I got home from school at 3:12 like usual. I just slipped my first shoe off when the phone rang. “Who might be calling me at this time?” I picked up the phone and greeted the caller with my average cheery greeting. “Hello.”
“Kit.”
“Over time again?”
“We need the money.”
“I can get a job.”
“You have school.”
“And you have a daughter.”
“Come on Kit, don’t act that way.”
“Why not?”
“I have to go, bye.”
“Bye.” I hung up the phone and a tear ran down my cheek. “She’s never home anymore.” I slammed myself down into the couch and flip the TV on. “Works two jobs and as much overtime as she can grab. I hardly even see her for more then five minutes anymore. I hear her crawling into bed sometimes as late as five in the morning.” I stood up and turned off the TV.
I walked up stairs and slumped down at my desk. “Wonder what Ami’s doing.” I stood up and meandered toward the window. I glanced over to the acre of trees across the street. “I miss those trees. Ami and I played there so much when we were kids.” My eyes wondered to a man walking along the sidewalk in front of my house. “Who might that be? He doesn’t look familiar and I know all of the neighbors.” I run down the stairs and to the front window of the kitchen. “I wonder if he just moved in. looks to be my age.” I watch him a bit longer. “What’s he looking for?” I shrugged my shoulders and drug myself back up stair for many annoying hours of homework.
I really didn’t think about it when it happened about a week ago, but that young stranger was about to change my normal, lonely life forever and as of this moment there is no turning back. I’m Kitsunimi Tanaka, an average seventeen year old high school student. Average grades, average social life, below average height and weight, or so I thought, until I met Taikineko Akimoto, a not so average teenage half demon. No, you didn’t misread it, I did say half demon, and as for me, I guess I’m part demon too. A kitsune, now my name actually makes sense. I live in a small area outside of Tokyo called Koto, with my part time mom. Calm is over us now not quite a calm, but a joy. Unlike the days after we first meet. I could explain that to you, I was going to wait until later, but, I guess, the sooner the, um, hmm. “Better?” Yea, better.
I opened my eyes; then closed and rubbed them vigorously. “Morning already?” I took a quick shower and hurried down to grab a bite for breakfast. My mom was standing beside the counter drinking her usual forty-two ounce mug of Black Death. I’m not sure how she’s still alive with how much caffeine she ingests everyday. “Mom, if you don’t stop drinking so much coffee, you’ll die.”
“Die if I do, die if I don’t.”
“I have to go.” I grabbed a piece of toast off the counter and headed out the door. “I can’t believe that woman. She’s raising a child by herself and she doesn’t even act as much like a grown up as I do,” I mumbled with a mouthful of toast.
“Locker four sixty-two, my friend. Konnichawa.” I bowed to it.
“Kitimi, what was that?”
“Ami.” Ami is my best friend, and has been for nearly ten years now. It’s been so long I don’t even remember how it started. “Hey, long time no see.”
“We saw each other yesterday.”
“I know, so long.”
“Um, yeah. Let’s get to class.” Ami and my classes are nearly all the same, all but our English. I’m taking my fourth year and she’s taking only her third.
After school I went straight to my locker. “Ami?”
“Yeah?”
“Whacha doin’ later?”
“Sleeping,” she chuckles.
“Before that.”
“I don’t know.”
“Well than, I guess you can come over.”
“Alright.”
“Four.”
“Four it is. Bye Kitimi.”
“Bye Ami.” She walked out that door like an ugly striper walks off stage, with an empty g-string.
I started off back toward home. I noticed a large rock just up the sidewalk. I stopped and stared at it for a moment. “Hmm. This is one cool rock. I must kick it.” I kept my eyes on that rock all the way to the last cross section before my house. I continued to watch the rock roll out on to the road. I chased toward it and crash. I ran into someone. “Oh God, I am so sorry.” I laid my bag down and helped him up.
“Oh it’s fine. I should have been watching where I was going.” He’s cute.
“You’re that guy.”
“What?”
“I mean, hi, I’m Kitsunimi,” I greet him with a smile. I looked up and hardly noticed his cat ears blending into his hair past his strangely erotic green eyes. “Must pet ears.” He stepped back some, but I still got my hands on them. I feel stupid for that.
“Oww, oww, let go.”
“They won’t come off.”
“Of course not, they’re real.”
“They’re real?”
“I just said that. Hmm, maybe you can say they’re just like yours.”
I jump back and cover my ears. “Well, um, it was nice meeting you.” I grabbed my bag and ran the rest of the way home. I sat down right on the inside of the house. “That was so scary.”
“What was scary?” I turned back to see my mom home. “Why are you home so late?”
“Wooh mom, what are you doing here?”
“I live here.”
“You know what I mean.”
“Forced day off, and you didn’t tell me why you’re late.”
“I ran into a person, so I stopped to help him up. Nothing major.”
“Oh, so that’s it. Was he cute?”
“Mom, can you please just stop talking. Ami should be over soon, and I don’t want her to think you’ve gone crazy.”
I ran up stairs and quickly changed from my uniform. After sitting and waiting for twenty minutes of doing my English homework, Ami arrived. “Kit, Ami’s here,” my mom yelled.
“Send her up,” I yelled back.
Then I can’t believe what came out of her mouth next. “She is waiting for you through the gates of Hell.”
“What’s she doing here?”
“Forced day off, most likely too much overtime. It’s weird that both jobs picked the same day.”
“Yeah, it’s rather ironic.”
“Guess what happened to me on the ay home today?”
“Hmm, what?”
“I was walking down the sidewalk and I saw this amazing rock. I kicked it out into the intersection between here and school. I didn’t want to lose it so I continued after it, but I lost it when I ran into this guy.”
“Oh, so, was he cute?”
“A total hottie, longer black hair and eyes a shade of green I’ve never seen before.”
“He is young, attractive, and walking around here, but you don’t know him.”
“I know totally weird right. Ready to do some homework?”
“Oh yeah, I’ve been waiting all day for this.”
“Cute, lying suits you Ami.” After homework, a few laughs, we hugged and Ami left for home. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Yeah, bye.” I waved to her as she walked out into the well light night streets.
The next morning I got up too late to even grab breakfast. I ran around so fast, I’m lucky I didn’t forget to put my skirt on. I thought my stuff into miss four sixty-two and just got into science before the bell rang. “Please take your seat miss Tanaka and I hope for your sake you have your homework done.”
“Yes, miss Manami.” I took my seat beside Ami, close to the door.
“Today we’re going to be experimenting with chemicals so we will all need goggles and aprons.”
“Ami you wouldn’t believe it.” I whispered.
“Walked out of the house in your underwear again?”
“I do that too much, don’t I?” Ami giggles.
“Do you have something to share with the class, Miss Tanaka?”
I stood up out of my seat. “Yes, I was nearly late to class today because I almost walked out of the house in my underwear. I would have just come to school that way, but I’m almost certain that I would have been against dress code, and I don’t want a detention.”
“Miss Tanaka, please take your seat.”
“Add the propanoic acid to the Petri-dish then light it.”
“Is that what it says?”
“I may have summed it up.” Ami poured the clear liquid into the dish, and I flashed the lighter on. A large black puff of smoke, I blow back into our faces. “Oh God,” I coughed.
“Good job Kitimi.”
“Miss Tanaka, that is the last straw, out in the hall before you blow up the class room.”
“Yes, Miss Manami.” I grabbed my stuff and trotted out of the room. I leaned my back against the wall and pouted my lip. “Well, this sucks. Why do we have to have an experiment on the same day I’m nearly late. I closed my eyes just to calm myself down.
“Hey, we need to talk.” My eyes busted open to see Taikineko right in front of me.
“You go to my school now. Are you slaking me or something?”
“Not exactly.”
“Well it doesn’t matter. If I get caught talking to you I’ll get in worse trouble.”
“Can I please, please, please just introduce myself?”
“Yes, yes, just hurry.”
“Hello Kitsunimi, I’m Taikineko.” He offered his hand to me, but I smiled and acted as if it weren’t there.
“Now go. I don’t want a detention.” I watched him walk down the hall sliding his feet.
“Miss Tanaka, there is only five minutes of class left. Please come in and help Miss Sato clean up.”
“Yes, Miss Manami.” I rushed over to Ami and could hardly even squeak out words. “T-that guy, that guy!”
“Huh, what guy?”
“The hottie black haired guy.”
“From yesterday? What about him?”
“I just saw him in the hall.”
“No way? He goes here?”
“I guess so.”
“That’s so cool. Fresh meat, someone that doesn’t know how weird you are.”
“I think he does.”
“Huh?”
“Yesterday I just had to pet his cat ears; I think I even said ‘must pet ears.”
“You didn’t?”
“I did.”
“What in the world are they made of?”
“Um, skin and bones.”
“Ewe, necrophilia.”
“I don’t think so.”
The whole day I was sure that Taikineko was following, lurking in the shadows. Why would anyone follow me? I’m nothing special, at least I thought that then. A crack, a squeak, a sudden small bang. What, are we in the woods? I jumped at ever slightest sound. I didn’t know why he wanted me. I do now, but that is beside the point. I searched around the halls by my locker, and quickly grabbed my stuff as soon as the final bell rang.
I bounded out the door and down the sidewalk. I didn’t make it very far past the parking lot of the school before my foot found a misplaced rock. This rock caused me to fall and I hurt my ankle. “Oh no, are you alright?” I heard a male voice run towards me.
“I think so.” I tired to stand by it hurt too badly when I tried to put pressure on it. I started to lose my balance and fall back, but I was caught by two strong arms. “Thanks for catching me, but I can get home on my own.”
“Strong, independent person or not, you really hurt that ankle. Please let me help you home.” I looked up to see whose arms were around me and as you can guess, it was Taikineko.
“No, it’s fine. Please just let me go.” He gentle lifted me up off the ground. I didn’t actually want to protest, but I knew I must. “Let go of me. Put me down.”
“Stop moving so much, or you could get hurt worse.” I stopped fussing and started to hold my breath. “You’re quiet the child aren’t you? Well, I hope you can hold your breath until we get to your house,” he chuckled. He started going on and on about something, but I totally wasn’t listening. The next thing I knew was that we were at my house. “So what do you think?”
“Huh? What did you say? I wasn’t listening.” He rolled his eyes.
“Where’s your house key, so we can get inside?”
“What inside and out of my dress?”
“You’re in a skirt.”
“That’s beside the point. I know you’ve been following me all day.”
“Did you see me ‘following’ you?”
“No.”
“Then, how would you know?” He never gave me a straight forward answer. He sat me down on my front stoop and proceeded to sit beside me. “So, I want to hear your plan on how you’re getting inside.”
“I’ll crawl in.”
“And hurt yourself more?”
“If that’s what I have to do.”
“Do you have anyone to call?”
“I’m not telling you that.” He just starred at me. “Fine, just to the couch then you’re so out of there.” I pulled the keys out of my pocket and handed them to him.
He picked me up again and carried me over the threshold, and into my house. This image scared me senseless, and I don’t understand why. “This is a nice place you have here. Rather American, don’t you think?”
“My mom has always loved the western culture. The living room is just past the dining room.” He took me in and laid me down on the couch.
“Okay, well thanks. Bye.”
“Do you want me to get you some ice or something to prop your ankle on?”
“No, just go.” He walked out into the kitchen and started to open up cabinets. “What are you doing?”
“Where do you keep your plastic bags?”
“The drawer by the fridge.” Why am I helping him? He grabbed a pillow as he walked back in to the living room. He gently lifted my leg, laid it on the pillow, and put the bag of ice on it.
“Need anything else?”
“No thanks.” He finally left, and I hope he left my key.
I awoke a few hours later from a cold drop of water running down my leg. “What time is it?” I rubbed my eyes. It was getting close to seven. I rolled up and put my feet on the ground. I felt a sting run up into my knee. “The swelling went down a lot.” I turned to put pressure on it, but the stinging turned into scalding pain. “Oh god, and now I need to make dinner for mom.” I limped into the kitchen. “I can’t stand in here long enough to cook anything.” I hobbled over to my bag by the stairs and pulled out some money. “I guess I’ll have to order take-out.” I went back into the kitchen and called the only take-out place I know delivers to out here. “Hello Hatori Ramen. Can I order two chicken dumplings and rice combos? Yes, 1256 Inu Sakura Drive. Alright, thank you.”
I waited close to the front doo for the deliver man. The deliver man was normally this semi-feeble old man, but he was always kind and would hit on me, that was scary. I waited for twenty minutes and was about to call the restaurant back; until the doorbell rang. “Coming.” I limped to the door and flung it open. To my surprise there was a new delivery man. “Hi Ikuhara.” Ikuhara is the hottest and most popular guy in the whole school: he has orange hair and auburn eyes. He is so cute and has the best smile.
“Here’s your food. That will be 2500 yen.”
“Here,” I laid the money in his hand and rubbed mine done his.
He finally looked up at me face. “Oh Kitsunimi. Hi.”
“Hi.”
“So, eating two of those meals probably isn’t good for you.”
“The other is for my mom.”
“Oh, where is she?”
“At work, I refrigerate it so she can have it when she gets home.”
“Great idea. Well bye.” He started to leave.
“Wait your tip.” I put too much pressure on to my ankle and topple back on to the stairs.
“Are you alright?”
“Yeah, I just hurt my ankle earlier. I’m fine.”
“Oh alright.” He ran off and into his car; he could have at least helped me up.
After my dinner I drug myself up to my room for homework. As soon as I got done with my English I decided to call Ami. “Hey, is Ami there.”
“Yeah, this is she.”
“How are you?”
“Bored out of my mind and you?”
“In a tremendous amount of pain and no pills to call my own.”
“What happened?”
“I twisted my ankle on the way home today.”
“Ouch, did you tell your mom?”
“She’s too busy. I couldn’t call her.”
“Did you get anything to eat?”
“Yeah, I order out.”
“Did you see your delivery man boyfriend?”
“I wish he was my boyfriend.”
“Gross, isn’t he like eighty.”
“No, Ikuhara is the new delivery boy.”
“Oh!”
“He is just so cute.”
“What about that new black haired hottie?”
“So how was swimming practice, Kaito there?”
“Kitimi?”
“Huh?”
“What about him?”
“Nothing, I just don’t feel like talking about him now.”
“Oh my Go, something happened between you two.”
“No, not really.”
“Oh come on, come on tell me, please.”
“Nothing happened.”
“You two did something, I know it.”
“Why do you always have to twist and manipulate things so they end up sounding so wrong?”
“I’m a sixteen year old girl?”
“So true.”
“Come on tell me, what happened?”
“Nothing okay, can we just change the subject?”
“If nothing happened, you wouldn’t be so mad.” She had me there.
“Do you really, truly want to know?”
“What do you think?”
“Oh, well if you don’t care I guess I can hand up.”
“Kitimi?”
“Huh?”
“Get on with it.”
“Fine, remember when I said I twisted my ankle on the way home.”
“Well duh.”
“Well it happened right past the school’s parking lot, I couldn’t even walk on it.”
“How’d you even get home?”
“I’m getting there.”
“Sorry.”
“As I was saying, I couldn’t walk and I fell backwards into someone’s arms.”
“Who? Who?”
“Settle down. It was Taikineko, the black haired hottie.”
“Oh my god.”
“He insisted on carrying me all the way home.”
“Awww, how romantic.”
“No, it was just weird.”
“I think he likes you.”
My face was getting very red. “N-no way, you’re crazy.”
“Did he get you ice and help prop your ankle up?”
“Um, yeah, but I told him not to.”
“He likes you.”
“Ami.”
“What?”
“Shut up.”
“What, no one can like you? You’re gorgeous, smart and funny.”
“Whatever Ami. Well, I have to get going bye.”
“Bye.” I hung up the phone and fell asleep.