A Fox's Family (25 page)

“Hmmm…
I like this woman’s style,” Iris muttered, mostly to
herself.

“What’s
she doing here?” asked a mildly annoyed Lilian.

“You
didn’t think I could allow my young apprentice to go costume
shopping without me, did you?” Heather’s question was
obviously rhetorical, as the woman spoke before anyone else could
answer. “The number of sexy costumes in this store, the ability
to peek on women while they’re changing into those costumes…”
She held a clenched hand up to her face, her eyes igniting with
passion. “There’s no way I could allow my impressionable
apprentice enter such a place unprepared.”

Like
the ardent flames of a powerful wildfire, a flickering orange aura
engulfed the young woman. It very much reminded Kevin of the main
character from
Doragon
Fighters X
.

While
the others focused on Heather, their expressions ranging from bemused
to “what the fuck is wrong with this woman?” Eric, who’d
still been gawking at the women around him, exploded into action.

“Where
have you sex-bots been all my life―GU!”

Everyone
switched from staring at Heather to Eric after the woman gave her
apprentice a chop to the back of the head, sending him face-first
into the concrete in a twitching sprawl of limbs.

“Lesson
number forty-two, my young apprentice. Control your lustful urges and
wait for the right moment to strike.”

“Ugh…
got it…”

***

Spirit
was
a very large store. While it looked big on the outside, it somehow
appeared even more massive on the inside. The floors were made of
polished granite, while the walls gleamed with the color of steel.

The
group stepped into the store as one, and Lilian, easily the most
excited of the group, couldn’t help but stare at their new
surroundings with bedazzled eyes.

“Wow….”
Lilian whispered. “It’s so big.”

“That’s
what she said―ouch!”

“Don’t
be such a pig,” Christine retracted her hand from the back of
Eric’s head, which now had a massive welt covered in a layer of
ice. “Idiot.”

“Now,
now, that is no way to treat my apprentice.” Heather admonished
the scowling yuki-onna. “Unless, of course, you caught him
peeping on you. Then he deserves to get beaten for getting caught.”

“Hey!”

“So,
what do you think we should get?” Alex asked his brother.
“Matching costumes or go our separate ways?”

“We
should definitely go our separate ways,” Andrew determined. “I
have no desire to match costumes with you.”

“You’re
an asshole, you know that?”

“Ha!
The only ass I’m seeing is you!”

“You
wanna take this outside?!”

“Ara,
ara.” A smiling Kotohime stopped their fight in its tracks by
shoving her katana between them. “There is no need to fight so
early in the morning now, is there?”

The
twins gulped.

“Kevin,”
Lilian looked at her mate, “what kind of costumes do you think
we should get?”

Kevin
cast her a sideways glance. “Weren’t you the one who had
all the costume ideas?”

Her
cheeks turning a lovely shade of pink, Lilian drew circles on the
polished granite floor with her left foot. “I do have a few
ideas,” she mumbled lowly, “but now that I’m here,
I, well, I’m not really sure where to start.”

Kevin
felt his own cheeks become warm. Lilian’s innocence was truly
one of her most endearing qualities.

“Ah,
well, I was hoping we could find costumes for couples, or something,”
Kevin admitted.

“Um,”
Lilian nodded and smiled at him, “I like that idea, so I’ll
follow your lead.”

“Then
I guess I’ll have to do my best not to lead you astray.”

The
two shared a matching smiles as they gazed into each other’s
eyes.

“Someone
please gag me.”

Their
moment was ruined by an obnoxious voice and several gagging noises.

Kevin
and Lilian turned to glare at Iris, who looked unrepentant as she
gave them a sickly sweet smile.

The
group soon split up. Alex and Andrew went in one direction and
Kotohime, on a suggestion from Kevin, followed after them to keep the
two from fighting. Heather dragged Eric behind her after claiming
that, as her apprentice, he had to wear something that matched her.
Christine and Lindsay also wandered off together, though it looked
more like the tomboy had decided to drag the snow-maiden off against
her will. That left just him, Lilian, Iris, Kirihime and Camellia.

“M-My
Lady? My Lady, where did you go? My Lady!”

Correction,
it was just him, Lilian and Iris. Camellia had disappeared, though
none of them knew when, and Kirihime quickly rushed off to try and
find her wayward mistress.

“So…”
Kevin glanced at the two sisters. “I think we should stop by
the couples section first.”

“I
agree,” Lilian nodded.

“Whatever,”
Iris waved one hand through the air while the other went to her hip.
“I don’t care where we start, so long as I get to see my
Lily-pad dressed in something cute.”

Lilian’s
red cheeks bulged like someone had shoved helium into them. “Why
won’t you stop calling me that?”

“Because
it’s fun,” Iris admitted, tossing her sister a wicked
grin.

***

“Alright,
my young apprentice, it is time for your next lesson.”

“You
mean we’re not going to get our costumes, Master?”

“That
can wait. This is far more important. I may not get another chance to
impart this lesson on you, so I need to teach it to you while we have
the chance.”

Eric
and Heather stood facing each other in one of the many aisles. They
were near the changing rooms, which could be easily discerned due to
the shift from wall to curtains.

“If
there is one thing I have learned about Halloween, it is that women
wear some of the kinkiest outfits you can ever imagine during this
time of year,” Heather lectured her young apprentice. “And
if you are skilled enough, then you can watch them change into those
kinky costumes. No joke. I remember watching this one woman trying to
dress herself in some kind of bondage cosplay or something; it had
all these straps and stuff. It really was freaky, but kinda hot,
too.”

Heather
placed her hands on the young pervert’s shoulders.

“And
that is why we must seize this opportunity! This is a once in a
lifetime chance to practice peeping on women while they get dressed
in sexy cosplay! Carpe diem, my young apprentice, you understand?”

Eric
looked up at his teacher, hearts in his eyes and tears creating
streaks down his face. He could not help but be awed by this woman,
who had more knowledge about peeping than even he, an entity of
salacious desires. Truly, Heather was a magnificent, wonderful
master.

“Yes,
Master!”

“Excellent!
Now let us be off!”

***

Lindsay
traveled along the western wall, where most of the female costumes
were located. She held onto a slightly dazed Christine who, after
nearly five minutes of struggling, had finally settled down.

“What
do you think I should get?” Lindsay asked, her eyes scanning
the costumes as they slowly strolled down the aisle. “I want to
go with something classic, like a zombie or a dead cheerleader, but
I’m thinking those are too cliche…” She trailed
off when she realized that Christine wasn’t paying attention to
her. “Christine? Hello?” She waved a hand in front of the
girl’s face. “Earth to Christine.”

“Hmm?”
Christine blinked, her mind coming back to the real world. “I’m
sorry, were you saying something?”

Lindsay
gave her friend a look. There was an odd glint in her eyes that
Christine just did not like. “Thinking about Kevin again?”

“W-w-w-what
the—WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?! I-I-I―that’s
not―I’m not thinking about that idiot!”

Lindsay
watched Christine explode in an almost literal sense. Her face turned
bright blue and steam poured out of her ears, becoming a strange
foggy mist that crystallized as the temperature rapidly dropped to
below freezing.

“Are
you still trying to hide your feelings? Didn’t you already
admit to pretty much everyone except Kevin that you like him?”
Her words made Christine blush that much harder. “Look, I know
this isn’t easy for you, but it’s just us right now. You
really don’t need to hide your feelings around me. I’m
not going to laugh at them. I once had a crush on Kevin, too, you
know.”

“I-I
know that.” Christine pressed her hands against her face, as if
doing so would hide the icy hue of her cheeks. “It’s
just—it’s hard for me. I’ve never—I mean I’m
not that sociable.”

“I
can tell.”

Christine
glared at Lindsay, but there was no real heat in it. “Look,
it’s just not easy for me, okay? I’m not used to having
friends and I’m certainly not used to expressing my feelings
about the… the boy that, um, that I kinda like… and
stuff.”

“And
how do you feel? When you’re around Kevin, I mean.”

“My
body feels hot and cold at the same time,” Christine admitted
quietly. “Like my bakeneko side is warring with my yuki-onna
side for control over my body. It’s frustrating. It feels good,
but at the same time, it’s really irritating.”

“Hm.
Well, I don’t know much about the whole yōkai thing.”
Lindsay shrugged. “That stuff is beyond me, and I’m not a
Japanese nut like Kevin and the others. But, it seems to me like
you’re confused about your own feelings. I mean, you don’t
even know why you like him in the first place, right?”

“… No.”

“Did
you just look away from me?”

“N-no.
Of course not.”

“You
did. You’re looking away from me.” Squinting as she
leaned over, Lindsay got right in the startled Christine’s
face. “Is there something going on that I should know about?”

“O-o-o-of
course not!” Christine’s voice came out as a pitiful
squeak. “I-i-it’s not like I knew him years before coming
to Arizona or anything! W-w-w-why the hell are you asking me
something like that?!”

“I
didn’t ask you something like that,” Lindsay’s
statement seeped amusement, “but it’s pretty interesting
to know that you two knew each other before you came to Arizona.
Where did you two meet, if you don’t mind my asking?”

Christine
was silent for a moment. Her cheeks flushed a deeper shade of blue
bordering on purple.

“… Alaska.”

“Alaska,
huh?” Lindsay hummed. “I do remember when Kevin took a
trip to Alaska with his mom. I think it was four years ago?”

“Five,”
Christine said softly.

“Right,
five years ago,” Lindsay amended. “That would mean you
were both ten when you two met.” She paused, her head tilting
for a second before nodding. “Yeah, that sounds about right.
Kevin wasn’t really shy back then. I actually remember him
being really outgoing.”

“He
was.”

“But
you know, a lot can change in five years,” Lindsay continued.
“The Kevin you used to know isn’t really the same Kevin
who exists right now. He’s different. Shyer. Less confident.
Though I’ll admit he’s getting better. Still, maybe you
should learn more about this Kevin, rather than relying on your
memories of what he used to be like. You might find that the Kevin
from your past and the present one are two completely different
people.”

“There’s
a lot more to it than that,” Christine said. “If it was
simply a matter of him being different, or of my feelings dissipating
with time, then I wouldn’t be having so much trouble.”

Lindsay
tilted her head curiously. “Then, what is the problem?”

“I-it’s
not important,” Christine muttered. “Let’s just
drop the subject for now, okay?”

Lindsay
looked like she might argue further, but then she shrugged and gave
Christine an indulgent smile. “Sure, if that’s what you
want.”

“It
is.”

The
conversation ended as the two renewed their search for costumes.

***

“My
Lady? My Lady, where are you?” Kirihime wandered the store,
calling for her mistress. She was quite worried. Incredibly so. The
store was large, and with her mistress’ penchant for wandering
off, she could have been anywhere. “Oh, dear. This is not good.
My Lady, where did you go?”

Her
mistress hadn’t always been this air-headed and clumsy.
Kirihime remembered a time when her mistress had been one of the most
amazing kitsune she’d ever known; kind and compassionate, but
also possessing a mischievous side and a fierce determination.

She
did not know when exactly the change started. Her mistress hadn’t
just woken up one day and suddenly become an air-head. It had been a
slow, insidious process, one that must have started decades before
anyone ever realized what was happening.

“My
Lady Camellia, please answer me!”

Kirihime
eventually found her mistress staring at some of the costumes.

Relief
washing through her more swiftly than a river’s current,
Kirihime ran up to her mistress. “My Lady, there you are!”
she exclaimed. “P-please don’t wander off like that
anymore.”

“Oh!
Kirikiri!” Camellia exclaimed, as if just now noticing the
woman by her side. With a childish grin, she pointed to the costume
she’d been staring at. “Don’t you think you would
look great in this costume?”

“U-uh.”
Taken off guard by the comment, Kirihime found herself at a slight
loss for words. “W-well, I guess so… maybe?” She
looked at the costume in question and had to admit; it did look good.
It was a fairy costume; a shimmering blue dress with a sweetheart
neckline, lace up bodice and a multi-layered skirt. It also had black
garters attached to the skirt. It somewhat reminded her of her French
maid outfit, only blue and black instead of black and white—and
it had wings. And the headpiece had been replaced with one made of
flowers.