***
Kevin felt horrible.
In the past ten months, he had gone through a lot, more than most, he would say. He’d learned about things most humans would never have believed existed, fought against creatures whose existence surpassed him, and learned hard lessons that no teenager should have been forced to learn. The accumulation of life experiences had forged a once shy and insecure boy into someone Kevin could feel proud of.
None of that mattered now.
He stared out the window of his bedroom, the bedroom he had shared with Lilian, the bedroom that Lilian should have been residing in as well. She wasn’t there now. The grounds outside looked the same as always, green and lush and full of vibrant colors. The flowers and trees swayed with life in the gentle breeze that blew across the grounds.
They looked lifeless and dull to him. Monochrome.
A hand came to rest on his shoulder. It was soft and delicate, feminine, despite the katana it wielded with deadly grace. It belonged to Kotohime, the woman who’d not left his side since he woke up.
“It is not your fault, you know.” Kotohime’s lilting, gentle voice would have normally soothed him. Not today. “If anyone is to blame for Lilian-sama being kidnapped, then it is me for not killing Li before running off to battle a kitsune with more power than myself. Had I done that, Lilian-sama would still be here.”
Kevin said nothing. He merely shook his head. It was not her fault that Lilian had been kidnapped. Had he been more attentive, that man would have never snuck up on him. Had he been more prepared, then maybe he could have reacted in time. Had he not been so stupid, he would have never dropped his guard after defeating Fan. The blame laid solely with him.
He didn’t know if Kotohime felt his emotions, or if she wanted the same comfort that he did, but she pulled him back until the back of his head rested against her chest. The two soft mountains that made up her breasts were more comfortable than any pillow. As Kotohime’s slender arms engulfed him, Kevin allowed himself the luxury of being comforted by her, even though doing so made him feel guilty.
Footsteps alerted him to a presence approaching before the door opened. Kotohime released him from her hug and stepped away, though one hand remained on his shoulder.
“I am pleased to see that you are finally awake,” a voice said.
He turned around alongside Kotohime. The matriarch stood in the doorway. She looked immaculate, as always. Even her expression appeared untroubled, more amused than anything.
That expression really pissed him off. Her granddaughter had been kidnapped, and she didn’t even seem to care.
“You took quite the beating, you know,” Delphine continued when it became obvious that he would not answer her. “According to Jasmine, who discovered you, someone had punched you straight through a tree. Your spine was all but broken. Had it not been for Kotohime here, I dare say you would have been crippled for life.”
Kevin’s hand went up to grasp the one on his shoulder. In response, Kotohime tightened her grip in warm reassurance.
“I know how you are feeling right now.” Delphine’s suddenly compassionate gaze made Kevin almost forget that he felt wary of this woman. “It is difficult to lose someone you love. However, are you sure you should be giving in to despair right now? Can you afford to do that when there is still a chance to save Lilian?”
Kevin frowned. A chance to save Lilian?
“Pnév̱ma-denka—”
Kotohime was silenced by a sharp glance from the matriarch.
“What do you mean?” Kevin asked, the first words he’d spoken since waking up.
The smile Delphine gave him was that of someone relinquishing a secret.
“The answer is simple; Lilian isn’t dead.” Kevin’s eyes widened. “So long as someone is alive, they can be rescued—provided you are willing to brave the dangers such an undertaking entails.”
Kevin felt like smacking himself. If Lilian was alive, then she could be rescued. If she was out there, then he could find her. He’d been so caught up in feeling sorry for himself and guilty over not protecting Lilian that he’d forgotten this simple fact.
“I believe I shall leave you alone for now.” Delphine’s voice snapped him out of his thoughts. “I merely came to check up on you. While Lilian’s currently away, you are still her mate, and I would hate it if something happened to you. What you do with the information that I have given is up to you. Should you require any assistance, whether that is in going home or information on where Lilian is likely being held captive, then please do not hesitate to ask.”
Delphine left, the door closing behind her.
Kevin turned back to look out the window, his thoughts solidifying into a single point.
“I’m going after her,” he told Kotohime.
“I suspected as much.” Kotohime’s warm hand on his shoulder comforted him. “I shall help you in whatever I can, Kevin-sama.”
Kevin knew that Kotohime was doing this more for Lilian than him, but he was grateful all the same. No, perhaps he was grateful because he knew she was supporting him for Lilian.
“I know. Thank you, Kotohime.”
The smile that Kotohime graced him with was not her usual placid and calm smile, but one filled with warmth and assurances. He imagined an older sister might smile at her younger brother like that.
“Of course. You should know that this Kotohime will do everything she can to help Kevin-sama and Lilian-sama have their happily ever after.”
The two shared a smile. Kevin wondered just when he and Kotohime had created this bond of theirs. He supposed it had happened the moment he chose to become Lilian’s mate.
The door opened just then. Kevin at first thought Delphine had returned, or perhaps she had never left and merely waited outside for him to make his decision. That seemed like something she would do.
It was not Delphine who appeared.
The person who stood in the doorway was Iris.
She was awake.
And she was giving Kevin a look of pure, unbridled determination. It was an expression that he had never seen on her before.
“Hey, Stud.” Her voice was raspy from disuse. “What’s this I hear about my sister being kidnapped?”
AFTERWORD
Here are we at the end of A Fox's Revenge. This particular story was probably the most difficult one for me to write—for a number of reasons. However, I believe the biggest reason would definitely have to be the cultural shock.
Let me discuss kitsune in this afterword.
Kitsune are, to put it bluntly, immoral creatures who are so different from humans that a lot of what they do seems morally corrupt to us. Things that we as humans find abhorrent, kitsune find perfectly acceptable. In fact, there is very little that kitsune do not find acceptable from a moral standpoint. Individual morals aside, you would be hard-pressed to find a kitsune who has an issue with many of the moral quandaries that we have. Even mild-mannered and kind kitsune like Kotohime, Lilian, and Kirihime do not have a problem with moral dilemmas that a human would be up in arms over.
That is what I wanted to show in this volume. The difference in morality between kitsune and humans.
Thus far, I have only ever shown kitsune when they are living in the human world. In the human world, kitsune have to conform, at least to a certain degree, to the laws and ideals that humans set, lest they run the risk of alerting humans to their existence. To that end, they are forced to “behave themselves” in a way that many kitsune find restricting.
You've seen a little of how kitsune act with Iris. Kotohime and Kirihime have experience with living in the human world, so they conformed more easily. While Lilian had some issues at first, she's very straightforward and accommodating for Kevin's sake. Camellia might have had troubles if she wasn't such a cinnamon roll, but she is, so there. Iris is the only kitsune who doesn't have experience with humans and wasn't willing to conform for the longest time. Even at the beginning of A Fox's Revenge, you can see that she hasn'
t completely conformed to human society.
A Fox's Revenge shows how kitsune act in their natural habitat, when they don't have to worry about humans and their silly morals, when they are free to do whatever they want.
Of course, it's not as if kitsune act completely different from us. Kitsune mimic humans to an astounding degree. They look like humans, act similar to humans, but they are not human. I struggled a great deal when trying to figure out how I could show the difference between humans and kitsune when they act so similar.
One of the greatest examples that I used to display the difference between humans and kitsune is sex, and I used sex because the US is very prude about it. It's something that the United States both shuns and glorifies in equal measure.
In kitsune culture, sex is just sex. You can use it to reproduce, or you can use it for pleasure. While this is somewhat similar to humanity, the amount of acceptance toward various sexual acts is far greater in kitsune culture than it is in human culture. A lot of the things that a kitsune would find acceptable about sexual relationships are things that I personally cannot accept as right. A lot of the stuff that happened in this volume is stuff that I believe is morally corrupt and appalling: Ivy and her mother when they were trying to, uh, practice reproduction with an unwilling Kevin, Jasmine and her slave fetish, Delphine and the harems she's formed, and the incestuous relationship between Aster and Azalea. Roleplay aside, while none of this is considered wrong in the kitsune world, quite a bit of it is something that I believe most humans would find morally reprehensible.
Displaying these sort of differences are difficult, especially because I have no real reference outside of anime, and while anime can be downright freaky at times, especially in the ecchi/hentai department, it does not contain enough depth that I can create an entirely new culture out of it. I felt like I was writing blind most of the time when I wrote this volume!
Anyway, I feel like I have lectured you all enough. I hope this little afterward was informative. I would like to thank all of you for reading this story. I hope you had as much fun reading it as I had writing it, and I further hope that you will all read the next book in the American Kitsune series when it comes out.
Until next time!
Have you been turned on to Brandon Varnell's light novels yet?
Wait. That sounded kind of wrong.
AMERICAN KITSUNE
Volumes 1-6: A Fox's Love, A Fox's Tail, A Fox's Maid, A Fox's Family, A Fox's Vacation, A Fox's Mate
THE EXECUTIONER SERIES
Volume 1: Succubus
Volume 2: Escape
ARCADIA'S IGNOBLE KNIGHT
Vol. 1-2: The Sorceress of Ashtown Part 1, The Sorceress of Ashtown Part 2
A MOST UNLIKELY HERO
Volumes 1 & 2
Follow me at www.varnell-brandon.com!
Or:
@AmericanKitsune
@BrandonBVarnell
Brandon Varnell
Brandon Varnell
brandonbvarnell
bvarnell1101.tumblr.com
A Fox's Revenge (American Kitsune Book 7) Page 40