It was a stormy evening when I first saw it. We had been out to dinner, and as we were walking back to my apartment, a sudden downpour caught us by surprise. I offered her my umbrella, but she smiled and shook her head.
"I'll be fine," she said.
She held out her hand, and something that I can only describe as magic seemed to shimmer in the air around her. Her long black hair fluttered in the wind, and I swore I saw her eyes flicker with a golden gleam, though I couldn't be sure in the dim streetlights.
Before I could ask what was happening, she tilted her head back and laughed, a rich, deep laugh that seemed to resonate in the air.
"Alex," she said, her voice playful. "You have no idea what you're dealing with."
"Deal with?" I asked, confusion creeping in. "What do you mean?"
Without warning, her form began to shift before my eyes. Her body stretched, elongated, and before I could even register what was happening, she was no longer the woman I had known. In her place stood a towering figure, her features now wild and ethereal, her eyes glowing with a fierce, otherworldly fire. A long, flowing tail—nine tails, to be exact—draped behind her, each one moving independently, swaying like tendrils of flame.
"You... you're not human," I whispered, my voice betraying a mix of shock and awe.
Emiko—no, she—laughed again, a sound that was both haunting and comforting.
"I never was," she said, her voice now carrying a note of ancient power. "I'm a kitsune—a fox demon."
I stumbled backward, my mind struggling to grasp the enormity of her revelation. Fox demons? Mythical creatures from old legends? But there she was, standing before me, not a figment of imagination or a storybook creature.
"Why didn't you tell me?" I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.
Her eyes softened, and she stepped closer to me, her figure shifting back into her human form, the transformation seamless, as though it had never happened at all.
"I wanted to protect you," she said, her voice suddenly vulnerable. "Kitsune are not meant to fall in love with humans. We are... dangerous. We live long lives, and our powers can be... overwhelming. But you... I couldn't stay away from you, Alex. You were the one thing that felt real, that felt right."
My heart raced, my mind still struggling to comprehend the reality of it all. A kitsune. A fox demon. And yet, I couldn't ignore the love I felt for her, the bond that had formed between us, deeper than any bond I had ever known.
"You're not dangerous to me," I said, my voice firm. "I don't care what you are. I love you."
She closed her eyes, her breath shaking as she tried to compose herself. When she opened her eyes again, there was a sadness in them.
"You don't understand," she whispered. "There are others who will never accept us. The elders, the other kitsune—they believe humans are beneath us, that we shouldn't mix with them. Our love is a threat to their power. They will come for us, Alex. And if they do, they will destroy everything."