Roaming Kitsune

"Hey wake up. Its time for the Roaming Kitsune Ceremony. Now's not nap time."

I groggily got up, feeling soft grass beneath my hands and a spring breeze of blooming flowers in my lungs.

I opened my eyes to see a small boy with orange fox ears jumping up and down as he tugged at my sleeve.

"Hurry up Tobu."

That name...

A woman's voice rang out from a distance.

"Leave him be Enkei. We can't be late."

Wait. Where is this place?

"I'm going. You're gonna miss it. Stop being lazy."

The small boy Enkei ran off.

I slowly got to my feet. I was on a hill at the edge of a forest of sakura blossom trees. Looking down I could see a small village with a stone temple in the centre.

Taking in a deep breath of fresh air I felt alive. It had been so long.

This wasn't the hospital.

I looked down at my body.

A wiry physique of a teen just reaching adulthood.

I was wearing similar clothes to a ninja in grey that wrapped around my body and had a small tanto, a small sword, hidden in my sash.

My heart raced with fear... no excitement.

This was a dream.

I felt my body and pinched my skin. It all felt so real. How was it possible?

I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding as the world slowly sunk in.

I was in the opening scene of Tiger Princess Odyssey.

Thank you for answering my-.

Wait.

Touching my head I felt thick spiky hair and pulled it down in front of my eyes.

It was white.

I was Tobu.

Crap.

I was the protagonist of the game!

Now. Any other game that would be a good thing but this game was terrible for the protagonist.

He was too weak!

This was a headache. No. I was happy to be alive. I was ecstatic to be in Tiger Princess Odyssey but there's a big problem!

The protagonist has to save the world.

This wasn't an optional thing. The game was extremely hard and required a lot of saving and restarting. The difficulty made it barely accessible to a casual gamer but that was what made it so much more rewarding... but now that just meant it was harder to survive.

I crouched down in panic with the weight of the world pressing down on my shoulders. I was overthinking things. This might just be a huge delusion of mine since it doesn't make sense to be in a game world.

It was probably all a coincidence.

As I panicked my thoughts raced and a voice hit my memories with a brick...

'Don't leave me alone...' were her words. Like a cold splash of water I remembered my last moments of life.

It was strange. I always wanted to go to a better world but now I just wished to be back there and to make her feel better. Maybe I was a useless guy. I got another chance to live. I shouldn't squander it.

It was sad I never learnt her name...

The sky was blue with big fluffy clouds and the sun was high in the sky radiating a cosy heat. After too much time staring at the sky it was time to move.

I walked down to the village, getting used to the feel of my new body. I felt light and like I could jump up with just the tip of my toes. I tried it and went flying up hitting my head on a tree branch.

So this was the feeling of a game character.

It felt jumpy.

The sight of the village looked unreal. Like a high fidelity render or a movie set. The houses were magical. They were made with bamboo trees painted a cream colour and gave off a rural but welcoming feel. The houses were just small huts shaped into dome buildings but it was like a skilled artisan made pieces of art for display with intricate engravings unique to every house. I remembered a bit of lore that said every generation that lived in the house engraved their own story into the wood.

Walking closer to the centre plaza the people came into view. The crowd of fox eared people was getting larger at the stone temple. I slowly pushed my way through the crowd to get a good look at the stage.

"Gather in silence for the spirits will be convening."

At the front, standing on a small stone pillar was an old man with a large ceremonial looking stick in hand. He had greying hair and was hunched over but his face was fierce with a long wispy moustache. He hit the bell attached to the pillar and it rang out across the village.

I focused on his face to see if that was who I thought it was and a name lit up above his head.

[Nezuro]

It was him!

The elder who did the introduction. How did that name just appear like that. The moment I stopped focusing on his face it disappeared.

"Every five years in our village of Kuzunoha a new Roaming Kitsune is decided by the spirits. A man or woman who will leave the village to not return until their mission, designated by the powers beyond, is complete."

I couldn't deny it any longer. This was word for word the introduction cutscene from the game.

Some teenagers in front of me were trying to stealthily whisper to each other.

"It's always a teenager you know, I hope its not me. Mako hasn't returned from his mission and its been ten years, I don't want to be like him."

[Tori]

Another teen next to him whacked him on the head.

"That's ridiculous. This is a divine task mandated by the heavens. It would be an honour to be selected. Don't talk rubbish Tori."

[Yaki]

Nezuro gave a glare towards this direction and the teens ducked down hiding behind the elderly adults.

"First. We give thanks to the protection of the spirits that keep this village living peacefully throughout the centuries. Whether war or disaster strikes, our village of Kuzunoha stands hidden from all who wish to harm it. In exchange for this protection one among our youth is selected. Someone suited perfectly to fulfil a mission mandated by those beyond the veil who can see the right path forward. To push the world on the right path or save the saint of a distant country, we have fulfilled our roles as spirit guardians for centuries and we will continue to honour our responsibility."

He jumped down and stamped his stick on the floor.

In the centre of the stone stage a circular altar rose up twisting as it gained height.

It glowed a faint bluish light as the elder approached it.

"We descendants of Kuzunoha ask for guidance. Reveal the heavens decree and we shall fulfil it."

The glow increased before the air started to swirl.

A faint spirit began to form a giant celestial fox. The air twisted and the wind blew as its eyes focused on the crowd.

"Come forward. Son of the clouds. Tobu."

An enchanting feminine voice sang through the air. I was left stunned by the scene. Everyone turned their heads to me as sly whispers began to float in the wind.

"No way. He isn't even a kitsune."

"How is that possible? The boy that Pofu picked up."

"Son of the clouds. What's that? I've never heard of that clan."

"Tobu come forward."

The elders' words broke me out of my daze and I quickly wobbled forward as the sea of staring faces parted before me.

I climbed the stairs and reached the elder, hesitating to look up, the giant fox head stared down with immense pressure.

"Good. You are healthy, boy."

The sweet words of the fox ran through my body as they echoed in the air itself, it was like two voices speaking in unison.

Feeling the pressure of the situation I retreated to my comfortable memories, hoping they would make this less suffocating.

This was the scene from the game. It won't eat me. I remember it clearly. The spirit says the words: 'You have been chosen to follow our will. Your mission is clear and eternal. Save the Tiger Princess and protect this world.'

The fox spirit had gleaming orange eyes that peaked through my soul. Did it see something strange? It was silent for too long.

It had a pondering expression and blinked before nodding its head.

"You have been chosen to follow our will. Your mission is clear and eternal. Protect the Tiger Princess and save this world."

White wisps of energy left the stone embedding themselves into my heart. I could feel the fresh electric current settling above my lungs as I breathed. Then it faded away as if nothing had even happened.

It took a few seconds for me to process the words as the spirit faded away just quickly as it came into existence.

I could hear the chatter getting crazy once the spirit left.

"Tiger princess? Isn't she incredibly beautiful?"

"You idiot. Did you hear the end? Protect the world. Nobody’s ever been given that duty. This is insane."

"No way. Is the world in the hands of that lazy kid? We're doomed I tell ya. Doomed."

"Stop that nonsense. The spirits can hear you. Idiot."

I felt a tap on my shoulder. The elder motioned me to follow him away from the crowd.

"The Roaming Kitsune has been decided. This concludes the ceremony."

I could tell the elder was in a bit of a rush.

Protect the princess? Save the world?

Wait, wasn't it the other way around?

The entire plot of the game was to save the princess.

I knew the introduction by heart. There was no way I was wrong.

"Hey it's a messenger hawk, it's huge!"

This was it.

The beginning of the quest.

The elder walked forward as a hawk the size of a cow slowly drifted down with a scroll.

"Only the Tiger King has a giant fire hawk, nobody else would use it for a simple message."

The elder read through the message as I predicted his words: 'The Tiger Princess has been kidnapped! This is dire news! We must send off the Roaming Kitsune immediately!'

It was one of those immediate start, go out and start your adventure type of introductions.

The elder was still silent as he read the scroll, how much content was there?

"A rather dire situation has occurred for the Tiger Kingdom and it relates to the Roaming Kitsune. The Boar King met the Tiger King in neutral ground for diplomacy, he staged an ambush and tried kidnapping the Tiger Princess. Luckily, the princess escaped and they're now camping in the Forest Of Lost Souls due to injuries. They are asking for assistance from us as the closest village and I will be sending out an elite group along with Tobu tomorrow morning. Those of the Fox Guard, be prepared for deployment."

Wait what.

The princess escaped?

The story had changed. What was going on?

The crowd was bursting with talks about the unexpected news with fear and faint expectations as they looked at me.

It didn't feel real.

None of my knowledge would help me here. Going from area to area to save the princess and meeting allies. That was all pointless without the main objective.

The entire plot was in shambles already...

The princess didn't get kidnapped!