Beauty and the Beast (DRAMAtical Murder fanfic) (Boyxboy)

Chapter 10

Turns out that male kitsune who can't sleep don't even use their bedrooms at all, giving me some peace of mind.

His bedroom was very large, easily the biggest room in the house by my count. There were a few bookshelves and some small tables that held lamps and various decorative items, but it was mostly empty. That being said, the decor itself was... odd. The futon was large, traditional and expected for a high-ranking being, but it had western-style sheets instead of the usual comforter. Most of the books on the shelves were in English, and some of the items on the tables seemed almost American or something. Of course, the usual Japanese wall scrolls decorated some of the larger expanses of wall, paintings of nature rather than foxes.

It was certainly interesting, to say the least. I found myself able to sleep easily, even managing to feel well-rested the next morning. Don't get me wrong, I was still annoyed with the entire situation, but at least I could be annoyed without being tired. The katsuki had explained most of the house rules last night. I was free to wear anything in the dressers that fit me, and the bathroom was explained to me as well.

Kitsune bathrooms are... strange. It's not the usual modern shower and bath, it's literally a hot spring and tiny waterfall. Nevertheless, I was clean and dressed in a red kimono similar to the one I used to have. I wonder what happened to that... Stupid yokai probably burned it or something.

Fuyu had breakfast waiting for me in the private sitting area. I get the feeling the front of the house isn't used very often. Fuyu ate with me, the fox no where to be seen for the time being. Eventually, I found my curiosity had plans of its own.

"Where's the fox?"

"Master Kyor ate earlier, he had a morning meeting with his grandmother. He's probably bathing and changing clothes since you're out of the room."

"He didn't do that before he saw her?"

"He said he didn't want to wake you up since it seemed like you'd been having trouble sleeping lately... Though he did spend most of the evening out on the veranda..."

Weird fox.

"So why go see his grandma so early if he hadn't bathed?"

"Milady Hanami is the priestess for the shrine. Most likely she was tending to Master's woun- oops, I should've have said that!"

Wounds? The fox didn't seem hurt yesterday. When would he even have time for that, he's been on the ship the whole time before now, right?

"He's hurt?"

"Uh... well... erm... not exactly..."

Fuyu fidgets, setting down his chopsticks and looking around the room nervously.

"I have no... word... for it..."

"I see."

I go back to my food, which frankly is extremely delicious, and unlike the fox's decorating taste, not at all strange. The katsuki collects the dishes when we've both finished, scooting out of the room quickly. I think I made him uncomfortable... I move to stand up, going out into the hall to start doing something, if anything. A movement to my left makes me turn to see the fox.

He's dressed in a light purple kimono, a brown haori over it in a rather tasteful color scheme. The kimono is patterned with intricate green and blue flowers, feminine yet masculine at the same time. As always, his eyes held that same silent exhaustion, only today it seemed a little worse than usual, marked by the very light bags beneath his eyes. The fur of his ears seemed fluffier than normal too. Realizing I've been staring, I shift awkwardly.

"Hikaru would like to show you more of our home, should you find the time."

"I don't have anything else to do."

"For now. I'm sure you'll find something in the next few days or so."

I follow automatically as he begins moving towards the front of the building, obviously intending to leave.

"How long are we going to be here?"

"Must you always fuss?"

His words, although somewhat expected, betray the exhaustion in him, as well as some frustration. I'm not sure what I've done, but something is affecting him. They throw me off a little.

"I just want answers."

"Your question is mostly unanswerable, so I will leave you with the word 'awhile'."

"Why?"

"Because I don't know. I am here until the council sends me away or I wish to return to the main ship. Until either of those things happens, you're stuck here with me."

"Why?"

He looks at me over his shoulder, a low noise coming from him for a moment before he turns away and disappears in flicker of blue fire. I sigh, grumbling to myself as I head for the front entrance. I run into Fuyu on my way out, seeming to have surprised him.

"Are you leaving already?"

"The fox said Hikaru wanted to show me around more."

"Oh. Where's-"

"He left in that... fire thing."

"Temporal flux."

I give him a strained expression, so he just bows and scampers off. I step into my shoes before leaving, walking down the shadowed path and out to the main street. The walk down to Hikaru's home was peaceful, leaving me in a much better mood by the time I arrived. One of the katsuki was sweeping the front yard, and bowed to me in greeting with a smile before continuing with her work. I bowed back politely before entering the house. A different katsuki appeared very quickly as I took off my shoes, leading me inside. We passed the room I'd been in before, though the door was half open. Naturally, I glanced in out of natural curiosity, noting the untouched cup of tea across from where Hikaru had sat last night. The katsuki noticed, speaking quietly as we continued through the halls.

"It is Master Hikaru's way of coping."

I don't say anything response, mostly because by the time I might have had any words to push out, we've already arrived at what looks to be a sort of study room. Hikaru is sitting by a pair of small desks, and Alluka seems very interested in a rather thick book. Hikaru smiles warmly at me, patting the cushion close to him as the katsuki leaves.

"Sit, sit! It's learning time!"

Learning time? I sit on the offered cushion, taking into account how happy Hikaru seems at the word 'learning'.

"Learning time?"

"Kitsune don't usually leave their homes during the morning hours. Most have 'learning time', where they just sit and satisfy their curiosity for the day. So on that note, what would you like to learn before we go out and explore?"

What do I want to learn? So many things, I don't think I could pick just one of them. Well, I suppose I'm probably going to be here long enough to study it all anyways. Ick. Studying.

"I want to know about yokai. And I want to learn the kitsune language."

"That's certainly a good start. I don't think we have any books on yokai in general, but we do have some books of Valeir from when Taiko was teaching me..."

And so, my second day on the island of the kitsune began with only more questions needing answers.