Sprinting lightly through the forest, the only thing visible to the human eye was what appeared to be that of a white streak against the sharp contrast of the greenery of the forest surroundings. Stopping lightly at a ledge, the white form halted long enough for subtle images to be pulled out of it. And from what could be seen, it was obvious that this being wasn't quite human. No not at all. Long, beautifully elegant nine fox tails swayed behind the being's form, every one of those tails holding it's own sense of supernatural essence in them. Perked up and flickering fox ears made their home on top of a head nestled with long, sleek and smooth white hair that fell to reach the waist of the man perched on the boulder. Dressed in an elegant white and golden kimono, the man seemed to almost be part of the forest around him. He held no visage of appearing anything like the normal human. Not only because of the appendages he held, but because of the strange markings on his face and the intense stare his golden eyes had towards the outside world. Marked with the facial birth marks that any within the Kitsune God's clan had, this man had an inner beauty that was nothing like that of humans. He was almost Godly in appearance, yet though he would have taken the breath of anyone who would so much as lay eyes on him, the male seemed to not notice what attention his presence brought. Instead he seemed to have a self placed task on his shoulders that he appeared all to willing to get back too as he once again raced off, his form moving to fast for the eyes of normal humans.<br/><br/>Seirei had lived in this forest for as long as he could recall. For years, this had been home to him and his clan. A safe haven from the hands of man and a place where the supernatural came to life. He was a Kitsune demon, born of their God with the same attributes of any in his clan. Though he was no longer a young soul, having lived for centuries already, Seirei still found Kage no Shinzo to be as beautiful as the first time he had seen it in the hands of his mother. Their world had not been large, but it had been filled with all sorts of adventures and things to do. The years before the deaths of his parents and most of their clan mates in the hands of monks, had been peaceful. The humans had left them alone because of the fear for their power, and the Kitsune people had learned to ignore the mortals. However, that had all changed about 600 years ago when a new age of humans had been born and they had claimed that the Kitsune were Demons from hell as well as the other residents of the forest. The such that had to be destroyed or sealed away. Death, fear, and war had soon followed those claimed and for many years no peace touched the land. Humans and suoernatural creatures by the hundreds fell under the wrath of hatred produced by the simple act of declaring war. Many were left orphaned, Seirei being one of them with his siblings, to be raised by the hands of those old enough. And after what seemed like ages, the monks had finally found a way to control Seirei's kind in their own way. They sealed them in Kage no Shinzo, claiming the forest to remain untouched by hands of any mortal and the demons to be forever locked within the hold of the spell sealed onto the entry gates of the forest.<br/><br/>Kago no Shinzo had remained untouched since the war, no human had ever braved the truth of what lay within the depths of these woods. Until a few years ago, when a human plane had come crashing down into the supernatural land, tearing trees out of their roots and causing chaos to the silent world around them. That day, Seirei had not been able to deny himself in saving a small child that had seemed to be so much more different than the passengers around her. For centuries since the deaths of his parents, he had sworn to himself to carry a deep yet quiet hatred for man. However, this little boy had made him rethink just how much he hated the beings and world he had come from.<br/><br/>Against his instincts, Seirei had taken the child under his wing. Cared for him and healed him as best as he could. He had allowed him to explore his world beside him and had grown to generally feel attached to the little mortal. However, Seirei knew it would not last. This world, this forest was not meant for one as young as he. He was too pure, to innocent for Seirei to want to seal his fate along with the other survivors of the crash. Seirei had known that he's have to return him to his own world one day, nevertheless, he never would have thought that leaving him at the red wooden gates of Kage no Shinzo would be so hard. As he hid in the shadows and watched night turn to day, Seirei had to fight the urge to snatched the child up and bring him back into the forest when a group of humans discovered him where he had laid him.<br/><br/>No matter how much he knew that it was for the best to return him to his kind, Seirei felt his heart grow heavy as the child and the other humans vanished from view and scent.<br/><br/>Now years later, a familiar smell had attracted his attention. One he had not inhaled since the days after the crash. It wasn't a passing scent, that he would have attributed it to his imagination, no this smell was stronger and more prominent. So much so that the Kitsune had abandoned his search for herbs in order to follow the scent towards the gates of their realm. He barely paid any mind to the creatures he raced past or the alarmed shrieks of lesser bird and ape demons that claimed the thick canopy tree tops as home. His mind was set on reaching that one smell that taunted him with every growing second.<br/><br/>It didn't take long for the scent of human and food to lead him to where the no longer small child was perched on a large boulder.<br/><br/>Flickering the tips of his tails one by one, Seirei observed silently the young human male who sat inside the forest of which he should not have returned to. He appeared a hint wary and unsure, perhaps even sad, not that he could fault him in that, yet he also carried a great deal of what appeared to be determination in him. He doubted making an inhuman noise would do the trick in thoroughly scaring the boy off as he would have hoped and that only worried him all the more. Seirei couldn't sense any malicious intent coming from him, nevertheless, he couldn't count solely on that to make sure no danger was coming to his people and home. Centuries ago when the new monks entered their forest no one thought they would bring the slaughter, chaos, and destruction that they had...however, it had happened. No one could deny that. As it was, Seirei kept a close watch on the human.<br/><br/>It was rather strange now that he thought about it. The scent he had been following ended on him and Seirei could only presume it was because he was where it had originated from. With that thought in mind, it was safe to conclude that this male was the child he had once saved. And my, had he grown. No longer was he this little mortal he could scoop up into his arms and carry through the woodland around them. No longer was he the small boy he provided "piggyback rides" for or lifted high above his head when he wanted to try to grab something above his height. He no longer was the child who had often insisted on playing casually with his tails or ears, persuaded him on telling him "bedtime" stories when he could not bring himself to sleep, had watched him mix herbs and fruits and murmur incantations to create potions to heal his people as was his task as their healer and clan Head or insisted to sleep nestled between the warmth of his tails as he had sat guard through the nights Seirei had kept him with him. Nor was he any longer the child that had labeled him with the nickname "Fox-chan" when Seirei had failed to provide him with his name.<br/><br/><br/>The child was different now. Grown and held a sense of maturity to him that he had not fully had before. A part of Seirei mourned the loss of his innocence as a little boy, yet all the more, he was quite curious about hi. now. Particularly on why he had decided to return after 8 years.<br/><br/>Seirei knew he must have been told the stories of this forest, more so after being brought back to humanity when he had returned him. Humans had a capacity for exaggerating things to massive proportions, however, even he agreed in acknowledging the demons his home harbored. His kind were not the only ones who claimed Kage no shinzō as home. This truly was no place for a human to wander in. Especially with the amount of hatred the residents of the forest harbored towards their mortal "cousins". No human before had braved the forest, not after the slaughter of centuries past. This boy, Hikaru, as Seirei recalled his name to be, appeared to be different. For the most part, he was the first human to willingly enter the forest. The crash years ago did not count.<br/><br/>Exhaling a heavy breath, Seirei knew that he would have to make his presence known sooner rather than later. If his scent alone did not attract unwanted company that would surely rip him to shreds, then the sound of him moving throughout the forest would alert every creature that lived there, of his presence. The mere thought was troublesome enough, something Seirei truly did not want to think about. Nevertheless, before he could move out of the shadows himself, movement from Hikaru's right caught his attention. Golden eyes narrowed as a pair of large white foxes stepped out of the forest. Ears pressed forward aggressively, lips pulled back to reveal sharp and quite deadly teeth. Fur bristled with hostility upon their shoulders and their own golden eyes glared pure malice at the human boy.  Behind them, standing straight up into the sky where two set of nine fox tails, a small indication that they were not normal animals.<br/><br/><b>"Human! Why have you entered into our lands!"</b><br/>the slightly smaller fox barked, seeming completely unfazed by the fact that he spoke the same language of the mortals.<br/><b>"Perhaps he longs to die, Tatsuo. Or perhaps he stupid enough to try to brave the forest in an attempt to surprise his friends. Personally I'm leaning towards him being just stupid"</b><br/>the larger of the pair, snarled while slowly circling the boy.<br/><b>"You're probably right, Tsume. In that case, I think it would be acceptable to kill him. Neh?"</b><br/>the first fox that had spoken, chuckled darkly as his partner nodded.<br/><br/>Sighing and resisting the urge to roll his eyes to the heavens, Seirei shook his head briefly before stepping out of the shadows elegantly while saying<b>"Tatsuo, Natsume. That's quite enough"</b>.<br/><br/>The change was instant in the pair of foxes. At the sound of his familiar voice a collective sound of<br/><b><i>"Father!"</i></b><br/>resounded from the pair while their aggressive stance instantly vanished. Approaching the three, Seirei kept his golden eyes on the boy before coming to a stop in front of the boulder His hand gently laid upon the heads of his adopted sons as he greeted her.<b>"Hikaru.....child, it's been a long time"</b>]. At the sound of a familiar name, Natsume and Tatsuo blinked their golden eyes in surprise and looked at the human once more. They remembered playing with a little boy named Hikaru when they had been younger. Though they hated humans just as much as all the others in the forest, the brothers had shared their adopted father's affection for the little mortal. Back then, just hearing his squeals of laughter fill the cavern where they had housed him away from the seeing eyes of the other demons, had made their day. To see that same little child as an older human now, well that surprised them quite a bit.<br/><br/><b>"Why have you returned? Kage no shinzō is no place for mortals"</b>Seirei questioned gently, never once taking his eyes off the boy.