EPISODE 2.2 :: INARI'S GUIDE TO GETTING LOST

EPISODE ZERO :: PROLOGUE

EPISODE 1.1 :: VEGETABLE GRAVEYARDS

EPISODE 1.2 :: A GUEST IN THE TOMATOES

EPISODE 1.3 :: THE FOX GOD IN MY APARTMENT

EPISODE 2.1 :: AND MIRAI MAKES SIX

EPISODE 2.3 :: FROM A PLACE OF KINDNESS

EPISODE 3.0 :: AN INTERLUDE

EPISODE 4.1 : DANIEL'S DAUNTING DARE

EPISODE 4.2 : THE FAIRNESS OF FLOWERS

EPISODE 4.3 : WELCOME TO KITSUNE GARDENS

EPISODE 5.1: NOT ALL FOXES ARE TRICKY BUT SOME ARE

EPISODE 5.2 :: KITSUNE GOODIE BASKETS

 EPISODE 5.3 :: ONCE A LIAR, NEVER A THIEF

EPISODE 6.0 : NOTICE TAKEN

AN AUTHOR NOTE

BONUS : OMISOKA - a holiday special

&#x3C;p&#x3E;The mall was like nothing Inari had ever seen before. Everything sparkled in the daylight, windows everywhere letting in the sun while their wares were on full display to attract the attention of passersby. Music played lightly over the ambient sounds of other shoppers, and there were so many other shoppers that Inari felt he needed to pay extra close attention so as to keep from bumping into anyone else. Once again, Mirai had taken hold of his hand as she lead the way through the maze of storefronts.&#x3C;/p&#x3E;&#x3C;p&#x3E;&#x22;If you get lost, I have no way of finding you,&#x22; Mirai had warned seriously. &#x22;Naoki and I have phones, but you don&#x27;t so be sure to stick close.&#x22;&#x3C;/p&#x3E;&#x3C;p&#x3E;Inari took these instructions very seriously. With so many people around, it would be easy to get separated and it wasn&#x27;t like he knew how to get back to the shop or even back to Mirai&#x27;s apartment.&#x26;nbsp;&#x3C;/p&#x3E;&#x3C;p&#x3E;Suddenly the space opened up and the light seemed brighter somehow. That&#x27;s when Inari looked up and saw that the ceiling was missing!&#x3C;/p&#x3E;&#x3C;p&#x3E;&#x22;Mirai, the roof&#x27;s gone,&#x22; he said, pointing upwards.&#x3C;/p&#x3E;&#x3C;p&#x3E;Mirai followed his finger, admiring the clear blue sky and the fluffy clouds floating past. &#x22;It&#x27;s not gone,&#x22; she explained. &#x22;Look around the edges. You see the grooves along the top of the walls?&#x22;&#x3C;/p&#x3E;&#x3C;p&#x3E;He had to squint a little but Inari could see them.&#x3C;/p&#x3E;&#x3C;p&#x3E;&#x22;The roof retracts into those slots so people can enjoy the good weather. When the season changes to the point that it isn&#x27;t nice to see outside, or if it&#x27;s raining, they close it up.&#x22;&#x3C;/p&#x3E;&#x3C;p&#x3E;&#x22;Why just this section?&#x22; Inari asked, still looking up.&#x3C;/p&#x3E;&#x3C;p&#x3E;&#x22;Because,&#x22; Mirai said, gently pinching Inari&#x27;s cheek to make him look in front of him rather than above, &#x22;this is the food court.&#x22;&#x3C;/p&#x3E;&#x3C;p&#x3E;Instantly, Inari&#x27;s mouth began to water. He&#x27;d been so distracted he hadn&#x27;t even noticed the smalls wafting their way. The walls were lined with counters that had brilliantly vibrant signs advertising all kinds of food for all kinds of places. The center of the area that felt endlessly large was covered in picnic tables and benches to sit on while enjoying said food and Inari took careful notice of what the people were eating and how they reacted to it, trying to determine what was best from where he stood. How in the Heaven&#x27;s was he supposed to be able to choose something?&#x3C;/p&#x3E;&#x3C;p&#x3E;&#x22;Have anything in mind that you&#x27;d like to try?&#x22; Mirai asked him.&#x26;nbsp;&#x3C;/p&#x3E;&#x3C;p&#x3E;Inari stood there somewhat dumbfounded as he took in the vast space. &#x22;Everything,&#x22; he said, possibly more to himself than to Mirai.&#x26;nbsp;&#x3C;/p&#x3E;&#x3C;p&#x3E;The girl laughed and took Inari&#x27;s hand again so she could lead him around. &#x22;We can&#x27;t try everything, but we can get a little bit of something different from here and there.&#x22;&#x3C;/p&#x3E;&#x3C;p&#x3E;#&#x3C;/p&#x3E;&#x3C;p&#x3E;Back at the shop, Naoki wasn&#x27;t having nearly as much fun. He had finished up with reorganizing the greenhouse and making sure everything was in its right place in the shop itself. The butterflies were all seen to and even the ones in Naoki&#x27;s little lab were doing well. But all of that was more of a general distraction as he struggled to figure out what he was to do with a roommate. Sure, he&#x27;d had roommates in the past before he had opened his shop with his ex-boyfriend, but then the last roommate had been said ex-boyfriend... It wasn&#x27;t like Naoki had needed extra bedding in that situation.&#x3C;/p&#x3E;&#x3C;p&#x3E;Given that the spare room had been turned into the laboratory right from the moment Naoki decided to start breeding them himself, moving them would be quite difficult so his other choice was to try and section off part of his living space for a set of quarters for Inari. Of course, the most important thing was to get a fresh set of bedding for the little god. Decidedly, Naoki grabbed his wallet and made his way to a sweet local shop that made all of the traditional furniture that Naoki was partial to.&#x26;nbsp;&#x3C;/p&#x3E;&#x3C;p&#x3E;&#x22;Naoki!&#x22; beamed the short old woman who owned the shop once she heard the bell of the door ring.&#x3C;/p&#x3E;&#x3C;p&#x3E;Naoki smiled and bent over so the old woman could give him a hug. &#x22;Hi, Obaa-san. How are you?&#x22;&#x3C;/p&#x3E;&#x3C;p&#x3E;&#x22;I&#x27;m alright, dear,&#x22; she replied, stepping back and patting Naoki&#x27;s cheek with her hand. &#x22;To what do I owe the pleasure?&#x22;&#x3C;/p&#x3E;&#x3C;p&#x3E;&#x22;Well, I&#x27;ve taken on some new help at the shop,&#x22; he began to explain.&#x3C;/p&#x3E;&#x3C;p&#x3E;&#x22;What about that lovely girl?&#x22; the woman interrupted.&#x3C;/p&#x3E;&#x3C;p&#x3E;&#x22;Oh, Mirai still helps out when she can. This one is different. He&#x27;s from out of town and was looking for work to find a place to stay. I couldn&#x27;t exactly turn him away.&#x22;&#x3C;/p&#x3E;&#x3C;p&#x3E;&#x22;How lovely,&#x22; the woman said and patted Naoki&#x27;s cheek again.&#x3C;/p&#x3E;&#x3C;p&#x3E;Naoki flushed a little. This woman wasn&#x27;t &#x3C;em&#x3E;really&#x3C;/em&#x3E; his grandmother, but she refused to let anyone call her by her name, Kame, claiming it made her sound like an even older lady. Even her kind-hearted husband referred to his wife as &#x22;Obaa-san&#x22; when others were around. But they were lovely people all the same.&#x3C;/p&#x3E;&#x3C;p&#x3E;&#x22;Yes... So, well, I&#x27;m looking for a new futon for him and some bedding.&#x22;&#x3C;/p&#x3E;&#x3C;p&#x3E;&#x22;Yes, yes, that we do have.&#x22; Obaa-san toddled away and Naoki followed behind her to take a look through his options.&#x26;nbsp;&#x3C;/p&#x3E;&#x3C;p&#x3E;The handmade sheets were so smooth between his rough hands, Naoki almost felt bad for touching them. But the patterns were all so beautiful, he couldn&#x27;t help but reach out and touch, running his fingers over the details. When he came across a white and green set in a fern pattern, he knew that was the set to get for his new houseguest. Obaa-san also found a set of pajamas that had a similar pattern so Naoki added those to his pile as well.&#x26;nbsp;&#x3C;/p&#x3E;&#x3C;p&#x3E;&#x22;Are you sure you can manage all of this?&#x22; Obaa-san asked as she rang up all of Naoki&#x27;s purchases.&#x3C;/p&#x3E;&#x3C;p&#x3E;&#x22;I&#x27;ll be fine. This weighs nothing compared to some of the larger planters I have.&#x22;&#x3C;/p&#x3E;&#x3C;p&#x3E;The old woman nodded, &#x22;Yes, yes, of course.&#x22;&#x3C;/p&#x3E;&#x3C;p&#x3E;&#x22;Thanks again, Obaa-san. I appreciate the help.&#x22;&#x3C;/p&#x3E;&#x3C;p&#x3E;&#x22;Any time, Naoki. Be sure to send your new little guest over when he can spare it. I should like to meet him.&#x22;&#x3C;/p&#x3E;&#x3C;p&#x3E;Naoki smiled, &#x22;I&#x27;ll have him bring your next order down. We&#x27;ll be starting a delivery service in the next coming days.&#x22;&#x3C;/p&#x3E;&#x3C;p&#x3E;&#x22;Wonderful!&#x22;&#x3C;/p&#x3E;&#x3C;p&#x3E;Naoki once again said his goodbyes after that and headed back to the shop. Getting back upstairs, he laid out the new futon and set out the sheets so it could all air out nicely by the time Mirai and Inari came back. Just before Naoki had to worry about what he should busy himself with next, his phone rang.&#x3C;/p&#x3E;&#x3C;p&#x3E;&#x22;How goes the shopping?&#x22; he asked upon answering, seeing that it was Mirai who called.&#x3C;/p&#x3E;&#x3C;p&#x3E;&#x22;I&#x27;ve lost him,&#x22; the girl said back frantically.&#x3C;/p&#x3E;&#x3C;p&#x3E;&#x22;What?!&#x22;&#x3C;/p&#x3E;&#x3C;p&#x3E;&#x22;I&#x27;ve lost Inari!&#x22;&#x3C;/p&#x3E;&#x3C;p&#x3E;&#x26;nbsp;&#x26;nbsp;&#x26;nbsp;&#x26;nbsp;&#x26;nbsp;&#x26;nbsp;&#x26;nbsp;&#x26;nbsp;&#x26;nbsp;&#x26;nbsp;&#x26;nbsp;&#x26;nbsp;&#x26;nbsp;&#x26;nbsp;&#x26;nbsp;&#x26;nbsp;&#x26;nbsp;&#x26;nbsp;&#x26;nbsp;&#x26;nbsp;&#x26;nbsp;&#x26;nbsp;&#x26;nbsp;#&#x3C;/p&#x3E;&#x3C;p&#x3E;Not much time had passed between Mirai and Inari enjoying their mix-and-match food court lunch and Mirai frantic phone call to Naoki. After they had finished eating, Mirai had gone off to get some wipes to clean her hands. She had told Inari to stay where he was and keep an eye on her bag so it wouldn&#x27;t go missing.&#x3C;/p&#x3E;&#x3C;p&#x3E;When she had come back, Inari was gone along with her bag. She did an entire loop of the expansive food court area, looking for an ugly sunhat and flaming red hair, but when she made it back to where they had been sitting with no sign of Inari, that was when Mirai took her phone from her pocket and called Naoki. The mall was just far too big to search by herself and the girl wasn&#x27;t sure about going to mall security given Inari wasn&#x27;t actually human. If they scared him, Mirai wasn&#x27;t sure what would happen.&#x26;nbsp;&#x3C;/p&#x3E;&#x3C;p&#x3E;What Mirai didn&#x27;t know is that Inari wasn&#x27;t all that far away. As he had been sitting and waiting for Mirai, Inari overheard a pair of girls at the next table as they exchanged gifts with each other.&#x3C;/p&#x3E;&#x3C;p&#x3E;He watched as the one girl opened up a lovely purse decorated with embroidered flowers. She had squealed with glee and then handed the other girl a small paper bag with just as much excitement. The bag was opened and Inari wasn&#x27;t sure what was in the small box from where he was sitting, but the way the two girls embraced each other, he figured it was something special. He looked beside him at Mirai&#x27;s bag, the canvas slightly stained and the seams were beginning to fray. It was clearly a loved bag, but Inari got the idea of surprising her with a new one. If those girls were so happy giving each other new things, then maybe Mirai would also be happy if Inari found something new for her.&#x26;nbsp;&#x3C;/p&#x3E;&#x3C;p&#x3E;With his idea firmly set, Inari slump Mirai&#x27;s bag over his shoulder and took off back down the hallway they had come up. He was sure he had seen a shop that sold bags somewhere around here. If he was fast, he&#x27;d be able to get back to the food court before Mirai even knew he was gone!&#x26;nbsp;&#x3C;/p&#x3E;

&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: 1rem;&quot;&gt;The last time Inari, a kitsune goddess of the harvest, was in the mortal realm, the world was falling apart as humanity struggled against the rages of climate change and overworking the land and sea. Hundreds of years have passed and Inari feels it's time to come back. But in a different way.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Naoki has worked hard his entire life to care for the land he was raised on and continues to vouch for ethical resources by supplying his city with plants and gardening supplies through his shop. When he finds a strange young man in the back of his greenhouse, Naoki gets dragged into a whirlwind of a situation he never would have expected.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;[ cover art by Sera Execfia ]&lt;/p&gt;

My Garden Shop Delivery Boy is a Shape-Shifting Fox God