"My head's chained down by the voices
It's looking like they want war again
Their weapon of choice is a poison
Made up of all the words you said"
Voices by Against The Current
A warm hand gently caressed my arm while I read my textbook. Its owner was succeeding in being a distraction while I tried to get a small bit of studying in for an upcoming test. And said owner then decided to set his chin on my shoulder when I didn't give in to his totally-not-subtle cries for attention. It was quite amusing but I didn't show it, focusing on my textbook instead.
"You rebound quickly," I said, turning the page in the book. "I thought you were hungry?" I gestured to the styrofoam containers of knock-off Chinese food that were sitting nearby. The food had only arrived maybe twenty minutes ago and the food was only half-eaten.
"Maybe there's something else I'd rather eat," Brett replied easily, his breath tickling my ear.
I chuckled lightly, not looking up from the text. "Insatiable." My vision blurred for a moment while I read the boring words. Because Riichi decided to stay, why would they want someone who does little more than turn water into vapor?
My breath hitched, and I tensed which Brett noticed.
"Are you alright?" he asked.
I blinked a few times and reread the sentence.
Because the internal energy decreases, the temperature of the gas also decreases and so does the number of water molecules that can remain as vapor.
Sighing and rubbing my eyes, I glanced at Brett who was still perched on my shoulder with a worried look then turned back to the book. "Yeah, sorry. Just a. . . dull read. Never been a big fan of Physics." I closed the book and pushed it away. "What was that about eating something else?"
Brett didn't seem to believe me, but he also didn't argue when I climbed onto his lap.
This is embarrassing, Sara.
Your mom can shift into a fox. Your brother can heal others. Scott's a true alpha. Boyd is stronger than most betas. Chris is a veteran hunter. Lydia is a certified genius and a banshee. Derek was strong enough to give up his alpha status to save Cora. Allison is an expert marksman. Stiles' detective skills are on par with his father, the Sheriff of Beacon Hills. Your mother is four-hundred years old with six tails.
And you? You're just a puny kitsune.
What can you do? Throw fire? You just learned control a month ago and Riichi's been in control since he got his abilities. You think he's ever lost control even once? You think a little bit of fire is going to scare anyone? Peter almost died twice to fire, and he's perfectly fine. You can't even consciously make foxfire.
"He's the healer."
"Riichi can do a lot of good with it."
"Fire is only good for one thing, and that's destruction."
"You only do fire."
That's all true. You've said it yourself. You're the destroyer. Even Scott didn't dispute it. Good, pure Scott McCall didn't, no, wouldn't tell you that you're not a destroyer. He couldn't do it, and you know why. I think Isaac was right in not trusting you with all his secrets even when he had no clue as to what you are.
And what are you?
Nothing more than a little fox who swings a blade that can't take out a kanima and throws fire that doesn't hurt a werewolf. Two tails can only give you so much power if you know how to use it. You clearly don't. But wait, you have one kill, right? A dying old man? Anyone with a brain could see he needed to be put down, so you aren't special for seeing that. And you couldn't even keep Scott's dad from being attacked by an Oni.
Pathetic. Amateur. Incompetent. Inept.
I thought kitsune were supposed to be good at playing games, but you can barely keep up with regular betas and a novice hunter. Kitsune are supposed to be more powerful than werewolves and you're barely scratching the surface. If you're trying to play the game, try to stay in the game because all I see is someone who doesn't even know the rules.
But riddle me this, little fox: the loftiest cedars I can eat, yet neither paunch nor mouth have I. I storm whenever you give me meat, whenever you give me drink I die. What am I?
Everything turned red.
My eyes snapped open as I took in a deep breath, like the gulp of air you take when your head breaches the surface of water. Glancing around, my eyes took a few moments to focus in the dark room. For a second, I just about panicked when I didn't recognize the room was mind, but then I remembered I had fallen asleep at Brett's.
Stretching my arm to the end table, I grabbed my phone and pressed the power button to check the time, but it didn't turn on. It didn't particularly help my already erratic heartbeat or the beads of sweat dotting my forehead.
"Everything okay?" I heard Brett mumble as he rolled onto his side.
"Uh, yeah, yeah, just my phone's dead," I whispered back and set my phone down on the surface before nestling back under the blanket, a strange cold settling around me as my heartbeat slowed down to a normal pace.
Brett curled his arm around me and nuzzled his face in my hair. "You can use my charger if you want."
"It's alright. I don't wanna get up. I'll charge it later."
It took a bit to fall back to sleep, the voice that haunted my dreams echoing throughout my mind with images of fire. It sounded like Stiles's voice, but it couldn't have been. Something about it seemed more malicious than the anxious human typically was.
But the words still hurt just the same.
You're barely scratching the surface.
You're the destroyer.
I woke up for a second time hours later, rising with the sun. Pushing myself up onto my arm, I peered over at Brett's alarm cock. Two hours until school started. Great.
Looking down at the boy lying next to me, I couldn't help but wonder how long our little. . . thing would continue for. I hadn't even told anyone about him, and we didn't often talk about anything personal. But was it strange that I liked it that way? With how chaotic life with the pack has been in less than a year, was it strange to enjoy something as simple as a sexual relationship with someone I barely knew?
Aside from his school, his basic hobbies, and him having a sister, I didn't know jack shit about Brett, but he could say just about the same for me. And he was the perfect distraction.
Rubbing my head, I crawled out of the bed and began quietly packing up my things. I didn't want to wake Brett, but part of me knew it would happen. He woke up easily with the tiniest bit of sound and movement. It kind of reminded me of Isaac with his werewolf senses. Actually, a lot about Brett reminded me of Isaac.
I really knew how to pick them, huh?
I started pulling on my discarded pants when I heard Brett roll over behind me. "Do you have to go, princess?" he asked in a tired voice. I peeked back at him to see a playful smirk then turned around, grabbed his sweatshirt from the nearby chair, and threw it at him. Brett laughed and pushed himself up into a seated position. "I guess that's a yes. Bummer."
"Oh, hush." I gathered up my things, shoving them haphazardly into my bag. Closing my bag and shouldering it, I faced Brett again. "One of these days, I'm going to be able to sneak out of here without waking you up like a regular booty call."
He scoffed with a grin. "That'll happen when I'm dead. You're not as quiet as you think you are."
"Hm, we'll see." I was about to head to the door when I realized the double meaning and narrowed my eyes at him, but he smiled innocently up at me. "Nasty, koibito." I went around the bed, eyeing him as I was about to leave the room.
Brett laughed as he leaned against the headboard of his bed. "Love you too, princess."
I rolled my eyes and left the room, closing the door behind me.
Once I returned home, I showered, dressed, and got ready for school, charging my phone during that time. As I brushed my hair, I heard my phone ding multiple times in a row. Frowning, I set down my brush, sat on my bed, and picked up my phone, looking at the screen. Flooding the lock screen was a whole bunch of missed calls and texts from Scott, Riichi, Isaac, and Boyd. Incredible guilt spread as I opened each contact and read through their texts.
1 Missed Call From Wonder Pup
Wonder Pup: Somethings wrong wit Stiles
Wonder Pup: Hes missing plz answer
Wonder Pup: Is everthing ok?
.
3 Missed Calls From Brotato Chip
Brotato Chip: where are you?
Brotato Chip: saraaa
Brotato Chip: we're going to eichen house, lydia said stiles is there
Brotato Chip: aaaand she was wrong
Brotato Chip: i'm this close to having the sheriff put out a missing persons on you
Brotato Chip: this is the worst time for you to not answer your damn phone
.
1 Missed Call From Moon Moon
Moon Moon: All hands on deck
Moon Moon: Look I'm going to find Allison, please answer someone
Moon Moon: At least answer Scott
.
Chocolate Thunder: Sara you there?
Chocolate Thunder: We're all worried, please pick up
Chocolate Thunder: We found Stiles and he's at the hospital rn but are you ok? Riichi said you're not at home
Stiles went missing last night and I wasn't there to help. Was that why the voice in my dreams sounded like him? Did I somehow know he something missing or that something was wrong? I had woken up, too. I should've plugged my phone in to see the calls and texts then I could've helped. I could've done something. Anything. And I ignored my intuition and went right back to sleep.
ChikushÅ.
I stopped by Riichi's room before leaving for school, but it was empty. Sighing, I sent him a quick text to tell him I was going to school and that I was sorry for missing his texts and calls.
This is going to bite me in the ass today, isn't it? I thought as I climbed into my car. You fucking deserve it, dumbass.
When I got to school and opened my locker, I was immediately joined by a panicked Scott sidling up to me. "Are you okay?" he asked. "I was- we were all worried sick."
"My phone died," I told him, switching out one of my books. "I didn't get any of the texts until this morning. What happened?"
"Stiles was missing last night." Scott sighed, dark bags under his eyes from exhaustion, and he leaned against the locker next to mine. "He was sleepwalking and called me saying he was in a basement and something was wrong with his leg and it was freezing and that his phone was gonna die. He was whispering and said someone was in the basement with him. And then Isaac and I met up with Lydia and Aiden at Stiles' house and red strings were everywhere and stabbed into his bed with scissors."
"Stabbed into his bed?" I repeated.
"Yeah, I don't really understand it." He shook his head. "On our way to the Sheriff's Station to tell Stiles' dad, we tried to get ahold of you and Allison, but neither of you answered. His Jeep was at the hospital, so we went there but didn't find him. Lydia had this feeling that he was at Eichen House. You know, the same facility William Barrow was at? But he wasn't, the basement was empty. Then my mom and dad found him in Malia's coyote den. They said he was still asleep when they found him."
My brows creased, and I gently shut my locker door. With each new piece of information Scott gave me, the guilt ate me up more and more. "He's okay, right?" I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.
"Yeah, yeah, he's still in the hospital though." Scott adjusted his weight and looked at me with his curious brown eyes. "Riichi checked your room, but you weren't there and he said your car was gone. We thought you might've been missing, too. Where were you?"
"At Kira's," I said after a beat. It was the first thing I could think of.
His ears twitched. "I can hear your heartbeat."
My grip tightened on the strap of my bag, and my expression hardened. "I'm allowed to have secrets, you know."
Scott's face dropped as he leaned back. "No, I know, I didn- I ju-"
"If I wanted you to know, I would've told you," I interrupted with a shake of my head. "But otherwise, it's none of your business, Scott." I went around him, quickly walking away.
The deep frown didn't leave my face as I went down a different hall then stopped and leaned against a bare wall. I let out a long exhale, closed my eyes, and tilted my head back, setting it against the wall behind me.
What the hell is wrong with you today? I asked myself. Or the past week is more like it. Defensive. Irritable. Secretive. Reaching up, I touched the Oni brand behind my ear. You're definitely not acting like yourself, nisemono.
The deep, raspy voice that plagued my dreams entered my mind again. You're the destroyer, Sara. You've said it yourself. Fire is only good for destruction. You're just a puny kitsune. Pathetic. Incompetent.
I placed my head in my hands, clenching my eyes shut as I repeated over and over again, Get out of my head. Leave me alone.
"Sara?"
My head snapped up toward the sound of my name. Isaac and Allison were walking over, both with mild concern creeping into their expressions.
"What's up?" I asked, trying to sound normal and unbothered. It seemed to work for Allison, but Isaac didn't change.
"I heard you weren't woken up by any calls or texts either," Allison said.
I shrugged. "Yeah, my phone was dead. Forgot to put it on the charger before I fell asleep. Crazy night, huh?"
"Yeah, about that. . ." Allison trailed off, pulling out her phone. "Did you happen to get any strange voicemails?"
Frowning, I straightened my back and fully faced them. "Strange voicemails?"
"Like, in Japanese?"
I quirked an eyebrow, my lips scrunching up to the side. A voicemail in Japanese? "Uh, if I ever get a voicemail in Japanese, I think it'll just be my mom mad at me for something. Did you get a voicemail like that? I thought you only spoke French and English."
"I do."
"She does."
Allison and Isaac looked at each other, Isaac embarrassed while Allison was annoyed that they had answered at the same time.
I glanced between them and cut in, "Anyway. . ."
Allison turned back to me. "Right. Isaac said you speak Japanese." She unlocked her phone and handed it to me. "Can you translate this?"
Taking her phone, I pressed play for the voicemail and held it up to my ear. But the more I listened to it, the more confused I grew. "Can you send this to me?" I asked, still listening to it as it repeated. I didn't like anything that I could understand. Not the clipped tone or the instructions or the way it sounded like people were being herded into a camp. A camp, like a concentration camp from World War II. I needed to talk to Ken.
"Why? Do you know something?" Isaac asked.
"Nothing concrete." I paused it and looked down at the screen. "Who left this?"
"I don't know," Allison answered. "All of the messages are the same, and they all say 'Blocked ID.'"
"Can you translate it?" Isaac pressed.
"Sort of." I held the phone back up to my ear after pressing play again. "Some of it is intelligible, but the man is giving instructions. The first line is, 'All evacuees are required to stay at least ten feet back from outside fences.'" I paused it again and handed the phone back to Allison. "That's all I can really get from it right now with all this noise." I gestured to the students passing by us in the hall.
Isaac only became more confused and folded his arms over his chest. "What does that mean? What fences?"
"Like from an internment camp from World War II."
"Which one? And why's it so important?"
"That's why I want it sent to me, so I can figure that out." I focused on Allison. "Please, send it to me."
She nodded. "Yeah, alright." She dipped her head down, typing away on her phone.
Isaac eyed me as she went through the motions of sending me the voice message, and I averted my eyes, avoiding his gaze. I was already on thin ice of suspicious behavior from how they found me, and it was only getting worse with every second I had devoted to listening to a strange voicemail. I watched Allison as she sent the message to me, not meeting Isaac's curious eyes.
When Allison looked up from her phone and put it away, it was immediately followed by my text tone going off. "Thanks," I told her. "See you guys later, okay?"
"You going to the hospital, too?" Allison asked right before I could walk off.
"Hospital?" I repeated with a frown.
"To see Stiles? He's getting tests done all afternoon," she explained. "Scott told us he's going around six once he's off work." And I bet he would have told me too if I hadn't gotten defensive with him asking about my whereabouts.
Every second of my personal struggles mixed with this new strangeness keeps making me forget about Stiles, making me feel guiltier and guiltier. "Oh, yeah, I'll see you there."
Allison started to leave after giving me a small smile, but Isaac hung back.
"Make out with her already, would you?" I said before he could start.
He wasn't amused. "Sara. . ."
I hugged my stomach. "I don't want to talk about it. When you need to know, you'll know."
He sighed and shook his head. "This is exactly part of the reason why we broke up."
"When you need to know, you'll know," I said again, sterner that time.
Isaac took a moment to nod. "I'm holding you to that."
I kept my chatter to a minimum throughout the first half of the day, but it was easy. Easier than it would have been two weeks ago. Scott only tried to talk to me once, but I brushed him off. Stiles was in the hospital so not at school. Both Boyd and Kira seemed to be missing from our shared classes, much to Ken's annoyance during History. And I didn't share many classes with Allison, Lydia, or Isaac aside from Physics and English, one of which was after lunch anyway, so it hadn't passed yet. And Lydia seemed just as out of it as I was. A few pervasive thoughts trickled into my mind, but I focused almost solely on schoolwork to keep the voice at bay.
At lunch with everyone congregating out on the lawn or in the cafeteria, I returned to Ken's classroom, kicking away the door stopper to let the door close behind me. Ken looked up from grading and eating, warily glancing at me and then the closing door.
I stopped on the opposite side of the desk, staring down at him with a harsh gaze. "Have you ever heard of Oak Creek?" I asked, setting a hand on my hip.
Ken set down his sandwich. "I don't know what that is." He tried to give me a smile, but I didn't buy it.
I narrowed my eyes and leaned forward against the desk. "Cut the crap, Ken. Noshiko said you moved here for a reason, that reason being the Nemeton, but I'm calling bullshit. She's a kitsune. Kitsune can summon Oni. Oni hunt nogitsune. And then a friend got a strange voicemail from an unknown number with a man reciting orders in Japanese and mentioning the name of an internment camp named 'Oak Creek.'" I let the information sink in for a few moments, watching as he tensed. "Be straight with me. I've kept your secrets this long. I deserve something."
He sighed and stood from his seat, evening the playing field and meeting my gaze head-on. "Officially, there was no internment camp named 'Oak Creek' in California, but that's because the government hid all evidence of it after most of the prisoners were killed."
"Why?"
"A nogitsune. Noshiko was able to defeat it last time then hid what remained in the Nemeton. When the Nemeton gained power again, so did the nogitsune."
The nogitsune was here because of the Nemeton? No. The nogitsune was here. . . because of us. To save Noah, Melissa, and Chris, Stiles, Scott, and Allison sacrificed themselves and brought power back to the Nemeton, thereby giving power to the nogitsune. We did that.
I gritted my teeth. "So she's here to kill it again?"
"Yes."
My mind flashed to Stiles. He was vulnerable because of the sacrifice. He had opened a door into his mind. He was human and therefore vulnerable to possession. He had also gone missing last night. He hadn't been checked by the Oni, and we had thought that was because he was human and thus didn't need to be checked. But he was also the least assuming, the one no one would think was a threat.
What if he was the nogitsune?
My eyes drifted down, staring at a blank space on the desk. "Even if it's inside a teenager?" I asked, my voice growing soft.
"Yes." Ken paused, and I could feel his gaze on me, studying me, analyzing me, wondering what was going through my head. "You grew up with the stories, didn't you? You know what a nogitsune is capable of."
I did. Nogitsune were the boogeymen of my childhood. Some kids get told stories of the chupacabra. Some are told about Krampus. Some about Baba Yaga. El Cucuy. Aswang. Namahage. La Llorona. Every culture had its own evil entities. And some were real. The nogitsune being one.
Malicious stories of nogitsune terrorizing villages. Tricking people into possession. Driving people mad. Destruction of crops and livestock. Seeking vengeance for perceived slights. People burned or beaten in an attempt to get rid of the fox possessing them.
But what if it was Stiles?
"A few days ago I said I'd let the Oni kill anyone it was in, even if it was me."
"And now?"
"Scott and his morals have been rubbing off on me a little. Try to save everyone. . . But I know that if it comes down to it, if it comes down to the people I care about versus the nogitsune, no matter who it's in. . ." I slowly picked up my gaze, meeting his. The nogitsune couldn't be Stiles. It couldn't be. "I'll kill it. Without hesitation."
Ken nodded though his eyes showed sympathy. "When facing a nogitsune, hesitation can get you killed."
"It wouldn't be the first monster I've faced, and I doubt it'll be the last."
Adjusting my bag on my shoulder, I turned and left the room, leaving Ken behind as I entered the hall. It was just me and the voice again.
I'm not incompetent. And you won't win.
Oh, really, little fox?
Yes, Nogitsune.
Taking in a deep breath, I got out of my car, having parked it in the hospital parking lot, then I walked toward the door. A part of myself was begging me not to go in, not to bother them, not to be there and pretend that I hadn't been completely unreachable the previous night, but other than me wanting to know if Stiles was okay, I needed to know if he was possessed by a nogitsune or really just sick. I prayed he was just sick.
Maybe the stress was getting to him. Maybe the surrogate sacrifice just increased his anxiety and ADHD tenfold, so he was now sleepwalking and had worse insomnia than before. Maybe. . . anything other than him being possessed by a nogitsune. I would take anything other than that. At least if he was sick with something that he deemed unbearable, he could always ask Scott for the bite if he so chose; otherwise, the only cure I knew of for possession by a nogitsune was death. And killing Stiles didn't seem right with me even if I logically knew it would be better than letting a nogitsune wreak havoc on Beacon Hills.
Oh, you can't kill me, Sara. What would Scott say? the voice said.
I scowled at nothing. Shut up! The question echoed again and again despite my plea.
What would Scott say? What would Scott do? He'd drop you like a sack of potatoes if you even dared to try and hurt his best friend.
I know.
And you just can't bear to lose dear little Scott McCall.
Be quiet.
But you gave Ken your word. You made no such promises to Scott. And kitsune keep their promises. What will your dear Wonder Pup have to say about that?
He's not my dear anything. Leave me alone.
How are you going to tell yourself to leave you alone?
I had to take in another slow, deep breath to remain calm, trying my best not to let the words get to me. With each word the voice said, the more and more it sounded like Stiles. I secretly wished I hadn't left Brett's bed that morning. It had been warm, comfortable, and a complete distraction from the mess in my life.
After asking the front desk for Stiles' room number, I found it and hesitated at the open door, but I forced myself to take the steps into the room, knocking on the door as I slowly entered. I offered up a small smile as Stiles, Noah, and Melissa looked up at me.
"Hey, kid," Noah greeted gently. He motioned with his head for me to enter fully, and I did, hugging myself around my stomach as I walked over to the hospital bed that Stiles was sitting up in.
"We'll be right outside going over a few things," Melissa said, adjusting her necklace. The two adults then left the room.
I looked down at Stiles who was fidgeting with his hands. That was normal. So was the darkness under his eyes. And the paleness of his skin. The quickness of his eyes. It seemed like a normal, anxious, tired Stiles sitting in front of me. Except one thing was different. I felt a strange pull toward him that I hadn't felt before. A kinship.
"You doing okay?" I asked then scowled, shaking my head. "That was a stupid question."
He quietly chuckled, glancing up then back down to his hands. "Never thought I'd hear you admit that, but I guess you know the answer to it then." Stiles pushed himself up more, folding one of his legs underneath him, and he gestured toward the empty spot left behind. "You can sit if you want. My dad's practically refused to sit on the bed with me, like he's afraid I'm gonna break if he does."
Nodding, I sat down on the bed by his knees. "So, what do they have planned for you?"
"MRI," he answered gruffly.
"Do you know what they're looking for, or are they just going in blind and hoping they don't find anything?"
Stiles bowed his head again with a sigh. "Frontotemporal dementia. It's what my mother had, and there's no cure."
I couldn't believe that a minor bit of relief flew through me at him being sick instead of being possessed. I shouldn't have wished for either at all. I should've wished for him to be in perfect health.
"I'm sorry," I muttered. "Have you. . . have you thought about. . . maybe. . ."
"Getting the bite?" Stiles supplied, peeking up. I nodded, confirming his guess at what I was trying to say. "I don't think Scott ever wants to bite someone. He doesn't exactly see it as a gift like Derek and Peter do. But I dunno, I'm not exactly the muscle in the group anyway, you know? I'm just the pathetic human that can sometimes have a smart idea. I spend more time being a liability than an asset, and I don't think that would change much if I got a miracle bite." He started picking roughly at his nails.
You're just a puny kitsune. Pathetic. Amateur. Incompetent. Inept.
I'm just the pathetic human that can sometimes have a smart idea.
"You know that's not true, right?" He peered up at me beneath his long lashes, looking like a sad, abandoned puppy with pretty eyes. I cleared my throat, having no idea where that thought came from, but I continued anyway. "You're not pathetic and being human isn't a bad thing." Reaching over, I grabbed one of his hands to get him to stop picking at his nails, partly because the movement was bugging me, partly because I didn't want him to make himself bleed, and partly because I felt compelled to. It felt like the right move, and I didn't know why. "You have your strengths just like the rest of us. No one has your mind. Sure, Lydia's smart too, but your type of smart is different. Yours is intuitive, inquisitive, investigative, instinctive."
"Need any more 'i' words?" he playfully asked, and we both laughed.
"Irritating," I added pointedly and a tad louder. "Irritable. Innoxious. Idiopathic."
"I don't think that last one means what you think it means."
I shook my head with a huff. "Whatever. You know what I mean. I'm calling you an idiot."
He smiled. "Yeah, I got that, Ninetales. And I've got an 'i' word for you, too."
"I swear if it's something ridiculous-"
"No, no," he cut off. "Ignescent."
Tilting my head as I took in the word, I tried to figure out what it meant without having to ask him. Ignescent. If the root was ignis, meaning fire, fire and -escent likely lead it to mean something along the lines of 'flammable.'
"Emitting sparks of fire," Stiles said, seeing the wheels turn in my head. "Bursting into flame. I think it's a more interesting word than something like 'combustible.'"
"Well, let's hope it's not on the PSAT."
The corner of his mouth twitched up as he gently squeezed my hand. "I hope it is. It would be one answer I know I'd get right if all I have to do is think of you." I barely had time to blush or react before he leaned forward and plucked my beanie off my head. He ignored my indignant cry as he put the hat on over his hair with an easy grin. "I don't think I'll ever forget your ridiculous beanies though. They're almost as bad as Isaac's scarves."
I gaped at him as he laughed at my reaction, then we were interrupted by a knock at the open door. We looked up and saw Scott standing there with his knuckles resting against the door. His shoulders were tense as he stood there. And the tenseness made me wonder just how long he had been standing there.
"Scott, hey," Stiles greeted though it seemed a tad tamer than our interaction. I awkwardly smiled up at Scott, and he sort of returned it as he walked further into the room, but me snapping at him earlier was likely at the forefront of his mind just as it was mine.
Noah and Melissa came up behind Scott. Noah patted him on the shoulder before focusing on his son. "You ready?" he asked Stiles.
"Yeah, yeah, I think so," Stiles said. I stood, moving out of the way to let him climb off the bed.
I gave him a wave and said, "Good luck," as they escorted Stiles out of the hospital room. I didn't realize until they were long gone that Stiles still had my hat. I better get my hat back, I thought as I left the room.
Only a small portion of my guilt had been assuaged during my chat with Stiles, and it had been replaced by confusion. Was Stiles flirting with me?
All I have to do is think of you.
That sounded like flirting, especially while squeezing my hand, but that didn't seem like something Stiles would do, especially since he should still be head over heels for Lydia. That hadn't changed, last time I checked. And Stiles wasn't exactly the type of person to flirt with the person his best friend may or may not have had feelings for.
I was still avoiding that with a ten-foot pole.
Wait, did I accidentally start the flirting? Nope, no, you're not going to think like that. And even if there was flirting, that wasn't exactly a sign of him being possessed by a dark kitsune, right? Maybe he was just hit on the head.
Rubbing my eye, I walked out of the hospital, intending to head home or at least just chill in my car. But the moment I walked outside I spotted Derek, Kira, and Boyd climb out of Derek's car. They were the three I least expected to visit Stiles at the hospital. Scratch that, Ethan and Aiden were even less likely, but still.
"What are you three doing here?" I asked, walking over to them.
"We need to talk to Scott about something," Derek said. That didn't really answer my question.
Kira seemed apprehensive, playing with her hands as Boyd stood tall by her side. "I don't know if I should go in," she said quietly, and Derek turned to look at her, silently asking a question. "You're going to tell Scott that Barrow might have used foxfire, created by me, to jump-start the nogitsune's power inside Stiles."
My eyes widened. "What?" I totally missed something.
"Yeah," Derek said, not seeing the problem.
She sighed and shifted her weight. "Basically that I helped a dark spirit take control of his best friend." I definitely missed something.
Derek got her meaning and nodded. "You should probably wait here."
"Boyd, you go on in, too," I blurted.
Boyd hesitated for a moment but seemed to recognize my pleading expression. "Alright," he said. Derek patted his shoulder as they walked inside.
Kira hugged herself as I walked over to her side, and she sighed before I could even say anything. "It's a long story," she muttered, staring at the pavement. "And I don't think there's anything you could say that will make me feel better about it."
"Well, I've got no plans for the rest of the evening." I smiled at her as she looked up. "At least tell me about your field trip."
Kira went through the motions of telling me what they had been up to during the day. They had gone to the same power substation William Barrow had taken her before and found Stiles' aluminum bat magnetized to one of the panels. Derek believed that when Barrow electrocuted Kira, he wasn't only jumpstarting her kitsune power but also providing power to the nogitsune inhabiting Stiles. And she reiterated what Derek had told her about foxfire and what he had heard about a thunder kitsune's powers.
"Wow." I nodded a bit, biting the inside of my cheek as I absorbed everything she told me. "It's a good theory."
At least someone's playing the game correctly, the eery voice said. They're right, you know.
I didn't want it to be true.
Of course, you didn't. That's why you're weak.
Shut up!
My words didn't help Kira at all and she seemed none the wiser to my inner turmoil. "It is?" she asked worriedly. "So you think it's true?"
"Foxfire manifests differently for each kitsune type," I explained. "Mine is a different form of fire. My mom's. . . I think she said hers is a blue flame. A thunder kitsune's is obviously a form of electricity. It doesn't behave the same as, say, normal electricity does, and has special properties." I remembered what Ken had said about the nogitsune being defeated before and having been sealed away. "If the nogitsune was weak for some reason and didn't have the time to regenerate their energy in a normal way, it makes sense that being zapped by foxfire created by another kitsune would give it the energy it required."
Kira's shoulders slumped as she leaned against the side of Derek's car. Her eyes were downcast and the corners of her mouth were dipped as she thought over the information. "So it is true. I gave the nogitsune inside Stiles power. It's my fault."
"It's not your fault," I quickly corrected. "You didn't ask for this. You didn't ask to be born a kitsune or to be kidnapped or used in some grand scheme." I moved in front of her and set my hands on her shoulders, and she looked back up at me, though she wasn't hopeful in the slightest. "The only thing you can do now is move forward. Learn how to use your powers. Learn how to fight. Learn about being a kitsune."
"I don't know how."
"I'll teach you."
Her face scrunched up. "You would do that?"
You're just a puny kitsune. Pathetic. Amateur. Incompetent. Inept.
I dropped my hands from her shoulders and stood up straight, ignoring the voice in my head. "Even though I had some help, I still figured out quite a bit on my own. I know what's it like to not know what you're doing and not wanting to go to your parents for help. So yeah, if you want me to teach you, I will. You're not alone in this."
Her expression melted into a grateful smile. "Thanks."
I was about to say something when something burst from above, and we looked up to see light flickering on the roof. A bit of flame but a lot of sparks.
"What is that?" Kira asked as she kicked off the side of the car.
I took a few steps toward the building, staring up at the roof. "I-I don't know."
Then a severed power line whipped down from the roof.
Koibito - Lover
ChikushÅ - Damn it, oh shit, oh hell
Nisemono - Fake, imposter, liar
Happy Women's History Month! I hope everyone has a good March! Thanks for reading!
Reviews:
Guest - I'm planning on doing a little after season 6, but not a whole lot. Basically, I have an epilogue planned which will show where everyone is and what they're doing, plus a one-shot with them in college. I might do more if I get more ideas for post-season 6, but at this moment that's all I have planned.