A raggedy old fox rested at the base of a crumbling old statue at the bottom of the hill and watched the girl walk up to her house again. It had been the same girl for a while now, about one phase of the moon, so he assumed that she would be the new human living there. He didn't care though, she would leave like all the others... or perhaps she would be stubborn and get herself spirited away. He didn't understand why a human would choose that place out of all possible plots of earth to live. It was a cursed place, a sad place. He remembered when the last priest had died so many years ago. He had no heirs, and nobody wanted to take care of the place, so eventually became dilapidated. He remembered when the humans came with their machines, tore down his old home, and put one of those new box-houses where it once stood. The man who tore it down even asked for his blessing! The fox couldn't blame the spirits for getting violent. He probably would have looted the place himself if he wasn't so tired...

Yes, it had been a long time since somebody had paid him an earnest offering. Perhaps a child would walk by and throw some bread crusts at the cute little fox that knew the words "sit" and "paw." But nobody could be bothered to leave him a simple bowl of rice or piece of tofu. Of course people still prayed to him though. "Please let my marriage be happy." "Please let me do well on my test." "Please let me win the lottery." The humans had stopped paying tribute, but the had never stopped begging him for luck. Well, he was out of luck himself, so that meant they were too. Not that he'd share any of his luck with them if he had any. Even that new girl failed to pay tribute despite taking up residence on his hill. Well, perhaps she hadn't seen him; he hadn't formally introduced himself yet. But, ignorance was no excuse and whatever those spirits did to her was what she deserved.

That night, though, after all the lights went out in the box-house, the fox felt something different. Something was pulling him. It was a prayer, but it wasn't like all the other trivial pleads he had been bombarded with for the past century. This one was warm, sincere. "Please, please ease these unsettled spirits..." He couldn't remember the last time somebody had prayed for the spirits' well-being. Of course, she was praying for her well-being too, but the girl was honestly frightened. But the fox could understand why, this was a matter entirely out of her hands. [i]That[/i] is what prayers were for. He was on his feet, trotting up the hill. "Bring the shrine back if you must, please, anything to put them at ease." She would give up her box-house for this? The fox peeked in through one of the windows and saw the girl lie down on her futon, the prayer apparently putting her mind at ease. Then, his eyes darted to the front of the house. 

That angry spirit that had scared her before stood at her door. The girl thought she was safe inside, but walls were nothing to spirits. And the fox could tell that the Eyeless One was particularly restless. It would enter tonight. Perhaps it would kill the girl, perhaps it would simply decide to haunt her. However, there was nothing he could do; he was just a decrepit old fox, and that thing was a true monster. Well... there was one thing... if it was still there. He darted back to the crumbling statue and began digging furiously at its base until his paws struck glass. Yes, it was still here, and it was full of energy! he clamped down on the object and pulled out a glass ball, and then ran back to the front door, intercepting the Eyeless One's slow, menacing path. The small fox stood staunchly in front of the spirit and then let go of the glass ball, but it did not fall to the ground; rather, it hovered in place and glowed with a gentle blue light. "I will grant your prayer," the fox said, speaking for the first time in over 100 years. "I will give everything I have to grant it, and perhaps together we can put this land at ease." 

The light from the orb intensified and blanketed the house, then drenched it in blue flames. The walls, the floors, everything of the house became flame, and then it twisted and grew. The floors became tatami, the doors became sliding walls, and giant red arches formed in front of the reborn shrine. Standing at the entrance was no longer a ragged old fox, but a young man with three gorgeous tails. "This is the shrine of Junkojuro!" he called out for all the spirits to hear. "No harm is to come to this place!" Then he pointed to the Eyeless One, his finger mere inches from its gaping mouth. "Begone at once!" It seemed the display was enough to thwart the creature, at least for tonight; it had not come expecting a fight. The Eyeless One turned away and disappeared into the night, and all that remained was the ambient noise of the night. 

Junkojuro then entered the shrine to check on the girl. She was still sleeping, oblivious to the fantastic display that had just taken place around her. Junkojuro knelt down next to her futon, a warm smile on his face. "It may be some time before the spirits are at ease," he said in a soft voice, not loud enough to wake her. "I cannot do it alone, but if you help me, I can grant your prayer. But, for the time being..." He gently stroked the girl's hair. She was so small, even for a girl. She was certainly brave for choosing to live among such dangerous spirits. "I know why you prayed to me. You are frightened. Do not worry, I will protect you." With that, Junkojuro laid down beside her and wrapped his arm about her waist, ready to ward off any harm that may come to her, be it from spirits, her own kind, or the gods themselves.