In the city of Grand Noah, Kitsu hopped along humming, her two tails vibrating with anticipation as she opened the small box she just bought. Pulling out a piece of fried tofu, she savored the taste of her favorite food.
I am so happy I convinced Nanabi to stop here. It made this whole journey worthwhile.
She recalled her recent adventure with Lady Tamamo and Nanabi to that secret pirate treasure stash. It was her first time travelling away from Yamatai or Kitsune Villages and she saw many new things. Her mood soured when she remembered how that young boy easily defeated her and used that strange sword to seal her into a small fox.
On top of that humiliation, he saved me from that scary spider that was going to eat me, and I do feel kinda bad about biting him.
She reached for another piece of tofu only to see that the box was already empty. Coming to a halt, she stood in the middle of the street looking at the contents of her money bag, before glancing back at the food stall she just left. Decision made, she turned around and started making her way back to get more tofu.
Oh, I should probably get Nanabi some as well, she seemed like she was in a bad mood. Maybe it is because that hero also beat her. Good thing Lady Tamamo showed up when she did.
She didn't pay attention to what the Queen Kitsune talked about with the Hero and the Monster Lord, but she left to go back to Hellgondo quickly after the Hero and Monster Lord left the cave, leaving Nanabi to take her back to Yamatai.
Spending the last of her gold, she grabbed the boxes of tofu and made her way back to the city gardens where Nanabi was waiting for her. As she got close, the young kitsune passed by a group of men talking.
"I'm telling you; it was a male monster. One of those fox ones, I saw him walk right into Averton."
"Alright, now I know you're lying, there's no such thing as male monsters. You definitely drank too much and had a weird dream or something."
Ears perking up at the mention of a male monster, Kitsu moved closer to listen better.
"I'm not lying, and I don't even drink. I was there, that male fox mons-."
"They are called kitsunes, but go on." Another man corrected.
"Right that male kitsune walked right into the town, Baron Grimsby assembled a mob and chased him out. A few hours later, the Baron whipped the town into a frenzy and set out with a hunting party. Right after that I got on my horse and rode straight here."
Moving away from the group, she hurried back to where Nanabi was waiting. A male monster, that is unheard of! And it is a kitsune? I gotta go tell Nanabi. We can go and find him, bring him back to Yamatai with us. I hope he is cute.
Entering the city gardens she ran to the older Kitsune. "Nannnaaabiii, you won't believe what I just heard!"
The seven-tailed kitsune taur sighed and turned to her. "Kitsu, if this is another," Nanabi stopped for a moment as she sniffed the air. "Wait is that tofu I smell?" Nanabi glared at the two-tailed kitsune. "You said you were going to buy a souvenir for Kamuro. That is why we stopped here; did you waste all your money on food?"
Kitsu looked at the ground, she sensed another scolding coming and her ears flattened against her head before remembering what she was about to tell her senior. "Wait Nanabi, forget about that, I just heard that some villagers in Averton spotted a male kitsune. There was a guy ranting in the street about it. Can you believe it? We gotta go find him, think of how good of a mate he'll be."
"Trying to distract me with another made-up story? Well, I'm done. We should have been back at Yamatai weeks ago, but you keep delaying us with your little side quests and distractions."
"But." Kitsu, protested before quickly realizing that she had been dragging Nanabi around for the last two months.
The seven-tailed kitsune ignored her protests picked her up and put her on her back. "We are going straight back to Yamatai and I don't want to hear a peep out of you until we are past Plantsect. I suggest you use that time thinking up an apology for Kamuro."
Kitsu quietly sat on Nanabi's back as they exited the city and followed the road to Yamatai Village. As they traveled back home, Kitsu found her thoughts returning to the male Kitsune she heard about. Maybe Izuna or Minamo will listen to me, I'll have to tell them when I get home. I hope they are still in Yamatai.
Lying down on the crest of a hill, Orlen looked intently through his electrobinoculars at the band of humans camped near the treeline. Adjusting the wheel on the side of the viewing device, the digital image zoomed in and automatically refocused while also filtering out the dust and haze in the air.
There were several equine-like beasts, the presence of harnesses and saddles meant that the animals were likely serving as a mount for some of the hunters. Continuing to study the camp, he observed a few canines leashed to one of the trees sniffing their surroundings. Finally, he moved the binoculars to look at the center of the camp and saw the same man that led the mob back in the town.
Damn, it would have been nice if they gave up after I lost them in the forest yesterday.
His eyes glanced over to the range display at the corner of the screen.
Looks like they are about eight kilometers away. Good, that gives me plenty of time to decide what to do next.
After fleeing the village, Orlen had no problem evading the few locals who chased after him into the forest. Turns out that being dumped in the jungles of Yavin Four and hunted by droids led by the head of rebel intelligence was actually good training and that primitive humans were much easier to evade. I will have to thank the general when, I get back. If I get back. On second thought no, I will not do that. It will probably only encourage him to think of new ways to make pilots suffer in the name of learning how to evade imperial search parties.
Having lost his pursuers in the forest, Orlen traveled into more hilly terrain and rested for the night. Upon waking up he saw a thin trail of smoke emerging from a campsite.
Taking another look through the electrobinoculars, he started to count to see how many people were hunting him.
Looks like there are about twenty, there might be more blocked by trees or broken off into smaller search parties.
He should normally have no problem losing his pursuers, but he had no lay of the land while the townsfolk likely knew the area around their town well.
His thoughts were interrupted by his stomach growling. Orlen grimly recalled the last proper meal he had was at least 2 days ago and his ration bars were not a proper replacement. He was starting to get hungry for real food. Luckily water has not been an issue, streams have been easy enough to find and the water seemed clean.
Returning his attention to the humans he was observing, Orlen figured he could lose them in a day or two. He was going to need to stash his bag of equipment though. The bag was heavy and slowing him down. Additionally, his back was starting to get very sore from carrying it for so long.
I'll find a good place to hide the bag. Then I will lead the hunters away until they give up the chase. I'll come back here and grab it later. After that… I'll figure out later.
Standing up, Orlen took a few seconds to dust the dirt from himself before putting the binoculars back into the bag. While he was reaching for his bag, Orlen's eyes drifted to a nearby rock sitting on the dirt. Having an internal debate, he started weighing the merits of using a power he had cut himself off from all those years ago.
It wouldn't hurt to try and use it; this planet is remote and off the grid and it would give me an advantage over the locals. I would not have to rely on my blaster as much and a good mind trick can go a long way.
Besides, the Empire already found me, there is no point trying to hide myself anymore.
Sitting down facing the rock, Orlen tried to open his senses and tap into the energy field that all life was bound to. This web of life had many names, but to Orlen, it was known as the Force. His senses became far clearer, he could feel his surroundings, from the small bugs in the dirt to the nearby bushes.
Closing his eyes and focusing, Orlen directed his will to the rock sitting in front of him. Exerting his will through the Force, he tried to lift the rock into the air. Opening his eyes, Orlen was disappointed to see that the rock did not move. His eyes closed again as he recalled his lessons all those years ago.
Memories of meditating alongside his fellow initiates while a small ancient alien lectured and gave guidance flashed through his mind. Orlen visualized himself, lifting and manipulating the training weights before gently lowering them back to the ground.
Looking back at the rock, he was determined to try again and lift it with the Force. That was when a realization came to him.
He could almost feel the wooden cane Master Yoda always carried smack him on the head as the small green alien said the infamous words that every Jedi at the temple knew from their lessons with him. 'Do, or do not. There is no try.'
Realizing he was going about this wrong, and that he was subconsciously inviting the option for failure by trying, Orlen once again focused and reached out with the force towards the rock. This time he was not going to fail; the rock will be levitated by the force.
Orlen smiled to himself as the stone twitched, then shook and finally started to rise into the air. His smile did not last long though as he felt himself starting to grow tired. His endurance in manipulating the force, like a muscle long since atrophied, was almost nonexistent.
Gritting his teeth, Orlen desperately held on, trying to keep the rock hovering in the air as long as he could. He just had to hold on.
The rock exploded in a shower of dust as intrusive memories flashed through his mind.
The sight of soldiers in white and blue armor running by him, gunning down his fellow initiates with deadly efficiency filled his vision. The troopers moved on, surrounding a robed knight and overwhelming him with a hail of blaster fire. The vision finally ended with the sight of a dark-robed figure wielding a glowing blue blade advancing towards him.
Coming to his senses, Orlen found himself lying on the ground, his heart beating faster than a repeater's fire. He was drenched in sweat and was beginning to feel the onset of force exhaustion.
Eventually, he got his breathing under control as he tried to suppress memories from the night his life was destroyed. Orlen glanced at the remains of the rock that he was barely able to lift and decided he was better off not using the Force if using it meant he could avoid having to reconcile with the events of that night.
A day later, Orlen was taking cover behind a fallen log. His vulpine-like ears listened intently for sounds of pursuit. Over the past day, he led the humans hunting him on a wild-mynock chase through the countryside and away from where he stashed his bag and he had to begrudgingly admire their determination to find him.
Now it seems like the chase has come to an end. Looks like crossing that swamp was the right call, I haven't seen anyone since then.
A shiver ran through him, reminding him that losing his pursuers came at a cost. He was soaked to the bone and with nightfall, the temperature was dropping quickly. After a few more minutes of listening for the hunters, Orlen decided that he lost them and that it was time to find shelter and try to dry himself out.
Recalling the cave near a road he saw earlier, Orlen got up and started to make his way there. Inside the cave, there were signs that it had been used by travelers before. Near the entrance, there was a stone fire pit and around the cave, there were scattered and discarded tools and equipment. Taking a few minutes to make sure the cave was not already occupied, and satisfied with the results, he started to gather some firewood.
A few minutes later, Orlen was sitting by a small fire, basking in the heat as he felt his clothes starting to dry out. Taking stock of his remaining ration bars, he saw that he had about another day's worth. Deciding that he would forage or hunt for something in the morning, he finished drying his clothes and got ready to go to sleep.
Orlen had only just fallen asleep when his sensitive ears heard something unusual. Eye-opening, he remained motionless and listened carefully. Hearing the sound of a gear turning, Orlen had no time to react before the ground beneath him swung down like a trapdoor and he found himself falling. After a short fall, he slammed into the ground and got the wind knocked out of him. Lying on his stomach, Orlen pretended to be knocked out as he listened to the female voices around him, waiting for the right moment to get the drop on them.
"Hey Len, looks like we caught ourselves a nice-looking male, think the boss will let us keep him?"
"I don't know Liru, he smells pretty tasty. She'll probably want to make him her personal slave."
Alarmed at what he was hearing, Orlen slowly moved his hand to his blaster.
"It's weird though; he has a tail and an extra set of ears. Think he might have monster blood in him?"
"I haven't heard of males with monster blood having inhuman traits Liru. With the ears and tail, I would guess a kitsune."
"Maybe he's just pretending to be a monster or likes dressing up as one and it's a fake tail. I'm gonna pull it, maybe it will come off."
Orlen's eyes opened in alarm as he felt a hand grab his tail and pull hard. Ow, ow, ow! Crik that hurts!
It took all his willpower to remain limp as his assailant pulled hard enough on his tail that his hips lifted from the ground. After a few seconds, the hand let go and the pain started to fade away.
"Huh, it's a real tail. I feel like the boss will be really interested in him. If we're quick, we can have our way with him first and then take him to Miranda."
"Fine, but we have to be quick, Miranda is expecting us back soon."
Feeling hands grab him, Orlen let them roll him onto his back and as they did so, his hand pulled his blaster from the holster and pointed it at his would-be captors. The two thieves had no time to react as he quickly fired two shots at them. The blue rings of energy impacted them and just like with the town guards, they tensed up before falling to the ground.
Keeping his blaster pointed at the unconscious women, Orlen took a close look at them. With a greenish-yellow mix of skin and scales, it was almost like someone had taken a trandoshan, mixed them with a human, and added a reptilian tail.
Stepping away from the reptilian humanoid, examining the roof of the tunnel, he was able to see a set of gears and hinges attached to the roof of the tunnel.
Looks like they wait for travelers to camp out in the cave and wait for them to sleep before opening a trapdoor and letting their victim fall here. Clever.
Looking around the room, Orlen saw more traveling equipment scattered around the room, informing him that he was not the first person to fall victim to this trap.
Recalling a previous run-in he had with the infamous trandoshans and how they wanted to cut off his tail as a trophy, Orlen raised his blaster and fired two more stun shots into the unconscious lizards.
Better to be safe, they did say they wanted to make me their slave. I wonder though, what is it with lizard-like aliens and slavery? Must be a cold-blooded thing.
Seeing that the trapdoor was too high up for him to exit that way, Orlen gripped his blaster tightly and started to move through the tunnels in hopes of finding an exit. Creeping along, it was not long until he saw another lizard walking through the tunnel with a torch in hand.
"Len, Liru. What is taking so long? The boss is getting impatient and wants to know if you got anything good."
Popping out from behind the corner, the lizard had no time to react before falling to the floor as another stun shot was fired out.
Orlen checked to see if the lizard was unconscious before moving on. He briefly debated changing the setting to his blaster before deciding against it. The stun setting uses less energy and I only have one spare power cell. After that, the blaster is going to be as useful as a paperweight. I am better off conserving ammo.
Arriving at a fork in the tunnel system, Orlen debated which way to go before his nose caught the scent of food cooking. At the smell of real food, his stomach growled loudly, reminding him that he had only eaten ration bars for the last few days. He was also tired of running away and being chased. It would be nice to fight back for once and it shouldn't be too difficult to subdue these bandits.
Decision made; he walked down the passage that the scent of food was coming from. He did not travel far before the sounds of alarm rang through the tunnel, indicating that he had been discovered.
It did not take long for several more of the lizards to come running down the tunnel towards him, swords and knives drawn. Like their comrades before them, a few quick stun shots and they were lying on the ground unconscious.
Orlen was almost feeling bad about how one-sided this was before he remembered that they were talking about enslaving him and that he was not their first victim.
Another two shots and another two lizards were stunned on the tunnel floor. This is actually getting pretty fun. It is weird they are all scantily clad women though, almost right out of one of those old holonovels about explorers in the Unknown Regions.
Continuing onwards, he soon found himself humming 'Mad About Me'. Before long, the popular song played in cantinas across the Outer Rim was echoing through the caves as the Scale Bandits suffered the consequences of standing between a frustrated, hungry blaster-wielding pilot and food.
Leaving a trail of unconscious lizards in his wake, it was not long until Orlen arrived at the source of the smell. The large cavern was decorated with trophies and other ill-gotten goods all in an attempt to mimic a grand hall.
Orlen's eyes were drawn to the fire in the center of the room, almost ignoring the figure sitting on a makeshift throne at the far end of the hall. Sitting over the fire was a large rotisserie with the corpse of what looked like a four-legged porcine.
Eyes returning to the figure on the throne, Orlen saw a stunningly attractive lizard woman, with grey hair and more human-like features than the previous thieves he encountered earlier. Trying to look as regal as possible she locked eyes with him and began to speak.
"So, some wannabe kitsune has decided to play hero and dare challenge the might of the Scale Bandits. I have to hand it to you hero; you fought through my entire band of thieves and don't even look tired. I am impressed." Standing up. she approached him, drawing a sword and a dagger. "However, you will find that I, Miranda, leader of the Scale Bandits will not be so easily beaten."
Orlen casually rolled his eyes as he leveled his blaster at the bandit leader. With a pull of the trigger, the blue ring of energy flew through the space between them, striking her. To Orlen's surprise, Miranda did not fall to the ground unconscious and looked back at him in contempt.
"Relying on spells like a coward to beat me? I might have to reassess my opinion of you hero."
Seeing that the stun bolt did not affect her, Orlen quickly set the blaster back to its lethal setting and fired again, aiming for a leg shot to incapacitate her. Like the stun bolt before it, the crimson bolt of plasma hit the lizard. This time the only change was the scorched hole in her red skirt.
"Trying a fire spell now? How foolish, I am a dragonkin, all your fire would do is burn my clothes off. Now, if you wanted to see me naked, we can skip the fight and go right to the fun part."
Looking back at his blaster, Orlen recalled hearing about some alien species that were resistant to blasters. Cursing his luck, he holstered his gun, not wanting to waste ammo finding the limits of her resistance. Drawing his vibro-knife and activating it, the dagger let out a hum as it vibrated.
"That is more like it hero. A fine dagger, I look forward to adding it to my collection."
Orlen smirked. "Alright there General Grievous, just try to take it."
At hearing his invitation, the bandit leader charged forward, slashing at him with her sword. Orlen jumped back, narrowly avoiding the strike. A follow-up dagger thrust was then dodged.
Orlen took a moment to examine her, she was fast and had a solid stance. While he could not use the Force to help him in this battle, Orlen was no stranger to this kind of fighting. Having grown up in the rebellion, he had kept up with his saber training even though he no longer had a lightsaber.
The vibro-knife in his hand also gave him an edge the dragonkin would not expect and he planned on taking advantage of it. Twisting around another dagger thrust, he raised his vibro-knife to meet her sword as it swung down towards him.
The blade, vibrating at an ultra-high frequency easily cut into the sword descending on him. Stepping to the side, he continued to swing the knife upwards as it tore through Miranda's sword until the blade was completely severed from the hilt. The blade clattered to the floor as Miranda jumped back.
Looking at her sword in shock, barely two inches remained of the blade. Throwing the useless hilt to the ground, the bandit put her dagger back into its scabbard, not wanting to risk losing it too.
"You are going to pay for that, do you know how much that sword cost me?" Her face was getting red with anger. "If you get down and beg for your life, I might show you mercy."
Feeling more confident, Orlen risked taunting her. Angry enemies tended to make mistakes. "What's wrong, a little frustrated? Never had a victim who could fight back before?"
Orlen smirked at seeing a vein bulge in Miranda's head. That smirk quickly vanished when she opened her mouth and fire shot towards him. Dropping his vibro-knife and diving to the side, he kicked over a table and took cover behind it. Okay, did not expect that. Fire breathing, how does that even work? Hydrogen-producing organ maybe? No, now is not the time to figure it out. Looks like she is almost done.
As the stream of flames died down, Orlen leaped over the burning table and charged toward her. Most reptilian aliens have a nerve cluster in the neck, if I can hit her hard enough on the side of her neck, it should knock her out. If it doesn't, I am still hitting her right on the artery which will really hurt. Gambling that a dragonkin has similar biology to aliens he is more familiar with, he quickly closed the distance while Miranda was still recovering from breathing fire. Seeing him quickly approaching, she lashed out to try and punch him. Blocking the strike with his left arm, Orlen twisted around and struck her hard on the neck with his right hand.
Orlen's gamble paid off and Miranda fell to the floor. Taking the opportunity while she was lying on the floor dazed and confused, he quickly grabbed the chains he saw earlier and bound her up. Satisfied that she was secured and would not be escaping anytime soon, Orlen collected his vibro-knife and wandered over to the fire.
Grabbing a plate and cutting off a large piece of meat from the carcass cooking over to the fire, Orlen sat down at a table with a water jug and began to eat. Pausing, he looked back at the bound dragonkin lying on the floor before getting up and taking his food to a table farther away and hopefully out of fire-breathing range.
A few minutes later, he heard her groaning and starting to regain consciousness. Miranda let out a roar in frustration as she tried to break the chains binding her before giving up and glaring at Orlen.
"So, what now hero? After tying me up are you going to have your way with me? Or are you just going to kill me and drag my corpse to San Ilia to claim my bounty?"
Orlen paused mid-bite and looked up at the bandit leader. "First off, you wannabe trandoshan, this food is amazing. Compliments to the cook." He took another bite to drive his point home. "Secondly, since I arrived, I've been chased out of town by people accusing me of planning to 'rape them,' your subordinates have made threats about 'having their way with me,' and you've made multiple sexual references. Now that I think about it, even that plant monster had some suggestive comments."
Pausing to take a drink of water, he continued his rant. "Now I want to know, what the kriff is with this planet? It's like everyone is a zeltron and their first instinct is to think about sex."
"Are you just going to rant, or is there a point you are getting to? Wait, have you been living under a rock your whole life? How do you not know? You clearly have monster blood in yo-." The dragonkin fell silent and smirked at him. "If you release these chains, I will gladly educate you."
"Nice try, but I am not going to get in fire-breathing range of you. Star, why is everyone so horny here?"
"Oh, a careful one I see. Don't worry, I promise I won't do that to the big strong man who bested me. You know, it is customary for the hero to slay the dragon after defeating her. And here I am, ready to be penetrated by your 'sword'." Still bound by the chains, she tried to appear as seductive as possible. "I even promise that I won't bite, hard."
Seeing that the conversation would likely go nowhere and that he had eaten his fill, he got up from the table.
"Wait, are you just leaving me chained up here, what kind of hero are you?"
Tired of being called that, Orlen retorted. "Also, not a hero, if you want to call me something, rebel scum is acceptable."
Stopping at the exit to the cavern, Orlen looked back at Miranda. "Don't worry, the rest of your gang will be back on their feet in about... Actually, probably about now and I don't feel like using any more ammo so I am going to go before they come here. Thanks for the food."
Miranda's eyes widened in surprise. "Wait... You just came here for food? Is that it?"
"Pretty much." He admitted.
The bound dragonkin burst into laughter at the absurdity of the situation as Orlen departed the caves and found his way back above ground.
"Kitsu wake up, we are almost at Yamatai."
Kitsu rubbed her eyes as she slowly woke up. Letting out a yawn and a stretch, she realized with embarrassment that she was being held in Nanabi's arms. Guessing she must have fallen asleep at some point, Kitsu looked around and saw that night had fallen. How long was I asleep? Did Nanabi run the entire way? She really must have wanted to get home.
With a powerful bestial lower body, Nanabi would have had no problem running the entire distance from Grand Noah to Yamatai. Kitsu could tell that her yellow-furred friend and senior was eager to get home. Remembering that their two-month-long trip was only supposed to be a week, she supposed that anyone would be happy to see home again. It is mostly my fault that this journey took so long, I did keep running off and exploring.
"Nanabi, I'm sorry I kept dragging you everywhere. If I knew you wanted to go home this badly I would have-."
"It's alright Kitsu, this was your first time away from either of the villages, it's natural you wanted to see more of the world and go exploring. Come, we are almost there and I need to groom my tails."
Nanabi lowered her arms and let Kitsu walk alongside her the rest of the way. After a short time, the village of Yamatai came into view. As they walked through the town towards the fox shrine, Kitsu saw that the streets were mostly empty, the villagers having retired for the night.
The odd human they passed by would quickly turn to them and greet them before carrying on with their business. Climbing up the hill, they passed the Cat Shrine and not long after, arrived at the Kitsune Shrine where an attendant was waiting to greet them.
"Good evening Mighty Foxes, do you require lodging for the night?"
Nanabi returned the welcome. "Greetings Yayoi, and yes, Kitsu and myself will need rooms. Also, I would like a bath before I go to sleep."
"No problem Mighty Fox. Please this way."
The shrine attendant led them into the complex and towards their rooms. Once they got to Kitsu's room, she bid farewell to her friend. "Good night Nanabi and enjoy your bath."
Entering the room and dropping off her bag, Kitsu returned to the door and listened to Nanabi and Yayoi depart. Satisfied they had left, she opened the door and walked down the hallway, looking for Minamo or Izuna's room. If Nanabi would not believe what she heard in Grand Noah, maybe her ninjutsu instructor or her friend would be more receptive.
Arriving at another room, she smelled Minamo's scent and could hear the sound of laughter coming from the room. Hoping she was not interrupting anything intimate, Kitsu knocked on the door. She heard someone getting up and soon enough, the door opened.
Standing in front of her was Fujibakama, the six-tailed kitsune courtesan had a similar beast-like lower body to Nanabi but with grey hair wearing a red kimono. Seeing Kitsu, she gently smiled at the young kitsune.
"Ah Kitsu, welcome back. Are you here to see Minamo? Don't just stand there, come on in."
Before Kitsu could say anything, one of Fujibakama's tails wrapped around her wrist and pulled her into the room. Inside she could see two more kitsunes. Passed out on the floor was Izuna. A four-tailed kitsune with tan skin, white-tipped black tails, and missing the tip of her right ear.
Still laughing on the floor cushion beside the unconscious kitsune was Izuna's friend and rival Minamo. Her ninjutsu instructor had three red tails with brown tips, her hair had the same red colouring as her tails and was tied in a long ponytail.
The entire room reeked of alcohol and Minamo looked like she was minutes away from joining her friend on the floor by how she was wobbling around. "Hey Kitsu! hic You miiissed it. That overserious samurai thought she could finally beat me, haha!"
"Just ignore those too idiots, they decided to have another drinking contest." Taking her hand, Fujubakama, brought her over to some unused cushions and motioned for her to sit down beside her. "Take a seat. I heard you went on an adventure with Nanabi and Lady Tamamo. How was it? Did you have fun?"
Sitting beside the six-tailed kitsune, Kitsu excitedly told her about the Cave of Treasures and her encounter with the Monster Lord and a Hero.
"And then I used the trick Minamo taught me and made two clones, it totally confused the hero. I was about to beat him when he made a lucky guess and hit me with that strange sword Tamamo kept in her home."
"And what happened after that?"
Pouting, Kitsu continued the story. "I was sealed into a small fox. But I sure showed that hero when I bit his hand and ran off. Then I…" She paused when she recalled the embarrassing events that happened afterward. "I got stuck in a spider girl's web and the hero had to come save me."
Hearing this, Minamo grew concerned for her student. "Kitsu, pleeease, you gotta be more caref... careful. Everyone here'd be upshet if you got hurt, 'specially Kamuro."
"That must have been very scary, you're lucky this hero seems like a good person." Fujibakama said as she patted Kitsu's head. "What happened next?"
Kitsu continued her story, telling them how the hero defeated Nanabi while asleep and how Tamamo talked with the hero and the Monster Lord before they parted ways. Remembering her reason for coming here, Kitsu told them about the male kitsune she heard about. "They said a mob was chasing after him, we gotta go find him Fuji!"
Hearing this, Minamo briefly locked eyes with Fujibakama before sighing and looking back at her. "Lissssten, Kitsu, I taught you better'n thish. What you heard was prob'ly jus' some drunk idiot tryna get attention. You know there're no male monshters."
Standing up, Fujibakama took her hand and started to lead her out of the room. "You can't keep believing everything you heard. Remember when someone told you tree sap makes your fur nice and soft? You told Kamuro and it made her hair and fur all gummed up. It took us hours to get it all out."
"Waaait for meee." Minamo tried to stand up but swayed and tumbled, collapsing onto Izuna with a giggle. "Y'know, on second thought, I'll just... just stay right here. Good niiiight, you two."
Leaving the two drunk kitsunes behind. the six-tailed kitsune took Kitsu back to her room and patted her head again. "Have a good night Kitsu. In the morning you can tell me more about your adventure while we eat, sound good?"
"Okay Fujibakama-sempai, see you tomorrow."
Entering her room and closing the door behind her, Kitsu pondered what she was going to do. If the others won't believe me, then I will go find him myself.
Grabbing her bag, she walked to the window and opened it. Jumping out the window, she snuck her way out of the Kitsune Shrine and made her way to the village. Moving down the streets, she soon found the house she was looking for.
Knocking on the door, she waited for the harpy who lived within to open it up. Tsubasa owes me a favor; it is time I use it. After a short conversation, the large harpy agreed to fly her to Averton.
Flying at high speed, it was not long before they were flying over Grand Noah and into the Kingdom of San Ilia. Approaching Averton, the harpy descended and dropped her passenger off in the nearby forest. Before departing the harpy warned Kitsu. "Be careful Kitsu, the humans here are not friendly to monsters and some monsters will try to eat you. I don't know why you were so insistent on coming here but it must be important."
"Don't worry Tsubasa, I know how to take care of myself. Have a good flight back, I promise I will buy you some rice balls when I get back."
Watching the young Kitsune disappear into the woods, the harpy muttered to herself before flying off. "Minamo is going to puck me bare when she hears about this."
Arriving at the town as the sun was starting to rise, Kitsu snuck into the town. Using the skills Minamo taught her, she easily moved around the rooftops unseen. Listening in on conversations around the town, it did not take long for her to hear people talking about the male monster that walked into town. Silently cheering to herself that she was right, she was about to leave the town and follow the trail the hunting party left when she saw an unusual figure walking into the town.
Wearing dark robes with what looked like black armor underneath and wearing an intimidating mask, the imposing figure moved into the town. Silently moving, Kitsu kept an eye on the person as he stopped in the middle of the town.
"I would like an audience with the leader of this town?" His voice had a strange metallic twang to it.
One of the townsfolk cautiously approached the man and replied to him. "The baron is currently away at the moment sir; I'll go get the priest."
Turning his head the figure replied to the peasant in an authoritative voice. "Do so. Don't keep me waiting long."
Kitsu watched as the human ran deeper into the town towards the church before returning her attention to the strange man. Is this a real hero of Ilias? Looking at him is making me scared and my instincts are screaming at me to run away.
It did not take long for the priest to arrive to arrive. Hesitating at the sight of the stranger, the priest moved to talk to him.
"Wha-what brings you to our town, good sir?"
"I am hunting a dangerous fugitive, and his trail led me here. He is a threat to order and stability and must be slain. Have you people seen this man?" Pulling a disc-like object out of his robe, a transparent blue image of a male kitsune with short hair and missing the tip of his left ear appeared above the disc.
The townsfolk were momentarily shocked at the strange magic displayed. Looking at the image, the townsfolk recognized the monster that attacked their town a few days ago.
"It looks like you have. Good, now tell me, which way did he flee? If you're harboring him, there will be dire consequences."
The priest pointed to the south as he replied. "No need to worry good sir, we bravely drove the monster out in Ilias' name. Our Baron put together a hunting party and pursued him. They went that way."
"You were wise to chase him off. Once I have slain my quarry, I will ensure you are properly rewarded." The image of the kitsune vanished and the masked figure pocketed the disk. Turning to leave in the direction given, he stopped when the priest called out to him.
"Sir, are you by chance one of the goddesses' heroes?"
The stranger paused, looked back to the crowd, and told them exactly what they wanted to hear. "Why, of course. I am her faithful servant. Do not fear, your monster problem will soon be a dark memory."
Departing once more, the hunter paused and looked right at the spot she was spying from. After a second, the man started walking again, departing the town.
Up on the roof of the nearby building, Kitsu felt her heart rapidly beating. I think I hid in time. He didn't say anything and just left.
That is no hero, just looking at him made the fur on my tails stand up and it was almost like he was covered in the stench of blood.
I can't just sit here; he is hunting a kitsune and I must help my fellow fox. Be brave Kitsu, no time to be scared, I have to follow that strange man.
Mustering up her courage, the young kitsune snuck out of town and followed the scent of blood.
Author Notes: For those wondering, the song "Mad About Me" that Orlen was humming is the cantina song played in A New Hope.