"I don't think the tails equal years," Shay huffed. "A kitsune only ever gets nine. Look, I don't know enough about your race to completely help you with that. Maybe someone in the school board does? Someone is bound to know about kitsune, but it's not me."
She didn't bother explaining the rings in the arm thing. Too much time and she didn't have the effort. She was sure he was imagining actual rings.
"Oh..." He thought about it, then looked to her again. "Who should I ask? I.. I'm kinda new here."
Shay rubbed at her face. Who would he ask? Who would he ask? Hell, she didn't know, but she didn't really want to admit that either. With a defeated, prideful sigh, Eroshay's shoulders dropped and she gave him a tired look. "I think it's time for us to hit the library."
"Oh... That doesn't.. "He shrugged and stood up. "Alright, lead the way." He said with a smile. He was going to complain about how that didn't sound fun, but maybe he'd get an answer?
Shay led him to the school library, which was huge. It had pretty much everything and Shay often visited to check out books though she never stayed because she had no desire for other bookish types to speak to her. "They'll probably have something in here," she had said once they were inside. The librarian looked up but didn't say anything to them. Shay took Kenta to the 'K' section and told him to scan the books.
Kenta scanned through the shelves until he found a book labeled 'Kitsune and common Yokai'. He pulled it down. "This thing maybe?" He asked, showing it to her.
Shay looked over the title and nodded. "Yeah, that might be worth a look. Read the table of contents and see if it has anything about lifespan."
Kenta nodded and opened up the book. He scanned through pages until he found the one he was looking for. When he stopped, he became silent for a moment, then began laughing. "Really? Who wrote this garbage?"
"What? What is it?" Shay leaned over his shoulder to see what he had read. Why was he laughing? Experts had written these books!
He held the book out to her, shaking his head. "One hundred years." He told her, his laughter fading out. "One hundred years for every tail!" He told her as if explaining some kind of joke. "Whoever wrote this must be some kinda moron. There is... There is no way I'm that old."