A Fox's Mate (American Kitsune Book 6)

by Brandon Varnell

  The citizens of Oga made a wager with the demons. If the ogres could build a flight of stone steps, one thousand in all, from the village to the five shrine halls in a single night, then the villagers would supply them with a young woman every year. However, should they fail, then they would leave.

  As luck would have it, the ogres were almost successful in completing the one thousand stone steps. Yet just as they were about to finish, one of the villagers mimicked the cry of a rooster. The ogres departed, then, believing that they had failed.

  Of course, that was merely a legend perpetuated by humans and not real. The truth was that namahage were a breed of oni that lacked the brute strength of regular oni. However, in return for not having the brawn of a pure oni, they retained their sanity and ability to think rationally.

  “You’re the kitsune’s bodyguard. I didn’t expect to be facing you,” the namahage said, his voice a deep, baritone growl.

  Kotohime’s placid smile hid all of her thoughts, though the killing intent that she released, the blood lust hidden beneath her calm veneer, betrayed her.

  “You should have known that I would detect the use of youki so close to my residence. That you did not was a mistake on your part, one that I will not let you live to regret.”

  The namahage must have realized the hopelessness of his situation. A regular oni would have already attacked her, this one stood back and studied the situation. From his expression, the way his left foot shifted back, and the sweat trickling down his scalp, he’d come to the conclusion that he could not win.

  It was a logical conclusion.

  It was also correct.

  The oni turned around to run away. Kotohime didn’t let him.

  “Ikken Hissatsu.”

  Kotohime shoved youki to the bottom of her feet. The ground cratered as she blasted forward like a ballistic missile. Her blade was out before the nagahage could even turn around, a mere flicker of light that few people, be they human or otherwise, would have caught. There was a flash, a shutter, and then Kotohime was standing on the other side of the namahage.

  Click.

  Fully sheathing her blade, Kotohime ignored the gurgled scream of her opponent, who’d been sliced cleanly in half. She walked off, leaving behind the bloodied remains of her foe.

  ***

  Even though Kevin couldn’t claim to know everything about the various species of yōkai, he wasn’t completely ignorant, either. While Kotohime had only taught him about kitsune, Kiara had taught him a lot about yōkai in general—usually while one of her disciples or Ms. Grant was beating the crap out of him.

  Perhaps getting his ass periodically kicked somehow helped pound the information into his head. Then again, maybe that had done nothing but rattle his brain.

  Either way, Kevin knew a lot about yōkai. More specifically, he knew a lot about the strengths and weaknesses of various yōkai races.

  Gorilla yōkai were incredibly strong physically speaking, and they also had an amazing intellect. However, while they were impossibly strong and ridiculously smart, they weren’t very fast—faster than humans, to be sure, but not faster than most yōkai. Their limbs were also long, which, while giving them incredible reach, didn’t allow for them to fight in close. If someone could slip inside of their guard, then gorilla yōkai would have a hard time hitting their target.

  Of course, even while staying within his opponent’s guard, Kevin was having a bit of a problem. Namely, he couldn’t injure this creature. The gorilla’s hide was thick and tough, the mass of muscles covering the yōkai’s body made damaging his foe with his purely human strength impossible. Every punch and kick he threw bounced off harmlessly, the yōkai merely laughing it off…

  … Or at least, the yōkai would have been laughing it off, if Kevin wasn’t proving to be such a troublesome opponent.

  “Hold still!”

  “Heck no! What kind of an idiot just stands still and lets his enemy attack him? If you want to hurt me, then you’re going to have to work for it. Not that you actually can hurt me. You’re too slow.”

  “Damn human! I’m going to kill you for your insolence!”

  Thus far most of the fight had consisted of the gorilla swinging his large fists, and Kevin dodging each attack that came his way, moving in close, striking at his foe, and then retreating before the ape could wrap those thick arms around him and crush him like a grape.

  While the gorilla was fast, faster than him, Kevin had an advantage: The gorilla’s reach. That extra reach meant that the yōkai was telegraphing his attacks, making them easier to avoid. It was good practice, actually.

  Kevin’s unfinished style, which he’d been working on since his talk with Kiara during their trip to California, relied on predicting attacks.

  Neither side had the advantage over the other. Kevin was too apt at dodging and the gorilla yōkai was too strong and too sturdy for any of Kevin’s attacks to hurt. The only attacks from Kevin that had proven effective were his two opening moves. However, those wouldn’t work anymore. There was no metal pole for him to stab the yōkai with, and the gorilla wasn’t going to let himself be judo tossed again.

  The gorilla yōkai must have realized his disadvantage. He jumped backwards to get some distance. Then he clasped his hands together to form a giant fist that he raised above his head, which he brought down to try and smash Kevin into the ground.

  The nimble Kevin proved too swift for such a slow attack. He swerved along the slick grass, dodging the fists as they slammed into the ground with concussive force, upchucking dirt and grass, leaving an impressive fist-shaped indent in the ground.

  “Whoa, your aim is absolutely horrible, or maybe you’re just too stupid to adapt to changes in combat. I guess all those stories about how gorillas are supposed to be really smart were just a lie, huh? You’re actually pretty dumb.”

  “What was that?” the gorilla howled with anger. “You think you’re more intelligent than I am? You, a lowly, insignificant worm of a human dare to insult my intellect?!”

  Much like any other yōkai, gorilla yōkai had a lot of pride in their abilities—specifically, their intelligence was something they were quite proud of. With an IQ of over 200, they were some of the most insightful and perceptive yōkai in the world. Insulting their intelligence was like slapping them in the face with a dead fish. It was more vicious than a kick to the gonads.

  “That’s right. Everyone knows your kind are dumber than a sack of bricks. You gorilla yōkai are eleven branches from the stupidest key characters ever! Even Eric is smarter than you are!”

  “That does it! I won’t have you insulting my intelligence, you disgusting human! I’m going to demolish you!”

  “I’d like to see you try!”

  Kevin began moving backwards, up the hill and toward the building he’d emerged from. In a battle against a yōkai whose strength exceeded anything a mere human like him could produce, fighting in an open space was detrimental to his health. He needed to entrap the yōkai, force the yōkai to fight on his terms. Maybe he would even find something inside that he could use against his opponent.

  The ape followed, blinded by anger. Perhaps if he hadn’t been so enraged, he would have realized what Kevin was doing, but that was exactly why Kevin had insulted him in the first place. He couldn’t afford to let his opponent think clearly—not if he wanted to win.

  He rushed for the gaping hole in the wall, which he assumed had been left by Lilian and the gorilla. His enemy tried to stop him, of course, but the wet grass made running more precarious for the large gorilla. Ducking low underneath a swipe, Kevin used the terrain to his advantage. He gripped the ground, fingers digging into the dirt, and slammed both of his heels into the gorilla’s left shin. It didn’t hurt the strong yōkai, but it did cause him to slip, fall onto his back, and roll down the hill.

  Kevin used that moment to slip inside of the building before the gorilla recovered. He observed his new surroundings with a quick glance. It was an office building of some
kind. There were cubicles situated in this section, and doors further on led to other parts of the building. There was also one section of the room that looked like a rhino had busted through it, with desks lying shattered and crushed, as if they’d been stepped on by a giant—or a gorilla yōkai.

  He rushed into one of the cubicles, ducked down, and observed the hole through the reflection in the nearest glass window.

  Loud stomping pounded against the ground as the gorilla yōkai blundered inside. He paused upon entering, a hand coming up to rest on the broken brick wall. A loud snort echoed around the room. His head turned left and right, dark orbs peering out from underneath his thick brow ridge.

  “Do you really think you can hide from me, human?” The yōkai growled. “While my senses may not be as powerful as an inu’s, I still have extraordinary perceptions. My auditory senses are particularly acute. We gorillas possess a unique genetic gift. It goes back to the time before we became the supernal beings that we are today, back when we were mere apes living in jungles.”

  Kevin used the glass window as a mirror to the world outside of his cubicle. He watched with baited breath as the gorilla yōkai stepped further into the room, the glass distorting the creature’s legs, making them look stretched.

  “The jungle is filled with dangers; elephant stampedes, angry hippopotami, poisonous snakes, hunters. Gorillas have developed the ability to pick out individual sounds with ease, despite our sense of hearing not being any better than a human’s. For example, while my hearing is not good enough to hear your heartbeat, it is more than capable of picking out the sound of your breathing.”

  Kevin couldn’t quite stifle his gasp. The gorilla roared in triumph and turned toward his cubicle.

  “Found you!”

  Without any recourse left to him, Kevin bolted from the cubicle just as the gorilla crashed into it. Chunks of plastic and twisted metal bars flew everywhere. The table upon which a computer sat was smashed to bits. The gorilla continued moving, crushing several more cubicles before he skidded to a stop.

  Kevin’s breath leapt into his throat when the gorilla turned to face him again. Despite the fear that was telling him to run away, he stood his ground. He couldn’t afford to run. If he left now, who would protect Lilian?

  “Do you take me for a fool, boy?” The gorilla asked. “Do you honestly think that I do not know what you are trying to do here? You think that by bringing me into this office building that you can control the pace of this battle. You believe that my large frame will be slowed down by the enclosed space and large objects in my way.”

  Kevin would have sworn if he was prone to such things. So the gorilla hadn’t simply walked into his trap like he’d assumed. The yōkai had come in willingly, knowing what Kevin was trying to do. That meant the yōkai wasn’t concerned, that he believed that Kevin still wouldn’t be able to defeat him.

  The problem was that Kevin actually felt the yōkai was right. He hadn’t found anything useful that he could use yet. The few twisted pieces of scrap metal lying around wouldn’t penetrate the gorilla’s flesh unless he had a running start and rammed it in as hard as he could like his initial attack. That was how thick this yōkai’s skin was. Doing something like that would leave him vulnerable to attack, however, and that was something he wanted to avoid at all costs.

  “Let me tell you right now that whatever plan you were cooking up, that is not the way this battle is going to go. Your plans. Are. Useless!”

  With a resounding roar, the gorilla lifted up a large piece of warped metal and, using his immense strength, he straightened it. The yōkai did a few test swings. Each swing rent the air. He nodded before turning his attention back to Kevin.

  “You’re not the only one who can adapt to new situations,” he said, lips peeling back into a feral grin.

  Kevin realized, in that moment, that he might have made a huge mistake.

  ***

  Lilian must have lost consciousness at one point, because when she became aware of her surroundings again, something had changed. She was still lying on her back, though her head no longer rested on the grass. More importantly, the pain she’d expected to feel was gone. She was sore but not in agony. It was as if she’d simply strained her muscles from overuse. Her back also felt a little itchy.

  Opening her eyes, Lilian was met with… a pair of boobs.

  “I am pleased to see that you are awake, Lilian-sama,” Kotohime’s voice came to her from beyond the boobs. “Please accept my most humblest apologies for not protecting you better. I was not aware that you were in danger until I felt the massive surge of youki coming from this direction. I failed you…”

  “It’s fine,” Lilian muttered, even as she made a face. “Kotohime?”

  “Yes, Lilian-sama?”

  “I can’t see your face.”

  “And I cannot see yours.”

  Despite not being able to see her face, Lilian could almost sense the amused smile that her maid was no doubt wearing.

  As her mind kickstarted, Lilian eventually became more aware of her surroundings. She noticed that she was lying with her head on her maid’s lap, which explained the boobs in her face. A tilt of her head to the right revealed that her sister was sitting next to her, looking a little worse for wear. Most of her clothing was gone, having been torn to shreds by something. Her right breast was bared, but her sister didn’t seem to care that people could see her nipple.

  She didn’t appear injured, which was good. That meant she either hadn’t been hurt or, more than likely, Kotohime had already healed her. Christine was also there, sitting a little ways away from Iris.

  Lilian sat up, even though doing so took more effort than it should have.

  “Please be careful, Lilian-sama,” Kotohime said as she placed a hand on her back. “You should not strain yourself too much. I might have healed the damage done to you, but I cannot heal fatigue.”

  “I’m fine,” Lilian said, smiling at her bodyguard. “Thank you for worrying about me.”

  Kotohime returned her smile. “You needn’t thank me. This Kotohime will always watch over you.”

  Just then, a crash followed by a loud roar emanated from within the building nearest to them. Lilian recognized it as the building that the gorilla had rammed her through. Looking at that square structure and hearing that roar reminded her of something important.

  “Kevin…”

  She tried to stand, but a wave of dizziness forced her to sit down. It wouldn’t have mattered anyway. Kotohime’s hand on her shoulder firmly pushed her back onto the grass and held her in place.

  “I apologize, Lilian-sama, but I cannot allow you to interfere in Kevin-sama’s fight.”

  “B-but he’s fighting against a gorilla yōkai!” Lilian argued. “That’s not something a single human can take down on his own!”

  She trusted her mate a great deal, but even she knew how improbable it was that he would capable of defeating a creature like that. Even though she wanted to believe in him, she didn’t want him fighting by himself. Lilian wanted to help him. If they fought together, then they might stand a chance.

  “I’m with my sister,” Iris added. “I’ve seen the stud in action, and he’s got some moves, but he doesn’t have a shot in hell of beating something like that overgrown ape.”

  Lilian turned to Christine. “I can’t help him right now. I lack the strength, but you could. Why are you just sitting there?”

  Having become the center of attention, Christine did the only thing she could think of. She scowled. “Don’t look at me. Don’t you think I already tried going in there to help Kevin, or have you not looked at me closely enough to realize that I can’t FUCKING MOVE?!”

  Lilian reared back as Christine shouted at the end, but she quickly realized what her friend meant upon closer inspection. Chains composed of hardened liquid were wrapped around her hands and legs, holding her in place. She recognized the technique: Kitsune Art: Unbreakable Bindings of the Moon Goddess. They could only be bro
ken by someone with more youki than the one who created them, and Christine most certainly did not have more youki than Kotohime, who was this technique’s creator.

  She turned back to her maid, glaring at the woman as if doing so would make her catch fire. What she wouldn’t give to have a Geass right about now. “Why aren’t you going in there to help him?”

  “Because Kevin-sama needs this fight more than anyone,” Kotohime answered. “I have been watching him struggle since the end of spring break. Kevin-sama has finally realized what our world is really like and it’s causing him to question his place in it. His resolve has been shaken by the unadulterated violence that was perpetrated on us in California, and of the fact that he was forced to kill someone in order to protect us.”

  Lilian’s stomach clenched. Kotohime was being kind to not say it out loud, but they both knew the real reason that Kevin had killed.

  It was because I had been injured. He was forced to kill someone because of me.

  Kotohime continued. “Kevin-sama is an ordinary teenager. He possesses neither the power of a yōkai nor the mindset of a soldier. To top it off, he is extremely kind-hearted and giving.”

  Lilian knew that. She knew that better than anyone. After all, Kevin had accepted her into his home despite how she’d destroyed any semblance of normality his life might have had.

  Kevin was the kind of boy who accepted others and didn’t look down on people for being different. Never once had she heard him discriminate against someone for who or what they were. Despite freaking out on many occasions when he first learned about yōkai, Lilian had never seen him push someone away. Her, Christine, Iris, her entire family, Kevin had accepted them all. He had even allowed her family to live with him in spite of how small his apartment was.

  “For people like Kevin-sama, the act of killing is abhorrent. Even fighting is disturbing to him. However, he has accepted that he needs to be strong if he wants to remain by your side. To that end, he contacted Kiara and asked her to help him become stronger despite not being the kind of person who enjoys fighting.”