“And how do you feel? When you’re around Kevin, I mean.”
“My body feels hot and cold at the same time,” Christine admitted quietly. “Like my bakeneko side is warring with my yuki-onna side for control over my body. It’s frustrating. It feels good, but at the same time, it’s really irritating.”
“Hm. Well, I don’t know much about the whole yōkai thing.” Lindsay shrugged. “That stuff is beyond me, and I’m not a Japanese nut like Kevin and the others. But, it seems to me like you’re confused about your own feelings. I mean, you don’t even know why you like him in the first place, right?”
“… No.”
“Did you just look away from me?”
“N-no. Of course not.”
“You did. You’re looking away from me.” Squinting as she leaned over, Lindsay got right in the startled Christine’s face. “Is there something going on that I should know about?”
“O-o-o-of course not!” Christine’s voice came out as a pitiful squeak. “I-i-it’s not like I knew him years before coming to Arizona or anything! W-w-w-why the hell are you asking me something like that?!”
“I didn’t ask you something like that,” Lindsay’s statement seeped amusement, “but it’s pretty interesting to know that you two knew each other before you came to Arizona. Where did you two meet, if you don’t mind my asking?”
Christine was silent for a moment. Her cheeks flushed a deeper shade of blue bordering on purple.
“… Alaska.”
“Alaska, huh?” Lindsay hummed. “I do remember when Kevin took a trip to Alaska with his mom. I think it was four years ago?”
“Five,” Christine said softly.
“Right, five years ago,” Lindsay amended. “That would mean you were both ten when you two met.” She paused, her head tilting for a second before nodding. “Yeah, that sounds about right. Kevin wasn’t really shy back then. I actually remember him being really outgoing.”
“He was.”
“But you know, a lot can change in five years,” Lindsay continued. “The Kevin you used to know isn’t really the same Kevin who exists right now. He’s different. Shyer. Less confident. Though I’ll admit he’s getting better. Still, maybe you should learn more about this Kevin, rather than relying on your memories of what he used to be like. You might find that the Kevin from your past and the present one are two completely different people.”
“There’s a lot more to it than that,” Christine said. “If it was simply a matter of him being different, or of my feelings dissipating with time, then I wouldn’t be having so much trouble.”
Lindsay tilted her head curiously. “Then, what is the problem?”
“I-it’s not important,” Christine muttered. “Let’s just drop the subject for now, okay?”
Lindsay looked like she might argue further, but then she shrugged and gave Christine an indulgent smile. “Sure, if that’s what you want.”
“It is.”
The conversation ended as the two renewed their search for costumes.
***
“My Lady? My Lady, where are you?” Kirihime wandered the store, calling for her mistress. She was quite worried. Incredibly so. The store was large, and with her mistress’ penchant for wandering off, she could have been anywhere. “Oh, dear. This is not good. My Lady, where did you go?”
Her mistress hadn’t always been this air-headed and clumsy. Kirihime remembered a time when her mistress had been one of the most amazing kitsune she’d ever known; kind and compassionate, but also possessing a mischievous side and a fierce determination.
She did not know when exactly the change started. Her mistress hadn’t just woken up one day and suddenly become an air-head. It had been a slow, insidious process, one that must have started decades before anyone ever realized what was happening.
“My Lady Camellia, please answer me!”
Kirihime eventually found her mistress staring at some of the costumes.
Relief washing through her more swiftly than a river’s current, Kirihime ran up to her mistress. “My Lady, there you are!” she exclaimed. “P-please don’t wander off like that anymore.”
“Oh! Kirikiri!” Camellia exclaimed, as if just now noticing the woman by her side. With a childish grin, she pointed to the costume she’d been staring at. “Don’t you think you would look great in this costume?”
“U-uh.” Taken off guard by the comment, Kirihime found herself at a slight loss for words. “W-well, I guess so… maybe?” She looked at the costume in question and had to admit; it did look good. It was a fairy costume; a shimmering blue dress with a sweetheart neckline, lace up bodice and a multi-layered skirt. It also had black garters attached to the skirt. It somewhat reminded her of her French maid outfit, only blue and black instead of black and white—and it had wings. And the headpiece had been replaced with one made of flowers.
“Camella thinks Kirikiri would look really good in a costume like that.”
The enthusiasm being displayed by her mistress proved to be too much for her. With a gentle smile she asked, “Would you like me to try it on?”
“Um!” Camellia nodded joyfully.
Heaving a resigned sigh, Kirihime took the costume and entered one of the changing stalls. Once there, she stripped out of her clothes.
With prodigious use of the single tail she let slither out from underneath her outfit, she undid the zipper in the back. The dress fell away, revealing her voluptuous body. While not quite as curvy as her sister, Kirihime was still quite proud of her 97 centimeters of bust.
The changing room, while small, had a mirror that allowed Kirihime to see her reflection. Looking over her body, she absently hefted her chest, covered by a black lace bra.
“They feel heavier for some reason,” she murmured to herself. “Odd, they shouldn’t be growing. I’m not in mating season.”
Kitsune ceased to grow after gaining their third tail. They stopped aging and their bodies stopped changing. That was because the third tail was when kitsune reached the peak of their physical and mental development, when they went from being adolescent kitsune to adults.
There was only one exception to this rule.
Mating season.
Because kitsune were, at their base, foxes, they had a mating season in which they would go into heat and seek out a mate. All animals had the instinctual desire to procreate, and kitsune were no different. During the time they went into heat, a kitsune’s breasts grew as a result. This was done in an effort to attract a potential mate. After all, few men could resist the call of big breasts.
“Oh, dear. I hope I’m not gaining weight.”
Kirihime looked herself over some more to see if she might be packing a few extra pounds somewhere. Kirihime trained and hunted often enough that she shouldn’t have had this problem. However, she hadn’t been able to do a lot of hunting since coming to Arizona.
“It doesn’t look like I’ve gained any weight.” Worrying her lower lip she turned around and looked at her backside. It didn’t appear to have changed any. It remained just as tight and firm as always, so then, what was the… problem…?”
“Huuu…”
…?
“He he he…”
Kirihime cocked her head. What was that noise?
“Oh yeah… the stuff…”
There it was again! Where was that coming from?
“You… apprentice?… told…. kinky…”
Kirihime’s ears twitched. She looked around the room, trying to ascertain where those voices were coming from. They were close, but sounded muffled, as if there was a layer of thick cloth, or perhaps a wall, separating them.
“Do… take…”
“… More… quiet… hear you…”
Narrowing her eyes, Kirihime looked up and saw a grate--a grate with two pairs of eyes peering out from behind it.
“Crap! She saw us! Retreat! Retreat!”
“Oh, no you don’t!”
All three of her tails suddenly appeared as
Kirihime dropped her disguise. They extended at incredible speeds, spearing through the grate and grabbing onto the first thing they could--a leg.
“Oh, God! She’s got me! Master! Help!”
“Sorry, my young apprentice, but you know how these things work. You should have been faster. I’m afraid you’re on your own.”
“No!”
It didn’t take much effort to yank Eric out of the vents. The metal was smooth and there was nothing to find purchase on. In a few short seconds, the young man was wrapped up in some sort of furry bondage that would have probably been really hot, were it not for the look in Kirihime’s eyes. Gone was the warmth, the compassion. Instead, her dark eyes were dead, blank, and emotionless in a way that made Eric tremble in abject fear.
“Um… mercy?”
In response to his words, Kirihime pulled a knife out of her Extra Dimensional Storage Space.
It was a really big knife.
A really, really big knife.
And it had serrated edges.
Eric whimpered.
***
Kevin walked with Lilian and Iris as they traversed the circumference of the store. They had found plenty of costumes: a sexy police officer and a convict, Harlequin Alice and the Mad Hatter, Harley Quinn and The Joker, a monkey and a banana… Kevin had found the Mr. and Ms. Pac Man to be interesting. However, none of them really stood out to either him or Lilian.
“I don’t know why you two are getting so into this,” Iris said as the couple stared at a Spartan warrior costume. “It’s just some stupid human celebration, and these costumes look like crap.”
“Muu,” Lilian pouted at her sister, “do you have to be so negative all the time? So what if these costumes aren’t the best? It’s not the costumes that matter. This is the first time Kevin and I are going shopping for our Halloween costumes together. That’s all that matters.”
Iris sighed. Her sister was so naive. Still…
“I guess you have a point. And besides, I do think I would look rather good in this outfit.” Iris pulled down a ruffled dress with a very low cut. She put the dress against her body and showed it off to Kevin, winking to try and get a rise out of him. “Don’t you think so, Kevin?”
Kevin looked Iris up and down for a second, considering the question with the seriousness it deserved. “If you’re thinking of dressing up as a barmaid, then you should probably wear darker colors.”
Walking over to the rack where Iris had found the costume, he completely missed the shocked look that overcame her features. Lilian didn’t, though, and she sent Iris a smug grin, as if to say, “did you really think that would work?”
Iris returned her sister’s look with a frown.
“Something like… this one.” Kevin pulled a black and red version of the costume off the rack. He then handed it to Iris, who stared at the costume with the same look she would give an amorphous alien entity. “I think that would look much better on you. The darker colors go with the mysterious allure you possess.”
“Oh?” The subliminally divine curve of her lips reeked of amusement. Sinful red eyes narrowed in sensual seduction. Kevin’s body stiffened as he found himself trapped within the vixen’s gaze, enraptured by her smile. “You think I’m mysterious and alluring, do you?” she raised her right hand and placed it on his chest. Kevin shuddered as a thrill like sticking his fingers in a socket passed through him. “What a wonderful gentleman you are, to pay me such high compliments. It’s that sort of treatment that could make a girl fall for you, you know.”
“I… is that so…” Kevin felt himself falling deeper into her eyes. Why was it getting so hard to think? How come he couldn’t… why was he…
A hand covered his eyes.
Everything became suddenly and startlingly clear, like a fog had been lifted from him mind.
“Why don’t you get changed into that costume, Iris?” Lilian’s voice. The hand must have been hers.
“Aw, come on, Lily-pad. Don’t be upset. I was just playing around.”
“You were not playing around. Now go and get dressed,” Lilian hissed. She sounded angry.
“Tch. Fine, fine, I can take a hint. I know when I’m not wanted.”
Kevin heard the sound of footsteps getting further away. When he couldn’t hear them anymore, the hand left his eyes and he could see again, which meant he could also see the green eyes mere inches from his own, staring at him in concern.
“Are you okay?” Lilian’s voice was thick with worry.
“I… yes… I’m fine.” Kevin shook his head. It still felt a little foggy. “What… what happened? When Iris stared at me, I felt…”
“Aroused? Turned on? Like Iris was the sexiest thing in existence? Like her eyes were gateways into a world of unfathomable pleasure?”
“Uh, yes.” Kevin paused. “Except that last one. Her eyes kind of always look like that.”
“Hmm, true enough.”
Lilian looked like she wanted to say something, but didn’t quite know how to say it, as if she was worried it might change something between them.
“Lilian?”
She sighed. “Iris used an enchantment when she was looking at you.”
Kevin sucked in a breath. “You mean…?”
“Yes. It’s called Call of Ecstasy. It’s an enchantment unique to my sister. While there are many techniques that can be used to arouse or increase the lust of a target, they are mostly done through the use of pheromones. My sister’s technique is different in that it doesn’t use pheromones at all, but stimulates the part of the brain dealing with desires and specifically targets a person’s lust. It’s incredibly effective and almost impossible to break because it’s not a chemically-induced reaction from an outside force, but a reaction from directly inside of the brain. It feels natural, like that’s how it’s meant to be, and so your brain doesn’t interpret it as something harmful or wrong.”
“I see.” Kevin closed his eyes. “That’s a pretty frightening technique.”
“It’s strange, though.” Lilian’s face had scrunched up in a rather cute expression of confusion. “Iris has never used it seriously before. I once asked her why, and she told me it’s because she doesn’t need to use it to seduce someone. I think the only time I’ve seen her use it was on a three-tails the matriarch introduced. He tried to get grabby with me and she turned him into a slobbering mess.”
Kevin scratched the back of his head. “Maybe it’s because she wasn’t trying to seduce me?”
“Eh?”
“I don’t think Iris was using that technique to seduce me.” Kevin tried to put his thoughts into words. “I think she just wanted to hurt me for being so close to you.”
“T-that is a possibility,” Lilian said. “I didn’t think of that. Anyway, why don’t we continue—”
“OH, GOD! GET AWAY! GET AWAY FROM ME!”
Kevin and Lilian’s conversation was interrupted by Eric, who blitzed past them, his clothing ripped and several cuts visible on his flesh. They blinked when Kirihime also ran past them, chasing after Eric. They blinked again when they noticed that she was carrying a bloody knife in one hand.
“Please come back, young man. I still haven’t finished punishing you.”
“WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU HAVEN’T FINISHED PUNISHING ME?! I’M BLEEDING!”
“You are not bleeding nearly enough for my tastes.”
Eric soon disappeared around one of the aisles. Kirihime followed. While they could no longer see them anymore, the young couple could still hear them, and what they heard was disturbing.
“Oh, dear. It looks like you’ve run into a dead end.”
“N-now, hold up, miss. Let’s not do anything hasty now. Y-you can’t just cut me up. It’s illegal.”
“So is peeping.”
“Urk! T-t-that is true. Ah-ha… hahahaha! L-look, how about I just, uh, apologize and we let bygones be bygones, ne?”
“Oh no, I am afraid that just will not do.” The sound of a blade sliding against meta
l echoed ominously in their ears. Eric squeaked. “You see, while I am quite proud of my body, I have a very strong dislike of being peeped on. It’s insensitive, rude, and has caused many women to gain a strong distrust towards men. It is people like you who cause these problems. Your kind are the worst.”
Despite the situation, Kevin pressed the palm of his right hand into his face. “Honestly, Eric. Do you really have to be so…”
“Perverted? Lecherous? Salacious? Hentai?” Lilian offered several very apt words to describe Eric.
“All of the above.”
“Therefore,” Kirihime continued talking, “in order to properly educate you on how to treat a lady, I believe that a little physical reinforcement is needed to… get my point across.”
Looks of alarm spread across his and Lilian’s faces.
“L-look, I-I-I’m sorry, alright? I―OH, GOD” Eric wailed. “WHAT ARE―NO! PLEASE NO! GET AWAY FROM―OH, DEAR SWEET―AHH!―P-PLEASE! HAVE MERCYYYYYYYYYAAAAAHHHH!”
As Eric’s voice trailed off into a series of agonized moans and groans, which soon disappeared altogether, leaving only an eerie silence, Kevin looked at Lilian.
“Would it be wrong of me if I decide to pretend I didn’t hear any of that?”
Lilian thought about it for a moment, and then slowly shook her head. “I don’t think so.”
“Good.”
***
It took a long time to travel from China to Arizona--two whole weeks, in fact--but at last, on October 15th, he had finally arrived.
Arizona, the state where his Lilian was currently residing with some inbred ape. Jiāoào wrinkled his nose in disgust. What his prize could possibly see in some filthy human was beyond him.
The chain in his hand clinked, the tension increasing. Frowning, he swiftly and brutally tugged on it, earning a pained rasp from the person whose neck it was attached to.
“I wouldn’t move around too much, if I were you. You’re already on thin ice for not being able to please me like the others. Don’t push your luck,” he said, not turning his head to look at the person he had addressed. He could see her just fine in the reflection of the window.
A Fox's Family (American Kitsune Book 4) Page 19