Fox-Masked Guardian Spirit

## Komen no Mamorigami狐面の守り神

* Logo
* Cover

**Fox-Masked Guardian Spirit** (狐面の守り神, *Kōmen no Mamorigami*?) alternatively "**Komen no Mamorigami**", is a one-shot web comic written and illustrated by AidaIro.

The comic is distributed by 3 Under B Step (3号館B階段下) and can be viewed online for free.

## **Description**

* Translated (English)
* Original (Japanese)
 All children belong to god until they turn seven.

"*Until the day you turn seven and become a child of the humans, I will protect you.*" 七つ前は神のうち

七つを過ぎて人の子になるその日までは、

ぼくがきみを守るよ
## **Story**

It begins with a fox-masked boy sitting by the front porch. He is approached by a young girl excitedly running towards him, she calls the boy "*Kitsune-san*". She shows off her new *Kimono* to Kitsune-san, saying that she was told by his father to wear it when they go to the shrine tomorrow.

Yuki tells Kitsune-san to stand up, she reaches for his hand, handing him something, and kisses his masked face. With a mask on, there is no telling what his expression was. Yuki playfully asks if it surprised him, and shows a matching pair of bracelets. Kitsune-san lays in silence as Yuki adjourns and tells him she has to hurry back to her mother. As Yuki leaves, he pauses and touches his mask. Shima, a ghost cat who follows the fox-masked boy around and seemed like it had lived for centuries, asks what he was grinning for. The boy removed his mask and embarrassingly denies it. Shima then counts on the many weird statements it heard from Yuki, saying things like "*I like you*" or "*Let's get married*" even though they've never spoken before. He smiles in embarrassment, which prompted Shima in anger. Shima then asks why he hasn't talked to her yet. He replied and said it is embarrassing, which again prompted an annoyed reaction from Shima.

Shima asks if he is planning to leave without saying a word, reminding him that Yuki is turning seven tomorrow meaning his role will be over too. He smiles and emphasizes that he doesn't know where to go after fulfilling his role. He concerns that he wouldn't be able to stay in this warm place any longer, but even if the worlds they are from are separated, he will continue wishing Yuki happiness.

He and Shima went back to Yuki. Seeing her asleep, he tucks her blanket and wonders if he'll be parting with Shima as well and jokingly says he wouldn't mind if Yuki ends up missing him a bit. Then suddenly, he heard a loud noise coming from the other room, Shima's parents arguing, talking about selling Yuki to a brothel to solve their financial issues. He asks Shima what a "brothel" is and was denied a response, telling him that he should give it up, telling him to not bother with unnecessary things, but he pursed and kept asking, prompting Shima to finally answer.

The boy was in shock when he heard the full situation. Shima makes a point and says it would have been better if he hadn't asked. He thought to himself that he as a guardian had failed to notice a shadow creeping nearer, and even if he had noticed it he wouldn't have been able to do something about it. He tears up asking if Yuki can't be happy anymore, he thought to himself that the one who'd been protected like a small child was him all along, and that he was given a right and a privilege, not a duty. Shima attempts to comfort him, assuring him that it would follow Yuki as he leaves to act as a replacement since Yuki had also taken good care of it. The boy mentioning Yuki says that he doesn't think he's strong enough to always live bearing a wish that can never be fulfilled.

It's a new day. Yuki wakes up hearing a call of his name. It was Kitsune-san. He removed his mask, which surprised Yuki. Kitsune-san offers his hand, telling Yuki to go with him. She paused for a few moments, then she accepted his hands saying one word, "Okay." Her mother knocks on the door, calling for Yuki to wake up. She saw a scene that horrified her, and shouted for her husband. Yuki is seen on the ground, lifeless. Shima calls on the boy's name, Saza. The fox-masked boy's real name was Saza. He says that he was happy that he was able to protect Yuki, and he says that he would give Yuki his place.

Shima, who is the only one left, reiterates how foolish all of this is, saying that it doesn't change anything at all as over and over they keep repeating a cycle of endless rebirth. For the cat's centuries of existence, it has seen this occur so many times, Yuki becoming a guardian and Saza becoming the human, then Saza becomes the guardian and Yuki becomes a human. Over, and over.

## **Information**

### **Fox-Masked Children**

Born to this world as guardian spirits for human children until they turn seven. Officially, they're not yet gods, but are paired existences with the human child they're meant to protect. If they fail to fulfill their role and allow that child to die, the fox-masked child will vanish along with them. Once the human child has passed the age of seven without incident, the fox-masked child will have fulfilled their role and return to their patron deities, where they will finally be acknowledged as a god in their own right.

### **Yuki & Saza**

Paired existences who are always born in this world with one being a human child and the other as a guardian spirit. Yuki and Saza are their names when either one is born as a human. The one born as a human child already has their fate decided and will inevitable fail to escape misfortune. But due to their strong feelings for each other, as one is unable to accept the other's future, they've unknowingly switched roles and been reborn many, many times. As for which one was originally a human child and which one was a guardian spirit - even Shima doesn't know.

## **Author's Commentary**

Aida & Iro gave a few statements for the reader after the comic ended.

* Aida
* Iro

## **Characters**

* The Fox-masked Boy
* Yuki
* Shima

## Profile

### Race

Human (currently)
Guardian Spirit (previously)

## Status

### **The Fox-masked Boy**

The boy who stays by Yuki's side as the fox-masked guardian spirit in this tale. Has never spoken to Yuki and gets embarrassed easily, but she cherishes her immensely. Saza is the name he's given when born as a human, so technically he doesn't have a name this time around. As a human child, Saza is bit livelier than when he's a guardian spirit, and he doesn't hesitate to talk to Yuki.

## Profile

### Race

Guardian Spirit (currently)
Human (previously)

## Status

### **Yuki**

The girl whose existence is paired with Saza's. This time, she lived as a human child until right before she turned seven. As a human child, Yuki is a fairly ordinary girl who is innocent and a little precocious in some ways, but as a guardian spirit, she is calm and speaks little.

## Status

### **Shima**

A ghost cat who's lived for centuries. Met Yuki and Saza while it was wondering in all sorts of places and is interested to whatever ending they might have someday. Doesn't budge from its role as an observer as it won't tell the pair things or interfere in major ways. But perhaps because such feelings have rushed forth after watching them repeat this so many times, it secretly frowns upon the wasted rebirth cycle of these two for making the same choices no matter how many times they're reborn.