CYBERFOX: The Nine Tales of Ayane An original story by Stella Quetzacotl First created: July 9, 2000 Last modified: Dec 10, 2000 ~~~~~Legal Stuff~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ This is a work of fiction written for entertainment purposes only. All characters are the sole property of the author. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~Text Conventions~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ [This is a character thought] /This is a voice within a character's head/ *This is emphasized text* {This is a spell} ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Ayane crouched in a corner of Mrs. Mizuka's living room like an injured animal, tail covering her muzzle up to her moonstone eyes, as Mrs. Mizuka, Tamiya, and Kiyoshi discussed her fate. "I never knew," Kiyoshi said quietly, wrapping her tails around her body tightly. "All this time, I never even suspected." Tamiya snorted, but somehow the effect was lost in his fox form. "I don't know what she's all worked up about anyway. I mean, it's not like she's an ogre or anything." "No one expects you to have an understanding of such things, Hiraiko," Mrs. Mizuka said imperiously. "Tell me this. Ayane is indeed a kitsune, with all that entails. Do either of you recognize her element type?" Her two students looked at her blankly. Then, slowly, Kiyoshi said, "Her coloring... I just assumed she was a mountain kitsune..." "She's too light for a mountain fox, Denekaze," Tamiya said scornfully. "And that Firewall thing - mountains can't do that." "Since you seem such an expert on the subject, Hiraiko," Mrs. Mizuka said mildly, "perhaps you can enlighten us as to Ayane's element?" "I didn't say I knew that, Reijori-san," Tamiya barked angrily, bristling. He was tired of being censured by his teacher, and didn't care who knew it. "I just said she's not a mountain kitsune." "Let's just go down the list of elements," Kiyoshi said sensibly. "She's not a wind kitsune like me, or a thunder kitsune like Hiraiko, or a spirit kitsune like Reijori-san. She's no mountain kitsune either. She's not an ocean or river kitsune, not a void or celestial..." With each element she named, Kiyoshi tapped the carpeting with her leftmost tail. "She's no earth kitsune, or fire kitsune, or forest kitsune. Definitely not a music kitsune - they have to sing to cast spells. And she's not a time kitsune. She's just the wrong coloring for that." She blinked. "What'd I miss?" "You did not miss anything," Mrs. Mizuka intoned. "You named all thirteen of the kitsune elements." "Then which one is Ayane?" queried Kiyoshi, looking back at her friend. "Maybe she doesn't have an element." Tamiya stood and stretched. "I thought I had taught you better than that," Mrs. Mizuka said sharply. "All kitsune need elements to draw from, to take nourishment for their bodies and energy for their spells. Without an element, Ayane could not even transform." Kiyoshi blinked. "Wait a minute. If low-level kitsune have to feed from physical objects, we just give her an item from each of the elements and see which one she feeds off of. Whichever one she chooses, that's her element!" She waved her triple tails, excited. Mrs. Mizuka flicked her rightmost tail. "But we already established that Ayane is not of the known elements, Denekaze." "That's impossible," Kiyoshi said, a note of uncertainty fighting to make itself known in her voice. "She has to be one of the thirteen elements. There's no other way." "Is there?" Mrs. Mizuka said mildly. Kiyoshi looked up at her, her green eyes filled with worry and confusion. Mrs. Mizuka got up to all fours and brushed Kiyoshi's head with her center tail briefly. "Well," she said, "there's really only one way to solve this." She walked over to Ayane. "Miss Ketsiru?" she said softly. "Come to us, now." Ayane didn't want to follow Mrs. Mizuka's voice. She was dreaming, enjoying the feeling of having human hands, human feet, and paprika-colored hair that fell just past shoulder length. She snuggled her face deeper under her tail -tail!- That brought her back to the present. Ayane shot up to a sitting position, back ramrod-straight and fur bristling. "What-what-" she gulped. "Miss Ketsiru." The fox-Mrs. Mizuka leaned toward her, whiskers forward and wet black nose snuffling gently. "Do not be alarmed." Ayane moaned softly and turned her head away. Please let this be some bizarre dream, she prayed. "Ayane, it's me. Remember me?" It was Kiyoshi. Yes, indeed, Ayane remembered her. Kiyoshi's voice - Ayane squinched her eyes shut. Kiyoshi's voice was speaking the fox-language. "Ayane, just answer me this. What is it you want most in the world right now?" [What kind of question is that?] [Doesn't matter. Just answer it.] Ayane sighed. "A computer," she whispered. Kiyoshi looked up at Mrs. Mizuka, questioningly. "Ayane." Mrs. Mizuka's voice was uncharacteristically gentle. "I have a computer in the other room. Would you like to play with it for a while?" Ayane's eyes popped open. "Yes, Mizuka-sensei," she said, her voice a whisper. "Call me Reijori-san. Follow me, then. I'll take you to it." Ayane shuddered. I'd have to watch you to do that, she thought. I'd have to walk on four feet. Well, a computer would be worth it. She pushed herself to her feet and stood there, looking at Mrs. Mizuka with wide eyes like a baby cub that was trying to remember how to walk. Mrs. Mizuka turned with a beckoning flick of her tails and led Ayane out of the living room, her stride as regal as a queen's. Ayane followed as if in a trance, tripping on the carpeting every few steps. Kiyoshi walked behind and to the right of Ayane like a nursemaid, worry and concern etched on her face. Tamiya followed the parade sullenly. Mrs. Mizuka led her charges down the hallway to her computer room. The room, unlike the rest of her house, was cluttered but homey, ungraded papers and printed emails forming a gently rolling landscape centered around the desk where the computer squatted. Mrs. Mizuka rolled the unusually light computer chair aside with her tails and nosed the power on. "There, Ayane," Mrs. Mizuka said. "You may type, play Solitaire, go on the Internet for awhile, whatever you wish." "Thank you, Mrs. Mi -" Ayane shook her fox head. "I mean, Reijori-san." Mrs. Mizuka gave her the fox version of a smile. "You're getting the hang of it." Ayane leapt up into the computer chair and did not reply. Mrs. Mizuka retreated to the back of the room with her other two students. "Shhh," she cautioned them. "Just observe." They observed. They observed as Ayane fumbled with the mouse and keyboard; her paws striking two or three keys at once as she typed, before she learned the pressure requirements of the keys; the mouse skittering out from under her pads, to the right or left as if it were being chased - and after all, mice are a favorite food of wild foxes - before she learned how to maneuver it with gentle taps of her paw. They observed as she accessed the Internet, flitting from site to site like a dragonfly, daring to delight in the added convenience of not having to hack for once. They observed, growing bored, as she read a Bishoujo Senshi Seramun fanfiction half out loud to herself, a rapt look on her face. They observed - well, Mrs. Mizuka and Kiyoshi observed, as Tamiya had long since fallen asleep - as she got offline and immediately pounced on the Star Ocean game Mrs. Mizuka had bought back when she thought she'd have time for such things. They watched as she flew through the game like she'd played it a dozen times before, which in fact was close to the truth. They observed as - finally - as just when Ayane was about to beat a particularly nasty-looking boss, the screen flickered and froze, the background midi file stuck in an endless E flat. Ayane jumped up, scorching the air with curses. The fur on her back rose into stiff spikes. "Stupid, stupid, stupid computer!" she snarled. Then she seemed to remember whose house she was in. She looked over her shoulder at her teacher, then hung her head. "I'm sorry, Reijori-san. This happens to me all the time." "Does it?" Mrs. Mizuka asked mildly, trying to disguise her sudden interest. "Yes, ma'am. It'll be all right if you shut it off for a couple of hours. I should've remembered, some computers do that." Shaking off her embarrassment, she jumped down from the computer chair and snapped the computer off. "Mm-hmm." Mrs. Mizuka stood. "Well. That explains things." "Eh?" Ayane looked up at her. Kiyoshi nudged Tamiya awake. "Miss Ketsiru," Mrs. Mizuka said, "as I must call you, for lack of a truer name - you are a kitsune of the element *cyber*." "What?" Ayane yipped softly. "Huh? What does that mean?" asked Kiyoshi. "There is no element called cyber." "There is now," Mrs. Mizuka said. "Listen. Since the emergence of human technology, cyberspace and industry has been growing rapidly in size and content. There are those who depend on it for their livelihood - indeed, their very survival." She paused, collecting her thoughts. "In addition, new varieties of youma have arisen, that exist only within the confines of cyberspace and technolgy." "Like viruses?" asked Tamiya, subdued for once. "Not only viruses. But also demons in the strictest sense of the word." Ayane thought of the phrase 'typo demons' and suppressed a giggle. "Cyberspace, as it is called, has taken on life energy that you three, as low-level kitsune, are unable to sense." She bowed her head. "I have sensed it for a long time now, but ignored it in the hopes that it was just another fluctuation. I was wrong - cyberspace has accumulated enough energy to be considered an element." She looked to Ayane. "I'm sorry. If I had known sooner, you would not have suffered." "But, why did I - I mean, why me of all people?" Ayane said. "How did I become a fox-demon?" "Fox-*spirit* is the preferred term," Mrs. Mizuka informed her primly. "It's possible that you had some kitsune blood in you, and the cyber energy simply fused with that kitsune blood, making you all fox. You see, if someone has kitsune blood, that blood is always looking for an element, so it can manifest itself. Normally, the blood never finds sufficient element energy because all the elements have a large population of kitsune corresponding to it, but since the emergence of the cyber element, your kitsune blood had a chance to manifest itself. Even so, it was only able to do so owing to your almost constant contact with computers." Ayane shook her head. "It just isn't possible," she whispered. "Things that are impossible physically are often made possible by the spirit," Mrs. Mizuka said, lifting her head. Ayane looked up. There'd been a hint of - what? Sadness? - in her voice. Ayane twisted her head over her shoulder to catch a glimpse of her tail. "So now I'm a fox-dem- erm, spirit," she said thoughtfully. The malady that had paralyzed her when she first transformed seemed to have left her now. "Not officially," Mrs. Mizuka said. "There are some beaurocratic unpleasantness to get out of the way first. But in the s trictest sense, yes, you are a kitsune." She flicked her two leftmost tails in a shadow of snapping fingers. "Which reminds me. You need a fox name." "Wha?" "With kitsune that have a human form, there are two names - a human name and a fox name. For example, my human name is Hiwa Mizuka, and my fox name is Reijori. It is by my fox name that I can cast magic. It is taboo to use the human name when one is in fox form - it shows contempt for the person in question as well as diminishing his or her magical accomplishments." Ayane hung her head. "I'm sorry, Reijori-san," she said. "I didn't know." "That's quite all right. Now, there is a way to determine one's fox name, but it may not work on you. It is normally used only on three-day-old cubs." "Reijori-san, you can't do a Name Reveal spell on Ayane!" Kiyoshi gasped. "It's just - I mean, it isn't -" "If you can tell me a better way to discover her name, I will gladly hear it, Denekaze," Mrs. Mizuka said emotionlessly. Kiyoshi flattened her ears at the reprimand and stayed silent. "Come here," Mrs. Mizuka said to Ayane. She stood and walked an unsteady few steps and sat in front of her teacher, tail curled around her body. Mrs. Mizuka brought her tails forward to let the tips touch Ayane. {I, Reijori, call upon the power inherent,} she said, her voice suddenly resonant. {Spirit magic, fall upon this one and cast away the shackles of mind. Bring to the surface and to light, the magic key! REVEAL!!} Ayane felt something exploding in the back of her head, only there was no pain. Her stomach lurched as if she were dropping, then as darkness closed around her, she heard a voice speaking a word she didn't recognize, and yet did. Then the dark blanked her mind. Hiraiko gaped at the fallen fox. "Kaiyo? What kind of name is that for a kitsune?" Denekaze glared. "It's her name. It's pretty." "Whatever," Hiraiko said, looking away. "Kaiyo..." mused Reijori. She nosed the unconscious fox. "Wake up, Kaiyo. Come on." "Nnn?" Ayane/Kaiyo's eye's fluttered open. She looked up. "It's Kaiyo," she said. Reijori nodded. "Kaiyo," she affirmed. Hiraiko stood. "Well, now that we've got that cleared up, I'm leaving." He bucked onto his hind legs, and with a flash of yellow light he reverted back to his human shape. Denekaze bared her teeth. "That's mean of you, Tamiya," she said. "What, mean? Am I supposed to throw a party?" He gave his second cousin a devil-may-care shrug. "Arrgh, you are such an obnoxious little wiener," Denekaze snarled. "It's okay, really," Kaiyo assured her friend. But Denekaze was having none of it. "No, it's not okay," she said. "You've just gone through the transition of your life, and now you're a kitsune of an element that's never been known before, and he can't even stick around for *one minute* to support you!" She was pacing the floor now, her tails lashing the air. "I oughta bite him in the ankle, but I wouldn't touch him with a ten-foot pole," she growled. "Support her?" Tamiya snorted. "Leave that to her friends." He turned and shouldered the computer-room door aside. "See ya." "Ooh, I could just have a *minotaur*," Denekaze yelled at Tamiya's retreating back. "Let him go, Denekaze," Reijori said soothingly. "We must go to the spiritworld gate at Toshimoete's house." Tamiya stopped. "Toshimoete?" Kaiyo wrinkled her nose. "Wait a second. That old guy who lives near the highway?" "That's him," Denekaze said cheerfully. "Man, and I always thought he was just a nice old guy who gave me Band-Aids." "Toshimoete is one of my oldest friends," Reijori said for Kaiyo's sake. "His tails were damaged in a fight - a long time ago, and he is unable to do magic. Since then, he has lived as a human." "Man. Who knew sweet old Mr. Morimoto was a fox-spirit," Kaiyo said dreamily. "Okay then, let's go." She turned toward the door. "Hold it, Kaiyo," Denekaze said, sprinting up to catch her at the doorjamb. "We can't go out in fox form! If someone saw us -" If foxes could blush, Kaiyo would have. "Oops. So how do you get to human form?" "Concentrate on your human body," her friend advised. "You can chant something if that helps." She closed her eyes, and a few seconds and a flash of greenish-white light later she was human again. Kaiyo grinned, ivory teeth flashing. "It's a good thing transforming includes clothes." She closed her eyes, lowered her head, and trained her thoughts on her own human body. Silver-blue light flashed around her, permeating her tissues to collect in her marrow. First her bones stretched, then the rest of her hurried to catch up. At the end, Kaiyo was Ayane once again. Ayane piouretted. "Man, it feels good to be human again," she exulted. Reijori transformed with lighting speed into Mrs. Mizuka. "Miss Ketsiru, call your mother and tell her you'll be late tonight," she instructed. "Miss Toriyama, you do the same. And if you're coming, Mister Kei, I suggest you do likewise." "Huh?" Ayane looked up. "Kei, what the heck are you still doing here?" "Uhhh..." Tamiya couldn't think of an answer. It didn't matter anyway - Ayane moved past him and strode to the phone. "Hey, Mom? It's me. - Yeah, I know. Kiyoshi and I went to Mizuka-sensei's house to pick up that project. - No, it's not that far from home. - Yeah, I'm fine. The flu's mostly gone now. - Uh-huh. Listen, would it be all right if I stayed out a little longer? - Back by dinner, okay. - Love you too. Bye." Tamiya gave a sideways glance to Ayane. "Isn't that cute, you an' your mommy -" he began. "Shut up, Kei," Ayane said through gritted teeth, handing the phone to Kiyoshi. She took it and made her own phone call. "Oh, hi, Dad. I'm at Mizuka-sensei's. - Ayane-chan and Kei. - No, Ayane-chan's a kitsune now. I'll explain when I get back. So anyway, we were going to go through the gate at Toshimoete's for a while. - Of course I'll be careful. - Yeah, okay. Bye." "You told him?" Ayane asked her friend. "About me being -" Kiyoshi laughed. "My dad's a kitsune too, silly," she laughed. "Not all of us fuse with new elements like you did." Ayane blushed. Tamiya took the phone from Kiyoshi and called his own parents, with a conversation similar to Kiyoshi's. "Well," said Mrs. Mizuka, "if that's all settled, we had better get going. Miss Toriyama, go get your bicycle and put it in the trunk of my van. Miss Ketsiru, go fetch your rollerblades from my front lawn; we'll be taking those along as well." "Why?" asked Ayane, moving to comply. "Those things may come in handy in the spiritworld. Come." About halfway there, Ayane thought of something. "Mizuka-sensei," she said, "this is going to sound dumb, but - what is the spiritworld?" "The spiritworld," Mrs. Mizuka answered, "is the place where most kitsune originate. It is the birthplace and cradle of the kitsune species. Most of its features are fixed, but it is daily recreated by the imaginations of the spirits dwelling therein. It is also the seat of the Kitsune Council." "Kitsune Council?" "That which governs all kitsune," Mrs. Mizuka explained. "It's composed of thirteen nine-tailed kitsune, one from each element - although soon its ranks will have to be expanded," she added pointedly. "It is they that must decide your fate." "Now wait a second-" Ayane protested. "We have arrived." Mrs. Mizuka cut off further discussion as she pulled into a long gravel driveway. The house it led up to was of yellow aluminum siding, paint somewhat cracked. The whole house slouched as if in disappointment. Its windows were dark and shuttered. A rusted pickup truck carcass sat on concrete blocks in the lawn. It was the closest thing to a vehicle in sight. Tamiya looked around nervously. "Are you sure this is the dwelling of Toshimoete?" "Don't be an idiot," Kiyoshi said. "It always looks like this. He says it keeps the burglars away." Tamiya blinked. "Do not be fooled by outside appearances, Mister Kei," Mrs. Mizuka said mildly. "Like Mr. Morimoto himself, his house hold many objects of value." "I knew that," Tamiya protested. "It's just that - he's a hero of the War of the Twelve! What's he doing in a shack like this, no matter what's on the inside?" "No one expects you to understand," Mrs. Mizuka said firmly, ending the conversation. She parked the van and shut off the engine. Ayane, Kiyoshi, and Tamiya piled out. Mrs. Mizuka strode up to the front door, but before she could knock the door swung open to reveal a rickety, frail-looking man who looked to be in his mid to late seventies. Despite his age, a sparkle danced in his black eyes and he seemed to radiate life. Ayane wouldn't have been surprised to see him dance a jig right there on the doorstep. "Hiwa?" he said in a voice that creaked like an adolescent boy's at the very end of a voice change. "By all the hells, it's good to see you again. It's been, what, two months now?" The three children blinked. None of them had known that Mrs. Mizuka's first name was Hiwa. They also noted how close the two were. "Toshi." Mrs. Mizuka embraced her friend. "You say that every time." She straightened and tugged at her vest. She looked back at her charges. "Have you met Toriyama Kiyoshi, Ketsiru Ayane, and Kei Tamiya?" "The girls I know," Mr. Morimoto squinted. "Who's the boy?" "Kei Tamiya is a kitsune of the thunder element." Mrs. Mizuka spoke impassively. Mr. Morimoto glanced at Ayane. "Um, Hiwa..." "It's all right, Morimoto-san," Ayane broke in, feeling tired. "I'm a kitsune too." Mr. Morimoto relaxed. "Well, that's all right then." Suddenly he did a double take. "Say WHAT!?" "It just happened a few minutes ago, Toshi," Hiwa said, putting a hand on his shoulder. Mr. Morimoto rocked back on his heels. "Well," he said musingly, "I think you had better come inside and tell me the whole story." "I've been waiting to hear you say that," Mrs. Mizuka said gravely. Mr. Morimoto laughed. Mr. Morimoto's house was a bit small for five people, cluttered with a motley collection of antiques and old furniture and other such assorted bric-a-brac. It took some doing for Ayane to navigate herself amidst the mess without tripping. Finally, she found a clear spot to sit down on a stained brown-suede couch that looked older than Mr. Morimoto himself. Mr. Morimoto cleared a stack of old navigational maps and paper umbrellas off of the other side of the couch so that Kiyoshi could have a place to sit. Tamiya perched himself on a positively tacky green and yellow ottoman, and Mrs. Mizuka graciously accepted a seat in a high-backed rocking chair, the only furniture in the house in Ayane's estimation that would be accepted by any self- respecting homeless shelter. "There now," Mr. Morimoto said in satisfaction when his guests were all seated. "Wish I had tea or sumpin to offer ye, but I'm fresh out." His laughter cracked the house. "Can't hardly get meself out o' the house anymore, nowadays." "Perhaps that would be easier," Mrs. Mizuka answered bemusedly, "if you straightened up some of your collection." "Bah! My things're happy where they are," Mr. Morimoto snorted. "Now. What's this about Ketsiru bein' a fox-girl?" In abbreviated form, Mrs. Mizuka told him. "So you see, we need to use your portal to the spiritworld. It will not take long, but we must get the Council to recognize this new element." The two adults glanced at Ayane, who pretended not to notice. "Hiwa, girl," Mr. Morimoto said, "you know I'd love t' help ye. But, see, the portal, well, it's got problems. It's gonna take me a while to get rid of it -" "Hey, who are you calling a problem, old man?" Ayane stood so fast she almost fell over an extremely large incense burner. "Where... did that come from?" she gulped. The voice came again, from everywhere and nowhere. "I'm right here, sweetheart," it said, leery and dripping with syrup. "Come on and play." Ayane shuddered. "Alright, whoever that is is giving me the creeps." "Aww, you're so insensitive!" Mrs. Mizuka looked at Mr. Morimoto. "Is that the problem with the portal?" Mr. Morimoto nodded ruefully. "Yeh. That's 'im. Name's Saka-Chii the fish demon." "Fish? I'm a very powerful water demon, old man, and don't you forget it!" Mr. Morimoto banged on the wall. "Like ye would let me forget! Anyway," he said, turning back to Mrs. Mizuka, "he appeared 'long about three weeks ago, and jest stayed. I can't get rid of the creatur, with these tails o' mine..." He shifted uncomfortably. Mrs. Mizuka laid a hand on Mr. Morimoto's. "Don't worry, my friend," she said, "We will help you. Or rather," she said, turning, "Miss Ketsiru will." Ayane stiffened and blinked. "Huh? M-me?" "It would be the perfect chance to test your new abilities, child," Mrs. Mizuka said gently. "Most kitsune types have an innate control over low-level demons -" "Low-level!?" squeaked the voice, or rather Saka-Chii. "Why I oughta -" "Silence!" Mrs. Mizuka thundered. Saka-Chii shut up. "As I was saying," she continued calmly, "most kitsune are stronger by definition than their level-wise peers in the demon world. Besides, often kitsune need rushes of adrenaline - well, the equivalent - in order to discover new spells. I have a feeling that your abilities extend beyond what we have already seen." Ayane recalled the encounter with the ice dragon spirit and gulped. "Will it be like the last time?" "Very like," Mrs. Mizuka said, nodding. "Perhaps even worse, depending on Saka-Chii's strength level. But some things you simply must get used to." Ayane shrugged. "Well, if you say so." She swallowed. "So where is this Saka-Chii character?" "Right here, sweetheart." The air in the middle of the room started to glimmer, like moonlight off water. Ayane shielded her eyes and looked again as a silhouette came into being over Mr. Morimoto's coffee table, glittering as if picked out with dewdrops. "Little fox," said the silhouette, "if you wanna fight, you sure got one." Next chapter... Let's get ready to ruuuuuuuuumbllle!