Spirt of the Fox: Chapters 1 – 3

The trees that made up the bulk of the forested area of the trail Kurama currently followed were mostly variations of pine, fir, hemlock, with cedars mixed in. It was a robust and healthy forest, despite it lacking the more otherworldly feel of the forests he was more used to spending time in. However, he was having to spend a fair amount of time establishing a network of contacts local to the area before he could make contact in the area he was truly aiming for, let alone with his primary targets. This meant playing nice, making friends, and doing favors. 

He hoped Koenma realized that he would have to send another team to follow up and make additional connections of their own as Kurama’s connections would not stand for Reikai by themselves. He could help make it easier perhaps, but Koenma was going to owe him big.

Kurama had been able to make a few contacts with the local supernatural community in Colorado before he had left that area, but they had been able to offer him little in the way of information on contacts west of the Rocky Mountains. The supernatural community in the Americas was isolationist and close-mouthed. If you didn’t already know someone, who knew someone, then they were very reluctant to share their own network of contacts with you. Their paranoia about being discovered was alarming and concerning, considering Reikai’s lack oversight in the region. If Reikai wasn’t policing the supernatural, it slowly becoming clear someone else was and that was a problem Kurama wasn’t sure he wanted any part of.

His search had brought him a fair bit further north than he suspected his actual target would end up being, but his contact back in Japan had been able to put him touch with one of the only true Shinto kitsune shrines that existed on the North American continent. From here he hoped to be able to branch out and make more real connections with the reclusive wolf packs and other supernaturals that he had come to learn lived scattered amongst mundane humans with most, none the wiser, just as Noshiko had been with her dojo. 

It was at that moment he rounded a final turn in the path and nine sets of nine steps leading up to the shrine rose before him. After each ninth step, a red Tori gate rose gracefully and bracketed the smoothed landing, its talismans secured tightly to the shimenawa rope suspended from it. He could feel a faint resonance from each tori gate as he began his climb, but it was distant, and nothing like the kitsune shrines he had visited in Japan, and yet there was recognition and power here. 

He reached the top step and paused, his eyes taking in the tree carefully warded with a well-tended space around it. It wasn’t a yorishiro tree capable of housing the little kodama spirits, but it was being honored and treated like one. He surveyed the grounds, and while he recognized many of the trees could have the potential to grow into the sacred yorishiro, none of them actually were. It explained why the shrine’s presence felt so faint, and yet, it required an attuned kitsune or similar spirit to shepherd the trees into that form and it was very clear to him that the balance of such things on this continent was not normal.

“Can I help you?”

Kurama turned to the voice and found a man dressed in the traditional Shinto priest robes had joined him. “Your tree lacks the spiritual growth to house the kodama you are trying to provide for,” Kurama stated simply, curious to see what the response would be. 

“Ah, you must be Minamino-san.” The man said with a grin. “Come inside, I’ll make us some tea.”

Kurama smiled, “Tea would be wonderful, thank you.”

He led him down a path around and behind several of the shrine buildings until they were soon walking down another manicured path. The priest turned over his shoulder and smiled at him, “When _Japanese Priest_ contacted me about helping you get in contact with the local communities, I was quite surprised. I had hoped to get your help for some time you see, but _Japanese Priest_ had said you were unlikely to leave Japan, but here we are.” It was then they approached a gate in a tall fence which he quickly unlatched and led them through to reveal a decent-sized cabin hidden behind. 

“Ah forgive me for not properly introducing myself, I am Ken Takai, humble priest of the _Shrine Name_ here in the Northern Pacific of North America. We serve the Buddhist and Shinto communities of many up and down the Pacific coast, though few are able to make the trip to visit in person on any regular basis. You’ll find the supernatural community is much more territory driven across this continent than it is throughout Japan these days.”

Kurama hummed in consideration, “Yes, I suppose that does make sense. Most of those who would be prone to such territorial behavior retreated to Maikai when the barrier went up between Ningenkai and Maikai across Japan and the Asian continents. From what little I’ve learned from Reikai, that didn’t hold true for Europe and the Americas.”

“No, and even with my position here, I am still not considered a true insider to the community.”

Kurama frowned at that. “Why is that?”

Priest Takai laughed. “I am no shapeshifter or fae. I have nothing other about me, nor am I a magical or nature-touched like the druids. At most, I am blessed by Inari, and that lets me be ‘in-the-know’ as it were, but not of the community.”

“If that is true, will you be able to even get me an introduction?” Kurama asked.

“Ah, that is the most interesting thing about my position. My blessing from Inari means I have a form of true sight, even if I have no other real gifts. This means those that do know me, trust my word when it comes to my ability to identify others. I can give you an introduction to the packs in Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, and a mixed community that lives scattered around Sacramento.”

Kurama blinked in surprise, “They stay in the cities?”

“Yes and no. Some prefer to live in the suburbs. Some commute in for work. It depends on the individual, but there is only one Alpha for each of those city areas at large, so it easiest to refer to that way.”

“You mentioned that you had wanted to get in contact with me specifically before?” Kurama asked, deciding to shift the topic away from his own goals temporarily. It would do no good to back himself into a corner after all, and he was curious.

“Ah, yes. Your reputation precedes you in our circles Minamino-san, both of your identities in fact. You’ve made quite a name for yourself recently in Japan in dealing the sacred trees and invasive species amidst the protected spiritual forests. For those of dedicated to Inari, we are quite familiar with the legend and myths of the nine-tailed Youko Kurama.”

Kurama tensed, there were many reasons a priest of Inari could want to seek him out, both good and bad. Either way, he would have to proceed carefully, and he had no desire to become an offering to the kitsune goddess herself at this point in his existence.

“I wish to make this shrine a sanctuary. To do so, the shrine needs a stronger innate spiritual presence. The best and safest way for us to accomplish that is to cultivate the yorishiro and the kodama that live in them. As I’m sure you noticed, we have many native trees here with the potential, but that lack the innate spiritual presence to attract and give life to the kodama.”

Kurama relaxed and smiled, “And this is why you hoped to bring me here.”

“Just so. You are well known for your tending of the yorishiro in various areas of Japan, and from all accounts, there are no records of you ever being asked to do. Then there are less well-known stories of the birth of the first yorishiro.”

Kurama chuckled, “You are well-studied on the subject Takai-san.”

The man grinned, “It is a passion of mine. I may be a humble priest of Inari, but I am nearly ready to defend my dissertation for my Ph.D. in botany.”

“So, what is it you expect me to be able to do?” Kurama asked, he already suspected what the priest wanted, but he wasn’t going to give anything away.

“I would like you to start whatever process is needed to help one, or more of the trees here begin the transition. If possible, I would also like to learn what is required to do so.”

Kurama blinked. “You said earlier you had no real supernatural gifts?”

“It is necessary then? A supernatural talent?”

“The first yorishiro to come into being in all of Japan, was the product of a young spirit-gifted kitsune’s curiosity and experimentation. The end result was the creation of the yorishiro, the birth of the kodama, and the kitsune in question earning both their second and third tails. Many of the yorishiro that followed, sprouted from seedlings of that first, came from trees in which the kodama choose to attach themselves to, or a hybrid combination of both. “

Ken drooped in his seat. “It is not possible then?”

Kurama shrugged. “Not impossible, just difficult. Your best option would be to petition Reikai in the assistance in finding a willing kodama colony to migrate. They are rather adventurous little spirits and will take care of the trees that they choose to make their homes. That is what the yorishiro is, in the end. A symbiotic relationship between the host tree and the spirit creating something unique and other.”

Priest Takai frowned. “That’s not the first time you’ve mentioned Reikai. I do apologize Minamino-san, but I’m not familiar with the term, can you explain?”

Kurama barely kept from physically wincing. This was bad. “Reikai is the governing body of the supernatural world across the globe as you know it. They have a very strong presence throughout all of Japan and Asia. It was their organization and forces that were responsible for the retreat and all but complete separation of the more malicious and primal youkai from the mundane. There was a very solid barrier between the two realms until only recently, and even then, that boundary is monitored, and traffic crossing kept to a minimum. Just as humanity has seen the worst of the supernatural throughout history, so the supernatural has seen the worst of humanity.”

“And this Reikai oversees it all?”

“Of course, it is the physical representation of the spiritual world, and all souls pass through that space before moving on in whatever fashion they are inclined to do.”

“And they have employees who interact with both sides of things?”

Kurama sensed the Shinto priests growing anxiety with their topic. “They largely work in their own realm and only intervene in the human, or Ningenkai when necessary. It does happen though that supernatural forces clash, either with each other, or with the mundane and an intervention is required. I have worked in the past on such a team for Reikai in Japan. Their lack of contacts here in the Americas is what led me here to you now, as I am having to do all the groundwork myself as whatever contacts they had all dried up and vanished in the last 200 to 300 years.”

The priest let out a breath and seemed to relax slightly at that. “They are not responsible for the Hunters, then.”

Kurama frowned at the weight of meaning put behind the word. “You mean something specific, when you say, ‘The Hunters’?”

Priest Takai blinked in surprise. “You mean, you don’t know? But you are a supernatural yourself! Surely you were warned— but if they do not have a presence in Japan. You will have to take care Minamino-san. The Hunter families originated out of Europe and migrated to the Americas just as so many others did in the seventeen and eighteen hundreds. The supernatural community was of course already present in the native populations, but that is a story in and of itself.” _Priest Name_ gestured as he explained.

“The Hunters came and established themselves as the policing force of all those who are of other nature, whether they needed it or not.”

“I imagine most did not,” Kurama said wryly.

“Just so. Most prefer to police their own when there is an incident that requires it. Occasionally a situation requires assistance from outside the immediate community, but The Hunter families, for all that they claim to follow some honorable code, are really nothing more than racist and bigoted bullies looking for any excuse to hurt, persecute, and kill that which is different.”

“You have quite an opinion about it,” Kurama said a bit surprised. Generally, those called to serve Inari were fairly neutral and even-tempered.

“Yes, well, I had a pair of gifted youths who were affiliated with a pack that used to live nearby that were considering taking up oaths with the shrine. They were killed along with all the rest of their pack in a terrible fire several years ago. The fire itself was ruled as an accident and the entire thing a tragedy, but entire packs just don’t die in disasters like that with no survivors.”

“Not a one?” Kurama asked.

“None that have come out publicly. If they did survive, they went to ground and ran.”

“This of course happened just one month after their emissary, that is an individual affiliated with the pack who is magically gifted but not necessarily a shape shifter, was killed in a terrible car accident. I’m afraid it left them vulnerable.”

“And you think some of these Hunters are to blame?”

“It is the only thing that makes any kind of sense Minamino-san. I have known and been loosely affiliated with that pack my entire life. It might have become more, but my calling was always this shrine and so nothing more came of it, and I lost many close friends in that fire. The whole ordeal is a terrible tragedy and when I tried to reach out to others in the supernatural community for help, I received letters of sympathy but each pack has to look out for their own. They can’t risk drawing more attention to themselves and bringing the Hunters down in force.”

Kurama felt a little ill at the picture being painted. “And these Hunters answer to no one?”

“Supposedly they have some council, but there is no real way for isolated packs to make a complaint or petition against them. It’s not like they can bring it to the mundane investigative forces, even if it is a murder of a terrifying degree.”

“Yes, I could see where that would be an issue, and I appreciate all the information you’ve been able to provide me. Would it be all right for me to put you in contact with a representative of Reikai? At the very least you could work with them to see about finding a family or colony of kodama willing to migrate.” Kurama asked, deciding to try to move the conversation away from what would likely be a very large problem that was out of his scope, and he had every intention of dropping in Koenma’s lap. 

Ken smiled wearily. “Yes, thank you. I think that would be very helpful. I’ll make sure you get the names of all the packs I still have a connection with, and who to make contact with. Was there a particular pack you were seeking?”

“I’m seeking to intervene with a particular supernatural element before it breaks out of its last known imprisonment. I was charged with this task by Reikai. Unfortunately, the information is over sixty years old and my first contact was able to give me little concrete. I have a very rough location and a single name.” Kurama explained.

“Well, that isn’t concerning at all.” 

“I was given the name of an Alpha werewolf, Satomi Ito, do you know of them?”

Ken blinked in surprise. “Alpha Ito is a longtime patron of the shrine, despite her personal philosophies being more Buddhist than Shinto. She almost never makes the trip to visit it in person, but she sends us donations regularly. I should be able to put you in contact with her easily enough. If that was the name you were given, I Northern California to be the location?”

Kurama eyed the priest warily, “What do you know?”

“Only that the pack that used to be the most well-known and respected up and down the entire Pacific Coast vanished in a fire much like my friends. There were supposedly a few survivors, but they did not stay in the area. Beyond that, anyone of any magical ability who lives within 200 miles will tell you there is something wrong with the land in that area. The magical energy seems to becoming chaotic and drawing in problems. Those further out noticed the trend starting about fifteen years ago and has slowly been increasing in both frequency and severity.”

Kurama considered that information and suspected the first alert about the Nogitsune seal that Reikai had received that had gone unreported would match that timeline. “Then yes, that does seem to fit into my investigation.”

“I do not envy you going into that mess one bit. Those of the supernatural community who drift that way tend to disappear or end up dead.”

“What of Ito-san?”

“I will reach out to my contact with her pack tomorrow. We will see what form of communication they are open to initially and if they want a meeting in person. I am willing to facilitate such a meeting here, but Alpha Ito may prefer a more neutral ground or even something within her territory.” Ken explained. “It all depends on how she reacts to the news of your presence and identity. I will of course, only share with them what you wish me to.”

“Thank you, Takai-san, that is much appreciated.” Kurama considered his next move. “Do you have somewhere nearby that I could stay while arrangements are made? I will reach out to my contact with Reikai and arrange your introduction. I would also like to take a closer look at the trees on the grounds that have the potential to become yorishiro.”

“Yes, yes! Of course, we have several small guest cottages. We are honored to host you for as long as needed, you can stay in this cottage here, actually.” Ken said excitedly. “I will go and start the arrangements. Thank you, Minamino-san.”

Kurama chuckled at his excitement. “Thank you, Takai-san.”

Kurama waited for the priest to leave and then explored the small cottage in full, taking note of exit routes and security as he did so. He settled in for the night and sent a meeting request to Botan beginning his research into job options for himself in the region of where he suspected he would be heading. He kept the search parameters fairly broad and sent off several emails to research departments of some of the local universities with potential in the environmental sciences.

“Well, this is cozy,” Botan said in a way of greeting as she strolled into the small sitting room, he was set up in. 

“Hello, Botan,” Kurama said in way of greeting and quickly updated her on what he had learned, as well as Ken Takai’s request regarding kodama.

“This is good news! Koenma will be thrilled that you managed to find a contact point like this. I’m sure he’ll be more than willing to grant Takai-san’s request regarding a kodama colony. They are some of our best sources of information with how they love to gossip.”

“Yes, and once they are here, I’m sure it won’t take them too long to start spreading,” Kurama added. They had done just that when he had first helped migrate some to regions of China only a few decades before the separation between Ningenkai and Makai. Being separated from the spirit trees and their kodama had been his biggest regret in migrating to Maikai in those early days since they had not moved with the rest of youkai kind. 

“Anything else to report?” Botan asked.

“Not at this time. I’ll know more after I meet with Ito-san.”

Botan nodded and then summoned her oar to hand before perching on it easily. “I’ll go report this to Koenma. Take care!” She called out as she flew off.

Kurama shook his head and returned to his search. He wanted to be ready to move once he was certain of his destination.

***

Alpha Satomi Ito had agreed to meet with Kurama at a Japanese botanical garden in Portland, Oregon. The garden had a lovely tea house on their grounds that Alpha Ito arranged to use for them to meet. It gave them a public and yet private location. Kurama had arrived early and spent a fair bit of time in the botanical garden and enjoyed it. He wasn’t quite a fan of the very man-made look of the gardens as a whole, but he understood the reasoning behind it, and it made him want to branch out more. He had also identified several trees on the grounds that had the potential needed for the kodama to spread out into which was promising for the little spirits to spread once they settled in the region.

The meeting with Alpha Ito was tense to start with but quickly settled once his identity was verified and his intentions made clear. Red eyes had flashed frequently as he explained about the warning system that had been triggered in relation to The Nogitsune’s prison.

“That creature must not be allowed to roam free again. Chaos and death is all it brings to everyone it meets.” She all but growled as he finished his explanation on why he sought her out.

“Reikai would appreciate a full report on everything you remember about the previous incident when it first appeared in this region,” Kurama explained. “I would also greatly appreciate it if you could give me more directions about where to find where it was imprisoned. Noshiko-san was not able to tell me much more than Northern California.”

“Northern California has long been the territory of the Hale Pack. Some years back, before I rose to the status of Alpha, something in the heart of the Hale Pack territory changed drastically. I attempted to visit the site of The Nemeton of this region but was no longer able to find it. Something or someone is keeping it hidden. Then, near the beginning of this year, the Hale Pack all died in a fire.”

Kurama frowned. “You are telling me an entire family of supernaturally enhanced people were killed in a common house fire?”

“That is what the local reports said. The tragedy of it was ruled as nothing more than an accident and nothing more was done. We know better. The only survivors of the Hale family vanished quickly from the area as if they were running from an enemy who hunted them.”

Kurama grimaced. “Hunters killed the entire pack and made it look like an accident.”

“Yes, that is what I and many in my pack believe. There were many affiliated with the Hale Pack that were not part of the Hale family itself. They have also either vanished or quickly left and joined other packs in this region.”

“And what of this Nemeton, have you been able to seek it since the fire?”

“I have not tried. All of Beacon County and the nearby forest preserve that the Hale Pack once watched over has become more feral. I fear what it means for the future if it is not stabilized.”

“Beacon County?” Kurama asked.

“Yes, my own territory borders the county, but I will not try to claim what was once the Hale Pack territory. Something is still watching that territory and it is not friendly to outsiders. If you choose to go there, you will have to take great care, Minamino-san. It only takes a small pebble to start a landslide of trouble.”

“But that is where the Nogitsune was imprisoned?” Kurama wanted verification before he began finalizing his own plans.

“Yes, in the heart of the Hale Pack Territory, amidst the roots of The Nemeton itself. If that creature is what has brought ruin to the Hale Pack, then we are all at risk if it is not dealt with.”

“I do not believe the Nogitsune has broken free, but that does not mean it has not managed to influence those within its reach. I will have to investigate it to be sure.”

“And if it is breaking free?” Alpha Ito asked carefully.

“Then I will be making arrangements to remove and re-seal it as required.” Kurama let his aspect blend further with his human form, knowing this would cause his eyes to flash gold and the aura of his kitsune nature to be visible to all with the spiritual senses to see it.

Alpha Ito’s own eyes flashed red even as the beta wolves behind her flashed gold. “Well Minamino-san, you are quite unexpected, but even Tenko Noshiko had problems with that chaos creature.”

Kurama shrugged. “I am no fool Ito-san. If I require assistance, I have contacts I can all.”

She blinked in surprise then. “You will not expect myself or my pack to aid you?”

Kurama smiled then, relaxing. “It sounds like you have already been traumatized enough by The Nogitsune. I know its weaknesses and it will not be able to impact me.”

She stared at him then for several long moments before nodding. “I see.” She pulled out a business card and laid it down between them on the table. “If you need me or have any further questions, you will know how to reach me.” She paused then. “There is one more thing you should know. Rumors say there is one member of the Hale Pack still left in Beacon Hills. Peter Hale, born beta wolf, is rumored to have survived the fire, but in terrible condition. The last I heard, he was unconscious and being moved to a long-term care facility. His injuries were extremely severe from all accounts I was able to learn of, but access to him has been banned for anyone other than his immediate family who have left him there alone. If he is healing at all, he is in agony, and if he is not healing, well perhaps mercy would be better.”

Kurama blinked a little in surprise at her last comment, he hadn’t expected someone who lived amidst humans to be quite so callous. But then he considered the little bit he knew of the supernatural creatures called werewolves. They were not well known in Japan or the Asian and Indian parts of the continent, their more youkai counterpart being more common in their areas. From what he had learned since his arrival in North America, the werewolves that were common here and most of Europe into Russia were very pack oriented. The Alpha was more than just their leader, they were safety, security, and the heart of the pack. “If I am understanding this correctly, Mr. Hale lost his family and Alpha, only for whoever inherited the Alpha position to abandon him?”

Ito-san’s lips pursed in her displeasure. “Yes, that is what I understand of the situation. Mr. Hale’s niece, Laura, should have been next in line to lead their pack and she was one of those rumored to survive. It is a terrible thing she has done to what remained of her pack beyond those who were killed.”

“I see. I do not know if my own task or investigation will put me in a position to help Mr. Hale or not, but I will certainly keep it in mind.” Kurama offered, not quite sure why she wanted him to understand this particular victim’s position. “This Nemeton however, is it the magical node that Noshiko mentioned? And what is The Nemeton exactly, you mentioned roots?”

“I’m a little surprised you have not heard of what it’s like before Minamino-san.” Alpha Ito said wryly. “To put it simply, The Nemeton is the physical manifestation of the magical node itself. The node is both protected by and feeds The Nemeton. This in turn creates a tree that is something out of the ordinary, larger than typical for its species. If we were in Japan or even Asia, I would have suspected it of being yorishiro. The tree itself has a presence and may even have a level of sentience, but that is not something I could prove in any fashion.”

Kurama was intrigued. “I look forward to investigating it for myself.”

Alpha Ito smiled wryly, “If you can find it.”

Kurama smirked at that, “I have a particular affinity for plants. If it is as powerful as you have suggested, I doubt I will have much trouble once I am in the correct area.”

Alpha Ito shrugged. “As you say. Good luck with your investigation Minamino-san. Please try to send me a warning if the monster breaks free.”

“Of course, I thank you for taking the time to meet with me, Alpha Ito.” He then offered a file which one of her beta’s intercepted. “I’ve included my contact information as well as a method for reaching my contacts with Reikai.”

“I will be sure to contact them if we hear news of your demise.” Alpha Ito rose to her feet and then paused, “If you have time in the future, perhaps we can play a game of go?”

Kurama grinned then, “I would be honored.”

The Alpha nodded once and then left with her beta’s following closely behind her.

Kurama watched them go and considered what he had learned. A sentient tree linked to a magical node was what he would be looking for somewhere in Beacon County. It wasn’t the ideal location, but it was much better than what he had previously. He reviewed all he had learned as he left the tea house and re-entered the Japanese gardens, walking easily through the paths. 

There was something sticking out to him. She had called Peter Hale a born-wolf as if that had more meaning to it. He had learned the basics of hierarchy from the pack he had met in Colorado. The Alpha being the anchor and leader of the entire pack, the rest revolving out from that point. The betas, all those werewolves who were part of the pack but had eyes of blue or yellow instead of red. The omegas, werewolves who were without pack, outcast, exiled, or even orphaned. The most important thing to remember about the omega rank, was they were the least stable and unlikely to think logically. In that way, it was clear that the pack bonds served a very crucial role to the werewolves’ wellbeing. 

Kurama wondered what that meant for Peter Hale, if he was already an omega despite his survival of a tragedy or if it was merely just torture that he lived now. Kurama shook his head at the thought, it wasn’t important now. He would look into it if he could, but at this point, it was not part of his investigation. For now, he would have to finalize his mundane cover now that he knew where he needed to go.

***

Kurama was finally en route to Beacon Hills after several more days of research, emails, and phone calls. He had looked up a fair bit of information about the local forest preserve that a good portion of was within the county’s borders. The preserve itself was mostly wild wood and foothills wedged in between two mountain ranges. Many of the small cities that bordered the edge of the preserve boasted hiking and walking paths along with some camping around the lakes that were also within the preserve. 

He had eventually found information on such locations near Beacon Hills, but it was underrepresented compared to all the others and Kurama suspected this was either intentionally organized by the werewolves who had lived or still lived in the area, or yet another symptom of the ‘keep away’ phenomena both Tenko Noshiko and Alpha Ito had described. Whatever it was, it had no impact on him, at least as of yet. 

Now after completing his preliminary research with some locations already in mind to search, he was en route and should be reaching Beacon Hills in just a couple of hours. 

Power lashed across his senses, and he swerved wildly for several moments before he was able to stop on the side of the road and thankfully not in the trees that were close in on both sides. Kurama grit his teeth as something other reached for him, pain, fear, and a desperate pleading pushing at him. No yorishiro had ever reached out to him in such a way. The spirit trees he had once helped foster were always calm and welcoming, except for those that had gotten pulled into Maikai during the separation. There had been few of those, but Kurama had taken note of each one and been disappointed and vexed as each slowly descended into corruption and became more bloodthirsty things that had more of a youkai presence than spiritual. When one of them had tried to eat him, he had washed his hands of them. It had been a pleasant and welcome surprise upon his return to the Ningenkai.

“Well…” he said softly to himself, “I really don’t think finding this Nemeton will be a problem.” 

He started the car up again and pulled back out onto the road. Just a few miles further down the road, he eyed the ‘Welcome to Beacon County’ sign as he passed it with wry amusement.

Go away. 

Kurama blinked at the sensation.

Danger.

He frowned at the unease that tried to subtly guide him to turn back.

Death awaits.

Kurama huffed at the last, whoever this was, wasn’t nearly as intimidating as they thought they were. However, it was now very clear that someone was actively trying to keep others, be they shape shifters or some other sort of supernatural out and away. Kurama smiled slowly as he saw a sign indicating Beacon Hills was less than an hour away. Perhaps he would have a good hunt here after all.