A Fox's Family (19 page)

She
stood up.

“Lilian-sama?”

“Do
you think you can put some of this food in a lunch box for me?”
asked Lilian. “I’m going to see how Kevin’s
training is coming along, and I want to bring him some food. I’m
sure he’s going to be starving.”

“Always
thinking about your mate, hm?” Kotohime’s small smile
actually made Lilian blush, just a little. “If that is what you
want, then I can certainly put together a breakfast bento for the two
of you. Just wait one moment while I grab one of my bento boxes.”

While
Kotohime went off to grab a bento box, Iris stood up.

“I’ll
go, too.”

“Huh?”

Iris
looked away when Lilian’s eyes fell upon her. “I still
don’t know my way around here very well, so I’ll come
with you in order to get a feel for the city.”

Lilian
didn’t need to think about her decision. If her sister went
with her, then she could apologize during the time it took to travel
from home to Mad Dawg Fitness.

“Okay.”

“Great!
Just let me put some clothes on.”

It
was only as Iris strolled out of the room that Lilian noticed her
sister was wearing a very familiar negligee.

“What
are you doing in my sexy lingerie?! Get out of that outfit right
now!”

Iris’
tinkling laughter echoed down the hall, causing Lilian to scowl.

Maybe
she shouldn’t apologize, after all.

***

“Hiiii!”

A
wide-eyed Kevin stumbled backwards as Tall came at him in a swift
charge. The man moved so fast! He was far faster than someone his
size had any right to move. He was in front of Kevin within seconds,
launching a quick and powerful straight with his right hand.

Adrenaline
pumping through his veins, Kevin leapt to the right. His haste caused
him to stumble and fall to the ground—which was fortunate, as
it meant he avoided getting an elbow to the face when Tall realized
his initial attack had missed and tried to do a follow-up.

Somehow
managing to turn his fall into a shoulder roll, Kevin scrambled back
to his feet… and was just in time to see another fist sailing
at him like a loaded spring.

“Oh,
God!”

He
tried to move backwards, but ended up tripping over his own two feet.
Instead of backpedaling, he fell onto his back. At the same time, his
feet kicked up into the air.

Woosh!

All
the air left Tall’s lungs as a pair of feet were planted into
his gut. Kevin, still rolling backwards, forced Tall to move with
him. The much larger male soon found out that Kevin had an impressive
amount of strength in his legs, as he was tossed over Kevin and hit
the ground with a loud thud.

“Oof!”

Kevin
scrambled to his feet and saw that his sparring partner was already
standing again. Tall wiped away the bit of spittle that escaped his
mouth and glared fiercely at him.

“That
was your one freebie, kid. Everybody always gets one.”

“Eh?”

“But
now I’m getting serious.”

“EH?!”

“Prepare
yourself!”

Kevin
screamed like a little girl when Tall charged him again. The muscular
giant of a man came in with a two-three combination: jab, jab, hook.
His fists moved so swiftly that all Kevin’s eyes could make out
were a pair of blurs.

Kevin
moved faster than he ever had before. His mind could scarcely begin
to comprehend the speed with which his opponent attacked him.
However, while his mind seemed incapable of reacting in time, his
body, it appeared, had no desire to get hit. It moved of its own
accord, doing everything humanly possible to avoid having his face
smashed in.

When
his foe launched another combination, Kevin tripped again, this time
while moving to the left. Rather than falling to the mat, he swung
his arms wide in an effort to maintain his balance. His body spun
about like a ballerina, only with far less grace. Despite his lack of
elegance, he managed to do an admirable job of spinning around his
opponent’s body, avoiding all the strikes sent his way. He also
managed to crack his foe in the back of the head with one of his
wildly flailing arms. The older, more muscular and more experienced
man was sent to the ground a second time.

“This
is just like the time we were fighting him back at that school!”

“Did
ya see that, Kiara? Ya saw that, didn’t ya?!”

“I
saw it.” Kiara had her arms crossed as she stood by her other
two former disciples. She observed Kevin with keen eyes, studying his
movements, analyzing and cataloguing them for future reference. What
she saw intrigued her.

“So,
what do you make of it?”

“Hmm…”
A thoughtful look. “Hard to say. He’s definitely got some
kind of natural talent for not getting hurt and hurting his enemies
while he’s at it, but I’m not so sure it’s a
natural talent for fighting.”

“Wha…
but you saw what he just did! That kid’s got natural badass
written all over him.”

“Hmph.
If you want to think that, then go right ahead. I’ve got a more
realistic hypothesis in mind.”

“What’s
that?”

Kiara
didn’t answer, so the one Kevin called Taller went back to
watching the spar.

It
was almost amazing to see how Kevin managed to dodge all of Tall’s
attacks. He didn’t do so in a way that looked graceful or
nonchalant, but awkward and graceless instead. He stumbled and
tripped and generally looked like a fool, and yet, somehow, someway,
it helped him avoid getting his teeth busted in.

That
didn’t mean he had an easy time of it. His strange manner of
evasion may have helped him avoid Tall’s attacks, but due to
the difference in their levels of physical fitness, Kevin still had a
difficult time of it. His lack of experience and ability to put his
natural athleticism to good use also hampered his combat abilities.

Kevin
might have been fast when it came to running track, but that meant
nothing when he couldn’t make use of that speed. He was used to
moving linearly, not weaving around punches and kicks like a monkey
on crack.

“Hya!”

Another
attack came. A straight jab. They seemed to be Tall’s favorite
punch, and he used them quite often. Kevin tried to dodge, to get out
of his sparring partner’s range, but couldn’t quite
manage it.

He
did manage to do something else, however.

Stumbling
again from another awkward attempt at dodging, Kevin reached out with
his left hand and tried to grab something, anything, in order to
steady himself. And grab something he did. A thick, muscular forearm.
Kevin, not even paying attention to what he had grabbed, tried to
pull himself to his feet.

And
then another miracle happened.

Because
Tall had been rushing forward, he had a lot of built up momentum.
When Kevin pulled on him, Tall stumbled. Kevin then shifted his feet
in an unwieldy attempt at steadying himself, which resulted in Tall’s
momentum and weight being used against him.

The
end result was Kevin shoulder-tossing Tall like he was a ragdoll. The
muscled man hit the ground, his lungs emptying in a loud
whoosh!
as
he lay on his back, staring at the ceiling, blinking his dazed eyes
and trying to understand what had just happened.

Breathing
heavily, sweat accumulating on his brow and dripping down his chest,
Kevin watched his opponent gasp for a breath that would not come. He
blinked the sweat from his eyes, and then wiped it away when that
didn’t work, all the while staring at his downed opponent in
confusion.

What…
what just happened?

Clap.
Clap. Clap.

Kevin
turned to the sound of clapping as Kiara walked onto the mat, wearing
the feral smirk that made her seem like she was perpetually amused.

“I
think I’ve seen enough.” She turned her head as Tall
climbed to his feet. “Take ten. I don’t think there’s
much you can do here.”

“Ugh…
right…”

As
Tall limped off the mat, Kiara turned to Kevin. “I think I’m
finally beginning to understand why my boys thought you were some
kind of master combatant.”

Kevin
scratched the back of his head. “Really? That’s good,
because I have no idea why―wait.” His face scrunched up.
“Master combatant?”

“Correct.
I’ve finally uncovered your secret, which means that your real
training can now begin.” At Kiara’s whistle, Midget
strode onto the mat. “He’ll be your new opponent.”
When she saw Kevin’s incredulous expression, her smirk widened.
“Don’t let his appearance fool you. Of my three
disciples, he is the best.”

When
Midget cracked his knuckles and gave him a look that promised
payback, Kevin could only gulp in response.

I
somehow get the feeling that this is going to hurt. A lot.

***

After
Lilian and Iris left for Mad Dawg Fitness, Kotohime and Kirihime
washed the dishes. Camellia had offered to help, but they had rather
forcefully refused the offer, and not just because they were her
vassals. Having a woman who tripped on air clean the dishes was
asking like for disaster to strike twice.

When
they finished the dishes, Kotohime suggested they go shopping,
stating that they were running low on food. She also invited
Camellia. Inari only knew what would happen if they let that woman
stay at home alone.

Because
they had no mode of transportation, the trio of kitsune had to take
the bus, which took a little over fifteen minutes to arrive at their
destination: Secure Shopping.

They
became the subject of many stares upon entering the grocery store.
People from all walks of life watched the trio, their eyes following
the group like unbearably horny yōkai looking at their next
conquest.

Kotohime
wondered if it was their clothing. She had to admit that their
outfits were quite eccentric. That morning she’d chosen to wear
a kimono depicting a savanna landscape, and her sister wore her usual
French maid outfit. Meanwhile, Camellia had donned something vaguely
resembling a toga.

Yes,
Kotohime determined, it was quite easy to see why people were staring
at them. None of these outfits could be considered normal in this
modern age, especially in the United States. They couldn’t have
been more conspicuous if they tried—except maybe if they
brought their tails and ears out.

Don’t
do it, Camellia.

“Hawa?”

The
group pretty much ignored the gawking. The only person aware of the
many stares was Kotohime. Kirihime might have also noticed, but if
she did, then she did an admirable job of pretending she didn’t.

“What’s
on our list?” Kirihime looked at her elder sister. Behind them,
Camellia tried to wander off, but Kotohime placed a hand on the
woman’s shoulder before she could get herself lost.

“Please
do not leave my side, Camellia-sama. It would not do for you to get
lost in this store.”

Camellia
pouted a bit, but relented. “Muu, okay.”

With
the threat of their childish charge wandering off gone, Kotohime
addressed her sister. She pulled a list out of her Extra Dimensional
Storage Space, unfolded it and looked over the contents. “We
have a pretty large list. There’s a lot of vegetables and meats
on here, and we’ll need to buy some seasonings. Come. I would
like to get the shopping done by noon, so I can prepare dinner for
Lilian-sama, Kevin-sama, and Iris-sama.”

The
trio were just about to begin shopping when someone spoke up behind
them. “You know Kevin and Lilian?”

As
one, the trio turned to see a woman with short blond hair and a
cheerful grin. She wore the clothing of a clerk; black pants, khaki
shirt and an apron thrown over it.

“Dawn-san,
how are you this morning?” Kotohime gave the woman a polite
bow. Kirihime followed her sister’s footsteps and curtsied.
Camellia just stood there. She wasn’t even paying attention.

Dawn
gave them a smile. “I’m doing good. You know how it is
here, nothing ever changes.”

“Indeed.”

The
smile vanished to be replaced by blatant curiosity. “I didn’t
realize you knew Kevin and Lilian. How do you know them? And who is
this?”

“Ah,
yes, please allow me to introduce my sister, Kirihime.”
Kotohime gestured toward her sister. “She and I work for
Camellia-sama here, who is the mother of Lilian-sama.”

Dawn
didn’t think she would ever get used to the strange suffixes
Kotohime added to people’s names.

“Um,
where is this Camallia-sama you’re talking about?”

“Camellia-sama
is…” Kotohime looked behind her and froze. Camellia
wasn’t there. “Oh dear. It looks like she wandered off
again.”

At
her sister’s words, Kirihime spun around, her eyes growing
quite large when she saw the empty space that her mistress should
have been occupying. “M-My Lady? My Lady Camellia? O-oh no!
Where did my lady go?!”

While
Kirihime placed her hands on her cheeks and began to fret, Kotohime
gave Dawn an apologetic bow. “I apologize, but while I would
enjoy speaking with you some more, my sister and I really must be
going. It seems our mistress has wandered off, again, and it is
imperative that we find her.”

“Mistress?”

“Yes.
Now, if you’ll excuse us.”

Kotohime
grabbed the cart and her sister before walking off, leaving a
confused and somewhat embarrassed Dawn behind.

“What
did she mean by mistress?” Her eyes suddenly became wider than
dishpans and rounder than hockey pucks. “Surely it couldn’t
be… but no, I must be imagining things. That must be it. Those
two look like maids, so they must work for that Camellia person as
her servants. Yes, there’s no way those two could be
transvestite pleasure slaves who cater to the whims of their unusual
and horny mistress. Definitely not.”

Shaking
her head one last time, the woman went back to work, and decided to
forget this encounter ever happened.