A Fox's Vacation

by Brandon Varnell

  He looked behind Lilian, and she followed his gaze. The flames were gone, but everything, from the ground to the walls, was blackened and burnt beyond recognition. Some sections of walls were even crumbling, as if they’d been a cake that had been stuck in an oven for too long and become extra crispy.

  “That was Hellfire,” Lilian answered. Kevin looked back at the girl in his arms. “It’s a type of fire that only yōkai capable of using spirit techniques can do: Ghost Kitsune, nekomata, kasha, and certain types of oni can also use them.”

  “So, that was a spirit attack. Dang, that’s impressive. I remember Kotohime telling me about them once, but I never realized they could be so powerful.”

  “Yes, spirit techniques are frightening,” Lilian agreed. “Anyway, we should probably find Kyle and get out of here. That woman is still around, and I don’t want to—”

  “Nya!! Nya, nya, nya! Oh, no!”

  Kevin and Lilian quickly realized that they weren’t alone. Prancing around in a strange sort of dance was the woman who’d tried to kill Lilian. Kevin, having never laid eyes on her without her entire body being covered by a cloak, raised an eyebrow.

  “Lilian?”

  “Yes?”

  “That girl… she has cat ears.”

  “Indeed she does.”

  “She has cat ears and a tail.”

  “Yep.”

  “… I didn’t know there were cat-girls in this story.”

  Lilian’s eyes sparkled. “Of course there are. We just haven’t run into any until now. This story has every type of yōkai.”

  “Really? Are we gonna meet them all?”

  “I doubt it. Could you imagine the word count a story like that would have? Not to mention the number of volumes. I don’t have faith in the author’s ability to write something that long.”

  Oi!

  “Yeah, he is kind of a crappy writer, isn’t he?”

  Don’t say that if you can’t even talk to me, damn it!

  While Kevin and Lilian turned the fourth wall into a heaping pile of rubble, the cat-girl—erm, woman, continued prancing around.

  “Oh, dear, nya! What do I do? Kevin is here, nya! He’s here! Right here in front of me! Nya, nya, nya! Should I keep fighting? No—I mean yes! I must keep fighting!” One hand clutched at her heart while the other went to her forehead. “Oh, cruel world, how could you make me fight while in the presence of my dear master? It’s just too cruel, nya! But I must press on! There is no other choice. If I cannot do this, then I’ll have failed my mission, and then Mistress Sarah will be mad at me! Nya, nya, nya!”

  Kevin and Lilian finally turned back to the oddball on the roof. She was making an awful lot of racket.

  “So, um, Lilian, who is that girl?”

  “She’s the assassin.”

  “You mean the one who tried to kill you?”

  “Um.” Lilian nodded. Kevin looked at her for a second, then he looked back at the woman who was mumbling to herself, prancing around like she was doing some strange voodoo dance or something.

  “What is she doing?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “L-Lilian-sama? Kevin-sama?”

  At the sound of a voice calling Lilian’s and Kevin’s names, the nekomata made one last “nya!” before fleeing. She disappeared before Kevin or Lilian could do anything—not that they would have. They were both frozen in shock. That voice. Could it be?

  They turned around.

  It was. It was her. It was them. They were both there.

  Kiara and Kotohime.

  ***

  Kotohime felt like her heart had stopped. She stared at the two figures, the two faces, which were so familiar to her that they might as well have been kin.

  It was Lilian. There was no mistaking it. That red hair, those green eyes, and that innocent face, a vision of splendor and loveliness. She knew those features almost as well as her own.

  And the person beside her. Kevin. It couldn’t have been anyone else. Tousled blond hair fell about his face. Bangs swayed in front of eyes that contained a piece of the sky. It was her charge’s mate. She’d only known him for seven months, but those seven months were enough for him to have earned her respect and affection.

  They were both alive. They were both safe. They were both here.

  ***

  They stood mere feet from each other. Kiara and Kotohime, their expressions disbelieving, stood on one side. Lilian and Kevin stood on the other side. Neither group knew what to say.

  “Um,” Kevin broke the silence. “Hey, you two, we’re, uh, we’re back.”

  He’s always had a way with words, that Kevin.

  “So… so you are,” Kotohime sniffled. She raised a hand and wiped away a tear before it could fall. She looked back at the two youngsters, worry clear in her eyes. “Are… are you two well? You’re not hurt, are you?”

  “We’re fine,” Lilian assured her bodyguard. “We had a bit of a rough time when that wave fell on us, but someone saved us.”

  “I-I see. I shall have to give the people who saved you my gratitude.” The raven-haired beauty’s eyes began to water. “I… you don’t know how glad I am to see you safe and sound, Lilian-sama.”

  Tears gathered in Lilian’s eyes, but she still smiled. “Thank you, Kotohime. I’m truly blessed to have someone like you in my life, mother of my heart.”

  That seemed to be Kotohime’s breaking point. Her eyes widened. Tears began to fall. She rushed up to Lilian, pulling the girl into a fierce embrace. The maid-slash-bodyguard buried her face into her charge’s hair and cried tears of relief and joy. If Lilian was surprised by Kotohime’s actions, she did not show it. She wrapped her arms around the older woman and pressed her face against the voluptuous vixen’s bosoms.

  Kiara walked up to Kevin, who stared at the scene with fond awkwardness. “This is a really beautiful scene.”

  “It is,” Kiara agreed.

  Kevin felt a self-deprecating smile appear on his face. “I feel like an intruder.”

  “People tend to feel that way during moments like this,” Kiara informed him. “Best not worry about it. I doubt your mate does.”

  “Probably true.”

  “On a more important note.” Kevin looked up when the woman’s single hand landed on his left shoulder. “I’m glad to see that you and your mate are alive and unharmed.”

  “Ahahaha!” Kevin’s nervous laugh was accompanied by him rubbing the back of his head. “Thanks! I’m pretty glad about that myself.”

  Lilian and Kotohime finally broke apart. Both were shedding tears. Both wore wide smiles.

  “You will have to tell me about what happened, Lilian-sama. I would very much like to know what you have been up to since we were… separated.”

  “Okay,” Lilian agreed, “but do you think we can do that after Kevin and I get some rest? We’ve been up for a long time now, and I just fought against a nekomata. I’m kinda tired.”

  “A nekomata?” Kotohime seemed alarmed, but she quickly regained her composure. “I see. That assassin must have found you after we got separated.” Nodding, the kimono-clad katana-wielder made a decision. “Very well. We shall save this discussion for another time. We need to get back to the resort anyway. Your friends and family should know that you’re alive.”

  “Right.”

  As they made their way out of the maze of buildings, Kevin had a strange inkling in the back of his mind. Something tickled the edge of his awareness.

  “Is something wrong, Kevin?” asked Lilian.

  “I don’t know.” Kevin looked at the redhead, frowning. “I can’t help but feel like we’re forgetting something.”

  ***

  Wandering through the darkness, with buildings looming over him like silent edifices, Kyle realized that he did not know where he was anymore. While he could usually figure out his location based on the taste of moisture in the air and certain landmarks, he was currently having trouble. Someone had done some major rearranging of the landscape.


  “Hello!” He called out. His voice echoed back at him. “Is anybody there? Kevin? Lilian? Somebody? Anybody?” After several seconds passed and no one answered him, he crossed his arms and glared at nothing. “Damn it! Of all the times to get lost!”

  Being a side character sucks sometimes.

  ***

  It was late at night, or perhaps really early in the morning, that a small Bentley drove up to the front entrance of Sobre el Natural. Sitting in the driver’s seat, looking none too pleased, Kyle grunted.

  “Alright, we’re here. Now, get the hell out of my car.”

  “Why are you being so rude, Kyle the Kappa?”

  “I told you to stop calling me that!” Kyle glared at Kevin through the rearview mirror. “I need to talk to my clan leader, but I imagine I’ll be coming by some time tomorrow, or maybe the day after. He’ll most definitely want to talk to you two.” They all knew that he was addressing Kiara and Kotohime, not Kevin and Lilian.

  “And we will be looking forward to that meeting,” Kotohime assured him.

  Kevin, Kiara, Kotohime, and Lilian exited the Bentley, which drove off the moment they closed the doors.

  “I get the feeling he doesn’t like us very much,” Lilian commented as the car raced down the road, the tires squealing.

  “I can’t imagine why,” Kevin added.

  “I know, right?”

  After Kyle’s car vanished, the group entered the resort. They wanted to see their friends, after all.

  ***

  Lilian stared apprehensively at the door.

  “Are you nervous?” Kevin asked.

  “A little,” Lilian admitted. “I don’t know what I should say to them.”

  The people beyond this room were the first friends that Lilian had ever made. All she’d known before coming to Arizona was her family and the kitsune who tried to convince her matriarch to arrange a mating session with her. The people beyond this room were special, indispensable.

  “I imagine you’ll think of something.” Kevin gave her a little push. “Now, go on. Let your friends know that you’re alive.”

  “R-right.”

  Lilian took a deep breath. Grabbing onto the handle, she slowly opened the door and stepped inside. As she stood in the doorway, she immediately spotted the three people she’d come to see.

  Lindsay and Christine lay on their beds. The blond was lying on her back, her pixie hair a mess as she stared at the ceiling. Christine lay curled up on her side, her knees drawn to her chest. A little ways over from the two, Iris’s dull eyes stared at nothing. They were listless, the eyes of someone who had nothing left to live for.

  “U-um…” Lilian started, only to stop. She tried to speak again, but she didn’t know what to say. What did you say to people who thought you were dead?

  It turned out that she didn’t need to say anything. Lindsay must have heard her. She was lying widthwise against the bed, and her head was almost falling off the edge. She tilted her head down, or rather, upside down, and blinked several times before her eyes widened.

  “L-Lilian…?”

  Christine, upon hearing Lindsay speak, uncurled herself and sat up. Turning to her friend, she revealed her puffy red eyes to Lilian, who realized that the yuki-onna must have been crying. Her eyes became the size of tennis balls when they landed on Lilian.

  “No way…”

  It wasn’t until both Lindsay and Christine had already spoken that Iris responded to the noise. She looked around with her listless eyes, until they landed on the door. Gasping, her eyes grew wide and round.

  “Lilian?” she whispered in a voice that made Lilian’s insides squirm. It was the kind of voice people had when they wanted so fervently to believe something but couldn’t bring themselves to hope.

  “Iris…”

  Sitting up on her hands and knees, Iris crawled to the edge of the bed. Her lips were trembling. “Lilian… is that… is that really you?”

  “Um.” Lilian nodded shyly. “It’s me. Sorry for worrying you.”

  A moment of silence followed her words.

  “LILIAN!”

  The silence shattered when Iris pounced.

  “W-wait! Iris—doof!”

  Seconds after Iris’s special move, otherwise known as the Iris Pounce, Lilian’s back smacked against the floor. She would’ve said something, but her twin sister began bawling on top of her. Tears ran down Iris’s face, soaking Lilian’s shirt in salty liquid. She could say nothing as the vixen howled out all of her sorrow, anguish, and relief.

  In a situation like this, Lilian did the only thing she could think to do: She hugged her sister. She pulled Iris into a tight embrace, whispering words of reassurance into her fraternal twin’s ear.

  “It’s okay. I’m here now. I’m back, and everything’s going to be okay.”

  Iris said nothing. She just continued crying into the chest of her most beloved sister.

  ***

  With his back against the wall, Kevin smiled sadly as he listened to the wails coming from the girls’ bedroom. Hearing Iris bawling as she embraced her sister made him realize that Iris, despite her rudeness and annoying habits, really loved Lilian. It wasn’t just the obsession of a siscon.

  “Are you not going in there, Kevin-sama?” Kotohime asked as she, too, stood outside of the room.

  “Naw.” Kevin shook his head. “It wouldn’t feel right if I intruded on them. I’ll let Iris and Lilian have their time together. They deserve it.”

  “That is very kind of you.”

  “Hmm, you think so?”

  “But of course.” Kotohime affectionately ruffled his hair. “Kevin-sama is a very kind young man.”

  Kevin clicked his tongue in annoyance, but he didn’t remove Kotohime’s hand. “I have to see my friends anyway. I doubt they’ll be as dramatic as Iris, but I’m sure they were worried about me. Of course, knowing my friends, they’re probably going to hit me instead of hug me.” Kevin eyed the busty swordswoman. “Keep an eye on things for me here.”

  “Of course, Kevin-sama.”

  Just as Kevin was about to head to his own room, loud thumping reached him from beyond the door to Lilian’s room. The door swung open. Lindsay stood in the doorway.

  She’d definitely seen better days. Her hair was a tangled mess, her eyes were swollen and rimmed with red, tear tracks ran down her face, and it looked like the last vestiges of snot were running down her nose. Her t-shirt was wrinkled and, judging by how he couldn’t see anything covering her legs, he reasoned that she was probably only wearing panties.

  A gasp came from behind her, and Kevin knew that Christine had seen him too.

  Oh, dear. This is not good.

  “Uh, hey,” he greeted. Lindsay just stared at him. It made him very uncomfortable, being the recipient of that stare. “Is there, uh, something that I can help you with?”

  “You can help me by telling me just where you think you’re going.”

  “Uh…” Was this a trick question? “Back to my room?”

  Lindsay narrowed her eyes and, before Kevin had a chance to say anything, she gripped his arm like a vice.

  “You’re not going anywhere.”

  The grip on his arm tightened. Kevin barely had time to let out an indignant squawk before he was unceremoniously pulled into the girls’ room. The door slammed shut behind him. He would’ve complained, but then Lindsay had pinned him in place with a glare.

  Oh, boy. She does not look happy. Come on, Kevin! Say something!

  “Uh… Lindsay, I’m glad to see that you’re, um, okay.” His voice came out as a pitiful squeak when Lindsay’s narrowed eyes turned into slits. By the anime gods, what was it about females and their glares that caused men to quake in terror?

  “You…” Lindsay’s teeth were clenched, and her face was twisted in a rather unsightly manner. Her hands were clenched hard enough that her knuckles turned white as her entire arm shook from the emotion she must have been feeling. “You… you idiot!”

&n
bsp; “H-hey, now. There’s no need to call me a—gah!”

  Kevin winced when Lindsay slammed into him. It was only after a set of arms wrapped tightly around his waist, and his shirt became wet, that he realized what was happening.

  “Stupid idiot,” Lindsay choked out a sob, the arms tightening until her hug actually hurt. “Do you know how worried I was about you? Do you?”

  “I can take a pretty good guess.”

  “I thought you were dead!”

  Kevin’s chest constricted, and it wasn’t because Lindsay’s arms were wrapped around him tightly enough to almost break his ribs. He felt guilty. There was a pit in his stomach, like a knot of remorse coiled around his intestines.

  “Sorry.” He placed a hand on her head, rubbing her hair with gentle strokes. “I didn’t mean to worry you.”

  “I’ll forgive you this once,” Lindsay sniffled and rubbed her face against his shirt. Kevin really hoped those were tears and not snot that she was rubbing on his clothes. “Just don’t do it again.”

  “I’ll do my best.”

  Lindsay didn’t say anything. As Kevin continued rubbing his friend’s head, he looked around the room. Lilian was holding Iris, allowing the still distraught vixen to vent her emotions. He peeled his eyes away from the scene, feeling like an intruder, though he stopped when his eyes landed on Christine.

  ***

  Christine looked away when Kevin’s eyes focused on her.

  She didn’t know if she could handle seeing his gaze upon her. She was bursting with so many emotions—too many to figure out how she truly felt. To see him there, healthy and alive, it filled her with more relief than she could have imagined. Her lips trembled, her eyes moistened, and her cheeks gained a vivid flush. The temptation to rush over to him like Lindsay had done was there, but she didn’t know if she should. He had, after all, turned her down.

  “Um, Christine? Are you okay?” Kevin asked. “You seem, uh, conflicted.”

  She shuddered with pleasure and anguish. Why did he have to be so kind to her? Why did he have to act so damn cute? He was concerned about her when he should have been concerned about himself.