Chapter Text
On the first day of the rest of Genos' life, he woke up early.
It was too hot; summer was always muggy in the forest and it seemed summer arrived earlier and earlier every year. Foxes did not sweat, and so the first thing Genos did when his mind woke up enough to diagnose the problem was shift into his more human shape. He still panted for a few moments, though it no longer helped, and decided as the sweat began to coat (most of) his skin that there was no point in trying to sleep longer.
He made his way to the river, creeping around the tributary where the kappa lived, and giving a polite nod to the nure-onna sunning herself on the bank. The trees were so thick through most of the forest that this was the best place to soak it up.
Genos bathed in the shallows, behind the shelter of boulders and rotting logs from the last flood. He'd learned – eventually – that his bare body attracted too much attention. There was no shame in his desire for privacy, only practicality.
Once he was as cool as he was likely to get, Genos returned to his den and dressed. He chose a short light yukata, tied up the sleeves, and began to wind cloth wraps around his arms and legs. This served a practical purpose as well; he had very little feeling in the scars, and he'd occasionally ended up scratched by thorns or pests without realizing.
But it also prevented questions that Genos had tired of answering long ago.
Only once he was covered up did Genos consider breakfast. It was still early, at least for a fox to be rising, but often Genos was pulled from his nest by another youkai demanding help with something. Usually something that common sense should have solved immediately.
Genos had fallen into the position of forest mediator via his familiarity with humans. Many youkai viewed humans as a food source, or a nuisance, but many others had a fondness for the things humans produced. Like sake, or silk, or... mainly sake.
So Genos - who could read and had a relatively good handle on his instincts - was recruited to go to the nearest village and trade for things. And after proving himself reliable, he was asked for help with other tasks.
Well, he said "asked," but often it was more like orders.
Today was, hopefully, too hot to get into fights. Genos prepared breakfast of smoked fish and dried berries, and was just thinking he'd have time for tea when a yowl came from outside his den.
A tanuki, a rather young one, sat at the entrance. It was occupying a shape too animal for speech, and yipped at him as soon as it saw it had Genos' attention.
"Yes, what is it?"
The tanuki stood and danced back and forth on its paws, clearly wanting Genos to follow.
"You can't tell me first?"
The tanuki yipped again, and pressed its forepaws on the ground in an imitation of a bow.
"Oh all right. This had better be important."
The forest's resident tribe of tanuki had settled near the south edge, closest to the major road. Once, a hundred years ago, humans had passed through the forest on wide roads that led in all directions. The roads were still there, in theory, but overgrown and cracked, and the forest was cris-crossed with trails and paths the youkai made themselves.
Tanuki liked humans and got along rather well with them. Living near the new road allowed them to visit and trade at their leisure. Usually they didn't come to Genos for help with anything but buying booze; the human village still being a more reliable source of that.
They were still some distance from the tribe's stomping grounds when the young tanuki led the way off the path. There was a trail of destruction here that didn't quite match any patterns Genos knew. The trees were cracked and broken. The grass and shrubs flattened. And at the end, below a large tree bearing what looked like an impact crater on its trunk, lay one of the tribe's hunters.
"Ow," the man said, distantly. A female, most likely his wife by the way her expression managed to mingle concern and exasperation, carefully dabbed ointment on his bruised chest.
"There you are," the woman said to the little tanuki. It might be even younger than Genos had realized.
"Is everything okay?" Genos asked.
"More or less," the woman said. "Mr. Mighty Protector here," definitely her husband, "fell for an illusion, but he'll be fine in a few weeks."
"I didn't- Weeks?" The man goggled in horror at his wife, who nodded.
"You've got broken bones! You need to take it easy so they'll heal properly."
"I can't take it easy! I have work to do!"
"You don't have a choice, it will only take longer and get worse if you don't!"
"But..." He shook his head, and Genos saw dried blood in his hair. "I didn't fall for an illusion, anyway! I'm telling you, it was a human."
"I know it looked like one to you," the woman said, trying to sound conciliatory. "I believe you believe what you saw. But a human could never do this to you. There are plenty of youkai that masquerade as priests. I don't blame you." She started unrolling a bandage. "Much."
"A human was invading our forest! What was I supposed to do?"
"Leave it be! If a real human did try to invade, they wouldn't last long. And whatever hit you-"
"A human!"
"Whatever hit you is up to its own devices. It will either succeed or it won't. And either way there was no need to get in a fight."
This didn't seem like something Genos could - or should - help with, so he started to creep away. The little tanuki followed him, hopping around his feet.
“What is it?”
“She's worried,” the mother translated. “You're that fox who trades with the humans, aren't you? She fell for the illusion too, she must want you to negotiate.”
“Trading is different,” Genos said. He knelt down, and held out a hand for the little tanuki to sniff. “Thank you for trying to help, but I don't think I can do anything right now. If you see a human in the forest again, just keep your distance, okay?”
The tanuki nodded, and bumped her head against his fingers before returning to her mother.
Genos took a winding path toward home. He was nearly back to his den when something – or rather, someone – dropped down in front of him. He waited to show fear until he identified who it was, and then gave nothing but a polite bow.
The spider clicked her mandibles at Genos. In this shape she couldn't bow, but she seemed too agitated to follow etiquette anyway. "A human stole my lunch!"
"A what?" Genos said. "Did what?"
"A human stole my lunch!" she repeated. "I just had it strung up to cure, and a human blundered right through my web!"
"It couldn't have been a human," Genos said, though it felt more like denial than reassurance. "How could a human get this far into the forest?"
"I don't know, but I know what I saw." Her jaws clicked away. "And smelled."
That was a good point. Spiders had different vision from mammals, she wouldn't have been fooled by an illusion. Even true shapeshifters like Genos had trouble disguising their scent. There was something distasteful about it. And it took ages for his nose to get used to the difference and automatically filter it out.
"If the human tore your prey out of your web, why didn't you capture it as a replacement?" Genos didn't approve of human-eating, but he knew how spiders worked and it was rather unusual for one to pass up a meal like that.
"I'm no fool. That human tore through my webbing like paper! And it wrestled my lunch to the ground to purify perfectly good venom out of its blood."
A human accidentally ruining a web was one thing, but deliberately freeing a trapped creature was out of even the remote bounds of ordinary.
"What was it?"
"I don't know, some kind of priest or something."
"Not the human. Your lunch."
"Oh. Just a wolf."
Genos felt his brow furrow. Why would a human go so far to rescue a youkai? Even if they thought it was a wild wolf, surely there would be no reason to interfere with the natural order of things?
Unless the human mistook it for a dog? Wrapped in webbing, whining in distress, there would be little difference, and many humans had soft spots for the animals they'd domesticated.
The spider must have taken his expression for disapproval, because she said, "It was that lone wolf, not a member of the pack."
Angering the wolf pack was none of Genos' business, no matter how much of a colossally bad idea it was. "Which way was the human going?"
"North, a little east."
Deeper into the forest. If it was a priest, what could they be hoping to accomplish? The forest was full of youkai, they couldn't defeat all of them. And they'd already let two escape alive.
Maybe they were trying to take a shortcut? They'd be disappointed when they got to the lake and found there was no straight way across. If they survived long enough to be disappointed, that is.
"I'll do what I can," Genos said, which wasn't really a promise at all. "Good luck catching something else."
The spider clicked in frustration, retreating into the trees without another word. Genos moved on.
Outside his den was another kitsune. Genos wasn't close with any of them, but they all knew enough about each other to decide who to avoid during their breeding season. For a moment Genos thought it might be a coincidence, then a social call, then he saw the black eye and he suppressed a sigh.
"You're the human-lover, aren't you?" the kitsune asked. Demanded, really.
Genos felt his fur bristle. "I speak to the humans for those who find it difficult, yes."
"You need to tell this idiot monk to get out, before he turns the whole forest against him."
Now it was a monk... "What did he do to you?"
"Got in my way!" The kitsune snapped his teeth. "I came here to lay low, it's not my fault if a monk walks right in front of me, asking- begging to be tempted."
Ah, so he'd been rejected. That was hardly disruptive, but it made three complaints about the human in less than an hour, and two of those had come to Genos' home. He was going to have to do something about this.
"Where did you last see him?"
As Genos made his way through the trampled paths and winding trails of the forest - knowing which ones were dead ends and which were outright traps - he wondered whether the human would still be in one piece. Spiders were far from the most dangerous things hiding in the trees.
More than once, Genos was stopped and pointed in a new direction. A nure-onna was out for blood because the human saw her shedding. Genos complimented how bright her scales were now and that pacified her, somewhat. A particularly annoying nekomata followed Genos for a while, ranting that a mere human didn't have the right to have defeated him. And a trio of sickle-weasels were annoyed that the human had hopped right over them, though they acknowledged that they'd been planning on robbing him.
The strange thing was that the human kept drifting in different directions. More west, more east, once back a little bit south. Either he was antagonizing the residents on purpose, or he was very lost.
And then, out of nowhere, a flock of little songbirds burst from the brush and past him. Genos ducked out of habit, though the birds were mostly headed up and out of the canopy. He stared after them, curious what had caused this exodus, when it was followed a split second later by two weasels and a partridge.
One weasel turned back, and chirped, “Run!”
Something was wrong, and in this forest it could have been a number of things. But the human was causing trouble, and supposedly quite strong. If Genos ran as advised, he might never get answers.
He continued forward.
It was dark here, the canopy closing overhead, though it did little to dispel the heat this time of day. Without the twitter of birds or the rustling of creatures, it was eerily silent for a few minutes.
Then Genos heard something. Voices, or just one voice. Quiet, a mild tone. It didn't sound like a fight. What was...
A deep voice rumbled, “It's been too long since I had any fun.”
Genos walked quicker. Over the sound of his own footsteps, he thought he heard someone heave a sigh.
“Know what you mean.”
He pushed aside a branch and immediately ducked beneath it. Now he knew why the animals had fled; that was an ox oni. Genos knew one or two of them had moved into the forest now and then, but they quickly got tired of the lack of easy prey and moved on again. This one must be new, or maybe had come here to recover from an injury. It certainly looked healthy now.
It was one of the types with a humanoid body, towering over the monk and dressed in a samurai's kimono – possible literally, looted from one of its victims. The ox laughed, and Genos saw the telltale discoloration of its poison breath.
“You think you understand me, human? I've been longing to eat some nice tender flesh again.”
“No luck for you then,” the monk said, calmly. “My body's all tough and chewy.”
The ox grinned, and with a flick of its wrists the sleeves fell back and revealed massive clawed hands. “Good for stew.”
It charged, and Genos very nearly closed his eyes. He'd seen enough death not to be bothered by it, but that didn't mean he enjoyed the experience.
Sure enough, a moment later a body fell to the ground, reduced to no more than a pile of twitching meat. But it wasn't the monk. As Genos watched, mouth fallen open, the monk sighed again and wiped some blood off the front of his robes.
“Not again...”
For a while Genos didn't dare move. He watched the monk slip the top half of his robes off his shoulders, tie the sleeves around his waist, and wipe the sweat from his brow. His body was solid muscle, thick arms and sculpted back, though his frame was small enough that it hadn't shown beneath his clothes. His head was shaved, like most monks, though he must have done it recently because there was no hint of stubble.
Without thinking, Genos stepped out from behind the low branches and onto the path. He had to clear his throat before the monk turned around.
His chest was just as flawless as his back, though Genos couldn't help a momentary flash of disappointment as his face. It was round and soft and his eyes were dull. The monk's gaze flicked up and down Genos' body, and his eyebrows twitched, but he didn't say anything until Genos did.
“Pardon me,” (What did you call a monk?) “sensei.”
“You want some too, fox-san?”
Genos felt his tails swish behind him. “I would like to know why you're here.”
The monk tilted his head. “Yeah? You're the first one to ask that. Most of y'all just yelled at me to get out. Or tried to eat me.”
Genos bowed, low. “I apologize, sensei. We are not used to humans.”
He saw the monk's feet move toward him.
“This forest can be very dangerous, but it's a haven for we youkai. Without the presence of humans tempting our base natures, we can live in peace.”
“That spider was trying to eat a dog youkai.”
“It was a wolf, but yes,” Genos said.
“Is that peaceful?”
“We know what we are.”
“Hm.”
When Genos stood up, the monk was scratching his cheek.
“Problem is, it's not up to you. Or me. I've got a job to do and I can't just go back to the head temple and say 'a fox asked me not to.'”
Genos hesitated. “I am sorry, sensei, I don't understand?”
“No, guess you wouldn't. Well it doesn't matter. Either things will change or they won't.”
The monk moved forward, and Genos braced himself, before he veered off and picked up a bag dropped by the side of the path. Genos hadn't even noticed it.
“I better keep moving. It's already noon, isn't it?”
“I think so, sensei.”
“Hmm.” He glanced around, dark eyes narrowing as he scanned the trees. “Hey, fox-san?”
Genos found himself bracing again. “Yes?”
“Where the heck am I, anyway?”
Genos' shoulders slumped. “Where are you trying to go?”
“Oh, did I not say that yet?”
Genos bit back sarcasm as he said, “No, you didn't.”
“The lake temple! I'm here to purify it.”
He smiled, disarmingly sweet on his round face. But Genos couldn't forget that he'd just seen this man kill an ox oni in one punch.
“You know that it's been cursed for over a hundred years, don't you sensei?”
“Yeah.”
“You know that you are not the first to try and break that curse?”
“Of course.”
Genos let out a slow breath. If the man was willing to die for his cause, there was nothing Genos could do to stop him. “It's north and a little east from here, sensei.”
“Right. Right right.” He frowned, just a little. “Uh... where's that, again?”
Genos stared at him.
“If you point me in the right direction I'll get there eventually. Probably.” The monk nodded to himself. “I mean, I have to, right? What are the odds I'll just wander around in here lost forever?”
“Much higher than a normal forest, sensei.”
The monk glanced at him. “Okay, what about helping me then if you know so much?”
“Why would I do that?”
“You guys want me to leave, right? I'll leave once I do my thing. And I'll do that faster if you guide me.”
“Or you'll die,” Genos said before he could stop himself.
“You don't want that curse either, do you? It kills everybody, not just humans!”
“Yes,” Genos conceded. “But it keeps this forest human-free. If the curse is broken they'll travel through it once again.”
The monk shrugged. “Bank on me failing and dying then.”
Just the thought of wishing for another's death like that made Genos feel guilty. “It will be better for everyone if you leave the forest without approaching the lake.”
“I can't do that.”
For a second, just a second, the monk's dull eyes had sharpened. Genos shivered. He wasn't sure if it was fear or something else, but his tails had bushed up either way.
“Tell you what.” The monk slung his bag over his shoulder and started digging through it. He removed a packet, and the smell of smoked fish reached Genos' nose. “Help me, I'll leave faster, and I'll give you some sardines, huh?”
“Are you trying to bribe me, sensei?”
“Oh yeah. Absolutely.”
He waved the packet. Genos was sure his ears were pricked forward, and he couldn't stop his eyes from following the motion.
“I- I... suppose if I go with you, you won't get in so many fights, and I won't have to calm everyone down.”
“There ya go.” He held out the fish, and Genos had snatched it away before he realized he'd crossed the distance between them. This close Genos could see his bare chest move with his breathing. “So, which way again?”
Genos, already unwrapping his bribe, simply started walking.
“Okay, right! Thanks, uh... What's your name, fox-san?”
Genos used a claw to snap the waxed string on the outside of the packet. “Genos, sensei.”
“I'm Saitama. And you don't need to call me that you know.”
“Yes, Saitama-sensei.”