Zero Foxes Given

by Nix Whittaker

  He paused for a moment in his sandwich construction before he asked without looking up, “What kind of favour?”

  “Well, you sketched me. I’d like to take photos of you.” She had been thinking about Inari. She still wouldn’t play along, but she had thought she would like to have some pictures of Haku as a fox. Photos were her connection to memory. The followers were merely to pay the bills.

  Despite what had happened, she didn’t want to forget Haku.

  She had seen with her father how easy it was to lose that connection with the people she loved. She was determined to wear a path so deep in her mind that if she ever succumbed to what took her father, it was impossible to forget.

  Haku placed the sandwich in front of her. “I don’t like photos of myself.”

  She shrugged; she could relate. The reason she took photos of others was that she hated how she looked in photos. She had gotten over that when she had realised the pictures with her in them did better for engagement. How people saw her was always different from how she saw herself. Just like the drawing Haku had done of her, she knew she could bring out of him more than he thought there was of him.

  “As a fox?” That had him pausing in his movements for longer. The knife raised above the sandwich he was about to cut in half trembled after a moment, and he put it aside.

  “We can play fetch,” she teased.

  He shook his head. “No fetch.”

  She bounced on her toes. Almost there. Her hand went to her chest where she usually had her phone, but it wasn’t there as her jacket was shredded. Wrinkling her nose, she went for the pocket at her hip and retrieved her phone.

  Before she could even turn it on, he said, “Wait here.”

  He left the half-cut sandwich and disappeared further into the house. She felt deflated but not completely out of hope, so she left the phone out.

  He returned with a jacket in his hands and offered it to her. “It was mine.”

  Made of leather, it didn’t have nearly as many pockets as she liked, but it was lined in silk. Slipping it on, she tugged at the lapel. It didn’t zip over her chest but otherwise was a good fit. She ran a finger down the brass zip. The bright peacock-blue silk inside peeking out had her twisting the lapel aside and smoothing her hand over it. The silk was crisp. If he hadn’t said it was his own, she would have assumed it was new.

  “This must have been expensive.”

  “I traded it for some furs. I had it relined.”

  That had her pausing, “When?”

  “Before the meeting with the other yokai. It only arrived this morning.”

  He’d done it for her. She flushed. She couldn’t give it back though she knew it would have cost just as much as a new jacket to have it relined with silk. She noticed some pockets inside the silk, and she slipped her hand into one. It was larger than expected on a silk-lined jacket, but it was big enough for her phone. On the other side was a slender pocket that had a leather flap.

  She poked a finger in it, wondering what she would need such a small pocket for when she realised it was for the naginata. He’d thought of everything. She slipped the naginata into its own little pocket. She tried the phone in her pocket but took it out again.

  “Okay, photos.” She could see by the strained look on his face he had hoped she would forget. That elicited a giggle from her.

  She grabbed his arm and said, “The garden. It has much better light than in here.”

  She had to give him a tug before he followed her. Once outside, he transformed. His arm dropping out of her grasp with a slight pip of sound. As a fox, he jumped up on the bench seat that ran around the raised garden.

  *What do you want me to do?* his voice said inside her head. Making her jump and almost dropping her phone. She hadn’t realised he could speak into her head, but she should have realised with magic, anything was possible. It also made her wonder if he could hear her thoughts as well.

  She narrowed her eyes as she tried to tell him in her head that he should do a pirouette. He just sat and tilted his head at her so obviously he couldn’t hear her.

  Relieved, she said aloud, “What do you normally do as a fox?”

  *Chase rabbits and sleep in the sun.*

  She pointed to a sunny spot on the wall. When he hesitated, she realised this was the wrong approach. “Then why don’t you just sit here with me. I’ll show you how I do this.”

  She took a seat next to his fox form. He laid his head on her leg. She ran a hand over the top of his head. “I do have another camera, but I find I use this one more often even if the images aren’t as good.” She took a couple of candid images of him and turned the camera so he could see.

  She spent the next while taking photos and showing him the different ways the images could be changed. He shifted now and then to get a better look. His comments in her mind were thoughtful. It was strange to sit next to a fox and forget he was a fox.

  Akari stopped at the doorway to the courtyard and asked, “What are you two doing?”

  “Nothing.”

  “Then why is he a fox?”

  Akari snapped with no one saying anything in reply to her question. “I don’t care.” Haku must have spoken into her mind.

  When Haku spoke into someone’s mind, it was only in their mind. Haku transformed back into a man and moved off the bench.

  “You shouldn’t trust her, Haku.” Akari shoved her hands into her hoodie pockets. Her shoulders slumped. Her tone more defeated than angry or accusatory.

  “Why not? She is my wife.”

  Akari growled. “Is she?” There was a strained silence as no one answered.

  Kiera changed the subject. “We were just taking pictures.”

  Akari’s eyes narrowed, “As a fox?”

  “Why not, he is a beautiful fox.” Kiera turned the phone around and said, “Look, this one already has a hundred views.”

  Akari pinkened. “You put it online.”

  “Yes, that is what I do. I post images. People follow…”

  Akari cut her off with a wave of her hand. “I know what you are. I looked you up. Only a stupid person wouldn’t google a stranger that landed at their place. I saw your platform and your touristy things. But why him? Why us?”

  Kiera shrugged. “I’m changing the rules.”

  Haku asked, “What rules?”

  “The ones that say you can’t be seen. No one will know you aren’t a real fox. You are a fox after all. You told me yourself. You all started as foxes. This human thing is a new thing.”

  Akari snorted. “What about the tails?”

  “I made sure the shots didn’t show them. Besides, if I did, no one would think a thing. They would just think I manipulated it.”

  Akari pulled a hand out of her pocket to wave it around in frustration. “You don’t know that. You could put all of us at risk.”

  Haku put a hand on Akari’s arm and said gently, “Aren’t you always saying you want to change the rules. That if things were different…”

  Akari yanked her arm away and stormed off.

  Kiera asked, “I hope she will be alright.”

  Haku’s eyes were on the direction his sister had taken. “She will be when she thinks about it.”

  Kiera asked, “Are you upset I put images of you on the internet?”

  “No. I knew what you intended when you asked.” He sat down again next to her. His shoulder brushing her own.

  “But why then? You could have said no.” She slipped her phone back into her pocket.

  “It is part of you, and I wanted to be part of it.” He bumped his shoulder against hers on purpose before he got up and walked into the kitchen. Where he picked up his discarded sandwich. She placed her hand over the supple leather of the jacket. Maybe her problem was giving him human emotions when he really was a fox.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Haku was emptying the groceries when he placed a bag in front of her. She frowned but opened it to see what he was offering. Inside were brochures to t
ourist places. “Are you trying to make me more jealous? That you can go out, and I can’t.”

  He put things away in a closet as he said, “Pick one, and I’ll go with you. You have been inside for three days, and I can see you’re ready to burst.”

  “Won’t it be dangerous?” Every time she had looked outside, there had been crows watching the house. She wasn’t sure what Inari had done to the tengu to give her a space where she could visit, but she wished the goddess could do it again.

  “I’ll watch your back.” She wouldn’t turn down his offer. She had been going stir crazy indoors.

  Looking at the offerings, she picked up one and asked, “Really?” It was to a risqué show.

  “Maybe not that one.”

  She raised an eyebrow. “You were the one that put this in here.”

  He snatched it out of her hand when she went to open it up. She laughed at the flushed colour on his cheeks.

  They both turned when someone said, “Very cute.”

  Haku spun and stepped between Kiera and the woman. She was dressed in a red dress that hugged her frame that was taller because of the deadly red heels that matched the shade of her dress perfectly.

  “Himari? What are you doing here?” Kiera had assumed it was someone Haku knew well as the woman had her own key to the house.

  Himari pouted perfectly painted lips. “Katsu is mad.”

  Kiera asked, “Katsu?” That was the leader of the tengu. Why would this person know about Katsu and his moods and yet be friendly with Haku?

  The woman looked past Haku to her and stalked up to her. “So, this is your little flower.” Her eyes travelled up and down, and a slight quirk of her eyebrow told Kiera she had come up distinctly short in this woman’s estimation.

  “Himari, don’t be mean.” Haku stepped closer to Kiera, showing his support to her in a small but significant way.

  Himari turned a beatific smile to Haku. “I wouldn’t dream of it.”

  “Of course, you would.” The woman flashed teeth that admitted she would.

  Kiera took back the conversation. “What do the tengu want now?”

  Himari reached out and ran a hand down Haku’s arm. He didn’t pull away, which was unusual for Haku. He didn’t like unsolicited touch. “They saw that you are now a star online. Two tails and all.”

  Haku frowned. Kiera blushed. She had put up another image of Haku. She still hadn’t decided if she would do as Inari asked, but she couldn’t resist that image. He had looked too cute. When Haku gave Kiera a look, she fished out her phone from the special pocket inside her jacket.

  She showed him the post and said, “A million. See, you are going viral.”

  He frowned but didn’t comment. Kiera would find out from him later what he really felt. He usually opened up when there weren’t others around. She frowned as the comments caught her attention. They had blown up last night when someone had pointed out he was like a kitsune. They still thought he was a mutant fox and not a legendary creature, but there were many who loved kitsune, and now her post had been shared all over the place with the hashtag kitsunearereal.

  Himari said, “He’s cute.” Her voice softened.

  Kiera frowned as she took in the woman. Maybe she wasn’t so bad. Kiera flashed a smile. “I know.”

  Haku asked, “Why?” She wasn’t sure what he was asking so she thought she would lay out what Inari had told her.

  Kiera shifted her feet. “I went to see Inari.”

  “When?” His brows dashed together as his voice dropped.

  “A couple of days ago. Don’t worry, no one saw me. Inari made sure with some of her voodoo powers. I don’t know. But there weren’t any tengu outside, and I had to see her.”

  Himari asked, “She is a meddler.”

  Haku shot Himari a look, but she didn’t seem fazed. Kiera asked, “Who are you anyway?”

  The smile spread on the woman’s face. “I’m Haku’s fiancée.”

  The breath in Kiera’s lungs grew mass, making it difficult to breathe.

  Haku snorted. “We were arranged years ago. It isn’t serious.”

  “Fifty-eight years to be exact.”

  He waved off Himari’s helpful comment. “Like I said, it isn’t serious. If you wanted to be married, you would have married me in that time.”

  “True. I’m not a fan of the whole arranged marriage thing. I know it has its merits, but it isn’t for me.”

  Kiera must have shown her shock as Himari patted Kiera’s cheek, which heated at the off-handed gesture. “Not to worry, my dear. I’m not going to take him away from you.”

  Haku said, “You couldn’t even if you tried.”

  Himari glanced at him and asked, “Like that is it?”

  He wouldn’t look at her. “Yes, I’m apparently more like you than you thought.”

  Himari chuckled. “But enough of our history. What did Inari the conniving witch tell you?”

  Kiera frowned and asked, “I thought kitsune worshipped Inari.”

  “Oh, we do, but it gets a bit tedious when you’ve been doing the same job for her for a century.”

  Kiera still hadn’t gotten her head around the age of the kitsune. At the ages and times they were throwing around, they would have been alive and human when the Cuban missile crisis happened.

  Kiera shook that off and said, “Inari wants the yokai to come out to the public but in a way that won’t get you guys killed. She thought if I could show the world who you were when you are calm and cute, when it breaks through in the news, it will be a non-event.”

  Himari tapped a long fingernail against her lips. The shade of red just a shade off of the lipstick and dress. “The psychology behind is sound.”

  Confused, Kiera looked at Haku. He didn’t notice her confusion, but Himari noticed the interaction and said, “I work for an ad agency. I work with hacking the human brain all the time. You do know the tengu won’t care that you are on some holy mission. They don’t want to come out gracefully to the humans; they want to dominate humans.”

  Kiera shrugged. “They are trying to kill me anyway, whether they like what I’m doing or not.”

  Himari shook her head. “The word is that Sho is working on his own with his brothers. Katsu wants the naginata, but he didn’t want to upset the council.”

  After she had almost been run over, she wasn’t about to dismiss the danger of even one tengu. “So, you are telling me Katsu now wants to kill me as well.”

  “He will use the photos on the internet as a reason, but I think he would have found a reason anyway. He has a real boner for the naginata.” Haku gave a reproving look in Himari’s direction. Kiera wasn’t sure if it was because she implied the tengu would go after her regardless or the crass why she had said it. Kiera was still getting to know what bothered Haku.

  Akari walked in. Himari kissed the air and asked, “What’s up, sweetheart? Still want to be a doctor?”

  “Bite me.” Akari rolled her eyes and left the room.

  Haku said, “I don’t like it when you tease her.”

  “She needs it. They won’t ever let her become a doctor. I don’t know why you let her go to university when you know this.”

  That shocked Kiera. “Wait? What? Why wouldn’t they let Akari be a doctor? She was great at patching me.”

  Haku’s jaw jumped as he ground his teeth. Himari answered, “Kitsune are muses and artists. We don’t do anything as practical as become doctors. The council though enforces this.”

  “That’s awful.” Kiera looked at the doorway where Akari had disappeared. That was a trap of its own, and she wouldn’t stand for it. But she wasn’t sure how she could help Akari. She could hardly help herself.

  Chapter Fifteen

  “So, you were going to get married.” Himari had left, and it had taken awhile for everyone to settle.

  “We never got anywhere close to being married.” He was painting, and she was watching him. Akari was making dinner, but she was a storm of anger from her short
interaction with Himari.

  Kiera assumed it had more to do with the whole situation of not being allowed to be a doctor rather than what Himari had actually said. “Is there a reason you didn’t tell me about her then?”

  She was writing in her journals with one of the broadsword pencils she had picked up at the same time she had bought the naginata. “I didn’t even think of her.”

  “Aw, no wonder she doesn’t want to marry you.” She certainly wouldn’t marry someone that could so easily forget her.

  “It was a mutual thing. I told you, the men choose who to marry.”

  “Then why were you arranged to marry in the first place?”

  He stopped and half turned to look at her. “I was upset after my parents died, and I asked the leaders of the kitsune to arrange a marriage for me. I thought with raising Akari, I needed someone. But in the end, Himari convinced me I could raise her on my own.”

  “Self-serving, I’d say.” Kiera leaned over to borrow one of his sharpeners.

  He frowned at her then gave up trying to understand her and went back to painting. Kiera watched for a while before returning to her notes.

  When she finished, she wandered downstairs to see if Akari needed help. She had calmed down and leaned on the counter. The remnants of her explosive emotions in the form of a half-cooked meal were scattered around her. Without saying anything, Kiera cleaned up. Stacking used dishes in the sink.

  Akari let out a loud sigh, and Kiera took this as the signal she was ready to talk. “You alright?”

  “I think it’s worse because she isn’t wrong. The council will never let me open a practise or work in a hospital.”

  “They have the power for that?” Kiera couldn’t get her head around the power of the council.

  “It isn’t really about power but pressure. To go against what they say would mean removing ourselves from the kitsune community.” Family. That Kiera could understand.