Disclaimer: I own nothing save the idea behind this fan-fic.
Prologue: Objects in Motion
Footsteps resounded through the forest, accompanied by quick, sharp breaths. Branches from trees were roughly snapped as they were pushed out of the way, causing a series of resounding cracks. The fallen branches marked a clear path of a creature fleeing from some unknown terror.
The creature; or perhaps whatever it was fleeing from, was dangerous. The rest of the forest had gone silent, acknowledging the predator that was in the woods. Birds no longer sang; they had taken cover in their nests, covering their young. Small rodents fled to their burrows.
Then a scent entered the noses' of predators and scavengers alike. Blood! The creature was wounded. Above, carrion eaters began to gather. There was a dripping sound now, that of the precious life liquid hitting the ground.
The figure paused before the trunk of a large tree. There was a hole in the trunk, an abandoned burrow. The tree was near a small path, one cut from the rain. The creature placed a small bundle in the trunk, and then pulled out a similar shaped bundle from the torn clothes, and continued to run.
It was a scant two more minutes before the carrion eaters witnessed the death of the creature. It had stumbled, only to be overtaken by several forms of similar shape and color. They pounced, and tore into the creature with sharp claws. The creature let out a pitiful wail, and then simply ceased to be.
One of the hunters turned over the bundle. "Dead. Looks like the kit bled out during the chase, and this vixen here didn't notice."
With that the hunters left, following the same trail back. They never saw the other bundle that had been hidden by the vixen. The carrion eaters descended on the dead bodies, and began to feast.
A young boy, perhaps five years old, walked down a water-cut path in a forest. Most would be hard pressed to describe the boy; the boy simply didn't have any defining characteristics. He was unnoticeably average.
The boy was on a self-appointed mission. He was "Going to Explore the Forest and Find Treasure!" His parents didn't like him running off. They said it wasn't safe. He scoffed. He was a big boy; he could take care of himself.
The boy followed the trail cut by water. He had noticed a large group of birds circling around an area. He wanted to find out what they were looking at. Maybe it was treasure!
The boy spied a large tree. It had a hole in it. Maybe there was treasure! The boy ran forward in unconcealed excitement.
The hole was high; the boy had stand on his tippy-toes to see inside. The boy gasped.
There was a baby in the hole! That wasn't Right, you don't leave babies in holes. Hold on… the baby was different. It, no she, had a tail! And fur! She was cute. But what was she doing out here?
Could she be the Treasure he was looking for?
The boy placed his hands in the tree, and pulled. The baby was heavy! He raised it above his head, and then stumbled from the weight, falling on his rear.
"Ouch!" That had hurt. He shook his head. The baby was on top of him.
The boy looked at the baby closely now. She blue eyes, like water. Her fur was red, and was on her head and tail. Her ears were pointed, and her teeth looked sharp. And…was that blood? Yes, yes it was. There was blood from a cut on her cheek.
A black bird suddenly landed on the baby. The boy gave a startled shout, only for the bird to caw at him. It then stabbed out with a vicious beak, piercing the skin of the baby, eliciting a cry of pain.
The boy growled. A fist, poorly grasped, lashed out and connected with the bird, and a cry of "Get away from her!" resounded through the forest. This bird, this Servant of Evil was trying to harm the baby, the Princess. (Of course she was a Princess. What else could she be?)
The Servant of Evil cawed, angry that its meal had been denied. It flapped away from the boy and baby.
The boy looked up, and saw more Servants of Evil circling around, and diving to the ground in a nearby area. He saw a path, and followed it, carrying the Princess. Maybe there were more to rescue.
The boy walked for what seemed to be a long time for him. Then he saw them. The Servants of Evil, pecking away at a form he could not see. "Get away from them!" With that war-cry, the boy leapt into battle. He kicked at the Servants of Evil, his hands protecting the Princess.
They leapt away, flying into the sky. They clearly feared his Feet of Heroes! Then he looked at the form they had been attacking.
It was red. Covered in red liquid. Blood-blood-holy cow there was a lot of blood-that can't be good-so much blood-…the baby squealed softly, bringing the boy out of his horror. He ran back towards his house. He had to reach it, find his parents. They could fix this, they could fix anything. He ran.
And the birds began to return.
The birds feasted for a while, before once again being disturbed. "Away, you scavengers. Away I say." Protesting loudly, the turkey vultures fled into the sky.
The man who had scared them checked the body. "Not human at all…" He turned it over, exposing the clawed throat. He blinked twice, and then checked the hands of the creature. She had clawed fingers…
There was a bundle next to her. It looked like…the man turned it over, and swore. There was a dead child, wrapped like the one his son had found. It also had fox like creatures. Had his son somehow stumbled upon ancient legends?
He then looked at the trail the female had craved, and at the ground. There were far more footprints than there should be…Shit.
He pulled out a large phone and put it to his ear. "It's me. Pack up the cabin and get the car ready to leave. If you don't hear from me in an hour, or hear anything suspicious, get out of there." He paused. "I am very serious. I love you. Take care of our son...and keep an eye on the...creature."
He turned off the phone, and followed the trail cautiously.
It took him half an hour to travel the trail, which had been made in twelve minutes by a wounded creature. He found what appeared to be a clearing and peered out. The man gasped.
There was a village, a small one, and it was on fire. Bodies similar to that in the woods were being placed in a large pile. Some were shaped like huge foxes with multiple tails. They were being rounded up by other fox people.
Kitsunes. They had to be Kitsunes. The man twitched. There was something telling him that this wasn't really, that it couldn't be real. That his eyes were lying. The man pinched himself. He was seeing this.
This…this had been an attack; an annihilation of one group by another; all hidden from human eyes. And the baby his son had found…it had to be a survivor from this massacre. One the female had died to protect, probably her own child.
Cautiously the man backed away, and then fled into the forest for his log cabin. "Tsukune, what have you gotten us into?" Behind him, the forest burned.
There was a woman driving a car. Next to her sat a man who was sweating, and covered in leaves. Behind her were a boy and a creature. The boy had wrapped his hands around the creature, and was stroking it slowly. He kept on murmuring something about a "Princess".
The woman turned to the man. "What did you find?"
He glanced around nervously. "The body of what I presume to be the mother, and another baby. Her throat…it had been slashed. There was a trail, showing where she had run from. I followed it."
He gulped, taking a short breath. "She…she came from some sort of small village in the forest. It was burning. There were other bodies there. Some were similar to the female. Others…they were giant foxes. They had multiple tails."
The man paused. He took off his glasses and began to rub them on his shirt. "There were others. They were of a similar form to the mother. They were gathering the bodies, and burning them. I think they raided and killed the others in the village. I think the mother hid the baby to keep her alive.
I think I wasn't supposed to be able to see the village. There was this…compulsion to leave; to dismiss it as fake. I think the fighting must have weakened it."
There was silence in the car. Then the woman spoke. "Should we get rid of it? Is it a threat to us? Will the others track it down?"
"You can't get rid of Princess!" The boy shouted to his parents. The woman flinched. "It is our duty to protect the Princess! To protect her so she can reclaim her kingdom. It will be just like one of the stories you guys read me."
"Son, we may not be able to protect her."
"I can and I will Tou-san! I will protect her. I will be her Knight, her Samurai!"
The man and woman exchanged a glance. "What else can we do? If we give her up, the government will treat her like an animal. And if they are exposed, the others may retaliate. It would be easy to trace it to us. It might be best if we…hid her. And she is innocent"
"Are you sure?"
"As much as I can be in a situation like this."
"We need to name her. Every Princess needs a name."
There was a short silence in the car. "What about Ahri?"
The boy nodded. "I like it. She can be Ahri-hime. I, Tsukune Aono, will protect her."
There was the sound of flesh knocking on wood, three sharp barks. The man making them was dressed in white clothes, those of a priest.
Another man, who wore a simple pair of glasses, who could have been middle aged but looked older, answered the door. He looked at the knocker.
"We aren't interested in anything dealing with your lord, or any lord for that matter."
The man in white smiled, revealing a mouth with too many teeth that were too sharp. "Oh, I am not a priest. I just like the clothes. No, I am here for an offer for your family, specifically your daughter."
The man in white held out a pamphlet for the man with glasses to see. The only thing the man with glasses saw was the name at the top of the sheet. "Yokia Academy, school for monsters."
The man with glasses stiffened, visibly tensing. He took a deep breath, calming himself. "Come in."
The false priest entered the dwelling, following the man with glasses to a kitchen. He sat down at the table. "Tsukune, Ahri, Kasumi, please come to the kitchen. There is something we need to discuss."
Various thumping noises echoed from within the house as the family gather. The two females, one middle aged, and one just entering womanhood, took seats at the table, joining the men. The final comer stood a young man with his back against a wall, scrutinizing the man in white. Slung across his back was a staff of some kind.
"Father, who is this man?" The young female had a beautiful voice, like it was signing, like wind across chimes.
"Allow me to introduce myself. I am the headmaster of a school called Yokia Academy, a school for teaching monsters how to live among humans. I am here to inform you of your enrolment in this school."
The family reacted in various ways. The females gasped as one, though the younger's form wavered, as her ears became pointed, whiskers sprouted from her cheeks, and two red tails emerged. The father balled his hands into fists. What the false priest focused most on was the blast of killing intent from the youngest male, who had swung his staff into the ready position for a bo.
The false priest focused a small portion of his own killing intent at the young man. He reeled slightly, but maintained his cool and his readiness. Impressive.
"Rest assured that I mean no harm to you or your family."
"How…how did you find me?"
"That is simple. Your family, like all families in the country, registered you at birth for this school. It is required for all monsters to go to this academy, or to take an exam showing sufficient ability to blend in with humanity. I admit, I was surprised when the name Sakura U-"
"My name is Ahri Aono." The melodious voice had a darker undertone.
"Very well then. Ahri Aono appeared on my list of students for next year. I had, like the rest of the Yokia world, had presumed you killed during the destruction of your clan. It was a simple method of using the inherent tracking spell in the records to find you."
"I see. And why do you think my daughter should go to your school? I have no doubt that she could easily pass the exam to opt out."
"Because, Mr. Aono, her going to my school will probably be the only way for your family to survive. Ahri, as independent Yokia, and a Kitsune, you represent an unknown force. Many in the Yokia world will either want you dead, with your family, or to use you, possibly by holding your family hostage.
Going to my school will allow you to learn the ins and out of the Yokia world. You will be able to form alliances there to keep your family safe. While in the school, your family will be under my protection, something no-one will cross since their young ones will have to go to my school."
"Kill us?! But why? We just want to live apart from that world." This time it was the female who hadn't spoken before.
"They don't care about that."
"I'll do it."
"Ahri, think about-"
"I will do it." The voice brokered no argument.
"Then I am coming with her." All turned to the young man who had spoken. The false priest noticed that he had not relaxed his posture; still ready to leap to his sister's defense.
"You can't!" This was a scream from the mother. "It is a school for monsters, you would be killed in an instant. You can't go."
"I will go. I made a promise that I would protect Ahri-hime from anything. This is one of those things I knew I may have to face. I will not betray that promise."
"I'll allow it." There was silence around the table. "I have always wanted to see how a human would do on my campus. This is an excellent opportunity for me. I will allow him to attend her classes, providing you maintain a passing grade."
"I will need to be in the same dorm as her. We have always slept together." The young female nodded in conformation.
"Very well. You will be in the dorm for mated couples. But understand this, boy. Your mother was right about one thing. By entering the Academy, you are placing your life on the line. My protection may extend to your family, but on campus, deaths occur."
"I will not abandon her."
The false priest nodded. The wife tried to protest, only to be silenced by her husband.
"There will be a bus at this house in one week at eight in the morning. Be ready to leave by then. Phones are available on campus. Good luck to both of you. These next years will be interesting." The false priest stood up, and left the room and the house. Silence reigned.