Damn, he looks so cute looking at me like that. 

"All right. What have I got to lose," I tell him. Suddenly, he comes out of his stupor. 

Wait a minute. With every step he takes, he humanizes himself more and more, until a young man in traditional warrior's dress stands in front of me.
He stops abruptly in front of me, bending down to brush a tear from my face with his hand. 

"Hello, Asta," he smiles at me with his perfect face as he places his hand on my head. 

His strange white fringe remains in human form, a stark contrast to his black hair, but his colorless eyes are slowly taking on color.
He startles in anger and horror at the same time, mumbling something to himself and touching his ears. 

I don't know why, but I reach out to touch his ears. 

Judging by his expression, I probably shouldn't repeat it. 

As they say, half a thing is not always a whole thing. Self-recrimination.
Suddenly, he turns back into the fox. 

Now I understand his anger. 

"I didn't know. Sorry."
"Now you know. If you touch my ears, even in this form, I will turn back into the chain." He sighs and shakes his head. 

"Let's start at the beginning. The being you just saw is a Yokai, a demon called Ame onna. Normally, they are peaceful towards humans, except for the fact that"—his voice gets softer—"they steal children and make their mothers"—his voice gets louder—"do the same. But that was just on the margin." 

He clears his throat. 

"Well, this lady is an exception."
He catches my worried look. 

"Don't worry, as long as I'm with you, she can't hurt you. But now, let's talk about me." 

He straightens and bows. 

"I am a Kitsune with the rank of Ashirio, which I can see from your expression doesn't mean much. Well, you can easily find that out with a search engine these days. Your late grandmother brought me from Japan many years ago as a gift from the god Inari. Why I was given to your grandmother was probably a whim of my master. Since then, I've protected your grandmother, and now I'll protect you."
"Did my grandmother experience things like I did?"
He shakes his head. 

"More indirectly. I have never had direct contact like you. After all, it was more like Tsukumogami that haunted your grandmother from time to time."
"Tsukumogami?"
"Objects that take on a life of their own. Perhaps you noticed that as a child?"
"Yes, now that you mention it. Was there really an incident?"
"I have to admit"—his fluffy tail moves from right to left and under his snout—"that even for me, the situation is new. Acting in the background was uncomplicated for me. And much less stressful for you."
I ask him anyway, although my mind already knows the answer. 

"To put it plainly, encounters can happen at any time. For you, this means that you will have to carry me with you at all times," he replies, as expected.
"Will this spitting ever come to an end?" I have an uneasy feeling about this question. 

Of course, the answer to this question will not suit me. 

But it's worth a try.
He hesitates a little. He closes his muzzle a few times and opens it again. Then he scratches his head with his paw. "I'm probably not making myself clear in some places. My master has chosen me as a gift to your bloodline. I will stay with you and the rest of the unborn until I reach the highest rank."
For some inexplicable reason, his answer makes me angry. 

Under his confused gaze, I grab the ball and start running. 

I simply run away from the problems I never had until this chain. 

Let another bloodline deal with all this! Mine ends today.
I stop. 

Anger, confusion, and fear churn within me, battling for dominance. 

How did my life become so complicated so quickly? 

Why was I the one burdened with this responsibility? 

My heart races, pounding against my ribcage as if trying to escape the reality of my situation. 

I take deep breaths, trying to calm the storm inside me.
As I stand there, panting and clutching the ball, I realize that running away won't solve anything. 

The chain, the Kitsune, the Yokai—they're all part of my reality now. 

And somehow, I have to find a way to live with it.