A Fox's Tail (American Kitsune Book 2)

by Brandon Varnell

  Women weren’t the only ones who could cook. Kevin might not have been a gourmet chef, certainly nowhere near Lilian’s enviable talent, but he considered himself to be a decent cook.

  On the way to the kitchen, he turned on the television and changed it to the news channel. He didn't usually watch the news, because it never failed to depress him, but he wanted to see if there would be any information about his school. Given the amount of property damage it had incurred the day before, he suspected there would be some mention about it.

  And so, while the news anchor told him about some terrorist organization killing people in the Middle East, Kevin whipped up a breakfast of scrambled eggs with some milk, cheese, chopped spinach and minced red onions. It only took a few minutes to make. He also put some bread in the toaster, to go along with the eggs.

  “And in other news, it appears that several vandals have destroyed the property of Desert Cactus High School.” Kevin's ears perked up as he began paying closer attention to the newscaster. “The damage done was significant. The school's gymnasium was completely demolished, and we've been told that restoring the building to its previous condition is going to take well over a month. The police have begun a search for the perpetrators responsible, though so far, there have been no leads. Principal Corrompere has declared that the school will remain closed until the gymnasium has been restored.”

  Kevin walked into the living room, two plates of food in his hands to watch the rest of the announcement. He watched as the screen displayed the damage done to his school's gym.

  “For some reason the damage looks much worse on television than it did in person. I wonder why that is?” The result of being more worried about Lilian than the school, per chance? Or maybe being given a view from the perspective of an outsider made the destruction look more catastrophic than he remembered? “Ha…whatever. Not my problem.”

  He paused as another thought occurred to him.

  “Does this mean summer break's going to be shorter?”

  “When asked how this would affect the student’s schedule, Principal Corrompere had this to say.”

  The image changed to display the principal of his school. Eric’s father looked nothing like his son. Where his perverted best friend was tall, lanky and resembled a monkey, his father was short, fat and resembled a beach ball with hair. They were a study in genetic contrast.

  “We cannot risk the safety of the students, which is why we’re closing down the school, until repairs can be made. However, we also don’t want this to affect their education, which is why we’ll be extending the school year into June.”

  “Dang it.”

  With a heavy sigh, Kevin turned off the television, and made his way back to his bedroom. Lilian was still asleep, so he set both plates on the nightstand, and sat down on the edge of the bed. Turning to face her, he reached out with a hand to wake the gorgeous kitsune up.

  His hand paused. Then started again. It changed course halfway to its intended destination. Instead of moving to rest on her shoulder, where he would have lightly shaken her awake, it went to her face. Ever so softly, his fingertips brushed a few strands of her lustrous red hair away from her angelically-crafted face. Those same fingers gently touched against her delicate cheek, idly tracing a small circle along her soft skin.

  A second later he jerked his hand back when Lilian mumbled something in her sleep. The girl stirred a bit more, then snuggled back into the pillows. Kevin watched her for several seconds, blinking, before shaking his head.

  What the heck am I doing?

  “Lilian,” he called out. Putting a hand on her shoulder, he shook her awake. Or at least tried to shake her awake. “Come on, Lilian, wake up. I've got breakfast for you.”

  “Mmm… oh, Beloved,” Lilian giggled in her sleep. “Come here, you naughty thing you.”

  Kevin's face turned red, but he kept from losing his composure. She must be having a dream. Yes. Just a dream.

  He tried again.

  “Lilian. You really do need to wake up. I've made breakfast.”

  “Ufufufu, I have no issues with swallowing if you want me to.”

  “S-s-swallowing?!”

  Kevin wasn't sure if he felt like he had been metaphorically punched in the gut, or if his soul had been irreparably scarred for the rest of his life. Maybe a little of both.

  “Oh, don't worry about a thing.” It sounded like Lilian was trying to reassure him of something. Kevin was most definitely not reassured. “I've been practicing.”

  “Practicing?” Kevin wasn't really sure what to make of that statement. A part of him was curious to know what she was talking about. The rest was dreading it. “Practicing for what?”

  “You want to know how I could practice something like that? Ufufufu, it was while you were sleeping.”

  “Geh!”

  Even when she was asleep, Lilian refused to stop causing him trouble.

  ***

  Several minutes and a good deal more embarrassment later, Kevin finally managed to wake Lilian up.

  The twin-tailed kitsune slowly opened her eyes. She blinked several times as the image confronting her swam into focus. When the blurry outline above her head was revealed to be Kevin's face, she offered the boy a smile.

  “Good morning, Bel―Kevin,” she greeted.

  “Morning, Lilian.” He smiled. “I made you breakfast. I thought it would be a good idea for you to eat in bed. You're still injured, and probably shouldn't be moving around too much.”

  “Thank you,” Lilian murmured, warmth spreading out from her chest to encompass the rest of her body. Her mate really was the kindest person she had ever met to treat someone like her, who’d messed up his life, with such kindness. Last night’s events did put a bit of a damper on her spirit, but she tried not to let that show.

  “You're welcome.”

  Lilian sat up and rested her back against the bed. Her movements were much smoother than last night, less strained. She didn't even twitch in pain. Lilian thanked Lord Inari that she was a Celestial kitsune. She’d spent all night in a healing trance, which seemed to have paid its dividends.

  Kevin set a plate of eggs on her lap, then grabbed his own plate. Picking up their respective utensils, the two began to eat in silence. It was a very uncomfortable silence, broken only by the clinking of silverware on plates. There was a heavy tension in the air, and neither really knew how to break it.

  “I forgot to ask last night,” Kevin started, trying to break the disquieting silence by satisfying his curiosity. “But I wanted to know, what made you decide to start calling me by my name?”

  Lilian paused mid-bite. Slowly, she set her fork down and looked at the plate in her lap. She hesitated for a second, worrying her lower lip, before saying, “I just thought you might prefer it if I called you by your name.”

  “Ah,” Kevin nodded to himself. “That's probably a good idea.” Lilian looked away, not saying anything, which he noticed. “Is something wrong?”

  “No.” Lilian shook her head. “Nothing's wrong. Why do you ask?”

  “I don't know, you seem… different.”

  “Different?”

  Kevin shrugged.

  “I can't really explain it, but you seem a lot different now than before your battle with Kiara. You seem more… melancholy, I guess.”

  Her fox ears twitching, Lilian shook her head. “I'm fine.” She smiled at him. “Thank you for being so concerned.”

  Kevin returned the smile.

  “What are friends for?”

  “Yeah.” Lilian's smile turned morose. “Friends.”

  “The school has been shut down while they repair the gym that you and Kiara destroyed.” Kevin switched topics. He felt for Lilian, he really did, but there was only so much that he could do to alleviate her pain. And unfortunately, returning her affection was not one of them—he still liked Lindsay. He couldn’t just not like the girl that he had crushed on since middle school because some other girl had suddenly come into his
life, right? “They say the repairs will likely last somewhere around a month, if not longer.”

  “You say that like the damage done to the school was my fault.” Lilian frowned. “That damn dog is the one who did all the damage, you know. I don't have that kind of power.”

  “I wasn't blaming you,” Kevin said gently. “I was simply stating that your battle with Kiara has forced the school to shut down. Not that it was your fault.”

  “Oh, I see.” Lilian resumed eating, mostly so she could hide the flush of her cheeks. After a few seconds, she managed to get over her discomfort, and looked at Kevin. “What does this mean for us?”

  “It means that we won't be going to school until the gym has been repaired.” Kevin finished his own breakfast and set the empty plate aside. “It also means that the time the school is closed will have to be made up during our summer break. Instead of having a three month break, we'll likely have a two month break.”

  “Oh.”

  “How are you feeling?” Kevin asked, once again changing topics. “You were really hurt yesterday. I was worried for a while there.”

  “I'm fine now,” Lilian reassured the boy, smiling at his concern. “As a Celestial kitsune, I have very powerful healing abilities. Most of my injuries have completely healed—I'm not even sore anymore. I should be good to go in another hour or two.”

  “That's good to hear.” Kevin looked truly relieved to know that her injuries were all healed up. “That's a really impressive ability.”

  “You think so?” A tiny bit of warmth suffused Lilian's cheeks at the admiration in Kevin's voice. Regardless of what happened last night, of the painful truths that she had learned during their conversation, it was hard not to feel good when her mate praised her like that. “Celestial powers are pretty good at healing, but Water kitsune are better; all of the best healers are Water kitsune.”

  “Why water? I would have thought healing would be a Celestial specialty.”

  Lilian shook her head.

  “Celestial kitsune do have the ability to heal due to our powers being divine in nature, but we are also capable of great destruction. Some of the most powerful and destructive techniques are Celestial attacks. Only the Void is more destructive, and that's just because of the nature of Void powers.”

  Kevin nodded at her words, even though he had no real clue what she was talking about. He didn't know what this Void was, but it sounded pretty bad. Didn't Void mean nothing? What kind of abilities would someone who had control over nothingness possess?

  A shiver ran down his spine, as he imagined someone who could erase anything they touched from existence. That was a scary thought.

  “Water, on the other hand, is not that destructive,” Lilian continued. “Sure they have a few attacks, and there is certainly no denying that water can be very powerful. Anyone who’s ever seen a tidal wave engulf a town knows this, but most water-based powers are healing in nature—at least until a Water kitsune gains more tails. I think four tails is when they have enough power to use the really big attacks. That's what Kotohime told me.”

  “Huh.” Kevin rubbed the nape of his neck. “I would have never thought water powers would be mostly healing-based.”

  “That's because you read too much Shinobi Natsumo.” Lilian gave the boy she loved an indulgent smile. “Not that there is anything wrong with that; it’s an awesome manga, but the manga that you read aren’t really conductive to kitsune powers.”

  “I guess.” Kevin had the decency to look sheepish as he was called out on his attempt at comparing kitsune powers to something that he was more familiar with. “Anyway, I should probably clean the dishes.”

  “I'll help,” Lilian scooted to the edge of the bed as Kevin stood up and grabbed the plates.

  “You don't have to,” Kevin told her, “I can do this. You should probably stay in bed and get some more rest.”

  “I've rested enough,” Lilian declared as she swung her legs over the bed and stood up. “And my injuries have all healed. Plus, I don't really want to stay in bed. I would much rather get up and stretch my legs.”

  Examining the girl for several seconds with a silent gaze, Kevin eventually nodded.

  “All right, we'll wash the dishes together like we usually do, then.”

  “Thank you!”

  “But before that,” Kevin's cheeks flushed with blood as he turned his head. Lilian looked at the boy curiously. Why had he turned away from her? Was something wrong? “Maybe you should put some clothes on.”

  That's when Lilian realized that she wasn't really wearing much of anything; just a few bandages around her chest, stomach and shoulders, and a pair of flannel pajama pants that belonged to Kevin. Nothing else.

  “Oh, right,” she muttered, looking down at her state of undress. When she looked back up at Kevin, a sly smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. “So, Be―Kevin, would you like to tell me just how it is that I've gone from wearing jean shorts and a shirt to pajamas and a couple of bandages?”

  Cue massive blush.

  “A-Ah! T-that is… w-well, you know, it's like…”

  “Hmm?” Lilian’s smile widened as she leaned forward, hands behind her back, and an expectant look in her half-lidded, sensual eyes. “It's like… what?”

  “I-It's because you were so injured, and uh, well, i-it's not like I wanted to look or anything―I mean I did! No! Wait! I didn't! It's just, you know… I kinda had to… uh…”

  Kevin was grasping at straws as he tried to find some excuse that wouldn’t make it sound like he had enjoyed getting an eyeful of Lilian's gorgeous, generously proportioned body as he bandaged her wounds.

  He didn’t do a very good job.

  “A-anyway, why don't you get changed while I wait outside! Okay? Good, I'llseeyououtthere!”

  Lilian smiled as Kevin bolted out the door and slammed it shut behind him. It was good to see that she could still affect him like that.

  Her mirth didn't last long, as she remembered last night’s conversation. The smile on her face soon turned into a melancholy frown as her eyes dimmed.

  With a sigh, she stripped out of the pajama bottoms, and unwound the bandages, before walking over to the dresser. Lilian outfitted herself in a pair of simple black stretch shorts that conformed to her bottom like a second skin, and a short-sleeved white shirt with black vinyl patterns running along the front, the hem and the ends of the sleeves. She couldn't find her sandals, so she decided to go barefoot.

  Steeling herself, Lilian opened the door and gave Kevin a beaming a smile.

  “I'm ready.”

  Kevin took one look at her outfit, then quickly turned around, and began walking down the hallway with an almost mechanical gait.

  “Right. Well, let's go, then.”

  The pair made their way into the kitchen, Lilian discarding her dirty bandages in the restroom’s trash on the way.

  They took up what had become their standard positions: Kevin at the sink, blue rubber gloves traveling up to his elbows, and Lilian near the rack with a towel ready to dry the dishes once they were clean.

  There weren’t many dishes that morning, so they didn’t focus too much on what they were doing, and instead made light conversation while they worked.

  “What are we going to do today since we don't have school anymore?” Lilian asked. “I mean, it's Thursday, right? We’d normally have school, but since we don't, does that mean we should go and do something else?”

  “I'm not really sure what we can do,” Kevin admitted, “If it was summer, we could go to the pool and hang out there, or even go to a water park.” He paused, thinking. “I suppose we could go to the arcade, but they won't open until ten, and it's only seven right now. That means we have a lot of time to kill before we can go there.” His head tilted to the left as another short pause ensued. “We could also go to the mall, but none of the shops will be open until nine, so we wouldn’t be doing much anyway.”

  “So basically, we have at least—“ Lilian scrunched her
nose up cutely. “—two hours to kill before we can really go anywhere.” The inhumanly beautiful girl gave a soft hum, her two tails waving back and forth behind her. “We could play some of those video games you have here. Or we could watch one of those anime I saw on the bookshelf in your room.”

  Kevin glanced at Lilian out of the corner of his eye, then looked up at the ceiling and rubbed his jaw.

  “I do have a few good anime, and it has been a while since I've seen any of them.” Come to think of it, he hadn't watched any anime since Lilian came into his life. Maybe because his life almost felt like it had become an anime?

  … He shook his head. No, that couldn't be it.

  “Then that's what we'll do!”

  Grinning at the enthusiasm that Lilian displayed, Kevin gave a light-hearted chuckle.

  “All right, let's finish cleaning, then we'll decide what to watch.”

  ***

  After washing the dishes, the pair went back to Kevin's room, and looked at the large bookshelf filled with anime and manga—Kevin's biggest guilty pleasure. They searched through his collection, before deciding on one of the mecha anime, because nothing said romance better than watching giant fighting robots blow each other up.

  The duo then adjourned to the living room, where they sat on the couch to watch Full Metal Panic? FUMOFFU.

  For the second time that day, Kevin felt something inherently wrong with the situation. It took him a while to figure out what it was, and when he did, he found himself surprised.

  Previously, whenever he and Lilian sat on the couch, even when they were playing video games, Lilian would sit as close to him as physically possible. And when they watched television, she would snuggle into his side, practically draping herself over him in a poorly-veiled attempt at smothering him with affection.