Chapter Text
“So, you’re the deviant I was meant to meet.”
Below a night sky in which the stars shone with a damp and flickering shine, the words spoken to me by the boy who broke my concept of reality were something that would be stuck in my mind forever.
I could remember the scene well: A dark, and almost paradoxically claustrophobic, open street, in a city with so much history, and yet so little actual meaning to me turned grey and misty— my soul and body alike spilling red, wearing a telling expression as I clutched an arm, burning under the weight of my own emotion.
It was like a scene straight from an old story: The boy, surrounded by red, opposite to the boy grinning in blue. The dull eyes of the snake beneath his reddened blade lacked any shine compared to his own alongside his confident grin. They were perfect opposites.
“Who the hell... are you?!”
At that time, when my anger and confusion took my heart hostage, I could only bark like a cornered dog, all the while that smile still stood on his face like he was a calm, formless wind.
“My name is Mimaki Kunosuke. And you, Kyou Tana... are my opposite.”
He really was being genuine. At that moment I realized that from now on, my life would be irreparably fucked, and Kyoto would become a wholly different city to me.
“...And that’s exactly why I’ll be your ally from now on!”
Man, and they do say you should never trust a fox.
The City of Spirits
A jolt of electricity coursed through my body as I woke up. After my sudden thrust into the land of dreams, I felt glad to be conscious again, though it was soon offset by the soreness that I felt over my body. Muscles felt as if they had been pulled and snapped apart under the weight of my exhaustion.
In other words, I felt like complete shit. Man, it was like my chest was gonna cave in...!
“...Was last night… a dream?”
It still came across as absurd; imagine that, getting attacked by a serpent that felt as if it could swallow an entire car whole, only to be saved by a grinning fox.
“...Ridiculous…”
But, they do say that dreams always tell you something about yourself, right?
The Demon of Himawari High was a childish title given to me. It would probably make someone burst out laughing if they ever heard it, but to the people that gave it to me, the name “Kyou Tana” itself was not too far off. I was what you would expect from someone with that title: A tall young man, who gets into too many fights, gets subpar grades... and scares girls away with his mean face.
It was all bullshit, of course. Well, at least that’s what I like to believe. I get into fights, my grades are low, and while I wouldn’t exactly say I have a “bastard” face, it certainly seems to give people the wrong idea all the damn time.
So, maybe my dream wasn’t that far off after all. Those horns on my head, if I had to guess, were some sort of manifestation of names people called me, right? I can’t say I’m certain, but it seemed clear enough to me. Though the meaning behind the fox and the serpent were kind of lost on me. Maybe I’m forgetting something?
…
“Man, what a waste of time.” With a groan, I forced myself up despite the pain. Yet another thing I couldn’t fully make heads or tails of. The explanation was probably simple: I got into an ugly fight, passed out when I came home, and had a weird dream.
Thankfully, I had no one home at that moment to question my wounds or chide me for them. It also meant I could wake up at my own pace, and my brain wouldn’t threaten to collapse from overloading.
I slowly crawled out of bed, careful not to pull any fresh wounds open. Despite having dreamt about serpents, it felt as if my body had been squished around and slammed instead. No bites, nothing - goes to show that it really was just a dream.
…
...Or, at the very least... that was the case until I reached the mirror.
Imagine my surprise when I gazed into it - popping out of my forehead, two brown, almost burgundy horns... sprouting out of my head.
Not like a goat’s, nor like a deer’s... but straight upwards in a way that felt ridiculous in how simple it looked.
Horns. Two of ‘em. Just like that, outta my head.
Exactly… like the dream.
Having leaned forward to try and get a closer look, apparently, I’d forgotten about the slippery wood floor I was on and found myself stupidly stumbling forward . And even though I’d slipped and fell, my eyes never moved away from the horns in the mirror … like they’d disappear the moment I blinked.
And yet, they didn’t.
When I eventually gave in and blinked, they were still there. They felt weightless when I slept, and from every angle, they appeared completely attached to my head.
Slowly raising a hand, I considered trying to touch them, but every time I got close, I backed away in some strange mixture of fear and anticipation. My heart wouldn’t stop pounding in my chest, and my gut felt weird. It’s as if my body itself was shouting at me - ‘get on with it, idiot! ’
Eventually, I worked up the courage… and grabbed both horns with my hands. Instead of crumpling like paper or some other material, I felt a firmness around them and their texture haunted me. Bone-like.
“What the fuck…?!”
Speaking of bone… the inside of my mouth felt different. Like a grinning ape, I pried my mouth open with my fingers, and I saw two- no,
four
new, sharp canines, shaped almost like hooks that threatened to spill out from my mouth, like those little fangs you see in manga, except not cute in the slightest. It was more like they were meant to tear into flesh with ease.
My shoulders... were they always this wide? ...Was I always this
tall
? What’s next, is my skin gonna turn
red?
“Is this… some kinda curse?!”
— If one were to take into consideration the already surreal existence of my horns, a curse suddenly didn’t seem too far-fetched.
I already had horns, and my appearance had changed, so why stop there? Maybe it was some sort of curse, or maybe I hit some kind of weirdo metamorphosis? Caterpillar to butterfly, and human to… oni?
I kept frantically touching the parts of me that had changed, and a strange mixture of both relief and confusion settled in. Relief at being the only person present in my apartment at the moment, and confusion at, well, everything. It felt like I barely counted as a human anymore, and while I could probably pass a cosplayer, there was no way I could go outside. Still, I needed to seek answers somewhere .
My eyes darted to the calendar on the wall. The date was there, underneath the picture of a pink-haired, ghostly character I liked; May 8th, Sunday. No school today. Thank God.
“Okay,” I breathed in relief, I knew that it was a stress response, but I couldn’t help it. “So... Kyou Tana is cursed. Now to find out who’s the one behind the curse.”
It was only then when I felt something thin inside my pocket. Automatically, my hand reached for it, as if I thought it’d give me the solution to my predicament. It was a small piece of paper, blue ink smeared across it spelling a simple message:
TO KYOU TANA,
BAMBOO FOREST WHENEVER YOU WAKE UP
DON’T DIE AGAIN \0/
Silence hung uncomfortably as I looked upon the smeared letter. For some reason, the letters and way it was written reminded me of something I’d likely seen a while ago, yet somehow still recognized.
‘ That fox…’
“And to find out the one behind the curse…”
I moved up, eyes landing outside my window to the wider city. The morning was fresh, and I could hear the bustling sounds of the city. The chatter of pedestrians, shops opening to the public; and most importantly, the echo the shrines of Kyoto let out, unheard by all.
“...I guess I’ll have to just not die.”
...Wait, ‘again?!’
Kyoto had always been a curious city to live in, though it certainly had its annoying moments. Once the Golden City of Japan and the capital years ago, where all sorts of stories were spun, and shrines found their way into the scenery of the city, it was now a modern city like any other. Those old shrines I walked past as I made my way to the quiet Bamboo Forest of Arashiyama were nothing but symbols of the past, almost struggling to breathe the modern air as I walked down the street as quietly as I could.
Still, the air wasn’t as heavy as in places like Tokyo, where I knew the neon lights and tight corners would make me eventually lose my mind if I ever dared to move there with gramps. It acted as a depressing reminder that despite its natural beauty and green scenery depicted in photos, Kyoto was still a modern city like any other.
That wasn’t what made it ‘extremely annoying’, though. What made it annoying were its people.
Even as I walked wearing the bizarre combination of hoodie and beanie that made me sweat in an attempt to hide my newfound horns, the occasional glances from people felt like they were hitting nails against my skin before promptly leaving.
They walked past, not knowing I could see them leaning in to whisper something that I knew concerned me.
...There was no helping it. Even when I try not to get such glances my way, it’s only natural with this ‘curse.’
Still, I couldn’t fully blame them. After all, they were right - Kyou Tana is a delinquent who gets into fights, has a mean gaze, and is nearly breaking the six-foot range with his scary build. I didn’t even bother getting angry or mad, that’s how I normally took it; ignoring such comments and going along with my day. Getting to school, getting out with hopefully little conflict, and returning home.
Though I guess that in this situation, that’s asking for too much, right? Patience has its limits, and it threatens to spill over every time I feel my horns poking against my clothes.
“God damn it…” My voice was still hoarse, and the sigh that escaped my lips failed to properly convey my unspeakable annoyance. “Get on with it, loser.”
And that’s what I did. I moved along the streets of the city while trying my best not to pay any mind to the citizens that spoke behind my back. It was none of my concern, either way, and it shouldn’t be theirs.
It was a hellish walk though— I had no bike nor vehicle to take me there, and I was starting to regret not taking some sort of cab. Then again, I would probably regret that too, given the current situation atop my head.
But eventually, my location made itself present before me.
The Bamboo Forest was once a beautiful and popular place, that much I was sure, but as it stood now...It was beyond depressing. I’m sure the once tall bamboo covered every spot of land beyond the main path, but they were few and between, with the ones remaining leaning over depressingly, almost hitting the ground.
I didn’t really get what happened to it. The pictures clearly showed a different area than the one I now stood on. But I guess the years went by, someone eventually just...forgot to take care of the place.
Now people spoke of it like it was a distant, dead relative. So I guess it only made sense the atmosphere that now was around me was so gloomy. It really did feel like I was walking onto someone’s early grave.
Was this really the place that fox wanted to meet me…?
… I swear if this is some elaborate plan to prank me…
“Hey!” Tired of waiting around any more than I needed to, my voice raised itself. “Don’t make this a waste of time— get out! You know what’s happening, don’t you?”
...Silence again.
“Come out already!” I could feel my pent-up frustrations rising up. I didn’t seriously come here only to go back home, right? “Stop fucking around!”
My feet tapped on the ground impatiently as seconds became long minutes of waiting. I felt my nails scratching against my skin and my scowl only turning bigger. Who doesn’t place a specific date on a note, actually? Is he stupid?
“...Hey!!”
...Then, a small sound.
With eyes moving to the source, I clenched both my fists in anticipation as I could already feel teeth press against one another. The possibility of this being another person with less than helpful intentions was there, I couldn’t deny that. But it was fine if it was.
Well, I wasn’t called the Demon of Himawari High for no reason, right? I could kick this thing’s ass with no issues.
...That’s what I like to believe, though. My strength aside, that snake was stupid big…
Eventually, the sound became full-on rustling: leaves moving to the side and branches snapping off, as I could soon see the perpetrator behind it. The fox…!
...No, literally. It was the fox. Or, well, a fox.
A white, fluffy one.
Blue eyes staring straight at me as a single tail was still halfway stuck to the bush it found itself on. I blinked just as it did to me, as silence hung ridiculously low.
My face slowly became something ridiculous. What? No, seriously, what?
What was a white fox doing here? Weren’t those winter-exclusive or something? It was spring! There’s no way this is what I saw, right? The fox I saw in my dreams— he almost looked like a bishounen character! All confident and stuff! This was just a walking plushy, on its end!
“There’s no way,” My disbelief spoke for me, as my hands dropped low. “I came all the way here for an animal.”
“That’s kind of rude,” the fox spoke to me. “An animal implies I lack intelligence. What, can’t a person be comfortable on their own skin?”
“That’s not the point, the point here is that I fucking walked all the damn way—”
Wait, again, what?
[狐]
...Just like that, I heard it. It spoke to me just like any dude would. There was no funny tone on his voice or no sort of annoying verbal tick you’d see in anime. It just spoke like a person across the street would to a friend.
Just like a person.
The vision of the horns atop my head came back at full force.
...I was such a fucking idiot, to forget that this wasn’t a situation where I could trust normal instincts. Such a fucking idiot to not realize the person in front of me wasn’t just a pretty dude with some sort of fake tail and ears. This was something beyond me. But— something like me, too, as retarded as that sounded.
A familiar formless presence alongside a smile came into view as the fox grew with clothes forming from nowhere, a blue mist surrounding his body as within just a few moments before me, ‘Mimaki Kunosuke’ appeared once more.
“Well, this is hopefully better for you, right?”
...What.