Kevin studied the concrete walls and tiled floor. Pipes ran along the ceiling, some going parallel and some perpendicular. They passed by a number of doors and lateral passages on their way to… wherever they were going. This base seemed much larger than their previous one underneath the distribution center.
Kotohime and the others led him to a large set of steel double doors, which could only be opened by the two guards on either side, who slid keycards through two slots simultaneously. Knowing about most yōkai’s disdain for technology, Kevin was somewhat surprised that Monstrang was willing to install such high-tech equipment. Then again, most yōkai in the United States had become fully integrated into human society. He supposed it made sense.
The room beyond looked like something out of Call of Duty. Spaced around the cement floor were more computer consoles than Kevin knew what to do with. Many yōkai were sitting at those consoles, though they weren’t doing anything. Kevin assumed this meant the blackout was still in effect.
Monstrang’s monstrous form stood by a large board, which Kevin recognized as a map of the United States.
“Monstrang-dono,” Kotohime greeted as they stopped next to the massive man. “I thought you would like to know that Kevin-sama is awake.”
Monstrang grunted. “Is he? Then I guess it’s time to let him know what’s going on.”
Kevin could tell from the somber mood within the room that something had happened. His boss’s cryptic words were merely the icing on the cake. The man turned to them. His grave expression caused the hair on Kevin’s arm to prickle.
“As of this morning, the government made a statement on national television exposing the existence of yōkai.” Kevin felt like a several-ton elephant had been dropped on top of him. “They have claimed that ‘dangerous and violent creatures’ have invaded and hidden amongst their society, waiting for the right moment to destroy the human race.”
“But that’s preposterous!” Kevin exploded the moment Monstrang stopped talking. “Yōkai have been living alongside humans for centuries! If you guys were really ‘dangerous and violent creatures,’ then you would have attacked us long before now! This is stupid! What is the government thinking?”
“We do not believe they are thinking, Kevin-sama,” Kotohime gently told him. “It is our belief that the government is being controlled. That they are merely puppets who are being used to advance someone else’s agenda.”
Kevin didn’t even need a second to realize who that “someone” was. “The Sons and Daughters of Humanity,” he growled.
“Got it in one, boya.” Kiara’s canines glinted as she grinned at him, though the expression left as quickly as it came. “We’re pretty sure The Sons and Daughters of Humanity are responsible for the government’s statement, especially since this appears to be happening globally and not just within the United States.”
“This is happening all around the world?” Kevin didn’t think he could be any more surprised.
“More or less,” Monstrang grunted. “We managed to send out a few short communications when the blackout temporarily shut down for the announcement revealing our existence. There are a few nations that we haven’t heard from. Japan, China, and Russia have completely closed off their borders. Israel and a few other middle eastern also seem to be more concerned about their own wars than war with a group of supernatural creatures. But, aside from those few countries, pretty much every nation is now panicking.”
“That’s why the blackout is still in effect, isn’t it?” Kevin suddenly realized. “Because yōkai are such a widespread group, they still have to use human methods of communication. With the blackout in effect, they have effectively cut off our ability to plan any wide-scale actions against them.”
“That’s it exactly.” Kiara nodded. “They want us kept in the dark until they’re ready to make their move.”
“Their move?”
The adults all looked at each other. Something about their expressions had him on edge.
“We believe they are planning to start a war on yōkai. A war to exterminate all yōkai,” Kotohime answered.
All of Kevin’s breath let him. Only shock remained. Humanity planned on starting a war against yōkai? The idea, the very thought, seemed ludicrous. It was so ridiculous that even though the possibility of a war breaking out had existed before now, he’d never contemplated it happening. Now there was a good chance that it would happen, and all he could think about was what this would mean for him and Lilian.
How… how are we going to live when our entire species are at war with each other?
Kevin’s hands were encased in a sudden warmth, two sets of fingers entwining with his. He looked down to see two different hands holding each of his—one very pale and the other quite fair, both delicate and feminine.
“Try not to worry about this, Kevin,” Lilian assured him. “I know things seem bad right now, but this won’t change anything between us. No matter what happens, you are and always will be my mate.”
“That’s right, Stud,” Iris added. “You shouldn’t let yourself become overwhelmed by crap you can’t change. We’re in this together.”
Kevin relaxed as the worry faded. Of course this wouldn’t change anything between them. What had he been thinking?
“Thanks, you two.”
“Heh, you’re welcome. Now how about a kiss?” Iris puckered her lips.
“How about no.”
“Tch. Spoilsport.”
“Can I get a kiss, Beloved?”
“Eh? Sure.”
“Oh, come on! How come Lily-pad gets a kiss, but I don’t?”
Kevin stopped kissing Lilian to answer Iris’s question. “How about because she’s my mate and you’re not?”
“That… is a good point,” Iris conceded, though it became clear that she would not admit defeat. “However, while I may not be your mate, I am your fuck buddy.”
Had Kevin been drinking, he was sure this would have been a perfect spit take moment.
“Like hell you are! I don’t have a… a… a, uh, uuu…”
“A fuck buddy?” Iris offered.
“Right, I don’t have one of those.”
“Sure you do. You’re looking at her.”
“K-ku.” Kevin covered his face with his hands. “Lilian, your sister’s being an idiot and needs to have some sense knocked into her.”
“Gomu Gomu no Extension!”
One of Lilian’s tails shot from behind her back to smack Iris, who had clearly been expecting them because she avoided them with several leaps backward.
“Ha! I knew you would do something like that! I’ve caught onto your guys’—eh?” Iris looked down when something long and furry latched onto her leg. “Well, that’s not good.”
***
“I can’t believe you two,” a grumpy Iris complained as she rubbed the giant lump on her forehead. “I should sue you for marital abuse.”
“We’re not married, so nothing you say would hold up to a court of law,” Kevin replied absently as he stirred his food with a spoon.
“Besides, you kinda deserved it,” Lilian added, taking a bite of her salad, swallowing, then speaking again. “Now’s not really the time to talk about stuff like that. We’re in a serious situation right now, and I don’t think the other people there really appreciated how carefree we were acting.”
“Tch. Since when were you the voice of reason?”
“Since I realized that acting goofy in situations like this never helped anyone.”
“Whatever.”
The three of them were sitting in a cafeteria. White tiles, cement walls, and a cement ceiling surrounded them. It was a large space, about half the size of a football field, Kevin would wager. Several televisions hung on the walls, though they were shut off currently—the blackout had been put back into effect immediately after the news report exposing the existence of yōkai. Tables were spread haphazardly around the room. There was a buffet-style setup near the back. Quite a few people besides th
em were also present, and every one of them was a yōkai.
Monstrang had warned Kevin about outing himself as a human. With the government all but declaring war on the various yōkai races, tensions were high. If the people here learned that he was a human, there would be trouble.
Kevin wondered if his friends were okay. Were they aware of what was happening? Stupid question. Of course they were. They had to be. The announcement had been made on national television. Chances were good that every single person in the United States (barring people without television), maybe even the world, knew what was happening.
I wonder if Mom is okay. Wasn’t she in France? I wonder if I should call her… though I’m not sure I can call anyone with the communications blackout in effect.
Still, even if he couldn’t call his mom and friends right now, he would feel better having his cell phone on him.
“Lilian, do you know what happened to my cell phone?” he asked after checking his pockets and realizing it wasn’t there.
“Um.” Lilian’s face scrunched up in an adorably thoughtful manner. “I’m pretty sure Kotohime has it.”
“Why would she have it?”
“I think she tried calling your mom to let her know what’s happening.”
That’s right. My mom knows about yōkai…
When he and the others arrived back home after rescuing Lilian from Shinkuro, the Bodhisattva, his mom had revealed that she’d known about yōkai all along. She’d then forced Kevin to tell her about everything that he had been up to. Nothing changed after that. His mom still traveled a lot for her job, but it felt like a weight had been lifted from his shoulders.
She’ll want to know what’s happening. She probably doesn’t even know that I’m okay.
“Kevin?” Lilian asked after several minutes of silence.
“I’ll cross that bridge when I get to it,” Kevin decided out loud. “My bigger concern right now is Lindsay and the others. They know that yōkai exist. That could put them in danger, especially if The Sons and Daughters of Humanity discover that they’ve been cavorting with yōkai.”
While Lilian seemed to agree, Iris had a different opinion. “I’m sure they’ll be fine. The Sons and Daughters of Humanity won’t do anything to jeopardize their image as humanity’s saviors. It’s Villain Antics 101.”
“Right.” Kevin felt sweat roll down the back of his neck.
Lilian placed one of her hands over his. “But if you’re still worried about them, we could always try to give them a call, or maybe we could try texting them to let them know that they need to keep their heads down. It would also be a good idea to let them know we’re all right—once the communication blackout ends, I mean,” she added.
“Those were my thoughts exactly,” Kevin agreed.
Iris looked between Kevin and Lilian like she didn’t know what to make of them, her facial expression seeming to denote how disgruntled she felt. She shoved some food into her mouth. Chewing with a baleful stare, she glared at the pair as she swallowed her food.
“You know, I really hate it when you two are so in sync like that. It always makes me feel left out.” When Kevin and Lilian both turned to stare at her with matching looks of confusion, she sighed. “Never mind.”
After they finished eating, Kevin, Lilian, and Iris went in search of Kotohime. It took a while to find her. They first checked the command room. When they discovered that she wasn’t there, Iris and Lilian led them to the room that all of them were staying in. She wasn’t there either.
After asking around, they were directed to the parking garage-slash-storage facility. They walked by dozens of vehicles lined up in rows. Most of them were basic cars—sedans, vans, trucks, jeeps, and such, but he saw a few sports cars and even a large Hummer as well. They found Kotohime near a door that probably led outside. Three other people were with her: Kiara, Phoebe, and Polydora.
“Kotohime,” Kevin called out to garner the woman’s attention, “listen, I was—eh?”
Kevin stopped talking and ceased walking when Phoebe suddenly knelt before him. Her movements were so swift that he almost stumbled back in shock. What’s more, her prostrated position was very… off-putting.
“Master Kevin,” she began in a most serious voice, “please forgive me.”
“W-what? Forgive you?”
“I heard about what happened to you and the others. I should have been there to protect you.”
“Huh? What are you—oh, that.”
She must have been talking about how she wasn’t present when he and the others were attacked. He’d actually assumed she and the yuma uba who’d come with her had also been attacked.
Kevin was about to tell the girl not to worry about it, but Phoebe spoke before he could reassure her. “I understand that something as simple as an apology would never suffice for my heinous lack of action.”
“Uh, no. It’s perfectly fine—”
“Which is why I would like you to punish me.”
“W-what?” Kevin must have heard wrong. “What did you say?”
“I said please punish me.”
“P-punish you?!”
Phoebe’s head was still bowed. “It is only fitting that I be punished. As your bodyguard and mistress, I deserve nothing but your harshest punishment for not being able to protect you. Please do not hesitate to give me a harsh reprimand. I promise you that I am strong enough to take it.”
“I like this girl’s style,” Iris snickered.
“Hush, you,” Kevin snapped before turning back to Phoebe. “Look, I’m not sure that—”
“Of course, I understand,” Phoebe interrupted.
Kevin breathed a sigh of relief. “I’m glad you—”
“Simple punishment is clearly not enough to make up for my gross negligence of your well-being.”
“Uh, no. That wasn’t what I—”
Phoebe continued to ignore Kevin. “That is why I have determined a suitable punishment for me.” She finally raised her head and stared into his eyes, her own stern and unwavering. “Please spank me.”
The silence was nearly deafening.
Lilian leaned over to whisper into Polydora’s ear. “Is Phoebe a masochist?”
“Wh-w-w-WHAT?!” Polydora shrieked, her face redder than a fire truck. “O-o-of course not! What could possibly make you think Lady Phoebe possesses any kind of masochistic tendencies?!”
“If you would find it suitable, I do not mind having my bottom spanked with a whip,” Phoebe suggested to a flabbergasted Kevin. “Back in my village, those who committed a crime were often tied naked to a post and had their bottoms whipped with a stick.”
Lilian looked at the yuma uba kneeling on the floor, asking Kevin to spank her, and then turned to Polydora. “Are you really asking me why I think Phoebe’s a masochist?”
Polydora’s face flushed even more, going from bright red to scarlet. “She is merely trying to come up with a suitable punishment because she feels like she has failed. In our village, such failures were always met with punishment.”
“Uh-huh…” Lilian paused for a moment to think about that. “I think I’m just gonna stick with my idea that she’s a masochist.”
“She’s not a masochist!”
“What?” Kevin asked, his brain finally rebooting.
“I said please spank me.”
“I heard you the first time!”
Phoebe frowned. “If you heard me the first time, then why did you sound so confused?”
“Never mind that.” Kevin waved his hand in the air like he was waving a paper fan. “I’m not going to spank you.”
The frown on Phoebe’s face deepened. “I must insist, Master Kevin. I have wronged you greatly and deserve to be punished. Stripping me naked, tying me to your bed, and whipping my sweaty and naked body until your anger has been adequately sated is the most proper punishment I could receive for failing to protect you.”
“Don’t say things that can be completely taken out of context like that!”
> “Uhuhuhu, I take back what I said before. I REALLY like this girl’s style.”
“Be quiet, Iris,” Kevin barked out before returning his attention to Phoebe. He pointed at the woman with a quivering finger. “And you, stop talking about punishments! I’m not going to punish you, or spank you, or whatever!”
“And I told you that you must. How can anyone be expected to learn if they are not punished for their failures?”
“You are taking that completely out of context! Punishing someone for something beyond their control isn’t the same as punishing someone for eating sweets before dinner!”
Still watching the proceedings, Lilian crossed her arms and nodded several times. “Yep. Phoebe is definitely a masochist.”
Polydora’s face became a bright neon. Whether that was anger or embarrassment, no one could tell.
“Shut up! No, she isn’t!”
“Is too.”
“Is not!”
“Yes, she is.”
“No, she is not!”
“No, she’s not.”
“Yes, she is—wait! That wasn’t what I—damn you kitsune and your tricky ways!”
“Tee-hee-hee.”
As Kevin argued with Phoebe, Polydora argued with Lilian, and Iris threw oil onto the fire for her own amusement, Kiara and Kotohime stood back, observing the group.
“Kids these days, eh?” Kiara chuckled as she wiped tears of mirth from her face. “They grow up so fast.”
Kotohime’s eyes glimmered like black diamonds, and her lips curved into a most glorious smile. “Indeed, they do.”
***
It took nearly fifteen minutes to convince Phoebe that she didn’t need to be punished. Afterward, the group traveled through the base. Phoebe told them that she needed to report to Monstrang, and so they’d gone off to see the man in charge.
The base was magnitudes larger than the previous one. It was an underground complex that spanned about two miles in length and had five levels. Each level consisted mostly of homes that were similar to apartments, which Kevin learned had been built for yōkai to live in if war ever broke out between them and humans. The first level acted as a garage and storage facility, while the fifth held the command center, a cafeteria, a hospital, and a training facility.
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