Kevin shook his head. There was something seriously wrong with him if he was thinking about how hot Iris’s tails were.
“Shouldn’t you be in bed?” Iris questioned. “Your mate’s probably missing your warmth right about now.”
“What about you?” Kevin shot back. “I’m surprised you didn’t use this opportunity to your advantage to try and cuddle up to your sister.”
“I thought about doing that,” Iris admitted shamelessly. Kevin almost shook his head, but doing so would have probably made him vomit at the moment. “But I suppose you could say my curiosity got the better of me. You interest me.”
Her eyes, dark and mysterious and smoldering, burned into his like twin coals. Her lips curved into an artfully sensational smile. He turned away, trying to ignore the way his heart hammered at the sight.
Iris chuckled. “Even after all that’s happened, you’re still so innocent. How cute.”
“Did you have a reason for coming out here other than to bother me?” Kevin asked.
“Lilian is worried about you.” That single statement made Kevin wince. “You might think you’re being kind by not letting her know what you’re going through, but in truth, all you’re doing is hurting her. She knows that something is wrong, and the fact that you aren’t opening up makes her think you don’t like her, or that you don’t trust her.”
Kevin whirled around in shock. “That isn’t it at all!”
“Then what is it?” Iris asked as she stared at him with those unfathomably dark eyes. “How come you’re not telling her what you’re thinking? What you’re feeling? Lilian has never been anything but honest with you. She’s never hesitated to open up to you. Why can’t you be the same way?”
Kevin turned around, unable to stand looking into those eyes any longer. He looked at the night sky. How much easier would his life be if he were a star?
“Well?”
“It’s because I’m afraid,” Kevin admitted softly.
“Excuse me?”
“I said I’m afraid,” Kevin said, loudly this time. “I’m afraid that she’ll hate me if I tell her what I’m thinking, what I’m feeling. I’m afraid that she’ll think I’m a monster.”
“Do you really believe she would do that?” asked Iris, sounding as skeptical as she looked. “Do you really have so little faith in Lilian? In the bond you two share? Because if so, then maybe you aren’t the man I thought you were. Where’s the person who stood up to me in the bathroom? Where’s the man who broke my enchantment with nothing but pure willpower and grit? Did that person disappear? Did he ever exist? Was he just an illusion?”
Kevin remained silent. Iris didn’t understand. How could she? She hadn’t killed anyone. What did she know?
Iris clicked her tongue. “I guess the man I thought was so interesting really was just an illusion,” she said, before walking back inside of the apartment.
Kevin didn’t stop her. He didn’t even turn around to look at her.
High above his head, the dark moon shone like a glimmering crescent.
***
Iris continued walking until she reached the hallway, where she abruptly stopped.
“You heard all that, right?” she asked, turning her head to look at the person standing several feet away.
Lilian was wearing cute pink pajama pants and a baby blue spaghetti strap shirt, the strings of which hung off her shoulders. On any other occasion, Iris would have gushed over how cute she looked. As things stood, now was not the time.
“I did,” she said softly. “Thank you.”
Iris sighed and scratched her head. “You don’t have to thank me. I’m your sister. Helping you is what sisters do.” Her expression turned serious. “But you know you’ve got your work cut out for you, right?”
“I know.”
“But really, that boy.” Iris looked back at the balcony where Kevin still stood. “To think he would be this interesting, kukuku…”
Lilian deadpanned. “Whatever you’re thinking, stop it.”
“I’m not thinking anything.” Iris slinked up to her sister, grabbed her arm, and guided her into Kevin’s bedroom. “Now, then, you promised me some cuddle time.”
“Fine,” Lilian sighed in resignation. “You can sleep with me, but we’re only sleeping. Got it?”
Iris pumped her fist. “Score.”
“… I’m already beginning to regret this…”
***
A knock sounded at the door.
Cassy had been expecting her superior to show up sooner or later. She didn’t know who it would be, but it really didn’t matter. She’d been dreading this meeting regardless.
She stood up from her couch and opened the door, sucking in a breath when her “tutor” was revealed to her in all his splendor.
The person in question was male, about a foot shorter than her, with spiky red hair that traveled down his back in a lion’s mane and a muscular physique covered by a black one-piece with red lines traversing the fabric like the circuits of a computer chip. His eyes, golden and glowing like smoldering flames, peered out from underneath thick bangs. He wore an amused smile filled with condescension, like he was looking down on her, which he was.
“Hello, Cassy,” he said in a surprisingly deep voice for one so small. “I’ll be your instructor from here on out.” He gave her a smile filled with sharp, jagged fangs. “I’m looking forward to working with you.”
Chapter 4
I’ll Always Love You
Paperwork never seemed to stay finished. It was something that Kiara had discovered after her fitness centers had gone from a single building in downtown Phoenix to the massive company that it now was. No matter how much she completed or how hard she worked, it just kept piling up. It almost made her regret creating a multi-million dollar corporation. Almost.
Sitting behind her desk, Kiara went through the two massive stacks of paperwork that came from being the boss of a large chain of gymnasiums. There was a lot that she needed to look over: Logistics, statistics, employee placement, and changes in Mad Dawg cardholder policies. While most of the day to day affairs were handled by managers and regional vice presidents, a good chunk of work still ended up on her desk. It was tedious, but she had learned to deal with it.
The beep of the intercom gave her a much needed reprieve. She pressed a small button on the speaker and said, “Yes?”
“Ms. Kiara, Mr. Swift has shown up. I’ve sent him to the training room.”
Kiara sighed. “Very well. I’ll be down in just a second.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
As Kiara took the elevator down to the first floor, her mind churned over the issue that was Kevin Swift. For a little over five months, she’d been training him in martial combat. During that time, he’d made some impressive leaps in both physical prowess and skill. So much so, in fact, that she had almost forgotten one simple fact:
Kevin Swift was not a warrior.
He did not take joy in combat like her. His reason for fighting was simply the desire to stand by his mate’s side and protect her from those who would seek to do them harm.
This desire was admirable, to be sure; however, Kevin’s lack of intent and desire to harm his enemies left his heart vulnerable. The boy had talent, but he lacked the ability to harden himself against the inevitability of death. He didn’t seem to understand that, when faced with an opponent who wanted to kill the people you loved, it was sometimes necessary to kill them first.
She stepped into the training room where Kevin awaited her. He was dressed in the uniform that she had decided he would be wearing as of two months ago. It was a standard white gi with a dark belt and 4 oz. gloves. He was doing several warmup exercises that she had personally taught him.
Nothing seemed wrong. Nothing appeared out of place.
Kiara knew better.
Though he presented a strong front, she could see the signs of reluctance, of wariness, of tension. The way his back muscles refused to unwind, his exceedingly ten
se shoulders, the trembling of his hands, and the tired, vacant look in his eyes. All were signs that his will to fight had been broken.
“Boya.”
“Kiara.”
Kiara studied the young man some more. She wanted to cross her arms, but she only had one arm and it wouldn’t have looked as cool. “How are you feeling?”
Kevin smiled, and it was the most transparent thing she’d ever seen. “I’m feeling better, thanks. Sorry about what happened yesterday. I know you must have gone through a lot of trouble setting up that lesson.”
“I don’t particularly care about the lesson plan,” Kiara admitted. “What I want to know is what happened back there. I didn’t push the other day because I knew you weren’t in any shape to answer me, but now that you’re apparently feeling better, I’d like you to tell me what the hell made you freak out so much.”
Kevin remained silent. Kiara waited for him to answer, tapping her left foot against the dark blue matt.
“I… I don’t really know what happened,” Kevin said, looking away.
“Liar,” Kiara accused. When Kevin looked back, mouth halfway open to deny her accusation, she continued. “Do not lie to me, boya. You think I don’t know what you’re going through? You think I don’t understand what’s happening to you? I wasn’t born yesterday.”
She watched Kevin, waiting to see if he would say something. It eventually became clear that he had no intention of speaking, or perhaps he simply wasn’t capable of saying it out loud.
“I know that what happened at the convention bothers you.” Kiara watched as Kevin flinched. Ah, a reaction. “Does it really bug you that much? Surely you knew that eventually you would be forced to kill? One cannot become a part of the yōkai world and expect their hands to remain clean. Even your mate has killed before.”
“She didn’t have any other choice,” Kevin said, hands clenching into fists, knuckles turning white.
Kiara almost smirked. “And you’re telling me that you did? In case you hadn’t noticed, Kotohime and I had been defeated, and Lilian had received a terrible injury. Had you not done what you did, that woman would have killed myself, Kotohime, and your mate. Now look me in the eye and tell me that you shouldn’t have killed her.”
When Kevin refused to look at her, Kiara clicked her tongue.
“Go home, boya,” she said, ignoring the way his eyes bulged in astonishment. “It’s clear to me that you lack resolve. In the world of yōkai, those who lack resolve never survive. I refuse to continue training you until you can show me your resolve.”
Kiara didn’t wait for Kevin to respond. She turned around and left.
After all, she still had paperwork to file.
***
Cassy was an unusual nekomata. While she shared many aspects with her kin—her curiosity, her playfulness, and her love of milk being just a few of those things, there was one thing about her that made her different from most nekomata.
She loved being in water.
Specifically, she loved taking hot showers.
Yes, there were few things that Cassy enjoyed more than taking a long, hot shower. The feel of water hitting her back, the heat loosening her tense muscles… she loved luxuriating under the hot spray of water.
She was lucky that she even had hot water, or water at all. Thanks to a deal she had cut with some contacts she’d made in the ghetto, she was able to have hot water, though she wasn’t keen on the price. That said, she was fortunate in that the cost didn’t involve giving her body to someone.
After turning off the water and wrapping a towel around her body, Cassy left the steaming room for the much colder studio room of her rundown apartment. She ignored the cold air as goosebumps prickled on her skin.
“Now there’s a sight that I could get used to seeing every day,” a voice said, making her nose wrinkle in disgust. She thought he was asleep. In hindsight, she should have expected otherwise. This man was a kitsune, and they loved their pranks. He’d probably been playing possum from the moment she’d woken up.
Seth Naraka was the man who’d been sent by Mistress Sarah to oversee the assassination. He sat on the couch, leaning back, his posture and demeanor displaying a casual arrogance that pissed her off. His eyes seeped condescending amusement. The way he blatantly ogled her body, stripping her, devouring her, was a sickening feeling. It made her feel dirty. Tainted. She wanted to take a shower again.
Cassy did her best to ignore him.
She walked over to the dresser, feeling his eyes following her. After opening her drawer and reaching in, she pulled out the only article of clothes that she owned. It was her leather outfit.
I need another outfit, nya…
“Are you not going to talk to me?” he asked. She didn’t speak. His supercilious chuckle made her grit her teeth. “You know that ignoring me is only going to make your situation worse, don’t you?”
“I’m not ignoring you,” Cassy lied. “I just don’t want to talk to you while I’m naked, nya.”
“Hmmm… that’s too bad. I wouldn’t mind having a conversation with you like this.”
Pig.
Seth Naraka was well-known in her village for two things: His skills as a top-class assassin, and his lecherousness towards women. Many men in her village looked up to him, and a number of women were enamored with him.
She didn’t know why. Sure, he was handsome, but he was also short, condescending, and had a god complex several miles wide. His arrogance knew no bounds, and unfortunately, no one had been able to put him in his place because he had the skills to back that arrogance up.
“Now don’t be like that,” Seth said behind her. Cassy stiffened as a pair of hands fell on her bare shoulders. She shuddered when those same hands began to rub up and down her arms. “You really shouldn’t be so cold to me. I can make your life quite difficult, you know?”
“Let go of me, nya!” Cassy yanked his hands off of her and spun around, her yellow eyes narrowed in fury, and her mouth open to reveal sharp canines as she hissed. “Don’t think for one second that just because I’m being forced to work with nyou, that it means I’m going to let nyou touch me! I’m nyot one of those floozies who’ll whore herself out to nyou in the hopes that nyou’ll favor them, nya!”
Despite her harsh words, Seth looked more amused than angry. “So you’ve always said, but we both know that it’s only a matter of time before you fall for me. We’re going to be working in close contact for this mission. You will eventually fall to my charms!”
A blush spread across Seth’s face, and his eyes grew alight, shining with a disturbingly fervent ardor.
“Oh, yes. I can just imagine it all now. You and I, working side by side, our passions growing stronger with every passing second until it all boils over into a raunchy fuck-fest the likes of which this world has never seen!” Seth hugged himself and wiggled in place, moving in disturbing, boneless motions that an anthropomorphic body should not have been capable of. “It’ll be amazing! It’ll be glorious! I’ll have you screaming out my name as your body, overcome with your desire for me, writhes about in ecstasy and—”
“Shut the fuck up!”
Crack!
“GRUGGBBLLLEE!”
Cassy glared at Seth, the fist that she had used to deck him in the face still extended. Steam wafted from her knuckles. Seth lay on the floor, his eyes glazed and his face caved in like someone had bashed it with a four-ton boulder.
“I would nyever stoop so low as to give myself over to a disgusting lech like nyou!”
Despite the fact that his face was definitely far from pristine, Seth giggled. “Hehehe… you know you want the d—GYAAA!”
Seth squealed like a little girl after Cassy brutally stomped on his crotch as she made her way to the bathroom. She slammed the door shut and proceeded to get dressed, growling all the while. How dare that man paw at her like that?! Disgusting, filthy, perverted piece of crap! If he wasn’t her superior, she would have killed him!
“Nya�
�” she sighed and leaned against the locked door. “I had been hoping that Mistress Sarah would send someone a little nicer.” Then again, this was probably punishment for failing her latest assignment. “Nya… this sucks.”
***
It was currently math class.
Lilian looked at Kevin from where she sat. The sound of pencils scratching against paper resounded all around her. She paid attention to none of that. Ms. Vis was giving a lecture about something math related, but she ignored the pale woman in favor of her mate.
Kevin sat hunched over his seat, diligently taking notes. Nothing seemed out of place, but she could see the way his head would nod off, only to jerk back up a second later. His pencil would occasionally stop writing and droop, then it would snap back up, and he’d begin writing again. His shoulders would relax, and then tense, and then relax and tense again.
There were bags under his eyes.
It was Friday, the end of the week, and normally a day that she and everyone else would have been happy about. Not today. Instead of feeling joyous at the thought of the weekend, all she felt was worry. Her mate, the love of her life, was suffering, and she didn’t know what to do. All week he’d been acting like nothing was wrong, feigning smiles and straining his voice to laugh.
She saw clean through it.
“Hey, Lilian,” Lindsay whispered in her friend’s ear, leaning over in her seat. They were near the back, so no one else was paying attention. “What’s wrong with Kevin? He’s been acting really depressed all week.”
Lilian bit her lip. Should she tell Lindsay what was bothering Kevin? But she didn’t really know herself. She had a guess, but she could be wrong. She didn’t want to create a misunderstanding if her theory was incorrect.
“I don’t really know,” she said at last, shrugging her shoulders helplessly. “He’s been like this for a while now.”
Lindsay looked from Lilian to Kevin, and then back to her. “Do you think he’s not getting enough sleep, maybe?”
“Maybe.” That was definitely part of the problem. She knew that Kevin had been restless these last few days, but it was only a symptom, not the real issue. “But I think it’s a little more complicated than that.”
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