Old Promises, New Mysteries: Book 2 of The Kinstone series

The festival was now in full swing, with people packed in the shrine courtyard. This really felt like I was back at the first shrine festival I went to. Granted I wasn’t wearing a yukata and it wasn’t summer. But the feeling was the same.

I glanced over to my right to see the river that flowed behind the shrine. The open grassy valley, in which it flowed, shimmered into the faint greying light.

Another breeze rushed through the courtyard, causing the tall grass to sway. This place is beyond peaceful and I can never say how much I had come to love the region.

My lips curled into a smile. You still have time to enjoy it. So go have fun, I thought to myself. I took a deep breath and turned back towards the festivities.

Music played from throughout the shrine as the festival-goers shuffled about. For a village this small, there sure were a lot of people there.

It sort of reminded me to Stock Show back in Mercedes, in that the little town became the center of the world in the Rio Grande Valley. Children ran around cheering as they chased each other.

The smell of food being cooked filled my nose, looking to see takoyaki and okonomiyaki vendors were fully at work churning out food for hungry customers. The chimes of bells being shot rang in my ears.

A smile grew on my face as I wandered over to the shooting gallery, watching people sitting down and trying to win various prizes. I stayed for a moment and then turned and move on.

There were a few other events happening during the day and night. I knew later on in the evening there was going to be a massive bonfire. I grinned, definitely the place where he and I were going to be at.

I looked over to see a few men sitting at a soba cart, eating and drinking. I knew I hadn’t really eaten anything since breakfast as I was starving.

I hopped over to a ramen cart, sat down and ordered. I watched as the cook piece together a bowl for me. It took a little time, but anything worth having was worth waiting for. My stomach, as messed up as it was earlier, could stand wait just a bit longer for me.

I felt a something blow into my ear, causing me to coil and yelp. I turned to see Saya and the others, all standing behind me. “You were incredible Aria-chan. You really must’ve been nervous while on that stage,” happily spoke the nekomata.

My cheeks blushed softly, “Thanks Saya-chan and yeah,” giggling slightly, “I was. But I had to just push it all out of my mind. Otherwise I’d never have gotten through it.”

She smiled and sat next to me, followed by the rest of the girls, who all ordered. It still was a little jarring to see them in their human forms.

In my mind, all I could see were three nekomata, a karasu-tengu, and a gyoubu danuki. And I’m pretty sure that they only saw me as a pink-haired kitsune. Regardless, I was happy to have them with me.

Ayame leaned forward, resting her elbows onto the counter, “Geez, what was with some of those people? Some of them were really angry that Aria-chan was dancing. I could hear them clear across the stage, insulting you, asking why a gaijin (outsider) was the one performing and not a local girl."

She huffed, "Just the nerve of some people. They were getting so nasty and hateful that I wanted to just storm over there and yell at them. But my parents stopped me, saying that I couldn’t do anything.”

I smiled faintly, “Well…they’re kinda right. I’m not from the village or even the country for that matter.”

She cocked her head at me, “What are you talking about? You’re not an outsider to anyone in the village. You’ve been with us for almost two months and everyone here thinks of you as part of it. Who cares if you weren’t born here?”

I grinned, remembered having this very same conversation the night I met Jenn.

“And besides,” she continued, “they’ll only be here for a day. After that, no one will care.” Yui and Miu both looked to me and nodded in agreement.

“At least we should be grateful that the miko and head priest were there,” added Saya, “no way would they’ve allowed something to happen in full view of them.” The group all smiled in agreement. I grinned softly, resting my head onto my arms.

Mayori leaned over, stroking my back with her hand, “You all right? You look a little green.”

I smiled to her, “I’m okay, just need some food.”

Her hand rose up and down my back. I felt like closing my eyes. But the smell of soup, filling my nose, woke me back up.

I raised my head to see the chef placing a large bowl onto the counter in front of me. I sigh happily, taking a long deep breath, allowing the aromas to swell into my nose. I picked out a pair of chopsticks and waited a moment while everyone else received theirs.

We all then held our hands together, “Itadakimasu.” We then broke apart the chopsticks and began to eat.

This is actually the first time in years that I had real ramen. The last place I went to was back in Austin, a few miles from where I used to live. So this really was a treat.

The broth was nice, having a salty sweetness to it, with the spices permeating the thick dark broth. The vegetables were crunchy, adding a slight sweetness to balance out the broth. I ordered it with chicken as opposed to the pork cutlets. The noodles were light and thin, opting for the thinner pasta.

As we ate, I listened to Ayame and Saya talking about the clubs at their school. Apparently the baseball team had begun its season and had already lost its first couple of games.

The music club, which Mayori was a part of, was practicing for a recital next month. A shame I’d have to miss it. The twins were involved with the student council, but as to which positions they held, I had no clue.

In the back of my mind I still wished that I could at least spend a week or even just a couple days attending school with them. I giggled to myself, imagining me in their school’s uniform and heading to the train station with them.

It was a simple fantasy, but one that never stopped to bring a smile to my face.

After we finished, I pulled my bag around to pay for my meal. As I was searching for my wallet, a hand reached over and placed money onto the tray. I looked up to see Kenji standing beside me.

He smiled warmly to me, “Hello there.”

My face flushed a deep red, “H-hi.”

My heart jumped wildly in my chest as he was standing so close to me. He looked nice, wearing jeans and a short-sleeved button down shirt. But I still had to laugh as his hair, now pure black while in his human form, still looked rather messy.

“Shall we go?” he asked, his dark eyes peering softly into mine.

I hesitated for a moment, almost forgetting how to move. I felt a hand pushing me off of my chair. I looked to my friends, who all were practically beaming, nodding to me. I blushed even more, looking up at him.

He grinned, taking a step back, “'Ladies first', as Americans would say.”

My heart rate tanked instantly back to a normal pace as a grin stretched across my face. “Such a gentleman, you have been well taught,” I giggled.

His smile never dimmed. I walked out under the curtain of the cart. He followed right behind him. I could hear the quiet giggling and cheers of my friends. Shaking my head, he and I then walked away.

We slowly passed through the hundreds of people that were in attendance. Children were still running from stall to stall, many playing games or ordering food. I had to laugh silently as I saw the shirohebi working as fortunetellers using water divination.

The music still played in the background, creating a simple and calming atmosphere. I could tell at some point they switched to a prerecorded song list, in that wasn’t entirely all Japanese folk music.

I looked up to Kenji, who smiled at me. “You were incredible on the stage Aria-chan.”

I smiled, looking forward, “Thanks Kenji. I’ll admit that I was way beyond nervous every second this morning before it and even afterwards.”

He smiled, “I bet. I know a few of the girls who have done it a couple times still say they were nervous all the way through it. When the announcement was made that you were chosen, those same girls nearly collapsed in relief.”

My fingers gripped my bag a little tighter, “I hope that others weren’t pissed that I was chosen and not them.”

His head shook softly, “Nope. They were very glad to not have to do it. Hinata, a girl who did it a couple years ago, actually jumped and shouted for joy that she wasn’t chosen.” I smiled softly, nodding.

The weather had grown a little warmer and humid. I really hoped that Asha would be able to hold off the rain until after my date. My heart thumped wildly in my chest at the realization that I was officially on my date.

I made a few passing glances at him, how would only smile to me. My grip tightened even more around my bag. If I were a kitsune in this very moment I knew that my tails would be swishing and scraping against the brick pathways.

He looked over to me, “What would you like to do first? Play some games? I saw a pop gun stall not too far from here. You do know how to shoot right? Don’t all American shoot guns?”

My wildly racing heart quickly settled back to a more, calm beat. I looked up at him, cocking my head, grinning, “I know how to shoot lover boy. Just haven’t done it in a while. So I might be a tad rusty.”

He chuckled, “Well this will serve as a refresher then.” I giggled as we turned to one of the stalls.

The pop gun stall had four guns lying on counter. Each was meant to fire cork stoppers. The targets were all little stuffed animals, even a couple anime figures, which shocked me.

The more valuable prizes actually had little targets under them for people to shoot at. I stood in front on the counter and rested my hand onto the rifle before me.

Kenji handed the keeper some money, which then placed a small tray of corks for me to use. I smiled, picking up a stopper and inserted it into the barrel of the rifle.

I grabbed the barrel and pulled it down, charging the pump, and bringing it back to its normal position, cocking it. I held the rifle up to my cheek and sighted along the barrel. My target was one of the figures, a really rare one that was only sold in a small section of Akihabara.

I exhaled slowly and fired, missed. I quickly reloaded and fired again, missing a second time. I stood there for moment, staring at my target. I lowered the rifle, and tapped the wooden stock, before reloaded for a third time and fired, again missing.

I sighed, calmly setting the rifle back onto the counter, “Guess I’m a little rustier that I thought.”

Kenji smirked, “I thought people from Texas knew how to shoot.”

I tilted my head at him, “Well then, care to show me how it’s done?”

He grinned, paying the keeper some more money and was also had a small tray of stoppers. He loaded a rifle and fired, instantly hitting the target, which dropped a banner saying “Winner”.

The keeper walked over and picked up the figure and sat it onto the counter. Kenji then shot and won a couple of small stuff animals. They were all placed into a large bag.

I giggled, “That’s the son of a fisherman for you. Such keen eyes you have.” He smirked, handing the prizes to me. I smiled to him, “Thank you.”

He nodded, “Where to next?”

I gripped the bag, “No idea.”

His smile softened and warmed, “Well then, why don’t we just wander around until we find something?”

I shifted my bag a little and nodded, “Sounds good to me.”

He held out his hand to me. I lifted mine, hesitant at first, but then slowly placed it into his. He grasped it softly and then the two of us then walked away from the stall and back at into the crowd.

His hand was calloused and rough, all from his time fishing with his father and uncle. But his grip was soft and gentle, never crushing my tiny hand. Our pace was slow and deliberate, not really in a hurry to get anywhere too quickly.

The scores of people seemed to fade away as did all of the noise. In that moment, it was just the two of us in the entire world. I laughed to myself, thinking that if we were kitsune, our tails would also be wrapped together.

This…this is really nice. We didn’t have to do anything. Just being together was enough for me. In the corner of my eye, I caught a faint shadow moving amongst the stall. A small smirk rose on my face.

Kenji looked down at me, “What’s so funny?”

Shaking my head, I looked up at him, “Nothing.”

His head tilted, “If you say so.” I giggled.

We ventured back to the main shrine where Kenji and I passed under the inner Torii and walked over to a small pavilion which under it had water flowing from it and several ladles carefully placed around it.

He took a ladle and poured water onto his hands, and some into his mouth, spitting it into a bucket. He then offered the ladle to me, to where I did the same.

This was a ritual within Shintoism as a form of purifying oneself before you could come before the gods. I learned about this during the week I shadowed the miko for a time.

We walked to the offering hall and stepped up to where a large barred box rested with a longed braided rope and bells attached to the ceiling, which rested overhead. We stood in front of the box where Kenji dropped a coin into it and then grabbed the rope and rang the bell twice. He bowed twice, clapped his hands twice, closing his eyes, offering a prayer to the gods.

When he finished, he bowed, turning to me. I blushed softly, bowing low and clapping twice. Although according to custom I was to silently offer my name to the local god, politely letting him know who I was and giving him thanks. I closed my eyes, giving a prayer for my family, still missing them terribly.

When I was done, I gave one last bow. We then stepped down the offering hall and each purchased a charm. I attached mine to my bag. We smile to each other and then silently left.

I glanced over to the see the head priest smiling to me once more. He stood with his hands held together, nodding to me, and no doubt praying for my date to go well. My cheeks blushed deeply, dipping my head to him.

We spent the next couple of hours touring the festival, playing more games, in which I won a red tengu mask for him. I giggled as he placed it onto his face. He laughed as he made a few playful growls at me.

I felt relaxed and nowhere near as nervous as I was at the beginning. I hung close to him, now hugging his arm. He would smile as we wandered about.

The fantasies I had from a week ago soon flooded back into my mind. I imagined myself in a wedding kimono and with him by my side. The priest would be conducting the ceremony. Out in the audience would be my mother and the rest of my family.

I imagined Rachel shedding tears as she watched her little girl being married. After the ceremony rites had ended, I would turn to look at Kenji and then lean in to kiss him.

My cheeks blushed deeply, attempting to kick myself back into reality. Geez Aria, get your head out of the clouds. You should also stay away from those romance novels for a while.

Kenji looked down at me, “Something wrong Aria-chan?”

My heart throbbed in my chest, as I looked away from him. “Uhhh…n-no. All good.”

He watched for me a moment, smiling, “Ok then.”

I clutched my hands tightly. Just relax Aria. This isn’t some Disney film in which you get married shortly after you meet a guy. Enjoy your date with him. I took a deep breath and let out a long slow sigh, settling myself down.

We left the festival and headed for the river, finding a nice large rock to sit down on. We had been on our feet for hours and mine were killing me. I slipped off my shoes and sat my feet onto the soft ground. A gentle breeze blew over my tired feet, instantly cooling them. I smiled, wiggling my toes.

He looked to me and smiled, “Having fun?”

I nodded, “I am.” He gently wrapped his arm around my shoulder and pulling me into him.

My cheeks burned softly as I felt his chest against mine. I wanted to transform right then and there, but we were still too close to the festival for people to see us. His hand softly stroked my arm.

One thing that made me laugh to myself was that my anime-fueled brain imagined my friends all following us in disguise. I had made a few passing glances to see if they were. Thankfully they weren’t.

I half-expected for my aunts to be hovering close by. Again, neither was in sight. So it really was just Kenji and I. Well…there is one other, but they kept their presence well-hidden.

I laid my head onto his chest and stared out onto the river, its flowing waters filled my ears. The noise of the festival felt like it was on a far-off planet.

Sounds echoed from the forest behind us, mostly deer or birds. The sound of trees creaking in the wind seemed to further drown out the distant noise of the festival. He then took my hand and held it tightly into his. I felt his chest moving up and down as he breathed, also warming the side of my face.

A soft kiss landed on the top of my head as well as his chin. I giggled blushingly. This felt like a perfect moment, no one was around, zero distractions, the world could fade away entirely and I wouldn’t care. My eyes slowly closed, just letting everything around me turn to silence.

“I heard that you will be leaving by the end of the month.”

My heart sank into my stomach. I was quickly reminded that I only had a few weeks before I returned home. I had been so caught up in all of the excitement of my training for the performance and my date that I had completely pushed it from my mind.

I really didn’t want to be reminded of that ever encroaching truth. But no matter how much I had fallen in love with the village and its people, I still had to go home, back to my mother who more than likely has been going crazy without me begin there. Not to mention a certain dragon who loved to pace around whenever I was gone. Probably the only person who kept everyone from tearing themselves apart would be a certain alraune.

I sighed and nodded, “Yeah. With the festival happening, I only have less than three weeks before I go.”

His hand then rested onto my head, holding it close to his chest. “You could always just stay here.”

I giggled, “True. But my home is back in America. So is my mother.”

I felt his hand softly stroking my hair, “I bet your mother is as beautiful as you, a magnificent kitsune.”

I giggled, “Even more so, but she’s not a kitsune. She’s a human witch.”

His fingers gently stroked my ear, “You must miss her.”

My body shivered softly at his fingers, gently bobbing my head, “I do.”

I could hear his heart tremble slightly, telling me he didn’t like the idea of me leaving. I would say the same, but I wasn’t entirely sure about my feelings for him. And I didn’t want to ask certain questions because if I did, they would just fester within me and more than likely affect me moving forward. So I either buried those thoughts away or just pushed them out of my mind.

“We still have some time,” he whispered.

A smile stretched on my face, “We do, but not much.”

Another kiss was planted onto my head. “Then we should enjoy what little we have.” I smiled, nodding. He and I stayed there for a while, letting time pass us by.

Sometime later, I opened my eyes and saw that the sun was already beginning to set. I rubbed my eyes. The sound of Kenji’s breathing hovered into my ears.

Apparently we both had fallen asleep while on the rock, but it was nice. This had been the longest he and I had ever shared together, and it had been a really good time.

Something then caught my eye as I turned my gaze out onto the river. I smiled softly, now definitely seeing Natsuki and the other shirohebi wading in the water. They gave me a soft wave, but dared not approach us. I waved at them in return.

I could tell they were cheering for me. I blushed softly, waving to them again. The group waved one last time before turning back towards the Asha’s shrine.

I stretched my body, careful to not wake him. I reached behind me, thankful for once that I hadn’t transformed. I stared up into the sky, noticing at how the clouds had finally parted, revealing the open sky for the first time all day.

The sky was awash with shimmering golds and burning reds as the sun began its slow retreat into the horizon. Apart from the music and cheer of the festival, it was quiet around us. The forest behind us swayed and groaned softly against a gentle breeze, listening as the leaves rustle and dance along their branches.

“Have any good dreams?”

I looked up to see him awake and smiling to me. I nodded, “I did.”

He smiled, squeezing me even tighter against him. “I should go ahead and take you home before it gets too dark,” he said, stroking my arm.

I held his hand tightly in mine, giving a short nod. Our date was coming to an end but it was a good one if you ask me. He and I then rose from our rock and walked off.

As we approached the festival, we could see that the bonfire was already being lit and people were starting to gather around it. He and I quietly slipped past them and headed back through the vendors. Children were still hovering around the games, trying to win one last prize for the evening. The sounds of the roaring fires and sizzling oil rang out, as the food vendors still were serving everyone.

I glanced over to see the miko were all standing at certain places, monitoring the guests. They each gave me a soft smile. I gave a quiet giggle, waving to them. He and I then passed under the main torii gate and left the shrine altogether, heading down the path to the main road.

When we turned onto the road, I could still faintly hear the music as it echoed through the valley. The sky had already turned darker with sun sinking into the ocean.

I felt something soft brush against my legs, looking up to see that Kenji had dropped his human disguise. “No one can see us from here. So let go.”

To this day, it still amazes me that while I am human, I still find it just as easy being a kitsune. During my time here, I nearly forgot that I could in fact transform into other races. I had only transformed into ryujin while with Asha and a mermaid a handful of times whenever I’d go swimming in the ocean.

I smiled softly, easing myself into my kitsune form. His tails wrapped around mine, one for every two of mine. This felt like the perfect way to end our date, just him and I alone on the road together, completely relaxed. My ears flicked, hearing something rushing into the forest behind us.

He pulled me closer, “What was that?”

I giggled softly, “Just a deer I think.” He continued to scan the area as we headed up the road.

We sauntered along the road, finally turning onto the forested path leading up to the house. The stone-bricked path was dark, being surrounded on both sides by trees, forming a tunnel of sorts. One thing I have long come to love about the path leading up to my house is its length.

Starting from the main road it was a good half mile at least and swerved in places. This served to further shield the house from any and all sounds from the road below as the forest simply surrounded everything, forming into a sort of natural barrier.

Often during either my morning runs or even on my many excursions into the village, I never once felt uneasy amongst the trees. This is my home, but I soon had to leave it for another.

He and I both lit up a single kitsune-bi and floated them in front of us. The soft blue flames danced in the air. A gentle breeze rushed down the path as it wound up the hill, carrying my hair with it.

I instinctively grabbed for it, thinking it was brushing against my ears, only to be reminded that I wasn’t human at the moment. I felt slightly foolish, but didn’t let it distract me from the moment.

The house soon came into sight and I saw that it was still dark. I figured that my aunt was still down at the festival. I looked up to the sky to see a perfectly clear starry night. My calves burned from all of the walking and my feet were screaming to be dunked into a tub of hot water.

When we finally arrived at my front door, we stopped and looked at each other. The little balls of flame still floated around us.

“I hope you had fun tonight,” he asked.

I nodded softly, staring at up him. “I did. Thank you for bringing me home.”

Our hands were still clutched tightly together, not really sure if either wanted to let go.

He smiled, “It was my pleasure,” then leaning in to press his forehead against mine, holding our hands up to our chests.

He and I stayed there for a moment, simply sharing each other’s company. “I should let you get some rest. You had a long day,” he whispered.

I nodded, “Yeah. Thanks for everything Kenji.”

A smile rose on his lips, “Have a good night Aria-chan.” I grinned, fighting back to urge to tilt my head up and kiss him.

He pulled back, unwinding our tails and slowly letting go of my hands. I watched as he slowly stepped away from the front stoop, and turned back towards the path. His kitsune-bi orbited around him illuminating his way.

I stood there, watching as he disappeared into the darkness. Once the light faded, I knew his was gone and I was by myself.

Well…not quite.

I giggled, “You can come out now. I’ve known you were watching me this whole time.”

The sound of branches being pushed away reverberated off of the house as a massive black wolf emerged from the forest. I looked over to Fenris as he walked over to me. My bonded’s ice-blue eyes glittered in the flame’s light.

“I was merely making sure you were safe, Little Aria.”

I giggled, “That…and you were making sure he didn’t do anything stupid.”

He curled his lips into a grin. I leaned over and wrapped my arms around his neck, burying my face into his fur, “Thank you Papa Wolf, for coming with me.”

His head brushed against mine, “You are welcome.” I smiled letting go and then kissing his cheek. He let gave a soft, gleeful huff.

I giggled, reaching around my back to pull out my key, opening the door, and turning on the lights. I pulled off my shoes, and placed them into the entryway. My tired feet then stepped onto the wooden floor and I made a beeline for the stairs, still carrying the bag with the prizes Kenji won for me.

“You could have easily won the figure yourself, little one,” said Fenris, as we ascended the stairs.

I giggled, “I know. But it was more fun letting him do it for me,” stepping onto the second floor

“You truly are a conniving little fox,” huffing a wolfish laugh.

I giggled louder, opening the door to my room and placing the bags onto the floor by the dresser. I collapsed onto the floor, pulling my tails into me.

Fenris then curled around me, gently patting my body with his tails. I smiled, curling up into him and clinging to his fur. He whipped a gentle chill around me, soothing the fatigue from my body.

The day ran through my mind, playing out every single moment as though it were happening now. It all felt like a dream, so much had happened on one day that I scarcely could believe did. I nuzzled into his furry side.

I then heard the sound of my phone going off. I rolled my eyes, reaching out with my one of my tails and pulled my bag over to me. I reached in and slipped out my phone.

On the screen was a message from Yukari.

Are you home yet sweetie? I haven’t seen you around the festival for a few hours.

I smiled, texting her back.

Just got in. Lying down in my room with Fenris.

A moment later she sent her response.

Good to hear. I hope you had a wonderful time on your date. Know that your mother has been asking about it.

I giggled and blushed softly. I know for sure she’d want to know how it went. My eyes then flung open. Oh God…so would Marron. This also then meant that…ALL OF MY FRIENDS WOULD KNOW! My face blushed even more, texting her back.

I did and I…I will. Just hope she doesn’t go full “Mom” and ask me anything embarrassing.

She won’t sweetie. She merely will wish to know that you had a good time.

I sighed, nodding.

I know…fine, I’ll text her. Too tired to call her

I know sweetie. After you do, get some rest. You’ve earned it. I will be home after wrapping up things here, so it’ll be late when I do. I love you and sweet dreams.

Night and love you too.

I sighed for a moment, gathering the courage I needed. I spent the next twenty minutes texting Rachel about my date with Kenji, telling everything that happened to me. I giggled to myself, basically writing a book to her. When I was finished, I laid the phone down and curled up even tighter into Fenris, slowly drifting away.