Tamiko Inarimago's jaw dropped as she stared at the palatial mansion of the Bentley family. If she hadn't been in her human disguise right now, all the fur on her tail would have stood straight on end. The entire place was huge! The young kitsune almost tripped over her feet as she opened the gate and stepped into the grounds.
Skyler stood outside to greet Tamiko. "I see somebody's overwhelmed. Yeah, that's normal. This place is a bit on the excessive side."
"The gardens are beautiful!" Tamiko marveled.
"Mom would be happy to hear that," Skyler smirked. "She cares a lot about appearances."
"What are your parents like?" Tamiko asked.
"Their names are Warren J. Bentley and Suzanne York Bentley," Skyler answered. "Dad's the founder of Bentley's, that huge retail chain that dominates the western United States. As for mom, she's a senior partner and co-founder of the law firm Ballard & York LLP, and also a candidate a seat in for the Washington State Senate." Skyler cringed. "I sure hope she loses."
"Skyler!" Tamiko gasped in horror. "It's not right to speak that way about your mother! Show her some respect."
"You don't understand," Skyler grumbled. "She's a bigot. She panders to every racist, homophobe, and transphobe in the fucking state! When I came out as non-binary, she tried to disown me. Good thing Dad's more tolerant. The gender stuff confuses him a bit, but he tries to go with it for my sake. As for Mom, she's slowly learning to hate me."
"How can a woman hate her own child?" Tamiko wondered.
"Because I refuse to be her ideal daughter," Skyler scoffed. "For starters, I refuse to keep up the façade of femaleness. What's more, I'm done with trying to rule my school with an iron fist like she thinks any child of hers should. Her ideas of what makes a good leader are shit."
"This sounds a lot like the dark stories that Selena Lyall tells about hir mother," Tamiko observed.
"Pretty much," Skyler agreed. "What Artemis Lyall accomplishes with her muscles and claws, my mom accomplishes with her wealth and political connections. And what she accomplishes is a lot of neurotic intolerance. She wouldn't even be hosting you if Morgana's geis hadn't told her that she was. She's been grumbling about you ever since the geis was placed. She'll be trouble if you aren't on your absolute best behavior, Tamiko."
"I'm always on my best behavior," Tamiko vowed. "Especially when I'm a guest in a stranger's house. It's how I was brought up as a zenko kitsune. I do not walk in the ways of the yako, the dreaded nogitsune!"
"That's good," Skyler said, nervously running a hand through hir choppy mop of purple-dyed hair. Shi took a deep breath to steady hirself. "Well, let's go in. Now or Never, right?"
Skyler opened the door and led Tamiko inside. They were met by an affable-looking bespectacled man in a sweater vest and an immaculately dressed woman in a white and black pantsuit and high heels, with perfectly coiffed blonde hair and a meticulous makeup job. The woman, obviously the infamous Suzanne York Bentley, scrutinized Tamiko with a cold expression. "Hmm, so you're the exchange student," she said in a patronizingly slow tone. "Do you speak any English?"
"I do, actually," Tamiko said, grateful for Morgana's magic that allowed her to do so. She bowed respectfully. "It's an honor to meet you, Mrs. Bentley. And it's an honor to meet you as well, Mr. Bentley."
"Wonders never cease," Suzanne Bentley remarked. "A Japanese girl who speaks English!"
"It's more common than you'd think, dear," Warren Bentley responded. "Many Japanese people learn English, especially in the cities like Tokyo. I've met with Japanese business associates who were all perfectly fluent in the language."
"She's polite, too," Suzanne appraised. "Much better than I expected. Yes, this might actually work out." She glared at Skyler. "Just don't go rubbing off on her, Stella!"
"Dear, we talked about this!" Warren snapped. "As long as you're married to me, you're going to try to call Skyler by hir new name! Shi deserves some respect."
"Does your father know you're a werehyena?" Tamiko whispered to Skyler.
"No, just that I identify as slightly feminine-of-center non-binary," Skyler whispered back. "I use shi/hir pronouns with everybody, bot just magicals. Zoey's the only one whose parents know about werehyenas."
"What are you two whispering about?!" Suzanne snapped suspiciously.
"Uh, nothing," Skyler said with a flinch. "Tamiko was just, uhh, homesick. I was, uh, reassuring her."
Warren cleared his throat. "We're very happy to have you here, Tamiko. You'll be sleeping in the first guestroom on the second floor."
"Thank you so much," Tamiko said, bowing again.
"Just try not to break or steal anything," Suzanne frowned. "Believe me, I'll check."
"Suzanne!" Warren gasped, indignant at his wife's paranoia. He turned back to Tamiko. "So, where in Japan are you from, Tamiko? Tokyo? Osaka? Kyoto?"
"I'm from a little village surrounded by forests," Tamiko responded. "It's called Inamura. It can be a pretty isolated place. Life there revolves around the shrine to Inari."
"Great..." Suzanne muttered to herself. "A heathen country bumpkin."
"Suzanne, she's a guest," Warren groaned. "I don't stand for calling guests names. Try to keep an open mind, please?"
"I'll do my best," Suzanne sighed. "But Tamiko had better live up to my standards. I'm not lowering them just because she's a foreigner!"
"I'm sure she will," Warren promised.
"I'll show you around," Skyler announced, taking Tamiko by the hand and leading her up a flight of stairs. Shi guided the disguised kitsune into a spacious, richly decorated room. "I hope the original Monet isn't too much. Mom likes to use money to flex."
"No, it's fine," Tamiko smiled gently.
"So, what do you think of my parents?" Skyler laughed mirthlessly.
"Your father seems very nice," Tamiko said brightly.
"And my mom seems like an evil bitch, right?" Skyler smirked.
"Well, she was... rude," Tamiko reluctantly admitted. "Very rude."
"At least you don't give her fascist ass much ammo," Skyler shrugged. "I get it worse now that I'm out as non-binary and sporting an edgy haircut with a dye job. Just remember, humans aren't nudists like kitsune. Mom'll freak if she sees you naked."
Tamiko nodded. "I understand."
"Then you'll get along just fine," Skyler promised.