A Fox's Mate

by Brandon Varnell

  His inner thoughts must have been reflected on his face because Ms. Grant was quick to amend her statement. “Not like that. I don’t mean she wants to do the horizontal mambo with you or anything, just that you hold a special place in her heart.” With a conspiratorial look on her face, the blonde woman leaned in and whispered, “Just between you and me, I’m pretty sure Kiara thinks of you as the brother she wishes Chris would be.”

  Kevin felt relief sweep through him. “Oh, thank god. For a moment I thought you meant—well, let’s just say I’m very glad I’m wrong.”

  He was also touched. While he’d never really thought of Kiara as anything other than that really awesome instructor who was teaching him how to fight, he would admit that she was a pretty cool character, and he respected her a lot.

  Kiara F. Kuyo was the owner to the largest chain of fitness centers in the US. She was featured on almost every health and fitness magazine available. He saw her face at the freaking grocery store every time he looked at the magazine racks. She was one of the strongest people he knew, and, to top it all off, she had ripped her own arm off and thrown it at someone.

  And, okay, yeah, ripping your own arm off and throwing it at someone was kind of gross, but it was also really cool. It took some serious grit to do something so insane.

  “Heh, I can tell.” Ms. Grant grinned at him. “Anyway, I’m pretty sure the reason Kiara is getting onto you about your resolve is because she cares about you more than she’s willing to let on. The yōkai world is a dangerous place, as I’m sure you know. It’s definitely not the kind of world you can enter and not expect to get your hands stained with blood. So far, you’ve been lucky. It’s been almost six months since you entered this world, and you’ve only had to kill one person that entire time.”

  “Have you killed anyone before?” Kevin asked before he could stop himself. “I’m sorry! I shouldn’t have asked something so personal. It’s just that when you said that, it sounded like you were speaking from experience.”

  At the question, Ms. Grant’s face became quite melancholic. Her smile, still in place, dimmed, shifting from cheerful to sad in seconds.

  “It’s all right. I understand your curiosity, and I don’t mind answering that question.” Ms. Grant paused as if gathering her thoughts. “Yes, I have killed before. Remember that while I might not be into the whole ‘protect humanity from the yōkai menace’ thing, I was still once a member of the Sons and Daughters of Humanity—and a captain to boot. You don’t get to a position like that without taking lives. I myself have personally ended the lives of several yōkai, and the unit that I commanded before being relegated to Arizona was well-known for wiping out numerous yōkai clans.”

  “I see…” Kevin smiled sadly. “I guess I really have been lucky, then.”

  “Yep,” Ms. Grant replied, acting cheerful once more. “I’d say you’re luckier than any human who’s entered the yōkai world has a right to be. So far, you’ve only faced off against small fry: two-tailed kitsune with a chip on their shoulder and the like. They’re not that strong, and they’re inherently cocky when fighting humans because we lack their supernatural powers. Defeating them without killing them isn’t that hard, provided you know how.”

  Two-tailed kitsune were one of the weakest types of yōkai. They lacked the youki capacity to use more powerful techniques. Indeed, few were the two-tails who could use more than basic illusions.

  Lilian and Iris were strong, but they had pedigree. Born to a prominent clan, their youki was naturally stronger than the average two-tails. More than that, both of them had a strong affinity for their element. A specialized technique required less youki from them than it would from the average two-tailed kitsune.

  Kevin wouldn’t deny that he was lucky. Sure, he’d gotten into some hairy situations, but none of the kitsune that he’d fought had been very strong. They were stronger than him, to be sure, but not strong enough that anyone other than a human would have had trouble dealing with them.

  Ms. Grant studied him for a second before continuing where she’d left off. “But you’re eventually gonna be forced into situations where your opponent is more powerful, where they won’t underestimate you for being human, where you’ll have to choose between killing them or getting killed by them.” Ms. Grant put a hand on Kevin’s shoulder. “I know that isn’t something you wanna hear, but it is something that you need to hear. If you really are serious about being a part of this world, a part of Lilian’s world, then you need to harden your heart, reaffirm your resolve, and continue to move forward. That’s the only way humans like us will ever survive in a world where everybody else has supernatural powers.”

  Ms. Grant removed her hand from his shoulder and walked back down the bleachers. She blew her whistle and started yelling at some kids who were goofing off.

  Kevin sat there, lost in thought.

  The resolve to remain a part of Lilian’s world, to fight against creatures that could kill him, to kill those creatures should it come to that. Could he really find that kind of resolve? Kevin didn’t know.

  That was why, for the rest of class, he sat there and stewed in silence.

  ***

  Even after gym had ended and lunch began, Kevin was still thinking about his conversation with Ms. Grant. Even during the rest of his classes that day, his mind still churned in contemplation. He was even still thinking about it when he arrived at Ms. Vis’s classroom to serve detention.

  Lilian was not with him. She hadn’t gotten detention, and while she’d offered to wait for him, he told her not to bother. He’d be home eventually. It wasn’t like a few hours apart would kill them.

  Almost before he knocked on the door to Ms. Vis’s classroom, Kevin could tell that something was wrong. There was no indication that anything was out of place, nothing that warranted his sudden wariness. It was just a feeling. Some indefinable sensation was causing the hair on the back of his neck to tingle. Still, he knocked on the door all the same.

  “Come in,” the voice of his math teacher spoke from behind the door.

  He opened the door and entered. The room was dark. Upon shutting the door, Kevin was cast within that darkness. A few candles arrayed around the room shed some light upon the class, burning, flickering, casting dark shadows that danced along the floor and walls and ceiling. Strange objects lay scattered around the floor, white and dark red—petals, Kevin realized. They were flower petals.

  What the heck?

  “I’m glad you could make it, Mr. Swift.”

  If Kevin had been given any indication of what he was about to see, he would have seriously considered running away screaming… or trying to gouge his eyes out with a rusty spork. Either one would have worked.

  Ms. Vis lay sprawled on her desk, which had been cleared of everything, including her computer. She was on her side, facing him, her right hand being used to pillow her head, and her left idly caressing her hips, fingers drawing circles on her bare skin. It was a position that reminded him of a playboy cover model… or Iris. She took that position a lot, too.

  Of course, thinking of Iris brought another point home: This woman, his teacher, was wearing negligée, a little black one-piece that barely covered her body and was partially translucent.

  Kevin thought he was going to be sick.

  “Wha-what the hell are you wearing?!” he shrieked.

  “Do you like it?” Ms. Vis smirked. Kevin turned green. “I bought this a while ago but haven’t had a chance to use it before now.”

  In one smooth, flowing motion that was far too graceful for someone like Ms. Vis to be capable of doing, the math teacher stood from her desk and began stalking over to Kevin.

  He backed away from her. “W-what are you doing?”

  “You’ve been an awfully bad boy, Mr. Swift.” Dark eyes like smoldering flames burned in the low-lit room. A smirk that would have been tantalizing on someone like, say, Iris, just looked wrong on the face of his teacher. His stomach rebelled. He felt like he was going t
o throw up. “I’ve tried and tried and tried to make you see the error of your ways, but you just don’t seem to want to listen. It is beginning to get… frustrating,” she growled at the end, a guttural sound that didn’t belong to a human.

  Kevin pressed his back against the wall. He was unable to move further, and still Ms. Vis stalked forward, pressing her hands on either side of his head and staring at him with eyes like black holes. Those eyes seemed to contain an unfathomable hunger that nothing could satiate.

  “I have finally decided that to learn your lesson properly, a little… physical reinforcement is needed.”

  Kevin would have wondered about the veracity of her statement—what the hell was he supposed to be learning here anyway?—but his mind, horrified beyond measure, was a little too busy trying to keep from vomiting. Ms. Vis was not a terribly ugly woman, nor was she all that attractive. It was just that the sight of his teacher in skimpy clothing had caused his brain to short-circuit. Like an overheating computer, all of his internal components had been fried beyond recognition.

  Ms. Vis seemed to notice his predicament. Her lips peeled back in a feral smile, revealing sharp canines that truly made her appearance similar to a vampire.

  “Now then, Mr. Swift…”

  Kevin shuddered as she closed the distance.

  “For the next hour and a half…”

  She breathed on him. It was horrendous.

  “… You are—”

  BANG!

  “What the hell do nyou think nyou’re doing to Master Kevin, nya!!”

  The sound of the door slamming open was followed by loud shouting. Ms. Vis’s startled face turned toward the source of the voice—and then she received a face full of boot.

  Kevin remained frozen as the woman who, just seconds prior, looked like she was about to rape him, was sent flying. Ms. Vis’s scream was abruptly silenced when she smacked against the wall with a harsh thud that rattled the room. Slowly, her body peeled off the wall like it had been stuck there with glue, clattering to the floor with a dull thump.

  Standing before Kevin, looking absolutely livid, was a woman. Her black hair hung about her face and traveled down her back in several artistically intricate braids. Eyes like two yellow moons peered out from a face of incredible beauty, though that beauty was marred by anger at the moment. Then he noticed her clothes.

  Who the heck wears so much leather? Isn’t she burning up?

  “I can’t take my eyes off nyou for a single second, nya!” The woman hissed at the fallen teacher, who merely groaned in response. Kevin didn’t even think Ms. Vis was conscious. “Nyou think nyou can just go off and do whatever nyou want because nyou’re older than me?! Don’t be foolish! As if I would let nyou lay a hand on Master Kevin, nya!”

  Master Kevin…? The heck?

  “Um, excuse me,” Kevin said timidly. The aura that this woman was emitting frightened him, even if he would never admit it. “But… have we met somewhere before?” The dark-haired female peered at him, her head tilted curiously. “It’s just that… you seem to know me…”

  “Ah!” The woman gasped. Then her cheeks turned a brilliant crimson, visible even within the low lighting. “I-I… we met, but it was a really long time ago. I doubt you even remember me, nya.” The way she said that and the forced laugh that she gave made Kevin feel kind of guilty.

  “I’m sorry.”

  The woman’s eyes widened as she began frantically waving her hands in front of her face. “No, no. There’s no need to apologize, nya. It was a really long time ago, so it’s okay, nya.”

  “W-well, if you say so…” Kevin felt awkward and guilty. This woman knew him when he didn’t know her, and she called him “master.” That took this situation to another level of awkward.

  He also wondered what her relationship with Ms. Vis was, but he felt it would be inappropriate to ask.

  “A-anyway.” The woman coughed into her hand. “Why don’t you head on home now, nya?” She glared at the still moaning woman lying on the floor. “I’ll deal with hi—her.”

  Now that was an idea that Kevin could get behind. He didn’t want to be in Ms. Vis’s presence any longer.

  “Okay.” Kevin turned to leave, but on a whim, he stopped and looked back at the woman. “Um, would you mind giving me your name?”

  The female’s yellow eyes widened in surprise, but the look disappeared quickly to be replaced by a warm smile. “It’s Cassy. Cassy Belladonna.”

  ***

  Cassy waited until the door slowly shut with a soft click. She proceeded to turn on the lights and snuff out the candles. Then she turned to look at “Ms. Vis,” who had regained consciousness and was now climbing to her feet.

  “What the hell was that about, nya?” she asked.

  “Ms. Vis” smirked at her in a decidedly un-Ms. Vis fashion. “There’s no need to get upset. I was just having a little bit of fun.”

  “Fun?” Cassy hissed. “You call nearly mentally scarring a young man fun, nya? You kitsune… all of you have a really sick sense of humor, nya. And don’t think you can just lie to me. I don’t know what you want with Master Kevin, but if you think for one second that I am going to allow you to harm a single hair on his head, nya, then you don’t know me nearly as well as you think you do, nya.”

  “Ha…” Ms. Vis sighed, placing a hand on the back of her neck and cracking it several times. “I see you’re still hung up on that boy, Inari only knows why. He doesn’t look like anything special.” His gaze became sharper than a katana. “Regardless, do not think you can order me around here. You forget who’s in charge. It’s not you, the failure who couldn’t even accomplish a single mission. It’s me.”

  Cassy bared her fangs in anger. Seth remained unconcerned.

  “There is a reason why Sarah puts up with my antics. I have accomplished every single mission that I’ve ever been sent on with distinction. Never once have I failed, unlike you.” His gaze, sharp enough to slice through steel, bore into her with intensity. “Do not think that you have any control over me or this mission. You are under my command. For all intents and purposes, you’re nothing but a slave to my will. Remember that.”

  Cassy glared at her superior. She knew the real reason that Seth had gone after Master Kevin. He was close to Lilian. She’d seen the enchantment he’d been trying to weave over the boy. He’d been planning to use Kevin for his own purposes.

  “And you remember this.” Cassy pointed a finger at her superior. “I do not care if you’re in charge of this mission or me. I will not allow you to harm Master Kevin, nya. Try casting an enchantment on him again, try using him like that again, nya, and I don’t care if you are my superior, I will put you down faster than you can say Mistress Sarah.”

  “And once again the bleeding heart cries out.” Seth was nothing if not amused. “You know that kindness is why you can’t accomplish a single mission. You’re too soft.”

  Cassy gritted her teeth. “I’d rather be soft and still retain my soul rather than turn into a disgusting monster who takes pleasure in the pain of others like you.”

  Seth shrugged Ms. Vis’s shoulders. “And that is why you’re a failure. You fail to realize that we are assassins. Compassion. Mercy. These words do not belong in our vocabulary. They will only hinder us. They’ll keep us from being able to accomplish our goals and completing our missions. You’d best keep that in mind.”

  Did Seth think she didn’t know that? Cassy was more aware of her own flaws than anyone. She had realized long ago that she lacked the heart of a cold-blooded killer. She knew that, but she didn’t care. Her heart made her who she was, and if she had to sacrifice the ability to kill without mercy in exchange for retaining her morality, then that was fine with her.

  “Still, for the sake of keeping things between us cordial, I shall hold off on doing anything to the boy… for now,” Seth said. “However, whether or not that will continue to be the case is going to be largely dependent on the success of our mission. Should you fail, then I
will not only use the boy as I please, but I’ll also make sure you watch as I torture him to death and turn him into one of my puppets. Maybe seeing something you cherish taken away from you will make you understand why assassins aren’t supposed to have any attachments.”

  Cassy stood, her clenched fists shaking with barely restrained rage. She wanted to rip Seth’s face off, but knew she couldn’t. He was still her superior and, even if she would never admit this out loud, Seth frightened her. They may have had similar powers, but his were far more potent than her own.

  That didn’t stop her from wishing incredible bodily harm on his person.

  “Now then,” Seth said in Ms. Vis’s voice and with her face. “You’re going to head out and find that Lilian girl. I tricked some idiotic young pup with a grudge against her into paying a couple of thugs to deal with her. With luck, they’ll kill her, but if they fail, I want you to finish the job. Go on now. You don’t have all day.”

  Angry at her own helplessness and inability to fight against this man, Cassy could do nothing more than walk out of the door, heading in the direction that she knew Kevin’s house was located.

  ***

  Lilian and Iris rode the bus alone that day.

  Staring out the window, watching as trees and cars and signs passed by in a blur, Lilian cursed Ms. Vis with all her heart. Who did that woman think she was? Giving Kevin detention for such a stupid reason as “he wouldn’t sit in the back of the class like an anime stereotype” was the dumbest thing she’d ever heard. What kind of teacher did that?

  Ms. Vis, apparently, though just why the woman seemed so set on punishing her mate for such a banal reason still eluded her.

  “You know, I didn’t think I’d be saying this, but it feels kinda odd to be on this bus without the stud around,” Iris said, getting Lilian to look at her. “Don’t you think it feels a little strange? Like there’s something out of place or missing?”