Ethan hated mornings.Not because of school.Not because of homework.

  But because every time he looked in the mirror, there was always that same boy staring back.

  Short brown hair.Average height.Nothing special.

  And definitely not who he wanted to see.

  He brushed his teeth slowly, staring at his reflection, jaw clenched. If only… if only I could just… change. Not into someone else entirely, but into the person he felt he should’ve been.

  The person inside his dreams.The person who smiled freely.The girl with ten beautiful white fox tails and soft ears twitching atop her head.

  A kitsune.A girl.Her.

  He squeezed his eyes shut. Part of him hated himself for wanting it so badly. Another part whispered dark things whenever nights got too quiet, things he tried really hard to ignore. Thoughts about disappearing, about how maybe life would be easier if he didn’t have to keep pretending.

  A knock on the bathroom door jerked him from his haze.

  “Ethan, hurry up!” his older sister Mia called. “You’re hogging the mirror again!”

  “Y-Yeah, sorry!” he forced out, spshing cold water on his face.

  He didn’t bother looking again — the disappointment would just come back — and left the bathroom, heading downstairs to breakfast.

  His mom was already cooking, flipping pancakes with practiced ease. His younger sister Lily sat at the table kicking her feet, singing to herself. His dad sat with a mug, scrolling news on his phone.

  “Good morning, sweetie,” his mom said cheerfully.

  He nodded, offering a weak smile. “Morning.”

  “Pancakes are almost done,” she continued. “Hurry or your sisters will steal them.”

  Mia smirked. “We’re faster than you anyway.”

  “Yeah!” Lily chimed in proudly.

  Ethan chuckled faintly, but his heart felt heavy.

  Normal family.Normal day.Normal boy.

  He didn’t want to be a normal boy.

  That NightSchool passed in its usual blurry way — quiet nods to friends, forced ughs, wishing he could talk about how he actually felt. He never did.

  It was easier to keep the mask on.

  Homework, dinner, shower, bed.

  He stared at the ceiling, listening to the hum of his fan.

  I just want to be free…

  Sleep came slowly, dragging him under like deep water.

  He didn’t know what woke him.A sound?A shift in the air?

  His room was dark except for moonlight, soft and silver across his bed. His hand felt oddly heavy… and when he lifted it, his breath caught.

  Something was in his palm.

  A neckce — one he’d never seen before.White and bck intertwined, like shadow and snow dancing together.And at the center, an expensive-looking gem that shimmered faintly, like starlight trapped in crystal.

  His heart raced. “What… is this…?”

  It felt warm. Comforting. Like it recognized him.

  Almost without thinking, he slipped it over his head.

  A tiny pulse of light brushed through his chest — too faint to notice consciously — and… nothing else.

  No magic sparkles.No transformation.Just a neckce.

  “Oh.” His shoulders slumped. “Figures.”

  It was a little uncomfortable, so he took it off and set it aside—

  And the world burst into color.

  Warmth flooded his body like sunlight breaking through clouds.His heartbeat fluttered, fast and light.His skin tingled, his bones shifted, something blossomed inside him — not painful, but overwhelming, euphoric, like a breath he’d been holding his whole life finally released.

  His voice slipped out, soft, airy — not his voice at all.

  “H-Huh…?”

  His clothes hung differently. His body… curves, softness, warmth.His hands were smaller, slender.His chest— he gasped, face fming.

  He was—and wasn’t — they were —

  She reached behind instinctively—

  Tails.

  Not one.Not two.Ten.

  Ten long, fluffy, snow-white fox tails unfurled like silk banners, swaying softly as if moved by a breeze only they could feel.

  White fox ears twitched atop her head, catching the faintest rustle in the room. Her hair spilled around her shoulders like silver moonlight, and when she blinked, her reflection in the window showed shimmering silver eyes full of life.

  She lifted trembling hands to her face.

  “I’m… me…”

  And then joy crashed over her, fierce and unstoppable.

  A giggle — an actual giggle — slipped out as she spun, tails swishing wildly. She buried her face in them, hugging them close, breath catching at the softness.

  “So fluffy—! This is real— this is—!”

  She flopped onto her bed, rolling in her own tails, ughing breathlessly. For the first time in her life, she felt whole. Real. Right.

  And when she finally stopped to breathe, she whispered, voice shaking with emotion that nearly brought her to tears:

  “I don’t want to go back.”

  Her heart trembled.She didn’t know why this had happened — or how — but she didn’t care.

  For tonight…

  She was the person she always dreamed of being.

  And she wasn’t letting go.

  Not now.Not ever.