Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ Fox Tales ❯ Infusion or Illusion? Part II ( Chapter 6 )

Fox Tales

 

Chapter 6

“Infusion or Illusion? Part II”

 

It had been two days since Todd left for the Japan expedition, and it just now occurred to him that he hates camping, and has hated it all of his life. He now realized that the next few days were going to be a living hell. What did I get myself into? he thought as the group of half-asleep teenagers moaned its way towards the bus that would take everyone to the next stop.

 

For some strange reason, it was decided by whoever was in charge that the group would leave the hotel right in the middle of Tokyo's morning rush hour.

“I don't believe it. People are cutting other people off, yelling at each other…and that's just our group,” some kid standing next to Todd said. Todd couldn't do anything to keep himself from laughing. A couple of other people nearby chuckled lightly.

“You said it,” he replied, still laughing. “What's your name?”

“I'm Nick. What's yours?”

“I'm Todd, and it's nice to meet you. Where do you go to school?”

“Sanderson High.” The smile on Todd's face immediately disappeared, and was replaced by a slight look of frustration.

“I don't think we should be talking to each other,” he said.

“Why? Oh. Let me guess. You go to Drexel High, don't you?”

“Umm-hmm,” Todd nodded.

Every high school has a rivalry with another. But when it comes to these two, the word `rivalry' is redefined. It's even gotten to the point where three members of Sanderson's football team came over to Drexel, and ambushed one member of its team after some harsh insults were thrown the previous day. The victim was sent to the hospital, and the three boys were arrested. (A/N: This is based off something that actually happened in my senior year of high school, only it was with the boy's swim and dive team) Todd thought about keeping his distance from Nick, but he knew better than to let some rivalry keep a potentially good friendship from forming. He decided to give it another shot.

“Hey, man. We shouldn't let that keep us from being friends,” he said, trying to be reasonable.

“Yeah, I guess you're right.”

“Mmm-hmm,” Todd nodded. Hold it. What do you mean you `guess' I'm right? Of course I am, he thought, trying as hard as he could not to say that aloud.

 

After waiting about ten minutes before finally finding a hole to merge into traffic, the group had finally managed to leave. Nick and Todd decided to sit next to each other, despite a small protest on Naomi's part. They decided to introduce each other more thoroughly, asking each other's grade, if he had siblings, etc. Everything was going just fine until Nick asked the one question Todd never wanted to hear.

“So, why'd you come?”

Those four words left Todd absolutely speechless. What do I tell him? I can't say I came because I like camping. That'd be a flat-out lie. I can't say it's because I like Japan. Geography was one of my worst subjects. And I certainly can't tell him it's because I wanted to be with Naomi. That'd be too embarrassing for the both of us.

“Uh…uh…” Todd worried.

“That's alright. You don't have to tell me if you don't want to.”

Todd breathed a deep sigh of relief.

 

Despite almost having a heart attack from that question, Todd was able to bring his heart rate back to normal, and met some more of the fellow students involved in the expedition, including Brian, Josh, Dave, and Monica. All four were sophomores at Drexel High, and in the school's Nature & Conservation club. Todd was hesitant to have a conversation with them since he wasn't too fond of the `save the ____' movement. Anything that might involve strapping one's self to a tree was out of the question. Todd quietly took himself out of the discussion.

 

About an hour later, the bus arrived at the gate to the nature reserve. Luckily, the group was given the luxury of taking the bus up to the campsite, and not having to hike the 4- mile distance. When the bus finally came to a stop, every one of the students exited the vehicle as fast as he or she could. All of them gathered on the sides of the bus, waiting for the doors to be unlocked so each could recover his or her belongings. Todd was in no such rush. He casually exited the bus and walked to the side, behind the small crowd that gathered. The driver exited and headed for the side with the key in his hand. Everyone separated, almost like the seas parted for the driver. He opened the panel that took up the entire side, and everyone stampeded to the luggage. The driver calmly went to the other side and did the same thing. While all of this was happening, Todd waited patiently for the rush to clear, and then he retrieved his belongings. The remaining bags were the tents everyone would be sleeping in, and sack lunches for the week.

 

It was now about 10:30 AM, and a couple of kids who hadn't gotten used to the time difference complained about being hungry since back home, they'd probably be eating breakfast right now. Many kids pulled out his or her iPods, a deck of playing cards, handheld video games, etc. while the faculty set up the tents. A couple of students had nothing better to do, so they decided to help. Todd pulled out his CD player, put on the headphones, sat down against the side of the bus, and put his hands behind his head. He was ready to relax, but he never got the chance to do such a thing, however. As soon as he closed his eyes, a shadowy figure lurched over him. He opened an eye, and it took a while to adjust and recognize the figure. He quickly knew who it was. “Can I help you?” Todd asked, half sarcastically.

“What are you doing out here alone?” Naomi asked with a big smile. “You want to play with us?”

“Two questions. Who's `us', and play what?”

“Fine then. Two answers. You'll find out who, and “Rich Man, Poor Man.” Do you know how to play?”

“Yeah, I know how to play it. Can't say I'm any good at it though.”

“Well, there's only one way to get better. C'mon.”

 

The `us' that Naomi referred to were Rachel and Jasmine, her friends back at school. To them, Todd was a mysterious figure. They each talked about how they heard so much about him from Naomi, but they had never seen the quasi-legendary boyfriend of hers. Todd was surprised more, however, that he was referred to a her `boyfriend.' Since when did we become a couple? he thought. Rachel and Jasmine were in awe over his `gorgeous shoulder-length orange hair' and his `perfect torso.' They also were breathless over how his outfit made him look so `mysterious.'

“This is all very flattering, ladies,” Todd said half-embarrassed and half-annoyed, “but can we please return to the game?”

“Whatever you say, hot stuff,” Rachel replied with a naughty tone.

“Rachel!” Naomi and Jasmine said in surprise and dismay. Naomi even pushed her from the side.

The game continued, and Todd wasn't doing too terribly, but Naomi was an expert at the game. Everyone was getting frustrated that they couldn't do anything to stop her.

 

Saturday and Sunday were given as the only free days of the entire trip to the students. Monday was the first real day of the trip, and it didn't matter to Todd that this was the Monday of a vacation week. He still hated Mondays, no matter when they fall or if he's on a different continent. What was worse was that there would be a hike every day of the trip. The first hike wasn't terrible because the trail was only one and a half miles round trip. But it got worse from there. The distance increased in half-mile increments every day between Tuesday and Saturday, totaling 16.5 miles for the entire week. With every day that passed, everyone became increasingly exhausted. The sack lunches were prepared by the school district, which meant is was the same, terrible cafeteria food everyone was used to. Plus, everyone got pretty sick of instant ramen for dinner pretty quickly. Well, everyone but the Nature & Conservation club kids. They couldn't be happier.

 

For the final evening, a native expert on mythology named Mr. Kawasaki (A/N: I'll admit it. I'm not good with names) was the last installment of nightly entertainment. The good news was that he spoke English. The bad news was that his accent was thicker than the layer of rice in the sushi samples he provided, so it was still very difficult to understand him. Everyone was started to get pretty tired when he got to the final tale of the night.

“How many of you here believe in spirits?” the old sage asked. A couple of girls raised her hand, neither of them at all sure if she understood what the old man meant.

“Well, I am not here to try to change your minds. I am here to provide you a taste of folklore and mythology. Here's one example.”

 

“In Japanese legends, one of the dominant beings used is what we call a kitsune, or a fox. Folk tales have portrayed these creatures as being able to assume a human form at will, as well as magical powers that increase with age. They have been portrayed in many different ways, and this one is one of my favorites. Around 1,000 years ago, there was a kitsune named Satoru. He was feared very much by many, going from village to village destroying homes and killing many humans. Ironically, he did all this in human form. He had acquired a superiority complex thanks to his great strength. His contempt for humans was tested when one village decided to fight back and caused Satoru to retreat.

 

“While Satoru tried to contemplate how to seek revenge while sleeping, he had a vision from his father, who said to him, `My son, why are you doing this, especially when the humans have done nothing to harm you? Some day, you are going to realize that greater things will come to you if you show charity.'” At this point, Todd is on the brink of sleeping, as was half the group. You know what, sir, he thought, you're right. You're not here to change my mind. You're actually reaffirming my belief that you're crazy.

The sage continued, “Satoru woke up from his dream the next morning, which he spent contemplating the meaning of his vision. While doing so, on the side of the road was a mother, holding her injured and crying daughter. He immediately thought about what his father said in the dream and decided to help. He said to the mother, `What is the problem?' She replied, `My little daughter has broken her leg, and we are miles from our village.' Satoru walked over to the women and said, `Well, let me see what I can do for that.' He squatted down and used his magical powers to heal the girl's leg. The mother and daughter were amazed. The daughter asked, `Mister, how did you do it?' He turned to the side and let her see a tail that he let out. The little girl said, `Wow! A kitsune! I can not believe I got to see one!' Both the mother and daughter got up walked off, but the little girl turned around, waved goodbye, and shouted, `Thank you, mister!'

 

“After that, Satoru decided he'd go village to village again, but this time, he'd start helping people in his journey to find the reward his father spoke of. He healed injuries and illnesses, and helped rebuild houses, all while disguising himself, so that no one would recognize that it was him who destroyed them in the first place. After a while, Satoru was starting to figure out what his father meant. While traveling to the next village, he was ambushed and surrounded by a bunch of men with bow and arrows. He recognized them as people of the village that forced him to retreat. Everyone fired straight at him, into his heart, spine, and everywhere in his torso. He has now died. Legend has it the Satoru's spirit is wandering aimlessly in this forest, still looking for others to help, and the meaning of the vision. Because some claim he has been of assistance, his legacy lives on.”

 

Everyone gave the man a polite round of applause, either because it was a good story, or because they were glad he was done so they can go to bed. Todd headed to his respective tent, when Naomi met up with him. “So, what did you think?” she asked.

“It wasn't terrible, but I'm not really into that sort of thing.”

“Aw, don't you think it's intriguing to imagine what it would be like if Satoru infused himself with you, and suddenly you had all these powers?”

“No, not really. The only thing I'm thinking about is going to bed.” With that, Todd crawled into his tent and zipped up the door.

 

As Todd lays in his sleeping bag, raindrops began to pound the tent. The sound of them crashing onto the synthetic roof became hypnotic, causing Todd to finally close his eyes and fall asleep. He began to dream… (A/N: Enter dream sequence. Things are getting really wavy, man)

 

Todd opens his eyes to find himself in a nearly pitch-black realm. He is naked and glowing a little bit, but he didn't realize that he was bare. About 200 feet away, Todd saw something that was walking towards him, also slightly glowing. “What's that?” he said. As it got closer, it became more recognizable. Finally, Todd knew what it was. “A fox?” It was indeed a fox, larger than a cub, but not full-grown. Todd was nervous and cautious since he did not know what to do with it. The creature came up to his left ankle, took a couple of sniffs, and walked around and against his shin like a cat. Todd now became awestruck with how the fox was acting around him. After making figure-8's between Todd's legs, the fox walked out in front of him, and looked right at Todd's face. Todd squats down to get a real close look. Then, all of a sudden, the fox pounces right at Todd, who didn't have any time to react. The fox went into Todd's chest, causing Todd to lean forward and cough as if the wind had been knocked out of him. The only thing that went through his mind was, “What the hell is going on?” From the moment contact was made, everything was in slow motion for Todd. He looked down and saw the creature becoming a part of him somehow. When it was all over, Todd closed his eyes and fell.

 

Todd immediately and heavily gasped and sat up as he woke from the dream. He patted himself over his body just to make sure that it was all just a dream. After he convinced himself that it was indeed a dream, Todd out on a light coat and went outside for some fresh air. He looked up to the heavens and saw many stars in the clear night sky. He stood there, still a little frightened and shaken from the dream. It seems like I can't shake it off, he thought.

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