Just a Fox Having Fun in Japan! [Ikari/Aiko]

"Yes, people like cute animals. But not everyone likes cute talking animals..."

Ikari shrugged a tiny bit, or at least as much as her fox form allowed, which probably looked a bit odd as far as shrugs go. Regardless, little fox Ikari rubbed her head against Aiko's stomach and hand as that hand rubbed her ear; the fox's purring beginning anew. She purred and purred, the renewed petting really helped Ikari relax again; and the fox reached for a fruit with her paws, picking up and eating a bit of apple now, which she was glad it was in slices and not a whole apple.

"Well, not really? Ya get a few angry chefs who get mad at you for trying to bum some food, and a few others who are superstitious as all get out and think that you're a bad Kitsune; and not a good one. It's uh... an occupational hazard, I suppose; since I'm not a traditionally colored Kitsune."

Ikari simply shook her head a tiny bit, as if to be a little disappointed in how some humans reacted to such an adorable presence as herself; but then she nuzzled into Aiko's hand lovingly before she pawed out another fruit and began to chew on it. Luckily for Aiko, Ikari was extremely neat and was doing her best not to get any fruit juice or make a mess in general for the sake of Aiko's clothing and couch.

"I'd say it's not that common, but I think you're the nicest person I've met today, Aiko! And I assure you, I am a very nice Kitsune~"

"Perhaps it's because they had bad experiences with demons? I mean, I know when they were running everywhere, some demons took on animal appearances."

As Ikari explained some of her negative interactions with the world around her, Aiko tried to think of a rational reason to explain it, and that's about as close as she could think. Though, as the fox talked further, she mentioned something about running into chefs, people who were scared of the supernatural, and a bunch of other stuff. That made it click even further and caused the woman to then gently boop the nose of Ikari.

"Maybe you should stop going up to chefs then? People get crazy about their food."

Aiko chuckled for a moment before feeding her another piece of her strawberry.

" And, eh, it's no skin off my back. As long as you aren't plotting anything against me."

Half-joking, Aiko's eyes squinted, and she added.

"...or are you? What's your plan here, Ikari?"

Perhaps… Besides, it’s not like Ikari even remotely smelled, sensed, or even looked like a demon! They weren’t all pink and really fucking adorable. Besides, Demonworld got sealed off, the few demons remaining were lying low or being hunted down. However, Ikari knew that Aiko had a point, in a way. Demons did indeed take on animalistic appearances, but Ikari never really heard of one turning into a pink fox that resembled more of a Kitsune given the fact that the fox was pink and had five tails. However, she soon scrunched her nose up a tiny bit at it being booped, briefly rubbing her nose with her paws before she looked at Aiko and blinked.

“Mmmm… I guess. But restaurants have the best food! And I barely have enough money for a phone bill…”

Ikari grumbled a few more tiny complaints under her foxy breath. The truth was, she was essentially homeless, but was extremely well groomed despite that; which was likely due to her own powers and her general capabilities. The Danava eventually did agree with Aiko that she should avoid restaurants, while she also carefully took the bit of Strawberry from Aiko; snapping it up gratefully. She was kinda getting full… But the fruit was excellent. She could kinda go for some meat though…

“Nah, I’m not plotting anything. I can be a tricksy little shit, but right now I just wanted some food; and you seem far too nice to do anything like that to you. Frankly, I’d rather have a friend. Also, got any steak or meat of some kind…? I love fruit, but I need some meat in me.”

Ikari seemed to almost smile in her fox form as she curled up into Aiko’s lap a bit more, but she soon abandoned her seat upon the woman’s comfy lap in order to hop upon Aiko’s shoulder. Clearly, she was ready for something with a bit more body, and some meat sounded just right for Ikari’s belly.

Aiko was nodding along until Ikari mentioned something about a phone bill. That made a confused look become visible across the woman's face as she had no idea what a fox would need to pay a phone bill for. So, she tilted her head to the right before speaking again.

"Uh....what does a fox need with a phonebill? Are....you a shapeshifter or something?"

It was true that Aiko had her suspicions, but that made her feel something was off. Still, it wasn't like she was getting malicious intent from the creature. Most types of criminals, demons, hollows, and other aggressors have an aura that's hard to describe and sense. With this fox, it just seemed like a hungry and lost person.

So, with that in mind, Aiko gently picked Ikari up, sat her on the couch, and walked to the kitchen to grab a small plate of chicken for her that had been sitting in the fridge since her dinner last evening.

"How about leftover chicken? I heated it up for you. Let me know if that helps you, Ikari."

Frankly speaking, Ikari didn't even notice that Aiko was confused with her, until the woman's voice graced Ikari's ears; making the little fox look up as her floofy ears perked up a tiny bit. She didn't answer Aiko, but tilted her head gently as if to coyly say "Mayyybbee~" as her ears twitched a tiny bit; the little fox seemed to grin up at Aiko. However, she still said nothing choosing to momentarily lick a bit of fruit juice off her paw before she was picked up by Aiko and placed upon the couch. The little fox went up to the side of the couch closest to the kitchen, and hiked her paws up over the arm; looking around for Aiko for a bit. The woman appeared to have disappeared into the kitchen. However, once Aiko returned, a woman, not an adorable fluffy fox, was now sitting upon her couch.

This appeared to be Ikari's answer to her question. It was definitely her, it was hard to think otherwise. A woman of respectable height, as far as one could tell while she was sitting at least, wearing black jeans, converse-like high tops, a pink shirt, and a white zip-up hoodie over the shirt. Not to mention, she had the same pink hair, the same five pink tails, and even the same ears; even if they were now bigger to fit the woman's size, and partially blend into her hair. Not to mention, she was beautiful. Homeless or no, Ikari was very well groomed, but her clothes did tell some of the ware of living without a home. However, she did look quite chipper, and beamed as she smelled, and saw, the chicken Aiko approached with. Ikari could barely contain herself, truthfully. It may be plain, but that was fine.

The Fox, now woman, took the plate eagerly and had cleaned it off before it seemed like she needed to breathe; or perhaps she had forgotten to. Because, after devouring the chicken with ravenous hunger, and teeth that seemed to partially match her fox form if not for the amount of humanoid teeth except for a few molars and her canines. Eventually, Ikari let out a breath of pure fullness, gently placing the plate on a nearby table, and put her hands together and spoke a little blurt of Japanese, which essentially meant "Thank you for the meal" before she looked up at Aiko and smiled warmly.

"Thank you so much, Aiko; I hadn't had a proper meal in a couple days~! Alright, proper introduction time. I'm Ikari Yamashiro, Danava of Kitsune, and you have my humblest thanks for taking me in and offering me your food~"

Aiko's jaw nearly dropped momentarily before she picked herself back up. Yeah, she knew something was up, but she wasn't expecting a full-grown woman to be in her room. Still, since this was a supernatural world, stuff like this just tended to happen. So, after sitting on the opposite couch, Aiko kept her eyes on Ikari before speaking.

"Uh, yeah, you are welcome."

After tilting her head again, she asked a question to pose to the Danava.

"Why do you go around in the fox form if you are capable of taking a humanoid shape? Wouldn't it be easier to go around as that?"

Ikari couldn't help but giggle at Aiko's reaction. It was to be expected, a fox that you had been petting and loving up on turning into a woman suddenly; it was certainly jarring. She smiled with well meaning at Aiko, and gave the woman a hug, her five larger tails dancing in that same rhythm as before. After flashing Aiko a warm grim, she dragged the woman back to the couch and plopped her down before Ikari laid down on the couch and placed her head on Aiko's lap; placing the woman's hand on her head and purred softly. Of course, this behavior was likely... rejected. Because Ikari was, after all, a grown looking woman who wanted more head-pats even if she was a humanoid.

Eventually, however, it appeared Aiko had a question for Ikari which, no matter her position, made the fox girl tilt her head some; at least before she shrugged and smiled.

"Being a fox is actually a bit more natural at times. I wasn't born a humanoid, instead I was born a fox; so some aspects are stronger than others~ And it's a lot easier to beg for food as a cute little fox in comparison to a human-like woman who doesn't look like she doesn't have a home. Frankly speaking, I sometimes prefer to be a fox because its a bit simpler. That really depends on the situation though... Like, if you're more comfortable with me being a fox that you can pet in your lap, I'll change back~! I just wanted to give you a truthful answer to your previous question about if I was a shapeshifter!"

Another adorable smile before Ikari purred in pure content, more than ready to relax and even potentially sleep a bit of this day away. However, she kept herself away for Aiko's sake. They barely knew each other, and she didn't want to spook Aiko on accident. Or, worse yet, get thrown out!

Wellllllllllllllllllllllllllllll~

Aiko became a bit weirded out by the woman leading her to the couch to be smothered, hugged, and then led to pat her hug. However, given that the creature started life as a fox, Aiko awkwardly went along with it even if she felt a bit uncomfortable. But, of course, that's just the woman's accommodating traits popping up, as she figured Ikari wasn't doing this for perverted or lustful reasons, so there wasn't much reason to be super creeped out.

"Uh, it's a bit weird, but I've been through worst situations."

She blurted out her thoughts before gradually ceasing her head pats.

"It's what you were born as, so it's natural to you. Just stay in whatever form you want, but it is weird to be this close to someone I barely know."

Nodding, Aiko figured she needed something to break the situation's awkwardness. So, she distracted herself by grabbing some more fruits and devouring some strawberries before looking at Ikari and raising an eyebrow.

"What's your long-term plan? Do you plan to just couch surf or something? Aren't you scared for the future relying on people's kindness since you've seen how mean some people can be?"

Ikari did feel a little bad for making Aiko feel awkward, which was why she didn't push the envelope on the headpats too much; only at first before she looked upon the woman's distracted and partially uncomfortable countenance. She frowned a tiny bit, especially when most of Aiko's words began to mix and jumble around in her head. She was fine with being in her human form, or her fox form. As both were her both were very comfortable; even if Ikari did have a bit of a tendency to act foxy even when she was in her human form. However, when Aiko asked her next question, Ikari sat up slowly, sitting next to Aiko now as she too reached for the fruit. She plucked out a blackberry, and seemed to be eating each individual tiny berry of the blackberry, consuming the fruit with unerring delicacy and slowness. Eventually, she had eaten the entire berry and sighed softly, looking at Aiko gently.

"Actually uh, I don't really couch surf. I mostly sleep out in forests as a fox, in places where I can best rest. This is probably the first time I've been in a house in about uh... A few months I think?"

Ikari smiled sheepishly before she leaned back into the couch, staring up at the ceiling for a prolonged period of time. It was likely interesting, for Aiko at least, to notice that Ikari had no humanoid ears upon her head; only the fox ears that seemed to take their place. It was certainly an odd affair, at least for a humanoid to have such ears. However, they did fit quite well. Eventually, however, Ikari carefully reached past Aiko and plucked another fruit, eating the strawberry she had procured before resuming.

"Regardless, it's not like I want to rely on the kindness of others forever, or couch surf, or even really sleep out in forests every night and day; and I definitely don't want to try and rely on the kindness of humanity. You're a rare case of being extremely nice, and I'm glad for that. But... For that kinda shit, a place of my own that is, I would need a job; but where the hell does a Danava of Kitsune even start that kinda shit? It's not like I have any conventional form of ID or somethin'. I just... I just don't exactly know how to even go about getting a job, Aiko. I mean, where exactly can a Danava like myself start?"

"Mmmmm, must be nice to live in nature and not have a care for the outside world."

Nodding momentarily, Aiko pondered how serene life would be without the worries of the modern and supernatural world. But, honestly, it seemed more like a burden that an animal would gain consciousness like Ikari. In some ways, having the mind a human does is a blessing; in others, it can be a curse with how often it overthinks. So there was some pity to be had for the fox woman because of that sentiment.

"Well, I think you signed up for one complicated life-changing from a fox into what you are now. But, uh, I think I can help you get some footing and grounding if you need it."

As she tapped her chin and got lost in thought, Aiko pondered before vaguely recalling a conversation with Shou where she mentioned working for some rich woman. Perhaps that could help?

"Uh, perhaps I can put you in contact with a friend who knows someone who has a lot of resources to help you get on your feet. It's a long shot, but I heard they're super rich and connected with things. Would you be interested in that?"