UNTOLD TALE OF THE NINE TAILED

Chapter 3: The goddess's request

Just when it was about noon time, the foxes went to the river in the forest. They had taken on their human forms, to avoid getting spotted by human hunters. On their way there, they met a man and his son. They had just caught a bush rat and the we're happily heading home. They saluted the good looking man and woman but their salutation went unanswered as the foxes just went on without looking back.

"Father, why did they ignore us like that?" The boy asked his father in confusion.

"Some people are just nasty", the man answered with a frown. "I don't think they are from our village. They don't look like they are from around here".

"They looked extraordinary", the boy commented. His father simply shrugged. He was more concerned about getting home and handing his wife their catch to prepare soup for the family.

The foxes stood by the river bank. They scanned the area to make sure no human was watching. When they were sure that it was clear, the male threw the stone that had been handed to them by the old monk. At first, nothing happened. It was as if the stone just sank like every normal rock would in water.

Suddenly, they saw something like ripples on the water. They exchanged looks and then looked on. It seemed the river had started boiling. The two stepped back instinctively. Soon, they saw the head of a woman emerge from the river. She took her time coming out and when she was fully out, she was almost completely naked! She only had shells on her small breasts and private part. Her black hair was long enough to cover her backside. She looked everything like humans, except that it was pretty obvious that she wasn't one. Her aura just felt so strong and really different.

'So this is the goddess?' the female fox thought. She wasn't even that pretty, she thought again. Certainly not what she was expecting but if this person could grant their wishes, who was she to complain.

"Well, wonders never cease", the goddess said as she approached them. "Nine tailed foxes have come to pay me visit. Why? Why did you choose to leave the mountains and risk being seen by humans?"

"We have a request", the make fox answered her. "The human monk told us that you could help".

"Oh, that old man certainly loves sending people to m", the goddess said as she took her seat on a small rock by the river. "You know that man once wished to you foxes. He actually thought there was just one of you. I couldn't grant that wish because I knew you wouldn't risk showing yourself to humans. He would think I already granted that wish. But coming here yourselves, you must be very desperate. I mean..."

"We want to be humans", the male interrupted her. He had to because the monk had warned them not to indulge in meaningless conversations with the goddess. He didn't know the reason for the warning but he just had to obey. The female was just looking on quietly.

The goddess looked at both foxes and let out a loud cackle. "Interesting", she said amidst nods. "I can do that", she said. She stood up and walked up to them again. "But I'm sure the monk mentioned that I do nothing for free".

"Name your price", the male said to her and she smiled.

"I want the Dyna-crystal".

"What?" The female fox exclaimed. "You can't have that!"

"Why not?" The goddess asked. "What I want to do for you is priceless but I am willing to accept the most precious thing to you". The foxes exchanged glances. There was no way they could keep the crystal out of their sight. To them, it was the essence of their being. Giving it to this shady goddess wouldn't be right. The goddess saw their hesitation and she said, "I would recreating you. Maybe you don't know, but humans are by far superior to every creature but they don't know it. You want to become one of them, you have to pay the ultimate sacrifice".

"And what if you cannot give you that?" The male asked in a cool manner.

"Then you can spend the rest of your lives as the thousand years old foxes that you are", the goddess answered with a mischievous smirk.

The male fox didn't think he could hand the crystal to this goddess. Something about her didn't feel right. Besides that crystal was everything to them. While he was lost in thoughts, one of the female's tails suddenly popped out, distracting everyone.

"I think we should go", she said alarmed. She was transforming back already. The goddess asked them to go home and think about her offer. Even she didn't want them to be seen by humans and become preys with a bounty on their heads. It wasn't a problem if she decided to stay, afterall she could make herself invisible to humans.

Just then, the male felt his eyes changing first and he told the goddess that they would be back with an answer for her. The two ran into the forest but that boy from earlier knew that he saw many tails. He was able to deduce that it was more than five but what was that? His father rushed to him, asking him why he ran back. The boy ignored the question and told his father what he had seen but the man just believed that it was his imagination. The boy had ran back because he forgot his hat. He ended leaving the forest without it because he was too shocked to even remember why he had gone back because of what he had seen.

At night, the foxes sat at the entrance of a cave which was their home, deliberating on what to do about the goddess's request. They remembered when they had first gotten in contact with it. The Dyna-crystal was always a part of them. Infact, the first memories of their existence was linked to that crystal but they didn't just know how. The had found it hidden in their paws when they first awoke in the mountain.

Not knowing it's significance, they had left it there, exploring their world. A human had wandered far into the mountain and had found the crystal. From behind a huge rock, the foxes had watched him pick it up with do much greed in his eyes. As he was smiling to himself, they watched him suddenly start groaning in pain. He ripped his own clothes off and screamed loudly. The scream turned to a growl and he was suddenly getting bigger. He turned into a monster!

The male fox had managed to kill him after he spotted them and attacked them. Since then, they had kept the crystal safe. They knew what would happen if it fell into the hands of humans.