39 (Thank You)

Chapter 1

My existence....is a strange one.

I have a reason to live...but at the same time, I do not.

"Ghh...! Damn you!" A creature with a man's figure and head of a rat(1) growled as he held a blade near a small child.

"Tesso," A figure in a fox mask sighed as they pointed their sword at his back in a sudden, swift moment. "How dare you sully our family name, were we not the ones who helped you when you were at your lowest? We were not the ones who saved you when you were at death's door?"

"Shut up!" He growled in response. "If you stab me, the kid goes too!"

"That is impossible," The masked swordsman's mouth curled into a smirk. "For you are already dead."

The rat screamed as his body was torn into shreds, the small child ripping himself out of the man's grasp and into his mother's arms. She grasped him tightly to her breast, tears of relief threatening to fall from her eyes. Her feline tail and ears twitched happily "Thank you, so much!"

"No need for thanks, ma'am." They answered as they turned to leave. "The Bakeneko(2) family is a close close friend of ours, it is only natural for us to help each other."

"Umm.." The boy spoke up, taking off his yellow cap, revealing his brown cat ears. He fiddle with the bottom of his uniform(3) "Th-thank you, Stranger!"

They smiled from beneath the mask as they ruffled his hair. "Stay close to your mother."

The child beamed. "Okay!"

The mother smiled as she fixed her uniform. She disguised herself as a normal office worker during the day and only revealed her yokai form at night. "Come now Inari, I'm sure they have their own duties to attend to." She paused before turning to the masked-figure once again. "You should go home soon too, high-school students shouldn't be out this late, either."

They masked figure gave her a confused look and she merely smiled and pointed at the school bag that was still in their hands. They shrugged sheepishly before waving off to them. "Good luck on your way home."

They bowed to them as they stepped to the side. "Thank you Kamaitachi-san(4)."

The masked figure smiled and adjusted the kimono they wore. It was the color of rose petals and stopped at mid thigh. There was a "beto-beto" sound as the geta the figure wore tapped lightly against the concrete. They then disappeared into the night.

~

"MA-!" A girl with light brown, shoulder length hair pouted as she realized her companion was not listening to her. She tugged at the back of their uniform and yelled in their ear. "KU-RA-MA-SAN!"

They jumped, having been abruptly woken from their thoughts. "Y-yes?!"

She stuck her tongue out at them as she grasped her navy blue blazer. "Geez! I've been trying to call you for three minutes!"

Kurama ran a hand through their charcoal hair sheepishly. "Sorry, there was something that I couldn't help think back to yesterday. What were you saying Mayuzumi-san?"

She turned on her heel, ignoring Kurama. "Nope, not telling you anymore!"

"I'm sorr-!" Kurama was cut off with a gasp as they felt someone tackle them from behind.

"Kyu-chan! Shi-chan!" An energetic voice squealed from behind Kurama.

"Tamamo-san. Mayuzumi-san." A more mature voiced greeted from behind the two. It was Ayuzawa Mai, an older girl with black hair that stopped at mid-back. She wore the same school uniform as them. The girl's wore a simple olive-green skirt, white shirt, yellow bow, and the signature navy blazer, the school crest sewn neatly on the left size atop the breast. However, Kurama wore the male uniform contained of the same olive-green pants, white shirt, yellow tie, and matching navy blazer. 

"Ayuzawa-senpai." Kurama bowed. 

The energetic person from before pouted childishly and tugged on Ayuzama's sleeve. "Ne, ne did you hear about the incident yesterday?"

Ayazuwa nodded grimly. "I only know the basics of it, do you know anything Kurogane-san?"

Kurogane Yu, a young freshman, a year younger than the group. He had short, curly, black hair and green eyes. Much like Kurama, he wore the same male uniform. He nodded before answering. "Uh-huh, there's a rumor that it was an ayakashi's doing!"

Kurama nearly choked on air. "Ayakashi?!"

Yu gave him a concused look. "Why are you surprised? I mean, we are the Ayakashi Photography Club?"

Shino gave Kurama sympathetic pat on the back. "I can't say I blame Kurama-san, it is rather unexpected."

"R-right." Kurama smiled sheepishly. Their attention was shifted when they heard shouts of excitement from across the street. The group turned to see a group of their schoolmates surrounding a male with black hair with red highlights. He wore a uniform from a different school, an all boys school to be exact. The student seemed to be smiling awkwardly while he tried to quell the girls' screaming.

"Is it bad that I feel bad for him?" Kurama deadpanned, the rest of the group shook their heads in pity.

"Do you think we should...help him?" Kurogane asked hesitantly.

Ayuzawa gave a small nod as she ruffled the freshman's hair. "Yes, that's a great idea."

Kurogane took a deep breath as he called out. "Himuro-san!"

He gave them a confused look before giving the group a grateful look and crossing the street over to them. He greeted them with a grateful look. "Haaa... I thought I'd never get the chance to lose them."

Kurogane gave him a pitying look. "I guess popular guys have it tough too."

He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "It has its perks."

Mayuzumi giggled. "If only you could transfer to our school, then we could protect you from the hordes of fangirls. Right, Kurama-san?"

Whatever said person's reply might have been it was interrupted by the fact that the group's school was around the corner.

Mayuzumi's shoulders slumped. "I guess this is where we part..."

Himuro smiled warmly at her. "Well there's always a tomorrow, shall we meet again next time, hopefully while I'm not surrounded by fangirls."

The group waved the male off as they split ways. "Great idea! See you tomorrow!"

~
Elsewhere three figures stood in a triangle formation. Two were male, one was blonde and the other had dark brown hair. The last was a female about a head shorter. The two males stared unnervingly at the girl. There was a moment of silence before the blonde spoke. "What business do you have with Himuro-sama?"

"I could ask you the same thing," The girl reached torward her bag, grabbing a fox mask from her bag and placed it upon her face. She smirked underneath the mask. "No matter, I'll deal with you soon enough. I am Kamaitachi, and I will put those who endanger the master to death."