fox mama

Worry too much? No, Kurama could never worry too much. He worried about how she thought of him, whether she was financially sound, happy, healthy– he worried about her future, about what he would do when she was gone. He worried about his past catching up to him and hurting her. It almost had once, Yomi was not the only one who bore a grudge. There was too much to worry about. He could never tell her– she was capable of taking care of herself, this was obvious, but to have that fear in her heart… he couldn’t do it. 

He shook his head slowly, brow furrowing, eyes beginning to sting. His breaths came out in hitches, a shake betraying how hard he was trying not to cry. It wasn’t something he’d done since Shiori’s recovery, and before that, since Kuronue’s death– he hated that weakness, no matter how human it was. “Mother–” Her words put him over the edge, his vision growing watery as tears clung to his eyelashes. 

She wouldn’t say those things if she knew. Her son was a thief and a murderer. He’d stolen the child she was supposed to have, stolen the life she’d deserved. He didn’t know how to do anything but lie and here she was, telling him she was proud and loved him. It was too much. “I-I’m so… so s-sorry…” 

The tremble in his breathing betrayed his control over his emotions. Shiori recognized the first signs of tears to come when she saw them. Her thumb gently ran circles over the back of his hand, reassuring him as best she could. He had cried some when he was very small but hardly ever in her presence since he’d grown up.

She circled an arm around his shoulders and dragged his head to the crux of her neck, gently stroking his hair. One hand remained curled around his, doing her best to comfort her grown son. He was too big for her to pull onto her lap but this was the best she could do. “Shhh,” she soothed. It had to be a lot to take in, their lives being so secretive from each other.

Shiori loved him more than she could express in words. In the fibers of her very being, she loved unconditionally. More so because he was her son, the being she had carried in her womb and whom she had raised all alone. He was her baby -- no matter how grown he became or what experience he’d had prior to being secreted into her womb.

Kurama found himself struggling to hold back tears, especially at the warm press of his mother’s hand on his hair. Shiori had long ago learned not to try to detangle his thick locks, never tugging or twisting. Just the stroke of a palm over the top of his head– comforting on some instinctual level, either human or fox. He never could be too sure. 

He sighed shakily, watching her as she moved out of the room and back with purpose. A woman on a mission always, his mother. Seeing the first aid kit, he grimaced, staying perfectly still as Shiori went about her task. There was no use trying to dissuade her. “It’s not bad, mother.” He said softly. “It will heal soon. There’s no reason–” He hissed at the touch of antiseptic, then quieted stubbornly. It was just a reaction to the cold. It had nothing to do with his distaste for stinging sensations. 

After a long moment of wound treatment and listening to what Shiori had to say, Kurama was lost for words. That was a level of respect for his privacy that he hadn’t really expected, from what he’d heard from his classmates and friends. Shiori had just allowed him to be for years on end, protecting him and their home, waiting for him to be ready to explain– what he never would have been, never having considered the out she had given him. Secrets indeed. 

Once again, he leaned into her touch. “…You deserve to know, though. You’re my mother. I just never…” How could he possibly describe how grateful he was, how indebted and touched and confused he was toward her kindness and love? He was scared. She was taking this well now, but only with the knowledge that he was different, not inherently bad. “I didn’t want you to worry.” She didn’t deserve to worry. She deserved the perfect son and the most idyllic life. Instead she got a jaded criminal who, until recently, had not known unconditional love. 

She adored her son. When she’d first become pregnant she was ecstatic. A small version of herself and her husband? A being that would love her unconditionally and someone she could love unconditionally in turn? Shiori may have been blessed by Inari, but she had no wish to do as the kami may have desired. She wanted to be a mother-at-home with one or two children to care for.

Her plans changed. With the change in plans came a shift in her life. Her son barely accepted her touch, had to be reasoned with and spoken to as a small adult -- until there was a change in his behaviour after her accident. Shiori had never protested his change, just adapted as she adapted to most things in her life.

Even if Shuichi hadn’t changed, she would have loved him unconditionally. As it was, he had become everything she had hoped he would be. He could never disappoint her.

He really couldn’t blame his mother for her first impressions. Yusuke was the very image of a punk, with his slicked back hair and ill-fitted school uniform. He spoke brashly, he skipped school, he was just a little too aggressive. But under that Yusuke was… well, remarkable in ways he had a hard time describing. It was an honor to call him his friend, to be certain. Endearingly human, but with a raw type of strength. They were a match, being a demon that became human, and a human that became demon. 

It was good to hear that his mother approved, despite all of that. 

Kurama heaved a sigh, leaning on the kotatsu in something that was both frustration and emotional exhaustion. This was a lot to handle at once, and although he still had his secrets, he felt raw. “That explains why we didn’t have demons knocking at our door.” Until he was ten, anyway, and he’d let Hiei know where he was. “Not that that was too much of a problem. Were you ever planning on confronting my lies?”

Yusuke was a good young man. She knew that now, but at first she’d had her misgivings about him. Now all Shiori needed was to actually perhaps meet the short, dark haired one that had brought Shuichi into the world of yokai. As far as she had been aware, it hadn’t been until after her hospital stay that Shuichi had started lying to her and keeping her in the dark -- all from a good place, of course.

Shiori reached out to gently, soothingly stroke his hair with the flat of her palm. He was really more stressed about the situation than she’d thought he’d be. The cut on his shoulder worried her some and she slipped out from the kotatsu to briefly pop into the kitchen. She grabbed the small first aid kit off of the wall and returned to him, kneeling beside her son.

“I wanted you to have a chance to grow safely. Hibiki warned me that you needed time to let your spirit energy grow and that when you were older you’d be able to protect yourself.” That wasn’t to say she hadn’t cried on and off for weeks after realizing she would be raising a child alone, but that the child wasn’t entirely human. She had been a mess. But she was also strong and stubborn, there was a reason Inari had taken interest in her.

Shiori calmly pushed away the collar of his shirt and used gauze with an antiseptic to clean the cut on his shoulder. It wasn’t too bad, but better to keep infection at bay. “I was never going to confront you, no. If you wanted me to know, I knew you would tell me. I raised you to be independent of me -- I’m human, after all, and I didn’t think I would be around forever. You are my heart; but I know you carry more secrets than you’re willing to tell your old mother.”

Kurama took the cup of tea from his mother’s hands and took a seat beside her,. He loved just spending a little bit of relaxing time with his mother. She was the one he treasured most, after all.

“I am going to spend time with them” He confirmed. “Just, in a few hours.” He explained as he rested his head on his mother’s shoulder. He took a sip of tea. A relaxing moment with his mother was what he wanted at the moment.

Shiori smoothed a bit of fox fur from her lap, letting the breeze carry it away. She deeply adored her familiar, as a kitsune-tsukai she was relatively neutral. Hardly ever did she ask Hibiki to possess someone for her own interests. She got into mischief occasionally, but her first priority was being a good mother to her son and raise him to be a good human.

Her heart warmed in her chest at the gentle gesture of affection. He was growing so fast, she wasn’t sure what she would do when he left her home. Shiori lifted a hand and gently patted the far side of his face.

Even while Yakumo fought to keep his heavy eyes open, he couldn’t help but stare at the beautiful girl as she turned to face him. His heart skipped a beat, cheeks falling flush just from watching her push her hair from her face. He quickly rubbed his eyes to briefly tear his gaze from her and gather his bearings. 

She was kind enough to offer him something to keep him awake, and he couldn’t have been more appreciative. He just wished he hadn’t looked so unkempt. Between his disheveled appearance and nodding off during the exam, he was certain he hadn’t made the best impression. Had he been in her shoes, he knew he wouldn’t have been impressed either.

That was just his luck as of late, it seemed. It was growing increasingly difficult for the young detective to balance school, a job and his tasks as detective. He was spreading himself far too thin, and it was painfully obvious now that he’d gotten a taste of some kind of human interaction. It felt like the first time he had some semblance of a normal conversation, since he was sure he’d spent the past few days in class staring off into space like some kind of sleep deprived zombie. Then again, he couldn’t be too sure. The days were starting to blur. Regardless, speaking to someone who seemed so grounded and well put together was oddly refreshing.

“Is it that obvious?” A nervous chuckle left his lips as he reached to gently scratch the back of his head. “I always get this way before an exam…” Not a total lie, but he was sure he would fare much better with said exams if he wasn’t out and about playing cat and mouse with demons all night. “I-I believe so." 

He was awfully quiet at first, rubbing at his eyes rather than giving her a good answer. Shiori’s automatic instinct was to worry about him -- a total stranger that she hadn’t talked to before today. She was a bit of a dreamer and tended to pay loose attention to her own surroundings. But when someone or something caught her attention she could be incredibly focused (albeit a bit ditzy).

“A little,” she admitted, voice gentle. She shifted a little more so that she could lean forward, resting her elbow on his desk and plopping her chin into her palm as she stared at him. He was cute, despite being all disheveled and tired.

“Huh.” Of course she hadn’t noticed. Shiori was often lost in daydream, paying attention to her teachers, or chatting animatedly with her handful of friends. Oh well. She’d noticed now! “You know, if you’re having issues with exams, falling asleep during them doesn’t really help.”

Well then. That explained quite a lot. She’d known that he’d been… not entirely human, deep down. And she’d been patient, so patient, trying to teach him humanity so that his inhuman spirit, his fox nature did not interfere with his potential to be normal and function in a world full of the mundane. She’d succeeded on that level, however unintentionally. It sounded like she had no clue of what she had to make him unlearn, the years of bad coping mechanisms, ambivalence, and contempt– but she’d managed through stubbornness and unending affection. Kurama sighed, rubbing at the bridge of his nose. This was a lot of take in. He’d spent nearly a decade worrying about this. Struggling with anxiety over rejection and anger, and yet here they were, easily picking apart their strange little family. Under the kotatsu. 

Also, the fox had been stalking him? Of course it had. Maybe Hiei’s aura had made it hard to notice. At least it couldn’t follow him into Makai, and probably didn’t see anything too sensitive. “What, did you think Yusuke was dangerous?” Quite the opposite. Yusuke was a better friend to have than most. A sweetheart who liked to punch. “Did she see anything that made you worry, or…?” He’d had for her to know about the dark tournament or anything. My goodness. “You do realize that I never intended to tell you.”

It had been exhausting to be a young mother, barely an adult herself, and to raise a child who was not-human. She’d managed through sheer stubbornness, sweat, and a little blood. He made it to adulthood himself and was good. He blended into human society as easily as the next young man, but he was also strong enough to manage demons. As far as Shiori was concerned, her son was gentle (within reason), strong, fierce, and loyal. And more. 

She was fiercely proud of him.

“At first,” she admitted without hesitation. “He was definitely what mothers fear their sons bringing home. But he’s a good boy, and I approve of him.” She gave a small, wry smile at this second question. Of course Hibiki had seen things. That wasn’t to say that Shiori was going to discuss them with him, she’d done her worrying and let him do what he needed to come home.

“I never intended on telling you either.” Not that she would have much of a choice in the matter when he noticed she’d stopped aging. Shiori certainly had. Her friends were all gaining wrinkles and grey, while she’d stayed looking relatively young. She was also having to disguise how fox-like her own features were becoming. 

Kurama approached his house and saw a blur of silvery white but when he got closer the blur disappeared. Kurama narrowed his eyes in confusion. The air felt undisturbed, but there was a vaguely familiar foxy smell. Yes the area around their home often smelled like foxes, himself or wild foxes who came close out of curiosity about the strange fox, being himself, who lived there.

“Hello Mother.” He said happily when he saw her. He kissed her cheek. “I’m happy to be home.” He told her.

When she fretted about Shuichi she often sent Hibiki after him to watch and let her know what was happening. But the more confident he grew and the older he became, the less she worried. She would always worry about her baby, but he was a strong young fox himself.

She tilted her head slightly to allow him to kiss her cheek, her smile remaining in place. Gently she patted his cheek with a hand, always glad each day that the brutal scars on her wrists were fading more and more; not because she was vain, but because she knew they made him upset. “I thought you would be out and about with your new friends today. Did you have a change of plans?”

Shiori hummed softly to herself as she carefully pulled burrs from Hibiki’s fur. The fox was patient, intelligent eyes half-closed from the careful attention. The sound of a sliding door broke the peace between witch and her familiar. One moment there was a silver-white fox carefully being groomed and in the next moment, in a brief, gentle gold cocoon of energy, she was gone.

Alright, this was news to him. His mother had known since his birth about his nature? Then again– it would explain how relaxed she was by her fae child. Too smart, too tricky, too independent. Yes, a fox child would have explained that enough to her. How she knew, though, he couldn’t fathom– nor how much she knew.

Kurama mindlessly, slowly peeled his orange, more fidgeting with the peel than actually being effective. Her wording was odd. Fox spirited. What sort of possession did she think this was? Benign? Or a matter of reincarnation. It was neither and both, although it could be argued that there was malice behind his initial intentions. 

Also, when was she going to tell him she was a kitsune-tsukai? A fox keeper. That was the only explanation for the clearly magical fox outside, pouting, and for the mention of Inari-Okami. While he never had made the acquaintance with the god that was the ancestor of all his kind, he knew what their presence meant. Capriciousness did not bode well for his mother’s safety. 

He took a moment to form the words he wanted in his mind. He could, of course, lie. But that wouldn’t work, for the moment. His mother wasn’t stupid. And drugs? Well, he’d noticed his pollens and such stopped being really effective years ago, especially since he used them so often as a child to get out of trouble. Really, all that remained was the selective truth. “Yes. Something like that.” He managed, slowly. He didn’t eat his now unpeeled orange. ”And… you’ve known since childhood.” He clarified. No wonder he’d felt so sneaky, she was looking the other way. “And you’ve never said anything.”

She had met Inari once when she was a teenager and that had been more than enough. A messenger had been a go between shortly after Shuichi’s birth, when she accused the kami of meddling with her child. Inari had refused to give the whole story but had informed her that a kitsune child was a blessing -- more like a trick that she’d had to learn to deal with. Not that she would ever even hint to her son that he had been more trouble than she had been expecting.

“I have,” she confirmed softly. Shiori finished her orange and brushed off her hands. She shifted so that she sat on her bum, legs to the side rather than beneath her. “I saw no reason to encourage you to be more fox than you already were. I wanted to raise an independent child who could act as human as needed to survive without suspicion. All I ever knew was that you are my son, my heart, and a kitsune. That’s all I ever needed to know.”

Kurama could only allow himself to be lead.Whenever his mother stepped, so did he. When she give him fruit, he took it. When she placed a hand on his shoulder, pushing gently to get him to sit. She was right– he was pale, but more out of confusion and shock than being particularly faint. Shiori was handling this all like something mundane. Like revealing… a new boyfriend. Something delicate, but not life shattering. 

How on earth was she so nonchalant?

He stared at the orange for a moment before looking back up at her. “I have questions?” Well, he did. So, so many. But. “Mother, you just saw me kill a monster.” He shook his head slowly. “And you just… cleaned it up. How are you so… calm.” Kurama was relatively calm, to his credit, but not to her extent. “And of course, the magic and such– and your little fox friend. But I am significantly more concerned that you’re not…” He made a vague hand gesture. “You know. Surprised. At least.”

“Sweetheart,” she began, trying to be delicate about it, “I have known that you were fox-spirited all your life.” She selected an orange from the fruit dish nearby for herself and peeled it efficiently, placing a neat pile of peel in front of her on the tatami mat.

She placed a slice of the orange into her mouth and chewed as she considered how to word things. Of course there had been a part of her that had known eventually things would come to this. But she had deeply been hoping that she would start aging again and Shuichi could move on with his life without ever having known his mother was a fox witch.

At that moment, Hibiki trotted through the doors, fur slightly damp as if she’d dunked herself in the pond. “Back outside with you, Miss. You are a mess,” Shiori ordered. The long-legged fox went low to her belly and whined. When Shiori refused to budge, the fox crept back outside to lay just on the veranda within sight.

How on earth was she so calm. So collected and unfazed. It was like nothing had just happened– that there had not been a demon that he’d just sliced into bits, that she hadn’t just used fox fire and summoned a familiar of all things. Now she was chastising him for language– that he was allowed to use, thank you, he was over a thousand, my goodness- and wondering why he was standing there in shock. Also… wrangling what looked to be a not so terribly weak kitsune into a bath, it seemed. 

His head hurt already. Kurama couldn’t even remember the last time he’d been so…. befuddled. That was the only word for it. Only word in the world. “I… what?” Never the less, he did follow her into the house, knowing that standing there got him nowhere. “I…” Was this a nightmare? Yes, that was the only option. Only one. Mm hm. “….I don’t think… that will get her anywhere nearer to… a bath– why is there a–” 

If she reacted panicked every time something strange happened in her life she would have been in a mental hospital and committed for life. It was far easier to just accept things and move forward. Shuichi hadn’t exactly been a normal child to raise, nor had Hibiki helped matters. Shiori toed off her shoes at the entrance and set down her basket on the side-table there.

“No, you’re probably right. She’s going to need a deep scrubbing...” She paused a moment before heading to the kitchen, gathering up the cold abura-age from the fridge. Shiori set it outside the door on their engawa and left the sliding door open for Hibiki to come back in when she was finished.

Kurama wasn’t sure what exactly he was seeing– his mind, as frozen with shock as it was, had anticipated blood. Of seeing his mother fall, once again, due to his own fault, slashed open by claws like daggers and teeth like spikes. Yet none of that happened. Instead of a woman’s scream, it was a ghastly howl of pain. Although there was blood, it was not Shiori’s. No, it came from the demon, his whip making purchase at its neck– and while it did not sever head from torso, it did cut deep into the side. He didn’t have the acuity to make his follow through. 

Finally, there was fire. Blue and gold and burning with no temperature at all alighting around horns and eyes squeezed shit. Fox fire– he knew it well, despite it never coming to his call. He couldn’t react for a longer moment than was safe. Not when a blur of golden fur– that was a fox, no doubt, he could smell it under the iron tang of blood, raced out to meet– 

Kurama wisely decided that this was not the time to try to figure out this puzzle, instead valuing his mother’s safety. He had not rent this demon in two, and while his mother shouldn’t have seen such brutality… Well. 

His whip spun round and gripped the distracted monster, binding it chokingly tight. Finesse would be for another time, for now, pulling his weapon taught, cutting it into large, gorey chunks was about as elegant as he was willing to get. As it fell to the ground in pools of blood and viscera, Kurama stood there, panting. He couldn’t be sure if it was out of stress, or out of exhaustion. Or maybe pain, considering the cut in his shoulder. There was silence. Then.

“Mother, what the fuck.”

Hibiki savaged the demon with her fangs, acting as the conduit between Shiori’s magic and the demon’s body. The demon fell to his knees as her curse took hold, crippling the creature as he continued to scream, his body believing itself to be on fire. There was no smell of burning flesh, the fox fire only an illusion. Shiori had never killed with her magic but she was fairly certain she would feel nothing to defend herself and her son.

There was an odd feeling and she tilted her head in distraction. Was her hearing getting better? Strange. Hibiki had already commented every time she drew on her that she was starting to look a little bit fox-ish. She wrinkled her nose at the smell of the mess they had created and stepped back as a chunk of demon flew near her foot. Oh dear, this was quite a mess.

Her familiar trotted back to her with long black legs, her golden fur stained around her muzzle and chest. “We need to bathe you now,” Shiori sighed. The fox’s ears pinned down and she gave a vehement shake of her head. “Don’t argue with me.”

Silence fell between them and she spared a glance at her son who swore at her. “Shuichi! Language!” Hibiki gave a fox’s laugh at the redhead being scolded. Oh... Well this was a predicament. Shiori picked up her fallen basket and headed for the house with a sigh. “Hibiki, ask your friends to clean up that mess, would you? There will be abura-age as payment.” Said fox chirped at her in reply before heading to gather up others in the area to get rid of the demonic mess.

Shiori had loved each and every one of her son’s attempts at it. The carnations his school encouraged him to give, the handmade cards hastily made, even something that had been baked in the oven until it was hardly recognizable from his jr high. She loved them all because they had come from her son, who didn’t show affection all that often.

As he grew, so did his willingness to show his love for her. Shiori felt a warmth in her chest any time he did something for her. There was nothing quite like a mother’s love.

Except she wasn’t so sure that a mother’s love could protect her kitchen today. Shiori stood in somewhat horrified awe at the mess her grown child had created. They were certainly going to have their work cut out for them cleaning it all.

“O-oh! Shuichi... How... thoughtful...”

“Oh, Shuichi!”

Shiori reached out to accept the bouquet with a gentle smile. Her face buried briefly into the flowers to breathe deeply into them. She lifted her face and cradled the flowers in her arms, smiling warmly. “What an honourable son I have,” she lightly teased. “Thank you, sweetheart.”

She stepped closer and placed a hand on his shoulder, using him as a balance so that she could lift up onto her tippy-toes and press a kiss to his forehead. “I wouldn’t have traded being your mother for anything in the world. Let’s get these into water, hm?”

Typically speaking, demons weren’t so gutsy as to attack him at home. An abode was a strong-hold, and a family was both a weakness and a strength. Typically, demons weren’t so stupid. Yet here Kurama was, facing off against a demon that should have been a quick fight in his own front yard. Obviously the border control between the worlds wasn’t perfect yet, if something this bumbling and monstrous could get through.

Kurama cracked his whip, slowly circling the hulk of a beast, watching him intently, carefully. The demon had already gotten a lucky shot off on him, slashing across his shoulder and into his neck. A fluke, but one that slowed him just enough to make this dangerous. Dangerous and obnoxious, considering his neighbors might see, and his mother– 

His Mother.

He had been too preoccupied to notice her coming, pushing through the pain to focus on the fight. He barely had time to yell. “Mother, run!” He was launching forward as fast as he can, whipping his weapon around to try and connect–

Dimly Shiori heard her son yell for her to run. But she had never run away from danger in her life. She forgot utterly and completely about hiding what she was from Shuichi. She only thought of protecting him despite knowing that he could look after himself. The carefully hidden magic, the gracefully suppressed spirit energy, her growing fox-like features spilled forth in a single breath.

“Begone,” she ordered, holding out a palm. For kitsune, fox fire was illusionary, it didn’t burn. For a fox witch -- the magic made the demon’s very body think he was on fire and react accordingly with pain and death. Hibiki raced from the bushes to slam into the demon with all her might and knocked him back just as Shiori ignited him alive. The demon screamed and clawed at his face in an attempt to put out the fire that had flared and disappeared.