Lindsay swallowed the lump in her throat.
“A lot has happened since I left,” Justin continued, heedless of her growing fear, “and a lot more is going to happen still. Times are changing. The announcement made several days ago was just the first step to affect that change.”
“The announcement…” Lindsay finally found her voice. She closed her eyes and fought against the growing tide that twisted her gut. “You… you work for The Sons and Daughters of Humanity, don’t you?”
“So, you know the name of my organization.” Justin smiled mirthlessly. “I thought you might. Kevin never could keep a secret very well, especially where his friends were concerned. He would have told you.”
Lindsay’s throat caught at the mention of Kevin. She wanted to ask Justin if he’d seen her friends, if they were safe, but she was too afraid to ask. Considering what she had just been told, it might have been for the best that she didn’t speak.
“If you know about the organization I belong to, then does that mean you know about yōkai as well?”
Justin’s face held a strange smile, one that Lindsay couldn’t identify but was petrified by nonetheless.
“Well, I suppose not,” Justin said after a moment of interminable and tense silence. “In either case, I’m not here to talk to you about that. What I really wanted to ask was if you’ve heard anything from Kevin and his… family.”
Lindsay could only assume that “family” actually meant the kitsune living with Kevin. Her throat became dry and her tongue swollen. What should she say? Should she even speak at all? Lindsay didn’t know what to do.
At the mention of Kevin, Lindsay’s mom suddenly snapped out of her stupor. “Is something wrong with Kevin? Did something happen to him?” Her eyes widened. “Is he all right? He hasn’t been injured, has he?”
“We don’t know,” Justin admitted with a helpless shrug. “Kevin disappeared a few days ago, along with the group of kitsune he was with. We haven’t heard from any of them since.”
“Kitsune…” The gears in her mom’s head slowly turned… and it was in the completely wrong direction. “You mean those… those women that intruded upon Kevin’s personal space were those yoki creatures that the news was talking about the other day?”
“Yōkai,” Justin corrected. “And yes, they were.”
“I knew there was something suspicious about those people!” Lindsay almost sighed when her mom stood up and slammed a hand on the table. “All this time… all this time those creatures were corrupting my Kevin!”
“He’s not your Kevin,” Lindsay muttered, “and don’t talk about corruption! The only person who ever tried corrupting Kevin is you!”
“Do not worry, Ms. Diane,” Justin reassured her mom. “We are doing everything possible to track down those kitsune and locate Kevin.”
“Then you and your group are going to rescue Kevin?” Her mom suddenly looked hopeful. Lindsay was very disturbed when sparkles started appearing in her mom’s eyes.
“That is the plan, yes.”
“Oh, thank you! Thank you so much, young man!” Justin’s eyes widened when Lindsay’s mom surged around the table, lifted him from his chair, and liberally squeezed the life out of him—and also suffocated him with her breasts. Lindsay’s mom was a big woman, so her boobage was particularly massive.
“MMMPHH!”
“I truly appreciate what you are doing for Kevin!”
“MMRG BUFF MMRRGGLE!”
“Please be sure to rescue him from those horrible creatures!”
“HUF FFFMMM MUPHUUU!”
“If you need any help, please do not hesitate to ask! I’ll do anything I can if it means rescuing Kevin from those vile creatures!”
“MMMMRRRRRrrrrrrr…”
Justin, suffocating from her mother’s bosoms, kicked and flailed and screamed to no effect. The many soldiers with Justin stood there in indecision, watching their commander slowly being asphyxiated by a pair of massive mammaries. They appeared unsure of what to do. Lindsay couldn’t blame them. As the seconds ticked by and her mom continued smothering the poor boy, Justin’s struggles slowly grew weaker. Rather than flailing erratically, his legs and arms only twitched occasionally. Eventually, even that stopped.
“Um, Mom,” Lindsay said unsurely, “you may want to stop hugging him.”
“Why is that, dear? Can you not see that I am expressing my gratitude?”
“Uh, yeah, I can see that… but Mom?”
“Yes?”
“Justin is unconscious.”
There was a moment of silence. Lindsay thought she heard several crickets chirping in the distance. Her mom looked at her. Then she looked down at Justin. Back to her. Back to Justin.
“Oh,” she said, sounding surprised. “I apologize, Justin dear. It seems I let my enthusiasm get the better of me.”
The sound of Lindsay slamming her face against the table echoed throughout the house.
***
Justin still looked a little pale as he stood by the door, ready to leave. He had just woken up from his boob-induced coma. After he had woken up, Lindsay’s mom had apologized to the boy and asked if he was all right. He assured her mom that he was fine, though Lindsay could see from the way sweat rolled down his face that he was certainly not fine. Oddly enough, she didn’t have much sympathy for the boy.
It’s probably because he’s with that anti-yōkai group. The Sons and Daughters of Humanity…
“Well, it looks like this is it,” Justin said.
Lindsay grabbed her arm and looked away. “I guess so.”
Justin’s lips twitched into a smirk, as if he knew what she was thinking. Lindsay clenched her hands until her knuckles turned white, trying not to let his knowing look disconcert her.
“Before I go, I have something I wanted to tell you. A piece of advice, if you will.”
“What sort of advice?” Lindsay asked warily.
“Don’t show up at school tomorrow,” Justin said seriously. “Before you ask, no, I can’t tell you why. All I can say is that you shouldn’t show up at school tomorrow. Call in sick if you have to, but stay here.”
Lindsay wasn’t sure what to make of his words, though a part of her realized what it meant. Something was going to happen tomorrow at school, something big, possibly something dangerous and violent.
“Why are you telling me this?”
“Because despite what you might think, you are still my friend. I don’t want to see you get hurt.” Lindsay must not have managed to hide her surprise very well because Justin’s lips twitched. “I plan on visiting the rest of the gang before the day is out and telling them the same thing. I told you first because you are the one who’s closest to Kevin among his friends, and also because you’re the one who’s most involved with the dealings of yōkai.”
Lindsay froze. Does he know about my feelings for Christine? Impossible!
“In any event, please heed my advice and stay home tomorrow.”
Lindsay couldn’t say anything as Justin left. She watched from the window as he and the soldiers with him entered their vehicles and took off down the road. When she could no longer see them, Lindsay lumbered to her bedroom and threw herself on the bed, her body shaking as the culmination of the day’s events finally caught up to her.
Iris, Lilian, Kevin… Christine…
That night, Lindsay fell into a restless sleep.
***
“One hundred and ninety-one… one hundred and ninety-two… one hundred an… and ninety… three…”
Sweat dripped off Kevin’s arms as he continued doing push-ups. It accumulated on his face and threatened to fall into his eyes. His triceps and chest burned and air whistled between his gritted teeth.
“Keep going, Beloved,” Lilian urged. “It’s just seven more.”
Kevin was grateful for Lilian’s presence. While other people might have found her acting as his own personal cheer squad annoying, he appreciated her encouragements.
She also acte
d as a great additional weight. She didn’t weigh enough that he couldn’t do push-ups with her sitting on his back, but adding her extra 90 pounds to his 135 gave him a much greater challenge.
“Two… two…”
“Come on, Beloved! You can do this! Just one more!”
Kevin could practically feel all of the blood rushing to his face as he struggled to finish his last push-up. His muscles felt like they were being ripped at the seams. His chest ached. His arms shook. His breathing had become stifled.
“Come on!”
“Two… hundred!”
Kevin collapsed face-first onto the floor as he finished doing push-ups. All of the adrenaline that kept him going quickly left his bloodstream. Exhaustion seeped into his bones—nay, his very soul. The temptation to close his eyes and pass out on the floor was nearly overwhelming.
“You can’t go to sleep yet, Beloved.” Lilian poked him on the cheek. “You’ve still got several more exercises to do.”
Kevin groaned as Lilian’s weight vanished from his back. He rolled over to stare at the ceiling. A gridwork of pipes, cables, lights, and fans greeted him. It looked nothing like the ceiling from Mad Dawg Fitness, but then, what should he have expected from a training facility located inside of an underground base?
I have to hand it to Monstrang, though. He certainly knew how to plan ahead. It might not look like much, but this place comes with everything someone could ask for.
Kevin had learned a bit more about this base from Kiara who, perhaps not so surprisingly, was sort of under the employ of his boss—though perhaps not in the most literal sense. Kiara didn’t “work for” Monstrang, per se, but she did lend him a hand from time to time.
This training facility had actually been built by her. Monstrang had foreseen the possibility of hostilities eventually breaking out between humans and yōkai. To that end, he’d ordered the construction of numerous bases around the United States, where yōkai could travel to if they ever needed refuge. These bases also acted as a training facility for the yōkai under Monstrang’s direct employ. Their job was to either hide the existence of their kind, or to defend innocent yōkai should the worst happen and war break out.
Lilian suddenly appeared above him, her head blocking out the light. Kevin blinked as gorgeous eyes that shone like viridescent jade stones looked down at him.
“Lilian…”
“Here you go.” She held a water bottle out for him as he sat up.
“Thank you,” Kevin said softly as he grabbed the bottle from her and chugged half the water in one go.
“You’re welcome.” Lilian shifted behind him, sitting on her backside and using a towel to wipe sweat off his back and neck. Kevin closed his eyes and hummed softly.
“Have I ever told you that you’re the best mate a guy could ask for?”
“Tee-hee. Of course I am!” While Kevin couldn’t see her, he could imagine her chest swelling with pride. “No mate could ever be better than me!”
“Don’t get a big head now,” Kevin mumbled.
“So, you ready to start your next exercise?”
Kevin groaned as he realized that his torture would continue.
Maybe I shouldn’t have devised this training routine for myself…
***
Lilian knew that she was odd for a kitsune. Most kitsune disliked fighting. While she wouldn’t say she enjoyed fighting, she couldn’t say she hated it either. Besides, fighting made her feel a lot like those shōnen heroes that she loved reading about and watching so much.
“Extension.”
Her tails curved around her, extending to incredible lengths as she sought to grab Kevin with them, though he proved to be a slippery foe. He ducked and cut underneath her first tail. In retaliation, she sent the second tail in a powerful sweep to knock him off his feet, but Kevin seemed to have anticipated that and somehow managed to get airborne despite his crouched position. His body parallel with the ground, the tail swept by underneath him. Kevin then twisted his body around, launching himself into a shoulder roll before getting back on his feet.
“Celestial Art: Chameleon Masquerade.”
Channeling youki through her tails, Lilian bent the light around herself. Her form vanished from Kevin’s vision—or it would have, had he not grabbed her tail.
“Eek!”
Lilian’s squeal bounced along the walls. Kevin used the moment she was distracted to close the distance between them.
Realizing what was about to happen, Lilian attacked him from behind. One of her tails tried smacking him in the back of the head, but he must have sensed the shift of displaced air, or something, because he ducked before she could hit him. While the attack didn’t hit Kevin, it did give her enough time to leap away from him.
“Celestial Art: Distortion.”
Like the name suggested, Distortion was designed to change the way a kitsune’s victim perceived light. Humans perceived light within a certain wavelength. Distortion worked by rewiring the brain into making someone think they were perceiving light on a different wavelength. This could cause everything from standard dizziness and nausea to full-on panic attacks.
Kevin didn’t even bat an eyelash. He closed his eyes, then bit his lip hard enough to draw blood. The pain dispelled the enchantment, and Kevin opened his eyes again to continue running.
Unfortunately for him, being forced to close his eyes in a battle, even a simple spar like this, could mean the difference between victory and defeat.
Lilian used the split second between the time Kevin closed his eyes to the time he opened them to launch a surprise attack. She extended her tails at him in a pincer maneuver.
It was no use. Kevin had already predicted what she would do. He leapt into the air, his legs swinging forward like a pendulum. Her tails shot underneath him, and Kevin continued moving, his legs swinging all the way around, into a flip before he landed on his feet. His knees bent, absorbing the shock and building up kinetic energy, which he used to burst forward and close the gap between them.
The next few seconds were filled with the harsh sounds of melee combat. Lilian enhanced her body as much as she could to keep up with Kevin. Yet even then, and despite the addition of her tails, Lilian was at a distinct disadvantage.
Like most kitsune, Lilian specialized in illusions and elemental techniques. They were her race’s greatest abilities. The ability to deceive and the ability to wield the elements. She wasn’t a front-line fighter—not really. She had been trained in a bit of self-defense, but she’d not spent much time honing her hand-to-hand skills, certainly nowhere near as much as Kevin.
Knowing this, Lilian did what she could to put some distance between them.
“Celestial Art: Flare.”
A bright light flashed from her tails. Lilian knew that Kevin wouldn’t let himself be blinded by this, but he still had to close his eyes, which meant she could disengage and put some distance between—
“WAH!”
Lilian screamed as her feet were swept out from underneath her. She hit the mat back first. Before she could register how she’d suddenly ended up on her back, Kevin straddled her waist and pinned her arms above her head.
“You didn’t really think that would work, did you?” Kevin’s smile suggested bemusement. “Don’t you remember trying to do this to me before? I’ve already figured out how to counter this attack pattern of yours.”
Rather than pout at him, Lilian’s eyes gleamed in triumph. “Have you now?”
“Eh?”
Before Kevin could blink, the Lilian underneath him vanished. Rather than simply sit on the ground like an idiot, Kevin rolled across the ground. The dull thudding of tails slapping the mat alerted him to the attack he’d just dodged. Skipping back to his feet, he spun around to see Lilian standing several feet away, her lips curved into a delightfully fetching smirk.
“Celestial Art: Displaced Matter.”
“Is that a new technique?”
“Yep!” Lilian grinned proudly. “It’
s a combination of light bending and illusions. I bend the light so it looks like I’m right in front of you, while the illusion part affects your sense of smell and touch.”
“I guess that’s why I didn’t realize I was caught in an illusion. You’ve been getting better at those.”
“Ufufu, of course I have. I’ve been practicing!”
“I should have figured that.”
Kevin and Lilian stared at each other. Kevin slid his feet until they were shoulder width apart. Lilian’s tails writhed behind her, their movements agitated, as if anticipating a renewal to the battle. A trickle of sweat rolled down Kevin’s face as Lilian narrowed her eyes. The two were waiting to begin their spar again, waiting on some unspoken signal that would tell them to renew their battle, waiting for—
“Ara, ara. I should have guessed you two would be here.”
“Kotohime,” Lilian sighed as all of the tension in her shoulder blades eased. “Was there something you needed?”
Kotohime bowed to them. “I am guessing you lost track of time while you two were training. It is nearly nine o’clock now. Iris-sama asked me to drag you two down to the cafeteria for breakfast.”
Just then, Kevin’s and Lilian’s stomachs rumbled. The two looked at each other, their cheeks flushing red, and then they looked back at Kotohime.
“W-well, I guess I am a little hungry,” Lilian admitted.
“Ugh.” Kevin held a hand to his stomach, trying futilely to quell the beast growling within.
Kotohime giggled demurely into the sleeve of her kimono. “Ufufufu, you two are so cute when you act in sync like that. In either event, you two should most definitely take a shower before heading down for breakfast.”
In response to her words, Kevin raised his left arm and sniffed his armpit, wincing when the acrid scent of B.O. hit him. “Ugh, you’re right. We’ve worked up a really good sweat, so we should get clean before heading down for breakfast.”
“Right!” Lilian grabbed Kevin’s hand and dragged him out the door. “Come along, Beloved! To the shower!”
Kotohime watched the pair go. When they vanished, she giggled some more.
“Ufufufu, you two have become quite the interesting couple,” she murmured to the now empty room.
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