Not last night, but the night before
24 robbers came knocking at my door.
I ran out, they ran in
One hit me over the head with a rolling pin.
-children's nursery rhyme.
Last Night
By Icka! M. Chif
It feels good sometimes, to take a break. Take off the hat and cloak and let the wind brush thru my fur. It's like brushing the cobwebs out of your brain, only better because it's a nice sensation.
And do I ever need the chance to relax without the guise of humanity right now. These are the times I'm envious of Dad. It's easier to lounge in your true form, stripped of illusions when you can just turn into a big fox. It's a lot harder when you look human, you just happen to have large white fox ears on the top of your head and a long fluffy tail. People look at you funny, even if you are Kid the Phantom Thief.
Dad was a full Kitsune, white from head to tail with black highlights. Mom is a ningen. Dad sort of got in trouble for that. There's not many pure youko around, and theoretically a youkai-ningen marriage doesn't work. But some how they did it. They loved each other to pieces.
And they had me. A hanyou.
Once upon a time, hanyou were outcasts from both societies, neither youko nor ningen. But times have changed. As the ningen population has grown, the youko numbers have decreased. Now even hanyou are welcome in youko circles to help preserve their way of life.
Which, since the majority of them have stopped with the random and senseless eating and killing of ningen, is a pretty peaceful one. It has to be.
With the exception of the few rabble-rousers like me. Even if none of the ningen realise that I'm not one of them.
You'd think that the ability to change my voice and appearance might be a clue, but they're not exactly known for being the brightest stars in the sky...
Although sometimes, I can be just as stupid.
Like last night. Typical heist, if you can call the Kid's heists 'typical'. But I was on my way out when it happened.
I ran into Nakamori Aoko. Which, in and of it's self isn't all that strange. I see her every day at school after all. What was strange was what she was wearing.
There ought to be a law against wearing a skirt that short.
It's one thing to be Hakuba and get caught checking out the Inspector's daughter. It's another thing entirely to be dressed as a female and checking out the Inspector's daughter. He wasn't exactly pleased about that. However, Hakuba was the one who actually noticed that something was wrong with my features
He did a double take, then calmly walked over and introduced himself as a detective on the case. "I think there's a bit of dirt on your face." He said politely and offering me a mirror.
I glanced at my reflection and I realised that I had accidentally left my father's monocle on.
Whoops.
I laughed nervously and excused myself to go the bathroom. He decided to escort me. I decided to escape.
Aoko just has that effect on me. She can almost always distract me from whatever I'm doing. She has ever since I was a small kit, just barely able to appear ningen full time and wander around on my own, and we met in front of the Clock Tower.
Dad asked me just before he was killed what had drawn me to her. Offering people flowers is one thing, befriending someone like that is something completely different. I've helped out lots of people who are lonely, or just need a smile before without ever becoming their friends or even telling them my name.
It took me a little while with my kit brain to figure it out. I finally told Dad it was because of her scent. She smelled like orchids. And I liked it.
He just smiled at me and asked me how Mom smelled. She also smells like orchids.
So did his mother, and my aunts on his side. All the female kitsune I have ever met smelled like orchids.
But Aoko is ningen. Thru and thru.
If it was just that, we probably wouldn't have stayed friends as long as we have. Over 10 years now and counting. Her scent may call to my kitsune side, but it's her fire that attracts my ningen side.
It's whenever she smiles, or gets really mad, or has any sort of passionate emotion really. She doesn't hold anything back, and that fire shines like a beacon. She always could make me feel on top of the world just by smiling at me. Sometimes I wish I could turn into a cat and just bask in her glow. And maybe get my ears scratched. I have had a good scratch in years, since I was a kit...
I'm getting distracted again. Anyway.
I realised a few years ago the danger in this, about the time that I realised that Aoko wasn't just my friend, but she was female too.
She's a ningen. I'm not completely ningen. Relationships like my parents had are few and far between. More often, when a youko is discovered by a ningen, the ningen is afraid. It's hard to be friends or have any sort of relationship when the other person is scared spitless of you.
And I couldn't do that. I couldn't risk hurting her like that. So I began teasing her. Little things, like flipping her skirt and such. Not enough that she would stop being my friend, but enough to put a wall between us.
It's worked. At least on her end. Every so often, like when she shows off that she's really a girl instead of hiding it under that bulky uniform, I'm thrown all off balance again.
And it's dangerous.
There's also the newly added factor that I'm the Phantom Thief her father is struggling so hard to capture. Even if by some miracle she accepted me as a hanyou, there is no way that she could ever accept that about me. She hates the Kid.
I once tried to figure out how many other kitsune were in the district I was currently in. The answer was one, and they were on the subway going the opposite direction.
Sometimes my whole life feels like that.
But, for now at least, it's a fun ride. Aoko's my friend, Inspector Nakamori hates me with a passion and Hakuba is below me, looking rather lost and confused. I think I'll have some fun.
I grab my hat and cape, casting the illusions that make me appear to be human. I could just change my shape like I normally do to hide them, but my tail is twitching in anticipation of some mischief and I don't feel like hiding it. The illusions cover me like a familiar second skin, and I'm off into the shadows, trailing the wannabe Sherlock Holmes.
He notices my arrival fairly quickly, which is good, since I'm not doing too much to mask my presence. I snicker. "Hakuba..." I call, pitching my voice so that it echoes thru the alley.
"Who's there?" He demands, casting about in the dim light.
I grin. "Last night was funny, wasn't it?"
To my surprise, he chuckles.
Fin.
Hanyou = Half breed (I.E. Inuyasha)
Kitsune = Fox Spirit
Ningen = Human
Youko = Deamon (used a lot for Kitsune Kurama in Yu*Yu*Hakusho)
This came from reading a lot of various stories about kitsunes.
One common thread was that female kitsune smell like orchids. It's not a fact that's out right stated, but I figure 3 different myths on different sites can't be wrong. (co-worker caught that part in a rough draft of this. Boy, that was embarrassing...)
A few things that didn't quite slide in about Kitsunes but helped shape the story:
Kitsunes do their best to adapt themselves to who ever is around them (which would explain why he's a lot goofier around Nakamori, but more serious around Shin'ichi)
Kitsunes are often associated with mysteriousness and weirdness. (fits, ne?) Foxes can also cast 'The Evil Eye' because of their strange eyes.
They're also fond of wine, but loose the ablity to appear human when drunk. (explains why he didn't get drunk in the manga but Aoko does)
The main myth this came from was the story of Kihei, who ran a tea shop and a kitsune disguised as a Samurai. The Kitusne forgot to transform his face into a human's leaving it a fox face. Kihei decides to have a little fun and offers him a basin of water to wash his face.
The kitsune notices his reflection, and runs away.
The next day when Kihei is gathering wood, he hears a voice in the woods calling his name. It's the fox. "Last night was pretty funny, wasn't it?" He asks.
The story (it's very short) can be found here:
http://home.clara.net/wabei/xlation/quilt/oldfoxes.htm
Next Fic: Aoko POV, 'Midnight'.
24 robbers came knocking at my door.
I ran out, they ran in
One hit me over the head with a rolling pin.
-children's nursery rhyme.
Last Night
By Icka! M. Chif
It feels good sometimes, to take a break. Take off the hat and cloak and let the wind brush thru my fur. It's like brushing the cobwebs out of your brain, only better because it's a nice sensation.
And do I ever need the chance to relax without the guise of humanity right now. These are the times I'm envious of Dad. It's easier to lounge in your true form, stripped of illusions when you can just turn into a big fox. It's a lot harder when you look human, you just happen to have large white fox ears on the top of your head and a long fluffy tail. People look at you funny, even if you are Kid the Phantom Thief.
Dad was a full Kitsune, white from head to tail with black highlights. Mom is a ningen. Dad sort of got in trouble for that. There's not many pure youko around, and theoretically a youkai-ningen marriage doesn't work. But some how they did it. They loved each other to pieces.
And they had me. A hanyou.
Once upon a time, hanyou were outcasts from both societies, neither youko nor ningen. But times have changed. As the ningen population has grown, the youko numbers have decreased. Now even hanyou are welcome in youko circles to help preserve their way of life.
Which, since the majority of them have stopped with the random and senseless eating and killing of ningen, is a pretty peaceful one. It has to be.
With the exception of the few rabble-rousers like me. Even if none of the ningen realise that I'm not one of them.
You'd think that the ability to change my voice and appearance might be a clue, but they're not exactly known for being the brightest stars in the sky...
Although sometimes, I can be just as stupid.
Like last night. Typical heist, if you can call the Kid's heists 'typical'. But I was on my way out when it happened.
I ran into Nakamori Aoko. Which, in and of it's self isn't all that strange. I see her every day at school after all. What was strange was what she was wearing.
There ought to be a law against wearing a skirt that short.
It's one thing to be Hakuba and get caught checking out the Inspector's daughter. It's another thing entirely to be dressed as a female and checking out the Inspector's daughter. He wasn't exactly pleased about that. However, Hakuba was the one who actually noticed that something was wrong with my features
He did a double take, then calmly walked over and introduced himself as a detective on the case. "I think there's a bit of dirt on your face." He said politely and offering me a mirror.
I glanced at my reflection and I realised that I had accidentally left my father's monocle on.
Whoops.
I laughed nervously and excused myself to go the bathroom. He decided to escort me. I decided to escape.
Aoko just has that effect on me. She can almost always distract me from whatever I'm doing. She has ever since I was a small kit, just barely able to appear ningen full time and wander around on my own, and we met in front of the Clock Tower.
Dad asked me just before he was killed what had drawn me to her. Offering people flowers is one thing, befriending someone like that is something completely different. I've helped out lots of people who are lonely, or just need a smile before without ever becoming their friends or even telling them my name.
It took me a little while with my kit brain to figure it out. I finally told Dad it was because of her scent. She smelled like orchids. And I liked it.
He just smiled at me and asked me how Mom smelled. She also smells like orchids.
So did his mother, and my aunts on his side. All the female kitsune I have ever met smelled like orchids.
But Aoko is ningen. Thru and thru.
If it was just that, we probably wouldn't have stayed friends as long as we have. Over 10 years now and counting. Her scent may call to my kitsune side, but it's her fire that attracts my ningen side.
It's whenever she smiles, or gets really mad, or has any sort of passionate emotion really. She doesn't hold anything back, and that fire shines like a beacon. She always could make me feel on top of the world just by smiling at me. Sometimes I wish I could turn into a cat and just bask in her glow. And maybe get my ears scratched. I have had a good scratch in years, since I was a kit...
I'm getting distracted again. Anyway.
I realised a few years ago the danger in this, about the time that I realised that Aoko wasn't just my friend, but she was female too.
She's a ningen. I'm not completely ningen. Relationships like my parents had are few and far between. More often, when a youko is discovered by a ningen, the ningen is afraid. It's hard to be friends or have any sort of relationship when the other person is scared spitless of you.
And I couldn't do that. I couldn't risk hurting her like that. So I began teasing her. Little things, like flipping her skirt and such. Not enough that she would stop being my friend, but enough to put a wall between us.
It's worked. At least on her end. Every so often, like when she shows off that she's really a girl instead of hiding it under that bulky uniform, I'm thrown all off balance again.
And it's dangerous.
There's also the newly added factor that I'm the Phantom Thief her father is struggling so hard to capture. Even if by some miracle she accepted me as a hanyou, there is no way that she could ever accept that about me. She hates the Kid.
I once tried to figure out how many other kitsune were in the district I was currently in. The answer was one, and they were on the subway going the opposite direction.
Sometimes my whole life feels like that.
But, for now at least, it's a fun ride. Aoko's my friend, Inspector Nakamori hates me with a passion and Hakuba is below me, looking rather lost and confused. I think I'll have some fun.
I grab my hat and cape, casting the illusions that make me appear to be human. I could just change my shape like I normally do to hide them, but my tail is twitching in anticipation of some mischief and I don't feel like hiding it. The illusions cover me like a familiar second skin, and I'm off into the shadows, trailing the wannabe Sherlock Holmes.
He notices my arrival fairly quickly, which is good, since I'm not doing too much to mask my presence. I snicker. "Hakuba..." I call, pitching my voice so that it echoes thru the alley.
"Who's there?" He demands, casting about in the dim light.
I grin. "Last night was funny, wasn't it?"
To my surprise, he chuckles.
Fin.
Hanyou = Half breed (I.E. Inuyasha)
Kitsune = Fox Spirit
Ningen = Human
Youko = Deamon (used a lot for Kitsune Kurama in Yu*Yu*Hakusho)
This came from reading a lot of various stories about kitsunes.
One common thread was that female kitsune smell like orchids. It's not a fact that's out right stated, but I figure 3 different myths on different sites can't be wrong. (co-worker caught that part in a rough draft of this. Boy, that was embarrassing...)
A few things that didn't quite slide in about Kitsunes but helped shape the story:
Kitsunes do their best to adapt themselves to who ever is around them (which would explain why he's a lot goofier around Nakamori, but more serious around Shin'ichi)
Kitsunes are often associated with mysteriousness and weirdness. (fits, ne?) Foxes can also cast 'The Evil Eye' because of their strange eyes.
They're also fond of wine, but loose the ablity to appear human when drunk. (explains why he didn't get drunk in the manga but Aoko does)
The main myth this came from was the story of Kihei, who ran a tea shop and a kitsune disguised as a Samurai. The Kitusne forgot to transform his face into a human's leaving it a fox face. Kihei decides to have a little fun and offers him a basin of water to wash his face.
The kitsune notices his reflection, and runs away.
The next day when Kihei is gathering wood, he hears a voice in the woods calling his name. It's the fox. "Last night was pretty funny, wasn't it?" He asks.
The story (it's very short) can be found here:
http://home.clara.net/wabei/xlation/quilt/oldfoxes.htm
Next Fic: Aoko POV, 'Midnight'.
