Tiny, five year old, Hitomi Shizuki pressed her delicate paws to the enormous glass, essentially being an entire wall, aside from a short ledge, convenient to sit on. The city was now a forest of steel and shadows, with perfect eyes of light, winking from below and above. A wind swept briskly on the cold night that demanded silence, as snow gently settled.
"Little Miss Shizuki, are you ready for bed?" arose a gruff voice.
Upon hearing, the child span in her lily green night dress and scurried into her humongous bed. A size much too generous for that of an infant. The duvet sheets practically swallowed her, as she looked over to the door with shining, happy eyes.
"Yes, papa!"
The gentleman smiled with amusement at the tiny body hidden in the sea of soft, pine coloured fabric, as he entered the room, slowly striding in to sit himself at the bed. The room was warmly lit by a lone bedside lamp, warming the faces of the father, daughter and friendly faces of cuddly toys.
"Have you got a story for me, papa?"
"Goodness me, I think that sounded rather assumptious"
Giggling, she re-worded her statement "May I have a story tonight please, papa?"
"Yes, you may. Have you heard about a spirit called the Kitsune?"
Shaking her head, her luscious kinks and curls of green swinging like vines, she stared at him with lips shaped into an 'O'.
"Well, then. I think this is a creature you might very well be interested in. You see, people believe there exists these entities known at the 'Kitsune', which are fox spirits. With the way Japan is right now, with mass industrialization sweeping up the landscape and forests, it's left some with no home and no place to go. There are folks that believe that some Kitsune are living among us right now. They are spirits of nature, who can shape shift, breath fire and even possess people"
"They sound scary, Papa"
"Indeed, but not all are bad. Some are good and can protect certain humans and territories, if they find themselves attached to them. They are incredibly smart, possess wondrous magical powers, are illusionists and can live for almost a thousand years"
"Wow"
"Yes, Kitsune are quite incredible creatures. When they shape shift, they often impersonate very beautiful women, but a tell tale sign is usually the shape of their faces, which still in some way resembles that of a fox. If you ever happen across a beautiful woman, all alone on a frosty late night, its probably a Kitsune"
"Do you think I could come across one one day, Papa?"
A soft, throaty chuckle emitted from the man's mouth and he ruffled her hair. "Well, I hope not. Like I said, there are some good and bad ones out there, but all of them in some way are tricksters who lead gullible people astray"
He raised himself from the large bed and tucked the innocent girl in, kissing her forehead.
"I want a Kitsune! A Kitsune to be my friend!" she exclaimed, pouting.
"Ha ha. Yes, It's possible. If you'd REALLY want to be friends with a Kitsune, look out for a special pearl they have. Its very precious to them and if you take it, you can get them to do whatever you want. Folks believed they kept their souls in them"
"Their souls?"
"Yes. That they harness their energy and life into that object"
"Well, I'd be sure if I met one, I'd be good to it. I wouldn't be mean and threaten it like that"
The girl pierced him with a determined, heartfelt look and the gent smiled contently.
"I know you wouldn't. In fact, there's a good chance, you can meet one in your dreams tonight. Sleep tight, Hitomi"
"Goodnight, Papa" she projected hastily, before yanking the covers over herself.
Further chuckles poured from her fathers mouth, as he gently closed the door, allowing for her young and igniting imagination to path a new way into the land of dreams.
(NOTE: I made a short story in 'A Basketful of Odd Couple Oneshots' and decided I wanted to make a full blown story about it. Let's see what you guys think :D )