Chapter 11 – Fox in the Henhouse
"Why doesn't this surprise me?" Magiel grumbled and glared down at her sister-in-law. Urara held her small son in her arms and looked back at her nervously.
"Urara!" Hikaru looked at his wife in shock and anger. She turned her head to him and a look of irritation passed over her face. Tsubasa wondered if he needed to go to his sister's aid, but she turned and defended herself quickly.
"I didn't know I was breaking any laws! I found the spell in an old book in the library and it wasn't chained up or anything, it looked like all the other spell books, just older," she shrugged and Hikaru opened his mouth and then shut it again.
"There was nothing special about it?" Magiel asked and stooped forwards to stare at Urara through her spectacles.
"Besides the fact that it was old and the pages were stiff and dusty, no, it looked like all the other books," she informed them and Magiel frowned.
"Do you remember any other spells that were in it?" Hikaru asked with an abstracted air, he was obviously thinking hard. Urara relaxed a little, apparently glad not to be the focus of her husband's anger. Tsubasa was just happy they had turned their attention away from Yumi; he wasn't sure what he would do if Magiel demanded the spell be undone. He wasn't sure it could be undone actually. While he puzzled over that, he missed some of the conversation as Urara closed her eyes and tried to recall the spell book's other contents.
Yumi was the one who found the closet where the Receptionist and several musicians were snoring and woke them up. They looked puzzled and embarrassed and wandered off home with slightly dazed expressions. It was her grandmother who found Chi-chan and the rest of the staff, sleeping in one of the offices, and chivvied them up and out. The tone of authority she was able to generate and the natural reverence they felt for her age and rank quickly had the whole group moving and out the door.
Yumi looked at her grandmother for a long moment and then firmly invited her home for tea.
The precise ritual of tea making soothed Yumi's lacerated nerves and by the time she placed the little cakes and biscuits in front of her grandmother and poured the tea, she was calm and focused once more.
The old woman's eyes followed her with both amusement and interest and Yumi wondered if her mother had gone mad under the scrutiny, or if she had just always been a little off.
"I suspect that you have a few questions." Black eyes sparkled as she asked and Yumi restrained a momentary feeling of anger.
"Why did mother dump Tsukade Jun?" she found herself asking, her conversations with Tsubasa echoing in her mind.
"Because he could see ghosts," she replied promptly and Yumi blinked. "Your mother wanted nothing more than to be as normal as possible. She married your father because he couldn't see anything mystical at all and was perfectly happy in his laboratory with his quarks."
Yumi thought this over carefully. She sipped her tea and turned her memories around and around, seeing patterns, clues, and moments of unease settling into new shapes before her. Her abilities had always been a bone of contention with her mother. She had been taught since childhood to hide her premonitions, her dreams, to ignore the things that she could see from the corners of her eyes. Her mother had been extremely angry when Yumi had found that lost child in kindergarten and forbidden her from exercising her talents in public again.
"Yet, you are not normal," she accused, but with a small smile that acknowledged her own strangeness. Her grandmother chuckled and gave her an answering smile.
"I fell in love with your grandfather," she replied and it seemed a non sequitur, but Yumi merely sipped her tea again waiting to see where she was headed with this. Her grandmother smiled, as if she had passed some sort of test, and started speaking again. "I wish you could have known him, Yu-chan, he was quite the most wonderful man ever, your young man reminds me a little of him, in fact," she murmured and Yumi blinked in surprise.
"I met him in the mountains, near my lake, he was hiking and fell straight into my waters, when the rocks slipped," she smiled and Yumi guessed she was seeing a past long gone. "I rescued him and he left, none the wiser, I thought, but he came back the next week and walked up to the water and thanked me."
"You're not human, are you?" Yumi asked it calmly. A few weeks ago she might have been shocked by the thought, but after all that had happened it seemed obvious. Her grandmother's face crinkled into a smile.
"I am a lake dragon," she confirmed and Yumi swallowed her tea rather more forcefully than she had meant to.
"Ah, of course," she replied once she was certain she would not choke, if her voice had a certain wry resignation it was ignored by the old woman. She sighed to herself because really, after kappa, magicians, spider women et al, a dragon was really all that was lacking.
"I left my lake to be with your grandfather, for I loved him very much and then, after his death I stayed because you seemed to have inherited abilities from me that I thought you might need some help with someday." Her voice was placid, but underneath it Yumi could hear a grief and longing that called to her.
"I remember how irritated mother was when I didn't need the swim lessons she paid for, they put me in the water and I just knew what to do." The memory was an old one and the childhood puzzlement over how she had managed to earn her mother's ire that time had lingered.
"If she inherited any of my abilities, your mother never displayed them," came the extremely diplomatic answer.
"So, what now?" she asked finally and her grandmother shrugged, a mere shifting of her shoulders, yet eloquent in its lack of any ideas.
"I suppose that we have some tea and eat these lovely cakes," she answered. Yumi poured more tea for them both and listened as her grandmother explained many things to her.
Magiel, Lunagel, his father, and Hikaru all had their heads together, trying to puzzle over the fragments of spells that Urara had recalled. None of them could think of a spell book that old containing such spells. Tsubasa himself found the weird conglomeration of magics rather baffling as well. Most spell books were written on a theme, this was a mishmash of different types of spell all thrown together in a seemingly random order, unless, of course, Urara simply was remembering them in a random way.
"Should we ask Snowgel?" Isamu wondered as they hit a dead end.
"I suppose that we could wait until the thief uses a spell and then trace it through that?" Kai suggested, though even he sounded dubious. There was a general feeling of negation that followed as they tried to figure out what to do next.
"Magiel-sama!" one of the lesser Heavenly Saints ran forward from the library, something in his hand. He bowed low before the Arch Saint and handed to her an object that was invisible to the rest of them. She stared at it for a long time and then she frowned in a manner so fearsome that the messenger backed away from her with alacrity.
"What is it?" Hikaru asked into the sudden silence.
"The tail fur of a fox," she answered and her anger was a palpable force in the room.
"Kitsune," Isamu muttered and rolled his eyes.
"The problem with them is that until you can get a look at one, you can't be certain if it's good, or evil," Hikaru was explaining. "And even the good ones can be…mischievous, if they are bored."
"It did say that it wasn't cruel," Tsubasa put in, reminding them all of the conversation in the hallway. "It could have left Yumi dead and soulless, but it didn't." The memory made him feel cold al of a sudden and he went to stand in the warm sunshine coming through the window of Hikaru and Urara's house.
They had adjourned there to discuss the theft without being drowned out by the irritated muttering of Magiel.
"A point in its favor," Isamu conceded. "But to steal a book from the Magitopia library does go beyond the usual sort of pranks one expects," he added with a frown.
"Perhaps it had a reason?" Urara asked quietly from where she was rocking the baby to sleep. Tsubasa got up and went over to her, realizing that he hadn't even talked with her about Yumi. She busied herself with the baby and seemed surprised when he dropped a kiss on her head. Startled, she looked up at him.
"Thank you, by the way," he murmured and she smiled that dazzlingly bright smile, so like their mother's.
"You look so much happier, I'm glad," she returned and Tsubasa ruffled her hair, touched by how far his sister had been willing to go to help him.
"I am happy," he admitted, letting himself feel it for a moment, to just be content knowing that Yumi was waiting for him, still alive, still his. It was a wonderful feeling. "I didn't know how unhappy I was until she came back into my life." It was an admission that surprised him as much as it did her. He shrugged, letting the moment of vulnerability fade and turned back to the conversation.
"But the list of spells that Urara recalled all seem fairly innocuous," Miyuki sighed. "There is nothing in them that seems special or important."
"Except for the one that nee-chan used," Kai reminded them and they all frowned.
"The Kitsune did seem very interested in Yumi-chan," Makito added. "Maybe there is someone that he lost that he wishes to be reborn?"
A silence descended on them all. Tsubasa thought about how empty his life had been before Yumi had re-entered it, could he deny someone suffering the same surcease from pain? He knew that he couldn't and vowed silently, that if it were the case, he would not interfere in the Kitsune's spell. It would be both cruel and hypocritical, after all.
"If that is so, I understand and sympathize," Isamu replied. "All we are really obligated to do, is get the book back to the library, everything else is really outside of our responsibility." They all nodded and Tsubasa smiled softly, hiding it by turning away a little. His father was a deeply compassionate person and they all knew that he would not stop the Kitsune from using the spell, or punish it for having done so.
"It's a moot point anyway," Hikaru grumbled and ran a hand through his hair. "We have no idea where the Kitsune could have gone with the book!"
"I might have an idea about that, actually," Urara mentioned, and jerked her chin towards the crystal ball in the corner of their living room. Handing the baby to Miyuki, she pulled out her wand.
"So these premonitions can be controlled?" Yumi blurt out in surprise.
"Of course, with proper training your sixth sense can be honed to a much greater sensitivity and you can use it for far more than you can yet imagine." Her grandmother's placid tones and easy assurance did not actually make Yumi feel better. Part of her was furious at her mother for denying her the benefits of her heritage; the other part was wondering why grandmother hadn't pressed the issue sooner.
"It seems this would have been useful when I was younger," she suggested, trying to not sound ungracious.
"Yes well, I wanted you to be able to make a choice freely," Kimiko replied and there was a tension underneath her words that made Yumi pay close attention. "I often felt that your mother rebelled against her heritage as much because I tried to push her so hard. Her abilities never manifested and I think my disappointment showed a little." It was a hard admission for the proud woman and Yumi knew it. She merely poured more tea for her without comment.
After all, what could she say that they both hadn't thought a thousand times before? Yukio wasn't an easy person to get along with and Kimiko was herself somewhat thorny, together they were oil and water.
Yumi wondered if it was the seed of Rei in her, that made her more kind and gentle than her mother, or if it were something else entirely. How much of who she was was dependant on the soul of the dead idol singer and how much was because of genes and family? Did it matter? She let out her breath slowly, releasing the thought. She was herself, she was the girl Tsubasa cared for and that was wonderful beyond words.
"I choose to be in Tsubasa's world," Yumi informed her grandmother who nodded.
"That is the same choice I made for myself, to be in your grandfather's world with him." Kimiko looked down into her teacup as though the past was playing out in its depths. "I have never regretted that choice."
Yumi nodded, she knew that it wasn't a choice that she would regret either.
Urara, head bent over the crystal ball, black robes falling across the white wood of the chair, had a frown line etched between her eyes. Tsubasa stood patiently by, more interested in watching the clouds drift by below them then joining Houka and Kai as they peered into the ball hoping to glimpse something of what Urara could see there.
"I see a farm in the countryside," Urara commented. "I see a farmer getting into his truck, taking his rice to market, it looks like." She ran a hand across her brow, looking tired and Tsubasa wondered how much sleep she was getting with the new baby. "Ah! No, watch out!" she cried and then leaned back from the chair in distress.
"Urara!" Hikaru moved to her side and she looked up at him with a small tear falling down her cheek.
"He hit them, they must have died instantly," she murmured.
"Hit who?" their father asked and Urara shook her head, as if to clear it of her vision.
"The kits, two little foxes," she explained and they all looked startled and then sad as well.
"It's children, perhaps?" Tsubasa suggested. Urara shook her head in confusion rather than negation.
"I don't know for sure, I couldn't see anything after that."
"There was a minor curse spell in the book as well, maybe it wants revenge?" Kai asked, but Miyuki shook her head.
"If the Kitsune is their mother she would care more for their lives than for vengeance, I think."
"But," Isamu put in, "mother or father, vengeance could be a goal as well."
"I don't think that it is out for vengeance, it never really hurt anyone. It scared some people but even the spider woman didn't harm any of her captives and that is not normal for them." Tsubasa mused aloud, thinking back, the only time he was harmed was when he tried to get to Yumi through the warded door, and while that had hurt, it hadn't killed him. He'd been scared and angry, but he wondered suddenly if they had even been in any real danger.
"If this Kitsune can call upon an ally such as the spider woman and control it enough to keep it from feeding on its victims, then it is old and powerful indeed." Hikaru added with a frown that matched his wife's.
"I think that I could find that farm again, if needed," Urara suggested, but Hikaru shook his head.
"You should stay here with the baby, while I do some research on the Kitsune," Hikaru smiled at her and headed off back to Magitopia's library no doubt.
Tsubasa cocked his head and thought while the rest of his family discussed their next move. A sudden yearning overtook him and he sighed.
"I'm going to go check on Yumi-chan," he informed them and headed for his broom. He was oblivious to his family's smiles and fond glances as he left, which was probably good, because the urge to hit Kai for the way he was laughing would have been hard to overcome.
Yumi concentrated and controlled her breathing as her grandmother's voice guided her through the labyrinth of her own senses.
"I can feel the neighbor moving around next door and something strong moving fast towards us…" she broke off as she realized what she was sensing. "Tsubasa!" she cried and her eyes flew open as she ran for the front door.
Her grandmother's amused chuckle was lost in the sound of her own cry of delight as her magician returned, eyes alight and smile tender. Framed by the open doorway he was wind blown and looked both tired and happy. Her heart stuttered just looking at him and she was quickly lost in his gaze.
"Well, let the poor boy come in, Yu-chan! Don't just stand there grinning at him!" her grandmother's words recalled her to life and she laughed as she stepped aside and let him in.
"Sorry!" she answered, but he just shook his head and took her hand in his.
"You're all right now?" he asked as they walked to the living room.
"Fine." She left her smile be her assurance and left him to bow to grandmother as she got another cup and plate for him. She set the water to boil again, since she was pretty certain the tea had gone cold by now.
"A Kitsune? That explains much," she heard her grandmother answer Tsubasa and she blinked in startlement. "I knew a family of them over by Lake Biwa, sweet and charming folk, but always up to some game or another," she chuckled and Yumi's lips turned up at the sound of it. "One day they are leaving rabbits for a lost traveler and the next they are putting burs in a sleeping man's hair." Yumi could sense rather than see the shrug that accompanied that statement and smiled more broadly.
"You'll have your hands full if you are going after one!" she warned.
"We just want the book back, the Kitsune hasn't hurt anyone, not really, so there is nothing for us to bother with there," Tsubasa replied and Yumi opened her mouth to protest before closing it again. No one had actually been hurt after all. Threats weren't the same as actual harm, after all. She wasn't sure now that they hadn't been empty threats anyway. She'd been so scared that she hadn't dared test the mysterious voice.
Maybe the fearsome voice had been full of sound and fury, but signifying nothing? It was an interesting thought.