Gon’s Day of Charm, Chaos, and Unexpected Wisdom

Sundays are for schemes.

This is the Kitsune Way. Not evil schemes. Those are for bored tengu. Not sneaky schemes. Those are for raccoon dogs or more commonly known as tanuki. I’m looking at you, Mon.

Kitsune schemes are special, fabulous, glittering, and spiritually important. Designed entirely to make the world appreciate how pretty I am.

The energy we get from these “missions” serve as nourishment for us. This is true for a lot of yokai too. Though, we also eat, obviously.

This Sunday’s mission was simple. Make at least ten people tell me I looked dazzling. 

Should be easy. Humans and yokais alike already find us adorable.

I put on my brightest red hoodie. I swear I didn’t steal this from a certain granddaughter trying to visit her grandma who lives in the woods.

I tied the laces artistically, fluffed my bangs, tucked my ears down poorly and strutted down the village path like I controlled gravity.

I was cute! Who cares for catgirls! Just look at me now! Foxboys are IT! 

But… the village was BOOO-RING.

Two old ladies only cared about cucumbers. Boring… also I heard enough “cucumber” from class already. Thanks to a certain kappa…

A delivery man tripped but didn’t say ‘Whoa, that fox child is radiant!’ Ungrateful…

A group of carpenters looked at me and said, ‘Should you be out alone?’ Rude.

So I wandered to the quieter edge of town, practicing my wink in the reflection of a vending machine.

And then, just like fate, I saw him.

Sensei.

Standing by another vending machine, glamour spell half-working, hair tied up loosely, sleeves pushed to his elbows, staring at the tea buttons like they were some kind of ancient puzzle.

I gasped so dramatically I nearly inhaled my tail.

‘Sensei!!!?!’

He froze like he’d been caught stealing snacks. ‘Gon?! What’re you doing out here?’

I flicked my hair. ‘Looking gorgeous. What are you doing?’

He smiled at my remark.

‘…Buying tea.’

He said it like buying tea required emotional preparation.

Good. This was a job for me.

I strutted closer, hands in pockets, hoodie billowing like a cape.

‘Are you alone? On a weekend? By a vending machine? Looking tragic?’

He sighed. ‘I’m fine, Gon.’

He was not fine. His aura felt like damp tissue paper. Fox instincts tingled, I stepped closer, sniffing the air dramatically. 

‘Sensei… are you lonely?’

‘No,’ he said.

I took that as “YES, desperately so”. 

Say no more. I grinned.

Humans may hide their emotions, but the aura that matches with their mood? Never.

‘Sensei,’ I said, voice gentle for once, ‘lucky for you… I’m free today.’ 

I rubbed my hands like a fly. My face too, might’ve looked like I was getting ready to scam him. Won’t blame him if he thinks so. Us Kitsunes indeed do those things as well.

‘…Free for what?’

‘Company! Obviously!’

He looked like I’d said something unnatural. 

‘Gon… don’t you have family plans?’

‘They said I need more socialization skills,’ I said proudly.

He groaned. ‘That’s not what they meant.’

‘Too late!’ I took his sleeve. ‘Come on! Fixing sad humans is my specialty.’

Something strange happened as I tugged his sleeve. The glamour spell around him crackled. Not in a bad way. Not dangerously. Just, maybe tired?

‘Sensei…’ I whispered, ‘you’re leaking magic.’

He froze.

Aha! Fox Detective Success.

‘I am not,’ he said weakly. ‘Am I?’

‘Sensei,’ I said softly, ‘your aura is sad.’

He froze again.

I nodded vigorously like a wise fox sage. ‘Okay. Park time. Come on.’

He let me drag him. And that I did. He was slow and heavy. More tired than resisting really. I brought him to the small riverside park with soft grass and wind that hid tails. I pushed him down onto the grass.

‘Sit.’

He sat.

I looked at his tired physique and aura. ‘Okay, Sensei. Spill.’

‘Spill…?’

‘Your emotions!’

He closed his eyes and sighed deeply. The sigh of a human not wanting to spill to a tiny yokai and a man fighting his past.

‘I… feel guilty today,’ he murmured. ‘For the things I ran from. For how much I ruined. For disappointing people.’

Oh. That heavy kind of sad. 

Suddenly, mischief didn’t feel right.

Ok… Now what?

I shifted closer, arms behind my head. ‘Fox wisdom time,’ I declared. ‘If you ran away, it’s because you needed to.’

He snorted. ‘That’s not how responsibility works.’

‘Yes it is.’ I poked his shoulder. ‘If something hurts, run from it. If something makes you smile, run toward it. If you don’t know what to do, run around it in circles until it gets dizzy.’

He stared at me like I was ridiculous. I probably was. But he laughed anyway. And it made the air lighter. I’ve noticed it since meeting him on class. The music and magic that comes out from him is soothing. It’s like he wants to soothe everything around him, despite hurting deep inside himself.

‘Gon,’ he said, ‘that makes no sense.’

‘It makes perfect sense,’ I corrected. ‘And also, Sensei, you’re allowed to start over. Kitsune rule.’

He looked at me like I had three heads. He stared. Then he touched his forehead. Then back to more staring, like he wasn’t expecting something wise from someone with a hoodie that said “FOXY STAR”.

Finally, I leaned in and delivered the final blow, ‘You’re the prettiest person I know.’

He choked. ‘What…’

‘Prettiest people shouldn’t be sad,’ I said gravely.

That made him smile and blush. Gotcha!

He stared at me with a soft expression this time. It felt like sunlight warming frost.

‘Gon… thank you.’

My chest puffed with pride. I felt so elated I almost transformed on the spot. He reached out to ruffle my hair.

I shrieked. ‘Sensei! Don’t touch the merchandise!!’

He laughed hard. His voice felt like soup on a snowy day. Warm and filling.

We spent the awhile talking, him slowly opening up, me bragging about being fabulous, him admitting he doesn’t know how to choose tea flavors, us both agreeing not to tell Sumire this, me insisting I’d help him both be beautiful and emotionally okay. That he was out there to run errands for Maria.

And then he said something strange.

‘Gon… do you ever think about helping more than causing trouble?’

I was stunned.

‘Huh?’

‘You’re very good at understanding people,’ he said quietly. ‘You could use that for more than mischief. You helped me more than you know.’

I paused. I never thought of it like that.

Kitsune cause chaos. It's tradition… But what if… chaos could be helpful?

For a fox child who gets energy from causing mischief, this is deep philosophical thinking.

‘Maybe,’ I said carefully, ‘I can balance it. A little naughty… a little helpful.’

He smiled proudly. ‘That,’ he said, ‘would make you unstoppable.’

I beamed so hard the grass around us wiggled. I let him pat my head this time.

When the sun dipped, he walked me home. His aura was steadier and softer. Not lonely. 

At my gate, I turned dramatically.

‘Sensei.’

‘Yes?’

‘I am now available as Emotional Support Fox. Please book in advance.’

He laughed. I like seeing it. It a beautiful laugh. I’ll make sure to keep it up.

‘But if you can’t book me, try Honey.’

‘Honey is not a fox,’ he sighed.

‘Spiritually, he is.’

‘He is a human with a bear spirit.’

‘Still a yokai.’

He gave up. ‘Deal.’

I skipped inside, tail swishing.

Later in my journal for Maria I wrote:

‘Sensei was sad, so I used Maximum Charm and Fixed Him. Also, I learned being helpful feels nice. Like tail wags. Please praise.’

And I drew him labeled:

‘Prettiest Teacher Ever.’

With sparkles. And fox tails. Everywhere. 

Because that is the Kitsune Way.