A Fox's Family (4 page)

However,
Lilian was not like other people, be they human or kitsune. She was
someone who, above everything else, enjoyed the freedom to make her
own choices, a person who sought adventure in all its different forms
and loved trying new things. That was also why she loved anime,
manga, and video games so much.

The
first few decades of her life as a supernatural being had been spent
within the isolated grounds of her clan’s
estate in Greece. Those years had been terrible. They’d
been boring and lonely and hard. Her only companions had been
Kotohime, Iris, her mom and Kirihime. They were nice, and she loved
them, but they couldn’t give her what she had now.

Kevin
had saved her from all of that. Meeting him had been what saved her
from that loneliness. He didn’t
know it. He couldn’t
possibly understand even if he still possessed his memories of that
time, but he had been her salvation, her savior. She would always be
grateful to him, even if he didn’t
remember the reason for her gratitude.

After
class ended, she and Kevin parted ways with Lindsay and went to their
next class. For the next several hours, Lilian spent time with Kevin
in each class. While her mate mostly focused on taking notes and
getting his work done, he did converse with her by sending covert
messages through a notebook they had decided to share. After French,
Physics and Social Sciences, she and Kevin walked across the
courtyard toward the newly repaired gymnasium.

“Ne,
Kevin?”

“Hm?”

“Is
it just me, or is the roof a different color than it was before?”

Kevin
looked at her out of the corner of his eye, then at the roof she was
talking about.

“I
think you might be right,”
he
muttered, his eyes squinting. “It’s
still the same color, just…
less
worn, I guess. It looks like they ended up replacing the roof with a
brand new one. I’m
not surprised. It was probably easier to replace it than repair it
after the damage you and Kiara caused.”

As
her face reddened, Lilian puffed up her cheeks like two balloons. “It
wasn’t
my fault. Kiara’s
the one who tore a hole in the roof.”

“And
you’re
the one who fought her.”

Lilian
had nothing to say to that.

As
they walked, Lilian noticed how they seemed to attract everyone’s
attention. She didn’t
know why, but a lot of people appeared to enjoy talking about them.

“Can
you believe that someone as hot as Lilian is still dating a kid like
Kevin?”

“Not
really, no. I thought they would have broken up weeks ago. I wonder
what she sees in a scrawny little kid like him.”

“I’m
just surprised he hasn’t
passed out yet. Wasn’t
he supposed to be afraid of girls or something?”

If
she weren’t
in her human form, Lilian’s
ears would have twitched as she listened in on the many conversations
happening around her. She didn’t
like how these boys were talking about Kevin like he wasn’t
worth her time or attention. Deciding who was and wasn’t
worth her affection was a privilege that belonged to her and her
alone. These people should’ve kept their opinions to
themselves!

“Something
wrong, Lilian?”

“Oh,
no.”
Lilian
smiled at Kevin. “Nothing’s
wrong. I was just…
thinking.”

“About?”

“About
how strange it feels to be back at school.”
Kevin
raised an eyebrow, prompting Lilian to elaborate. “I
know I haven’t
been going to school for very long, but it still feels weird coming
back after not attending classes for a whole month.”

Kevin
nodded several times. “That’s
understandable. Most students feel that way after summer vacation
ends.”

“Summer
vacation?”

“Mm.
School lasts exactly nine months out of the year. However, the school
closes down during the three months of summer, which we call summer
vacation.”
Kevin
paused and looked up, as if a thought had occurred to him. “Of
course, I don’t
think we’ll
get much of a summer vacation this year, since we just had a month
long break.”

“Oh.
That’s
kind of disappointing.”

Kevin
shrugged. “That’s
life. We’re
actually one of the luckier schools because we still have summer
vacation. Most schools have become year-round schools, which people
attend, well, year round. They don’t
get summer vacation at all.”

“Owch.”
Lilian
winced. She enjoyed school, but to have it all year? “That
sucks.”

Kevin’s
lips twitched in amusement. “Indeed.”

***

Iris
impatiently tapped her foot as she stood by the door, waiting for her
mother to arrive. Really, how long did it take for that woman to get
ready?

“M-My
Lady! Please be careful!”

“Hawawawawawa!”

Iris
sighed as her mother tumbled down the stairs for the second time that
day. This time, she also had a large suitcase with her, which burst
open, spilling the contents all over the floor. One of Camellia’s
panties flew through the air before fluttering to land on her head.

“Geez,
Mom,”
she
said, exasperated. “Is
there ever a time when you aren’t
tripping over your own two feet?”

“Hawa…”
Camellia
looked up at her daughter from where she sat on the floor, tears
gathering in her carmine eyes and a pair of white panties lying on
her head. “Sowwy.”

Kneeling
behind the klutzy five-tails, Kirihime looked up at Iris as she
comforted the older woman with some gentle head petting.

“P-please,
Lady Iris, do not be rude to your mother,”
the
demure maid pleaded. “You
know it is not My Lady’s
fault.”

“Yeah,
yeah.”
Iris
waved off the woman’s
words with an air of indifference. “Whatever.
Look, can we just get a move on? The more time we spend standing
here, the longer it’ll
be before I can see my sister.”

Kirihime
frowned at Iris, whose two tails writhed behind her in agitation. “I
know that you are excited to finally see Lady Lilian after so long,
but please be patient. Our flight doesn’t
leave for another two hours, and the airport is only thirty minutes
away.”

Crossing
her arms under her bust, Iris huffed. Meanwhile, Kirihime helped
Camellia to her feet. Her three tails also extended to impressive
lengths and gathered up the luggage her mistress had dropped.

“That
reminds me…
just
why are we taking an airplane again?”

“Because
we’re
not allowed to set up Spirit Gates in the United States,”
Kirihime
answered as she dusted off Camellia’s
clothes. “The
United States has been claimed by the Four Saints and, as per the
agreement set down after the war of 1868, no yōkai clan is
allowed to claim any state within the United States as their
territory. That’s
why we had to travel here by boat when we first arrived. Wasn’t
Lady Iris taught this already?”

“Maybe,”
Iris
admitted with an uncaring shrug, “but
it’s
not like I ever paid attention to what that shriveled prude, Daphne,
ever said.”

“L-Lady
Iris, you shouldn’t
speak of your elder sister so disrespectfully.”

Iris
waved a hand through the air. “Whatever.
Can we get going now?”

Kirihime
sighed. There was just no pleasing this girl.

“Of
course, Lady Iris. Shall we get going? I have hired a taxi that will
meet us at the front gate in a few minutes, if it isn’t
already here.”

“Finally.”
Iris
lifted her small duffel bag, which contained all she’d
be bringing with her. “Let’s
get going.”

Camellia
sniffled as Iris stalked off. “Iris
doesn’t
like Camellia.”

Kirihime
winced at the sheer amount of hurt in Camellia’s
tone. It pained her to see what this once amazing woman had been
reduced to. Unfortunately, there was little she could do to help her
mistress, except comfort the woman using the only tried and true
method she knew of.

Kirihime
reached up and began gently petting Camellia’s
head.

“Hawa,”
the
five-tails muttered in a blissful voice.

***

It
happened while Kevin and Lilian were walking to the school locker
rooms. One minute they were minding their own business. The next,
Eric appeared before them as if by magic.

“It
is a pleasure to see you, My Lord.”

Kevin
stared at his friend with his best “why
the hell are you calling me that?”
look.
The lecherous young man knelt before him, reminiscent of a knight
kneeling before their king.

It
was all kinds of disturbing.

“Um,
Eric, what the heck are you doing?”

“What
do you mean, My Lord? Is something troubling you?”

“Yes.
Yes, there is.”

“What
is it? Please tell me so that I might help fix whatever is ailing
you, My Lord.”

“You
are.”
Kevin
gave the still kneeling Eric a flat look. Lilian just looked vaguely
amused. “Seriously,
Eric, get up. You’re
freaking me out.”

“Okay―I
mean, very well, My Lord.”

“Stop
calling me that!”

With
an unusual amount of pomp, the physical embodiment of lust and
perversion stood to his feet. “If
that is what you desire, then I shall do my best to comply with your
wishes.”

“Uh
huh…”
Kevin
leaned in towards Lilian so he could whisper into her ear. “Do
you have know what’s
up with Eric?”

“Mm
mm.”
Lilian
shook her head. “The
last time I saw him was when he and everyone else came over last
week, remember? And I didn’t
see anything happen to him that you didn’t
see yourself.”

Kevin
nodded. He remembered the last time they’d
seen Eric quite well. He and Lilian had invited everyone to their
home again for a movie night. All of their friends had shown up,
including Christine, who’d
told them she only showed up because it was common courtesy.

“
D-d-don
’
t
think I
’
m
here because I like you or anything! I-I-I-I
’
m
only here because you invited me over and I have nothing better to
do! Hmph!
”

Something
like that.

He
still recalled the beating Christine had given Eric when the
lecherous boy managed to successfully cop a feel. Kevin still
shuddered every time he remembered what happened. Humans just weren’t
meant to bend that way.

Deciding
to ignore his friend’s
strange behavior, he and Lilian renewed their walk to the locker
rooms with Eric in tow.

“So,”
Kevin
started, eying the pervert walking alongside them, “mind
if I ask why you’re
calling me ‘My
Lord?’”

“I’ve
decided to turn over a new leaf,”
Eric
declared. Kevin and Lilian shared a brief look before focusing back
on the pervert.

“A
new leaf, huh?”

“That
is correct. I have decided…
from
this day forth, you are my new lord!”

“Uh
huh…
wait.”
Kevin
blinked. So did Lilian. “What?”

“Yes,
I will become your lackey, and score any tail that you decide to
spare me.”

“Um…”

“I
can’t
believe he just said that,”
Lilian
commented, idly wondering if Eric had finally lost it after learning
that she and Kevin were officially a mated couple, even if they
hadn’t
actually
mated
yet.

Kevin
used his free hand, the one whose fingers were not laced through
Lilian’s,
to facepalm. “I
can. I can so believe he just said that. I merely wish he hadn’t.”

“Yes!”
Eric
clenched his fist, a diabolically pervy grin etched upon his face. It
was disturbing enough to make eldritch horrors look like cute, fluffy
white bunnies. “This
plan is foolproof! Women always seem to flock to you for some
reason!”

“Uh,
no. Only Lilian’s
really shown any interest in me…”

“And
knowing your luck, it won’t
be long now before even more women flock to you!”

“Are
you sure you’re
talking about me?”

“And
since you’re
dating Lilian, that means every other bodaciously-bodied babe will be
up for grabs!”

Kevin
turned a desperate look towards his mate. “Lilian?
He’s
not listening to me. What should I do?”

“Why
are you asking me?”
Lilian
looked honestly confused. “I
don’t
know how to make him stop. Maybe you should see if he has an off
switch or something.”

“I
think any switch he might have only comes with two settings: perv and
pervier.”

“That
means every sexy bitch coming your way will become mine! Yes! I will
finally obtain my goal of becoming a Harem King!
Mwahahahahahahaha-BWUAHAHAHAHAHAHA!”

By
this point, tears of joy were streaming down Eric’s
face. He raised a hand to the ceiling, as if he was trying to reach
out and grasp heaven.

Kevin
and Lilian noticed all the people stopping to gawk at Eric as he
stood in place, right hand on his hip, left hand raised toward the
ceiling, his laughter reminiscent of a stereotypical anime villain.

Slowly,
ever so slowly so to as not attract attention to themselves, the
kitsune and her human mate began walking away from the scene.

As
they walked further away from Eric, they could hear his maniacally
perverse laughter becoming softer and softer until, eventually, it
vanished altogether.

“Kevin…”

“Let’s
just pretend this whole incident never happened,”
Kevin
said.

Lilian
tilted her head, a thoughtful frown marring her pretty face until,
ever so slowly, she nodded. “Agreed.

***

Had
he not been present to see the aftermath of Lilian and Kiara’s
battle, Kevin would have never believed the gym had once been the
location of an epic showdown between yōkai. The once ruined
floorboards were pristine, glistening with a lacquered finish. Brand
new bleachers lined two sides of the interior, and the girders
overhead gleamed with the luminosity of new steel.