Summary: Presuming him to be one of their own due to his double tails, The Kitsune Clan of Enjou(Japan) has taken our hero, Tails, into their domain, and are asking for his help in bringing down their maddened clan leader. Meanwhile, Sonic, Sally, Bunnie, and Antoine make it to the shrine, and Antoine finds someone willing to face his rarely-showcased skills.
Characters in this chapter: Antoine, Sally, Bunnie, Sonic, Tails
Non-canon characters in this chapter: Azami, Iwamaru, Kinzoku, bit parts by others.
Note1: Kitsune are not samurai and don't do that whole honor thing. They don't necessarily play fair and will deceive an unwary opponent in battle. Note2: Kitsune can create illusions using foxfire.
Kitsune
by WingedHippocampus
Chapter 4: Four Seasons
"I'll do it!" Tails didn't know why he had said it, it had come forth before he'd even realized it. Maybe it was because back home, everyone seemed to think he was a helpless little kid. Nobody had ever asked for his help in doing something truly important or dangerous. "I'll help you. What do I need to do?"
"Thank you, little brother," Azami bowed to the smaller fox. "You only need to give your element to the creation of the purification stone. We will take care of the rest."
"I'm not sure I have an element, Mister Azami, but I'll try."
"That is all we ask then, ne?" the silvery creature turned to the others and nodded. "We shall begin preparations at once. Everyone, you know what to do. Iwamaru, please take the boy in hand and show him." At that, the gathered kitsune would rise from their cushions and begin filing out of the room, murmuring to eachother in a language Tails did not understand. Iwamaru, the single-tailed, muscle bound kitsune, would move to Tails's side as Azami left.
"I will show you what to do," Iwamaru said, but he paused as the metallic-looking eight-tails approached, smiling at the child. The little fox didn't think the eight-tails's eyes were nearly as warm in such a smile as Azami's had been.
"Please, do not mind Hikari-san," he said. "For the Kitsune of Light, she can be quite a dark and selfish character. We welcome you to our clan."
"It's okay," Tails nodded. "If she's the Kitsune of Light, and Azami is Fire, and I'm supposed to be Wind, what are you?"
"I am Kinzoku, the Kitsune of Metal. Is it not obvious?" He laughed, turning around once to show off his gloriously shiny coat and sparkling, gold-filigreed kimono. "Iwamaru there is the Kitsune of Earth. Iwamaru-san, I will take it from here."
"Azami-sama said-"
"You've no experience with kits," the other interjected smoothly. "You will frighten him half to death."
"Well…" Iwamaru rubbed at the back of his head, then nodded reluctantly. "Alright, but don't take too long."
"Of course," Kinzoku bowed as the bulkier fox made good his exit.
"So what do I do?" Tails asked earnestly. "I want to help!"
"You have a very forward attitude, this is good!" Kinzoku praised cheerfully. "Now, here is what must be done…"
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The Freedom Fighters often had to trek miles through harsh, enemy-infested terrain back home, so the trek up the mountain presented little difficulty. In fact, it had offered some rather spectacular scenery with the fresh air and natural beauty that had been extinguished in Robotropolis.
"It's a lil like home, isn't it? Kinna like our own Great Forest up here." Bunnie smiled, catching a brilliant red leaf in her hand as a passing breeze loosened a boughful of autumn glory.
"Yes," Sally replied, "but like the Great Forest, this area is an island of nature in a sea of Robotnik's ruin. Further inland, it's a lot more like Robotropolis."
"Ze sun will be down soon, no?" Antoine whimpered, gazing about the mountain forest nervously. "Zese demons you are speaking of earlier, will zey be prowling?"
"I don't know, Antoine," Sally sighed, gazing up at the reddening sky. "Hopefully we'll make it to the Kitsune no Kami shrine before it gets dark."
"But iz zat not where ze demons are comeeng from?" Antoine shrank into himself, ears down and eyes wide. Then he shrieked as Sonic, unable to resist, leapt at him with a blood-curdling yell.
"Sonic!" Sally hissed angrily, "We're trying to be inconspicuous! Stop making so much noise!"
"Hey, 'Twan helped!" Sonic protested, shrugging.
"Sally-girl!" Bunnie called softly, pointing ahead. "Ah think we found it!" The cyborg rabbit was pointing towards an almost-hidden stone path that led to a leaf-choked wooden archway of sorts.
"Good eye, Bunnie. Let me see," Sally climbed over to it, pushing brush out of her way. The vines and yellowing leaves were so thick that she couldn't quite see through to what was beyond. Cautiously, she began to push her way through to the other side, vanishing into the foliage. The chill of an impending autumn night began to give way to a strange warmth. A moment later, the other could hear her gasp.
"Sal? You okay?" Sonic asked tersely, ready to rush in.
"Come look!" Once through, they found a fascinated Sally amidst a gentle fall of pink cherry petals. The autumn beyond the hidden arch had vanished and given way to a supernatural spring. Before them lay an ornate building with paper doors. "It's real!" she exclaimed. "We have to be in the right place. Alright everyone, let's treat this like any other mission. Stay low, search for clues. Sonic, you come with me, Bunnie, Antoine, you two start here."
"As you weesh, mah Princess!" Antoine saluted.
"Be careful, y'all!" Bunnie cautioned, heading for the building while Sonic and Sally trekked through the trees to circle around and approach from the other side. "C'mon, soldier boy!"
"Oui oui, mademoiselle," Antoine followed the rabbit as she slipped in through the paper doors, her robotic parts surprisingly silent as she moved.
"Look!" she whispered, holding up a red and white object. It was one of Tails's shoes. Nearby was its mate, and both of the kit's gloves. "He's here, sure as day!"
"Why ze belongings are off?" Antoine asked fearfully. "Did ze demons have heem for dinnair?"
"Don't talk like that, Antoine, he's fine!" Bunnie replied. She then dropped the shoe with a gasp as the opposite door opened and a cat stepped in. Only a feline could have pad footed so quietly that neither Bunnie or Antoine could hear her coming. She blinked at the frozen duo a moment, then she shrieked and bolted off, her short tail puffing. "Aw dammit, Antoine!!" Bunnie cursed. "We gotta get outta hea'!!"
"I am thirding ze motion!" the coyote turned to bolt back outside, but he would stop cold at a scream from his companion. Antoine whipped around to find Bunnie trapped behind a wall of eerie blue flame that seemed to not burn anything around it, but was nonetheless keeping the rabbot in place. Behind her was a strange-looking fox in a white robe of some sort, and he was holding a shining blade in one hand.
Antoine's expression suddenly changed from one of terror to one of determination. He stopped cowering, his trembling subsiding as he drew his own sword and took a familiar stance. The fox watched him, ears pricking forward, one brow raised. He then nodded, agreeing to rise to the unspoken challenge, and leaped over the entrapped girl to bring his weapon to bear.
Antoine was often called a coward, and ridiculed by some of the others for his nervous disposition. There was a difference, however, in the coyote being faced with a nearly indestructible metal monster that could kill him at a thousand paces, and this. This was swordplay, something he had been learning since almost before he could walk. It was something that hearkened back to more confident times, and somehow it brought that assurance forward to the present. What was more, Bunnie was in danger, and there was no one else around to defend her now, was there?
The fox's sword was thin and fragile-looking, so Antoine was unprepared for the force that it carried, and he found himself immediately driven to one knee. Rather than continue to press the coyote, however, his opponent immediately let up and leaped back to give himself room for a swift, oblique strike. Antoine was forced to throw himself backwards, flat on the floor, and the paper doors behind him collapsed as they were cut in half. He'd get back up quickly, but he wouldn't get the chance to strike back as he was kicked viciously with enough force to send him through the ruined shoji. He'd land with a painful thump on the wooden bridge of the koi pond, spending a few precious moments regaining his breath before getting back up. He realized, with a bolt of panic, that he had no idea where his opponent had gone, and the fact that it was now night would not help.
The bridge exploded from beneath, peppering Antoine with sharp jags of wood, the kitsune bursting through to attack again. It was all the Mercian could do to keep those flickering, swift strikes from getting through to his flesh. He hardly noticed when he passed from Spring to Summer. The grass was now dark and long, and the two combatants stirred up clouds of fireflies with each step. The fox began to change attack patterns, keeping Antoine on his guard. Soon, they spun their way into Autumn, their movements sending up bursts of leaves. The fox bounced backwards onto a tree branch and from there to the ground, spinning sharply. The whirlwind movement stirred up a dervish of leaves that quickly obscured Antoine's vision. He took a guarding stance, slowly pacing in a tight circle, trying in vain to determine his enemy's whereabouts in that rustling curtain. A sharp burning sensation shot along his ribs as he was sliced, but that strike cost the kitsune his position, and Antoine's blade flickered out into the wall of leaves to be rewarded with a pained cry. As the flurry ceased, Antoine would finally become the aggressor, pushing the wounded fox through the leaves until they began to frost over. A few more strides, and they would be in Winter. Though sweat dampened his fur, he hardly felt the cold at this point. His pale opponent became more difficult to see in this environment, but he was determined to keep his eyes on him this time.
The noise outside had caught Sally's attention, and she plowed into the snow with a gasp, heading for Antoine. Sonic seized her arm, pulling her back.
"What are you doing, he's in trouble, Sonic!" she protested. "We have to help him!"
"No," Sonic's eyes were on the fight, brows furrowed, but a slight smile on his face. Antoine was obviously in his element. "He's fine."
Sally stared incredulously at the hedgehog. It couldn't be possible that he actually knew something she didn't. Could it?
"Trust me, Sal," he said softly. "Trust Antoine."
The fox suddenly began sprinting in seemingly random patterns around the coyote. Each time he changed direction, there was a burst of blue flame, and a perfect, moving image of the kitsune would appear from it. Antoine quickly became confused, unsure which was the real fox. He wasn't sure if the copies could hurt him, but he didn't want to find out. Thinking on his feet, he swept up a frost-covered stone and hurled it into the trees above, sending a curtain of snow showering down around him. The snow passed through all but one fox, and he knew he had his target. Blade once more met blade with an echoing ring of steel.
Everyone froze, however, as a new sound from somewhere in the residence rose over the chill air. The Freedom Fighters recognized the voice instantly.
Tails was screaming.
To be continued…