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<--Main <-Fan Art Bao Hadir: A story by Project_Demise Part 2 I have watched them for a good while now. The human, Keen, seems to be the master of the household. He also has two Kitsune who are bound to him by oath. At this moment he is one of the most powerful humans in existence and...he doesn't even realize it. What fun! The other two are, I believe, Heaven Kitsune. This Kaze I have not met before. He is of the Heavens, of this I am sure. He is lesser than I, but still he is strong. The other I know of old. Miyo. One of the Nine-Tailed, she was a powerful, if vicious, female who has caused me to bleed on several occasions. Yet...She's different now. I guess spending such a long period of time in imprisonment can do that to a body. I was there the day it happened. I'm not sure what she did. I had been following her, trying to convince her that a Kitsune with fewer tails than she could still be useful as a mate. Indeed, I had pined after her for the longest time, though it is not that way anymore. She despised me. I am Nogitsune, a trickster. Untrustworthy some would say. She had been hiding away within a forest. I tracked her down and pounced. However, the only thing I pounced...was a stone statue of a Kitsune. Miyo had been turned to stone. The statue radiated her scent, so it had to be her...but while there was life beneath the stone, there was no motion. I covered her with my tails and sent power into the stone...but whatever magicks had stoned her were far stronger than mine. Either a human monk with total faith or one of the Higher Kitsune had to have done it. So instead I used all the magick I could muster (leaving me in a bad way; I needed energy horribly afterward), I cast a spell upon the tree. After that moment, it wouldn't age or rot. It wouldn't become a haven for nasty fungus or parasitic insects. It was my last gift to Miyo. And now, so many years later, here she is. Completely restored...except...She is missing tails. Seven of them to be exact. Seven tails missing. Seven tails that granted her so much power. Seven tails that robbed me of my chances to mate her, pup her, spend the rest of eternity with her. And now she has two. If I try hard enough, I'm sure I could woo her. Make her mine. All those times I tried...And now I might be able to bring her to me. All I can do is try. And here is my chance. Keen and Kaze are leaving the house. Alone. Miyo must still be inside. Along with a third Kitsune. I have yet to hear her name, but she is Nogitsune if I have ever smelled one. And I have, daily. She makes me nervous; I've never been able to handle Nogitsune as easily as I handle Heaven or Void. However, it seems I am in luck today. The Nogitsune is leaving the house. She scents the air a moment, obviously having detected my odor, but she seems unconcerned. She continues away. Now is my chance. I leap from atop the building and change. I fed well off the energy of many humans this day. My form changes to that of a tall human male. I am dressed in a black business suit and tie, black shoes adorning my feet. My hair is black and I have black sunglasses upon my face. These hide my black eyes. If one were to look at me right now, they would see a sinister-looking businessman. Exactly what I wanted. I walk up and knock on the door. There is a rustling sound inside before a running sound and a feminine voice shouting "I'm coming!" Then the door is flung open. There she stands in all her glory. Miyo, the one-time love of my life. "Yes?" she inquires with a smile. I cough and return the smile. "Yes, I'm looking for a Mister Keen Kotoru. He called me earlier in the day to discuss his photography. Is he around?" I am playing it smooth. I don't like to lie, but it's the only way I can get inside. Miyo shakes her head, looking confused. "Umm...No, no he isn't. You missed him by a couple of minutes. I'll tell him you dropped by." I sigh dramatically. "I'm sorry, but if I cannot see him today, my magazine cannot hire him. Tell him the job is cancelled." I turn to go, knowing already that my ploy would work. I only achieve a half turn before she cries out, "WAIT!" I stop and turn back to her. She is looking up at me, her eyes watering slightly. "Ma-Keen should be home in a little while." Dear Gods, she is nervous. I can tell already that she can sense something off about me. "Would you like to wait for him?" she asks hopefully. I give her a friendly smile, a wide one that humans give, showing off my top row of teeth. I realize suddenly that my canine teeth are more pointed than a human's should be. I hastily close my mouth. "That'd be great," I say cheerfully. She moves out of the way and I enter the domicile. It is a standard human home, filled with standard human things. It is rather ordinary in every way. I look to my left and to my right. The whole place is furnished plainly, but tastefully. This Keen is a completely average human, yet he is interestingly so. A paradox. Miyo has noticed my tail. I turn to look at her, smiling widely again, this time showing all my teeth. She draws back flat against the door, breathing hard, her eyes wide. I take off my sunglasses, revealing my black eyes. She gasps. I release the magic I used to make this form and the whole thing falls apart. I am now in my normal form, a shimmering black fox with seven tails sprouting from his rear. "Hello, Miyo," I say pleasantly. She blinks several times, sliding down the door until she is on her bottom. "H-how did you know my name?" she asks nervously. I half grin as I walk up to her. I give her a lick on the cheek and she jumps. "Come now," I say softly. "You haven't forgotten your old friend Hadir, have you? Five hundred years isn't that long, is it?" "Had-ear?" she asks dumbly. My grin fades instantly. I hate it when people mess up my name. "No no. Hah-deer. Hah like funny. Deer like the animal." "Hadir? I can't remember...Keen says I have amna...amna..." "Amnesia?" "Yes! Keen says I have amnesia." "So you don't remember anything, eh?" "Not really." Should I lie? Should I tell the truth? Should I intermix them? Decisions Decisions. "I'm an old friend. Remember? We used to be friends before you were turned to stone." Half-truth. I don't want to fully lie to her. She's too nice to do that to...now. Her brows furrow in concentration, searching for me in her memories. "I can see patches. Little spots. I can't remember..." She looks about to cry. I give a tender lick to her cheek. "Don't worry," I whisper. "Everything will be all right. I'll help you." She looks into my icy blue eyes hopefully. "You will?" she asks. I smile, something I rarely do sincerely. "Of course. After all, what kind of friend would I be if I left you here. I know a good bit about the way this new age works. I can help you...If you want me to." She chewed her lower lip thoughtfully, staring up at me still. I am rather large, considering I have seven tails. She nods her head and smiles. Her arms reach around me in a human hug. She gives a shout of joy. "YES!" Loss of tails, loss of memories, loss of her darkness. I like this new Miyo. She's much kinder to me than her old Nine-Tailed self. I wonder if she'll ever remember me. I hope not. I was once a potential suitor for Miyo, as I said before. I wanted her to be my mate (though I had only two tails at the time) and she didn't want me. I tried everything I could think of. I tried bribery. I tried compliments. I tried enchantment. I tried digging a hole and having her fall in and only letting her out if she agreed to be my mate. That is not me trying to be funny. I really did try the hole. Unfortunately, a two-tail is smaller than a nine-tail. Our perceptions of deep are different. Thus, the pit wasn't as deep as it should've been. She escaped rather easily. Suddenly, I smell the male Kitsune, Kaze, and the human Keen. They are coming towards the house. I can see the mystic binding around Miyo growing thicker. I pull away from the hug. "What's the matter?" she asks. I shake myself and smile. "It's nothing," I reply. "I must go for now, but I'll be back later on. Good day to you." I recast my illusion and assume my human form. I bow my head to her, help her off the floor, and, after moving her out of the way, I open the door and walk outside. Keen and Kaze are coming up the sidewalk. And I am in plain view. I continue on as if nothing is amiss. I pass them on the sidewalk and... The human Keen has seen my tail. Kaze growls deep in his throat as I stop and turn to look at them. A half-smile appears on my face. "Just try it, Inari-slave," I say softly. "I'm not here for trouble." In a flash, I'm in my true form, all seven of my tails flared out behind me. "However, if you want trouble, keep growling." I bare all my teeth as both threat and grin. Keen takes a step back in fright. Kaze, however, breaks his own illusion, becoming an orange Kitsune of five tails. "I've had enough of you wild dogs bad-mouthing we of the Heaven clans. If I were a violent Kitsune, I'd tear off your tails and feed them to you." His tails burst into flames, drawing a cry of surprise and fright from the human. I chuckle. "If you touched my tails, the sheer force of my magic would destroy you." I draw myself out of my threatening posture. "However," I say, becoming my human form again, "I have already done what I came to do. See you tomorrow, Keen Kotoru." I turn and walk away. I can hear them talking about me, but I cannot make it out. It wouldn't matter to me anyway. I'm too hungry to focus on anything. I need to feed. Ah, just what I needed. All I had to do was find a few addicts and give them their "medicine". One offered me his soul in return. I wouldn't accept it though. I took a substantial amount of energy from each of their voluntarily drugged bodies instead. They'd feel it in the morning as the worst hangovers they'd ever had. Maybe that'll teach them not to abuse drugs. I hate alcoholic beverages. I hate smoking. I hate drugs. Humans do all these things that are detrimental to their souls, yet they do not care. What is this world coming to? Now that I've finished my daily rant, I think I shall take a stroll, cause some mischief. It is only early afternoon, so I have plenty of time before I meet with the Queen and King. Oh look, a little girl flying a kite. I render myself invisible and sneak up behind her. Using a trickle of power, I tie her shoelaces together, then yip loudly. She jumps and lets go of her kite string. She cries out and tries to run after it, only to trip and fall. She hits the ground hard and begins to cry. I am behind her laughing silently. Then I begin to feel something I haven't felt in a long time. Pity. Remorse. Guilt. I caused this little girl to fall and lose her kite. Now she is crying and bleeding from a knee scrape. Poor girl. Damn my bleeding heart. The thing was supposed to be ice and pump piss and vinegar through my veins. Instead, I'm retrieving the kite (I'm in dog form) and bringing it back to her. The kite itself is made from construction paper, string, and glue. A child's design. She's sitting up and holding her knee, crying loudly in pain and sorrow, tears streaming down her face. Her sobbing dies down to silent tears as she sees me, her kite in my mouth. She sniffles and takes it from me, whispering her thanks. I doubt she noticed the complete lack of saliva upon the thing. I lap at her knee gently, cleaning the blood away. I hate the taste of human blood. It's sickening. And yet, I continue to do it. She giggles as my large dog tongue touches the back of her knees, a notoriously sensitive spot among many humans. She rubs my large head (I turned myself into a mastiff/boxer mutt) and I ruff in response. She likes me. Interesting... I roll over and she scratches my belly. While she is doing this, my head is between her legs and I work my jaws to undo her shoelaces. I don't want to cause another accident. She is only a little girl, with strawberry-blonde hair and a cheery-seeming disposition. She scratches my chin and neck and I kick my feet convincingly. She giggles in happiness, watching a big dog do the "puppy-leg". I lick her face, my tongue coating every inch of it in saliva. She gives a cry of "EEEEWWW!" and proceeds to (ineffectually) wipe at it with her shirt. Her giggling is continues but is muffled by her shirt. I lap at her belly and she falls over in a fit of laughter. She pulls her shirt down and I nudge her face with my nose. Then I turn and walk away. Her giggling has stopped. All laughter, stopped. "PUPPY!" she cries. I stop, looking back. She is running up to me. She leaps on my and I let my form give,. I fall to my knees and she hugs me. "Where were you going?" she asked. I give a convincing whine and she smiles. "You can come home with me," she says giggling. It is now that I take a good look at her. Her clothes are dirty, torn. And not just the normal play torn. There is dried blood around the rips and, now that I look closely enough, her face is bruised, battered. The flesh around her eye looks disgusting in its dark blues, purples, and blacks. Someone had thrashed this child. And it wasn't me. I may make mischief, but I rarely do physical harm. Her injury was incidental, not part of the plan. This child needs someone to give love to. Her parents weren't around and probably hadn't warned her about playing with stray dogs. Hmm...I decide that I shall indeed come home with her. Poor thing needs help. I'm not always a bad person. Just usually. To be continued...
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