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Atsushi sighed deeply as he stared out at the pouring rain. It most certainly wasn’t letting up any time soon.
“Just my luck.” he muttered helplessly.
Why had he even come all the way out here? Why had he even bothered? Looking around at the old temple, Atsushi just sighed again. It had only been a week since he had been kicked out of his orphanage, something about not enough food for all the children there, and so he had travelled. Travelled to the one place he knew even the slightest about. His headmaster had always told him he had been abandoned at an old temple just outside the city. As far as he could find, there was only one that matched that description and here it was.
Dull eyes looked around the place and he just chuckled, humorlessly of course. What had he been expecting to find? Some magical clue to lead him to his parents? Some small trinket that would give him some sort of idea about his family? Something to let him know that he hadn’t been abandoned and left to die? That it all had been some tragic mistake? That somewhere in this god forsaken world, someone was missing him?
“This isn’t a fairy tale.” he hissed angrily.
He was so angry with himself, so angry he had let his childish imagination lead him down this path. He should have been looking for a job, a way to support himself, but no, instead he had chased after a hope and a dream in the form of some old temple. Instead of focusing on the future, he decided to obsess over the past and here he was. He walked towards the front, staring blankly at the emptiness.
“I’m so stupid.” he whispered.
The small flame inside his heart died then, snuffed out like a candle in the wind. He swallowed hard and tried to ignore his watering eyes. Slowly, he pulled the bag from his shoulders and settled down. There was no leaving, not in this rain, so he might as well stay warm and safe. He unpacked some food, water and a small blanket. He didn’t dare start a fire, least it burn everything down, but he really didn’t feel the cold if he was going to be honest.
He ate his food, drank his water and curled up on the cold floor, closing his eyes as disappointment and exhaustion hit him. Some time later, he was awoken by whispers.
“A human? Is that a human?” one voice said.
“It is! Oh, what a feast we will have!” another said.
“Feast? Hardly, he’s all skin and bones!” another exclaimed.
“Quiet, he’s waking up!” one hissed.
Atsushi slowly opened his eyes and sat up. After first, in the darkness, he saw nothing, but then someone stepped forward. As the moon peeked out of the clouds, Atsushi’s eyes grew wide. He stared at the nine flowing, waving tails that surrounded the man standing before him, mouth dry.
“Oh, he’s in shock!” the kitsune stated, chuckling.
Another stepped beside him and Atsushi’s eyes must have taken up half his face. The stern looking man’s wings were tucked neatly against his back and his staff jingled by his side.
“Stop teasing him. He is clearly very young.” the stern winged man said.
“Aw, but Kunikida-kun, it’s so much fun!” the kitsune whined.
Atsushi slowly began to crawl backwards, trying not to catch their attention. He hit someone else’s legs and looked up. A grinning face looked down at him, a tanuki staring back at him. He squeaked.
“Aw, he’s kind of cute, guys!” the tanuki said.
“Cute? Really? Let me see!” someone else said.
The tanuki was shoved out of the way by another, clearly an oni by the horns. Atsushi curled into himself as the blond haired oni leaned in close.
“You’re scaring him.” a woman’s voice said and Atsushi looked over to see a beautiful woman standing there.
He couldn’t tell what kind of yokai she was, but if she was with the others, she couldn’t be human. Atsushi curled into himself, trembling in both terror and the cold. The rain must have seeped in at one point because his clothes and hair were soaked. The tengu and the kitsune were arguing now, or well the tengu was yelling and the kitsune just had his hands covering his ears. The tanuki was cheering them on while the oni just laughed.
“You don’t look well.” the female yokai stated as his teeth started to chatter.
“I-I don’t feel good.” he admittedly softly.
Her eyes softened a bit and she knelt down. He flinched when she reached out a hand, terror gripping every inch of him. Her hand lay on his brow and she frowned before sighing.
“Hey idiots, your human is sick.” she called.
The other four looked at her.
“Sick?” the tanuki asked.
“Yes, I can feel the heat. It must have been the cold and rain. Humans are notoriously weak for that kind of thing.” she replied.
“Aw, don’t tell me he’s gonna die!” the oni whined.
“If we leave him this way, he will.” she stated.
“Perhaps, that is best. He is clearly small and weak. It would be a mercy.” the tengu stated.
“Kunikida, don’t be mean! He came all the way out here!” tanuki whined.
“He looks kind of familiar, doesn’t he?” the kitsune asked.
They all leaned in, staring at Atsushi, who curled in a bit, not used to being stared at so intensely.
“Wait, is this…?” the female yokai trailed off.
“It’s the baby! The human baby! Remember? The one we found!” the oni exclaimed.
“What? No, it can’t be!” the tanuki said in shock.
“But it is, look! His hair color is the same! And his eyes! He must be! Dazai-san, you would know best, right?” the oni asked.
The kitsune, Dazai, stepped forward and Atsushi felt an odd warm start to fill him. A strange image started to appear in his mind's eye and he reached out for it without thinking. Dazai reached out for him and when their hands touched, Atsushi’s whole body began to glow. There was a flash of light and then…
The yokai all gathered around, gasping in awe. The small human had changed, a long white striped tail curled around his legs and ears on his head.
“Could it be?” Kunikida demanded.
Dazai just smiled and knelt down. He pulled the boy onto his lap and started to pet his hair.
“It seems he’s come home.” Dazai said sweetly.
Atsushi awoke some time later. He was still curled up on Dazai’s lap, his hair being pet by a gentle hand. Atsushi sighed and nuzzled closer, enjoying the soft feelings.
“You awake?” Dazai asked.
Atsushi just hummed.
“Good, then you can get off.” Dazai pushed him and Atsushi yelped as he fell onto the cold floor.
His tail curled in annoyance and...wait...tail? Atsushi slowly reached down and grabbed the thing laying next to him. He pulled on it and yelped at the pain.
“What the hell!” he yelled jumping up.
He could see the thing attached to the back of him and spun around in a circle, trying to see it better. A snort of amusement made him stop, face flushing as he looked over. The yokai were all lying or standing around, watching him. The snort had come from the tanuki and oni duo. Atsushi just stared at them and then the ground, rubbing his arms, his tail slipping between his legs in his distress. The female yokai just sighed and slapped the both of them on the back of the heads.
“Quit it.” she demanded.
“Yes, Yosano.” they replied sadly.
“Um what is going on?” Atsushi finally asked and they all looked at him.
The tengu, Kunikida, stepped forward with a cough. He seemed to be the ringleader, if Atsushi was guessing correctly.
“My name is Kunikida, as you have probably heard. This is Dazai (the kitsune gave a wave), Ranpo (the tanuki smiled at him), Kenji (the oni just laughed) and Yosano (she nodded his way). We live here.” he explained.
Atsushi eyed the different yokai and frowned. It seemed odd for them all to live here together.
“You all live here….together?” he asked.
“We protect this area. We stay here to keep an eye on things.” Dazai said with a shrug.
Kunikida coughed and gave him a dark look, but Dazai just looked away, his tails waving in amusement.
“And you all...know me?” Atsushi asked.
There was a look the five shared and Atsushi took a desperate step forward.
“Please. I came here to find out more about myself. I was told I was abandoned here and I was found by the headmaster at my orphanage. If you know more, please tell me.” Atsushi begged.
“Unfortunately, we don’t.” Yosano replied.
Atsushi’s shoulders slumped and he looked away.
“R-Really? I see…” He rubbed his eyes.
So, this was a waste of time.
“Then how...do you all know me?” Atsushi asked.
“You were left here, like your headmaster said. We found you one cold winter’s night on our front steps. We took you in for a few days, but then he came and took you away.” Dazai explained.
Atsushi swallowed hard. That was it. Even after all of this, he still had nothing. No more information about his family or who he was. Ranpo hummed loudly as he pulled a lollipop from seemingly nowhere and popped it in his mouth.
“Kunikida did do some research when you first showed up.” Ranpo said.
Kunikida nodded.
“We know for a fact you have some yokai blood, obviously.” he said eying his ears and tail.
“But we never found out what you were or where you were from. It’s like you appeared out of thin air!” Kenji exclaimed.
That didn’t make Atsushi feel any better.
“And then that headmaster came. We didn’t have enough time to hide you…” Yosano trailed off.
Atsushi looked at the floor. He had never told anyone, not a soul, about the dreams he had as a child. About the five people he often saw in them, but their faces, over time, blurred away until there was nothing left, but a faint presence.
“Did he take me from you all?” he asked.
“Yes and no. This area was not suitable to take care of a child, especially one as young as you. We feared for you, worried for you, but we had no ability to care for you. That’s why Dazai hid what you were and we let him take you. We figured he would be able to take care of you better. It seems not to be the case.” Kunikida said angrily.
Atsushi rubbed his arms. Did he really look that bad? He did look a bit thin for his age. Yosano let out a sigh.
“I told you we should have kept him.” Yosano demanded.
Kunikida grit his teeth and glared at her, but she just gave him a bored look.
“But it’s ok now, right? He came back!” Kenji said kicking his feet.
Atsushi sat on the floor and idly stared. They were talking about him without even talking to him, but what did he want? Did he want to stay here? He looked up at them, watching them and felt a strange sense of comfort. It was like returning home in a way. Dazai locked eyes with him and smirked.
“Welcome home.” he said and Atsushi smiled.