“Heh.”
Kiara grinned. Two more compressed spheres of celestial energy burst into existence on the tips of Lilian's tails before they, too, were flung at her. Kiara shifted her body, easily avoiding the attacks and watching them strike the wall behind her again. She looked back at Lilian, who was already preparing to launch another set of spheres.
“I think I'm really going to enjoy this,” she muttered.
The battle was on.
***
“Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa! Hold up!”
Kevin held his hands out in a placating gesture. The men didn't stop their slow march toward him. Two of them even cracked their knuckles again. Kevin backed away.
“Why are you doing this? I don't even know you guys!”
While Kevin had recently experienced some pretty frightening stuff in the past two-and-a-half weeks, that didn't stop his spine from going rigid. It didn't stop him from experience terror at this new predicament. He would freely admit that he was petrified.
Not that he didn't have a reason to be. These people were not only much bigger than him, but looked like they meant business. And their business obviously wasn’t going to be beneficial to his continued health.
“Like I said, it's nothing personal,” said the tall one, seemingly the spokesperson. Kevin decided to call him Tall. “We were simply told by Kiara to rough you up some. And when Kiara wants something done, we get it done.”
“Kiara? B-but wait!” Kevin continued trying to reason with them, or at least stall for time. Since he was still at school, Coach Deretaine must also be around as well. The man couldn't have left before him, right? Surely his coach would come to his rescue… he hoped. “Why would Kiara order you guys to beat me up? I never did anything to her!”
The three looked at each other for a moment, giving Kevin a small ray of hope that they’d stop advancing. That hope was mercilessly crushed when they began walking again, their footfalls sounding like a death knell to his ears. His back was soon pressed up against the nearest locker, which just so happened to be his.
“We don't know much about what you did. Not like it matters anyway,” Tall answered. “Though, since I feel bad for you, I'll tell you why I think Kiara has ordered us to turn your face into mincemeat: her brother.”
“Brother?” Kevin’s expression changed from one of terror to one of stupefaction. He blinked several times before remembering something. “That's right. She told me that she has a brother who goes to school here, but what does that have to do with me? I don't know even her brother.”
“You probably do and just don't realize it. Her brother is Chris Fleischer.”
“Chris Fleischer?”
Kevin's mind only needed a few seconds to compute that sentence and realize what it meant. When that happened, his eyes widened.
“But that means―eek!”
A fist from Tall came flying at him, fast. Kevin reacted on nothing more than instinct, ducking under the attack and letting it pass by over his head.
BANG!
“YEOWCH!”
Tall yelled in pain as he pulled his fist back, the reddened, swollen flesh of his knuckles pulsing. He shook his hand frantically, as if doing so would somehow soothe the anguish. Kevin used the unintended distraction to scramble away from the big guy as quickly as possible.
The other two followed him, ignoring their injured comrade to close the distance between themselves and Kevin. Their menacing faces were a reflection of their ill-intent and made Kevin want to get away from them that much faster.
In his haste to escape, he didn’t notice the article of clothing on the floor, a seemingly innocuous pair of running shorts. One of the other runners must have forgotten it in their desire to get home quickly. Regardless of who left it there and why, what really mattered was that Kevin didn't see it.
He stepped on the offending article of clothing.
And tripped.
“Waaa—oof!”
Falling flat on his belly, Kevin coincidentally moved just in time to avoid receiving a fist to the back of his head. Instead of being decked in the cranium with the force of a speeding semi-truck, the tightly-closed hand soared through the air where his head had been seconds prior.
It also caused the older man to stumble forward and trip over Kevin, who was sprawled out in front of him. His arms flailed as he began a very quick and painful looking fall.
As the loud slam! of someone's face hitting the tiled floor resounded throughout the room, Kevin scrambled to his feet, rushing toward the exit. If he could just make it out of the locker room, he could find someone—a teacher or his coach, maybe—and then he would be safe.
A figure stepped in front of the door, obstructing his path.
Murphy must have had it in for him. Or maybe he had just incurred some really bad karma.
Kevin skidded to a stop, immediately trying to backpedal. He didn't get far. His back crashed into what felt like a brick wall, hard and rigid and completely uncompromising.
He looked up, his face going pale as he saw it was the tall one again, staring him down with a hard expression. He looked kind of mad. Actually, he looked downright furious. His right hand had become a mass of swollen and red flesh.
Tall slid his arms under Kevin's armpits, gave a grunt, and then heaved. Kevin was lifted nearly half a foot off the ground, his feet dangling uselessly, no longer able to find purchase on a hard surface.
“Now we've got you,” Tall said. “This is it, kid. The end of the line.”
As if to emphasis his point, the guy who had been blocking his exit―the shortest of the trio, who Kevin had decided to call Short—charged forward. His fist reared back with the obvious intention of punching Kevin's lights out. Kevin knew that if he was hit with that fist, he wouldn't be walking away without extensive help.
He began to struggle in Tall's grasp, but nothing seemed to come of it. The man had him in a full nelson, he was dangling half a foot off the ground, and this dude was way stronger than him. It would take a miracle for him to break out of the hold.
Fortunately for him, a miracle came just in time. At least, that’s how Kevin would refer to it later on, though it was really more of a case of blind luck.
Kevin’s skin still retained some dampness from his shower, which had mixed in with the sweat he’d secreted due to his fear of these people. This combination of plain water and perspiration had created a slick coat that covered his skin and made him, for lack of a better term, slippery.
At the very last second, just when it looked like Kevin was about to sustain some serious brain damage, his arms slid out from Tall's grasp as if they’d been greased up with oil, and he fell to the floor in a heap.
Not quite understanding what had happened, but not wanting to waste this opportunity, he scrambled away on all fours. The tallest of the trio watched him go, gawking at his seemingly miraculous escape.
And since he was so busy gaping at Kevin, who took off like a pig that had just realized it was about to be gutted, he didn't even notice the fist coming at him.
“Oof!”
The power-punch hammered Tall in the gut with all the force of a freight train. He doubled over the extended fist like a folding chair as all the breath left his lungs.
Shocked by what he had done, Short pulled his fist out of his partner’s gut and took several steps back. Tall fell onto his hands and knees, clasping his stomach with his right arm as he sucked in several lungfuls of oxygen.
“Oh, shit! You okay, man?” Short asked. Not that the other man could answer, busy as he was wheezing and gasping for breath that would not come.
Realizing that no one was paying attention to him anymore, Kevin tried to make for the door, but found his path barred… again. Naturally. It only made sense that he’d still have one more guy to deal with. It would also only make sense if that guy was standing directly in front of the only exit out of the room.
If Kevin wasn't so frightened, he would have cursed. This was like a bad plot dev
ice from a Shōnen manga!
“Now you're going to get it, bud,” the man said, his abnormally large nose still bleeding from when he had fallen face-first onto the floor. For some reason, this made him look more menacing than before. “I'm going to beat your ass black and blue!”
“T-that doesn't sound very pleasant,” Kevin muttered as he held a hand to his backside. “What did my butt ever do to you?” He blinked, then started in surprise. “And wait! You can talk!” It wasn't a question.
“Of course I can talk, ya moron! What, did ya think I was an illiterate baboon or something?!”
“Well…” Kevin wondered what this guy would do if he learned that Kevin had actually kind of thought that. It was probably best not to tell him.
“And it's a figure of speech, ya ignoramus! I didn't actually mean I would beat your ass, just that I would be kicking the crap out of ya so badly that you're going to need a bedpan, because ya won't be shittin' properly for weeks!”
“That sounds even less pleasant…”
“Raaagggg!” With a wordless battle cry, the man charged forward.
“Hiiiii!” Kevin squealed like a pig sent to the slaughter.
The muscular male's fist reared back in preparation to unleash a punch of such epic proportions that it would make the younger male's head spin. Kevin tried to back away, but his far stronger foe was quickly gaining on him.
Just when all hope seemed lost another miracle occurred—or another case of dumb luck.
Without even realizing it, Kevin had backed up into one of the locker room benches. The back of his legs smacked into the bench, and he began to tumble backwards.
His arms flailed as he tried to reestablish his balance to no avail. His feet kicked up into the air as he pitched over the bench.
At the same time, Kevin’s attacker closed the distance between them. His right fist lashed out with a powerful jab, but missed by a hair as Kevin fell backwards. He also missed Kevin's feet as they were kicked into the air.
However, he did feel it when Kevin's feet slammed into his jaw with substantial force. With Kevin's head and torso acting as a fulcrum, the power put into the accidental attack was enough to force his jaw shut with a loud clack! followed by an equally loud crack! that rang out several decibels louder than normal.
“Ah! My toof!”
Holding his hands up to his mouth, the bulky male stumbled backwards. His voice rang out in a loud, keening wail of agony, as the sharp pain of his tooth cracking hit him full force.
Kevin continued moving backwards, his body rolling across the bench in a semblance of a back flip, his feet swinging through the air in a parabolic arc. As he completed his roll, his feet hit solid tile, and the rest of his body soon came with it. He stumbled a little, but remained upright and perfectly unharmed.
Kevin blinked.
Then took a look around.
The two that tried tag-teaming him were back on their feet and currently arguing.
“What do you mean it's my fault?! You're the one who hit me!”
“I wouldn't have hit you if you had kept a firm grip on the kid! Don't try and pin the blame on me! This is your fault!”
“You don't know what you're talking about, idiot!”
“Hey! Who're you calling idiot?! Idiot!”
Yeah, their argument went something like that. After a decently-sized drop of sweat coalesced into existence on his right temple, Kevin looked at the other guy. The drop of sweat increased in size. The guy was wailing on the ground, squirming around like some kind of inch worm. It was very disturbing.
“My poor toof! It's broken! Broken! Waaa!”
Kevin knew that he should still be frightened, but it proved incredibly difficult when faced with such stupidity. These were the people trying to beat him up? They were too busy arguing or, well, flopping around like a Magikarp out of water to even look at him. It's like they had forgotten that he even existed!
And that’s when it hit him. They were no longer paying attention to him. This was his chance to escape. He would have to move quickly, though; the longer he waited, the more likely they were to realize he was still there.
Kevin bolted for the door posthaste.
“Hey! He's getting away!”
“Come back here, you little brat!”
He heard the shouting behind him as he ran out of the locker room, but paid them no heed. Seconds after he left, the door slammed open, but he refused to look back. Kevin was afraid that if he did anything other than continue running, they would catch him. And he knew that it would be all over if he let that happen. There would be no mercy then.
***
Warning: The previous scene should not be attempted in real life. What you saw was a mild case of someone who has been “Mistaken For a Badass.” This is not to be confused with “Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass,” which is where someone acts like a complete idiot, until their introduced to a certain kind of stimuli, like a loved one being in danger or something, and then unleash the biggest can of whoop ass known to man. A person who has been Mistaken For a Badass is someone who has absolutely no clue what he is doing. This person is just a normal guy who does normal things, and then suddenly finds himself thrust into an inexplicably abnormal and dangerous situation—like an alien invasion. In spite of the danger this man finds himself in, he always manages to escape. Of course, he does not just survive these dangerous situations. He survives them in such a way that everyone involved “thinks” he's the biggest, most hardcore badass this side of the multiverse.
You may now get back to your regularly broadcasted program.
***
Kiara dodged the twin balls of light that came flying at her. They moved so fast that a normal human would’ve seen nothing but a flash. Sidestepping to the left, then the right, she let the bright white spheres travel past her, the air around her crackling with repressed youki. They struck the wall several meters behind her and detonated in a brilliant explosion of light particles.
“Oh my.”
Kiara looked back at where the light spheres had struck. The damage was minimal, merely two small burnt patches on the concrete where they’d hit, but that didn't mean much. Those attacks were meant to damage living matter, not inanimate objects.
The entire hallway was covered in burn marks; the walls, ceiling and floor had large black patches covering their surface. No part of the hall had been left untouched. It looked like someone had gone mad and started flinging miniature incendiary grenades all over the place.
She looked back at the still-enraged Lilian and smirked. “Those attacks of yours look like they might actually hurt if I let them hit me.”
“Shut up!” Lilian growled. The glare she gave Kiara was almost as potent as the vitriol in her tone. She was pissed! “For ordering your men to defile my Beloved, I'm going to make you wish you were never born!”
Kiara was amused. This girl had completely misconstrued the situation. The poor dear really had no clue that she had merely ordered her men to beat the crap out of Kevin (which honestly wasn't much better), not to defile his virginal self.
Ah, well. Who was she to correct Lilian on her erroneous assumptions? Besides, it was amusing to see the girl work herself into a fit over a misunderstanding. Seriously, who in their right mind would think she’d order her henchmen to commit BL on someone? Even she wasn't that cruel.
“Well, come on then,” Kiara grinned. “If you're so dead set on teaching me a lesson, then you'd better hop to it. I won't be waiting around all day.”
She gave Lilian a “come on” gesture with her left hand.
That was all the vivacious kitsune needed to begin firing off light spheres in rapid succession. Two spheres flared into existence, were flung forward, then two more appeared and were shot at Kiara with the force of a cannon. Faster and faster the spheres of light seemed to come, until Lilian was sending off two attacks every couple of seconds.
Kiara’s fanged grin showed off her sharp canines as she dodged the many light s
pheres. Left. Right. Duck. Tilt to the left. Tilt to the right. Jump. Spin. She was a constant flow of motion, letting each and every attack Lilian sent her way sail harmlessly past her by mere inches.
And while she exercised her abilities in evasion, she also began leading her attacker out of the hall, and into a venue of her own choosing. She had a plan for dealing with this little kitsune, but she needed a larger space to do it. The gymnasium would suffice for her purposes, so that's where she headed.
“Come back here, you coward!”
Of course, to the unknowing eye it looked like she was fleeing. That's exactly what Lilian thought as she chased after the woman. This enraged the redhead further, and she chased after Kiara, continuing to fling light spheres at her foe.
It was unfortunate that she only had two tails, and thus could only produce two spheres at any given time. It was also annoying because the other woman appeared to be quite agile, dodging each attack with ease.
This didn't mean she would stop. Quite the contrary. Seeing that woman's smirking face burned Lilian something fierce. This entire battle was about more than this vile woman sending several men to assault her beloved now—now, Lilian's pride was on the line! She would not allow a mere human to get the best of her!
Soon enough the two of them reached the gym. Without pause, Kiara spun around like a top, slamming a foot into the gym doors. The doors were blown right off their hinges, exploding with a sound reminiscent of a shotgun going off in an enclosed space.
She ducked into the room, barely managing to dodge another light sphere. The compressed ball of celestial youki was so close she could feel it grazing her hair.
“There's nowhere to run now!” Lilian shouted in triumph, thinking she had finally managed to corner the woman. All of this fighting was beginning to grate on her. She was a kitsune, and like most of her kind, she didn't like fighting.
Unfortunately for this woman, she had pissed Lilian off. Send those icky, disgusting men to hurt her beloved, would she? Lilian would show her!
“Who says I'm running?” Kiara asked, still keeping her back to Lilian. “Did it ever occur to you that I might be leading you here for a reason? That maybe I wanted to trap you here?”
A Fox's Tail (American Kitsune Book 2) Page 19