A/N: And now, for some training and a small time skip! Enjoy~

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the story & the kits.

Kitsune End Of The Beginning

Chapter 4

X*X(2 Weeks Later)X*X

We had been training the kits for two weeks, and so far, they had been progressing well. Kasai's fire had grown in strength, and her body had increased endurance in combat. She had also gained better control of her fire. Kabu's light had also become more powerful, and he was able to focus on a single opponent or multiple ones. Kito, being able to control both elements, had to train twice as hard, but his stamina had greatly exceeded expectations from all of us.

Joshua's stomach had also grown to be halfway through with his pregnancy during the past couple of weeks. He was still pushing himself with helping the kits with their training, however, which wasn't good for him. Sanae and I had agreed to have the silverette stay home today, or at the very least, just watch the kits from the sidelines. He really can't be stressing his body out so much when he's halfway through his pregnancy. That morning, I mentioned it to him.

"Joshua, today, I want you to either just watch from the sidelines or stay home, okay?" I told him.

"What," he uttered, staring at me.

"You can't be pushing yourself so hard like this," I added. "Especially when you're halfway through your pregnancy. It's not good for you or the kits."

"…I guess you're right…" he mumbled.

"You know I'm right," I chuckled, kissing him lightly. "Look, you can at least come and just watch if you're that worried, okay?"

"…Oh, all right," he smiled, and shifted into his fox form as we started to leave. Sanae had already left to the training clearing with the kits, and Josh and I had stayed behind so I could talk to him. Laughing, I shifted to my fox form as well, and we bounded off together, just like it was before we became parents. I raced ahead of my mate, cackling, but he suddenly darted past me with a giggle.

"Hey!" I yelled, and ran faster, bursting into the clearing, where Sanae and the kits stared as we joined them, panting.

"Mom? Dad? Why were you running?" Kito asked curiously.

"Your mother and I were racing each other," I explained. "It's something we've done before."

"Kinda like how we do now?" Kasai guessed.

"Yes, something like that," Joshua giggled, nuzzling her fondly.

"Okay, who's ready for training?" I asked. Kasai jumped up with a yip.

"I am! I am!" she squealed. "I wanna try that one attack that Kito can do with his tail and fire!"

"You mean the nine tail flame attack?" I asked.

"Yeah, that one!" she nodded.

"Okay, we'll try that one today," I agreed, and led her to the targets. We had built several targets out of old branches and rocks, and kept them tied together with some extra rope we had lying around.

Basically, the move Kasai wanted to learn was a fire-based attack. It was an attack where the fire in her would form eight more tails out of fire, and they would shoot flaming arrows at the target or targets. It was most powerful against a single target, which made sense, but was also helpful against multiple opponents. Kito had already mastered this due to his control over light and fire, and he had been working harder than his siblings.

"How do I start, Dad?" Kasai asked me as we stood about six yards away from the targets.

"You concentrate and focus your fire into your tail," I began. "Once all of your fire is concentrated there, release the energy, and as soon as the fire is flowing from your tail, aim at the target or targets and fire a burst of energy at them. Does that make sense?"

"Yeah, I think so," she murmured.

"Okay, try it out and we'll see how it goes," I nodded. Stepping back, I motioned with my paw for her to go for it. Even though I control fire and hence can't be easily burned, I can still be burned by fire that's too hot.

My daughter focused her energy, closing her eyes so she could concentrate, and I could see the fire energy starting to form at her tail. Suddenly, her eyes opened, and eight more tails burst out from her, fanning out and all of them glowing from the fire, including her own tail.

Finally, she focused on the targets, and, aiming at them, she fired off the flaming arrows. They all converged and struck one big target, making it burst into flames. When it began to burn, Kasai gasped in shock that she did it. She yipped happily and, dismissing the fire, bounded over to me.

"Dad, I did it! I really did it!" she squeaked. Chuckling, I nuzzled her fondly.

"Great job, Kasai," I praised. "Now you just need to keep practicing so you perfect it."

"I can do that!" she chirped. "I just don't want to use up all of the targets, though."

"Don't worry, short-stuff," Sanae said. "I'll use my magic to rebuild them."

"Okay, thanks Uncle Sanae!" Kasai nodded. Kabu and Kito walked over to us and smiled at their sister.

"That was cool, Kasai," Kabu told her.

"Makes me want to practice that one some more," Kito agreed. "Wanna practice with me?"

"Sure!" she said, and the pair walked off to train together. Kabu looked at me.

"What can I work on?" he asked.

"Hmmm…How about we work on actual physical combat?" I suggested. Kabu nodded in agreement, and we went to the center of the clearing. "Ready?"

My eldest son nodded, and we began to circle each other. Suddenly, he started to move as though he was going to attack, but stepped back when I went to move as well, and then he lunged at me. I barely managed to dodge, and rolled past him.

"Tricky, tricky," I laughed, and Kabu smirked.

"So are you!" he retorted.

"True enough," I agreed. He suddenly dashed at me again, not giving me time to dodge or block, and sent me tumbling back. I sat up, eyes wide, and then narrowed them at my oldest child. "Oh, you're gonna get it now." Springing to my feet, I faked him out, and then darted to the other side, where I lunged at him and pinned him.

"Don't let your guard down," I advised. I stepped back, letting him up, and quickly backtracked to stand across from him again. We stared at each other for a long time, watching the other carefully and waiting for the other to make the first move. I then decided to pull a bold move and moved to strike. Instead of feigning the attack, though, I followed through with it, and caught Kabu by surprise. I managed to clip his shoulder as he twisted to dodge, making him gasp, startled.

"You're getting better, just keep honing your instincts," I told him as I faced the smaller ginger fox. "Trust me, that's the key in fights. Follow your instincts, and you'll rarely ever be wrong."

"Gotcha. Is there anything else I should know?" Kabu asked, his expression thoughtful.

"Not much. You've got your light magic down pretty well. Now we just need to help your brother and sister with their fighting skills, and we'll be okay," I answered. "We've got two more weeks left until Sho will be here, and any other followers of his along with him. We need to stay strong." The four of us nodded together as Kasai and Kito rejoined us.

"Dad, I'm tired and hungry. Can we go home and eat?" Kasai asked tiredly.

"Yeah, we're done here for today," I nodded. "Let's hunt on the way home."

"Sounds good to me," Kito agreed. We hunted a bit of prey on the way home, and when we arrived, Sanae split off from us to go back to his home.

That night, after we ate and the kits were in their beds, Joshua waited for me in our bed while I stripped down to my boxers. Once I climbed in with the silverette, he immediately snuggled into my side. I could tell something was wrong if he needed me like this.

"Josh…? What's wrong?" I asked worriedly.

"I'm just scared that I might lose you or the kits…" he whimpered, sniffling.

"Yoshiya," I said sternly. He looked up at me, startled. "I told you before, and I'm telling you again, I refuse to let anything happen to my family." He stared at me for a moment before hugging me tightly.

"I'm sorry…I can't help it sometimes…" he whispered. I kissed the top of his head between his ears.

"It's okay, Josh. Just don't forget what I told you," I assured him. "Everything will be okay. Now, go to sleep. I'll be right here. I love you~"

"I love you, too, Neku," he murmured, and we kissed lightly before snuggling together under the covers.

A/N: And that's the end of that chapter! Sorry it's so short, but the next chapter will have some action in it. That's all I'm saying for now, though, so until then, R&R, peeps!