6 Chapter 6

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Waking up, Ethan comfortably stretched his body and opened his eyes.

Sitting in his bed, Ethan thought about what happened yesterday, and looked around his room, but didn't see the Kitsune anywhere.

Thinking she must have left his room in the night, Ethan got up, but as he was about to leave he felt something tickle his ankle.

Crouching down, Ethan looked under his bed, and was surprised to see the Kitsune there, sleeping as her tail swayed slightly.

With a smile, Ethan stretched out his arm and scratched her neck.

The Kitsune, who was still in her sleep, was slowly awakened by the scratching as she released small sounds of satisfaction as she turned onto her side.

However, as she opened her eyes she suddenly jumped back at the sight of Ethan. She went as far as possible under his bed.

Seeing this, Ethan smiled and said, "Come here, I'm not going to hurt you."

However, his words did not have any effect, so after a moment Ethan switched to Japanese, using the little of what he knew to say approximately the same thing.

This time, it seemed the Kitsune had understood as she took a few cautious steps toward Ethan. Ethan had a cat in his last life, and she made him think of one, so he intended to treat the Kitsune in a similar manner, although a few changes would be necessary considering her intelligence was no lesser than a human.

Once the Kitsune completely left from under the bed, although she didn't come to Ethan, he got a paper and a pen and wrote his name in Japanese, before pointing at himself.

"My name."

Then, he pointed at the Kitsune and asked, "Your name?"

The Kitsune looked like it was at a loss at what she should do, but after a moment she jumped onto Ethan's night-stand, and pushed down the glass of water there. Mom must have placed it there while I was sleeping, thought Ethan.

The glass, which was magically reinforced, did not break as it fell, but the water was spilled everywhere. The Kitsune wetted her paw, and wrote on the paper.

"Miyuki?"

In a very human like manner, the Kitsune nodded.

At that, Ethan smiled, that was already a first step.

Then, as his eyes turned to the spilled water, he focused on his magic as he outstretched his hand and tried to move the water.

Ethan managed to grasp a part of his chaotic magic as the water started moving in one direction, but the force affecting it quickly ran out as the water returned to its previous state.

Still, a wide grin split Ethan's face as he had successfully cast some magic. It wasn't very strong, but it still confirmed to him that he had managed to get past that barrier he had met. Now, all he needed was to continue his meditation, and learn to feel and control more of his magic.

Following Ethan's return to England, he aimed to improve his relationship with Miyuki while training his meditation, but things rarely go as planned.

A week after their return, while Ethan was meditating on a mat he had brought back from Japan, and Miyuki sat on top of his head, which had somehow become her favourite spot, his mother walked into his room and said, "Ethan, come say hello."

Exiting his meditation, Ethan noticed his mother had already left, making him wonder who could be visiting.

His parents didn't have many friends as far as he knew, and most of them lived overseas.

As Ethan got up, Miyuki woke up too and moved from the top of his head to his shoulder, slightly rubbing herself against his cheek while doing so, making Ethan smile.

The two had formed an unlikely bond in a much faster time than Ethan thought they would as they were already friends.

Just now, Miyuki had actually also been meditating, Ethan had no idea whether it had any effect on a magical being like a Kitsune, but that wasn't why Miyuki started in the first place. Apparently, it seemed to amuse her to imitate him.

In the past week, Ethan had also been improving his Japanese while he tried to teach English to Miyuki.

Ethan walked to the living room, and before entering quickly rearranged his hair. Once done, Ethan walked in, and his eyes scanned the room.

His parents were both on their feet, meaning whoever was visiting wasn't just a friend, it was someone they either felt respect for, or were guarded against.

Then, his eyes went to the guest. He was an older man, he looked like he was in his fifties, but considering the longer lifespan of wizards, he probably was in his eighties.

He was rather tall, his greying brown hair was kept short, although it looked a little unkept. He was rather lean, and was dressed in a long blue coat, with a brown vest and dark brown trousers.

Meanwhile, the older man, who had been discussing with Ethan's parents, stopped as soon as he saw Ethan as his hazel eyes looked at Ethan up and down, before stopping on his face, gaping ever so slightly.

The boy had light blond hair, and harrowing blue eyes. His face would definitely grow to become handsome in the future, although he already had somewhat of a 'wild' look.

"He's… he's just like him."

Finally, the old man muttered, still loud enough for everyone in the room to hear him.

Ethan frowned slightly, wondering who the man was talking about. To his surprise though, he saw his mother look away. What exactly was he missing?

Henry, feeling the tense atmosphere, coughed and said, "Ethan, this is Newt Scamander, he is here for Mitsuki. He is a very famous…"

"Zoologist. Yes, I know. Your work is legendary, Mr Scamander." Ethan cut off his father and extended his hand toward Newt, who looked surprised before he hesitantly shook Ethan's hand, his eyes still fixed on Ethan.

But finally, his attention finally moved from Ethan to Miyuki, who was eyeing the old man warily too.

A smile came to Newt's face as he didn't try to pet Miyuki, and said, "I never thought I would see a domesticated Kitsune one day."

His eyes moved back to Newt, and this time he looked at him in a calmer way as he added, "You must have done something remarkable for her mother to entrust her child to you. Does the pup understand English?"

Ethan shook his head and replied, "Only Japanese, although I'm working on it. Her name is Miyuki."

Newt smiled, before saying, "As far as I know, this is the first time a Kitsune had willingly become someone's pet, so the knowledge on raising one is quite scarce. Can you tell me more about your interactions with Miyuki?"

Ethan nodded and proceeded to tell Scamander about everything he did with Miyuki in the past week, while wondering who exactly Scamander thought he looked like. Thinking about anyone he might look like that Newt would know, Ethan quickly stopped that line of thought.

After a while, Newt said, "A Kitsune can be a very good companion, and can protect you from many dangers. A Kitsune's main ability is to manipulate illusions, and if well mastered, these illusions can not only fool the eyes, but all five senses.

"Fox Fire is also quite terrifying, it has the proprieties of both fire and lightning, so it is very hard to guard against. Also, a Kitsune is capable of mastering the magic of an Animagus, and turn into a human. That is a true change of the body, not just an illusion."

Ethan, excited by the prospects of what he could do with Mitsuki, asked, "How does she learn all of this? She doesn't seem to know any of it."

Newt, who looked as excited as Ethan, pointed at Miyuki's only tail and said, "This gauges not only a Kitsune's age, but also their power. With a single tail, a Kitsune doesn't have anything different from a normal fox, except for their great intelligence."

"So she will naturally gain those abilities with time, as she gains her tails? Is there any way to hasten the process?"

Newt shrugged and replied, "Much remains unknown about Kitsunes to this day, so maybe there is, or maybe not. What I can tell you is that a Kitsune gains its second tail at the age of three, and the third one comes at 10."

That day, Ethan learned a great deal about Miyuki, and stroke an unlikely friendship with Newt Scamander. Ethan even learned that it had been thanks to Newt that the Ministry had agreed so quickly to grant him legal ownership of Miyuki. However, one thing remained on Ethan's mind.

Who exactly did Newt think he looked like?