exotique. // Snake x m!Kitsune!Reader

exotique. – Omake

Scene I
(takes place after the end of chapter five)
in which Kaname is born

I rested on the back of a giant serpentine with iridescent misty blue scales and a lion-like mane of snowy white hair. A pair of rich, vibrant brown horns protruded from his temples, and a pair of shining crystals were embedded within his eye sockets that seemed to make him appear all-knowing, all-seeing, as though not a single soul could hide a secret from him. He was a regal dragon one could call "The Wind" since his real name was unknown to many. He ruled the skies, and by calling his real name could one earn the right to have him carry oneself from one end of the world to the next similar to how the wind could sweep me away in flower petals to the one who called my name.

At the memory of Snake, my heart ached.

I held the shining white blossom between my fingers, twirling it idly and wrapping it around my forefinger, as the words that echoed in my head repeated over and over, resonating off the boundless walls of my mind. I nearly jumped when I felt the magnificent beast below me vibrate as he spoke, "Fox spirit, that is a Moonsoul Blossom, a flower that symbolises the gods' pity."

A bitter laugh slipped past my lips before I could even catch myself. "I don't need pity," I spat vehemently. Even though I claimed so, I couldn't bring myself to crush the budding flower in the palm of my own hand. It would have been easy—much too easy—yet I couldn't do it—like it would have been a crime to do so, like some evil I've yet to commit.

Disregarding my bitterness, the dragon remarked, "Don't be so hasty, kitsune. Grow that plant, nurture it, care for it, and maybe something... interesting will happen."

I raised a questioning eyebrow though he surely couldn't see me. "Something interesting?" I repeated uncertainly. "Like what?"

"Who knows?" replied the dragon amusedly. "I've never seen one for myself—a Moonsoul Blossom—and I've lived longer than you and your father and his father. It only shows how rare they are indeed, but it surely is something to be treasured."

"Right," I mumbled under my breath as I held tightly onto the white flower.

Hours later we descended on Japanese soil, landing within a hidden ayakashi village deep inside a forest one could only find either from the skies above or by the a path only the ayakashi and yōkai could see. My clan members were quick to greet me, but I only brushed them aside and hurried to the gardens. Without much heed to the flowers already there, I dug a hole with my bare hands instinctively despite their protests for me to retrieve a tool instead and placed the budding white flower there by the stem. As though sensing the earthen soil, roots grew from where it was cut, and the flower anchored itself into the ground. Mystified, I could only place the soil back in its place before staring bemusedly at the flower, questioning its purpose here.

"My lord?"

"Young Master?"

I ignored the pestering voices urging me to eat, to drink, to rest. For the passing two weeks, I only watered the budding flower until it was ready to blossom, obsessed with its well-being. If I had left it alone, an ominous chill would run down my spine. I couldn't leave it alone. It was a gift from the gods; it was their pity.

"It seems like there's a soul within there," commented a sultry voice from over my shoulder. I glanced behind me and greeted Youko shortly. "Can you feel it?"

"How can I not?" I retorted. It was a soul that felt all too familiar. It was vaguely nostalgic and rather sweet and fragrant but strongly innocent and pure, untainted from exposure of the world; it reminded me all too much of Snake who had perished only a few weeks ago in my powerless arms. "It's growing stronger—like a developing child in its mother's womb. Every passing day, it seems to be one step closer to blooming."

"There will be a full moon tonight," Youko mused. "Maybe something will happen. They don't call it Moonsoul Blossom for nothing."

"Yeah, maybe," I replied dismissively.

Not saying anything more, Youko simply retreated to the porch of the manor and took a seat there. A moment of silence passed that stretched hours, and when night fell, they had dinner delivered to the two of us there, Youko and me. Settling down on the wooden porch, I nibbled lightly on a piece of inarizushi, savouring the rice packed inside of the aburage, as I kept my eyes trained on the little white flower. A ray of moonlight trickled down onto its delicate flowers, and it finally bloomed, opening up its petals. Our eyes widened as we bore witness to a single marble glowing with a vibrant blue hue the very same shade of my kitsunebi like a perfect little pearl of a clam.

Reaching out for the—the seed, maybe—it floated into my palm. Wrapping my fingers around it, encasing it with all of my hand, I felt that it was rather incomplete as a soul and, thus, fed it some of my spiritual energy. Abruptly, a bright light overwhelmed me—and even Youko—to the point where we had to shield our eyes from the white glare, but just as the intensity began to fade into the darkness of the night sky, a small fox kit appeared in place of the Moonsoul Blossom's marble-like seed with pale, soft skin untouched by the roughness of the world, gentle, golden blond hair with a matching pair of ears and a single fluffy tail as pale as the glowing moon above us, and bright—dear gods, so incredibly bright—golden eyes just like that of Snake's.

"He smells like him," Youko commented from beside me, "like that dancer by whom you were fascinated."

"What the hell? That's just like the tale of Momotaro," a gruff voice remarked from behind us. Our heads turned to find the red haired oni standing there. He collapsed onto the wooden porch beside Youko and asked roughly, "You keeping it, Kyuubi?"

"Well, I can't abandon him," I responded sharply, correcting his wording. "He's my son."

Toranosuke snorted. "You just gave him a bit of your spiritual energy. He's basically a doll made from fragments of that human's soul and yours."

"He's my son," I persisted. "His name is Kaname—written with the kanji for 'keystone.' I'll raise him as my successor; nobody should have any complaints about that."

Toranosuke reclined and rested his back on the porch, nesting his head on top of his arms, before mumbling, "I guess." He glanced shortly at Youko and found that she, too, was admiring the child with a slight fascination overwhelmed by a tinge of bitter-sweetness. He sighed, unsure of what else he could do. "Don't spoil him too much," the young oni warned me.

A dry laugh left my lips almost nervously. "I'll try my best," I replied, "but he is Snake's child... So that would be rather difficult."

"Do you even know how to raise a child?" Youko asked of me in a reprimanding tone.

"Well, I've grown up with Tora-kun, so I'm sure it's not that different."

"Hey!" protested the oni although there was a wide grin on his lips. The servants and clan members could only smile approvingly at the sight. It's been ages since they've last seen their Lord and Master smile.

Scene II
(takes place shortly after their reunion)
in which Snake attempts to learn Japanese in the twenty-first century

In a small, quaint library located within the City of London, a small family of four were nestled in the corner of the children's section. The youngest of the two children was settled nicely on an effeminate young man's lap while the oldest was tucked between his two fathers. The fox-like beauty recited an English children's book from its original language into his Japanese interpretation while his two children listened intently.

"Papa!" exclaimed Kaname as he beamed at me. "I want to try!" Nodding my head at the older fox kit, I nudged the book closer to the seemingly four year old boy so that it was still in Soushi's line of sight. It would seem that the youngest was more captivated by the colourful illustrations than the words.

Resting my head against Snake's shoulder, I glanced over at the book he had in his hands and smiled as I recalled the one time we were nestled nicely and comfortably in the Phantomhive library, where I ended up teaching him how to read and write. My eyes ghosted over the hiragana characters and their romanisation curiously before stealing a glimpse of Snake's visage. His eyes were wholly concentrated on the strokes of the characters, committing the sounds to memory, with his fine brows furrowed in thought. "What are you doing?" I asked him quietly, whispering my inquiry into his ear. He shivered at the sensation, the stimulus running up and down his spine like chills, and leaned closer towards my touch after relaxing.

"'I'm planning to learn Japanese,'" he answered shortly. "Says Donne."

"Hmm? Why?"

He glanced over at our two children and smiled slightly. "'Kaname and Soushi are more comfortable with it,'" he replied warmly. "'Also, I want to learn your first language myself.' Says Donne."

Touched, I reached over his lap and picked up the pocket dictionary he had selected among the many books within the foreign languages section; flipping through it, I placed it aside and told him, "You don't need that little thing. It's only for tourists. I'll teach you everything you have to know." I gave him a charming smile that made his cheeks flush. Pressing a kiss to his jaw, I promised him, "You'll be fluent within two or three years with us three around."

Scene III
(takes place before the end of chapter six)
in which Snake tells of his encounter with an albino snake that he didn't realise was magical

Returning to his tiny shack of a flat, Snake set down his groceries for the week on the small kitchen counter, but despite the size he wasn't planning on moving out any time soon considering that this was the one block of flats that allowed him to keep his reptilian friends around granted their sheer number. It was cheap and affordable as well, and it was also a fair distance from his workplace. His salary as a zoo keeper was enough on which to sustain although sometimes it really did seem meagre, but he was positive that he wasn't going to get fired any time soon. There was nobody else in the reptilian field quite like him since anything with scales seems to have some kind of affinity with him—anything with scales and foxes, like the beautiful creature sprawled on his ragged couch.

"'Where's Kaname and Soushi?'" Snake asked of his lover in his pathetic excuse for Japanese (or so he thought. His lover insisted that he was doing well though). "Says Keats." He opened up his refrigerator that hardly even reached his height. It was an old little machine that had come with the flat, and it often made buzzing and whirring noises that were so loud that the fox spirit currently occupying his couch suggested more than once to get fixed in the few weeks he had been here after checking out of his hotel. However, at this point, Snake was afraid that repairing the fridge would cost more than buying a new one.

"They're taking a nap in your room. They've been playing with the neighbourhood dogs out at the park today, so they're exhausted," replied his beautiful lover as he flipped through a novel he had purchased from a bookshop nearby. He sometimes wondered how he had ended up with someone as gorgeous as the fox spirit was, especially considering their own individual natures. "How was work?"

"'Tiring,'" admitted Snake, "'but fun.' Says Keats." He lifted the paper bag from the counter after he finished putting all of the groceries away and tossed it into a random drawer for any possible future use. "'I made a new friend today.' Says Keats."

"Oh?"

"'I think she was an albino snake,'" Snake continued. "'She had white scales and blood red eyes. I saved her from getting trampled by one of the guests and set her free before anyone else found out.' Says Donne." He cracked a smile at the memory and mentioned, "'She was kind of a weird one. She asked me what I wished for and said that she would grant my wish.' Says Keats."

At that, his lover's interest had certainly piqued. He placed down the novel and stalked towards the kitchen in graceful, almost gliding, movements. Sliding right up to Snake, he reached out for the white haired young man's wrist and brought his hand to his button nose, sniffing lightly. His brows furrowed in contemplation as he asked, "Did you get a name from that albino snake?"

"'I think it was a Japanese name actually,'" replied Snake uncertainly. "'Shirohebi, possibly.' Says Donne."

"No wonder you smell different," muttered the divine fox spirit as he raised his eyes to meet with Snake's. "You don't smell human any more. I think that was a yōkai—a rare one that could actually be seen by humans in its beast form—a kind of hebi that brings good luck and fortune to those in its favour... Snake, what did you wish for?"

The young man flushed in embarrassment and leant towards his lover's ear and whispered, "To be with you forever..."

Uncharacteristically, his lover flushed as well at the sudden confession. He turned his head away from Snake and ran his fingers through his silky hair in distress. "S-Snake... She... she made you into a yōkai, too. Yōkai don't differentiate between genders much; there never was a need. However, yōkai ever rarely fall in love with humans, who have such a shorter lifespan... so..."

"In order to be together," Snake concluded with a bitter-sweet smile, "she turned me into one of you." He knew that he had little regrets. If anything, he didn't feel much different from usual, and he truly did not mind becoming a yōkai as long as it meant that he would never be separated from his little family.

Before meeting this enchanting fox, he didn't have much to call his own. The people he had considered his family in a past life had been taken away from him, and the one place he had come to consider a home had been burnt to the ground in the same life. He vaguely recalled being reborn as a teenager forced into becoming an intelligence agent during the time of the Second Great War, and his life then had ended much too quickly without encountering his beloved even once. Now that he finally had a chance to obtain happiness with his own hands, he was afraid of losing everyone once again.

The only thing he regretted was the look of despair that flitted across his house-husband's lovely visage. Even his sorrow was achingly beautiful, but, nevertheless, Snake didn't want to see that kind of expression in his eyes. You don't know, that miserable gaze told him, the loneliness of eternity. Still, Snake brazenly stretched out his hand and cupped the side of his lover's face, smiling gently and warmly at the older man, as the white haired man assured him quietly, "I'll never leave you, and you'll never be lonely again."

Scene IV
in which Snake first enters a den of foxes

His lover lived a fair distance away from the city in a manor that lasted throughout the centuries despite weather, wear, and even war; it was hidden away somewhere deep within a forest near the mountains. Now, bound by the matching rings he had purchased with the collection of his last few pay-cheques, it was also his own home.

The exotic fox led him astray from the forest path, past a vast pond where creatures Snake once could not see reside, and towards a clearing. Along the way, the four of them gathered quite a bit of attention from the lesser creatures—though Snake still found it a little hard to believe that he was ranked higher than them due to his newly increased spiritual affinity—that whispered amongst themselves about the return of the fox lord and his family from what the white haired young man could gather.

"We're here," announced the Eastern beauty as he approached towering front gates. Pecking the kit he carried in his arms, he chirped, "Soushi, help Papa open the gates." Together, the two of them pushed open the heavy wooden gates while Snake held onto Kaname's hand. The older of the two kits seemed reluctant to let go of Snake after the two of them had gotten to know each other better, trying to make up for two centuries lost to plots of revenge and times of war, and a twinge of guilt filled the white haired man's chest. If his lover hadn't spoiled the boys, then Snake certainly would admit that he would.

Kaname pulled Snake hurriedly onto the estate grounds, and the white haired young man nearly stumbled over his feet at the kit's enthusiasm and almost left their baggage at the front gates. "I have to show you the garden and the pond and the gallery and the workshop and..." Kaname was speaking practically a thousand words a mile, and each Japanese syllable hurriedly slurred into the previous that Snake had a hard time trying to decipher what his oldest son was trying to tell him the more he spoke. However, he could tell that Kaname was sincerely thrilled that Snake was here with him, and the white haired man wanted nothing more than for that smile to remain on those pink lips for the rest of eternity. He could feel his lover's eyes glowing warmly at the sight of the two of them, resting them on Snake's back, as Kaname ushered Snake to the front patio.

The paper thin doors then slid open, revealing a pair of dark maroon eyes with which Snake was fairly familiar. Her face—soft, gentle and delicate—was one he could hardly ever forget even with another previous life merged between the one where they had first met and his current existence. The wind tousled her long strands of raven hair lightly as her eyes fell upon the taller young man curiously and bemusedly. They then travelled over his shoulder to lock together with his lover, and the rosy lips fell into a dry smirk. The amusement hadn't completely reached her eyes, and if he wasn't mistaken, Snake would say that she was rather pained.

"So you found him, after all," the female fox spirit mused aloud in slow, cautious Japanese. She glanced over at him and saw that he wasn't at all confused. Without caring much about whether or not he understood what she was saying, she continued, "It looks like your children have taken to him as well. Isn't that great?"

"They're his children as well," corrected his lover as the older fox spirit stepped forward. He transferred Soushi into Snake's arms and leaned against the taller man with a bewitching smile. The older man spoke in a tone that, although pleasant, was rather demanding and left no room for arguments and protests. "He'll be living with us from now onwards."

"He smells different," the brunette remarked. "He smells like a hebi now—only vaguely human—what he once was."

"There was an incident." The curtness implied that neither one of the two men were willing to divulge any more information to her at this point in time.

"No matter," she replied, crossing her arms. "I have to accept him at any rate since he is... your mate." She crinkled her nose as if in distaste. "He marked you. The sten—the smell—is too strong." She hurriedly corrected herself and stepped to the side, gesturing to the now open path. A polite smile crossed her red lips as she told the four of them, "Welcome home, Kyuubi-dono, Snake-sama."

"We're back, Youko-chan."

The moment the family of four stepped into the manor, they were greeted by the sight of several kitsune gathered in the foyer, bowing at a perfect ninety degree angle, to greet them and welcome them back home. A realisation crossed Snake's mind like a sudden epiphany. Here, instead of being surrounded by reptiles like back in the London zoo, he was surrounded by a den of foxes who were mostly vixens, and he was the only snake in the household. Surprise also flashed in the vixens' visages at the sight of him, and a steady stream of soft whispers about a hebi rippled throughout the foyer before his lover stepped forward and hooked an arm with his. Smiling that enchanting grin of his, the nine-tailed fox announced that they had returned and that they had a new lord to whom to bow. Stating that he would not excuse any misgivings, Snake couldn't help but smile as well when he realised that, yes, he was truly loved here—at least by three other people—more than anyone had ever loved him in this life and the lives he had lived before now.

Scene V
in which the boys play with Natsume

"Auntie Youko said that we shouldn't go back to the house today until Papa or Daddy picks us up," Kaname informed the teenage boy diligently as he dug into the steam in search of a shimmering, iridescent pebble he had spotted earlier. The sleeves of his yukata were rolled past his elbows, reaching his small shoulders, and the bottom hem was tied over his knees as he ventured the shallow waters.

Natsume, who was keeping Soushi company on the hill overhead, trained his eyes on the fox kit while Nyanko-sensei napped at his side. After all, who was to say what was to happen to him if the two-tailed fox was to get injured? After fishing another marble-like pebble from the stream, Kaname dashed uphill to place it on top of the growing stack beside the blond haired boy. He then sat by the teenage boy's side with a wide, amiable smile when the latter had given him a confused look. "Why is that?" asked the blond curiously.

Kaname shrugged. "I don't know," he confessed, "but all of the foxes went out to play in the forest or in town today because Papa said to do it even though Papa and Daddy are staying home by themselves. Even Daddy's snakes went into the forest today, and they never ever leave him alone! Then Soushi and I found you! Uncle Tora and Tsubasa-sama said that today was an important day for them though, so I'm going to bring them these as a presents."

Natsume was still confused until Nyanko-sensei cracked an eyelid to glance at his servant. He snorted through his nose and snapped, "Use your head a little, stupid Natsume! The two of them, alone, are in that large house usually filled with ayakashi and yōkai. For some reason, on this 'important day,' they sent away all of their servants, vassals, and familiars until they are done with whatever 'important' things they might be doing alone and by themselves with nobody around." When Natsume's cheeks flooded with a scarlet heat, Nyanko-sensei rolled his eyes. "Do you understand now, stupid Natsume?"

The teenage boy couldn't say anything in response. Instead, he began playing marbles with Soushi and Kaname. Later that day, three boys and the fat cat sat in front of Nanatsujiya, each one of them biting into a freshly made steamed bun (although the manekineko seemed to have swallowed his whole), with a sack of shimmering pebbles collected from the riverside watching the sun set beyond the mountains.

A shadow fell upon the party of four, and when they turned their heads, the two kits brightened immediately at the sight of their parents. The two young men were dressed in summer yukatas as well although the beautiful fox spirit wore a pale plum colour with a deep raspberry coloured obi wrapped around his narrow hips while the snake man wore a silvery blue robe with a dark navy obi. A slender snake was coiled around his neck like a close-fitting necklace or a tightly wrapped scarf. The white haired man seemed to be particularly close to the fox spirit today, however.

Soushi was quick to leap into the fox spirit's arms, and Kaname eagerly presented today's findings to the snake man. The family of four hadn't realised that, as a result of Soushi's actions, the fabric of the fox spirit's yukata shifted enough to reveal a dark, bruise-like mark at his nape, but Natsume could see the colour standing against the pale skin perfectly.

He flushed, and, for the rest of the day, he couldn't look either one of the older yōkai in the eye.