Happy Birthday Sensei!

-PD

Chapter 1 - Finding You Was Hard to do

Sanji took step after cautious step through the forest, his walk made uneven by a limp. A gun was slung over his right shoulder, a satchel on his left, and a flashlight was gripped tightly in his hand. He was on 'The Hunt.' Not just any hunt, but the hunt for his life-long partner: his kitsune.

The fox spirit had been invading his dreams as a vague shadow, barely noticeable at first. But as the days wore on, he couldn't help but notice that same fleeting silhouette that appeared every night. The past couple times, he'd even started following the cursory glimpses he caught until he'd find himself at the edge of the woods outside the village. Last night it had lead him into the woods and towards a thicket, but before Sanji could go any further, he'd woken up in a cold sweat.

That morning, it had been a particularly fitful night, Sanji finally opened up to his godfather, and told him about the shadow that'd been haunting him in his dreams. Alluring him with an inaudible call, and Sanji was unable to fight the internal force that was drawing him steadily closer to that mysterious, unknown creature.

'It is time.' His godfather had declared.

o()o()o

"Oh? And why's that, old man?" Sanji placed the freshly cleaned dish into the drying rack and continued to wash as his godfather sat comfortably in a kitchen chair.

"You've been telling me about your recurring dreams. That's a sign that the spirit of your fated kitsune has been calling you, whether it meant to or not." He explained, ending the phrase with a heavy sigh, as if explaining took effort.

"Even if that has been my kitsune calling me, I've only ever seen its shadow in my dreams. I have no idea what it looks like, but I've seen other men's very beautiful kitsune girls~" Sanji legs wobbled at the thought of his friends' mates and desperately hoped that his would be as beautiful and as well endowed.

"There's no guarantee it'll be female, Sanji."

Sanji sunk to the floor. It was true; he'd seen male kitsunes as well, some with females on their arms, or even other men. This didn't deter Sanji, however. He was positive he'd attracted the most gorgeous kitsune in the entirety of the forest into his trap of love.

He was ripped away from his daydreams by a sharp kick on the head. "Don't get distracted, you'll lose sight of your partner, Chibinasu." Zeff chided before settling back down in his seat.

"It's not like the spirit's going anywhere..." Sanji placed the last of the dishes precariously on the overfull drying rack and dried his hands. He began to saunter out of the kitchen when Zeff banged his fist on the table, effectively stopping the haughty teen in his tracks.

"You're wrong!" He shouted. "If you are not..." Zeff took a dramatic pause, "faithful...to your kitsune...it. will. leave. you! And you can never get it back!"

Sanji's eyes lowered to the floor and his posture slumped. Was it really this serious? This whole lifelong mate thing?

Reading his thoughts, Zeff spoke again. "Every human is born into a destiny with a kitsune. And around age 18 your mate starts to call you, whether they'd intended to or not. It is your future." Zeff left the kitchen for a moment, leaving Sanji in the kitchen. There was the click of a lock and the creak of cabinet doors. Zeff hobbled back in on his peg leg with a black leather collar that shone an odd color when the light hit it just so. "You fasten this collar on it, marking it as yours." Zeff attached the collar to Sanji's belt. "Don't take it off until you're face to face with your kitsune."

"What kind of bullshit is that? What the fuck is with the collar? How can it 'accidentally' call me? That can't—" Sanji had approached his guardian with his arms spread in disbelief. If what he was hearing was true...then that meant no more flirting with all the beautiful, single ladies around town — a travesty to any healthy, young male.

Zeff delivered a series of swift painful kicks to Sanji's head. "What part of 'fate' do you not understand, baka Chibinasu!"

"Stop it you shitty old geezer! That doesn't answer my goddamn question!" Sanji was slowly backed out of the kitchen and towards the door. "Oi! What the hell!"

Zeff eventually stopped kicking Sanji in the head and, instead, gave him a hard kick on the backside, launching him outside. He tossed a satchel and a rifle out the door after him, both items knocking the blonde square in the head. "Don't come back without your spirit! If you wait too much longer—"

"Yeah, yeah. 'I'll lose it.'" Sanji mumbled to the slamming door. "Wait a minute..."

'WHAT THE HELL!' Came Sanji's angry cry from the outside of the door, followed by insults and declarations of protest and confusion. Zeff solemnly walked back into the kitchen and sat down heavily on the kitchen chair. The dishes rattled and most of them fell to the floor and broke. Zeff stared for a moment before sighing. "Things are going to get interesting around here..."

o()o()o

And that was how Sanji found himself walking, or limping rather, his ass was still sore, through the god-forsaken woods in search of something he'd never really seen. He heard the growl of his stomach and decided to take a quick break to eat, but right before he was about to take the first bite of his sandwich he heard a rustle in the bushes.

"Who's there!" Sanji clasped the gun, but he knew he wasn't going to use it. A small black fox stepped out from the foliage and sat down about 20 feet from Sanji, staring intently, it's five tails curled around it's feet. "You're a kitsune..." Sanji locked eyes with the creature, and they came to the mutual understanding that they were not meant to be each other's life-long mates. Sanji was about to offer the outer crust of his sandwich to the creature, but when he looked up, it was gone. Sanji was about to try for a second time to take a bite of his sandwich, when he saw something out of the corner of his eye. His head snapped up, and he strained his senses for any hint of what had just caught his attention.

'There!'

Sanji shoved the uneaten sandwich back into his bag and took off, leaving the gun and flashlight behind. He didn't need them anymore. His kitsune was calling him, and he could hear it loud and clear.

o()o()o

The little black fox ran at his top speed towards a shadowed thicket. Outside the tangled mass of branches, the little fox stood up on his back legs and slowly began to transform. His strong, hind legs stretched out and lost their fur, being replaced by two long, pale legs. His snout disappeared and his face turned into that of a freckled, young man of about 20 years.

"I'm home." He called. A slightly smaller fox quickly clamored out of the bushes and into the man's arms, his four tails wagging happily. "Hey."

The green, four-tailed fox quickly transformed into his human form. "Where were you?" He asked as he nipped at the man's jawbone.

"I was..." The black haired man was clearly uncomfortable with having to say what he needed to, and the inner battle was clearly depicted on his face.

"Ace?" The smaller, younger fox pulled back and looked up into Ace's eyes; his ears drooped ever so slightly. "What's the matter?"

"Zoro, I..." Ace clasped Zoro's worried face and kissed his nose. "I've...I saw you mate today. Out in the woods"

Zoro's eyes widened before they scrunched up in an angry scowl, his ears flattening and tails twitching with distaste. "Where?" He growled.

Ace ran a thumb gently along Zoro's cheekbone apologetically and one smoothed out the frown lines in Zoro's forehead. "He's still a ways away, but it's...you'll more than likely meet him by tomorrow."

Zoro's eyebrows twitched with frustration and hurt. He pulled out of Ace's hold and stomped around the thicket, swearing and exclaiming his repugnance towards the situation.

"Zoro, it's not something we can help. It's the way things are." Zoro through a fit for a little while more before he finally calmed and sat down in the dirt, his elbows resting on his knees, his loincloth barely covering him. Ace kneeled behind him and encircled his waist, breathing hotly in his ear. "But that doesn't mean we can't make the best of our time right now."

"Nnn." Zoro reached back and carded his hand through Ace's hair and tickled the silky ears nestled in the black mop of hair. Ace leaned over and eagerly kissed Zoro's lips. "Nn, no, Ace, no...stop!" Ace, respecting his lover, released Zoro, even though his cock ached to be inside that warmth. Perhaps he was thinking too far ahead.

"What's the matter?"

"...Can't we just...run away? Or something..." Zoro asked half-heartedly.

"He'll find you. You're calling out to him, even though you don't mean to."

"I know...at least he's a guy." The two sat in silence for a moment until Zoro pulled Ace close again. "I don't...I don't want to..."

"Zoro..."

"I'm going to forget!" Zoro turned around and hugged Ace, frowning into his chest. "When I seal the bond with my fated partner, I'm going to forget everything. You, the family, everything except my name and what I am."

"It's the sacrifice we have to make. For the safety of our race." Ace kissed Zoro's brow, down the side of his face, his tears mixing in with Zoro's. He pushed Zoro back onto the dirt, positioning himself between Zoro's legs. "One last time. Please, Zoro," he ground his erection against Zoro's, eliciting a wanton 'oh, yes' from his lover's throat. "I want to fuck you one last time."

Zoro made no further argument, and let his lover take him. Ace fucked him fast and hard, but with all the love, if not more, than he'd ever felt for his young kitsune. He came violently, filling Zoro with his hot fluid, but he was unable to enjoy it. Why? Because Zoro's mate had not been the only one he'd sensed. Ace's mate was close, and it was interfering with all of his thoughts and emotions, ration or no.

"Zoro." Ace was finally able to say after much deliberation. "I...also..have, uh...I have—"

Zoro sighed. "I know." The two were lying down inside their shelter, Zoro cuddled against Ace's chest. "And he's close." They were silent for only a moment more.

"It's time for us to separate. Kitsunes cannot belong together. We have our mates to serve."

"Yeah."

The two men, both strong in their wills, didn't shed another tear, but bid a painful goodbye, sealed with a kiss. The next time they would meet, it would be as strangers, any memory of the other having been erased. Ace transformed back into his fox form and ran off into the night, running to meet his partner.

o()o()o

Sanji was bolting through the woods, way past his top speed limit. His kitsune was practically right in front of him, making his legs go faster, faster, as if he would die if he spent another minute away from his future partner. The shadow was becoming clearer, less of a figment of Sanji's inner psyche, and more and more real. The bond they were connected by was growing insanely strong, and it took all of Sanji's conscious effort not to vomit from the rapidly increasing intensity.

"I'm coming! I'm coming, my kitsune! I'M COMING FOR YOU!" And with that final cry, Sanji tripped and passed out, falling into the dirt, where he stayed till morning.

Author's Note

Woah, seems a bit gloomy for a birthday fic o.o that's not how I'd intended for it to be! I swear! This is the first half or so. I couldn't get it all in in time cause today just kinda snuck up on me and I'd been busy most of today ^^; but das ist no excuse.

I got my information off of wikipedia, plus I took creative liberties :D

I know it may seem kinda rushed, but I didn't want to turn this into another one of my long ass stories that would take forever to finish and ten pile up in my "incomplete" pile. But anyway..

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SENSEI!

-PD