One day when he was hunting in the forest, Kitsune noticed a strange
animal rushing through the woods with a speed far beyond anything he
has ever seen in his life. Even though Kitsune was a ninja-master he
had trouble keeping up with the mysterious creature. But what really
surprised him wasn't its unbelievalbe speed, but its shape. Even
though he only managed to catch a small glimpse, it was enough to make
him want to catch up with that animal at any cost. "I must be
dreaming! Does this fox really have three tails?", he thought to
himself. Since Kitsune knew the forrest like his backpocket, it wasn't
worrying him one bit that the fox creature was luring him deeper and
deeper into it. But as he proceeded to run after the fox, he couldn't
help the feeling that he had never been to this corner of the forest.
"Strange... I thought I have allready been everywhere in this maze...
Doesn't matter! I have to get this thing!", he muttered. The fox
darted sideways from time to time, trying to get rid of his pursuer.
"Ha! It will take more than that to get away from me even one bit!",
Kitsune shouted at the fox, while his curiousity drove him to chase
after his prey even faster. But suddenly the animal jumped on a flat
rock and stopped. It turned around and slowly sat down. Without any
trace of worry, the fox quietly looked down upon Kitsune, who allmost
had caught up with it. "Ha! No more power to keep up that speed,
Kitsune laughed. Now you are mine for sure!", he cried out exultetly.
He had almost reached the fox, grabbing the fishing net he carried
with him, when he suddenly felt very exhausted. His strength seemed to
get weaker with every step he made. "Why am I so tired When I was
barely beginning to warm up!", Kitsune asked himself. "I...I'll
get... you...!", he panted. He now was so tired that he couldn't make
another step forward. He stopped and leaned forward to catch his
breath. He was still trying to regain his strength, when he felt a
cold shadow engulfing him. Even though he had never been frightened of
anything before, his body was trembling with fear. "What's happening
to me There's no need to be frightened. What is this Why am I
feeling so cold?"
His eyes widened as he understood. He erected and pointed at the fox
creature. "You! What have you done with me?!" The fox didn't answer
but it appeared to be smiling. All of a sudden Kitsune's right arm
moved by itself and reached for his sword. His blood was rushing
through his veins as he felt a burning desire. He found himself
struggling with his body, preventing it from drawing his own sword
against him. After he had gotten back control over his limbs, he only
just had enough time to dodge a huge fireball that was aiming at him.
Feeling his strength dwindling, he saw another fireball flying in his
direction. He took all that was left of his powers, and jumped....
Time seemed to stand still. Then, after what seemed to him like an
eternity, he fell on the ground -with his head first. Blood was
gushing out of his temple and forehead. He laid in the grass, unable
to move. Everything was absolutely calm and quiet, until he heard
something that sounded like a campfire... He tried to look up. But
through his blood-blurred sight he only saw the shape of something
very big and glowing heading his way. I'm finished he thought and
closed his eyes again. Suddenly he remembered that he still had some
gunpowder left in his pocket. He grabbed the bag of his chest and with
his very last ounce of strength he threw his arm forward and opened
his hand...
The shockwave of the explosion let Kitsune fly through the air like a
paper kite. He didn't know how long he's been in the air. The last
thing he saw was a rock flying towards him with incredible speed...
Then darkness engulfed him.
A ray of sunlight shining in his face, woke him up finally. He
immediately opened his eyes, jumped on his feet and nervously looked
around for danger. Fortunately for him there was none as he fell back
on his knees at once. He held his head. It felt like a big hurting
lump of flesh. He tried to reconstruct what had happened. Finally it
came back to him. The last thing he remembered was that he had been
attacked by huge fireballs. One even exploded rigtht in front of him.
He looked at his hand but the wounds on his forhead and temple had
already begun to heal.
His thoughts were interrupted harshly when suddenly someone was
calling his name: "KI-TSU-NE... Kitsune, look up!" He did as he was
told, and there it was, the reason why he had been rushing through the
woods like crazy. Right in front of him the mysterious three-tailed
fox stood on a rock and looked down upon him with gentle eyes. The
fox's body emitted a red light that was flickering like fire. "I'm the
guardian-spirit of this forest. I have been waiting a very long time
for someone like you.You have passed all the tests and proven yourself
worthy of receiving the holy armor of the three-tailed fox. Now stand
up and accept my gift..." As he spoke these words the fox's shape
shifted. It slowly became metallic and got stiff edges. Suddenly a
mysterious force lifted Kitsunes body letting it hover high above the
ground.
The fox's body was breaking into pieces of armor that flew towards
Kitsune, connecting with his legs, hip, arms, chest, shoulders and
head. Then he hovered back to the ground.
One moment ago he could hardly move his body and now it felt so
powerful that it was almost bursting with energy.
In fact, he never felt this powerful in his entire life before. While
Kitsune looked down on himself and regarded his armor, he heard the
voice of the fox spirit. It was speaking directly to his heart:
"Listen young one! You have to find the other knights and unite with
them. Use your combined forces to overcome the evil that's lurking
within the world!" - "That's all right with me. I could do with a little
excitement!", Kitsune answered the voice in his head. Suddenly the
armor removed itself again from his body. The single pieces flew back
to the rock forming the statue of a fox. "Go inside the cave behind
the armor. You will find a metallic chest. Put the armor inside it and
take the chest with you. Now be on your way!", the voice told him.
Kitsune climbed up the rock, went into the cave and examined the
metallic box he found. It was quite heavy, even without any armor in
it. Fortunately there were leather straps attached to it, so he could
shoulder it on his back. He took it outside the cave. As he put the
armor inside the chest, the voice of the fox spoke to him again:
"Remember to use your powers wisely, and only do so when you're in
grave danger! Farewell Kitsune, ...knight of the Vulpecula
constellation...", The voice echoed in his head. Then it was gone.
"Knight of the Vupecula constellation..., Kitsune repeated. Seems
like life won't be so boring after all.", he thought to himself
smiling. He shouldered the chest and went back to his village. He said
his goodbyes to his master and began his adventurous journey.
To be continued...
