621/To Wash a Fox

To Wash a Fox
Date of Scene:	24 November 2015
Location:	Uminari City - Juuban Avenue - North
Synopsis:	Ikiko and Reiko set a cunning trap to wash Ayana! But a secret of Ayana's comes to light...
Cast of Characters:	Reiko Touyama, Ikiko Hisakata, Ayana

---

Ikiko Hisakata has posed:
Over the past several days, Ikiko Hisakata had been busy with homework and family things, keeping her distracted. But even with everything going on, she still noticed something: a lack of a now-familiar presence.

Ayana wasn't there.

Ikiko could tell that her foxfriend was worried about someone significant to her, and from the rest of the blend of emotions it was a good bet that Ayana wasn't taking care of herself. Which, when you're a fox, means that certain things tend to get skipped...

Which is why Ikiko is here in one of the quieter residential side streets of northern Uminari, a tub of water sitting next to a wall and a bag full of snacks sitting not too far away. She slowly turns around, eyes closed, her hands over her heart as she thinks of Ayana, sending out emotions of missing her and wanting to see her, and trying to sense where the fox is hiding.

"Any luck from your fish, Reiko?" she asks, opening an eye towards her artistic friend that she had asked to help with this. Perhaps the nearly-wibbly eyes were overkill, but she was worried about Ayana!

Reiko Touyama has posed:
Reiko Touyama has been practicing trying to control her fish friends. Well- they're always going to appear wether she wants them too or not- but what if she WANTED one around at that point in time? So about a few moments ago she drew out her orange Chroma Crystal and gave it a quick tap.

Nothing happened. She sighed.

She gave it another quick tap! A koi appeared! It was wearing a nightcap, was on it's side and sleeping- it poofed in a moment.

She sighhhs and growled and tapped it again and a koi appeared this time in a tiny army helmet, and saluted Reiko. She sighhhhhhssss. "Finallllllly." she spouted.

She sent the fish off trying to go attract a certain foxfriend. If Ikiko was worried about her? Well that meant she was too! She was sat on a nearby ledge- with towels- out of hopefully any potential splash zone.

The koi zips along. it looks determined! On a mission! In enemy territory!

She peeks to Ikiko. "I think...maybe but. Like. I can't feel the koi very well." she says.

Ayana has posed:
Ayana has no idea how she's wound up in this side of town. She wasn't planning to be anywhere near here! About the time Ayana realizes she's in the wrong place, however, she begins to realize why she's in the wrong place, and her heart skips a beat. "Ikiko," she murmurs quietly.

Honestly, she shouldn't even be out in public. The foxgirl's hair is unkempt and bedraggled, she's got jelly on one cheek and dirt stains on the other. If this were a Peanuts cartoon, Pigpen might be jealous of the funk that follows the foxgirl.

But the feelings that Ikiko can sense from her friend may not be what she expected. Upon realizing it's Ikiko calling her, Ayana's emotions become a jumble of joy, confusion, worry, uncertainty, and fear. And it's mostly the fear. Luckily, Ikiko has doubled up on the summoning spells, and the sight of the armored koifish coming into view triggers a much more primal reaction from Ayana. "Food," she murmurs, and gives chase.

Ikiko Hisakata has posed:
Ikiko Hisakata frowns slightly at the sudden jumble of Ayana's emotions. Fear? That's... unexpected, at the least. Unless it's somehow related to what Ayana was trying to protect her from?

The sudden pulse of hunger and the feeling of the hunt brings her mind off of pondering. "I think she saw... something, at least," Ikiko remarks to Reiko. "Something she views as food, and that she's currently chasing. Can't tell what she's actually seeing, and I'm not sure--"

She focuses for a moment. It's faint, but she can vaguely sense Ayana's presence. "She's that-a-way. Ish," she notes, sweeping an arm to cover about a quarter of a compass. Not the most precise of directions, but it's a start! "Dunno how far, though."

Reiko Touyama has posed:
Reiko Touyama is holding her crystal and directing the fish. She can sort of 'see' in the crystal where it's headed but like someone running, looking behind is not an option right now! The fish suddenly turns the corners and moves to fly over the tub! Ikiko better be ready!

It sort of makes a bee-line for the Chroma Crystal a dives in. It pops back out, salutes Reiko one last time and pops into an orange sparkle.

"Eh...!?" she says.

Ayana has posed:
After only a few moments, Ayana realizes that running is a lot of effort in this form. Heedless of who might be watching (hopefully no one is watching), she transforms, returning to her natural state. Sure, her little fox feet have to move a lot faster to keep pace with the koifish, but she doesn't have to spend any energy maintaining shape, which makes it a lot easier.

The fish, however, keeps ahead of her the whole way, leading to increasing feelings of frustration from the little fox. She's not supposed to have to chase her food! She's supposed to find chicken eggs and steal them while no one's looking, or pounce on unsuspecting squirrels! This chasing thing is for the birds! Just as she's about to give up shape, a weird tub gets in her way, and the fox leaps into the air to try and clear it ...

Ikiko Hisakata has posed:
As the koi barrels on past, Ikiko looks back along its trail. Sure enough, there's a familiar black fox in hot pursuit! Ayana leaps--

--and Ikiko scoops her up in midair! She hugs the fox, wordlessly letting her emotions speak for her: love, happiness, love, gladness, love, apologetic concern, and more love!

...wait, apologetic concern?

"Sorry about this!" she murmurs, and that's all the warning Ayana gets before being gently (but firmly) dunked neck-deep into the tub.

Reiko Touyama has posed:
Reiko Touyama stays out of the splash zone as she's been told because someone needs to keep fluffy warm towels safe from the horrors of this sad wet world we live in! She beams! "Yay! You got her! Scrub her 'kiko!" she says dramatically!

Koi appear and clap in unison- then poof away.

"...yeech that does smell---um. Do you got soap in there already!?" she asks. "That needs soap!" she insists.

Ayana has posed:
Caught! Midair! Ayana kicks and squirms to try and get out of Ikiko's arms. Ikiko! How had she forgotten!? Distracted by hunger, tricked by fish! The little black fox lets out a scream that will definitely wake the neighbors; loud, blood-curdling, and like a sharp yell of pain or anguish. It's just your average fox cry, but how many people know those noises for what they are? It sounds almost like a girl screaming!

It only gets worse when Ikiko dunks her in the water. Ayana's screams grow louder, more intense, and there's so much splashing! Betrayal, disapproval, unhappiness, (love), hunger, and fear all mingle in the kitsune's emotions. Poor Ikiko. Not only is she getting all wet, she's also getting a heartfull of sorrow!

Ikiko Hisakata has posed:
Ikiko Hisakata boldly leans forward and kisses Ayana on the nose. "We have plenty of food for you once you're cleaned up," she smiles. "And lots of hugs and such. Clean foxes are the best foxes to hug!" And snuggle, if the warm overtones of comfort on top of Ikiko's heartfelt love are any indication.

She adds soap to the water, now confident that none of it will accidentally wind up in the eyes or mouth of Ayana. She skritches the fox between the ears with one hand and scrubs with a brush with the other, slowly cleaning the dirty coat. "You'll be feeling better soon enough," she murmurs.

Reiko Touyama has posed:
Reiko Touyama isn't silly enough to try to calm Ayana with koi because koi apparently are delicious. Luckily, Reiko sort of eeks and dashes to the edge of the street out of the way because no doubt someone will come investigate. When people come to investigate she'll shy them away- oh, just some kids playing a game washing a pet, etc, etc, etc.

She seems totally anxious and might have a big sweatdrop while she lies her ass off to anyone bold enough to come finding out what's going on!

Ayana has posed:
The yowl of unhappiness don't die down any time soon. Despite Ikiko's urgings of comfort, Ayana only calms a little. Certainly the stark terror is gone, replaced by a certain 'acceptance'. But betrayal, disapproval, hunger, and an underlying sense of fear all remain. And the love. There's no question Ayana still loves Ikiko, through their bond.

But at least the splashing stops, eventually. Ikiko's only wearing half the bathwater, herself, which likely leaves plenty to finish bathing the fox. Much as she hates water, struggling is just too much effort, and while she could probably shift back and foil this attempt, that wouldn't make her any less wet, for the moment. So she suffers through it, yowling unhappily every few moments, for as long as Ikiko continues to scrub.

Ikiko Hisakata has posed:
Once Ikiko is certain that she's gotten Ayana clean enough, she lifts the fox out of the tub, placing her on the ground and using a spare bucket of water to rinse her off. She gives Ayana a moment to shake off the worst of the water, then grabs one of the warm fluffy towels and works at finishing the drying.

And if that involves snuggling Ayana in the process, well, Ikiko sees no problems with that. <3

"Go ahead and bring over the jerky, Reiko," she says. "The unexpected bath isn't helping her hunger any, and she could use the comfort food."

Reiko Touyama has posed:
Reiko Touyama is done playing keep away as a couple concerned people and kids are turned away and she's really bad at this. She takes a deep breath a little dust cloud comes out of her mouth then she races back inside the alley and grabs the bag and just begins offering over to Ayano proper--- it's already unwrapped so Ayana isn't eating plastic!

"There, now you are clean!~" she beams. She keeps feeding all the jerky. All of it. Well. As much as in the back. She's sure Ikiko bought enough.

Right?

Dear lord there better be a lot in there.

Ayana has posed:
The fox finally stops yowling as she's pulled out of the water. Drying off is certainly preferable, and being hand-fed by fish-girl! Okay so it's not fish, but frankly jerky is better than fish. Ayana manages to stop trying to snap Reiko's fingers off after the third or fourth piece of jerky. By the tenth or eleventh she actually starts to slow down on eating altogether.

It's about this time that Ayana transforms back into a 'real' girl. She's still a little damp, and so is the dress she's wearing, sitting on the ground in Ikiko's arms. But at least she's clean, and doesn't smell, and can feed herself, if food is put in front of her!

"That was really mean," Ayana says to Ikiko and Reiko unhappily as she reaches for another piece of jerky.

Ikiko Hisakata has posed:
Ikiko Hisakata hugs and nuzzles Ayana. "Sorry," she murmurs. "I knew you've been busy with your worries for the past several days, so I figured that you might not have been taking care of yourself. And given what foxes usually think of water and bathing, well..."

She shrugs towards the tub. "I'm not sure I could've convinced you otherwise," she admits, then reaches into one of the bags and unwraps a sandwich -- ham, pepperoni, beef, egg, turkey, tuna, and mustard -- and offers it to Ayana. "Can you forgive me for rudely caring for you?"

Reiko Touyama has posed:
Reiko Touyama puts food in front of Ayana! "Yes it was mean, but sometimes even a koi needs to be taken out of a pond and put into a tank cuz it needs to get of ich and fin rot for it's health!" she insists, wagging a finger intently. "And this was much shorter than that! And Ikiko got all wet making sure you got clean!" she says.

She crosses her arms. "You should thank Ikiko for making sure you got all clean n' stuff!"

"Also, we brought food!" she says.

That totally makes up for the whole dunking you in water thing.

She gives a rapid series of nods. Two koi join her in her nodding.

"And I agreed to help like a jerk because I also care for you fox-chan~" she insists. "Jerk Caring is still caring!" she insists.

Ayana has posed:
Ayana leans into Ikiko with a pout on her face. "You could have asked," she notes, but even she knows that would never have worked. Even now, she's still scared of Ikiko. But why? On the other hand, "Oh my gosh," she says as she spots the sandwich. Hastily she grabs it and shoves it in her mouth, then hesitates. Rather than swallowing right a way, she makes a point of chewing, one little fang visible the whole time.

Finally, she swallows, then notes, "Tunaaaaaaaaaa," with a happiness that is utterly undisputable, felt even through the bond. "A meaty meaty meaty is not a meaty meaty meaty without tuna." Ayana takes another bite, chews again, then swallows again. "Mmmrrrrr, I really do not deserve you guys," she notes unhappily. "But I guess since you did whatever you did, and you seem to not want to let me go, I should take advantage of this. Hm." There's a pause, then she looks to Reiko. "Sorry I tried to eat your fish."

Ikiko Hisakata has posed:
Ikiko Hisakata grabs the two remaining towels: one to wipe the worst of the splashed water off of herself, the other to wrap around the shoulders of her and Ayana. "We discovered the truth of each other's emotions," she says simply, kissing Ayana on the cheek and leaning her head on the foxgirl's shoulder. "And we love each other too much to want to be apart."

The feeling of love coming from Ikiko is quite strong, although there is an undercurrent of patient concern and caring. But even there, a constant feeling remains: 'I am here for you. <3'

Reiko Touyama has posed:
Reiko Touyama huffs. "Seargent Fins went on a mission to get you here! He knew......" she throws a fist up in front of her. "It was life or death!"

The fish appears again. Salutes. Dissapears.

Yes, she named the koi Sgt. Fins. This is a thing that exists now.

"So what has you runnin around dirty anyways?" she asks curiously at Ayana.

She looks to Ikiko. Then to Ayana. Back to Ikiko. Then. bluuuuuuusssshhhhhh. "Hey what's goin on now!?" she asks.

Ayana has posed:
Ayana closes her eyes, but nuzzles Ikiko's cheek with her own, gently. "You're such a dumb dog," she tells Ikiko gently. "Don't you know I'm bad for you? My big brother is the evil villain, and he's going to hurt you. He knows all about you," she opens her eyes and peers at Reiko. "And he knows about you. And I love him, and I can't fight against him, but I love you, too, Ikiko. I can't ... it's like you're playing tug-of-war with my heart. Both of you. And I will do whatever he tells me to, which means I'm the evil villain, too. Don't you know that? I'm the villain!"

Ikiko Hisakata has posed:
Ikiko Hisakata gives Reiko a sheepish look -- she /might/ have briefly forgotten the younger girl was here when she was replying to Ayana! "We, uh, sort of relived each other's lives," she explained. "Or at least all of the emotions that go with them. And now we can pick up on each other's emotions, and since we already cared about each other so very much..."

A giddy grin. "So... yeah," she beams.

Her expression grows contemplative as Ayana explains things from the foxgirl's side of things. "You're not as much of a villain as you think, Aya-chan," Ikiko points out as she gives Ayana a comforting hug. "You want to keep us safe, and you've enjoyed being a magical girl. So, I will do everything I can to bring you to safety, so you don't have to be a villain!"

Reiko Touyama has posed:
Reiko Touyama blinks. "Oh...okay!" she says. she seems willing to accept this, really, you do with so much as a magical girl and you just learn to accept this stuff. She does smile though! "Well still that's neat but-----"

She frowns and crosses her arms.

"Yeah, well, lots of jerks know who I am so what's differnt!?" She grumbles a little and looks down.

She then blinks. "Hey!" she stamps her foot angrily. Is she angry at Ayana! "You're not a villian so cut that out!" she says as she stomps like a kaiji at the two and joins in the huggle fest. "--and even if you attack me, do you think I'm just gonna sit there and take it anyways!?" she asks.

Ayana has posed:
Ayana sighs unhappily at both of them, but doesn't argue the point. She had this argument with Ikiko already. In depth. Over a locket. So instead she just closes her eyes again and resigns herself to defeat.

"What will you do when he orders me to steal your colour crystal? Or the Lycan Locket?" Ayana asks them uncertainly. "Or if he orders me to drain you of energy, or to kill you?" She pauses, then sighs and shoves the rest of the sandwich in her mouth. She almost manages to chew a bit before she swallows it mostly whole.

Ikiko Hisakata has posed:
"We'll stop you, and hug you," Ikiko retorts to Ayana, giving a demonstration of the hug. "And if your 'big brother' happens to be nearby, we'll kick him in the face!" A simple feeling of defiance and guardianship, and unconditional love and friendship.

She touches her forehead against Ayana's. "You are not alone," she murmurs, re-affirming her earlier emotions. "And you don't have to face this alone. We're here for you, even if you think it'd be safer otherwise."

Reiko Touyama has posed:
Reiko Touyama releases the hug and huffs. "You're not the first to try to steal or break my color crystal." she says with a frown. "or try to kill me for defending my friends--- or drain me of energy!? Why do you think you're so special in that respect Ayana Fox-chan!?" she says with a huff as she puts her hands on her waist.

"If you wanted to do any of that- you'd had done it already! And if you're waiting for him to point go go 'fetch' then you don't wanna do it!" she says loudly.

Then she pauses.

"Or really lazy...."

She pauses again.

"ANYWAYS!" she gets her mind back on track.

"AYANA FOX-CHAN MORIKO!" she says. "I will shoot fish at you until you cut it out if you try!" she says.

"...but you know until then jerky and donuts and stuff." she says with a series of nods.

"Yup! I'll fish you until you cut it out! Then hugs!" she huffs.

"....who's your brother anyways!?" she asks.

Ayana has posed:
Ayana opens her eyes when Ikiko's forehead touches her own. Sapphire eyes meet brown, and for a long moment nothing else exists in the foxgirl's world. Except she looks so very sad, at all of this, even if most of what Ikiko can sense is love through their bond. Ayana hesitates, then tears her gaze away at last, looking towards the ground. "I wish I was alone in this," she says quietly.

But the question hangs in the air. Who is your brother anyways? Betraying him would be horrible. On the other hand, he already knows Ikiko and Reiko. And the source of their powers. Wouldn't it be fair?

If Ayana's bond with Takashi were still strong, this decision would be made for her. She wouldn't even think of betraying him. But right now, the thoughts rise unbidden to the front of her mind, and indecision wars within her, sensed keenly through her bond to Ikiko.

"Riventon," Ayana admits quietly. "My brother is Riventon."

At least she didn't reveal his true name. Or anything actually useful about him.

Ikiko Hisakata has posed:
Ikiko Hisakata blinks.

Then she blinks some more.

"Oh," she finally says, still blinking. There's a sense of indignation (not towards Ayana) and a hint of grudging marginal respect (also not towards Ayana), but most of what is there in her emotions is acceptance, all of it directly towards Ayana.

And no wavering of her love for Ayana.

"Aya-chan," she smiles gently, kissing the fox-girl on the nose. No other words; just love, caring, and the happiness they bring to each other.

Reiko Touyama has posed:
Reiko Touyama blinks rapidly.

"That Jerk!?" she huffs. "That Jerk almost killed Red-chan cuz he felt like it!" she says raising her fist angrily again.

"But let me tell you what! Me and a friend beat him up! I know he can be beaten if me and Ikiko work together if he's making you do mean stuff!" she says.

She points a finger skyward! Heroic pose +100 points! A koi joins in. It has a cape and is wearing a kamen rider mask. It's better not to ask.

"Don't sweat it!" she finally says.

Ayana has posed:
The kiss to Ayana's nose almost distracts her from Reiko's justice speech. Ayana blushes and gives Ikiko an uncertain look, but it's still love coming through that bond. Right up until Reiko's words register.

Then it's rage. A sudden sharp spike of violent rage, and a gloom of energy suddenly surrounds the fox-girl, sapping and taxing Ikiko's strength for her closeness to it.

"I DON'T WANT YOU TO BEAT HIM UP." Ayana snaps at Reiko. "He's my brother, and I love him, and if he told me to kill your friend Red, I'd do it! Because I want him to be happy, even if it costs me mine."

Ikiko Hisakata has posed:
Ikiko Hisakata reels from the double-whammy of energy and emotions, but she gamely keeps on hugging Ayana. "Aya-chan... you're hurting me..." she whimpers, concern and pleading in her heart.

Riventon's happiness might be important to Ayana, but Ayana's happiness is likewise important to Ikiko. "I want you to be happy, Aya-chan," she murmurs determinedly. "And I want to be there with you in your happiness. We will find a way for you to follow your happiness."

Reiko Touyama has posed:
Reiko Touyama sort of drops her pose and huffs. "Well! If he comes for me because of you, I'm fighting, Ayana!" she insists. "I'm not out seeking fights!" she says. "I'm not some fishy koi-like brute trying to seek him out." she says. "So if he comes and tries to hurt me or my friends I am going to fight back with all my own might!" she says.

"If he or you come to hurt 'kiko-chan, I'll be there to help! If he or you try to hurt Red-chan, I'll be there to help! And if you two come for me!? Well I'm gonna fight with all my might! Like a fish on a hook and line fighting for it's life!" she says with a huff!

She points again! But this time at Ikiko and Ayana. "We'll find a way!" she insists.

Ayana has posed:
Ayana's eyes widen very suddenly at Ikiko's whimper, and the gloom vanishes instantly. She stares at Ikiko, then shudders and looks away. "I warned you," she whispers to Ikiko, then leans in to very gently press her lips to Ikiko's forehead. "I should go. I shouldn't be here. You ..." she trails off. "I can't see you. It's too hard. He's going to make me hurt you, and that's going to be awful. Please just ... let me go."

Ikiko Hisakata has posed:
Ikiko Hisakata takes Ayana's hands. "Not seeing you is harder," she whispers, sorrow in her eyes. "We will find a way to make it work."

She nuzzles Ayana, then releases her hand, although she doesn't move them away. "Aya-chan... stay safe," she murmurs. "I love you, my beloved fox."

Reiko Touyama has posed:
Reiko Touyama can really only watch this. She crosses her arms a bit with a blush again, but she's also still a little upset! Is she angry? No. Just upset. She taps her foot as she begins to drag the tub to a nearby storm drain and dump it over. She'll say something when she has a better chance in a moment most likely.

Ayana has posed:
Ayana whimpers a little, then reaches up to touch Ikiko's cheek with her palm. "You have my phone number," she says gently. "Just ... call me. And I'll try and come to school to see you." She smiles a little, but there's no happiness in that. Instead, she breaks away, pushes to her feet, and turns to go.

Ikiko Hisakata has posed:
Ikiko Hisakata quickly gathers up most of the remaining bags of food and presses their handles into Ayana's hand. She gives the foxgirl a sad smile of encouragement, but doesn't move to stop her.

And she watches her head offward.

Reiko Touyama has posed:
Reiko Touyama runs up and calls back at Ayana as she goes. "If you need help you better call!" she says!

Reiko has weird ways of showing she cares. Maybe this is why Hiroko thinks she's so unelegant. She gives Ikiko a few moments until Ayana is out of sight, then she sighs a bit and turns to Ikiko and gives her a comforting hug. "Don't worry, I'll help with both of your happiness!" she insists boldly.

"So...you call me. If you need help, too. Okay Wolf-chan!" she says.

She turns dramatically and poses. "On my honor as a Prism Keeper I'll help you and your foxysoulmate find happiness!" she says! There's no koi friends this time. Just Reiko saying something bold!

Ikiko Hisakata has posed:
Ikiko Hisakata smiles, hugging her koibuddy in return. "Thanks, Reiko," she smiles. "And the same goes for you -- if you ever need help, let me know."

She glances again towards the way Ayana went, then sighs. "I'd better get this stuff back to where I got it," she notes. "Thanks again for your help, Reiko!" She turns towards the Chroma Crystal and smiles. "And thank you as well, Sgt. Fins!" she adds.

Reiko Touyama has posed:
'Sgt. Fins' pops into existence, salutes, pops away again. She smiles, but then looks concerned. "Are you going to be okay Ikiko?" she finally asks. "I'm sorry I've not been paying attention I---um. It's complicated." she mutters.

HOWEVER! She knows what can brighten moods.

"Of course, now I know you like... FOXY LADIES!"

"Now you're barking up the right tree!"

"No need to Fox Hunt Anymore!"

She pauses.

"I hope this is helping because I ran out of material." she admits with a blush.

Ikiko Hisakata has posed:
Ikiko Hisakata giggles and hugs Reiko again. "It is," she admits with a smile. "And it's a relatively recent thing; with Ayana not being at school, it'd be easy enough to miss."

She gathers up the tub, bucket, and the various towels. "Come on, let's get this stuff put away and then go get some donuts," she smiles.