“Do you know how worried I was about you?!” Kevin scowled, his teeth grit in a fierce expression. “I was worried sick! I worried myself for months, wondering what happened to you, wondering why your parents didn’t seem to remember you, wondering if you were dead! And now you show up, out of the blue, like it’s nothing! What the hell is wrong with you?!”
Kevin was breathing heavily by the time he finished shouting. He glared at Justin, a baleful expression that showed his displeasure. In return, Justin seemed rather shocked.
“Woah…” Iris muttered. “It’s pretty rare for the stud to get angry like that. He normally only gets angry when you’re involved.”
“I would be too, if I were him,” Lilian whispered. “Take a look at the person in front of us.”
“The person in…” Iris looked past Kevin to see Justin standing several yards away. “Hey! Isn’t that the retard?”
“Don’t call him that,” Lilian whispered harshly. “He’s one of Kevin’s friends, remember? Besides, you’re not looking closely enough. Something is wrong about the situation here.”
Justin’s shocked gaze lasted a few more seconds before, without warning, he began to laugh. He laughed long and hard, throwing his head back, laughter bellowing forth like a drunken lumberjack after twenty shots of moonshine.
Kevin growled. “What’s so funny?”
“N-nothing.” Justin wiped a tear from his left eye, chortling a bit more. “Nothing is funny. I’m just… relieved, I guess. And happy. Out of all the people I’ve hung out with, you were probably the only one who ever considered me a friend.”
Kevin studied Justin for a long moment, taking in his appearance. His outfit was more suited to a special agent than a teenager in high school. His posture, no longer slouched or slumped, was erect and proud. Confident. Just like his bearing. The boy not even a year his senior exuded a confidence that the Justin he knew never had.
Blue eyes flickered away from his old friend, instead turning to look at the other aspects of their situation that he, in his shock, had missed. They were surrounded. There must have been at least two dozen people surrounding them. Two military vehicles hung behind a group of familiar spandex-wearing soldiers, all of whom carried guns, which were pointed at him and his family.
He looked back at Justin.
“I see,” his soft utterance was the verbalization of the ache in his chest. “So that’s how it is. That day at the comic convention in California, you were never killed or kidnapped or anything of the sort. You were extracted, weren’t you?”
“I’m impressed.” Justin’s mocking clap was accompanied by a wide grin. “You always were a smart guy, but it seems your ability to determine the truth from simple observation has exponentially improved.”
“A lot has happened since you left,” Kevin replied calmly, even though he wanted to scream. “I’ve learned that the world isn’t a nice place. That sometimes the people you thought you knew are nothing like you believed them to be. I suppose you could say I’ve had to grow up.”
“Man, this is getting deep,” Iris said, only to grunt when Lilian elbowed her.
“I can see that,” Justin admitted. “You might not know it, but I know a lot about some of your more recent exploits. While we don’t know the whole story, The Sons and Daughters of Humanity learned of your infiltration of China and the Citadel of Light, home of the Bodhisattva. I was very impressed when I learned that, you know? That’s why I wanted to offer you a position within our ranks.” Justin held out his hand in invitation. “So, what do you say?”
No one spoke for the longest time. Even Iris, who almost always had something to say, remained unnaturally silent. Everyone could feel this moment weigh down on them, like a sudden increase in the Earth’s gravity. They knew something monumental was about to happen and were afraid that even breathing too deeply might destroy the fragile moment.
Kevin broke the moment with a deep breath. “Are you telling me to join an organization whose sole purpose for existing is killing yōkai?”
“Yes,” Justin said simply, as if there was nothing wrong with that.
“You want me to join an organization that wants to kill Lilian. You want me to join a group who would like nothing better than to see my mate and her family dead.” Kevin struggled to put a lid on his emotions. “Is… is that what you’re telling me?”
“Well, when you put it like that…”
Clenching and unclenching his hands as if it would help him retain a grip on his sanity, Kevin stared at his friend with uncomprehending eyes.
“Why would you even ask me that?”
Justin spread his arms wide, an encompassing gesture meant to draw attention to the people with him, to the war machines behind him. “It is better than dying, is it not?”
Kevin knew he was fighting a losing battle. He could already feel tears stinging his eyes as he came to realize that he never truly knew his friend. How much of the real Justin had Kevin really known? How much of the Justin he knew had been a lie? Had all of it been a lie? He didn’t know, and that thought, the knowledge that he knew so little about his friend, and that this same friend wanted him to join an organization that wanted to kill his girlfriend and her family, caused emotions to bubble within him like a boiling pot.
“Beloved,” Lilian whispered, the sound caressing Kevin’s ears like a gentle wind chime. He turned his head, looking at Lilian, his mate, the girl he’d decided to give his entire being to. She stared back at him. There was no uncertainty in her eyes, only loyalty. No fear, only sadness that he’d been forced into this position.
Kevin smiled at her before turning back to Justin.
“I do not know who you think I am,” he started, the resolve bubbling in his veins hardening to steel, “but you clearly never knew me as well as you thought you did. If you had, then you would know that I’m not the type of person who would agree to join a group that wants to kill the people I love.”
“Was that a no?” asked Justin.
Kevin raised his head and straightened his shoulders. “Yes, that was a no.”
“To be honest, I never really expected you to accept my offer. I know what kind of person you are. I never forgot how we first met. How you wailed on some bullies that were picking on me because of my… speech impediment. Despite how that impediment and everything else about me was false, I still appreciated the gesture.” Justin tossed him a sad smile. “I’m sorry it has come to this.”
“So am I,” Kevin said as he pulled out a small spherical device from a holster on his thigh. “Everyone, get down!”
Lilian and Iris ducked immediately. Kirihime grabbed Camellia and pulled her to the ground.
Kevin tossed the object in the air, then pulled out one of two guns he’d been carrying in a holster behind his back. He shot the object when it was right in front of Justin, which caused the entire thing to ignite like a solar flare going off at midnight.
Screams were heard. The screams of people who hadn’t realized what he was doing. Kevin ignored those screams. There was work to be done.
“Lilian!”
“Celestial Art: Heaven’s Prison.”
Circles of light appeared overhead. From within those circles, chains shot forth. Dozens of chains. They wrapped around the many soldiers standing at the ready, circling them like a cobra constricting its prey. One after another all of the men who Justin brought with him were ensnared within Lilian’s many chains.
“Iris!”
“Yeah, yeah. Keep your pants on.” Iris grit her teeth as she channeled her youki. “Void Art: Mind of Dis—ugh!”
“I-Iris!” Kevin shouted in shock when Iris fell to a knee, a hand covering her mouth as she coughed up blood. “Iris, what’s wrong?!”
“S-sorry, Stud,” Iris smiled at him through bloodstained teeth, “but I…” She could say nothing else as more blood poured from her mouth.
“Dang it!” Kevin thought fast. “Kirihime! Cover me!”
“Eh? Um, yes! Water Art: Wa
ter Spikes!”
Dozens of spikes jutted from the ground, their liquid composition constantly shifting. The soldiers were speared, the spikes impaling them, tearing through their Kevlar vests with ease, stabbing them in the heart or through the throat. They died instantly, their blood mixing into the water.
Kevin darted forward, his two hand guns blazing. Bullets of light and bullets of darkness emitted from their barrels, the gun in his left hand firing void shots while the right shot celestial bullets. He fired both guns at the same time, aiming them precisely so they would strike each other just before they hit one of the two military vehicles in the vicinity. Because of the volatile nature of void and celestial powers when used in conjunction with each other, the bullets detonated with excessive violence when they connected.
A series of intense explosions went off right next to the hood, trunk, and weapons of each vehicle, blowing off large chunks of metal, which rained upon the ground like shrapnel from a frag grenade. The intense sparks of power also had the side effect of igniting the oil inside of the engines. Heat from detonating vehicles seared Kevin’s skin, despite him not being close to the blast. It washed over him like a hot breeze during an Arizona heat wave.
“Quick, men!” Justin ordered. “Form a defensive perimeter and take them down! Shoot to kill!”
Kevin felt a stab of pain as he realized that his friend had never really been his friend. However, he squashed those feelings, stuffing them into the deepest reaches of his soul. If he wanted to protect his family, then he couldn’t afford to hesitate.
“Celestial Art: Illusory Sleep.”
Feathers descended from the sky. Golden feathers. They appeared from the ether, falling on the soldiers who, like the professionals they were, lined up and prepared to take aim.
Nothing happened. The soldiers remained alert, their guns poised and ready to fire.
“What the—?!” Lilian cried out in shock.
“Fire!”
“Water Art: Water Barrier.”
The multitude of bright flashes and loud bangs! was a prelude to the hailstorm of bullets fired at them. A shield sprang up around the kitsune and Kevin, protecting them from the gunfire.
“Regular bullets won’t work on that,” Justin shouted. “Use the liquid nitrogen bullets!”
The men unloaded their weapons, cartridges of ammo dropping to the ground, and reached behind their backs for another cartridge that looked no different from the other one. Yet Kevin knew that the bullets contained within these ammo clips were deadlier.
“Kirihime,” Kevin commanded, “drop the barrier.”
Kirihime looked at him in shock. “B-but, Lord Kevin—”
“Do it!”
“Ah! Yes!”
The barrier dropped as the soldiers took aim.
“Lilian!”
“Celestial Art: Divine Light.”
Half a dozen spheres appeared around them, bright orbs that struck the ground and emitted blinding rays of light. Kevin closed his eyes and listened as the soldiers, blinded by the light, screamed in surprise.
Without his eyesight to guide him, Kevin took aim and began firing at where the screams were coming from. Some missed, but most seemed to hit. He could hear the screams and the clatter of weapons as people went down.
He kept firing, bending on one knee and unleashing his entire clip of youki bullets into the soldiers. Considering each ammo clip contained enough youki for 100 bullets, that was a lot of firepower. When the bright light faded to black, Kevin opened his eyes.
Most of the soldiers were on the ground, moaning in a pain. A few lay in pools of blood, body parts missing as they were consumed by flames blacker than midnight. The only one unharmed was Justin, who had the foresight to take shelter behind a burning vehicle.
“Those aren’t regular weapons, are they?” his former friend asked.
“No, they’re not.” Kevin did not elaborate, and Justin was apparently smart enough to know that he wouldn’t answer any questions asked.
“So, what now?” Kevin asked, standing to his feet.
“Now?”
“Your men are defeated. You’re alone. What are you going to do?”
“Kevin…” The tone was a mix of condescension and exasperation. “Just because you have defeated my men does not mean I have no options left to me. YK-6, take out the one with the most tails first.”
“Kevin!” Lilian’s screamed. “Above you!”
He didn’t respond with words, or by stupidly looking up. Kevin rushed away from the spot he’d been standing, rolling along the ground as something heavy crashed into the road. He could feel the vibrations underneath his feet, could hear the blacktop cracking from whatever had stomped on it.
Kevin reloaded his guns in a single fluid motion, spun around, then opened fire—
—only to hit air, as whatever had landed there moved before he could so much as blink.
“Kirihime!”
Kevin twisted around as a scream pierced his eardrums. His heart froze when he saw Kirihime, her throat gripped by a clawed silver hand, feet dangling off the ground, and blood dribbling from her mouth as something long, silver, and sharp impaled her through the chest and jutted out of her back.
For one second, Kevin didn’t know what to do.
For one moment, Kevin felt the fear of indecision.
For one instant, Kevin’s heart felt like it was about to shatter.
The moment ended, and Kevin’s body moved before his mind could tell it to. His guns were back up, reloaded and ready, and he put them to use. Nearly two dozen bullets made from youki slammed into the metallic body, which rippled and pulsed as it was struck. Kevin ran toward it while he fired.
The machine swung around to face him, Kirihime still in its grip. Kevin stopped firing, resheathed his guns, and slid across the ground on his knees, moving underneath the maid, whose feet dangled limply above him. As he swept past the machine, he grabbed onto its feet and pulled it as he came back up, yanking the thing off its feet.
Two red tails shot out and pulled Kirihime out of the machine’s grasp as it fell onto the ground. Kevin jumped back to his feet, pulled his guns from their holsters, and unloaded another barrage of bullets into the machine—until it unleashed a powerful kick that slammed into his face.
Pain overloaded his senses. He barely even felt his back hitting the ground, for the pain in his nose overwhelmed him. It was obviously broken, but it was more than that. His entire face felt like it had been caved in.
He blinked the tears out of his eyes and saw a clawed metal foot descending towards his head. He rolled and the foot slammed into the blacktop, crushing it and causing abrasions to spread from the center of impact. Kevin scrambled to his feet, only for the machine to try taking his head off when its hand transformed into a blade. He ducked to avoid the attack, then rolled along the ground to keep from having his ribs broken when a knee was launched at his torso.
“Celestial Art: Divine Healing.”
A little ways away, Lilian knelt by Kirihime, trying to heal the maid who lay on the ground, her life bleeding out of her. The young two-tails had both of her tails pointed at Kirihime, their tips glowing with a brilliant golden light. Next to Lilian, Camellia stared at Kirihime with the forlorn helplessness of a child.
Kevin was given no more time to focus on his companions as the machine attacked him again. Falling back into the fighting style he’d painstakingly created from sweat, blood, tears, and watching way too much anime, Kevin battled the machine before him with a single-minded determination.
Deftly sidestepping to the left, Kevin avoided the spear that threatened to impale him through the heart. Sweat stung his eyes as he twisted his body around, dodging the machine’s other hand, which had transformed into a blade.
Kevin fell into the haze of battle, of blurring weapons and body parts. His mind blanked as his body moved on instinct, dodging thrusts, avoiding swipes, allowing himself to fall back onto his preferred method of fighting. This machi
ne may not have been a yōkai, but it was still more powerful than him. Only the suicidal method he’d devised, which allowed him to control the flow of battle by purposely presenting openings, kept him from becoming impaled upon this thing’s weapons.
However, while his style of fighting allowed him to avoid instant death, Kevin was still human, and he had a human’s stamina.
His breathing came out in ragged gasps as he swerved around a lunge, the tip of the machine’s spear slicing into his shirt. Sweat flew off his body when he fell onto his back, his hands and guns pressed against the concrete by his head. The machine rushed in, and he pushed himself into the air, kicking the machine in the chest, forcing it back.
With his chest burning from exertion, Kevin launched himself back onto his feet and brought his guns to bear, firing point-blank at the machine. Bullets of celestial and spirit energy slammed into the machine, causing it to stumble backwards. Its silver chest rippled as the youki bullets, tiny spheres of incandescent energy, tore through it. Yet the bullets barely seemed to do any damage. And what damage they did do was healed near instantly.
Kevin felt desperation cloud his mind, but he brutally beat it back. He needed to protect his family. He couldn’t afford to fall here!
“Void Art: Void Fire!”
Kevin felt the hunger before he saw the all-consuming black flames. He leapt backwards, firing his guns to keep the machine from following him. It was a good thing he had done so, or he may have very well been consumed as well. Kevin watched as the void fire latched onto the machine with a sentient hunger and began to consume it.
“Ha… ha… how do you… like that?”
Iris’s body twitched and shuddered as she stood several feet away, her figure hunched. Hair like raven’s feathers acted as a curtain that covered her face. He could see nothing—nothing but the twisted grin that stretched her lips from ear to ear and showed her pearly white teeth. As he continued to observe her, Kevin noticed something that worried him.
Darkness. The entire left side of her body had turned an inky black. It crept along her arms and legs, covered her torso, and was beginning to spread up her neck.
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