Mason Harris was sleeping in his bed within the palace of the kitsune realm. His dog and friend, Fenrir, was sleeping on the floor next to him. Mason was tossing and turning in his bed while looking uncomfortable. In Mason's dream, he saw people who were members of the Superior Church looking at him with disgrace and shaking their heads at him.
"Just look at him, he has kitsune blood in him, and he doesn't even look the least bit human. He doesn't belong in the mortal realm at all." The human woman said as she shook her head and Mason ran away from her in the opposite direction.
Mason now ran into the kitsune bullies who beat him up when he was young and the were beginning to crowd around him.
"He thinks he can belong with us? What a laugh, he doesn't even look the least big human." The kitsune bully said as Mason turned to run but was looking in a mirror and saw his reflection was that where half of body was human, where half of his body looked like his anthro form.
Mason tried to run in different directions, but was met with mirrors every time that seemed to share a worse and worse reflection of himself. Eventually the reflections turned into horrible reflections of the people and kitsunes who all looked on him shamefully.
"Outsider!" The reflections began saying. "Misfit!" "Interloper!" "Intruder!" All the words rang out to Mason's ears as the voices grew louder and louder causing Mason, still in his half-human, half-wolf form to curl up in a fetal position as the voices kept getting louder and the reflections were becoming more and more frightening as Mason was on the verge of tears.
Suddenly one of the mirrors broke creating a bright light. Then another mirror cracked, making another bright light, followed by more and more as soon all of the terrible mirrors were soon gone and a warm bright light came over Mason as two female figures stepped towards him. Before him now were a human woman who looked like an older version of his mother, Claudia. While the other woman was a yellow fur kistune with nine tails, Mason thought she looked a little like his grandfather, Tatsu.
"Who....who are you?" Mason, still in his half human form asked.
"Oh, Mason sweetie, isn't it obvious?" The human woman asked with a gentle smile.
"We're your family Mason." The kistune woman added.
"My family? So.....you're my grandma Harris?" Mason asked.
"I am indeed. Who do you think you get your handsome human looks from?" Marjorie asked rhetorically ruffing up Mason's head as Marjorie shook her head.
"Oh, come on now, let's see that handsome human side of you." Marjorie said as Mason looked to see himself now looking human, but dressed in a hakama.
"There's the handsome Harris boy I've watched growing up." Marjorie said with a smile.
"You've been watching me?" Mason asked.
"Of course. I've watched you and been a guardian angel to you and your siblings all your lives. I was there being the encouraging angel on Aaron's shoulder to get him to keep up with his demon hunter training. I was there ensuring Kari was confident in school, and I was there making sure Haley didn't get into too much trouble at school." Marjorie explained as Mason then looked over at the kitsune woman.
"But....who are you? I don't remember ever meeting you before." Mason said to the kitsune woman.
"No dear, I was gone from the living world long before you or your siblings came around. But who do you think I look like?" The kitsune woman asked with a little chuckle in her voice.
"You look....a little like grandpa Tatsu, are you.....my great grandmother?" Mason guessed as the kitsune woman went over and gave her great grandson a big hug.
"Oh, right on the first guess! You're such a smart little boy. My name's Rina. Like Marjorie here said, I've watched you just as much as I've watched all my descendants. All my children and grandchildren, and great grandchildren. I've seen their ups and I've seen their downs." Rina explained to Mason.
"All of them? So then....you know about uncle Fukushu." Mason assumed as Rina nodded her head.
"Yes I do. He's had such a complicated life. But it was thanks to those like his children, your siblings, and especially you who helped to open his heart again." Rina explained now putting a gentle hand on Mason's face.
"Now let me see you in your handsome wolf form." Rina said as Mason now shifted to his anthro form as she smiled at Mason but Mason gave a sad smile back.
"What's wrong Mason?" Marjorie asked.
"It was just....what those cruel people said to me, how I don't fit in with the kitsunes. It made me think back to those kitsunes who bullied me and said I didn't belong with them in their realm either. Grandma, Great Grandma, where do I really belong?" Mason asked the two of them as they both gave gentle smiles.
"Hasn't it been clear to you already Mason?" Marjorie asked.
"You belong in both." Rina said.
"You're the son of two wonderful human mothers," Marjorie said showing a reflection in a mirror of Mika and Claudia.
"You're the grandson of two extraordinary kitsunes," Rina said now showing a reflection of Tatsu and Shizen.
"You have a brother and sisters that love you in the human realm," Marjorie added showing Aaron, Haley, and Kari.
"And cousins in both the human realm, and kitsune realm that love you just as much." Rina said.
"You've also found love and friends with those near and dear to you." Marjorie said showing Raiden and Anjelica.
"Wherever you are in life Mason, know that in life," Rina said putting an arm around Mason's shoulder.
"And in the afterlife, you are always loved for the person you are, whether you're kitsune," Marjorie began.
"Or a human, you're perfect just the way you are." Rina finished as the nine tailed kitsune woman and Marjorie both gave him a warm embrace.
"He's grown into such a handsome young man hasn't he?" Rina said looking at Mason's face.
"Yes, and did you see him on his first date with Anjelica? He looked so handsome in his hakama." Marjorie chuckled as she and Rina both began to laugh and Mason smiled.
To his surprise, suddenly Rina began licking him on his face. Mason found the experience odd and uncomfortable.
"Great grandma Rina, stop it. Stop, that's really weird." Mason said as Rina and Marjorie's images began to fade away but he still felt the licking.
"No....Rina....stop....grandma....I don't like....wait, what?" Mason now woke up in his bed to see Fenrir had been licking him.
"You were beginning to talk in your sleep and I thought I would wake you." Fenrir explained as Mason rubbed his eyes.
Mason suddenly remembered his dream and quickly put on his clothes to go find Tatsu and Shizen.
"Grandpa! Grandma! I've got to talk to you!" Mason called out as Tatsu and Shizen were surrounded by some servants discussing political matters.
"In a moment Mason, we're still figuring out some matters from yesterday." Tatsu said shaking his head looking at the papers before him.
"But...but grandpa, I met great grandma Rina!" Mason exclaimed as Tatsu and Shizen both stopped in their tracks and turned towards their grandson.
"Wh....What did you just say?" Tatsu asked.
"I....I met great grandma Rina last night in my dream with my grandma Marjorie. She was a nine tail just like you. She had beautiful yellow fur and she looked so pretty." Tatsu and Shizen were both astounded and looked to each other.
"That's her description exactly, do you think she really appeared to him?" Shizen asked her husband as Tatsu went over to Mason and got on his eye level.
"Did you really see her?" Tatsu asked.
"Yes, I did. Do....do you think you could tell me about her? You never really talk about your parents or about how you and grandma met." Mason asked.
Tatsu gave a smile and then looked to Shizen who smiled and nodded back to her husband.
"These matters will be finished later, something else has come up." Shizen said as she shooed all the servants who nodded and left Tatsu and Shizen alone.
"I think a good story to tell you about my mom would be how it all began eons ago, when my mother, Rina, first told me that I would be the ruler of the kitsune realm." Tatsu began.
"Really? Was grandma impressed by you for that?" Mason asked.
"Oh...not in the slightest. If you think your sister Haley is wild, you wouldn't have believed the kind of kit I was back in my youth." Shizen said with a laugh as the three of them walked around the palace.
"Yes, your great grandma was the one who approached Shizen to court me." Tatsu explained.
"What did you say?" Mason now asked Shizen excitedly.
"I said....no thanks, I don't want anything to do with him." Shizen said as Mason giggled while Tatsu blushed a little bit.
"But my mother was persistent and talked with Shizen about how I was really like." Tatsu explained as the three of them went to go have tea while Mason continued listening to to the story about how his great grandmother helped Tatsu and Shizen find love with each other.