A/N: I'll try to get some pictures posted soon of what these characters look like. It makes the story much richer when you can fully visualize the characters.

"Shit! I've gotta get out of here!"

The young archer panted heavily as he stumbled through the forest, his injured leg half-dragging behind him. He struggled forward as branches clawed at his clothes and twigs scraped dozens of superficial cuts on his skin. He tried, in vain, to cut his way through the thick brush with the small dagger he always had on hand, but only managed to make himself weaker by the second.

"Dammit, how the hell did I get myself in this mess?!"

Then it all came back to him, and he cursed himself. He had run off after an enemy on his own and had become separated from the main reconnaissance group. Out in the open without support or backup, he had been ambushed by a group of demons. He recalled, with a triumphant grin, that he had managed to take out half of them on his own. Bastards underestimated me! He had relished the look of terror in their eyes as they had been frozen from the inside before cracking and exploding in a shower of ice shavings. His smile faltered however when he recalled how things had totally gone to shit for him after that. He had been feeling so pleased with himself over his demon kills, that the he had lost track of the remaining four. He had squandered away the upper hand and had suddenly found himself without any arrows, and flanked on all sides. Not wishing to die foolishly, he had immediately abandoned the fight and tried to make a getaway. He had managed to escape, but taken a poison dart to the leg for his troubles.

As he slid down the trunk of a large tree, the wise words of that annoying silver-haired geezer came back to haunt him.

It is good to have pride, but too much is a dangerous thing. Pride always comes before the fall.

He spat disdainfully at the ground next to him, as if the sheer memory of the words had filled his mouth with bitterness.

"Keh! Screw you, old man! I'm going to make it out of here alive just to spite you! Then I can laugh and say 'I told you so' right to your nasty face!"

The young archer grit his teeth and wrapped his arms around himself as he doubled over in pain. The poison was spreading, slowly seeping past his improvised ice-enchanted tourniquet. He balled his hand into a fist and pounded the ground repeatedly.

"Shit, shit, shit! This was supposed to be my grand debut, proof that I could cut it on the battlefront. Why did it have to go so damn wrong?!"

Tears formed in his eyes as the frustration he felt threatened to overwhelm him. He had been so engrossed in his own misery that he had not noticed the small orange fox that had come to sit by his side. Finally having sensed its presence, he looked down, shocked to see it so close.

"Oi! You're supposed to be scared of humans! Shoo!"

He made a sweeping gesture in an attempt to scare the fox away, but it just sat there staring quizzically at him with its big green eyes. He grumbled in exasperation as he slid a hand down his face.

"Great, now I'm talking to animals. I'm losing my mind on top of everything else that's happened."

Just then, the fox lifted one of its front legs and whimpered. The young archer looked down and saw that it was covered in thorns and brambles. His eyes softened and his voice fell to a calm whisper.

"Oh! I see now. You've managed to get yourself into a bit of trouble too, huh?"

He slowly and gently extended a hand toward the fox.

"I can help, if you let me."

The fox stepped closer to him and placed its leg in his hand. Well, this is it. I've finally lost my mind. I'm talking to a fox and I think it actually understands me. He took a deep breath in an attempt to settle his nerves. The poison was causing painful cramps in his stomach and he felt on the verge of vomiting. He was dying, he knew it. But if there was one last good thing he could do on earth with his remaining time, it would be to help this little fox. With nimble fingers, the young archer made quick work of the fox's prickly problems.

"There you go, little guy. I-…GAHHH!"

A particularly strong spasm of pain wracked his body as he coughed up blood onto the back of his hand. He slumped sideways off the tree, no longer having the strength to hold himself up. This is it…what a miserable way to go. The fox licked his nose and sounded off a series of barks and yips. His vision swam and cold sweat poured off his body while he fought desperately to hang on to the last few vestiges of consciousness. In his delirium, he saw the fox be replaced by a woman. He blinked repeatedly as he tried to focus his stare, but his eyes refused to work properly. They were playing some kind of trick on him, for the woman had the ears and tail of a fox.

"Stay still, don't move. We're not enemies, we're here to help."

The young archer moaned plaintively as he tried to sort out what was real and what wasn't. Fox, woman, fox-woman…talks?

He felt his body being shifted into a more upright position before something cold and bitter was pressed up to his lips and trickled down his throat. He sputtered at the intrusion and the absolutely horrible taste of it. A pair of kind chestnut-brown eyes looked down at him.

"Shh, I know it's bitter. But you must drink it if you want to live. You don't have much time left."

The young archer nodded as he forced himself to swallow the foul liquid.

"There, there…almost done. That's a good boy."

Those words, that tone…he was flooded with a sense of nostalgia. Drowning in the toxic fever of the demonic poison, vivid hallucinations engulfed his mind. He suddenly saw the face of the woman who raised him, and who had been ripped from him much too soon.

"Thank you, mama."

The fox-woman's face turned bright red and he heard the sound of female laughter. Someone else is here? Who else is… His vision blurred one last time before his world faded to black.

-meanwhile-

"Hahaha! 'Mama'? Has raising three kitsune hellions not yet quelled your desire for children Yuuko-Chan?"

The woman in question blushed more fiercely before putting her hands on her hips and pouting. Her fox tail whipped around restlessly as she turned to face the lithe female warrior leaning against a tree just off to her right.

"Minako-San! You're so inappropriate! I was just trying to be soothing and kind. He was dying, you know!"

The warrior waved her hand dismissively.

"Yeah, yeah, I know. I was there, remember?"

Yuuko turned back around to look down at the unconscious boy on the ground.

"He's so young, and clearly untested. What kind of monster would send a child like this alone into a battlefield?"

Minako pushed off against the tree and walked over.

"Don't let your emotions get the best of you, Yuuko-Chan. Not everything is as it first appears. We know nearly nothing of this fledgling warrior or how he came to be in this situation. All that is absolutely clear is that he is an archer. Take a look at this bow."

Yuuko knelt down next to the young boy and ran her fingers along the massive bow. She had never seen anything like it. It looked heavy and wide and nothing like the thin and lightweight version she herself used.

"Can you even retain any agility while lugging this giant thing around? It seems like it's built for power, but greatly hinders mobility."

Minako nodded before picking the bow up and assessing its weight in her hands.

"Hmm, it's not as heavy as it looks, but certainly doesn't hold a candle to yours in that department."

Minako patted the young boy down, checking his body for any other injuries and also any clues to his identity.

"This armor doesn't provide much protection, either. Looks just like regular leather or hide."

Minako removed a shuriken from a pouch at her hip and poked at the young man's chest piece. She was nearly blasted backward by a sudden flash of magic.

"Hoo hoo! Enchanted armor! He's got connections, this one. Enchanted armor of this quality is hard to come by on your own."

Yuuko leaned in and checked the man's injured leg. She gingerly reached for the cloth being used to stave off the poison and received a small shock when her fingers brushed up against it.

"Well, this is enchanted too. We'll have to wait for him to regain consciousness before we can fully treat the wound. At least he's been granted some more time on this earth for the time being."

Minako turned her attention to the strange armor piece the young archer had on his head.

"What a strange looking hat…it's such an odd shape."

When Minako removed the hat, the young man's golden locks tumbled out. Both women gasped as the shiny hair shimmered in the sunlight. Yuuko grabbed Minako's shoulder and shook her excitedly.

"Minako-San! Look! His hair is the color of pale wheat!"

"Damn, foreigners are really something else. He must be all the way from Occidentis."

"Really? That's incredible! I've never met anyone from there before! Have you?"

"I've seen a couple out on my missions, but never one with hair like that. He has eyes like your familiar."

Yuuko looked down at the little orange fox calmly grooming herself next to her. She reached down and scratched behind one of its years, causing a leg to thump rhythmically on the ground. Yuuko giggled.

"Maybe that's why she was drawn to him. She would have never gone near him had she sensed anything off about him. Momiji's skill at reading hearts is second only to Lord Katsuki's."

Just then, two sets of fox years twitched and swiveled as they picked up a new sound. Yuuko looked up toward the northern part of the forest.

"Takeshi is here."

A few seconds later, a male kitsune with dark monk robes burst through the thicket. He carried with him a golden shakujoo, its rings making a light jangling sound with each movement.

"The area is safe, those four demons are gone now."

Yuuko walked up to Takeshi and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"Thank you, darling. We need your help with another pressing matter now."

Yuuko stepped aside and Takeshi was able to see the fallen young archer for the first time.

He sighed before shooting an amused look at his wife.

"Picking up strays now, are we? Are our triplets not enough for you?"

Minako chortled and snorted as she burst into hearty laughter.

"That's exactly what I said to her earlier, Nishigori!

Yuuko tapped her foot impatiently on the ground as her tail swished angrily from left to right.

"Ha, ha. You're so funny. Now, if you're both done having a good laugh at my expense, we have a poisoned youngster here who is going to need another dose of antidote soon. We need to get him back to camp."

Takeshi brought his palms together and touched them to his forehead.

"I'm sorry, Yuuko. You know how much I enjoy teasing you."

"Hmph. We'll see how much you enjoy sleeping outside tonight."

Takeshi rubbed the back of his head as he laughed nervously.

"Let's not be too hasty now."

He pointed to the young unconscious archer.

"Here, put the boy on my back. I'll carry him to camp."

Yuuko nodded. "I'll carry his bow and hat." She then turned to Minako.

"Minako, take to the trees and make sure we don't get ambushed."

Minako nodded before taking off in a burst of speed and hopping up onto the nearest tree.

With the preparations complete, the group set off toward their camp. The kitsune couple ran swiftly through the forest while a shinobi watched over them as she hopped through the treetops.

terminology_

shuriken - ninja star

familiar - animal spirit / companion

shakujoo - pilgrim's staff. See Miroku from Inuyasha. Takeshi Nishigori's look was based on his character

kitsune - fox - Yuuko and Takeshi are human/kitsune hanyou (half human, half kitsune)

shinobi - a high level ninja, trained in the art of stealth