Chapter Text
Yuri was unrooting some white hyacinths when he first saw him, an unfamiliar silhouette in the landscape of the island that just now had started to properly feel like ‘home’.
At first, his eyes had dismissed that orange-shaped oddity as one of his fellow neighbors, probably wearing one of the latest creations that Sable had been sewing non-stop in her shop. Winnie seemed to have gone on a shopping spree lately, followed closely by Tex and Annalise, and Yuri had often seen them stroll around the plaza in their brand new clothes, excitedly talking together about the latest news on Riji Island.
So it was easy for Yuri to dismiss those details, especially when he was elbows deep into the bamboo grove that he had carefully cultivated on the eastern side of the island; the flowerbeds had to be redone to make space for the new lily seeds that Leif, the new seed merchant, had recently sold to him, and so the human was concentrated on keeping his head low and avoid damaging the roots of the poor hyacinths, who needed to be transplanted somewhere else before nightfall.
However, when Yuri raised his head to grab his trusty shovel and close the hole that he had left behind, his hand froze mid-air, and all his thoughts came to a halt as he noticed that the person that he had seen before was definitely not one of his neighbors.
It was, instead, a very strange man, who was strolling down the beach at a leisurely pace, like he had no worries in the world.
The first thing that Yuri noticed was that the stranger was very tall and very skinny, but also that his back was as straight as a rod and that his steps carried a confidence that few could pull off. He had quite a long face, made even more pronounced by his scruffy reddish hair, which he kept in a low ponytail just like Yuri also did. On his head there was also a pair of very long fox ears, that twitched from time to time as he listened to the sound of the waves, and behind his back Yuri could also see a very bushy tail, with a coarse fur which looked like it was in need of a good brush.
In contrast with his somewhat disarrayed appearance, the man’s clothes looked almost pristine, but that was not the detail which caught Yuri’s eyes: it took him an instant to connect the dots, but then the human realized that the stranger was wearing a very familiar outfit, way too similar to the one that Timmy and Tommy had just recently abandoned in favor of a more modern attire after their shop had been renovated.
Everything, from the black uniform to the purple apron tied around the waist, mirrored of the familiar outfits that had greeted Yuri everytime he had stopped by Nook’s Cranny for the past month. For a second, Yuri asked himself if it was possible that Timmy and Tommy had hired somebody to help in the shop, until he saw the symbol on the stranger’s apron: an unmistakable, yet at the same time unfamiliar, gingko leaf.
Now full of hesitation, and with many questions in his mind, Yuri debated with himself whether he should get up and approach the stranger. While he did so, he also managed to catch two more details: the stranger’s confident smirk, which didn’t slip off once as he looked out towards the ocean, and the weird package that he was holding in his hands, wrapped in a stained white cloth.
Even if he was still not very confident in his choice, Yuri felt himself standing up, the skirt of his black baji jeogori rustling as quietly as the bamboo leaves around him. He scrubbed his hands together in the hope to get rid of any trace of dirt, cursing himself for still not wearing adequate gloves while gardening, before taking a short and steadying breath.
Then, Yuri took a step out of the bamboo grove, but as soon as he did so, the fox’s ears twitched once. Fast as lightning, he turned around and pinned Yuri down with a somewhat unnerving stare: at that distance, the human could barely see the color of his eyes, but he didn’t miss the way his grin became somewhat even larger, a gesture that sent an unpleasant chill down Yuri’s spine.
The human had just barely begun his trek on the sandy shore when the man also started to walk towards him, and suddenly Yuri was reminded of his manners: he adjusted the sleeves of his dress, cleared his voice, and then bowed at the stranger once he was close enough.
“Good evening, s-sir.” said Yuri, going for a neutral tone and landing instead on a breathless whisper. The fox, however, didn’t seem fazed at all by that strangled greeting, pausing to gaze at the somber figure of Yuri with an amused glance.
“Well, well. Ya from around here?” spoke the fox, with a tone that had a certain sing-song quality to it; it sounded like he was entertained by something, but would never straight up reveal what.
“Ah, yes sir.” spoke Yuri, regaining a bit of the composure that his mother had tried so hard to indoctrinate to him.
“Well, isn’t that lovely?” went on the man, tilting his head to one side. “Hi, my name’s Redd, and I work in sales. And you are…?”
“Ah, I’m Yuri, sir.” spoke the young man, trying to discreetly clear his throat once more. “I’m the Residence Representative of Riji Island-”
“Oh, Yuri!” interrupted him Redd, showing him his impressive row of white teeth in all their pearly glory. “What a great name! Intelligent, strong… I can already see that we’re gonna be pals- no, better!” the fox went on, pointing at Yuri with one finger in an enthusiastic gesture. “...We’re gonna be family!”
“A-ah... what?” Yuri couldn’t help but ask, feeling his composure slipping away once more.
“Ah, I apologize, my friend! I am being way too forward.” replied the fox, in a tone that didn’t sound sorry at all. “It’s just that I can recognize a young and brilliant mind when I see one…”
“Oh, t-thank you?” said Yuri, not feeling very moved by the other’s compliment. “Well, mister Redd-”
“Oh, please, there’s no need for such formalities!” exclaimed the fox, while making a sweeping gesture with his hand. “Just Redd will be fine.”
“Well, all right, R-Redd.” stuttered Yuri, feeling absolutely wrong in calling a man so much older than him in such an informal way: he didn’t like to guess people’s age, but it was clear that Redd was at least over his forties, even if there was not a single white’s hair on the top of his head. “C-can I ask what brings you to Riji Island?”
“Oh, just some… Casual business, let’s say.” replied Reed, gesturing at the mysterious package in his hands with his chin. “As I told ya before, I am a salesman, and I make deals only in the best articles all around. And tell me, my friend…” went on the fox, lowering his voice until it was barely audible over the sound of the crashing waves. “Do you, perhaps, have a fine eye for art?”
“Uh, I… think so?” replied Yuri, now feeling like he was standing on a more solid ground. It was clear that the guy was a merchant, and so his presence on the island was not so strange: lately, Riji had became quite popular since Isabelle had announced their 5-star rating approval, and there seemed to always be a new influx of people looking to sell their wares there.
However, something was still not quite right, but Yuri couldn’t seem to place exactly what was bothering him…
“Ah, I bet that you have some good taste! Don’t look so shocked, I have an eye for this things...” went on Redd, opening his heavy eyelids just a fraction more, and Yuri was suddenly mesmerized by the pure gold of his irises. “And speakin’ of instincts, I just had this feeling… So I brought this Serene Painting with me!”
In a flash, Redd had removed the white cloth around the mysterious package in his hand, revealing one of the most breathtaking paintings Yuri had ever seen in his life.
It was a graceful lady, looking on the side of the frame while holding a white and fuzzy animal on her hands, probably a ferret? Yuri was not so sure about that. What he knew, however, was that the colors and the composition of the painting were really giving justice to its name, making him feel calm and relaxed as he stared at the art piece.
“Hey, ya like it? What a crazy coincidence right? It’s like fate…” was babbling Redd in the background, clearly pleased to have the human’s attention on his wares. “Tell you what, it’s not a mystery that I like you, Yuri, and I want to sell this painting to you. And, ‘cause you’re basically family, I am gonna give you a getaway price… Let’s say, 498,000 Bells?”
“...Wait, what?” suddenly exclaimed Yuri, feeling his whole world crashing down again; the human looked up towards Redd, who was still wearing his trademark smirk, not bothered at all by his alarmed reaction.
“I know, it’s such a bargain, right? So, what do you say?”
“N-no way!” hastily replied Yuri, taking a step back from the fox. Was he crazy or something?! Did he have any idea how much the human had had to spend lately to make bridges all over the island, since the other villagers were still refusing to contribute?!
It was in the face of such a clear rejection that, for the first time, Yuri saw a real change in Redd’s behaviour: all of a sudden, the fox’s ears and tail dropped low towards the ground, and his eyes almost filled up with tears, way too fast for it to be some sort of pity trick.
“Oh, c-come on now!” kept on insisting Redd, taking a step forward towards Yuri, but the human just kept on backtracking, until it looked like the fox was almost stalking him. “I swear, you are never gonna find a better price...!”
“I said n-no!” cried out Yuri, almost tripping on the hem of his baji jeogori; Redd, however, seemed to see something on his terrorized face, because he suddenly stopped dead in his tracks, eyes flashing as his expression suddenly transformed into a pensive mask.
“Ah, but that was fate talking, right…?” muttered the fox to himself, suddenly looking down on the soft white sand as if the secrets of the world were inscribed into it. “Yes, of course, I have to remind myself that you are family… Basically my cousin now…”
While Redd was busy muttering to himself, Yuri almost had the instinct to turn around and bolt towards the city: Winnie’s house was the closest, but she was almost never home with such good weather, otherwise he could try at Zuker’s door, but what if he had gone out on a snack run…?
The only other option was to head for the museum: Blathers would certainly hide him in a fish tank for a while, until this crazy fox would give up on his chase, but what if Redd would end up targeting the owl instead…? Blathers was not a fighter, he was a scholar, and Yuri didn’t want him to get dragged into this mess!
“So, here’s what I am gonna do… I’m gonna give ya my family-exclusive, patent-pending Family Discount!”
“A-ah?!” exclaimed Yuri, who didn’t really follow Redd’s ramblings anymore, but the fox was not deterred by his confusion: instead, he grabbed the human’s hands and shook them both firmly, which caused Yuri to blush furiously.
“Yes, ya heard that right! For only 4,980 Bells, you’ll be the proud owner of your very own Serene Painting!”
Yuri’s first instinct, in front of such a drastic reduction of price, was to still rip away his hands from the fox’s grasp and run for the hills: a part of him was terrified both of Redd’s dangerous smirks and his questionable business procedures, but when the human ended up looking into the fox’s eyes, something suddenly caught his attention.
Redd was smiling, but his expression almost seemed… pained, for a lack of a better term. This close, Yuri could see just how matted his air actually was, and how the fur all around his ears seemed like it was in need of a good and long soak in something that was not sea water.
The most saddening detail, however, was the fox’s eyes: it had been difficult to see before, because of Redd’s heavy eyelids, but now that his expression was so wide and open, Yuri could see how red his sclera was, and how deep the bags under his eyes actually were.
All of a sudden, Yuri felt a strange surge of pity, and so he slowly nodded his head in affirmation.
All of a sudden, Reed looked genuinely marveled at his approval: it was only a second of real speechlessness, and Yuri soaked fully in his surprise, before a familiar smirk creeped back onto the fox’s face.
“H-ha! You are not gonna regret this!” exclaimed the fox, clearly trying to regain his cockyness, before quickly trusting his hand towards Yuri. “Now, if ya don’t mind, I’ll just take those Bells from you…”
The transaction was quick and smooth, and suddenly Yuri was staring at the beautiful painting that he had just purchased: now that he had calmed down a bit, he could say with confidence that he had paid a fair price for such a beautiful piece of art, regardless of how rocky the road to get there had been.
The human was feeling quite content about his purchase, but he was feeling even more happy about the look on Redd’s face right now: it seemed like the fox had calmed down quite a bit, now that the deal had been sealed, and he was slowly counting the bells on his hands like they were some sort of amazing treasure, with an expression that made it clear that a heavy load had just been taken off his shoulder.
“Heh, I knew that you had an eye for art… It’s like it was meant to be!” suddenly laughed Redd out loud, but to Yuri it sounded more like he was wheezing. “Well, I have to go now, but I hope that we can do this again sometime, cousin!”
Before Yuri could add anything else, Redd just turned around and started walking towards the northern part of the island, a direction which left Yuri quite speechless. However, the human was far too tired to follow the man and see where exactly he was going, since the airport was on the opposite side of Riji, and so he just sighed out loud and headed for the stone path who run next to the beach, wondering if it would be nice to swing by the museum and get Blathers to take a look at the painting, just to judge how much it was actually worth.
It was only much, much later, after Blathers had hotted quite loudly at the sight of the Serene Painting and declared it a very rare piece of art, worth probably more bells than Yuri will ever earn in his lifetime, that the human actually remembered something quite important, the missing detail that had bothered him since he had laid eyes on Redd.
The airport had actually been closed since morning that day, due to the the risk of an upcoming storm, which in the end hadn’t touched the island at all. Regardless, Orville had preferred to be cautious and cancelled all the scheduled flights to Riji Airport until further notice, and the state of the air traffic had still been the same when Yuri had checked on his phone before starting on his gardening work.
So, a very important question remained: if the airport had been closed since morning, how had Redd managed to get on the island that day?