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Tobirama strides swiftly up the stairs, doing his best to pretend he doesn't hear the clatter of geta behind him.
The plaintive calling of his name is not so easily ignored however, and he turns around as soon as he crosses under the torii gate.
"Did you always move this fast?" The kitsune who claims to be Izuna is red faced and panting from the climb, but he crosses over the boundary from the mundane world to sacred ground without issue... just as Izuna always did. "This is harder than when you were doing all the walking for both of us!"
"It is," Tobirama eyes the single fox tail warily as it switches from side to side, the way the kitsune's ears prick forward with interest. They're all the same gestures Izuna would use, and Tobirama learned to read them just as much as he learned to read Izuna's face. "Do you remember the way to the shrine?"
"Of course I do!" The kitsune takes his arm, wrapping fingers around it in much the same way Izuna used to wrap his whole body. "But I'm leading this time - we're not racing and I'm not used to walking on only two feet yet."
The path chosen by the kitsune is the same one he always took with Izuna, and they wash themselves at the temizuya without issue. Tobirama drops the entire payment from last night's client into the saisen-bako, a silent plea for the god's assistance, and the kitsune reaches for the rope.
The bell rings out, the sound pure, and they both bow deeply in the hush of its wake. The clap of Tobirama's hands is echoed by another, and the pause before he bows again is longer than usual.
This kitsune has passed under the shimenawa, and thus has no evil intent. It prayed to Inari, just as Izuna always did, and it knows many of the things Izuna knew. However, at the same time, Tobirama has never heard of a kudagitsune becoming a kitsune.
He turns to face the kitsune who avows to be his oldest friend, and meets eyes no less red than his own. "Izuna?"
"Yes, of course!" The kitsune folds his arms into his sleeves, visibly annoyed. "Can we have food now? You dragged me out here before I even got any aburage!"
"Izuna." That's a complaint he's used to hearing, and Tobirama finds himself smiling. "How did this even happen?"
"I'm sure I don't know!" Izuna produces a kiseru from his sleeve and breathes a tiny lick of flame over it. "I asked Inari to grant our wish, and they must have agreed."
"Our wish?" Tobirama pounces on the word, much as Izuna would his prey. "You wished...?"
"You can't think I wanted another human to join us, someone else to displace me in your bed." The look Izuna directs at him is familiar, disdain mixed with bafflement, and even more easily identified on a human face than a fox. "I was prepared to tolerate it if you wished for it but, given how your preferences so closely aligned with mine, I saw no need to."
"Your preferences." He looks foolish, Tobirama knows, but he can't help his shock. "Izuna."
"You wanted a male, and I am a male. You wanted a human, and I'm now as close to human as I'm likely to get." Izuna waves at himself, clearly indicating his new body, a body that makes Tobirama blush. "And we've been companions for years, so it can't possibly be that."
"Is it... me?" Izuna's tail sinks and his ears flatten, his voice hesitating over the question. "If you don't want me..."
"No! No, that's not true at all!" Tobirama grabs his friend's hands, hating the uncertainty there. "I just... didn't expect this. At all."
"Ah." Mischievous amusement comes back into Izuna's face, as well as the charming arrogance which has always looked so good on him. "Well, I am always a delightful surprise, it's true."
"You are, my dearest and oldest friend." Tobirama bends, pressing his forehead to Izuna's, sharing breath that's so much warmer than any human would make. "Come, let us walk down again. I think I can hear some aburage calling your name."
"And so it should!" Izuna catches his wrist, spinning away, and Tobirama follows the merrily waving tail. "I can't wait to see what it tastes like as a human!"
Yes, many new experiences await them, and Tobirama is content to meet them as they come.
As long as they come with Izuna.