A Fox's Family (53 page)

“And
my feet.”

Lilian
nodded. “And your feet. That’s an incredible achievement.
I don’t think any other human could have done that.”

Kevin’s
face became hot. Really hot. Like someone had taken a flamethrower to
it. He just knew that he was blushing. Dang it! Hadn’t he
gotten over this already?

“Ah-ahahaha!
T-thank you.”

“Ufufufu,
have I ever told you that you’re absolutely adorable when you
blush?”

“Urk!”

“You
see, Kiara-san? I told you that Kevin-sama would be finished with his
battle by now,” a voice suddenly said, interrupting his banter
with Lilian.

“…”
Kiara
didn’t answer for some reason.

“Ara,
ara. it seems you’ve lost too much blood, ufufufu..”

“…”
still
no answer.

Kevin
and Lilian turned around to see a figure—no, two
figures—standing near the entrance.

“Kotohime!
Kiara! I did it! I―what the hell happened to you, Kiara?!”

“Don’t
worry, don’t worry.” Kotohime walked further into the
room, carrying a nearly unconscious Kiara over her shoulder like a
sack of rice. “She’s perfectly fine.”

“Ffine?
FINE?!” Kevin shrieked. “Her entire left arm is missing!”

“Actually,
it’s more like just her forearm.”

“LIKE
THAT MATTERS!”

“You
worry too much.” Kotohime offered Kevin her brightest, most
beautiful smile. “It is true that she no longer has an arm, but
it could have been a lot worse. While I cannot bring her arm back,
since it was lost to the Void, I have healed it to the point where
she will no longer have to worry about bleeding to death. Like I
said, Kiara-san will be just fine.”

“Why
don’t you say that when she isn’t dangling limply from
your shoulder?” Kevin deadpanned.

“Ufufufu,
you hear that, Kiara-san? Kevin-sama is underestimating you.”

“…”
Kiara
didn’t answer. Kevin wasn’t sure if she could answer. She
didn’t even look conscious anymore.

Kevin
took several deep breaths. He needed to, because otherwise he was
afraid he might do something stupid, like deck Kotohime. Which would
have been bad. Very bad.

“Whatever.
I guess as long as she’s alive, that’s all that matters.”

“Exactly.”
Kotohime looked quite pleased to see that he had come around to her
way of thinking. “Now then, why don’t we return home? It
is nearing dinner time now, and I would like to start cooking as soon
as possible.”

“Right.”

The
group walked out of the mansion and were traveling across the
courtyard when Kevin suddenly stopped.

“Kevin?”
Lilian asked upon noticing this. “Is something wrong?”

“There
might be. I just realized something.”

Both
Kotohime and Lilian appeared curious. “What’s that?”

“Kiara
is the only one of us who can drive. How are we going to get home?”

A
heavy silence descended upon them.

For
once, Kotohime actually seemed mildly embarrassed. “I-I hadn’t
thought about that…”

Lilian
was much more… concise.

“Hawa…”

“How
many times do I have to tell you not to use your mother’s
catchphrase?!”

Truly,
the role of
tsukkomi
fit
Kevin well.

Chapter
13

The
Halloween Party

Due
to Kiara not only being unconscious but also missing her left arm,
Kevin had been forced to drive the group to the hospital. Kotohime
didn’t know how to drive, and Lilian knew next to nothing about
cars.

They
were stopped by no less than fifteen police officers.

Each
of those officers let them off with a warning.

Oddly
enough, neither Lilian nor Kotohime needed to use an enchantment to
accomplish this. Then again, every officer who pulled them over
happened to be male. They had all taken one look at Lilian and
Kotohime before being turned into a drooling mass of hormones.

Truly,
Kevin sometimes felt disgraced by his own gender.

After
they arrived at the hospital, Kiara was taken into emergency care.
Kevin, Lilian and Kotohime had been shooed off, so they ended up
popping into Iris’s room.

“I
am very pleased to see that you have all made it back safely.”
Kirihime’s smile had been tender and gentle when she had said
that. Really, that woman was just too nice for her own good. Kevin
was actually worried that some jerk might take advantage of her
incredible kindness someday.

Camellia
had also been quite pleased to see them. She had hugged all three of
them while bawling her eyes out. Lilian had been bawling, too.

Apparently,
Camellia and Lilian’s version of bawling one’s eyes out
included massive amounts of “hawa.”

Iris
had also been pleased to see them, or so Kevin liked to think. He
could never tell with her. She’d greeted them in the same
manner as always, pulling her “Lily-pad” into a hug, then
spouting off some kind of sexual innuendo to Kevin, which had
thoroughly embarrassed him and caused Lilian to facepalm.

While
he didn’t know exactly how pleased Iris was to see him, even he
could tell that she had been impressed when Lilian told her the story
of how he’d beaten the crap out of Jiāoào.

“
Well
done, stud,” Iris congratulated. “Beating a kitsune is no
small feat for a human, especially one without any weapons…
even if Jiāoào is a complete pansy. For that, I think you
deserve a reward.”

Iris
then placed something into Kevin’s hands. It was white and kind
of lacy. They seemed so familiar…

“
This
is… are these panties?!”

“
Kukuku.
Indeed they are!”

“
Iris,”
Lilian had sighed, “You’re just so…”

“
Lovely?
I know.”

“
I
was going to say perverted, but whatever.”

Kevin
held onto the panties for several seconds, his face scrunching up as
if in deep thought. Finally…

“
Wait
a minute. You don’t wear panties.”

A
long awkward silence ensued. Everyone looked at each other—everyone
except for Camellia, that is, who just smiled and looked adorable.

Kevin
looked back at the panties in his hand. Then at Iris. Back to the
panties. His face scrunched up further. Then he looked at Iris again.

“
Iris,”
he said with feigned calm, “whose panties are these?”

“
Kukuku…”

“
I
don’t like the sound of that laugh.”

“
Eep!”

All
eyes turned to look at Kirihime. Her cheeks were flushed a brilliant
red, and she was squeezing her thighs together.

Kotohime
twitched. “Don’t tell me…”

“
L-Lady
Iris…” A completely red-in-the-face Kirihime gave her
younger mistress a pathetically sad look. “When did you…
I didn’t even notice…”

Iris
grinned as she waggled her fingers at Kirihime. “I’ve got
the magic hands.”

After
that embarrassing interlude was over and done with, the doctor had
come in to announce that Kiara was out of danger, but that she would
be required to stay in the hospital due to massive blood loss.

Kevin
had tried to visit Lindsay and her mother, but he learned that his
friend had already left and that Lindsay’s mother was still
resting while not accepting any visitors.

Iris
was cleared to leave that day. Her injuries weren’t too bad,
especially since Kirihime had discreetly healed them while he and
Kotohime had gone to save Lilian. They all traveled back home and
arrived at the Swift residence in time for Kotohime to get started on
dinner. That night, the kimono-clad beauty made a feast to celebrate
Kevin’s first victory against a yōkai.

“You
have done something very impressive,” she told him. “Few
humans could ever beat a yōkai with their bare hands, regardless
of the number of tails they have. That you have managed to do so
after one month of training is nothing short of astonishing.”
She ruffled his hair, much to Kevin’s annoyance. “You
should be very proud of yourself.”

“Here,
here!” an oddly cheerful Iris had said. “I really should
give you another reward… Oh! I know! How about I give you some
of my pubes?”

“IRIS!”
the shout came from both Kevin and Lilian.

“Hahaha!
I’m kidding, I’m kidding. I shave down there,” she
said, which did absolutely nothing to reassure them. Then she made
another suggestion. “How about I give you some of Lilian’s
pubes?”

“Don’t
offer to give away something that isn’t yours to give!”
Lilian shouted. “And that part of my body already belongs to
Kevin! He doesn’t need you to offer my pubes to him when he
could just ask for them himself!”

It
was a thoroughly shamefaced Kevin who ate dinner that night.

After
dinner, Lilian wandered off to take a shower. That had been half an
hour ago. Kevin spent that time playing video games with Iris.

“Ha!
You think you’ve got me beat! Take this!”

“Great…
another button masher. Just so you know, if you break my controller,
I’m going to make you buy a new one.”

“Aw,
stop your worrying. Now… let me see blood!!”

Iris,
it seemed, enjoyed playing video games as much as Lilian. Kevin
wondered if it ran in the family.

“Ugh…
I can’t believe I lost… stupid game…”

Or
maybe not. A small droplet of sweat rolled down Kevin’s face as
Iris tossed the controller onto the ground and sulked. Somehow, even
her sulking looked incredibly sexy.

“You
just need to play some more.” Kevin turned his head so he
wouldn’t be caught staring. Fortunately, Iris didn’t seem
to notice.

“Whatever.”

“I
wonder if Lilian’s out of the bath yet.”

Iris
gave Kevin a flat look. “You’re her mate, aren’t
you? Why don’t you just go in and check?”

“W-well,
I guess I could…” Kevin scratched at his cheek. The idea
definitely had appeal. “But, she said she wanted to be alone
this time. I-I don’t want to be a bother…”

“By
Inari’s furry ass, how can someone be such a badass one moment
and a complete loser the next?”

“Hey!”

“Seriously,”
she gave him a stern look, “you shouldn’t even have to
think about crap like this. You saw the look on her face. I know you
did.” Kevin nodded. He had indeed seen the look on Lilian’s
face, the smiling facade she’d put on to reassure everyone.
She’d been wearing it since the rescue. “She doesn’t
want to be alone right now. She’s just saying that because
she’s confused. And you, as her mate, must be the one who helps
her deal with whatever her problem is.”

“Yeah,
you’re right.”

“Of
course I’m right.” Iris rolled her eyes. “Now get
going.”

“Thank
you, Iris.” He tossed her a smile. “Despite your
attitude, you really are a caring person.”

“Pffft!
The fact that you would say something so stupid shows that you don’t
know me very well.”

Kevin
left an oddly flustered Iris in the living room and traveled to the
bathroom. He knocked on the door, but entered when no one answered.
The bathroom was empty, showing that Lilian had finished her shower.
And if that was the case, then there was only one other place she
could be.

He
found her standing by the window in their bedroom. He couldn’t
see her face, but he didn’t need to. The shaking of her
shoulders told him enough.

“Lilian?”

The
fox-girl stiffened. She hastily rubbed at her eyes. Kevin walked into
the room and up to her. By the time she turned around, her tears were
gone, but not the redness or the swelling.

“Hey,
Kevin.” She tried to be cheerful, but Kevin could see the way
her lips quivered. “Sorry I didn’t come into the living
room to play video games with you and Iris. I meant to, but I started
thinking and I guess I got caught up in my own thoughts.”

“What
were you thinking about?”

Lilian
turned around. She didn’t say anything at first, but Kevin knew
she would. Just as Kirihime had told him, he was her mate. She
wouldn’t keep secrets from him.

“It
happened before I found you in the entrance hall,” Lilian’s
voice, softer than a spring breeze, barely reached his ears. He moved
in close, until he stood directly behind her. He could see her
reflection in the window now, along with the barely contained tears
in her eyes. “I… there was this girl, a two-tails like
me. She and I looked really similar. I don’t know how Jiāoào
got his hands on her, but he said that she was being used as my
replacement until he could get the real thing.”

“The
more I hear about Jiāoào, the more I wished I’d
given him an even more painful beating.” His words caused
Lilian to smile, but it was fleeting. She sighed and placed a hand
against the window, palm flat and fingers splayed. Her arm was
trembling.

“They
had me bound in Jorōgumo
silk,
a type of silk made from the threads of a Jorōgumo,
a spider yōkai. It’s very strong and can
absorb
enough youki that a two-tails like myself can’t use the
enhancement technique to break free. If it weren’t for that
kunai you bought me, I wouldn’t have been able to escape.”

Kevin
listened silently. Lilian took a deep breath.

“During
my escape attempt, this girl came into the room and tried to kill me.
She kept saying this stuff about not wanting to be thrown away, about
how Jiāoào would have to accept her if I wasn’t
there. I think she knew that Jiāoào would dispose of her
the moment we left for his family’s palace.”

While
Kevin’s heart constricted at the knowledge, Lilian began to
cry, her tears creating two glistening trails that wound down fair
cheeks.

“Jiāoào
twisted that poor girl into something broken and hideous. I could see
it. He did so many horrible things to her, things I can only begin to
guess at, and I… I killed her…”