“Oneesan Oneesan! Wake up!”

Chihiro groaned, then exhaled in a grunt when a small but heavy body landed on her stomach. Opening her eyes she found a pair of golden coloured eyes staring into her own, and wisps of black hair with streaks of dark auburn red tickling her face.

“Um… hello? Who are you?”

“I’m me Oneesan!”

Chihiro sat up slowly, looking around she saw she was in her own bedroom, with the futon ‘nest’ she set up for the small kitsune cub she’d rescued in a heap next to her bed….

Realisation slowly crept up on her as she looked at the young girl sitting naked on her lap.

“Uh… is that you littlest sister?”

“Yes! See, I grew up!”

“I see… how?”

The young kitsune stared at her for a moment, then shrugged.

“The same way I grew down, but I changed my mind because not being able to talk isn’t fun.”

Chihiro closed her eyes, trying to make sense of that.

“You grew… down?”

“Yup! I was big, but I wanted to be small, so I grew down. But then I got lost and you found me, so now I decided to grow up.”

Chihiro sighed. She understood what the kitsune girl had said, but it didn’t exactly help.

“Ok, littlest sister, um..what’s you name? I can’t keep calling you littlest sister if you’ve grown up a bit.”

The young girl’s face fell, and almost tearfully she said.

“I don’t remember… growing down made me forget!”

Chihiro nodded slowly. It made a sort of sense if you followed the topsy-turvy logic. She’d grown ‘down’ to a pre-verbal age, so she’d forgotten a lot. Maybe she’d remember as she grew up? But for now she needed a name, Chirhiro thought.

“Ok. Let’s call you… umm… I know, let’s call you Sakura! That means Cherry Blossom. Because you grew up and bloomed overnight like they do. Do you like the sound of that?”

Sakura nodded enthusiastically.

“Thank you Oneesan! I love it!”

“Ok… lets get washed and dressed and see if breakfast is ready shall we?”

“Yes!”

Chihiro supervised Sakura in the bathroom, apparently it was all new to her, and got her into some clothes borrowed from the cupboard for hand-me-down spares her family kept in case of emergencies. Chihiro had quickly modified the pantsu so Sakura’s tail would fit and found a skirt that was long enough that it wouldn’t lift it too much.

It was only after she’d gotten Sakura sat at the kitchen table and left her with their mother making her pancakes that she managed to borrow the home phone and call Shoko’s cell phone. As soon as she picked up Chihiro dived in.

“Hi Shoko! Something weird has happened with our littlest sister!”

Shoko sounded barely awake as she sleepy replied.

“Uhm… morning Chihiro… weird? What happened?”

“She grew up! Overnight! She looks like she’s a bit younger than you, about five or six… er, fifty or sixty, um... Oh you know what I mean!”

“Huh!? What? How…?”

“She said, she grew down before she got lost, and then grew up because it wasn’t fun not being able to talk.”

There was a lengthy pause with only the sound of breathing from Shoko. Chihiro was just about to say something when Shoko replied.

“Okayyy…. I sort of remember hearing a story Inari told me. Long ago a kitsune did that. Made himself a child again. My point, I guess, is that maybe it’s possible, and of course if she undid it she’d revert to her true age. Does she remember who she is and where she’s from?”

Chihiro sighed.

“No, she says growing down made her forget. I’ve called her Sakura for now.”

“Yeahhh… magic can be like that. If she’s now her true age, then she wouldn’t have mastered complex magic, probably. So she could’ve messed up the spell to make herself younger like that, changing everything and not just her appearance. Although she clearly didn’t forget how to turn herself back since she didn’t get stuck.”

Chihiro nodded, mostly to herself, then a thought stuck her.

“Ok.. but why wouldn’t she change back sooner?”

“Might not have been enough magic in the place you found her, and she needed time to absorb mana when she got here. I don’t know, why don’t you ask her? Which reminds me, Paul-sama called late last night, he and Inari should be home later today, so we can ask her about Sakura when she gets home.”

Chihiro made a small sound of agreement, then glancing in the direction of the kitchen thought a moment.

“You know… I’ll come to the temple today and meet you there. Then you can also tell me all about your date with Haruko yesterday while Inari looks at Sakura.”

Shoko giggled, and Chihiro could just imagine her expression of glee.

“Ok! There’s a lot to tell! But I don’t know when exactly they’ll return. Paul-sama said they’ll set out as soon as Inari is up, and you know what she’s like in the morning! Aim to get here mid afternoon perhaps?”

“Ok… I guess I can take littlest sister shopping first. She’s of a size where most of the hand-me-downs will fit her, but she should have something new of her own, otherwise it’s just too sad!”

“Ok… Oh! Chihiro, buy me some pocky will you, ple-ee-ease!”

“Didn’t you get some from Tomaso yesterday?”

“I didn’t have time to go see her like I normally do on Saturdays.”

“Shoko! Just because you have new friends doesn’t mean you should neglect your old ones. You should go see her today! Like, this morning before we meet.”

“Ok, ok...You’re right Chihiro, I’ll go right away after breakfast. Oh! I know… since we’re in the open now, I’ll ask her and her mother if Tomaso would like to visit my home instead. As a special treat to make up for yesterday, because I know she’s curious about it. That way when you arrive you can meet her too, then Tomaso will have a new friend.”

Chihiro nodded, completely forgetting Shoko couldn’t see her.

“That’s a good idea Shoko… I’ll pick up enough snacks for all of us then. Come to think of it.. I know you said you don’t live in the temple, would it be ok if I visit your home too?”

There was a long pause… and then Shoko sighed.

“Okayyy… I can trust you not to judge I guess.”

“Shoko?”

“Where I live is a really old fashioned hut, deep in the bamboo forest near the temple itself. It’s… well it’s not as nice as a modern house. It’s a bit embarrassing really. It’s not much more that somewhere to sleep and a little hearth to cook over for myself.”

“I see… it doesn’t matter what it’s like Shoko. I know you, it’ll be as neat as a new pin and cozy too I bet!”

“Um, yeah. I do try to keep it nice. I’ll meet you at the stairs up to the temple. Because I’ll have to show you the way to my place as it’s kind of hidden. Come to think of it, you and the others will be the first people to visit! I haven’t even shown Paul-sama my home.”

Chihiro smiled.

“I am honoured then… I’ll see you at two in the afternoon?”

“Yeah, ok. See you then! Bye!”

Chihiro hung up the phone, slowly putting the handset back in it’s cradle as she thought. The whole business with Sakura just seemed so strange, as if she’d turned several pages in a book by accident. But then, when she thought about it, nothing about this was normal! Chihiro inwardly shrugged, she supposed that this was what life as a friend of kitsune was like then.

----------------

As it turned out, Sakura had really small feet, the only outdoors shoes Chihiro and her mother could find to fit her were a pair of old fashioned geta that had been Chihiro’s when she been several years younger. She’d worn them once, to the end of summer festival. The traditional wooden sandals were no more than a couple of blocks, or ‘teeth’ with a flat board to stand on and a toe thong to hold it on her foot. Chihiro had found them difficult to balance on and uncomfortable.

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Sakura however, took to them with no effort, clattering around as if she was running in bare feet. Chihiro’s mother saw the expression on Chihiro’s face and quietly murmured to her that although Sakura might not consciously recollect anything, perhaps her body remembered some things better than the rest of her. Chihiro had nodded, although privately she had wondered just when Sakura had come from. Hardly anyone nowadays wore geta regularly enough to be that used to them.

Once they were in the shopping district, after the short twenty minute walk from their home to the centre of town, Chihiro had headed straight for the largest second-hand shop. Her mother had given her a small purse with money to buy Sakura some clothes, telling her to spend it wisely. She also had her own allowance, but intended to use that to buy snacks as she’d promised.

The first thing they’d looked at in the shop was the rows of shoes. Chihiro wanted to find a couple of pairs that would fit Sakura. Sakura however, sulked at first, not liking the feel of ordinary shoes around her feet… that is until she spotted a pair of bright green rain boots.

Sakura held them up, waving at Chihiro.

“Oneesan! Oneesan! Frog shoes!”

Chihiro looked at the boots. They indeed had bulbous eyes and a frog-like face. She checked the price tag and nodded.

“Well spotted littlest sister! You can have those for rainy days, lets see if we can find a pair of shoes for sunny weather shall we?”

“Umm! Ok!”

Sakura happily put the rain boots on, and jumped around making “kero-kero!” noises like a frog before she went enthusiastically rummaging among the other pairs of shoes. A short while later she held up a pair of hi-top sneakers with a bright yellow sunflower pattern...

“Oneesan! Sunshine shoes!”

Chihiro had to laugh, as they were indeed sunny shoes. They were a little large, but not so much that thick socks wouldn’t fix it and they’d allow for growing room, as her mother often said… although Chihiro hoped Sakura wouldn’t grow as fast as she had done!

By the time they headed to the till to pay, between them they’d found four good skirts and several good shirts, including one cherry-blossom pattern one with white lace, that Sakura had insisted on wearing right away. Not that Chihiro could argue, it was so cute with the frilly white skirt she was wearing.

Thinking ahead, Chihiro had also bought two full nursery-school uniforms for Sakura, as she looked old enough to attend. She knew they had a couple more at home, but little ones tended to go though school uniforms at an alarming rate, or so her mother said.

As Chihiro went to pay for the clothing, the elderly ‘auntie’ who ran the shop looked at the school uniforms, and then at Sakura then winked at Chihiro.

“There’s some school satchels you might want to take a look at for your new Imoto, Chihiro dear.”

Chihiro shook her head.

“Not today Auntie, I’ve already spent up my budget.”

The older woman shook her head, making a small clucking sound.

“Tch, as if I’d charge you for that! Like your family isn’t responsible for half my business! Go on, I’ll keep these aside while you two go pick out one she likes.”

Chihiro smiled, and thanked the older woman, as Sakura tugged on her hand, leading her to the rack of school satchels.

Chihiro had a fairly good idea of which one she wanted, and sure enough, Sakura went for the bright cherry red one. It wasn’t the most expensive, although it had a good number of pockets and internal divisions as well as straps that allowed it to be used as a backpack. It was cheaper than some of the others due to it being somewhat scuffed, and some of the stitching was loose. But Chihiro was certain that her middle eldest brother could repair it and make it shine again. His hobby was leather work after all.

It didn’t take long to pay for what they’d bought, although ‘Auntie’ used the time to winkle out all the details about Sakura, punctuated with many exclamations of disbelief and head shakes. The old woman also told Chihiro some of the latest town gossip, with instructions to tell her mother when she got home. Chihiro couldn’t help thinking that the local Yokai coming ‘out’ had certainly livened up the gossip the past few months, and yet it all seemed to boil down to the same things in the end. Who was seeing whom, who had said what and so on… just with a new twist of who was what as well. Not all of the yokai were forthcoming and there was quite a bit of idle speculation over the nature of some people.

Chihiro was rather glad to have Sakura tagging along, it gave her a polite excuse to cut short Auntie’s rambling chatter. Then it was on to the corner sweet shop, and the important deliberations over what snacks to buy for everyone.

---------

Meanwhile, Shoko had hurried out of the door with a square of fried tofu in her mouth at a dead run. The tiny village Tomaso lived in was in one of the smaller valleys a few mountains over on the other side of Inari’s mountain to the port. For a human it would be several hours walk, and scarcely quicker by car or bike due to the way the roads twisted and turned.

For Shoko, who knew all the hidden pathways through the forest, it would take just over an hours walk, or less if she ran.

She had debated getting dressed in some of her new clothes, just to show her friend. But had decided to wear her usual miko robes, as Tomaso had a very limited tolerance for changes, and different clothes on top of visiting on a different day, would probably be too much for her. Shoko wasn’t at all sure if Tomaso would be ok with coming back with her to see where she lived, as well as meeting new people. Having given it a bit of thought, it was entirely possible that would also cause her to be overstimulated.

Still, Shoko reasoned, she could at least see Tomaso during the morning and make the suggestion, so she could think about it for a few days. Which usually worked out better in the long run. Tomaso also wasn’t very good with surprises, and often needed a long run up before doing something new. She wasn’t afraid, but it did take her some time to get comfortable with just the idea of something new.

Although now she thought about it, really the village was ideal for her to live in. According to Inari, the last time there was any big change to people’s lives there was when electricity was introduced, near the end of the Meiji Restoration, over a hundred years ago.

Not much else had altered in the past few centuries. The mountains blocked most radio and Tv signals, so only the few who could afford a satellite dish had those. Phones were uncommon as well, most people used the call box in the heart of the village, or the one at the general store. There was bus that ran twice a day, most people either rode that, or shopped at the general store that sold a little of everything, and would order what they didn’t stock, and that was really all the cluster of a dozen houses actually needed.

Tomaso’s mother was feeding the chickens when Shoko arrived. Shoko knocked at the gate to be polite and called out; “I’m here!”.

Tomaso’s mother waved, and pointed towards the back of the house. Shoko nodded her understanding and went to find Tomaso, who was sitting on the back veranda sorting her collection of insects.

Shoko didn’t say anything, she just sat next to Tomaso, kicking off her geta as she sat tailor fashion on the hardwood floor near Tomaso. Without looking at Shoko, Tomaso handed her part of the collection. Shoko watched Tomaso for moment then started copying her, sorting the insects pinned to their cards. Today she was sorting by Phyla it seemed, and building ‘trees’ of related species.

While she worked, Shoko thought. Now she had more experience with humans, she was struck by the notion that most human-type people would regard Tomaso as strange. She looked the same, but didn’t behave the same way as other humans.

When they’d first met, Shoko hadn’t thought much about it. Yokai were all different, they had their own customs and oddities of behaviour. Tomaso had just been another kind of yokai to her. But now she knew more, Shoko thought that Tomaso was different, she just looked human.

Idly Shoko wondered if you could have yokai that were human physically at least. Inari had told her that sometimes souls and bodies didn’t match up, Kiko had also told that sometimes you got a female soul in a male body, or the other way around. Shoko wondered if you could get a yokai soul in a human body. Which would, now that she thought of it, explain a lot.

Shoko glanced sideways at Tomaso, avoiding eye contact which she didn’t like, wondering what sort of yokai she might be internally.

Tomaso was willowy, and quite pretty for a human. Her hair was glossy black and her skin was pale. She was quite clever, but she didn’t like to talk and she found looking at people, or being looked at, upsetting. She could’ve almost been a crane yokai the way she looked.

However Shoko couldn’t think of any yokai that liked patterns and orders quite as much as Tomaso. Crane people were fussy, but they were forever rearranging things and changing their mind about the order. Which would drive Tomaso into a screaming fit, literally.

Shoko paused, thinking. Tomaso usually resorted her collection when she was upset, and quite probably the fact that Shoko hadn’t come to visit her yesterday was the cause of it today. She sighed slightly, and handed the resorted cards back to Tomaso, who accepted them without a word.

Shoko considered and went indoors. By now she was quite familiar with Tomaso’s house, and knew where to find things. Taking out a tray she put the jug of barley tea from the fridge on it, along with two glasses. Padding in her stocking feet she went and sat next to Tomaso again, placing the tray between them. Shoko poured the cold barley tea into the glasses, starting with the one nearest Tomaso, and then knocked on the wooden floor to let her know.

Shoko sipped her tea, and waited. After a few moments Tomaso finished sorting the cards and their preserved insects and put them away. She then turned, bowed slightly to Shoko, and took a sip from her glass.

They sat in silence for a few minutes, before Tomaso spoke. Her voice was whisper quiet, as always, barely more than a sigh.

“Today is not Saturday. It is Sunday.”

From anyone else, that would’ve been a rebuke, but Shoko knew Tomaso meant exactly what she said. She didn’t do hints or indirect speech.

“Yes Tomaso. I apologise for not visiting yesterday. I was busy.”

Tomaso nodded, and took another sip of her tea, watching it for a moment as condensation beaded and trickled down the glass.

“Why?”

Shoko thought for moment, puzzling out what Tomaso was asking.

“I had a coffee date with another friend I call Usagi-chan. She is new, and an artist, and she wanted me to pose so she could draw me. It took longer than I thought it would.”

Tomaso nodded, accepting the explanation. Then she frowned slightly.

“Can I see?”

Shoko tilted her head, asking.

“Do you mean my new friend Usagi-chan, or the picture she drew of me?”

“Picture.”

“When it’s finished. Usagi-chan is colouring it in still. I haven’t seen it yet either. Usagi-chan said she’d be finished soon, but she couldn’t say when because it depended on if she made any mistakes and had to start over.”

Tomaso nodded, indicating her understanding.

They sat quietly for a short while, drinking tea. Shoko watched Tomaso, careful not to look as though she was even looking at her. The subtle signs of stress faded and Tomaso began to slowly rock side to side, one of her ways of soothing herself.

Seeing that, Shoko took out the ‘fidget’ toy or spinner she’d bought a couple of days ago, intending it as a small gift for Tomaso, and gave it a flick, sending the silver thing spinning, before sliding it across the floor to Tomaso.

After a moments hesitation, Tomaso took it and copied Shoko making it spin. She squealed in joy, and shook her hands happily. Shoko grinned, happy that Tomaso liked her gift. She briefly considered bringing up the subject of her visiting, but decided that today was not the day. She’d mention it to Tomaso’s mother and she could broach the subject later on. It would probably be at least a day or two before Tomaso felt settled enough to consider it.

Shoko smiled, she’d known Tomaso since she was ten, nearly eleven years now, so they knew they could trust each other. But this was a big step for Tomaso, she rarely left her house even though all the villagers knew not to bother her. Tomaso had been twelve when a stranger from outside the village had spoken to her, wanting directions. They hadn’t known about her, and Tomaso had been upset for weeks afterwards, and ever since had been reluctant to go outside, since it was scary now.

Still, Shoko thought, she could probably do it, with a little help. Perhaps one or two intermediate trips into the village. Maybe she could ask Usagi-chan to meet Tomaso somewhere in the village? Shoko was pretty sure Tomaso would be ok, she couldn’t imagine anyone being frightened of Usagi-chan at all!

Chihiro she wasn’t so sure of… she’d have to explain to her first that Tomaso wasn’t good with surprises, or loud noises, or new people really. Still, Chihiro had a gentle heart, and once she knew to be careful, she’d go carefully.

Shoko sighed, although introducing littlest sister to Tomaso would have wait a few years at least! Kitsune cubs were loud and energetic, or so Inari had said.