Centuries ago, mythical creatures were plentiful on the Earth. Most stayed to their own territories, creating families, packs, and occasionally small communities. In some blessed eras, when there were extended periods of peace, mythical creatures even mingled with and sometimes formed friendship and alliances with humans. Unfortunately, some chose to take advantage of these peace times to harm the mythical beings in their midst-poachers who put the value of a rare pelt or some powerful potion ingredient over the value of another life. What followed was sometimes war, but more often than not the mythical beings would retreat to their safe havens, swearing to never trust humans again. Sadly, as time passed, many species began to fall prey to extinction, either due to changing atmospheres, deforestation, or, more terribly, these same poachers who continued to track them down to their secret homes. Eventually the mythical creatures became so sparse or else hid themselves so well that most humans came to believe that they no longer existed, if they had ever existed at all. Still, there were those who still believed, and there were many of them who sought to gain what they could from the last few surviving remnants.
But in this darkness that had fallen over what might have been considered the twilight years of the mythical realm, there was one bright spot-a movement to seek out the remaining mythical creatures and move them to safety, mainstreaming those who could pass as human into modern society and finding clever ways to hide those who couldn't. And who were these soldiers, these warriors, who were willing to put themselves in the line of fire to protect these creatures from those who would wish to do them harm? There were many, but one of them most pure-hearted and determined was a boy named Fred Lee. This is his story.
Fred started out the day in his normal fashion-eating breakfast alone in the kitchen before heading down to headquarters to begin his rounds. His father had already eaten hours earlier-he always awoke at the crack of dawn, something Fred aspired to but so far wasn't able to quite manage. Still, by eight am the center underneath the house was buzzing with life and activity, and by the time Fred arrived the day's activities were already well under way.
No one knew what really lay behind the exterior of the stately mansion at the edge of San Fransokyo's higher end district. It was known to be the home of the philanthropist Stan Lee, and on the surface level it looked much like the home of any other wealthy citizen, if perhaps with a bit more old-world charm than most. What was unknown to most was that, underneath the house, in a whole network of underground warrens and tunnels, was a high-tech facility devoted to the protection and rehabilitation of mythical creatures. Ever since Fred could remember, the center had been there, helping creatures who had been rescued from the many poachers who were still out there and offering shelter to those beings who had heard of their kindness and wanted their help. There were state-of-the-art medical facilities, rooms created to accommodate the needs of any of their special "guests" while they were in transition, a whole map and computer room dedicated to tracking the activities of known poachers and also locating possible spots where mythical creatures might be living in hopes of preemptively offering them help, and, the rooms where Fred spent most of his time, the rehabilitation center. Some might call what he did "occupational therapy"-in essence, he helped mythical creatures learn how to blend in with the modern human world, how to function in society while still remaining true to their heritage and being proud of who and what they were. Fred knew that what he did was important. He did. He'd made many, many friends over the years and he knew he was beyond blessed to have met so many fascinating creatures, heard their stories, and seen them go on to live full, happy lives in safe new environments. Still, some days he couldn't help but wonder if his work was near as important as those of the teams, often spearheaded by his own dad, who went out all over the world, rescuing and offering aid to those mythical creatures in need. It all sounded so much more exciting than teaching nixies how to use utensils and showing fawns how to file tax returns for the jobs that the organization managed to secure for them. But his father absolutely refused to let him go anywhere near the line of danger, and understandably so ever since they had lost Fred's mother when the boy had been barely a year old. Still, he couldn't help but wonder if maybe he was meant for something more.
He was just in the middle of a class on social etiquette for some of the adult creatures looking to be transitioned into the monitored homes that the Lees had set up all over the city (they usually started them out there before letting them move to places more suited to their needs and preferences-of course still keeping light tabs on them for as long as they felt necessary to ensure their safety) and looking forward to an afternoon working in the day care center (he loved getting to play with all the young creatures as much as they loved having him there) when he received an unexpected message that his dad needed to see him in the main headquarters.
Not sure of what to expect and thinking that it must be important if he was actually calling for him, Fred leaves the class in the capable hands of a manticore who had stayed on with the Lees (it wasn't uncommon for them to let mythical creatures who wanted a chance to help others like themselves take on jobs here at the center) before heading to where his father was waiting for him.
"Ah, Frederick," Mr. Lee greets him when he walks through the sliding doors.
"Hey Dad," Fred answers, giving him a respectful nod-he and his dad weren't particularly affectionate with each other, and Fred often saw him more as the others did, as "the General", than as a paternal figure. Noting that his father was dressed in camo fatigues, he gathered that he was just getting ready to head out or had just returned from a mission.
"You called for me?" he prompts when Mr. Lee fails to say anything more for a minute, just silently staring at him with a slightly distant expression. He knew that look-those who had known Fred's mother often said that he looked a lot like her and he had come to gather that sometimes when his father was looking at him, he wasn't actually looking at him but remembering his deceased wife. It used to weird Fred out, and even make him slightly annoyed-why couldn't his dad see the son in front of him instead of being stuck in the past?-but he'd finally become resigned to it and he just tried not to think too much about it when he could help it.
"Oh, yes," Mr. Lee answers, seeming to come out of a slight daze. "We are in need your… special set of skills."
"We"-it was always "we" with his dad. Would it kill him to just say for once, "I need your help?"
Still, this was exciting news for Fred-his dad actually needed his help! He tried not to get his hopes too far up as he asks, "D-do you need me for a mission?"
It was a good thing that he hadn't gotten himself to excited as the first word out of his father's mouth was a stern, almost cold, "No."
Fred tries not to flinch at the obvious disapproval on the other man's face. Hey, it had been worth a shot.
He watches as his father quickly schools his expression back into his usual calm, slightly detached look before saying, "We need some help with the recent arrivals. They were being hunted by poachers in the mountains of Japan, and while we managed to get to them in time, I don't believe they trust us as of yet. They had to be sedated for the trip over, and the younger one is still sleeping, but the older one is awake and seems to be under the unfortunate opinion that we are working with the poachers, or else have our own horrible plans for them. Some of the team have tried talking to them, but no they haven't had much luck. We know that you tend to have better luck of getting through to our... harder cases and were wondering if you'd be willing to help."
It wasn't so much of a request as an order, and Fred knew he couldn't turn it down. Still, he didn't mind as much as he might have if it had been something he'd disliked doing. The truth was he often enjoyed getting to know the newcomers, particularly those who were what his dad called "harder cases". It was something of a challenge for him, and, as his father had said, he did seem to have a knack of getting past most barriers to show the suspicious parties that they meant them no harm and actually wanted to help them. It was also times like these that made him feel like what he was doing here actually had a purpose-that he could do something that most others couldn't and so he was actually a valuable part of this operation.
"Sure," Fred answers, nodding to show his dad that he was willing. "I'm more than happy to help."
"Excellent!" Mr. Lee beams down at him, and for just a moment Fred feels his chest fill with joy at the fact that he'd actually gotten his father to be proud of him. But the moment quickly passes as the other man continues, "They're in holding area B. I trust you know the way?"
"R-right," Fred agrees, trying not to sigh audibly. His dad wasn't even going to walk him over, to tell him the details of the trip? Well, he honestly hadn't expected him to, but it would have been nice all the same. Just as he's turning to go, however, he thinks to ask, "Um, dad?"
"Mm?" Mr. Lee looks up from the clipboard he was currently examining, as if he'd already forgotten that his son was there.
"What exactly am I dealing with?" Fred asks, not wanting to go in completely unprepared.
"Kitsune," Mr. Lee answers after a moment. "It's a pair of kitsune."
Fred stops outside the door to holding area B. He'd used to hate these things-he thought it was like putting someone in jail for a crime they hadn't committed. As he'd gotten older, however, he'd come to see the wisdom of them-when creatures were scared or upset, they could cause large amounts of damage, and it was better to keep them isolated until they could make sure that they knew they weren't a threat. His father would never let him go into a holding area with a creature he thought was truly dangerous, at least not without supervision. Kitsune, however, weren't exactly a major threat. They could be mischievous, yes, but hardly ever tried to purposefully harm someone unless they felt they were being truly threatened, and Fred was pretty much the least threatening person on the planet. Still, the young man prepares himself for a potentially turbulent session as he scans his access card that caused the door to open and allowed him inside.
His heart sank slightly at the sight in front of him. A kennel. Really? Was that necessary? It turned his stomach to see mythical creature put into anything even remotely resembling a cage-and with good reason-but given the appearance of the kennel's current inhabitants, he could somewhat understand why they'd chosen to do so. On the bottom of the cage lay a boy-he looked to be in his early teens or possibly younger with his tiny, almost frail structure, floppy black hair obscuring his face. Unlike normal teens, though, where human ears should have been he had the furry, reddish-colored ears of a fox and a long bushy tail of the same color that poked out from beneath what looked like a traditional Japanese yukata. The only explanation Fred could come up with was that either the boy was too young to know how to fully shape-shift yet or had been sedated mid-transformation. He didn't appear to be too much of a threat. What-or, more appropriately, who, Fred reminded himself (mythical creatures deserved to be treated just as much as people as humans did)-worried him more was the other fox in the cage. This kitsune was in full fox form-slightly larger than the average fox, his wide golden eyes full of either anger or fear (both emotions equally as dangerous.) He was pacing back and forth in the small space that he had available to him, alternately pawing at the lock on the door as if trying to get it off and then worriedly licking at his cell mate's face. When Fred entered the room, the fox instantly turned on him, the fur on its back and tail sticking up even as its lips pull back to reveal sharp canine teeth, a low, guttural growl emanating from its throat.
"Hey. it's okay." Fred approaches the kennel cautiously, keeping his pace slow and his voice calm, doing his best not to show fear while also not wanting to do anything to to scare the fox. The kitsune momentarily starts to back away before shaking it's head and planting itself firmly in front of the comatose boy, growling even more fiercely.
"Whoa." Fred puts his hands up in an almost "I surrender" gesture, wanting to show the kitsune that he meant no harm. "I swear, I don't want to hurt you. I just want to talk to you. Is that okay?"
The fox didn't back down, but the growling at least momentarily ceases as it observes the man suspiciously.
Feeling that it would be better to get down to the kitsune's level, Fred drops to his knees about four feet from the cage-he didn't want to invade the fox's "territory"-and says softly, "Okay. First question-can you actually understand me?"
Given they were from Japan, Fred had to wonder if the fox might only know Japanese, in which case he'd have to pull on his rather limited knowledge of the language or else have to call in someone who was more fluent than he was.
After a moment, the fox just barely moves its head, nodding a "yes".
"Okay, excellent!" Fred can't help but feel relieved at that. Apparently somewhere the kitsune had learned English, so that was going to make this a lot easier.
"All right," he continues, starting to reach for the lock on the kennel. "I can't imagine you like being in there, and, honestly I don't like seeing someone like you being stuck in a cage either. So here's what I'm going to do-I'm going to let you out, but I'm going to need you to transform into human, if you can do that, so we can actually talk and so you can show me you're not going to try to hurt me while I'm trying to help you."
The kitsune's ears go flat and it lets out a tiny growl in response.
"Hey, that's my offer," Fred answers, not willing to back down. "Either you work with me or we both end up with an outcome neither of us likes. I swear, I'm not trying to hurt you-I just want to talk."
After seeming to consider the man's words for a minute, the fox finally nods ever so slightly again.
"Awesome." Fred gives him a grin before using his access card to undo the lock on the cage. He holds the door shut with his hands, though, as he adds, "Remember your promise. I'm keeping my part of the deal, you have to keep yours."
The fox appears to almost roll its eyes at him, but it nods again and Fred swings the door fully open.
The kitsune tentatively steps one paw out of the kennel, its eyes darting around and its nose quivering as it surveys the surrounding area, obviously expecting some sort of trap. Fred forces himself to remain completely still, hardly even daring to breathe and risk startling the creature as it slowly steps out into the main room. Its movements are hesitant but graceful, almost reminding the man of what it would look like if a silk scarf had come to life. The fox doesn't move immediately towards him-instead it cautiously moves about a yard to the side of the kennel, and Fred allows it to explore, to see for itself that there weren't any traps or dangers waiting for it. He was just starting to wonder if the kitsune was actually going to keep its promise or stay in fox form when suddenly he sees a small tremor go through the creature's form and, moments later, it starts its metamorphosis. It took only moments-it was so fast, in fact, that Fred could barely see it happening. Before he could even blink the fox was gone and there was a young man about his own age crouching there in its place.
Oh. Gosh. Fred had honestly met some mythical creatures that could have been considered attractive before-with all the mermaids and wood sprites and other spirits who had come through here, it was kind of hard not to. But he'd never actually felt personally attracted to one. Not until now, that is. He knew it was a stupid idea-his father had often warned him that they were dealing with wild creatures who, as human as they could appear, were very different from them and would only break his heart. But it wasn't like Fred had made the choice. He just saw the beautiful man in front of him and he knew that he'd fallen for him. Broad shouldered yet still somehow delicately graceful, his soft black hair fell over two pools of liquid brown, his human ears large enough to be slightly absurd but somehow adorable at the same time. Fred could only feel grateful that when he had transformed a yukata much like the younger boy's had appeared to clothe the kitsune (Fred had known human-esque creatures like selkies to be perfectly fine with going naked, and that was definitely not a problem he wanted to deal with right now.) As it was, he was having something of a hard time remembering exactly what he was doing here until the other man (fox?) let out a low growl that brought him back to the reality of the moment. Right. Now wasn't the time for school boy crushes, especially if the angry and slightly feral look on the other man's face was any sign that the feelings definitely were not mutual.
"All right, um, thank you for being willing to-ah, cooperate," Fred says, trying not to stumble over his words. "I guess I should start out with the introductions. I'm Fred, and-"
"Why did you bring us here?" the other man hisses, his beautiful eyes narrowing.
"Well, um-"
"If you were going to skin us for our pelts, you would have done it long ago," the other man growls. "So what is your trade? Do you intend to sell us to someone who wants us alive?"
"What? No!" Fred cries.
"Then what is it that you want from us?" the other man demands, his eyes flashing dangerously.
"Nothing! We just want to help!" Fred answers. "I swear, we don't mean you any harm!"
"If you don't mean us any harm, then what did you do to my brother?" the other man growls back at him.
Brother? Fred quickly looks between the teen in the cage and the man in front of him, his mind sparking with understanding. They were brothers! No wonder the elder kitsune was being so protective-he would be too if he had a sibling and had woken up locked in a cage to find them unconscious.
"I-I'm really, really sorry about that," Fred apologizes. "I wasn't responsible for that, and I definitely don't approve of it, but you were both sedated."
"Sedated?" The other man's nose wrinkles up in confusion, only for the expression to quickly switch to anger. "And that's supposed to make me think we can trust you, when you treat us like animals?"
"Like I said, I'm really, really sorry," Fred says, truly meaning it. "I guess the team was trying to get you away from the poachers and they thought you'd fight them while they were trying to help you. It was still really messed up, though, and I apologize. No one deserves to be treated like that."
The other man seems to be considering his words. He obviously doesn't fully trust him yet, but he asks stiffly, "Where are we?"
"San Fransokyo," Fred answers, glad to be moving onto safer topics.
"I don't know the name," the kitsune replies, his tone still cold but slight fear appearing in his eyes, apparently the truth that he was far from home-or what had been his home-starting to set in.
"More importantly, you're in the Center for Mythological Creatures' Preservation and Rehabilitation-which is honestly just a really long name to say this is a place where all sorts of mythical creature come or are brought for help when their homes are invaded and their lives are threatened," Fred explains.
"I-I don't understand," the other man says slowly before growling, "You say you're trying to help us, but all I see is someone who took me and my brother from our home and brought us here against our will!"
"You were only brought here because it's not safe for you to stay where you were!" Fred answers. "Poachers had found your territory, and even if we'd stopped those ones, more would have come looking for you!"
"I have survived in the wild for nineteen years, I think we could have evaded capture!" the man spits back.
"The evidence says otherwise-if it hadn't been for my dad and his team, you and your brother probably would be pelts by now," Fred answers flatly. He hated going there, but apparently this was going to take some tough love. "So if that's what you want, then fine, we'll gladly hand you back over to the poachers!"
The kitsune's eyes flash dangerously, but then his gaze shifts over to his still sleeping brother and he lets out a low sigh combined with a growl. "Thank you for saving us, at least," he finally says. "We owe you a debt of gratitude for that. But you must understand that we have been given very little reason to trust humans until now."
Fred weighs his options. Technically what he was about to do was something his father had forbidden him to do-he said it put him at risk, the more people who knew, and only a very few people who had known his mother while she was still alive knew the truth about him. There were other ways to convince the kitsune that they could be trusted, but those ways would take time and effort and, the truth was, he wanted the fox to trust him as soon as possible. More than that, he wanted him to see that they weren't that different. In an odd way, he almost wanted to maybe finally have someone accept him for who and what he was-to see that he was a part of the world of the creatures he'd been sworn to protect, not just some kid who was always watching from the sidelines but never allowed to actually join in no matter how much he wanted to.
"If you're worried about trusting humans," Fred finally says, a slight smile playing at the corners of his mouth, "then you don't have to worry about me. I'm not human either."
"W-what?" The other man's eyes widen with surprise and then narrow with suspicion. "Show me," he quietly demands.
"Gladly." Fred grins, already feeling his body tingling with anticipation. He backed up a little ways, allowing himself more room, before starting the transition. It's almost like an intense itch as his skin first turns golden and then melts, morphing into scales as hard as diamonds. Meanwhile the rest of his body stretches and lengthens, his limbs shortening and his nose and mouth elongating into a snout. The transformation ends when his tail finally forms, and there he was-in his true, or other form, depending on how you looked at it.
"Ryu," the kitsune breathes, staring at him first in shock and then a light entering his eyes that had up to this point been filled only with dark suspicion. He quickly morphs back into fox form but the smile is still evident on his face as he says, "Y-you're one of us!"
"Close enough," Fred agrees with a grin of his own.
"A dragon!" The fox lets out a yipping laugh. "But how-?"
"Technically I'm only half dragon," Fred admits, his smile dimming slightly. "My mom was one."
"Was-?" the kitsune asks, his tiny fox brow furrowing in concern.
"She died when I was barely hatched, saving a tanuki nest," Fred answers quietly. "My dad met her when he was training at a temple in Japan. He was just trying to master martial arts, but one day while he was out meditating, he heard crashing in the forest and he found poachers who were trying to capture and probably kill my mom. He fought them off and she had just enough energy to transform into a human so he could carry her back to the temple. He nursed her back to health, and while she was healing they fell in love. They were married by the monks there, and after that they decided that they both wanted to spend the rest of their lives protecting other mythical creatures. They started out there in Japan, but soon they started following poachers to other countries and things just spread. Eventually they ended up creating a base here in San Fransokyo so they could have somewhere safe for the creatures they saved to come that was far away from where most of the poachers are still hunting for mythical beings. When my mom died, though… Things changed. I know my mom never would have used force to take creatures from their homes, even if they were in danger. She was just great at talking to people and finding good solutions that didn't always result in them having to be taken here and forced into being mainstreamed into human society. But I guess once my dad saw what the poachers were willing to do, the lengths they were willing to go to, he decided to take more… drastic measures to make sure that no one else died if he could prevent it."
"I see…" The kitsune swishes its tail slowly, thoughtfully, before saying softly, "I'm sorry about your mother. Hiro and my parents were killed by poachers when I was eight… Hiro was only a kit then, he barely even remembers them."
"Hiro?" Fred asks before feeling a park of understanding. "Is that your little brother?"
"My otouto, yes," the fox answers, smiling warmly back at sleeping boy. "He's all I have left… I would do anything to protect him."
"Which is why we want to do everything we can to make sure that you stay safe," Fred tells him.
"What exactly is going to happen to us, now that we're here?" the kitsune asks, turning back to him, no longer showing any signs of anger but more of fear for the future.
"Well…" Fred finds himself melting under that golden gaze but forces himself to stay coherent and answer, "Usually what we do is try to help newcomers learn how to blend in with the human world-it's the best line of defense we have right now. We give you a place to stay in the center until you're ready and then we help you find a home and employment out in the city. Um, your situation is a little different because I'm assuming that you're not exactly prepared to be on your own with just your little brother…"
"I've been taking care of him on my own for years!" the fox protests fiercely.
"And I'm not saying you can't do that out in the wild!" Fred hurries to reassure him. "But it's a little different in the human world-there's a lot of stuff you don't know!"
"I've been around humans before," the kitsune grumbles. "Hiro and I would sneak into villages sometimes to get supplies, and my parents would take me to festivals when I was a kit…"
"Trust me, having all of the adult responsibilities of the human world put on you all at once is a lot for anyone, even someone who's grown up in the human world," Fred answers gently. "But I'll tell you what-I know there's an older female kitsune who came through here a couple of years ago. She goes by the name 'Cass Hamada' now, and she owns a cafe called The Lucky Fox. Recently she told us that she would be more than happy to take on a boarder or two who needed somewhere to stay in exchange for helping her out with her restaurant. I think she's honestly kind of lonely, and maybe having other kitsunes living under the same roof…"
"It has it's… possibilities," the other fox agrees after a moment's consideration, his tail swishing thoughtfully.
"We don't have to have it all hammered out immediately," Fred promises him. "For now, I think we just need to focus on getting you two a nice hot meal and then a place to stay for the night, okay?"
"That actually sounds pretty good," the fox answers with a slight nod.
"Wonderful!" Fred smiles at him before allowing himself to transform back into human. "Um, it's probably best if we both leave as human-just so that everyone knows that you mean to be peaceful. I'm sorry, but especially since you're going to have to get used to being human…"
"Understood," the kitsune sighs before also transforming into his human form.
"I, um-I'd also appreciate it if you wouldn't tell my dad that I'd showed you that I was a dragon," Fred adds. "He… He doesn't like it if I do that, and he really doesn't want more people than necessary to know…"
"Why?" the fox (now man) asks with confusion.
"I… I guess he wants to 'protect' me or something," Fred sighs.
The kitsune considers this and then nods. "Given I owe you a debt of gratitude and as you are our ally, I will hold to your wishes."
"Thank you." Fred flashes him a grateful smile. Ally-it wasn't much, but it was definitely a start. "Um, by the way… What should I call you?" he thinks to ask, realizing that he didn't know the kitsune's name yet.
"Tadashi," the other man replies with a slight smile. "It's Tadashi."
Tadashi. Every bit as perfect as the rest of him, Fred thinks, his chest glowing slightly at the newfound knowledge.
Just then, the teen in the kennel starts squirming slightly, letting out a tiny moan.
"Hiro!" Tadahi quickly drops to his knees and reaches into the cage to pull his sibling out, cradling him close to his chest.
"Nii-chan?" the younger boy mumbles, blinking his eyes open and seeming to be struggling to focus on him. "Where-?"
"We're safe, otouto," Tadashi answers, gently kissing his brother's forehead before smiling up at Fred. "We're safe.