A Fox's Family (American Kitsune Book 4)

by Brandon Varnell

  “Oh, uh, um, no-not really, no.”

  While watching the awkward duo stand around like a pair of idiots, Iris leaned over and whispered into Lilian’s ear. “This girl… she’s into your mate, isn’t she?”

  “Yep.”

  “Why?”

  “Because he’s the main character, obviously.”

  “Hm…” Iris pondered that for a moment, then nodded. “Yeah, I guess that makes sense.”

  Iris looked at Christine, whose face steadily grew a darker shade of blue with each passing second. She then looked at Kevin, who appeared wary, as if he was expecting the snow-maiden to erupt.

  Raven hair fluttered as she looked back at Lilian.

  “Aren’t you worried that she might take him from you?” she teased, her mischievous crimson eyes glittering like diamonds.

  “Why would I be worried about something like that?” Lilian asked. “I don’t mind if she loves Kevin. However, I don’t think Kevin is really interested in going the harem route, so I doubt anything will happen between them.”

  “… Right…”

  “To be honest, I feel kind of bad for her,” Lilian admitted. “She clearly likes him, but she’s so tsundere that I doubt Kevin even realizes it.”

  “Hn.”

  Kevin noticed how Christine continued standing there, not speaking, the blue of her face spreading to her neck, and he became worried.

  “Are you alright?”

  Christine jumped in surprise. She looked at Kevin, and then looked away. Back at Kevin. Then away again. After doing this exactly six more times, she crossed her arms and tried unsuccessfully to look nonchalant.

  “O-o-of course! W-w-why wouldn’t I be?”

  “Your face is blue.”

  “Wh-w-w-wha―IT IS NOT!” Christine exploded. Kevin winced as several strands of his hair froze like icicles. “And so what if it is?! It’s not like that’s any of your business, idiot! Jerk! Stupid!”

  “Woah!” Kevin held his hands up. “Look, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you. Please don’t be mad at me.”

  Christine’s eyes widened. “I-I-I’m not—I mean, it’s not like—IT ISN’T LIKE THAT!”

  “Wow,” Iris chuckled in condescending amusement. “She’s got it bad.”

  Incapable of disputing that fact, Lilian could only nod.

  Christine’s face looked like an icicle ready to spontaneously combust. “T-that’s—I’m s-s-s-s-s-s—”

  “Christine?” Kevin leaned in closer. “Seriously, you’re beginning to worry me. You don’t have a fever do you?”

  Christine froze when Kevin placed a hand on her forehead. Her eyes became the size of hockey pucks and her jaw started to tremble.

  “Ten Midgets says she blows up on him?” Iris said to Lilian, who shook her head.

  “I don’t take sucker’s bets.”

  “Tch. Spoilsport.”

  “W-w-wha…?”

  “Hm,” Kevin murmured as he placed his other hand against his own head, feeling the difference in their temperature. “You are awfully cold, but I don’t think you have a fever.”

  “W-w-wha…”

  “But if you’re not sick, then why is your face all blue? Is this a yuki-onna thing?”

  “W-w-w-wha…”

  “Christine?”

  “WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU’RE DOING, JACKASS!”

  “What the―gack!”

  Kevin never managed to finish his sentence before Christine’s swift uppercut slammed into the underside of his chin. He felt a brief chill, like the skin there was being flash frozen, and then came an unusual feeling of weightlessness.

  Several seconds later, he hit the ground.

  It really hurt.

  “Gu… huu… uuhhh…”

  Christine stared at Kevin as he lay on his back, his eyes crossed. Her own eyes were wide, and they went wider still the longer she stared, as if she couldn’t believe she had just hit Kevin. “This isn’t what I―I mean, I didn’t mean to―THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT! JERK!”

  “Kevin!”

  While Lilian went to help her beloved mate, Iris watched the snow-maiden run off and disappear around the corner.

  “So that’s a tsundere, huh?” she pondered something for a moment before chuckling. “It looks like he really does have one of every type.” She glanced at Kevin and Lilian to see her lovely sister place a kiss on the young man’s chin, and ignored the irritation she felt. Now was not the time for that. “Hey, kiddo, do you plan on getting a kuudere as well? You know, to make your harem more complete?”

  “Be quiet!” A thoroughly embarrassed Kevin hissed in pain, the act of moving his jaw hurting more than he expected it to. “Ow, ow, ow. Pain. My jaw. I think it’s broken.”

  “Do you want me to kiss the pain away?” Lilian offered. Kevin blushed, but still managed to nod.

  As Iris watched the two, the plan that had been forming in her mind began to solidify. She couldn’t allow this to continue. She would prove to Lilian that Kevin didn’t deserve to be her mate.

  All she needed was an opportunity to put her plan into action.

  ***

  After rounding another corner, Christine leaned her back against the wall and held a hand to her heart. It was beating so fast, like a hummingbird’s wings with the strength of a battering ram. She could practically feel it trying to pound its way out of her ribcage!

  Her legs, already weak from the nerve-wracking experience, gave out, and Christine slid onto her bottom. A shiver caused her to realize that she was also losing control of more than just her emotions. The concrete underneath her had frozen solid. Hoarfrost spread along the ground, slowly creeping across the pavement like an insipid creature of the deep abyss, and had even traveled up the wall behind her. Her breath came out as a thick white mist, and several people walking nearby shivered.

  Why was this so hard? Confessing shouldn’t be this difficult, should it?

  N-not that I actually love Kevin! This is just a crush! A crush, damn it! I simply want my first dating experience to be with someone I know and trust! That’s all!

  Keep telling nyourself that, nya.

  Shut up!

  “Ha…”

  Closing her eyes, Christine began several breathing exercises, the same ones she had been taught years ago when her benefactor adopted her. They helped her regain a semblance of control, both over her powers and her emotions. The hoarfrost receded, her breath ceased to produce mist, and her cheeks returned to their pale skin tone.

  Standing up, Christine started walking to her next class. This attempt at talking to Kevin had been a bust, but she would try holding a regular conversation with him again at lunch.

  “My Gothic Hottie!”

  Eric Corrompere suddenly appeared out of nowhere and rushed Christine with the intent to… well, Christine didn’t actually know what he planned on doing, and she didn’t care either. His presence meant that she now had the perfect punching bag to rid herself of that last bit of pent-up embarrassment.

  Tsundere Protocols: Activated.

  “I’M NOT YOUR GOTHIC HOTTIE!”

  And so the mighty fist of a tiny little girl flew straight and true.

  ***

  “AAAIIIEEEEE!!”

  Sitting at his desk, Kevin Swift looked up, his face etched in a stern expression more suited to a field commander than a 15 year old high school student.

  “Is something wrong, Kevin?” Lilian asked.

  “No,” Kevin said after a moment, his body returning back to a more relaxed posture. “I just thought I heard Eric screaming in unimaginable pain for some reason.”

  “I’m sure you were just hearing things.”

  “Yeah, you’re probably right.”

  Another moment passed before Kevin returned to taking notes, as Ms. Bonnet lectured them on proper enunciation and lexicon.

  Lilian was right. He must have been hearing things.

  Chapter 5

  The Great Costume Disaster

  When
news that Lilian was no longer living in the Pnevma estate reached Jiāoào, he had ordered his servants to begin departure preparations immediately. This was the chance that he’d been waiting for, and so, after making his servants gather the essentials that he would need for a trip to the United States, Jiāoào and his small entourage started their journey.

  On October 8th, they left his family’s second home without informing anyone that he would be leaving and made their way to Shanghai. His plan was to book passage on a seafaring vessel that would take him to the United States. He was eager to claim his prize.

  Unfortunately, in spite of his impatience to arrive in Phoenix and acquire his soon-to-be mate, Jiāoào found himself facing several unexpected delays.

  “What do you mean no ships can set sail?” A growl gurgled from within his throat as he glared at Maddison, who had prostrated herself before him. “Well?!”

  “I―th-there’s a storm, Lord Jiāoào.” Maddison’s voice quivered as she spoke. Fear permeated her being. That was good. She should have known better than to present him with information that he didn’t want to hear. “A-a hurricane. Th-they said it’s too dangerous to set sail.”

  “Tch!”

  Jiāoào paced back and forth, his face twitching in anger. He couldn’t believe it! He was this close to having Lilian in his grasp, and he couldn’t even get to her!

  He took a deep breath. There was no need to get upset. So, he would have to wait a little bit longer before collecting his prize. All was not lost. He was a patient fox. He had waited several years to claim Lilian already; waiting a bit longer wouldn’t kill him.

  He looked down at the Water Kitsune and licked his lips.

  While he waited to meet with his Lilian again, he would entertain himself with this one.

  It was the least she could do for presenting him with such distressing information.

  ***

  Saturday morning was surprisingly gloomy. The sun hid behind the clouds, concealing the bright rays normally associated with the desert state.

  Kevin was once again sparring against the one he called Midget. It had been getting a little easier with repetition, though only a little. Midget, like most people, seemed to have a pattern to his attacks, and if he could discern what that pattern was, they could better defend themselves against him.

  His eyes narrowed in fierce concentration, Kevin focused all his efforts on not getting his face caved in by the stronger man’s limbs and also tried to determine what this man’s attack pattern was.

  A right straight came flying at him. Kevin sidestepped to the left, his movements just a little awkward. He tried stepping into his opponent’s guard, but had to halt his momentum when a knee suddenly threatened to render him a soprano.

  While moving backwards, he tripped over his own two feet. As he fell down, however, his left leg shot out and he hooked his foot on the underside of Midget’s knee. When his back hit the ground, his momentum, combined with the strange maneuver, gave him the strength needed to yank Midget’s feet out from under him.

  Rolling backwards, Kevin eventually landed on his feet. He staggered two steps when he couldn’t quite regain his balance, but his sparring partner was having the same problem due to his unorthodox attack. They both reclaimed their equilibrium at the same time, but it was Midget who reinitiated the spar, stepping into Kevin’s guard and launching a one-two combination of right straight, left hook.

  Kevin avoided the straight by stepping to the left, and the hook was evaded when he ducked. This would have been the perfect maneuver to respond with a powerful uppercut, which had been his plan all along… except Midget fought using Muay Thai, a kickboxing style that relied on knees and elbows as much as it did hands and feet. When Kevin ducked low, a large hand grabbed a fistful of his hair and he ended up having a meeting of the nose-on-knee kind.

  Pain exploded in his nose, but Kevin managed to keep it together. He moved with the attack, rolling backwards, and came up on his feet.

  He wasn’t given much reprieve, as Midget was already coming in swinging. His vision became filled with a large fist. Eyes wide, Kevin tried to sidestep, but his left foot caught his right leg and he tripped.

  Fortunately for Kevin, he had something to grab onto.

  Midget’s forearm.

  “What the―whoa!”

  Using his own fall as leverage, Kevin swung the much wider male around by the arm. While Midget was not launched far, he did end up flying a few good feet before landing on his stomach. Not wanting to give his opponent the opportunity to recover, Kevin rushed forward, intent on ending the mock-battle.

  He soon discovered that Midget had no intention of losing.

  Before Kevin knew what had happened, something that reminded him of a steel vice grabbed onto his leg. There was a momentary feeling of being weightless as he was yanked off the ground. Several seconds later, his stomach rose into his throat, and then his back hit the mat hard enough that all of the air left his lungs in a loud whoosh! of breath.

  “Gu… hu…”

  It was a familiar feeling, not having any air in his lungs. Kevin would even go so far as to say he’d gotten used to it. That still didn’t make it any better, though.

  “Hu… hack… uh…”

  “I think I broke him.” Midget idly scratched his left elbow. “Whoops.”

  “Ng…”

  “Those are some awfully weird noises you’re making, bud.”

  Kevin wanted to tell Midget to piss off, but all that came out was a strange, gurgling noise that sounded sort of like, “murgle.”

  “Alright, that’s enough for today.” Kiara clapped her hands together and gestured at her three stooges. “You three can head home now.”

  “You got it, Kiara.”

  As the trio left, Kiara walked over to Kevin, who pushed himself into a sitting position and leaned back on his arms. Her business suit ruffled as she stepped in front of him, arms crossing as she looked at the young man with a critical eye.

  “You’re surprisingly clumsy for someone who runs so well.”

  By now Kevin had become accustomed to how blunt Kiara could be.

  “T-that―is that really something you should be saying to your disciple?”

  “I feel that honesty is the best policy. You won’t get stronger if I coddle you.” Kiara ruffled Kevin’s hair, making him scowl. “However, I wouldn’t worry too much. In fact, I think this can work to your benefit.”

  “You’re saying that my clumsiness can be an advantage?”

  “Anything can be an advantage if you know how to use it,” Kiara retorted, to which Kevin made a face. Seeing his obviously befuddled expression, she elaborated. “The key is figuring out how to turn your weakness into your strength. Even simple things like your personality, or your natural propensity for tripping over your own two feet can become your strength if you know how. Heck, even the way you dress can give you an advantage against your enemies.”

  Kiara paused, allowing Kevin a moment to absorb her words.

  “Take Kotohime for example; if you didn’t know how skilled she was with that katana of hers, and just saw her just wandering around town, you’d probably assume she was easy prey, right?”

  “I… I guess so.”

  “No one would expect a woman wearing clothes that look more suitable in ancient Japan to be capable of fighting. Yet she is one of the strongest yōkai I have ever met, easily on par with myself, and maybe even a little better.”

  Kevin was surprised by how much praise Kiara gave Kotohime. He didn’t know the exact nature of their relationship, though he’d sometimes see them talking rather amiably. However, he also remembered Lilian’s words about how inu and kitsune didn’t mix, so their strange friendship seemed kind of odd.

  But then again, both Kiara and Kotohime were odd individuals. For a species who enjoyed combat so much, Kiara didn’t display much bloodlust. She always spoke with a mostly polite, if somewhat gruff, tone. He had never heard her badmouth anyone either.


  Kotohime was just weird.

  “You can do the same thing,” Kiara continued. “Your unassuming nature and general clumsiness when fighting would easily fool someone into thinking you can’t fight at all. They would underestimate you and suddenly ‘bam!’” Kevin nearly jumped when Kiara smashed her left fist into the palm of her right hand. “You hit them right where it hurts!”

  “That makes sense… I think.”

  Kiara raised an eyebrow. “You think?”

  His cheeks turning red, Kevin squirmed under Kiara’s stare. “W-well, I’ve seen some similar stuff happen in the anime I watch, so…”

  “You and your anime,” Kiara sighed. “What is it with kids these days?” Shaking her head, as if dispelling her bemusement, she waved a dismissive hand at him. “Anyway, we’re done for today, so why don’t you take a shower and head home?”

  “Right.”

  After taking a shower, Kevin hopped on his bike and rode home, his mind full of deep thoughts—as well as daydreams about kicking ass and taking names.

  Although, just whose name he was taking and whose ass he was kicking had yet to be seen.

  ***

  When Kevin returned home it was to see that everyone was already prepped and ready to leave. It made him very glad that he’d had the forethought to pack some clothes in a gym bag so he could change after his beating―uh, workout.

  “I can’t believe we’re going shopping for Halloween costumes!”

  “Yes, yes, Halloween trip. Hurrah, hurrah. Look, can we get going now?”

  Lilian looked at her sister with large round eyes that seemed to be begging for a hug.

  “Mou, aren’t you excited, Iris? We’re going costume shopping for our first Halloween ever!”

  “Aw!” Iris squealed as she wrapped her arms around her sister’s shoulders and rubbed her cheek against Lilian’s hair. “You look so adorable when you’re excited like this, Lily-pad.”

  “I-Iris! Stop hugging me like this! And don’t call me Lily-pad!”

  “Ara, ara.” An amused Kotohime stopped Iris from further embarrassing her sister. “Please calm down, you two. While this is indeed something to be exuberant about, please try and save your enthusiasm for when we actually start shopping, ne?”