A Fox's Revenge

by Brandon Varnell

  “Hmm, this is most unusual,” Ivy’s mother said. “I have never heard of a man who is unwilling to engage a female in intercourse.” The glasses were pushed up again. They flashed. Again. “However, for the sake of science, we must press on, even if the partner is unwilling.”

  Ivy followed in her mother’s footsteps, pushing her glasses up the bridge of her nose. Unlike her mother, she grabbed her glasses from the side to adjust them. They still flashed just as ominously, however, letting Kevin know that he was screwed.

  “Right. For science.”

  Ivy resumed her activities, and as she slid her white cotton panties down her legs, Kevin discovered that her hair was naturally silver. He might have felt curious, were he not two seconds away from being raped.

  Oh, Lord! This is it! Today’s the day I become a man! His mind wailed uselessly. But I don’t want to become a man! Not to these people! God! Odin! Zeus! Allah! Kami! If you’re going to make me a man today, then could you at least make my partner Lilian?!

  He was beginning to seriously regret his no-sex policy.

  Ivy placed her hands on his chest and raised her hips. Kevin tried to get out from underneath her, but those straps were tied on way too tightly. He could barely move, much less get out from underneath someone.

  I need a miracle.

  Kevin prayed with all his might for someone to help him out of this predicament.

  Fortunately, it seemed as if the gods had heard his prayer.

  “Water Art: The Moon Goddess’s Surging Waterfall.”

  Just before Ivy could actually go through with the deed, what appeared to be several thousand gallons of water smashed into her. The woman was blasted off him with the force of a cannon. She went soaring away and crashed into a wall, which crumbled around her the moment she struck it.

  “W-what the—” The fox-woman seemed shocked. “That technique is—”

  “Celestial Art: Celestial Cannon.”

  A beam of pure light lanced out from the entrance and struck the woman full on. She, too, went soaring backwards, crashing into a wall that cracked and dented under the force of her body slamming into it. She then slid down the wall and fell onto her butt, completely unconscious.

  “Beloved!

  Kevin felt a surge of joy. Not only was he saved, but he’d been saved by the only two people he could trust in this mad house. He turned his head to see Lilian rushing up to him, her smile joyous. She came up to the bed…

  … and then she stopped.

  Her eyes widened. She looked at him up and down, from head to toe, and then stopped at about his middle. It took him a second, but Kevin eventually realized what had caught her attention.

  “Uh, Lilian?” Kevin became worried when he saw her staring at his uncovered instrument of DOOM. She wasn’t saying anything. She was just staring. “Um, Lily?”

  Several seconds later, Kevin became covered in blood as Lilian was launched backwards by her own nosebleed. She flew across the room, out into the hall, and crashed into the wall, where she proceeded to slowly slide down. She didn’t get back up.

  Kevin slowly turned his head toward Kotohime. The left sleeve of her kimono was already raised and her eyes held a mischievous twinkle that he knew all too well. She was definitely smiling behind that kimono.

  “Not. A. Word,” he muttered bitterly, trying, and failing, to not blush.

  ***

  After finding his clothes, getting dressed, and waking up Lilian from her nosebleed-induced coma, Kevin ran out of the crazy scientist duo’s dwelling like a child with the Pedobear chasing after him. He, Lilian, and Kotohime eventually managed to get lost within the clan grounds. He had absolutely no clue where they were.

  He lay on the grass, staring up at the canopy overhead. Leaves created strange shapes out of the shadows. Several birds chirped, the sound of their song echoing through the small grove.

  Lilian lay next to him, snuggling against his side. He could feel her curves pressing into him, feel her breasts pushing against his chest. He had wrapped a single arm around her, hand idly stroking her shoulder, which she seemed to enjoy.

  “I’m sorry to say this, Lilian, but your family is crazy.”

  “You think so?” Lilian murmured.

  “I know so.”

  “Mm, yeah, I guess you’re right. They’ve always been a little weird.”

  “Of course, considering how weird you are, I don’t suppose that’s saying much—owch!” Kevin glared down at her. “You bit me.”

  “You were being mean.” Lilian’s mischievous green eyes glinted as she looked at him.

  “Hm.” Kevin let his head fall back on the ground. “Yeah, I guess I was. Sorry about that.”

  “It’s okay.” Lilian kissed the place on his shoulder that she bit. “I still love you.”

  Kevin felt his lips quirk into a tiny grin. “Good to know.”

  Silence descended upon them. The quietness of the small copse was broken by the babbling of a brook. Kevin thought he heard a bullfrog, though he might have been mistaken. He didn’t think bullfrogs lived in Greece, but there might have been some other species indigenous to this country that sounded like one. It would be interesting to go exploring to find out what wildlife lived here.

  “So those two were Holly and her daughter Ivy,” he said after a moment. “I remember you telling me about them a while back.”

  “I remember, that was back when you still liked Lindsay.” Lilian cuddled closer and buried her nose in the crook of his neck. “Ivy is one of the only members of our family aside from myself who knows how to cook. I’m not sure where she picked up the skill, since her mother is definitely not the cooking type, but I guess she has a natural talent for it or something.”

  “You learn something new every day.”

  Kevin closed his eyes. Lilian’s warm body lulled him more surely than any lullaby. He felt the temptation to just let himself drift off into slumber.

  “Oro? What’s this?” a strange voice asked. Kevin’s eyes snapped open. Right in front of him, filling his vision, were two ruby red eyes staring at him.

  “Uh.” Kevin tried not the scream. “Hi?”

  “Hello,” the woman replied with good cheer and a kind smile. “My, but this is a surprise. Hm, hm. You’re a human, aren’t you? I thought we’d stopped letting humans onto the island. How did you get here?”

  “Uh, I came here with Lilian.”

  “Lil—oh!” The eyes widened as they looked down. “It is Lilian!” The eyes went back to him. “I was so surprised to see an unfamiliar face that I completely missed Lilian lying with you. Hm, hm. You two look awfully comfortable. Is there something going on between you?”

  “I’m her, uh, her mate.”

  “Really? Mukyu, really?”

  The eyes were practically shoved into his face. She was so close, he could feel her nose touching his. Kevin was beginning to get freaked out.

  “Uh, yes?”

  “Oh, isn’t that lovely?” He breathed a sigh of relief when the eyes backed up. “I had always wondered if Lilian would find herself a mate. It’s most reassuring to know that she’s finally found someone to love. Maybe now Momma will stop trying to mate her off, and she can come live with us again.”

  Realizing that he wouldn’t be falling asleep any time soon, Kevin sat up—tried to sit up. Lilian was sleeping against him, he realized, and she must have been sleeping deeply indeed to not wake up with all this noise.

  After a moment’s thought, Kevin slowly scooted back until he was resting against a tree. Then he lifted the still-sleeping Lilian and moved her until she was resting between his legs, her back against his chest, and his head atop of hers. He encircled his arms around her waist. Lilian, as if sensing the new position, snuggled against him.

  Now that he wasn’t lying down, he finally got a good look at the woman who’d discovered them. She was definitely a member of the Pnév̱ma Clan. He could tell by her silvery hair and red eyes, which seemed to be a trait shared by most mem
bers of their family except Camellia, Lilian, and Iris. Her soft skin and the toga she wore made him think of Artemis, the legendary Goddess of the Moon and leader of the Huntresses. She had five silver fox tails.

  Even though it was getting pretty redundant by this point, Kevin noticed that she was also quite gorgeous.

  “You’re one of the matriarch’s daughters, right?” he asked while idly playing with one of Lilian’s hands.

  “Oro, that’s right.” The woman’s smile had a very soothing quality to it. “I’m Marigold. It’s very nice to meet you, um…”

  “Kevin.”

  “Kevin,” she tested the word, then nodded in approval. “Hm, hm. That’s a very good name, mukyu.”

  Kevin knew that if he were to wipe at his forehead, he would come away with a large glob of sweat. What the heck did “mukyu” mean? What kind of catchphrase was that?

  “You have some, uh, very interesting catchphrases.” The woman opened her mouth. “And please don’t say it’s a part of your character concept. Lilian already used that joke in Volume One.” He paused, his face scrunching up. “Volume One?

  Marigold’s childish huff reminded him of Camellia. “Fine.”

  “Thank you.”

  Marigold regarded him for several seconds. He didn’t know what she was looking for, but she nodded after a moment, and then popped a squat barely a foot from where he sat. It was at this moment, just as Marigold sat down, that Lilian chose to wake up.

  She let out a loud yawn, her hands stretching above her head. She almost hit Kevin in the face. Fortunately, he had some quick reflexes and knew her habits. Thus he avoided having her palm in his jaw.

  “Lilian, good to see you're awake.”

  “Morning, Beloved. I—ah! Marigold!”

  “Oro. Hello, Lilian,” Marigold said with a cheerful smile.

  “When did you get here?”

  “I’ve been here for a few minutes now. You were just asleep.”

  Lilian looked up at Kevin. “Why didn’t you wake me?”

  “Because you look adorable when you sleep, and I didn’t have the heart to wake you.”

  “Muu, I suppose that’s a good enough reason, but you owe me some kisses later.”

  “Okay,” Kevin agreed. There were worse things that he could think of doing than kissing his girlfriend.

  “Oro!” Marigold clapped her hands together. “You two get along so well.”

  “Of course.” Lilian puffed her chest out like a peacock strutting their stuff. “Kevin is my mate. It’s only natural that he and I would get along together.”

  “So lovely.” Marigold crossed her legs, placed her elbows on her knees, and rested her cheeks on her hands. “Would you mind telling me how you two got together? I would love to hear a good romance story, mukyu.”

  “Sure.” Lilian’s bright smile gained another level of luster.

  Lilian seems to get along with this woman. I guess not every member of her family is estranged to her.

  Lilian soon began to tell the story of how she and Kevin hooked up—with many embellishments and twice the ecchi, which surprised Kevin because he didn’t think their life could sound more erotic than it truly had been. Some of the things she said made even him blush. Marigold, whose face was an atomic red as she listened, looked like she might pass out. At the same time, she had leaned in as though hanging off Lilian’s every word.

  Kevin didn’t say anything to dispute her. Lilian was clearly reveling in telling someone how they got together, and he was loath to say something that might take away the smile that had blossomed on her face.

  He rested his chin on Lilian’s shoulder and looked at her out of his peripheral vision. His heart grew warm as he watched her talk animatedly to her five-tailed aunt.

  She truly has the most wondrous smile I’ve ever seen.

  It was a smile that he would do anything to protect.

  CHAPTER 8

  THERE’S SOMETHING SERIOUSLY WRONG WITH THIS FAMILY

  “So… this is it? You’re really leaving?”

  Christine grimaced at Lindsay’s crestfallen expression. It was 8:25 a.m., the morning after she’d called Orin and asked for his help. She’d had to call Lindsay and ask if her mom could drop her off at the airport. Lindsay had gone with her. Her friend’s mother was also at the airport. She was currently standing behind a large column, drooling over a young man several yards away.

  I wish that woman wasn’t Lindsay’s mom.

  They were in the airport terminal for her flight, which would begin boarding soon. She could see the airplane through the glass window. Several people were disembarking from it, exiting through the jet bridge.

  “I-it’s not that I want to leave or anything,” Christine tried to reason with Lindsay. “This is something that I have to do.”

  “But… but why?”

  “Because I’m… because I’m weak.” Christine swallowed at the admission. It was always hard to admit to one’s own weakness, and she knew that she had a harder time of it than most. “When that woman attacked us, I barely did anything. Iris and Lilian did most of the heavy lifting, and Kevin is the one who saved us in the end. And because of me, Iris was… she was…”

  Christine hated thinking about what happened to Iris, not only because it showed how much she truly cared for the perverted fox, but also because it showed her how useless she was.

  She clenched her hands into fists. “If I’d just been stronger, if I could use my powers better, then Iris wouldn’t have been injured because of me. I need to get stronger, and my benefactor, Orin, he can help train me. He can make me stronger.”

  Lindsay’s face contorted into something that was too powerful to be called sadness. That word didn’t do it justice. Tears leaked from her eyes, falling down her cheeks. Her arms were shaking from the overwhelming emotions that must have been raging through her.

  “Everyone’s going away,” she whispered. “Iris, Lilian, and Kevin have all left, and I don’t know when they’ll be back. They didn’t even say goodbye, and now you’re leaving too. I don’t want you to leave.”

  “Lindsay…”

  “I know that you’re a yōkai or whatever, and I get that some major battle took place, and that you feel weak because of it. You and Lilian and Iris and even Kevin live in a different world than me. I understand that, but I still don’t like it. How can I when it’s taking all of my friends away from me?”

  Christine felt her desire to leave and grow strong falter. Her friend was truly distraught. Could she really leave Lindsay like this? She closed her eyes. Yes, she could. It hurt, but…

  “Look, I understand how you feel,” Christine said. “But I need to do this. Every time we got into trouble, the others were always the ones to deal with it. Despite being a yōkai, I could never do anything. I…” She felt her face turn blue from embarrassment, but she quickly carried on. “I don’t want the boy that I lo—my friends to fight these battles without backup. That’s why I have to do this.”

  More than anything, Christine didn’t want Kevin to fight without her help. He might have rejected her feelings, but that didn’t change how she felt for him, even if she tried to pretend that she was okay with them just being friends.

  “I get that,” Lindsay murmured softly. “I understand that you want to protect your friends instead of being the one who’s protected. I feel that way a lot whenever I hear about the things that are happening to Kevin, Lilian, and Iris. But, you clearly don’t understand how I feel.”

  Okay, now that actually kind of irritated her. Christine was trying to be understanding toward her friend, but Lindsay was being really stubborn, and what the hell did she mean by that? She didn’t understand how Lindsay felt? Christine understood plenty.

  “Oh, yeah?” Christine gave her friend a minor variation of the stink eye. “Then why don’t you enlighten me? What am I not understanding?”

  “You’re not understanding this.”

  Christine hadn’t been sure what to expect this
morning. A tearful goodbye? A hope to see you soon? She didn’t know as she’d never really done goodbyes before, though she imagined such affairs were often sad.

  What she didn’t expect was for her friend to kiss her.

  She blinked several times as Lindsay’s face closed the distance. The other girl’s eyes were closed. Christine needed several seconds to register the warm feeling of her friend’s lips pressed onto hers. She needed several more seconds to register what it meant. By the time she’d processed what was happening, it was already over.

  Cue blush.

  “W-w-w-w-what the fuck do you think you’re doing?!” Christine’s face felt like a giant blueberry popsicle as humiliation and anger warred within her. She pointed a quivering finger at Lindsay, who looked just as shocked and embarrassed as she felt. “You k-k-k-k-kissed me!”

  Lindsay froze at the accusation, then straightened, her eyes glinting with determination.

  “That’s right. I did. And you know what? I’m going to kiss you again.”

  “Buwa?”

  That was the only thing Christine was allowed to say.

  Because Lindsay kissed her again.

  ***

  It was later in the day, and Kevin had nothing to do. Daphne had found Lilian and dragged the girl off, kicking and screaming, once again, which meant he no longer had his mate with him. Marigold had also wandered off somewhere. She had said something about flowers and left. That meant it was just him and Kotohime.

  “I’m bored,” he said.

  “Ufufufu, bored already? Weren’t you the one who kept insisting that this place was interesting?” asked Kotohime.

  “Well, yeah, but that was when Lilian was with me. Now there’s nothing to do except read manga.” He paused. “Which I could do, but that would kinda defeat the purpose of exploring a new place.”

  “Ufufufu, if you say so.”

  Kevin sighed as he kept walking aimlessly. It was while he wandered to nowhere in particular that a strange sound caught his attention. Multiple strange sounds. He cocked his head and listened to the noises, a series of grunts, screams, and something being smacked really hard. Curious, he followed the sounds to their source.