FSE

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"So, it's Saturday what do you want to do?" The question was asked as water was poured over Matt. Steam filled the room with a comfortable, warm fog creating an enticing atmosphere. Naked, Matt sat in the tub filled with steaming water and at the side of the tub Nashiri sat attending to his job of washing the human. A Physics book sat at the edge of the sink. The complaint was heard by the fox last night, noted, and now it was taken care of. Matt had his book. The spirit had been so excited to show Matt that he walked right in the room with it as the tub filled with water. Matt was pleased, and so was Nashiri.

Leaning against the back of the tub, Matt pondered the question wanting more to relax in the warm water than to really talk. The fox had woken him up earlier in the morning than he'd like, and so the water made him even more unresponsive in his half-asleep state. The warmth didn't help him wake up, but he tried not fall asleep as he sat there, eyeing the fox.

"I'm not sure right now, Nashiri." Matt answered.

His voice must have sounded a little too sleepy as he felt a sharp pain course through him making him half jump out of the water, eyes wide and brimming with tears. Water flew wildly with the teens effort drenching the fox, his kimono, and just about everything else in the bathroom. Water ran down the mirror, dripped off the sink and toilet. Looking down at the attacked area there was a big red mark on his left inner thigh, right where Nashiri pinched him, hard too. His gaze went from his leg to the person who 'assaulted' him, and the look was that of hurt and betrayal.

"That really hurt, you jerk!" Matt proclaimed, his face contorted into visible distress, tears rolling down his face. Yet still, he made no action against the fox.

When Nashiri went to go back to cleaning Matt, but the boy pulled away. Hurt turned to anger. It was obvious that Matt didn't want to be touched by him Frowning at the action the fox left, muttering something about Matt being such a baby sometimes.

Lounging on Matt's bed, the fox laid on his side, one arm supporting his head lazily as he watched the closed bathroom door with anticipation.The teen was taking forever to bathe by himself, and Nashiri found himself getting tired of waiting for him. If Matt did not want to see him, then he would just leave and find something else to do. The fox, unlike Matt, can have fun - the teen was too focused on studying and school. It was one of the many flaws that the kitsune found he had to put up with. Education was the road to a better life, at least according to Matt, and the kid firmly believed that mantra. Everyone has their weaknesses, though, and Matt, no matter how hard he studied, simply couldn't grasp the concept of Physics. If you are not going to learn and understand it why try so much? It made little sense for the spirit, but he had to admire the boys determination.

It was that same determination that ruled over their meeting. The spirit remembered it like it was yesterday. He instantly attracted to the kid. He was kind and gave him lots of food, and even talked to him even though he was a fox. It wasn't the food that won the kitsune over though, although that was a good start, it was how selfless the kid was to him at the time. The fox almost felt compelled to pay back the kindness. Almost. Chuckling at the memories the fox perked up, sitting up as the door opened revealing a now clean Matt striding through. A towel draped over his shoulders he smiled at the fox.

"Finally," Nashiri said.

"When you left, you didn't have to take my clothes too." Matt complained spying the stolen clothes lying right in front of the lounged fox. Stepping up to the bed the teen grabbed them and put them on. Clothing himself quickly in the green shirt and faded jeans, he sat down on the bed to pull on his socks. Before he could rise again, he felt an arm wrap around his torso and chest pressed against his back followed by a long, drawn out sniff from the kitsune.

"You smell much better." Nashiri whispered in his ear. At least to humans he did. The words were aimed to inspire a better mood in Matt.

Matt refused to take the compliment and squirmed out of the spirit's grasp. He turned to face the fox disapprovingly, finger pointed at him. "First you pinch me and steal my clothes, then you try to act all sweet? I'm not buying it."

"Can't you drop that? It's in the past." The fox said, waving a hand at the boy as if dismissing his entire argument. The annoyed look the fox carried was quickly replaced with excitement. "Besides, I thought of something fun we could do."

"No sex," Matt stated firmly. "I just washed."

"The thought didn't even cross my mind, Kit." Nashiri teased, feigning offense that Matt would automatically jump to that conclusion. Though the effort sounded more strained than real, dispelling such an illusion.

Shifting his position, the fox got up and stretched. His arms reached high for the ceiling, hisback arched forward. He too was fully dressed wearing the same Kimono as last night though this time Hakama pants was worn over it. On his feet the kitsune had on a pair of tabi socks and geta sandals. The wooden sandals clanked on the wooden floor of Matt's room. Red hair tied back in a tight tail behind him the spirit looked like he just walked out of a historical japanese film.

"Let's go for a walk." he announced.

"Not wearing that." Matt protested, "You'll stand out too much."

The fox spirit took a minute to look over his choice of garments and smiled, "But I do look nice."

"That's not the point," Matt said. "You need to change into something more... modern. Take those off."

The teen knew that he was going to regret his choice of words the moment the fox smiled like a kid on christmas morning, "You said 'no sex' though." he retorted ideas and images flashing through his mind joyfully.

###

"You take things too seriously." Nashiri said. His clothes were sufficiently changed to a pair of jeans and a big, loose-fitting maroon hoodie with the letters 'A' and 'S' overlapping each other to form sort of sigil. What it meant, Nashiri had no clue. It was big and warm. The sleeves of the hoodie going slightly past the foxes wrists to his hands. Baggy was a word to describe how the hoodie looked. The look was complete with a pair of old tennis shoes, and a hat which sat crooked on the kitsune's head. The bill pointed to the right, and angled down. Despite Matts attempts to explain how a hat was 'properly' worn, the fox seemed to like it like that. At least he looked sort of normal. The hat matched the hoodie with the overlapping 'A' and 'S' in black print, and maroon color of it all.

"By the way, whose clothes are these? It doesn't smell like you, nor does it look like it would fit you." Nashiri asked

"My older brothers," Matt answered. "He's pretty big," he said looking over at the fox admiring how he looked in more modern clothes. "You look relaxed, where are we going?" he asked not helping but to look around the forest that Nashiri dragged him into. When the spirit suggested a walk Matt thought that they would be walking around town, not in the middle of a forest.

"You'll see." The fox said playfully, grabbing the boy's wrist and leading him through a thicker part of the forest, "Just don't wander off." he warned him realizing that Matt was straying from him.

The walk so far had not been particularly entertaining. They hadn't even seen any wildlife yet, and what was weirder is that the further they got into the forest the warmer and warmer it got. The chill of the cool Fall air was wearing thin giving way to summer-like conditions. It was both surprising and welcome - a good sort of change. Matt half wondered if this was a part of the foxes magic, but then decided against it. There was no way that Nashiri could affect an entire area like this.

The changes in condition made Matt even more curious about where they were going. He had never experienced such a dynamic change in weather like this, and so thoughts of a special, hidden place that only Nashiri knew about entered his head. He smiled at the thoughts, that Nashiri was going to share someplace special with him and it would be their little secret.

Indeed it would be someplace special, but before another thought could go through Matt's head the kitsune stopped and held his arm out to his side, a wall placed firmly between Matt and whatever was the supposed threat. The human didn't stop in time and ran into the arm, being a bit surprised by the sudden stop. Nashiri looked on alert, eyes carefully scanning the scene before him. His muscles tensed as if he were ready to move any which way the situation called for. On edge, Matt started to get a little nervous.

Seconds strained by the two of them just standing there, the air seeming to get thicker and thicker as unease started to settle in more and more. Matt opened his mouth to talk, but Nashiri cut him off with a sharp 'shh'. The world seemed so still, yet now it felt like they were being watched. How could Matt not have noticed that before?

Some time passed and eventually Nashiri dropped his arm and began to lead the way again. The eerie air was gone, but it looked like that the kitsune had not dropped his guard. His movements were more calculated than before, his steps quieter. Matt tried to be quieter too, but his steps were just as loud as before.

"What was that about?" he asked in a hushed tone, staying even closer to the fox than before. Nashiri however was silent, contemplative almost, as if deciding what and what not to tell Matt. Perhaps what is safe to tell? The foxes nose wrinkling with all the thinking going on in his head. He continued to lead the way though, slowly.

"Hey," Matt said tugging on the foxes hoodie. "Are you going to answer?"

It was then that Matt knew he made a mistake. The look that Nashiri gave him was one of frustration and impatience. His eyes narrowing on the subject of a human, stopping in his tracks, he opened his mouth and then closed it as if rethinking what he was about to say.

"Matt," the fox said quietly, "now is not the time for..."

Suddenly, he felt lighter than air as his feet unexpectedly left the ground. Matt turned his head in the direction of the fox, watching in horror as a blurry black mass bore done on Nashiri. For him, time seemed to slow down as he watched the kitsune battle the shadowy creature, the snarls, slashes, and brute strength of the two adversaries astounding him.

Before he could comprehend much the boy struck the ground with a dull thud, twigs and leaves cracking and rustling under him as he tumbled head over heel. Skidding to a stop with the wind thoroughly knocked out of him, he looked around in a daze, the world spinning around him. On shaky arms, he propped himself up, his breathing labored as he concentrated on not losing his dinner.

He could hear his name being called, again and again, out from somewhere in the distance. Unable to find the words to respond, his eyes focused on a bright blue flash, pulling his attention towards Nashiri. He watched as the kitsune conjured up bolts of blue flame - kitsune fire, he remembered - Nashiri and told him about it once before. The monster being driven back with each successful bolt. The creature being bathed in the hot flames, burning but not like anything from this world. The shadows seemed to melt, and pieces of the beast even scattering about from the force at which the fire was hitting it. Splattering and spreading its inky touch to anything it landed on. The scene was painted and eerie black, illuminated at times by flashes blue, here and then gone. Light lightning the kitsune struck with his fire.

However Matt saw blood seeping through the hoodie's left arm. The same arm that had been used to push him out of the way was visibly mangled. Skin had deep claw-like gashes and one could almost see bone if he looked hard enough. Nashiri did not have the advantage here, and in fact was disadvantaged from the beginning. All because of him. The sight was interrupted as his attention was once again drawn to Nashiri's voice urging him to run. Forcing himself to tear his eyes away from the wound he tried to get up by froze when he got a better look at the monster the fox was fighting.

The monster, there was no other word for it, was sulking low, but its body was at least twice the size of the foxes. Humanesque and black. Blacker than black. The kind of black that can stand out even in the dead of night. It surely was the black which nightmares are made of. From the beast he felt a hollow loneliness. The feeling seemed to emanate from the beings very core, polluting the area with an almost sickening sorrow. It almost made Matt feel sorry for it.

Its arms were longer than usual, and dragged to the grounds like an apes. In fact, its entire appearance reminded Matt of an ape, except apes don't live in the forest. Apes are not composed of the black shadowy mass which seemed to define this creatures form. It was also more human looking than an ape. Its legs skinny, and it made the human wonder how exactly the creature got around, lugging around that big bruley body all the time. It was almost comical looking, if not for the fact that it was keeping Nashiri on his feet they'd be fine.

The blackness of its form seemed to radiate from it, wisps of shadow cascading off of it like smoke. The thing had no eyes, but it did have a mouth. An exaggerated mouth that looked too big for the creature. Inside it housed rows and rows of sharp-looking teeth. The teeth looked normal... just like the claws it spouted on its 'hands', but the hands tainted with red: Nashiri's blood. The creatures movements were faster and more agile than its looks would hint at. The thing seemed to twist and be able to move its body in an alien way that suggested the creature had no bones. Its trashes and the force behind them surprising, at least the more heated the battle got the more hits it landed on Nashiri. Red blood, black splotches, and blue flame flew everywhere consuming the immediate area in the crossfire of the spirits meeting.

"Run, Matt!" Nashiri yelled, raising his voice and pointed again taking his eyes off of the creature for a moment to look at the human. There was real concern in them, but it seemed to melt away, just a little, to see the human unharmed. Though the kitsune was immediately redirected towards the ongoing conflict as the creature lunged at him.

The third yell was what did the trick and got the boy on his feet. Matt was scared senseless and began blindly running, after the foxes command, in the direction pointed to.Tears welled up in his eyes as he ran, the branches reaching out to snap and snap at him in his blind run. He didn't know where he was going and he didn't care.He just wanted to get away from the monster, that creature. But... Looking back, already he couldn't see the scene of the fight. What, what about Nashiri? He was hurt. He slowed his pace, foot catching on some nasty root, he tripped landing roughly and awkwardly on his face. The taste of blood entered his mouth, running from his nose.

Scrambling to his feet Matt continued his run. Vision blurry from tears he could still hear the desperate sound of the foxes voice in his head telling him to run. Run. Run. The command was something he could not ignore, but the more he thought about what he was doing the more he felt like he was going to be sick. He had left Nashiri with that, that thing. A flash of the creature made the teens stomach turn. Those teeth, the black form... Nashiri got hurt. No. Nashiri got hurt because of me. He corrected himself. Thoughts flashing through his mind, and even though his legs started to burn, to feel like they were on fire, he did not stop. The fear would not let him stop. What was that thing? Where am I?

The forests treatment was brutal as smaller branches scratched at him, the human pushing through them the best he could at full speed. Sharp pains at where the wood actually started to cut him because of the force he met the branch at. It hurt where Nashiri had pushed him as well. He would not be surprised if there was a hand shaped bruise there on his chest. A little blood, a little compared to Nashiri's wound. He did not care, he continued to run.Farther and farther, he pushed himself on. His breathing becoming labored, he continued despite feeling like his heart would burst from his chest in an act of rebellion.

Finally he had enough; he could not will himself to go on. Light-headedness started to set in, a dizzy feeling as air became scarcer and hotter, burning through his being as he slowed his pace trying to catch his breath. He had run, but had he gone far enough? The air was hot, he was dripping in sweat. Contributing factors had been the fear and the intense run he just had. The feeling of falling over, dizzy and shaky on his legs told him that he should sit down. Slumping against a tree he eventually reached the earth. Each breath was labored, and he could not get enough air. Deeper and deeper breaths he tried to take as he tried to get his mind around the situation. They had just been attacked.

Shaking. He just noticed it. His hands shook in front of him. Was this fear or just exhaustion? Images of the creature flashed into his mind again, and he tried to push it out. To forget about it. Nashiri had to be fine. He had to be. He was a spirit after all. But so was that thing? The scene replayed in his mind over and over as he tried to piece it together. The creature was waiting for Nashiri to be off his guard, and when... It was his fault. It was Matt's fault that the fox got hurt. He had provided the distraction and it had been just long enough for the thing to make a successful strike.

Guilt started to sink in along with dark thoughts -what if Nashiri is dead? It was all his fault, and he was not even harmed. Sore a little from all the running, and the scratches and scrapes started to garner attention. His stomach started to knot up, and he felt like was going to be sick. Though compared to the condition of Nashiri's arm it was nothing. Tears started to swell again, panic, fear... All of it set in. The reality of the situation.

"What do we have here?"

The voice caught Matt off guard. He thought he was alone, and jumped. The reaction must have been funny because the person laughed. It was not Nashiri's laugh. The laugh was deep and almost brutal. Not the Foxes voice. Someone new. Eyes drawing towards the voice a massive wolf stood before him. A towering sculpture of muscle and fur. It was the biggest wolf he had ever seen, and the teens eyes grew big as he absorbed what was in front of him. White, grey, and black fur danced and mixed on the furred body of the predator. The hairs a darker collage on the back, growing lighter on the neck and underbelly. Golden eyes. Sharp, judging, almost amused.

"A human," a new voice exclaimed excitedly.

Eyes darted from the dire wolf that just stared at him to other locations trying to find the owner of the other voice. Hands tensing up, his whole body followed suit, his stomach turned making him feel even worse, and then a hand. A hand fell on his shoulder and he jumped again. This provided another sense of humor for the owner, as Matt darted, crawled quickly, away from the tree to see what had touched him. Another laugh followed.

"You look like you've just seen a ghost," the voice mocked him and his jumpiness. Matt tried to ignore it. Eyes falling on the perpetrator they narrowed in almost a criticizing look. Was this all real? "Are you scared? What were you running from?"

The figure the teenager was now focused on had a golden brown kind of skin, hinting that everyday was sunshine and outdoors. Yellow, wolfish eyes were placed on the face, the features and frame sharp, the body lean, toned, almost completely naked. Wild dark hair, almost black, a mixture of grey, white, and darker shades of grey that almost were black. It reminded Matt much of the coat present on the massive wolf to his right. The hair was messy, thrown about, about shoulder length, maybe longer when wet.Pointed, almost human looking ears jutted out of the nest of hair. Male. A loincloth of fur around his waist. A puffy tail hung out the back side, swaying almost playfully back and forth. Teeth sharp and predatory looking through the grin he carried on his face. Barefoot. Long nails on both feet and hands. All in all the wolf in front of him looked just about Matts age.

Not answering Matt scooted further away from the two potential threats. "S-stay back," he yelled the command but not really meaning to.

"Oh, come on. It's not like we are going to eat you," he said jokingly, flashing his white and sharp teeth again at Matt. The wolf-like features and smirk brought back crushing memories of the black creature that Nashiri was dealing with. It all proved to be too much for Matt. The dizziness set in again, he could not quite catch his breath, and his world went dark...