Foxfire

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or anything kitsune related.

"English"

"Japanese"

Thoughts

Vernon Dursley was a man who hated many things. The wait time between him and his doughnut at the bakery down the road, the sound a motorbike made when it sputtered past his happily four wheeled auto, rain in general really (though one might argue he was in the wrong country to properly be able to complain about the frequency of rainfall), and many more annoyances small and large in measure. There were a few things that topped this list, however. Charity and that ever blasted magic.

Harry Potter was both, and Vernon hated everything to do with the brat.

After all, what decent hardworking sort would want to come home one night, experience a nice cup of tea, go to bed dreaming of promotions and a new Mercedes, only to wake up to find another mouth to feed whom you most certainly did not produce! And to top it off—the worst offence really—it was one of them. A freak. Something wrong happened in nature when this boy and his entire kind were born, yet he, he! had to endure caring for the sad sack because of some note left in a basket. Absolute rubbish.

Four years of having to deal with bubbles coming from his brand new microwave oven that shorted out immediately after, and small objects zooming toward the little freak simply because he didn't get any of Dudley's toys. Not like he deserved any, what would a freak do with a toy anyway? Probably mutate it into something that'd destroy his hard earned house, that's what! Oh, he didn't hit the thing, probably get reported if he did. Didn't mean he couldn't make damn sure it knew it wasn't welcome there. If only there was a way to get rid of him…without the suspicion anyway…

*Six Months Later*

"Mr. Dursley, you really would be doing us quite the favor. It would be well looked upon, you know, come promotion time if you could do us this little errand on such short notice."

Vernon blinked hard as if what he was hearing was such an utter shock and impossibility he thought some of that blasted M word was being performed on him. It wasn't that he minded the short notice of it really, and the promotion thing was a wonderful little surprise but, even still…

"Japan?" That seemed to be the main stickler in his mind, as it slowly crunched the logic.

Mr. Lightsby sighed, closing his eyes briefly, but nodded in commiseration with his fellow Brit. "Japan. The company in question is absolutely interested, but refuses to receive a sample of our new drills via mail. They want someone who understands the product to present it to their board before purchasing anything."

"Not that I'm not appreciative of the, uh, position being offered here but…" Vernon started, still mildly in shock, as otherwise he would have just accepted straight away. Lightsby nodded in understanding.

"Why not Summers, or myself? Summer's was in an automobile accident earlier in the week, won't make it in for a few weeks most likely…and while I could do it myself, well…I'd rather not." He nodded as if it settled the matter. Leaning back in his executive chair, he narrowed his eyes at Vernon.

"Is this a yes or a no?"

Vernon quickly thought through his options, though it looked like he really only had one choice here. And just as he was about to grumpily accept, a thought struck him. He'd be out of the country, the tickets being paid for. All four of them. A slightly stiff smile appeared on his face, though a predatory gleam formed in his piggy little eyes at the idea. He reached forward with his hand, much more happy now.

"I accept."

*A Week Later*

Harry Potter was tired. Well, tired was a bit of an understatement. Utterly exhausted would be more the correct term as he stumbled along the mountainous road. He was sure the countryside here would be much more beautiful and enjoyable if it weren't pouring rain and he covered head to toe in mud from his numerous falls. His pants, way too large for his small frail body, pooled on his legs perfectly in order to trip him up all the more—partly the reason for his appearance.

"Ugh," he mumbled, tripping again into the slimy mud. Instead of regaining his footing, he simply stilled there on all fours as if waiting for something to happen. But his luck wasn't that good after all, was it? No one was coming for him, after all. No one in the world knew he was lost, exhausted, and utterly abandoned by anyone who knew him.

He'd been evicted from his hotel room by his Uncle Vernon earlier in the day, stating they were going to have a family-only meeting, which he was to butt out. He'd been told to return by five in the afternoon, just as the sun begins to set.

"Of course, it was a lie. Shoulda known they were gone," he mumbled, crawling to a tree he saw near the edge of the path. For some reason, it was shimmering slightly, almost like it had a cover of glitter all over it.

"Shoulda known they no want me," a four and a half year old Harry Potter started to cry out, tears intermixing with the rain. Groaning, he felt like he was hot but cold at the same time. His limbs getting heavier with each moment, he finally reached the tree, only for things to suddenly no longer make any sense. His last thought as darkness consumed him was simply: where did these stone steps come from?

"Ugh, get back here Yoko before I string you up by your tails!" A voice shouted in the rain, echoes of running footsteps splashing along the stone-laden shrine grounds. A figure running as fast as her small feet would carry her reached the steps, starting to descend the many steps in an attempt to escape her pursuer, giggling madly all the while.

"Not a chance, Riko-nee!" While neither girl was a fan of being soaked, Kiyoko was having entirely too much fun keeping her sister's favorite bracelet away from her at the moment, and did not mind getting a little wet to cause some chaos. All in a little sister's day's work, right?

"You won't have a chance if you don't give it back, brat!" Kiyoko rolled her eyes at the threat, but moved a little faster in moving down the stone stairway all the same. Kiriko did sound slightly madder than she'd been expecting…

Suddenly, as the end and barrier to the property approached, Kiyoko stopped dead in her tracks. Blinking away the rain, she thought she saw something at the bottom of the steps. Not that she had the time to continue her examination, as she lost her footing with the ground and went vertical. A surprised scream accompanied her sudden departure from Earth, until she came to rest hanging over her big sister's shoulder, facing away from the distraction.

"Hah, I've got you now you little terror! I swear, just wait until I tell mom about this. Making me soaked for no reason, I really—" Kiriko started, but Kiyoko interrupted her before she could get too far into it.

"Nee-san, what's that at the bottom of the steps?"

"Hmm? What are you on about now brat?" Kiriko growled lightly, a smack to Kiyoko's bottom making the girl Eep! in surprise, but she persisted through it.

"Just look, there at the bottom. I thought I saw something moving." Silence met her words for a few moments, before she was righted once again, off her sister's shoulder and back onto the wet stone. Looking up into her eyes, Kiyoko noted the concern in her sister's eyes.

"Kiyoko, run back to the shrine. Let mom know she may want to get a basin of hot water, tell her I'm bringing someone up. Go!" Squeaking in surprise at the sudden command and use of her full name, Kiyoko bolted up the steps back toward the shrine. Her only thoughts as she raced up the weathered stairs were with the dark shape that lay now unmoving at the bottom.

Kiriko quickly descended the rest of the steps, careful of her footing in the pouring rain while racing to the small unmoving figure at the entranceway. Kneeling down next to the body, she quickly turned it over, revealed the mud caked body of a small boy—couldn't have been any more than four or five years old—struggling to breathe. This did not look good.

Biting her lip, she softly lifted his body from the hard stone and instantly frowned, though she didn't stop to consider how dangerously light the boy was in her arms. Rushing back toward the shrine, she moved much faster than she had earlier when chasing her sister. Speed like what Kiriko was capable of wasn't needed against Kiyoko quite yet. She was still working on her third tail after all.

The shrine came into sight, and continuing on through the already open door, Kiriko noted the open futon near the center of the spacious room. The large statue of Inari loomed in the background, stalwart as ever but Kiriko ignored it, setting the boy down and hoping her mother would return soon.

Speaking of the devil, Kikyou bustled into the room with a few bottles, some bandages and a washcloth, while her Kiyoko behind her carried a large bucket.

"What's going on, Kiriko, who is this?" Her mother asked quickly but evenly, expecting an answer. She kneeled onto the hardwood floor, grimacing at the state of the small child.

"Honestly mother, I do not know. I found him at the bottom of the steps, unconscious. Kiyoko noticed him while we were playing around," Kiriko answered immediately, attempting to stroke the boy's matted fringe away from his mud caked face, but found it completely unresponsive. It was stiff, as if it was utterly filled with grime and needed a wash desperately.

"Let's get these clothes off him, then we can clean him up and see what need's doing," her mother said quietly. She extend a finger, letting the nail sharpen until it became a prime cutting tool, easily severing the oversized cloth shirt until the boy's chest was revealed. All three girls gasped lightly at the sight of the boys ribs poking out easily against his body, obviously severely underfed. Kiriko bit her lip harder, hating that her earlier suspicion had been confirmed.

"This is terrible, who could do this to a child? Is he homeless?" Kikyou questioned softly, arms moving around his shoulders to slip off the destroyed, stained garment and put it aside. Kiriko shook her head slowly, even as she grabbed the washcloth from the bucket, dipping it into the water. Beginning to clear off the mud, she voiced her thoughts, noticing the strange scar above his right brow.

"I don't think so, he doesn't look Japanese," Kiriko said slowly, raising her hand with the cloth to gently wash his dirty face. "What kind of foreigner this young would be homeless in Japan?"

Continuing to cut away his overly large pants, they found a few bloody scrapes, most likely from falls on the hard roads but ultimately nothing too bad injury wise. No, the most concerning thing was his constant shivering and lack of color—it truly did get cold during the fall months in Japan. Everything on him was completely soaked.

"Yoko, go grab a few towels and get the furo going. I'm going to need to remove his underwear and get him into a hot bath as soon as possible," Kikyou ordered quickly, grabbing one of the bottles and uncorking it with practiced speed.

"Yes kaa-chan, I'm on it," she said, running out of room toward the back. Kiriko watched her go for a moment, before returning to the boy. Her mother was pouring a vial of liquid into his mouth, massaging his throat slightly to help him swallow.

"Some of these potions should help, but really he seems to be mostly alright. If we can get him warmed up I think that'd fix his biggest problem right now." She sighed, shaking her head in, her brows scrunched in concern. "How long was he wandering outside in the rain?"

"I'd rather know the why, really. But I don't suppose we'll know anything until he wakes," Kiriko intoned sadly. For some reason, she felt drawn to the poor dear. Sure, it was a sad case of course, but there almost seemed to be more to it than simple concern. Kiriko shook her head, unable to place her finger on the prickle of electricity she felt when her skin touched his.

"And how did he get past the barrier? None of this makes any sense… " Kikyou trailed off, her thoughts beginning to distract her from the task at hand.

"Mother, can you hand me the disinfectant?" Kiriko subtly reminding Kikyou what they were in the middle of doing. Her mother blinked twice, then shook her head quickly, and then nodded.

"Of course. Here." She handed the smaller bottle over, while reaching for another potion. They continued their work in silence while waiting for the go ahead from Kiyoko. Kiriko hoped it would be sooner rather than later; his shivering seemed to be worsening.

It was a few hours later that found the boy cleaned up and sufficiently warm in a small white bathrobe that belonged to Kiyoko when she was very young. Next to the child on a fresh futon, Kiyoko kept an eye on him while her mother and her talked in the other room about possibilities, but even with all the guesswork there simply was no way to tell what the story was with the small boy. He had no identification on him, no money, no anything really. The only thing they found in one of the pants pockets was a small bent green army man. It was heart wrenching to suspect it was his only toy.

Kiriko, like her mother, couldn't fathom how he'd gotten through the barrier. Only kitsune were allowed passage, and even then only specific ones that were on the "guest list" as it were. While it wasn't certain the boy wasn't some other kind of yōkai, she was pretty sure he was a regular human. It was very curious. Granted, kitsune were natural tricksters—something Kiriko knew full well from her own abilities and past pranks on human and yōkai alike—so it was possible that this was some kind of crazy stunt… but she didn't think so. He didn't have any yōki at all—or at least any she could actively sense. At five tails, she was quite the gifted kitsune for her young age, as strong as her mother already despite being 200 years younger, so she was no slouch at detection. So she doubted it was some "neighbor" attempting anything nefarious.

Walking into the room, she saw that Kiyoko looked like she was about to pass out on top of the boy if her wavering eyelids and swooning body was any evidence. Sighing, she moved over to her and shook her shoulder slightly. Startled, she whipped around.

"Yoko, go to sleep. I'll keep watch on him," Kiriko spoke softly, nodding at the boy whose breathing luckily had evened out over the night. He looked much better than the quivering mass they'd found outside the shrine earlier.

"Okay nee-san. Thanks," Kiyoko sleepily intoned, getting up with some effort. She wandered back toward her room in the back of shrine, leaving Kiriko alone with the slumbering child.

She looked down at his baby face, his lips slightly parted to breathe. He looked so cute nestled up against the white of the futon and bathrobe with his black hair sticking up all over the place, quite the contrast from earlier when it had been caked down by mud and dirt. Almost without realizing she was doing it, Kiriko softly stroked his cheek with the back of her hand. She marveled at the softness of it despite the obvious hardships he'd endured tonight and no doubt previously in his life. Leaning over him slightly she ignored the tingles running down her arm, suddenly wondering what color his eyes were. She giggled at the sudden thought of simply opening his eyelid to sate her curiosity, but obviously refrained from indulging the passing fancy with a flick of one of her tails.

A groan met her ears, causing them to twitch. She looked closer and noticed movement, signs that he was finally waking. To satisfy her curiosity, she moved so that she was sitting directly next to him, her face angled to match his. Suddenly, his eyelids fluttered open.

Green. A sea of green met Kiriko's deep blue eyes, but it wasn't simply the color that bore into Kirko's mind, it was the intensity. Things began to move in slow motion for Kiriko, the entire room lost color for her, she was simply bathing in the beautiful jade green that were this boy's eyes. Suddenly, the crawling, tingling sensations she'd felt earlier peaked; her head jerked back at the force of the scream.

Pain, pain nothing like she'd ever experienced before ripped through her body as it forcefully began to pull and condense her power into a specific location—her tails. Slowly, without really knowing how she knew, a sixth tail slowly grew from her body, forcefully elevating her power above her mother's. Not that she could really focus on that. All she knew now was the pain of her yōki becoming denser and more powerful with no warning, all of it rushing through her body to the point forming her newest appendage. She heard footsteps and shouting around her, but there was nothing she could do but hang on for the ride.

Finally, after what felt like eons, but could have only been a minute at most, Kiriko relaxed forward, staring half lidded eyes back into the gaze of the terrified boy beneath her. She felt her heart clinch at the sight of his fear, and knew she'd have to do something to ease his pain.

Leaning forward slowly as not to scare him, she spoke softly, her hazy blue eyes gazing deeply into the green pools beneath her.

"I am yours, boy. Yours forever, as you are mine. Never forget this vow," she intoned smoothly, though it felt like the words came not from her but a million miles away. Why was it getting so dark in here? Slowly, she completed the distance and placed a soft kiss on his lips, barely a butterfly's touch.

With that done Kiriko smiled sleepily, and the completely exhausted kitsune curled up next to him, falling asleep in mere moments with a large smile on her face.

Harry Potter had woken up in many places before in many different manners. With his aunt and uncle severely disliking him—which he now believed to be utter hate with the whole abandoning him in a foreign country thing—he had done all he could to stay away from the displeased eyes and unpleasant looks they tended to send his way when he was around. Which meant he'd find himself waking up outside under the stars on the grass, in a tree, behind the bushes, and various other locations around the yard and neighborhood.

This had to be the first time, however that he'd awoken to see someone he'd at first thought to be an angel, and then only to watch said angel reel back and scream in what seemed to be agonizing pain. He was absolutely petrified. Had he somehow caused this? His uncle was always telling him how everything always seemed to be his fault one way or another.

After another short bit, the "angel" stopped screaming, only to move forward back to looking into his eyes, making his breath catch. Harry hadn't really had a whole lot of time to appreciate things in the world yet, other than the small pleasures in life here and there: his small army man toy, playing with one of the neighbor's puppies before being chased off, seeing his first rainbow in the sprinklers on a hot day in summer, things like that. However, when she spoke…whatever she said, it was like he could feel it in his chest, and he just knew. Then she kissed him, just barely a touch, smiled a beautiful smile and literally went to sleep right next to him. He thought about gaping before he realized he already was.

More speaking that he couldn't understand came from another part of the room, where he took his eyes away from the "angel" that he now realized had straight red pointed ears with white tips on top of her head along with several red fluffy tails behind her. A couple more women were in the room with him it seemed, both looking a lot like his very strange friend who was now cuddling next to him seemingly without a care in the world.

"Um, hello?"

The other two twitched, looking back at him and the other woman next to him, before moving closer. Slowly, they both kneeled near him, the one who looked older slowly checking over the happily sleeping woman.

"Hello there," the older one spoke softly but firmly, her eyes still on the other woman while continuing to speak with him, "what is your name, young one?"

"Harry Potter, ma'am," he spoke just as softly, not wanting to wake the woman who'd been very strange a little bit ago. "Is—is she okay?"

The woman's hand glowed slightly with what seemed a dark purple light, before vanishing into the night. A sad smile appeared on her face when she faced him to answer.

"She'll be alright, though thank you for the concern." She adjusted herself a bit, straightening her strange robe, which gave Harry a few moments to inspect his… saviors? Is that what they were?

The older woman next to him was very human-like, if one ignored the dark blondish pointed ears on her head and the same colored tails behind her. Her eyes, the color of rubies, also had a slight slit to them, like the cats around Ms. Figg's house. Harry also noticed that her hands had sharp nails on them, more dangerous looking than any humans. She had that same smile on her face that seemed to show worry but happiness at the same time.

The younger one's ears were orange, and she only had two tails, but seemed infinitely more curious. Her chocolate eyes were wide, staring at Harry as if she were absolutely fascinated by his… well he hadn't done anything yet as far as he knew, but that didn't seem to lessen her awe any.

"My name is Kikyou, and this is my daughter, Kiyoko," she stated, pointing at herself, then the orange furred one, who didn't even look up at being addressed. "Now, the sleepy one next to you, her name is Kiriko. I—I have some questions for you, if that's alright, Mr. Potter?"

Harry suddenly worried. He wasn't really supposed to answer questions from strangers… but then the Dursley's had abandoned him, so what did it matter now?

"Okay," he answered shyly, nodding for additional effect. Kikyou smiled and nodded in return.

"Thank you. Now, if I may ask, how did you arrive at our shrine? Were you lost? Where are your parents?" His eyes clouded over at hearing that, and noted she frowned shortly after.

"Um, well…" he hesitated and looked away, biting his lip to keep the forming tears inside. He felt a soft hand on his forehead again, smoothing over his fringe. Glancing back, he found Kikyou looking over him with her forehead scrunched up in concern. Sighing, he knew he had to tell them something.

"My parents are dead, so I went to live with my aunt and uncle. They don't like me very much for some reason, call me freak. Vernon was on a trip for his job, and he told me to go away from the room for a bit. When I came back they were gone, no note or anything. They just left me here," Harry replied in the most dead sounding voice he could use. Something, anything to get rid of the pain of abandonment.

A sudden rush of words exited Kikyou, drawing his attention from his story to her face. She looked quite scary with her teeth gritted in a snarl, some of them looking much sharper and pointed than he remembered his own being. A sound which sounded like Kaa-chan came from the other smaller girl, Kiyoko he remembered now. Visibly calming, Kikyou's face softened when she looked back to Harry.

"I'm sorry for that Mr. Potter, but abuse and family abandonment is anathema in our culture. What you're… relations have done is something that cannot be forgiven, at least in my eyes." Harry tilted his head a bit at the word he didn't recognize, which she seemed to realize.

"Anathema means set apart from, often meaning something held in a bad or evil way. Meaning we would never accept anything like what those things have done to you."

"Ah, I see. I just thought something was wrong with me. No one ever seemed to care," he said sadly, remembering many a day where the neighbors simply pointed and turned up their noses at him.

"Well, those people are evil. No child should ever be treated that way, and there's no excuse for it," Kikyou answered back, still stroking his hair. It was nice, calming even. The silence dragged on a bit before Kikyou spoke again.

"Mr. Potter, I understand that something terrible happened to you today, but I was curious how you appeared here, of all places? Could you indulge an old woman?" Kikyou smiled with glittering eyes that Harry enjoyed looking at. They were very pretty.

"You don't look old," he said simply and honestly. She smiled wider at that, a hint of a fang showing while she tilted her head a bit in a nod at his unintended compliment. "I really don't know, I was trying to find my uncle, aunt, Dudley, someone I knew. I was alone and scared and then suddenly things got dark and I appeared on that mountain road. I walked for a while until I started feeling tired, and saw a weird glittery tree. That's the last thing I remember." To be honest, he still felt very tired, and was getting more so the more they spoke.

"You say you appeared there? Where were you before you appeared on the road?" Kikyou asked, never stopping her stroking hand.

"Not sure how to say it. Q toe?" Harry asked, still looking into her eyes, even as his began to droop.

"Kyoto, maybe? Lots of tall buildings everywhere?" Kikyou asked, and Harry nodded.

"Thank you Mr. Potter for answering my questions. Why don't you get some rest and we'll continue tomorrow, alright?" His eyes finally closed, he nodded in acceptance. Today was a very strange day, and he'd have questions of his own once he awoke. But for now, he let sleep claim him once more.

AN: Hey everyone, I'm back! Sort of… Trying to get back into the writing thing after a long absence. My muse up and left me for a younger model and it's just not been the same since. To be serious though, I've had a lot of family problems with illness and job worries so I've just not been in the right mental place to write. Still, this idea wouldn't leave me be so I decided to start working on it and see what happened. I do have to mention that the original inspiration for something like this was Chapter 125 Ore No Nihon from Rorschach's Blot's Odd Ideas story. If anyone wants some occasionally fascinating work and hilarious Luna action, I'd definitely take a hop skip and jump through that sometime. Still, this will be my own interpretation of the whole 'raised by others in Japan' thing. Thoughts? Questions? Hit me up, and thanks for reading.

Also, about my previous works, I'm very sorry about not providing an update for them first, but I've been out of the Ranma mood for a while now. Still, I don't like to leave things half done, so I'll definitely have a mind to continue them, especially Kasumi. Just give me some time (like I haven't already had enough!) to get back into writing and I'll try to update those as well.