Chapter Text
If one followed the trail from the backyard of the Suna household, they would be led to a stream. Beyond the stream, there were trees as far as the eye could see. No one knew how far they stretched, how deep it went, what animals it held. Only one thing was clear: everyone who went in, never came out again.
———
For as long as he could remember, Suna had been told to never go into the forest. Monsters, his mother would say. They’ll gouge your eyes out, tear you limb from limb and devour you for breakfast. It was an old wives’ tale used to scare children away from the forest; but everyone knew, there was some half-truth to it.
But you see, Suna had never been one to listen. His teachers had all described him to be perpetually bored, which led to him being an instigator with a penchant for chaos. They weren’t wrong. He had a surprisingly curious streak. And with a general lack of care about what others would say, he often went through with whatever plan he could concoct to find out what he wanted. More often than not, it made other children cry.
It was to no one’s surprise that he would go wandering off into the forest. He’d just been so bored. There was only so much a ten-year-old could do to entertain themself when they were alone at home. He’d looked out the window at the forest, thought about his parents’ warnings, and promptly left the house.
Suna had at least brought a flashlight and some snacks, reasoning to himself that he’d be hungry midway. He crossed the stones on the stream and set off.
There was nothing unusual about the forest, he was disappointed to realise after walking for an hour. The trees were strong and sturdy, its leaves shading Suna from the sun. Birds sang from branches. Squirrels darted around. He even saw a fawn bounding away.
It was after another half an hour that things started changing. The trees were no longer straight. They were bent at odd angles instead. Some even twisted to form a full circle around themselves. Less and less light filtered through the leaves, cloaking the forest in shadows. Suna thanked his good foresight of bringing a flashlight, flicking it on to illuminate his path.
There were no longer any animals. But sometimes, Suna would catch a flash of something with large wings, or another thing running on its hind legs. Fear set in, chilling and cold. Suna didn’t hesitate in turning around to retrace his steps back. He’d done enough exploring for a day.
He was probably about halfway there when he heard another sound. Small, pitiful yipping, almost like an animal in pain. Suna turned towards the sound. Something possessed him to move forward, peering through a weirdly tall patch of grass.
It was a fox. It had a grey coat, its tail tipped in white. It had its hind leg caught in a bramble. It was bleeding and desperately trying to pull its leg out, but the circle of brambles was far too tight. No wonder it was whining in pain. Suna creeped closer.
The fox’s head shot up, spying him. It snarled, hackles rising, defensive as it was injured and unable to escape. Suna had no idea what to do. He didn’t even know why he’d decided to step in in the first place. Should he help the fox? But the fox’s teeth looked so sharp. They could probably tear his arm off.
The fox whined again, the sound almost involuntary. It pulled at Suna’s heartstrings. With a sigh, he stepped forward, carefully so as to not scare the fox. For all its fierce hisses, the fox only watched as Suna carefully unwound the bramble from its leg.
Once Suna got the bramble free, the fox darted away. But it didn’t get very far, due to its injury. It whined pitifully again. Suna cursed himself but he picked the fox up anyway. He got a yelp and a bite in return for his goodwill. The child sucked harshly at his bleeding hand, glaring at the fox as he did so. The fox had the decency to avoid eye contact.
By the time he’d made it back, the sun was setting. His parents still weren’t home, but Sakusa was there. The curly haired boy lived next door. Being the same age, the two kids had become friends, complementing each other’s personalities well.
Suna didn’t know why Sakusa’s family had moved from a fancy property in Tokyo to this small village in Miyagi, but it wasn’t his business to care. Now, Sakusa was eating biscuits in Suna’s backyard. He lifted his head as the other child approached.
“Suna, you—” His words stuck in his throat, mouth falling open when he caught a glimpse of the fox curled in Suna’s arms. “What is that?”
Suna raised the fox carelessly by its front legs, letting its lower body dangle in the air. “I found it in the forest.”
“You went into the forest?” Sakusa was comically aghast. Suna stepped nearer, holding the fox out to him. “Don’t come near me with that thing!” He shrank back from the fox, pulling his mask back up.
His words were waved off. Suna continued into the house and Sakusa followed a few steps behind. “I was bored,” Suna said simply. Such was his reason for doing many things in life. “I’m going to bring it to Kita-san’s.”
Kita was the village’s vet. He was also a stickler for the rules. Sakusa scrunched his nose underneath his mask. “Kita-san’s? You’ll get scolded,” he pointed out.
“I’ll just say I found it in the backyard,” Suna shrugged. Seeing that he wouldn’t be able to convince his friend otherwise, Sakusa huffed in irritation, but followed along anyway.
Kita’s assistant, Hikari Kobayashi, looked up as the two children stepped into the clinic. “Good afternoon. What brings you two here today?” Hikari greeted as she stood up from the desk. She lowered herself to the two children’s level to speak.
Suna wordlessly held out the gray fox. It was surprisingly docile in his hands, staying quiet even in the face of the unfamiliar woman. Hikari’s eyes widened, examining the fox, noting the bloody wound on its hind leg. “A…fox? Where did you find this, Rintarou-chan?” Hikari asked in concern.
“I found it in the backyard. It was caught in some brambles,” Suna said. Sakusa subtly rolled his eyes at the smooth lie.
“Alright, I’ll call Kita-san.”
It was about five minutes before the vet stepped out of his office. “Suna, Sakusa,” he greeted. In the face of Kita’s almost spiritual calmness, even Suna fidgeted a bit. Kita looked down at the fox, and surprise briefly flashed across his features. “You found this fox?”
“Yes. It bit me,” Suna said.
His words got a chuckle from Kita. He took the fox from Suna’s hands. The fox remained quiet, though it did look back at Suna a few times. “I’ll take care of it, you don’t have to worry,” Kita said.
He disappeared into the checkup room. Hikari came over with a first aid kit to treat Suna’s wound. Sakusa watched intently as Hikari cleaned the wound and bandaged it, praising Suna all the while for being a good boy. Suna wasn’t paying all that much attention, mind preoccupied with the fox instead. He wondered how it was doing.
They didn’t get the chance to see the fox as it grew late. The two walked home. There was a silent understanding between them; Sakusa wouldn’t say a word about Suna’s venture into the forest.
The next morning, Kita apologetically said that the fox had already returned to the forest. Suna was disappointed, but he still noted something odd.
He never told Kita that the fox came from the forest.