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Hazy mist drew over the hills full of spruce trees, fresh cool air tingling boy’s skin through the light clothing he was wearing. Early in the morning he left his home for another hunt. He does this every day, trying to find and exterminate a spirit or two at his own liking.
He encountered these creatures before and it didn’t go that well at all. He wasn’t alone, but accompanied by a couple of his friends. Late at night, a group of filthy youkais striked the others down, leaving Takumi all alone, half dead half alive. He didn’t realize at first that he was turned into half-phantom that fateful night. His body felt and seemed the same, except for a little blob of air and spiritual energy roaming near him at all times. He wasn’t a human anymore and somehow he gained physical power over time. Having that, and infinite anger at youkais inside his mind that made his blood boil, he decided to seek revenge in exterminating the spirits that seemed dangerous to human kind.
He was a bit disgusted at himself as well, as he thought he became just like them, despite having a proper physical body and no special or magic abilities and no intention of hurting anyone. Well, except those who hurt others. He had no idea why he wasn’t killed or eaten like his friends, but he was grateful that he stayed alive, even if now he hated himself almost as much as those creatures.
While having a walk in the hazy forest, Takumi discovered a wide and brightly illuminated cave at the footing of a hill. There were glowing crystals poking from the walls and ceiling, some sharp and spiky, while others seemed trimmed or broken in some places. Clearly, someone was around here, if not at that moment, then way before he got there.
Not even a minute passed since he was there, when his ears started to get filled with a sound of someone’s quiet distant singing, making the boy's skin become covered with goosebumps. The sound was eerily calming and Takumi didn’t like any part of it. Hastily, he moved through the cave towards the singing that was starting to put him to sleep, playing with his senses and visual perception.
The crystals around grew smaller and brighter, instead of lonely ones there were giant clusters of them, looking like small and big flowers scattered around. It wasn’t long until half-human reached a giant open space, looking like it was sprinkled with flower petals all around. All possible shades of blue were reflecting in the boy's eyes, making them bright starlit. Sleepiness started to fade away due to the bright blue lights and sudden disappearance of a gentle voice. Instinctively, Takumi drew his hand to the sword handle on his left side, tracing the guard with his fingertips. He trained and fought just enough to realize when to get in the fighting stance.
-Oh my, - the voice reappeared, this time speaking. -Intruding someone else’s home and already acting like that? Someone has no manners.
Takumi’s fingers clutched around the weapon, preparing to draw it out any second now.
-You know, you look pretty intense for a small boy like that, - the voice continued, making Takumi’s blood boil with how teasingly high it sounded.
-Show yourself! - eyebrows furrowed as he shouted, teeth gritting out of a feeling of intense anger growing inside of him.
Suddenly, the sound of a thousand fireflies appeared in the boy's ears. Air was moving and making him feel uncomfortable in its presence.
“Definitely a youkai” - Takumi thought to himself, preparing an attack sequence in his mind.
While he was concentrating on his thoughts, a thin figure appeared before him. The lighting was dim, but it could be clearly seen that the person was dressed in a blue kimono, with a pattern of lotus flowers all around on the cloth. Takumi couldn’t help but stare at the appeared spirit, looking him over from his feet to his head. Usually, spirits he encountered didn’t get any of his attention, but this time was different. The spirit had a warm tanned skin, the boy could only see little parts of it, since the traditional clothing covered most of the man’s body. He stood there barefoot, pieces of fabric reaching to the floor and laying just near his feet. Past the blue fabric, a thin neck and a pretty structured face stood out in the blue lighting. The man was above the half-human, standing on some kind of elevation with a set of stairs near. The spirit didn’t rush to come down, standing in a dim lighting, with his eyes looking down, making them look half closed. His facial expression was calm and rather ethereal.
Dazed by the spirit’s presence, Takumi didn’t notice the main attributes to his appearance that spoke of his supernatural origin. A pair of fluffy fox ears was rising from the man's head. It was the same color as his hair, light silver. Moreover, there was a set of nine tails behind his back, they were steady most of the time, with a couple of them swinging around to the owner’s liking. The man was a kitsune, nine-tailed fox spirit. Looking back at the man's eyes, he noticed how much they reminded him of a fox ones. It all came together now.
Takumi didn’t care if he was a good one - zenko, or a bad one - yako, he simply hated all spirits, even if they didn’t mean harm to humans. You can never be too careful in your judgement, is what he thought. Therefore he felt conflicted in his mind. The man was absolutely stunning and eerily beautiful, sending a tinglish sensation down the half-human’s body. But at the same time he had an urge to fight and get rid of a potential enemy to a human kind.
-Fox got your tongue? - the spirit said, with a soft laugh accompanying his words. Takumi shook his head, focusing on his stance instead of the man in front of him.
-None of your business, sly bastard, - the boy was angry and ready to jump into the fight at any second.
Ren looked over the red haired one, spotting his phantom part beside his shoulder.
-I was about to ask how did you even find this place, but now I understand, - the spirit took a couple of steps forward, hands hidden in the sleeves of his clothing. Somehow, Takumi kept getting overwhelmed by his presence and took some steps back, trying to keep his composure.
-Are you scared? - kitsune’s tails moved intact in all different directions. -And here i thought you were a brave boy.
Takumi dropped on his knees, feeling a cool touch on his cheek. The fox teleported behind him and pushed him to the ground. He wouldn’t lose his stance in any other way.
-Don’t you worry though, i don’t hurt humans. I just mind my own business. I advise you do the same thing, - spirit’s voice made the half-human shiver. This encounter was nothing like any he had before. The spirit was sly and playful, but acted as if he knew exactly what the person in front of him was thinking about. He definitely could read people’s thoughts.
-Yes, i can do that, - Ren’s face melted into a smile at Takumi’s thought. He traced the boy’s face with his thin fingers, other hand twirling long locks of Takumi’s bright red hair. -But i never use it maliciously.
He whispered in the boy’s ear, making his face grow a warm pink blush around the cheeks. With a grunt, Takumi got out of the spirit’s strong hands, trying to decompose himself as he collected his thoughts back from a complete mess.
-Stop digging my mind up, - he hissed at Ren, finally drawing his katana sword out of the scabbard. He was absolutely mad at himself for giving into the damn fox’s charms, getting his head all messed up.
-But it’s so fun though! I didn’t encounter anyone for so long as I mostly sit in this cave and entertain myself with my own talents, - said Ren in a whiny voice, trying to play with the younger one in front of him. -Spare me a minute or two more, sweetheart.
The fox spirit licked the corner of his mouth while approaching Takumi and briefly touching the blade or his sword. Though, he was playing with half-human’s perception now. Not only did he possess a hypnotizing voice, but his body movements could entrance anyone at his will too. The boy couldn’t spot the spirit anymore, his mind was cloudy and messed up with the supernatural abilities he was using.
-I could end you without lifting my finger if i wanted to, - the voice echoed in Takumi’s ears. It sounded way too soft to be threatening, but that didn’t make him loosen up his guard.
-Whatever, I can defeat you anyways, - the younger said, eyes running around the room to discover any trace of the fox.
The spirit laughed. The sound of it made Takumi want to cry from how confused he felt about everything happening, so angelic and soft it was.
-But like i said, i’m not planning to hurt you, so why are you trying to get to me? - the youkai was just behind the boy, sword long forgotten and hands creeping over to hold him instead of a cold object.
-Like hell i’m telling you! - the boy hissed through his teeth. Though the spirit didn’t need any words to understand due to his mind reading abilities, but it was so boring to know everything just from that and not from the person telling their story. A sigh escaped his lips as he wrapped his arms around the younger boy’s body, breaking the illusion. A warm breath on Takumi’s neck made him wonder once again if he hates this one or not, but he couldn’t just let go of his principles.
-I understand what you went through, but i've never laid a finger on a human with a thought of hurting them, - the spirit said, making sure Takumi can’t move before he himself lets him to. -I don’t know how many times i will have to repeat this. You’re quite stubborn.
Instead of letting the boy go, the fox teleported himself out to a place where he could be easily spotted, therefore catching the boy's attention and making him return to his fighting stance. He won’t hesitate anymore to dash and strike the spirit down, making sure he doesn’t think of his movements too much so the spirit doesn’t have many chances of stopping him with his mind reading.
He took a couple of steps forward, transitioning into a run and his both hands drawn to a sword. His long hair getting right behind his back and flowing in the blue lit air, catching the youkai’s eye and making him smile in a soft way. He found the boy endearing, so much that he will let him have his fight before crushing him down and making sure he learnt his lesson and won’t try this again.
A dozen strikes, push and pulls and lots of teleporting made both of them tired, though kitsune was ready to finish the half human off at any second, but playing with him was way too fun.
-Do we really have to fight? - the spirit asked. Half-human was restless in trying to get to him, but little did he know that he was already locked in a spell that made him cycle this battle over and over again inside of his head.
-I hate spirits like you! You always play with humans and then dispose of them when used. I’m not going to rest until I make all of you suffer the same fate!
Boy’s hand tightened around the handle of a sword, preparing for another strike. He was all sweaty and panting hard to get some air in his system, clearly tired and out of breath due to lots of action prior. The nine tailed spirit sighed and drew himself into a fighting stance, fabric of his kimono ruffling at the movement. Loosened up obi made the clothing drop down his shoulders just a little, exposing some of his skin. The event didn’t go unnoticed by half-human, making him gulp down, either from being nervous or some other persistent feeling that he was so eager to negate. The spirit was gracious even with sweaty hair slicked back and fur on his tails all messed up and trimmed thanks to the sharp blade the half human possessed. The confused and dazed expression on Takumi’s face was making him giggle, focusing in and out of the happening battle.
There was no way for Takumi to understand this all wasn’t real. That it was a carefully placed illusion of a battle, always changing and progressing with him losing over and over and coming back every morning after restoring some of his lost powers. The spirit was having a time of his life, watching over what was happening in the boy’s head, as if it was a wide cinema screen with a movie playing in 3D. He made sure to finally make the characters introduce themselves, so they’re not strangers anymore. It was fun watching the boy's cute reactions to his endless teasing, only making him feel reassured that Takumi was a one damn tsundere, not admitting he doesn’t want to fight anymore.
Ren was holding his small body close and secure, not letting him become cold in a humid and dark cave. His tails curved around the boy’s body, the fluffy fur securing half-human’s body heat. Though he was a bit cooler than regular humans due to his half phantom side, the spirit still didn’t want his adorable prey to wake up with a cold.
How many times did the events loop themselves already? Only god knew. Ren didn’t mind continuing, doing this hardly cost him any energy but didn’t fail to entertain the spirit, while he was tenderly playing with the red locks of Takumi’s hair and watching over his resting face, sharp eyebrows and scattered moles all around his rosy cheeks. He didn’t know himself if he was just playing and goofing around or was genuinely interested in his prey. His only plan was to play around and make the boy be stuck in the same events until he gives in and realizes his feelings. So, the kitsune spirit himself had a long time to realize his own.