“It seems talking with you is going to avail us with nothing.” Gortyessa readied her club, the same one that had nearly cracked Phoebe’s ribs. “Prepare yourself, Phoebe, for neither I nor my sisters shall go easy on you.”
***
Someone appeared before Kevin while he was trying to find the conflict echoing around the cavern. It was, perhaps, inevitable that he would run into her. Somehow, even though he’d not been expecting it, he was not surprised when Clymene confronted him.
“Kevin Swift.” The woman stared at him with eyes containing hunger. Hers was the look of someone staring at a piece of prime beef. Kevin was beginning to regret not putting on some pants. “I was just going to see you, and now here you are, standing before me. It seems that fortune favors me this day.”
“Actually, I’m pretty sure it’s night,” Kevin pointed out.
Clymene ignored him. “Now that you have appeared, I can claim you for myself.”
“Sorry, lady, but I have no intention of letting you or anyone else claim me.” Kevin pointed a thumb at himself. “This guy has already been claimed.”
Clymene’s predatory smile suggested that she didn’t care. She raised her weapon—which Kevin noticed wasn’t a club because clubs didn’t have sharp, steel edges—and pointed it at him.
“It matters not. By the end of this day, you. Will. Be. Mine.”
Kevin sighed. “I keep trying to tell you it’s night.”
The battle started when Clymene rushed at him like a bull seeing red—or an Amazonian woman seeing a practically naked man. She charged in, sword held high, ready to strike.
Kevin dodged her initial attack, an overhead strike. He also avoided the follow-up thrust to his chest. A part of him wondered if he should mention how her attacks were all lethal, and that if she wanted him alive, she might want to try using a different weapon. In the end, he decided not to. It was not like such a thing really mattered.
He backpedaled. His mind fell into what he liked to call Combat Mode—mainly because it sounded really cool. It appealed to his inner-chuunibyou. He and Lilian had spent hours thinking this name up.
He turned his body on its side, avoiding another reckless swing of the woman’s sword. Like all the times he fought, Kevin began to leave openings within his guard, directing the woman to attack each one. This allowed him to avoid all of her attacks, which made her quite angry.
“Hold still, you!”
Kevin dodged another swing, one aimed at cutting him in half, by leaping backward. This Clymene was quite strong. The wind resulting from her swing hit his body.
“You’re attacking me with a sword, and you want me to hold still? Do you think I’m crazy or something? Who the heck holds still because the person trying to kill them wants them to?”
Clymene didn’t say anything, merely growled and renewed her attack.
She’s not much faster than a human.
Kevin narrowed his eyes as he focused on learning more about his enemy’s attack pattern and strength. He backed up against a random wall, and then ducked out of the way when she tried to cleave him in half. A horrid sound like, well, like metal grinding against stone, rang out in an ear-splitting shriek. He moved away as Clymene’s attack left a deep furrow in the cavern wall.
However, her strength far exceeds that of regular humans.
He tried slipping an attack into her blind spot, but Clymene spun around before he could hit her, her sword already swinging. He needed to move back in a hurry, but he couldn’t avoid the sharpened steel entirely. A slight sting followed by the feel of something wet dripping down his chest let him know that she’d managed to score a light wound on him.
Clymene smiled when she noticed the thin trail of carmine leaking from the slice on his chest.
“I can see now why Phoebe wants you to herself. You’re awfully strong… for a human. However, you’re still just human, and a human such as yourself could never defeat a yōkai.”
Kevin clicked his tongue, annoyed. “There you go with that human crap. Why is it that every time a yōkai picks a fight with me, that’s the insult they use? Do you people have a problem with me being human?”
“It is not that we have a problem. That is simply how it is. You are human. I am a yama uba. Our race might not stand at the pinnacle of yōkai power, but we’re still far beyond the power of a human.”
“Whatever,” Kevin muttered. “I’m not even gonna bother arguing with you.” He slid into his loose stance once more. “Instead, I’m going to show you the power of humanity.”
“Come on, then!” Clymene’s roar resounded across the cavern. “Show me this power of humanity that you speak so highly of!”
“Gladly,” Kevin whispered as the battle began anew.
The woman came at him again. She swung her blade in quick slashes, attacking what she perceived were weak spots, gaps in his defense. Kevin, already knowing where she would attack, wove around her sword like a Jedi with force-given precognition.
Roaring in frustration, Clymene thrust her sword at his chest. Kevin turned his body, presenting his left profile to her. The sword flew past him, and he was quick to smack it even farther away, his palm striking the flat end. Clymene, unprepared for such a maneuver, stumbled forward, right into his awaiting elbow.
Her head snapped back as chin met elbow. Kevin didn’t give the woman time to recover. He grabbed her by the ears, and then he drove her nose into his knee. Then he did it again. And again. And again. He felt more than heard her nose giving out, breaking under his assault. He saw the blood splatters staining his knee. He watched as the woman tried to recover, tried to force him to let go, but he’d already disoriented her, and it looked like yama uba were just as susceptible to head injuries as humans were. With each meeting of his knee and her face, those struggles grew weaker, until finally, they ceased entirely.
He let go of Clymene’s head, allowing the woman’s limp body to fall to the ground. His knee ached from the constant attacks he had unleashed. Her head was harder than it looked. Still, as he stared down at his defeated opponent, Kevin felt satisfaction at defeating a creature who, by all rights, no human should be capable of facing in bare-handed combat on their own.
“It’s just like Kiara said,” he muttered to himself. “If you lack the power necessary to defeat an opponent in a head-on fight, then you simply need to create your own openings.”
That was the concept his entire fighting style centered around, creating openings in an opponent’s guard by presenting openings in his own. It was a reckless style, yet undeniably brilliant.
“I must give my thanks.” Kevin clapped his hands together in prayer. “Oh, dear Nasuverse, thank you for giving unto me the concept of Shirou Emiya’s fighting style, for without it, I would have surely been killed by now. Amen.”
With his prayer finished, Kevin knelt down and turned Clymene over. He winced when he saw the damage he’d done to her face, the blood leaking down her nose, the nose which reminded him of a pug’s now that it had been bashed in so thoroughly.
“Definitely broken,” he muttered to himself, placing a hand to her neck and checking her pulse. “Well, at least she is alive.” He stood back up. “Now, if I’m guessing right, then Phoebe is in some kind of danger, so I should probably give her some help.”
He was about run off toward Phoebe’s hut… when he paused and looked down at himself.
“Maybe I should put some pants on first,” he muttered before changing directions and heading toward his own hut.
***
Phoebe knew from the moment this battle started that she wouldn’t be able to win. In a one-on-one battle against any of these girls, she would be more than a match for them. She even felt confident in her victory two-on-one. Three-on-one was asking for too much.
That didn’t mean she planned on going down easily.
Gortyessa’s club nearly caved her skull in. Phoebe moved back, directly in the path of Coea, whose attempt at crushing the back of her head with a vi
cious high kick was curtailed by her arm, which she used to pillow the attack. Movement came from her left. Cynna. Before the woman could lower her leg, she grabbed the foot, yanking on it, pulling Coea directly into the path of Cynna’s punch. Phoebe didn’t bother paying attention to what happened to Coea—though from the pained grunt, she must have been injured—and instead spun around to face Gortyessa again.
The woman came in with a series of club swings. Phoebe moved back, dodging each attack as they came. Each swing was clumsy, awkward, as if Gortyessa wasn’t used to attacking with a club. However, while not one of the best fighters around, she more than made up for that with sheer determination and incredible strength. Among their people, she packed the most power into her lithe body. Knowing better than to let herself get hit by one of Gortyessa’s reckless swings, Phoebe continuously backpedaled.
It was unfortunate that yama uba were incapable of detecting foreign objects. While their Danger Sense acted as a sonar, it only detected sentient creatures: humans, animals, and other yōkai. Perhaps if it was capable of sensing more, maybe if it could have sensed the inanimate along with the animate, she wouldn’t have allowed herself to be trapped.
The back of her legs struck the divan, sending her sprawling over it and to the other side. She landed hard on her back, her head following to crack against the ground. Gortyessa did not let this opportunity go to waste. While she was busy clearing the black spots from her vision, the yama uba with the club jumped onto, and then off, the divan. She descended upon Phoebe like a rabid hyena.
In that instant, Phoebe saw her life flash before her eyes.
In that moment, she knew that there was nothing she could do.
She had lost.
“DYNAMIC ENTRY!”
Phoebe blinked. Then she watched in shock when a foot appeared out of nowhere and plowed into Gortyessa’s face. Shock turned into baffled incredulity when she noticed who the foot was attached to.
Her foe, unprepared for such a brutal attack, tumbled the other way, her head cracking harshly against the wall. Her head stayed there for several seconds, leaning against the wall. Then it slowly slid down, leaving a small trail of blood in its wake. Gortyessa was finally slumped, out cold, against the wall, her body’s position awkward, especially since her butt was sticking in the air.
“I’m really glad I made it in time.” Phoebe’s gaze switched back to Kevin, who stared at her with concern. He held his hand out to her. “Are you okay?”
“I am unharmed,” Phoebe mumbled as she allowed Kevin to pull her up. His hand was much larger than hers. “Perhaps you could indulge my curiosity, but what, exactly, is a dynamic entry?”
When Kevin’s face lit up in a mild blush, Phoebe knew that something was wrong with her. She had this sudden urge to scream kawaii and hug the boy to her bosoms. Yes, there had to be something wrong with her because not only was she not the hugging type, but she didn’t even know what kawaii meant.
“Ah, well.” Kevin rubbed the back of his head. “I, uh, um, it was, it’s the name of an attack on Natsumo Shinobi, one of my favorite anime. I, well, I’ve always wanted to try it out at least once, so…”
“I see.” She didn’t see, not really. “And what, may I ask, is an anime?”
Kevin blinked at her several times. When his staring lasted for several seconds, Phoebe became a little uncomfortable. She had this intense feeling that she’d said something wrong.
“I’m sorry.” Kevin shook his head and the feeling vanished. “I forgot that you wouldn’t know what anime is. It’s—”
Kevin wasn’t able to say anymore as a shadow loomed over him. Phoebe pushed him out of the way and raised her arms to block the kick that would have probably snapped the boy’s neck. With a grunt of strength, a heave of exertion, she pushed Cynna’s leg away.
The girl stumbled right into Kevin, who’d recovered from being shoved to the ground. Phoebe had to admire the boy’s tenacity. He didn’t waste a second. The moment opportunity knocked, he took it.
Grabbing one of Cynna’s outstretched hands, he used the women’s momentum against her, flipping her around. She spun through the air, then slammed harshly into the ground. Before she even had time to release the air from her lungs, he rabbit-punched her in the throat. Cynna’s eyes went wide as her air passages were momentarily clogged. She raised her hands to her throat, and in that time, Kevin kicked her in the temple, knocking her out cold.
Yes, he would be perfect for producing strong children.
Phoebe didn’t have time to admire Kevin’s ability to defeat a yōkai in a bare-handed brawl. She instead focused on her own opponent. Coea wasn’t the most forward of adversaries. The woman slipped around attacks, seeking to penetrate her guard before striking like a cobra and then retreating again. Hit and run, she believed the humans called it.
That didn’t matter much to Phoebe. Skilled at hit and run tactics Coea may have been, but she was far faster than the other woman, and when it came to tactics like that, one always needed to be faster than their opponent.
Coea lunged at her, quicker than a whip and twice as deadly. Despite Coea’s speed and impeccable aim, the knife didn’t find its mark, didn’t sink into her pliant flesh, didn’t carve out a river of blood. Instead it was dodged when Phoebe sidestepped it. She then took a single step in and slammed her fist into her opponent’s chest. Coea gasped in asphyxiated agony. Phoebe wasn’t done. Her next attack slammed into Coea’s chin.
The punch, an uppercut, forced the much smaller woman into the air, her body soaring in a parabolic arc that seemed almost graceful until she crashed into the ground, her limbs flopping about bonelessly. Her left leg twitched once, twice, then went still. Phoebe walked up to the woman and eyed her up and down, taking in the vacant eyes staring at nothing, and the slight rise and fall of her chest. She was alive, but completely comatose.
Having apparently watched her finishing off her opponent, Kevin walked up to her.
“So… wanna explain what all this was about?” he asked, looking both slightly amused and more than a little perplexed.
Phoebe sighed, the weight of her position and what just happened bearing down on her.
“It seems these three, along with Clymene, decided to betray me.” A frown crossed her face. “Speaking of, I wonder where Clymene has gone off to?”
“She’s currently indisposed.” Phoebe blinked at the answer, then turned to Kevin, who saw her expression and shrugged. “She found me while I was heading back from the bathroom and attacked. I guess she wanted to take me for herself or something.” He frowned, his brows furrowing in honest confusion. “Not sure why, but I beat her, so I suppose it doesn’t matter.”
A moment of silence passed. Kevin seemed to realize that she was staring at him, for he focused fully on her.
“Something wrong?” he asked.
“No, there is nothing wrong.” Phoebe shook her astonishment off, blond hair swaying from the resulting motion. “I was merely surprised to hear that you defeated Clymene. She is one of our most talented warriors. For a human such as yourself to defeat her in combat is nothing short of astonishing.”
“You shouldn’t underestimate us humans.” Kevin’s lips quirked into a grin. “A lot of yōkai have already done that with me, and all of them have already paid the price.”
“So I see.” Phoebe took his words seriously. This young man had already proven to be an admirable fighter. “I shall keep your words under advisement. I would also like to… apologize to you.”
“Apologize?” Kevin tilted his head, his frown one of honest puzzlement. “Why?”
Phoebe gave him a sad smile filled with regret. “Because I have gotten you and your friend involved in my problems when you are already on your own quest.” She gazed at the unconscious bodies of her people—former people—and sighed. “When I raided that train, my original plan was to use it as a scouting mission and explore the lands around us. I do not plan on letting my people stay in this old village forever. I want to i
ntegrate my people into human society.”
“Ah.” Kevin nodded. “I think I see where this is going. You used the excuse of kidnapping men to get some of your people outside of the village. If they saw how impressive human society was, saw how they could live without needing to worry about stuff like repopulating, then it would be easier to convince them to leave the village.”
“Yes, that is indeed the case.” This boy was quite sharp. He caught on quickly.
Kevin cupped a hand to his chin, nodding several times. A thought soon occurred to him, and he looked at her again with a frown.
“So, if that was your reason for raiding the train, why did you kidnap me?”
“Because you intrigued me,” Phoebe said. “While I have not seen many men in my life, I do know that most human males lack the ability to fight a yōkai on even grounds. Yet not only did you fearlessly engage both Polydora and me in combat, you managed to hold us off for nearly five minutes. That is a very impressive feat. I decided that I wanted to take you home with me and make a child with you.”
Kevin nodded several times, slowly, his head bobbing, as if he’d just had her confirm what he’d already known to be true.
“I assumed as much,” he admitted after a moment, then gave her a sharp look. Phoebe rubbed her thighs together as her loincloth became damp. “However, I’m going to tell you right now before you get any funny ideas. I already have a mate. I have no intention of involving myself in a relationship with you. Some men… in fact, I would say most men, would be more than happy to take on the harem route, but I’m not.”
“Harem route?” Phoebe looked at the boy, wondering what he meant by that.
Kevin ignored her questioning look. “I have absolutely no intention of becoming a harem protagonist.” He pointed at her. “You got that?”
“Um, okay?”
If Kevin heard the questioning tone in her voice, he didn’t let on. He nodded sharply, once.
“Good. Now then—” he swept an arm out, indicating the three unconscious women “—what should we do with them?”
A Fox's Rescue Page 19