By Rachel Ann Michael Harris
Splitting the long grass with her snout, Airi observed the soldiers as they lounged around a fire. They were only a day’s march from home, where they would hand over their “prize.” With keen eyes, Airi scanned the camp.
There, on the north side. Tadashi leaned against a tree, his hands bound behind his back. A bruise covered his left cheek.
Memories of their childhood rushed back. Splashing in the stream and hiding in the rice fields. His laugh echoing through the trees. Until the day it all changed…
“You’re just a lying trickster distracting me from my path,” he had yelled at her, his clothes still drenched in sweat from a day of training, his new swords by his side. “Manipulative kitsune! Now get!”
She turned and ran as a spray of dirt pelted her fur.
He didn’t want her, and she’d stayed away from him as he wished. Until today.
A bellow of laughter brought Airi back to the campsite. One of the soldiers glanced over at Tadashi as he took a swig from a clay jar. His armor marked him as captain. Her fur bristled when she saw he carried Tadashi’s swords. Gritting her teeth, she forced herself to skirt the entire camp, checking every angle, before approaching on the south side.
On silent paws, she padded within the light of the fire, sat down, and waited. A tipsy soldier who couldn’t stay upright blinked dilated eyes at her. Not the best option, but he would have to do. She waved a puffy orange and white tail back and forth behind her. The soldier’s head bobbed in time with the flicking appendage. She smirked and lifted a second tail, waving it off sequence with the first. One by one, she lifted her tails until all seven were in the air like little flames flicking behind her.
The soldier sputtered and pointed. “Sei-seishin.”
The company turned. Tadashi glanced up, his eyes widening. The captain slowly grinned, fingers tapping the hilts of Tadashi’s katanas. “Fortune smiles upon us. Capture the kitsune. It’ll bring us great honor when we present it to the daimio.”
As the soldiers jumped to their feet, she sprang into the forest. Ducking into the foliage, she vanished. Heading south, she kept her orange and black head down before popping up just long enough for them to catch sight of her. Then she was gone again. Deeper in the forest, she hopped up onto a moss-covered boulder and waved her tails.
“Over there!” came a call before she dashed through the undergrowth to a new spot. She poked her head out of a bush and barked.
“No, over here!” The soldiers turned, a bit wobbly from drink, and darted toward her new location. Served them right. She kept the chase going until she was satisfied with how far they were from camp. Then, she slunk close to the ground and doubled back.
Only two soldiers sat now with Tadashi. Creeping up from behind, Airi shook her fur from herself like casting off water. Her legs lengthened into human limbs, black hair fell to her waist, and her fur shifted into skin and a bright orange kimono. Wrapping her fingers around a log, she lifted it and whacked one soldier and then the other across the head. They collapsed to the ground.
“Airi,” Tadashi gasped as he struggled against his bonds.
She borrowed a knife from one of the figures sprawled in the dirt and sliced through the ropes. Before she could stop herself, the words spilled out. “I know you don’t want to see me and once this is over, I’ll leave you alone forever.”
“But—”
She pulled him to his feet and pointed east. “There is a cliff that way. Go there and wait.” She wiggled as she shrank to her fox form. “I’ll be there soon.” And ran south.
“Wait!” Tadashi called.
In a few strides, he became a distant shout. She didn’t want to hear it. Not again. “Now get!” Blinking away the tears, she put her fox nose to the ground and sniffed. Sweat and sake. She snorted, then followed the trail southeast.
In no time she found the captain with Tadashi’s katanas. His most prized possessions. Snarling, she sprang at the soldier, slamming him to the ground.
As he lay stunned, she snatched at his obi with her teeth, loosening the ties, then fastened her jaws around the wooden scabbards. As she bounced up, the swords clanked and tangled in her legs, tripping her. A hand clamped around one of her tails and lifted her into the air.
She snapped at the captain’s hand as he smiled. “The daimio will reward me well for bringing him two great prizes.”
Airi glared at him. At least he only had one prize. She snapped at his nose. He flinched, then shook her by the tail.
“Yah!” Tadashi broke through the foliage, swinging a log above him. With a sharp crack, he brought it down on the captain’s head.
The man’s eyes rolled backwards and he crumpled to the ground. Tadashi reached out and caught Airi.
He… came for me?
Setting her gently on the ground, Tadashi reached over and grasped his swords.
Oh, right. Airi sat, watching him as he secured his katanas to his obi. In a moment, he would be gone. Again.
Sniffing, Airi lifted her chin and waited.
Tadashi finished securing his swords.
Then opened his arms toward her. “Come on.”
Airi blinked. He… wanted to carry her? Like when they were kids? It was one of her favorite memories. Could he really want her to come with him?
He glanced behind him as voices began to rise. “Come on!”
She leaped into his arms and wrapped her front paws around his neck. As he held her, she couldn’t help but snuggle her head under his chin.
Tadashi sighed. “I’ve missed you too.”
They ran into the night, leaving the scattered soldiers far, far behind.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
strong magic, and powered by friendship.
Hey, SC. Yes, friendship was a theme I wanted to keep at the center of this story and the loyalty of a friend. Thank you for reading and glad you enjoyed it.
Really sweet story! Great job!
Thanks, Arlan. Oh, I’m glad you found their relationship sweet. It was so fun to write it.
I LOVE kitsune mythology! Such a cute story. I would love to know more about what happened when they were kids—and what will happen in the future!
Thank you, Hannah! I actually hope to write more. Originally, I wrote this story intending to send it in for the Orange theme last year during Prismatic but didn’t get it done in time. But, I had written another Japanese inspired story called Fire and Water which was published with Havok for the Red theme. While writing this year, I decided they were actually in the same world and all knew each other. Right now, the connection is a little lose but I want to write more about all of these characters and am working on expanding Fire and Water into a novella and at least Airi will be making an appearance. I’m also thinking of expanding this story where you will then get to see more of Airi and Tadashi’s friendship.
That’s so exciting!! I definitely want to be in the loop when you release these! I’ll have to go back and read Fire and Water as well. And, YES PLEASE! I need more Tadashi and Airi’s friendship. ♥
Best friends like these make me feel warm and fuzzy…
Love these two!
Oh, thank you, Rose. Their friendship is warm and fuzzy. And I’m not just referring to Airi’s fur. lol.
What a sweet story! I have a soft spot for Japan, so I appreciated the Japanese folklore inspiration. And, since it’s almost never easy to keep a story to flash fiction length, well done!
Haha, thank you. Yes, this story orginally was around 500 words over the limit and took several drafts and some rewriting to get it into the 1000 word range. But, I do look forward to writing more of these characters.
Such a dear story! Loved this!
Thank you, John. It does get at the heart a bit.
I love Airi’s resourcefulness in saving Tadashi! Hopefully we’ll see more of these two in future!
Thank you, Beka. Yeah, she is a tricky, resourceful girl. I am looking forward to writing more about her, Tadashi, and more.