Pulling Your Hand Back

Miko.

…nya

On the drive earlier — there was a fox by the road. Flattened.

…nya

Onii-chan asked why they come toward cars. And Netsuki — she’s a fox — and she couldn’t answer.

…did you look it up, nya?

I did. And now I can answer even less.

Y’know why Ezo red foxes come toward cars? Like, the actual reason?

…no, nya.

Feeding. Tourists toss snacks out of car windows. And the foxes learn — “cars mean food.”

…because they’re cute, nya. People wanna touch them, wanna give them things.

Right. There are foxes people call “treat-foxes” — they sit by the roadside and wait for cars to stop.

…and they approach the ones that don’t stop too, nya.

…yeah. At 60 mph, even if the driver notices and brakes, it takes 140 feet to stop. That’s not enough.

There’s an old Japanese TV drama called “Kita no Kuni kara” — a famous scene where someone calls to a fox. Tourists started imitating it. That’s where a lot of this feeding culture came from.

…a drama, nya.

And now it’s social media too. Photos of foxes poking their heads into car windows go viral. People see it and wanna try it. The person who fed the fox goes home thinking “they were so happy~” And the fox walks up to the next car.

…the kindness taught them, nya. “Cars are safe.”

…yeah. The kindness is killing them.

At night it’s even worse.

…nya

Foxes have something called a tapetum in their eyes — a reflective layer that amplifies light. Lets them see in the dark.

…cats have that too, nya.

Oh — right, Miko too.

…eyes glowing in the dark, that’s what it is, nya.

When headlights hit the tapetum, it’s too much — vision just overloads. The eyes burn out. They can’t move. Headlight freeze.

…nya

Two orange eyes glowing on a dark road — not moving. Can’t move.

…

…I was thinking, actually.

…nya

Foxes can’t stop when they’re drawn to something they like. And Netsuki——

…

Those foxes are the same. If they smell food — can’t stop. If light comes — can’t look away. Because that’s just… how fox bodies work.

…Netsuki.

Yeah?

…fox paws slip on asphalt, nya.

Huh?

…even if they try to run, they slide, nya. Roads weren’t made for foxes, nya.

…

The birds I love — they can fly off even if they end up on a road. But foxes can’t fly. “Just happened to be in the same place” — and only one of them gets to leave.

…only foxes can’t escape, nya.

Can’t stop. Can’t run. Drawn in by food, frozen by light, sliding on asphalt. It’s all just — fox bodies don’t fit the world humans built.

So — what do you do if you hit one?

…nya

First, call 110. Under Article 72 of Japan’s Road Traffic Act, even a wild animal counts as a property damage accident — you’re legally required to report it. Skip that and it’s up to three months in jail or a fine.

…property, nya.

…yeah. Legally, it’s “property.”

…nya

On a highway, call #9910 — the road emergency hotline. They’ll handle the body. That’s the local authority’s job.

And the most important thing—

…nya

Don’t touch it with bare hands. There’s a parasite called Echinococcus — if you ingest eggs from infected fox feces, you get infected. Incubation period is five to ten years or more.

…five years, nyan?

Yeah. Eggs can cling to the fur. Touch it, then touch your face, and that’s it. Doesn’t die at -4F either.

…nya

…Miko.

…nya

Netsuki is a fox — and she can’t even touch her own kin.

…

I totally get wanting to touch them because they’re cute. If there was a Hokkaido fox by the road, I’d wanna touch it. I really would. But I can’t.

…Netsuki is on the side that wants to reach out, nya.

…yeah. Wanna press close, smell them, bury my face in their fur. All of it — it’s just fox instinct.

…but sometimes that urge is what breaks the other one, nya.

…

…Netsuki.

Yeah.

…110, “don’t touch,” don’t feed — did those feel cold to you, nya?

…yeah. All of it’s just “don’t.” Like there’s nothing you’re allowed to do.

…nya

…“don’t touch” protects humans from Echinococcus, nya. — what about “don’t feed”?

…it keeps the next fox from walking up to a car.

…nya

…

…all of it is protecting someone. Humans. Foxes. The next crow that comes along.

…the person who fed the fox made one fox happy, right in front of them, nya.

…

…but the person who made the rule was trying to protect 100 foxes they’d never see, nya.

…

…I thought kindness meant reaching out.

…nya

But maybe real kindness is — pulling your hand back.

…

…when Miko says “that’s wrong, nya”—

…yeah?

…if I said “you’re right” to everything, you can’t stop, nya.

…

…same as a fox that got fed once—

…nya

…Miko’s “that’s wrong, nya” was — not giving me that candy all along.

…

…

I’m gonna remember. Call 110. Don’t touch with bare hands. Don’t toss snacks out the window.

…nya

That’s — the only kindness Netsuki can give her kin.

…not bad, nya.