It's Always a Kitsune

The summer sun was bright and the air was sweet. It seemed like there was no better day in which to take a journey through the lush forest. So, that was exactly what Jay and Annie decided to do. Although they weren’t necessarily going on a journey, they were more so just going to have a picnic and do some entomology of the local habitat. 

“How are the cicadas doing in the terrarium?”, Annie asked Jay as she continued looking through the surrounding plants.

“They don’t seem to enjoy the habitat but at least they stopped hitting themselves against the top of it.”, Jay answered her.

“Well once I sketch them they'll be able to leave their temporary home. I just want to see if there are any other insects we can place inside with them.”, she reassured Jay and the cicadas that her hobby wouldn't take much longer.

“Why exactly are you even into this? You’re the only girl I know who would even touch bugs let alone collect them.”, Jay laughed at her unusualness but it was what made them such good friends.

“Well they’re magnificent. The exoskeleton, the appendages, antennae,- I found a kabutomushi! Look Jay!”, in her hand was a huge rhinoceros beetle moving around its legs, clearly not happy to have been caught.

“Hurry! Put it in the terrarium!”, he yelled back, opening the lid just enough to put the beetle in and keep the cicadas in. Annie placed the insect inside and the two of them looked fondly at the creature as it explored the plastic cage.

“Well I think that’s enough for today. Let’s eat some lunch and while we eat I can do my sketches!”, Annie clapped her hands together in delight and satisfaction. Jay simply nodded with a smile and the two of them went to find a spot to eat.

Jay laid the blanket down on a flat area spot under the mild sun but still around trees and Annie laid out the food she had prepared for the both of them to eat. Jay put the insects by her and she took out her pencils and paper.

“I made you some onigiri with wasabi and seaweed along with some red buns as I know they’re your favorite.”, Annie told Jay with a smile as she handed him the boxes containing his very well liked food.

“Thanks, you’re the best!”, he exclaimed, grabbing the food with excitement. Annie gave another small smile before taking a bite of a red bun and beginning her drawing.

It was when the two were almost through with their meal and Annie was halfway through sketching the beetle that misfortune struck.

A little fox wandered his way to their picnic spot and looked at the two with begging eyes. Annie being the kindhearted and animal loving person she was, gave the fox a bit of her red bun. The fox chomped down on the bun and allowed Annie to pet him. After feeling satisfied, the fox looked at Annie  one more time before deciding to leave but not without grabbing her terrarium and making a run for it.

“Jay! It took the insects! We have to get it back! I’m not finished with my drawings!”, with a voice sounding like it was about to cry, Jay took no hesitation and ran immediately after the fox with Annie closely behind him. The fox didn't even care to look back at the two, even though it heard the footsteps of them. Why would it care? It had powers, there was no way mere mortals could keep up with a trickster spirit. After all, it had already tricked them. It saw that the portal it entered the human world from was still open and leapt through it with the terrarium still in its mouth.

Jay being the closest on the fox’s tail came to a halting stop after just witnessing it disappear into thin air but poor Annie who was too far behind it to see did not stop running in time and knocked the both of them into the portal after it. Annie and Jay landed hard into what looked like a farmer’s market. But this was not your typical famer’s market.

The two of them were now in the yokai’s world. That fox was a kitsune and the portal it jumped through was a portal back to its home. The market was swarming with other kitsune, tanukis, bakenekos, they even saw an oomukade!

“Jay, what are supposed to do!?”, Annie’s voice was shaking just as much as her body. She was scared and she couldn’t hide it. All her childhood stories were true. Yokai were real and she was in their territory. But before Jay could answer her, the two were grabbed by the arm and pulled into a clothing tent.

“How did you get here?”, the voice of one who grabbed them asked. Jay looked up to answer and realized  the person that was talking wasn't a person, they were a tanuki. Annie held in sobs leaving Jay the one to answer.

“Mr. Tanuki, we fell into this portal that was opened by a kitsune who stole my friend’s terrarium while she was sketching the kabutomushi.”, he answered, trying his best not to scream at the sight of a gigantic raccoon dog.  

The tanuki shook his head at Jay’s answer and let out a sigh. “Of course it would be a kitsune that led you here. Tell you what, I’ll help you and your friend get your bug back. After all that kitsune will probably just turn them into candy.”

Of course that statement made Annie start crying. She couldn’t even fathom the thought of even stepping on a bug.

“Calm down! I said I would help you guys get it back.”, the tanuki barked at Annie causing her immediately to go silent.

“Thank you so much Tanuki sir, but why would you help us?”, Jay questioned the tanuki’s motives since they too were known to be trickster spirits.

“Here’s the deal kid, we may both be yokai but we tanukis don’t care much for the kitsune. Kitsune very much like to play tricks on us just like you humans and I don’t care none for that.” he answered Jay. There wasn’t really much to say after that, especially since the tanuki turned around and began digging through a pile of clothes in the tent. Before Jay or Annie could ask what he was doing he threw two kimonos and kitsune masks at the two of them.

“What are these for?”, Annie finally managed to find her voice and ask.

“Put them on, it’ll help you blend in. Although most yokai are in their true form here, some prefer to stay in human form, but with elements indicating their a yokai. The mask can be worn in any way you like and the kimonos are kitsune’s favorite choice of wear. Now you can be in this realm without other yokai harassing you.”, the tanuki answered. 

“Thank you very much Mister Tanuki.”, the two friends bowed and then began to quickly change.

“Here before I forget”, the tanuki handed Annie a small pouch, “It has magical dust in it, it’ll open up a portal to your world but only for about five seconds so make sure you use it wisely.”, before she could thank him the tanuki was gone.

The two friends gave themselves one unsure look before venturing out into the market themselves. 

“Now the tanuki told us that the kitsune would probably be trying to turn the bugs into candy so we should look at any stands that are selling sweets.”, Jay suggested and Annie nodded. It would be the most logical thing to do so they did exactly that. They walked down the aisles of the market avoiding the vendor’s calls and undoubtedly beautiful looking items for sale before seeing the kitsune, who was now standing on two legs and holding the terrarium with his front paws and not his mouth anymore. He was a sweets stand like the tanuki said he would be.

“What do we do? Do we just ask for it back or run and grab it?”, Annie asked Jay with uncertainty.

“He’s a trickster spirit, I think we’re just going to have to outsmart him some way.”, he answered her. The two both thought about what he had just said. Tricking a trickster spirit was no easy task. Was it even doable they had to wonder. But after a few moments of silence Annie spoke up.

“I have an idea!”, she proclaimed and took out her pencil and sketchbook. Annie tried her best to draw maggots as realistically as she could all over the paper. Once she had drawn around twenty she got an empty box from a bakeneko vendor, placed the drawings inside, and covered it with grass.

“How exactly is this supposed to trick him?” Jay asked, looking at the very much unalive drawings.

“Well maggots are high in fat, which all animals love the taste of, and there’s more worth in them with their quantity than the two cicadas and kabutomushi.”, she answered with a satisfied grin.

“So we’re going to ask him to trade with us?”, Jay asked.

“No! He’s a trickster, we just have to pretend his item is worth more in value than ours is so when he suggests a trade he’ll think that he’s scamming us.”, Annie had the most devious smile on her face. This was bound to be a good idea. Now understanding the whole plan, Jay and her walked to the stand to execute their plan.

Once standing next to the kitsune Annie started their plan.

“Wow, is that a kabutomushi? I’ve never had one before but I heard they were just absolutely delicious!”, she exclaimed looking at her terrarium.

“Why yes it is, and they are very delicious.”, the kitsune said with a smug face. “May I ask what you have?”

“Oh this? It’s just maggots from a decaying tree I found. There’s about twenty in here.”, Annie answered unamused. Now like she had predicted the kitsune was very much interested in a snack like that.

“How about we trade? I mean after all, you’ve never eaten one of these beetles and I don’t mind letting you have it cause I’ve already eaten tons of them before. But let’s make it even. Your maggots for my beetle.”, the kitsune tried his best to hide his mischievous look. He believed he was about to scam what he believed was a younger and more naive kitsune.

“Thank you so much!”, Annie said with excitement, handing him over the box and grabbing her terrarium back. As soon as she grabbed her terrarium, both her and Jay made a run for it to a place where they could open the portal. Obviously confused, the kitsune looked closer at the maggots and realized they were just drawings. Angered by this, he ran after them shouting. 

The two ran and ran as fast as they could. However, it sounded like the kitsune’s shouts were only getting closer so Jay decided that it was the time to use the magic dust. He threw it in at the tree in their path and the two jumped through it. Once they tumbled and got up the portal closed leaving them one last look at the kitsune who could not make it in time to jump through.

“We did it!”, Jay explained began to hug Annie and jump around. She joined in his celebration and cheered and jumped with him. After they celebrated the two noticed the sun was setting so they decided it was time to go home and never give a fox some of your food.  However that last rule didn't  need to be said aloud.