As the three adults walked to the dining room and sat down, Mr. Suzu started to pray. "Dear God, thank you for the herbs and vegetables you helped us grow. Thank you for the meat that was given to us by the butcher. Itadakimasu!" And with that, everybody began to dig in, laughing heartily, teasing each other, and enjoying themselves. When dinner was over, Akarui, Connor, and Juniper happily said their thanks and left waving. The Suzu's cleaned up, and Aki looked at the clock. 6:53. "I'm going out."

"Ok. Take care of yourself, Watashi no Hinode," her father called.

"I will!" she called, exiting out the back. This is what she had been waiting for all day, a chance to walk through the forest. In her opinion, the lush greenery was prettier just as the last rays of the sun sank beneath the ocean. She admired the massive trees, wildflowers, and fuzzy moss. Trailing her fingers over the rough bark, taking in every smell, she wondered if her senses had always been this strong. Since that summer when she was seven, when that person turned her hair gold, when she felt an indescribable sensation flow through her body, and then nothing.

What was it?

Who was it?

Why did it have to be me?

Where did that feeling come from? So many questions filled her head as she walked, but she was snapped out of her overwhelming state of mind when she heard a horn and then a yelp.

She ran out of the forest and saw a trucker kick whatever he ran over out of his way before jumping back in his Floord, mumbling to himself, and speeding down the road. Hopping over the barrier and into the middle of the road, she ran to the bushes and pushed them apart. What she saw made her heart stop. A beautiful fox lay in disarray, sprawled out on the ground. Its would-be bright, orange coat was brown, matted, and spotted with red. Perfectly sculpted body malnourished as if it had gone without hunting for years. She picked the injured creature up gently, noting that it- no- the fox was not an 'it' but male.

"You shouldn't be all the way out here. Were you abandoned?"

As she whispered questions to the fox, but more to herself, she realized that she should head back home to treat his injuries, which were, as far as she could tell, a scratch above his eye, a nick on his shoulder, and a sprained foot. When she got to the house, she quickly headed to a shed hidden behind a small group of trees. Her hands flew about the shelves, grabbing what she could and thinking about what she was about to do. She had done this many times on smaller animals, all of which had had speedy recoveries. But this was different somehow. She knew what to do and how to do it, but she was nervous. What if she messed up? What if she made it worse?

She shook her head to clear her mind. She was going to do this, and she was going to succeed. After a couple minutes of prep, fidgeting, and praying, she went straight into the procedure. She checked to see that he was breathing first, then proceeded to find a vein. She carefully drew some blood for study later and moved on to cleaning his wounds. The scratch wasn't as shallow as she had thought, and the gash needed immediate attention. She grabbed the antiseptic and cleaned it so she could see. She pressed firmly to stop the bleeding, went to her drawer, pulled out some thread and a needle, and got to work. A few stitches later, the wound was sealed, and she had moved on to wrapping the fox's foot. When she was done, she took the unconscious animal to her room and placed him on her small couch. Surely he would be more comfortable on something softer than the bush he was kicked into.

She looked at her phone, which was lying where she left it on her desk. 8:56. A little over two hours. It's not the latest she's been out, but definitely the most eventful. She would worry about bathing the fox in the morning. Stretching, changing in the bathroom, and curling up, Aki quickly drifted off to sleep.

The following day, Aki woke up to her early alarm, signifying that the sun was rising. She looked around her room and saw the fox in the same place she left him last. "Poor thing, all alone and broken," Aki mutters. She observes the fox as his ear twitches before he opens his eyes. Why wasn't it noticeable before? Heterochromia is usually rare in foxes, and the only color combinations she knew of were brown and blue. But lo and behold, staring back at her were two beautiful orbs, one blue like the most translucent ocean and one purple, as if carved out of amethyst.

The fox slowly blinked as if to assess its position and surroundings. Then he got off the couch, shook himself, and stared at Aki. After a few moments of silently staring at each other, the fox moved toward the door, Aki following cautiously. As soon as the door had been opened for him, he trotted out the door and down the stairs. Aki was worried and yet surprised at the same time. She had never heard of a fox with such vibrant colors or seen such a speedy recovery. But Aki was glad that her learning and skills had not failed her. Rushing to put on her red hakama and white kosode, she scampered after the fox waiting for her at the bottom of the stairs.

"What took you so long?" he seemed to say, to which she responded by rolling her eyes. She nudged the dirty animal outside with her toe, then slipped on her tabi and geta. Heading to her shed again, she filled a large bucket with water and poured it on the fox. As the water cascaded over the fox, bright orange could be seen peeking through the brown. Twice more, and the fox was clean. Drying him off with a towel, she noticed that the wound she had stitched up was gone. She put him down and rubbed behind his ears. "Do you have a name, little fox?"

The fox found a stick and wrote in scribbled kanji.

"Fluffy. I see," Aki responded. "Well then, you smart fur ball, you'll spend today with me at the shrine. So I hope you will behave yourself."

The fox chirped in response and walked ahead of Aki towards the shrine, nipping at the butterfly that would occasionally fly past his head. She giggled the whole walk there and only stopped when she ran into a broad chest. "Ow, my nose," she said, tears brimming at the corners of her eyes.

"My bad," a gravelly voice said. "Good morning, Aki."

"Why did you stop in front of me, Akarui! You almost ruined my outfit!"

"Well, for one, I just woke up not too long ago. Second, I don't really understand why, but there is a pest that has been looking back at you while trying to eat my beloved friend." He looked down and glared at the fox, who equally shared his disdain.

"Cut it out, you two. Rui-san, this is Fluffy. I found him beaten badly on the side of the road. Fluffy, this is my best friend, Akarui. He is the second oldest of four, but he's adopted."

"You could have left out that last part, orokana shōjo."

"It's too late to take it back now. Plus, what's he gonna do with that information, Akarui?"

"He can do lots of things, that sly fox," Akarui sneered.