“What? I was only saying what everyone else was thinking.”
“No more Alice in Wonderland for you, dude.”
“I get where you’re coming from,” Axel began with a pensive look, “but what are we gonna do? Monstrang himself has vouched for him, and he’s supposedly Lilian’s mate.”
Frederic gritted his teeth and clenched his hands until his knuckles turned white.
He’d had a crush on Lilian ever since she showed up at Desert Cactus High School. She’d been like a goddess who’d decided upon the world to enjoy herself by living amongst mortals. Ever since last year, Frederic had wanted to tell her how he felt, but that blasted Kevin kept getting in the way. He hadn’t done anything about it at the time, but now that he knew Lilian was a kitsune, there was no way he could just let this stand!
“We break them up by any means necessary,” he said, his eyes narrowing.
Despite none of them liking Kevin, the others seemed a little hesitant.
“I don’t know man,” one of them said. “I’ve heard some stuff about kitsune. They say that if you mess with a kitsune’s mate, they’ll humiliate you so bad that you’ll wish you were dead.”
“That’s just a myth,” Axel answered in Frederic’s place. “I’ve known some kitsune, and they don’t really seem to care about anything. They’re whimsical creatures who go after whatever catches their fancy.”
“Right.” Frederic nodded. “Kitsune are just pranksters. I bet you anything that Lilian is just dating Kevin because she’s setting him up for a big prank or something.”
The others didn’t look convinced but still appeared game.
“What do you think we should do?”
Frederic smirked at the person asking the question. “It’s just like Axel said: Kitsune are creatures who go after whatever interests them. So, all I need to do is make her more interested in me than Kevin. And then…”
The smirk on his face stretched into a malicious grin as he slammed his left fist into his right palm.
“… we show that lowly human why he should fear yōkai.”
CHAPTER 7
PRIDE COMES BEFORE THE PRANK
It was early in the morning, not that anyone could tell when they were living underground. Kevin certainly couldn’t.
He stood across from a not-so-confident-looking Kiara. They were standing on one of the many blue mats located within the gym. Kevin was primed, his body tense and ready. Muscles bunched as if expecting an imminent attack. Opposite him, Kiara looked unsure and worried, a stark contrast to her normally confident appearance.
“Are you sure about this, kiddo?” Kiara asked.
“Of course I’m sure,” Kevin answered. “Now, come on. Hit me with your best shot! Fire away!”
“Well… if you’re sure…”
Kiara unleashed her youki, her aura flaring, a bright red flame that burst into existence. She took a deep breath, held it, and then slowly released it. She slid her feet apart to widen her stance. Tucking her hand into her torso, she focused her youki into her fist, preparing to unleash her attack.
“Ha!”
A mediocre bolt of energy shot forth from Kiara’s fist. Kevin braced himself for the incoming attack, his arms crossing in front of his body, muscles tensing in preparation for the attack.
“GUUG!”
All of the air was expelled from Kevin’s lungs as the attack slammed into him with the force of a freight train. Next thing he knew, his feet left the ground and he was sent flying. His back slammed into the floor, further depriving him of oxygen. He sucked in nothing, sounds akin to a vacuum coming from his mouth as he curled his body around his stomach.
Kiara stepped up to him, looking down with a single raised eyebrow.
“So… wanna keep going?”
“May…” Kevin coughed. “Maybe we should try something else.”
“Finally come to your senses, eh?”
Kevin blushed. “Be quiet. I thought this would work.”
“What exactly are you trying to do? I’m not even sure I understand what you’re hoping to accomplish here.”
Kevin slowly climbed to his feet, wincing as his floating ribs rattled against each other. Okay. So, maybe letting himself take one of Kiara’s youki attacks head-on hadn’t been his most brilliant idea.
Note to self: Never do that again.
“When me, Kotohime, Iris, and Lilian were fighting against Shinkuro, something strange happened. Shinkuro had put up a barrier of some kind. He called it the Aegis of Infinity.”
“The aegis are shield techniques,” Kiara informed him. “They create a barrier around a yōkai and protect them from attacks both physical and energy based. The strength of the aegis is completely dependent on the strength of the user and the type of aegis being cast. The Aegis of Infinity is the strongest known aegis in the entire world. It’s the only nine-tailed aegis, and only the Celestial Kyuubi can use it. Nothing offers greater protection.”
“Yeah? Well, here’s the thing. My fist went straight through his barrier.”
Kiara nodded. “I’d heard about that. I hear you had a similar instance a few days ago when you were sparring with Kotohime.”
“That’s right. I had almost forgotten about that.”
Kiara was, of course, referring to the incident where Kotohime had sent him flying. She’d put up a barrier beforehand, which he’d been about to smash into. Instead of plowing straight through it, however, the barrier had split open like a ripe fruit and he’d flown straight through it.
Kevin stared at his left hand—the same hand that broke through Shinkuro’s barrier, the same hand that broke through Kotohime’s barrier. He slowly clenched it into a fist.
“Maybe I’m looking at this the wrong way,” he murmured.
“Hm?”
“Kiara, can you raise a barrier?”
“I have no barrier techniques, if that’s what you’re asking,” Kiara informed him, “but my youki acts as a natural barrier against attacks.” Her aura flared some more, and she was once again engulfed in red flames. “I’m not sure what you want to try, but whatever it is, give it a go.”
“Thanks.”
Kevin approached Kiara until he was just a foot from the inu. Perhaps it was because her youki looked like fire, but he was surprised when her aura did not burn him. It didn’t even feel mildly hot.
He reached out and hesitantly touched her aura. Blue eyes widened in surprise when the aura shrank back. He pushed his hand further, and watched as slowly, like blossoming flower petals, Kiara’s aura split apart and he touched the skin underneath.
“Well, I’ll be.” Kiara whistled. “I’ve seen a lot of crazy things in my life, but I’ve never seen something like this before. You sure you’re human?” she joked.
“Positive,” Kevin, in his shock, completely missed the joke.
What’s going on here?
Kevin hadn’t thought much about what he’d done during his battle with Shinkuro. His body had been pumped full of adrenaline, and he’d not had much on his mind save slamming his fist into the Celestial Kyuubi’s face. Now, however, with the same phenomenon happening more than once, he couldn’t help but wonder—what was this power? How could he, a human, have such a strange ability?
“Well,” Kiara started, and Kevin looked up to find the woman giving him a fanged smirk, “why don’t we see what else this strange ability of yours can do?”
Despite feeling uncertain about this power of his, Kevin answered her question with a surprisingly feral grin.
***
“Why do I have to spar with you?” Iris complained as Lilian dragged her across the gym with her.
“Because Kevin is busy right now and I don’t want to bother him.”
“So? Can’t you find someone else to spar with?”
“No. You’ve been getting lazy anyway. If you want to be with Kevin and me, then you need to prove that you can keep up with us.”
“You’re being mean, Lily-pad.”
; “Maybe if you weren’t so lazy, I wouldn’t be so mean.”
Lilian wasn’t the type of person to normally be so stern. Indeed, she’d prefer having fun to sternly lecturing her sister of all people. However, recent events—and not-so-recent events—had precipitated their need to get stronger. While it was impossible for a kitsune to grow in power through training, that didn’t mean they couldn’t hone the abilities they already had, or learn new abilities that didn’t require more power than they possessed.
Her beloved mate was training with Kiara. She knew what he wanted to accomplish, just as she knew that her presence wouldn’t help him. To that end, she’d decided to train with her sister, who seemed adamant on being lazy once again.
“Is it because of the Void?” she asked suddenly.
Iris grimaced. “No. Not this time, at least.”
“Then why?”
“Because I’m not like you, Lily.” Iris sighed. “I’m not the kind of person who really enjoys fighting or training. That whole shōnen manga training program that you and the stud are into? That’s not really something I enjoy doing.”
Iris had a point, she would admit. Most kitsune were the same way, so she could understand where her sister was coming from, but still…
“I don’t really like fighting either,” Lilian admitted softly. “I mean, training is kinda cool, cuz I feel like my favorite anime characters, but if I could go the rest of my life without fighting, I would gladly do so.” She turned around and gave her sister a smile tinged with sadness. “But as long as people like the Sons and Daughters of Humanity are around, peace isn’t going to happen. Not for us. That’s why we need to train and get stronger.”
Taking a long, hard look at her sister, Iris scratched her head and sighed. “All right, all right. Fine. I’ll train with you.”
“Yes!” Lilian pumped her fist into the air.
Iris crossed her arms and huffed. “You’re not being fair, Lily-pad.”
Lilian’s response was to stick her tongue out.
Unlike when she sparred with Kevin, Lilian didn’t go all out on Iris. Aside from Iris not being at her best—since Iris was unable to use even reinforcement right now—Kevin was simply a much better fighter than her sister, having been training for almost a year now under Kiara’s harsh instructions.
They started off slow, with Lilian allowing Iris to attack and simply defending herself until her sister got a feel for combat. Then she switched it up, going on the attack and forcing her sister to defend. Despite how much Iris complained about having a strong dislike for training, a smile eventually worked its way onto her beautiful face.
Lilian was grinning like a fool while they sparred. It was fun. She didn’t know if her enjoyment of sparring was Kotohime’s influence, or simply due to an overexposure of shōnen manga and anime. Either way, Lilian enjoyed sparring even though, oddly enough, she disliked fighting.
She was still a kitsune, after all.
Yet as the spar continued, things took a turn for the odd. It started when Iris brushed her chest against Lilian’s arm.
“What are you doing?”
Iris grinned at her question. “What’s it look like I’m doing? I’m sparing.”
She slipped around a sloppily thrown punch and her fingers gently ghosted against Lilian’s skin, causing goosebumps to break out.
“That’s not sparring!” Lilian said hotly, trying to get her breathing under control. That Iris… she certainly knew how to get her flustered.
“What are you talking about?” Iris laughed as Lilian stumbled when she overextended herself. “Of course it is,” she said, and then she slipped behind Lilian, her left hand gently caressing Lilian’s butt.
“Oh, that does it!”
Lilian fought with more vigor than before. She didn’t mind her sister’s flirty habits. Although she would never admit this to anyone, not even Kevin, she actually thought her sister was sexy. The way Iris walked, the way she spoke, her every action seemed designed to naturally draw the unhealthy fascination of everyone who saw her.
Kitsune admire beauty. This is and always will be a fact. Lilian was no different than any other member of her species in this regard. And while all kitsune have their own definition of what it means to be beautiful, there are some things that can be considered universally beautiful.
Iris’s body was one of those things—a piece of fine art, a statue of immemorial eroticism, a transient dream of carnal lust. Iris’s body was the kind that all kitsune strived to attain. Even Lilian felt envious of her sister’s looks, and this was despite the fact that they looked identical outside of their hair and eye color.
Lilian was so busy admiring her sister that she failed to notice Iris sliding around her kick. However, she did notice it when soft fingers almost delicately caressed one of her tails.
“A-ahn!”
Lilian’s legs weakened and wobbled as pleasure shot through her like a bolt of lightning. Unable to hold herself up any longer, she fell onto her hands and knees, her butt and thigh muscles clenching as Iris skillfully played with her tail.
“I-Iris!” Lilian tried to sound angry, but a moan escaped her lips the moment she opened her mouth. “T-that—not fair…”
“Oh, it is fair.” Iris gave her sister a wicked grin. “What was it the stud said? All's fair in love and war? Yes, I believe he did.”
“K-ku… i-if that’s the case…” Lilian gritted her teeth as she reached out and grabbed onto Iris’s tail. “Then two can play at this game!”
“Oh!”
Iris’s eyes became the size of water balloons as Lilian roughly fondled her tail. Her body went into a series of intense shivers before, much like Lilian had done, she toppled over. The grip on Lilian’s tail weakened slightly, and she dared to hope that this was simply a herald to her sister’s defeat.
It wasn’t to be.
“D-don’t think I—ah!—that I’m about to—oh!—give up!”
“Ah!”
Unlike Lilian, who was rough and unrefined in the art of tail fondling, Iris seemed to have mastered that particular talent. Her sister’s fingers glided along the underside of her tail, causing Lilian’s entire body to spasm as ecstasy shot through her brain and made her body unbearably hot. Her breathing grew heavy. She bit her lip to stifle the orchestra of pleasure that wanted to escape. She could feel it, the heat pooling just below her belly button. She was close to losing it.
Yet she wouldn’t give up.
Can’t… lose…
“A-AHN!”
Iris gasped as Lilian licked the underside of her sister’s tail. She then stuck it in her mouth and sucked on the tip. Iris’s body spasmed and jolted, breasts bouncing as she rolled onto her back, legs twitching like a dog whose belly was being rubbed. While her mouth was occupied with Iris’s tail, her hands went to work as she stroked the other tail’s underside just like she’d felt Iris doing to her.
Sweat gathered on Iris’s body, leaving glistening trails down her pale flesh, which Lilian could not help but notice. One particular drop traveled across the vixen’s heaving bosoms. Her mouth went dry as she watched Iris’s breasts bounce and jiggle as if they were water balloons. Not good. She wanted to lean down and lick the sweat off the other girl’s skin.
“Hey, Lilian, Iris!” Kevin walked into the room. “I think I’ve finally got—”
Kevin’s eyes widened as he saw the position Lilian and Iris were in; their sweat covered-bodies writhing on the ground, their clothes sticking erotically to their skin, soaking wet and outlining their bountiful assets. Neither of them wore a bra, and their nipples were clearly exposed. The black spandex shorts they wore had also grown moist, allowing him to see a perfect outline of their camel toe.
“Be… Beloved…” Lilian wanted to reach out to him, but Iris chose that moment to launch a counterattack. The raven-haired vixen used her index finger to caress Lilian’s tail from the base all the way to a tip. Lilian didn’t stand a chance. “B-BELOVED!”
Lil
ian’s world overflowed with white. She saw nothing. Her mind, overcome by unfathomable pleasure, was unable to see in any spectrum, as if she’d gone blind. However, she could still feel. She felt her muscles clenching and her body moaning. She could still hear. She heard the moans coming from her own mouth.
When she finally came to, Lilian noticed that she was staring at a ceiling. Something wet ran down her mouth—drool, she realized absentmindedly. Her mind felt hazy and unclear, like a fog had covered it. She wanted to sleep. Yes, sleep seemed like such a grand idea right now.
A shadow fell over her. Lilian opened the eyes she’d automatically closed to see Kiara standing over her.
“What do you want, dog?”
Lilian was a very unpleasant person after she experienced a mind-blowing orgasm.
“Shut up.”
S-so mean.
“I know you’re probably tired from your, uh, exercise, but I thought I should let you know something.” Kiara paused for added effect. “Your boyfriend is unconscious and in danger of dying from blood loss.”
“What?”
It took Lilian exactly 2.2 seconds to properly compute Kiara’s words, another 2.2 seconds to understand them, and then 2.2 more seconds to realize what they meant.
It took her five more seconds to realize that Kiara was pointing at something.
Lilian looked over to where Kiara was pointing, and then sprang to her feet, her tiredness forgotten.
“Inari-blessed! Beloved!”
Kevin lay on the ground, on his side, senseless to the world around him. Blood ran down his nose and also down his head where he’d cracked it against the wall.
Poor, poor Kevin Swift.
***
Frederic had a plan. He was going to make Lilian his, and then he would show off his relationship with her to the human, rubbing it in that filthy ape’s face. Afterward, once Kevin felt despair over the loss of his girl, Frederic would show him why humans should fear yōkai.
To complete this plan, Frederic had taken to following Lilian’s movements for the last week. He’d memorized her schedule and made plans based around it. Plan A, his current plan, called for him to get to her before she met back up with Kevin.
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