AMERICAN KITSUNE: VOLUME 9
BRANDON VARNELL
Illustrated by Kirsten Moody
Edited by Crystal Holdefer
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.
A Fox’s Hostility
Copyright © 2018 Brandon Varnell
Illustrations © Kirsten Moody
Ebook formatting: Lia at Free Your Words
All rights reserved
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WORDS YOU SHOULD KNOW
Tsundere: a Japanese term for a character development process that describes a person who is initially cold (and sometimes even hostile) before gradually showing a warmer, friendlier side over time.
Shōnen: manga aimed at a teenage male target-demographic readership. The age group varies with individual readers and different magazines, but it is primarily intended for boys between the ages of 12 to 18.
Boke and Tsukkomi: this is a kind of Straight Man and Wise Guy duo, but it's also the interaction between two characters who constantly play off each other. The tsukkomi is the Straight Man of the pair, roughly, while the boke is more or less the Wise Guy — but it's not an exact match.
Lamia: In Greek mythology, Lamia was a Queen of Libya who became a child-murdering monster feared for her malevolence. According the Greek legends, the goddess Hera slayed all of Lamia's children (except Scylla) in anger due to the fact that Lamia slept with her husband, Zeus. These days, Lamia is often a word used to describe super sexy women with the upper body of a human and the lower body of a snake.
My Soul, Your Beats: The opening theme song for an anime called Angel Beats.
Shibari: The contemporary meaning of Shibari describes an ancient Japanese artistic form of rope bondage.
Yandere: A character, usually a girl, who fits the archetype of being genuinely kind, loving, or gentle, but suddenly switching to being aggressive or deranged, often homicidally so.
Zanpakuto: The main weapon of the Shinigami, the Arrancar, and the Visored in an anime called Bleach.
CHAPTER 1
BEING GENRE SAVVY ISN’T EASY
Justin stood by the door, listening to Commander Paine speak to a bunch of people dressed to the nines in really expensive suits, wondering what he was doing there.
The room they were in wasn’t large, but then, conference rooms never were. Shaped like a rectangle, a long table sat in the center of the room. Sitting around that table were several people, prominent members of the United Nations, the United States, and various world governments. Many of them he didn’t recognize, but that didn’t surprise him either. Standing at the head of the table, before a projector displaying the video feed of a battle between two kitsune, was his boss: Commander Ethan Paine.
“You can see here how the attack unleashed by the yōkai decimated the entire shrine in China,” Commander Paine said, his stern expression glaring at the people present, making them squirm in their seats. Justin snorted. His commander had a frightening glare. “Over two hundred people died in that attack, a single attack committed by a yōkai during a fight. That kind of unmitigated power is dangerous, which is why I believe we should not allow these monsters to roam free any longer. We must take decisive action against them now, before more lives are lost.”
Justin watched as the group of old men mumbled together, seemingly discussing the situation. One of them, a younger man with shaggy brown hair and eyes of the same color, turned to the commander.
“We’ve long known about the threat that yōkai pose,” he started, his voice confident and strong. “That is part of the reason we agreed to help fund this group—to ensure the protection of humanity. However, it is that same threat posed by yōkai that has kept us from doing what you suggest. Numerous as we are, our numbers do not guarantee us victory over the yōkai, especially if the various races decide to put aside their differences and fight us as one.”
“I doubt that would ever happen.” Commander Paine was dismissive of the young man’s concern, waving his hand as though warding off a bug. “There are hundreds of different races of yōkai, and very few of them have ever gotten along. Even back in ancient times, yōkai tended to fight more amongst themselves than they have us. Back then, we humans were simply so weak and powerless that we would get swept up in their conflicts, which is usually how humans die at the hands of yōkai these days, too. To them, we are like insects, tiny little creatures that scurry beneath their feet. They barely even notice when they step on us.”
Commander Paine paused, though whether this was to let his words sink in or to take a breath, Justin didn’t know.
“However, I do understand your concern to some extent. If the yōkai races ever did form an alliance and fight against us, we would surely incur heavy losses, though I am confident in our chances of victory regardless. That being said, my science division has recently created a new weapon, one which should serve as an admirable deterrent in the event that the many yōkai races ever do form an alliance to fight against us.”
A door in the back of the conference room slid open, and in walked something that only vaguely resembled a humanoid. It stalked forward on whirring servo motors, moving with an unusual grace and a deadly intent. Clawed metal feet scratched against the carpet. Its gleaming silver surface rippled as it moved. Strange, undulating patterns seemed to form along its body, as if it was made of liquid instead of metal. A red visor created a V-shape on its face, seeming to glare at everyone from its bullet-shaped head.
“This is the YK series war machine, a killing machine made specifically with exterminating yōkai in mind. We have already field tested it against various yōkai, and it has held up well against everything that has been thrown at it. This machine can even fight on par with an oni, the most physically powerful type of yōkai that we know of. With this invention, gentlemen, killing yōkai will be easy, and we won’t need to sacrifice our sons and daughters to do it.”
That was not technically true. Few of these yōkai killers had been produced. Commander Paine was merely showing his war machine off to make those who would be otherwise reticent about starting a war agree with his idea.
Justin observed the politicians from his place in the back. He could see how Commander Paine’s words affected them, could see how the sight of this machine struck fear into their hearts. Yet as the seconds passed, most of those who might have disagreed with starting a war started nodding at the idea.
He almost scoffed. Idiots.
“This invention of yours does indeed sound promising,” an older man wearing a turban began, “but in my experience, there are always downsides to weapons like this.”
“They do cost a lot of money to make,” Commander Paine admitted. “With the budget we’ve been given, we have only been able to produce twenty of these. Three prototypes and seventeen finished models. The parts are also difficult to make, so it will be awhile before we can f
ully replace our troops with them.”
“Then would it not be better for us to wait until production costs are lowered before going with your proposal?” asked another gentleman, this one speaking with a heavy British accent. “We do not want the yōkai to initiate hostilities between us while we’re still waiting for our forces to gather strength.”
“Of course you would say that,” another scoffed, his accent hard to place. Justin thought he sounded Greek. “Your country has not yet suffered from any serious incursions. Just one month ago an expensive island resort in the Pagasetic Gulf was completely annihilated by a battle between kitsune. We were lucky that no one was there during the time it was destroyed. Even so, the amount of damage done to our land was extensive.”
“The island resort you’re talking about was a kitsune-owned resort, wasn’t it? I do not see a problem with that. If they want to destroy their own property, then I say we should let them. So long as they do not involve us, I couldn’t care less.”
“They’re a menace to humanity!”
“So long as they don’t involve us in their battles, I don’t really care what they do.”
Justin looked up at the tiles on the ceiling, absently counting them while wondering what he should have for dinner that night.
If I even make it back in time for dinner. With the way things are going right now, that doesn’t seem very likely.
“They’ve already involved us in their battles,” Commander Paine interjected. “I have already shown you the battles that happened between several kitsune in China, which not only decimated a prominent shrine, but also killed a large number of people, many of which were tourists from your own countries. If you need further evidence of the threat these yōkai pose, then I will give it to you. I have brought one of my subordinates with me. He has firsthand experience with yōkai and can tell you about how grave a threat they truly are.”
Justin knew that was his cue. With something of a sigh, he uncrossed his arms and walked to the front, ignoring the eyes on him and the whispers commenting on his young age.
Coughing into his hand, Justin pressed a button on the console controlling the projector, which changed the video feedback to another yōkai battle, one in which a three-tailed kitsune was attempting to kill a two-tailed kitsune with red hair and green eyes.
“If there is one thing that I have learned from my time observing the various yōkai, it is that they do not care about the lives of us humans. As you can see here, the kitsune with three tails, who we have since learned went by the name of Seth Naraka, enslaved the entire student body of a high school in Phoenix, all in order to kill another kitsune called Lilian Pnév̱ma…”
***
Kevin Swift rested his head on the desk, only paying a modicum of attention to the many conversations flowing over him. His eyelids threatened to droop and his mind wanted to shut down, but he admirably held onto consciousness. Class was starting soon.
“You look tired.”
Lifting his head from the desk, Kevin directed his weary eyes toward the girl who’d spoken.
Lindsay was one of his best friends, someone he’d known for many years and once had a crush on. Her pixie cut blond hair framed a cute face, and her athletic body was slim and toned from years of playing soccer. Nothing really seemed to have changed, nor did it look like anything was out of place, at least on the outside. Ever since Kevin, Lilian, and Iris had returned home, an air of melancholy seemed to hang over the young woman.
“That’s because I am tired,” Kevin deadpanned.
“Yeah, I kinda figured that. I was just stating my observation.”
“Whatever.”
The resounding thonk! of a skull meeting a desk echoed throughout the class room as Kevin let gravity do its work with his head. He could hear Lindsay’s chuckling. He also heard the snickers of Iris, who sat behind him.
“What’s wrong, Stud?” came the taunting voice of Lilian’s fraternal twin sister. “You seem so exhausted. Did you have problems keeping up with Lily-pad and me last night?”
“Last night?” Lindsay asked.
“How many times have I told you not to call me Lily-pad?” asked Lilian.
“Don’t know. Probably a couple hundred by now.”
“Tch!”
Sitting in the desk next to him, Lilian ran her fingers down his back, soothing his agitated nerves with her gentle ministrations.
“What’s this about Kevin having trouble keeping up?” Lindsay questioned.
Kevin somehow found the strength to lift his head again. He turned and pierced Iris with a baleful stare.
“I can keep up with you two just fine, or did you forget who had both you and Lilian panting on the ground from exhaustion? As I recall, you were practically begging me to stop.”
Lindsay suddenly turned red. “B-begging you to stop—just what were you three doing last night?!”
“He’s got you there, Iris.” Lilian grinned at the now pouting Iris. “Though I will say that if you hadn’t gotten the drop on me with that surprise attack of yours, there’s no way you would have been able to tie me up like that, which, I might add, is the only reason you won.”
“T-tie you up?!” Lindsay squeaked, her already red cheeks turning sixteen shades darker than before.
Kevin scratched the back of his head. “Okay. I’ll concede that you might have won if I hadn’t surprised you, but you know what they say about love and war. Trickery and deception are just as important in a fight as combat skills.”
“I guess.” Lilian leaned down and kissed him on the cheek, earning a sleepy grin from him. “It’s not like I can’t say I didn’t enjoy being tied up by you. It was kinda hot.”
“Hot?!” Lindsay was practically shrieking by now. “Just what happened last night?!”
“Is your masochistic side coming out, Lily-pad?” Iris asked with a mischievous twinkle in her eyes.
Lilian stared her sister down. “I don’t think you’ve got any room to talk, especially since you were the one who was panting and drooling all over the place by the end of it.”
“J-just what are you three talking about?!”
“Hmph!” Iris crossed her arms under her chest. “That’s because I was going easy on him. I thought I would be nice since it was his first time with both of us. Now that I know better, I won’t go easy on him ever again.”
Lilian and Kevin shared an amused glance.
“So you say…” Lilian began.
“… But we all know how hard you were trying to keep up,” Kevin finished, his voice teasing. “Face it, without those supernatural abilities of yours, your stamina is seriously lacking compared to mine or Lilian’s.”
“Tch!” Iris turned her head to hide the way her cheeks flushed at being double-teamed. However, it was easy for anyone to see how red her face had become. “Stop acting so cocky. The only reason you managed to pin me down like that was because you have more actual experience than I do.”
“That might be true,” Kevin agreed, nodding along with her. “Lilian and I have been doing this a lot longer than you have.”
“There, you see? If I had the experience that you two do, then I wouldn’t have been so thoroughly humiliated like that.”
Lilian leaned and cupped her hand to Kevin’s ear, whispering in an exaggeratedly loud voice. “She says that, but we both know that she enjoyed it when you wrestled her to the ground and pinned her down. Iris is surprisingly meek when it comes to these kinds of things.”
Her cheeks finally puffing out in a pout, Iris opened her mouth to speak—
“WOULD YOU THREE STOP IGNORING ME?!”
Kevin, Lilian, and Iris stopped talking amongst themselves and turned to look at Lindsay. The tomboyish blond was panting, her breathing labored and her face beet red. She looked like she’d spent several hours playing soccer in the middle of an Arizona summer.
“Sorry,” the three said in unison.
Lindsay huffed and crossed her arms. “If you guys were really sorry, t
hen you’d stop ignoring me and tell me what you’re talking about.” Her face suddenly took on a brighter hue of red. Kevin mused that she might be red enough to glow in the dark. “You weren’t… I mean, you three aren’t talking about doing… that… are you?”
“That?” Kevin tilted his head before eventually shrugging. “I’m not exactly sure what you mean by ‘that,’ but we were just talking about our training last night.”
“W-what? Training?” It was almost amusing to see the flabbergasted expression on Lindsay’s face.
“Um!” Lilian beamed brightly as she explained what they’d been doing. “Ever since that Fan lady attacked us at the end of the school year, Kevin and I have been training to get stronger. We normally train with Kotohime because she’s way more powerful than us, but recently we’ve been sparring against each other, too. Last night, Iris asked to join us.” Lilian sent an amused glance toward her sister. “I don’t think she realized that ‘sparring’ actually meant fighting without any kitsune techniques.”
“I think you two didn’t tell me what sparring entailed on purpose.” Iris pouted. “I bet you got a real kick out of watching me suffer.”
“Whatever gave you that idea?” Kevin and Lilian asked in unison.
“See that?!” Iris pointed at them. “Those smiles are perfect indicators! They tell me you two were getting your rocks off!”
“We have no idea what you’re talking about,” Kevin and Lilian said, hiding their smiles behind their hands. Iris clicked her tongue. Grumbling, she slowly crossed her arms, then her legs, and looked away with a pout.
“Oh, I see.” Lindsay’s embarrassment slowly disappeared. Kevin could only shake his head at how she had jumped the gun. “Yeah, I guess that would make sense. With how injured you guys were after that attack, I think I understand why you’d start training like that.”
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