"Mom, I'm home!" James called as he hobbled through the door on his crutches. "Is Ahri back yet?" His dad came to the bottom of the stairs to the basement, armed with a beard and a pool cue.

"Mom's not home. Said something about an important project or something." The man scratched the back of his head as he tried to remember what his wife had told him. "Did I forget our anniversary again?"

"No, that's June fifth. It's March second." James felt a growing sense of dread when he remembered what day it was. He shook it off though, hoping that nothing would go wrong this year. "You got time."

"Still think I'm forgetting something important." He sighed in frustration, scrunching up his face as he tried to remember. "Oh, you asked a question."

"Yeah, I asked if Ahri is back from the institute yet." James put his crutches on the stairs while he supported himself with is good leg, hopping onto the first step. His dad noticed and came to his aid.

"I at least remember the answer to your question." He said, wrapping his son's arm around his shoulder. "Ahri popped in during her break shortly before your mom took off. Said she will be working late tonight." They both grunted as James stumbled on the final landing, catching himself on the railing before he dragged the two of them down.

"Thanks." James said gratefully. His father pushed his arm off of his shoulder and handing him his crutch.

"The least I can do." His dad replied with a friendly smile. "Think you could do the cool stuff when I'm home every now and then? Your mom is getting too much of the fun."

"Yeah, the stuff I go through is a lot of fun." James said sarcastically. "Between mom and Ahri, my lifespan has been shortened by a few years." They shared a laugh at the girls expense.

James hopped over to the couch and took a seat. His dad went downstairs to put his pool cue away. James started to flip through the channels, settling on Fx since they were playing battle of Los Angeles. He set his bag on the couch next to him and relaxed, his dad coming up with some soda and cups from the kitchen. He poured them each a glass and they playfully bumped them together.

While the movie played, James's mind started to wander out of boredom. His dad was not very good at remembering things, but James was glad he had forgotten that it was his birthday. Not because he didn't look forward to aging, that really didn't matter to him. For the last seven years he thought himself cursed.

On his ninth birthday, he vividly remembered being beaten with a bat by a five year old for candy. His parents soon noticed and came to his aid, but not until the kid had gotten away with the goods and leaving him looking like a piƱata.

On his tenth birthday, James's mom was in the hospital sick. His dad had left him with a babysitter to stay by her side. That year he had to wait a week to celebrate his birthday, and ended up getting sick himself soon after.

On his eleventh birthday, he invited friends over. They had a really good time, but James didn't drink enough water and got motion sick from playing video games. He wound up passing out on the couch before everyone left.

On his twelfth birthday, James didn't want to repeat the last three years and took off with a friend on a vacation to Michigan. No one knew it was his birthday and nothing went wrong, so that just confirmed it for him that bad things only happen when he had a birthday.

On his thirteenth birthday he suffered the biggest hit. He woke up to find the cat dead next to him, passing away in it's sleep. He spent the whole day digging in the mostly frozen earth to bury the cat, spending the evening locked up in his room. He didn't consume a single scrap of food that day.

He spent his fourteenth birthday alone. Both his parents had gone to California to visit his moms parents, leaving him to take care of himself for two weeks. They planned to be back by his birthday but a severe storm had halted their flight. He spent the entire time online, but he only felt even more alone.

His fifteenth birthday went off without a hitch, but he was to paranoid that something was bound to happen that he didn't enjoy himself too much.

So can you really blame him for being afraid of his birthday? Five years of misfortune conveniently happening on the exact same day each year could traumatize anyone, especially a kid. He still found himself repeating the memory of his ninth birthday in his dreams whenever it came close to that time of year again.

"Hey, you okay?" James was snapped out of his thoughts by the worry in his dad's voice. "You've been frozen in that position for a few minutes. Is your leg troubling you again?"

James blinked a few times, his eyes suddenly unusually dry. "N-no, it's nothing. Just remembering something."

His dad didn't seem convinced, but he knew James well enough that if he didn't want to tell what was on his mind he wouldn't. "Fine, I won't pry. Just don't let whatever it is get to you." James nodded gratefully. They returned their attention to the TV as the commercials ended, giving way to the gunfire of marines firing on aliens.

The movie ended and James took his crutches and went to the bathroom, leaving his dad to go fetch more soda. He was washing his hands when there was a shout of surprise followed by a thud and a string of panicked apologies. "Is everything okay out there?" James called, quickly turning off the faucet and going to the door.

"Yeah, we're good out here." His dad called back. James stepped out of the bathroom to find the man picking up a fresh 2 liter soda bottle from off the ground where he dropped it. "I just tripped up on the last step and dropped the soda on my foot."

James eyed him carefully, trying to read him. "Who was apologizing?" He asked scrutinizingly. He could be imagining it, but there was a slight shine starting on the man's forehead.

"Just me talking to my foot." He said breezily, acting as if that was a totally normal.

"Your voice is to deep for what I heard. Are you sure?" James began to make his way down the hall, his crutches clicking each time they touched down.

"I was in pain." His dad replied. His eyes darted to the couch really fast. James doubted the man even knew he had broken eye contact when he had said that.

James stared at his father for a few more seconds then shrugged, deciding he wouldn't get anywhere if he kept interrogating him. Besides, it was probably Ahri. He also tripped up on the first question as said we're fine, plural as in someone else was with him. Now the only question is, what are you two hiding? He kept his ears open, taking note of every creak and groan of the house.

The guys took a seat on the couch as black hawk down started. His dad raised the volume by a few bars, not enough to make a huge difference but enough to drown out the rest of the house.

"Your hearing getting worse." James commented, not removing his eyes from the screen. He focused on looking forward while keeping an eye on the man next to him. His eyes started to hurt.

"Not at all. I just thought I would like the gunfire louder." James nodded, content with the answer. Now he knew he was covering something up.

James sighed and leaned back again, letting his limbs stretch out to work out the tension. His back popped a few times and pain spiked in his foot, causing himself to recoil slightly. "Damb leg. Any contact and I pour boiling Mercury through my bones." His dad looked at him worriedly as James curled in pain, only to be slightly unnerved when his face suddenly went blank and his body returned to its previous position.

"I don't like it when you do that." He stated. "It's not natural to be able to kill things like pain and emotions with just willpower." James shrugged it off.

"I just calmed my mind and ignored the rest of my body." He said calmly. "I do it all the time when playing shooter games. It helps boost my reaction speed, but it works this way too." (This is a real technique that is common place amongst gamers. It mainly focuses on breathing, but there have been some who can speed up their heart rate by willpower while remaining at a steady breath. They are simply terrifying in action. Fun fact, a similar technique is used in martial arts.)

The pair was silent for a while as they watched the movie, James secretly listening closely for any sign of life throughout the rest of the building. He had heard a window open up downstairs so he knew that Ahri had left. Every now and then he heard a shifting of some sort, so he knew someone else was moving things around and was being very quite about it. James figured that was Sona. But Sona wasn't the quite type, preferring to have music wherever she went. At least, that's what Ahri told him.

James continued to ponder the odds of it being Sona down below, or if Ahri had somehow snuck back in. She did have that teleportation thingy, but as far as he knew it only worked to and from Runeterra. The overwhelming need to know who was downstairs gnawed at him, his curiosity trying its best to convince the clever part of him to stop observing the mystery and go solve it. It took all his will power to keep up the charade of ignorance.

Eventually James got bored of the movie and went to his room, claiming he would take a nap before dinner. "Wake me when the others get home." His dad promised he would and James left the couch. He pushed his door open with one of his crutches before entering and closing it behind him. He grabbed himself a pillow and cover and laid down on the floor next to the vent, settling into a comfortable position before he closed his eyes.

James did not go to sleep, However, but instead got a better position to hear the rest of the house. The door muffled the tv so that it no longer covered up most of the noise. Now he could here the person below moving around better, every careless movement or slightly audible footstep echoing through the ventilation system. It sounded as if they were moving around with plates and cups, and he could have sworn he heard the downstairs fridge open. As the person worked, they hummed happily to themselves.

And that rules out Sona. James thought to himself. A smirk spread across his lips as he pictured the girl below working quietly and humming to herself, her tails bobbing behind her in tune. Ah well, I'll let this go on for a while. It would disappoint them to much if they knew I was onto them.

Meanwhile on the other side of the floor board, Ahri was happily setting up the pool table with plates and cups. In the middle of the table sat six different kinds of soda and three plates full of cookies. In the fridge sat a large cake, neatly decorated with sea blue frosting. Marry had snuck by earlier and passed the food through the window, along with some neatly wrapped boxes which she ordered Ahri to hide. Ahri complied, winking at the other woman as she took off down the street to were she parked the car.

Ahri finished putting up the last decorations on the walls before she whipped out her new phone and sent a text, informing Marry that plan B was set up and she awaited orders. She then checked around the corner to make sure no one was looking from the front hall before pulling out her own present. It was lumpy and poorly wrapped, decorated with a simple red ribbon. She carefully stashed it with the rest of the presents in the back of the room, hidden behind an old fake Christmas tree.

A cheerful little jingle caused Ahri to spin around, one of her orbs in hand. She then realized that it was just her phone and dispersed the orbs in embarrassment. She pulled it out and read the message.

Operation pack rat finished. Bringing the riot squad in 30.

Go have fun before the cavalry arrives.

Ahri cracked a smile at the joke. She checked the time before she put her phone away before she opened a rift and left earth, making a quick trip back home before she went to see James.

James was acutely aware that Ahri left, hearing the jingle of her phone and then silence. His entertainment momentarily out of his plane of existence, James found himself with a large sense of boredom again. He wrapped one arm under the pillow and rolled to face away from the vent, closing his eyes before letting his mind wander. He was in the middle of debating wether Ahri had been working on her own or with someone else when he accidentally fell asleep, drifting to a dream of the fox girl.

In his dream, Ahri slept in the middle of a glade, buried in her tails. Every now and then her ear would twitch, a pleased smile on the fox girl's face as she dreamed. Some kind of little particles floated around, giving the place a sleepy mood. James laid down next to Ahri and slipped his hand under her's, affection building in his chest as she squeezed it.

Ahri's eyes slowly opened to meet his. James starred back, marveling how her yellow eyes seemed to gleam like pure gold. The fox girl slowly closed her eyes again and rolled over so she lay on his arm, her back pressed against his chest.

James blinked. Ahri had disappeared, being replaced by a white fox. The foxes tails had light orange tips. Instead of Ahri's nine tails, it had seven. It was young too, measuring just under ten inches from nose to tail. James reached over and pet behind its ears, causing its head to turn and look at him. Instead of Ahri's gold, the fox had brilliant sapphire eyes.

The fox turned in place in place to face him, staring at him intently. James could sense intelligence behind the eyes as they look at him curiously.

"Who are you?" He asked the fox.

The fox vigorously shook its head and yawned, exposing rows of tiny teeth. I don't know. James heard the feminine voice in his head.

"Okay then. Why are you here?"

I don't know that either. The fox said sadly. Its head drooped down out of shame. James started to pet it, smiling in a friendly manner.

"Hey, don't go sad on me. You'll remind me of something best left in the past." The fox cocked its head to the side questioningly but James chose not to elaborate. "So what do you know?" He asked the fox.

The fox was silent for a moment before it replied. I know what I am. I also know how I came to exist. James sat silently, looking at the fox expectantly. The fox continued. I am a mixture of magic energy and emotions, created from a deep bond between two different beings. One of the beings is a kitsune, a fox spirit that takes the form of a human by feeding off of their life energy. The other is a human of another world, kind and reasonable. He has an abundance of emotions he keeps in reserve, building up more than enough to be one or two other people in the process.

James was starting to wonder if his dad had slipped something into his soda. "So, by the two beings, you mean us?" He asked slowly.

Yes. The fox replied, some of its tails starting to wag with pleasure.

James thought for a moment, sitting up and crossing his legs. The fox came over and sat in his lap. "How long?" He asked.

I don't know. I just know what I am. The fox replied. By any chance, can I have a name?

James began to ponder what a suitable name would be, absent mindedly petting the fox as he did. After a few minutes, he thought of one. "How about Echo?" He asked, scratching the underside of the foxes chin. Echo let out a purr, rotating her head so James scratched her cheek too.

I like it. Echo said. James stopped scratching so she could speak without a struggle and rested his hand on her shoulder. Thank you for the name, but I think it's time for you to wake up. Someone's waiting. She darted her head forward and nipped his hand, the sharp pain vaulting him out of his dream.

There was a quite "eep!" as James's eyes shot open. Ahri sat in a flush position and had been watching him. James tried to sit up, only to find a soft heap of fur holding down his arm. The weight wasn't much and he could easily have pushed through it, but the shock of the unexpected object's weight caused him to pause.

Cuddled up on his arm was Echo.

"Just so you know, she's not mine." Ahri stated hastily, blushing slightly. "Don't go blaming me if children start popping into existence." James chuckled at her reaction.

"You can relax, Ahri. I already know how this one came to life." His voice suddenly turned serious. "By any chance, have you been casting magic on me willy milly? Say, charm?"

Ahri's blush deepened. "H-How would you know I've been trying to charm you every night for the last month and a half?" she stammered, looking away as she realized she had been caught.

"Because Echo told me she was created by our love, my huge reserve of pent up emotions, and an over usage of magic power." James stated, picking up and cradling said fox in his arms. "I hope you can explain why you used enough magic power to generate another living being."

"I didn't." Ahri exclaimed, then hesitated. "At least not as far as I know."

They were interrupted by Echo yawning adorably. Quite fighting! She wined. Can you guys argue after my birthday?

"Sorry Echo." James said, scratching behind her ears. She pushed her forehead against his palm. "We'll talk about this later."

Ahri watched as the natural bond James and Echo began to strengthen, torn between envy and affection. She was jealous because that's how James treated her, and she was affectionate because she felt a tie to the little fox she couldn't explain. The fox's presence felt oddly familiar, but she could swear she didn't know anything about the new comer. Eventually she gave in and allowed it.

"It's not like she stole my plan." Ahri huffed, crossing her arms and turning her back to them. "When you're ready, come on out." She walked out of the room with her nose in the air, a mischievous grin crossing her face as she ducked out of sight.

"Is he awake now?" James's dad asked as she walked into the living room.

"Yeah, and he has a surprise for us." Ahri said, brushing her dress to get out some wrinkles. She wore her signature red dress, the one which James liked the most. "Back up in five."

A few minutes later James came shambling out of his room with his crutches, Echo following closely on his good heel. "You could have helped me up." He said darkly to Ahri on his way to the bathroom. He was about to close the door when Echo darted around him. "Echo, please wait outside while I use the bathroom. Thank you." The little white fox left and sat out in front of the door, starring at Ahri's tails as she waited.

"What?" Ahri asked, crossing her arms again.

Why do you have nine tails? Echo asked curiously. She fanned out her own so that Ahri could count how many she had.

Ahri scratched her chin, pondering the question. "I don't know. Maybe it's just the way I am?" She said honestly.

Echo walked over to her and took a whiff of her scent before rubbing against her leg. Mine. She said happily. Ahri couldn't help but aww at the cuteness of the smaller fox.

The bathroom door opened and James exited in a slightly better mood than he was when he went in. "You two getting along now?" He asked rhetorically. Echo gave an affirmative yip and Ahri nodded.

"What was that?" James's dad called down the hall.

"An Echo." James called back. He took point and led them to the living room, him and Ahri taking positions to the side. The fox in question took a spot in the middle of the floor, staring at the man on the couch. "You could say it's her birthday."

Hello. Echo said, standing perfectly still. James was slightly amuse when his dad flinched, looking around for the source of the voice. Down here. He removed his glasses and wiped them, not quite believing what sat in front of him. James and Ahri just stood to the side laughing.

"Did she just speak?" He asked, leaning forward from the couch to get a closer look.

"Yes, yes she did." James said, shaking with laughter at his dad's slack jawed face. The man noticed and closed his mouth, straightening up.

"Well, I won't pretend that she is normal." He said, casting another look at Echo. "And neither will I pretend this doesn't bother me. Where did she come from?"

"Well, I don't exactly know myself." James said, scratching the back of his head. "Somethings from me, some magic from Ahri, and a bit of luck?" His dad's eyebrows furrowed.

"You two did it?" He asked, his voice serious.

In perfect sync the couple's faces flushed deep red and they mysteriously couldn't look at each other. "H-He hasn't touched me yet, I swear!" Ahri exclaimed, grabbing her upper right arm before adding quieter. "He is rather stubborn about doing this properly. I want to respect his wishes."

"Echo is ours."James stated firmly, telling himself and Ahri as much as he was telling his dad. "But she is not a product of improper conduct." Ahri gave him a grateful look, her doubtful expression fading away.

I have no idea what you guys are talking about. Echo said. They turned to look at her, her place in the family guarantied. They were greeted by her form surrounded by a soft yellow light. My time here is up. I'm going to have to rest for a bit before I can make another appearance.

"What do you mean by that?" James exclaimed worriedly.

Don't worry, I'm not dying. I just don't have a physical form yet. She assured them. You two still need to give that to me. Until then, I'll give you one more piece Information I've gleamed. By searching both your memories, I know how I was created.

"How?" Ahri asked, kneeling down and picking up Echo.

From a crash between you and dad. Echo said quickly, the light fading. You life force mingled on your first meeting, the portal supplying the energy neces-" She didn't finish the sentence as she disappeared completely.

"Why did she know so much for being so young?" Ahri asked, her saddened eyes locked on Echo's last position.

"Well, because she was completely made of magic?" James suggested. Ahri shot him a dirty look. "What? It's not as if she's dead. She said she's only resting. Must take a lot of energy to hold even the smallest form when you don't have a body."

"Then where is she?" Ahri asked accusingly.

"I got her." James said, tapping his chest. "I can still feel her presence."

"I'm going to assume I won't understand what's going on." James's father said, looking more confused than ever. "This one is on you two."

"Well, okay then?" James said. "Now what?"

To answer his question, the door opened and his mom walked in with two others in tow. "Hey man, what's up?" Kyle asked, his hands behind his head as he walked through the doorway. Krisha followed him in with a large black bag slung over her shoulder.

"Nothing much." James said with a shrug. "My daughter dropped in for a visit. You just missed her."

"Oh, really." Kyle said skeptically. "I thought you were to chicken to knock up Ahri."

"Well, he's definitely not perverted like you." Krisha said, dropping the big black bag at the bottom of the stairs. Kyle laughed, slinging his own joke.

"You would know, would you? Didn't you think of taking him for yourself once?"

Kirsha kicked him between the legs and earned a double kill. "Did not! I was just playing. Besides, this guy was fun to pick on. He can climb to the top of a pine tree in ten seconds flat!"

"Okay you two, kiss and make up." James said from the top of the stairs. "What's in the bag?"

"Just some garden tools." Krisha replied. "We're going to use the empty bag to transfer your body parts to a secluded part of a park."

"Oh lovely. And here I thought I had to wait until my leg healed to fight you again." James waved one of his crutches in an attempt to touch her as she came up the stairs but she just blocked it.

"You don't stand a chance in your current state." Krisha said with a grin. "You rely to much on those damb dances to win."

"It's not my fault you don't like to dodge." James said jokingly. Kyle and his mom joined them in the living room. "So what is the real reason you're here?" James asked, keeping up the pretense as best as he can. No need to ruin their fun.

"You'll have to ask your mom about that." Kyle answered evasively. "We're just your local pirates here to reap the rewards." Krisha kicked him in the shin and made a hushing noise.

"If you're here to steal my games, I still have a fox girl on my side." Ahri stepped forward to stand at his side, summoning and orb to float an inch above her palm. Her grin then widened and she moved past him to stand with the others.

"I don't know." She said sultrily. "What if I want some of the loot for myself?"

"When it's already entitled to you?" James said, his own smile growing on his lips as he stepped closer. "That was kind of established when we first began living together. And the silent agreement was sealed when we started dating." He had gotten dangerously close to her, his face just a few inches away from her's.

"I've been told." Ahri said, closing the distance. It was just a quick, shallow kiss, but James was highly pleased anyways. When Ahri broke of he let go of one of his crutches (his right one, he still needed the left one to support his broken left leg.) and pulled her in for a hug. Ahri wrapped her arms around him, in return.

Someone clearing their throat brought them back to reality. Kyle handed James his crutch so he could support himself when they released each other.

"So anyway, shall we get started? I'm sure Ahri wants to show you her surprise she has been working on." James and the rest of the people in the room turned their attention to his mother who still stood at the top of the stairs.

James raised his eyebrow. "A surprise for what?" He asked, internally high-fiving himself for pulling off the voice perfectly.

This time Ahri answered. "To celebrate the destruction of a curse that I have been told you've been carrying for quite a while." She reached out to take his hand when she realized that it was holding a crutch. Her mood slightly dampened, she retracted the hand.

"It's fine." James told her. He let go of the crutch and quickly snatched her hand before he could lose balance and fall over. "We don't just share a home and things. We share each other too."

"Yeah." Ahri felt better, her hand being squeezed gently by James. "Come on. You've waited long enough." She helped James down the stairs, willingly lending him support every time he took a step. At the bottom they stopped, turned, and started down the second flight. Marry stepped to the side so that they could take the lead, a look of pride on her face.

"So James, do you know what day it is?" Ahri asked.

"Wednesday?" James replied.

"No silly." Ahri chuckled. She flipped the light switch to illuminate the room. "It's your birthday."

All around the room were streamers of blue, green, and purple pined to the wall. The pool table had been set with a number of plates and cups, bottles of soda sitting in the middle surrounded by piles of cookies. Sitting in front of the pile of food was an old picture frame, inside sitting an old photograph of James as a little kid, a wide smile on his face as he blew out the candles.

James picked up the photo and stared at it silently for a moment, memories of how simple the world had been back then filling his mind. Back when he trusted people. "You set this all up yourself?" James asked quietly, putting the photo back on the table.

"Mostly." Ahri said cheerfully. "Your mom helped supply the materials. I just did the best I could with what I had." James scratched the back of her ears affectionately, dragging himself back to the present.

"To be honest, the only thing I actually wanted today was to be with you." James admitted. "This place is pretty boring without you. We don't have quite as many explosions."

"I'll destroy the world as many times as you want." Ahri joked back. "Shall we get started?"

"Yes, we shall." Marry said from the fridge, a cake in her hands. James looked past her, noticing that there was less beer than usual in the fridge. "Would you do the honors, Ahri?" She placed the cake on the table.

Ahri placed sixteen candles in the top of he cake positioned in the shape of a eighteen and snapped her fingers. Eighteen blue flames sat on the candles, waving gently in the air. Then they began to sing.

James didn't know the point of the song that nobody really enjoyed being directed at them, but James held himself steady while he fought the embarrassing lyrics in his head. I'll never be a fan of this song, but these guys will never know that.

The song ended and James blew out the candles. His mom cut the cake and started to hand out pieces. His dad went and fetched ice cream from the chest freezer and served everyone a few scoops. Kyle dumped some of his down Krisha's back. Krisha retaliated with a kick to the balls.

"Nothing wrong yet." James commented to Ahri in a whisper.

"If something happens, it won't walk away alive." Ahri commented back. James chuckled and nodded, happy to have her with him.

They proceed onto the gifts once everyone had settled down with their sweets. James received a new 3DS from his mom, some new sweatshirts from his dad, a necklace with a jade arrowhead from Krisha, and a pair of foam swords from Kyle. He also received some yugioh decks from his uncle who sent them in the mail.

Ahri gave him her gift last, shyly standing next to him as he began to take off the paper to the small bundle. Inside was a single fingerless leather glove with a black pyramid over each of the knuckles. James pulled it out and slipped it on his left hand, flexing his fingers. It was a perfect fit.

"It has some of my magic power absorbed into it." Ahri said nervously. "This way you can go to and from Runeterra without my help." She rocked side to side as she watched James, afraid he might not like it.

James let go of his crutches and hugged her, resting his chin on her shoulder before he whispered in her ear. "Thank you, Ahri."

Ahri was stunned for a brief second before she returned the hug. "You're welcome."

Hey guys, it's the author here. I've been working on this story for two weeks and I planned to release it on today. Why March second of all days? Because it's my birthday! So I bid you all from my iPad to have a good day in my stead and I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Here's a hint for he next chapter: Echo's body.