A Fox's Mate

by Brandon Varnell

And so he continued spying on the girls. Most of them were now in nothing but their underwear. Was this heaven? This must be heaven? There were girls wearing nothing but bras and panties, so this had to be heaven! He was in heaven!

  Unfortunately, heaven didn’t really agree with Eric, and thus, it all came crashing down soon enough. It started with a slight itching of his nose, followed by a strange tingling in his nostrils, like someone was tickling him with a feather. He tried to ignore it, but the feeling became more and more insistent. It was like that obnoxious feeling people got when they weren’t sure if they had properly saved at the last checkpoint in a galge; it only became stronger with time.

  Thus the inevitable happened. Eric couldn’t hold it in anymore.

  “Achoo!”

  Time stood still. The noise inside of the locker room stopped. Everything became silent. Bone-chillingly silent. Deathly silent. The silence of a tomb.

  Eric held his breath, skin breaking out in a cold sweat. He tried to hide his presence, to mask it by using the ninja techniques that he’d seen on Shinobi Natsumo. It was too bad that Shinobi Natsumo was an anime and not conducive to real life.

  The door to his locker opened.

  Eric received a full-blast of killing intent from a horde of extremely pissed off females.

  “Uh…” Eric grasped at straws as he attempted to think of something, anything, that he could say to get himself out of this situation. “I don’t suppose you’ll believe me if I tell you that the reason I’m in here is because the guys from the track team thought it would be funny to stuff me in a girl’s locker, would you?”

  Several girls cracked their knuckles in response to his words. One of them, a girl that he recognized quite well by now, pulled a claymore seemingly out of thin air.

  Eric whimpered.

  Chapter 3

  Existential Trauma

  The bell rang, a signal that school had come to an end. For the students who’d just returned from spring break, it was a godsend. No longer would they have to deal with the horror that was teachers giving boring lectures, no longer would they need to sit in class, contemplating whether stabbing their ears with pens would keep them from hearing such boring lectures. They were free.

  Kevin, Iris, and Lilian walked out of their last class with the other students, traversing through the crowd. Before they could get too far, the group ran into someone none of them really wished to see.

  “I see you have returned safe and sound from your spring break, Kevin Sweeft.”

  Juan Martinez Villanueva Cortes stood before them, leaning against the wall, arms crossed. As per the usual, he wore the matador outfit that belonged to the theater club, and his hair was bright and yellow and large, done up as it was in a horrendous-looking pompadour style. Of course, Kevin knew this was just his human form. In truth, this boy was actually a half-yōkai, a human/kitsune hybrid, to be exact.

  “Ah!” Lilian pointed. “It’s the pompadour guy!”

  Juan’s face exploded with color as he stomped on the ground, looking for all the world like a child having a tantrum. “It is not pompadour guy! My name is Juan Martinez Villanueva Cortes! Get it right!”

  Iris leaned over to whisper in her sister’s ear. “Who the hell is this guy?”

  “It’s Juan the pompadour—”

  “That’s not my name!”

  “I don’t think you two actually got any screen time together,” Lilian continued. “I guess there just wasn’t enough space or something. Not like it matters anyway. He’s just a support character at best.”

  “Ugh!”

  Several arrows appeared out of nowhere and speared Juan through the back. Each arrow had the words “Just a support character” written on them. The boy fell onto his hands and knees, his very being exuding a sense of depression like a raincloud.

  “What do you want, Juan?” Kevin asked. He really didn’t want to see this kid, especially knowing that Juan was responsible for Lilian’s kidnapping at the hands of Jiāoào. If he had never told that pretentious little brat of a kitsune, then Jiāoào would have never been able to kidnap Lilian.

  The boy stood back up, the aura of gloom disappearing and the arrows vanishing. He gave Kevin a haughty smirk.

  “What makes you think I want something?” he asked. “I am merely here to inform you that I am pleased to see that none of you came to harm during your trip to California. I hear a lot of terrible events happened there. Tidal waves and localized earthquakes.” Juan held a hand to his chest in faux relief. “Eet does this heart good to see that you’ve all returned safe and sound.”

  Kevin clenched his fists. Did Juan know about what really went down in California? Of course he did. He had to. This person was an information broker. It was his job to know when something happened or would be happening.

  Did that mean Juan might have also been responsible for them getting caught up in that disaster? Kevin shook his head. The possibility was there, but he didn’t think so. Still, he’d best not let his guard down.

  “Well,” Juan started, moving past the trio. “Perhaps I shall see some more of you three later, but for now, I think I shall take my leave. Adiós.”

  Kevin and Lilian both frowned as Juan disappeared around a corner. Iris looked between the two and where the pompadour boy had left.

  “That was odd,” she said.

  “I’ll say,” Lilian agreed. “He didn’t call me flour for once.”

  A trail of sweat trickled down Iris’s scalp. “That wasn’t what I meant.”

  ***

  When the trio arrived at the front of the school, they found someone waiting for them.

  Her brown hair fell down her shoulders in a messy bed of spikes. Feral eyes gazed at everyone who dared look at her wrong, which caused everybody there to give her a wide berth—except for several starstruck girls, Kevin noticed with some amusement. The charcoal-colored business suit that she wore, despite being at odds with her feral demeanor, suited her well. One of the sleeves was missing, however, displaying the stump that was her left arm as if it was a badge of honor.

  Several months ago, Lilian had been kidnapped by Jiāoào. Kiara had gone with him to rescue her and had lost her arm in battle against a Void Kitsune. Despite missing an arm, she didn’t seem bothered, and in fact, she was quite proud of it.

  It must have been an inu thing.

  Iris put Lilian between herself and Kiara as the group walked up to the woman, causing her sister to roll her eyes.

  “Kiara?” Kevin greeted his instructor in the ways of asskickery. “Is something up? You almost never show up at our school.” Immediately after asking the question, a theory occurred to him. “Chris hasn’t done something stupid, has he?”

  Kiara laughed. “No, Chris hasn’t done anything—not that I’m aware of, at least. And I honestly don’t think I’d care if he did. I’m actually here to pick you up.”

  “Me?” Kevin pointed at himself.

  “Yes, you.”

  “Why?”

  “Because we need to go somewhere,” Kiara spoke with a tone that said her reasons should have been obvious. They weren’t, but she wasn’t in the mood to explain herself. “Now then, I’ve got a busy schedule today, so hop in and let’s get going.”

  As Kiara entered her stupidly expensive sports car, a white Lamborghini with the Mad Dawg logo imprinted on the hood and car doors, Kevin looked at his mate and her sister.

  Already knowing what he was going to say, Lilian smiled and said, “Don’t worry about us. We’ll head home on our own.” Her mate going off with Kiara was actually fortuitous. She needed to speak with Kotohime about something anyway.

  After sharing a kiss with Lilian, Kevin entered the car through the passenger’s side and strapped in. Kiara then rolled down the car window and looked at the two fox-girls. While Lilian didn’t flinch due to long-term exposure and the fact that her mate underwent training with this woman, Iris nearly pissed herself at the fanged grin that Kiara gave them.

  “I’
ll be sure to bring your mate back to you safe and sound in a few hours,” Kiara told Lilian.

  “I’ll hold you to that.”

  “Heh.” Kiara smirked at the girl, then turned her attention to Iris, whose head just barely peeked out from behind the redhead’s left shoulder. Iris froze when those feral eyes locked onto her. “Boo!”

  “EEK!”

  Iris shrieked and hid behind Lilian again. Kiara’s howling laughter echoed across the campus as her Lamborghini peeled out of the school gates.

  “Was that really necessary?” asked Kevin.

  “No,” Kiara said, her grin widening to reveal sharp canines, “but it was fun.”

  ***

  Lilian watched as the car containing her mate pulled out of the school gates. Then she turned to look at her sister.

  “Fraidy fox.”

  “Tch!” Iris twitched and glared at her sister. “I’m not afraid of that s-stupid dog.”

  “Oh, you’re not, are you?” Lilian smiled at her sister. “Then why are you shaking?”

  Iris looked down at her knees to see that, indeed, she was shaking. Looking back at her fraternal twin, her expression morphed into a scowl. “I-it’s got nothing to do with being afraid! I just… don’t like dogs.”

  Lilian nodded. “Most kitsune don’t.”

  Tossing her sister a strange look, Iris said, “I’m kinda surprised you’re not afraid of that mutt.”

  “I was at first,” Lilian admitted. She wouldn’t deny it. Kiara used to petrify her. “But I got over it once I realized that Kiara didn’t have the same hatred for kitsune that most inu have. You know that she and Kotohime actually have a history together.”

  Lilian didn’t know what sort of history those two shared, though she knew they were familiar with each other from their conversations. She’d thought about asking Kotohime. However, her maid’s past was hers to bear, and Lilian didn’t want to intrude on what seemed to be her maid’s private and very personal affairs.

  “Huh, you learn something new every day, I guess.” Iris scratched the back of her head before shrugging. “Aw, whatever! Let’s just head home already!” Grinning, she threw an arm around her sister and nuzzled her nose into Lilian’s red locks. “With the stud gone, that means I get to spend some time alone with my Lily-pad.”

  “I already told you that I can’t do those things with you anymore.” Lilian tried to push her sister away to no avail. “And stop calling me Lily-pad!”

  ***

  As the two kitsune walked toward the bus, neither knew that they were being watched.

  Chris Fleischer sat on a stone bench near the buses, his scowling face a mask of barely constrained hatred. His eyes burned furiously as they followed the two kitsune. He gnashed his teeth together until he tasted the coppery flavor of blood on his tongue.

  Ever since his defeat at Lilian’s hands, his life had gone down the drain. People no longer feared him. Students he once picked on even made fun of him! Worse still was that he couldn’t do anything back. He didn’t know what that fox-whore had done to him, but whatever she’d done, the strength that he had once prided himself on had all but vanished. These days he possessed no more strength than a normal human.

  His mind churned with rage as he glared back at the gate that his sister’s car had passed through. He knew the bitch had accepted that faggot as her pupil, Inugami knew why, and it made him hate her all the more. Why would she train that cocksucker when she had a brother like him? That boy was just some stupid fucking human.

  There has to be something I can do to make those two pay for fucking up my life.

  Chris didn’t know what, but he knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that he needed to do something. Even if he had to sell his soul to the Shinigami, he would get his revenge.

  ***

  Kevin would’ve liked nothing better than to enjoy his time in Kiara’s slick car. He might not have been a car fanatic, and he might even think that owning something like a Lamborghini was a gross waste of money, but he was still a male. All men, no matter their opinions, loved riding in fast cars. How many people could actually say they’d ridden in a car that costs over $165,000 anyway? So yes, Kevin would have normally been ecstatic to ride in such a vehicle.

  Too bad Kiara made enjoying the drive impossible.

  “Holy crap!” Kevin shrieked as the Lamborghini caught air after zooming over a small hill. It hit the ground seconds later, shock absorbers taking the brunt of the impact, though Kevin could still feel his teeth rattling inside of his mouth. “What the heck is your problem?! AAEEEE!!”

  Kiara laughed as she peeled around a corner, tires screeching and engines blazing. She slammed on the brakes, allowing her tail end to drift, and then slammed on the gas, making the tires squeal as they shot out of their turn.

  “Come on, boya? Don’t you like my driving? Where’s your sense of adventure?”

  “I lost it along with my intestines after that first turn you made,” Kevin groaned. He felt sick. “I think I’m gonna throw up.”

  “If you hurl in my car, I’m going to hurt you.”

  “Then stop driving like a maniac!”

  “Tch. You’re no fun.”

  The sports car leveled out and slowed down, traveling at a normal speed. Kevin thanked the gods for this. Just where did this woman learn to drive? And where the heck were the cops when you needed them? Pulling 145 on a 45 mile per hour road was not a safe driving practice!

  “So,” Kevin started after mastering his stomach, “are you going to tell me where we’re going now?”

  “You’ll see when we get there, boya. Don’t be so impatient.”

  Kevin frowned at Kiara’s reflection in the front window. She didn’t usually act cryptic like this, which meant she wanted to surprise him with something. Knowing her as he did, whatever surprise awaited him probably wouldn’t be good for his health.

  He looked out the window to see buildings whizzing by. He recognized where they were, or at least their general location.

  “Hey, Kiara.”

  “Hm?”

  “Would you mind if we stop by somewhere before going to wherever it is you’re taking me?”

  Kiara didn’t take her eyes off the road—fortunately—as she spoke. “And just where do you want to go? I’m sort of on a schedule, so I can’t go too far out of the way.”

  “I just wanted to visit a friend’s house for a second. I promise it won’t take long.”

  Kiara agreed after Kevin told her where he wanted to visit. It was on the way, so it wouldn’t take them long.

  They soon reached a small cul-de-sac filled with middle-class houses; the kind of residences that looked almost identical to each other, save for small touches here and there. They stopped in front of one house in particular.

  Kevin was shocked by what he saw.

  “W-what the heck?”

  A large moving truck sat on the curb; its back was open and several burly men in uniforms were offloading furniture that he didn’t recognize and proceeding into the house. Kevin stepped out of the Lamborghini and moved to stop one of the men as they walked back outside.

  “Excuse me,” he said, stepping in front of the man who looked like he benched cows for a living. “But could you tell me what’s going on here?”

  The man, his bald head gleaming in the sun, raised an eyebrow. “Can’t you see we’re moving furniture inside? I thought it would be fairly obvious.”

  Kevin’s right index finger twitched. “I know that. I meant why?”

  The left eyebrow joined the right in being raised. “Because someone is moving in.”

  “What happened to the people who owned this place previously?”

  “They moved, obviously.” The man peered at Kevin in concern. “You all right, kid? Your face is looking a tad pale.”

  “I-I’m fine,” Kevin muttered, offering a quick thank you to the man before getting back inside the car. As they drove off, away from the house, a mesh of confusing and jumbled questions entere
d his mind.

  After the Comic-Con disaster, Kevin and the others had easily noticed the missing Justin, despite how unobtrusive his presence sometimes was. None of them knew what happened to their friend. He’d last been seen with Alex, Andrew, and Eric, but sometime during their escape, he had disappeared. They hadn’t even noticed that he was missing until after arriving at the hospital that he and the others had been staying at.

  They had asked Kuroneko if she knew what happened to him. However, even though she had searched all over, there was no trace of their friend, and the security cameras at the convention had been fried. With nothing left to go on, they had been forced to label him as missing.

  “You feeling okay, boya?” Kiara asked.

  No. No, he wasn’t feeling okay. One of his friends was missing, and that same friend’s parents had moved out of their house. He didn’t know what that meant, but he felt like these two events were somehow connected, even if he didn’t know how or why. How could he possibly be all right?

  “I’m fine,” Kevin said.

  “You’re a terrible liar.”

  “Ugh.”

  “I’m gonna have you do one thousand pushups during our next training session for lying to me.”

  “Urk!”

  Kevin made a promise to himself as they drove down the road: Never lie to Kiara. It didn’t end well.

  ***

  Lilian and Iris arrived home to find about what they had expected. Kotohime stood out on the balcony, hanging up the laundry as she hummed to herself, and Kirihime and Camellia were…

  “M-My Lady! Please come back!”

  “Hahahaha! Catch me if you can!”

  With sweat trickling down their faces, Lilian and Iris watched in mute shock as a bare-as-the-day-she-was-born Camellia ran from an overwrought Kirihime. The fox-lady chased after her mistress. She was furiously waving a towel in her left hand, which she was obviously attempting to wrap around Camellia, who the fraternal twins noticed was soaking wet. She had probably just gotten out of the bath.

  “It’s a good thing the stud’s not here. If he was, then I have no doubt that something ecchi would have happened between him and Mom, probably some kind of boob fall or something, or maybe even a crotch fall,” Iris declared.