“I just… I was wondering if there was anything you wanted to tell me.”
“Can’t say that there is.” Her son yawned again. “Why? Is there something you wanted to talk to me about?”
Karen bit her lip. What should she do? Should she tell her son that she knew about his battle with the kitsune? Should she reveal that she knew about the existence of yōkai? Did she really want that knowledge, which she had kept hidden from him for years, getting out? Did Kevin even need to know?
He was safe. Whatever had happened to him, he was safe and clearly not worried. Perhaps… perhaps it would just be better to let sleeping dogs lie.
“Oh, no. Nothing in particular,” Karen said. “I just wanted to call and see how you were doing. You know how we mothers worry for our children.”
***
“You know how we mothers worry for our children.”
Kevin listened to his mom on the other end, wondering about the real reason she had called him. Worried for her child? Was that really the best excuse she could come up with? In all the time that he’d been living on his own, his mother had only ever called him on three occasions, and all of them were to tell him that she would be arriving home late from whichever country she was currently visiting.
“Really? You don’t strike me as the worrying type.”
His mother huffed. “Now that’s just rude. You know that I worry for you all the time. I just don’t show it because I have confidence in your ability to take care of yourself.”
“I guess.”
“Anyway, now that I know everything is okay, I’ll talk to you later. Oh! I should be coming home in about a week or so. I was wondering if you, Lilian, and Kotohime would like to go traveling for summer vacation? Maybe we could visit Germany or something.”
“Uh…”
Well, crap. This was not good. What should he say now? “Sorry, Mom, but I’m not actually in the country. In fact, I’m currently staying with my mate’s family in Greece. Please don’t come looking for me.” He couldn’t see that going over too well.
“Um, I’ll have to get back to you on that.”
“Hmm, well, okay. But let me know where you’d like to visit soon. It takes a lot of time to book reservations, and you know how I like getting a good hotel room to stay in. Although, I suppose now we’ll need two, huh?”
More like four, but he wasn’t going to tell his mom that.
“Right. So, uh, goodnight, Mom.”
“Night, Kevin—wait. Isn’t it supposed to be noon over there?”
“What’s that? Kkrrrch! I can’t hear you, Mom! I think you’re breaking up. Krrrcch!”
“Are you making strange noises to try and make it sound like the signal is being lost?”
“… No. Anyway, goodbye, Mom.”
“W-wait! Kevin—”
Kevin hung up with a sigh. That was too close. He’d almost given away the knowledge that he was no longer in Arizona, or even the United States, for that matter. The last thing he needed was for his mom to discover that he’d left the country and start snooping around. His mom was a journalist; there was no telling what she would find out.
He set the phone back on the small table in his and Lilian’s room, then looked over at the redhead whose bed he shared.
Lilian was asleep. She’d woken up briefly when his phone started ringing, but that was only to tell him to either answer his phone or have it destroyed Gomu Gomu style, which he took to mean she’d use extension to crush his phone—and probably the table.
Shaking his head, Kevin slowly walked back toward the bed—
Kevin blinked rapidly several times as, before he could take another step, something covered his head and he inhaled some kind of strange, sickly scent. His body involuntarily relaxed. His mind went hazy. His vision went dark.
Kevin knew no more.
***
Kevin awoke to the sound of voices. They were distant at first, muffled, as if he were underwater, but they quickly became sharper.
“Jasmine-denka, I have brought the young man, just as you requested.”
“Thank you, Ayane. Were you seen?”
He tried to move, but neither his arms nor his legs would budge. He eventually realized that his arms were tied behind his back and his legs were similarly bound. Whoever had done the tying also knew their knots. He couldn’t even move his wrists to loosen them.
“I am sure that Kotohime noticed my presence. She is most observant. However, no one else saw me, and she will not interfere unless Kevin Swift is placed in danger.”
“Good. Now, can you please remove that bag from his head.”
“Of course, Jasmine-denka.”
The bag was lifted from his head, and Kevin was greeted by a decently lit room. He stared up at what he could only guess was a ceiling for several seconds, which made him realize that he was lying on the floor. A glance around revealed a modestly sized, if barren, room. There wasn’t much in the way of decor; a bookshelf sat on one side, a desk with several scrolls and calligraphy brushes sat in another. There was a divan with an almost naked little girl sitting on it, and a nightstand stood by… the… bed…?
… Wait. What?
Kevin turned his head back to the little girl and gawked. He recognized her from just this morning. It was Jasmine, the youngest of Delphine’s daughters. She sat on the divan, her tiny feet placed firmly on the ground, hands resting in her lap. She wore only a towel, and her hair was dripping wet. Pearlescent drops of water ran down her bare shoulders and elegant neck.
“Jasmine?”
“Good evening, Kevin Swift.”
“What am I doing here?”
“That should be obvious,” she said in a tone that made him feel like he’d asked something stupid.
He sent her the driest look he could muster under the circumstance. “Humor me.”
“Very well.” Jasmine acquiesced easily enough. “You are here because I had my shadow bring you here.”
“Shadow?” Kevin looked around, his eyes flickering back and forth. He couldn’t see anything, however, making him wonder if she was talking about a person, or if she was being literal.
“Yes, Ayane is my shadow and protector. She has protected me ever since I gained my second tail.”
“She sounds like a kunoichi or something.”
“That is it exactly. Ayane grew up in a village that trained kunoichi. She was one of their top ranked assassins until being defeated by Mother. Ayane asked to be killed, but Mother instead told her to serve the Pnév̱ma Clan. She has been a faithful retainer of our clan ever since then.”
“Ah.” That was actually a pretty interesting story. Maybe it was just because he had watched too much Shinobi Natsumo, but he’d always been interested in ninja, and kunoichi specifically. “Cool, cool. Now, do you think you could untie me? As much as I love lying on the cold floor, unable to move, I’m beginning to lose circulation in my wrists and calves.”
The girl studied him with her expressionless look, then nodded. “That is a reasonable request. Ayane, please remove his bindings.”
Kevin felt his bindings fall away. He rubbed his wrists in an attempt to get the blood flowing back into them. His legs also seemed fine. Once he was sure everything was in good working order, he stood up.
“That’s a lot better. Thank you.”
“You are most welcome.”
Kevin stared at the girl who stared right back. He felt kind of bad for thinking it, but this girl really freaked him out. Despite having essentially had him kidnapped and brought before her, her facial expression hadn’t changed one bit. It remained as bland now as it had when they first met.
“Right, so, uh, perhaps you could tell me why I’m here now?”
“Of course. I had you brought here because you fascinate me.”
“Uh…” Kevin didn’t know if he should feel flattered or freaked out. “Perhaps you could elaborate?”
“I suppose that would be the appropriate thing to do.” Jasmine nodde
d. “As the first human that I have ever met, you interest me a great deal. I am also intrigued by your ability to shrug off my enchantment like it was nothing. Furthermore, you are a man, and from what I can tell with my inexperienced eye, a very handsome one. To put it in simpler terms, I want you—”
Kevin knew that most men would probably be feeling very flattered right about now. Indeed, having a female praise him would have normally made him feel flattered, too—and embarrassed, but mostly flattered. However, three things kept him from feeling flattered. One: this girl had kidnapped him. Two: he already had a mate and didn’t need another one. And three: the person claiming that she wanted him looked like a thirteen-year-old girl.
“Uh, look, Jasmine, that’s, well, it’s really flattering to know that you want me to be your mate and everything, but I already have a mate, so…”
“Mate?” Jasmine blinked. “I did not have you brought here so that I may ask you to be my mate. You spoke before I could finish.”
“Oh?” So she didn’t want to be his mate? If that was the case, then he guessed it was okay. After all, she couldn’t ask for something more awkward than that. “So, what did you want from me, then?”
“I want you to be my master.”
“Heh?”
Okay, so maybe she could ask him something more embarrassing. Just who the heck said something like that? And with such a straight face!
“Um, when you say master, do you mean…”
“I mean that you shall be my master, and I shall be your humble and most devoted slave from this day onward.”
“G-gu!”
Kevin was beginning to regret asking.
“L-look…” Kevin backed away from the little girl who now officially freaked him out. “I’m not exactly sure why you want someone like me to be your, uh, master, but I’m going to tell you right now that I don’t want a slave.”
“I see.” Though her facial expression didn’t change, he had the distinct impression that she was annoyed. “It seems you need some convincing. Very well, I shall not allow you to leave until you agree to become my master.”
Kevin twitched. “If I was your master, then shouldn’t you be listening to me?”
“You have not accepted the terms of the contract yet. Until you do, then you shall not be my master.”
“Terms of the—all right, listen here, Saber—I-I mean, Jasmine. I don’t know who you think you are, but I am not going to accept any contract. I don’t want a slave!” Kevin held a hand to his face. “And what’s up with me today? Who the hell is Saber?”
While her expression remained dispassionate and colder than a block of ice, Jasmine’s carmine eyes held a gleam within them that Kevin did not like one bit.
“It seems I have underestimated you, Master.”
“W-what? Why the heck are you calling me ‘Master’?! I haven’t even accepted your contract!”
“I have decided that we can discuss the terms of our contract later. For now, we should begin discussing the terms of our relationship.”
“What relationship?!”
“If there is one thing that you must know about me, Master, it is that I am a very traditional vixen. While I do not mind missionary position, I would much prefer to be bent over the table and taken from behind.”
“Urk!”
Kevin didn’t know what was worse: That he was listening to someone with the appearance of a thirteen-year-old girl talk like this, or that someone who looked like a thirteen-year-old girl was talking like this in the first place. It might have even been because he was somehow not surprised to find himself being confronted by someone who looked like a thirteen-year-old girl talking about being taken from behind.
I hate my life.
“Also, while I do not know if this will please you, Master, I feel that it is my duty to inform you that I am not afraid to swallow.”
“Gurk!”
Within his mind, Kevin felt that little piece of sanity, which he’d managed to retain since Lilian came into his life, wither and die. What’s worse was that he didn’t even care anymore.
My life is so screwed up.
***
Kevin released a loud yawn as he and Lilian walked through the main building of the Pnév̱ma Clan ancestral home. The pitter patter of their shoes echoed along the hall of marble. Several intricate carvings reminiscent of Greek tributes to the gods were embedded into the walls. Like all decorations in this grand and extravagant place, these murals depicted the Kyūbi, the legendary nine-tailed fox from Japanese mythology—and Lilian’s grandmother, hard as that was to believe.
“Are you tired, Beloved?” Lilian asked in concern. “You didn’t come back to bed for a long time after your mom called.”
He still didn’t know how Lilian knew the exact moment he’d hopped into bed with her despite having been asleep. It was like some kind of sixth sense that the girl had. She’d once jokingly referred to it as her “Kevin Senses,” though he had a feeling that she’d been serious when she said that.
“I’m fine,” Kevin assured her, unwilling to mention his, um, meeting with Jasmine. “I’ll just need to go to sleep a little earlier today.”
Lilian studied him for a moment. Then she shrugged. “That’s fine. It’s not like there’s much to do around here anyway, and I don’t mind sleeping with you.”
Kevin’s smile contained amusement. “I didn’t think you would.”
After breakfast that morning, he had asked Lilian to take him on a tour of the grounds. This place was much larger than he’d initially been led to believe, and he wanted to know his way around. He also didn’t want an incident like the one yesterday with Holly and Ivy—or the two incidents with Jasmine—to happen again.
“You’ve already seen the reception hall,” Lilian said, humming thoughtfully. “I guess that means I’ll be showing you the dining hall and the formalized training hall. Maybe I can also show you Granny’s bathhouse.”
Kevin didn’t know if he was interested in seeing “Granny’s Bathhouse.” Maybe it was just because of the words she used, but he had no intention of seeing anything that was synonymous with the word “granny.” Just no.
“Are those the only rooms in this place?” he asked.
“More or less,” Lilian answered as she led him by the hand. “There are only two other rooms aside from those three I just mentioned: Granny’s bedroom and the room that contains the Shrine Gate.”
He definitely didn’t want to see “Granny’s Bedroom,” but the Shrine Gate sounded interesting.
The training hall wasn’t much to look at. It really just looked like a large room that was a combination of library and training room. There weren’t any decorations, but he did see a sitting area over by the bookshelves, which were several times larger than him. They went all the way to the ceiling that he judged to be at least two stories in height.
“Most of these books are just boring history books,” Lilian told Kevin as he pulled one from a shelf. It was titled Delia Pnév̱ma. “A lot of them tell about the history of our clan, which spans back several thousand years or so—about three thousand, I think.”
“You think?” Kevin put the book back and raised an eyebrow at his mate.
Lilian blushed. “I never really listened to Daphne when she was trying to teach me,” she admitted. “Anyway, there are a few that talk about spirit techniques and how they’re used, and I think there are a few on humans and other yōkai, but that’s about it.”
They soon left the training room and headed for the dining hall. Unlike the previous room, this one appeared every bit as ostentatious and pomp as the rest of the estate. The dark marble floor presented a stark contrast to the white walls. The ceiling was painted with intricate artwork that made Kevin think of the Sistine Chapel, only with a kitsune theme. Even the table was a study in posh and circumstance, with intricate designs that sparkled in the light as if freshly polished.
“You know, I’ve noticed that it’s really empty around here,” Kevin said as
they left the dining room. “I kind of expected there to be more people, but aside from your sisters and one or two male kitsune, I haven’t seen anyone else.”
“We’re not a very large clan,” Lilian told him. “Just the most powerful. The Pnév̱ma Clan was a minor clan before Lord Inari granted Granny the ninth tail. After that, she usurped the previous Great Spirit Clan’s position, and we became the most powerful spirit clan in the world.” She paused and tilted her head. “I can’t remember who the last Great Spirit Clan was, though.”
“Didn’t pay much attention to that lecture either, huh?” Kevin asked in a teasing tone.
“I’ve never cared about the Pnév̱ma Clan’s history,” Lilian confessed. “Humans were always more interesting to me.”
Kevin nodded. Where yōkai could be considered traditionalists who remained stubbornly set in their ways, humanity always sought to progress beyond their station, constantly improving upon ideas and seeking to better their lives. Progress for progress's sake. Lilian loved the free-thinking ideas that humanity possessed.
“Oh, my,” a voice said from behind them. Lilian stiffened. “If it isn’t Lilian and young Kevin. I hope you two are doing well this morning.”
“Granny—urk!”
“Now, now, Lilian.” Delphine’s smile was pleasant—in the same way a viper was pleasant. “I thought I told you not to call me Granny. If you must call me something, then please call me Big Sis.”
“Ugh…”
“Now then,” Delphine walked up to them, “I was hoping that I might take a moment of your mate’s time. It has been many years since I last spoke with a human.”
Kevin stiffened when she touched his arm. An overwhelming feeling of something washed over him. He felt cold, like someone had stuck his arm in a freezer. The chill seeped into his veins, spread along his body, and sought entrance into his heart.
Lilian seemed to sense his discomfort, or maybe she was just feeling territorial. She wrapped her arms around his other arm.
“I’m sorry, Gran—I mean, Big Sis,” Lilian almost gagged, “but I was showing Beloved around.”
“There is no need to be so protective.” Delphine’s gentle smile looked disarming, but Kevin could sense some underlying danger lurking beneath it. “I simply wish to take but a moment of his time—and speaking of taking of time, I believe Daphne wished to take a moment of yours.”
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