"We need to go sign up now if you want to go through with this plan of yours," Alvar said before he turned and rushed out of the tunnel. Kiki was hot on his trail with Damion and Miyuki scrambling after them.

 "What was that voice? It sounded like someone was speaking inside of my head." Damion asked once he and Miyuki had caught up with Kiki.

 "It was a Telepath; there are many here that act as announcers for the festival." Damion jumped as Alvar appeared beside him and answered his question. He was sick of Alvar, always knowing everything and appearing out of nowhere. Now he knew why Miyuki was so annoyed when he showed up.

 "I'm still confused about how they got the map," Damion told Kiki, ignoring Alvar's scowl. A crowd was gathering ahead of them at the end of the main road.

 "You have to win the map in the tournament. It's more of a symbol of achievement. You get to keep it for a year and when the year is up they collect it for the tournament so other Kitsune have a chance to win it. No one knows it's the real map; they all just assume it's a replica." Kiki explained, slowing down as they reached the thinning crowd.

 "So what do you do in the tournament?" Damion asked as he dodged Kitsune that were leaving the table with excited whispers. There was still one Kitsune in line ahead of them, speeding through the sign up as quickly as he could.

 "Everyone who enters the tournament gets to compete in scruffing matches," Miyuki explained excitedly, her green eyes gleaming. "It's the best part of the festival!" Damion blinked at her: he had never seen Miyuki get so excited over something.

 "What's a scruffing match?" He asked as he tried to recall if he had read anything about it in one of his books.

 "A scruffing match is a one on one fight between two kitsune. The goal is to scruff your opponent without them scruffing you first. It's so much fun!" Miyuki said in a rush, as a fire burned in her sparkling eyes.

 "Not to rain on your parade but I'll probably win again this year. Sorry, Miyuki." Kiki said with a crooked smile. Damion wasn't sure how Kiki managed to win last year but he felt like he had already asked a lot of questions so he left it unasked.

 "Sorry ladies but I'm going to win this year." The Kitsune in front of them interjected, whirling around to face them. He was a muscular Kitsune with a blue yukata and four silver tails, an air of confidence around him.

 "I highly doubt that," Miyuki growled at the Kitsune. He waved her comment aside, waving his tails behind him proudly. He glanced around their group, barely looking at Damion but gasping when he saw Alvar.

 "Alvar! Are you seriously competing this year? If you are I sure hope I don't face you." The Kitsune said his cocky grin wavering.

 "Hiro, I highly suggest you go and train for tomorrow if you wish to beat any of us," Alvar replied, his cold gaze boring into Hiro's face. 

 "Well, there are two I know I can beat for sure and maybe even grandma over there," Hiro remarked as he gestured to Miyuki and Damion before jabbing a finger at Kiki. Damion gasped as Kiki lunged at Hiro, slapping him across the face.

 "Don't you ever refer to me like that ever again!" Kiki snarled, dusting her hands off as she stepped back. Cross blinked in confusion, reaching up to his face and gingerly touching his bright red cheek.

 "You should leave now Hiro," Alvar said, stepping to the side so he could leave. Damion watched the once cocky Kitsune slip away, now stunned into silence. He glanced nervously at Kiki who was glaring after Hiro and knew he never wanted to get on her bad side.

 "Can I help you four?" Damion whipped around to a beautiful long-haired Kitsune at the table, looking inquisitively at them. Damion was about to answer when Alvar cut in front of him.

 "We would like four registration forms for the tournament," Alvar rumbled. The girl Kitsune nodded and quickly gave them the forms and some pens. "I'll get these filled out and then we'll train. Kiki; you work with Miyuki and I'll work with Damion." Alvar said as he handed two forms to Kiki.

 "Well, what if I say that I want to train him," Kiki growled, her eyes slits as she glared at Alvar. Damion really wished he could train with Kiki and Miyuki and Alvar could go and do his training by himself.

 "I'm training him, and that's final," Alvar said, his tone challenging Kiki to try and fight him for it. Damion was hoping she would and was surprised to see her turn around and stalk away with Miyuki soon following after her.

Damion watched as Alvar filled the forms out carefully and handed them back to the Kitsune girl. She handed them each a ribbon with a number on the end. Alvar gave Damion one with the number '241' while he kept the one marked '240.'

"Follow me," Alvar said as he led the way out of the village once again and down one of the winding tunnels. Their footsteps echoed in the tunnel, the only sound in the thick silence. 

 Eventually, Damion couldn't take it any longer and blurted, "Why do you want to help us?" He flinched as Alvar gave him a narrowed look.

 "You say it as if this is your quest." Alvar rumbled, his eyes returning to gaze at the path ahead. 

 "Because Miyuki said I was the only one that could help her! I wouldn't be here if she hadn't asked me." Damion shot back, feeling irritable. He noticed Alvar's face grow troubled as they lapsed into silence once again.

 "You may as well ask whatever else is on your mind or else this journey will be rather long." Alvar finally said. Damion stared at the ground, trying to decide what to ask.

 "How old are you?" Damion asked, hoping he wouldn't be offended but realizing that most of the Kitsune here could be a lot older than what they appeared. He was even surprised to see amusement glimmer in Alvar's golden eyes.

 "In my current form, I am twenty; in my natural form I’m anywhere from seventy to ninety years old. Most Kitsune don’t typically keep track of their age," Alvar answered simply, not seeming to notice Damion's shocked expression. 

 Now I really want to know how old Kiki is. Damion thought, pondering over Hiro's remark about Kiki's age and the way she had reacted. He opened his mouth to ask then gasped instead as the tunnel widened into a small cavern. Tufts of grass poked out from cracks in the hard earth, creating a ring in the center of the cave. A large lantern hung from the roof of the cavern, bathing the room in a warm amber glow. Damion gazed around it and watched curiously as Alvar strode to the center of the ring and stared at him, a challenge in his golden gaze.

 "Are you ready to train?" Alvar asked, gesturing for Damion to step into the ring. Damion gulped and hesitantly sidled up to the ring in case Alvar jumped on him or something.

 "So how do the fights work exactly?" He asked once he was in the ring with Alvar. Alvar sighed and closed his eyes. Immediately his Yukata fell to the ground and standing on top of it was a large black fox with six tails fanning out behind it.

 "This is how we fight." The black fox replied in Alvar's voice, his golden eyes gleaming. Damion sucked in a breath, both amazed and terrified at Alvar's words.

 "So we fight as foxes, which are Kitsune's natural forms, and do something called 'scruffing' to win?" Damion said as the puzzle slowly came together in his head.

 "Indeed; now change form and we'll practice." Alvar rumbled as he got to his paws and nosed his crumpled Yukata out of the ring. Damion hesitated, not exactly sure he remembered how to turn into a fox but knew he would figure it out in a minute or two. "Do you know how?"Alvar asked as he turned his piercing gaze back to the boy.

 "Yes, just give me a minute," Damion answered, closing his eyes and focusing. The familiar image of a mottled brown fox formed in his head again and instead of focusing only on the ears and tails he focused on the fox as a whole, trying to become it. Once he was sure he could feel himself change he opened his eyes. His Yukata was on the ground in a lump below him. He gasped as he noticed his hands had changed and were now two small brown paws.

 "Are you ready?" Alvar asked and Damion glanced over, surprised to see how much bigger he appeared now. He seemed to tower over Damion now, his jet black fur reflecting the lantern's light.

 "Yes, I'm ready," Damion answered, although he really wanted to experiment and see what he could do with his new body he knew he should stay focused. Alvar nodded his sleek head and padded towards Damion.

 "Now the matches are simple and there is one objective: Scruff your opponent without getting scruffed," Alvar explained, his ears pinned down.

 "So what is 'Scruffing' exactly?" Damion asked then yelped as Alvar rushed at him and leaped over his head. He flinched as he felt Alvar grip the loose skin on the back of his neck. Instantly his legs seized up and a feeling of complete helplessness overtook him.

 "This is 'Scruffing," Alvar mumbled around Damion's scruff, letting him drop to the ground. Damion let out an oof as he landed on the ground, struggling to get up with his new fox legs.

 "Okay, I got it now," Damion growled, determined not to get scruffed again. He shook himself, hating that feeling of uselessness. Alvar whisked back to his side of the ring and faced Damion with a flourish of his tails.

 "Ready?" He asked, his eyes gleaming. Damion could tell he wasn't going to go easy on him just because this was his first time. They had to win this tournament, and they didn't have time to go through the basics.

 "Ready." They rushed at each other, both wanting to win as much as the other.