"H-Hector...Umm, could you hold R-Rin..."
Quickly figuring out who Rin was Hector nodded vigorously.
"It's just for a bit though and you have to promise you won't let anyone else touch Rin!"
Already expecting that Hector promised, of course if Lirin didn't notice his crossed fingers hidden in his pocket beforehand that was Lirin's problem.
Tentatively handing over the plush Lirin slowly backed away. Once he reached the hallway he ran to the principal's office as fast as was allowed. Silently cursing the fact that teleportation was banned in school and you couldn't run faster then the top speed of the fastest human runner in the mortal realm. Luckily human running speed had gotten faster over the last thousand years.
Finally reaching the dreaded office he pushed the door open.
"Lirin?" The twins were standing at the principal's desk and the man himself sitting in his chair looking startled. The girls faces showing nothing but confusion their anger momentarily forgotten.
"Why are you here? Did you want to put in a word? Or did you need something?"
"..."
"..."Lirin blinked incredulously. "Didn't the principal tell Hector to get me so he could hear my side of the story?"
The two girls whipped around a glared at the man.
"Hey wait a minute I haven't done anything of the sort!! I swear!" Lirin stared him dead in the eyes. "So you didn't threaten to confiscate Rin? Is that what I'm hearing."
"Yes! I would dream of touching that obviously means so much to you! If it was something I could simply confiscate then you wouldn't have had such a reaction and we wouldn't even be here!!"
"..." Finally realizing what was going one Lirin's head snapped in the direction of the courtyard this had all started in. "No. No, no, no!" To panicked to care about the rules Lirin teleported to the lunch table. Freezing when he took in the situation. Having seen Lirin's frantic reaction the twins teleported as well wondering what was going on. It only clicked once they arrived but by then the damage had been done.
Standing on top of a table surrounded by a sea of students was Hector. In one hand was Rin who looked off. By looking in his other hand the problem was apparent. One out of nine of the red, white and black stuffed fox's tails had been pulled out. Noticing the three figures who hadn't been there a second ago everyone in the courtyard froze. All the students were holding their breath. It was the calm before the storm. And the first sign of the storm came in the form of a piercingly broken cry.
Lirin had fallen to his knees and was sobbing.
The cries echoed around the courtyard sounding wretched and brutal. The twins silently walked up to Hector and slapped him. The sound of their hands hitting his face were heard by everyone. Ringing above the empty cries of a broken-hearted kitsune. Wordlessly the crowd started to disperse not wanting to cary the weight of the guilt that worsened with every one of Lirin's howls. The girls had long snatched Rin from Hector's now shaking arms and hands that trembled in clenched fists. After gently handing off Rin to the sobbing boy the two young spirit girls stood beside him sadly. Lirin was clutching the fox plush between the tips of his fingers, as if afraid the rest to it would fall apart it he held on to tightly. But he kept it close to him, hunched over it to protect it from whatever else would dare harm it further.
Lirin had teleported back to his home and stumbled in hysterically. Before when he came home in any kind of unstable headspace Rin would be there to comfort him until his family did and even then he would keep it with him. Now his sister who had the day took one glance at his miserable state and the now eight tailed fox in his arms and immediately ran over to and pulled him into a hug. At the same time telepathically contacting their parents and frantically informed them on the situation asking to come home. Within a minute their parents were there joining the hug which had been moved to the couch at some point.
After Lirin was lucid enough to speak they tentatively inquired on the situation. In hushed hiccuping whispers he relayed his day to them. They were silent until his sister spoke up. "Hey don't worry to much...I was the one who got Rin so naturally I know how to fix Rin." Slowly turning in their little pile he gazed up at his sister with hope shining in his watery eye that were still red from crying.
"I can't guarantee Rin will be exactly the same but I can definitely get that tail back on at the very least...and you were saying how thanks to the fabric no smells stuck to Rin and it made you sad Rin would never smell like home. We can custom order threads that can be infused with sent and infuse the smell of those homemade candles mom keeps lit around the house. You said that was the smell of home to me once right?"
Slightly skeptical but glad that his sister had been listening all those times he rambled on Lirin smiled.
"Ok then."
"Don't worry I'll make sure it's done before dinner! And Lirin please. You know the others only do this because you're too trusting. You know how this society works. You can't keep letting them do this. They won't change I know you know that. No one here is half as honest as you and you know it. This is a society of lies, you need to start lying or stop trusting. Things will only get worse if you keep turning a blind eye."
"..."
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All the other kids had regrouped once Lirin left. They sat in silence thinking over what had just happened.
"...You know it's not like this is the first time we've sent him home... just he cried this time..."
"Y-yeah, he always forgives us in a few days anyway. Right?"
"Totally, we didn't do anything wrong. Everyone knows that it's like our job to deceive others. If he really didn't like it then he would have stopped hanging out with us already!"
"Yeah!"
"That's right!"
"We have done anything!"
"He'll be back like normal anyways!"
"Exactly so we don't need to feel bad. It would be a waste of time to feel bad since this will just blow over anyways!"
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Lirin obviously didn't go back to school and instead had lay in bed thinking about what his sister said. She was currently fixing Rin in her office or as everyone but her called it 'the demon studio'.
"Maybe...Maybe sis is right. Maybe I do need new friends... But where would I find friends? Everyone my age goes to the same school so I wouldn't get a fresh start...not unless I wanted to move to another city. And Mom and Dad wouldn't allow that and if I tried someone who knows them would just tell them where I was and I would have to go back..."
Lirin sighed. This whole new friends thing was harder than he thought.
"I'll have to leave behind Prerna and Pirya...which is really sad because they are really good friends unlike the others...but where do I got to find new friends?!"
"I can't got to the other cities because my parents company hires people from every city and my parents are pretty important to the company so they would have connections in almost every city. So I definitely can't try another city..."
"Since I'm a 'protégé' I don't need go to school and I can look other places but cities are off limits...but the outskirts of the spirit realm are filled with rough spirits and even though I can deal with most of them it would be ridiculous to find a friend out there. Those guys are worse than the people here so that's a no go..."
"..."
"What about the mortal realm? No that's absolutely crazy! ...but it doesn't have scheming spirits and it's huge so they would have a hard time tracking me... I can conjure anything I need to live, like identification and money...as well as groceries! I can shape shift so I can start over as someone else whenever! I don't even have to be human I could be an animal and my new friends would let me live with them and feed me! There are billions of people down there so I would could find a new set of friends at anytime! And however many friends I want!"
"Maybe the mortal realm is where I should go! But I'll also have to deal with hiding my real identity. If people find out my parents would find me much quicker! And my powers would be weaker so I can't use them casually. And I still have that habit of reverting back to my half fox form when I get relaxed..."
Until Lirin came along his family had been lower upper class just above middle class. No where close to elite and don't even mention the supreme class. His sister had been talented but couldn't seem to get acknowledged by anyone she need to be. This all changed when changed when Lirin was born, from a young age he was always the exception. His family had to rely on him if they ever wanted to climb the social ladder. So the time most parents sent their kids to mortal realm to build resistance to the properties of earth so they could use their powers at full on earth just as well as the spirit realm was used to cultivate Lirin's talents. Instead of being advanced he became untouchable.
His parents thought it would be worth it because he most likely would never have to visit the mortal realm. His sister was on the fence about it but knew what has been done was done and it was too late to change it. They traded things like that to make time for helping him advance. They decided to do this that way they wouldn't have to take away his free time instead. They were very supportive of him because whenever he developed an interest he only moved on 'till he mastered it. He sometimes mastered multiple skills at once.
"What are you muttering about now?"
"Sis! Is Rin ok now??"
"..." 'Don't dodge the question you brat.'
"Where's Rin! Can I see Rin yet!!"
Sighing his sister walked up to the bed where Lirin has sat up, she was muttering something about ungrateful brats who don't have common curtesy but he dididn't really care nor was he paying attention. Because of course Ron's condition was more important.
"Here, not exactly good as new but I would called it improved."
The stuffed fox now had a couple of glowing bandages wrapped around its head, most likely his sister's idea of a joke. The plush also had a glowing bandaid on its bottom next to the tail that had been ripped off. The tails look just like they had been before and his sister informed him that she had enchanted the plush so that an elder spirit wouldn't even be able to rip it. It would now take a god to harm the soft toy. Water would permanently roll off it and dumping it in a spirit volcano would have no affect. It was now completely secure. And I'm to top it off she had done as she promised and one sniff confirmed it. It was now infused with the sent of their mother's homemade candles. Rin smelled like home.
Looking up at his sister with teary eyes he pulled her into a hug.
"Thank you."
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All through dinner Lirin though about whether going to the mortal realm was a good idea. By the time dinner was over he was sure. He was gonna find mortal friends on earth!
There were acres upon acres in between buildings in the spirit realm. Even more in between private properties. As Lirin wandered from a flowery field scattered with trees and entered a forest he only had one question on his mind.
"..." 'Wait how do I get down to earth anyways?' Of course out loud he only muttered "I can totally find better friends! I think.."