The Fox's Quest by Anna Frost

it was to wander the roads were notoriously obsessive about their weapons.
    “Let’s go and meet this kid,” he said. “Do you have his location?”
    “Training in the courtyard with the others. His name is Saji.”
    Aito supplied an excuse to the monk overseeing the trainees’ workout while Jien cornered the boy they wished to interrogate. Boy, for though he was past the coming of age ceremony, trainees were considered boys until they finished their training. This one must be on the verge of receiving his very own spear for he looked to be the oldest of the pack.
    “Hey, Saji,” Jien said, resting a hand on the trainee’s shoulder. “I want to ask you something. Over here.”
    Looking apprehensive—and likely trying to recall if he’d said or done something especially idiotic in the last several days—Saji nonetheless followed him around the corner of the closest building. Jien didn’t want the other trainees eavesdropping, as he knew they would if they were given half a chance. Trainees were curious like monkeys.
    Aito arrived moments later, announcing, “There’s no one in earshot.”
    “Good.” Jien eyed the trainee critically. His face was average at best, his nose slightly crooked and his eyes too far apart, and his build was thin, not quite as muscled as a sohei was expected to be. That was understandable in light of the fact this boy was meant to become one of their sword makers, who did not fight but stayed in the temple to produce the blades demon hunting required. “Listen, kid. We can see your aura is demon-touched. Mind explaining how that happened?”
    He was ready for lies, for an attack, or for an attempt to bolt.
    He wasn’t ready for Saji to lose his color and prostrate himself on the ground babbling, “It wasn’t me! The demon did it! I’m sorry I couldn’t stop it! I would have if I could! I’ll never sleep with my mouth open ever again!”
    “Whoa, whoa, calm down there. What demon? When?”
    Through the boy’s hysterical babbling, they gathered the salient facts: a demon had possessed him, stolen his knowledge, and popped right out again.
    “It’s like it had done it before,” Saji said. “It got inside me so easily! I woke in a panic and it was already too late. I had a cold at the time and I was so tired… It read my memories, about the glyphs and the relics we have. When it found out about the sword, it dug through my mind looking for details. I didn’t know much though, so it left. By morning I was certain it’d been a nightmare.”
    “How do you know the sword was stolen, if it wasn’t you who did it?”
    Saji huddled tighter, voice anguished. “I went to look, later. The sword wasn’t there. If I’d told someone right away, maybe they could have stopped the theft. After, it was too late and I was scared. My mother would never recover if I were kicked out. She’s so proud I got accepted.”
    Jien looked at Aito, who replied with a faint sigh. Clearly, it sounded like truth to him too.
    “Now we’ve no clue who the thief is or where the sword got to,” Jien grumbled.
    “We’ll look further into this,” Aito said. “We’ve already confirmed the nature of the entity behind the theft; that’s no small deed. The foxes must be told.”
    “I’ll send a letter.” Jien nudged the trainee with his foot and spoke in the most threatening voice he could muster. “What do we do with this one? He let the sword be taken.”
    After a brief moment, Aito appeared to catch on. He hummed audibly, as if he were considering the question. “He’s a mere trainee.”
    Jien rubbed his chin theatrically. “True, true. Perhaps we’ll let it go if he proves he can hold his tongue about the matter.”
    Saji huddled on the ground. “I’ll tell no one! I swear on my vows!”
    “You’ll tell no one who has no business knowing,” Jien corrected sternly. “If a highly ranked monk asks specifically about the matter, you must be truthful.”
    “I’ll tell them! I swear on