The infirmary wing of the school was untouched by time since World War II if Shiro had to guess. A long row of beds triggered images from a past that he longed to forget. Only one of those had been occupied for the past week by Nik, who they were all gathered now to see on his last day there. When he entered along with Jacy, Iv, Hendrick and Jabari he saw that Svea was already by the boy’s side. Although they took turns visiting him and helping him catch up with school work, from what Iv had told him, the blonde girl was almost always there. Guilt, Shiro assumed, might have had something to do with it.
“So, what did I miss?”
“Try-outs for the football team are later this afternoon,” Hendrick announced, but by his grimace it seemed he quickly after realized that Nik would not be able to take part.
“It’s fine, I don’t think I would be fit for that sport anyway.”
Shiro unfortunately had to agree. He seemed very fragile, even more so after having fallen sick. The three of them refused to tell anyone what they were subjected to, but Jacy let it slip that physical work was involved and both Iv and Nik, despite their slim builds, handled it well. The reason for the latter being stuck in the infirmary for a week was another. He didn’t mean to listen in, but one day while he was showering Iv came to their room to talk with Jacy and due to his evolved hearing, he overheard them talking about smoke. If he had to guess, Shiro would say that was what troubled Nik’s immunity, but he kept his inkling to himself.
“Are all of you guys part of the team?”
“Me, Shiro and Jacy are,” Hendrick explained. “Shiro is the team captain and the striker. Youngest ever in the history of the school. He is pretty impressive on the field, which is why the role went to him and not Kyle despite him having more experience. Jacy and I are merely midfielders.”
While everything Hendrick said about him was correct, he still felt like he had just been complimented. The Brit probably said it factually, but Shiro was a pretty prideful person. Having others acknowledge his abilities was inevitably going to boost his ego.
“Jabari could join us,” said Jacy as he put an arm around the boy’s shoulders.
“Thanks, but I was going to try out for the cheerleading team. I went to a ballet summer school in France a few years ago so I’m better suited for that, I think.”
Objectively, Shiro had to admit that Jabari did seem better fit physically for that. While they were both lean, Shiro had more strength that only partially came from working out. He had to justify it, though, and it didn’t hurt that the gained muscles enhanced his visuals as well.
“Great! I’ve heard that the cheerleading team lacks male representatives. And in that case you can join me and Svea for the auditions!” The two girls were an obvious fit for the team. But that left…
“That’s nice…all of you will be busy for the next month. I mean that leaves me time to recover…”
“You can train with us.”
Shiro wasn’t usually known as the nice guy. Many wondered how he even had friends…well, only one friend really, and that was Jacy, more by chance rather than choice, but that was up until now. This might have been his last chance to pretend to be an ordinary human and he promised himself to bring back that younger, more innocent version of him that disappeared a long, long time ago. If anything, he could at least try by opening himself up to these people.
“While we train for the matches, you can work on your recovery. That way we have plenty of time to spend with each other!”
He imagined for a second that everyone was happy with the idea and cheered him on like they sometimes do in the movies. They were happy, but they were looking at him as if he said something weird.
“Uhm ... are you ok?” Jacy even asked.
Alright, so maybe cheeriness didn’t suit him. He was back to the entitled persona. If it won him Jacy, it couldn’t be so bad.
***
Competition season was approaching. Their school was not part of any official tournaments, but they annually competed with other boarding schools in the country. They were now on the field, taking a break from practice. Shiro knew he screwed up. Not in the usual sense, though. Rather, he was too good. He could sense Kyle trembling with jealousy and while he very much enjoyed that, he was not too fond of the looks Jacy and Hendrick sent his way. They kept complimenting him, but there was suspicion in their eyes. He figured he could not fool them for long, not when they were getting so close, all seven of them.
As promised, Nik was not left out. During breaks they would spend time with him going over the exercises recommended by the medical staff here. They didn’t seem to be doing much for him, but that was mainly because Nik already looked a lot better than before. Shiro suggested that he could take this chance to build up some muscles, to which Nik bitterly replied that that was not going to be possible. He did not push for more.
That was what they were supposed to be doing right now, go over the exercises, but they were distracted by the cheerleading team practicing on the other side of the field. Iv, Svea and Jabari all made the cut and they were getting plenty of attention whenever they walked in the hallways with their black and blue uniforms. He overheard people talking about Iv in particular, but that was not something he wanted to ponder over. He was violent by nature and the years of ‘domestication’ as his fellow creatures put it were more easily threatened than he would have liked to admit. The other players were also focused on the cheerleaders, but unlike him, they were all beat. He looked in almost prime condition, which unfortunately drew attention. The only other person who didn’t quite look as if they went through hell and back was Hendrick, though he insisted that he needed to have a smoke break because that would reinvigorate him. Jacy also passed on hanging with him and Nik because he was too tired, choosing to go under a tree and nap. Sleeping came so easily to him. Shiro forgot how that was like.
“You know,” Nik broke him out of his train of thoughts, “Kyle came into Tyler and I’s room the other day. He said its unnatural for anyone to be this good. He suspects that illegal substances may be involved. I think you should really be worried after today’s practice. He may have just found a reason to fight you for that captain position.”
Nik was right. He wanted to win the competition, wanted to be admired, but he forgot to dial everything down to human level.
“I don’t think you are using anything, by the way. But Kyle was right about one thing. It is unnatural.”
He knew by the way Nik looked at him that it was time.
“Then gather everyone in the in-door gym after dinner.”
***
He could hear them from the hallway. As soon as the door was in sight, despite being at a great distance, his eyes focused on even the smallest of details. He was silent and undetected as of yet, but they were all in his line of focus. It felt like hunting.
In one corner of the gym, Iv, Svea and Jabari were going over the choreography. In the other, Nik, Jacy and Hendrick were doing warm-up exercises. He watched them for a while, waiting for the right moment to step out of the darkness of the hallway into the blinding lights of the gym and reveal himself. He didn’t have to wait long. His ears, attuned to even the smallest sounds, got hold of what Jacy had muttered under his breath.
“Where on earth is he?”
Why, waiting to make his entrance of course. And he did. He could feel each set of eyes as they turned to him one by one, followed by their gasps: first Nik, then Svea, Jacy, Iv, Hendrick and lastly Jabari. He took his time strolling in, parading to show off his true form.
The walk must have been what gave him away. Even on two feet, he walked with elegance, but with a carefulness to his step that suggested he might attack at any time.
“Shiro?” It was, not surprisingly, Jacy who guessed. Almost one year of living together would do that. Shiro could in turn recognize by now Jacy’s way of breathing, or even his steps.
“He…he’s…a kitsune!”
That revelation came however much faster than he predicted, and from someone he didn’t expect, either. Jabari. He remembered him using a book about folktales and myths to figure out that Svea was a skogsrå. He kept seeing him with it during lunch breaks even after the incident. His studies seemed to have paid off. He was, indeed, a kitsune. Nevertheless, he did not look like the ones Jabari might have seen illustrated. For one, it was usually women, very young or very old, who were said to possess the ability to shift into foxes. More importantly, he did not have nine tails, but merely four. Sensing the boy’s confusion, he decided it was time to come back to his human form. He walked to the bench and picked up a towel with his sharp teeth, then returned in front of his stunned companions and let his mind shift from one alter to another. By now, after centuries of mastering it, the transition felt like tipping the scale of his soul on one side or another.
He was acutely aware that his nakedness broke away whatever trance his fox form and transition put the six of them in. Swiftly covering himself with the towel, he took his time looking carefully at their reactions and allowing them to break the silence at their own pace. Four of them realized after a good minute that they should probably look away, which they did. Not that he cared. Shame was a very human concept that he had a hard time grasping even after trying to connect with his human side, which is what he was here for. Two, to his delight, took longer to admire.
“That was my towel.” A magnificent ice breaker. Shiro had intentionally picked Hendrick’s cloth. He recognized it by the herbal scent; half poison, half nectar.
“If you are a kitsune, why do you only have four tails? Is it like a gradual thing? And are you like a good one or an evil one?”
“You are right, Jabari, it is a gradual process. The more you evolve, the more tails you gain until you finally get all nine of them and officially become a god. Far above all human understanding. But I have yet a long way to go. As for your other question, I was assigned to be a good fox. A zenko kitsune.” His exceptional status as a male kitsune, especially a young one, which was extremely rare, meant that people familiar with the stories were even more wary of him. He had to earn their trust. But the real reason why he initially decided to follow the path of good as humans understand it was so that he could relish in that small shadow of doubt that sparkled in their eyes. He enjoyed winning them over, earning their trust, something he was good at because of his charm.
“Now you know why I am so great on the field. Hard as I tried to hide it, I seem to have failed and now, as I was made aware, Kyle believes the reason might have something to do with performance-enhancing substances.”
“He’s definitely on to you now. Even if you stop showing off” – he had to cock his brow at Hendrick’s choice of words – “he might nonetheless suspect it’s because you want to get him off your tracks.”
“We will think of a strategy, but first please do us a favor and put some clothes on.”
He was going to bite back and tell Jacy that they had seen each other in a similar state of undress before, but changed his mind last minute. With a theatrical “as you wish”, he made his way back to the lockers, all the while keeping his ears trained on the murmured conversation happening behind his back.
“I certainly didn’t mind the view.”
“Is that the view you’re focused on as opposed to the four-tailed fox we just saw?”
“I’ll have to go check the book again. This changes everything! Not one, but two creatures confirmed!”
“Did you guys see how his eyes glowed? It was like a bright yellow…such a pretty color.”
“I knew it wasn’t anything illegal! Granted, I did not expect this. So what exactly can a kitsune do?”
“Well, I would guess he has highly developed hearing. Which means, he can definitely hear us.”
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