[ IP ] Masks

He brushed his teeth. He took the train. He went to work. He ate dinner alone at home. 
 
 He brushed his teeth. He took the train. He went to work. He- 
 
 He stepped onto the ratty landing of his cheap rented flat and pushed open the front door. 
 
 A gentle breeze brushed against him, fresh and smelling of sap. Stony floors gave way to fine wooden planks. Clean sunlight touched his face, far away from the harsh lights of the grimy streetlamps. 
 
 Far beyond the wooden pillars and the simple papered door frame by his side, he saw the wooden platform open out into a valley of autumn trees, flushed red and gold against a clear blue sky. 
 
 A soft tinkling laugh caught his attention. Something moved in the shadows and he saw the silhouette of a woman's face. 
 
 He sighed and set down his briefcase inside the door. He took off his shoes and threw them somewhere aside. He loosened his tie, allowing it to hang at his shoulders. 
 
 `` It's you again.'' he muttered, walking past the shadowed figure. His bare feet felt the grain of warm wood. 
 
 There was a small table by the open verandah. He sat down in *seiza*, accepting the tea that had been laid out for him. A curl of steam hissed into the air as he picked it up. 
 
 A slender pair of arms tackled his shoulders, slipping down his neck. Dark hair slipped past his shoulders, falling around him like liquid shadow. 
 
 Warm fur touched his sides, white tails shifting on the edge of his vision. 
 
 `` You do n't sound happy to see me.'' 
 
 He shrugged, gently removing himself from her embrace. Five stylized masks hung around her in the air, empty eyes facing him in silent reproach. 
 
 `` Should I be? Why are you here again?'' he asked. `` Is it another escaped Yuki-onna? Perhaps a particularly troublesome yuurei?'' 
 
 `` Actually, there's a market sale-'' he started to relax, `` -where they are selling kappa parts and I need you to stop them because that's really not healthy for humans to eat.'' 
 
 His shoulders sagged. `` I knew it. It's always trouble with you.'' 
 
 `` Aww, you make me sound like some kind of needy bitch.'' 
 
 `` What else would you call a thousand year old kitsune pretending to be a helpless maiden?'' He muttered under his breath. She frowned visibly, her face leaning against his. His gaze softened, `` Sorry. I did n't mean that.'' 
 
 She cackled. `` You're so fun to tease. So... will you do this for me then? This one little favour?'' 
 
 `` Of course I will.'' he grumbled, `` How can I say no to the likes of you?'' 
 
 She patted his face with a milky hand, `` You're such a good child, I do n't regret making you at all.'' 
 
 He sighed, relaxing into her embrace. 
 
 `` Do n't say that. You did n't have a choice in making me.'' 
 
 Her fingers tightened on his shoulders. The masks turned and surrounded them, staring at him in silent accusation. 
 
 He reached out an index and gently stroked the nearest mask. 
 
 It pulsed warmly. If he closed his eyes he would have felt a human face sighing under his touch. But he saw nothing but a mask with his eyes open. It was a fragment of the kitsune's power, sealed carefully away in its soul. 
 
 A mask, like him. Except he had been taken away long ago. 
 
 She pulled his hand away, thin fingers closing like a vice around his only human wrist. Bruises bloomed on his skin. 
 
 `` Sorry.'' he apologized. 
 
 `` It's alright.'' she said, her face placid and smiling, `` It's been so long I barely remember when they ripped you out of my soul.'' 
 
 `` I'd hate to get on your bad side.'' he muttered, `` If that is all you have to say.'' 
 
 From one blink to the next, the wooden terrace had vanished. 
 
 He sat on the floor of his small flat in darkness. The nearby television switched on briefly, revealing a familiar female face in a fuzz of white static. Words formed on soundless lips. 
 
'I'm counting on you, darling.' 
 
 He sighed and moved over to a sagging couch nearby, picking up the discarded television remote. 
 
 `` Of course you are.'' 
 
 He switched it off. He ate dinner at home alone. 
 

