Kitsune

On any other day, Colin would have left home on time; but on any other day he wouldn’t have had friends over the night before to celebrate, nor would he have drunk so much. He’d gotten lucky on a cheap scratch-card and was officially $5,000.00 richer.

Even so, with a bit of a rush he’d have left with good time, but for some reason he had also misplaced his keys… something Colin never did.

I bet it was Gabe!

He found them in his pillowcase fifteen minutes later; he roared in triumph as he held them aloft dramatically.

With that done, he quickly checked his prepacked rucksack, making sure all his D&D books and gaming gear was in tact.

Happy he had everything; he rushed from the door, locking it on his way out.

He stared up at the sky as he turned, his feet marching him towards Gabe’s house on autopilot; it was shrouded with a veil of thick black clouds. He considered the morning’s weather report, it had confirmed the never ending drizzle they’d been enjoying over the past few weeks was set to continue… However the atmosphere above him loomed with ominous forebodings of something more than just a drizzle.

Colin considered getting his umbrella but had already committed himself to his journey; it was only a fifteen minute walk away…. And as he was already late, he opted for picking up the pace instead. He cast the occasional glance up at the sky; it seemed darker each time.

I don’t think I am going to make it there before I get soaked!

The thought spurred him into a light jog. Within seconds he felt an icy chill as a single fat droplet fell on the back of his neck, rolled under his collar and down his back. He shivered.

That one drop was super accurate… Damn that’s cold!

It didn’t remain alone for long, it was as he completed his last thought that an absolute deluge of droplets fell from the heavens, falling both fast and large. Colin was completely soaked within seconds.

Ahead of him stood Harpen Bridge, fondly known as the Old Man, the only refuge available that wasn’t a stranger’s house. He wanted to turn his jog into a run, but cautioned himself against it.

You’re not getting any wetter than you already are... just walk.

As he reached the bridge he stepped under its beckoning shelter with a grateful sigh; craning his head back to gaze upwards, the concrete pillars and foundations were stark but blissfully dry. He removed his coat and tried to shake and squeeze the water from it. On either side of him, the rain fell like curtains that blurred the world beyond a few feet into total obscurity.

Colin looked about and found he was alone. “Damn!” He cursed aloud.

He had squeezed as much water out of his coat as was possible and had rested it over his rucksack on the floor. He pulled out his phone and texted Gabe.

** Yo! Got out a bit late and got caught in the rain – BTW did you hide my keys? Waiting under the Old Man for the worst to pass then I’ll head over.**

The chill of the day and the wet had crept into his bones and he could hear his teeth chattering. His phone vibrated Gabe’s reply.

**Hey Bro. Nah man, I didn’t touch your keys. And Dude? The Rain? C’mon… you’ve walked in worse. Hurry up!**

Gabe was obviously messing with him and Colin’s reply would have been a matching parry, but something moved very quickly in the periphery of his vision. He turned slowly to get a better look.

“A fox?” He observed aloud, only himself and the creature there to benefit from it. It turned its head on a sideways tilt and stared at him, not blinking.

Odd…That is not like any fox I’ve ever seen before…

It walked a few feet towards a nearby step, still looking at Colin without blinking, and sat down once it had gained the elevation. It was a small thing, but it couldn’t possibly be a kit as its movements were too deliberate and graceful. Its tail appeared to be waving from all directions and Colin tried to focus on it.

Wait… how many of those things has it got?

His chest felt constricted as the number sank deeper into his conscious mind. He counted at least five tails!

It had a confident little manner; tails waving lazily as though they had minds of they own. Colin was astounded by the creature’s fur… it was a gorgeous shade of crimson all over and flawless. Its black button-nose contrasted with a moist-sparkle against the rich red running down an elegant muzzle. And then there were the creature’s eyes; far larger than they had any right to be on a head so tiny. It would have been adorable, but Colin was looking at a something that shouldn’t exist, and couldn’t stop the alarm bells from tolling in his head.

It winked one eye conspiratorially then nodded with a beckoning gesture, in the way a human would have… before trotting off into the rain.

Colin stood motionless for a second.

This is a bad idea.

Torrential rain poured forth from an unrelenting black sky; he watched as five swathes of crimson started to blur into obscurity. He also noticed the chill he had felt as he had been texting Gabe had returned…

Wait… when did it go away in the first place? It must have been when it appeared.

Colin made up his mind; and with a grunt he shook his jacket a couple of times then stuffed it, still mostly wet, into a separate section of his rucksack. He hoped that it would at least be dryer than he would be by the time they got to wherever it was that they were going.

With his coat stashed and bag shouldered, he trotted in the direction of the disappearing tails. All caution for slippery conditions or poor visibility forgotten. Colin dared not get too close, the couple times he tried to walk alongside it, it would stop and wait for him to retreat; but he did notice that as long as he was within a few feet it, he felt considerably warmer and tried not to lag behind either.

Colin didn’t think he could get any wetter than he had been, water had now started puddling in his shoes; and he could officially feel the anxiety-inducing sensation that only wet-underwear could instill. The creature however seemed only mildly affected, its fur merely adopting a slightly more rugged grace; most of the water seemed to bead from its thick coat effortlessly.

They walked for over half an hour, and for about ten of those minutes they had been off the beaten path in an area he didn’t recognize. He checked his phone, shielding it from the worst of the wet with his body and forearm… no signal, and he had no hopes of gaining any from within a forest.

Gabe’s likely wondering where I am… for that matter, I’m wondering where I am! I didn’t even know we had a forest in the area…especially not one this big!

The rain’s intensity had diminished significantly, the canopy now shielding them from the worst of it; Colin detected that it even felt mildly warm.

The terrain gradually sloped upwards and they soon found themselves hiking against a steep incline; the higher they went though, the dryer and warmer he felt. Once his shoes at last stopped squelching, he even let out a loud sigh of relief.

He followed the five undulating tails with a relentless commitment he couldn’t shake. The receding patter of droplets pelting against leaves stopped abruptly; the clouds parted and the sun just happened to peak through a convenient gap within the canopy, alighting him with its warmth. He stopped for a moment, gazing up at the creature ahead of him; it too had decided to rest in a sunbeam. The sight was pleasing.

The final hike was only a few minutes long; they arrived at a clearing and the creature stopped, turned and sat down, looking at Colin with that penetrating gaze once more. He decided to avert his gaze and pulled his bag from his shoulder; yanking out his coat to benefit from the warm air surrounding them.

“Well done Venix.” An ethereal voice spoke from behind him somewhere; its tone oozed with power, influence and grace… like finely spun silk.

He felt a hint of alarm and turned to find the owner of the voice, but saw no one. His heart rate, already taxed from the hike, was now beating with a touch of fear; and Colin felt his mind engage in the cycle of Fight-Flight-and-Freeze.

He took a deep breath, still looking about him.

Freeze, no one’s running or shouting, you’re still fine… See what this is about.

“Thank you.” It was the creature he had been following that replied. It winked at him again, its tongue lolling out as she panted.

It’s laughing at me!

“That she is.” The ethereal voice replied to his thoughts. The moment wanted to overwhelm him, instead he allowed himself another deep breath, holding it for a moment before letting it out.

Okay, a disembodied voice has just read my mind, what would I do in-game?

He wanted to laugh… I’d ask questions…Where are you?

She replied by stepping out of the shadows towards his right. He gasped at the sight of her.

She would have been the single most beautiful woman he had ever seen in his life, if not for the long white fox ears and abundance of tails.

She was fully clad, but the thin golden-white cloth fit well over her curves; instead of concealing her beauty, it only served to amplify it. Her skin was a deep caramel shade and perfect to the extent of making her ageless in Colin’s eyes. He felt both entranced and disturbed at the same time. He really wanted to look away but got caught up in the flow of her tails.

She must be the same as the one she called Venix, but she has more tails... Um

It hadn’t escaped him that he had tilted his head in the same way Venix had upon meeting him, but he highly doubted he was giving off the same vibes of cuteness she had...

“There’s nine.” She advised, making note of his staring with a nod of her head; it was enough to shake him from his trance and gain some self-control. “I’m Koari, and you’re right, we’re both Kitsune. I think you’d recognize us as Fox Spirits, or perhaps as a Ninetails?”

Colin slapped himself. He didn’t hold back either, he really went for it, far harder than he actually intended to.

“Ooh…um, damn! That was dumb!” He was gasping for a whole new reason.

“Content it’s not a dream, Dumbass?” Venix asked, her red tails twitching independently with agitation.

“Don’t mind Venix, she’s a Nogitsune, and still young… the mischief runs deep.”

“I’m going to be honest with you… my understanding is a little limited here.” He wasn’t sure how to continue, but he dared not think about his words either. “When you said Ninetails… Um, the only place I’ve ever heard of one is from my Pokémon infused youth… and well, you aren’t supposed to exist.” He wanted to stop talking. “What was it you said? Kizoone?”

"Kitsune!” Venix spat, sounding offended.

“Come now Venix.” Koari chided her companion. “Human ignorance is nothing new… stop acting like this is your first encounter with their species.”

Colin wasn’t sure how to feel or what to think, and was desperately trying not to do either.

“We’re Spirits that look like foxes.” Her eyes sparkled with obvious pride. “We inhabit and possess the powers infused within the different elemental domains.” Her voice was cool like the wind, her tone instructive. “We live many years and gain tails as we go, one per century, till we have nine.”

Colin swallowed at the thought of communing with a creature that was over a thousand years old.

“What happens after that?”

“By the time we gain our ninth tail, we officially become a Tenko, and we’re meant to ascend… we do, but we also come and go as we please.”

“I think I will need to do some research when I get home.” Colin mused, trying not to think about Pokémon.

“That’s if you ever leave here alive.” Venix snipped without looking at him. She appeared larger than before and was grooming her tails with great care.

That red fur is incredible… and are those runes on the tips of her tails?

“You think like a child.” She chided him, but she seemed a little more relaxed. Her moods appeared to shift rapidly. “Your thoughts are loud and rude….But sometimes that’s okay.” She paused, turned and fanned her tail, looking over her shoulder and peeking artfully through the gaps between them. “They are Fire runes; seeing as you were wondering.”

“They are very beautiful.” He replied truthfully, almost bowing his head as he nodded.

He turned to Koari and asked. “Where am I? And why am I here?”

Koari stared at him for a good while; then smiled a flat half-smile with the left corner of her mouth; it didn’t reach her eyes. “This is always the difficult bit.”

“I’ve been watching him for a while… he’s good with both weird and blunt… just go for it.” Venix flashed him a sly look before resuming her grooming.

“You are currently in Fushimi. As to why you are here…The most apt thing to say is that we’re here to offer humanity their last chance. We aim to find a worthy Champion that will enact our will… humans respond better to other humans you see”

“Fushimi Japan? And what do you mean last chance? What happens if your plan fails?”

Her face was expressionless as the reply fell from her.

“We will have no choice but to destroy your entire species.” Her tone hinted at sadness, but he mostly just sensed resolve.

He didn’t need to ask for her reasons, he got it, he wasn't overly fond of his own species right now either… but he wanted nothing to do with the whole idea.

She hadn’t answered his question on their location either, and if he really was in Japan then there wasn’t much he could do but ask more questions.

“How many people do you need?”

“We need only one Champion.” Her tone felt warmer, her face was more serene.

“You’ve lured others for little conversations like this one?”

“We have. ”

“Where are they now?” His heart skipped a beat, anticipating the worst.

“They proved unworthy. So we let them go.” Koari had looked away.

Venix scoffed at her friend. “She’s a messenger of Inari and cannot stand to tell you the truth. Some of us hunted and killed them.”

Of course there are more of them.

She fanned herself with her tails, looking even bigger than before and continued. “The real shame is that we cannot tell you what will make you worthy. That depends on how this… what was it you called it? Little conversation? goes.” And with that she looked away again.

Colin considered his odds; to his mind he was as good as dead... Far away, isolated and in the company of at least two incredibly powerful creatures. The realization and acceptance of his fate brought calm to his mind.

“We will offer many gifts and boons in return; luck, good fortune, protection for those you love or favor somehow… including many years beyond your natural time. It will be a good and joyous life, but only for as long as you work towards our objective.”

Colin’s heart should have been pounding a beat against his ribs like a drum, but it was steady as he asked. “And that is?”

“We need someone to help engineer the collapse of modern society.”

He chuckled, breaking her eye contact and feeling lighter for it. “So I get to live in comfort and splendor? Me, my family and friends protected as the rest of the world falls apart around us? Instead of my entire species being wiped out, you just want to enable a set of circumstances that will kill most of them and reset our technological clock by a several hundred years?”

“Your summary is a bit blunt, but that is basically it.” Koari replied magnanimously.

“So either everyone dies… or just most of them? But I will be okay?”

“I take it back, your previous summary was positively eloquent… and yes.”

Colin considered the temptation, felt it flirt with his soul; creating visions of comfort in his mind.

“No.” He still felt calm, even though images of fanciful luxury, and living past this moment, dissipated like fog.

Koari appeared to be genuinely surprised; Venix seemed annoyed.

“Could you repeat that?” Koari asked.

“No… I already know I’m not worthy, and I want nothing to do with this.” He stepped back as he spoke. Venix looked like she was balancing her feelings on a tripwire, wavering between pleased and vexed with each passing second.

“Call the others.” Koari said, now beaming at Colin. “Tell them we have finally found our Champion.”

“Wait… What? No!” Colin tried to take another step backwards but found himself frozen.

“There you go again.” Venix cheered. “Only the one who declines is Worthy.” 

From all directions, dozens of tailed figures took shape from the shadows to join them... a couple even murmured jokes about having to make new plans for dinner.