A Fox's Mate

by Brandon Varnell

  Maybe he should think about repealing his “no sex” policy. Kevin honestly didn’t know how much more of this he could take.

  “Holy shit!” a voice said off to his left.

  The words were like a bucket of ice cold water being dumped all over him. He and Lilian broke apart—or at least stopped kissing. Their heads turned in synchronization.

  They were no longer alone.

  Alex, Andrew, Eric, and Heather stood before them, along with several other students. While their blonde assistant coach was grinning from ear to ear, his three friends were crying, as in, really crying, like their eyes had become dams that finally broke and let out the floodgates. The others who’d decided to stare were the girls in their class. They were blushing, giggling, and looked about ready to suffer a nose—oh, wait. One of them had already passed out from a nosebleed.

  And girls said that only men were perverts.

  “That was the hottest thing I’ve ever seen,” Eric declared. “I think I just found some new fap material for my databanks. Don’t stop now, My Lord. It looked like you two were just getting to the good part.”

  It wasn’t until Eric spoke that Kevin noticed the phone in his soon to be dead friend’s hand. It was pointed at them, obviously recording what he and Lilian had done.

  Rage engulfed him.

  “Come on now, My Lord. Keep going! Grind your man bits into that sexy piece of ass’s little girl spot, until she’s—GYYYAAAA!”

  Eric’s words were halted and replaced with a squeal as something hard smacked him in the gonads. The young man covered his crotch as he fell to the ground and curled up in the fetal position. Alex and Andrew both winced and covered their own man-bits.

  “Get bent, Eric!” Kevin shouted, the hand that had thrown the rock still extended. Dang that pervert! Ruin his and Lilian’s moment, would he? Who did he think he was?!

  “While I don’t want to say anything for fear of sounding like my idiot of an apprentice,” Heather started, her grin widening. She looked like the cat that got the cream. “I have to agree with him on one thing. That was pretty hot. You two must have been practicing a lot at home.”

  Kevin found his face turning into a furnace of shame. Lilian, despite being fairly shameless when it came to acts of intimacy, also blushed rather heavily.

  This moment probably would have lasted for some time, with Kevin and Lilian expressing mutual embarrassment with burning red faces, were it not for another girl running up to the group, her eyes wide and frantic.

  “Ms. Grant, come quick! Something horrible has happened!”

  “Something horrible? What happened?” asked Heather.

  “Iris has collapsed!”

  ***

  Kevin and Lilian stood in the hallway outside of the hospital room that Iris resided in.

  After finding out that Iris had collapsed, they’d called Kiara, who’d in turn made arrangements for an ambulance to pick them up. Iris had been unconscious as the paramedics loaded her onto a stretcher. Her face had been flushed red, and she’d been covered in sweat, much like a person who had the flu.

  Both of them were worried, incredibly so. Yōkai rarely suffered from illnesses. Of those illnesses that they could contract, five were fatal, and the other two tended to be crippling.

  “Relax, you two,” Kiara said from where she leaned against the wall. Unlike the other two, she looked cool as a cucumber. “I know you’re worried, and you have every right to be, but getting all bent out of shape and losing your cool isn’t going to help anyone, least of all your sister.”

  “That’s easy for you to say,” Lilian snapped. “It’s not your sister who’s currently in the hospital.”

  “Yeah, you got me there.” Kiara ran her only remaining hand through her hair. “However, my point still stands. You need to remain calm. Otherwise you won’t be able to help your sister when the time comes. Besides, I have my personal physician looking over her. He’s an expert on yōkai physiology and an amazing healer. If your sister is sick, provided her illness isn’t too far along, he’ll expedite it quicker than you can say kami.”

  Lilian relaxed just a bit, the tenseness in her shoulders loosened, and her abnormally straight back slouched in relief. She stopped pacing back and forth across the hall and sighed. It sounded like her sister was in good hands.

  Just then, the door to Iris’s room opened and out stepped a wizened old man in a lab coat. He held a clipboard in his hand and wore a pair of rimless glasses. Kevin thought he looked like an old hermit trying to play doctor.

  “How’s my sister?” Lilian didn’t give the man much time to exit before she was on him with the zealousness of a child who wanted candy. She stared at him with her big, imploring eyes, a silent demand to know about her sister’s status gleaming within them.

  “Your sister is just fine,” the doctor said, his wrinkled mouth twisting into a semblance of a smile.

  Lilian’s sigh of relief sounded several decibels louder in the nearly empty hall. Kevin felt relieved as well, though he didn’t express it like she did.

  “So you cured her sickness, then?” he asked, coming to stand beside his mate and grabbing her hand.

  “Oh, she wasn’t sick,” the doctor informed them. “What Iris has is a very unique case of void poisoning.”

  “Void…” Kevin started.

  “Poisoning?” Lilian finished his question.

  “Yes, void poisoning is what happens when immature void users go over the limits of their own abilities. The Void is a very dark power, and it carries a terrible price for those who use it. Iris called upon more of the Void than she could control. The Void infected her body in turn, causing her to collapse and take on the symptoms of being ill. It’s a relatively rare thing to have happen, as most void users know the limits of their power before this becomes a problem. That said, hers is a very mild case and isn’t terminal. She will recover with a few days of bed rest, though she’ll be weak in the meantime and continue to exhibit flu-like symptoms.”

  “I-I see.” Lilian held her free hand up to her chest, clenching the fabric of her shirt. Her grip on Kevin’s hand also tightened. “That’s good.”

  The doctor smiled. “Iris is conscious at the moment and can be moved from this hospital, if you desire. I suggest you take her home and allow her to rest there. It’s much easier for a patient to recover in places that he or she is familiar with.”

  ***

  After receiving the all clear from Kiara’s physician that they could take Iris home, the group was quick to get the raven-haired beauty a wheelchair and move her to the car. She and Lilian sat in the back. Iris rested her head on Lilian’s shoulder, while his mate idly played with her sister’s hair. Kevin sat in the front with Kiara, who kept her single remaining hand on the steering wheel.

  “Kiara?” Kevin said as he looked at her out of his peripheral vision.

  Kiara kept her eyes on the road as she drove. “Hm?”

  “I just wanted to tell you that I’ve found my resolve. I’m ready to begin training again.”

  “Is that so?” Kevin could see her gazing at him in the mirror, piercing him with her keen, feral eyes, which seemed to see far more than eyes should. “I heard about your fight with the gorilla yōkai. Gorillas are a powerful race, incredibly dangerous to face unless you’ve got the power to match. Kotohime gave me a glowing review of your battle.”

  Kevin wanted to bask in the praise. It felt good to know that Kotohime had been so proud of him that she’d told Kiara.

  His teacher’s next words stopped him in his tracks, though. “But, do you think you can kill if it becomes necessary?”

  Kevin didn’t say anything at first. A part of him wanted to shout out something like “Of course I can kill!” or “I’ll kill if it means protecting the people I love,” something cool like that, but he didn’t. While a part of him wanted to say those things, another part hesitated.

  “Honestly, I still don’t want to kill anybody,” Kevin admitted. He stared down
at the hands on his lap, weak hands, the hands of a human. “I dislike the idea of killing. It’s one thing to see it in cartoons, on TV, and in video games, but killing in real life? It’s horrifying. I can’t imagine why anyone would want to kill someone else in the first place.”

  He knew why people killed from an objective standpoint: Greed, revenge, black emotions that stained the soul. While some people claimed they killed to protect, that was just a lie, a cover-up. Governments all over the world spoke of killing to protect the people, but many of those governments started the very wars they claimed were for the protection of the people. Starting a war to protect someone, killing to protect someone, it was a contradiction unto itself, as far as he was concerned.

  Greed. Malice. The desire to obtain more than you already have by taking it from others.

  He only needed to look at his own government to know what the world was really about. The wars against the Native Americans to drive them out of their homes and force them to travel across the country in search of new land. While many people claimed that the civil war had been about the abolishment of slavery, the truth was that slavery had merely been the spark needed to start the war. The true reason had been economical superiority.

  He wasn’t confirming nor denying that the civil war had to happen, nor was he condoning slavery. The act of enslaving another was just as abominable as the act of killing. It didn’t change the fact that the freedom of slavery was not the first and foremost reason for the civil war. It was greed. The greed of the north pitted against that of the south.

  Kevin didn’t know what wars yōkai had fought. He had read a lot of manga and watched many an anime, quite a few of which featured yōkai, but it wasn’t like he’d studied up on the their history. He imagined they fought for the same reasons, though: Greed, malice, revenge, and negative emotions that corrupted the hearts and minds of people.

  He still didn’t understand it. People could explain the concept of the need to kill endlessly, and he still wouldn’t understand it. He couldn’t comprehend how people, human or yōkai, could ever want to kill another sentient creature. They didn’t do it for food. They did it because they could, because the other person had something they wanted, or even out of the simple desire to prove their own dominance. It disgusted him.

  However…

  “I don’t want to kill, and I’m going to continue trying not to, but that doesn’t mean I’m just going to let people who try to kill me and my family do whatever they want,” Kevin declared. Lilian looked up at him, and even Iris was startled awake by his voice. “If someone comes at me, then I’ll kick their ass until they’re down. If someone tries to hurt my family, I’ll beat the crap out of them until they decide that trying to hurt my friends is a bad idea… and if it becomes necessary, if it becomes a matter between taking a life and saving the life of myself or someone I love, then yes, I will kill. But I refuse to allow myself to become like everybody else. Killing people is easy. Anyone can take a gun and pull the trigger. How much harder is it to pull the finger back and let someone live?”

  Kevin narrowed his eyes, glaring his defiance at Kiara through the mirror.

  “That’s my answer.”

  Silence pervaded the expensive sports car. Kevin noticed that Lilian and Iris were staring at him with the same expression that he was sure they’d have if someone told them that Inari was coming to earth to get wasted. Lilian’s cheeks were quite red, and Iris sensually licked her lips when she noticed his eyes on her.

  Gulp.

  As for Kiara…

  “Pfft! Hahahahahahahaha!”

  Kevin’s cheeks became beacons of heat as his instructor laughed at him. He tried ducking his head into his shirt, and when that didn’t work, he crossed his arms and tried to play off his embarrassment. “I don’t see what’s so funny.”

  Kiara’s laughter petered off into light chuckles. “You’re a really good kid, you know that? Most people would’ve called you an idiot if they ever heard you say something like that. The idea of fighting but not killing is ludicrous. You’d be the laughingstock of all yōkai if anyone other than maybe Kotohime heard you say that.”

  Kevin scratched the back of his head. He didn’t really know how to take her words. Was she insulting him?

  “But I don’t really care about that.” Kiara grinned fiercely. “You’ve got guts, determination, and the resolve to create your own path regardless of what awaits you. I like that, so I’ll keep helping you get stronger, provided you make me a promise that no matter what happens, you always stay true to the path you’ve chosen.”

  Kevin contemplated his teacher for a moment before giving her a confident grin. “It’s a promise.”

  “Good.”

  In the back of the car, Iris whispered to her sister. “Are you sure letting him train with that dog is a good idea?”

  “No,” Lilian said. “But it’s what Beloved wants to do.”

  “Hn. Well, that speech was pretty cool, but if he keeps sticking around the mutt, he’s going start smelling bad.”

  “You know that I can hear everything you two just said, right?” Kiara asked.

  Iris and Lilian eeped! at the same time.

  ***

  Kiara pulled to a stop in front of the Swift residence, and, as the doors lifted like a set of wings, Kevin stepped out of the red Giugiaro. He turned back around to help Lilian get Iris out. Lilian unbuckled her sister’s seatbelt, and then scooted her over so Kevin could scoop Iris into his arms. Iris had fallen asleep again, and her lolling head rested against his shoulder.

  “She’s really burning up,” Kevin commented as Lilian stepped out. “I hadn’t realized she was so hot. It feels like her body’s on fire.”

  “That’s just a symptom of void poisoning,” Kiara said from within the car. “Anyway, be sure to have her get plenty of bedrest. I’ll see you kids later.”

  The doors closed and Kiara drove off. Kevin and Lilian watched the car until it disappeared around the corner. As the stupidly expensive vehicle vanished, Kevin had to wonder about the number of cars that woman had. Seriously, first a Lamborghini and now this?

  “Let’s get Iris inside,” Kevin said, with Lilian nodding in agreement.

  “Right.”

  They made it up the stairs and Lilian used her key to open the door. Kevin preceded her and entered, expecting to find a frantic Kirihime chasing after a naked Camellia and Kotohime doing some housecleaning. Instead, he discovered that the apartment was empty.

  “I wonder where everyone went off to,” Kevin commented. It felt odd not having people running around, creating shenanigans these days. This silence was disquieting.

  “I don’t know where Kotohime is, but Kirihime and Mom are probably out playing or something,” Lilian said. “That, or Kirihime’s just trying to keep Mom out of trouble. You know how she is.”

  Kevin felt some sweat coalesce on his head. “Hahaha… ha… yeah…” He shook his head and got back on track. “Anyway, could you get a bowl full of cool water and some rags for me? I’ll put Iris to bed.”

  “Okay.”

  While Lilian went to grab a bowl and a rag, Kevin walked into their bedroom. He placed Iris on the bed. Then he took off her running shoes—she was still wearing her gym clothes—followed by her socks, which he set on the floor. After that, he took a step back to observe the beautiful kitsune.

  Her face had become flushed, her cheeks a vibrant red. Sweat covered her forehead, face, neck, and much of her body. Her clothes were sticking almost erotically to her skin. His eyebrow twitched a bit when he noticed that, even when feverish, the two-tailed vixen still looked ridiculously sexy. It was like being a study in sex-appeal had become such a habit for her that she oozed sexuality from her pores even when not trying to. It was disturbing, especially because Kevin was almost positive it meant that there was something wrong with him for thinking this way.

  A hand latched onto his wrist, gripping him in a weak hold. Iris had woken up, and she was staring at him thro
ugh half-lidded eyes. She was also giving him a surprisingly genuine smile, no condescension or her usual holier-than-thou attitude could be found anywhere on her face.

  “Hey, Stud. Thanks for taking care of me.”

  “It’s no problem,” Kevin said. “We’re family… sorta, so it’s only right that I take care of you when you’re like this.”

  “Heh, I guess.”

  Lilian came in a few seconds later, carrying a bowl filled with water and a towel soaking in it. “Here’s the bowl and towel you wanted, Beloved. Where do you want me to set it?”

  “Just set it over here by the bed,” Kevin instructed, patting the nightstand.

  Lilian did as told and set the bowl on the nightstand, then she sat down on the bed’s edge, the comforter depressing to accommodate her weight. She took her sister’s hand in her own, squeezing it with sisterly tenderness.

  “How are you feeling, Iris?”

  “Like I’m about to vomit,” Iris admitted. “I’ve never felt so weak before. Tch. Inari’s saggy scrotum, this is why I hate being a void user. The drawbacks of using this power really blow.”

  Kevin grabbed the towel from the bowl and wrung it out until it was just damp. He sat next to Lilian and wiped the sweat from Iris’s face and forehead, eliciting a sigh of relief from the bedridden kitsune. After wiping the sweat away, Kevin grabbed and wrung out another towel before folding it and placing it on her forehead.

  “That feels so nice,” Iris murmured.

  “I imagine so. Anyway, since you have a fever, the best thing to do is to get as much rest as possible and try to keep sweat off. You’re also going to want to eat light meals like chicken noodle soup. Speaking of which.” Kevin stood up. “I know for a fact that we don’t have any ingredients for soup, so I’m going to head over to the grocery store. Lilian, you’ll be in charge of taking care of Iris.”

  “Don’t worry, Beloved.” Lilian gave him a cheesy thumbs-up. “I’ll be sure to look after my sister.”

  “Right. I shouldn’t be gone for long.”

  Iris and Lilian followed Kevin with their eyes as he left the room.