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Tales of Auldrant Part 1: Metamorphosis

This is a work of fiction. Any references to historic events, real people, or real locals are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of my imagination, and any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. _______________________________________

Prologue: Reminiscence (Part 1) "Yaaaah!" the human child yelled as it was caught in a trap. "Kazuhiro! What the hell?!"

Kazuhiro Hiroki, a young fox, age 12, one month away from turning 13, laughed darkly. He stood at approximately five feet five inches and wore long silks trousers and a sleeveless crimson and black vest which showed off his slender but toned muscles. No shoes covered his feet. His fur and hair were pitch black with red markings and tips. His eyes were a beautiful shade of sky blue that had the slightest tint of mischievousness in them. He was standing on the ground looking up at his prey and sneering.

"That's what you get for calling me 'fox-boy freak', ya little rat bastard!"

The trap wasn't very elaborate: it was simply one of those foot-caught-in-rope-suspended-in-mid-air traps. Kazuhiro had laid the trap and lured the boy, whose name he'd never taken the time to learn, into it. The boy had called Kazuhiro by the name 'fox-boy freak' for the last time and Kazuhiro would make sure the boy knew it or else.

Kazuhiro levitated up to the boy and got right in his face, "Now apologize, and I might let you down."

The boy glared right at Kazuhiro and said, "This is why people in the town call you a freak, witch!"

Kazuhiro wasn't at all happy to hear that, "Wrong answer." he said, moving back and point at the human's chest. "Let's see what they call you once I've cursed you!"

It was at this point that a very stern voice said, "Kazuhiro! Let him down, now!" Kazuhiro scowled but obliged, using telekinesis on the knot that tied the rope around the boy's foot. The boy fell to the ground, hard, yet wasn't injured. "Freaks!" he yelled as he ran away.

Kazuhiro landed in front of his father, "Yeah you better run, fu-!" He was promptly hit over the head.

"Kazuhiro!" said his father, "The Powers That Be did not give you those powers to torment humans!" Kazuhiro, rubbing his head, turned his back, "Kazuhiro, why don't you make friends with the humans? Then maybe they'd stop treating you like they do."

"Fuck that!" Kazuhiro said coldly, then he added in an undertone, "Humans had their chance to be friends with me...instead they choose to torment me...so I'll return the favor...f-"

He was promptly hit over the head again.

"First of all, watch your language!" his father said, "Second, you have to give all humans a chance. Not every human is the same." Kazuhiro didn't respond, so his father continued, "Kazuhiro, I want you to go Kyoto, there's something I need you to pick up; you'll know what it is when you get there. When you get there, go to the first restaurant you see and order some food."

He placed a few yen in Kazuhiro's crimson with black Japanese lettering vest and left him there, his mouth hanging open.

"Close your mouth, you might catch flies."

Kazuhiro closed his mouth and stormed off in the direction of the Kyoto...

Kazuhiro reached Kyoto by the time night had fallen, the ability to levitate and almost fly making the journey easier. He looked around, finding the first restaurant he saw, one called 'Kyoto Zushi'. He entered and sat down at the bar.

"Hey, gimme some of your finest sake!"

The bartender looked at him and scowled, "Get the hell outta here boy."

"No." Kazuhiro said, stubbornly, "If you won't give me sake at least give me food."

They glared at each other for a moment before a police officer and a semi-drunk man entered.

"Oh, hello there, Officer Ageha." The bartender said, ignoring Kazuhiro.

"Hello, Ichiro." said Officer Ageha. Officer Ageha was one of the most beautiful women Kazuhiro had seen, though he'd never say this to anyone. She had long black hair and red eyes.

"This guy's supposed to be repairing that painting, but he keeps on insisting on coming here and getting drunk ."

The semi-drunk guy sat down, mumbled something, laid his head on the counter, and fell asleep. Officer Ageha sighed, "I can't watch him all night, I've got to do a graveyard shift elsewhere tonight..." her eyes then fell upon Kazuhiro. "Hey, if I buy you a meal, would you take him home?"

Kazuhiro looked at her, opened his mouth to say he had money to buy food, then thought better of it and nodded...

Soon enough, Kazuhiro, with the smelly, unconscious drunk on his back, was heading toward the farther end of the town where the man lived. When he finally reached the place, a male answered the door.

"Ah! Yukito-sensei!" he said, "Huh? And who are you?" he asked as he noticed Kazuhiro.

"I'm Kazuhiro, Hiroki Kazuhiro." Kazuhiro said, "And I believe this is yours?" he thrust 'Yukito-sensei' through the door and turned to leave, but the man said, "Uh...hey! Won't you stay for the night?"

Kazuhiro's turned back, shrugged and entered- he really didn't feel like going back home yet anyway.

"I'm Kosuke, by the way." The man said, closing the door behind the fox, "Thank you for brining Yukito-sensei home."

"Why do you call him 'sensei'?"

"I call him 'sensei' because he is my teacher. He teaches me art...even though he mostly he drinks all day..."

They were now sitting in Yukito's living room, Kosuke was drinking some sake, and Kazuhiro was drinking tea. On the floor up against a wall was a painting of a forest. Kazuhiro couldn't help but look at it.

"Oh, that's 'Hissori Mori'." Kosuke said, following Kazuhiro's eyes and Yukito, finally awake, sat up and shot out the room toward the bathroom. "Yukito is repairing that painting." Kosuke added smiling after Yukito.

"He's doing an alright job of it." Kazuhiro said, looking at the painting, he took a gulp from his tea, and continued looking at the painting. Eventually, he stood and went over to take a closer look, but stopped short, gagging. "GAK! What the hell is that smell?!" He said, turning to Kosuke,

"Oh, the stuff being used to repair it really smells." Kosuke said, smiling sheepishly and scratching the back of his head. "I guess the effects are worse on those with heightened senses, eh?" He added as Kazuhiro took his seat, clutching his nose.

"So, Kazuhiro, I haven't seen you around town before, where do you come from?"

"Tokyo."

"Ah. And what are you doing here?"

"Well, my father told me to come here and pick something up for him."

"Oh?"

"Yeah...the people around here seem different...maybe they are...People call me freak all the time in Tokyo...I get into a lot of trouble cause I can't control my temper...nobody really trusts me..." By now Yukito was back and was leaning against the door frame listening to Kazuhiro and Kosuke's conversation. "In return I don't trust humans..."

"You're kinda like Yukito." Kosuke said, as Yukito left the room again. "Yukito-sensei wasn't always like he is now. He used to be a much kinder person, but...you see...he was stabbed in the back by his best friend." And he delved into a story he'd told a few times before, "He and Mizuki both loved the same girl. Mizuki said that he'd back down and let Yukito have her...but a few days later, Mizuki tried to kill Yukito; he ended up getting killed instead.

It was an accident of course, but..." he trailed off looking at Kazuhiro, I think he's beginning to hate humans even more, now... He thought to himself before continuing, "But you know, not all humans are the same... even still it's really hard for him to trust anyone anymore." he paused, "Unlike him, I'm more willing to trust...and I trust you Kazuhiro, you seem like a good fur to me."

Kazuhiro didn't look at Kosuke for a while. After about twenty minutes of silence, Kosuke finally spoke.

"It's getting late; I'll take you to the guest room."

Kazuhiro followed Kosuke further back into the house where the guest room was. After biding Kazuhiro a good night, Kosuke left...

After Kosuke had shown Kazuhiro to the guest room, and had bid him a good night, Kazuhiro had no trouble falling asleep. When Kosuke had gone back into the living room, he saw Yukito leaving. He figured he must be off to the bar, again. So Kosuke shut the lights off, and went to bed himself.

As they slept, the thief that had been hiding in the house since earlier that night crept out of his hiding place behind the most obvious, and yet most overlooked curtains on the window to the left of the couch. He slipped the silenced-gun out of his pocket and slid into Kosuke's room and shot him. Then then thief went to where Kazuhiro slept and pointed the gun at him.

He smirked and, instead of pulling the trigger, gently and quietly slipped the gun underneath Kazuhiro's pillow and left the room. Once back in the living room, he picked up 'Hissori Mori' and proceeded to make a quiet exit...

As the sun shine through the window signaled the dawning of a new day, and causing a sleepy Kazuhiro to grunt and turnover in an attempt to rid himself of the assailing light in his eye lids, he was awoken by the sound of someone yelling 'Get up!' He sat bolt upright, startled.

Before he had a chance to react, he was yanked to his feet and his paws pulled behind his back. "What...?" he said, his brain not fully awake enough to realize what was happening.

The officer cuffing him said, "You're under arrest for the murder of Kosuke Fujishima."

This snapped Kazuhiro awake, "What?!" he said, "I didn't kill anyone!"

Another officer, who was fumbling around in Kazuhiro's pillow said, "Then how do you explain this?" He held up a gun with a silencer. Kazuhiro stared at it for a moment, not believing it was real, hoping that this was some nightmare.

"Not a smart idea to sleep at the scene of the crime, fool." The second officer said with a taunting smirk. "At least be smart enough to get rid of the evidence next time."

As the arresting officer pulled Kazuhiro out of the guest room and into the living room, Kazuhiro saw Yukito standing over a body covered by a tarp. They stopped in front of it, and Kazuhiro looked down at Kosuke's body, in shock.

"Yukito," said the officer, "Was anything besides 'Hissori Mori' taken?"

Yukito shook his head, "No." he looked at Kazuhiro who was still standing there at a loss.

'Why...' Kazuhiro thought to himself, 'He was human...I hate humans...and yet...what is this pain I feel?' He flashed back to the conversation he and Kosuke had had the night before. 'He was willing to trust me...maybe he was different...I did NOT do this...they don't believe me though...and why should they...?'

The officer led Kazuhiro out of the house, and placed him in the back of a squad car. Kazuhiro didn't resist, he was too stunned to do so. Soon, the female officer whom had given him a free meal the previous night and another female officer got into the car. Kazuhiro barely registered this, nor did he register when they started the car and began to drive off.

The two officers were talking about something, possibly what had just occurred, but Kazuhiro yet heard none of it, he was finally wrapping his head around what had just happened, where he was and the fact that his paws were bounds behind his back.

"W-wait! I didn't kill anyone!" he said, strolling against the cuffs. The two officers looked back at him. "I was framed." he said, "I didn't kill Kosuke...I don't like humans...but I'd never go so far as to kill one! Maim, maybe. Curse, definitely. But never kill."

"The gun was found under your pillow." the female officer in the passenger seat shot at him.

"I've never fired a gun in my life." Kazuhiro protested, "I've also never killed anyone. I may detest humans, but I'd never kill one, no matter how much I hate them...and I...I didn't even hate Yukito..."

With that, his voice lost its power as he sat back in the seat, no longer struggling in the cuffs which he'd actually made tighter on his wrists. He had spoken the truth, but he felt that the likely hood that they would believe him was very low. He whimpered softly, tears stinging his eyes. What would happen to him? What would prison be like?

The female officer driving pulled up under some trees near the park. "Alright," she said, "If it wasn't you, how about you help us catch the real criminal?"

The other officer looked at her partner incredulously, "Chief!" she said, "What are you saying? You can't possibly be falling for this fox's lies!?"

"Well?" the female officer asked him again.

Kazuhiro looked at the woman, his mouth half open, "I...of course!"

"Alright," Officer Ageha got out of the car, strode around to the passenger's side and opened Kazuhiro's door to let him out. He jumped out and followed her instructions to face the door so she could take the cuffs off. Once she had, she said,

"You have until this time tomorrow to search for the real criminal. We will expect you back at this very spot this time tomorrow, understand?"

Kazuhiro nodded, as the other officer yelled out the open driver's side window, apparently finding it impossible to exit the vehicle herself "I can't believe you're doing this!" he worked the door handle feverishly, "Why can't I open this?! Ageha?!"

"Rena," Officer Ageha said sweetly, "I believe him. He doesn't seem like the kind of fur that would kill." This statement seemed to somewhat soften the one called 'Rena' up a bit.

"Thank you." Kazuhiro said, bowing politely running off into the park.

"Remember, be back here this time tomorrow." Officer Ageha yelled after him...

Kazuhiro spent the next few hours talking to people that lived in the area around Kosuke's house, interrogating them, asking if they'd seen anything strange around Kosuke and Yukito's house the previous night. After about three hours of searching, Kazuhiro came up with nothing. So he went to the park where he was to meet Officers Ageha and Rena the next day, and sat under a tree, putting his head between his knees.

"Shit." He said to himself, "I haven't come up with anything...at this rate, I'll probably end up going to prison anyway..." He shuddered at the thought."Heh...she probably knew I wouldn't be able to find anything out..." he said, his thoughts growing dark, "Humans...they never trust me...why did I even think that she would possibly trust me..." 'I trust you Kazuhiro, you seem like a really good fur.' Kosuke's voice suddenly rang through his mind, followed by Officer Ageha's cool voice, 'I trust him. He doesn't seem like the kind of fur that would kill.'

He shook his head, "What am I thinking?" he said, standing up, "Maybe... humans aren't all the same...perhaps these humans do trust me...If that's the case, I can't just give up...I won't...Kosuke's killer is out there...I won't be blamed for that fucker's doing."

With a new resolve, Kazuhiro decided he'd go to the dwelling place of the officer who had cuffed him. He was now off duty until the graveyard shift, and he would probably have some good leads on the case...that is, if he wasn't still convinced the Kazuhiro was the murderer.

After inquiring around town, Kazuhiro learned the location of the Officer's house, which was almost on the other side of town. Kazuhiro reached the officers house in fifty minutes. Once there he rang the doorbell. When the officer opened the door, he was surprised to see Kazuhiro there. "What the hell...?" he said.

"Hello..." Kazuhiro said, grinning, then almost gagged as he inhaled, 'This scent...' He thought, recognizing a scent coming from the other side of the door. "Hey, what's the scent coming from you?"

"Hmm?" the officer said, blinking confusedly, "Oh, I'm making Udon, would you like to come in and have some?"

Kazuhiro looked at him curiously, before nodding "Sure." He was led inside by the officer. Once they were in the living room, Kazuhiro said, "By the way, I asked 'what was the scent coming from you?' Not 'what is that smell?'"

"What's your point?" the officer said, seemingly annoyed.

"My point is," Kazuhiro said, facing the officer, smirking "I didn't realize it before, when you were cuffing me, but you smell just like the crap being used to repair 'Hissori Mori'. Why is that?"

The officer looked up at him with wild eyes. His eyes then grew cold and murderous. "Damn fox." He said. "You should be in jail right now." He then went suddenly for his gun, pointed it at Kazuhiro, and pulled the trigger...