The Council Decides: Chosen Kitsune Of The Fox Mask

“That concludes the voting. Now my fellow council members, you pitched ideas and voted, and the member whose fate will be forever changed is Rigby245, and the winning idea was pitched by member Knightwolf1785.”

Rigby245 is brought to the center ritual circle and the rest of the council begins to chant. The circle glows and Rigby245 vanishes. An orb appears, and Rigby245 can be seen on it. “Now we shall watch as her fate unfolds.”

Rigby was currently visiting a small village in Japan because tonight they were holding a festival in honor of the fox spirit Hariko who has protected the village for hundreds of years. Rigby was excited about the event as he loved festivals like this, but there was another reason he was there.

It’s said that if Hariko appears in her Kitsune form, everyone at the festival will be blessed by her, and they’ll have great luck for the entire year. Rigby really needed that since life hasn’t exactly been going his way.

He knew it wasn't really likely, but if she did show up, it would really help him out a lot. While waiting to see if some mythical spirit would change his life he decided to indulge himself in the activities and foods that came with the festival.

It was while he was playing one of the games that the attendant at the stand asked Rigby if he’d gone to visit the fox shrine. Rigby shook his head and said no, figuring there was no point if the fox spirit wasn’t there.

The attendant then started telling him about the legend of Hariko. She wasn’t always the fox spirit that protected this village in its people. She actually used to be a human named Haru, one who fell in love with a kitsune named Iko.

Iko was the previous protector of this village, but one day the village was attacked by the ruler of a nearby land in an attempt to conquer and add this land to his. Iko tried to protect the village, and he managed to drive them away, but he was severely injured in the process.

Haru held her love as he slowly bled out in front of her. Tears rolled down her face and onto his, despite that, he couldn't help but smile while looking into her eyes. He raised his hand and told her she had to protect the village now.

Haru grabbed his hand and told him she didn’t have the power to do that. That’s when he told her that he was going to imbue her spirit into her, that way she could become a kitsune and gain all his power.

Haru shook her head and told him he couldn't do that, as it would mean he wouldn’t get to live on as a spirit. Iko told her that it was okay. He knew their attackers would be back, and this was the only way he could protect them.

He also said it wouldn't be all that bad. Doing this meant he’d always be with her as if they were one, and he’d love nothing more than to continue existing with her. Haru continued to cry but leaned down and kissed her love one last time.

His body began to fade away, and his spirit fused into her and transformed her into a kitsune. She retained her physical form but took on a fox tail, fox ears, and Iko’s orange hair and eye color. Her spirit however was much different.

Her spirit and Iko’s were one, and because of their love and connection, it made Iko’s powers so much more powerful. Because she was no longer just Haru or Iko, the new fox spirit was both of them, while also being someone new, so to honor those who created her, she took the name Hariko.

She then donned Iko’s fox mask and Haru’s kimono and prepared for the emperor's army to arrive. When the time came, she stood firm and protected the village. She sent the army back home with a message for their emperor. If his army returned, she’d come to him.

That was enough for the emperor and he and his army never returned, leaving this village in peace under the protection of Hariko. Hariko has protected this village ever since then, though no one has seen her in over a hundred years.

The attendant told Rigby about the theory that the fox spirit no longer had a physical form and that it was waiting for a new person to come to touch its mask and take on the job as this village's protector.

The attendant laughed a bit, saying they didn’t know if it was true, but whenever they went up there and touched it, it really felt as though the spirit was looking down on them. After Rigby finished the game, the attendant recommended he go touch it himself.

He said he would, and slowly made his way up the stairs that lead to the shrine. He waited in line while others went into the shrine to pray, leave offerings, and touch the fox mask to see if Hariko would appear for them.

Once it was his turn he walked inside. He knelt down in front of the mask and pulled out a small rose-smelling candle. It was a bit of a strange offering, but when he saw it at one of the shops it felt like it was calling him.

He lit it and then offered a prayer to the fox spirit. Once he was done, he stood up and poked the fox mask. Nothing happened when he did, but that was about what he expected. Rigby wasn’t upset though, and still enjoyed getting to be here.

When he went to turn around, he nearly wet himself. There was the fox spirit blocking his exit. It didn’t say anything and merely walked towards Rigby, and then through him. Rigby watched as it learned its head down towards the candle.

It seemingly smelled like it and was happy. It then looked at Rigby and started speaking into his mind. It told him that it nearly forgot the smell of roses, and it had been its favorite when it walked this world. It then thanked Rigby for the offering.

It then told Rigby that because of how precious it was, it was going to choose him to take its place as this village's protector. It wanted Rigby to become a kitsune and take on its duties and powers. Rigby didn’t know what to say.

He had come here hoping to see the fox spirit, and hopefully change his life, and that’s the opportunity presented in front of him. The fox spirit stepped out of the way and told Rigby to put on the mask, and then its spirit would fuse to him.

Rigby nodded and stepped forward. He picked up the mask, making sure to be gentle since it was old. He then turned it around and placed it on his face. As soon as it sat on his face, he felt the fox spirit enter his body.

When it did, Rigby felt a bit different, like he had changed. One immediate change was the new tail hanging off her back, just above her butt. Another noticeable change was the fox ears on her head. Rigby moved the fox mask to the side of her head so she could see better.

Rigby expected a tail and ears with the transformation, but she wasn’t expecting to become a small petite woman along with it. Rigby picked up a mirror that someone had offered and looked at herself with it.

She had short orange hair, and orange eyes, and she was now wearing a quite revealing black kimono, just like Hariko in the story. Rigby looked around and asked the spirit if it was still there, and to her surprise, there were two spirits behind her.

One was Haru, a girl who had the same body that Rigby currently had, minus the fox tail and ears, and with black hair instead of orange. The other was Iko, a taller male kitsune with orange hair. Both of them were holding hands.

They smiled as they vanished from sight. Rigby wasn’t really sure where they went, but deep down he could still feel both of them, and he knew they were together and they were happy. Rigby then looked around.

This was going to be quite the festival. Hariko was really back, who knows how many people have waited their whole lives for this. Rigby is also going to get a lot of attention and offerings, which doesn't sound all that bad.

Rigby looked at herself. She’d been in here a long time, and the person behind her was going to get impatient and come in, so she might as well step out and greet the villagers of her new home, the ones she’d be protecting for a long time.

She walked out, stood at the top of the stairs, and looked down. It didn’t take long for the line of people to start gasping, and one by one everyone's attention turned towards her, and the music stopped because the musicians were in shock.

After the silence came cheering and the festival restarted. The people were excited to meet her and receive her blessing. So she took the person at the top of the stairs and walked inside with him. He spoke to him, accepted his coin offering, and blessed him.

Rigby wasn’t sure how useful a guardian spirit would be in the modern day, but she would soon find out that not only did the village need her, but many places nearby as well. There were a ton of vengeful spirits and evil deities causing chaos without anyone to stop them.

Now that the Kitsune protector Hariko was back walking the lands, they had something to fear. Rigby was going to carry on Haru and Iko’s passion for protecting the land and bringing joy to the people by reassuring them someone was actually there and watching out for them.

“There we have it. Rigby245 is now living with the fate we have decided for them. Her life has been forever changed. It was indeed a spectacle to behold. The council is now dismissed, I will see you all during the next meeting, and I especially can’t wait to see whose fate will be decided next.”