It was the first week in September, and the day had dawned crisp and clear. Paul had risen early, as had become his habit, and puttered around the workshop for a few hours, sharing the space with Ash as she stripped down and painstakingly rebuilt her bike. He’d then gone and had a second, less hurried, breakfast with Inari.

Inari seemed unusually pensive this morning, barely rousing herself to answer his questions. By the time Paul had polished off his last round of toast, he decided to address the matter directly.

“Inari-sama, forgive me if I’m being too forward, but just what’s got you in a funk?”

Inari looked up, startled, and started to wave dismissively, murmuring that it was nothing, only to be stopped by Paul’s sceptical raised eyebrow. She sighed, and hung her head.

“Forgive the foolish mother, but I’m worried about Shoko-san.”

Paul gently took Inari’s hand.

“Ok, what’s wrong with the little scamp?”

“I don’t know. She says all is well but… Well, she only picked at her meal last night, and skipped breakfast this morning. She seems… not herself.”

Paul nodded frowning.

“Shoko, not eating, yeah I’d say that’s unusual enough for her to be a cause for concern. I take it she’s not sick in any way that you can detect?”

Inari shook her head.

“She feels healthy, but her aura’s murky with dark colours. Something is troubling her heart, I think. But she won’t confide in me. I ask and she smiles and pretends to be her usual self, until she thinks I’m not looking any more.”

“Which probably means whatever it is, she won’t say for fear it’ll upset you. Want me to see if she’ll open up to me instead?”

“I’m sorry to trouble you.”

Paul shook his head.

“No trouble, if something’s throwing the little scallywag off her game I want to know too. She’s such a bright bundle of fluff, it wouldn’t be the same around here if she’s down in the dumps.”

Inari smiled, a relieved expression lightening her face.

“Thank you Paul-san, I hope she’ll confide in you, or you can work out what is disturbing her heart.”

“I’ll do my best. Chances are, it’s probably nothing too bad. Maybe she and her friends had a spat over lyrics again.”

Inari chuckled, shaking her head.

“Perhaps that is all it is.”

Shoko, Jiao and Aimi had become the best of friends, bonding over a shared love of singing along to music videos. Lately however, they’d branched out to composing their own music. Jiao playing a shamisen as well as singing while Shoko bounced around madly as she sang. Aimi-chan had, not unsurprisingly since she was a yūrei, a very ‘metal’ voice which was best described as a sort of musical roaring scream, so most of their music was some variety of metal, with their own unique twist.

It had turned out that Ash too was a musician, having busked her way across Europe, and was proficient with electric guitar as well as a number of more traditional Irish instruments. Her own tastes in music ran from folk to punk rock, with a number of odd combinations along the way. When the girls had discovered that Ash was able to compose and write music, although as she freely admitted, she sucked at lyrics, a partnership had been struck up.

Jiao had recently managed to drag Yuko and Yuri into the act, somehow. The shy mostly silent Yuko had confessed to knowing a little about playing drums, although apparently she’d meant Taiko drums, and the more confident Yuri was struggling to learn how to play base guitar with Ash’s assistance.

Paul had a sneaking suspicion that Tatsuo had ordered the pair to join in, so as to keep an eye on his little sister. But he wasn’t objecting as it meant he wasn’t being followed around by them quite as much. He didn’t mind their presence, but he did sometimes get the feeling they were only waiting for the next explosion. Which after a bit gave him a purely mental itch between the shoulder blades.

After breakfast Paul acted upon his promise to Inari, and went to find Shoko-san. It took him until mid morning but he eventually found her sitting on the top of the torii gate just back from the road side. She was wrapped in a shimmer-haze of magic that Paul knew from what Inari had said would make her all but invisible to anyone else.

“Ho, Shoko!”

Shoko glanced down and turning, leaped from her perch. Paul darted forward, the torii gate was at least twenty feet high, but he needn’t have worried as Shoko came plummeting down, her robes snapping like sailcloth in the wind, to land, crouched, on both feet in a small puff of dust.

“Shoko-san reporting for duty!”

Paul shook his head, and placing his hand on the top of her head ruffled her ears a bit.

“Tsk, should’ve known not to worry about you jumping.”

“MmHm! Shoko is a kitsune! A little jump like that is nothing! Inari can leap from the top of the mountain and drift like thistledown on the breeze.”

“She’s a kami… they can do things like walk on water. You’re a tad bit more solid.”

Shoko nodded, then shook her head.

“True, but she told me she could do that anyway! Before she ascended.”

“Fair point.”

“So, how can I help you Paul-sama?”

Paul hesitated, then sat down on the steps, patting the stair beside him, inviting Shoko to sit. Puzzled, the young kitsune joined him.

“There is something you can help me with.”

“Anything! Shoko is Paul-sama’s right-hand kitsune. You only have to ask, and if it is within my power I will do it!”

“Then perhaps you can tell me what’s gotten you so mopey that Inari is worried about you?”

Shoko opened her mouth, then closed it, pouting.

“No fair, that’s cheating!”

“You did say anything. Please Shoko, tell me what it is, and maybe I can help you. If you like, I won’t even tell Inari, since I’m guessing it’s something you don’t want to worry her about.”

Shoko’s pout deepened, gaining an extra glare at him on top.

“Now you’re being mean, using your mysterious Western arts of logic and observation...”

Paul snorted in laughter, shaking his head.

“Nice try kid, but you’re not going to distract me that easily. C’mon, ‘fess up. Something is bugging you, and if you don’t tell anyone, how can we help you for once?”

Shoko sighed, her shoulders slumping as she let go of her act.

“Doesn’t matter, there’s nothing anyone can do about it anyway.”

Paul leaned sideways slightly, bumping Shoko’s shoulder.

“Hoi, this is me you’re talking to. Haven’t I already done the seemingly impossible?”

Shoko turned her head slightly, tilting it to glance sideways up at Paul from the corner of her eye, before staring straight ahead again.

“This is true, but even so…”

“Won’t know until I try, and I can’t try unless I know what’s wrong.”

Shoko nodded fractionally, then sighed.

“Alright. Don’t laugh… but I… want to go to school.”

Paul blinked, that hadn’t even made the list of possibilities he’d considered.

“Huh?!”

“No laughing!”

“This is me, not laughing. But... why?”

Shoko sighed.

“Every year it’s the same. I watch the children going to school. Years ago I used to be able to go as far as the school itself and look in through the windows while invisible. I... I want to go too. I want to learn, to make new friends and eat lunch with them. I want to be like them, Paul-sama. To come back from my summer vacation brim full of stories about all that I’ve done while away and eager to share them with my…. school-friends.”

Shoko’s voice broke, and tears started to spill down her cheeks. With a wordless cry she turned and buried her face against Paul’s side, as he put an arm round her.

“Oh, Paul-sama. I’m so lonely! I... I just want to be normal! Just a little. I.. I w..want a… life.. outside! I..I want to do what other children do...I.. just.. want..”

Paul hugged Shoko as her body was racked with sobs.

Paul tucked Shoko’s head under his chin, ignoring the fact that the little tufts of fluff at the tips of her ears tickled rather, and murmured quiet, near wordless reassurances as she cried. After a short while he carefully lifted her up onto his lap, and let her curl against him, humming tunelessly deep in his chest, as she clutched at his shirt front with a small fist.

Eventually the emotional storm blew itself out, and Shoko was reduced to sort of occasionally hiccuping sobs. Paul moved slowly, and cupped the back of her head with one hand, his calloused thumb rubbing the tender spot just behind one ear.

“Feeling a bit better now that’s out of your system?”

Shoko’s voice was small enough Paul had to strain to hear it, despite their closeness.

“A little… can I stay like this a bit more?”

“As long as you like little one. I’m not going anywhere anytime soon.”

“Hey Paul-sama, thank you.”

“It’s ok. When you’re ready to talk some more, I’ve got some ideas.”

“Ok… not just yet.”

“Sure, take your time. If you need to nap, it’s ok. I could probably do with a break too.”

“Oh… thanks.. a nap.. would be.. nice.”

“Ok, lets just move off the stone steps. Hold on.”

Paul carefully stood, cradling Shoko against him with one arm. She really didn’t weigh much. He walked a few paces and settled against the base of a tree growing by the side of the staircase, propped up against it’s trunk, Shoko curled up in his lap once again.

“Comfy?”

“Mmhmm...”

“Ok, go to sleep little one. I’ll be here.”

“Thank… you..”

Shoko was asleep even before she finished talking, words dissolving into tiny breathy snores. Paul smiled and shook his head. Little fox spirits did everything quickly it seemed. He yawned, and made himself a bit more comfortable. Thinking to himself that a nap before lunch perhaps wasn’t such a bad idea, since he had been burning the candle at both ends rather overmuch of late.

The sun had shifted enough that it was in Paul’s eyes, waking him. Shoko was still curled up in his lap, breathing softly. He shifted slightly, trying to move her weight off his bladder, and she protested sleepily, and then blinked, going from fully asleep to fully awake in a moment.

“Eep! Aha… Good, afternoon?!”

“Sleep well Shoko?”

Shoko blushed ducking her head, although her ears remained pricked up indicating she wasn’t that perturbed.

“Yes. Thank you. Thank you very much, Paul-sama.”

“Ok, if you’re rested, let’s walk back up to the temple, and we can talk as we go.”

Shoko bounced off his lap, causing Paul to wince slightly, and helped him stand up. Paul groaned a bit under his breath, causing Shoko to look concerned and apologetic at the same time. Paul waved her away and stood tall, arching his back until it popped.

“Ah! Better, I’m not as young as I used to be. Time was, I could do that all day and not suffer.”

“Sorry Paul-sama.”

“Don’t be. It was well worth it. You needed it, and frankly, you’re a pleasant armful of fluff to cuddle too. The nap did me some good too.”

Shoko smiled, delighted at the praise.

“About what I said.”

“I get it, you want to be with children your own age. Jiao and Aimi are your friends, but they’re not here all the time and if anything that’s made it worse because it just underscores what you don’t have.”

Shoko-san glanced up at Paul, from where she was walking alongside him, holding his hand, her small fingers curled around his wrist.

“Hey Paul-sama, are you sure...”

“Not a priest.”

“...you can’t read minds?”

“Oh! No, evidently.”

Shoko-san giggled while Paul chuckled.

“I take it I’m right though Shoko-san?”

“Mmhm… it’s ok though. It’ll pass. It’s always done so. It’s the change of the seasons you see, reminding me that nothing really changes, everything stays the same here.”

Paul raised an eyebrow at that.

“Nothing used to change. That’s not the case now. Neither is the fact that you are confined to the temple.”

“Huh?”

“I’ve been working on an improved version of a mana battery, sort of a magic bracelet. You charge it from the main convertor, and it’s good for a whole day at least, rather than running out of juice after an hour, like the portable mana convertor.”

“Really?!”

“Yup, best of all, it’ll take a pre-woven spell that you can keep active. Like, say, a disguise spell.”

“You… you mean I could go to school?!”

“Yup, you and Jiao for a start.”

“Her Oniisan would never let her!”

Paul shook his head.

“You leave him to me, I’ve had just about enough from him. If Jiao wants to go, she can. But personally, I think it’s probably a very good idea.”

“Oh?”

“Sure. Think about it, our long term goal is to integrate Other’s into human culture. There’s going to have to be some adaptation, and how better to get a feel for that than by introducing a few of you into Elementary school, without the humans knowing at first.”

“You going to tell him that?”

Paul shook his head.

“No. I’ll tell Tatsuo it’s a scouting mission, that Jiao is going in to assess human culture from an Oni point of view and see where there might be problems once we go public. It’s almost the truth, but not quite.”

“He’ll grumble. But that’s cause he’s so protective of her.”

“It’s Elementary school… and while she’s in disguise, she is still an Oni, and twice as strong as any of her human peers. Actually, come to think of it, that’s a good reason why it should be Jiao as well. Didn’t you say she was weaker than any of the others her age?”

“Yup! She’s small, weak and fragile by Oni standards.”

“Which means she’s perfect for the job. She’s not that far beyond human normal that she’d have difficulty concealing it. And they wouldn’t be able to hurt her of course.”

Shoko looked doubtful.

“What about bullying? Not all hurts are physical. Aimi-chan knows about that.”

“Uh-huh, I know. Shoko, you’re a kitsune. If you can’t think of ways to get back at bullies without using your magic, you’re not trying, and you’ll have Aimi-chan to help.”

Shoko’s grin showed a lot of small, white and very sharp teeth.

“Sounds, fun, Paul-sama!”

“No stirring up trouble Shoko, just so you can get your revenge in. That’s worse than bullying. Inari would be disappointed in you if you did that.”

“Oh! Okay. I won’t, I promise!! Umm, about Inari… are you going to tell her I’m going to school?”

Paul glanced down at the suddenly worried looking Shoko.

“You think she’ll object?”

“Mayyybeee… she says I need to keep safe. I don’t think she’d want me to go.”

Paul thought back, and then shrugged.

“Okay, that’s possible. I’m not sure how likely it is, but still. I’ll talk to her ok?”

“Thank you Paul-sama!”

“Don’t thank me yet, you’ll be joining Elementary school at Grade 3 level, about 2/3 of the way though the school year, unless we delay until April and the new school year. You’ll have to take some on-line evaluation tests first and do well enough to convince me you can actually do this. Which means studying! Like now!”

“Eep! Ok I’m going!”

Shoko dashed off, heading for Paul’s residence and the computer. Paul shook his head, he didn’t really doubt that she could keep up with her human peers. Deciding that Tatsuo would be easier to convince if Inari was already on-board, he headed for the shrine, looking for Inari.

Inari and Kiko-san had their heads together over some dusty document, puzzling out a translation from the original Jōdai Nihon-go, or ancient Japanese, which while written using only slightly modified chinese characters, used a different grammar and phonetic sound system called man'yōgana. A system that was only partly known, until now.

Paul overheard Kiko-san exclaiming as he came up.

“… the problem is, I can’t say how I know what the translation is!”

“Inari-sama, Kiko-san, good afternoon.”

“Oh, good afternoon Paul-sama! You like puzzles don’t you? Perhaps you can help.”

Paul shrugged.

“I can try, what’s the problem Kiko-san?”

“Inari-sama can fill in the blanks of the translations I do, because she remembers how to write in the ancient language. But then I can’t use them academically because I can’t explain how I translated them.”

Paul stood, hands behind his back, looking skywards as he thought.

“Hmmm… sounds like you need a Rosetta stone, something that’ll fill in the missing pieces without resorting to, pardon the pun, Divine inspiration.”

Kiko-san sighed, and nodded.

“That would be ideal yes, but we’ve looked. There isn’t anything like that in these records. Ideally it would have to be a long passage, with several key elements I won’t bore you by describing, with the same text in both ancient Chinese, Jōdai Nihon-go and one other known contemporary language. But these are all local records for the most part, there isn’t anything like that here.”

Paul raised an eyebrow at her.

“So? Why not create one? I mean, didn’t you say the other day Inari, how you can create a pocket universe in the Spirit World and speed time up in it? So ageing a tablet wouldn’t be hard, and you’ve already got inks and blank wooden tablets preserved from that era. What’s the problem?”

Kiko looked at Paul as if he’d just suggested she go streaking through the middle of town.

“I couldn’t do that! That’d be cheating!”

“And getting Inari-sama to translate for you isn’t?”

“Well, no, because she’s from that era, her knowledge is also contemporaneous. But, how do I explain a five thousand year old Goddess told me what it was?”

“Wait until we go public and her existence becomes common knowledge perhaps? I’d imagine telling your peers that if they don’t believe you, then they can ask her themselves would be rather satisfying.”

Kiko nodded slowly…

“I suppose I shall have to do it that way. At least I can make sure everything is ready to be submitted for peer review and publication first.”

“Ok, problem solved, speaking of which. Might I have a moment of your time in private Inari-sama?”

Inari inclined her head slightly.

“Of course My Herald. Excuse us Kiko-san…”

Kiko nodded.

“Of course Inari-sama, I think that was the last passage anyway, at least for today.”

Paul led Inari off some distance to stand beneath a plum tree. He stretched up, and plucked a ripe fruit off a branch, polished it on his sleeve and passed it to Inari, who smiled slightly as she bit down on the ripe yellow fruit. They waited a moment as she savoured the flavour, eyes closed the better to appreciate it, Paul watching her with half smile on his face.

Once Inari swallowed and sighed, Paul spoke.

“So, I had a talk with Shoko-san. She told me what was troubling her.”

“Ah, that is where you two have been all morning… talking.”

“Sort of. It all came tumbling out in a bit of a dam-burst of emotions and she ended up crying herself to sleep on my lap, so rather than disturb her, I took a short nap too.”

“So, what was troubling her then Paul-sama, or can you not tell me?”

Paul shook his head.

“Actually, I offered to talk to you on her behalf and she agreed. Consider me as acting as Herald sort of. Conveying her wish to you.”

Inari paused, half-way to taking another bite.

“Oh? And what does my daughter wish for so much, that she couldn’t ask me directly?”

“She wants to go to school, a human elementary school, and she thinks you’ll say no.”

Inari shook her head.

“Then she is right! I won’t permit it, it’s not safe.”

Paul sighed.

“See, that’s exactly the reaction she feared and I knew you’d say. Inari-sama, what about it isn’t safe?”

“She can’t go all day outside the boundary.”

“Except she can now. I have a way of creating mana batteries. You know that, I told you last week I was working on them. I’ve got to the stage they work reliably.”

“What if she’s discovered?”

“Inari, she’ll have on a mana battery which you’ll weave a disguise spell into. Do you not trust your own handicraft? And also, so what if she does get caught out by one of her class-mates. It’s an elementary school. Do you honestly think the adults would believe them, if one of her classmates told a teacher that Shoko was a kitsune?”

“But...”

Paul stretched out an arm, and tapped Inari on the tip of her nose with a forefinger.

“Shh, she will be alright. Shoko is lonely here. By the sound of it, she has been for years but having Aimi-chan and Jiao around some of the time has only made it worse. She’s a young girl Inari, not a baby. Let her grow up a bit, and stretch her independence a little. Ok?”

Inari shook her head slightly.

“I know how cruel humans can be, children worse than most. What if they discover she’s different, that she’s not like them..”

“Inari, Others are going to have to integrate with humans eventually. It would be best if we do a trial run first...”

“You want to use her as an experiment?!”

“No, not that! Just, if there are going to be problems, an elementary school is the safest space I can think of to find them. It’s kinda like... training wheels for the whole idea. You know I wouldn’t put Shoko or any of the Other children at risk! You’re being over-protective Inari.”

Inari threw the plum to the ground and stamped her foot.

“I am NOT! You forget your place Herald! She is my daughter, not yours. If you had family and children of you own you’d understand...”

Inari stopped, arrested by the look of pain in Paul’s eyes as he took a half step backwards. Paul bowed, a full court bow. His voice was like a cold wind blowing across an empty Arctic tundra.

“Of course Inari-sama. You are right. I am not a father, nor will I ever be so. Very well, as you say, I forget my place. With your permission I shall withdraw. There is much work to do.”

Paul walked off, as per protocol not turning his back on her until he was out of sight. Inari stood frozen until he was gone, and then slowly, sightlessly stumbled towards the tree until her outstretched hands touched its rough bark. She sank down to her knees, curling forwards, and only then began to sob, stinging tears of regret trickling down her cheeks, watering the roots of the plum tree.