“Oh, dear,” Heather said, sighing to herself. “It looks like my apprentice has failed to live up to my expectations once more.”
Iris, too, stared at the young man as he ran from the horde of angry women. As she watched the mob grow ever closer, a devious idea took form in her mind.
Grabbing a small stick that happened to be lying on the ground, Iris reinforced her arm and threw it at the boy’s legs.
“WWHYYY??!!”
Eric screamed as he fell to the ground. The volume of his screams increased as The Horde descended upon him. A large cloud of dust soon engulfed the area around Eric. Heather, Iris, and Christine could see nothing from within that cloud of dust except for the occasional leg or arm that stuck out. Eric’s screams eventually began to peter off, growing softer and softer until they fell silent.
The cloud dispersed as the women, satisfied that they had taught the lecher a lesson, walked off in groups of two or three. Christine, Iris, and Heather stared at the lump of battered and beaten flesh that had once been known as Eric. Ever the curious one, Iris knelt down beside the young man and began poking him in the face, eliciting several whimpers and groans from the unconscious boy.
“Huh, he’s still alive. I’m surprised.”
“Of course,” Heather declared proudly. “He’s my apprentice. Even if he sucks at stealth, he’s at least got the endurance and pain tolerance to withstand a beating from a horde of angry women.”
Christine facepalmed, and, with her voice muffled, she said, “That’s not something to be proud of.”
Heather laughed as if all was right with the world. “By the way, weren’t you guys spying on Kevin and Lilian? Because if so, I thought I’d tell you that they already left the store we’re standing in front of.”
“What?!” Iris stood up in shock. “When?”
“About fifteen minutes ago.”
“And you didn’t think to tell us this?!” Iris left Heather no time to answer as she grabbed Christine and began dragging her by the arm. “Come on, Frosty. We’re leaving.”
“Oi! Don’t just grab me like this! I’m not some doll that you can drag off to wherever you please!”
“Quit complaining. We need to hurry.”
Heather remained where she was as Iris dragged a reluctant and struggling Christine behind her. As the duo disappeared around a corner, she looked down at her groaning, moaning apprentice.
“We really need to work on your stealth skills some more.”
Eric just moaned in response.
***
As the day wound to a close, Kevin and Lilian began their journey home.
Sitting on the small extension seat that her mate had added specifically for her, Lilian felt uplifted for the first time in a while. Her mate had been so depressed due to the events in California, so seeing him relaxed and happy again did her a world of good.
The sunset cast rays of light on Kevin as he pedaled down the road. Looking at his face revealed that the bags under his eyes had all but vanished, and the harsh shadows of a haggard face were gone, too. He looked so much better now than he had this past week.
“Today was really fun, wasn’t it?” she asked, snuggling into his back. Inari-blessed did she love how warm he felt.
“Yeah, it was pretty fun,” Kevin said, his voice just barely carrying over the rush of wind. “We should think about doing this more often.”
“We really should,” Lilian agreed.
She and Kevin had never seen much point in going out on dates, since all of the things they liked to do could be done at home. Going out was often reserved for having fun with their friends. Still, she wouldn’t deny that she’d had a blast. It had been so long since they’d done something, just the two of them, and she wanted to enjoy activities like what they had done today more often.
“Hey, Lilian?”
“Hmm?” Lilian cracked an eye open, having closed them at some point without realizing it. His warmth was making her sleepy.
“I just wanted to thank you for what you said, back at the mall. I’m still not really sure what my resolve is, or how I can show it to Kiara, but thanks to you, I think I’ll be able to figure something out. You really are amazing.”
Lilian felt heat encompass her chest. Her heart started to pump blood faster, and her cheeks began to feel warm.
She wondered if Kevin realized how much his words meant to her. He probably didn’t, she reasoned, as he wasn’t really the type to compliment her in order to invoke a reaction. If he was saying something complimentary, it was simply because that was what he believed. However, that made his compliments all the more meaningful to her.
Lilian’s arms tightened around Kevin’s waist.
“You’re welcome,” she said softly.
The rest of the ride was accompanied by the chirping of birds.
***
Ms. Vis pulled her little Toyota Corolla into its designated parking spot. She turned the vehicle off and stepped out, making sure to grab her small bag of groceries, and then walked toward her apartment.
Much like the residence that Ms. Swift and Lilian lived in, the complex that Ms. Vis rented out held the appearance of a standard, modern apartment complex. A series of almost identical structures lay sprawled out along several acres of land. The buildings, multi-storied constructs, were composed of a combination of brick, stucco, and red tiles. It was a nice place to live, cheap, and with a nice view of several acres of park.
She lived on the third floor.
After entering her apartment, the first thing that she did was put her groceries away. She didn’t want them to spoil. After that, she made her way into the living room, where she planned on watching her favorite show—a talk show that involved a famous mathematician who lectured on how math could be applied in real life situations.
She didn’t even get halfway to her couch. A man with long red hair and golden eyes was sitting on it, lounging upon her furniture like an indulgent cat. It was hard to tell how long he’d been there, whether he’d been there since before she had arrived, or if he had somehow snuck in while she was in the kitchen. In the end, it didn’t matter.
“W-who are you?” Ms. Vis stuttered, her heart rate quickening to the point where it hammered in her chest. “How did you get in here? Get out now before I call the cops!”
“Call the cops?” The man stood up, his eyes flashing and a fanged smile pulling at his lips. “How amusing. You think the cops will be able to do anything to me if you called them? They’re nothing, just a group of pathetic monkeys who don’t know their place. Not that I’d let you call them anyway.”
Ms. Vis didn’t know who this strange man was, or what he wanted, and she didn’t rightly care. Some weird guy was standing in her apartment for unknown reasons. That was enough to make her rush for the phone.
She didn’t get far. Quicker than Ms. Vis believed a human was capable of moving, the crimson-haired man appeared before her. He grabbed her by the wrist and lifted her off the ground.
“Unhand me, you brute!”
Ms. Vis kicked at the man, her heeled feet smacking against his legs and her free hand pounding on his chest. The man remained unbothered. His smile was wide, almost ear-splitting, as if seeing her struggle was the greatest gift that she could have given him.
“Sorry,” he said, not sounding sorry at all, “but I’m gonna have to use your body for a bit.”
Had she not been frightened out of her mind, Ms. Vis would have asked what he meant by that. However, even if she hadn’t been scared enough to release her bowels, she would have never gotten the chance to ask such a question.
Ms. Vis was forced onto the ground, on her knees. She stared up into the glowing golden eyes of her captor.
“Don’t worry, though,” he assured her. “I’ll be sure to take good care of it for you.”
As the man’s eyes glowed with an ethereal molten color, her mind went blank and descended into darkness.
Chapter 6
Resolve
He had gathered these four for one purpose.
Revenge.
“You four know what you’re supposed to do?” Chris asked.
“Of course we do,” said one of them, the one in the middle. “You want us to rough up a couple of people for you. Heh. Never thought I’d see the day when you of all people would be asking us for help.”
The spokesperson of the group was a large guy with thick, muscular arms, and a chest that reminded everyone who saw it of The Hulk. He wasn’t the tallest person there, nor the bulkiest. That said, it was clear that the other three deferred to him. His black, liberty-spiked hair had several bells attached to them, similar to a certain Shinigami captain from a popular anime/manga series.
“You’ve grown weak since the last time I saw you.” A grin twisted the man’s face. “You used to be strong before—strong enough that you could have fought against some of our boys. Now?” He chuckled. “Now you can barely beat a human.”
“Shut the fuck up!” Chris growled, baring his teeth. He didn’t transform, though, having learned his lesson. Shifting to his inu form brought nothing but pain. “You wanna get fucking paid or not? Cuz if you don’t, then keep running your kami-damned mouth off and see what happens.”
“It seems your temper hasn’t improved,” the man said, still chuckling as he held out his hands in a sign of nonaggression. “Anyway, take it easy. There’s no need to get angry. I’m just surprised. After all, it’s pretty odd for you to come to me for help after you turned down my offer to join our group.”
Their group was a gang calling themselves the Yamata Alliance. Chris didn’t know much about them, but he didn’t particularly care to join others. Like his father before him, he was a lone wolf who needed help from no one—or that was how it used to be.
“Tch! Whatever,” Chris grumbled, backing down. It was all he could do. Even if he wanted to put this punk ass in his place, he no longer possessed the strength needed to do it. “Do we have a fucking deal or not?”
“If you’ve got the money, we’ve got a deal.”
At the mention of money, Chris grumbled and handed the man a thick wad of cash. “You get the first half now and the second half after dealing with that kitsune bitch and her human boy toy.”
“That’s fine.” The burly man counted the cash, nodded, and then pocketed it. “My boys and I will handle those two, no problem.” A dark grin spread across his face as he licked his lips. “They won’t know what hit them.”
***
Sitting in his usual spot near the front of the class, Kevin noticed almost right away that something was wrong with his tomboyish friend. Her face was pale, strange shadows cast stark lines on her face, and her cheekbones were hollow. She reminded him of a zombie… only without the desire to eat human flesh.
“Are you feeling okay, Lindsay? You’re looking a little pale.”
Lindsay froze halfway to her seat, and Kevin became a first-hand witness to the brilliant splash of color that appeared on the girl’s cheeks.
Iris grinned. “The reason she’s looking like a ghost is because she lost too much b—mppphhh!”
“Hahahaha!” Lindsay’s laugh sounded awfully forced, strained even, as she clamped a hand over Iris’s mouth to keep the two-tailed vixen from talking. “I’m just feeling a little under the weather because I didn’t get much sleep last night.”
“Have you been feeling restless or something?” Lilian asked, sitting on Kevin’s right, looking at her friend while worrying her lower lip. “If you are, I know something that might help. Sometimes when Kevin is feeling restless after training, I’ll give him a massage to help loosen his muscles and make him more relaxed. If you’d like, I can give you one during lunch to see if it helps.”
Kevin couldn’t be one hundred percent positive, because Lindsay’s hands flew to her nose quicker than lightning, but he could have sworn that a small trickle of blood had escaped her nostrils. The fact that her face had become iridescent only made him more positive that Lindsay had just suffered a nosebleed.
Could she… he shook his head. No, that’s not possible. I must be imagining things.
“T-thank you for the offer, but I think I’ll pass,” Lindsay stuttered.
Lilian shrugged at her offer being rejected. She didn’t seem too broken up.
Lindsay sat down, and, not long after she took to her desk, Ms. Vis walked in.
“Good morning, class.”
Kevin thought there was something different about his teacher as she strolled into the room. He couldn’t figure out what; she didn’t appear any different. Her walk, her way of speaking, her mannerisms, nothing seemed out of place. However, there was an odd sort of presence about the woman now, an indefinable something that he knew she didn’t have before.
Ms. Vis stopped in front of the classroom and turned to face the students. “All right, class, today we’ll be—”
She stopped.
Her eyes locked with Kevin’s.
“You!” She shouted, pointing an accusing finger. Kevin blinked stupidly, and then slowly raised his hand and pointed at himself. “Yes, you! What are you doing sitting in the front row?”
Okay, now Kevin knew that something was wrong with his math teacher. She had never really cared about him sitting in the front before, even when she’d been at his and Lilian’s proverbial throats.
“Uh… because this is my seat?”
“No,” Ms. Vis said, her head shaking emphatically. “No, no, no, no! That is not your seat! That will never be your seat! Don’t you know how these things work? The main protagonist of every anime always sits in the back of the classroom near the window!”
It took Kevin a moment to register her words, but when he did, he started twitching as incredulity flooded his mind.
Did she really just say that?
“There is no way I’d ever allow myself to fall into that stereotype,” he said blandly, his expression dry enough to make Arizona’s deserts envious. “Don’t lump me in with those god-awful protagonists of standard high school anime.”
“What was that?” Ms. Vis seethed. “You dare to break such a long-standing tradition?!”
“You’re damn right I do!” Kevin stood up and slammed his hands on the table. Sit in the back of class like some kind of clichéd high school anime character? Who did this woman think she was talking to? “I’m not gonna become one of those anime romance clichés! I’ve already stepped on enough of those to last me a lifetime!”
As the two quarreled like a pair of children, the rest of the class watched them, their heads swiveling from left to right like they were watching a ping-pong match. Sitting at her desk, Iris offered Lilian a bag of popcorn, which she had pulled out of her bountiful cleavage. Lilian took a handful of popcorn and tossed it into her mouth. She munched on it while the bizarre fight came to a close.
“I don’t care! You’re going to sit your ass down in the back of the classroom next to the window like a good protagonist and you’re going to like it!”
“I’m not going to sit in the back of the classroom! And here’s a news flash for you, lady! This classroom has no windows!”
Ms. Vis’s face became mottled red with rage. “That does it! Detention after class, Mr. Swift! De-ten-tion!”
***
Kevin was in a foul mood after Ms. Vis’s class and all throughout his morning classes. How could that woman give him detention just because he refused to sit in the back of class? She’d never cared about where he sat before, so why start now?
And what was up with her attitude? Kevin knew that Ms. Vis wasn’t right in the head, but the way she’d been acting in class that day was even more unus
ual than, well, usual. Not only that, but to actually imply that he would allow himself to become even more like a harem protagonist than he already was became an insult to his intelligence and dignity!
Sitting on the bleachers in the gymnasium, Kevin seethed in silence, even as his eyes panned over the expansive room to watch the other students.
They were playing dodgeball that day, girls versus boys. Kevin was kinda surprised they’d been made to play such a childish game—Coach Raide usually forced them to play more “serious” sports—but he figured the reason was due to their teacher that day. Coach Raide was absent, out sick apparently, so Heather—Ms. Grant—had been tasked with taking care of their physical education until Coach Raide was feeling better.
On a side note, Kevin believed that Coach Raide must have gotten ulcers from stress, or maybe he’d gotten a heat stroke because all of that hair he had acted as insulation.
Kevin had been knocked out of the game early, having received a powerful ball to the face for not paying attention. While he had no evidence to prove it, he was almost positive that Iris had been the one to throw that ball. When he’d looked at her with an accusing stare, she’d just turned away and whistled in a way that was far too innocent to be truly innocent.
Putting his mind off of Ms. Vis and her brand of crazy, Kevin turned his thoughts to another matter, one that had been causing him more problems than his freaky math teacher: How to show his resolve to Kiara.
He wasn’t sure how to prove that he possessed the resolve to continue training. It wasn’t as simple a matter as telling her, “I’m ready to start training again.” He needed to show his resolve, but he didn’t know how to go about accomplishing that. What was he supposed to do? Beat the crap out of a bunch of yōkai?
“You look like you’ve got something on your mind,” a familiar voice said. He looked down. Heather Grant walked up the bleachers, sat down next to him, and leaned back in a casual manner that would have given Coach Raide fits. “You wanna talk about whatever is troubling you?”
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