by Phil Gabriel
“Why?” I asked. “Does she have something against magicians?”
Kitty-Sue pursed her lips for a moment while stroking her collar. “No, she thinks that she should be higher than me. She has two tails...” She trailed off.
I smirked. “So, does that mean she also has two...?”
Akiko interrupted our verbal play. “Scott-Sensei, she is much stronger than Kitty-Sue. She jealous of collar you gave Kitty-Sue and expects better gift from you.”
“Sorry,” I said, “I’m all out of incredibly rare magical Artifacts to give away as gifts.”
“Well,” said Kitty-Sue, “there is another one.” She glanced at Princess Blade. At her look, Princess changed into her preferred form, a yard-long sword. We heard the sound of a blade being drawn. Although the “blade on metal” sound effect has been debunked, once she saw her first samurai movie, Princess started imitating those sounds. Princess used it like a rattlesnake would use her rattles, as a warning.
Shaking my head, I said, “No one is giving Princess away! She’s bonded to me now.” I leaned back in the booth and placed a comforting hand on Princess’ pommel.
“Scott-Sensei,” interrupted Akiko, “sorry, but I must understand. We speak Japanese now.” She turned to Kitty-Sue and started a rapid-fire stream of questions in Japanese. The reaction on her face told me she was unhappy with the answers. The few words I understood were giri, obligation or duty, and a lot of honorifics.
I ordered another bottle of wine and topped up my glass while they continued to talk. I was halfway through the bottle when they started to wind down.
Finally, at a statement from Kitty-Sue, Akiko stared hard at my forehead, as if looking for something only she could see. She crossed her arms, set her mouth in a firm line, nodded slightly, and said, “Hai.”
Kitty-Sue, looking relieved, turned and fixed me with her brightest fake smile. “I’m sure everything will be OK!”
“So,” I said, sipping my wine, “do you happen to have any pictures of this sister?”
“Yes, of course,” said Kitty-Sue as she pulled out her phone and brought up the photo app.
“I’m especially interested in the answer to my question about the two tails,” I continued as I looked at the screen.
“What!” said Kitty-Sue as she snatched back the phone. “I don’t have nude pictures of my sister!”
“OK,” I said. “Just show me her face.” Kitty-Sue scrolled through the photos and finally selected one and turned the phone towards me. I saw a typical Japanese woman in business attire. She was clearly related to Kitty-Sue, but darker. When I focused past the image, I saw she was black haired even in her fox form. Pretty, but nothing to shake my world.
“So, what’s her name?” I asked as Akiko leaned in to look at the photo.
“Natsumi,” answered Kitty-Sue.
At the same time, Akiko loudly shouted, “Nogitsune!”
Princess awakened at the term, the blade sound much louder than before.
Giving my student a flat look while putting away her phone, Kitty-Sue said, “We don’t like that term.”
“Wait,” I said. “I thought Natsumi was a guy’s name.”
“It depends on the Kanji,” said Kitty-Sue. “Also, gender is kind of a fluid thing with shapeshifters.”
“I think I will call her”—I paused for drama— “Naughty-Sue!”
“Scott-san,” Kitty-Sue said, “giving cute names to dangerous things”—she glanced at Princess— “doesn’t make them any less dangerous.”
“So, you’re saying she’s dangerous?” I asked, nodding at my fae gifted sword.
“She’s a bloodthirsty instrument of war,” said Kitty-Sue. “Of course, she’s dangerous.” Princess gave a zither-like hum of contentment at the compliment.
“My sister,” continued Kitty-Sue, “is even more dangerous because she’s sneaky.”
“Scott-Sensei,” said Akiko, “just don’t go, avoid this nogitsune. She’s much worse than Jorōgumo.”
“A cute little vixen more dangerous than a giant spider-goddess?” I scoffed, then drank the last of the wine. “Anyway, it’s too late,” I said. “I already promised to meet her. You know how I feel about keeping my word.”
They looked at each other for a moment, and I had the feeling that an entire conversation took place in the blink of an eye. Kitty-Sue raised an eyebrow in query, Akiko nodded, and both girls turned to look at me. “OK,” said Kitty-Sue, “we need to go now. You have a big day tomorrow.”
I waved down the waitress to get the bill and request they box up the leftovers for us. I picked up Princess and the doggie bag, and we headed back.
Once back in the apartment, we settled in as Kitty-Sue prepared tea. We continued our nightly ritual of tea. After tea, Akiko left to check on her living family.
Next was bathing and preparation for bed. While bathing, Kitty-Sue was quiet and thoughtful, not her usual cheerful self. We dried off and dressed for bed.
Kitty-Sue knelt on the carpet next to the bed. She sat with her legs folded up underneath and had a small towel on her lap. Beside her on the carpet was another small towel with some strange implements laid out with precision.
“Put your head here,” she said, patting the towel on her lap. “I will clean your ears now.”
“What?” I asked.
“It’s called mimi souji,” she said. “You lay your head here; I clean your ears with these.” She pointed to the instruments on the towel beside her.
When a beautiful woman asks you to put your head on her lap, you shouldn’t ask questions. I lay down on my right side and placed my head on her lap, right ear down, facing away from her. Her muscular legs, padded with the slightest amount of fat, made a perfect cushion for my head. I could see us in the mirror hung on the back of the bedroom door.
Kitty-Sue leaned over, her long hair tracing gently across my neck and forehead as she examined my ear intently. I could smell the delicate scent of the shampoo she used. She started by rubbing my earlobe gently for several minutes. Reminded of an old TV series, I said, “‘You give good lobe.’”
“Thank you,” she said. “What episode is that from?”
“One of the Star Trek shows,” I responded. “Did you recognize the quote?”
“Not really,” she said, “but your voice changes when you quote one of those shows or comics. Now, shhhh. I have to work.” She picked up an implement and started cleaning my ear gently. Kitty-Sue hummed a tune as she worked, cleaning my ear and continuing to rub my earlobe.
I had almost dozed off when she stopped cleaning. She patted my head and said, “Turn over now.”
I got up, and we moved around so that my left ear was down, my face towards her belly. As she cleaned my right ear, the faint perfume of her womanhood intensified. I tilted my head slightly, looking up at her generous breasts under the kimono, and fought the urge to reach up and grab them. She smiled down at me and pushed my head back into her lap, continuing her humming.
“I hope you’re not trying to hypnotize me,” I said as her ministrations lulled me into a state of deep relaxation.
“You know I could never hurt you, Scott-san,” she said, then added in a whisper, “Even without the collar.”
Half asleep, I murmured, “Next time, I’ll do your ears.”
“Yes,” she said. “Next time.” I felt a drop of moisture hit my cheek as I drifted into a dream of warm rains.
Seven
Teatime with the Queen of the Kitsune
We left the apartment the next day at 2:00 p.m. Kitty-Sue was dressed in her conservative businesswoman attire, Akiko was in her school uniform, and I had exchanged my normal jeans and pullover for brown chinos and a button-down shirt. Kitty-Sue had tried to get me into a suit, but it was against my democratic principles to dress up for royalty.
On our walk to the ANA Intercontinental, Kitty-Sue was visibly nervous, repeating how I should conduct myself in front of the queen, how deeply to bow, how to address her, etc.
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br /> “Yeah,” I finally said, “I’m not going to do any of that crap.”
She grabbed my arm and stopped our progress. “But, but, you can’t do that! She’s the queen.”
“She’s not my queen. As a matter of fact, she’s not the first queen I’ve met,” I said. “I once had a queen in my pentagram.”
Her grip on my arm tightened. “Just because you performed a small charm or spell for a royal doesn’t mean you can treat all royalty the same.”
Patting her hand that still gripped my arm, I assured her as I reached into my satchel to show the passport I had received in exchange for my services, “It was no ‘small charm.’ I rejuvenated her by twenty-five years,” I said. “And when I say I had her in my pentagram—”
A small spark snapped into my butt, jerking me to a stop. I quickly turned, and Akiko was standing there with her arms crossed, looking way too innocent. I was about to tell her off when my brain caught up with my mouth. I had been about to brag to the girl I had been cuddling yesterday (with hopes of more cuddling shortly) about an old lover. I nodded at Akiko to let her know I understood, pushed the burgundy passport back into my satchel, and turned back to Kitty-Sue. As we walked, the satchel went into camouflage mode, fading to near-invisibility.
“Just teasing, Kitty-Sue,” I said, avoiding an outright lie. “You almost believed me, right?” I rubbed her hand where it gripped my arm.
She sighed in relief before I continued, “Think your auntie will like the story?”
Kitty-Sue jerked her hand back and covered her mouth in shock. “Please, Scott,” she said, “don’t tell that story to my auntie.”
“Why not?” I said as we continued walking. “It’s a great story. Maybe that will force her to call me Sir Scott.”
Looking intent, Kitty-Sue said, “Don’t claim a title you can’t back up. Especially with the queen.”
“But—” I started, intending to let her know my royal title was real; stopping when I realized that would lead back to the story of my Deal to rejuvenate the queen. Better to leave that story for a time when she was in a better mood, or at least unarmed. “—But I won’t tell the story if you think it’s inappropriate.”
“Yes,” Kitty-Sue said forcefully, “it’s definitely inappropriate.”
We arrived at the street level of the ANA Intercontinental, which had escalators to ride up to the entrance. Kitty-Sue preceded me up the escalator, allowing me to admire her fine assets and tail. I had a sudden flashback to the first day I met her, on a similar escalator. We had been enemies then; later we were allied against Jorōgumo, and now we were something more complicated.
Akiko glided up the stairs beside the escalator, wearing the composed face she wore when in public. Princess Blade was in my right hand, morphed into her public shape of an umbrella. I felt the faint thrum of metallic vibrations through the handle. As always, she was ready and eager for combat. I sent a calming impulse to let her know that I expected no danger.
We entered the hotel through the large revolving door, to be greeted by a female hotel employee wearing an elegant kimono. She bowed and greeted us in Japanese, then gestured to our group. “If you three would please follow me,” she said.
As we followed, I realized she had included Akiko in her greeting. So she either could see the normally invisible Akiko or had been coached on who to expect. Kitty-Sue took my left hand, and I felt the soft tingle of Akiko’s touch on my right elbow and the thrum of Princess’ handle in my right hand as we walked.
We walked past another set of escalators, which had a man-made waterfall underneath. The gentle cascade of water cooled the area and provided a backdrop of white noise. It would have been relaxing if I hadn’t recently battled Jorōgumo, the Spider-Whore, whose favorite spots were waterfalls. I had developed an aversion to these places ever since.
The kimono-clad woman made a left turn that led us into the Cascade Cafe, a quaint coffee shop with a number of tables scattered throughout the space. Only one table was full. The entire space must have been reserved for this meeting.
At a table sat three Japanese ladies; all looked youthful. The woman at the head of the table was dressed in an elaborate kimono—she was obviously the queen; the other two were in the Japanese equivalent of business attire. The queen had intense eyes and an imperious visage.
As we approached the table, I shifted my vision to include other spectrums to gain more information. The woman on the queen’s right was obviously Kitty-Sue’s sister, as she had black fox markings and two tails. She closely matched the photo Kitty-Sue had shown me earlier. Her body was stockier than the lithe Kitty-Sue, not really to my taste.
The other woman had only one tail and coloring similar to Kitty-Sue’s. Although she looked barely older than Kitty-Sue, she was obviously the mother of Kitty-Sue and Naughty-Sue. She gave a genuine smile at Kitty-Sue’s arrival and widened her eyes in approval when she saw we were holding hands.
When I turned my gaze upon the queen, expecting to see a majestic supernatural creature with nine fox tails, I saw only what my normal vision had displayed, a well-composed lady wearing a kimono. Although she did have that realer-than-real aspect that denoted the supernatural. It was strange that she looked the same no matter what spectra I used. The only indication she was not human was the ever-present slit pupils that all kitsune had.
I wanted to probe deeper to see if I could evaluate her power level. A glance from her, along with the tiniest shake of her head, stopped my probe before it even started. I suddenly felt like I had been caught trying to look up Mommy’s skirt.
As we reached the table, Kitty-Sue released my hand and brought her hands to her sides, palms facing her thighs. A glance at Akiko showed her in the same pose. They performed identical bows, much lower than I had expected. The two retainers rose and bowed, but not to the same degree. The queen merely nodded her head.
Having already decided that it wasn’t in my nature to bow to royalty, I just said, “Hello, Queenie, ladies, nice to meet you.” The sudden frozen looks on the faces of everybody relaxed when the queen laughed.
“Our magician is refreshingly informal,” said the queen with a chuckle. “Please have a seat.”
Wary of Naughty-Sue’s intentions, and to avoid putting my back to the entrance, I sat next to Kitty-Sue’s mother. Akiko sat to my left, and Kitty-Sue sat opposite me, next to her sister. I hung Princess Blade, in her umbrella guise, on the arm of Akiko’s chair, within easy reach.
At a nod from the queen, the uniformed waiters hurried over and took our orders. Tea for the kitsune, coffee for Akiko and me. The waiter made no objection when I insisted on an extra coffee and setting for the invisible Akiko.
As the waiters scurried away to prepare our orders, the kitsune murmured among themselves in Japanese. Akiko provided a running translation, whispered into my left ear. Her ghost voice should have been inaudible to anyone but me. However, after a few moments, I could feel the queen’s ears perk up, although no change came to her composed face.
“Please accept our apologies,” she said. “Just chatting about family business. Ladies, let’s use English for the comfort of our magician.”
I didn’t like the subtle emphasis she put on “our magician.” No way to complain without seeming gauche, so I kept my mouth shut.
The waiters arrived, rolling a cart with an immaculate tea service. Naturally, the ladies were served first, the steam from their cups wafting the aroma of expensive teas into the air above the table. Then coffees were poured for Akiko and me.
As the waiters left the area, I felt the tingle of kitsune magic, and a translucent dome appeared, centered on our table and extending out about ten feet. Everything inside the dome was crystal clear; everything outside appeared blurred, like a moving oil painting. A glance at Kitty-Sue’s phone, face up on the table, showed that all the reception bars had gone to zero. My phone, sitting in front of me, still showed a connection, due to some work I had done on the wireless. I turned off the phone while po
cketing it, to avoid raising questions.
The flows of magic were diminished, but not absent. Was this a prelude to an attack? I raised one eyebrow at the queen.
“Just to ensure privacy while we have our tea,” said the queen as she reached for her teacup.
Everyone waited for the queen to sip first before taking their own cups in hand. Akiko leaned down and inhaled the aroma of her coffee, then reached down to the cup and whispered a trigger word while pulling her invisible hands apart. Suddenly, there were two cups of coffee, one faintly translucent—a cup of coffee a ghost could enjoy.
At this display of magical ability inside her dome, the queen set her cup back on the saucer and stared at my student before speaking. “So, the stories are true, Scott-san; you have taken a ghost as a student?”
“Yes,” I said. “She is very talented. I’m proud to have her as my student.”
Peering at Akiko with more than human eyes, the queen continued, “Most ghosts either pass on quickly to the other world or are”—she tilted her head, considering the correct word— “tethered to a place or...a person. Now it appears that this ghost is tethered to you.
“It would appear that you are fond of creating these ‘tethers,’ as you have also tethered my niece.”
“No more than your”—I paused, looking for the right word— “subjects are tethered to you by bonds of duty and respect.”
“These”—long pause— “tethers could be considered a form of slavery,” said the queen, looking at Kitty-Sue’s collar. I felt the fingers of kitsune magic pulling at the bond I shared with Kitty-Sue through the collar.
Oh, crap, breaking the bond and forcefully removing the collar would bring a pissed-off djinn to Tokyo. I didn’t know who would win in a fight between a nine-tailed kitsune queen on her home turf and a djinn, but I certainly did not want to find out. Kitty-Sue had volunteered to put on the collar; I hadn’t forced her. Desperate for a way to calm the queen down, I said, “Why don’t you ask her, Queenie? Surely you can tell if she is being truthful?”
