A Fox's Rescue

by Varnell, Brandon

  “I… I am not sure,” Kotohime admitted, “but I have a… a hunch, I guess you could call it.”

  “A hunch?”

  “Yes.”

  After a moment of silence, Abercio chortled. “You’re not going to tell me, are you?”

  “Of course not. I’m not even sure if my theory is correct anyway.”

  “Well, I suppose that’s fine,” he sighed. “Not like we’ll be able to discuss it all that much right now anyway.”

  “Indeed.”

  Kotohime and Abercio further hid amongst the populace as several dozen monks rushed out of the Great Hall of the Golden Bell. Their orange and yellow Shaolin robes marked them as members of the Shénshèng Clan’s warrior monks, branch members of the clan who acted as guards dedicated to the protection of the main family. They spread out en masse and instantly got to work—weaving complicated illusions, enchanting humans. Their job was to make sure everyone present forgot about what they saw this day, to ensure that no human remembered the giant, floating landmass above them.

  “It looks like they brought out the big guns,” Abercio whispered.

  Kotohime nodded. She saw the two people that her partner spoke of. If the eight and seven tails swishing behind them didn’t let her know who they were, then the power they exuded did.

  “Chao and Zhìlì.”

  “You sure you’re up for this?” Abercio asked. “I know you’re skilled, but those two aren’t the type of people who can be taken down with skill alone.”

  A bone-chilling smile was what Kotohime answered with. “You should not worry so much about me. I can handle Zhìlì-san. You worry about Chao-san.”

  Abercio held her gaze for several seconds… and then he slowly chuckled.

  “As you wish.” He turned his head back around to eye his opponent. “Let’s get this party started then.”

  “Yes.” Kotohime whispered under her breath. “Let’s.”

  ***

  Zhìlì stood back as the warrior monks worked, moving from person to person, erasing their memories, and then moving on. They were pretty efficient, he had to admit. His brother had trained them well.

  Sparing a glance at his elder brother, Zhìlì barely withheld his grimace. He really did love his brother, all of his family in fact, but he could do without the man’s attitude.

  Honestly, couldn’t he just be a little nicer? I mean, we’re family.

  He looked at his older brother again, at the stern frown that Chao wore, that infamous scowl that made him so unapproachable.

  Zhìlì promptly felt a small droplet of sweat trickle down his temple.

  Probably not.

  Before his thoughts could go any further, a massive surge of youki grabbed his attention. He turned his eyes toward the sky, to the massive floating piece of land above them that blocked out the sun.

  Only, Saint’s Chariot was no longer visible.

  “What is this?”

  He watched as something blocked his home from view. His vision became hampered as a coalescence of spirit stuff, protoplasmic matter, formed from the huskless souls of the damned. It gathered above them, starting from some point above their heads and moving down, a white film of youki that spread out like drizzling rain as it splashed against an umbrella. Not long after the spirit energy expanded, it formed a dome, one that encased the entire city.

  “This is…”

  “Spirit Art: World of Ghostly Entrapment Technique.” Chao curled his lips in distaste. “It seems someone was waiting for us in order to spring this trap.”

  “So it does.” Zhìlì observed the dome some more. “There’s a lot of youki packed into that thing. Delphine Pnév̱ma is definitely not here, so this must be a combination technique. I wonder how many kitsune were used to form this?”

  “Fifty-six Spirit Kitsune were used to create this barrier,” Kotohime said as she walked out from behind a pillar.

  “You are…” Zhìlì gazed upon the woman for a few seconds before smiling. “Ah, yes. I remember you. Kotohime, if I am not mistaken. I see you’ve healed from your injuries quite well.”

  “Indeed.” Kotohime’s smile was like the very blade that she wielded. “Thanks to my River Kitsune blood, I do not even have a scar or internal injuries left from your attack on me.” She stopped several meters from him and his brother. “Though I still remember that rather painful injury you left me with quite well. While I am not one to bear a grudge, I was rather upset when I discovered that Lilian had been taken because of my negligence.”

  “So you’re here to reclaim that Pnév̱ma girl and your lost honor, then?” Chao said, eying the woman. He scoffed a second later. “What can a four-tails like yourself do against kitsune of our power, especially alone as you are?”

  “Who said she’s alone?”

  Chao’s eyes barely had time to widen before he was sent flying. Zhìlì watched in shock, his hair billowing about as his eldest brother soared past him like a fighter jet breaking the sound barrier. The eight-tailed kitsune crashed into the wall belonging to one of Ta’er Monastery’s many structures, and then he went straight through it. From where he stood, Zhìlì could see the rising clouds of dust, signifying that his brother had just plowed through multiple buildings. When the smoke cleared around the first wall his brother had broken through, it revealed several other holes that he could follow with his gaze.

  Sixteen buildings. Chao had been blown through exactly sixteen buildings.

  Standing where Chao had once been was a man. Long silvery hair, a Pnév̱ma Clan trademark, hung about his head like a shaggy lion’s mane. Those locks framed a handsome, masculine face from which two emerald orbs sat, their gleaming reminiscent of twin moons that embodied the phantasmagoric night sky. Curling his lips was an arrogant grin. Eight tails swayed back and forth behind him.

  Zhìlì felt like he’d just had a dildo shoved down his throat.

  “Hello,” the man greeted.

  “You…” his lips felt dry, “you are Abercio Pnév̱ma, the Silver Prince of the Netherworld.”

  “And you are Zhìlì Shénshèng, the famed Golden Knight.” Abercio must have sensed his anxiety because he chuckled. “Don’t worry, I’m not your opponent.” He nodded his head toward Kotohime. “She is.”

  “Um, ok… ay…?”

  Abercio tossed a grin at Kotohime. “I leave this one to you, my dear.”

  Kotohime rolled her eyes. “Please just get going already. Your opponent is likely to be getting up by now.”

  “Right. Right. I’ll be off, then.”

  Abercio tossed Kotohime a lazy wave before disappearing. One second the man was standing there, and the next he was gone. Zhìlì had to blink to make sure his eyes weren’t deceiving him.

  The hissing of metal being unsheathed made him turn his head. Kotohime’s katana was in her dominant hand, while her wakizashi was in her off hand. The katana was being held in a standard grip, but she clutched the wakizashi in a reverse grip. With her stance lowered yet relaxed, primed like a ticking time bomb yet calmer than a gently flowing stream, Kotohime looked more than ready to do battle with him.

  “Well,” she started, a smile curving her lips into a delightful U-shape, “shall we get started?”

  Zhìlì stared at the woman for several seconds…

  … Then sighed.

  “Do we really have to fight? I would rather not…”

  “That is too bad.” Kotohime’s eyes hardened to the consistency of diamonds. “Because whether you wish to fight or not, I cannot allow what happened back when you and your family kidnapped Lilian-sama to go unpunished.”

  Zhìlì’s sigh was that of a man resigned to his fate.

  “All right, fine,” he said. “Just don’t complain when I beat you. Man…” He scratched the back of his neck. “This is so not cool. I’d much rather you and I went on a date than do battle.”

  “Sorry, but I don’t date men who kidnap the people I cherish.”

  “… Figures.”

  *** />
  The Citadel of Light was, perhaps, one of the most awe-inspiring pieces of architecture that Kevin had ever seen. It wasn’t just a palace. In fact, he was almost one hundred percent positive that calling it a palace was doing it an injustice.

  It loomed before them, situated on a raised platform, with a large staircase leading up to it. A massive, sprawling complex of the most extravagant Chinese design. Sweeping roofs held a delicate curvature at their ends, from which a golden nine-tailed kitsune sat. The walls glistened in the light, gems and intricate patterns of inlaid gold sparkling as the sunlight reflected off their near incandescent surfaces. Nine spire-like towers jutted up from within the structure, their pointed tips set to spear the very heavens. Each one glittered as if comprised of freshly polished marble.

  “Oh, um, wow.” Kevin couldn’t keep from muttering in slight awe.

  “Yeah…” Even Iris stared at the structure in awe. “Those nine towers… don’t they look a lot like massive dildos to you?”

  Kevin slowly brought up his hand… and smacked the back of Iris’s head.

  “Owch!”

  “We should get a move on, Kevin Swift, Iris Pnév̱ma.” Phoebe, while also impressed, seemed to be much better at not showing it than him or his mate’s sister. She walked past the two and began making her way across the path leading to the stairs, the other yama uba following suit. Kevin and Iris looked at each other before catching up to Phoebe and the others.

  The stone path leading to the staircase was surprisingly long. Surrounding it was a massive garden unlike anything he’d ever seen. It stretched out for what seemed like miles, only ending where the bamboo forest began. All manner of flora was arrayed before them, some of which he knew by sight but not name, and others that he didn’t recognize at all. They blended together, mixing and melding into a plethoric rainbow of multiple colors, and that was saying nothing about the decor that littered the place.

  His eyes strayed from the massive garden to the golden foxes that lined either side of the path they walked. All of them were sitting in repose, their nine tails fanned out behind them like the feathers of a peacock. Diamonds embedded into their eye sockets glowed with otherworldly light, reminding him of Lilian’s Light Sphere technique.

  “This is kind of creepy, isn’t it?” Menippe didn’t seem to like the many statues and shied away from them, moving closer to Euryale for comfort. “It’s like they’re all staring at us.”

  “It is somewhat disquieting, is it not?” Phoebe nodded in agreement.

  “Creepy is what I would call it,” Polydora muttered.

  “I think they look kind of cool,” Thoe said... and received more stares. “W-what?”

  They soon made it up the stairs and reached the entrance. While not large, the door that led into the Citadel of Light was majestic. Painted a dark red, almost crimson, it gleamed like fresh blood. Gold inlays created intricate patterns, images that seemed to tell some kind of story. Kevin couldn’t be sure, but it appeared to be something about the Bodhisattva, though given that just about everything in this place had the Kyūbi aesthetic going for it, that didn’t mean much.

  Kevin took a deep breath and placed his hand on the door. When nothing happened, he slowly pushed it open, the hinges creaking, a rancorous squealing that sounded far louder than it should have. They walked through the now open doorway, stepping into a large hall that seemed obnoxiously spacious.

  “The inside looks even more grandiose than the outside,” Iris muttered as Kevin shut the door behind them.

  “Did you expect anything less?” he asked.

  Iris shrugged. “Not really.”

  “Let us continue,” Phoebe interrupted them once more.

  As they began moving again, Kevin’s gaze continued to wander, searching for any potential traps this place might have. He honestly didn’t know if a real Chinese palace would have any, but he’d played more than enough games to become wary of places that he’d never been to, especially places that looked like the final level before a boss fight.

  They passed by large red columns. Each one so thick that it would probably take three people just to wrap their arms around it. As they continued walking through the hall, the wall to their left eventually opened up, revealing a section with no roof. It looked like another garden. More flowers were arrayed around the area, and there was even a pond with fish swimming around in the crystal-clear water.

  “Kevin Swift,” Phoebe began when they entered another hallway, “would you pardon me if I asked a question?”

  “Not at all.”

  “Do you even know where your mate is located?”

  “No,” Kevin gave her an honest answer, complete with headshake. “I don’t. How can I when I’ve never been to this place before?”

  His words seemed to annoy Polydora. The look on her face was the kind someone gave to insects. It was like she was looking down her nose at him.

  “So we’re basically just wandering around this place and hoping to get lucky?” Her lips curled in distaste. “I suppose I should have expected this, and yet I still find myself surprised by your lack of planning.”

  “That was mean, Polydora,” Menippe said, only to fall silent when the dark-haired girl sent her a fierce look.

  “Oh, stuff it,” Kevin grumbled irritably. “It’s not like I have a way of magically finding out exactly where Lilian is located through the power of love… or… some… thing…?” Kevin trailed off upon turning a corner.

  Someone else was already in the hallway. The person standing not two feet away, another Shaolin monk who he guessed had been left to guard the palace, stared at him, blinking several times, as if not quite sure what to make of his presence.

  The man opened his mouth, presumably to shout—when it was forced closed by Kevin slamming his palm into the fox-man’s jaw. The sound of clacking teeth echoed through the hall. The kitsune must have also not been using reinforcement because he had a serious glass jaw. Moments after having his jaw forcibly slammed closed, the kitsune was launched off his feet, hitting the floor like a toy thrown by a child having a temper tantrum.

  He did not get back up.

  “While you bring up a good point, I believe your words were out of line, Polydora,” Phoebe said with the same solemnity she spoke with for everything. She didn’t even blink at how Kevin had just dropped a kitsune like a sack of bricks. “It is true that Kevin Swift has clearly not thought enough on how to go about rescuing his mate—”

  “Gee, thanks,” Kevin muttered.

  “—and it is also true that he really should have thought things through more thoroughly.”

  “Does everyone ignore me when they’re mentioning my flaws? Seriously, what the heck?”

  “There, there, Stud.” Iris gave him a condescending pat on the shoulder. “I don’t care about your flaws so long as your dick works properly.”

  Kevin’s right eye began twitching rather violently. “I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear that.”

  “Huhuhu,” Iris’s chuckle no longer instilled him with a sense of dread, just resignation. “Come on, Stud.” She pressed herself into his side. “You know you enjoy it when I tease you like this.”

  “Aren’t we supposed to be rescuing Lilian? You know, your sister and my mate? Can you not do this here?”

  “I want to rescue Lilian as much as you do, but, and while I hate agreeing with Ms. Needs-to-Get-Laid over there—”

  “Wh-what did you call me?!” Polydora shouted in outrage.

  “She does make a fair point,” Iris continued as if she hadn’t just been interrupted. “We don’t even know where to look. Until we can at least figure out where we’re supposed to go, there isn’t much we can do.”

  Kevin scratched the back of his neck. The vixen made a good point.

  “All right.” He lowered his hand. “I can see your guys’ point.” He paused, taking a moment to collect his thoughts. “So, we need a starting place to begin our search. I think our best bet would be those nine tow
ers we saw. Lilian is probably in one of those.”

  “What makes you think that?” asked an inquisitive Phoebe.

  “Because in shōnen manga, every female captive is held in either a tower or a dungeon.” Kevin adopted a lecture pose, complete with right hand under left elbow and left hand pointed in the air. “I don’t think this place has a dungeon. However, it does have nine towers.”

  … Silence. Several crickets began chirping. A tumbleweed also randomly rolled by, traveling past them at a sedate pace as a soft breeze hit it.

  “Did you get any of that?” Menippe asked Euryale, who shook her head.

  Phoebe’s frown reflected her bafflement to a T. “I’m not sure I understand.”

  “It’s okay.” Kevin dismissed her confusion with a wave of his hand. “You don’t need to worry about the details right now. Just know that Lilian is in one of those towers, so that’s where we’re going.”

  “We should probably travel to the closest tower first,” Iris added.

  Kevin nodded his agreement. “Naturally.”

  Before Phoebe or anyone else could question Kevin and Iris further, another Shaolin monk walked out from one of the many side passages littering the hallway. Unfortunately, he walked out on the side opposite of the hall so none of them could do a thing when he spotted them and suddenly started shouting.

  “INTRUDERS! WE HAVE INTRUDERS! SOUND THE ALARM! SOUND THE—”

  Bang!

  Iris, Phoebe, and the others remained silent as the Shaolin monk kitsune went down, steam rising from his head. They stared for several seconds, and then looked at Kevin, or, more specifically, the gun in his hand, which was pointed at the now unconscious fox-man.

  “What?” Kevin asked.