"So, the little shitstain is trying to protect the fox, eh?" Kevin's eyes widened in surprise. How did he know about Lilian!? "That's fine with me! I never planned on letting either of you get out of here alive anyways!"
Wait! This guy was going to kill them!? What the hell!?
Lilian's shaking grew more insistent as her fear rose to new heights.
"Beloved! Beloved, we need to get out here! Now!"
But it was too late to run. Fleeing was no longer an option. Before either of them could even think about getting the hell out of dodge they were forced to watch in growing horror as Chris began to change. His body started growing, lengthening and shifting and morphing into something that no longer looked even remotely human other than bipedal in nature.
Chris' face was the first to change completely. It had stretched out and scrunched up into a mean looking muzzle filled with rows of sharp teeth. Hair began growing out of the pours of his skin, thick and blackish brown with several white spots interspersed across his face. The ears on either side of his head moved up, stretching and elongated from human ears to large, floppy ears that rested against the top of his head. As he stared at Chris' face, Kevin could not help but be reminded of a pit bull.
More changes erupted from the rest of the junior's body. The hair on his legs and arms grew thicker, even the hair on his chest puffed out of his shirt. The shirt itself stretched across his bulky frame before ripping as his muscles bulged. His hands became chubby and clawed, looking like a strange amalgamation of paws and human hands. His legs transformed to strange, hind-looking legs, thicker at the base and thinner near the calves. Meanwhile the shoes he was wearing tore open to reveal padded looking human feet with sharp, claw-like nails.
With his transformation complete, Chris looked like a Werewolf gone terribly wrong. Like someone had tried to crossbreed a lycon with a pug and got this monstrosity as a result. Needless to say, ugly did not begin to describe how truly horrendous Chris now looked.
"What the... what is this?" Kevin whispered in horror. Just what the heck was Chris!?
"Now I'm going to tear you and your little Kitsune apart, shitstain!" Chris growled, his voice sounding like thunder rumbling in the distance. It was deep and harsh, and seemed to contain an unquestionable lust for blood. It reminded Kevin of those Overlord type characters in some of the video games he played. "No one's going to save you or that damn fox now!"
Just as he said this a large, bright ball of light struck him in the face, sending him stumbling backwards as steam rose from the spot he was hit.
"Gah! You bitch!"
Kevin turned, shocked to see Lilian standing behind him, her hand extended and slightly clawed. Her fox ears were out as well, pointing straight up on her head as they quivered and shook much like the girl herself. Even her tails were out, and they were shaking even more than the rest of her.
"Lilian?"
"Let's go!"
Lilian grabbed his hand and took off at a pace that had Kevin nearly falling flat on his face. It was only thanks to his reflexes and talent for running at high speeds that he managed to keep from being dragged behind the girl like some kind of rag doll.
"Lilian!" Kevin managed to right himself after several seconds of stumbling behind her. He quickly began pacing her as she tore out of the hallways with the kind of panic of someone who'd had her tails lit on fire. "What's going on!?"
"Don't worry about that! Just run!"
And that was how Kevin found himself in this horrible situation.
Truly, Karma is a bitch.
Scene Break.
And so they ran. They ran as fast and as hard as they could. Even now they were still running. Both of them were afraid, terrified, that if they stopped for even a second, Chris would catch up to them.
Kevin gasped for breath as he ran, his lungs burning as they were deprived of oxygen quicker than he could take it in. His body was slick with sweat, and his clothes were caked to his skin. His eyes were beginning to get irritated as sweat broke out on his brow and dripped into them.
He didn't dare close his eyes though. Even now they were open, searching frantically, looking at everything around him, almost as if he expected Chris to pop out of the wood work without warning.
They had made it out of the school and were now running down the street. The completely empty street that was devoid of cars, pedestrians and anyone else who might have been able to help them.
Which was very strange, considering it was rush hour right now. The roads should have been packed with people returning home from work.
"Where..." Kevin gasped. He had no idea how long they had been running, but it felt like hours had passed. His lung were burning and his legs felt like they were on fire. "Where is everybody!?"
He honestly didn't expect an answer, but ended up getting one anyways.
“It's probably because of The Author," Lilian informed him helpfully. She didn't seem to be having the same trouble breathing that he did, even though she was running just as fast. Kevin would have been jealous, but was too busy fearing for his life right now. "The Author likes to use the power known as Convenient Plot Device in order to further The Plot without hassles like, say, getting rid of any potential witnesses who could see us being chased through the streets by an Inu Yōkai and call the cops."
"Oh..." a pause for breath. "What?"
"Just keeping running," Lilian actually rolled her eyes at him in a way that was completely Out of Character for her.
Kevin decided his questions could wait for when they were out of danger. And speaking of danger...
"You fucking bitch!" The two paled as Chris came running up behind them, looking for all the world like a human... erm... inhuman bulldozer. "I'm gonna fucking rip those tails out of your ass and strangle you with them!"
"Dammit....!" Kevin swore, a first for him, but he felt the situation warranted it. He had been hoping they would have lost Chris by now. Lilian had done a pretty good job of catching him off guard with that strange light ball of hers, and he thought that would have given them enough time to lose him. It looked like his optimism was misplaced.
"Don't worry," Lilian smiled grimly. She must have been even more terrified than him, yet somehow she still managed to keep her cool. "I've got a few tricks that should help us lose him." As she said this, her two tails pointed straight up in the air. Two compressed, yellow balls of light no larger than a baseball appeared on the tips.
Without preamble, the tails jerked forward, or backwards as the case may be, and the two balls of light were launched at Chris.
"HA!" Chris shouted as he swatted the two balls of light away like they were nothing. "That shit won't work on me twice, you fucking―" His words were cut off when another ball of light suddenly struck him right in the face. Lilian had launched a third ball hidden behind the second in such a way that made it appear that there were only two. "GWA! FUCK DAMMIT!"
"Hold on tight, Beloved!"
Lilian's grip on his hand tightened.
"What? Lilian, wait ― Holy craaaaaap~!"
With no further warning, Kevin found his arm practically pulled out of its socket as Lilian suddenly took off at a speed that caused the world to pass them by in streaks of light and color. The wind smacked him in the face, his eyes watered, and his lips peeled back and began flapping like a dog when its head is sticking out of a moving car.
This must be the famed Ludicrous speed he had heard so much about in that Star Wars parody he had watched a few years back! How frightening! They were moving so fast he could barely think. He could hardly even breath! In fact, getting oxygen to his brain seemed to be nearly impossible! The air was whipping by him far too fast to take a proper breath! If this kept up, he was going to pass out!
Fortunately, they stopped soon after they started. Kevin gasped, bending over with his hands on his knees. His stressed lungs were heaving as they tried to take in as much oxygen as they could. Meanwhile, Lilian pressed herself against a wall, her panting even more
frantic than Kevin's.
It was only after regaining his breath that he realized they were hiding in some kind of alley between what looked like a convenience store and an ice cream parlor. Just how far had they traveled?
"What... what the heck was that?" asked Kevin. He didn't give Lilian a chance to say anything as he continued. "What is going on? That speed? And Chris? What is he? Lilian, what ―"
"Beloved," Lilian cut him off by placing an index finger against his lips. Kevin's eyes crossed as he got an up close look of her delicate finger. "I love you, but if you want me to answer your questions, I need you to shut up."
Kevin blinked. That was the bluntest thing she had ever said to him. She must have been really serious if she was telling him to shut up like that. He was so shocked that even if he were inclined to speak up, he wouldn't have.
Lilian sighed and leaned against Kevin, using him as support. Her head came to rest on his shoulder and her hands held his arm in a vice grip.
It was only after she had done this that he realized how tired she was. Her body, her legs in particular, were trembling with exhaustion as much as they were fear.
"To answer your questions, we are currently being chased by an Inu Yōkai, a supernatural creature that takes the form of a dog. Inu are the mortal enemies of us Kitsune. In fact, all Kitsune hold a great... dislike of Inu Yōkai.”
That answer actually made sense to Kevin. He had wondered if there were other Yōkai out there after meeting Lilian. It looked like he now had his answer.
But that Inu looked nothing like he expected it to. Weren't Inu supposed to be Bishounen pretty boys like that Sesshomaru character from that anime he once saw?
Heedless of his thoughts, Lilian continued answering his questions. “The speed you saw me use was a Kitsune technique known as enhancement. It's a very difficult technique to master because the youki requirements needed to use it are massive. Most Kitsune have to wait until they have gained their third tail to use it properly. I myself can only use it in short bursts." She paused in order to suck in a deep breath. "Essentially, enhancements are the ability to strengthen our bodies to inhuman levels. Lastly, that person, Chris, is an Inu that has obviously been hiding at your school."
"There are Yōkai at my school?" How come no one ever found out about this before? Surely someone would have discovered a youki hiding out in his school. Right?
"Beloved, there are Yōkai all over the world, most of them hidden among humans." Lilian actually managed to crack an amused smile despite the situation. "It's not so unusual for one to be disguising itself as a human at your school. I wouldn't be surprised if there were more than just that Inu hidden at your school and this city. A Yōkai could be anyone and anywhere, and you would never know it. Chances are you've interacted with a Yōkai or two on a regular basis and never realized it."
"I... I had no idea there were youki so close to me..." Kevin whispered in shock. How many people had he interacted with that were like Lilian and Chris? Yōkai hiding out among humans? Were any of his friends Yōkai? Questions. Lilian was giving him far more questions and not anywhere near enough answers.
"Of course you didn't. A Yōkai wouldn't be doing a very good job of hiding if you knew what they were."
Lilian's hands let go of his arm and went around his torso. Kevin blushed when she pressed herself against him, but he soon realized she was not hugging him to show her affection...or to try and seduce him with her feminine wiles. She was exhausted and her hug was merely her attempting to keep herself upright.
He decided to help her by letting his arm move around her waist in a tight embrace that kept her from falling. His chivalrous act earned him a grateful, if tired, smile.
"Thank you."
"You're welcome," Kevin mumbled lowly as he tried to ignore the feel Lilian's body against his own. This wasn't the first time they had been in a situation like this (meaning a situation where she was pressed against him, not them getting chased by a mad Inu Yōkai) and she was wearing more clothes than she usually did when this happened. Really, compared to those times, this was nothing. "So how come you revealed yourself to me? I mean, if you're supposed to remain hidden from humans..."
"You are my mate," Lilian answered. "So it's okay to reveal what I am to you."
"There you go with that mate thing again," Kevin sighed, but decided not to argue with the girl. He had a feeling such an argument would be a lost cause, so instead he refocused on the situation at hand. It was the larger problem for the two right now anyway. "Do you think we lost him?"
"I don't know," Lilian looked pensive as she bit her lower lip. "Inu have a very strong sense of smell. They're very good at tracking down other Yōkai and humans. I ran away as far and fast as I could, but...."
"There you little bitches are!"
Two sets of eyes widened in horror as they stared at the end of the small alley. Chris was standing there, looking just as hideous as Kevin remembered. The sun's rays reflected off the left side of his face. The hair had been burnt off and his skin was blackened and cracked, the results of getting hit by not one but two of Lilian's light spheres (he got hit with the first one when they were near the locker rooms and the second when they were on the run). It gave his hideous visage an even more terrifying appearance.
"It looks like the fox has finally been caught by the hound."
"Ugh, that was a really lame pun," Kevin murmured softly enough that no one except Lilian could hear him. "And a bad Disney reference." Were the situation any different Lilian might have giggled.
"I'm going to enjoy killing you two."
Chris stomped into the alley, his feet pounding harshly against the pavement, causing it to crack underneath him. Where his feet left, a small imprint with gouges from his clawed toenails could be seen on the ground to mark his passing.
Kevin and Lilian began walking backwards as the ugly dog monster came closer and closer.
They soon found their backs pressed against a wall. The giant mass of hair and muscle stopped barely a foot away from them, a fang filled grin on his face as he lifted a clawed hand to strike them down.
Kevin's eyes widened as he saw that Chris was going for Lilian first. The girl who, for the past week, had been one of the biggest annoyances in his life. The girl who had snuck onto the couch he slept on after he had so graciously allowed her to sleep on his bed. The girl who had stolen his first kiss and many kisses after that. The girl who dragged him into a lingerie store and posed for him in the skimpiest, sexiest clothing he had ever seen.
...The girl who had cooked for him. The girl who enjoyed playing video games with him. The girl who claimed he was her mate. The girl who told him that she loved him.
Kevin was positive that he did not love Lilian back. As beautiful as she was, as nice and kind as she was, he did not love her. And yet at the same time, he didn't dislike her either. He might find her annoying, and some of the things she did and said made him downright embarrassed, but just because she tended to leave him chagrined didn't mean he didn't like her. Over the past week he had gotten to know the girl who claimed to love him. He had gotten to know her quite well, intimately well, a little too well in fact. One of the things he had learned about Lilian was that she was a sweet girl who was kind (to him at least) and devoted (again, this really only seemed to extend to him), and that any guy would be lucky to have her as their girlfriend, even if he didn't want her as his girlfriend.
She didn't deserve to get killed by this brutish, ugly looking monster.
Chris' raised claw came down, snapping Kevin's mind back to the present. Without even thinking about what he was doing, the high school sophomore pushed Lilian out of the way, causing her to fall on her rear.
A loud scream echoed in the alley. Kevin didn't know who it came from. It could have come from him, or Chris, or Lilian, or maybe even all three of them. He didn't know. He couldn't know. All he knew was pain. All he could feel was immense agony ripping at his chest and a slick wetness soaking his clothes.
Kevin pressed a hand to his chest, feeling the strange, wet and somewhat sticky liquid cake to his palm. Pulling his hand away, he saw that his entire hand was covered in crimson liquid that glistened from the small amount of refracted sunlight in the alley. Blood. But whose blood? Was that his blood?
"Beloved!" There was another shout. Someone was shouting at him. At least he thought they were shouting at him. Wasn't there someone he knew who called him Beloved? The voice was familiar, even though he couldn't quite recall who it belonged to. It sounded like it was coming from across a vast distance.
Kevin felt himself falling backwards, his back hitting a wall. His legs gave out and he slid down. Why was everything getting so blurry?
"Beloved! Beloved!"
Soft hands pressed against his cheek. His head was lifted up. Tear filled green eyes stared into his. Who was this girl? Why did she look so familiar? Her lips moved. She was trying to tell him something, or maybe she was speaking to someone else? He didn't know. He couldn't hear anything. Come to think of it, he couldn't see much either. His vision was fading. Everything was getting darker.
The last thing he saw was a pair of luscious red lips opening in a silent scream.
Scene Break.
Lilian's breathing all but stopped when she saw Kevin's eyes close. "Beloved?" His head lolled back as she grabbed onto his shoulders and began to shake him. "Beloved!?" He didn't respond to her calls, nor did he respond to her shaking. The only movement he made was his head lolling back and forth and side to side as she shook him, and the expansion and compression of his chest as he breathed, and even that was rapidly slowing down.
She didn't know what was worse: the way his body seemed to be growing cold, how shallow his breathing had gotten, or the blood. Dear Inari the blood! It was pouring out of the four slash marks on his chest like a river! They were deep, gouging wounds that looked like Freddy Kruger or Wolverine had gotten their hands, claws, on him.
A Fox's Love (American Kitsune Book 1) Page 23