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Izuku's knees were stained green from the grass, his hands as well. He was scraped up but he didn't notice. He didn't have time to realize that he was hurting himself. He was too busy looking for what he’d dropped.
"Where is it?" He cried quietly to himself, holding back tears and frantically sweeping his hands over the ground. "Ouch! Where did it go? Where is it?"
A few branches snapped and Izuku's ears twitched. He knelt up quickly and looked around. Was someone there? Had one of his classmates come looking for him? Had they seen him? Had they seen his ears and tail?
Izuku looked around anxiously. The forest was quiet and his ears twitched a few more times before he returned to searching, more frantic than ever. His class was bound to notice that he'd wandered off and hadn't come back. Mr. Aizawa was going to accuse him of causing problems again, which was only partially fair. He wasn't trying to cause problems- he was trying to fix them!
This time Izuku was the one with the problem. The problem was that he’d somehow lost the small leather bag that he carried with him everywhere- the bag with his medicine inside of it. He must have dropped it on the trail here somewhere while walking up to the temple. He shouldn’t have left the main path, but the medicine had been wearing off. He’d run to make sure he got far enough away that no one would see him change into a fox, but he must have gone too fast and dropped the bag. Now he was backtracking and hoping to find it before it was too late.
“Is this what you're looking for?” A deep voice asked.
Izuku looked up, startled. When had someone snuck up on him? Before he had much time to dwell on it, he saw the small pouch they were holding out. “Ah! You found it!” Izuku cried, jumping up and grabbing the pouch back. He pulled the drawstring open and was relieved to see his pills still inside. “Thank you so m-!” He looked up and his words died in his mouth.
The person standing over him was the tallest man he’d ever seen. He was dressed in traditional attire, just like the workers at the temple wore. Black and red, red just like his eyes. But his hair was white and had a pair of tall ears sticking up. Izuku stepped back, clutching the medicine to his chest and swallowing hard. He took in the long, sharp nails and the many tails swaying gently behind the man. No, not a man at all. A Kitsune, like him. Only, unlike Izuku, this Kitsune was strong and powerful.
Izuku had never met another Kitsune before, other than his mother. She’d told him stories about others of their kinds who had powerful magic and grew many tails. She said they were very old, very wise, and very tricky. That was why Izuku took his medicine. He didn’t want to draw any attention to himself from either the human world or the supernatural. He wondered if he should just turn and run away, but doubted he could outrun a full grown Kitsune even if he tried.
“You don't need to be frightened, little one.” The Kitsune said, sensing Izuku’s apprehension. “I don’t mean to harm you.”
“W-Who are you?” Izuku asked, taking another small step back.
The Kitsune gracefully knelt, perhaps to look less threatening. Izuku tried to count his tails, but only got to five and wasn’t sure after that because they kept moving. He was suddenly overly conscious of his own tail and felt very small and insignificant compared to a creature like this. The Kitsune smiled at him, keeping his sharp teeth hidden. “I’m no one special, little kit. I live in the shrine just up the hill. I noticed you looking for something and wanted to help.”
“Y-You mean the temple?” Izuku asked, eyes flickering back to the path. “Are you the fox god who lives here?”
“Yes, I am. What about you, little kit? Where do you live? Why have you come to my mountain?”
“I live with my mother.” Izuku replied. “I’m here with my class to visit your shrine. I hope I didn’t make you angry, wandering around without permission. I’m really, really sorry.”
“It’s quite all right.” The Kitsune god assured him. He nodded to Izuku’s bag. “That medicine hides your appearance and makes you human, doesn’t it? You live among the humans?”
Izuku nodded, ears twitching. “Yes. Is that bad?”
“It just makes me sad.” The Kitsune gave a small shake of his head. “Back in my day, a kit like you would be living happily in the forest, far away from humans and their corruption.”
Izuku wasn’t sure what the Kitsune god meant by that. He liked humans. He didn’t mind living with them. “Humans aren’t that bad. They're nice to me and my mom.”
The Kitsune god’s eyes glinted for a split second. He smiled again, looking more sad this time. “How times have changed… Such a small kit like you, practically being raised as a human. Do you even know any magic at all?”
Izuku shook his head. “Mom says I’m too young to learn magic.”
“Well, I suppose she’s right about that.” The Kitsune god stood once more. His eyes landed on Izuku’s hands, dirty and scraped up from his frantic search for his medicine. “You poor thing. I’m sorry you had to go through so much trouble. Let me get you washed and bandaged up.”
“I- I should get back before people start looking for me.” Izuku said, backing away and twitching his ears nervously.
The Kitsune god looked him over. “They will worry about why you got so dirty while you were gone. It will only take a few minutes to freshen you up.”
He was right about that, Izuku realized. Aizawa was already watching him closely, he would notice if Izuku came back looking like a mess. So he cautiously followed the Kitsune god up a hidden path that brought them to the back of the temple. Izuku started to take his medicine again, but the Kitsune god stopped him.
“You will be better hidden if you wait. Besides, as a fox you can access areas of my temple that humans can’t.”
Izuku didn’t like being so close to people without taking his medicine. He couldn’t wait until he was strong enough to make himself human without it. He held both the bag of pills and his tail close to his chest as they came to the back door of the temple. Several yokai appeared, kneeling and bowing deeply as the Kitsune god opened the door.
“Welcome home, Master.”
“Please help my young guest get cleaned up.” The Kitsune god instructed them, indicating Izuku. “He needs a bath and a change of clothes, and his wounds need to be tended to.”
“Yes, my lord.” The servants said without lifting their heads.
The Kitsune god turned to Izuku. “I’ll have your clothing washed and repaired. It won’t take very long. You can borrow some clothing in the meantime, and I hope you’ll join me for tea while we wait.”
“Okay.” Izuku agreed, but he was still nervous. He’d never spent time around other spirits before, and other than class trips, he’d never been in a traditional home before. The temple seemed much bigger on the inside than outside, probably some of the Kitsune god’s magic again.
Leaving his shoes behind, Izuku followed the servants through the halls. They brought him to a bath where he was washed and dried. Then the cuts on his hands were cleaned and bandaged and he was given the red and black robes of the temple to wear. He hoped his own clothes were cleaned soon and he could wear them again. After Izuku was taken care of, he was brought to the Kitsune god again.
The god’s red eyes glowed with pleasure when Izuku was led into the room. He looked the boy up and down and nodded with approval. “You look much nicer now, little kit. Please, come sit down and have some tea with me.”
Izuku nervously knelt down across from the god. The robes were a bit difficult to move in. He’d never worn anything like them before. The Kitsune god was still beaming at him so he sipped his tea and kept his eyes down. He couldn’t stop his ears and tail from twitching with apprehension. He wanted to go soon, but he didn't know how to excuse himself and he didn't want to appear ungrateful.
“What is your name, little one?” The Kitsune asked unexpectedly.
Izuku looked up, startled. “My name?” He repeated, feeling sick. “I- Mom said never to tell anyone my name. She says it’s dangerous.”
The Kitsune’s eyes flashed again, but Izuku wasn’t sure what he was thinking. Was he angry with Izuku’s reply? “Your mother is right, little one. Your name is very special, you should only give it to people you trust. Anyone who gets your name will have power over you.”
Izuku set his tea down and swallowed dryly. He knew that. So why had the Kitsune god asked him for his name?
“It was a test, little kit.” The Kitsune god told him, sipping his own tea. “You’ve practically been raised by humans. I wanted to make sure you knew how to protect yourself.”
“Oh.” Izuku relaxed a little. “Thank you.”
The god smiled at him and they went back to quietly sipping their tea for several minutes. “You keep looking at me.” The Kitsune god said eventually. “Is something wrong?”
“I- I’m just trying to count your tails.” Izuku admitted, blushing.
The god chuckled. “You could have just asked. I have nine of them.”
“Nine?” Izuku repeated much louder than he meant to.
He received a laugh in reply. “Yes, that’s what I said.”
“But that would mean you’re ancient! I mean, you’re-!” Izuku fumbled, not sure how to recover. He shouldn’t be insulting his host, or angering a god.
“Yes, I thought you would have realized that by now?” The Kitsune god raised an eyebrow. “This shrine and temple are very old, and the mountain is even older.”
“Do you know magic then?” Izuku asked.
“Would you like to see some magic?” The god offered and Izuku quickly nodded.
The Kitsune god took Izuku’s hands in his own and unwrapped the bandages to reveal all the scrapes and cuts Izuku had received while looking for his medicine in the woods. Izuku noticed just how much longer the older Kitsune’s claws were than his and shuddered a little as he thought about how dangerous this creature probably was.
“Don’t worry, I would never hurt you.” The Kitsune promised, sensing Izuku’s worries. He kissed Izuku’s palms, then lightly blew on his wounds. Izuku gasped loudly as the cuts sealed themselves up and the scrapes faded back into his skin. “There, that’s better, isn’t it?”
Izuku took his hands back and turned them back and forth. “That was amazing! Can you teach me too?”
“Perhaps, if you come back to visit me sometime.” The Kitsune promised.
Izuku was too fascinated to listen. “I’ve always wanted to learn magic. There’s another nine tailed fox that everyone talks about who has really strong magic- they call him All Might! I want to be just like him. Do you think I could meet him someday?”
The Kitsune god sniffed and lifted his nose. “My magic is much stronger than his.”
Izuku suddenly made a big yawn. “I’m sorry! I feel really tired all of the sudden.”
“It’s probably just an effect of the healing.” The Kitsune god told him. “You’re welcome to rest here for as long as you like.”
Izuku yawned again, bigger and longer this time. “I should really… I should really get back to my class. My teacher is probably… he’s gonna be worried… about me.” He struggled to keep his eyes open and found himself being guided to lie down with his head in the Kitsune’s lap.
“I’ll take care of that, just rest for now.” The Kitsune told him. His long claws combed through Izuku’s hair, scratching lightly behind his ears. Izuku started purring before he could stop himself. The healing magic had made him very tired and being groomed like this reminded him of his mother. The Kitsune continued combing through his hair, humming softly. He even rubbed Izuku’s back and shoulders a little, and stroked the smooth texture of his tail. Izuku closed his eyes and drifted off until he felt someone shaking his shoulder.
Izuku opened his eyes. He was confused, looking around to try and figure out where he was. There was a person standing over him and he squinted against the afternoon light to see who it was.
“What are you doing here, Midoriya? we’ve been looking everywhere for you.”
“Mr. Aizawa?” Izuku sat up and rubbed his eyes. He still felt so tired. Where was he? What was he wearing?
“What are you wearing?” Mr. Aizawa asked.
Izuku stared down at the robe with a confused frown, trying to remember how he got here and what he had been doing. Suddenly he remembered why everything had happened and his hands flew up to check his head for his ears. To his complete relief, both ears and tail were safely hidden away. He sighed gratefully and then looked around again. He had been laying down on the stairs to one of the temple buildings. He was still wearing the red and black robes the Kitsune had given him. He could see his own clothing folded and stacked neatly on the step below him, shoes on top.
“I… got lost in the woods.” Izuku replied slowly. “There was this white fox and I followed him and he took me to someone in the temple who helped me get cleaned up and then I got really tired so I laid down to take a nap.” It was true enough, except that it wasn’t completely true at all.
“Well go change back into your uniform. It’s time to go.” Mr. Aizawa told him. Izuku was grateful he didn’t ask for more details. By now it seemed that he expected unexpected things to happen around Izuku.
“Yes sir.” Izuku nodded and gathered his things up. His heart was hammering in his chest as he thought back on what had really happened. He'd met another Kitsune, a very powerful one. At least he'd been nice to him? Showing him his magic and helping take care of him… he kept calling Izuku a kit, which was insulting. He wasn't a baby, but perhaps to something so ancient he might look like one. He wondered if he would ever see the fox god again? He had told him to come back and visit. Maybe Izuku could bring his mother with him next time.
***
From on top of the temple roof, All for One watched the young kit meet back up with the humans. He ground his teeth when he saw them touching him, getting their stench all over him after he'd worked so hard to remove it. But the kit looked happy, smiling and laughing as they lined up to get back on the bus. Poor creature, so confused about what he was and where he belonged. He had hidden his true form for so long that his full fox was an even tinier kit than his human form. When he’d fallen asleep earlier, he had turned into a full fox and curled up so warm and small and perfect in the Kitsune’s lap. How he wished that he could have kept him there.
With a sigh, All for One took on his full fox form and hopped down. He made his way to the bottom of the mountain and sat under a tree, watching the children shove and jostle each other. They were so noisy, even more so when one of them spotted him. Cell phones appeared to snap pictures, girls squealed with delight, but All for One sat calmly and kept his eyes on the kit.
The little one noticed him as well and gave a small, hidden wave and a tiny, nervous smile. All for One dipped his head in a small bow. If he could, he would have just kept the little one in his temple. A hundred years ago, no one would have been the wiser, but times had changed. If the kit wanted to live with humans, he would have to let him. Until the strain became too much, until he couldn't hide his true nature anymore, until he came running back to the temple. Yes, the little one would be back. He could tell from the little one's expression that he was excited to have met him and made a friend. He would continue to build trust until the kit gave him his name, or until he lost his patience and caused problems to drive the kit back into his arms.
All for One watched the kit get onto the bus and stayed sitting under the tree until it had driven noisily and smellily away. He turned and went back to the temple, dropping his disguise and resumed his full godly form. It was never too early to start getting the kit's room ready. He couldn’t wait to welcome him home for good.