The Fox and the Boy
It was a clear day that rain suddenly began to fall from the sky. A little violet haired child had been kicking his brand new white ball around the roots of the large yorishiro tree behind the shrine. But when the rain came, he was obliged to wait under the tree where the great branches protected him a little from the falling drops. The child, holding his ball in his little hands, crouched sulkily amongst the wet leaves and grass, his brown and gold eyes darting toward the rain every few seconds, sulking because it was raining while the sun was shining. He didn't know much about weather but everyone knows that it shouldn't rain when the sun is out (being just five years old he did not know what a sun shower is yet).
To make it worse, the rain had literally drenched his plans of ditching. He wasn't supposed to be there under the tree, he had been supposed to be helping inside the shrine with the other kids from school, cleaning floors and dusting statues. It had been boring and tiring and the monks were bossy so he had slipped away the first chance he got. All he had wanted was to play outside and there was no way he was running through the rain just to get back to the temple. He'll get wet and then the monks will know exactly what he was doing.
"Stupid rain," he muttered under his breath. He glanced up at the sky. Although he could barely see past the giant branches overhead his eyes were sharp enough to see that there was not a single cloud to explain where the rain came from.
How odd.
"Weird!" he announced to the sky, and then he went back to absently scanning the undergrowth. It was when he was lowering his gaze that he saw them, the ball-like lights dancing and bobbing in the distance. At first there were only a pair floating, but then another two appeared, and another two after them, and then another two after them, all in an unruly line. At the same time merry music, at first faint, grew until it filled the air. The great tree where he had been playing stood proudly at the top of the large hill high above the old forest track, so he could see and hear all easily. He didn't want to leave the safety of the tree but curiosity got the better of him. 'What are those?' he thought, and his little legs were soon clambering over the huge roots of the tree in order to get a better view. The tree was at the top of the slope and its roots acted as stairs and bridges for the little boy. The tree's roots were huge and made a great hiding place.
When he was a few feet from the bottom he realized that the lights were actually really large lanterns, although he still could not see their bearers. There were so many lanterns yet not a single one went out despite the rain. In fact, they seemed to burn even brighter, more so than any lantern the boy had seen.
At last he was at the very bottom of the hill and at last he saw the parade. And what a sight it was! A parade of perhaps a hundred foxes, all walking upright like people and bearing the lanterns with their front paws, moved slowly and regally before his hiding place; they were even dressed in kimonos, although he spied some wearing modern business suits. The sight of those suits so out of place among the traditional kimonos, not to mention that they were worn by animals that he giggled. He couldn't help it.
A few pairs of ears twitched at the sound and their owners' heads swivelled to locate the source, but by then the little watcher had hidden again, his little shoulders still shaking in laughter.
The parade went on forever, or least it seemed that way to the little one, but he enjoyed the sight anyway. When at last, the final stragglers had disappeared down the path, he felt a little sorry. It had been cool, seeing foxes up close like that, seeing them parade like little furry people. But now it was time to go home.
Just to be sure, he stood up fully and glanced to the left and right, just like Mum said to when crossing the road. Then he ventured out from behind the great root and stood on the strangely dry path. It didn't look at all like anyone, human or animal had even trodden along here, there were no marks or footprints indicating the foxes' march.
He looked back up towards the slope he had come from. It had been easy to clamber down the great tree's roots, but from the foot of the hill it looked more a giant's stairs. But he wasn't scared. On the contrary, the small shoulders simply shrugged and the little body turned down the path, to the direction the lanterns had first appeared.
At the same time, a large, brownish furred thing, crashed right into him.
The young fox was late. 'Darn it, darn it, darn it!' he fumed, piling on more speed. He was running at full speed, all four paws connecting to the ground for less than a second before digging in and then lifting up to propel the sleek body further. His simple yukata had loosened in the wild sprint and now billowed behind like a great, purple cape. Oh, his cousin is going to skin him alive if she found out he was late to her wedding, and his mother will surely tell off him for the state of his clothes. A golden orb bounced merrily on his back as he raced down the dirt track. He rounded the bend and decided to increase his speed – golden tendrils snaked out from the orb and twirled around the fox's body, and his clever foxy face split into a grin. Surely Mother will understand that he didn't want to miss his favourite cousin Rika's big day.
Suddenly, a violet blur came into his line of vision. Kurama squinted against the wind… 'Is that… a human?!' He skidded to a violent stop but he had been running to fast and could not stop himself from crashing into the surprised child. The magic dissipated enough to cushion them both, so at least he did not smash the fragile being into pieces. The two bodies rolled a few metres, the little human crying out more in surprise than pain. Kurama shakily stood up and sat back on his hunches, shaking his head. The kid was sitting up, eyes wide but otherwise unhurt, staring at the creature before him.
The glowing hoshi no tama rolled to rest between them. They both stared at it. 'Well, that's not good,' Kurama mused, his head feeling very slightly dazed, as a greedy glint flashed in the human kid's eyes.
"MINE!" the child suddenly screamed, lunging for the glowing orb. At the same time as Kurama. Their foreheads (or rather, the kid's forehead and Kurama's snout) collided and Kurama rolled off howling, one paw swiping at his stinging nose. The little boy stuck his tongue out as he backed away, cheerfully tossing the hoshi no tama up and catching it, the glowing ball going higher with each toss. Before Kurama's eyes, the magic began unravelling. Now that is really not good!
"Please give back my hoshi no tama!" Kurama pleaded. Gods, how he hated pleading but it has been too long out of his possession. If he didn't get it back in time… he felt on the verge of tears.
The little boy's heart hurt a little at the thought of parting with the pretty, shiny ball but the fox was making the saddest look he had ever seen on an animal. The ball was clearly dear to the fox, but still he dawdled. It was so, so, so beautiful. "Please…"
He couldn't take it anymore, the begging was too heartbreaking. How could he think of taking someone else's precious things?! Biting his lip he pushed the pretty glowing ball into the black paws. "Here," he muttered sincerely. "I'm sorry I took it." His eyes stung a little but he's a big boy and Daddy said big boys don't cry. He turned his back to the fox anyway, just in case. But then he spied his white ball tucked snugly between the roots of a tree barely a metre away. How could he have missed it?! Joy overtook the hurt in his chest and he scurried over to get it, almost tripping over in his haste.
Kurama sat still, intently studying the slightly less brightly glowing sphere, ignoring the human child's delighted cries. The sphere was smaller than it should be and he could feel the energy was weaker. Thin wisps of energy rapidly unravelled, and he calculated that in under an hour the ball will completely dissipate. He frowned. This is not good. "What's wrong?" The child was back, and resentment flared up inside Kurama. He growled at the human's approach but the silly kid was not fazed in the least. He stopped growling and returned to staring sorrowfully at his now fist-sized (child's fist that is) sphere.
"My hoshi no tama is unravelling too rapidly. I estimate about 40 minutes before it's gone completely."
The kid's face was blank. "Is that bad?" he asked timidly. Kurama nodded. "Is- is it my fault?" the little brat was on the verge of tears and Kurama honestly didn't feel like dealing with a crying human child. The kid did not know any better, it was not really his blunder that landed Kurama in this mess anyway.
"No. It ain't your fault, kid. It's mine."
"Can it be fixed?" Gods, doesn't this kid know when to back off.
"No, it can't be fixed," he snapped. "It'll disappear and then all my magic will go with it and I'm just gonna become a dumb animal when it does!" he glanced up to see the kid's face scrunched up like he was concentrating really hard on something. "What is it now?" he asked, the irritation seeping back into his voice.
"Does it need to be a ball shape?" the kid asked.
"Well, it can't be a stick now, can it?" Kurama snapped. His eyes clamped shut and he breathed in deeply in an effort to calm himself. "Why won't you just leave me alone, let me have some peace in my last moments as my consciousness disappears forever!?"
He felt something bump into his snout and snorting in surprise he opened his eyes. A big white ball was held up to his face. "What," he asked in measured tones, "are you doing?"
"Well, if the magic ball thingy had to be a ball shape, then you can use this," the boy answered, shoving the plastic toy into Kurama's face. "If you stuff this ball into your magic one, it'll keep its shape."
Such a simple plan. Kurama chuckled. "Fine, if what you say works, I will give you a wish as a reward."
He was not prepared for the incredibly condescending look the child gave him. "I'm not doing this for rewards," he replied and Kurama immediately felt foolish.
"Fine! Just gimme that ball then," he snarled, thrusting the hoshi no tama toward the boy. At the same moment, the boy held out his toy ball. The object rolled out of his hand and suddenly rolled into the hoshi no tama. Kurama yelped and dropped it in surprise.
They watched as the golden tendrils grew brighter and unravelled faster, only to curl around the small ball and latch on tight. The glow grew in brightness and the boy clamped his hands over his eyes and Kurama tried covering his own eyes with his paws. When he opened his eyes again, the ball was glowing, big and glowing as brightly as he had ever known it to.
"I – I don't believe it," he muttered, grabbing the ball. It glowed so bright; if he had not dropped it earlier and seen it dull then he would not have believed this to be the same one. But it was not the same, not really. As he held the renewed hoshi no tama he felt the slight nudge of memories associated with the item that once belonged to the human child.
The ball had once belonged to a neighbour, one whom had grown up and had no use for it anymore. She gave it to the little boy next door, whom she loved like a little brother and knew he would care for it. It may have looked new but only because it had been loved and cared for by the original owner and its new one, a little four year old purple haired boy named Minamisawa Atsushi. Minamisawa really love this ball but even his little four year old mind knew that right now the strange fox needed it more than he did. Kurama blinked away the rush of memories that don't belong to him and focused on the kid staring nervously at him. The feeling of gratitude, foreign as it was, filled his heart. This kid had just given him a precious item and saved his life.
"T-thank you," Kurama said, clutching the hoshi no tama to his furry chest. "Thank you."
The kid grinned shyly, acting surprisingly modest now. "Anything I can do for you, just ask!" Kurama said. It's the least he could do. The boy's eyes widened and Kurama noted the startling brown and gold toned irises, and then the child asked, "Can I see that fox parade again, please?"
Kurama grinned. "You mean my cousin's wedding procession. Don't know about that, because she's only gonna get married once, but maybe you can come to the wedding reception."
The little boy's eyes brightened once more and Kurama barked a deep foxy laugh.
"Alright, Minamisawa. Let's go!"
The End