Ninetails
When five year old Koujaku first met Aoba, the young boy only had one tail.
It wasn't a metaphor for anything, really. The black haired boy had met the fox in a forest behind his house, alone and nursing a scrape on his elbow. His blue tail swished behind him, reflecting the sun's rays as it bristled in attention and fear. Koujaku knew better than to just walk up and try to take matters into his own hands. But at the same time, he wanted to help this stranger, to take his pain away. Hazel eyes burned gold as the other boy approached, and Koujaku whispered, "It's okay. I want to help."
The fox immediately relaxed, still cradling the injured arm to his chest, watching Koujaku's every single move. The older boy pulled out a rag from the sleeve of his kimono, gently pressing against the bleeding wound, wrapping it around. "There. It has less of a chance to get infected, now."
"Thank you," the fox replied, tail swishing back and forth behind him.
Koujaku took in the boy's appearance. The only major thing was his hair. An electric blue color at the tips, getting darker as it closed in on roots. And of course, the very obvious fox tail moving behind him matched. There weren't any animal-like ears. The boy smiled, eyes returning to their natural hazel hue. "I'm Aoba."
"Koujaku."
Aoba stood, stretching his arms, wincing at the slight pain of the bandaged elbow. From deeper in the woods, a black wolf emerged, head held high. "Aoba," he called with a deep voice, moving his head to the side, gesturing to the woods when Aoba acknowledged him. The young fox turned back to Koujaku.
"Thank you again, Koujaku!"
And he vanished into the trees.
When Koujaku met Aoba again, he was seven, and Aoba had grown a second tail.
The young boy was sitting at the edge of the forest again, both tails just waving behind him, as if having a mind of their own. He sat watching, seemingly waiting for Koujaku to leave his home and see him. So when the older boy exited his house, he wasn't surprised to see the large grin Aoba sprouted and the tails begin to wag. "Didn't you have one tail last I saw you?" Koujaku asked from afar, afraid of getting close.
"I grew another one!" Aoba exclaimed happily, standing up and hopping over to Koujaku. "Why are you so far away?"
"I—I don't know." Koujaku laughed. "For some reason I was afraid of you."
"Of me?" Aoba asked, cocking his head to the side. "You've got nothing to be afraid of when it comes to me. It's okay. Ren's scarier than I am."
"Ren?"
The fox shrugged. "That wolf that came to get me last time. I doubt you remember. It was so long ago."
At the mention of a wolf, a howl erupted from the massive wood, and a loud shriek could be heard from inside the house. "Koujaku! Get inside! There are wolves about!"
The boy looked at his new friend sadly, and Aoba smiled, hazel eyes dimming. "We can see each other again, right?"
"Of course," Koujaku replied, nodding furiously. His mother called his name again. "You should leave, before my mom catches you."
Aoba sprinted off into the trees, looking back at Koujaku once before another howl echoed.
"Koujaku!"
"Coming mother!"
When Koujaku was eleven, Aoba came to visit him, another tail added to the collection.
He had grown a little taller, and the tails reached down to his knees whenever he was sad. His hair had begun to grow out, reaching past his ears, and was sensitive to touch. He liked to be pet though.
Koujaku stared at the blue appendages as they moved around, fur swishing against the wind. He wondered sometimes what it was like to have a tail (or three, for that matter) and how it felt. Extending his hand slowly, he brushed his fingers against the fur, the touch soft, but the hairs still bristled, and Aoba turned around with a hiss, hazel flashing to gold and canines bared, hand striking his friend's face, leaving a gash over his nose. He quickly calmed down, flicking his tail away. (1)
"I'm sorry," he said quickly, not meeting Koujaku's eyes. His breath was uneven as Koujaku jumped up, holding his bleeding nose. The dark haired boy didn't know what even he did wrong. "I'm so sorry."
And Aoba was suddenly gone.
Aoba didn't show his face for years after that. When Koujaku saw him again, he had just turned nineteen, and Aoba had grown one more tail.
It was awkward, so to say. Aoba kept his distance. His hazel eyes were distant and hazed, and the four tails were long and regal, twitching behind him. The only way Koujaku even recognized him was his blue fur.
Surprisingly, he was transformed into a fox. (2) His hind legs were folded under him as he sat, head facing forward. Koujaku walked up to him carefully, not reaching out or anything. Aoba's eyes glanced up at Koujaku's scar across his nose, visibly wincing. He stood and rubbed his head against the older boy's hand, whimpering softly.
This was his way of an apology, Koujaku realized. And when he slid down to his knees to hug the fox, it was his way of forgiveness. (3)
Three years later, one more tail had grown next to the previous four.
Aoba still hadn't said anything about his tails just suddenly appearing, nor why there was more than one. But to be fair, Koujaku never really asked. This was also the meeting that spurred their first kiss.
Koujaku was shocked, for lack of better terminology. He'd always gone out with women, wooed them and went to bed with them. Never had he kissed a man, or in Aoba's case, a mythical creature. But it was different. The texture of Aoba's lips were soft with a rough edge to them, and the fox was inexperienced, unaware of what exactly was happening. All Koujaku really knew was that he felt Aoba's tails brush against him affectionately, as if asking him to continue.
So Koujaku fell in love with a fox that day.
When Aoba grew his sixth tail a year later, Koujaku was there to witness it.
The blue fox had fallen asleep with his head in Koujaku's lap, snout basically burrowing into the dark haired man's stomach. Koujaku's hand was lightly stroking the bright blue fur, feeling the appreciating hum that emitted from the creature napping on him.
For a moment, Aoba tensed, and then relaxed. When Koujaku drifted his gaze to his rear, he watched in awe as one tail split into two without any difficulty, both happily waving around before settling comfortably as Aoba shifted. Starstruck, Koujaku went to reach down to run a hand over the tails, but stopped short, remembering what had happened last time he touched one. Aoba had struck him and left a nasty scar on his face.
He sighed, leaning back on his palms to stare up into the sky. His hand returned to Aoba's head, and the fox hummed contently.
It was strange, Koujaku told himself when Aoba grew his seventh tail. He'd fallen in love with a fox, and the fox had returned his feelings, but they were two completely different people—two completely different creatures.
It wasn't that Koujaku really had an issue with it, no. He loved the time he spent with Aoba. He just wished that he could take the young fox out more, on dates and to meet his other friends.
He also wished that Aoba would stop damn trying to eat his pet bird, Beni.
When Aoba obtained his eighth tail, the pair made love for the first time.
It wasn't anything magical, Koujaku would admit. It was pure, raw sex. Nothing more. Two people in love that wanted to express their feelings.
That was also the time when Aoba told Koujaku about the fox spirits.
He said that he was a fairly powerful fox spirit, now that he had grown his eighth tail, for a young one. Foxes were notorious for being trouble makers and jokesters. But Aoba had been abandoned once he was born, and taken in by the wolves. Compared to foxes, wolves were regal and distant. Aoba didn't want to be like them. He wanted to be different.
He explained that once a fox gained nine tails, he would an all-seeing creature. The most powerful deity. (4) But with that, came uncertainty. He wasn't sure what he'd look like afterward, or if he would be able to return back to Koujaku after he grew his final tail.
After his story, he promised Koujaku that he would never leave him.
Koujaku cried that night with Aoba in his arms. Cried for the fox, for himself, and for whatever power that was trying to separate them.
A white fox sat in the place where Aoba would once be, shortly after Koujaku turned twenty-six. It's white eyes blended in with its fur, and its nine tails spread behind it like a long cape.
For a brief moment, Koujaku wondered where Aoba had gone, because this fox surely wasn't Aoba. The animal stood, slowly walking over to Koujaku, a small flame buzzing around it. (5) It sat back down, lifting its snout and producing a small, white orb of light. (6) It flew over to Koujaku, and landed in his palms.
The fox bent its head and changed form; into a man with white hair reaching down to about his shoulders. His kimono was white with accents of red on it. He smiled, "Hello, Koujaku."
The older man gasped. "A-Aoba…" (7)
If you listen hard when walking through the woods, you may hear the cries of a poor, defenseless man begging for help. If you dare venture any farther then the path you are walking, a white fox will come to your side, whispering, "you shouldn't have strayed away."
It would take your things (8), and leave you begging for mercy, before a lone wolf came by and killed you itself.
Aoba always knew when people would come to try and take away his most prized possession. And even if Koujaku had slowly succumbed into madness, Aoba kept his promise of never leaving him. (9)
1—The only way to kill a kitsune (fox spirit) is to cut off all of its tails, as it is said that one of the tails is its main tail and the source of all its power. Not knowing which tail is the main one, one would have to cut off all its tails to kill it.
2—A kitsune is a shapeshifter, and usually when it reaches the age of 100 years, it learn the ability to take on a human form. Thus, they have to be a fox for a hundred years before it can shapeshift from a fox to a human and back again For the sake of this story, I changed it.
3—Occasionally a kitsune attaches itself to a person or household. Kitsune use their magic for the benefit of their companion or hosts as long as the human beings treat them with respect.
4—These kyūbi no kitsune (nine-tailed foxes) gain the abilities to see and hear anything happening anywhere in the world. Other tales attribute them infinite wisdom (Omniscence).
5—Supernatural abilities commonly attributed to the kitsune include mouths or tails that generate fire or lightning (known as kitsune-bi; literally, fox-fire)
6—This orb of light is a kitsune ball, or a star ball. They are the source of a kitsune's life. If you get your hands on a kitsune's star ball, you would have the ability to control the kitsune, and make it do your bidding. However, kitsune hate being stripped of their freedom, and when the kitsune gets its star ball back, there will be serious repercussions for you to deal with.
7—When a kitsune gains its ninth tail, its fur becomes white or gold.
8—Kitsune are often presented as tricksters, with motives that vary from mischief to malevolence.
9—Kitsune keep their promises and strive to repay any favor.
As you can see, I did a lot of research for this one-shot. Admittedly, I knew a lot about kitsunes before I wrote this, but I wanted to get into detail.
I hope you enjoyed! Please leave a review!
-Eternal White Rose