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Kitsune

Chapter Three: School

Bao-Hadir, now disguised as the family pet Aboridah, kept close to Ranani's side. During her early years, this was easy. She could barely move as a newborn. And when she learned to crawl and later to walk, she was slow. It was easy for the kitsune to keep up with her. It wasn't like she ever tried to leave him behind. Rather, she liked having him around. He was always there when she needed him, whether she knew of the need or not.

When she was two years old, she was running down the upstairs hallway and passing the stairs when her footy pajamas slipped and she fell sideways, about to take a rough tumble down the stairs. Suddenly Aboridah was there. Without thinking she grabbed hold of his tails. He yelped and jerked forward, pulling her up. She alternated apologizing and thanking him for days afterward.

A week later, she was in the kitchen with her mother, helping make cookies and hot cocoa, for it was the middle of winter. She reached out to touch the teakettle (which held the boiling hot cocoa and milk), intending to feel the raised image of a fox on the side. All of a sudden, she was yanked off her step stool and fell backward, landing heavily but painlessly (for her) atop Aboridah, who yelped in pain. Her mother had angrily scolded the fox for a good ten minutes before Ranani had tearfully told her mother that the fox had pulled her off the stool just before she could touch the pretty fox picture on the kettle. When she realized what the fox had done, Yumi colored pink with embarrassment. She never did apologize to him in words, but that night, he had an entire steak all to himself.

At the age of three, a rabid dog assaulted the family while they were having a picnic. The dog attacked Ranani, but was stopped when Aboridah leapt at the dog and bit him on the leg. This distracted the dog from Ranani and her father handed her up to her mother, who was up in a tree along with Aaron and Erik. After making sure his daughter was safe, Derek climbed up as well, watching the battle between dog and fox. The dog foamed at the mouth as he attacked the smaller fox again and again, yet never striking the agile creature. The dog lunged once more and again Aboridah dodged. The dog lost his balance and hit the ground hard. Aboridah leapt forward and bit down on the dog's neck, his sharp little teeth easily piercing the dog's flesh and arteries. Within moments he was dead. Aboridah, with a muzzle covered in dog blood and panting hard, stumbled over to the tree, yipped once, and collapsed. The family stayed there for several minutes, rather afraid of the little fox that had killed the dog. Finally, however, when the fox did not get up, Derek slid out of the tree and helped the rest of the family down. Yumi picked up Aboridah and carried him to the car. Derek grabbed their picnic stuff and followed. While Aaron and Erik went right back to playing, Ranani kept close to her mother, watching her unconscious friend through worry-filled eyes. On the way home, she road in the trunk section of the family SUV, staying close to Aboridah.

She even cleaned the blood from his muzzle, using some of the bottled water they'd brought with and a napkin. Aboridah came to while she administered her own form of nursing and he murred with pleasure. The little girl smiled and continued cleansing the blood from his muzzle as his icy blue eyes watched her.

<==========(xxx) ==========>

So it continued. Day after day, month after month, year after year, the little girl Ranani faced a life or death situation. And only her foxy friend knew the real reason why this was so.

Unlike the girl's parents, who passed it off as unlucky coincidence or the antics of youth, Hadir knew it was the work of his own kind, the kitsune. They had somehow found out about the Changeling's existence and were trying to kill her. Sure, the burning of the hand on the teakettle did not seem like much. But Hadir had inspected the raised image after the humans had left the room. He sniffed the thing and found, not to his surprise actually, that a subtle and deadly contact poison had been spread upon it. Combine that with a hypnosis spell and one had a very deadly weapon. He knew the kettle had to have been a kitsune trick, as Ranani had been warned that she must never touch anything on the stove without permission. Had she touched that image, no one could've saved her. He used his magic to draw the poison from the kettle and burned the stuff away with his foxfire.

Her near fall down the stairs hadn't been a simple slip of the foot. It hadn't been a nearly fatal childhood accident. On the contrary, it had been completely intended. Hadir had scented kitsune in the house and had immediately gone for Ranani. He was too late to stop her from slipping, but he made sure she could latch onto his tails. Her kitsune instincts for survival, though she didn't even realize they existed, made her act instantly and she grabbed onto both his tails. He let out a convincing, though fake, yelp and tugged, hauling her up to the landing before she could hit the stairs. While she was hugging him and crying, he looked over her shoulder and saw a small patch of ice, which swiftly melted into water then evaporated. A water-element kitsune had made an attempt on her life.

Even the rabid dog had been sent by the kitsune. The poor thing had been cursed with the violent illness, then was possessed and forced to attack Ranani. Simple but messy. The end of a problem. It hadn't worked, however. Hadir had felt the strong pulse of magic that forced the sickness into the dog. If he hadn't, Ranani would've died for sure and certain. He used so much magic forcing the kitsune from the dog then destroying it that he collapsed. It was to his good fortune that he was well-loved within the family.

Obviously they figured she was the child of prophecy, the changeling who would rule the kitsune. Hadir didn't believe that idea for a minute. His interpretation of the prophecy led him to believe that the prophecy child would be born of the consensual union of a human and a kitsune, not two humans and a kitsune's accident. But it wasn't like he could explain this to them. They feared all Changelings. Nevermind that during their peak, humans often willingly mated kitsune, if only to get on the kitsune's good side. Of course, that was before the prophecy had been made. Now however, if a kitsune made a human pregnant or was made pregnant by a human, the others of their kind watched and waited for their chance. Once the children were born, the watchers would systematically murder each and every one of the half-breeds. Kitsune who possessed an unborn child so as to become human through birth weren't the same things. Those were still kitsune, just masquerading as human.

If Hadir left for the spirit realm, seeking to speak with the queen or king, they might make him wait just long enough for their assassins to slay the girl. "Aboridah" never left the side of the girl, for fear that leaving her alone for more than a minute would spell her demise. He had to wait until she came of age. At seven years, she would become immune to most kitsune tricks, like mind control and hypnosis, and become invulnerable when faced with fire, even foxfire. One could only set a kitsune ablaze if they wished it or if they were dead.

So he continued to rescue her from these situations of death. Some were more cleverly disguised than others. After all, who had ever heard of putting dried poison in the bowl of a spoon? Or a pressure-trap in a chair that pressed a poison dart into your rear? Then there was the random gunman firing off rounds at a little girl of four years. The police said his eyes, which were the windows to the soul, were completely blank, as if his soul had been stolen from him.

And then something happened that Hadir had completely forgotten about. The greatest deathtrap anyone could have survived. The only thing that could hinder his plans to keep the girl alive.

School.

<==========(xxx)==========>

"Bye Mommy!" cried the little girl of five, waving to her mother as the bus drove away. It was her first day of kindergarten and she was very excited. This would be the first time she'd been away from home without her parents being there. She wasn't afraid though, because she still had a friend with her. She had to bring something in for show-and-tell, so she chose her best friend in the whole wide world.

Aboridah was curled up inside the girl's backpack, fast asleep. He had grown into a sleek black fox with a pair of shimmering tails that were almost hypnotic to watch. He twitched every now and then, letting Ranani know that he was still alive in there. She sat in the front of the school bus with all the other kids her age, backpack in her lap so as not to squash her hidden friend. She was rather nervous about her first day of school. She was glad to have a nice teacher, having met her a little over a week before. Her classroom was filled with all kinds of fun things, like Legos (her big brother Aaron had some but he never shared them), cardboard boxes that had been painted and assembled so as to resemble a medieval castle, lots of costumes to wear, crayons, coloring books, and hundreds of other things. School would be fun.

"Hi!" said a loud voice beside her. The bus itself was filled with the screaming laughter of little children and the angry music of the high schoolers in the back. Ranani looked to her left. There was a boy next to her. His hair, unlike her silvery blonde, was a rich brown, like milk chocolate. His face was chubby, in contrast to her distinctly Japanese one. He was a little taller than her, but probably the same age as she was. He also wore a pendant with a marble-sized jewel in the middle around his neck; a golden yellow color, it seemed to pulse with life. "My name's Jake! What's yours?"

The little girl hesitated. Her mother had told her to never talk to strangers. But this boy wanted to be friends! "My name is--" Her voice was blocked out by the sound of the bus driver shouting over the PA system that they were at the school. The bus stopped suddenly and Ranani was thrown forwards slightly, her backpack falling off her lap and hitting the floor. Aboridah didn't even stir. Ranani reached down and hauled it back up. Hoisting it onto her back, she turned to the boy beside her. "It was nice meeting you, Jake," she said quietly. She was a quiet kind of person. The boy wasn't there however. He was already filing off the bus with the rest of the kids. The only ones who weren't getting off were the kids in the back. They just turned up their angry-sounding music even louder. She slowly stepped off the bus.

Her school wasn't in Duluth, though her mother had wanted her to have a big city education. Her father had said no, saying that a big city was no place for a five-year-old to go to school on her own. So instead Ranani went to school in a town that was slightly farther away. She had to get up extra early to get on the bus, but she didn't mind. She was an early riser anyway.

She stepped off the bus and walked into the school, the name of which was Forest Lake. It was big. When she stepped through the front doors she made a quick turn to the right and wound up in her classroom. It was placed away from the rest of the classes of first grade through fifth, as kindergartners tended to be a little wild at times.

Her classroom was bigger than any in the school, except the gym. There were toys everywhere! Kids her age where playing together, laughing and talking, giggles flying everywhere. It looked so fun...and Ranani was scared now. She was new to this place, new to this town (having lived in the country her whole life). She didn't know anyone. Her new friend Jake wasn't in there either. He must have been in a higher grade than she was. So, feeling rather lost, Ranani moved away from the other children and sat in a corner.

She unzipped her bag and reached in, feeling around a moment before she found what she wanted. She slowly, lovingly stroked her pet's head and he licked her hand, having been woken up by her touch. She giggled softly, then, leaning down closer to her bag, whispered, "Are you hungry, Aboridah?" She got a soft yip in return and she smiled. She had told him this morning that she was going to use him for show-and-tell, and that he was supposed to be a surprise. He seemed to have taken her words to heart, because he had kept quiet all morning. Ranani reached into the front pocket of her pink backpack and pulled out a little wrapped cube. She unwrapped it partially and stuck her hand back into the bag. The cube was raw beef that had marinated in chicken-and-pork gravy. Her mother had made them specially for Aboridah's treats. The fox took the offered goody delicately, pulling it out of the wrapper and into his mouth. He lapped at her hand in thanks and she giggled, crumpling up the wrapper and putting it into the side pocket of her bag. "Just a little longer," she whispered, zipping up the bag and hugging it to her chest.

She sat like that for almost twenty minutes before the bell rang and it was time for class. "Circle Time!" cried the teacher above the din. Instantly, all playing was stopped and the toys were set down where they belonged. The children, Ranani excluded as she was watching what they did, sat down on a big, circular rug, the teacher sitting on a chair that was closest to the blackboard. After a moment, she copied the others and sat in the circle, her backpack in her lap.

"Now children," began the teacher, "I am Ms. Meredith. Say it with me."

"Ms. Meredith." The entire class had to repeat her name three times before she was satisfied.

"I am the teacher of the A.M. kindergarten. It's my first year at this school and I'm going to do my best to teach you what you need to know." Silence greeted her words. "Now it's time for show-and-tell," said Ms. Meredith. She wore a big grin on her face that anyone above the age of eight could see was completely fake. "We'll go around the circle, starting with...you." She pointed to one of the boys. "Then we will go around to his right. Which hand is the right hand?" The class raised their right hands to show her they knew. "Now, I want you to stand up and tell us your name and what you brought for show-and-tell."

The little brown-haired boy stood up and held up a baseball. "My name is Adam Trunt and I brought my favorite ball. My dad and I play catch with it all the time." He sat down.

And so it went. Each child stood up and, after telling everyone their name, they would hold up their item and tell something about it. Finally it came to Ranani (who had been sitting next to Adam but on his left). She stood up and unzipped her backpack. "My name is Ranani Masters and I brought my pet, Aboridah." With that, she set the bag down and held it open. "Come on out, Abo." The little fox stirred within the bag and slowly pressed his nose out.

There was complete silence as, slowly but surely, the black fox crawled out of the little girl's backpack. When he finally came free, he looked around at all the children, who in turn stared back at his sleek, sparkling black body. That morning, just before getting on the school bus, he had grudgingly allowed Ranani to administer a few shakes of black glitter to his fur, giving him a shimmer that caught and entranced the eye. He took a few steps forward and both of his tails slid out of the bag as well. He stood there, shining brilliantly beneath the florescent lighting.

Ranani cleared her throat, kneeling down and scratching behind her friend's ears. "This is Aboridah. He is a black fox. I'm not sure what kind, 'cuz he's black. My momma says she and my daddy found him not long before I was born. He was lying half dead in our backyard. He was a newborn but his momma had left him. So my momma took him in and made him better. He and I have been friends for five whole years. He's very friendly and he is my favorite thing in the whole world." With that, she walked to the edge of the circle, followed closely by jealous eyes, and sat down, her foxy friend following behind and lying down with his head in her lap.

After a few minutes of staring, Ms. Meredith cleared her throat, looking down at the class roster for her name. "Ranani," she said, pronouncing the girl's name wrong. Obviously Ms. Meredith hadn't been paying attention when Ranani gave her name. "I'm afraid your friend is going to have to sit outside."

"Why?" asked the little girl calmly. Her voice, most of the time anyway, was so calm as to be slightly unnerving.

"I'm sorry," said Ms. Meredith insincerely. Even at five years of age, Ranani could easily tell if someone was lying or not. "But the rules say no animals can be kept inside the building unless they are on leashes or in cages."

Ranani frowned. "I read the rulebook," she said softly. Ms. Meredith stared at her. "It doesn't say anything about that." And she had indeed read it. She was always careful about reading the rules.

Ms. Meredith looked stunned. "Well...I...Uh...That's not the point!" she cried as the children laughed at her stuttering. "He is a wild animal and he belongs outside. Take him outside."

Ranani shook her head. "No," she said firmly. This teacher was a liar. She could tell. The teacher she had met was a nice one. That lady's name was Ms. Helen. But this Ms. Meredith was mean, trying to lie to her and make her put Aboridah outside by himself.

Ms. Meredith stood up quickly. "If you won't put him outside, you're going to the principal's office." She smirked. Surely the girl would back down from the threat of the principal.

The teacher obviously didn't realize that, unlike some children her age, she had a spine. "Fine," she replied stubbornly. She turned and went for the door, Aboridah following close beside.

Ms. Meredith's jaw dropped. How could a five-year-old stand up to her? Worse, how could a five-year-old argue with her and WIN? She would not have it. She walked swiftly after the girl and grabbed her by her wrist. "You're going to the principal's office, young lady!" Ms. Meredith's face was a brilliant red, as if her head were so full of blood it was about to burst.

"I was going anyway," said Ranani, trying not to struggle. She was going to walk to the principal's office anyway, but obviously this lady was going to make sure she went there. She walked quickly to keep up with Ms. Meredith's speed, not wanting her wrist to be snapped off by the enraged kindergarten teacher. In less than a minute, they were down the hall and in the office. She was forced into a chair while Ms. Meredith went to bother the principal. Aboridah leapt up into her lap and curled up, watching everyone in the room with one eye.

Ranani stroked the black fox softly, slowly, looking for all the world like she was impersonating an old-film gang boss. Except instead of a cat, she had a fox. A fox who lapped at her left arm, which was under his chin to support it. To the untrained eye, the fox seemed content to lay there, blissfully unaware of the goings-on in the office. However, Ranani had a trained eye. She could see her friend's eye watching the movements of the people, watching for any threatening movements. But there weren't many movements to follow. Most of the action in the front office had stopped as the people performing these actions stared at the little girl with the fox in her lap.

Ranani's enchanting green eyes stared blankly ahead, as though she were miles away and years apart. Aboridah gently swished his tails against her side, using contact odors to mark her as his own. He hadn't done this before, but he figured she wouldn't mind. It wasn't like she could smell them anyway. Many minutes passed before Ms. Meredith came back out, a cruel grin on her face.

"The principal would like a word with you, Ranani. He said to bring your fox friend too." Aboridah could smell the anger, the hate, the cruelty, the sick joy on this woman. It made his hackles raise.

He jumped down to the floor and Ranani stood up. She turned and walked silently into the principal's office, Aboridah following a step behind. When he reached Ms. Meredith, he looked up into her eyes as she looked down on him in disgust. When her brown eyes met his icy blues, they widened and she began to shake, frightened. The fox returned his gaze to his destination and walked on. Ms. Meredith stood there, dumbfounded and afraid, for several minutes before walking, at a much swifter speed than normal, back to her classroom.

The principal's office held only a desk, a computer, a filing cabinet, and a pair of chairs, one on either side of the desk. The rest of the room was bare. No personal effects, no posters promoting good study habits, no nothing. There were no windows, which was strange (principal offices were supposed to have windows, weren't they?). In fact, everything in the room was a pure, sterile white. The desk, the chairs, the computer, the walls, the ceiling, the door and knob (still no window), the carpet-lacking floor, even the principal's suit.

Ranani gave a shiver. It was like being in the hospital, but it seemed sinister. It had an aura of fear to it.

"Ranani Masters," he whispered, looking at her, a predatory look in his eyes. "Sit down," he commanded. She climbed into the chair and sat, Aboridah sitting on the floor before her, tails gently wrapped round her legs. The principal stared into her eyes, his elbows on his desk, hands together, his fingers in a steeple position. Behind his fingers, out of view of the little girl, he licked his lips. Fresh meat.

Aboridah sniffed the air and growled silently. There was no scent of kitsune this time. The room was filled instead with the scents of sex, fear, anger, pain, youth, and lust. The last scent radiated from the principal, while the first came mostly from his desk. The fox wasn't stupid. He knew exactly the kinds of things that went on in here, and wanted badly to stop this man before he tried to harm Ranani. However, he decided to sit and wait and see.

The principal, a tall yet pudgy man with a clean-shaven head by the name of Maertz, looked the little girl up and down. She wore a pink dress with a picture of some Disney princess or other on a breast pocket. Her hair was loose, free from all binding, and rested behind her shoulders. The girl had never had a haircut before. Her mother wanted the blonde mass to grow extra long. She wore knee-high stockings and a pair of pink dress shoes. In short, she was all decked out for her first day of school.

He couldn't wait to take them off her.

He clasped his hands together in a tight fist and rested his chin atop them. "So," he said, "what's this about you giving Ms. Meredith trouble in class?" He wanted to work the girl up. Generally speaking, if a child is afraid of getting in trouble, they will often accept any alternative to punishment. Maertz enjoyed the alternative. He didn't care if the children didn't enjoy it. In fact, if they struggled it was more fun.

"I didn't do anything," said Ranani softly. She trembled slightly under the principal's gaze. Smelling her fear, Aboridah leapt up into her lap. She stroked him absently, her shivering dying down and the fear dissolving when she felt her friend's familiar weight in her lap. Her eyes were locked on the principal's, so she didn't notice the look Aboridah was giving her principal. A look of anger and loathing. A look that promised revenge for any harm that came to the girl.

The human ignored the fox, his gaze locked with Ranani's. Locked in her hypnotic green stare. Oh god it would be so good, seeing those green eyes obscured by tears as he took her. It would be a great achievement. He silently thanked his wife for bringing him this rare beauty to have. She often did so, bringing children to his office and letting him have his way with them. Sometimes she would join in, making it twice as fun. Jonathan and Meredith Maertz, ten years married and ten years of pedophilia. They had never been caught before. And it wasn't like this was the first time they'd moved to a new school.

He stood up and looked down on the girl. She was forced to look up at him, making him seem bigger than usual. He grinned, a move meant to disarm this girl, to make him seem friendly. The girl raised her guard more. Her mommy had told her about bad men like this. She hadn't believed her though. "Now Ranani," began Principal Maertz, "I'm sure we can work out some sort of deal so that you and your friend can be in class together. You just have to do a few things for me."

She shook her head. "NO!" she cried.

Maertz dropped all pretenses of friendly. In one swift motion, he dragged the little girl off her chair, sending Aboridah flying, and tossed her onto his desk. The desk was made of smooth plastic, much easier to clean up after, with four metal rings just under the rim. He whipped a pair of handcuffs from his pocket and chained her left hand to the ring under the rim. She struggled and he slapped her. She closed her eyes, fighting back tears. She wouldn't cry for this monster of a man.

By the time Aboridah came to, having been hurled across the room, Ranani was completely chained down and Maertz was attempting to strip her without uncuffing her limbs or tearing her clothes. It seemed Ranani had been knocked clean out. There was a dark circle beneath her eye, evidence of a blow to that part.

Aboridah stood and leapt onto the desk. The man jumped, having forgotten the fox was there. "You want some of her too, foxy boy?" Maertz laughed. Dumb animals couldn't understand human speech.

Aboridah growled and Maertz looked at him again. He saw the two tails lashing in anger and reached into the drawer under the rim of the desk, pulling out a heavy flashlight to hit the fox with. Then something strange happened. As Maertz looked on, Aboridah seemed to grow larger, fuller, more malevolent. Four more tails sprouted from his rear. The fox bared his teeth at the human, who drew back in fright. The fox's icy blue eyes burned into the man's eyes, as if seeing his soul.

"Get off of my daughter," the kitsune growled. Maertz's eyes widened and he gibbered madly. However, he didn't move. "I said GET OFF!" He shouted, putting a large pulse of magic into the words. Maertz was flung against the wall, where he hung suspended. The revealed fox leaped off the desk and onto the floor.

He looked up at the trapped human with a grin. "You tried to rape my daughter," said the fox menacingly. His teeth glittered like polished daggers. "You have raised the ire of Bao-Hadir, the Deal-Maker. You brought harm to my daughter. And..." Here the kitsune used his magic to probe the man's mind. What he saw there made him want to vomit. "And your wife helped you. For making unfair deals, I must even them out. You and she must pay the price."

With a flick of six tails, Hadir launched himself off the desk and onto the man's head. Maertz tried to struggle, but it was all for naught. "Don't worry, it'll only hurt for a second," whispered Hadir. All six of his tails draped over the man's head and the kitsune began the timeless ritual of a vampire: stealing life force.

<==========(xxx)==========>

"Merideth Maertz, please come to the office. Meredith Maertz, please come to the office." The droning voice of the principal's secretary rang out over the PA system. Ms. Meredith made a cruel grin and left the room, leaving the children to their own devices.

She made her way excitedly down the hall. She wanted to see what her husband had done to that girl, Ranani Masters. She wanted to hear in detail what he had done to her. His fetish was a major turn on for her. She enjoyed watching him have his way with children.

She entered the office swiftly, not bothering to look around. If she had, she might have figured something was wrong. After all, why would eight people in an elementary school office be fast asleep in the middle of the day?

She entered her husband's office and looked around. Ranani Masters wasn't inside. Her husband must've sent her home after he finished with her. He was sitting behind his desk, fingers steepled like usual. A predatory grin finished off the look, one which made her so very wet. She had helped him perfect that look, and now he used it after doing something delightfully bad.

She shut the door behind her and sat down on the edge of his desk, her back perpendicular to the desktop. She spread her legs wide and leaned back, looking him in the face upside down, her chest and large breasts thrust forward. Jonathan leaned in and kissed her on the forehead. Then he pressed his teeth against it, biting lightly. She moaned softly. She loved it when he did that.

His hands came around and gripped her breasts roughly. He squeezed them both hard and she cried out loudly, need plain in her voice. Suddenly, it all felt wrong.

The pain that she gained so much pleasure from a moment ago was gone, replaced by a not-so-pleasant intense blast of burning agony, as if he had torn open a wound in the points that connected them, then poured boiling acid into them. She screamed in pain.

Then suddenly, it was over. Meredith felt completely drained. Her arms were no longer able to support her weight and she slid off the desk into a sitting position on the floor, her back against the desk and her legs straight out in front of her. It was then that she noticed a pile of ashes in the corner behind the door. There was enough there to, perhaps, be the remains of a man of six-and-a-half feet. She weakly looked up as a foot came into her field of vision.

There stood Jonathan, and yet not Jonathan. "Who...are...you?" she asked hoarsely, gasping for breath, coughing weakly. The not-Jonathan grinned a predatory grin again, though this time it wasn't the one her husband wore. This one was different, feral.

There was a shimmering flash as the illusion was broken. He sat before the woman, his muzzle still split with his evil grin. All seven tails were fanned out behind him, energy coursing up and down each length. Meredith could only stare at the little black fox, recognition plain on her face.

"Your Ranani's pet fox, Aboridah!" she cried, staring into those icy blue eyes. Those cruel, merciless eyes.

"Ah, but I'm much more than that," said the little fox. Meredith sat in stunned silence, shocked that the black fox had spoken words to her. He chuckled darkly as she shivered in fear. "My name is Hadir, of the Nogitsune clan Bao. You and your husband conspired to harm someone under my care. For that, you pay the penalty." He walked towards her slowly. She gave a small shriek and slid away from him, coming up flat against the wall after only a moment.

"S-stay away from me!" she shouted, tears streaming down her face. This fox was some sort of demon! It wanted to take her life, but she wouldn't let it. She started her prayers, ones that had been drilled into her skull as a child, like any good Catholic. However, she had become atheist upon reaching her teenage, so didn't believe in a god or hell.

As the fox came closer, seeming unaffected by the prayer, she closed her eyes and raised the volume of it, thinking he hadn't heard it. She opened her eyes a few minutes later and, to her immense relief, saw that the little black fox was gone.

Meredith looked to her left, center, and straight up before turning to her right. When she looked there, she shrieked in horror. The fox was right beside her! His devilish eyes stared into hers.

The lights went out in the room and her screaming died off into a wet gurgling before stopping altogether.

<==========(xxx)==========>

Ranani awoke in the kindergarten classroom. Aboridah was lying stretched-out along her body, his head beneath her chin, his breath going in silently but leaving with a slight whistling sound. He was fast asleep. And who could blame him? All that running around, all that playing, all the everything they'd done today. They'd played board games (Abo was really good at those), they'd played dress-up (he looked so cute in the fairy-princess my-size Barbie dress), they'd wrestled (he won; in fact, he never lost), and they'd eaten their lunches. After that was nap-time. And here they were.

The only downside to the day was when Ms. Meredith had accused her of stealing a costume tail and tried to rip it off her. What she had actually been tugging on was Ranani's tail, which was attached. But no matter how many times the little girl had pleaded with the older woman, no matter how many times she tried to tell her the appendage was real, Ms. Meredith had continued tugging. If the vice-principal, a nice lady whose name was Mrs. Crook, hadn't been giving all the classrooms a look, as was usual, Ms. Meredith would have pulled it all the way off. The vice-principal told Ms. Meredith off fired her, and sent her packing, then took Ranani to the nurse to have her tail checked. She knew Ranani had been born with a tail. It had said so in her medical records. Ms. Meredith should have known.

Luckily, there was nothing wrong with the tail. A few more yanks and it probably would've torn. Ranani felt bad because she had left Abo outside so he could go potty. She wanted him here beside her, but she wasn't supposed to get up until the nice nurse said so. While Ranani was being checked out, Mrs. Crook called Ms. Helen and asked her to come in today. The nice old lady had come in with a smile and a bag full of homemade pretzels. The day finished off rather well.

Then it was time to go home. The bell rang and everyone stopped what they were doing, went to their cubbyholes to grab their things, and went outside to wait for the buses. Ranani said goodbye to Ms. Helen, while Aboridah rubbed himself along her side and gave both a yip and a lick of thanks. They left the school and got on the bus.

They were sitting in the very front, Abo in her lap since he wasn't a surprise anymore. He curled up against her belly, his tails flicking softly and his ears pinned back to block out the noise. His nose twitched every now and then when it picked up unfamiliar odors. He let out a sigh of contentment and Ranani giggled. She picked him up until his icy blue eyes were level with her greens. She smiled and rubbed her nose against his. He yipped and licked her up the nose. She giggled again and set him down. Instead of laying back down, however, he leaned against her, murring and rubbing his head against her chest. She reached down and scratched between his ears.

A few minutes later the last of the children had boarded the bus. The massive hunk of steel and leather-substitute roared to life at the touch of the driver. Suddenly there was a presence beside her.

"HI THERE!" cried a familiar voice. Ranani jumped and looked over at the source, her new friend Jake. She smiled and scooted over, letting the boy sit down. He did so, holding his bag in his lap. "You know," he said less loudly, "I never did get your name."

"My name is Ranani Masters." The little girl smiled at her new friend. Then she reached down and picked up the still-nuzzling Aboridah and held him in view of Jake. "This is my pet fox. His name Aboridah, but I just call him Abo."

Little fox stared at little boy, while little boy stared at little fox. The look lasted for a good while and Ranani was afraid they didn't like each other. However, Jake laughed, perhaps too loudly, and rubbed the fox between his ears. Ranani smiled and set Abo down. He turned in a circle once and lay down, one eye watching Jake.

The two children chatted back and forth, laughing and smiling and making silly faces until it was time for Jake to get off. He waved goodbye and got off. Ranani squealed with pleasure and lifted Aboridah off of her, setting on the seat beside her. She leaned down and smiled at him.

"What'd you think of him, Abo?" she asked softly. He growled and shook his head. "You don't like him?" Another shake. "I'm sorry you don't like him, but he seems nice." Aboridah growled at that. Even though the fox didn't speak English or Japanese, she understood rather easily what he meant. "He's not a nice person?" Another head-shake. "Alright, I'll be careful. Trust me." The little fox whined and lay his head on her lap. "Maybe I can bring you to school tomorrow too. Would you like that, Abo?" He yipped and his tails swished in excitement. Ranani giggled. "I'll take that as a yes." And so the bus ride home continued.

<==========(xxx)==========>

Bao-Hadir growled silently. It was the middle of the night in the Masters household. Everyone was fast asleep but him. He had much planning to do. First and foremost was what to do about those teachers he'd disposed of? Ms. Meredith had been easily explained away, though he had to time his yanking of Ranani's tail so that it would seem like he was abusing her. That lead to the termination of Ms. Meredith's contract. One problem down.

After that, he'd gone back to the principal's office and, using more magic, created illusory sexual juices, matching the principal, Ms. Meredith, and a very frightened-looking little boy, one who had been to the office before. Poor kid.

The problem was Jonathan Maertz. Sure, he'd created those fluids on the desk to incriminate the two of them. According to their memories, they had done this sort of thing before. There was a huge case against them, but they hadn't been caught. Forty-three states out of fifty had warrants for their arrest, but the police didn't have pictures, so didn't know what they looked like. They didn't know the names of all the children they had raped. And now they never would.

However, if nobody realized those fluids on the desk were from sex, they wouldn't report it to the police. That was a problem. But hey, it was a problem left for another day. There was one more thing to consider: the boy, Jake.

That kid reeked of Heaven kitsune. But, of course, human noses can't tell the difference in scents, and Ranani didn't know what a Heaven smelled like. The boy himself wasn't a Heaven. Rather, one possessed him. The one thing that made him completely certain was the pendant he wore. When a kitsune possesses someone, the human's soul is forced into a small orb around there neck, which the kitsune carries with them all the time. If it's taken away, the kitsune can't leave the body they are in. They lose all their power until it is returned, effectively being humanized.

Hadir made up his mind. He would steal the kitsune's ball and trap her in the boy's body. For indeed, it was a female who had possessed the boy's body. And she would stay in there until she swore an oath never again approach or attempt harm (it hadn't happened yet but it would) on his daughter.