FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Chapter 6:

A deep love

The forest was quiet. Other than the last drops of water on leaves falling to the ground, nothing could be heard. It made Kyoshi a bit more tense, and the more he felt in danger, the more he wanted Taz to be closer, if only to protect him if anything happened. From times to time, he would stop and look at how far away Taz was. When the Kitsune was too far from him, he would wait until Taz was back at a safe distance. After a short time walking, Kyoshi felt more comfortable, like he knew he was out of danger. Even so, he hadn't outrun his problems.

Taz felt like Kyoshi wasn't worried as much as he had been, so the fox decided now would be the best time to talk to him. Taz stopped and watched his beautiful Polar bear for a moment. After a few seconds, Kyoshi realized that Taz feet couldn't be heard anymore and turned fast to check on him.

"Taz?" Kyoshi said, scared. Then he realized that Taz just wanted to talk. "Come on. We need to move!" Kyoshi said turning away, to continue their escape.

"Kyoshi."

Kyoshi froze. He knew that he wasn't going to be able to escape this conversation. It was definitely now or never.

"Do... Do you hate me now?" Taz asked, looking down at his paws. "Do my new abilities makes you hate me?"

Kyoshi didn't move. He didn't know what to do. He was so much in his mind, so self-absorbed, that he had hurt Taz without meaning to. Taz started to shed soft tears, and the more the silence continued, the more Taz released them. After several seconds, Taz closed his paw and softy spoke.

"Does my true form scare you away?"

Kyoshi turned and walked toward Taz.

Taz kept looking down to his closed paws. His eyes were getting more and more blurry as the tears accumulated. The Kitsune looked up and screamed, "DO YOU THINK I'M A MONSTER NOW?!"

At that moment, Kyoshi grabbed Taz and hugged him tightly. Kyoshi felt the tears rushing out of the fox's eyes, and he didn't want to let go of him until he was able to calm down. After a few seconds of Taz crying on his shoulder, Kyoshi took a deep breath and spoke with a reassuring voice.

"I'm sorry, Taz," Kyoshi said, backing off from Taz.

Kyoshi moved his paws to Taz face, tenderly wiping Taz's tears from the fox's cheeks. The Polar bear looked at his face with a smile of love.

"I do not hate you. Far from it. I deeply care about you, my sweet Kitsune," Kyoshi said, smiling even more. "Your new form is actually looking more like yourself, like your spirit. And you seem to be enjoying it, which is good."

"Then why..." Taz softly said, unsure, and looked down on the ground.

Kyoshi moved Taz's head up with his paw, gently, and looked at him, conveying with his eyes that he wanted to know what was on the Kitsune's mind.

"Why did you avoid any contact with me since we arrived here?"

"I was... worried," Kyoshi admitted. "That's why I wasn't paying attention to what was going on."

"Why were you worried?" Taz asked.

"When I woke up, you were on the ground, not moving. I was scared that you were badly hurt." Kyoshi grabbed Taz's paws and looked down. "I didn't know what to do. I was so scared that I'd lost you... I started to hate myself for not being able to protect you..."

"I'm the one who needsto be sorry." Kyoshi raised his head again, only to see Taz looking at the ground again. "When you told me to stay... I couldn't do it. I knew you lied, to me to protect me. Of course you weren't going to be fine. I couldn't stay in the house, knowing that they would have taken you away. Or even killed you."

Kyoshi grabbed him once more and hugged him close against himself.

"I guess we are both scared of each other's life more than our own." Kyoshi laughed a bit.

Taz nodded in agreement, then both raised their heads. Kyoshi moved his paw one more time to Taz's face and leaned toward it. Taz didn't fight it, and moved his head forward. They kissed each other tenderly. The moment lingered for a long, sweet time, until a sound rose behind Taz. Both froze, pulling apart and staring at each other. Taz looked at Kyoshi and made some eyes movements to request him to look over his shoulder. Kyoshi did so, then started to laugh a bit.

"What? What is it?" Taz said, confused.

"It's just an animal passing by," Kyoshi said, smiling at his Kitsune.

Taz turned and saw nothing, but he felt weird. Something was looking at him, he felt sure. He tried to make use of his senses, but Kyoshi grabbed his paw, making him feel relaxed.

"Let's go, my love," Kyoshi said, looking at him.

Taz didn't argue and started walking a bit behind Kyoshi, but they held each other's paw tightly.

"Sir!" One of the many soldiers saluted, presenting a small device in his hand. "The locator was found on the ground nearby. They were here."

"Ok, search..." Tom started.

"Sir!" another soldier reported sharply. "There is a house nearby!"

"Perfect. Let's go!" Tom said, waving a small group to follow him.

Within minutes, the small group arrived at a temple. At the foot of the temple, an old man was praying.

"Ok, guys, search the area," Tom whispered.

"I will not allow you to do that," Kido said, rising and turning to the small group.

The soldiers got their weapons ready in case of incoming attacks. Tom waved them to stay where they were and lower their weapons. He moved slowly toward Kido.

"You now know that my hearing is still quite good, young man," Kido said, unhappy that people would enter his property without asking first. He looked disapprovingly at Tom. "I will not allow you to enter my property. You or your kids."

"Sir, the area is dangerous. We need to capture some monsters who might have come to this location," Tom said, still walking slowly toward Kido.

"There are no monsters in this place, young man. Just me and my wife..." Kido looked like he was thinking about something. "Oh yes! I remember."

"You saw them?!" Tom stopped.

"Them? No... I saw only one monster. And I've been married to her for a long time," Kido said laughing.

"I HEARD THAT!" A woman's voice could be heard from behind the temple.

"Sir, we aren't joking around," Tom said, angry that he wasted his time talking to them. "Boys, go and search!"

Suddenly, Kido leaned to one side and grabbed a shotgun, aiming it at Tom.

"And I'm not joking when I say you aren't allowed to enter my property," Kido said angrily. "I thought I had made myself clear."

The small group of soldiers raised their weapons instantly, aiming at Kido, hoping to scare him enough to put his gun down. The old man didn't back down and showed no indication that he was going to. Tom didn't move. He knew that if he moved, he might be shot.

"Sir," he said as calmly as he could. "We do not want to hurt you or your wife. We don't even want to destroy your home. We just want to have a look around." Tom hoped the old man would understand.

"I will allow you and your men to look behind the temple, but if you go further, I will shoot you. Ok?" Kido was not laughing; Tom saw he was very serious and nodded. "And no tricky stuff!"

Tom made a movement with his hands, indicating that his soldiers to put their weapons down. As they did, Kido lowered his, too, but kept it at the ready. He walked backward to keep an eye on them. After they reached the back of the temple, Tom looked around for clues, for evidence of the two animals that, apparently, had stayed at these people's house. After a few minutes of letting the men look around, Kido moved his gun back up. At that moment, Tom's face showed satisfaction, as if he'd gotten the clues that he was searching for.

"Boys, we can leave now," Tom said mildly, moving backward.

The small group moved back. As the group disappeared from his view, Kido looked at the small place where Kyoshi and Taz had stayed. Nothing seemed out of place, no indication of their stay. That what he thought, what he hoped. Those soldiers were dangerous.

Once out of view of the old man, Tom readied the different teams to search in specific locations. One of the soldiers came near him.

"Why did we let them lie to us?" the soldier said angrily.

"What?" another soldier asked, not understanding.

"They were lying to us," Tom said, looking at the confused soldiers. "First, if you noticed, there are some marks on the ground due to the wet floor. Second, behind them, there was some kind of place for visitors. Did you notice anything unusual inside?"

"Um..." the soldier said, not knowing what was wrong.

"The futon at the back had used sheets," the angry solder said to his unthinking comrade. "They weren't flat at all, like a freshly-made futon would have. Meaning someone used them."

"Exactly," Tom continued. "But that's not all. They seem to have everything in that building to keep a kimono, but did anyone see any evidence of a kimono? Weird, isn't it? But the biggest clue was that they were prepared for our arrival, and that the old woman was actually exhausted, like she just finished cleaning up evidence."

"They lied to us to protect them!" the angry soldier spat, disgusted.

"Do you want me to take you out of the mission, soldier?" Tom said getting tired of him.

The soldier righted himself. "No, sir."

"Then calm yourself down. I wouldn't allow any of you hurt this old couple because they did what they felt was right, and we got what we needed anyway. So let's just keep away from their house, and everyone will be fine. Understood?" Tom said, waving the last group to move out.

"Understood, sir," came the sharp reply.

"Good," Tom said, getting back in the car. "Let's move to one of the possible ways they could have taken to get out of that forest."

The driver nodded and started driving off. Other vehicles followed. The small teams were moving out to the forest, on foot. There had to be further evidence of the two animals somewhere.

"Do you think it worked?" Okawa asked, looking after the retreating men.

"No," Kido said, still looking at the main entry to make sure no one was entering his property. "But at least we gave both of them more time to run deeper into the forest."

"I hope they will be fine," Okawa said a bit worried.

"Don't worry. I'm sure that both of them will be safe." Kido swallowed softly. He was lying, but he tried not to show it.

"Thank you for trying, at least," Okawa said. She knew that he had lied.

"Only thing we can do now..." Kido admitted.

Taz was getting exhausted by the long walk. He'd never fully recovered his energy, and to make things a bit worse, he was wearing a heavy cloth kimono. After a few more minutes of this encumbered walking, Taz felt a little faint and started to fall. Kyoshi immediately caught him in his arms.

"Taz, are you ok?" Kyoshi asked worriedly.

"Uhm... I'm just... a little... tired." Taz tried to hide his exhaustion.

"Let's take a break here," Kyoshi said, lowering his head.

"No... I'm... fine." Taz said trying to get up.

Kyoshi was watching the Kitsune trying to fight something that simply can't be fought. Exhaustion was taking over; Taz was reaching his limits, and Kyoshi knew he was about to fall.

"Ok... break time over," Taz said briskly, moving one step forward, and then almost immediately collapsed.

Kyoshi once more caught him on his fall. This time he felt a bit angry.

"Stop pushing yourself," he said firmly. "We can take a break here." Kyoshi put him near a tree so he could sit, lean against it, and relax.

"I'm sorry," Taz said.

"For what?" Kyoshi asked, not understanding why Taz felt the need to voice that sudden apology.

"For being a burden right now."

"You're never a burden, my sweet Kitsune." Kyoshi kissed the fox on his forehead, stood next to him. "Now try to get a little sleep. I'm going to try to have a look around."

"Be safe," Taz said, smiling.

"I will," Kyoshi said, smiling softly. "And I won't be gone long. I don't want to leave you here alone too long, with those people searching for us." Kyoshi touched Taz's head gently, then moved off to have a look around.

Taz managed to close his eyes, a semi-sleep, trying to regain a small portion of his energy. Some minutes passed before a sound brought him back to alertness. The Kitsune stayed silent, making sure nothing would give him away. The sound came again, closer, but not a human sound. It was more like an animal, hesitating, unsure, but still getting closer. Taz looked around, trying to see, and to his surprise, he saw a red fox not far away from him. The Kitsune relaxed, slowly moved his paw outward toward the fox. Creeping closer, head down, the fox sniffed curiously at the paw, then seemed to relax, as if accepting Taz's kinship. The fox seemed to smile and began behaving almost like a pet dog, running about, jumping, rolling over, and bumping up against Taz.

"What are you doing?" the Kitsune laughed softly.

The fox stopped his gallivanting, sitting in front of him. For a few seconds, they looked at each other. Taz was getting more and more confused by the fox's attitude.

"Why are you here, dear one?" Taz asked, knowing the fox wouldn't answer. Why is this fox staying near me? he thought.

The fox lowered his head. Taz gazed at the fox, not understanding; this wasn't ordinary behavior for a fox. Maybe I'm just dreaming, he thought.

The fox looked back up, his head a bit tilted.

"Wait. You understand what I'm saying?" Taz asked, unsure if it would work.

The fox tilted his head more, an expression of confusion.

Yeah, I was dreaming,_Taz thought. _I'm so exhausted that I'm seeing things.

The fox moved his head from right to left in a rapid movement. Taz froze. The fox was shaking his head, clearly disagreeing.

Can you understand me?Well, my thoughts...

The fox nodded in agreement.

Can you talk back to me? Taz thought.

The fox shook his head in disagreement.

I see... Taz thought. He wasn't really sure that he understood, but it was real enough.

The fox came closer, climbing into Taz's lap and making himself comfortable there. Taz began to pet him.

I hope we will be safe here.

The fox managed a short nod of agreement and then, to Taz's great surprise, seemed to fall asleep. The Kitsune felt a tender smile on his muzzle as he pet the fox gently for a few moments before he too closed his eyes and fell asleep.

Some little time later, Taz was awakened sharply by a low growling noise. After shaking his head a bit to clear it, Taz realized that the noise was coming from the fox guardian in his lap. The Todd's muscles were tense, his muzzle pointed toward the forest not far beyond them, and the growl increased as Kyoshi came out from behind some trees.

Calm down dear one,_Taz thought smiling. _He is with me.

The fox looked up at Taz, a questioning look in his eye. Kyoshi was getting closer. Taz breathed in slowly, realizing that he felt energized, as if he'd just had a full night's sleep. Mindful of the Kitsune's clothing, the fox climbed out of his lap and stood protectively to one side, his fur raised.

"What happened?" Kyoshi asked, scared.

"Um... nothing?" Taz felt very calm, not understanding why Kyoshi was so worried.

"Nothing happened?" Kyoshi said, kneeling near Taz and grasping his forepaws.

The fox started to growl at Kyoshi.

_Quiet, dear one,_Taz thought, looking at the fox, then looked back at Kyoshi. The Polar bear had closed his maw, his eyes looking a little strange.

"Why did you ask if anything had happened?" Taz asked, taking back his forepaws and standing.

"You mean, apart from having a fox in your lap?" Kyoshi started. "Well... um... it's just that... um... every time you use your powers... you..."

Taz got worried when the Polar bear stopped speaking. He reached out a forepaw to touch his face, fearing that something bad had happened, that he really was becoming some kind of ugly monster. Kyoshi took his forepaws again and tried to calm him down.

"Taz, you're just fine, I promise. It's... something I can see when you use your powers. The white stripes you have. They..." Kyoshi hesitated, as if not sure how Taz would react. "...glow."

"Glow?!" Taz said exclaimed. He felt himself whip his tails around his body, so that he could look at them. The white lines that ran down the top of his tails were glowing softly. "Ok," he breathed slowly. "First of all... wow." Taz looked at Kyoshi. "Secondly, I didn't use my powers... I was sleeping..."

"Well, maybe in your sleep, you used them," Kyoshi said, smiling. "Something must have happened, because right now, you are full of energy."

For a long moment, Taz felt as if he couldn't think. Then, with a cry, he looked around for the fox. The Todd sat properly, not far away from him. He padded over, sank to his knees, and began to pet the animal tenderly.

"What's going on?" Kyoshi asked, not understanding.

"I think I took his energy while sleeping," Taz said softly, looking closely at the fox. "He slept on my lap, with my forepaw on him. I think I took part of his energy."

"Well, he seems fine."

Are you fine, dear one? He thought tenderly. The fox nodded a little, his maw opening a little, the pink tongue darting out to lick Taz's forepaw affectionately. Kyoshi saw this and looked at Taz, a bit shocked. Taz smiled.

"I can talk to him through my mind. I can't understand him... well, he can't talk back through my mind, or use words, so I'm just asking him questions, and he answersyes or no with his head." Taz pet the fox, who was seemed very happy with the touch.

"So... um... can he understand us talking?"

"Well, not really, no." Taz looked to Kyoshi, then went back to petting the fox. _Do you feel weird?_The fox nodded a little.

I'm sorry that I did that without requesting it or asking how you would feel about it...

The fox tilted his head, a questioning look.

It was in my sleep, but still, I took part of your energy without you agreeing...

The fox shook his head in disagreement.

Wait... You are telling me you actually wanted that to happen?

The fox nodded, then bowed low in front of him.

"It seems that the fox is your personal servant, Taz," Kyoshi said softly, a gentle laugh in his voice.

Taz looked sharply at Kyoshi, and the Polar bear froze, not knowing if what he said was impolite.

"Thank you, Kyoshi," Taz smiled. "I wasn't understanding why he was bowing."

"... um... you're welcome..." Kyoshi said, happy to have helped, but felt weird that a stupid thing he thoughtwas actually right.

You actually wanted to give me part of your energy. Right?

The fox nodded.

So are you actually here to ... um... to help me? Like a servant?

The fox nodded, but a bit unsure. The word "servant" wasn't the right one, but maybe it was close enough for now. Taz tried to let his heart fill with thanks and affection, and the fox seemed to accept this silent praise with a smile, pressing his cheek against Taz's forepaw. The bond was formed.

"Taz," Kyoshi said softly, "we probably should start moving now. We've spent a pretty long time here."

"Right. Let's go." Taz got up and stood near Kyoshi, taking his left forepaw into his own.

Dear one, please come with us. Be careful to not hurt yourself. I don't know how much energy I took from you.

The fox let out a happy yelp to let Taz know he was going to be fine. Taz smiled and started to move with Kyoshi, the fox trotting along, sometimes ahead, sometimes behind, sniffing, watching the area around them. Protector? Taz wondered. Was that the word? Maybe just friend. Friend, and more.

"Oh," the Polar bear exclaimed. "I just realized: You stopped glowing..."

"Oh? Good. I'm glad."

"Why?"

"Less visible for the people chasing us," Taz laughed softly.

"True!" Kyoshi grinned.

"Did you find anything, during your search?" Taz asked.

"Um? Oh yes, I did find something. There is a road nearby. We need to get near to it."

The idea startled Taz. "Why? Aren't we going to be caught if they pass by?"

"Well... It's a plan we created a long time ago in the case of an emergency."

"We?" Taz asked, curious. He had the feeling that "we" didn't mean "me and my father"; there was more than just Tsunayoshi in that "we."

"Well, do you remember the phone call I made?"

"Yes... who was it?"

"Won't tell you," the Polar bear smiled.

Taz slapped his shoulder. "Kyoshi!"

"Ahahah, ok, fine," Kyoshi laughed. "I will tell you."

"You'd better...!" Taz gave him a serious look. But inside, he was happy to be next to his beloved bear.

"I see..." Goya said, then took a sip of his coffee.

Tsunayoshi was still not comfortable being in this place. Even though it had a lot of comforts, it was still a trap, a prison; he didn't know where he was, nor if he could leave. It left him feeling very unsafe. Goya apparently noticed that he was still tense.

"Tsunayoshi, you don't need to be so tense. After having ... what's his name again?"

"Kyoshi"

"...Kyoshi... I will make sure thatyou are released without being hurt. And I might also send part of the money I receive from what I will receive," Goya said smiling.

"Money?" Tsunayoshi asked, confused.

"Oh yes. Money," Goya said with a big smile. "The Americans are proposing to give me a lot of money to show them our creation. And they might want to have an army of them to defend themselves."

"Why would you do that? Do you want the world to create a third World War?"

"A third World War?" the other man snorted. "Who cares? The only thing that will happen is that people will want to have creatures like thaton their side, so they are ready to give a lot of money for it."

"You are crazy," the old scientist said softly. "You are going to give them the opportunity to create a war. The world isn't stable enough to let anyone have that kind of power."

"It's stable enough to give me a lot of money. I will be able to control an entire country with it. I will be the king of the world."

Tsunayoshi laughed bitterly. "You didn't change, my friend."

"The only question is,did you? Don't you want to be my second? We can control whoever we want. I can give you whatever you want. Isn't it what you want? To have power?"

Despite himself, Tsunayoshi thought about it.

"Or are you still this stubborn, foolish old altruistic who doesn't understand that his chance is slipping from his hands?"

"How much money are we talking about?" Tsunayoshi asked cautiously.

"A lot of it," Goya said, smiling as he thought that Tsunayoshi was interested in being on his side.

It's the only solution I have at this point, Tsunayoshi thought.

End of Chapter 6