“Didn't anyone tell you, you shouldn't walk alone in dark alleyways, pretty boy?” The Neko with red hair and a sharp chin asked with a leer. If Kita hadn't smelled him, he would have thought him to be a fox kit.

“Boy? I'm no boy.” Kita raised his lip in disdain.

The ginger cat stepped forward, grabbed Kita's chin, and tugged it this way and that. “Are you even out of high school little one?”

“High school?” Kita scoffed and yanked his chin out of the Neko's grasp, “I'm much older than you, cat.”

The gang froze. A man with plump cheeks and a very short nose gasped, “the human knows who we are!”

Kita blinked. What are they, stupid? Couldn't they smell he wasn't human? Couldn't they see the magic? Kita tilted his head in confusion, “how old are you neko, anyway?”

They all looked at each other but it was the ginger haired one that answered, “All of us are over thirty, so, older than you. You do make me curious though, how did you know what we are?” The cat's blue hooded eyes watched Kita without blinking.

“Because I'm a Kitsune.” He pointed to his white hair.

Red reached up and slid his fingers through Kita's hair. He was gentle with the gesture, which surprised the fox to no end. The boy/man had cornered him in an alley after all. “Your hair is beautiful, as is the rest of you. But that doesn't mean you're Yokai, it simply means you're a very pretty human.”

The fox covered his eyes and shook his head. These boys were so young! If they couldn't smell what he was, it could only be their youth, or maybe his magic ability had grown stronger and he hadn't realized it? Kita decided to show them who he was because they certainly wouldn't believe it otherwise.

He sighed and flicked his hand out, in a line, breaking his magical camouflage. His pupils elongated into slits. His hair lengthened, instead of stopping at the middle of his back, it reached his knees. His false human ears disappeared and his real ones flickered into sight. And lastly, nine beautiful and elegant white tails appeared behind him. “You see? I am not human nor am I your prey. Go back to your homes and learn more, before you all become the prey yourselves!”

Ginger chuckled and leaned against the opposite wall. “But now we know our little find is actually a giant treasure. How could we simply walk away?” He looked Kita up and down with admiration glowing in his eyes.

Kita almost felt like preening under Red's gaze, but all thoughts of being flattered went out the window when the gangster said, “We might be younger than you, but there are many more of us.”

A neko with black and grey striped hair and yellow eyes exclaimed, “It's like finding the holy grail of yokai!” Then, the gang, besides Ginger, started to converge on Kita and he began to worry he'd made the wrong choice.

“One last warning because I don't want to hurt such young kittens! Leave me alone and go home!” Kita called out as he backed closer to a wall.

One of the gang jumped forward and latched onto Kita's wrist. Kita showed his teeth in a snarl, “so be it.” he growled out and all hell broke loose.