Shin descended from the stairs,  yawning.  He scratched his head.  ”School again, ” sighing,  he rubbed his eyes.  

Not that he hated school,  it's just that he felt that the weekends' too short,  especially when his Saturday was spent at work and his Sunday—he slept all day.  

He saw his otou-san and baka-nii sitting on one of the chairs of their mauve colored dinner table,  drinking coffee.  His dad, reading a newspaper while his baka-nii is fidgeting over his phone with a flushed face. He could also smell the nice aroma of miso soup and rice from the kitchen. His kaa-san might be cooking.  

He doesn't want to know why the baka is flushing red early in the morning.  That's bad news.  

Catching their attention,  he announced his presence by greeting,  ”Ohayō tou-san. ” His dad raised his head to meet his gaze.  ”Your mom's cooking breakfast, ” his dad told him, not leaving his gaze from the newspaper he's reading.  

”Ohayō baka-jiji. “ Approaching the dinner table,  he greeted his brother who's not even listening and smiling from ear to ear.  

This stupid old man.  

His brother is not that old, nor does he look old, they share the same blue eyes but his brother is slightly darker and his eyes are a little bit bigger than his brother. He has blonde hair but his brother's hair is brown and a lot longer and wilder looking than his and in a top knot.  His brother is just 5 years older than him but to him he's old... because he complains like one.  

With his looks,  his nii-san can get any girl but he has a very weird hobby. 

Rolling his eyes,  he cuts the distance between him and his brother who's looking over a woman in maid outfit on his phone. He cringed upon seeing it, especially when he made some kissy faces and chuckled weirdly.

He has no problem if his brother is an otaku but he looks too much.  It's scary sometimes. 

Shin bent to reach his idiot brother's ears, he took a deep breath,  bracing himself.  ”Baka-jiji! ” he shouted in his ears,  earning a string of curses from his brother and his father's chuckling.  

Seeing his brother's grumpy face and his phone nearly falling from his grasp,  Shin let out a satisfied laugh,  holding his stomach as a result.  

His brother got up from his seat. From that moment, Shin knew that he'd try to make it even so he ran to the other side of the dining room. ”Brat! Come here you ass! I'm gonna beat you up!” His brother started to chase him,  stealing their father's newspaper,  rolled it and raised it to hit him as he ran. 

He laughed as he snorted teasingly when his brother couldn't reach him.  Their father laughs at his sons' antics but finds it idiotic for them to have a game of cat and mouse but just runs in the same circle.  

”Old creepy guy who messed up cooking rice! ” He called out to his brother who's expression turned uglier.  ”Can't chase me? Your bones are getting fragile! ” He stopped for a while and made a face,  laughing.  

”You! ” his brother tried to reach him on which he dodged but his brother was quick to pull his shirt and hit him countless times on which he just laughed. 

Their mother entered the room,  clearing her throat to get their attention.  ”Shiro! Stop hitting your brother.  Settle down! We will have breakfast now.  You still have classes, Shin, don't you?” Upon hearing their mom's scolding voice, they stopped immediately.

Shin smiled while his brother was still in a sour mood, staring at him as if he's saying that he'll get even at him later. 

Staring at the scene before him, a picture of a happy family and a normal life, Shin couldn't help but feel sad, angry and happy at the same time. 

Happy that he was still given a third chance to redeem himself and laugh genuinely, sad and angry that it took him too much to lose just to reach this point.

One thousand six hundred years ago,  in a secluded forest,  a black little fox was seen lying on the ground,  bathing in its own blood.  The little fox was separated from his mother and his two siblings when hunters arrived.  The little fox tried his hardest to breathe but it became difficult with each passing second.  

The fox remembered running away with his family as soon as they saw a big tall human carrying a bow.  His mother's only words that he and his siblings put into heart is,  ”Run! ”

He doesn't know what will happen if they get caught.  Is it a good thing or a bad thing? 

But as soon as he heard a rustling sound , his mother fell to the ground—dead.  He knows what's at stake if he'll get caught—death.  

He tried to run to live but with his small and weak body—only a miracle can save him... but the wilderness is an unforgiving place...

He felt a piercing pain in his body, along with the deafening silence,  he felt hot yet it made him weaken.  His legs wobble and he knows the moment he'll let his body taste the ground—it's all over.  He cannot claw back to live.  

His body fell with a thud,  blood pooled,  soaking his fur.  He stared at the rustling trees,  hoping that somehow it'll grant him peace.  Tears ran from his eyes.  ”Mom... Mom... Where are you?  It hurts... It hurts, ” the little fox cried,  trying to claw the air,  struggling—as if he wanted to find something.

”Mom please... I don't want this! ” he tried to wave his paw again,  wishing that if he waved again and again he'll be freed from the nightmare he's in. 

The sky looked at him,  felt pity and cried.  Water from the rain dropped to his body but it didn't lessen the pain he was feeling,  instead,  it drowned him like how sadness pushes him to the depths.  

He heard a rustling sound coming from the bushes,  like two people were there—there were murmurs like they're talking about something.  Seconds later,  footsteps was heard that seemed to approach him.  The fox wanted to run but his body betrayed him. He whimpered.  

”I don't want to die... Help... Help, ” he pleaded,  with tears in his eyes.  

He heard the steps go louder, someone approaching him.  One last tear fell from the little fox,  he saw a blurry image of a man in a blue kimono.  The man is holding a parasol to protect himself from getting wet from the rain.  

He didn't last long to stare at the man before him,  he drifted into the darkness. 

The fox felt light struck into his face.  He opened his eyes only to find himself on the lap of a woman dressed in a green kimono with red and pink camellia flowers adorning the fabric.  

He tried to move and escape but his body is still weak.  

Did he die?  The question he had on his mind. He guessed he cannot do anything now but he knows deep inside him,  there's a lot of what ifs and regrets that he died young without enjoying the world. 

The woman noticed that he's awake,  and she carried him to her chest,  patting his head.  He was able to look at the woman's face—white, painted with oshiroi , pink cupid bow lips in red rouge, and big sparkling golden eyes. Her blonde hair was tied in a bun with two gold hairpins as ornaments.  

”Did I die? ” he blurted.  But he never expected that the woman could hear a poor fox like him.  

The woman's doe eyes turned sad and hugged his little body which made him confused.  ”Yes,  you're just a spirit now, ” she answered, which made him whimper. 

The woman patted her head again and smiled.  ”But don't worry,  you'll live a brand new life from now on! ” The woman raised her right fist and raised it in the air. She grinned brightly and almost like what is around her shines the way she does.  

He didn't answer because he doesn't have a clue on what she's saying. He looked at his surroundings.  The walls are made of wood and a mattress lies on the tatami mat floor.  

Not long after when another presence filled the room,  the shoji door slid open and a man announced his presence.  It's the same man he saw earlier.  The man has dark shoulder length hair,  although the man is good-looking,  he has a very scary looking face—red sharp eyes,  a diagonal scar on his left eye starting from his left brow and down to his upper cheek and lips forming a frown.  He also has a katana tied on his back. 

The fox squeaked in fear and tried to hide himself inside the sleeves of the woman.  ”Kirio! You scared him! ” he heard the woman scolded the scary looking man,  Kirio.  

Kirio on the other hand laughed nervously and approached his angry wife.  ”Sorry anata, ” he apologized to his wife, only to be met by another sharp glare. 

He sat on the tatami mat and gently picked up the reluctant fox who's shaking in fear.  ”Yosh! Sorry,  little guy.  I'm not going to hurt you. ” Kirio smiled and messed up the fox's hair.  The fox, still scared,  eyes began to water. 

The man, still smiling,  fished something from his sleeves.  It's wrapped in a paper wrapper and he brought it close to the fox's face,  only to make the little fox salivate the moment he smelled what it was. 

”Meat!  Meat! ” the fox excitedly chanted.  His tail wagging,  orbs in puppy eyes—begging.  ”Give me! Give me! ” his little paw tried to reach the wrapper excitedly.  

”See?  I told you,  I am not a bad guy. ” The man stared at him,  still smiling,  trying to convince him.  When he wagged his tail again,  the man opened the wrapper as he felt himself salivating more. 

But before the man was about to feed him,  he heard a loud sound—someone had been hit on the head—and it's Kirio by the hands of his angry wife. 

The woman picked him up from the hands of the poor man.  He looked at him pitifully and disappointedly.  ”Baka anata! He is still a baby,  so we should feed him milk. ” The woman cradled him in her arms as if he's an infant. 

He learned later on that the man Kirio and his wife Tsubame are both deities that live in the shrine near the forest he was in before.  Kirio is the god of swordsmanship and blacksmiths while his wife Tsubame is the goddess of the stars and fortune.  

They named him,  ”Tsubaki” a combination of both of their names and treated him as if he's their son and he is lucky enough to have other parents.  They fed him and took care of him until later on he grew three tails enough for him to have a semi-human look. 

They played with him and taught him a lot.  He also learned swordsmanship and blacksmith from his dad while he learned music,  embroidery,  and arts from his mom.  Most of the time,  he helps them run errands for the shrine,  may it be cleaning or compiling people's prayers for the day. 

When he was old enough to practice magic,  they taught him both. 

One evening,  Tsubaki is sitting with his father to view the moon and the sakura tree,  a jar full of sake and two cups on their side.  His mother,  Tsubame, is cooking their dinner that night.  

Tsubaki,  now with four tails in his sixteen years old boy form, sighed deeply as he admired the beauty of the pink sakura tree. 

His father,  Kirio,  smiled and opened the jar of sake.  He poured the contents of the sake to each of their cups and offered one to his son.  ”Drink.  Nothing beats sightseeing without a cup of sake! “ Tsubaki laughed and took the cup his father offered.  

They both raised their cups before drinking.  As they enjoyed the drink,  both father and son uttered,  ”Hah! Umai! ” They both laughed heartily afterwards. 

The father placed his hand on his son's shoulders,  now looking serious.  He fished a die from a small packet hung on his kimono.  ”Be like this. ” He placed the die on Tsubaki's palm which confused the young fox spirit. 

Tsubaki blinked a few times before answering.  ”But I don't want to die, ” he replied,  face stoic and serious. 

His father raised a brow from his answer which broke his facade—he laughed.  His father threw him a sharp glare which made him raise both of his hands as if he's surrendering.  

Kirio sighed, retrieving the die from his son's grasp, he played the die on his palm.  ”A die has its even and odds just like life.  Someday,  an odd will be rolled for you and you will never want to take the risk to wait for an even.  You sometimes may want to cheat, go in the easiest fix and call it quits but remember odd can also mean different—and a difference can sometimes turn the tables. ” Tsubaki was in awe of what he had heard from his father. 

His father placed the die again on his palm.  ”It's not bad to pick odd with all the evens but it is up to you to pick which difference you want to step up with, ” his father added as he poured their cups with sake again. 

Tsubaki at that time didn't understand what his father meant.  He just nodded and took a sip from the cup again.  ”I'll tell mom that you're gambling. ” Tsubaki laughed, his father's face turned pale,  he gulped.  

He waved his hands,  saying no.  ”I am not gambling!  Don't tell your mom! ” his father is visibly shaking.  Though he admits that his mom is scary. 

Right on cue,  his mom appeared with a tray of food in her hands.  His father jolted in fear, making him laugh again.  

Tsubaki cherished every moment he shared from his two parents who saved him and took care of him.  Right from that moment,  the fox learned the value of love.  

Shin was awakened from his reminiscing when he heard Shiro called him.  He looked at him and smiled.  ”What is up, baka-nii? ” he asked his brother, only to be given a weird and puzzled look. 

Shiro pointed at Shin's face.  ”Why are you crying?  Finally realizing how ugly you are? '' Shiro taunted Shin and made a funny face. ”Or you got dumped by your girlfriend even though you don't have that? '' Shiro raised his hands and acted like he's wiping away his tears and laughed.  

Shin wiped his face and realized that he indeed had cried.  His lips lifted up as he stared upward...he smiled a genuine one.

’I miss you,  tou-chan,  kaa-chan.  See?  I am living a happy life with humans.  I am free the way you wanted me to be. Are you proud? ’

Shin's tears continued to fall.  He wiped it down with the sleeves of his shirt. ”Shiro! You made your brother cry! ” he heard his mother scolded his brother much to Shiro's chagrin.  

’Nostalgic... I found another people to cherish,  this time... This time... I'll be able to protect them. ’

Shiro on the other hand felt more puzzled and annoyed because his brother Shin looked like he wanted to audition in the drama club all of the sudden but the most distressing part is that he was blamed by their mother because of his brother's crazy antics. 

”Shin! Stop zoning out and eat! Are you going crazy? ” Shiro called Shin who's still staring upwards as if there's an onion on the ceiling that made him tear up.  

”Shin! Are there two lizards breaking up in the ceiling or something? ” Shiro once again called his brother,  but he was rewarded with no response. 

Annoyed, he reached for the empty plastic bowl and threw it straight on Shin's face.  Before Shiro was able to laugh... his face met a flying slipper from Shin's direction.  

Vocabulary

Baka - stupid / fool.

Nii / nii - san - brother.

Jiji - old man (informal).

Otou-san - dad.

Kaa - san - mom.

Oshiroi - white face powder worn by women such as geiko and maiko.

Shoji - A shoji is a door, window or room divider used in traditional Japanese architecture, consisting of translucent (or transparent) sheets on a lattice frame.

Tatami - A tatami is a type of mat used as a flooring material in traditional Japanese-style rooms.

Sake - Japanese wine.

Anata - darling.

Tsubaki - lit. Camellia flowers.

Umai - taste good / delicious

Credits to the owners of the references I used.