I was getting home kind of late. As usual actually.
My name is Kai Mendo. I'm an independent restaurant owner in the town of Foujian within the heart of Zipangu.
I get by with my little restaurant, but it's honestly nothing special. We sell the typical regional food like dumplings and ramen, but with all of the bigger and pricier competition, we have nothing to offer that others wouldn't have.
I have black, short and tussled hair with a few spikes that always stood off my head and made my hair look like a constant bedhead. I was pretty tall and thin, but not very strong. I usually wear a white undershirt with a red, open, button up flower shirt over it and white khaki shorts. All in all, I had the appeal of an upstart without direction or a plan.
I was a relatively young owner, so not many people took me seriously either, but I knew I could get this thing off the ground. I just needed something special. Something that would differentiate my restaurant from the grey mass.
"Well, no reason to cry over spilled milk today, tomorrow's another day and maybe it won't lead me straight into being broke... I just made it worse with my own words. Gods, I need a plan." I pondered as I walked along the loosely plastered roads of Foujian.
I rested my arms behind my head as I stared up at the blue-purple skies with the sun lowering behind the distant, high mountains. The people already started lighting the lanterns outside of their homes which made the walk home at least a bit cozy and nice to look at. I didn't want to have to leave this place anytime soon, but I knew if I didn't come up with a new strategy, I would have to. And out in the wild Zipangu, there are many dangers that I am not willing to face on my own.
I shuddered a little at the horror stories of the creatures that were out there. They have many names, monsters, mamono, demons. There were a few of them that were tolerated, even welcome in Foujian. But there are a few out there that are just not made for a civilized life.
I tried to get my mind off it and just enjoyed the remaining warmth of the evening. People were slowly getting ready to settle down for rest at home, stores were closing left and right and the night guard began to get ready for patrol.
But then there was something else. Someone who was still out this late. Next to a small fishpond on the side of the way stood a lonely, blonde girl with a basket in her arm. She wore a Yukata with red flowers adorning it, in the same pattern as my shirt. It was the local color pattern that was incredibly popular around town.
Something about this girl was off though. She had perky, fluffy fox ears poking out in between long, straight blonde hair and a singular fox tail sticking out of her yukata on the lower back. Her green eyes darted around, not seeming to be sure what to do as she apparently waited for people to buy whatever she had in that basket.
She sighed as she saw no one else around until her eyes landed on me. Without approaching me, she stared and waited for what I would do next. Despite being unsure of what she wanted, I just approached her and spoke up.
"Hey, you know it's almost night time right? People are going to be sleeping now."
She looked around, seeing the people locking their doors and slumped down. "I guess so. *sigh* I didn't even get one of these sold." She looked down at her little basket with a frown.
"What are you selling?" I asked her curiously.
She held her basket towards me and showed me a bunch of weird fruit. It seemed like a combination of two fruits actually. It was a large, red, round berry conjoined with a smaller blue one that sort of melded together. "Here, they're called couple's fruits. They're plants I brought from the forests around here."
I didn't see the problem and asked her. "Why are they not selling well?"
Her ears slumped and she sighed in sadness. "They're originally from the demon realm and people who know that, avoid them. *sigh* I was just trying to be like you humans. I thought when I did the same as you and tried to give people some of those fruits I would be like a merchant and the people would accept me more." She looked to the ground.
"We humans? And here I was thinking you were wearing these ears and tail just for show." I rubbed my neck a little uncomfortably. "So I guess you must be one of these Inari, huh?"
She nodded as her tail only wagged slightly. "I don't know. Maybe I'm not meant to be a merchant."
The worst thing was, that she was not much different from me. She tried to do something new and fit in here. I smiled a little at her and reached into my pockets. Two coins was all that was left.
"Hey, how much would you like to have for one of these fruits?" I reached my hand out to her, showing her the two coins.
Her ears lifted up and her eyes widened. A smile stretched from ear to ear as she happily blurted out. "Th...that should be just enough, sir! Thank you very much for your purchase!" She handed me the odd-looking fruit and gazed at the two coins I laid into her palm.
She grinned so hard, that her canine teeth showed. Seeing her so happy made me smile as well. It was a weird feeling of mutual happiness as I held this weird fruit in my hand that I had no idea what to do with. But I would be lying if I said that I regretted giving her my last money. After all, I got to see that radiant smile of a fellow dreamer.
"I hope you'll put that money to good use. Don't spend it all at once." I chuckle as I pet her a little.
Her ears wiggle happily as she beams up at me and cheerily responded. "I promise I will. Thank you good sir!" And she put the two coins in the pockets of her Yukata.
With a good feeling in my heart and a joyous wave of goodbye I left her. Walked away. She waved me goodbye as well and I turned around to continue my journey home.
I put the so called couple's fruit in my pocket and thought that that was it but... then I noticed something.
I looked over my shoulder back at this Inari. After I left she just... sat down on the ground, putting her basket next to her as she sat with her legs crossed. She wasn't going anywhere, she just looked around just waiting. I could see even from behind that her ears were slumping again and she rested against the pole of a lantern as she tried to fall asleep.
Then it dawned on me. Like she told me before, she hasn't settled here. She was just trying her luck to sell whatever she had available. She had no home to go to.
I saw my house not far from me and I could've just left there. I could've gone home to get some sleep and think of how to rescue my failing restaurant, but it didn't feel right. Without even thinking about it for long I walked over to the Inari and knelt down next to her.
With her half asleep daze, she looked up at me and tried to hide her loneliness with a smile. "Nice to see you back, sir. Did you want to buy more of my fruit?" She asked in a mellow tone, her enthusiasm seemingly a little less than before. But she still seemed genuinely happy to see me, hopeful that I was going to help her out more.
"Sorry, but I'm afraid I gave you my last pieces of money." I spoke softly.
Her ears perked up a little in apology. "Oh, if I had known that it was your last I wouldn't have accepted it. Please, take it back then." She pulled out the two coins and held them out to me. "The fruit is free for you, you can still keep it if you like."
I smiled gently and waved my hand in refusal. "No, no, keep the money. I wasn't going to ask about it. I was just curious if... this is where you sleep."
She sighed "Yes, sir. You could say I'm a stray fox in a way. I don't really live anywhere." She chuckled trying to hide her sadness with a jokey tone.
I looked towards my home and despite my better judgement, knowing that I probably couldn't afford housing a guest, told me not to do it. I gave her an offer. "Look, this is no way to live out here. I have a house a bit down the road with a free guest room. I think you should rest there. At least for the night."
Her sadness lightened up and her tail wagged excitedly "Are... are you seriously offering that? You'll let me into your house?"
