A Fox's Mission

by Brandon Varnell

  Kevin didn’t waste time. When Cien prepared to rush him, he fired off sixteen rounds in less than a second. Cien reversed course, moving away from him instead of toward him. He backpedaled in swift zigzag patterns, moving so fast that Kevin couldn’t track him with his eyes.

  In a battle of this level, human eyes are all but useless.

  Knowing the folly of relying on his eyesight, Kevin didn’t bother using his eyes, and instead used his instincts to predict where his opponent would be next. A bullet splashed against the ground near Cien’s feet. Another grazed his left calf, creating blisters as it zipped past the inu and struck the ground, leaving a perfectly rounded hole in the dirt. With each shot fired, Kevin’s aim became just a little better.

  Cien must have noticed this too. The inu scowled as he stopped backpedaling and, bending his knees, thrust himself off the ground and into an all-out sprint.

  Kevin leapt away from his previous position, and he was just in time to avoid his chest getting ripped open. Cien put his right foot forward, pushing up gravel as he halted his forward momentum. Then he bent his right leg, and suddenly lashed out with a powerful kick from his left. Kevin could practically feel the first epidermal layer of skin being grazed off his nose.

  Instead of allowing himself to be intimidated, Kevin dropped to the ground, placing one hand against the earth while using the other to fire off several rounds. Lightning lanced out of his silver gun at nearly point-blank range. Despite this, Cien proved up to the task of dodging, or maybe he’d already seen it coming. The bullets hit a tree instead of the dog yōkai, bark exploding everywhere, showering the area.

  A lull entered the battle. Kevin’s breathing had already become labored, and sweat stained his shirt, causing it to cling to his skin.

  Cien’s stare was hard. He looked at Kevin like the young man was a foreign entity, something that he couldn’t understand.

  “You… who are you?”

  “Is that a trick question?” Kevin asked. “I thought I already told you—I’m just a human who got lost while wandering in the woods with his friends.”

  “Don’t screw with me!” Cien all but snarled. “No mere human can fight on par with a yōkai, especially not in hand-to-hand combat! Who… no, what are you?”

  “My name is Kevin Swift. I’m a sixteen-year-old junior and Lilian Pnevma’s mate.” Kevin aimed his guns at Cien and smiled. “I’m also the one who’s going to kick your ass. That’s all you need to know.”

  Cien growled as he charged at Kevin, but Kevin was already moving. He darted behind a tree, then changed directions and reversed course. Having expected him to come out from the other side, Cien was surprised when no Kevin appeared, and he ended up racing past Kevin, who charged up his silver gun and fired off a spear of lightning.

  Light red energy wafted from Cien’s hand as he swatted the lightning away. The lance of energy struck a boulder. A shock wave washed over the area as the boulder detonated, sending granite shards flying. Kevin noticed smoke wafting from his opponent’s hand, which had burn marks on it.

  So he can use an aura, but he doesn’t have full control over it like Kiara.

  That was good. If he had full use of his aura, then defeating this inu would be a lot harder.

  Kevin aimed his black gun and fired. Light shot from the barrel. It was celestial youki made manifest. The celestial bullets impacted against Cien, who growled as he protected his face and torso with his arms. More burn marks appeared along his stomach, though because he could at least create an aura around his arms, his chest and face were protected.

  The ground ruptured when Cien slammed his foot into it. Kevin stumbled, his balance shot when the earth shook. He didn’t try to regain his balance, though, and instead fell to the forest floor and rolled across it. Twigs and branches stuck to his hair, and sharp pain flared across his skin as a rock scraped him. Ignoring those, he leapt back to his feet.

  Cien was right in front of him.

  “You’re going to die, boy.”

  The entire world seemed to freeze. In that instant, everything disappeared. The world around him vanished. All he could see was Cien, his snarling visage mere inches from his own, close enough that his enemy’s dog breath washed over his face. More than that, he felt Cien’s intention to kill him quite clearly.

  He would attack Kevin’s flank.

  Bending at the waist, Kevin hit Cien’s thrust arm with the barrel of his silver gun and pulled the trigger. The inu howled as lightning shot straight through his wrist, exploding out the other side. He pulled the arm back, allowing Kevin to stand upright again, and revealing the extent of the damage done to him—the small, bullet-sized hole that went all the way through his wrist.

  “That’s not a regular gun! What kind of weapon is that?!”

  “You don’t need to know what kind of gun I’m using,” Kevin said. “Do you honestly think I would tell you anyway? You think I’m just going to give away my secrets? What do you think this is? A shōnen manga? This isn’t Natsumo Shinobi, where freely giving away the information on your techniques or weapons is mandatory.”

  … A stiff silence followed. Kevin watched as a tumbleweed rolled in out of nowhere, blowing past them.

  “That’s weird. I didn’t think tumbleweeds existed in a forest.”

  Kevin pondered that for a moment, then decided not to let it bother him.

  Ten bullets flared into existence when Kevin pulled the trigger to his silver gun while charging the black one.

  Lightning sought to pierce Cien, who moved quickly to avoid getting hit. Unfortunately, Kevin had predicted where he would move. The inu was caught completely unaware when a large beam of light blasted from the barrel of Kevin’s black gun. He tried to escape, to dodge, but the best he managed to do was avoid certain death. Even then, he lost an arm.

  Cien howled as he clutched at his shoulder. Where once there had been an arm, now there only existed a stump. Charred flesh sizzled and blood spattered against the ground. Pink tendrils like squid legs dangled from his shoulder—his muscles, Kevin realized. The things dangling like tentacles were actually muscle fibers.

  As Cien fell to his knees, Kevin walked up until he stood a few feet away. He pointed his charged silver gun at the inu. Lightning crackled from its barrel, as if just waiting to be unleashed. Cien, his teeth clenched in agony, glared up at Kevin, who maintained a calm facade.

  “Who is it that you’re after?” asked Kevin.

  “Do you really think I’m going to tell you that?!”

  “Hmph. You’re a warrior, right?”

  “A warrior? Of course, I am! I am proud member of the Inu race. We’re natural born warriors.”

  “Then you should know the Warrior’s Code. I’ve beaten you in single combat. As the victor, I have the right to take whatever spoils I wish, and what I want is information. Who are you after?”

  Cien remained silent for a moment. His breathing was labored.

  “Well?” Kevin pressed.

  “I don’t know her name,” Cien admitted, wincing as a stiff breeze stung his raw nerve endings. “I only know that we’re supposed to capture her. I only know what she looks like; short dark hair, dark eyes, and pale skin.”

  There were many people who fit that description, but there was only one yama uba he knew who would be sent out this far who could match it.

  “Polydora,” he whispered. Cien’s ears twitched. “You’re a member of the Yamata Alliance, right? Why are you after her?”

  “Because they were getting close to one of our main bases of operation. We discovered her and another interloper snooping around.”

  “Did that other interloper have blond hair, blue eyes, and a really tall, busty figure?”

  “Um, yes…” Cien seemed confused about how Kevin knew what the other girl looked like. On the other hand, Kevin was swearing up a storm. This was not good.

  “What happened to the other girl?” he asked.

  “She was taken into custody. She’s probably at
one of our smaller bases.”

  “Do you know which one?”

  Cien shook his head. Kevin all but snarled, just barely keeping his composure as he realized that one of his friends was being held captive.

  Acting swiftly, Kevin knocked Cien out by charging his silver gun and shoving it into the inu’s temple. His opponent spasmed and jerked as nearly 50,000 volts of electricity were sent directly into his brain, effectively causing it to shut down. Cien slumped to the ground seconds later, his breathing shallow, almost nonexistent. Kevin nodded in satisfaction. That kind of voltage sent straight to the brain would kill a human, but an inu could withstand it and survive.

  Kneeling down, Kevin took a small rope out of a pouch on his side. Then he used the rope to tie up the profusely bleeding arm, essentially stopping the flow of blood. It wasn’t going to be very effective in the long run, but it should be enough to keep Cien from bleeding out until Lilian could heal him.

  “Kevin!”

  Speak of the devil.

  Standing up, Kevin walked over to Lilian as she ran up to him. She didn’t even get a chance to speak before his lips were on hers. Kevin pulled the girl flush against his body, wrapping his arms tightly around her waist. He poured everything he had into his kiss, his relief at seeing her alive, and the worry he’d felt when she had run off.

  Lilian’s knees shook as he kissed her. Feminine hands gripped the back of his head, as if to keep her from falling. She returned the kiss with equal fervor, not holding anything back. Kevin could feel her own relief pouring into him through their kiss. He could feel the worry she’d felt for him, along with the pride she had for him.

  “Nya,” a small voice called out to them.

  Kevin gasped as he pulled his mouth off Lilian, who whimpered at the loss. They both turned their heads to see Christine, her cat ears twitching as she blushed up a storm.

  “Ah, um, nya nya, can you nyot do that here?” Christine asked. “Like, seriously, can’t you two at least wait until nyou’re nyo longer in public?”

  Kevin flushed. He’d completely forgotten that Christine had gone with Lilian. Of course, the girl would still be here.

  “Right. Sorry about that.”

  Christine looked away, her cheeks were awfully red. He noticed the cat ears twitching on her forehead and the tail poking out underneath her skirt.

  “I-it’s okay, I guess… I probably shouldn’t be surprised by this. B-but it’s still wrong!” Standing with her feet shoulder width apart, Christine pointed at the pair with a quivering finger. “Wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong! Don’t you two have any common decency?! T-to kiss like that in public, it’s, it’s all, like nya nya and nyot right!”

  “Uh… I don’t get it,” Kevin said.

  “She’s being tsundere,” Lilian told him.

  “Shut up, idiots!” By this point in time, Christine’s eyes were rolling around in their sockets. Steam billowed from her face, which could have outmatched a red star. “Have your brains become rotten pieces of gray matter since I left?! N-nyou idiots! Idiots, idiots, idiots!”

  “She’s really getting into this,” Kevin observed.

  “She would make a great character for my manga.”

  Kevin looked at his mate. “Is that all you think about?”

  “Of course not. I think about you, too.”

  “That’s reassuring. I was afraid you had put me in second place.”

  “No, no, no. Beloved is definitely in first place.”

  “Good to know.”

  The world seemed to disappear. Everything vanished in Kevin’s eyes—everything except for Lilian, who stared at him with the unmitigated love she had for him. He closed his eyes and leaned down, while she tilted her head toward him. Their lips met in the center.

  “STOP KISSING, NYA!”

  “Gya!”

  That day, Kevin and Lilian learned a valuable lesson.

  When you’re with a tsundere, always remember to be mindful of showing too much public affection.

  Chapter 4

  Prejudice

  Polydora couldn’t remember the last time she’d had a proper night’s sleep, nor the last time she’d eaten a proper meal. Days had turned into nights and nights into days. All she knew during this time was anxiety. All she did was run from her pursuers.

  They were relentless. She’d been pursued across state borders. They found her no matter where she tried to hide. She couldn’t fight them, for she was outnumbered and exhausted with worry for her friend, while they were both fresh. Her only option had been to flee, so that’s what she did. She fled, refusing to look back, lest she lose heart.

  Her body had long since become numb, as had her mind. How much time had gone by? Days? Weeks? Everything felt like a blur.

  She walked through a forest. When had she entered a forest? Looking up, a canopy hung over her head, branches that had lost their leaves casting shadows along the ground. She frowned, then looked back down. Despite it being winter, there was still a lot of wildlife.

  Polydora tried to keep moving, to press forward. She couldn’t let those two capture her. It was only after several seconds had passed that she realized her back was pressed against a tree, and she was sitting on the ground. When had she… what was she…?

  “There she is! I found her!”

  Polydora attempted to sit up. All she managed was to raise her hand. A figure appeared in her field of vision, blurry and indistinct, a combination of yellow and black swirling together before her. She tried to push them away.

  “G-get… off…”

  “Easy there, Polydora,” the voice said. Polydora paused. Why did that sound so familiar? Who was this person?

  Warmth engulfed her. Polydora wanted to fight it, but it was so comfortable, and she felt so safe. She just wanted to… she wanted…

  The last thing Polydora heard before she succumbed to darkness was that familiar male voice.

  “You’re going to be all right. You’re safe now.”

  She welcomed the darkness when it came to claim her.

  “I do not like this! Why are we allowing that… that human into our sanctuary again?!”

  As Orin sat on his plush cushions, absentmindedly smoking from his pipe, he ignored Nalen’s growling complaints.

  And people wonder why I prefer traveling alone, he thought wryly.

  Orin had never intended to create New Genbu. He’d merely been seeking a place to stay until the war had blown over, so he could begin his travels again in relative safety. Unfortunately, word had somehow leaked that he’d taken up residence in this forest, and before Orin knew it, almost a hundred yōkai had flocked to him.

  He would’ve liked to blame what happened on his apprentice, but he knew that was foolish. Christine, for all her faults, wouldn’t have said anything. She disliked people almost as much as him.

  Though she seems to have a certain fondness for that boy and his two companions.

  “Master Orin, are you listening to me?!”

  “No,” Orin said, sounding bored. “No, I am not listening to you.”

  Nalen, the onikuma, sputtered incoherently.

  “You seem to be forgetting something, as you stand there, blustering and blubbering like some kind of idiot. I couldn’t care less about this place, or these people. It wasn’t me who decided to create this community; it was everyone else. I let you stay here because I don’t want your deaths on my conscience, but I don’t really care about who or what comes in here.”

  Orin yawned. He was so bored.

  Maybe I should see if there are any women in the hot springs after this farce is over with.

  The thought brought a smile to his face. If there was one good thing about New Genbu, then it was definitely the women. Not all of them were avatars of lust, but since all of them were yōkai, a fair few were quite gorgeous. Christine was especially hot with that tight little body of hers…

  “M-Master Orin, you can’t possibly mean that!”

  “I wouldn’t say it if I didn�
��t mean it. My only concern about that boy is that he works for Monstrang. So long as he doesn’t try to make me go see that foolish drake, I couldn’t care less if he stays here.” Orin waved the man off. “Now leave me alone. I’ve wasted enough time talking to you. My pipe is calling me.”

  Scowling like a woman scorned, Nalen stalked off, leaving Orin’s hut and stomping out of sight.

  Left alone to his musings, Orin lay on his back and stared at the ceiling.

  “Kevin Swift, huh? Just what makes you so special that Kuroneko and that drake would give you such an important task?”

  After finding Polydora, Kevin and Lilian and Christine had gone back to fetch Iris. The raven-haired vixen had been quite shocked to see not only Phoebe’s faithful aide, but also a one-armed dog who looked like he’d gone ten rounds with a boxing oni. The group had then left the hostel and, after paying the woman for the time they’d spent there, traveled back to New Genbu, where Orin had reluctantly given them a place to stay—thanks to Christine, who apparently could abuse Orin without receiving punishment.

  Orin is probably a masochist.

  Two mattresses had been laid out in the small hut that Orin had given. In one of them, Polydora lay unconscious, her pale body glistening from a cold sweat. She tossed and turned. Kevin wondered if she was having a nightmare. Cien, the inu that he’d fought and defeated, lay in the other. Unlike Polydora, he was completely still.

  “I’ve healed Polydora’s wounds,” Lilian said, and the light glow emitting from her tails suddenly ceased, the few remaining particles dispersing over Polydora’s body. “However, I can’t heal exhaustion. She’ll need to get a lot of sleep before she’ll be fully recovered. Speaking of which…”

  “Kitsune Art: Forced Sleep.”

  Lilian’s tails glowed once more. They curved past Lilian’s body to touch Polydora’s temples, the glow flaring once before gently fading like a spring breeze. Polydora’s tossing and mumbling soon ceased as the muscles in her face relaxed.

  “Now she should be able to get a good night’s sleep,” Lilian said.