VI.  perilous heritage

Aya felt really strange, staring at Crawford like this. He had hated and fought Schwartz for so long, it seemed odd to feel this way about one of them.

But what do you really feel for me, Crawford? Do you think that I'm just a convenient sex partner or does your affection for "Ayan" extend to me? And is it more than a man's tolerant affection for a pet? I don't intend to be loved like some animal…besides is this bestiality on his part, a perverse fantasy? There are so many things I want to say…and ask…

Suddenly the room begun to spin around Aya and he seemed falling…

What is this all about now?

***

When Aya came to, he was in kitsune form and in a forest glade. Sunlight gently filtered through the leaves of the unfamiliar trees proclaiming the time to be at least midmorning to noon. He whimpered reflexively, feeling bereft. He didn't know how to survive in a forest much less in kitsune form.

What is this place? Something tells me I'm no longer in the human world… Is this what Iraka-san called the Mystical Realm? The true home of the kitsune? How did I get here? More importantly, how do I get back home to Brad?

Suddenly he heard a rush of leaves heading his direction.

What to do? What to do?

Aya settled on jumping into the bush and hoping whatever was making the noise wouldn't find him or at least didn't have a taste for tender kitsune kit meat.

: Kit, what are doing all alone? : Asked a voice in Aya's mind, almost making him jump in surprise. It was a kitsune voice unlike Iraka-san's, it had a tinge of black coming with its bass timbre but still unmistakably kitsune.

: I don't know. : Aya replied in the same manner.

: Are you lost? Where are your parents? :

: I don't know, I think I'm an orphan. I live in the human world but I somehow gotten here. :

: Your powers must be active then, kit. : A sable fox head, at least three times the size of Aya's, popped close to Aya, making him jump a little. It startled him more to be given a good lick.

: Welcome home then youngling. Welcome to nogitsune clan lands, where you belong. : Brown eyes sparkled at him.

: Nogitsune? :

: Yes, kit, nogitsune. For all you look like you are born to the Fire clan, you have nogitsune blood or else you wouldn't have homed into our territory with your powers. Welcome home. :

: How do I go back to the human lands? : Aya knew that he should take a strong stand but he couldn't help sounding plaintive. As it was, he was having a hard time not to whine to emphasize his point.

: You must at least see the sights and meet someone of the clan. By the way, my name is Yasn and you are? :

: Ran. :

: That is a human name. : The kitsune's tone implied that it wasn't good enough.

: My foster family gave me that name. : Aya said neutrally enough but his hackles were starting to rise. He didn't like this fox-spirit at all.

He's not at all like Iraka-san… He doesn't feel "right". But he won't teach me how to go back maybe there's someone else of the clan who might…

: Okay, I'll come with you. :

Aya tried to stand up but was startled when he found himself rising off the ground. He realized that he had been picked up by the other kitsune, he felt the gentle pressure on his ruff.

: It's too long a walk for small paws and short legs. So I'm going to carry you. :

: Thank you. : Aya said politely enough but inwardly seethed.

Why does he assume that I want to have his help? And I am not that little!

The wind and leaves rushed at his fur as he dangled from the other's secure grip. It wasn't at all like a human's and it was odd.

I guess it should be an instinctive thing to enjoy being carried like this…

A flash of blurry memory came to him, of red fur, a loving voice and a scent.

Who was it? Was it my mother or my father? And why did they leave me in the human world to be adopted by humans? Not that I doubt that who left me with my "parents" loved me, I'm sure that he knew that they would love me as their own. Or did they?

That was what Aya said to himself, reassuring himself of his parents' love though in his mind there was lingering doubt. A doubt that was there since Iraka had told him about his heritage, he admitted. Nothing in his current life had reminded him and there never was a time when it was practical to contemplate this. He had problems enough with Crawford and other members of Schwartz but now… Now that he was here, he might as well try to find out about his parents and his past. As he was carried along, he knew that whatever he would find would not be pleasant yet he still hoped.

***

Aya was apprehensive, the trip had been strangely exhilarating after he had gotten used to the oddness of being carried by the ruff but the fox-den now loomed ahead and he wondered what reception he was going to get from his kin. He wasn't the proper fox as Yasn confirmed by the latter's behavior. He didn't belong here. He never belonged here.

: This is the den of the pack of Aresh, they are of a high and noble rank in the Void Clan. Be welcome to stay as long as you'd like, Ran-kit. A kit is always welcome to any kitsune hearth. :

: Arigatou. Is there a way for me to find out who my parents were? : Aya bristled at the Void kitsune's presumption at calling him Ran-kit. It annoyed him that there was a subtle condescension in the other's mind voice.

: Aye, there is. I think I know who your parents were, Ran-kit. But it is better to confirm it through blood-scry before we jump to conclusions. There has been only one known Fire-Void mating in the past fifty years but it is better to be sure. :

: Blood-scry? :

: It is when a prospective family member is contacted and then put to a magical test. Luckily the kitsune I have in mind lives quite close by. He's in the next Clan pack den, he should be here in three hours if you want to. :

: I want to. :

: And so it will be done. I will have them send the message. :

***

Aya sat on his soft silky bed in his spacious room in the kitsune den, wondering what Schwartz were doing at the moment. The den was built of gray stone with spiral designs on the walls to soften the austerity of the color. Its rooms were filled with foxes every shade of black, all determined to make Aya feel at home. All of the adults were so welcoming, giving him licks, affectionate ruffling, tumbling, cleaning, picking him up to ask him where he was heading so that he didn't tire his small paws, and generally treating him like another kit but he felt uneasy. It wasn't what he was accustomed to. He wanted hugs, pats and snuggling, all of which were human gestures of affection. He wasn't going to get them.

I am really not a proper fox…I don't belong here. I belong with Crawford and Schuldich and Nagi and…and Farfarello…

The small red fox curled up on the bed to whine plaintively where no one could see him.

I want to go home…

***

: Ran-kit, he's here. We can do the blood-scrying now if you want. : Kizie, one of the females of the Aresh pack, said. Ran liked her better than Yasn, she had the kindest brown eyes and smelled of clean air and brush besides her identifying musk, a hunting vixen of Aresh with five tails. Though it did annoy Aya that she and the rest of the pack females kept bringing him to one of the lactating mothers in an effort to make him suckle.

I am not a baby. I don't need any milk, thank you!

: I'll be right there, Kizie-baasan. : Aya said, bounding out of the soft nest.

At last something will get done…

None of them really knew what to make of Aya. He was a kit yet he didn't fit in with the rest of the kits. He had too much human adult experience but didn't even know the basics of being kitsune. Everyone however was adamant that he learn of his kin-roots and Clan lands before going back to the human world and thus didn't want to teach him how to use his power to get back to the human world.

What a bother… Hmm, I wonder how they're going to take my relationship to Crawford. Something tells me that is something I should keep to myself…

: Here we are, youngling, just beyond the second corridor to the left. And… Good luck. : Kizie said hesitantly.

: Kizie-baasan, what's bothering you? : Aya said asked cocking his head cutely in what had become his primary weapon to get truthfulness out of the adult kitsune. They, it seemed, were even less immune to his cutesy expressions than even Schwartz or Weiß. He got away with more things than the other kits. Not that he hanged around with the other kits as much as he did the adults. They were of limited interest and more inclined towards minor tricks and games, in short, true children in mind as well as body whereas he, he was only a child in body.

Not a child, not in the true sense of the word at all… I have seen too much, done too much, killed too much to be as innocent as they are. A fledgling can't be put back in the shell nor an assassin return to being a newborn babe no matter what others may think of him.

: I don't like your possible cousin that's all. I almost wish that… Oh, never mind me. :

: What do you mean by that? :

: He…he's twisted. Oh, I know I shouldn't be talking ill about kin…and one with higher breeding than I descended directly from the Lady herself but…they say the blood is tainted and he… Just take care, little one. : Without warning he found himself staring into Kizie's concerned eyes and found himself sprawled on his tummy being groomed.

: There go ahead and meet Shan-sama. : Kizie said giving him a nudge with her snout in the right direction.

Surprisingly, the corridor widened and heightened into a man-sized hallway. Aya walked it suddenly feeling more comfortable. This was what he was used to. He came to a wide circular room where two humanoid figures were standing. One was a fox-headed man, which he barely recognized as the Aresh pack leader by his scent, and the other? The other was a stranger with his back turned to Aya.

Must be my would-be cousin, the one Kizie-baasan was so wary of…

Aya carefully padded into the room unnoticed for the moment. He wanted to study the kitsune that was going to claim kinship to him. The fox-spirit had chosen to wear the form that was more human than the other with as little fur as Aya could distinguish from his back, only ears and tails.

What is he trying to pull? Does he think that I'll be more accepting with him if he wore that shape…? Well, it's not working…

Then the "man" turned to give him a small smile and Aya's breath caught.

Crawford, here? No…

Aya smothered his bark of welcome and gave the fox-spirit another long look in the face and saw the difference a slight set in the eyes and lips or maybe an small variance in the angle of the nose or cheekbones.

No, but he certainly looks like him… Is this deliberate or coincidence?

***

Meanwhile in the Schwartz household, it was just after noon when Crawford came out of his room.

"Feeling peppy today. Nothing like a good fuck and some rest, eh Crawford?" Schuldich said Crawford came out of his bedroom.

"What are you talking about Schuldich?" Crawford retorted, wondering what the telepath was up to.

Does he know that I've been fantasizing about Ayan for more than a week now?

"Congratulations but how do you think to integrate Aya into our daily routine, when he's human that is."

"Huh, what are you talking about." Crawford remembered getting the fox after a long struggle into his room. He remembered chasing down his dream lover who seemed more interested in Schuldich and showing the redhead who the latter should pay attention to. He didn't know what Schuldich was talking about.

"Crawford don't you remember at all?"

"Remember what?"

"Ayan turning into Fujimiya Aya in the middle of my room. You were chasing him, not listening to reason, I might add. He wanted to talk but you couldn't wait to get him into the nearest bed and fuck him into exhaustion."

"I did?" Crawford said on the beginnings of a blush.

Oh my…if those dreams are real…

"You are pulling my leg…" The precog said, firmly controlling the urge to strangle the telepath.

What's his game? Is he trying to make me admit my unnatural infatuation? Then he's out of luck. I have no intention of letting Ayan be taken away from me because of it. Last night was…incredible… And I know now that there is no way I'm going to let Ayan get away from me… We have but a short time together, he and I since foxes have shorter life spans than humans. I have no intention of wasting even a moment of it.

"No, I'm not. You can ask Nagi. Speaking of Ayan, where is the devious sex kitten? It just occurred to me to congratulate him on seducing you so thoroughly." Schuldich asked, rather leered.

"He's not at my room, probably at his extra litter box…" Crawford said faintly.

"Nagi, is what Schuldich saying true?" Crawford asked as he saw the telekinetic come in for a late lunch. It was Saturday so unusual at might have seemed, the boy had probably slept in.

"What's he saying?"

"A, a--about Ayan."

"Well, I don’t' really know but last night…this morning actually, I heard you people make so much noise in Schuldich' room that I went to investigate. When I came in the room I saw you on the lap of a bewildered Aya who had foxy ears and foxy tails…a naked Aya. I thought you needed privacy so I went back to my room to sleep so I don't know anymore."

Crawford groaned.

On some days it doesn't pay to wake up…So it wasn't a dream… Well, at least I know I'm not going insane. But what does Aya think of me now. Schuldich said I chased him around without listening at all to what he said. Does he actually come to me on his free will or just because he's stuck in Schwartz territory? If he only transforms at night and only infrequently he might have been coerced into pandering to my lusts. Does he even think of me with affection or with practicality that I protect him from the rest? Oh, maybe not that. He snuggles enough to me, so I guess the question must be if he feels the way I do about him, not just fuck buddies…

Crawford's train of thought was interrupted when Schuldich came crashing back into the kitchen.

"Ayan's not here is he?" Schuldich said panting.

"No why? His breakfast's untouched and he always licks it clean if he was here."

"Then he's not anywhere inside the apartment. I even checked under the beds."

"He's what?" Crawford was finding this hard to believe.

Maybe he thought I just wanted him as a whore after all I just chased him around instead of listening to him…

"Maybe he decided to leave--" Crawford said again, sounding less commanding than usual. He knew he should be angry about this turn of events.

There's Ayan deceiving me, sleeping with me. And there are the messes he created before… But all in all I can only find it in me to be relieved… Well, relieved if we can find him…

"He wouldn't do that, not before he gave you a piece of his mind. He wanted to talk to you. He said he was going to have a long Talk with the capital T about your relationship. With paper and pen if he wasn't in human form. He was very earnest about it. Whatever happened, it isn't intentional."

"So could it be Weiß?" Nagi suggested while munching on a piece of toast.

"Impossible, there's no sign of tampering of any kind. Besides if they had the ability to sneak in here like that, would we still be alive?"

Crawford was lost in his thoughts, but he listened with half an ear to both Nagi and Schuldich.

Why didn't have I have a damned vision about this…Ayan's important to me and I didn't see what's happened…

"So who do you suggest?"

"The vet. You two were so preoccupied with Ayan that night that you didn't notice that he wasn't at all fazed by Ayan's appearance. He has also said that he's treated similar patients but Ayan was the cutest of the breed. And I wouldn't say that magic was involved with Ayan's disappearance but after seeing Ayan transform like that I'd say that nothing is impossible."

"We go to collect that vet right now." Crawford said rising out of his seat.

"Aa." Schuldich said bounding up to join Crawford before he got out of the door.

***

"Hello, kitling. I am Shan, and you are?" The strange fox-spirit asked in a baritone voice speaking in Japanese.

"My name is Ran." Aya said as he took human form in a rush dark mist. Aya's distrust of Shan was magnified by the latter's resemblance to his lover. He resolved not to give more information if he could help it.

If my powers allowed it that is… They seem to be erratic at best.

"Hmm, you aren't suppose to be able to transform yet." The amazed amusement in Shan's tone wasn't at all condescending. He seemed to genuinely enjoy being surprised by his precocious cousin-to-be.

"I know." Aya said, quietly.

"Your eyes and something of the way you carry yourself are like Aunt Reshka but shall we be sure?"

"Aa."

"Then let's begin."

The Aresh pack leader started to chant and dark mist began to rise out of the circle.

***

Warded by mist from his cousin's sight, Shan smiled smugly.

Soon very soon, you are truly the son of your mother to be so beautiful. So lovely…

***

"Dr. Kanzaki, you're coming with us." Crawford said after a girl with a cat left.

"What's the hurry, Crawford-san?" Dr. Kanzaki asked, his vague eyes suddenly sharper than they usually were.

"We need to ask question about our fox, Doc." Schuldich said unpleasantly.

"What about?"

"We'll talk about it when we get there."

"Okay, gentlemen, let me take my kit along then we'll be off." The doctor took out a small case and joined them as they came into Schuldich' Porsche.

"Now Doc, who are you really and what do you know of our Ayan?" Schuldich asked as they sat in the living room of the deserted safe house. It was the same one they had used on the night of Ayan's injury.

"Why do you ask?" The veterinarian asked coolly, looking fearlessly at Schuldich.

"Because Ayan has disappeared." Crawford said out of turn.

"Shit! Crawford we're suppose to interrogate him, not give him any information." Schuldich said tensing from where he sprawled at the couch.

"Cool it, for all we know of psychic phenomena, this is far beyond what we know. I don't think we have a choice but to trust the good doctor." Crawford said.

"Your boss talks great sense." The doctor said calmly.

"Boss, he's not my boss." Schuldich said sputtering. Crawford could see that the German was trying to dissimulate about Schwartz and failing.

"What do you know about us?"

"You're an assassin group and your opponent is Weiß. Ran-kit was or is a member of Weiß. He ended up as a pet of your group. I had a talk with 'Ayan' or should I say Ran."

"How did you talk with him? And how can you?"

"While I was treating him, I can talk to him because I…" A glowing blue crackling mist covered Doctor Kanzaki.

"…Am a kitsune myself." A blue fox-headed, fox-furred humanoid sat in front of them.

"Holy shit! I see it but I can't believe it." Schuldich said.

"Why is it that Ayan doesn't have a fox head or fox fur when he transforms to human form?" Crawford asked quite unfazed.

"Remarkable, he managed to shapeshift? Because he probably thinks himself more human than most kitsune, since he's been raised here but let's not babble about things like that, sitting here. Where did he disappear from, can you take me there, so I can sniff around for clues of what happened." The fox-man said, fading back into his human form.

"O--okay." Crawford said.

"You may blindfold me if you wish." Dr. Kanzaki said, graciously. So that's what they did as they brought him back to the car.

"So what happened before Ran-kit disappeared?" The doctor asked as he and Crawford sat in the back of the car as Schuldich drove.

"Um--we--by the way, why do you call him Ran-kit?" Crawford said. He was rather embarrassed about what he and Aya was doing, not that he'd minded now that he knew that Ayan was sentient but still. There was some embarrassment left over from when he thought of the feeling as a perverse sort of bestiality.

"Because he is a kitsune kit, a child really. A kitsune reaches maturity at two hundred and becomes an adult at two hundred and thirty. He's only twenty-three."

"Oh wow, from bestiality to shotakon*. This is so not your day, Crawford." Schuldich said, snickering so hard he had to stop the car for a moment or risk having an accident.

"What does he mean by that?" The doctor's tone was now rising with suspicion.

"Um--er--"

I will not strangle him…he's a valuable member of my team…I will not strangle him…

"What does he mean by that, Crawford-san?" Dr. Kanzaki was really suspicious and angry, now.

"Um--I sleep with Ayan. He shapeshifts and we…"

"They've been boinking each other for almost every night for about--what--over a week now."

"Hentai!" The doctor bopped Crawford over the head with his case and started to lecture him about his reprehensible behavior.

***

In the 'Realm, Aya was feeling uncomfortable where he sat on his confirmed cousin's lap. His cousin had put him there to cuddle him in the human way. He wore his small furry form. The blood-scrying had been an unqualified success. It proved, without a doubt, that Aya and the one called Shan were cousins. Half first cousins, Aya was the son of the latter's half-aunt, Reshka and her husband Luren. Now he was receiving instruction on the use of his powers.

"…Elemental power that you may have from your father's Clan. Void kitsune also known as nogitsune have powers of illusion and have the powers to entrance another being. All kitsune have this powers in truth but we've bred for it throughout the centuries."

: We have what? : Aya barely kept his voice even. He really didn't trust this cousin especially when he finally cornered Kizie to find from her the truth of her suspicions. Shan was the son of the clan chief Alshe. Shan's father was responsible for Aya's parents deaths. He had killed them for ambition, for power.

Just like Takatori did with my foster parents…but this--this was doubly damning. He is my uncle. My mother was his sister, half-sister, but still. And kitsune don't kill for anything but food and defense… My poor father, he must have been desperate to leave me with humans…

Another fact that made Aya kept much of his human life a secret to his kitsune kin. He had felt Kizie's revulsion of that act and was glad he had chosen not to divulge much of his past to the Clan when he first met them.

They won't like me anymore… They'll be revolted like any decent being would be…not that I blame them, killing another sentient being isn't right…

"We have powers to control the mind. Humans as well as lower beings are susceptible to it. It was useful trait to have if you intend to spend some time in the human world."

: Have you spent some time in the human world? : Aya asked, he needed time to absorb the implications of this particular development.

Does this mean that I…that Crawford…that I… I have to be certain.

"Aa. That's how I acquired this fourth form. I spent twenty years in the human world."

: So how does that work? And how does the subject behave? :

"First of all you need to meet their eyes or they have to be staring at your tails…"

That sounds uncomfortably like the time Crawford brought me to bath. We had met eye to eye for a one long instant as he nuzzled me…

"Then reach out to grab control of their mind. It doesn't even have to be conscious action on our part. Then we enter their dreams and after a while reality and illusion blend together and they don't know which is which, if you don't let them."

I'm so sorry Crawford. I didn't mean to do it. I didn't know… So--so his loving is just an illusion as much as I want it to be true. He doesn't care for me in that way. I probably created it out of my own needs… I forced him into it as much as if I held a gun to his back and raped him. I'm so sorry…

"There are some people who can break that sort of thing though like monks or those who dabble in arcane arts. Here in the Mystical Realm our illusions have the solidity of reality, this den for example was made by several kitsune minds who joined to form it and anchor it to reality. After that the illusion has a life of it's own and can't be broken except in the ordinary way of matter. We kitsune are in demand as builders here for that reason. Some of our philosophers think sometimes think that the 'Realm is pure illusion."

Aya listened indifferently to the rest of Shan's explanation, heart broken and depressed, even the practice afterwards didn't seem as interesting as it could have been. Along with illusion creating, He had learned to gate that afternoon but had no place to go.

I don't know if Crawford would want me back at all… No one really wants me, not Weiß, not Schwartz, not even the Clan…can I ever find a place that I truly belong…?

***

"We're here." Crawford said as he helped the doctor out of the car, glad that the ride was over and the doctor had to concentrate on moving up to their apartment blindfolded and had nothing to spare to continue his scolding.

What a not lecture… Gee…I feel like a dirty old man caught groping young boys… Well, I was but it wasn't as if I had much choice in it, it was my unconscious mind…yeah, kid yourself…

"So what happened before Ran-kit disappeared. Don't bother about the 'boinking part'." Dr. Kanzaki said, anger was still in his voice about that part. They were sitting on the apartment sofa with the good doctor still blindfolded.

He's scary when he's mad…

"Well, we had a sort of quarrel with him avoiding me. He went to Schuldich' room to sleep. I couldn't take it not having him with me so on the second night I went to retrieve, really tried to. Schuldich, you continue, my recollection of that night is fuzzy afterwards."

"Well, Ayan was covered with this black glowing mist, then he was transformed into his usual bastard self only with foxy ears and tails. Bare assed too. Crawford had tried to take Ayan out of the mist. He ended up on Fujimiya's lap hugging the man with a glazed expression on his face. He wouldn't listen to reason started chasing the foxy-guy around, not that I wouldn't have done it looking as gorgeous as he did naked with those swishing foxy tails behind him--"

"Schuldich!" There was a warning growl in Crawford's voice and he didn't want to hide it.

Aya's mine, never mind the fact that he's underage, never mind that he's not wholly human. He's mine… And I thought that I was going to outlive him, when he's going to outlive me, what irony…

"Black mist--are you sure it was black mist? Black, not red?"

"Very sure."

"Are you sure? There's something wrong there…"

"I said I'm fucking sure. I mean it."

"But he's from the fire clan or at least some of his powers are. Bring me to the place where you saw this happen. You don't have to take the blindfold off either."

They walked over to Schuldich' room and Crawford and Schuldich stood by the door as the doctor went straight to the place where Aya sitting when the last night's extraordinary events had occurred.

"Hmmm, the scent's not fire at least not pure fire. By The Lady, it fits. It all fits." The doctor mumbled to himself.

"What fits?" Crawford asked, glad to have something to think about, other than his obsession with one kitsune man.

"All this… I should have known. Ran-kit is the surviving kit of Reshka and Luren. His powers seem to fit the mold for any child of that tragic union."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Well about over twenty years ago, there was a scandal in the Void Clan. You'd call them nogitsune. The then clan chief, Alshe, had gotten his position from the abdication of his half-sister, Princess Reshka, who decided to enter the Inari Temple as a novice, several hundred years before. The kitsune priestesses of Inari are not celibate though they are virtuous. The princess at that time had fallen in love with a Fire Clan kitsune by the name of Luren and married him. They had a litter of kits whose claim to the clan chiefdom was enhanced by Luren's connection to the chief of the Fire Clan. Luren was a Prince in his own right, though far from the Fire Clan succession. When the clan chief heard this he flew into an insane rage and had hounded both Reshka and Luren to their deaths. It was rumored that all their kits had died with them. It was a great scandal because no kitsune would kill another unless in the gravest self-defense or in the defense of a kit. The chief lost much of his prestige and barely kept his title. Luren didn't want to start a war so he went into the human world to hide and brought one kit with him, I think Ran is that kit."

"So what does this all mean…" Crawford said in frustration.

"It means that you may be excused somewhat from sleeping with the kit. Mind control is one of the powers of kitsune and a signature of the Void Clan because they actively bred for the trait. Does he return your feelings?"

"I think so since he could have literally incinerated me if he's got pyrokinetic abilities as you seem to say." Crawford said.

"So you mean little Ayan controlled his sugar-daddy here?" Schuldich asked, amused at the thought of the most repressed Weiß member could be doing something so sexual as to seduce his opposite number in his bed.

"Not completely, Ran is young and not the type to control another being…?"

Crawford nodded at the questioning note in the vet's voice. Aya certainly wasn't the type, honorable in ways that he had considered foolish and in a way, secretly admired though it would have embarrassed him more than a little to admit before. The Weiß redhead wouldn't stoop to such a thing unless he didn't know it.

Not that it would embarrass me now, I think I used up my quota of shame in this escapade… Sleeping with a youngster even if it was partially his fault…

"He's probably reading cues from Crawford-san's needs and wanting to please him, unconsciously. I doubt much that he didn't hold any bit of affection for Crawford-san. He was, from my brief acquaintance of him, an affectionate and loving kit. There is also that he has been raised by humans and thinks himself as one of you until recently. That's probably prompted this unusual development. Kitsune gifts are erratic when the owner doesn't know the first thing about controlling them. They tend to respond to impulsive desires rather than the will. Besides, does he have any family living?"

"One but he fears to contaminate her with his bloody deeds. Though they were done in the name of her survival." Crawford replied.

"Well there is that. Kitsune are kin-bound, we like to make families when we have none."

So it's my fault in a way that he started to grow up before his time… And he does love me in his own way, unfortunately it might have been just a juvenile infatuation. They seem to be a long-lived race. I should just give him up… Let him find someone of his kind, who will not die so easily as me…but I want him and he has all but given himself to me…I am a selfish bastard but that's what I've always been and have no need or desire to change that… We have but a short time when it compares to what he has but I think I must make the best of it. But will you feel the same when you are old and he is still young, strong, and, most importantly, virile? What will you do when he wants to play and you are too old…? No, I will not think of that… I want him and he wants me now, that's all that matters…

"This is all very interesting but it's not getting us anywhere." Schuldich said, exasperated.

"Bring me to the last location you saw the kit. I think the last piece of this puzzle will answer that question."

They walked out to Crawford's room.

"He went to the Mystical Realm. His powers are maturing too fast. I haven't trained him for this since it should have developed when he's in his hundreds. He probably is on Void Clan grounds, right now."

"Why the Void Clan grounds?" Crawford asked.

"Because he used Void based powers to 'gate without control. This is not good. The politics in the Void Clan has been unstable since Princess Reshka's death. There was an ambitious prince, son of Alshe, Shan. He used the incident to foment subtle rebellion, there was also the faction that supported the princess' mother who is still alive, a faction that was created because they think the Chief Alshe and all his blood is unstable…. Each of the rebelling factions, all say that they have the nogitsune clan's interest in mind but the ambitious nature of the folk within each faction have somewhat their own agendas. Some no doubt will benefit the clan but ambition is…ambition. If Ran walks in all innocence into that…"

"Each faction would try to use him. The chief would probably have him executed before he could be used against him…Better the others to find him…"

"There is that. I have to take a look-see though this would be strictly clandestine. I shouldn't be wandering about another clan's lands but I feel responsible for the kit. Be right back." The doctor took off the blindfold and put it in his pocket and a snap was gone in a whiff of blue mist.

***

"Ran-kit, you seem to be depressed since that afternoon when you learned to control your powers. Why is that?" Shan said, ruffling his fur in the human way.

: It's nothing… :
 
 

"Do you know that you are too mature for your age?" Shan said after a long time of silence, mental and otherwise.

: Aa. :

"I loved your mother, Reshka, like the mother that I didn't have." Somehow it didn't ring true to Aya's trained instincts. Something in the tone was wrong.

: So… :

"We're only half-cousins not full ones. We could mate you know."

: What? :

"This is a proposal, silly kit. I want to 'marry' you, as humans would say. I want to protect you. I want to love you, not as a brother or a cousin. I want to have the right to see all your mischief, and help you out of them. I'll wait for you to grow up and we can be full mates. What do you say?"

: Is it just ambition? Or do you feel sorry for the orphan kit? :

: No. I really think that you would make me a mate. About the other things, you are the heir to chiefdom. You can't escape that responsibility that will come in time. Besides, I care not at all for it. I'll rather see you happy and help you through whatever problems that's going to come. :

: You don't even know me. :

: I know enough. :

Aya met his cousin's eyes and what he saw there greatly tempted him for a moment. But only for a moment, through the genuine care and affection shone a darker light that nibbled at the edges of recognition. It made him shiver with apprehension.

It is certainly not ambition but it's not purely affection either but…what choice do I have?

: Hai. I accept. :

***

It took the doctor half a day to return and when he did he looked every bit careworn.

"It's worse than I thought." The doctor said tails drooping. He lacked the energy to even change into fully human form and sat in fox-man form.

"What happened?" Crawford said, his impatience was plain in his tone.

***

"Alshe's son gained great support trying to oust his father from the chieftain position because of his aunt's death. He seems to have little ambition, he just wants vengeance for kin-blood shed or so he says. Whispers say that he had incestuous feelings for his half-aunt Reshka and would willingly support the accession of any surviving cousin of that line. Both his faction and the one that supports the accession of untainted blood are the strongest parties right now in Void lands. There is a talk of alliance between them and that could only mean one thing. One or the other faction has Ran. Since he is sexually mature and underage at the same time, his half-cousin Shan would probably take him as his mate. Ran does have his mother's purple eyes and bearing. I know this because I've seen the priestess Reshka in ceremony. The shrine she served in was on the border of the Thunder and Void Clan lands. And Shan was completely obsessed with his half-aunt or so my informant says and I deem him reliable."

"Over my dead body, Aya is mine!" Crawford said it so loudly that it was almost a shout.

"Well, I can't contest that and you can't since you're human."

"What do you mean by that! I can't let Aya be used like that."

"Are you really sure about that? You are not kitsune and can't fight with our powers." Dr. Kanzaki asked quietly.

"What do you mean by that?" Crawford asked.

"To contest the mating, you must fight Shan and win. You can't even go to the 'Realm."

"Is there anything I can do? I just can't sit here and do nothing. It's partially my fault anyhow." Crawford said almost pleadingly.

"Can it Crawford, we've come to the point that we can't help Ayan. That's it." Schuldich said.

I don't want Aya to be mated to a stranger. I don't want my Ayan-chan to be used as a pawn in the game… He's too nice for that. There's one part of him despite his assassin background that was untouched by all that. The innocent kit that bloomed under the affection that people can't help bestow on him. I love him too much for that...

"There is a way…but it would mean a sacrifice on your part." The vet said slowly.

"What sacrifice?" Crawford asked.

"Are you willing to risk the wrath of a god to be with Ran?"

"What do you mean?"

"We could intercede with either Inari or the Lady for their aid as proper kitsune would but you are not kitsune therefore a price will be paid."

"I'm willing to try."

"Willing or not. There is no in between."

"Willing." Crawford said, wondering what he was getting into but determined to do whatever it took to keep his Ayan.

"That's something." Dr. Kanzaki said.

"So which god do we petition?"

" I suggest the Lady, she who is mother to all kitsune, the ten-thousand-tailed goddess. It makes most sense since Ayan is but a kit. The Lady is particularly concerned with kits."

"How do we petition her?"

"Just look into my eyes, I'll trance us there, to the place where the Lady resides. Every kitsune can get there, even the least of my brethren, it is our birthright."

"Alright." Crawford said, looking into the eyes of the doctor.

"On the count of three. One…two…three!" There was rush of light and the peculiar smoky-blue of the doctor's eyes had melted into milky white marble of a throne standing in a void of stars.

"Iraka-child, why have you brought a human here of all places?" A musical, tinkling voice said, insubstantial but filling the space nonetheless with its power. The presence on the throne was awe-inspiring for all she seemed to be a tiny thing, all tails, ears and hair with a human pointed face and eyes of feral green. She wore a filmy kimono of a thousand colors.

"He wishes to ask you a boon, Mother."

"What is it?"

"It concerns the welfare of a kit."

"Ran."

"Hai."

"Is he mute then that you have to speak for him?" The Lady said disdainfully.

"I am not, your Grace. But it seemed discourteous, since I have not been introduced to you." Crawford said, bowing a little as he did so.

"He is at least polite." The fox-woman laughed a lovely sound that lingered in the air like winter frost.

"Then does he please you?"

"The question is not if he pleases me but will he be good for the kit. Better than Shan." The Lady said, gravely.

"Ran loves me and I, him. I'm willing to take good care of him." Crawford said.

"Aa, but a kit doesn't always love wisely nor do you understand what you are speaking of. Are you willing to be patient with him when he is being a kit? Kits can be more troublesome than human cubs, your teammates have so far sheltered you from his other misdemeanors."

"I've seen enough. I want him, mischief and all."

"And when he asks you not to kill, will you bear that? In the fullness of time, his nature will manifest and kitsune do not kill except for food and defense, and even the last is a regretful duty."

"I am willing to turn to another profession."

"And about your mortal life? Will you leave him bereft after a few piddling years? Shan can offer him much, much more. An eternity of ease, rank and wealth and what can you offer him? You will not even see him grow into adulthood. How can you claim to love him?" The contempt in the voice buffeted Crawford with its strength.

"I--no one knows what life may bring, even I who can see the future. Shan can be killed tomorrow or the next day, besides he only loves the reflection of Reshka he sees in Ran. All I can offer are all of my tomorrows and the love that I have for him."

"Well said, human, you have mettle. Now let us see if you can endure what you have unknowingly asked for."

Streams of light came from the woman's hands towards Crawford. He reminded himself to stand still as they came close to him, encircling him. He couldn't run at this juncture, besides where would he run in this not-place. They engulfed and for a timeless instant there was only pain, burning pain, turning his body inside out. Then it was over and he was amazed to see that he was still standing in place, stock-still, but this time he felt the swish of tails behind him. He smelled the strangeness of the place as well as see and heard, distant unknown music. He twitched his new ears as at an effort to discern more, furry ears.

"Well done, Brad-child. From this day forth you are no longer human but kitsune. And since it was Iraka who had brought you here, he shall be responsible for you and your actions. He and his clan at any rate, I have made you a five-tail of the Thunder Clan, you will need all the abilities of those five tails to keep up with a rambunctious and powerful kit such as Ran. Fare well till we meet again, New One."

"Hai, Mother." Crawford said, simultaneously as Dr. Kanzaki whose real name he now knew to be Iraka. It seemed so right yet so wrong. The not-place faded into the reality of the Schwartz living room.

It's not the answer I thought I was asking for, but maybe it's the answer I needed. It's certainly the only one I'm going to get…

***

"…Shit! Is that still you, Crawford? You think funny now and those tails and ears!" Schuldich exclaimed.

"It's still me." Crawford said shakily, he was starting to wonder what he had gotten himself into.

I thought when she asked me all those questions she was going to bring Ayan back here none the worse for the adventure but instead…

"The Gods don't work that way. They left us with free will, therefore will not intervene directly. We take full responsibility for our actions." Dr. Kanzaki, no, Iraka said and Crawford wasn't even aware that he had been using kitsune-speak.

"You did not have to say it. It was plain on your face. You have much to learn and so little time to learn it. The mating is set ten days from now, on the rising of the full moon." Iraka said as Crawford shot him a questioning look.

"So when do we start?"

"I'd rather not have the humans listen in. The first safe house would be acceptable provided that this one does not pry. He seems to have the curiosity of one of our kind. One wonders why Ran-kit did not choose him instead." The only thing that saved Iraka from being shot right there and there was that the latter's voice held a teasing quality to it. That and two other things…

I will not try to kill my new Clan-mate…kitsune don't kill…I will not try to kill my new Clan-mate… kitsune don't kill…

"Go off with your Weiß kitten for a few days, Schuldich. Don't tell him anything about this."

"Aw! Okay, just tell me what's in your vision that made us get Ayan-chan out in the first place and it's a deal. Come on, there's nothing I can do at this late a date about it."

Crawford sighed. Schuldich is insufferable at times.

"Tell."

"We kidnapped Ayan-chan because I had a vague vision of fire connected to him, the vision was rather unclear, us burning or otherwise. I chose caution. It was inexplicable then, but I guess in the light of Aya's powers, it is rational."

"Hai. I guess Weiß would have figured it in time and used him against us, ne?"

"Not Weiß. Kritiker."

"Hai. Bye!" Schuldich said as he bounded off to his assignation with his Weiß kitten.

"Not that your vision would have been clear Brad-san, kitsune are demi-gods and are a bit apart from human fates. It's a part of our nature a gift from our goddess-mother, as unlocking locks is a gift from Inari-sama the Trickster. Though I dare say your vision gift might not work for humans now that you are kitsune. It is the nature of the gift to see the fate of your own kind. Did I deduce it right that you are a Seer?" Iraka-san interjected as soon as Schuldich was out of hearing range.

"Hai."

"It might be useful in your confrontation with Shan…"

~TBC~

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