Yūdaina

1

Akihiko and Geoff had moved plenty of crates whilst working together at Mandigold Magic. In fact, Mandigold himself had once described them as the business's safest hands ("the only hands outside of my own I trust with my precious things!"), so their manager's insistence on overseeing the transportation of his latest arrival made the two of them incredibly nervous. 

"What'ya think it is, Aki?" Geoff whispered, the reverse lights of the delivery vehicle turning the corner into the loading bay. It edged backwards into the parking spot at an impossibly slow speed, clear they were under strict instructions to take good care of the cargo.

"Dunno Geoff, I tried asking old Mandy, but he started gibbering about how it's his best find yet, couldn't get a straight answer out the fellah."

"Loveland Frog?" 

"Nah, we had one of those before you started, and Mandigold was nowhere near this excited. The only thing I can think of is -"

"Gentlemen! It's time." Mandigold exclaimed, rising from his wheelchair to rest both his wrists and, in turn, his enormous body weight on his sleek black cane. He hobbled forward, the cane threatening, as it always did, to buckle from the pressure exerted by its owner. Akihiko rushed forward to help, only to be shooed away by Mandigold's assistant (and potential lover, they suspected) Marion. 

Mandigold wanted to do this alone.

As the vehicle stopped, Marion hurried to the passenger's side door, barely allowing the driver's assistant to step out before she began hastily signing the courier's pile of paperwork. Akihiko and Geoff slid on their gloves, ready to carry the vehicle's load. The rear doors slid up automatically, revealing a single crate, no bigger than a small fridge, in the middle of the delivery truck.

"Smaller than I pictured," said Geoff as he walked down the ramp to the rear of the vehicle, "reckon I could do this alone, ay Aki?"

"I will have no such joking regarding my exhibits, Geoffrey," Mandigold snapped. "especially this one."

"Sorry, Sir. Um, Akihiko, you ready?"

"Yeah, good to go, mate." Akihiko grinned as he joined his friend on the delivery truck. He stood at the opposite side of the box to Geoff as they prepared to lift in unison.

"Gentlemen, please. I trust you, but, extra care with this one." Sweat beaded down Mandigold's forehead. It was clear just how much this meant to him. 

"Of course, sir. Ready, Geoff? 3, 2, 1."

2

Geoff and Akihiko carried the box carefully to its new enclosure, every step and near-stumble scrutinised by an oohing and aaahing Mandigold and Marion. The box's final destination was at the rear of the site, a new cage built especially for the latest arrival. It was a spot picked by Mandigold for two reasons. It was far enough away that visitors had to make their way through the entire zoo to reach it ("the star of the show!"), but - and perhaps most importantly - it was close enough to Mandigold's on-site flat that he could overlook his latest exhibit as much as he desired. 

Marion rushed forward as they neared the gated enclosure, ready to let Geoff and Akihiko through to drop off Mandigold's new, prized possession.

"Careful now, gents, nearly there." Mandigold fussed. He had returned to his wheelchair, opting to zoom ahead of his two most trusted workers to oversee the operation. Marion tapped the four-digit code into the electronic keypad, the metal gate swinging back automatically. Akihiko and Geoff edged through, shuffling slowly to the centre of the enclosure. 

"Here okay boss?" Akihiko groaned, the weight of whatever was inside starting to strain on the ageing worker's arms - he wasn't as young as he used to be.

Mandigold grinned, his toothy smile impossibly white for a man his age. The things money could buy, thought Akihiko. "Yes, yes, perfect. Thank you gents. Marion, will you do the honours?"

Marion approached the crate with a crowbar in hand. Akihiko and Geoff lowered the box slowly to the floor before quickly rushing back to the gate, leaving Mandigold's assistant to free the beast. Marion cracked the lid, leaving a gap for whatever was inside to get out. Wasting no time to see if the creature surfaced, she darted back to join the others. Akihiko readied himself, pushing the gate to a satisfying click as soon as Marion jumped through. Now, they waited.

The four watched with anticipation for the creature to reveal itself. Mandigold leaned forward, trying to spot any movement, his moustache brushing against the fence of the beast's new home. 

Ten minutes passed. Nothing.

Half an hour. No movement. 

Mandigold eyed his assistant, the tension thickening with each fleeting second. Usually, Akihiko and Geoff would have left by now, but they too felt like part of something bigger, like they should see this through until the end. 

After an hour, Marion was the first to break the silence. "I'll go check, sir."

Her eyes filled with sadness for what she expected to see in the crate. It wouldn't be the first time a new arrival hadn't survived the journey, and, sadly, it was unlikely to be the last.

"Yes, yes, very good, my darling." Mandigold sighed. He gripped the bulbous head of his cane tightly, his knuckles whitening.

Marion tapped the code into the keypad, the gate swinging silently open.

"Geoff, can you...lock me in, please?"

"Yes, madam....are you sure?"

"...just be ready to open it if required please."

"What's the code?"

"0451," Mandigold replied, "the number of creatures in the exhibit, providing this one lives."

Geoff watched as Marion tiptoed across the flat, grassy expanse that made up the entrance to the enclosure, gripping the cross around her neck as she moved slowly toward the crate. 

"Something scary, Aki?" whispered Geoff.

"Looks that way, Geoff."

Marion crept closer, hunched low, prepared for whatever beast this was to launch itself at her at any moment. A fear, thought Geoff, entirely valid and, unfortunately for Marion, likely to be realised at any moment.

"Here we go." gulped Akihiko, grabbing Geoff's arm.

Marion peeled back the crate and...nothing. She turned back, a great beaming smile spread across her face. The mood between the three onlookers relaxed. 

"Sleeping Beauty, ay Mandy?" laughed Geoff, clapping his boss on the shoulder. Akihiko joined in the celebrations, wiping fake sweat from his brow. 

"Looks like it's panic over my -"

As Mandigold prepared for another one of his go-to quotes, Marion screamed. The three turned back to see Mandigold's assistant flat on her back, arms and legs flailing as if fighting an invisible beast. A flash of white disappeared into the bushes at the rear of the enclosure.

Geoff quickly entered the code and dashed through the gate directly toward Marion. Whatever had left the crate was nowhere to be seen. Geoff reached the still-flailing Marion and grabbed her arms. She screamed again, her eyes tightly shut, ready to be eaten by the beast.

"Marion, it's me - come on!" Geoff shouted, dragging Marion by the arms. Once Marion realised she was in safe hands, she pushed Geoff off and scrambled to her feet, running ahead of her rescuer. The creature was still nowhere to be seen. Akihiko readied himself on the other side of the gate, pushing it to as soon as Marion and his friend were through.

Marion collapsed onto a nearby bench to regain her composure. She looked unharmed, thought Mandigold. Before he could check on his darling Marion, a low growl from inside the enclosure caught his attention. All four turned just in time to see the creature reveal itself. 

To the untrained eye or, as Mandigold would put it, to a simpleton, his latest investment appeared to be a fox. A pretty fox, but a fox, nonetheless. For Mandigold, this was something more. It was the creature Mandigold had wanted the most. The one that began it all, the one that started his desire to own one of each cryptid or folk beast that existed. Standing here today, in front of his heart's biggest desire, it was everything he wanted it to be.

The Kitsune approached slowly, its dazzling white fur shining in the midday sun. It growled, bearing its sharp teeth toward the onlookers, it's head low as it moved slowly toward the gate, its three tails whipping back and forth as it crept. Its piercing blue eyes locked onto Mandigold, the dark-red streaks across its face warpaint as it approached this new enemy.

"S...Sir...is that a Kitsune?" Akihiko stammered, the colour draining from his face. Geoff noticed tears welling in his friend's eyes. 

"Beautiful, isn't she?" Mandigold smirked. He tapped the fence with his cane, the sound of metal echoing around the enclosure. The Kitsune, still wary after its long, cramped journey, darted into nearby bushes. Mandigold laughed.

Akihiko shook his head, walking away towards the zoo entrance.

3

Back home, the locals called her Yūdaina. They'd built a shrine, just for her, out of respect, fear and admiration. Back home, they saw her as a god. Here, things were different. 

So far, she'd been held captive for an entire moon cycle, only moving through the night to scope her surroundings.

The enclosure was sealed with metal bars, stretching from left to right all the way up to the skies above. Even the ground underneath her feet was unshakable cold steel, with a thin layer of grass placed on top to give the impression of natural surroundings. Bushes were placed haphazardly around, giving Yūdaina few places to hide. An area at the rear of the enclosure had been designed to look like her natural habitat, including a faux Shinto shrine. Yūdaina was insulted.

She cried for the first few nights, the saddest yelps for her former home and the people she'd left behind. When she had finished lamenting, when the tears had dried and her howls tired her enough she could fall asleep, Yūdaina decided she needed to refocus her energy. Crying would get her nowhere. Yūdaina had decided she was going to escape.

4

People came and went, onlookers who cheered and jeered. Sometimes, they even booed at the seemingly empty cage, as Yūdaina spent most of her time hiding away. Rarely did anyone step into her enclosure. The short fat man in a wheelchair, who the others called 'Boss' or, occasionally, 'Sweetheart', would sometimes enter, always accompanied by a thin woman who carried a gun to defend her and her companion. 

The only other humans that would enter were the workers, who would enter daily to scatter food around her enclosure, perverse concoctions of meat and guts, a far cry from the usual bounties left at her former home. 

Yūdaina decided her best chance of escape was when one worker in particular, a man who would often leave Yūdaina offerings more fitting for her status, entered. Yūdaina liked this man, but he was, after all, still just a man.

Three moon cycles after she had formulated her escape, the worker she was waiting for came to visit. 

It was a simple plan. The worker had grown accustomed to Yūdaina hiding far from the gate whenever anyone entered, so as soon as he was in, Yūdaina pounced. He didn't see her coming - the bushes of the enclosure had grown wild and unkempt of late - so hiding had become easy. Before he could scream, Yūdaina snarled, baring her teeth. The worker lay on his back in silence, shaking with fear. She toyed with killing him, digging her teeth into his soft neck, but Yūdaina decided that this one, this one could live. He had shown her kindness, after all. 

She jumped off him and ran out of the gate, darting into the distance.

5

Yūdaina's escape was more difficult than she anticipated. Workers with guns and torches searched every corner, forcing Yūdaina to keep moving. Now she was free, Yūdaina saw the true extent of Mandigold's madness. Enclosures were everywhere, covered pools and aviaries containing creatures of all shapes and sizes.

She took to the top of buildings where possible to avoid detection. On more than one occasion, their occupants growled or took a swipe in her direction, but Yūdaina was nimble. She lay low on top of a glass structure to plan her next move. Inside, a beast flapped its great wings, its goat-like head looking sadly toward Yūdaina. It was desperate to get out, just like her. 

Yūdaina began surveying her surroundings, preparing her next move. The zoo was contained in more metal, giant fences making escape difficult. Before she could formulate a plan, Yūdaina heard shouting nearby. The creature underneath beat his giant, branching wings and emitted an unearthly, guttural scream - it was warning Yūdaina. She had been spotted.

Yūdaina looked for a way out. Behind her, she spotted a window flapping on the side of a small building toward the back of the zoo. She ran toward it, leaping upwards and into the darkness of the structure.

The room was thick and foul-smelling, cloudy with dust and stink. A glass wall took up half of the room, dirty and unkempt. Inside, a great beast sat at the back, eyeing Yūdaina curiously. The creature looked almost human to Yūdaina, with the soft flesh she was familiar with replaced with matted shaggy hair. It lifted itself up on hands the size of dustbin lids and moved toward Yūdaina. 

"Hello, Little Kitsune, so you're what the fuss is all about."

Yūdaina tilted her head as it spoke, her whiskers twitching curiously.

"I see Mandigold is capturing gods now." the creature took a deep sigh, "They call me the Yowie. Have you had the chance to see any of my brethren yet? We're fantastic beasts y'know."

Its enclosure was much smaller than Yūdaina's, with a sawdust pile on the floor for a bed and little else.

"Admiring my home I see," the Yowie bellowed a deep laugh, "all in good fun, little one. Anyway, congratulations on getting out. Do you have a plan? There's some Kappa nearby who will happily eat the flesh of old Mandigold if you can get them out."

The Yowie reached back and grabbed a handful of fruit. It put the entire lot in its mouth and swallowed. 

"Move quickly little one, but, and I'm not sure if you've realised yet, escape will be impossible. At least, right now. Time to go." the Yowie winked. A siren blared from somewhere in the park. The Yowie stood up and moved toward the back of its enclosure, pushing a curtain before disappearing into the back.

Yūdaina pushed her head against the door of the building and looked around.

Suddenly, Yūdaina's world went black.

6

Mandigold passed, as all living things did, but Yūdaina stayed. The one called Marion, Mandigold's lover, took ownership of the zoo, and, with time, things began to change. The metal of her cage rusted. The visitors stopped visiting, as did the workers. Once a day, an ageing Marion would drag a bucket of offal or, if Yūdaina was lucky, fish heads to Yūdaina's cage. She had stopped opening Yūdaina's enclosure - Yūdaina wasn't sure if Marion could still reach the keypad - and instead, had taken to pouring the food into various piles around the cage. Just like the rest of the zoo, Yūdaina's makeshift home had begun to stink of rotting, putrid meat and unkempt conditions.

Like Marion, the zoo had aged, but so had Yūdaina too.

7

Akihiko wasn't allowed to tend to the Kitsune since his run-in with the creature years before, but with Marion's staff members dwindling, she had no choice but to send him in today. She had other plans, a visit to a potential buyer for this godforsaken place.

Akihiko headed toward the Kitsune through the empty zoo, dragging the bucket of meat at his side. Marion made Akihiko promise to pour the creature's meal through the bars, just like she did. 

Akihiko agreed.

Akihiko lied. 

He entered the gate code and pushed the once-automatic gate open, the rust screaming in protest. He left the gate open behind him and looked around for the Kitsune. As always seemed to be way, the creature was in hiding. Akihiko walked to the spot he and his late friend Geoff had let the Kitsune out all those years ago and dropped the bucket on the floor. He walked to the Shinto shrine and sat cross-legged, waiting.

"Little Kitsune, I am sorry." Akihiko's put his face into his hands and sobbed.

Behind him, Akihiko heard a voice - a new voice.

"Hello, Akihiko." He didn't turn.

Akihiko's cries deepened. The woman knelt down and embraced him. They sat together for a while, Akihiko cradled in the woman's arms, before the woman left, closing the gate behind her.

8

Yūdaina used her shoulder to push open the stiff door to the old, forgotten room.

"Little Kitsune!" Just like the rest of the place, the Yowie had aged, too.

"You recognise me?" Yūdaina said, still getting used to her human body.

"Of course, Little Kitsune. How is it being a human?" 

"After all this time, I couldn't think of a worse form."

The Yowie laughed.

"Little Kitsune, what will you do now?"

"Do you know how many creatures are in this place?"

"Well, let me think now. Many have perished over the years but many remain. The keepers talk, you see, and I remember. They killed the chupacabra y'know, shot him...horrible creatures, humans...anyway, I digress, 212, at last count."

Yūdaina headed to the keypad next to the Yowie's enclosure and entered the code. A beep sounded and the door slid open slowly.

"Little Kitsune!" laughed the Yowie. It stood up and moved slowly to the door, putting an enormous arm around Yūdaina's shoulder. "Come, there are others."

Yūdaina returned to her preferred form, her nine-tails swinging behind her. Yūdaina and the Yowie headed into the park and moved toward the next enclosure.