the twenty third

Art: https://www.pixiv.net/en/artworks/92793555

  As he did every day after school was over, Tetsuo took his backpack and went to visit the shrine in the mountains behind his house. The afternoon light felt just right on his skin, the chirping of birds a pleasant symphony as he entered the shrine. The faint sense of incense wafted through the air, providing a sense of comfort - he had specially brought both the incense sticks and the lighter required to burn them from his house. Not that his drunkard of a father would care, anyway - he had been that way ever since Tetsuo’s mother died, four years ago.

    Tetsuo had found the shrine just a month ago. The mountains behind his house had been his refuge, and over the years Tetsuo had grown to know them so well that he would almost never get lost. And therefore, it came as a surprise when he just - came across the shrine one day, sitting in a small clearing a bit off the mountain path. It was in a state of disrepair, clearly not having been visited in years, but still exuded a sort of quiet dignity, something that told Tetsuo this humble little shrine wasn’t exactly ordinary. And so, over the past month he had visited the shrine everyday, cleaning and repairing it however he could, lighting incense to the deity who the shrine was devoted to - though Tetsuo had no idea who that was. As he finished cleaning the shrine’s exterior, it was already getting dark - Tetsuo clapped his hands, bowed towards the shrine and turned around, getting ready to head home. 

    “So you’re the one who has been visiting me, all this time?” Tetsuo jumped and spun around, hearing a mature woman’s voice behind him, deep and warm. There, sitting on the steps leading up to the shrine, was a woman - clad in flowing purple robes, long white hair fluttering ever so slightly in the breeze behind her. But that was not the most noteworthy thing about the woman… that was the two fox’s ears sitting on top of her head, and the nine tails spreading out behind her like a peacock’s plume. “Wha…” Tetsuo’s eyes widened, struggling to find words out of surprise - after all, seeing a deity like this one was hardly a daily occurrence. The woman smiled, lifting a hand and beckoning Tetsuo to come closer. “Don’t be shy~ I don’t bite… at least not someone kind like you.” “A-are you…” Tetsuo managed to stammer out, voice shaking, “The… the god of this shrine?” The woman smiled, and nodded. “A minor deity, but a deity nonetheless. And I have been watching, as you came here these last thirty days. Such diligence towards this little shrine, despite you having no reason to care at all… I have a proposal for you. Would you like to live here from now on, tend to this shrine for me?” For a moment, Tetsuo was silent, thinking about what he would be leaving behind. Then, he just nodded. The woman stood up, stretching her arms wide as if she wanted to hug him. “Come closer.”

    Tetsuo stepped closer to the woman and felt her arms wrap around him, pressing him against her bosom. Though she was a divine being, a being far above any mere mortal, she felt so warm, so solid. He felt her many tails slowly wrap around him, enveloping him almost entirely - yet despite the sweltering summer heat, he felt cool and comfortable in their cocoon. The tails slowly rubbed over Tetsuo’s skin, dissolving the fine hairs over his body and leaving his skin smooth and flawless. “Oh…” Tetsuo felt a slight ache in his back, soft cracks sounding as his spine lengthened, until the ten-year-old boy was the height of someone years older. Not that tall, but the growth was still significant. Slowly, the tension and nervousness in Tetsuo’s demeanour melted away, as he felt himself almost sink into the softness of her furry tails. It reminded him of his mother’s embrace, at least what snatches of it he could remember from before she passed away… “Hngh…” A tear trickled down Tetsuo’s cheek, but he felt a soft pat on his back, comforting and reassuring. “My sweet child… there’s no need to cry anymore. No more sorrow, no more longing…” Tetsuo’s hair began to lengthen, trickling down his back in unruly curls that took on a shade of white mirroring the woman’s, and his scrunched up facial features began to warp and change, the androgyny of a child replaced by a visage that was very distinctly feminine.

    Tetsuo felt a faint warmth in his chest as two breasts formed there, his increased height such that they were of a level with the woman’s own, rubbing against them ever so slightly with every breath. “Ah…” He couldn’t help but blush, their increased sensitivity bringing with them new sensations that he had never experienced before, but the woman just smiled. “You’ll get used to them…” Tetsuo’s hips widened a little, rear and thighs expanding as he felt something vanish there, turning the boy into a girl. “A… girl?” Her voice was higher-pitched now, soft and melodious, and Tetsuo’s eyes widened slightly upon hearing it. But that was not all - she felt something pulling out of her rear, like a new appendage that she could move and feel with - a tail? Tetsuo couldn’t help but giggle as she moved the bushy tail that had appeared behind her around, brushing and rubbing against the woman’s own. Her hearing vanished for but a moment, ears migrating to the top of her head as they took on a furry and pointed appearance - that of a fox’s. Her wide eyes shimmered briefly before their irises became red, signalling the end of her changes.  

    The woman released the embrace, her tails unravelling, and Tetsuo was freed from her cocoon, metamorphosis complete. For a moment, she simply stood in shock, eyes drinking in her body as a new outfit appeared around her - that of a shrine maiden’s. The woman spoke, “So, Aiko…” - the girl’s eyes widened upon hearing this, the name she had been bestowed feeling right, like she could have been born with no other. “I’ve given you a fraction of my power - one that I will teach you to use, in the years ahead. But if anything, I hope that this can give you happiness, happiness that you were unable to obtain in your past life.” “Thank you…” Wiping a tear off her face, Aiko smiled and hugged the kitsune - her god, knowing just one thing at that very moment… that there was no other place she’d rather be in the world.