The Hunted Fox

[kitsunenokoi]

“Oh… Typhon…”

Kamui turned his face away to roll his eyes heavenward. Oh, gods… a romantic. The boy was practically swooning as he went on at length describing this paragon of man-hood. It was borderline nauseating. If it dripped any more starry-eyed, syrupy sentiment Kamui was going to have to wash afterwards to get the metaphorical sugar off. You normally only found this kind of cliché in a movie-world.

It was also just a little irritating. If the boy was that deep into romanticizing, he was likely to be the “loyal and faithful as a dog” type. Those types were the hardest to get to indulge in a little bodily-secretion-trade. Cynical much? Yeah… after a few hundred years of witnessing the various things humans were capable of, Kamui was just a little on the world-weary side. Even optimism could take only so much of a beating before fleeing the scene with its figurative tail between its legs. At least on this subject. Romance, as far as Kamui was concerned, belonged firmly in the movies and in books. In the REAL world, romance was just a euphemism for lust, and love was just a way of judging chemical compatibility.

Still, you had to admit it was kind of cute to see someone go that overboard. It certainly had oodles of potential for fun. And with the amount of hormones that Kamui could scent on the air… this had to be a relatively new relationship. The “shiny” hadn’t worn off yet. That would account for some of the dripping sap.

“Mmmm,” Kamui murmured when Rowan had run out of steam, “Lemme guess, you’re Juliet?” At Rowan’s confused look, he waved his hand, dismissing his comment with a wide, warm smile. “Never mind. Well, I certainly get the picture. So… does this epitome of male perfection have any hobbies besides basking in your admiration? Does he have a stressful job? Maybe you could get a spa day package for him. C’mon… let’s head downtown. There are tons of little shops with hundreds of unique gifts. Things you won’t find anywhere else. I mean… this is NEW YORK!”

Adorable as Rowan was, Kamui had to get him off the topic of his boyfriend, or the kitsune really would gag.

[thebard]

Rowan lofted a brow, totally not understanding what Kamui meant by being Juliet. "No... I'm Rowan," he answered with a shake of his head. "I told you that already, silly."

Then Rowan thought for a moment... what did Typhon like. "Well, Ty's into yoga. He dresses in silk pajama type things and takes a mat and does all these beautiful movements. It's really amazing to watch 'cuz he's like seven feet tall and built like a brick house... so to see how graceful he can be is really hypnotic." He giggled and blushed. "And sexy... especially when his shirt is all open and stuff. He's got lots of muscles."

"And, I suppose you could say he has a stressful job," Rowan continued on his train of thought, chewing on his bottom lip now and then in the process. He wondered how much Kamui really needed to know, and decided leaving the BPRD out of it... seeing it was top secret. "He's an FBI agent. I'm thinking getting shot at would be pretty stressful."

Rowan then frowned slightly, not liking the though of someone else's hands traveling over Typhon unclothed skin before he had a chance to have that privileged. "Maybe I should by a book on massage and offer Ty an at-home treatment," he said before mumbling. "I don't want other people to touch him like that... call me selfish but the very idea makes me peevish."

[kitsunenokoi]

Okay… this wasn’t quite getting Rowan off the topic of The Amazing Typhon-man. But… SEVEN FOOT TALL?! What kind of… He was an FBI Agent?! Kamui renewed his vow to never get noticed by the American government. Especially not if they employed seven foot monstrosities. Rowan was cute, all right… but he had odd tastes in men.

Kamui grinned and nudged him, “It’s not sexual, Rowan… it’s to loosen muscles. And a trained masseuse is a god-send. Still, I doubt he could relax with you fuming in the other room, or watching like a vulture. Let’s just figure something else out, okay?”

They made their way deeper into the city, and Kamui pointed out the various stores, tourist sites, and bits of art. They came across the Yankee Stadium, closed to the public because of construction. Kamui paused and then looked slyly over at Rowan, a mischievous grin transforming his features. “You’ve never seen Yankee Stadium, have you? They’re going to tear it down soon… this may be your only chance. Want to go inside?”

[thebard]

Rowan was looking around him in utter fascination, 'oooh'ing and 'ahhh'ing at the various sights that Kamui pointed out. He had always wanted to see the sights in New York, and was quite happy he had met someone who was willing to show him around, even despite the unique circumstances under which the two had met.

Then, there it was... the aging home of his father's favorite baseball team, the Yankees. They were tearing it down soon, Rowan knew this from cruising and surfing the internet... and he wished very much to see it. It was something that his father had always wanted to do with him; take him to his first baseball game. But, things never seemed to work out for him. Rowan wanted to at least live a small part of his father's dream.

"Oh, Kamui..." Roan said, looking from the stadium to his new friend. "Do you think we could? Go inside I mean? My dad always wanted to bring me here... but he died before he got a chance." He felt tears sting his eyes, but he held them back. "But... it looks closed. Do you think we could get into trouble?"

[kitsunenokoi]

“Oh, Kamui…” Rowan said, his voice betraying his emotion. The kitsune grinned, confident of the answer now, without needing to hear it. “Do you think we could? Go inside, I mean? My dad always wanted to bring me here, but he died before he got a chance. But… it looks closed. Do you think we could get into trouble?”

Kamui hooked his arm through Rowan’s and tugged him toward an entrance, already cloaking them with an illusion, even as they moved. He laughed with wicked mischief, “Of course we’d get in trouble! But only if we got caught.. That’s half the fun of the whole visit; trying not to get caught! Wanna stand on the pitcher’s mound?”

Invisibility was a useful illusion. Of course, it had its limitations. Kamui didn’t possess enough tails to cloak their sound or change it. So they had to be careful not to be heard. And making an illusion change as they moved was tricky too… so he had to simplify it. That left a subtle blur that was just barely visible. If it looked like someone was getting suspicious, they could just stop and Kamui would reestablish a more detailed illusion. The whole thing depended on his observation skills. They weren’t truly invisible, he just bent the light around them, making them look like the things they were standing in front of. Complicated to explain… even more complicated to do. Fortunately they had to be quiet anyway… so he didn’t have to try and hold a conversation while constantly updating an illusion.

On top of that, he was wrapping the illusion around two of them… to make sure there weren’t accidents, Kamui kept a firm grip on Rowan’s hand, the better to extend the illusion over the other.

They reached the field without notice. It was deserted. Kamui dropped the illusion and waved a hand at the wide stretch of grass. As yet, it hadn’t been touched… they stood at home plate, gazing across at the asymmetrical building. “Do you know right field is slightly smaller than the standard stadium’s right field?” Kamui said, scuffing a toe on home plate. “It’s because the lot they built on wasn’t symmetrical. But there are rumors that it was to favor The Babe… because he was a lefty. He could hit more home runs to right field. It’s also why the Yankees favor signing on lefties. Home field advantage.” Kamui pointed up at a section of seats. “That’s section 39… home to the Bleacher Creatures. They’re the ones that started the Roll Call tradition. Go on… the pitcher’s mound is right over there… Go stand on it. And don’t forget to wave to your fans…”

[thebard]

Rowan was grinning. Kamui's blatant disregard of locked doors almost made Rowan giggle, plus it got them into the stadium. It made Rowan feel happy that the little man was going out of his way to show an almost complete stranger around like he did, even using his abilities to make it easier. Rowan knew that the two of them would be fast friends, and it made hi even happier.

And then, they hit the field. Rowan's eyes ere wide, taking everything in. He heard Kamui babble on about the history of the stadium, mentioning something about someone named 'Babe', but Rowan was far to into the fact that he was standing on the field of his father's favorite team to comprehend what his new friend was saying. Rowan was never much of a baseball fan, anyway... or a fan of any sport for that matter. But, he loved his father, and missed him so, and wished that he were here with him right now.

Slowly, he began to step out towards the pitcher's mound, looking down at his feet as they stepped out onto the grass. Slowly, step by step, he made it to the pound turning around in a slow circle to take everything in. Chuckling, he waved a his invisible fans, pretending to hear the roar of the crowd. Then he closed his eyes, and quietly began to sing the national anthem. It was barely loud enough for even him to hear, but for a moment, he imagined that he was the honored singer before the game with his father watching off in the stands, cheering him on.