I Was Only Their Plaything.

The kitsune awakened on a park bench, having slept there overnight. Oh! She didn’t mean to... it usually got scary when she slept out in the open like that, but at least her ears and tail were hidden!

When she began to make her way down, the demon was quick to zone in on the tree branches rustling. He didn’t expect to see a young girl though. Not one with ears like that and a tail.

Her mumbled hello and shy introduction brought a smile to his face. She was cute. “Hello, miss Kohaku. It’s nice to meet you too. Are you lost? Do you need somewhere to stay?” She did seem a little cold.

It was odd. she didn’t look human, yet she smelled like one. Hybrid?

He offered her his hand. “My offer of food and shelter still stands, if you want.”

Kohaku pulled her hands behind her back in a childish manner. “O-Oh, um... N-Nice to meet you... W-Wait! I already said that, um... Haha.......” The kitsune found herself nervously giggling, embarrassed by her mistake. Her ears perked up.

“Maybe we can go somewhere else?– Mm, maybe a book store? I like books, and I don’t actually have a lot of money on me, but I like looking…”

“–Maybe just detour through a crowded place…huh? Oh, a book store would be alright. I don’t remember if there’s one around here, but we can always go downtown and look.” He gave the kitsune a polite smile and a nod. 

Eventually, she'd made it to the bottom branches, staring at Akumatsu with a curious gaze. "H-Hi..." she mumbled. The girl didn't have enough sense to try and hide her ears and tail. If she was staying with someone, then they'd find out one way or another, right? And people liked foxes, didn't they? Or, maybe they thought she was a freak.

A freak.

A freak... That was what she'd been called more than once. The first thing she remembered when she'd awoken from the surgery that gave the orphan her animalistic features was something along the lines of "Look, we made our own little Freak show."

And from that point on, it was all she could hear. Even her ID number was replaced with FREAK. Why? They'd done it to her, why would they...