Note: This story deals with Japanese mythology as well as a few philosophical and religious themes. There'll also be a bit of violence and sensual romance, but there'll be nothing too graphic. Still, this story carries a Teen rating. Reader discretion, therefore, is advised.

Now let this story begin!

My name is Kitsuko Nishiyama.

I know what some of you might be thinking, "Doesn't your first name means 'fox child?'" Yes it does. For a long time I didn't know why I was given that name. That is, until my seventeenth year of my life. One day changed everything for me.

"Mama! I'm home!" I yelled out when I arrived home that day. I took off my shoes and put on my house slippers. I hopped onto the straw mats. "Mama! Jii-chan! I'm back home from school!" Just then my white-haired grandfather appeared, wearing his brown kimono. He looked at me, annoyed.

"Don't run on the tatami mats, Kitsuko! They are expensive to replace!" he scolded. His face then softened. "So how was school today?"

"Oh the usual," I replied. I then smelled something good. "Oh! Fried pork and tofu!"

"It's a special day for you, so your mother is making your favourite supper" Jii-chan told me. I was so happy that I hugged him.

"Oh thank you so much! I love you, Jii-chan!" I said out loud. Jii-chan had to laugh at me.

"Silly fox" Jii-chan teased me. He likes to do that to annoy me. "Now go to your room and change your school clothes and wash yourself. When supper is ready, I'll call you."

"Okay Jii-chan," I said. I was so excited that I ran to my room much to the chagrin of Jii-chan.

"I told you not to run inside this house!" Jii-chan yelled after me. "Why does she not listen to me?"

I went to my room and shut the door. I put my backpack and the furoshiki cloth, which Mama used to pack my lunch, on my bed. I put a CD of my favourite pop band, The Blankets, into my stereo system. I then hummed to the music. The singer, Kiyoko Shinomori, was singing about a dream of being a princess and trying to find her prince. It's a dream that I'm sure almost every girl had dreamed, and so I sang along.

It was then when I glanced at the picture of Jamie, my deceased older brother.

His real name is Jiemi, but you can call him Jamie. He always wore a bandana around his head, making him look like Ryoga Hibiki from Ranma 1/2. The picture was taken when he was sixteen years old, in his first year of high school. He could not wear it when he was at school, of course, but he always carried it with him. I never saw his body in the coffin but I swore that he was buried with it.

I stopped the stereo system, which was playing a low-beat song, and lit the candles surrounding Jamie's picture. There was an incense burner next to them. I opened the window- I hate the smell of incense- and then burned a bit of incense on the burner. Jii-chan was never a religious person; at least as far as I know yet he showed me how to burn incense. I also did a prayer. I loved my brother very much, but I did not know where he was now. Was he in heaven or another place? Jii-chan pointed out to me that most forms of religion believe in an afterlife. Yet he never told me what he thought happened to Jamie. I didn't want to believe in reincarnation. I didn't want my brother to be reincarnated into something I couldn't have a relationship with. Still I did not know what all my options were.

'You killed yourself because Fuyuki dumped you' I thought. 'You really must have hated this world.' I sighed.

It was then when I felt something on my head. After a few tense seconds passed by, I looked up to see a small fox creature staring back at me. I could tell it was a fox creature because of its red colour and bushy tail. However, it wore a brown shirt with little music notes on it, brown trousers, and a brown cap like a baseball cap. I couldn't believe what I saw.

"Oh how cute!" I said. I then heard he (it's a male) make a "kitsu" sound and went on the ledge of the window. "What are you doing here, Mr. Fox?"

"Kitsuko, supper!" I suddenly heard Jii-chan call out. The little fox then jumped off the ledge, disappearing into the outside.

"Kitsuko?" I heard Jii-chan say again. I felt him go beside me. I was still looking outside the window.

"Jii-chan, did you see that little fox?" I asked him.

"What little fox?" Jii-chan said. He then looked out the window. "Silly fox, I don't see any fox."

"But I saw one-" I started to say but I shut my mouth. What could I say to him?" It was a red fox wearing a brown shirt and trousers and a baseball cap and it landed on my head and it said 'kitsu kitsu-"

"Calm down, Kitsuko, we should go to the table and we can talk about it there," Jii-chan said. "You didn't forget we're having fried pork and tofu, right?"

"Oh yummy!" I said, feeling very happy all of a sudden. "Let's go eat it now!"

"Silly fox" Jii-chan then chuckled. As I went to prepare to eat, I could smell the fried pork and tofu from the kitchen. The little cute red fox that I saw in my room was the farthest thing in my mind as I went to the dining room for my favourite meal.

End of Chapter One

I hope Chapter One was interesting. Who was the little red fox? Why did it come to Kitsuko's room? When will we see it again? If you want to find out, read Chapter Two when Kitsuko learns about a few family secrets that will change her life, and then a new character appears, revealing even more secrets! What is happening to the gods? If you love drama, suspense, deep themes, mythology and a little romance, be sure to read Chapter Two of "Fox Child!"