Chapter 236: Fox Ideals & Changed Plans
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"I guess you know the secret now." Keng asked, taking a glance at Lee Seng. Lee Seng nodded.
"Yup, he does." Lee Seng nodded.
"You're Keng? You-you look exactly like…" Ritsuka's voice trailed off. His eyes moved between the both of them.
"Like Lee Seng? Mmm, I decided to take on a similar form. It makes things easier than trying to be totally separate from him. Plus, if I'm cooler than him, he'll be jealous 'cause I have the same face and everything." Keng smiled. Lee Seng smacked Keng on the head and scoffed.
"You wish." Lee Seng shook his head.
"So, he's the Fox Spirit?" Ritsuka pointed at Keng and looked at Lee Seng.
"Yup."
"And he's the reason why you got your powers?"
"Yup."
"And she's…?" Ritsuka turned and looked at Lady Vix'i.
"Our older sister." Keng and Lee Seng answered.
"I didn't think the twins would bring a human friend to this Realm. It looks like they trouble follows them." Lady Vix'i sighed. "MY name is Lady Vix'i. We do not have last names like you humans do."
"M-my name is R-Ritsuka Yamada. Ni-nice to meet you, Lady V-Vix'i." Ritsuka bowed.
"A human who has manners. You don't find those often." Lady Vix'i smiled pleased. She turned her attention to Lee Seng. "I would scold you more but it looks like Keng has done most of it. Like I said, we have rules here. You can't bring humans into this Village. We must keep this place holy for whenever the God King visits. If you wish to keep your friend, you'll have to go somewhere else. Otherwise, return to the Human Realm."
"A holy place for the God King? What do you mean by that?" Lee Seng asked.
"This is the place where the God King resides. The Oasis you were at when you came into this Realm. Do you remember that?" Lady Vix'i asked. Lee Seng nodded. "That Oasis is where he dwells. This Village is also one of the many places he likes to visit and spend time with the Family. He visits other villages and they have their own rules in place. One of our rules is that humans cannot be here."
"Why?" Keng asked.
"The last time someone brought a human here, the human caused discourse amongst the people. They were to be wed with a Fox Spirit and the God King graciously gave permission for the human to reside here, but the human caused discourse amongst the family, splitting it into a Shakespearean play of sorts."
"A S-Shakespearean play?" Ritsuka asked. Lady Vix'i nodded.
"That's why we don't allow humans here. Most of the Foxes that choose to reside here are older. They're stuck in their ways." Lady Vix'i spoke.
"So are you like that, too?" Lee Seng asked.
"Oh Realms, no. I do not care who loves who. I've seen many Foxes get with humans. This Village runs on old rules so the rule was made by me to allow them to live their lives the way they want to. Other Villages graciously accept humans with open arms. It's just a shame that the Foxes here don't."
"Most of the Foxes here are older…?" Lee Seng asked. Lady Vix'i nodded.
"Do not take offense to it, Mr. Yamada." Lady Vix'i acknowledged him. "Those that stay here simply believe since the Village is closest to the Oasis, they must stay close to the ideals set before them. The God King ventures to other Villages to see his beloved children and in many of those other Villages, humans and half-Fox Spirits reside there, happily. Half-Foxes of many different mixed races."
"That's understandable, Lady Vix'i." Ritsuka nodded. "I'm sorry Lee Seng broke a rule of the Village. I will gladly leave since he proved his point that he could, uh…"
"Realmwalk." Lee Seng answered.
"Yeah, Realmwalk."
"And you're not leaving until you see my home here." Lee Seng wagged his finger.
"You said you were gonna prove that you could Realmwalk. You didn't say anything else about seeing a home!" Ritsuka protested.
"Well, I thought you would want to see some sights outside of the Village, but if you don't, I can take you back. I just won't be back until classes roll around."
"You aren't scared I'll say something?"
"There's two of me to hunt you down if you did do something." Lee Seng motioned at him and Keng. "Just come with me and Keng to the Tomb."
"T-the tomb? E-excuse me, what? I thought we were going to your house."
"Well," Keng scrunched his face, slowly shaking his head. "It isn't really a 'home' yet. It's closer to a haunted base of operation on corrupted land kinda thing."
"Whatever you do, you'll have to do it when the sun rises." Lady Vix'i yawned. "I'm not gonna let two new Foxes who've never traveled around this Realm and their human friend get lost. You two may take a bed upstairs if you want it until then. I will head back up. Try not to be noisy." Lady Vix'i stood up and waved goodbye. She made her way up the stairs and out of sight. Keng yawned as he rubbed his eyes and turned his attention to Ritsuka and Lee Seng.
"So how did he come to know about your secret?" Keng asked.
"I forgot to change my tails." Lee Seng answered.
"You forgot to change your tails and he saw it?" Keng pointed at Ritsuka.
"I saw him at the Academy." Ritsuka nodded. Keng barraged Lee seng with punches on his shoulder.
"You really should not be left alone. What if more people saw you?" Keng asked. Lee Seng deflected the punches, trying to save himself from the hits.
"Well… He thought I was drowning in the pool, too, so that didn't help." Lee Seng continued to answer. Keng swung once more and shook his head.
"Soooo…" Ritsuka looked at the two. "Did he always look like you?"
"Huh?" Lee Seng turned his attention back to Ritsuka. Keng stopped barraging Lee Seng with punches and turned his attention to Ritsuka.
"No, I used to be an actual Fox." Keng answered. "Wanna see?"
"Uhh…" Ritsuka's eyes waited for an answer from Lee Seng, but Keng jumped into the air, clothes dropping and a white and gray fox with red and blue eyes stood on the table, looking at Ritsuka. "W-w-w-wow. He's actual a f-fox."
"I could do that too." Lee Seng pointed. He stood up and stretched himself. In mere seconds, he felt his form crack and shrink. His clothes falling onto him. He pushed the clothes off and revealed to Keng and Ritsuka a white and gray fox with hints of gold streaks. His red and blue eyes stared up at the two.
"I didn't think you could actually do it." Keng spoke.
"You can still talk in that form?!?" Ritsuka moved the charis backwards.
"We can both talk in this form, right?" Lee Seng spoke. Ritsuka stood up and made distance. Lee Seng struggled to move the clothes off of him while Keng ignored Lee Seng and jumped onto the ground and sat, looking up at Ritsuka.
"W-w-w-w-w-wait a moment!" Ritsuka stuttered in Japanese. "This is too much to take in!" Lee Seng pushed the clothes off of his Fox form and trotted over, listening to Ritsuka have another meltdown over their forms.
"You can shapeshift?" Ritsuka switched back to English. "How can you even… And why does your clothes just fall off?!?"
"It's 'cause I don't shapeshift enough." Lee Seng explained. "Think of it like a game. Your skills start at level 1 and have to be used to gain levels, right?" Ritsuka nodded. "Well, we learned that we can't shapeshift our clothes. Keng can only take on a similar form as me because we technically share the same body. Shapeshifting just gave him his own physical body to use."
"So you need to… level it in order for it to…"
"Not be an inconvenience." Lee Seng shifted back into his human form. He stood fully naked in front of Ritsuka. Ritsuka's eyes drifted down and quickly turned away, blocking the naked Lee Seng. Keng shifted back to human form and the two moved over and grabbed their clothes and started to put them on.
"You smell like chlorine. The both of you do." Keng complained, pinching his nose. "Take a bath."
"If we can even get him to take a bath here." Lee Seng pulled his shorts on and grabbed his shirt. "And why did you look away so fast? You've seen plenty of naked dudes before."
"Doesn't mean I'm not comfortable with it!" Ritsuka tried hard to hide his blushing.
"Mmm, okay." Lee Seng smiled, pulling the shirt on. Keng slipped the outfit on with ease and moved over to Ritsuka and Lee Seng.
"There's a bath here if you wanna use it. Otherwise, there's extra beds upstairs. I'm gonna try to 'sleep' again." Keng yawned.
"I thought only one of us needed to sleep." Lee Seng commented. Keng moved past Ritsuka, patting his shoulder as he started up the stairs.
"Well, you were Realms away from me, so I have to sleep for myself!"
"Well, okay… At least show us where the bath and beds are!" Lee Seng ran after Keng. "Come on, Ritsuka. Let's take a bath before we rest for a bit. It'll be a couple of hours on foot to get to the Tomb."
"W-wait, you're seriously not gonna take me back?" Ritsuka turned and watched as the two moved up the stairs, quickly. "Dammit, Lee Seng! Wait for me!" Ritsuka climbed the stairs, following after them.
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"I guess you know the secret now." Keng asked, taking a glance at Lee Seng. Lee Seng nodded.
"Yup, he does." Lee Seng nodded.
"You're Keng? You-you look exactly like…" Ritsuka's voice trailed off. His eyes moved between the both of them.
"Like Lee Seng? Mmm, I decided to take on a similar form. It makes things easier than trying to be totally separate from him. Plus, if I'm cooler than him, he'll be jealous 'cause I have the same face and everything." Keng smiled. Lee Seng smacked Keng on the head and scoffed.
"You wish." Lee Seng shook his head.
"So, he's the Fox Spirit?" Ritsuka pointed at Keng and looked at Lee Seng.
"Yup."
"And he's the reason why you got your powers?"
"Yup."
"And she's…?" Ritsuka turned and looked at Lady Vix'i.
"Our older sister." Keng and Lee Seng answered.
"I didn't think the twins would bring a human friend to this Realm. It looks like they trouble follows them." Lady Vix'i sighed. "MY name is Lady Vix'i. We do not have last names like you humans do."
"M-my name is R-Ritsuka Yamada. Ni-nice to meet you, Lady V-Vix'i." Ritsuka bowed.
"A human who has manners. You don't find those often." Lady Vix'i smiled pleased. She turned her attention to Lee Seng. "I would scold you more but it looks like Keng has done most of it. Like I said, we have rules here. You can't bring humans into this Village. We must keep this place holy for whenever the God King visits. If you wish to keep your friend, you'll have to go somewhere else. Otherwise, return to the Human Realm."
"A holy place for the God King? What do you mean by that?" Lee Seng asked.
"This is the place where the God King resides. The Oasis you were at when you came into this Realm. Do you remember that?" Lady Vix'i asked. Lee Seng nodded. "That Oasis is where he dwells. This Village is also one of the many places he likes to visit and spend time with the Family. He visits other villages and they have their own rules in place. One of our rules is that humans cannot be here."
"Why?" Keng asked.
"The last time someone brought a human here, the human caused discourse amongst the people. They were to be wed with a Fox Spirit and the God King graciously gave permission for the human to reside here, but the human caused discourse amongst the family, splitting it into a Shakespearean play of sorts."
"A S-Shakespearean play?" Ritsuka asked. Lady Vix'i nodded.
"That's why we don't allow humans here. Most of the Foxes that choose to reside here are older. They're stuck in their ways." Lady Vix'i spoke.
"So are you like that, too?" Lee Seng asked.
"Oh Realms, no. I do not care who loves who. I've seen many Foxes get with humans. This Village runs on old rules so the rule was made by me to allow them to live their lives the way they want to. Other Villages graciously accept humans with open arms. It's just a shame that the Foxes here don't."
"Most of the Foxes here are older…?" Lee Seng asked. Lady Vix'i nodded.
"Do not take offense to it, Mr. Yamada." Lady Vix'i acknowledged him. "Those that stay here simply believe since the Village is closest to the Oasis, they must stay close to the ideals set before them. The God King ventures to other Villages to see his beloved children and in many of those other Villages, humans and half-Fox Spirits reside there, happily. Half-Foxes of many different mixed races."
"That's understandable, Lady Vix'i." Ritsuka nodded. "I'm sorry Lee Seng broke a rule of the Village. I will gladly leave since he proved his point that he could, uh…"
"Realmwalk." Lee Seng answered.
"Yeah, Realmwalk."
"And you're not leaving until you see my home here." Lee Seng wagged his finger.
"You said you were gonna prove that you could Realmwalk. You didn't say anything else about seeing a home!" Ritsuka protested.
"Well, I thought you would want to see some sights outside of the Village, but if you don't, I can take you back. I just won't be back until classes roll around."
"You aren't scared I'll say something?"
"There's two of me to hunt you down if you did do something." Lee Seng motioned at him and Keng. "Just come with me and Keng to the Tomb."
"T-the tomb? E-excuse me, what? I thought we were going to your house."
"Well," Keng scrunched his face, slowly shaking his head. "It isn't really a 'home' yet. It's closer to a haunted base of operation on corrupted land kinda thing."
"Whatever you do, you'll have to do it when the sun rises." Lady Vix'i yawned. "I'm not gonna let two new Foxes who've never traveled around this Realm and their human friend get lost. You two may take a bed upstairs if you want it until then. I will head back up. Try not to be noisy." Lady Vix'i stood up and waved goodbye. She made her way up the stairs and out of sight. Keng yawned as he rubbed his eyes and turned his attention to Ritsuka and Lee Seng.
"So how did he come to know about your secret?" Keng asked.
"I forgot to change my tails." Lee Seng answered.
"You forgot to change your tails and he saw it?" Keng pointed at Ritsuka.
"I saw him at the Academy." Ritsuka nodded. Keng barraged Lee seng with punches on his shoulder.
"You really should not be left alone. What if more people saw you?" Keng asked. Lee Seng deflected the punches, trying to save himself from the hits.
"Well… He thought I was drowning in the pool, too, so that didn't help." Lee Seng continued to answer. Keng swung once more and shook his head.
"Soooo…" Ritsuka looked at the two. "Did he always look like you?"
"Huh?" Lee Seng turned his attention back to Ritsuka. Keng stopped barraging Lee Seng with punches and turned his attention to Ritsuka.
"No, I used to be an actual Fox." Keng answered. "Wanna see?"
"Uhh…" Ritsuka's eyes waited for an answer from Lee Seng, but Keng jumped into the air, clothes dropping and a white and gray fox with red and blue eyes stood on the table, looking at Ritsuka. "W-w-w-wow. He's actual a f-fox."
"I could do that too." Lee Seng pointed. He stood up and stretched himself. In mere seconds, he felt his form crack and shrink. His clothes falling onto him. He pushed the clothes off and revealed to Keng and Ritsuka a white and gray fox with hints of gold streaks. His red and blue eyes stared up at the two.
"I didn't think you could actually do it." Keng spoke.
"You can still talk in that form?!?" Ritsuka moved the charis backwards.
"We can both talk in this form, right?" Lee Seng spoke. Ritsuka stood up and made distance. Lee Seng struggled to move the clothes off of him while Keng ignored Lee Seng and jumped onto the ground and sat, looking up at Ritsuka.
"W-w-w-w-w-wait a moment!" Ritsuka stuttered in Japanese. "This is too much to take in!" Lee Seng pushed the clothes off of his Fox form and trotted over, listening to Ritsuka have another meltdown over their forms.
"You can shapeshift?" Ritsuka switched back to English. "How can you even… And why does your clothes just fall off?!?"
"It's 'cause I don't shapeshift enough." Lee Seng explained. "Think of it like a game. Your skills start at level 1 and have to be used to gain levels, right?" Ritsuka nodded. "Well, we learned that we can't shapeshift our clothes. Keng can only take on a similar form as me because we technically share the same body. Shapeshifting just gave him his own physical body to use."
"So you need to… level it in order for it to…"
"Not be an inconvenience." Lee Seng shifted back into his human form. He stood fully naked in front of Ritsuka. Ritsuka's eyes drifted down and quickly turned away, blocking the naked Lee Seng. Keng shifted back to human form and the two moved over and grabbed their clothes and started to put them on.
"You smell like chlorine. The both of you do." Keng complained, pinching his nose. "Take a bath."
"If we can even get him to take a bath here." Lee Seng pulled his shorts on and grabbed his shirt. "And why did you look away so fast? You've seen plenty of naked dudes before."
"Doesn't mean I'm not comfortable with it!" Ritsuka tried hard to hide his blushing.
"Mmm, okay." Lee Seng smiled, pulling the shirt on. Keng slipped the outfit on with ease and moved over to Ritsuka and Lee Seng.
"There's a bath here if you wanna use it. Otherwise, there's extra beds upstairs. I'm gonna try to 'sleep' again." Keng yawned.
"I thought only one of us needed to sleep." Lee Seng commented. Keng moved past Ritsuka, patting his shoulder as he started up the stairs.
"Well, you were Realms away from me, so I have to sleep for myself!"
"Well, okay… At least show us where the bath and beds are!" Lee Seng ran after Keng. "Come on, Ritsuka. Let's take a bath before we rest for a bit. It'll be a couple of hours on foot to get to the Tomb."
"W-wait, you're seriously not gonna take me back?" Ritsuka turned and watched as the two moved up the stairs, quickly. "Dammit, Lee Seng! Wait for me!" Ritsuka climbed the stairs, following after them.
"I guess you know the secret now." Keng asked, taking a glance at Lee Seng. Lee Seng nodded."Yup, he does." Lee Seng nodded."You're Keng? You-you look exactly like" Ritsuka's voice trailed off. His eyes moved between the both of them."Like Lee Seng? Mmm, I decided to take on a similar form. It makes things easier than trying to be totally separate from him. Plus, if I'm cooler than him, he'll be jealous 'cause I have the same face and everything." Keng smiled. Lee Seng smacked Keng on the head and scoffed."You wish." Lee Seng shook his head."So, he's the Fox Spirit?" Ritsuka pointed at Keng and looked at Lee Seng."Yup.""And he's the reason why you got your powers?""Yup.""And she's?" Ritsuka turned and looked at Lady Vix'i."Our older sister." Keng and Lee Seng answered."I didn't think the twins would bring a human friend to this Realm. It looks like they trouble follows them." Lady Vix'i sighed. "MY name is Lady Vix'i. We do not have last names like you humans do.""M-my name is R-Ritsuka Yamada. Ni-nice to meet you, Lady V-Vix'i." Ritsuka bowed."A human who has manners. You don't find those often." Lady Vix'i smiled pleased. She turned her attention to Lee Seng. "I would scold you more but it looks like Keng has done most of it. Like I said, we have rules here. You can't bring humans into this Village. We must keep this place holy for whenever the God King visits. If you wish to keep your friend, you'll have to go somewhere else. Otherwise, return to the Human Realm.""A holy place for the God King? What do you mean by that?" Lee Seng asked."This is the place where the God King resides. The Oasis you were at when you came into this Realm. Do you remember that?" Lady Vix'i asked. Lee Seng nodded. "That Oasis is where he dwells. This Village is also one of the many places he likes to visit and spend time with the Family. He visits other villages and they have their own rules in place. One of our rules is that humans cannot be here.""Why?" Keng asked."The last time someone brought a human here, the human caused discourse amongst the people. They were to be wed with a Fox Spirit and the God King graciously gave permission for the human to reside here, but the human caused discourse amongst the family, splitting it into a Shakespearean play of sorts.""A S-Shakespearean play?" Ritsuka asked. Lady Vix'i nodded."That's why we don't allow humans here. Most of the Foxes that choose to reside here are older. They're stuck in their ways." Lady Vix'i spoke. "So are you like that, too?" Lee Seng asked."Oh Realms, no. I do not care who loves who. I've seen many Foxes get with humans. This Village runs on old rules so the rule was made by me to allow them to live their lives the way they want to. Other Villages graciously accept humans with open arms. It's just a shame that the Foxes here don't.""Most of the Foxes here are older?" Lee Seng asked. Lady Vix'i nodded."Do not take offense to it, Mr. Yamada." Lady Vix'i acknowledged him. "Those that stay here simply believe since the Village is closest to the Oasis, they must stay close to the ideals set before them. The God King ventures to other Villages to see his beloved children and in many of those other Villages, humans and half-Fox Spirits reside there, happily. Half-Foxes of many different mixed races.""That's understandable, Lady Vix'i." Ritsuka nodded. "I'm sorry Lee Seng broke a rule of the Village. I will gladly leave since he proved his point that he could, uh""Realmwalk." Lee Seng answered."Yeah, Realmwalk.""And you're not leaving until you see my home here." Lee Seng wagged his finger."You said you were gonna prove that you could Realmwalk. You didn't say anything else about seeing a home!" Ritsuka protested."Well, I thought you would want to see some sights outside of the Village, but if you don't, I can take you back. I just won't be back until classes roll around.""You aren't scared I'll say something?""There's two of me to hunt you down if you did do something." Lee Seng motioned at him and Keng. "Just come with me and Keng to the Tomb." "T-the tomb? E-excuse me, what? I thought we were going to your house.""Well," Keng scrunched his face, slowly shaking his head. "It isn't really a 'home' yet. It's closer to a haunted base of operation on corrupted land kinda thing.""Whatever you do, you'll have to do it when the sun rises." Lady Vix'i yawned. "I'm not gonna let two new Foxes who've never traveled around this Realm and their human friend get lost. You two may take a bed upstairs if you want it until then. I will head back up. Try not to be noisy." Lady Vix'i stood up and waved goodbye. She made her way up the stairs and out of sight. Keng yawned as he rubbed his eyes and turned his attention to Ritsuka and Lee Seng."So how did he come to know about your secret?" Keng asked."I forgot to change my tails." Lee Seng answered."You forgot to change your tails and he saw it?" Keng pointed at Ritsuka."I saw him at the Academy." Ritsuka nodded. Keng barraged Lee seng with punches on his shoulder."You really should not be left alone. What if more people saw you?" Keng asked. Lee Seng deflected the punches, trying to save himself from the hits."Well He thought I was drowning in the pool, too, so that didn't help." Lee Seng continued to answer. Keng swung once more and shook his head."Soooo" Ritsuka looked at the two. "Did he always look like you?""Huh?" Lee Seng turned his attention back to Ritsuka. Keng stopped barraging Lee Seng with punches and turned his attention to Ritsuka."No, I used to be an actual Fox." Keng answered. "Wanna see?""Uhh" Ritsuka's eyes waited for an answer from Lee Seng, but Keng jumped into the air, clothes dropping and a white and gray fox with red and blue eyes stood on the table, looking at Ritsuka. "W-w-w-wow. He's actual a f-fox.""I could do that too." Lee Seng pointed. He stood up and stretched himself. In mere seconds, he felt his form crack and shrink. His clothes falling onto him. He pushed the clothes off and revealed to Keng and Ritsuka a white and gray fox with hints of gold streaks. His red and blue eyes stared up at the two."I didn't think you could actually do it." Keng spoke."You can still talk in that form?!?" Ritsuka moved the charis backwards."We can both talk in this form, right?" Lee Seng spoke. Ritsuka stood up and made distance. Lee Seng struggled to move the clothes off of him while Keng ignored Lee Seng and jumped onto the ground and sat, looking up at Ritsuka."W-w-w-w-w-wait a moment!" Ritsuka stuttered in Japanese. "This is too much to take in!" Lee Seng pushed the clothes off of his Fox form and trotted over, listening to Ritsuka have another meltdown over their forms."You can shapeshift?" Ritsuka switched back to English. "How can you even And why does your clothes just fall off?!?""It's 'cause I don't shapeshift enough." Lee Seng explained. "Think of it like a game. Your skills start at level 1 and have to be used to gain levels, right?" Ritsuka nodded. "Well, we learned that we can't shapeshift our clothes. Keng can only take on a similar form as me because we technically share the same body. Shapeshifting just gave him his own physical body to use.""So you need to level it in order for it to""Not be an inconvenience." Lee Seng shifted back into his human form. He stood fully naked in front of Ritsuka. Ritsuka's eyes drifted down and quickly turned away, blocking the naked Lee Seng. Keng shifted back to human form and the two moved over and grabbed their clothes and started to put them on."You smell like chlorine. The both of you do." Keng complained, pinching his nose. "Take a bath.""If we can even get him to take a bath here." Lee Seng pulled his shorts on and grabbed his shirt. "And why did you look away so fast? You've seen plenty of naked dudes before.""Doesn't mean I'm not comfortable with it!" Ritsuka tried hard to hide his blushing."Mmm, okay." Lee Seng smiled, pulling the shirt on. Keng slipped the outfit on with ease and moved over to Ritsuka and Lee Seng."There's a bath here if you wanna use it. Otherwise, there's extra beds upstairs. I'm gonna try to 'sleep' again." Keng yawned."I thought only one of us needed to sleep." Lee Seng commented. Keng moved past Ritsuka, patting his shoulder as he started up the stairs."Well, you were Realms away from me, so I have to sleep for myself!""Well, okay At least show us where the bath and beds are!" Lee Seng ran after Keng. "Come on, Ritsuka. Let's take a bath before we rest for a bit. It'll be a couple of hours on foot to get to the Tomb.""W-wait, you're seriously not gonna take me back?" Ritsuka turned and watched as the two moved up the stairs, quickly. "Dammit, Lee Seng! Wait for me!" Ritsuka climbed the stairs, following after them.
