Now she sat at least six inches away from him. Far enough that there was no physical contact between them. He no longer felt the warmth that he had come to associate with her presence.
Have I really grown so used to Lilian's presence that it feels weird when she's not trying to get close to me?
He shook his head. No. Of course not. He just found it a little strange for Lilian to be this distant. He should be glad that she had finally realized that he didn't like her the way she liked him. Yes, this was exactly what he wanted.
So why do I suddenly feel like I'm missing something important?
“Is something wrong, Kevin?”
The sound of Lilian's voice had Kevin nearly jumping out of his seat in surprise. He looked at the redhead to see her staring at him in concern.
“I'm sorry, I wasn't paying attention. What did you say?”
“I asked if you were all right?” Lilian's frown deepened.
“I'm fine.” Kevin's smile wasn't very convincing. “Why do you ask?”
“You're not watching the anime.”
“Ah. I just got a bit distracted by something,” he reassured the twin-tailed beauty, before turning back to the television just in time to see the main protagonist getting smacked in the back of head with a harisen, a Japanese paper fan, by the heroine for setting off an explosive that destroyed the school’s shoe lockers. The main protagonist had done this under the apparent belief that someone had planted a bomb inside of his shoe locker.
It wasn’t an explosive, however, just a love letter from a poor girl who didn’t realize that the protagonist was a military nut with a distinct lack of common sense. Then again, she also didn’t know that he belonged to a secret military organization, so Kevin couldn’t blame the poor thing for her misconception.
Lilian looked at him for a second longer, her frown growing, but she eventually turned back to watch the show. If Kevin didn't want to tell her what was wrong, there was nothing she could do to force the issue.
Several more minutes into the anime, Kevin found himself sending occasional glances in Lilian's direction. Every time he did, she would notice and look his way, causing him to pretend he’d been watching the television. It was during one of these moments that he noticed Lilian was shivering slightly.
“Cold?”
“Hmm?” Lilian looked over at him. “Oh, yeah, a little. It's a bit cooler than I'm used to for some reason.”
Probably because you're not trying to burrow your way into my side.
“Hmm. It might have something to do with the thermostat,” Kevin said, “I like to keep it at a low temperature, though I'm surprised that you haven't felt cold before now. Especially since you wear such skimpy clothing.”
Lilian pouted at him.
“I happen to like this clothing. It's not constricting like pants and long-sleeved shirts.”
“Yes, yes, I know.” Kevin waved his hand in the air, as if warding off a bug. “I wasn't making a dig at your choice in clothes.” And how could he? She looked good in them. Even he would admit that much. “Though that does leave us a small problem.” He studied the young woman for a second, before a small light flared briefly in his irises. “Hold on a second.”
Kevin stood up, and Lilian watched curiously as he walked over to a small basket on the other side of the couch. Popping open the lid and reaching in, he pulled out a large, quilted blanket, which he took over to Lilian, and draped around her shoulders.
“Thank you.” Lilian gave him a grateful smile as she wrapped the blanket around herself, folding the ends to engulf her like a cocoon.
“You're welcome.”
As Kevin sat down, he eyed the girl with a semi-speculative look. She didn't fail to notice the expression, and gave an inquiring glance of her own.
“What is it?”
“Nothing.”
Kevin looked away again, turning back to the television, and watching what had gone from the heroine beating the main protagonist with a harisen, to the hero undergoing a hilarious Extended Disarming while trying to rescue her from some thugs. Kevin eyed the pile of guns and ammunition that Special Agent Sousuke Sagara, pulled out of his clothes, absentmindedly wondering if he somehow had an Extra Dimensional Storage Space somewhere on his person.
Then he remembered that only women had Extra Dimensional Storage Spaces.
So how did that man carry all those guns around?
A good question, and one that Kevin was sure Otaku worldwide had asked themselves at some point.
“You're sure it's nothing?” Lilian asked. Kevin nodded, not taking his eyes away from the television.
“Positive.”
Lilian frowned, unsure of whether or not she should call Kevin out on his strange behavior. He wasn't acting like himself. While she was no nekomata (cat yōkai), as a kitsune, she held a natural curiosity toward things she didn't understand, and she didn't understand why Kevin was acting so differently.
In the end, she also turned back to the anime. As curious as she was, she didn't want to intrude.
The silence that soon engulfed the pair was truly unsettling, stifling even. After their heart-to-heart the night before, neither of them could really think of what to say to the other. All of their conversations thus far had been awkward and forced, or eventually became awkward after reaching a certain point.
For Kevin, the reason was simple. Ever since her appearance in his life, all he had wanted was for Lilian to leave. He may have been too nice to throw her out, but that didn't really change the fact that his life had become a mess ever since she had barged into it. Barring her leaving, he had wanted her to stop trying to seduce him. He hadn’t thought that was too much to ask for.
She had finally done just that, yet Kevin didn't feel the satisfaction that he had been expecting, and he didn't know why. What's more, he no longer knew how they should define their relationship now that the key component defining it was gone.
It was a perplexing predicament to the young man, who had never really been in a relationship like this before. Too bad he didn't know anyone who could help him with this. As far as he knew, no one else had ever been in a situation like his—except for those anime characters that he loved watching so much.
Unfortunately, no amount of anime would help him here—unless he planned on trying to go the harem route, or something, which would probably end in a very painful and humiliating fashion for him.
Harem protagonists in popular anime never had an easy time, what with having to deal with tsunderes and yanderes and various other dere-type women either fighting over them, or trying to kill them—sometimes women who did both at the same time!
Yes, Kevin felt very fortunate that he was not one of those harem protagonists, because that would suck, regardless of what every ecchi-loving Otaku in the world thought. Just look at that poor bumbling fool from To Love Ru.
While Kevin struggled to cope with the new issues he faced, Lilian's thought process was a bit more complex, but still very simple.
For the whole of the time that she had been living with Kevin, she had dedicated herself to earning his love—or trying to seduce him, but that was merely semantics. To a kitsune, they were one and the same. However, having finally discovered what Kevin really thought about her, she understood that her attempts to make him love her were having the opposite effect, and she no longer knew what to do.
She wanted him to love her. She wanted him to hold her, to kiss her, and hopefully, eventually, make love to her one day. Her soul cried out for these things, yearning for them with a fervent zeal that she had only felt once several years ago.
But Kevin had no intention of committing any acts of passion and eroticism with her, and she had been unable to convince him otherwise. Because of that, she no longer knew how to make him fall in love with her. If showing off a little (or a lot) of skin and using her boobs didn't work, then what would? How could she make her mate love her the same way that she loved him?
Needless to say, they were
in a problematic situation. Neither of them was really sure of their position with the other anymore; Kevin was confused about his feelings towards Lilian, and Lilian was just plain confused.
“So, I was thinking.”
Lilian very nearly shrieked and jumped out of her blanket when Kevin suddenly spoke up, so lost was she in her own thoughts. A glance at the boy showed him looking anywhere but at her.
“Maybe when we go to the mall, we can get you some winter clothes. It's still a bit early, and it won't begin to get really cold until November, but if we do it now, we can beat the rush when all the snow birds come over.”
Lilian blinked.
“Snow birds?”
“Old people who have retired and like to live in Arizona during the winter, because it's still the warmest state regardless of the season.”
“Oh.” That made sense. “That does sound like a good idea, but is it all right for you to buy me any more clothes?” She looked down at herself, or the blanket covering her body, picturing the outfit she had on underneath. “You've already bought me a lot, including all my toiletries and underwear.” Kevin blushed at the mention of underwear, but Lilian either wasn’t paying attention, or chose to ignore his reaction. “It wouldn't feel right if you bought me anymore.”
“Why are you feeling this way now?” Kevin was curious. “You didn't seem all that bothered when I bought you clothes last time.”
He sighed when Lilian flinched. She was obviously beginning to feel guilty, though he didn't know why.
“Listen,” he said softly. “It really is all right. I don't mind buying you some more clothes.”
“Really?” She turned her head toward him, her large emerald eyes looking entirely too vulnerable. There were so many emotions reflected in those bright green orbs that it would be impossible for most people to get a read on her mental state. Even an expert at interrogation and human psychology would be unable to read the windows to that soul.
“Really,” Kevin told her. An interrogation specialist might have had trouble, but he could read her just fine—a side effect of living with Lilian for just under three weeks. He could pretty much read the girl like a book these days.
“Okay.” Lilian looked down at her lap, where she was twiddling her fingers. It was impossible to see her eyes because they were hidden by a curtain of hair, but her cheeks were still visible, and they looked a touch pink. “Thank you, Kevin.”
“Hmm.” A small, unsure, half-smile appeared on his face. “Don't mention it.”
Just then, there was a loud banging on the door. Kevin and Lilian shared a look. Who could be knocking at this hour? And why weren't they using the doorbell?
The knocking increased in intensity, until it sounded like the person on the other side was trying to break the door down. Kevin and Lilian stood up and walked to the door.
“I wonder who this could be,” Kevin muttered as he opened the door.
And ended up staring at the person standing on the other side in shock.
What the heck was she doing here?
“You…!” Ms. Vis growled, staring daggers at the kitsune, who’d had the foresight to hide her tails and ears. The stern math teacher looked dreadful; large bags hung under her eyes, and her hair was in complete disarray. Her pale face was even paler than usual—deathly pale to the point of being almost translucent. The whites of her eyes were bloodshot, and her irises had shrunk to tiny pinpricks no larger than the tip of a pencil. She looked like a vampire who’d tried to cold turkey their blood addiction and had epically failed. “How dare you do this to me!”
Lilian looked at the woman in confusion.
“Um, what?”
“Don't act like you don't know!” Ms. Vis shouted, pointing an accusing finger at Lilian. “You know exactly what you did! And if you think you can get away with it, you've got another thing coming! Kukukuku…” Lilian and Kevin both took a step back as the woman let loose with the creepiest laugh they had ever heard. It was remarkable, but Kevin actually thought her laughter was even creepier than Lilian’s perverted giggling. “Oh yes, I'm not letting you get away with this! I'm going to punish you for thinking you can get away with stealing my car!”
“Car?”
While Lilian looked even more confused, Kevin gasped.
“Lilian!” He hissed in her ear. Lilian shuddered as his hot breath hit her earlobe, but she resisted the urge to jump him. Barely. “The car I took yesterday! It must be Ms. Vis's!”
“Oh.”
Now Lilian understood what was going on. This woman thought that she had stolen her car—though, just why the math teacher had singled her out was beyond the girl’s comprehension. What had she done to warrant such hostility?
“Don't worry, Be―Kevin.” She frowned. Calling her mate by his name was going to take some serious getting used to. “I've got this.”
She turned back to Ms. Vis, her eyes glowing a bright green. The math teacher's eyes glazed over, becoming dull and lifeless.
“I did not steal your car.”
“… You did not steal my car.”
“Neither did Kevin.”
“… Neither did Kevin.”
“You will take your car keys, drive back home, and forget this ever happened.”
“… I will take my car keys, drive back home and forget this ever happened.”
Lilian paused, then waved her hand in an exaggerated manner and said, “These are not the droids you're looking for.”
“… These are not the droids I'm looking for.”
As the dazed Ms. Vis left, stumbling down the stairs with an almost drunken gait, Kevin shut the door. He then turned to look at Lilian with a mile-wide grin. Lilian returned his look with a smile fit for a kitsune. A chuckle escaped Kevin's mouth. Lilian giggled. Soon, the two were in full-blown hysterics, their laughter ringing throughout the apartment.
“That was awesome!” Kevin compliment between chortles.
“You think so?” Lilian gave a grin that showed off her canines. “It was pretty cool, wasn't it?”
“Yeah, the way you went all Jedi on her was so cool,” Kevin praised the girl for her awesome abilities. “Makes me wish I had kitsune powers like that.”
“Given the number of contrived and clichéd plot devices this story has had so far, you might eventually gain strange powers. It probably won't happen any time soon, though.”
“Really? Well, I suppose I can wait for―wait. What did you just say?”
“Nothing.”
“It wasn't nothing,” Kevin insisted. “I could have sworn you just said something about plot devices and clichés.”
“I don't know what you're talking about. You're obviously imagining things.”
Kevin gaped at her.
“I—but you—but I know that—ah… man…” His shoulders slumped as he gave her a pout. “I really wish you would stop doing that. It always gives me a headache.”
“Sorry, B―Kevin.” She gave him an apologetic smile. “I can't help it. It's in my nature.”
“Whatever…”
The two looked at each other, the conversation trailing off. Silence filled the air again, uncomfortable, asphyxiating silence that felt smothering, like when someone shoves a pillow over your face. After several seconds of staring at one another, they finally looked away.
“We should probably head out soon,” Kevin said in an effort to fill the stifling silence.
“Yeah.” Lilian rubbed her left arm. “We should probably end this chapter anyway. It's getting a bit too long.”
“Would you stop that already?!”
Chapter 11
The Boy, the Kitsune, and the Yuki-Onna
It was strange, going to the mall during a school day. Whenever people thought of malls, they usually imagined this large, bustling building, or maybe a metropolitan plaza, filled with dozens of shops, stores and restaurants. They pictured busy sidewalks and walkways filled to the brim with pedestrians, all spending what little free time they had with friends
and family.
What they did not think of was a large, empty building with only two or three dozen people walking around through mostly empty halls.
Because it was a school-slash-workday, the mall was more or less dead. The patterned walkways were free of traffic. There only seemed to be a few people here and there; a mother and father with their two kids, a few older teenagers who didn't have college classes that day, and some elderly people who had retired long ago and were able to enjoy life doing whatever they wanted. Kevin did notice one or two people that went to their school, but that was about it.
“Wow!” Lilian seemed surprised. “It's so empty!”
She also seemed intent on stating the obvious.
“Hush, you!”
…
“Lilian…”
“Ah! Right. My bad.”
Lilian poked her tongue out playfully, winking at Kevin as she bumped two knuckles against her head while saying, “Tee-hee.” Kevin decided to ignore the girl making a pose that she had likely seen in one of his manga. He quickly returned to their original conversation.
“It's usually like this on the weekdays,” he informed his red-haired friend as they walked down one of the many walkways, their footsteps echoing around them. The mall’s acoustics seemed different without hundreds of people in it. “I don't know how it is in kitsune society, but most people who work normal office jobs only work during the weekdays, which is why Saturdays and Sundays are so much busier.”
“I see,” Lilian muttered, poking an index finger against her lip. “So that’s why people spend so much time at the mall on weekends, then?”
“Yes and no,” Kevin said. “It’s just the reason they don’t spend time here on weekdays. People enjoy going out on their days off. They want to go somewhere they can spend time with friends and family outside of their home, if only to rid themselves of the monotony that’s often associated with their daily lives. The mall is a great place to go on the weekends; there are shops and restaurants and the movie theater, all of which are perfect places to kill time.”
A Fox's Tail (American Kitsune Book 2) Page 26