Kitori quickly awoke as the buzzing of his cell phone alerted him of the new day coming. He looked out the window and admired the beautiful sunrise. Colors of autumn swirled in the sky as a gentle fade. Birds escaped from the chambers of clouds in the warm sky. Kitori opened his blinds and his eyes shifted to the molting flowers. He sighed and opened his door to a narrow hallway. He slid down the stairs and out to the garden where he frowned as a slight breeze blew sorrowful petals south. Kitori noticed a small shadow behind a blanket of suffering leaves. He drew closer to investigate and he was surprised to see a small dusk-colored wild animal with pointed ears and a small nose. He noticed it had 2 swirling tails and an abnormal white crescent marking on its forehead. It wasn’t long before the animal awoke and was alerted to the new surroundings. It was resting in Kitori’s lap as he ate his breakfast.
“Oh, hello there.” Kitori looked down as the creature peered above curiously. Kitori pet the creature softly as it climbed up on the table. He laughed as it pawed at his plate, in hope for a treat. As Kitori fed the creature, he began thinking about what it could be. An entity? A ghost? A god? He quickly fed the creature a slice of bacon from his plate.
“Hmm, since we live together now, what shall I name you?” as he finished speaking, a piece of paper floated over to him and an invisible force picked up a pen.
“W-what the?!” Kitori jumped back in fear and grabbed the creature. But, the creature’s eyes were glued to the floating objects. Kitori blinked as the pen flowed across the paper, making words. Kitori’s eyes went big as he read the paper. My name is Kazuya, I am a kitsune spirit that somehow transferred to your world, help me, please.
Kitori looked at the Kitsune, then at the paper.
“Well, the thing is I have to go to work.” Kitori groaned, unsurely. “You can stay here, explore?” The pen began painting the paper with ink again. I have a solution, give me a moment. Kitori sighed and cleaned his dish in the sink. He could see the Kitsune pacing back and forth until a cloud of smoke erupted.
“I-IS MY HOUSE ON FIRE?!” He coughed.
“I’m very sorry sir.” A small feminine voice whispered. Kitori was shocked to see the kitsune had transformed into a girl. She had dusk-colored hair and pale skin. She also had these pure blue eyes. “HUH?!” Kitori yelled.
The girl laughed, covering her mouth. She let go of her hair to reveal pointy, black, feline ears.
A... human transformation.
Kitori stood astonished as the girl giggled.
***
Back at Kitori's workplace, everyone was chatting like there was no tomorrow. "No no no no, guys, listen, Listen, I got some good shit for ya." a young man laughed in a southern accent, clearly exaggerating something. "What're y'all talkin' about." a light blonde girl snorted back.
"Oh nothing, Just some science facts." another employee said as she flipped her gold-dyed hair and rolled her brown eyes.
"Yuki, please don't," said a brunette girl with dark orange streaks running down her bang.
"Hey, Kitori!" Yuki, the brunette, called out to Kitori, catching him unaware. The whole group of 3 had turned toward him.
"U-uh, hi?" Kitori lightly put down his coffee and gave a smile to greet his friends.
"Hey, your hair looks terrible," Jaron mumbled with a face of disgust.
"Wow, rude." Yuki walked away to a closet. Kitori was secretly happy that his little friend could help out with his lonesomeness.
"Hopefully you're doing fine, though. Don't really feel like getting expelled." Ayisa winked. Kitori laughed. "That's right."
"Hey, do you know anything about ghosty stuff or folklore?"
"Ayisa, don't say spooky as a kid would. That's hella cringe." a guy named Dave remarked, smiling through his tuxedo and red tie.
Ayisa walked back with a broom and slightly kicked Dave in the back.
"Aw come on, I had that from my boss." Dave murmured.
"My life's been spooky lately." Kitori replied, drinking some water.200Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBZVM2zpGcF
"This is hella edgy." She smiled, mocking Dave. "Anyway, me and Bessie were chilling in the back when I saw an invisible force. Apparently, it was a bird." Yuki whispered, walking to a storage room.
"She wanted to eat it. That is the main thing I notice here. She's always hungry!" Jaron laughed.
"I ate bread, you guys think I care now?" Yuki smiled with eyebrows of innocence.
As everyone laughed, Kitori felt a small poke and a whisper beside him.
"Hellooo," Kazuya giggled with an awkward smile.
The group of people looked behind to the strange girl, they were all puzzled, looking at the huge hat she had put on her head.
"Woah, who's this?"
"Uh, this is Kazuya. She's my cousin from Japan."
"Oh, well, that's pretty neat, she looks like a foreigner. And a damn cute one." Dave smiled at Kazuya.
"Hey, I don't appreciate sexual harassment, sir." Yuki glared at Dave.
"You're just mad because you're single."
Everyone laughed once again.
"I don't like this." Kitori looked down and whispered.
"Don't worry, I'll just keep my tail and ears away."
The group looked up at her with confusion.
"Odd cousin, huh?"
"Yeah, but I think she's alright. So, you're from Japan?" Jaron asked her.
"Y-yeah," she answered awkwardly.
"Nice, I'm going to get back to work." Kitori started to walk away but Kazuya stopped him.
"Wait, do you have a computer here?"
"Um, yeah."
"Could you use it?"
"Sure, let's go."
As they were walking, a small figure came out from under a shelf.
"Hello!" it called out.
"W-who said that?!" Kitori exclaimed.
"Look! A small cat thing!"
"That's not a cat thing, that's a cat spirit," Kazuya replied.
"Huh? Wait, can you see that thing?"
"Uh, yeah? It's a cat."
"Kaz, is this the thing that came here with you?"
"Yes, but she's a lot younger than me, so she's probably not that strong."
"Oh, okay."
Kazuya walked to the creature and whispered something to her.
"What's she doing?" Jaron asked.
"Telling her not to bother us too much," Kitori answered.
"How did you-"
"It's complicated."
The whole time, Kitori had been searching for a computer, but to no avail.
"Hey, Kazuya, where did you get that hat?"
"Oh, I stole it from the bathroom," she smiled.
"That's pretty bad, why did you do that?"
"Well, if a fox is seen, she can be captured. So I need a hat."
"Ah." Yuki sighed, confused.
Kazuya sat on a chair and watched as the others talked and laughed. She didn't mind being alone, but the loneliness was unbearable. Her mother died during a hunt, and her father left her for another. Her siblings and cousins have all moved away, so the only things she has now are the wild animals and the wind. She was used to her parents leaving her, and she wasn't sure if she'd ever find someone to love, or be loved back. The others noticed her silence and they asked what was wrong.
"I just want someone to love me," Kazuya answered.
"Hey, don't worry, you'll find someone." Yuki smiled.
~~~~~~part 1 end~~~~~~
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