Finally he was back in his bedroom, in the apartment he shared with his sister and his girlfriend. He got his sister to agree not to change him soon nor for as long (and he heard her mutter something about needing time to recharge, anyway) so he could rest without fear. But when he opened the door to his room, he was surprised to find a big present, blue with gold ribbons tied around.
His first guess was that his girlfriend left him a present. But no, that couldn't be her. She left a day earlier than the siblings and would only come back the next morning. He noticed a tag attached to the present, and read it.
"From Santa, to John. I'm sorry for the reindeer costume, I only had this one that would fit you. Hope the costume you'll find in it, along with the other little present, will make up for it for you.
PS : The wand I gave your sister needs a month to recharge and won't be able to do anything permanent. I couldn't have her abuse her power to bother you, but I still had to give her something magical or else she'd be disappointed.
2nd PS : When your girlfriend comes back home you'll find that her present is also for you. She wouldn't have it otherwise anyway."
Now he was REALLY interested in the contents of the box. He quickly tore the package open, and inside, found a fuzzy costume covered in russet fur, with five fluffy tails attached. A kitsune costume ! And one without fake breasts attached, even. He was torn between the fact that this costume was clearly built with a feminine frame like his, and the fact that despite that girly cut it still managed to look androgynous, not being nearly as girly as most of the outfits he was forced or otherwise asked to wear so far. The fact that finished convincing him to wear it was a simple fact. He wouldn't be FORCED to wear it.

---

As he put the costume on, he felt something fall off from between the fluffy tails. It was a wand, one quite like the one his sister received from Santa. Of course it would be. That must have been the "Other little present" Santa wrote about. He idly picked the wand up, his tails wagging behind him. He noticed the wand's user manual was still in the box, hidden under the accessories of his suit. He picked it up, placed it and the wand together on his desk, then resumed putting his costume on.
First, the boots. Well, spats was a more apt description.They made his feet feel weird against the floor of his room. Next came the gloves. Armwarmers, really. Though there was a ring to pass his middle finger through, those weren't really gloves, not even the fingerless kind. Finally, on came the ears. Wide, pointy, and with soft fluff on the inside.
He ran his hand through the soft fur attached to the neck of his costume. It felt nice and warm. But quickly, something about his hand drew his attention. Claws. He had claws. Black, pointy claws. He pulled the hand back from his fur and discovered that he did not only have claws, he also had paw-pads. Wagging his tails in apprehension, he sat and checked his feet. Like his hands, there were paw-pads and claws. Did Santa play a prank on him, too ? His ears drooped.
It was at about that moment he realized he wagged his tail and moved his ears. It was worse than he thought. He quickly ran to his mirror and checked himself. Little vulpine nose. Fur from the nose to the forehead (was that an arrow on his forehead ? Weird pattern for white fur). Eyes looking like some caricature of fox eyes. Even the tips of his hair changed to white !
...He was, indeed, turning into a kitsune. Well, there's worse things to become, John told himself. Then he immediately glared at himself internally. He was supposed to be a MAN ! Not some fluffy androgynous fox-boy ! Although the fur felt nice...

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John suddenly remembered something important. The wand. Maybe he could use it to return to normal ? He sat at his desk, carefully avoiding to pinch his tails, then finally started reading the manual.
According to the manual, the wand was his. Like, metaphysically his. No one but him could use the magic of his wand, just like he couldn't use the magic of his sister's wand, not that he'd want to. Also, the wand couldn't help him turn back to normal. The spell was one that made costumes more real, not one that would make "real" costumes fake again. He realized the wand must have affected the costume, either during transit or when he pulled it out of the box. At least the mystery of his transformation was explained, but he wasn't any closer to going back to normal.
Then he noticed another important thing about the magic. It made whichever powers are associated with the costume real, too. Kitsunes are, among other traits, known for shape-shifting, so maybe he could try that. He just had to concentrate on going back to normal aaaand...
*POOF !* A five-tailed fox, the size of a medium dog, tumbled out of the chair he was sitting on an instant ago. This wasn't quite what he wanted to do. He was tired of this. REALLY tired. He didn't want to ask his sister for help, his girlfriend would come home only later, he ate on the way and it was already the evening. He hopped on his bed, curled up and made a nest of his tails, then went to sleep.

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Drawn, colored and shaded by the talented  Nat.