Go: How Much The World Has Changed

Tadashi and the fox boy kept running from the wild boar until they exited the forest. As they were running, Tadashi was surprised to find that they had escaped the forest and had entered the small town that the fox boy had mentioned earlier. The boar decided to stop chasing them, seeing as they were out of its territory and it was probably out of breath. Tadashi was panting heavily while the fox boy was panting victoriously.

"Hah, we showed him. That was awesome."

Tadashi had finally caught his breath. "That wasn't awesome. That was terrifying."

The boy scoffed. "Whatever."

Tadashi took a moment to look around. "I see you were right about the town being nearby."

The boy nodded. "Well of course I was right. I could smell humans and food."

Tadashi thought that the sentence was a little strange to be spoken by a human, but then he remembered. "Oh, right, you're a Kitsune."

The fox boy scowled. "And you still don't believe me."

Tadashi had to be careful about what he said next. "What? I never said..."

He stopped talking as he saw the boy's incredulous look. "Uh, okay, alright, if you're really a Kitsune, then show me your tails."

The fox boy scoffed. "We just met. Do you really think I'd show you my ears and tails so easily?"

Tadashi wore an expression that said 'Yeah, that makes perfect sense.' then sighed. "Look, I've had a really long night and a really strange morning, and I need to get home and stop my aunt from freaking out and having a heart attack." He paused as he heard his stomach rumble. "But first I need to get some food."

The fox boy's ears perked upon hearing this. "Uh, say, I know we just met and all, but, I'm really hungry, so do you think that I could, uh, eat with you?"

The boy gave a nervous smile, and Tadashi noticed the gap in his teeth. He thought it was kind of adorable. "Yeah, sure. I could use someone to talk to."

The boy cheered quietly and followed Tadashi to the nearest diner.

Tadashi's eyes were wide at the sight that was occurring before him. The fox boy must have been hungry, because he was just scarfing down all his food like there was some sort of time limit. The food was soon gone from the boy's plate and he sighed in satisfaction. He looked down at Tadashi's full plate.

"Are you gonna eat that?"

Tadashi looked baffled for another few seconds, then he looked down to see what he was referring to. "Uh, well, I was, but, you seem hungrier than I do."

Tadashi put his plate on top of the Kitsune's and he gladly accepted. Tadashi found himself smiling. "So, where are your parents?" He asked.

The fox looked up from eating and answered. "I don't have any."

Tadashi found himself feeling sorry for the boy. "You don't have parents either?"

The fox boy shook his head. "Well of course not. I'm a Kitsune. I don't know who they are or what happened to them."

Tadashi felt some empathy fade away and he looked down at the table. "...Right."

Soon after, the waitress came by with the bill and the boy was done with his extra plate of food. The two of them got up and left the building. It was then that the fox boy decided to start a conversation. "I think it's time I tell you about the temple."

Upon hearing this, Tadashi stopped in his tracks. "Temple?"

The fox boy nodded. "Yeah, you know, the temple that had me trapped for over seventy years. The one you freed me from last night."

Tadashi remembered the events of last night and realized that the boy's voice and the voice of the one who told him to draw the tails sounded similar. "...It was you, wasn't it?"

The fox boy turned to Tadashi. "Huh?"

"It was you who forced me to vandalize the painting. Now I'm probably going to get thrown in jail."

The fox boy could only smile nervously. "Well, I don't think they would notice."

Tadashi sighed. "I'm gonna go call my aunt." He walked off, leaving the fox boy by himself.

The boy looked around the city and admired everything he saw. The buildings looked different than they did years ago. The streets were new, and he had definitely never seen a vending machine before.

He slowly approached it and looked at its contents. It was filled with all sorts of strange drinks, or at least what he assumed were drinks. He wondered why they would be displayed like that when no one could get to them. There was a clear plastic in the way, so no one could reach out and grab one if they needed it.

The fox boy decided to move on and keep looking around elsewhere. The roads were different as well and he didn't remember seeing those strange things driving on them. He figured that was what the roads were for. He smelled good food coming from multiple restaurants, but he didn't have currency to buy any.

He remembered Tadashi calling them, dollars. Speaking of Tadashi, where was he? The fox boy needed to be close to his Tama to survive, so he needed to be close to Tadashi. "Let's see, where are you?" It only took his nose a few seconds to track him down. The fox boy smirked. "I found you."

Tadashi was standing inside a phone booth, waiting for his aunt to answer. "Lucky Cat Café, how may I help you?"

Tadashi was relieved to hear his aunt's voice on the other end. "Hey Aunt Cass."

Her voice suddenly became worried. "Oh Tadashi, where are you? I got worried when you didn't come home last night."

"Uh, yeah, sorry Aunt Cass, I accidently took the wrong bus and ended up somewhere in the countryside."

She started to calm down. "Sorry, but you know how I am. I can't help but worry. Are you coming home?"

"Yeah, I'm just about to go catch a bus. I'll be there before you know it."

She sighed. "Alright honey, have a safe trip. I'll see you when you get home. Love you."

Tadashi smiled. "Love you too Aunt Cass. I'll see you when I get there."

After that conversation, he hung up. Tadashi stepped out of the booth, only to see the fox boy standing there, waiting. "Let me guess, that was your aunt, wasn't it?"

Tadashi blinked. "How long have you been standing there?"

"I just got here, like, a couple seconds ago."

"Then how did you know it was my aunt on the phone?"

"Well, first of all, you said you were going to call her, and second of all, I just heard her on the phone."

Tadashi just wanted to laugh hysterically at this point in the day. "You couldn't have heard her because the glass blocks the sound."

"I told you, I'm a Kitsune. I have super hearing, you know."

Tadashi wanted to face palm, but doing that would probably make the boy upset or angry, so he refrained from doing it. "Well, I have to go catch the bus back home now. It was nice meeting you, but I really need to go back to San Fransokyo."

The fox boy waited until he was a fair distance away, then he started following Tadashi. He had to be as quiet as possible so Tadashi wouldn't get mad and snap at him. Not that he had done that or anything. He just didn't want to risk putting him in a more terrible mood than he was already in. They kept walking and eventually, Tadashi made it to the bus station.

The fox boy figured that now would be a good time to reveal himself. "I hope you saved a seat for me."

Tadashi turned around, startled. "What? You're not coming with me."

The boy's eyes narrowed. "Why exactly is that?"

"Well, first of all, you don't have a ticket, and second of all, why would you even want to?"

"Because I have to, okay? I have to come with you since my Tama is inside you."

"Well, if it's that important, then just take it back."

The fox boy blinked upon hearing those words. "Take it back?"

Tadashi nodded. An evil smirk formed on the boy's face. "Okay, then, I'll make you a deal. I am going to make you believe me. I'll track you down with my scent and show you my ears and tails. You will believe me by then. After that, I'll take my Tama back, and due to all your injuries, you will die."

Tadashi shivered at the way he said that. The boy had an evil smirk. "I'll find you by tonight. That's a promise."

Tadashi remembered how the old legends said that Kitsune never broke their promises. "Uh, yeah, okay." That was the only thing he could say.

The bus door opened, and Tadashi boarded. He looked out the window and saw the boy's evil smile still present. Although he didn't really believe the story, he couldn't help but feel a sense of fear. The bus started moving and soon after, left the station. The fox boy's smirk never left.

"I'll find you, Tadashi Hamada. Just you wait."