing had ever had a knife cut into them.

“What is going on?” he asked himself, he was sure that the other Kitsune would have not taken so good care of the clothing and for that matter, how could they stay like this? He was rather baffled but then, he heard something akin to a foreign shout of anger or rage. He turned his head to the door and became a little apprehensive, because of what shouting could mean, it could mean a fight, and a fight could mean people getting hurt, and people getting hurt was not good… and if he did walk outside, he could be the one to set things off.

He slowly crept to the door and peered through the window on the left side of the door and saw the red nine tailed kitsune arguing with his Sensei, a two tailed Kitsune. They were twitching their tails and throwing their arms around as if making a point, what struck Seito as odd was that the ground was different, instead of a forest, there was a meadow, and in the meadow looked to be a model of a maze of some kind. He wondered what was going to be done, was he going to lead something through the maze? Or what was it? He didn’t know, but he decided to slowly slip outside.

Outside he covered his ears due to the shouting but strangely he couldn’t understand what was being said, it was all being spoken in a language that didn’t make sense to him, and frankly it was not doing too well. He just decided then to wait and see what was happening. He watched as the Kitsune that called himself Master Sensei at the meeting last night make some kind of motion, like making a point with one of his tails, while Akarui seemed to get a little redder in the fur at the comment when suddenly they both stopped, turned their heads as one and stared at Seito with mixed stares, Master Sensei looked at him with anger and a rage. Akarui looked on with a look that was the closest to fright that he had ever seen on a face other than his own in the mirror a few minutes ago.
A second of time seemed to freeze in the air and then, Master Sensei made a move and if Seito had not jumped and moved his head to the side with surprise of the jerk, a ninja star would not be stuck and buried into the wooden door of the house he had just exited.

Seito’s eyes went wide as he turned back to face Master Sensei, confusion and fear in his eyes, he was not understanding what was going on, but he realized that his feelings of mistrust were most likely founded and he should have said them aloud to Akarui… but his inner monolog was interrupted by the sound of clashing steel. Master Sensei was locked in combat with Akarui, two thin and strange looking swords in their hands.

“Run,” Akarui cried out. “Run, Master Sensei has snapped, I will hold him off, run to Inari, quickly.” She was panting now from the strain of keeping the blade in check.

Seito was not one to be told twice what to do, especially when his life was in danger here. He took off past the two and suddenly he found himself, “IN” the maze that he thought he saw… “Okay…” he said to himself as he started to walk forward. “This must be some kind of illusion,” He tried to pass through a wall but all he did was to walk into it. “Okay, this is real… I sure hope I find a ball of string or something.” He looked down and blinked. “That was weird.” He however picked it up and began to use it to help him through the maze.

He came to a T, and decided to take a left, but suddenly he heard a noise behind him, and turning around slowly, he saw a shadow, but it was the shape the shadow was in that caused him to scream and run down the hallways without paying attention, it was the Hunter… and he was chasing him. He suddenly stopped when he found himself in a corner, a dead end, with the skeleton of a most likely ill fortunate Kitsune, another strange thin blade was at the side of the skeleton, he could hear the sounds of heavy footsteps approaching and he right away picked up the sword. “I am sorry on using your sword, but I need to borrow it for now.” He turned around and saw the man turn the corner, he didn’t know why, and in a way it felt like he lost control over part of himself, but he felt a sly smile cross his lips and he took a step forward.

“You are a fool to face one of the Hunter’s we are trained to kill Kitsune like you.” The shadow of the man said, Seito could only see some detail, as if the man himself was a living shadow, but he didn’t care, he wanted to pay him back for the hurt, that pain, and the tearing away of his life that he knew, he didn’t know where it came from, and his mind was scared as a feral growl left his throat as he brought the sword down, glowing red with some strange energy, however when the sword hit the Hunter, he vanish in a puff of black smoke. He was breathing hard now and he was downright scared, shaking as he stood there, what did he do? What was that all about?

However his fox ears heard a new sound, behind him, from the wall, he spun around and made a clumsy leap backwards, avoiding another star. He looked up and saw Master Sensei, a look of hatred and fury in his eyes. “So, the Kitsune want-a-be just used some magic, how touching, but you are no real Kitsune, you are just a human in the body of a Kitsune kit, you deserve no training from anyone.”

This struck a nerve in Seito, but he tried his hardest to suppress it, and not let on that it did anything, but he realized in the next words that he failed.

“Feeble, pathetic really, you couldn’t even hide your emotions from your enemy. This will be your downfall, but before I finish you off, tell me one good reason why I should let you in as my student.”

Seito only looked at the man’s noise. This time remembering the staring in the eyes as a big no in this culture, without making the mistake of making eye contact, he felt that unlike Inari, he would exploit it to his advantage and his disadvantage. “Because, without this training, I will be a loose cannon, a person that could harm not only himself, but those around him… Besides, I want to get back at the man that caused me this curse in the first place…” He would have gone on but there was a roar.

“How dare you call this power a curse, this is what I am and you have insulted me, prepare to fight.” He took a stance and Seito, nervously took the stance as well, he knew that there was no more talking for he found his jaw shut, he wanted to talk but found that a part of him was not allowing him to speak.

He came at him like a bolt of lightning, but this time he was somewhat able to follow, it seemed to him to be watching a bunch of after images, but he watched the sword and he raised his sword to meet the opposing sword, the jolt and pain in his arm that came from stopping the blade was almost enough to drop the sword but by then, Master Sensei was coming in with another attack, he moved to blocked this one, when he was kicked in the chest and into the side of the maze wall, he tried to move but next thing he knew, a sword was at his throat. He looked right at the Master Sensei, right in the eyes this time and stared him down; he was not going to fear his death any longer.

His eyes must have said something for Master Sensei only began to laugh and then he lowered his sword before moving it fast and nicking his arm. “That is for insulting me Kit.” He said with a growl. “But you have shown courage that some at your age do not show, they cower and plead from me mercy, and all I do is kick them out of my schooling.” He then turned and began to walk away, but turned again. “Tomorrow, we begin real training with the weapons I used… and  a more creative way of revenge for the person… he does not know that he has sealed his own fate… and maybe…” He stopped before smiling. “Your Sensei is waiting for you, you have one more lesson to attend to before the sun sets, she is hiding in the woods and she will explain about what has transpired today, Remember this… any questions you have, ask her, I am the sword and your fighting Sensei, she is your mind and knowledge Sensei. Go now.”

Seito only nodded and was about to dart off into the woods. But he stopped at hearing a low growl and he spun to the side as Master Sensei leapt upon the ground in his fox form. He then darted off in the forest, Seito looked back to the ground and noticed a scarf of a fine silk on the ground. He picked it up and he noticed that the scarf smelled funny.

He realized something, Canine had good sense of smell, and… He smiled and wondered if this was almost second Nature, that in this world they stayed foxes, but they travel to his land. They train to be humans? He would have to ask Akarui about that. He then deciding his train of thought was correct in some manner shifted to his full fox form.

He began to sniff the scarf before picking it up gently with his teeth and took off into the underbrush, he soon stopped and began to smell again, he found that some parts of the scent had been faded, he wondered how that was, but he continued to follow the scent, sometimes he got lost and had to back track to where he started to lose the scent, but finally as the sun began to set and dusk approached, he found his Sensei, sitting on a flat rock that looked over more of the land, they were on the crest of a hill, with a perfect view of the land below and the stars above.

Akarui only smiled before taking the silk scarf and to Seito’s eyes, it appeared to just vanish. The look he gave must have been as clear as day to Akarui who only smiled and laughed. “Come, there is much you need to know tonight, first things are how to create you fox fire, and second, illusions, now mind you, you did  a little poorer then I thought you would on finding me.” She stopped and looked at Seito who had bowed his head in shame. “But do not worry, you will learn, I see in your eyes the inquisitive mind of something wanting to learn, and learn you shall… now… shall we start with illusions?”

Seito only nodded before asking the most obvious question about it. “What is it?”

Akarui only laughed. “Why it was the maze you were in today, it was the sword you used, it was myself arguing with Master Sensei,” She laughed again at the confused look, it was however a laugh of merriment and joy. “Oh how I have longed for a pupil to ask the questions that sometimes need asking before the real teaching begins. You see… we as a Kitsune, as we get older, can create larger, more detail, and stronger illusions, you see, since Master Sensei is a Nine Tail master, he can create very real illusions that neither you or I can break, including… making copies of people. Now… you know the human form you had this morning?”

“Yes Sensei.” Seito said, he felt just saying yes would not be enough at the moment, “Was that an illusion as well? It was real to me, but still, nothing real?” He sounded disappointed and dismayed at it.

“Oh, but it is real, to a Kitsune, an Illusion becomes reality, and for you, that human form was reality, and before you ask, the reason why your clothing is at default like it is, is because you have strong memories about the clothing, mainly good memories, it is not because you died in them, but because of the memories connected to them.” She smiled at this. “I assure you, you will soon create a wardrobe of clothing as you become better at it.”

Seito only nodded his head but as about to ask another question. But he was stopped before asking it. “Now, now, the best way to learn about something is to practice it. But first I need to tell you about Kitsune Fire.” Here she smiled and held up a tail and suddenly a pale blue ball of fire was hovering over the tail. “This is used for many things, from scaring humans to…” Here she flicked her tail and the ball of fire jumped in the air before landing on the ground and she batted the ball to Seito who batted it back, only it vanished as it touched the paw of Akarui. “A play thing… now… tonight I will teach you something else, your ball… it holds a bit of your power, and allows you to keep it when you are human, you see, as a human, without any of the fox features, you are severally limited on the things you can use, but if you have a ball, you can use your powers.” She smiled and then pulled the scarf out of where ever she had hid it, and inside it was a large pearl like ball. “This is as it looks like, a ball, and I assure you, like the ball of fire, this too is a plaything, and do not worry, no Kitsune has stolen another Kitsune ball.” Here she grew grim. “But humans, be careful, if a human holds your ball, they can control you.”

Seito only nodded his head. “Humans are not good for us on playing or showing the ball to. I got it Sensei.” He smiled at her and then asked a question. “How do you make a Kitsune flame?” He was curious on that part now.

“You just think of a flame, your will be red but as you get older, you can create any flame color but white, that is Inari’s color, and no one else has ever been able to produce it. Well, and stay in good standings with Inari that is.” She smiled and watched as Seito concentrated and over one ear, a small ember of red appeared, and then it feel onto his ear and he flicked his ear dispelling the flame.

“Good, you got an ember,” She stopped as she saw that Seito had fallen asleep now. “Rest, tomorrow will be a big day, you start your sword and trickery. And you will learn more of illusions and Fox Fire Attacks as well.” She then picked him up with her jaw and carried him back to the cabin, she didn’t know why, but she was feeling rather pleased at the turn of events, it felt good to her. Maybe in another couple of days, once he creates his Kitsune ball, she would take him to meet other two year olds.

[PrincessHotcakes]

Nice story you've got going; I'm impressed so far.   Definitely looking forward to see where this goes.

Also, random, pointless pet peeve note; silenced guns don't actually sound anything like they do in Bond http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qZU5TGljAmw

[American Otter]

Nice story you've got going; I'm impressed so far.   Definitely looking forward to see where this goes.

Also, random, pointless pet peeve note; silenced guns don't actually sound anything like they do in Bond http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qZU5TGljAmw

((Yes I know, I wrote that before I found out. So yes, if I was in a rewriting mood, I would change it, but I am not, this is ... oh a story written in 08, so an old story I have not touched in a long time, but thank you for the input.))

I actually realized it when I was rereading it, but I just didn't know what to do at the moment so I was just going to leave it at the moment.

[American Otter]

Chapter Four

[/b]

Akarui smiled as a befuddled Kitsune kit exited the small cottage, having found the way of coming and going in fox form he looked rather non-pleased. She had a feeling she knew what it was, and as such, she looked at him. “What seems to be the trouble Seito?”

“Sensei Akarui… I… I cannot seem to turn back into my old self. I did so yesterday, but not today, why is that?” He looked really down cast and not too pleased with himself. He looked at her nose again and was trying to not look in her eyes to plead for help; since he had a feeling pleading was not a good thing in this… where ever he was.

Akarui only smiled and looked to the sky, “I was wondering when you were going to discover that little problem, I was going to tell you last night, but you fell asleep, besides, I think leaving leafs on the ground of the cottage is.. Well, rather tacky for me to do, so what do you say on having a quick fun lesson before you go meet your doom?” She gave him a wink and waited till Seito gave one back, having caught on that she was joking with him, or at least he hoped she was. She smiled then and continued. “You need a leaf, oh any leaf in the forest will do well, just be careful, you get one use out of a leaf at a time, so you might want to start storing leafs for you to use later on.” Here she smiled and darted away into the woods, a short time later, she came back carrying a small pouch in her teeth. “I should have given you this last night, but you fell asleep before I could give it to you, anyway, congrats you are on your way to becoming a good Kitsune.” She then smiled and then looked serious, “Before you go, I need to tell you something important. You will always be in debt to us for teaching you, and as such…”

“You expect something in return, I think I understand, there is not charity here, it is basically, you scratch my back, and I will scratch your back? Or something similar, only it is expected for you to follow through.” He smiled at the small flicker of light in the eyes of his Sensei, he was going to take it as a show of surprise, he liked the feeling he got right then, that he might be able to surprise some of those around him. He took the small pouch and nosed it open before pulling out a leaf. He looked at Akarui and she patted the top of her head. Seito copied her, only he put a leaf upon his head and focused upon his old human form and soon he was dressed once again like he remembered.

He smiled and opened his pocket watch to make sure it was still working, he denoted the time said a half past six in the morning, and the dawn was slowing turning into a full blown day, it was however the inside of his watch cover that caught his eye, it was a black stone, almost like a volcanic shine to it. “What is this?” He muttered to himself.

Akarui smiled and laughed a little. “Do not worry, all Kitsune in Training get something like that, yours fits in your pocket watch cover, it allows you to see who wants to see you, and in the general directions, oh soon, you will be able to use it to track people, but that is as you grow use to it, Now…” She stopped and looked at the watch, having used a leaf herself to transform. “It appears that Master Sensei wants to see you.” She pointed to a flashing red dot with an unusual symbol below the dot.

“What does this strange symbol mean?” Seito asked in confusion as he looked at it, trying to understand its meaning.

“That is our symbol for nine; if you look closely you can see what looks to be a stick fox body with nine tails curving away from it… the curve on the top of the straight line counts as a tail. It is what you will see, and if you see a tail symbol it means that you have to go to, them, now if a two tail, like myself wants to talk to you, and so does a nine tail like Master Sensei, you go to the nine tail Kitsune first, the higher the tail, the more seniority they have over us, and we must listen to them.”

“Like the Alpha’s in a wolf pack? They are the leaders?” Seito asked, making a logical step for him.

Akarui only laughed. “Close but not quiet, right, you see, as you grow, you gain more tails, and gain seniority, but we all must answer if Inari calls upon us. We serve Inari.” She smiled and looked around before looking at Seito, “Go now, I cannot keep you waiting any longer, if he asks if you are late, tell him, I was teaching you on using the Kitsune Compass.”

She then turned and left Seito alone, but upon realizing that it was a compass, he began to use it like one, using the watch and how to read the time right side up as his North, he began to make sure then that the flashing red dot was flashing at the top and away from him. He soon found himself in what looked to be a strange level dirt meadow in the forest area that he had been spending most of his time in, he wondered if the scenery was different in other areas of this land. But he didn’t mind it, he liked the forest at the moment and it seemed rather pleasant at the moment to him. He just hoped that he could see home, he was growing a little homesick, but he also, well, he felt like this was home as well, it was rather strange for him to think like this, but he was just hoping to try and get home before New Year’s day, which he knew by his own time keeping was only five days away.
He walked to the middle of the flattened meadow, and looked around, he couldn’t see anything of notice that could be denoting what was going on, but he looked once again at the strange compass and noticed that the symbol for Master Sensei was right in the middle of the compass, he figured that it meant that he was right where he was needed. He whirled around as he heard the sliding of metal against metal, and saw that behind him, somehow, he was not sure how, a shack with a fence next to it was now behind him. He realized that leaning against the fence were different swords and there sharpening one of them was Master Sensei.

“Welcome to my training ground Seito, it will be here that you shall use and hone your skills  for the Katana, the blade that we Kitsune prefer, of course I shall show you other swords that we have come across, from those in China to the ones from what you call Europe. But you shall become proficient in the Katana, now… come over here and I shall par you up with the blade that you will carry with you,” He continued talking while Seito walked forward towards Master Sensei. “You will once you have your blade, it will hang at your side unless you wish to conceal it, and it will be with you, even in your fox form. You shall also learn to use it, and I want you to spend an time of your choosing each day outside of this meadow to use this sword, you will grow tired of my face, you will dislike my blade, but I hope that you learn what you need to know from me in the end, no matter the feelings between the two of us.”

He then smiled as he waved to the swords leaning against the fence, the all were a type of a Katana. He only began to browse, some swords he would look at briefly, others, he felt needed more study, but finally, he found one. The hilt was wrapped in a fine black leather like substance, with a hand guard made of the same metal, it was not as ornamented as the others, but it was not the plainest of swords, for carved into the side of the blade, right at the base of the hand guard, had the picture of a nine tailed kitsune sitting, and to Seito, looked to be contemplating many secrets and ideas in his mind. He reached for it, and where others swords remained still when he did this, this one seemed to leap into his hand. He was shocked but didn’t seem to care, the other swords vanished, and so did the fence, in its place were three wooden padded sticks, looking a little like a human, he looked at them and then at Master Sensei.

“I want you to swing the sword a few times, get the feel of the sword’s weight in your hands and then… attack those figures and see what you can do.” Master Sensei turned his body, not once getting up from the stump that he was sitting on, he was now watching Seito.

Seito only nodded, and closed his eyes, he began to swing the sword a few times, and he was getting the feel of the blade in his hand. He soon was making practice swings and then he moved to step forward but Master Sensei made a noise.

“NO, do not attack, we shall learn attacking with the wooden Katana, you just needed this so we can get it out of the way, now… put it into your scabbard.” He pointed to a plain black one that was now hanging from his belt.

Seito was curious on how it got there, but he complied, and then, thinking ahead he looked at Master Sensei and motion to the scabbard, he was surprised to receive a nod of the head, and with his mind again, he tried and succeed in hiding the Katana from view, he was surprised that he was getting the hang of this really quickly, and he was rather shocked and not too ill at ease.

But he was taken from his thoughts as he was handed a Wooden Katana. “Now… attack slow and with smooth movements, and then speed up, your target is the left most dummy.” Seito only nodded his head and walked over to the dummy, before taping it lightly, he was surprised at the next action; the dummy began to hope around, while the other two vanished into the ground. Seito only shook his head and began his training, by the time the sun was in the middle of the sky, he had become quicker at the attack, and he was chasing the now fast moving dummy around the field, but then, Master Sensei called a stop to the practice.

“We now have a small meal, come and join me, and I shall teach you some more, this time serving your elders, as a protector, you must be ready to also serve others in other fields.” He then lead him into the shack where he was taught on how to respect a Kitsune elder at a meal, he also learned to create a simple salad as well.

After the light meal, which was also his first time making a salad, they exited the shack and without realizing it, he pulled out his watched and checked the time to the sun, noticing that an hour had elapsed since meal had begun.

“I see that you are learning the time with the sun, well, you show you wish to know more than just the sword and magic, you wish to see more of what is around you.” Master Sensei then motioned to the middle dummy. “You will now learn to block with your sword, this one will go slow today, to let you get into the groove of things, but be warned he will not tolerate fancy moves and may attack you if it senses an opening, now go.” Master Sensei said with pushing Seito into the area of the now single dummy, it was holding a wooden Katana, and he looked at it in confusion, suddenly the katana swung and hit him in the side of the chest. He right away moved away, but the dummy moved forward, he swung again, and Seito moved in and blocked the second attack with his Katana, only to have the dummy spin around and hit his other side of his chest. He watched then and after a while, began to read ticks that the dummy made before attacking a certain way. This went on till late afternoon when Master Sensei called the fight to a halt, he smiled at Seito who was breathing a winched in pain a little.

“Good, now that your body is sore and you are beaten, go and have your mind set aflame by your sensei.” Master Sensei then walked back into his shack. Seito noticed the suns position and looked at the Pocket watch and the compass, he saw Sensei Akarui, and right away began to walked in that direction, He walked without noticing most of the scenery, but he suddenly stopped when he got to a mound of dirt, he tried to climb over it, but he kept slipping, it was then that he noticed a hole in this natural wall, and he realized that he would have to become a fox to get through it. He got on all fours and soon was crawling on his stomach to the other side of the mound, he got up and used a leaf from his pouch to get back as a human and soon he was walking again, once again he found another hole he had to change back into fox.

By sunset, it always seemed to be sunset when he would reach Akarui, but he was glad, he was in a secluded area, a small bowl in a mountain, with land and a clear water lake, where one could see the bottom of, she was sitting in fox form under a cherry blossom tree, in full bloom. He felt that this place was full of magic and other powers that made his fur stand on end as he watched his Sensei look at the blossoms as if thinking. He slowly approached her as the final light of the sun disappeared from this bowl. She then turned and looked at Seito. “Good you came, now I must tell you about some things about the Kitsune race.  You have been seeing our tails, and know now that they are our way of telling seniority among us, and now, I shall tell you on how to be counted as an older Kitsune.” Here she moved her head over the waters. “Every Hundred years, after you reach two hundred, you shall gain a tail. Or you can gain a tail for a heroic deed or task that you do. Or if you bring shame to yourself, or break a major law, you could lose a tail.” She paused then. “I will tell you one law that you must follow here and from now on. I shall now quote from our laws. ‘The first rule is that if a Kitsune is saved or helped by another being, the Kitsune must give back equally. If a Kitsune’s life is saved by a human, the Kitsune owes that human his life. The Kitsune is bound by this debt until it is paid off. If a Kitsune were to give a small service or do a favor to another, the Kitsune would expect equal payment back.’” She paused to take a breath.

Seito only blinked. “Okay… I will remember it. This goes for revenge right?” He asked this since he had been told about it earlier in his time here as a Kitsune.

“Yes, only you usually do it a few degrees worse… and you are best to study the person, to see the best way of making it count, you only get one shot and then you are done with it… you are already having one fester, from your creation, we should learn his name and then.” She stopped and smiled slyly at him, and for once Seito returned the smile, only bigger.
Seito looked around him. “This is a beautiful place, but I feel that it holds some importance for the Kitsune… for… us.” It felt weird on his mouth… on his tongue. But he was feeling more like a Kitsune by the day, and right now, he felt like saying it.

“That is because I asked that your lesson be taught here tonight.” A silky voice sounded from behind the cherry blossom tree. Seito moved his head and looked, right at Inari. He only bowed his head in respect like the others did in the meeting that he first met the Kitsune.

“Thank you for the respect, but please, we have some business to handle.” She stopped and looked at Akarui before continuing. “Usually, we talk about this kind of thing as a council, but yours was a most serious event, and… you were give the wrong age.”

“Wrong age, you mean I am not the correct age as a Kitsune?” He was baffled. But he was curious at the same time.

“Yes, you see, Akarui has been around kitsune that have gained the one hundred age and beyond, she has had little training with Kit your age, and frankly some of the things, like teaching you the steps of a Kitsune are… well, not suited for you.”

“What do you mean?” Seito asked in confusion, “Are you trying to tell me, I am older then I really am right now?”

“Yes, by one hundred years, I am glad you are taking this well, but please, look into my eyes and I will make everything right, but there might be some confusion, you will lose track of your human timeframe, but I assure you, for the safety of both worlds, this must be done.”

“What?” Seito asked in confusion, “Don’t tell me I am some kind of chosen one that is going to save the world.”

“That is ridicules.” Inari said with a laugh, putting Seito at ease. “You are only a cog in the vast machine of the fates… you have your part to play, and then you can have more choice, but I must do this to allow the future to be bright, for both sides.” She waited before Seito only nodded his head.

“This is going to be interesting, but yes, I would like to learn more, and if I have to be older, and I should have been… what was it, one hundred and twenty?” He got a nod of the head from Inari. He then looked into her eyes.

He felt strange like something happening, felt older, not much but older, he realized that his fur was a little different, it was a mix of light and dark, and he looked at Inari, but she was gone.

“Where did she go?” He asked Sensei Akarui, a confused look in his eyes and having tilted his head to the left side a little.

“Gone, she will not see you again until she wants you choice, you see, there are two types of Kitsune, a Nogitsune, and this Kitsune does not follow Inari, and lives in the outer areas of this land, they are also very lawless and chaotic. The second one is Myobu, a Myobu follow Inari and are light in fur color. They are more of the peaceful ones, but we have more rules to follow by, for simplicity, I will be teaching you with the codes of a Myobu, which are more than a Nogitsune, but we both follow the first rule, that of debts.” She then looked at the tree again and smiled. “Now… to teach you more about the inner skills and how you should have your Kitsune ball soon, you need it, and that is most important to your life, espessialy as a human form and a Kitsune hunter shows.”

Seito only nodded his head. “Right, and I am a target now. a rather big target, since I was once a human right?” he got a nod from Akarui, “That is what I figured, I better learn some skills to learn information.”

Akarui only smiled. “Later, you will learn later, but now… we must focus on this task on the paw, shall we begin?” She got a nod of the affirmative once again. “Now look at this cherry blossom tree, we shall start from here.”

Seito sat and with an attention that he did not know he could posses, listened and remembered every single word spoken to him.

[PrincessHotcakes]

You going to continue this AO?  I think you said once you had up to part 11 finished?

[Virmir]

I think I only read up to 8 or 9 when I read this way back when, so waiting until you get that high to pick up again.

[American Otter]

I feel that this story deserves an explaination.

I put this on hold because I had other things on my plate, and now....

I am sad to say that I have lost all notes on this story.

If I am to return to writing this story, it will be a complete reboot from the start chapter one. I am sorry to say that I know I had more to this, characters and etc. But I cannot find it anymore at all, no matter when I look in my files, flash drives, even searching for older forums where it might have been in.

I am sorry this has become a dead story.