A Fox's Alliance (American Kitsune Book 10)

by Brandon Varnell

  “That’s where you’re wrong.” Releasing the girl from her grip, Lilian allowed the girl’s feet to touch the ground. After which, she dusted off Lindsay’s clothes as though it was natural. “When Kevin confessed to you that day in the mall, anyone else would have taken him for themselves. You didn’t.”

  “That’s because I knew he didn’t have feelings for me anymore. I’m not stupid. I saw how you and Kevin almost kissed before I showed up. You two might’ve actually kissed had I not said anything.”

  “Kevin wouldn’t have confessed to you if he didn’t have feelings for you,” Lilian replied mildly. “His feelings might have been conflicted at the time, but if you had said yes, then he would have fallen for you all over again. You know this as well as I do, yet despite knowing this, you still stepped aside so I could be with Kevin.”

  “T-that’s just because I didn’t want Kevin to get hurt…”

  Lindsay’s feelings for Kevin were complicated. She was pretty sure she was a lesbian. Women were more attractive to her than men, but she also couldn’t deny that she got a slight fluttery feeling in her chest when she thought of Kevin. Even now, when she had fallen for Christine, there was a part of her that got butterflies when Kevin spoke to her. It was just a remnant of the emotions she’d once felt and easily ignored, but it was still there.

  “And that,” Lilian began, “is exactly what makes you the perfect magical girl. Now, then, let’s see if I can’t at least teach you how to create a shield spell by the end of today.”

  Slightly bolstered by Lilian’s speech, Lindsay smiled and decided that she was going to try her hardest to become a magical girl.

  Kevin, Lilian, Iris, Christine, someday soon, I’ll become strong enough to protect you instead of constantly needing you to protect me. Just wait for a little while longer…

  ***

  Northgate Mall, otherwise known as Seiryuu’s Sacred Palace, was a sprawling complex of interesting design. It was an outdoor mall, but the architecture used in its construction was not modern, or even American. Wooden posts, beams, lintels, and joists made up the framework for all the buildings. All of the walls were decorated with paintings. Roofs glazed with color featured a variety of mythological figures. Windows with exquisite applique designs drew more attention than the mannequins inside, and the floral patterns decorating the wooden pillars reflected a high level of craftsmanship in the people who had built this place.

  Eric gritted his teeth as he stomped through this very mall, trying to ignore his stalker. He couldn’t, however. Even now, he could feel the eyes of his stalker on him, stripping him, devouring him. It was disconcerting—extremely so.

  After waking up this morning to find Julius in his bed, Eric had taken a quick shower and stormed out of the house without eating breakfast. He’d then hopped on a tram that took him to the mall.

  Because of how large Neo Seiryuu was, walking from one spot to the next was unfeasible. However, cars were not allowed within Neo Seiryuu. In order to travel from point A to point B, the citizens used rail vehicles to get from place to place. It was an efficient system; however, because Neo Seiryuu was also covered in a lot of parks, the trams couldn’t reach many of the apartment complexes, and students who went to school were forced to walk several miles each day.

  Growing increasingly annoyed, Eric stopped walking and turned around. Julius stood several feet away, but upon noticing Eric staring at him, the young bishounen’s eyes widened, and he quickly scampered behind a large column.

  “Tch!”

  Eric started walking again. Julius followed him. He stopped and turned around. Julius hid behind a table. He walked again, then turned around. Julius was hiding behind a large dragon statue. Walk. Turn. Walk. Turn. Over and over this theme repeated itself until Eric couldn’t take it anymore.

  “All right! Look here!” Eric spun around and jabbed a finger at the Julius, who was hiding behind a barrel. “I don’t know what you want, but stop following me!”

  Julius peeked his head out from behind the barrel. Tears gathered in his eyes.

  “B-but all I wanted to do was give you—”

  “I don’t want it! No way! You can keep your stupid stick!”

  “But it’s… it’s yours now…”

  “Nope! Nu-uh! No way.” Eric crossed his arms and shook his head. “There’s no way I’m gonna get stuck handling that stupid thing. Give it to someone else.”

  “You’re the only one I can entrust it to.” Julius, holding a hand to his mouth, blushed and squirmed in place. “After all, you saw me naked.”

  Eric’s face spontaneously combusted. “Don’t say things like that in public!”

  Eric looked around. All of the people near them were whispering. They cupped a hand to their mouths, leaning into their friends and saying stuff that he couldn’t hear. However, he didn’t need to hear to know that they were talking about him. Their accusing eyes and disapproving looks said it all.

  “P-please accept it,” Julius continued imploringly. “I-if you do, then I’ll do everything you want! I’ll even let you have your way with my body! You can do whatever you want to me!”

  “G-ge…”

  Eric clamped a hand over his mouth. He felt sick, like he might vomit at any moment. His stomach rebelled and threatened to release the dinner he’d eaten last night.

  Several people formed a semi-circle around them, glaring at him like he was some kind of pestilence. Their words were like stakes being driven through his heart.

  “Did you hear that?” a woman whispered not-so-quietly.

  “I did,” another said. “How vulgar.”

  “How could that lecherous fiend make such a young girl do stuff like that to him?”

  “I don’t know, but I think we should call the enforcers.”

  There were few things Eric could do in a situation like this. Out of all of them, one stood out far more than any of the others.

  Run.

  Turning on a dime, Eric bolted down the mall, away from Julius, who shouted at him to stop. He didn’t stop, however, and continued running until the young bishounen had disappeared from sight.

  “Ha… ha…” Eric leaned against a wall, breathing heavily. “I think… I lost him…”

  “Ah, Lover-kun!”

  “Who the hell is Lover-kun?!” Eric shouted, then choked when he realized who was standing before him. “Gyyyyaaaaaa!”

  “W-wait!” Julius shouted before chasing after him. “P-please wait!”

  “No! Go away!”

  “I just wanted to—”

  “GO AWAY!”

  Eric ran all over the mall. He hid inside of clothing racks, inside of bathroom stalls, and he even tried hiding in a girl’s changing room—which ended with him getting the crap beaten out of him. No matter where he hid, no matter how much he ran, somehow, someway, Julius was always right behind him.

  I don’t get it! How can this kid keep up with me?!

  Eric wasn’t Kevin. He didn’t have Kevin’s insane stamina and freakishly fast pace, but he was still a former track team member. There shouldn’t have been any way for some pretty boy with such a thin, fragile-looking body to keep up with him.

  It’s like he has precognition or the ability to control time or something! Is he some kind of Jedi?!

  Staring at the pretty boy revealed that, unlike Eric who was on his last leg, Julius was still right as rain. He looked fresher than a freaking daisy, as if he hadn’t been running all over the mall. There wasn’t even a single hair out of place! How unfair was that?

  “Ha… ha… are you… a yōkai?” Eric asked.

  Julius tilted his head. “A yōkai?”

  “D-don’t play dumb with me,” Eric rasped. “Everybody knows what yōkai are these days. There’s no way you can be human! What are you?”

  “I-I am sorry,” Julius apologized, bowing so low that his shirt slid off his left shoulder. “I didn’t mean to imply that I wasn’t aware of yōkai. Your question just caught me by surprise.” He
paused, then blushed. “I-if you want, as an apology, I would be willing to pay you back by letting you have your wicked way with me…”

  “Would you stop mentioning that already?!” Eric dragged a hand down his face. He felt like he’d aged six decades in the past six seconds. “So, are you or are you not a yōkai?”

  “Um, I am a yōkai,” Julius confessed, looking down at his feet. He wasn’t wearing shoes, Eric noticed. “Is that… that’s not a problem, is it?”

  “I don’t care what you are,” Eric said.

  “R-really?”

  “Ugh, no. My best friend is dating a kitsune. This entire city is mostly filled with yōkai. Humans like myself are a minority. Why would I care if you’re not human?”

  Julius sniffed several times, wiping his eyes to keep the tears from falling.

  “O-oi,” Eric said, startled. “Are you—”

  “Thank you!” Julius lunged at Eric and latched onto him like an otaku on Fate Testarossa. “Thank you so much! I knew I was making the right choice when I chose you!”

  “W-w-what do you think you’re doing?! Get off me this instant!” Eric shrieked. Yet no matter how many times he shouted, or what he did, Julius refused to let go.

  And so, Eric was forced to endure an entire day at the mall with a bishounen latched onto his side.

  Sometimes, he really hated his life.

  ***

  “I think today was a productive day,” Lilian said as she and Lindsay relaxed in her bedroom. Lindsay’s parents weren’t home, which was probably a good thing. This Lilian didn’t believe in wearing clothes, apparently, and the moment they’d arrived home, she’d stripped herself naked.

  Lying on her back on Lindsay’s bed, the redhead exposed her entire self to Lindsay. Her legs dangled off the ground as she gently swung her small feet back and forth. Every movement, no matter how small, caused her breasts to jiggle and bounce. Red hair haloed her body, gleaming as the light coruscated off it. Nine tails covered a good portion of Lilian’s body, but it left more than enough exposed that Lindsay’s throat felt dry.

  I really think I’m beginning to hate Kevin. It’s just unfair how he gets to see this every single day.

  “Lindsay? Are you listening to me?”

  “Huh?” Lindsay blinked, snapping out of her fugue. “O-oh! Um, yes.” Lindsay needed a moment to recall Lilian’s words. “Though I’m really not sure if you can call this a productive day. I mean, I couldn’t even cast a single spell.”

  “I wouldn’t worry about that. Most magical girls take a while before they can use actual magic, unless they’re placed in dire circumstances that requires them to learn magic faster.” Lilian waved a hand through the air. Her nine tails crawled over her body like velvety serpents.

  Lindsay gulped. “I-is that so?”

  “Yep. Unfortunately, we don’t have any kind of plot device that convenient.”

  “What? Plot device?”

  “So we’ll have to use good old-fashioned training—at least for right now.”

  “You’re completely ignoring me, aren’t you?”

  “Anyway,” Lilian continued, proving that she was, indeed, ignoring Lindsay, “I’m confident in your learning curve.” She turned her head and smiled at Lindsay, who felt her loins burn from that smile. “I know that you’ll become a strong magical girl before too long.”

  “Um… thank you?”

  Lilian pouted at her half-hearted gratitude. “Why did you say that like you weren’t sure if that was a good thing?”

  “Because I’m not sure it is a good thing.”

  “Hawa…”

  ***

  A tired Eric arrived home. His movements were sluggish as he closed the door behind him and Julius, took off his shoes, and listlessly entered his bedroom. He didn’t think it was possible to feel this exhausted.

  “Um, e-excuse me, Master?” Julius asked with a blush.

  “Don’t call me that!”

  “But, then what should I call you if not Master? I owe you my life, and you’ve already seen me… all exposed.” Julius blushed in a way that would have looked adorable on, say, Christine. Eric felt like puking.

  “Would you stop bringing that up already?! I’m trying to forget about that!”

  “I-I’m sorry.”

  Awkward tension hung in the air. Eric fell onto his bed and stared at the ceiling, lamenting his current circumstances.

  Why did this have to happen to me? What did I ever do to deserve this?

  “So, um, about becoming a magical girl…”

  “Not this again,” Eric groaned. “Look, I have no intention of becoming a magical girl. I don’t even see how that’s possible for me anyways. In case you haven’t noticed, I’m not a girl.”

  “Well, yes, that is true, but being a magical girl isn’t about whether or not you’re a girl,” Julius tried to lecture. “It’s the wand that chooses the wizard, after all.”

  “Don’t quote Harry Potter to me!”

  “Iyahn!”’

  “Anyway, the answer is still no. I won’t do it.”

  “I see.” Julius sniffed several times. “Even after I bore myself to you, you still refuse to take responsibility by becoming a magical girl.”

  “Those are two completely different things!” Eric shrieked. “And stop mentioning that!”

  Tears fell down Julius’s cheeks, and suddenly, Eric felt horribly guilty. It didn’t matter that this person, this yōkai, was a guy. In that moment, Julius looked very much like a crying young woman.

  “Ah… l-look,” Eric tried to say, “I didn’t mean, well, you know. I don’t want you to feel bad. It’s just that, asking me to be do something out of the blue like that… it’s not… you know?”

  “No.” Julius cried, tears staining his cheeks and running down his chin. “I don’t know. Why won’t you accept my offer? Do you know how long I’ve searched for someone whom she finds worthy of wielding her?”

  “Her?”

  “A really long time!” Julius, his body overflowing with emotion, all but shouted. “A really, really, really long time! But she’s so picky. No matter how many potential magical girls I put in front of her, she’s rejected all of them. You’re the only one she hasn’t outright rejected! So please… please accept her. Please help me by accepting her!”

  Eric felt like he was being smashed with a sledgehammer of guilt. It weighed him down, pushing on him, forcing his shoulders to slump.

  “All right!” He shouted. “I’ll accept! I’ll accept! Just please stop crying!”

  Julius sniffled, trying to dry his tears with his shirt. “You’ll really accept?”

  “Yes,” Eric muttered, all of the strength draining out of him. “I accept.”

  And just like that, the tears marring Julius’s face vanished. “Great! I’m so glad you’ve decided to become a magical girl!”

  “Urk! L-let’s not be hasty now…”

  “We’ll start your training tomorrow.”

  “C-can’t you at least give me a few days to let it sink in…?”

  “Oh! I’m so excited! I just know you’ll be the best magical girl ever!”

  “Listen to me when I’m talking to you, damn it!” Eric shouted, but Julius didn’t listen. The boy continued to ramble on, chatting well until the sun went down.

  Somehow, I feel like I’ve been set up, Eric bemoaned.

  He really did want to cry.

  ***

  Several days had passed since Jack and Jill were assigned to watch Kevin, Lilian, Iris, and Kuroneko.

  Very little had actually happened in that time. Kuroneko seemed more interested in showing the trio around than anything else. Jack and Jill were beginning to get bored.

  “I’m bored, Jill,” Jack moaned. Lying on his bed, hands behind his head, Jack stared up at the ceiling. His sister didn’t answer. “Did you hear me? I said I’m bored.”

  “Then why don’t you do something productive?” came the snappish reply.

  Unlike Jack, who was
lazing on his bed, Jill sat near the window, monitoring the street below. Their apartment was right across the street from The Yōkai Café, which she’d taken to watching like a hawk.

  Jack had no idea how his sister could spend so much time staring at a street. He was just as dedicated to their mission as she was, but he couldn’t stay in mission mode 24/7.

  “They’re leaving,” Jill said suddenly and, just like that, as if a switch had been flipped, Jack stopped groaning and stood up.

  Leaning against the wall, he glanced outside of his window and observed The Yōkai Café entrance. Their targets were coming out—all four of them.

  “Are they wearing bathing suits?” asked Jack.

  Jill looked jealous. “Looks like it.”

  All four of them were dressed in bathing suits. Jack had to admit, all three of the females looked mighty fine—and was it just him, or did their tails and ears make them look hotter somehow?

  “Damn, they look good. It’s a shame we’re on opposites sides of this war. If circumstances were different, I’d have tapped those asses like nobody’s business.”

  Jill wrinkled her nose at him. “Pig.”

  “Male,” Jack corrected.

  A car pulled up to the group down below. It rolled to a stop and a woman dressed in a swimsuit designed to look like a maid outfit stepped out. She opened the door and the group entered the car, and then she walked back to the driver’s side, started the car back up, and drove off.

  Jack and Jill looked at each other.

  Then Jack reached into his pocket, pulled out his phone, and made the call.

  “Hello, Officer Jack. I take it you’ve got some news for me?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Nice! You don’t know how bored I’ve been getting just sitting around here. Plus, I think your commanding officer is starting to hate me.”

  Jack didn’t comment on that. “Sir, the targets have just gotten in a car and driven off.”

  “That doesn’t sound very important. Where are they heading?”

  “Based on their previous activity the day after they arrived, I can only assume they are traveling to the beach.”

  “The beach?”

  “The beach,” Jack confirmed.