Lindsay smiled. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” Christine muttered, trying to play Lindsay’s words off as if they were nothing. She was embarrassed, but at least the person thanking her was just a friend and not Kevin.
Several feet away, Eric sat up and rubbed his head. “Ugh, what the hell hit us?”
“Don’t know,” Alex said as he also righted himself. A cut ran along his forehead, and the blood that leaked out made a trail down his face. He wiped at it, then blinked several times as he looked at his now red hand. “Huh, I appear to be injured… and I feel kind of dizzy. Is that natural?”
“For someone as dumb as you—”
“Oi!”
“—probably,” Andrew finished despite the interruption. He had several scratches on his hands and a bruise on his arm, but he was otherwise unharmed.
“Lindsay,” Christine said.
“Yes?” Lindsay whispered. Dark brown eyes looked onto Christine’s as Lindsay lowered her head ever so slightly.
“Can you get off me please?”
“… Eh?”
Lindsay blinked several times. Then her eyes widened as she seemed to realize how close their faces were. With a loud squeak, she shot off Christine, her cheeks beet red.
As her friend stuttered out apologies, Christine sat up and checked herself over. Her clothing was a bit scuffed, and her back was wet—not to mention cold—but she didn’t appear to have any injuries. She’d probably be sore tomorrow, though.
Considering what just happened, I can live with being a little sore.
“Master, what should we do now?” Eric asked his teacher. When Heather didn’t answer, he made his way over to the front. “Master, are you—Master!!”
At Eric’s startled shout, everyone moved to the front to find an unconscious Heather. A large cut ran lengthwise along her forehead, leaking massive quantities of blood. The area around the cut was a dark blackish-purple. Because she was still strapped in, she hadn’t fallen out of her seat when the bus had tipped over, but while the seatbelt kept her from falling, it also left her hanging in an awkward position.
Christine acted quickly, creating a small knife out of ice and cutting the seatbelt straps. She dismissed the knife and caught Heather before the woman could hit the ground. Grunting as her muscles strained under the added weight, she slowly lowered Heather to what should have been the wall.
“Does anyone know first aid?” Christine asked.
Her words snapped Lindsay into action. “I do. Eric, see if you can find a first aid kit somewhere in this bus. Alex, Andrew, I want you to take Heather and put her on the couch…” She trailed off upon remembering that they were standing on the wall. “Um, grab some pillows and put her on those. Make sure to keep her head elevated.”
“Right away!”
“Aye, ma’am!”
Lindsay looked at Christine. “I’m gonna need you to create an ice pack after we bandage her head.”
“I can do that.” Christine hated using her powers, but considering the circumstances, using them a little more wouldn’t hurt.
Everyone got to work. Alex and Andrew pulled the mattress out of the small bedroom, which they laid Heather on; Eric found a first aid kit in the bathroom; and Lindsay used the supplies inside to disinfect the head wound before wrapping it in bandages. It would need stitches, but they hoped that this would keep Heather from bleeding out until they could reach a hospital. Afterward, Christine made a small ice pack, which Lindsay had Eric keep pressed to Heather’s forehead.
“What should we do now?” Christine asked.
“The only thing we can do,” Lindsay gave her a grim smile, “wait and hope that Kevin and the others find us.”
***
The battleground had become submerged in a layer of water. To keep from sinking, Kiara and Kotohime had to channel a constant, steady flow of youki to their feet, which allowed them to stand on the water’s surface.
“How do you like my Watery Paradise?” Luna asked, her lips curling as her half-lidded eyes glimmered. “I thought it would be a more suitable battleground, seeing how at least two of us are kitsune whose techniques rely on water—oops.” The smile widened. “You can’t use saltwater, can you, Tsuki-chan?” A giggle. “My apologies.”
Kotohime grimaced. All of this saltwater would make it difficult to use specialized techniques—not that they would do much good. A mere four-tails such as herself would not be able to defeat a six-tails in battle by trying to match fire with fire—or water with water.
“This bitch is just as arrogant as I remember.” Kiara sneered in disgust. The sneer was a mask to hide her nervousness, Kotohime knew. The last time they’d met, Kiara had nearly died by this woman’s hand.
“She has a right to be.” Kotohime caressed the hilt of her katana, using the comforting feel of cloth against her hand to calm her mind. “She’s more powerful, has more experience, and knows more techniques than either of us. We are severely handicapped.”
“Huh, never thought I’d hear you speak with such a defeatist attitude.”
“I am merely being realistic.”
“And here I was hoping you’d be—”
“Water Art: Feeding Time.”
Their conversation ceased when several sharks composed of water broke the surface and leapt at them. Kotohime’s katana and wakizashi flashed, cutting each watery shark that came at her into dozens of pieces. Kiara met the sharks leaping at her head-on. She pounded them with a youki-infused fist, demolishing them.
“You know I don’t like being ignored,” Luna said with a smile.
“We’re not gonna be able to beat her without a solid plan,” Kiara said, warily eyeing their opponent.
“Agreed.”
“What should we do?”
“Let’s play defensively,” Kotohime suggested after a moment. “It’s been one hundred and fifty years, and we do not know what she is capable of now that she’s gained her sixth tail. I don’t envy the idea of attacking her head-on without knowing what I’m up against.”
“I’m not usually one for defense,” Kiara admitted. “But I think I’ll make an exception this time.” She looked down at her missing arm and grimaced. “I’m beginning to regret losing that arm. That’s going to make this battle ten times more difficult.”
“Would you like me to say I told you so?”
“Naw, I’m good.”
“Water Art: Severance, A Bed of Stakes.”
Kiara and Kotohime danced across the water’s surface as several dozen stakes burst from the water. The stakes followed them, branching off as they separated and continued haranguing the two.
Growling, Kiara leapt into the air. She channeled youki into her fist and let loose with a ferocious punch. A great red ball of energy erupted from her extended fist, blowing straight through the stakes and smashing into the water’s surface, causing it to burst like a geyser.
“Ikken Hissatsu. Hein.”
Spinning about, Kotohime slashed at the stakes with her wakizashi, which she quickly resheathed. A small distortion seemed to pass through the incoming water stakes. Nothing happened at first. The ripple flew through the stakes unimpeded and came out the other side. A second passed, then two, before, like shattering glass, the stakes exploded.
Upon landing back on the water, Kiara launched herself at Luna, who saw her coming and turned to face her. She didn’t attack, and the feral-haired woman leapt over the older yōkai. She’d drawn back her fist.
“Take this!”
Kiara unleashed a massive amount of youki with her punch, creating what appeared to be a large cone-shaped beam, which descended upon Luna.
“Water Art: Quicksilver Barrier.”
Water rose up and over Luna, creating a barrier between her and the beam of violent energy. The beam crashed into the dome-shaped shield, hissing and spitting as the superheated youki caused the water to evaporate.
“Ikken Hissatsu. Ichi no Ougi.”
While the dome prot
ected Luna from the attack above her, it could not protect her from Kotohime, who charged in at speeds even faster than when she’d been fighting Kaine. Her katana and wakizashi came out of their sheathes too quickly to track. She swung them at Luna, seeking to overwhelm her foe with an uncountable number of sword strikes.
They were blocked. Kotohime stared in mute shock at the pillar of water deflecting her swords. Luna looked at her, a mocking smile tugging at her lips.
“Did you actually think I wouldn’t be able to block an attack of this caliber? How amusing. You may be an excellent swordswoman, and I certainly wouldn’t want to fight you in close combat, but do not think that means I am helpless—even in a two-on-one battle such as this.”
Kotohime’s eyes bulged as the water crawled up her swords. She flared her youki, channeling them through her swords and causing the water to explode off them. Leaping backwards, she skidded along the water’s surface, eventually coming to a halt several yards away. Luna didn’t attack.
Kiara landed next to her. “That didn’t work out as well as I thought it would.”
“Indeed.” Kotohime grimaced. “It seems the extra tail has increased her power exponentially. I had expected that, but I did not expect to see such a vast increase in skill. Luna never was the type who enjoyed combat.”
“Just because I do not enjoy fighting does not mean I can’t learn,” Luna said in a mocking tone. “Being the matriarch of a great clan means that I need to be strong enough to fend off attacks both from within and without.”
Kotohime kept a calm outer facade, but she felt her spirits waver. It was true. Luna was now the matriarch of a great clan, which meant that she had proven herself to be the strongest and most capable among her clan. One did not reach heights like that by neglecting their ability to fight.
“Now then.” Luna smiled. “Let us continue, shall we?”
***
After running into Camellia, Kevin and the others made their way to the rooftop.
Standing next to a series of large generators that thrummed with life, Kevin and his companions watched the battle taking place down below.
“Things aren’t looking good,” he muttered, a pair of binoculars stuck to his eyes. He’d grabbed them off of one of the spandex-wearing soldiers that had previously been escorting Camellia, all of whom were currently tied up and unable to move. “It doesn’t look like their attacks are having any effect on that woman.”
“That is only natural,” Kirihime said. Unlike Kevin, she didn’t seem to need binoculars. He assumed she was reinforcing her eyes with youki. “That woman has six tails. Each tail a kitsune gains multiplies their power by the square root of the number of tails that they have.”
“I get it.” Kevin winced when Kiara was smacked harshly by a large geyser of water that shot up from underneath her. “When a kitsune gains their third tail, the power they possess is multiplied by three times the amount they had when they were a two-tails, and when they gain their fourth tail—”
“It’s multiplied by four times the amount they had when they were a three-tails, yes.” Kirihime nodded.
“That’s a lot of power,” he muttered.
“Kitsune power levels are pretty ridiculous,” Iris cut in.
The raven-haired vixen sat down on the roof’s lip, one leg crossed over the other. Even with the situation being what it was, Kevin still found his eyes drawn toward the expansive amount of leg. He quickly shook his head and looked away guiltily. He had a mate. He shouldn’t be ogling Iris just because she was hot.
Something is seriously wrong with me.
“Kotohime has four-tails, and this woman has six,” Iris continued. “That means the Ocean Kitsune has more than three times the amount of power that Kotohime does.”
“B-but she’s also got Kiara with her,” Kevin blurted. “Surely that means they’re on even grounds with her, right? Kiara is pretty strong, too.”
“Doubtful.” Iris shrugged. “Having never really paid attention to the dog, I don’t know how strong she is. But, regardless, even if she’s as strong as Kotohime, it won’t make a difference. It just means that the six-tails has three times the power of them both.”
Lilian stood next to Kevin and gazed down at her maid in concern. “Do… do you think they’ll be okay?”
Kevin looked at Lilian to see the girl worrying her lower lip between her teeth. Her expressive green eyes were drawn toward the battle like moths to a flame. Those normally bright and vibrant irises trembled, just like her voice had. She was afraid—afraid for the woman who’d helped raise her, afraid that she’d lose someone who meant so much to her and would be helpless to do anything about it.
Kevin moved behind her. He wrapped his arms around her waist, letting his hands rest on her stomach, and pulled her to his chest. Lilian leaned into him, accepting the comfort that he had to offer.
“I’m sure she’ll be okay,” he said, hiding his own worry behind a mask of confidence. He was weak: a powerless human surrounded by beings beyond his mortal mind’s ability to decipher, but at the very least, he could do this. “We have to believe in her—believe in them. They’re not so weak that they’d lose to that woman.”
Lilian smiled at his optimism, even if they both knew it was forced. “You’re right. I need to believe they can win.”
“I wish I had your guys’ confidence,” Iris said.
Several feet behind the trio, the group of spandex-clad militants sat, bound together by a thick strand of rope composed of water. They didn’t look too pleased about their situation, but they also seemed resigned.
Camellia pouted at her maid. “Do we really have to keep these nice people tied up like this?” she asked, and the anti-yōkai faction members looked up in hope.
Said hope was trampled on by Kirihime. “Of course we do. These people belong to a group that hates our kind because of their own misguided beliefs about how we’re a danger to humanity.”
One of the soldiers, the captain, sneered. “Say that when there aren’t yōkai tearing apart a convention center in the middle of—ow!”
“Quiet you,” Kirihime muttered, retracting the tail that she’d used to smack the soldier on the head with. Addressing Camellia, she added, “The only reason I didn’t kill them is because they helped you. However, that’s not enough to make me trust them, especially when the only reason they helped you is because they didn’t know you’re a yōkai.”
“Ugh.” The spandex-clad men winced in unison.
“Had they known what you were beforehand, they would not have been so kind.”
“Kuh!”
“I do not doubt that they would have riddled your body with bullets, remorselessly killing you simply because you are not human.”
“Geh!”
With each harsh word spoken, the group of militants sank further into themselves, until it looked like they were trying to hide in their spandex.
“Hawa.” Camellia had nothing to say in the face of such flawless logic.
With Lilian still in his arms, Kevin turned his attention back to the battle.
***
“Water Art: Swarm of Piranhas.”
The pounding of her own heart rang loudly in Kiara’s ears as she dodged a swarm of water piranhas that flew through the air. She spun around as they moved past her and unleashed another blast of energy from her fist, which consumed most of the swarm. Those that had not been destroyed went back into the water, only to separate and leap at her from all sides.
To avoid having them feast on her flesh, she leapt into the air and let loose with a ferocious roar that caused a hurricane-like gust to emit from her mouth. The piranhas were promptly destroyed. The gust of wind hit the water next, causing a hole to appear as the liquid was pushed away, right before it was sucked back up and launched into the air like a bomb going off.
Several feet from where Kiara faced off with the water constructs, Luna was giving Kotohime some personal attention.
“Water Art: Water Explosion.”
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“Ikken Hissatsu. Bunkatsu.”
As a giant explosion of water made to sweep her off her feet, Kotohime narrowed her profile and slashed at it with her youki-infused blades. Much like the name suggested, the attack, Bunkatsu, which meant “divide,” caused the water in front of her to separate into two halves. Each half flowed around her, providing Kotohime with the opportunity to rush at her foe.
Kiara landed back on the water. Luna’s back was to her as Kotohime put pressure on the six-tails, striking at her with attacks so fast that even Kiara couldn’t see them. Water rose up and blocked the attacks, but Kotohime didn’t seem concerned, and the reason became clear when their eyes met.
So, that’s it, huh? Okay, then.
Her muscles contracting as she bent her knees, Kiara burst into an all-out sprint at the same time that Kotohime launched herself at Luna. The two of them closed the distance with their foe in an instant. Kiara launched her fist at Luna’s back. Kotohime was already swinging her katana and wakizashi.
“Water Art: Spike Explosion.”
Kotohime felt her heart racing as she channeled youki into her legs and leapt into the air. Kiara followed her. They both avoided impalement as the Luna that had been standing before them erupted into hundreds of spikes. Landing back on the water, which rippled under their feet, she and Kiara warily observed their surroundings.
“When did she have time to replace herself with a water clone?” Kiara asked.
“I think the more accurate question should be why didn’t you two notice it,” Luna’s voice echoed around them. “There were plenty of chances for me to work my magic. You were both so distracted defending against my attacks that neither of you even noticed me replacing myself with a clone and casting an illusion to conceal my presence. How shameful of you.”
“Tch!” Kiara clicked her tongue. “Listen to this bitch talking about what she did as if we aren’t even a threat.”
“You aren’t a threat. A mutt and a four-tails cannot hope to match my power,” Luna’s voice echoed again.
A Fox's Vacation (American Kitsune Book 5) Page 43
