Little Fox's Sorrow {Open}

Ai had just left the palace, she'd been talking with her brother a lot recently. She felt happy when they were together, but also sad that she'd been so mean when she thought of him. It was fun, until her parents showed up. They would always ignore her, and if they said anything it was, "Don't disturb Zhandouji, he's studying." Or, "on your way out, make sure the guards are paying attention." Or even, "you can stay here, I mean, you've never wanted to live with us before, but..."

She found a restaurant, and headed inside. She was hungry, and couldn't stand the thought of an awkward silence while eating with the family. She sat down, and wagged her tails gently. This got some looks, but she was used to it. Everyone either looked at her like she was a freak, like they felt bad for her, or like she was an amazing sight to see, in a good way. The waiter seemed hesitant to come over, but she didn't bother waving him down.

Hayato had just left his house in the woods, he was very hungry but there was no food in his house. He made sure to grab his katanas, Yin and Yang. They were placed on his back in a cross. Hayato's hands were hidden in the sleeves of his kimono. He finally reached the city, it was beautiful and it put a smile on his face.

Hayato loved this town, so peaceful. He waved at some of the townfolk, they waved back with a smile, his reputation had followed him. Alot of people here respected him as a respectable warrior. He reached a nice restaraunt and instantly seen a girl with a tail and people looking at her like she was a beast. It seemed that people were scared of her.

He seen that the waiters were scared to go near her. He grabbed one of them and said "Don't worry, she won't bite." Hayato had a smile on his face He then dragged him towards the girl's table and made him stand by the table. He then sat down across from the girl and said "Hi, I'm Hayato Honoo. You are?" Hayato had a big smile on his face. "Oh and I would like some ramen please. You choose the fllavor." Hayato said towards the waiter.

Ai had been so focused on thoughts, that the notice of the newcomer and the waiter had escaped her notice. She looked up, and saw him smiling at her, introducing himself. Someone being so nice to her made her happy, it was impossible to keep her tail from wagging happily. "I'm Ai Heping, nice to meet you, Hayato." She said in response. Then she looked at the waiter, "I would like your best fish meal, please."

Ai smiled at the guy across from her, he was a human by the looks of it, then again, her brother looked human too and he certainly wasn't. "It's a good change to have someone like you, who's not afraid of me. I don't meet too many around here, usually the ones living out in smaller villages and on farms are welcoming, but here I've met so few," she confided, making sure not to look sad. She'd grown accustomed to feeling sad, so it was easy for her to deal with. "Anyway, why are you so different?" She asked innocently, curious to why he would feel any different than the others.

The waiter left the table to get their orders. "Heping? I know one of your kinsmen, his name is Zhandouji Heping. How are you related to him?" Hayato said with a slight smile. Hayato could see her tail wagging happily and by the looks of her, she was a kitsune. "Well alot of the people in the country meet beings such as you so they're kinder and nice." Hayato said with a smile so she wouldn't feel sad. This girl looked like she had been through alot, he could see her muscles twitching, but he could tell she was a little sad. His smile dropped a little, he hated when people looked sad.

The waiter came and dropped off their food. "Thank you kind sir." Hayato said to him. "Oh and I guess I'm so different because I've been through alot and I know how it feels to be an outcast. I've seen both my parents get killed and watched my grandfather die. I just like being nice also, ya'know?" Hayato said. He was a little sad by the memories of his family but he didn't want it to look like that. He then started slowly eating his ramen.

Ai was surprised to hear that he knew of her brother. "Oh, Zhan is my younger brother," she answered. When she heard that his parents and grandfather died in front of him, she felt sincerely sorry for him. Ai couldn't keep herself from jumping over the table and hugging him tightly. "That's terrible about your parents, and grandfather!!" She cried, ignoring the stares. The hug was entirely comforting, but others probably didn't think so. She always hugged people who had something hard happen to them, and she hugged even more when she was feeling sad.

She let go pretty quickly. "Sorry, I got a little worked up there!" She apologized with an embarrassed smile, going right back to her seat. She pulled her chopsticks out, and began digging into her food. She was swallowing the shrimp on her plate with almost no thought, she was blushing from embarrassment, now noticing all the stares, and her ears were down, conveying her embarrassment as well.

Hayato was pretty surprised by the hug and he blushed. Everyone in the restaraunt was looking at them. It was really tight and warm, it was comforting and actually made him feel better. Hayato then said "It's okay Ai, I've learned to get used to it. If I was younger I would be crying." Hayato smiled then Ai stopped hugging him. A little tear came from his eye but he quickly wiped it off. His face was still blushing from the hug.

Hayato finished his ramen, he looked around and could see all the stares and gazes that came from the townsfolk. He then looked at Ai and could see that she was embarassed by her body posture and face. "Do you want to get out of here? I'll pay for the meal." Hayato said with a comforting smile towards Ai, he didn't want all the people to stare at her and make her feel bad and embarassed. Hayato waved for the waiter to come and pulled out his wallet.

Ai was about to argue, saying that he didn't have to, but then she remembered how little money she had on her. "Oh, thank you." She muttered instead. Her ears perked up a little, happy that she was getting away from the stares. Ai quickly finished up the last of her food as the waiter came. "Thank you for the food." She said to the waiter, he didn't give anything but a nod, but she didn't show any signs of hurt.

Hayato left the money on the table and said "Oh, it was no problem." with a smile. He stood up and it seemed as if everyone took a humongous breath of air. He was tired of people being so scared of her but he didn't feel like wasting his breath on these ungrateful people. "So where do you want to go?" Hayato said as he waited for her to get up. The waiter then picked the money and Hayato gave him a slight bow and said "Thank you." He didn't want it to be awkward between him and the waiter so he gave him a little tip. He did serve them nicely. Ai seemed happy to be finally leaving out of the restaraunt. People were still staring at them, it was weird.

"Oh, i don't really care," she admitted. "I'm not that picky, and there's nowhere I have to be, so...." She thought about it, and in truth she could think of absolutely nowhere to go at all. Wherever, I'm just glad I've met someone this nice in the town, so far the only one who has been nice to me is my brother, Zhandouji, Ai thought solemnly.

She smiled at Hayato. "You know, it's just nice to meet someone so nice like you!" She said. Then she heard small footsteps, and turned to see a boy about nine years old or so. "Are you dog, miss?" He asked innocently. Ai smiled, "No, I'm a kitsune, part fox," she corrected kindly, "did you want to pet my tail?" The boy had been eying it awkwardly. He shook his head and ran away blushing. Then she turned back to Hayato. "Well, the innocence of children can be refreshing in this sea of morose faces and unfair stares." She said, smiling. "Like I said though, anywhere is fine."

Hayato and Ai had finally departed the restaraunt when a little boy asked Ai if she was a dog. Hayato was surprised by the boy but he understood his ignorant yet innocent question. He couldn't believe he had the audacity to do that. "Does stuff like that happen all the time?" Hayato said talking about the little boy incident. Hayato thought a while and the proposed the idea of going to the lake. "Why don't I take you to the lake, it's very beautiful and calming. I think you would like that." Hayato said with a smile towards Ai.

"But it's in the woods, so let's get there before it get's dark and it loses it's beauty." Hayato said. Hayato looked at Ai and said "Ya'know, you keep saying 'I'm nice.' but you never gave me the chance to say how nice you are. You're really nice also." There was a smile on his face. "So how long have you been living in this area" Hayato said. He put his arms in his sleevs as that felt more comfortable.

Ai nodded, the lake sounded fantastic. When Hayato told her she was very nice, she couldn't help but smile and blush faintly. It's nice to meet someone that will talk to me like this, Ai thought happily. "I've not even been here a whole week yet," Ai answered, "I arrived around three days ago, or pretty close to that."

Ai's tail was fluttering gently, back and forth, she was unable to keep it from displaying her happiness. "You know, kids really like me, but not too many adults do, it's pretty weird when I think about it," Ai said, looking around. Every kid they saw had a smile spread across their faces whenever they noticed her, they'd tap their parents' back and say something Ai could not hear. "I guess that's why I love children so much, they're just innocent, playful, and overall nice."

Hayato smiled as she blushed, she was really pretty. "Wow, really? Well you'll love it here, as long as I'm around." Hayato said happily with a smile, "But either way it's a very beautiful place." Hayato finished. "I don't meant to digress, but you're really pretty." Hayato said with a humongous smile. He didn't mine expressing his feelings to anyone. He felt that she needed to know what he had to say.

Hayato could tell that she was really happy by her fluttering tail. "To tell the truth, I don't think it's weird at all. Adults are jaded while children are naive and innocent so they love to see beautiful creatures such as yourself." Hayato said with that never-ending smile. After a few minutes, they finally reached the lake. Hayato turned towards Ai, his back towards the lake, and opened his arms out wide and said "Is it beautiful, or what?" He still had that smile and he knew she would love the lake.

Ai couldn't shake her contented-embarrassment as Hayato spoke. What he said, a beautiful creature, that echoed around in her mind. Nobody had ever called her that.

When they arrived, she had to agree, the lake was absolutely beautiful. "It's amazing," she agreed. "Hayato," she murmured, "I really appreciate how nice you are to me. I've never had many friends...." It came off more depressing than she meant, so she quickly grinned. "Then again, I never really tried to make them that often, to be fair," she admitted.

Hayato smiled at her and said "Well, I'll be your friend." Hayato looked at her and could tell that she looked embarrassed, which she didn't have to be. She was just beautiful. Hayato sat down by the lake bed just to get a view from a different perspective.

"Would you like to take a seat by me?" Hayato said to Ai with the smile of course. He didn't mine being seen with her, because he thought she was just plain fascinating. Hayato's green eyes bounced off the reflection that the lake made. It was just so peaceful and calm. You would have to be the most bitter person in the world to not appreciate this great scenery.