Author's Note: Hello, lovelies. Finally an update! It's becoming more and more apparent I'm terrible at writing, but will I stop? I probably should! But I'm not gonna! This is the type of Starfox fanfiction Ive always wanted to see; Starfox meets DBZ meets Japanese folklore. The kitsune of Inari was what inspired Fox's creation and his theme of flying through rings and arches, like how Inari's kitsune would fly through torii gates.
Chapter pic for this is in my profile! =3
R&R please, kthx!
Resolve.
It's all we had and all we needed to march out onto that bloody battlefield and stand atop that hill, bodies strewn about, as we looked down over the area, at Wolf, who stood motionless waiting for us to make our move as the first hint of morning light started appearing in the horizon, behind the skyline of Corneria in the far distance. After a moment of looking over the horizon, I slipped my brass knuckles on and drew two of my combat knives, the others taking that as the signal, moving ahead of me.
Time to finally repay my debt.
I grabbed Krystal's arm and stopped her, pulling her back behind me.
"Hold on. Let Leon and I go in first, get a feel for him. I'd like you to stay back and observe for a minute how he engages us and then decide on how to approach it. You're pretty much our trump card, so we need to keep you up and fighting as long as we can. Do you think you'd be able to run support before you move in?" She looked back at me with a questioning look when I stopped her, looking like she was preparing to scold me. She must have thought I was going to ask her to stay out of it for her safety. No, I learned the hard way I shouldn't treat her that way a long time ago. When I finished, she looked relieved and nodded with a smile.
"Yes, Fox, I can do that. I'll stay near Panther since he'll probably have a better view of the battle while sniping and be able to give me any details he observes." she said, patting my shoulder. I nodded and we were off. We ran down the hill as a group and then split when we hit flat land. Panther branched off towards a bunch of small, high plateau-like structures, the perfect place for sniping, with Krystal right behind him. Falco slowed down some, getting distance between us, leaving Leon and I ahead to engage Wolf first. Leon drew his own knives from his coat and then went camo, vanishing from my sight right after I saw him start to fan out, to try to get in strikes from behind. Quick, surprise strikes from random angles would be a serious advantage, but I knew Leon was aware that simply being unseen wouldn't completely hide him. Wolf would likely still be able to smell and hear him, but if I managed to be relentless enough, it would keep Wolf's senses distracted just enough.
And so I closed in on Wolf more or less alone and when I was close enough, he finally moved, dashing straight at me, but I was the first to strike. I went in low, aiming for his side with the knife in my right and held the left reverse style to be ready to defend. I ducked lower as his sword swung at my head, almost talking my ears off in the process, but I used the angle to slash at his leg. His reflexes had the leg pulled back out of the way in the blink of an eye, then bringing his knee forward to crash into my face. I somersaulted backwards and had to dive to the side to avoid being impaled. As he was pulling his sword back, I saw his coat tear in several places, drops of blood hitting the ground. Leon appeared, his knives bloody, moving in to strike again as Wolf turned and engaged him. Admittedly, Leon was a much better knife fighter than I was. The two exchanged flurries of blows, blocking, deflecting, cutting each other, but neither one letting up. I moved in to join the fray, Leon executing a few quick blows that would have any normal enemy thoroughly dead already, countering the attacks from Wolf he could and using his tail to strike at Wolf's legs, staggering him often, which I took as my chance to step in, attacking low at his legs and hips. For a split second, we saw his claws glow and we knew to get back quick. Huge leaps backwards are all that saved us as he swiped, aura arching off of them and destroying the ground where we stood just a second ago. Before he could do anything else, rapid fire resounded in our ears. Dozens of laser bolts attacked Wolf as Falco unloaded both his combat rifles. Now, why he was using both, I didn't know, but what I did know was that it was stupid to waste both at the same time, but that was Falco for you. Always preferred flash over efficiency. Wolf took leaping evasive maneuvers, blocking and deflecting a lot of the bolts, so I took the opportunity to draw my blaster and take potshots, making quite a few effective hits, much to my surprise to be honest. I charged a shot and fired just as Leon threw a handful of knives, my shot getting Wolf's shoulder and most the knives taking spots in his arm and lower back. He twitched for a moment, knocked all the knives out of his flesh and then became a blur, causing my muscles to tense up. The first thing he did was close the distance between himself and Falco, his sword already arcing when he stopped in front of the bird. He brought one of the rifles up to block, the sword slicing clean through it and leaving a nasty gash on across the feathered arm. He wasted no time; he was a blur again as soon as the deed was done, this time right in front of me. I was in mid-fire when his sword cleaved my blaster the same way it did Falco's combat rifle, almost taking my fingers with it. I brought my knives up for defense and found Leon once again behind Wolf, a knife going for his neck. I winced hard when I saw it sink into the side of his neck. Leon instantly leaped back as Wolf turned to swing at him, grabbing the knife in his neck and tearing it out, tossing it to the ground. I was shocked to see that all the previous wounds we had given him had all completely healed, his black coat repaired as well as if they never happened. I saw a faint glow shining through the collar of his coat, assuming that that was the healing power at work, but I couldn't see due to his collar being high enough to hide his neck and lower face. He leaped at Leon, but didn't forget about Falco and I. His tail swept in our direction and we both suddenly found ourselves flying through the air as raw energy slammed into us. We hit the ground hard enough to have the wind knocked out of us, leaving us struggling to get up as Leon faced down Wolf alone. Wolf's attacks were much more precise, much quicker than before. Perhaps the wound to the neck made him none too happy. It was apparent Leon was struggling now, suffering cuts and gashes all over. Eventually Wolf dominated him completely, his sword cutting through the knives entirely, followed by his fist digging itself into Leon's stomach. He almost doubled over as he choked, gasping for breath, as Wolf swung to stab his sword into the gasping chameleon's back. Just as the blade was about to impale him, a blue aura suddenly surrounded Leon's entire form, Wolf's blade blocked by it. He went to bring his blade down again harder, but he was nearly knocked off his feet as a shot tore through his side. Leon took the opening, reaching into his coat and burying several butcher knives into Wolf's chest before swiftly pulling out a silenced pistol and shooting him right between the eyes, forcing his head to snap back, and finally drew a larger carving knife and slashed Wolf's exposed throat. He stood there motionless after the assault, looking like he had stopped functioning on the spot. I had to look away when I saw torrents of blood start to run down his throat.
A fair distance away on a small plateau, Panther stood rooted, reloading his sniper rifle as Krystal stood near him, her staff glowing bright as she held it up, the source of the aura that shielded Leon. She also took the opportunity to attempt to heal some of Leon's more serious cuts, but not only was it difficult from afar, he had so many that it would likely be a slow process.
"Panther, status please." she said, concentrating hard on her work. The ebony feline finished reloading and glanced through the scope, taking in the scene out on the field a moment before responding.
"You were successful in safeguarding Leon. He used the chance to seriously mess Wolf up. From the looks of it, he's got knives in his chest, a pistol shot to the head and a slashed throat. Seems Leon is done going easy. Also, it seems Fox and Falco have recovered."
"Leon did all that? Oh Leon, we were supposed to try to keep Wolf alive… Fox is probably heart-broken right now…" She sighed and lowered her staff, intending to move down to the three to try to heal them as much as she could up close for maximum effect.
"Yes, a real tragedy this tale has been… Come, let us- wait, whoa. Whoa!" The feline stopped mid-sentence, quickly aiming and firing off three shots before reloading and repeating the process, startling Krystal.
"What's it is? What's going on?" she asked hurriedly, raising her staff once more.
"Damn it… Apparently Wolf is fucking immortal now because he seems to be moving about as if nothing happened and just messed Leon up pretty bad. He's going for Fox and Falco now." he said, taking more shots. Krystal immediately went back to her concentration, her staff aglow as she focused on defending the remaining two in the fray.
I scrambled to my feet as Wolf ran at Falco who was currently emptying his second combat rifle, though this didn't slow Wolf down at all, weaving through and blocking all the laser bolt fire. I ran to Leon, who Wolf had decimated just seconds ago before any of us knew that he was still very much alive. It seemed he was somehow immortal or was just able to heal so fast nothing could incapacitate him. I checked Leon's pulse and cursed at the result; he was alive, but just barely and I suspected he was slipping away considering the size of the pool of blood he was lying in. I noticed that blue aura return around his body and then around my own as well, feeling its healing power flow over me, which meant it was flowing over Leon too.
"Hang in there, Leon. We're gonna try to get this done as quickly as possible. Though that's easier said than done…" I got up and ran towards Falco who Wolf was currently attacking. The bird had discarded his rifle and had his shotgun, blasting Wolf every chance he got as he attempted to evade Wolf's sword strikes. The aura was around him as well, blocking wolf's sword when the bird couldn't get out of the way, allowing him ample time to keep firing. The only problem was that Wolf was taking the shots like candy, hardly even slowing him down. After more failed attempts to cut through that shield, Wolf held his blade high, his own aura erupting off of it. With a heavy swing, it crashed into that aura shield, throwing electricity everywhere before it broke through, shattering that shield like glass, and slashing through Falco's lower torso. He dropped the shotgun as he clutched his wound, hitting the ground as blood leaked from his beak. As Wolf turned, I was already in air ready to strike, swinging forward with cut at his face. Next thing I knew, the wind was forced out of my lungs again and I was flying at top speed several hundred feet backwards until I crashed into a wrecked tank. I know I heard bones break, felt it too, but I was suddenly pretty damn numb as I twitched and slipped in and out of consciousness.
"Fox!" Krystal exclaimed as she witnessed Wolf send him flying and then dash towards her and Panther's position.
"Shit! My sweet, stay behind me!" Panther called as he tossed his rifle aside and lifted his rocket launcher to his shoulder, pulling the trigger as soon as it locked onto Wolf. The missile flew forward towards the incoming wolf, but only made it half way before Wolf simply flung a shockwave slash at it, the explosion rocking the plateau. From the smoke, Wolf leaped high into the air towards the top of the plateau where his next targets awaited. Panther tossed the launcher aside and readied the last of his artillery, the heavy rifle. It whirled to life and then hundreds of laser bolts were being fired at Wolf as he flew over the top, Panther following his path through the air and finally firing at him as he landed. Wolf moved slowly forward at first, seeming to not care at all as hundreds of laser bolts tore through him, suddenly dashing when he heard the loud click of the heavy rifle's battery clip indicating its emptiness. Panther cursed, throwing it aside as he moved in front of Krystal, tearing both belts of incendiary knives from his waist as Wolf closed in. He wrapped Krystal in one arm and took a flying leap towards another plateau nearby, simultaneously throwing the belts at Wolf's feet, the impact causing them all to detonate, destroying a good chunk of the plateau. The feline reached out and barely caught the ledge of that second plateau, Krystal quickly pulling herself up and then helping Panther up. When they stood, Wolf was standing there waiting. Panther growled and stood in front of Krystal again, producing a rose from his jacket.
"Panther! Really, this is no time for-" Before the vixen could finish scolding the feline, he had suddenly flipped it around and flung it at top speed, its stem puncturing right through Wolf's left eye. As he staggered back and proceeded to remove the weapon from his eye, Panther produced several more and let them all fly, most of them striking Wolf in the torso. He produced two more, one larger than the rest, keeping that one for himself and passing the smaller one back to Krystal. She ran her fingers along the stem, finding it firm, metallic and very sharp at the end like a needle.
"My, I have to admit this is certainly an effective and unexpected personal touch, but so very you, Panther." Krystal said with a grin.
"That is not all I have up my sleeve, my sweet." Just as he finished his words, Wolf was streaking towards them in a blur of speed, sword raised to kill. Panther's eyes narrowed and with a strong, swift arc of his arm, Wolf found out the hard way that the rose Panther held was actually a rose whip. The center of the rose extended with the speed of a viper as Panther swung, tearing across Wolf's face and sending him stumbling backwards before retracting back to the rose as quickly as it had appeared.
"A deceptive rose that's actually a whip? Where in Lylat did you get that, Panther?" Krystal asked, eyeing the rose with fascination. Panther merely smiled at her and kissed the rose as he lightly ran fingers along its pedals.
"Don't you know? The Caruso family line has quite a few inventors and I like to dabble in a little inventing myself. Using some schematics from my grandfather, nanofibers and nanomachines programmed to respond to the placement of my fingers on the stem, I managed to design this prototype. I find myself quite satisfied with it, but it needs much more field testing before I finalize it of course." He turned his attention back to a recovered Wolf, raising the rose high before going to work unleashing a flurry of attacks upon Wolf, not letting up even when blood began to fly everywhere. He nodded back at Krystal who raised her staff, fire dancing along it as she aimed it and then fired off a large ball of fire. Just as Panther sent Wolf airborne with an attack to the face, the blaze ball slammed into the lupine, engulfing him in a raging inferno, followed by a huge explosion, sending him flying over the edge of the plateau and crashing into the ground below. The vixen charged the bottom end of her staff with red energy before leaping off the edge, soaring down to the ground with the staff held above her head, slamming it down right as she met the ground. That red energy pulsed hard through the ground, causing a massive quake and a large area of devastation in its wake, getting Wolf airborne again. Acting quickly, she slammed her staff into the lupine's chest, the resulting shockwave blowing her back some and sending Wolf tumbling through the air several yards before crashing into the ground, forming a crater as he slid to a stop.
"Well, well! My dear, such power hidden behind all that beauty! How your wonders never cease!" Panther exclaimed, squatting and peeking over the edge of the plateau. He glanced over in Wolf's direction to see him standing once again, his hand raised above his head. He gave Wolf a questioning look; what in the world was he doing now? Just then, his ear twitched and he looked above himself and went wide-eyed when he beheld a massive sphere of raw destruction rapidly descending on the area.
"Krystal!" He wasted no time descending the plateau, tackling Krystal to the ground and covering as much of her as he could as he held her tight for dear life just as the sphere touched down. The explosion was loud and rocked the area heavily, a massive dome of ascending destruction engulfing several dozen meters. It lasted only a moment before it dissipated, revealing the ruined land left behind and the two figures in the center. Krystal opened her eyes, looking around her and finding nothing but destruction and Panther twitching heavily atop her.
"Panther? Panther, answer me. Panther!" The feline slowly raised his head and looked at her through blurry vision, blood running down his jaw as he struggled to smile at her. He tried to move, but found he couldn't; several chunks of his body had been incinerated and the rest burned and mangled. A trembling hand offered the vixen beneath him a damaged rose before his golden eyes drooped shut and his head hit the earth. Before she could do anything, a blade punctured her chest, making her gasp and look up from the dying feline on top of her. Wolf was slowly walking by, holding his sword there as he walked by before dragging it out, cutting her neck and face as he did so. He focused all his attention on a certain Fox who was limping towards him in the distance, leaving the vixen and feline to die together.
It was difficult to stand, but I was forcing myself to do so anyway, limping my way back to the battle. From what I could see, Falco, Leon, Panther and Krystal were all either dead or dying, but I couldn't tell without being up close to check for a pulse. Dead or alive, they were sure as hell down for the count and I was now alone. I could have just called Pepper and had him send backup, but I wasn't about to let Wolf wipe out more of the military, not while I could still fight. I saw Wolf approaching me and checked to see what weaponry I had left and cursed when I found just a single combat knife remaining. I drew it and tossed it between my hands, trying to quickly think of a plan. First things first, I had to get that sword out of Wolf's hand and then maybe I'd be able to fight him more effectively and won't wind up cut in half. Perhaps it was time to break out my more technical abilities.
Just as I finished my thoughts, Wolf was before me, moving to slash at me. I gripped my knife tightly and moved my ass. I spent several seconds trying to not let Wolf cut my insides out as I focused my inner strength, looking for an opening. A vertical slash provided me just what I needed; I slammed my knife into his sword, deflecting it hard enough to stagger Wolf for a second, but also chipping a good chunk of my knife off and causing a crack to run down it. Not focusing on that, I reacted immediately during my narrow window of opportunity; Flames engulfed me, giving me an adrenaline rush as I threw myself forward, slamming into Wolf with my Fire Fox. We travelled several feet before I landed, the impact of sending Wolf sprawling to the ground. The window was still there, so I had one more chance and I took it. I reared back and flew forward suddenly, just a streak of motion for a second, ending up a short distance on the other side of Wolf. I looked down at my knife to find the blade had broken off, but it was worth it when I looked up and saw Wolf's sword flying through the air a long ways out of reach. I sighed with relief at my small victory; at the sacrifice of my last weapon, it seemed my Fox Flash was effective enough to disarm the lupine, having used my knife to attack during. I panted as I pushed myself up off the ground. Man, I missed the rush of those abilities, but on top of having not used them in a few years, being beat up and already exhausted made using them more tiring than I would have liked. I turned to find Wolf standing, glaring at me as he flexed his claws. I also noticed his hand was bleeding, the wound remaining even after a few seconds. As I thought, it was the sword all along and without it, he couldn't heal himself, which I hoped also meant he couldn't use any of the abilities that weren't natural to Wolf.
"All right, Wolf. No more weapons, no more powers, just you and me duking it out with only our natural skills like all those years ago. I'm gonna save you, Wolfus, even if I have to break your fuckin' face to do it!" With my declaration, I pushed all the pain in my body aside and charged. I was thrilled to find it easier to land blows on Wolf now, the lupine seeming powerless in the face of my fury. Just as I was about to make good on my talk of breaking his face, his hand quickly caught my fist, squeezing it hard enough that I heard shit starting to crack. I tried punching with my other fist, only to have my wrist caught in the grip of his other hand, which proceeded to nearly snap my damn wrist in two. I was about to give him a headbutt, but then his jaws lunged forward when my head was reared back, making me go wide-eyed and gasp sharply. I could gasp desperately for air as the entirely of his jawline of teeth sank into my neck, filling my maw with my own blood. When he pulled away from my neck and released my hands, I was surprised he didn't tear it out to finish me off, but I didn't think I needed the extra pain. I was really dizzy, struggling to focus on Wolf as I stumbled around trying to keep my balance. I noticed that his right arm was glowing with a purple aura as I forced my mind to concentrate. Was there still shit he could do that I didn't know about? I tried to stand straight despite my wound pouring blood and finding it hard to take breaths, determined to keep fighting, even though I knew I was screwed at this point. I didn't care though, I wanted my Wolf back more than anything else in the entire galaxy and I had to keep moving forward or else I never would. I stumbled forward and used it as momentum to move faster, raising my fist to attack again. I swung at the lupine, but he simply moved back some, my fist passing harmlessly by. I was going to swing again when his left hand snapped up to grip my neck, causing me to grit my teeth as pain rattled crashed through my nervous system. I gripped his wrist with both hands, trying to force his away as he blocked my airway. I raised my fist for a desperate punch, but suddenly I felt heavy pressure in my gut and I jolted heavily. My eyes were wider than before and I couldn't move in the slightest. I couldn't see what he had done, but I didn't need to. I could feel what he had done.
The claws of his right hand flexed, elongated and glowing like the rest of the limb, his forearm lodged in my abdomen, his hand clear through my back.
My brain couldn't process anything for what seemed like forever and I remain paralyzed for who knows how long, it could have been a moment or years for all I knew. When I finally rediscovered how to move, I found myself leaning forward, my trembling hands gripping familiar shoulders. Wolf stared back at me with those red eyes, emotionless, uncaring that he had just guaranteed my death. But I didn't care. This was still my Wolfus, mind corrupted by a monster we couldn't see. My vision was blurry and I find myself silently crying as I leaned towards that gruff face, a shaky hand tugging his high collar down to reveal the rest of his face, those lips I loved kissing. I was mere inches away from them, my own trembling as blood covered them. Just as I was about to kiss those lips, I cough, blood pouring from my mouth. I vision began to fade and my head fell, landing on his chest. The warm feeling I always had when I would do this all those other times swept over me, numbing me to anything else. I didn't even register his arm finally leaving my gut as he turned away, letting me fall to the ground and soak in my own blood. I laid there for several moments, my eyes barely able to make out Wolf moving towards his sword. With the last of my strength, I managed to reach into the pocket of my pant leg and pull out that statue Granny Claire gave me. She said it would help, said that he would help. I didn't know who he was, but with my last chance, I'd try to make all the difference I could. I closed my eyes, gripping the statue tightly as I silently prayed, more and more tears streaming from my eyes.
'Please… Whoever you are, I'm begging you… Save my Wolfus…please…' I begged until I couldn't process thought anymore, darkness overtaking my senses.
Light-years away, in the Milky Way galaxy on a small blue planet, a wolf god was mingling with his mortal relatives at a small manor up in a mountain range that surrounded a big city. His alert ears twitched, drawing his attention away from his family and to the skies, towards a faint voice from a far-off galaxy. Whoever it may have been, they were praying with all their heart and soul and from what he could tell, they were dying, using their last breaths to beg him to save someone… This prayer would not go unanswered. In a flurry of beautiful, angelic feathers, the wolf god vanished.
I don't know how long I saw nothing but darkness, but suddenly a faint light stirred me. I slowly opened my eyes and the first thing I registered was that I somehow wasn't dead despite being certain death had taken me. I shakily pushed myself up onto my hands and knees, finding I was no longer in any pain. I looked myself over and found no blood, no wounds and my clothes were intact. I then noticed grass under me, lush and swaying in the gentle morning breeze. I got to me feet and looked around, finding that the once barren and ruined landscape had been transformed into a beautiful grassland, a soft orange playing across it as Solar began its rise in the horizon past the skyline of Corneria. My eyes blinked as a brighter light steadily illuminated the area around me, looking up to find a white wolf probably well over double my height and very thickly framed with musculature, most of it hidden in white silk robes that had a blueish white glow. He had silver hair, a long braid on one side of his head and a long ponytail flowing behind him. His eyes were gray and even though they were looking at me, I only a darkened gray where pupils should be, making me assume he must be blind. His most notable feature was the huge angelic wings behind him, feathers from them floating about.
"Good morning, Fox McCloud." he greeted with a smile. His voice was soft, warm and inviting. I'd never heard a voice like it before in my life.
"H-hello..." I stammered, still trying to process what was floating there in front of me. So was this a god? He looked exactly like the statue that was on the ground at my feet. I bent down to pick it up, looking it over and comparing. This was definitely the same wolf the statue depicted, and Granny Claire said he could help, so now was my chance.
"I'm sorry, I don't mean to be rude, it's just… I'm not used to seeing gods is all. Did you… Did you heal me?"
"Yes, I did. You were being taken by death when I heard your voice speaking to me. You acted just in time. Any later and I would not have been able to save you or your friends from death. I'm sure they all would be very grateful." he said. I turned around and sure enough, Falco, Leon, Panther and Krystal were all getting to their feet. I turned back to the god before me, my face showing my happiness and gratitude.
"Thank you, I really appreciate it. But that's not my only problem… Can you help me get my boyfriend back? Something's happened to him and I don't know what it is. It's something supernatural and I haven't the slightest clue how to break him free of whatever it is. Please." He turned his head, his blind eyes glancing behind him. A short distance away, Wolf stood motionless, glaring at the god. I actually hadn't noticed him there until then and I started tensing up, anticipating another round.
"Fear not. He dare not come any closer. It would appear Wolf O'Donnell has been possessed by a shayde, a being a darkness born in pitch blackness where collections utmost despair have gathered. Mortal weapons cannot harm a shayde, they can only damage the body it possesses. If the body is killed, the shayde can then absorb it and grow in power." the god explained, turning back to face me. I stood there utterly stunned, the information almost frying my brain. I clutched my chest, struggling to breathe as I started sweating. I had fucked up so bad, I had almost single-handedly handed my boyfriend, the man who was my entire world, over to some goddamn dark spirit on a silver platter. If it hadn't have been for that sword giving him regenerative power, we all would have doomed Wolf to oblivion. We had thought we would need everything we could get our hands on to just subdue Wolf as Pepper's reports stated Wolf seemed invincible, and that's what we were going for, just trying to wear him down. I hadn't even the faintest idea that his sword was all that was keeping him alive and that without it, our weapons would kill him if we got in a good hit. We had all figured a nuke would be the only way to end it if it came down to that, but my current panic attack was proof that I wouldn't have been able to allow them to actually do it unless they restrained me to stop my from committing homicide to stop them… My thoughts were interrupted by a large, strong hand on my back that somehow instantly soothed me enough so I could breathe again and stop sweating.
"Calm yourself, Fox, do not dwell on it any longer. Wolf is still alive and you can still save him. I cannot do it for you, but I can aid you in your effort. In my culture, there is a deity called Inari who uses kitsune as his messengers. They're intelligent, courageous, swift, cunning and possess the ability of flight, something I see is very important to your life and something you're very skilled at doing. True, they don't use machines like you do, but nuance. I suspect you're actually already at least somewhat familiar with what a kitsune is, Kitsune no Hoshi."
I blinked as he said that name; it was my username for the chat lounge I would visit to find people or get underground information. Was he actually literally able to see my life?
"The people who worship Inari have made many types of kitsune masks for use at festivals, noh plays, the like. Looking at you and seeing your life, you remind me of a kitsune, so I shall give you such a mask and it shall grant you the gifts of Inari. You shall find yourself near on par with the one you call the Silver-Tailed Executioner which I believe shall prove quite useful." he said as light gathered in his hand, a white mask with red markings appearing. It didn't look like it had any special properties to it, it was just a simple mask, not anymore near as ornate as Wolf's. However, I wasn't sure how comfortable I was with question a god so I only nodded and took it when he offered it to me. I flipped it over and saw even less on the inside, just white. I also noticed that the mask looked like it was designed for someone who didn't have a muzzle…
"Um… There's no way this will fit over my face…" I said.
"Side of your head. It doesn't matter which side, feel free to switch sides as you see fit." he said with a chuckle, taking it from me and hovering it where it was apparently supposed to go.
"Oh." was all I could say. I don't know why I suddenly felt dumb, but I did as I took it back. He chuckled again and spoke.
"Also, I shall give you Kogitsune-Maru, a sword Inari himself helped the blacksmith Munechika forge many centuries ago in the Milky Way galaxy on Earth in its calendar 10th century. The blade takes on the shape of the wielder's spirit and their resolve. If these are weak, so to shall be the blade. Also, be warned. Once you achieve your goal, I'm afraid I'll have to take back the great power they possess, leaving them both at minimal power, but that doesn't mean they won't be forces to be reckoned with. You may keep them as a gift from me." He smiled and handed me a ball of light. I cupped my hands as it floated there a moment before it glowed brighter and started forming a shape. Before I knew it, I was holding a longsword in my hands. Looking it over, I found myself more than impressed. It was double-edged and had some elegant curves to it. It had a broad middle section between both edges that had a dark scarlet gradient with midnight purple. The handle was a lighter scarlet and had long hanging torii rope tassels attached. So this was the shape of my spirit, huh? I had to admit, my spirit was pretty badass. I gave it a few test swings and found it to feel light and natural in my grip. Perfect. I turned my attention back to the mask and brought it near where I was going to place it on my head. As it was, it would block one of my eyes and leave me half-blind. I guess it was time to find out how Wolf felt wearing his eye patch.
I fit it to the right side of my face and then stood in awe as a warm power overtook me.