Beyond the Dolls - Kitsune Jazz

March 2068. Blyen Chill, a doll hunter and friend of Renzo, receives an unexpected visit in his flat. At his door, a couple of old friends who he used to chase, two elusive foxes destined to die. What future is there for creatures with an expiration date?

It was a peculiar sight what welcomed Blyen at the front door of his flat—not something he’d expect to stumble upon in a lovely, gray Bri’ish winter morning. Still, surprises were part of his job, always had been, always would be. So, he shut the camera feed and pulled the handle, releasing the lock for his two unexpected guests.

“I can’t believe you two came back.”

The first words that emerged from his throat were far from his usual welcome, but the frustration was, in his head, justified. Still, the two gazes that rested on him had a warmth, a strange, soothing quietness, he couldn’t resist to. Red irises. White irises. Both unnatural. Both engineered. The two young women that were waiting at his doorstep couldn’t look more different, couldn’t look more similar. Their features were close to identical, but the colors, the details, the choice of clothing were all over the place. White hair and dark skin for the one on the right, wrapped in what Blyen would have described as a biker jacket. Bluish hair, porcelain complexion for the one on the left, complemented by a vivid, colorful long yukata and an umbrella, much like he would have expected from a traditional Japanese wife. The pale, more refined woman was steadily basking in the embrace of her dark-skinned companion, hand in hand in a strong hug.

All while Blyen was still yawning, trying to make sense of all of that. Shrugging too, as if there were nothing seriously wrong with it. He addressed both of them again, trying to hide the resignation in his voice.

“So, which names do you go by, now?”

The dark skinned woman groaned, bared what looked like short fangs. Her partner caressed her cheek gently, slid her hand down, following the profile of her shoulder. That seemed to calm her, to quench her annoyance. Then, they answered, almost in unison, almost as one.

“Kay and Yoko Kurogami.”

Blyen nodded, noticed the matching rings they were wearing. Same surname, now. A happily married couple, after all, He waved his hand at them, stepped into his flat.

“Well, then welcome back. Make yourself comfortable, while I go tell Serìna.”

As Kay entered the room, her senses were assaulted by a mixture of smells, a kaleidoscope of fragrances. Salmon. Rice. Seaweed. Her stomach growled, if a little. Typical Serìna, so typical of her. Rice balls with salmon and seaweed. Her favorite food. No way she’d give up on it, even after settling. Even as her clock was still ticking. Kay’s eyes darted to the pastel walls, then back to the kitchen. Framed pictures were watching back at her from all over the place. Most of them portrayed a man in his thirties, with slick black hair and almost violet eyes, hugging a younger woman with long auburn locks and a radiant smile. Blyen. Serìna. Pictures from many different countries, arranged in colorful collages. Around them, a collection of keychains, magnets, kitschy gadgets from hundreds of different places. Cheap hotels. Cheaper motels. Youth hostels, even. One picture, though, was different. Blyen was standing there together with a younger man, one that had improbable spiky hair and wore a jacket with a collar so high that it almost covered his mouth completely. The same guy was then featured in another picture—now with twice the muscle mass, two kids in his arms, a blond neko woman and a gruff black-haired neko man close by. Kay squinted her eyes, looked at Yoko, saw her squinting her eyes too. They both shared a deadpan gaze, trying their best at not having their jaw drop.

“…that’s…”

“…of all the people to have children…”

“Yeah. I lost the bet.”

“We both did.”

The spiky-haired guy appeared in two more pictures, one of which showing a burly shark too and a guy dressed in yellow, whose face was completely out of focus. Yoko chuckled at that coincidence, chuckled with a bout of crystalline laughter that made Kay smirk. That was Yoko, her Yoko, alright—the woman she had fallen in love at first sight.

“Please, have a seat, ladies. Serìna will be here soon.”

Blyen came back from the corridor, slumped on his sofa, leaning on it with nonchalance. Yoko had a good look at him, scanning him from head to toes. She couldn’t judge men objectively, but Blyen had to be at least mildly attractive, if one swung that way. Slim, tonic, not a hint of extra fat.

Sharp.

His fingers were resting on a bag hanging close by, caressing the zipper. Yoko gritted her teeth, her fangs shone in the lights of the living room. Yeah, right. That was Blyen Chill, after all. Always ready to act, if the need arose. Before Yoko could say anything, though, Kay took the chance to interject.

“I’d feel more welcome if you didn’t toy with that gun, Chill.”

Blyen shrugged, smiled back at her.

“And I’d feel better if you didn’t toy with that knife, Kaya.”

Kay clicked her tongue, pulled out a short machete from under her jacket, slid it onto the ground. Blyen nodded, pulled up the bag, slid it on the floor too. Not the best way to start a friendly conversation. Trust was not the best quality of dolls, after all. He knew it all too well.

“We were just going to have lunch. Rice balls with seaweed and salmon. Fancy some?”

Yoko looked at him, let her colorless irises meet his violet lakes.

“Only if you’ve got enough for you first.”

“Enough? Oh, absolutely. Serìna always cooks enough of them for an army. If you don’t join, that’s all I’ll eat for the next two days.”

Kay’s gaze rested on him again, much like Yoko’s did. Blyen was at the focus, at the center of their attention, devoured by their hungry eyes, by their piercing presence. Kay. Yoko. When he met them for the first time, those weren’t their names. Kaya. Kiyoko. Not so different, just enough to feel like a whole other set of identities. Even if they were hiding their feral traits, now like then, their nature was never in discussion. It was as clear is it ever could be, from the unnatural color of their irises to the strange texture of their hair, to their impossibly smooth skin.

Dolls.

Artificial human dolls.

Sentients constructs created to satisfy the needs of rich old pricks, despite the moral qualms that surrounded their production. All of them had an expiration date. All of them had absolute bastards as owners. Many of them tried to run. Enough of them you could do a fine living by tracking them down. You catch one, bring her back, and you get enough money for a year of rent and groceries alone. Catch two and you can afford a new car in addition to that. No wonder doll hunters became a highly sought commodity.

No wonder Blyen became one too.

No wonder he had retired, after Serìna entered his life.

Too complex, too dangerous. Their story couldn’t last, if he kept on doing what he did. Their story wouldn’t last anyway, but at least they’d share their limited time together as well as they could.

“Blyeeen, come on!”

A bright voice echoed in the room, one accompanied by the light tapping of agile feet. A minute woman with straight auburn hair smiled at him, pinched his cheek between her fingers.

“You say that as if that’s a bad thing. Rice balls with seaweed and salmon are just so yummy!”

Blyen almost bit her fingertips, causing her to retract her hand, start rubbing his hair instead.

“Not when you eat them every other week.”

“You can cook too, you know?”

He pinched her nose, pulled it closer.

“Not as well as you.”

They both smiled, exchanged a short kiss. Blyen turned towards their guests again, wrapping his arm around her hip.

Kay rolled her eyes, her nails sunk into her thigh. Yoko caressed her shoulder, causing a long sigh to escape her partner’s lips. Kay’s eyes met with Blyen’s first, then with Serìna’s, then moved back to Blyen.

“How much time left?”

Serìna lowered her gaze, wore a tired smile.

“…one hundred seventy two days and six hours. You two?”

“Still five years. Maybe a little less.”

Serìna nodded, trembled a little. Blyen’s hand closed around hers.

“I wish I was made later… or that I met Blyen sooner. It’s… not fair, right?”

Kay grumbled under his breath, bit her lips.

“Yeah, no, it isn’t. It sucks. It sucks so much.”

Blyen hugged Serìna stronger, caressed her hair, closed his eyes, rubbed his cheek against hers. Serìna let him do it, tried to force herself to brighten up. That wasn’t easy, though. Not when your lifespan is outside of your control and you can’t do anything to extend it.

Such was the life of a doll.

Such was the life of Serìna Fumiko.

In that moment, she let herself go. Her ears twitched, reshaped, travelled to the top of her head. A mass of fur emerged from the back of her pants, turning into a voluminous, massive fox tail. She wrapped it around Blyen, pulled him towards her. Her short fangs peeked from under her lips, completing her portrait—her true portrait. Kay and Yoko looked at each other, then back at Serìna. They joined hands, closed their eyes. The same transformation took hold of their bodies, as their fox ears, their fox tails saw the light of the room, popping out of their seemingly human bodies.

Kitsune.

All three of them.

A special sub-model of doll. Fifteen years of lifespan. Infertile. Capable of limited shapeshifting. All sisters, based on the same genetic template with just a little artificial variety.

Blyen knew that, of course. He was staring at the three creatures that surrounded him as if being surrounded by fox women were a most natural occurrence. Well, for him it was. For the past eight years, at least. Eight years spent at Anser—at Serìna’s side. Eight years spent traveling around the world, living for each other, loving each other. Eight years that were going to end soon. Blyen shivered. Not even six months.

Not even six months before he had to say goodbye to Serìna forever.

Not even six months, yes.

Every day precious. A scarcity. A commodity. A shared moment of tenderness, of care. Moments that would never come back. Moments that couldn’t be bought. Kay’s ears twitched. She got closer to Blyen, looked at him right in his eyes.

“…you didn’t find a way.”

“…not for lack of trying.”

His voice flickered, trembled. Every word heavier than the last.

“I’ve even asked Yard, which asked EXODUS too. Reached out for Encorp and Stratosphere. I’ve used my contacts at Zavira. Burned a couple dozen bridges. Still nothing. There is no way. There is no way to…”

Serìna held him tight, pulled him to her chest. Sobs. She heard them. Soft sobs. Like that of a wounded kid. Yelps. Curses.

Crying.

Blyen was crying.

Like a baby.

The baby they could never have.

Not normally, at least.

Still, Serìna’s belly was fuller than it should have been. More rounded. More pronounced. She caressed it, while still keeping Blyen close, almost finding a reason to smile.

“That’s all we could do. That’s all we could manage. She’ll be born two months before I switch off. She’ll be my legacy. A fully human, healthy girl. One with my genes and Blyen’s. My last gift to this world.”

Kay snapped.

She stood up, looked down on Serìna, on that weeping wreck of her partner.

Her fangs were trembling, her muscles aching, her fists closed.

“Oh sure! A kid! Because that’s gonna help, right?! Bloody heck, this is so stupid!”

Yoko gasped, her hand reached for Kay’s wrist.

“Kay…!”

Kay shook it away.

“Are you fuckin’ serious?! You still have six! Bloody! Months! Use them, for chrissake! I’d kill the world to save my wife and you can’t even do that?! Why are you sitting here, chilling while your gal burns like a candle?! Why aren’t you around sniffing hints like you always did while chasing me and Yoko? That’s the best you can do?! Knocking her up with artificial insemination just before she dies?!”

Kay’s cheek ached.

Pain flared.

Her head recoiled.

A punch.

A punch straight to her face.

Causing her to tumble.

To fall into Yoko’s hands.

Blyen was standing up. In tears. His hands shaking. His breathing ragged.

He couldn’t let that pass.

He simply couldn’t.

His voice trembled, as he calmed down, slowly.

“…do you think I’m happy, Kaya? Really? Serìna and I… we tried. We did all we could. But the truth won’t change just because we wish so. You dolls… you are made to degrade. Your bodies can’t be patched, no matter what. It’s over, after fifteen years it’s simply over. So, Serìna…”

Serìna rose up behind him, hugged him with her arms and tail, bit his neck softly. Blyen could feel his heartbeat slowing down, the gentle pressure of her hands on his chest.

“…Serìna asked me to let it go, last year, to stop trying and spend my time with her instead. She was the one who… asked me to, yeah. Then, she…”

“I had the idea of trying to get a baby together. Shame that Blyen will have to raise her alone…”

Blyen caressed the back of her hand, let out a tired smile.

“I have good friends. They’ll help. Renzo has two kids too, right?”

Serìna grumbled, leaned on his shoulder.

“Renzo is an idiot.”

“Yeah, but a good idiot.”

“Who knocked up a French catgirl.”

“A neko.”

“In the restrooms of a cafe, no less. In broad daylight.”

“She started it.”

Serìna pinched his cheek, whispered in his ears.

“Still an idiot. Like that other neko friend of yours. How many kids does Reno have? Forty-seven?”

Blyen groaned, rolled his eyes.

“Look, it wasn’t his fault. Well, not fully, at least”

Serìna smirked, kissed his cheek, licked it gently.

“I was just teasing you. I’m sure they’ll be wonderful uncles. I just wish…”

“Yeah.”

Kay stood up, grabbed Yoko’s hand. She walked to the door, almost biting her lips, absorbing her tail and her ears back into her body. Blyen cleared his throat, raised his hand at her.

“…going already? Not even stopping for lunch?”

Kay leered at him, clicked her tongue.

“If there’s a chance to save Yoko, I’ll find it, Chill. We accepted our end, I don’t believe in fairytales… but if there’s hope, I want to believe. I want to believe in a world where we’ll live to get old.”

Yoko nodded, hiding her own tail too.

“Our knight in shining armor gave his life to save us. We owe him that much.”

“Yes. So, Chill… if you give up, if you don’t fight till the end, I won’t forgive you. I can’t forgive you.”

Her red irises burned, glanced at Serìna. Liquid spite swam into a sea of blood.

“I wish you the best with your kid. I hope that she’ll grow up well, despite never getting to know her mom.”

Blyen’s voice blared from the inside of the living room.

An ice-cold blade, piercing Kaya’s heart.

Few words.

Just a few words.

As heavy as concrete.

“At least, her mom will have someone left to remember her.”

Kay didn’t answer. Yoko neither. They watched in silence for a long instant, before turning around, disappearing down the stairs. In the flickering darkness, one step at a time, they went into the fog, leaving the building behind.

Disappearing into mist, as if they’d never been there.

As if they had never existed in the first place.