Darkness envelops Yuki and Jen, and as it dissipates, the surrounding is once again the Hiroshu household. Yuki looks up at Jen.
“So you were using me?”
He nods slowly, and finally lets her go.
“Yes, I had been using you at the beginning. It’s just that… when it was getting closer to today, I had found that I did not want to let my prediction come to bear.”
He walks to the wall and leans against it, folding his arms across his chest.
Looking up, he continues to speak.
“The time I spent with you was fun, and I had gotten to enjoy your company, even with your occasional depression.”
He looks at her, and their eyes meet.
“I started to not want to die, and not let you die either. The rest of what I saw was that the myobu turned on you, since you still possessed my star ball. My scent as a nogitsune would still exist within it, and they would treat you as one. “
He sighs and closes his eyes.
“You would be purified, and you would be torn apart, body and soul.”
He looks back up at her.
“When I decided on this course of action, I didn’t care. Frankly put, I didn’t care about the life of any human being, so sacrificing you didn’t raise any qualms for me.”
Yuki watches him, trying to understand everything.
“What made you change though? I mean, really?”
Jen looks at the ceiling.
“As I said, you.”
His gaze meets hers.
“I began to find some value in the life of a human. As such, I did not want to let the human I started to find value in die.”
Slowly, he begins to walk towards her.
“I couldn’t just let it happen.”
Yuki stays in place, finding herself unable to look away or even move. His right hand stretches out and strokes her left cheek. She leans into it unconsciously. Her eyes close and he moves closer to her.
“And now, the future has changed, and so shall I.”
Leaning towards her forehead, he gently kisses it.
“And so can you.”
Yuki tries to open her eyes, but finds them too heavy to open. She groans lightly and tries to move, finding herself unable to.
“What?”
He shushes her.
“It’s all right, don’t worry.”
He holds onto her and closes his eyes, letting darkness surround them once again.
When she opens her eyes, Yuki is aware things are quite different. She also becomes aware of the fact that sticking out in front of her eyes was a muzzle. Her gaze drifts around her, noticing a wide expanse of trees and wildlife. Beside her was a white fox with nine tails. It seems to smile at her. She hears a voice in her head that wasn’t her own, but seemed so familiar to her.
Welcome back.
Giving the white fox a curious look, she speaks, but no words come out. Instead, a series of yips come out. Flinching back in surprise, Yuki looks at herself. Slowly, she begins to realize that she was in the body of a fox. Looking back at the white fox, she thinks a single word.
“Jen.”
The fox nods its head in reply.
I had lived in your world for so very long. I thought it would be appropriate to let you see how it is in mine.
Yuki looks around again, beginning to understand.
I won’t force you to be here after you’ve tried it. If you wish to be a human again, I’ll bring you back. If you don’t… I’ll gladly show you just how it is here.
Flashing him a smile of white, sharp teeth, she nods.
“Let’s see it, for now at least.”
He smiles back and leads her on, letting her become accustomed to her new body, before showing her how life is as a fox before humans became destructive of what they had cherished.
The end
