Perhaps that was why it still hurt every time she saw him with Lilian, because she knew those changes had nothing to do with her, but with the redhead who’d stolen his heart.
***
The sun had gone down by the time Christine returned home. While she normally didn’t mind work, her coworker had been insufferable after Kevin had arrived. Jealousy. Alan was jealous of her friend. It made sense. Kevin wasn’t oblivious to the fact that a lot of men were jealous of him; he just ignored it.
Of course, given that Kevin and she weren’t dating, or, indeed, that Alan had a thing for her, he probably didn’t know why her coworker was jealous of him. That said, he likely didn’t care either.
Making her way into her bedroom, Christine fell face-first onto the bed. She didn’t bother eating dinner that night. She wasn’t hungry. Instead, she drifted off into a fitful sleep filled with blue eyes and blond hair.
Chapter 10
A Seemingly Normal Day
Despite having to deal with that bastard Seth, Cassy would admit that she’d been having a very good time these past three weeks. Her “superior” didn’t have any outstanding orders for her, so she’d been free to do what she wanted, and what she wanted to do was spend time with Master Kevin.
Cassy still remembered the first time that she and Master Kevin had held a true conversation. It was when she’d been shopping—or trying to—and Master Kevin had been kind enough to buy her some fish, which she lacked the funds to buy herself. After that day, she had made it a point to meet up with him whenever she could. She always made it look like their meeting was just a coincidence. Master Kevin never suspected a thing, simply accepting her words at face value and talking to her like they were old friends.
She did feel guilty about lying to him, but it wasn’t like she had any other choice. Master Kevin couldn’t know who she was. Even if he knew about yōkai, their village had a strict policy on not revealing who and what they were to outsiders. Secrecy was paramount.
While she would have normally told him about her being a nekomata anyway, the fact that she’d been ordered to kill his girlfriend forced her not to. There was no need to rouse unnecessary suspicion upon herself.
Skipping into her apartment, Cassy had the largest smile on her face. She had met up with Master Kevin again this morning by pretending to be a jogger, which she did every Sunday. It had been a lot of fun. He’d rode the bike slowly, and they’d spoken about their hobbies. She’d learned a lot more about him, which was always a good thing in her book.
She did have to wonder about his weird obsession with Japanese pop culture. She couldn’t remember if he’d had the same obsession when he was younger. Were all teenage boys like that?
“Did you have fun with your human friend?”
Cassy stiffened, hands clenching. She slowly turned around to face Seth, still wearing the body of Ms. Vis, smirking at her from his place on the couch.
“I did, actually. Not that it’s any of your business, nya.”
“Such an insolent girl.” Seth sighed, pushing himself to his feet. As always, he chose to walk around the apartment completely naked, which disturbed Cassy a great deal. “Well, I suppose it doesn’t matter. Tomorrow is our last day here anyway. I’ve already set everything up so we can kill the Pnév̱ma girl without interference from her bodyguard. I’ve even set up a little surprise for her friends in case they try to rescue her. Can I count on you to take care of the boy?”
“Of course,” Cassy replied, insulted that he would even ask. “There’s no way I’ll let you lay a hand on Master Kevin, nya.”
Seth’s diabolical chuckle sounded wrong with Ms. Vis’s voice. “Is that so? In that case, you had better not fail me. If the Swift boy ends up interfering while I’m killing the Pnév̱ma girl, then I will end him.”
Cassy hissed. “Nya! I’ll kill nyou if nyou even touch him!”
“Now, now.” Seth wagged a chastising finger at her. “You had better be more careful with your words. What you just said could be considered treason. Were I not as compassionate as I am, I could have you executed.”
Cassy gritted her teeth. Compassionate her ass. This man didn’t know the meaning of the word. He was doing this to torture her. He knew that she hated the idea of fighting Master Kevin, just as he knew that it was the only way Master Kevin could live. Seth and Master Kevin could not be allowed to fight. The young man she’d become fond of would meet his end if that were to happen.
Even if she had to knock Master Kevin out cold, she would not let him fight against Seth.
On that day, the sun shone brightly, and the birds chirped lovely songs.
***
Kevin wondered if there was something wrong with him. As he lay in bed, staring up at the ceiling and feeling two soft, feminine, and half-naked bodies snuggling with him, he figured there must have been something wrong with him.
I should be freaking out right now…
Looking to his left revealed Lilian, his girlfriend and mate, her head resting on his shoulder, long red hair fanned out and haloed by the light that filtered in through the window. Lilian’s hair reminded him of a wildfire. A glance to the left showed Iris, who was also using one of his shoulders as a pillow, and had wrapped herself around him like a koala bear. Her sleeping face looked peaceful, yet somehow seductive as well. Unlike Lilian, who wore one of his shirts, Iris wore a nighty that was the same midnight black as her hair.
Yes, there was definitely something wrong with this situation.
Thinking back on it, he probably shouldn’t have even been comfortable sleeping with Lilian. How many boys his age slept with their girlfriend? Well, there were probably a lot, but they didn’t sleep with their girlfriend on a daily basis. He wondered, was his lack of surprise at his situation because Lilian was a kitsune? Did that balance things out? He didn’t know, but thinking like that gave him a headache, so he decided to stop.
Extricating himself from the bed with careful use of the famed replacement technique, which involved swapping his body out with a pillow, Kevin turned just for a second to look at the two. It was probably a mistake—no, it was definitely a mistake. Just looking at Lilian and Iris as they lay wrapped around each other in a mess of tangled limbs, their faces inches away from each other as if they were about to kiss, was enough to make him rock hard.
Morning wood had nothing on this.
“Ugh, I really hope these thoughts aren’t Eric’s influence,” Kevin mumbled, pressing a palm to his face as he made his way to the restroom.
Self-gratification was not something that Kevin did often. In truth, he didn’t know a whole lot about masturbation since no one had ever taught him about it. His school was notoriously bad regarding its sex education program, and his mom had always been uncomfortable talking about the subject. Still, with a raging hard-on that could have been used in a fencing tournament, he was left with little recourse.
After relieving himself over the toilet, Kevin took a quick shower, and then returned to his bedroom to get dressed. He was interrupted seconds after putting on his boxers by a wolf whistle.
“Nice show, Stud. Can I expect a striptease like this every time I wake up?”
“Iris.” Kevin hid his embarrassment with irritation. “I thought you were still asleep.”
Kevin turned around. Iris was wide awake and gazing at him from over her sister’s shoulder. It appeared that she had turned Lilian over, and she was now spooning her sister. The covers had been peeled away as well, revealing that Iris was gently stroking Lilian’s flat stomach, which twitched under her touch.
I don’t know what’s worse: The fact that I’m annoyed or the fact that I’m aroused again.
“I actually woke up a few minutes before you did.”
“Then why didn’t you get out of bed?”
“Didn’t feel like it.”
Iris and Kevin stared at each other for a moment. Kevin looked away first. “Okay. I walked into that one.”
“That you did.” Iris
nodded with sage-like wisdom. “But at least you realize that, which means you’re learning.”
“Whatever,” Kevin mumbled. “Anyway, could you not watch me while I’m getting dressed?”
“And deprive myself of a good show?” Iris grinned at him. “I think not.”
“Tch!”
Kevin dressed quickly after that, pulling up his black jeans and donning a white T-shirt, along with a pair of socks. After a second, he also grabbed his single shot pistol, which was hidden in the bottom drawer of his dresser, and slid it into his back pocket.
Kiara had told him to keep it on him at all times, even when he went to school. Though he was loathe to carry a weapon around, Kevin understood the precaution. There was no telling when he might run into a hostile yōkai—he’d already run into several at school. He needed to be ready at all times.
“Could you wake up Lilian?” Kevin asked. He’d normally do it himself, but he didn’t want Iris watching him smooch her sister awake. That would be annoying—and embarrassing, but mostly annoying, especially because, knowing Iris, the vixen would probably catcall or do something even more humiliating.
“Huhuhu, sure thing. Just leave it to me, Stud.”
A bad premonition suddenly came over him. Maybe he shouldn’t have asked her to wake Lilian up, after all. The smile on her face was disturbing. Ah, well. It was too late to back out now.
“Right.”
After leaving the room, Kevin traveled down the hallway, where he bumped into Kirihime, who appeared to have exited from the master bedroom where Camellia resided.
“Oh, Lord Kevin,” Kirihime greeted with a demure curtsy. “Good morning.”
“Morning, Kirihime,” Kevin greeted the kind and polite woman with a smile. “Camellia’s still asleep?”
“Yes, I think she’s worn out from last night,” Kirihime admitted, blushing just a bit.
Kevin found his own cheeks heating up. Last night Camellia had somehow found his mother’s secret stash of alcohol, which not even Kevin had known existed. What happened after that was… well, the less said about that incident, the better.
“Ah-ha, w-well, at least it means you’ll get some time to relax,” he said.
Kirihime nodded. “Y-yes.”
Making their way into the kitchen, the two were greeted by Kotohime. She was standing by the stove. A wonderful scent that tantalized Kevin’s nose wafted around the room.
Kevin often wondered how early she got up to cook them breakfast every morning. He rose fairly early as well, but somehow, the kimono-clad femme fatale was always up before him.
He also wondered about her clothing. He’d never seen her entire wardrobe before, but she seemed to have several hundred different kimonos. This morning she wore a light tan kimono with the image of a savanna stamped on the back, a dead tree in the middle of a desert with the dying sun shining light through its branches, presenting a truly melancholic yet beautiful scene.
“Good morning, Kevin-sama, Kirihime.” Kotohime presented them with a wondrous smile. “I take it Iris-sama and Lilian-sama have not woken up yet?”
“Well, Iris is awake, but I don’t know about—”
“KYA!” a familiar cry rang throughout the house.
Kevin deadpanned. “Never mind. Lilian is awake, too.”
Seconds later, Iris and Lilian burst out of the hallway.
“Iris! Get back here!”
“Huhuhu, if you want me, you’ll have to catch me!”
“Oh, I’ll catch you all right. I’ll catch you and make you regret ever being caught!”
“Oh, my. That sounds so violent. I love it when my Lily-pad enjoys playing rough with me.”
“Don’t say it like that! You make it sound dirty!”
Kevin, Kirihime, and Kotohime watched silently as Lilian chased Iris around the living room. Lilian lunged at her sister, tackling the raven-haired succubus and sending them both tumbling to the ground. While lying on the ground, Lilian tried to wrestle with the laughing Iris, who seemed to enjoy herself far more than he thought was natural.
“It’s like watching two squirrels bickering over who ate the last acorn,” Kevin remarked. He wondered if it was wrong that he thought watching two half-naked vixens roll around on the floor was hot. Stupid hormones.
“Indeed.” Kotohime nodded.
“I wonder what Lady Iris did to make Lady Lilian so angry at her?” Kirihime asked.
Hearing her name being called, Lilian looked up from where she lay, straddling Iris’s waist. Her eyes zeroed in on Kevin, who realized the danger that he was in a second too late.
“Beloved!”
“Wait, Lili—oof!”
The world spun for a brief moment, and then, without warning, all of the air left Kevin’s lungs as his back slammed into the ground. Gasping, Kevin looked up through bleary eyes. The vision blurring in front of him soon sharpened. Red hair. Green eyes. They hovered over him. It made him realize that Lilian was straddling him now.
“How could you let Iris wake me up like that, Beloved? How could you?”
“Ugh,” Kevin groaned. Dang, Lilian knew how to tackle people. He was seeing stars! “I don’t even know what Iris did to wake you up.”
“Urk!” Lilian made strange choking noises. Her face became suffused with a shade of red so vibrant Kevin feared the house would catch fire. “I-I’d rather not talk about it. Anyway, you should have woken me up instead of her. Why didn’t you wake me up?”
“I didn’t realize it was that important.”
“Not that important?” Lilian stared at Kevin like he’d said the damning words. “Beloved, the good morning kiss is a most sacred ritual between couples.”
“R-really?” This was his first time hearing about this ritual.
“Of course!” Lilian’s nod was emphatic. “It is a time-honored ritual that must be adhered to.”
“I thought the time-honored way of waking someone up was a blowjob,” Iris commented as she walked into the kitchen and sat down at the table.
Lilian glared at her. “Quiet you!”
“Un, well, if it’s that important I could kiss you right now,” Kevin offered.
“That goes without saying.” Lilian’s pout as she spoke was adorable. “You have to make it up to me. Because you didn’t wake me up, Iris was the one who gave me my morning kiss—eep!”
Kevin’s eyes widened as Lilian’s hands shot to her mouth. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Iris grinning like a loon, her smile the utter definition of satisfaction… at least, until she saw what they were having for breakfast. The smile faded and a grimace replaced it.
“Ugh, Japanese cuisine again?”
“Oh, dear. Is that dissatisfaction I hear? Is there a problem with my breakfast, Iris-sama?” Kotohime asked with the dazzling smile of a monster.
It was almost amusing, the way Iris’s face went paler than a ghost. She raised one trembling hand, which she placed behind her head, rubbing the back of her neck, a sheepish grin laced with primal terror etched onto her face.
“Ah… ah-ahahaha! W-what I meant was that I’m so happy we’re having another traditional Japanese breakfast.”
Kotohime’s smile shifted, becoming tender and kind, like a loving mother as she watched her child play in a sandbox. “I’m glad you think so.”
“Ha…” Iris sighed. At the same time, Kevin was still staring at his mate, stunned into silence by the most recent shocking news.
“Oh, wow. I had no idea that’s what happened. Though now that I think about it, I probably should have expected this. Yuri moments between you and Iris seem to be happening with disturbingly increasing frequency. Maybe we should—mph!”
Lilian’s tongue didn’t allow him to say anymore.
“L-Lady Lilian!” Kirihime’s stuttered shout came at the same time as Kotohime’s, “Oh, my.”
Iris just chuckled.
“Huhuhu…”
Like that.
***
Lilian couldn’t believe that her
morning kiss had been stolen by Iris. Just thinking about it made her skin flush.
As much as she loved Kevin, Iris knew her best. Her likes and dislikes, the places to touch her that made her body sing, she knew everything.
It wasn’t so surprising. She and Iris had known each other forever. They’d been born together, raised together, and become kitsune together. They had comforted each other when they were hurt, supported each other when something went wrong. When Iris became curious about sex, Lilian had volunteered herself for experimentation. In her mind, it was only natural. Until Kevin had come along, Iris was the person that she’d relied on.
Lilian had always admired how Iris never put up with their relative’s badmouthing, how she was more than willing to pick fights with others, how she could speak her mind without reserve. Until Kevin had come along and set her straight, Lilian had never been like that.
Class had started several minutes ago. It was math. Ms. Vis was lecturing them on basic calculus.
Lilian looked up from where she was taking notes and studied her mate. Kevin sat in front of her, diligently jotting down in his notebook. She looked to her left, and then frowned when she noticed that Lindsay was doing nothing. Her friend was just staring blankly at the wall.
Is something up?
Leaning over, she carefully tapped on her friend’s shoulder. Lindsay blinked once, looked at her, then blinked again. Her lips twisted into a facsimile of a smile.
“Something up, Lilian?”
“Are you feeling okay? You look kinda tired.”
Lindsay tilted her head quizzically. “Tired?”
“Yeah, you’ve been staring at the wall since class started.” Lilian’s worry for her friend deepened when Lindsay simply continued blinking at her. “Actually, you’ve been really out of it since we met up this morning. Is everything all right?”
“Of course. Everything’s great. Why wouldn’t it be?”
Something was definitely up. Lindsay was giving her a full-blown, ear-to-ear smile, but it was different from her normal smiles. Lindsay’s smiles were normally bright and optimistic. This one looked like it was trying too hard to be that, but it wasn’t quite hitting the mark.
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