Why? Why do I still feel this way?
‘Nyou should have realized that your feelings couldn’t be overcome so easily. It’s genyetics.’
Tch! Well, screw genetics! I don’t want to deal with this! I don’t want to deal with these… these stupid emotions! These feelings are tearing me apart!
Christine clutched a hand to her chest, which had been struck by a near physical pain. Thinking about her own unrequited feelings for Kevin caused thousands of icy needles to pierce her heart.
“There you are,” a familiar voice reached her ears.
Christine turned around to see Iris wander up to her. The vixen sat down next to her, and two tails suddenly wrapped Christine within their warmth.
“It’s not good for someone who hates the cold to stay out this late, right? You should probably head inside soon,” Iris said.
“Yeah…”
When Christine gave her a one-word answer, Iris grinned. “I know what you’re thinking: What kind of horrible person am I for loving the same boy that my friend does? That’s it, right?”
“Wha—” Christine blushed. “That’s not—”
“Oh, there’s no need to lie, chibi,” Iris interrupted. “It’s clear to anyone who pays even the most remote attention to you that you’ve still got the hots for the stud.”
Christine clenched the fabrics of her skirt. So even Iris had noticed that she still liked Kevin? She should have known. It wasn’t like she’d been very subtle about her feelings—well, she had tried to be subtle, but Christine was already aware that subtlety was not her strong point.
Christine felt tears run down her face. Ever since she’d met Kevin back in Alaska, she’d been infatuated with him. When Orin had discovered her and taken her away from that awful state, she told him that she wanted to live in Arizona. Her guardian had simply assumed it was because Arizona was hot, and she hated the cold, but the truth was she’d gone there for Kevin.
Unfortunately, she hadn’t known where he lived, much less what school he went to. Trying to find him had been like searching for a single snowflake in a frozen tundra. It was only due to luck that they’d ended up in the same high school together, and by that point, all of the nerve she’d worked up to speak with him had evaporated like an arctic breeze.
Perhaps if she hadn’t been so hesitant, things would have been different. Perhaps if she’d actually spoken to him instead of stared at him from a distance, Kevin would be with her instead of Lilian. She hated thinking like this. Lilian was her friend and a great person, but Kevin was… well, she didn’t want to call him her mate, but he was the only person she’d met who made her feel this way, and it was unlikely she’d ever meet anyone else who could do that.
“I… what should I do? I… I hate feeling like this. I hate being jealous of my friend. I don’t want to feel this way, but I can’t help it. I’ve… I’ve loved Kevin for years now. It hurts to see him with someone else.”
Iris’s smile was surprisingly gentle as she pulled Christine into a hug. Christine didn’t resist. She allowed Iris to pull her head until it rested on the vixen’s soft bosoms. Two black tails extended further, wrapping around her body and warming her up.
“You were suffering in silence all last year, weren’t you?” Iris rested her chin on the crown of Christine’s head.
“What am I supposed to do?” she asked, her voice a whisper.
“Don’t worry about a thing,” Iris told the girl. “Once we’ve done what we’ve set out to do here, you’ll come back with us. I’ll take care of everything. Just leave it to me.”
Christine had no idea what Iris planned on doing. Really, what could this two-tails do to help her? She said nothing, however. Odd though they may have been, Iris was Christine’s friend. No matter how much they fought, not matter how violent their quarreling became, she trusted the fox’s words. If Iris said she would take care of everything, then she would.
I just hope whatever she does isn’t embarrassing, Christine thought before slowly drifting off to sleep. I wish Kevin was the one holding me, but… this isn’t so bad…
Chapter 7
Heart Problems
Christine woke up warm and comfortable. She was tempted to go back to sleep, to allow the warmth suffusing her body to lull her back into the land of dreams. It was an odd feeling, especially since she’d never felt this comfortable before, not while sleeping in this bed, at least. She wondered why this time was so different.
Cracking an eye open, Christine saw not a ceiling staring back at her, but a pair of very large breasts. She blinked several times, not quite sure if the sight before her was real. It took her several minutes and numerous more blinks, but she eventually realized that, indeed, she was not dreaming. She really was using a pair of gigantic breast pillows. But if that was the case, then who…?
“Mmm.”
She froze. It couldn’t be!
She looked up. Her mind froze. It was.
Iris lay on her back. Her hair surrounded her like a halo of darkness. Christine was displeased to notice that, even when sleeping, Iris looked sinfully sexy. Her dark lashes contrasted with her pale complexion, and her parted lips, with their crimson color and Cupid’s bow shape, defined sensual elegance.
Christine would have liked to say that she didn’t stare at the twin-tailed vixen, whose tails had wrapped around her body, keeping her warm. That would have been a lie. While she was not a lesbian—no matter what others might have said about her and Lindsay—even she could not deny that Iris was aesthetically pleasing to the eye.
It really pissed her off.
“Nnng…”
Iris stirred some more, slowly coming to. She moved her arms, stretching them as she shifted underneath the covers. Lashes fluttered as she opened her eyes, revealing crimson orbs that oozed sexuality even when only half-lucid.
The vixen’s eyes landed on her. Christine told herself that she didn’t feel any attraction toward Iris.
Ugh, I am not a lesbian, damn it!
“Good morning,” Iris murmured. Christine shivered. By the gods, even her half-asleep voice sounded stupidly sexy! What the hell?! “Did you sleep well?”
“I… I…”
Christine suddenly felt dizzy as all the blood in her body rushed straight to her head. Steam burst from her ears, and her face surged with enough heat to fry eggs on it.
“Wh-what the hell are you doing in my bed?! Get out!”
Iris pouted as she sat up. Christine’s eyes popped when the sheets slid off her shoulders and pooled around her sinful body. It really was unfair that the Void Kitsune had such a vivacious figure, but that thought was secondary to the strange feelings welling up inside of her.
“You wouldn’t really throw me out into the cold, would you? That would just be too cruel, especially since I held you when you were so depressed. I even decided to sleep with you instead of Lily-pad and the stud.” Iris pouted at her.
“OUT!”
“All right. All right. Sheesh, what an unpleasant girl you are.”
Iris pulled off the covers and climbed off the bed, shivering as the cold air hit her naked body. Christine gawked as the vixen grabbed her clothing from the floor.
When did she take those off?! What the hell is going on here?!
Iris bent down to pick up her pants. Christine’s eyes traveled from her tiny feet to her shapely calves and thighs, which followed the compass of her magnificent rear. When she stood up, Christine unwillingly found herself gazing upon the exquisite curve of Iris’s back, then her slender shoulders. Iris was turned to present a three-quarters view, so Christine also saw some of the two-tail’s magnificent side boob.
“See something you like?” asked Iris, grinning.
“W-w-w-wha—of course not! I’m not into girls! W-who do you think—I’m not like Lind… say…”
Christine trailed off, and Iris sighed as she finished getting dressed.
“Are you worried about how you’re going to confront Lindsay?”
“Of course, I’m worried,” Christine muttered with a tired sigh. “I… Lindsay confessed to me—well, she sorta confessed to me. Her feelings came across loud and clear, at least.”
“It would be hard not to realize how she feels about you after a kiss like that.” Iris nodded in a sage-like manner.
“Tch. I still don’t know how you even know about that kiss.”
“What?” Iris’s grin was like the devil—if the devil was actually a really hot chick. “You don’t think that someone like myself could pry a secret from a regular girl like Lindsay?”
“No, someone like you could probably easily make Lindsay spill all of her secrets,” Christine admitted reluctantly. Lindsay was a lesbian, so it would be easy for someone like Iris, who had no moral compunctions against seducing a woman, to get that girl to spill her guts.
“That’s right.” Iris nodded. “I can get secrets out of anyone.”
“Except Kevin,” Christine said smugly.
“Kevin is an exception to the rule,” Iris retorted with a shrug. “I personally blame Lilian for desensitizing the boy. If she hadn’t sunk her claws into him first, there’s little doubt that he would have easily succumbed to my charms.”
“Somehow I doubt that,” Christine muttered.
“Did you say something?”
“Nope.”
“Anyway, don’t worry about Lindsay,” Iris continued. “In cases like this, the only thing a person can do is be honest with themselves. If you don’t love Lindsay, then you don’t love her. Not much can be done about that except to tell her that you don’t return her feelings the next time you see her.”
“I guess,” Christine muttered morosely, though she didn’t think it would be that easy. She didn’t love Lindsay, but that girl was still a friend. Christine didn’t want to hurt her friend the way she’d been hurt by Kevin’s rejection.
I think… I’m beginning to understand how Kevin felt when he rejected my confession.
Iris threw an arm around Christine’s shoulder. “Aw, cheer up. Everything will work out. Now, let’s get your clothes on, and then we can have some breakfast.”
And that’s when Christine noticed it was awfully drafty in here.
She looked down…
“Where the hell are my clothes?!”
… and her scream echoed all the way across New Genbu.
Polydora was in the middle of a crisis. Last night, not only had she lost in combat to a human male, but she’d also allowed that same human male to hold her in his arms. Even now, the memory of him carrying her as she slowly succumbed to his warmth remained etched within her soul. It made her cheeks burn with shame.
I can’t believe I shamed myself like that.
What made the situation even worse was who she’d allowed to carry her. Kevin. The young man whose children Phoebe wanted.
Polydora had never approved of Kevin, yet here she was, succumbing to his kindness and warmth. It was a terrible moment of weakness, one which she’d been regretting ever since she woke up.
The single-room hut was no longer dark. With the morning sun shining in through the single window, which was really just a small square cut out of the tree, the entire room was bathed with a bright, luminous light.
Several feet from where she lay was the other bed, where Lilian and Kevin were resting. She could only glimpse Lilian’s face, as she lay on the side opposite her, but Kevin was perfectly visible. He lay on his back, his eyes closed and his breathing steady. His chest rose and fell at an even pace, showing that he was still deeply asleep. Polydora clenched her thighs together as a most unusual heat burned within her loins.
She’d heard about this feeling from some of the older yama uba, back when they were still living in their old village. This lustful urge came from the desire to procreate. All yōkai possessed this desire. Procreation, the continuation of their species, this compulsion was stronger in yōkai than it was in humans. Certain yōkai, like kitsune, had it really bad, especially during their mating season. Being a yama uba, her urge to mate only came when she found a man that she felt was worthy of bearing her children.
How could I possibly want to—and with that man! I should not be feeling this way about anyone, especially not someone who is so unworthy of the female attention he receives!
Kevin Swift was an annoyance who refused to let Lady Phobe carry his child. What sort of man denies a woman her right? Did he not understand how important it was for their species to give birth? They would die out if none of them found a man to reproduce with. The fate of their species was at stake!
“Nnn… Lilian.”
She froze when a low, erotic groan left the lips of the young man she was thinking about.
“Ufufu, good morning, Beloved.”
More sounds came from within the bed, deeper groans followed by a stifled sigh. Unsure of what to do, Polydora hid underneath her covers and listened to the following conversation.
Wh-what are they—surely, they’re not doing that?!
“Lilian… we shouldn’t do this now.”
“Now is the perfect time, ufufufu.”
“B-but what if Polydora wakes up?”
Polydora squirmed at the mention of her. When a loud sucking sound, followed by a particularly loud moan, echoed out from the other futon, her entire body caught fire.
Oh. Oh, this isn’t—what should I do? Those two are—and while I’m right here!
It was like being caught between a rock and a hard place—except instead of a rock and a hard place, she was trapped between a futon and a couple who sounded like they were about to have sex.
Polydora listened to what could only be two people getting into some foreplay. Low groans, soft sighs, and delicate moans caused her to unconsciously rub her thighs together. Sweat broke out on her skin, and her breathing became labored.
Confusion swept through her mind like a tumultuous storm. What should she do? Should she stop them? Should she let them know that she was awake? Surely, they didn’t mean to go all the way! Not with her there. They wouldn’t!
Would they?
“A-aahnn!”
A particularly loud cry forced Polydora’s mind into overdrive. There was no way she could stay silent! Not when those two were acting like this while she was still in the room with them!
Throwing off the covers, she leapt to her feet and pointed at the pair. “W-what in the name of the gods do you two think you’re doing?!” she shouted, her voice shrill and high-pitched.
Kevin and Lilian paused. They were underneath the covers, so Polydora couldn’t actually see anything, but her mind was more than willing to supplant her lack of visual stimulation with erotic images.
“Oh,” Lilian said from underneath Kevin. “So, you’re awake.”
“I told you she might be awake,” Kevin muttered, a mild blush tinting his cheeks, the only sign that he was embarrassed.
“I have been awake for some time, if you must know. Do the two of you have no sense of moral decency? Even back in my village, we did not blatantly have sex while someone who was not participating was still in the room!” Polydora tried to scowl at the pair, but her face felt like someone had pressed a branding iron against it, so it probably wasn’t very effective.
“We’re not having sex, actually. I’m still clothed. See?”
Kevin pulled the covers back to reveal that he was wearing black boxers.
“You might be clothed, but your mate is not!”
Indeed, Lilian was completely naked. The only thing covering her was her long crimson tresses and one of Kevin’s hands, which rested firmly on her left breast.
“I don’t like wearing clothes when I go to sleep,” Lilian admitted, seemingly unbothered about being nude in front of someone else. Polydora theorized that it was because they were both women.
“Nevertheless, please put something on and stop committing sexual acts while someone like myself is in the room.”
“You could always leave,” Lilian suggested.
> “I’m not leaving!”
The chilly morning air was blocked by jeans, a long-sleeved shirt, and a jacket. For good measure, Kevin also wore his bodysuit underneath his regular clothes. This was done more as a precaution rather than to keep warm. While he didn’t think anything would happen while waiting for Kotohime’s train to arrive, he didn’t want to leave anything to chance either. Constant vigilance and all that crap.
They were in a booth with red-cushioned seats. Sitting on his left, Lilian chowed down on a plate of waffles. She ignored everything else as she devoured the food with relish. Christine sat on his other side, her cheeks flushing a light blue as she occasionally glanced at him.
“What time did Kotohime say she would show up?” asked Iris, who sat on the opposite end with a silently blushing Polydora.
She clearly still remembers this morning, Kevin thought with a sigh. He loved Lilian, but he really wished she would pick and choose when to get frisky more wisely.
“I was told to expect her sometime in the morning,” Kevin said.
They were in the same bakery where Christine had met them several days ago. The Full Brooks Cafe. Only a few other patrons were inside at the moment. Kevin observed the young man sipping his morning coffee whilst reading a newspaper, and also the pair of older women who were chatting several tables from their booth. He didn’t think anyone here was a member of either the Sons and Daughters of Humanity or the Yamata Alliance, but one could never be too careful these days.
“Then why isn’t she here yet?” whined Iris.
“Shut up,” Christine groaned. Like always, she wore her lolita outfit. However, perhaps because of the fabric, the yuki-onna still looked cold. Her body shivered and her hands were firmly gripping a steaming mug of hot chocolate, as if it was her only source of warmth. Iris had offered to help warm her up, but a blushing Christine had adamantly declined.
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