Chapter 21

  The rest of the morning passed with them deliberately wandering through the town.

  They circled without meaning to, every path seeming to pull them in a slow orbit around the fountain at the village’s center—leaving an unspoken question hanging between them.

  It was pleasant simply to socialize; this was the first place where Ben could walk among others freely. There was awkwardness present… but it was pleasant nonetheless.

  On the bright side, the residents no longer viewed him as some mythical hero. News of his loss of control—and the breakdown that followed—had spread from the breakfast hall faster than wildfire. Reverence had shifted into caution and quiet anxiety.

  Rakxa and Ralf still shadowed them, which only added to the village’s unease, but they kept a professional distance, leaving Ben and Fuku relatively alone.

  They walked on, passing small, tidy houses where Beast-kin children played in the yards. From a distance, Ben could hear the rhythmic clang of a hammer on metal, a familiar sound from a life long past. Yet through it all, his eyes kept drifting back to the center of the square. He had to know if the fountain was magical. If Adrasteia had any involvement with it, he couldn't feel comfortable until he understood what that meant for him.

  He could feel Fuku’s own interest in it as well, though for a different reason. While Ben felt a knot of dread, Fuku’s tail twitched with a cat-like curiosity. His entire quest revolved around collecting odd bits of old magic, and Ben knew the Tanuki was itching to see if this fountain was another piece of his puzzle.

  They had asked several of the townsfolk about it, but none had spoken of anything magical. Still, Ben had to check for himself.

  Finally, after circling the square for the third time, Fuku stopped. "Come on, Ben, we have to go check it out. We can't just wander around and avoid it forever," he said, tugging on Ben’s finger.

  Ben nodded and sighed. "I know, Fuku. Let’s go."

  So, it was around mid-day when they finally stopped circling and walked deliberately toward the center of town.

  “You okay, Ben?” Fuku asked as they approached. He had taken to bouncing to get around again rather than being carried.

  “Yes, so far I feel nothing out of the ordinary.”

  They moved closer and then walked the circumference of the fountain itself. It was circular, made of a white marble swirled through with gray and black. It had a central pool and what appeared to be a large lily at the center from which water trickled from its leaves. Long grooves, worn by the water’s passage, channeled the flow down into the pool, filling the area with the light sound of falling water.

  Ben reached down and trailed his finger along the marble, feeling the small deviations in the stone.

  “I don’t feel anything magical about it,” Fuku said as he bounced atop the pedestal surrounding it. “Can I take some of the water?”

  Ben shrugged. He was still a little apprehensive, but for all intents and purposes, this fountain seemed to be ordinary. A match to the one in the Labyrinth, yes—but ordinary in every other way.

  “May as well,” Ben commented. “We’ve seen children play in it and others fill bottles from it. It obviously isn’t poisonous or harmful to others.”

  Fuku’s ear twitched at Ben's comment, but he pulled a small glass jar from his tail and dipped it into the clear water. He held it up, inspecting it, looking through it as if trying to see any impurities held within.

  “It’s too clean, Ben,” Fuku said after a moment.

  “Too clean?” Ben asked.

  “Yeah… all water has stuff in it. Dirt, poo, bugs, things like that. But this… it’s too clean,” Fuku explained.

  “Water isn’t clean?” Ben asked, confused and slightly disgusted.

  “Not this clean,” Fuku clarified. “Here, look.” He handed Ben the glass jar.

  Ben took it, careful not to touch the still-wet area, and held it up as Fuku had, angling it so the sun shone through the glass. It was indeed clean; in fact, it almost seemed to sparkle. But he had no comparison; he’d never looked through water before. “It does look free of any debris,” he said, handing Fuku back his jar.

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  Fuku poured the water back into the fountain, then pulled a waterskin from his tail and refilled the jar with its contents, once again holding it up for Ben to take. Ben took the jar and held it up in the same way. Immediately, he saw the difference.

  The water he looked through now was cloudy. He could see what looked like small bits of debris swirling within it. Most were too fine to see individually, but some were large enough to resemble small worms or other such lifeforms.

  Ben’s face crinkled. “Where did you get that from?”

  “I filled this skin from the stream we stayed at… before I left to go look for you,” Fuku said. “That was as clear as any, but you can see how normal stream water compares to this unnaturally clean fountain water.”

  Ben handed the jar back to Fuku, who made to dump the water on the ground but stopped himself. “I wonder…” he whispered, then proceeded to dip the jar into the fountain, adding the fountain's water to the stream water already held within.

  He held it back up, and Ben watched as Fuku’s jaw dropped. He handed the jar back to Ben, who looked through the water and saw… nothing.

  “Did the water in the fountain clean the water in the jar?” Ben asked, incredulously.

  “Yeah, I think so,” Fuku said.

  “Then this fountain does have some magic to it,” Ben added.

  “Purification. But it could be a new magic. I’ve heard of people being able to purify things like this before; I’ve just never seen it,” Fuku elaborated.

  They looked at each other for a moment. “We should replace all our water with this,” Ben said pragmatically. “We may be able to use it to purify all our future water sources.”

  “Ben…” Fuku said, his voice suddenly serious. “If this is truly Adrasteia’s magic, then it might purify you.”

  “Wait… what?” Ben asked, confused.

  Fuku paused, thinking things through. “This water… it might cure your curse, but…”

  “But without the curse, I would be long dead,” Ben finished.

  “Yeah, that too…” Fuku said and looked away.

  “Wait, what were you thinking?” Ben asked.

  Fuku just shrugged and bit at his claw.

  “You were more concerned that I would be human again, that I wouldn’t look like this,” Ben finally figured out.

  “Not just that,” Fuku hedged. “Yes, that was part of what I was thinking, but the old and dead part, too… that’s worse.”

  Ben chuckled at his friend. “You and your hormones,” he said and rubbed Fuku’s head. Fuku acted hurt but nuzzled into his hand.

  “So, would any water purified by this fountain be safe for me?” Ben asked.

  “I don’t know, Ben. It could be nothing, or it could be deadly,” Fuku said, his head drooping at the words.

  Ben deliberated. This could be the answer he’d been waiting for, the release he’d longed for—the gift of finality. But his eyes, and his heart, fell on Fuku, who looked downtrodden.

  ‘Why now?’ he thought. ‘Why, when I finally have someone I care for, a goal to achieve… would this opportunity present itself?’ But his mind had already made its decision.

  “You should drink it,” Fuku said, just as Ben was about to say the opposite.

  “What?” Ben said, startled.

  “You deserve to be free, Ben,” Fuku said, his head drooping as his sack deflated. “If this can give you that, I won’t stand in the way. My own foolish desires don’t matter.”

  Ben stared at his friend, sat down on the ledge, then wrapped an arm around the Tanuki, bringing him in close. “You deserve to get everything your heart desires,” he whispered into his ear.

  “But we know that won’t happen either,” Fuku said, looking up with a sad smile.

  That broke Ben’s heart. He hadn’t really cared about Fuku’s attraction to him before; he appreciated the affection and enjoyed the connection, but that quiet admission of pain actually hurt. For the first time, he truly did feel deprived. It was easy not to think about sex when he had no libido, but he put himself in Fuku’s paws and felt the pain his friend must feel, having someone so close but so… uninterested.

  “I truly am sorry, Fuku. If I could…”

  “I know, Ben. It’s okay. I’m sorry I brought that up,” he said, then turned to dump the water into the fountain.

  “Wait…” Ben said. “What if we try just a little? A drop, cleared by another drop… a fraction… just to see if anything changes?” He didn’t want to give his friend false hope, but he thought maybe if just that part of the curse could be changed, if by diluting the water down so much, maybe the purification could be targeted, not a flood but a trickle.

  Fuku looked deep into Ben’s eyes and considered.

  “You are too precious to me, Ben. If you want to try, then you can. But if you are doing this for me, then my answer is no.”

  They both stared at each other. They didn’t know what to do. They could be holding a miracle or a poison. The choice was both easy and the most difficult thing either had faced.

  “Drink some,” Ben said.

  Fuku looked at him curiously.

  “Tell me how it tastes,” Ben finished.

  Fuku’s lips quirked slightly, but he brought the jar to his mouth and swallowed. It was indeed the best water Fuku had ever tried, and he quickly drained the small jar.

  “It’s delicious, Ben,” he said.

  Ben smiled. “I knew it would be. Do you trust me, Fuku?”

  “Of course I do, Ben,” Fuku replied.

  Then Ben lowered his head to Fuku, his mouth slightly open, his tongue lolling out just an inch. He closed in on Fuku’s mouth, and their tongues touched.