“I don’t know this yōkai, either,” he sighed.
Iris sent him an amused glance. “You’re kinda useless, aren’t you?”
“Oh, shut up,” Kevin muttered. “You don’t know what this thing is, either.”
“Yeah, but I’m not an otaku.”
“Would you stop calling me an otaku?!”
“So what should we do with this thing?” Iris gestured toward the stirring figure. “Tie it up? Interrogate it? Toss it out the window?”
The vixen’s last suggestion caused him to look at her like she’d suddenly sprouted fish fins on her head.
“Toss it out the window?”
“It’s just a suggestion.” Iris shrugged. “She—he, um… it?” She looked back at the creature again, watching as its fingers twitched, and then glanced back at Kevin. “Anyway, it attacked us. That’s ground rule for getting rid of it and tossing it out of the window is a good way of getting rid of it.”
“I’d rather not kill anyone,” Kevin told her sternly.
“It’s so cute that you still maintain such an idealistic outlook after everything that’s happened to you,” Iris teased.
Kevin, however, took that as an insult. “Just because I don’t want to kill unless I have no other choice doesn’t mean I’m naive.”
“That’s why I said idealistic,” Iris told him.
“Whatever,” Kevin sighed.
He looked back at the yōkai—and then grunted when the thing sprung up and lunged at him, slamming into his body with its shoulder, hurtling him out of the way with tremendous strength. He hit the ground with a harsh thud, looking up as the window shattered and the creature jumped through it, disappearing from sight.
“You okay, Stud?” Iris held out her hand. He hesitated, but then he took it, allowing her to pull him up.
“Yeah, I’m fine. Thank you.” Kevin winced when his shoulder throbbed, tendrils of minor pain lancing through him. It wasn’t broken, though, or even dislocated. It just hurt.
“You’re welcome.” Iris smiled at him, but then she frowned. “What should we do about that yōkai?”
Kevin silently contemplated their options. They could chase after it, of course. The question was: Should they? Did they even need to? If they did, it could lead to them running into an ambush. If they didn’t, it meant letting a yōkai who may try to hurt them again get away. Neither option was all that appealing.
“Let’s go after it,” Kevin said at last. “But we’ll need to be careful. There’s no telling what sort of dangers we’ll run into.”
“Aye!” Iris saluted.
Kevin grimaced. “I knew I shouldn’t have let you watch Fairy Tail.”
“Aye!”
“Stop that!”
***
As it turned out, danger had been a bit of an understatement.
He and Iris chased after the yōkai who attacked them, its fleeing form easily visible due to its frayed kimono and ragged locks of raven hair flapping behind it. The yōkai turned corners and raced down alleys, with him and his companion following closely behind it.
Kevin shot at it several times, bolts of cobalt blue and divine white lancing out of his guns like thunder. The bolts of youki gouged holes in the concrete, blasted chunks off brick walls, created black scorch marks on the many structures around them, and even destroyed a couple of fences. He never managed to land a good hit, however, as the creature’s figure was obscured by its abnormally large kimono. The fact that he was shooting while running didn’t help.
It turned another corner. They followed and were just in time to see it slamming a door shut behind it.
“What do you think?” Iris asked as she and Kevin stood in front of the door. “Should we follow it?”
“We’ve already come this far, haven’t we?” Kevin checked the gauges on his guns. The weapons, reminiscent of Desert Eagles, were more than half full. He judged that to mean he had around seventy-five shots left in each. One hundred and fifty shots should be more than enough to deal with a minor yōkai like this. “Let’s go, but be careful.”
“Worried about me?”
“Of course, I am.” Kevin frowned at Iris before he opened the door and peeked inside. “This yōkai might not be as big a threat as that Fan woman, but we’re still dealing with a hostile, supernatural creature. I don’t want to see you get hurt again.”
Iris stared at him wide eyed. Then she turned her head away, not quite fast enough for him to miss the way her cheeks turned red.
“Heh,” she chuckled, the sound containing a tremor. “Better be careful, Stud. Say things like that too much, and I might decide to show you my appreciation.”
Kevin just rolled his eyes as he entered through the door. Darkness greeted him. It was not the pitch-black darkness where nothing was visible, but it was still dark enough that he could only make out silhouettes against a backdrop of inky blackness. He could tell they were in a hall of some kind, though not much else. His hand blindly searched the wall before finding and flipping a switch.
The lights came on and illuminated the hall. Wood floors and walls of concrete greeted him. The ceiling also appeared to be made of gray concrete, but the network of rusty old pipes kept him from seeing much. A glance to his left and right sides revealed nothing. Both sides looked the same.
Iris walked up to his side and looked around as well.
“Should we split up?”
“No.” Kevin shook his head. “I’d rather we stick together. That way we can watch each other’s backs.”
Iris’s eyes glowed with a mischief that was matched by the seductive smile on her face.
“You wanna watch my backside, do you? It’s okay. You can look if you want.”
He heaved a deep sigh. “Can you be serious for once?”
She crossed her arms under her chest. “I am being serious. I’m seriously telling you that you can stare at my ass for as long as you like.”
Kevin decided that he’d be better off ignoring her, so he said nothing.
They walked down the hall, the tap-tap, tap-tap of their footsteps echoing ominously, bouncing off the walls and across the hall. Kevin kept his wary eyes peeled for signs of possible ambush. He didn’t know what this yōkai’s power was. Better to be safe and prepared for anything than sorry and dead.
The hallway eventually branched off into several different sections they could travel to: stairs traveling up, a hallway on the left, and a door that led to who knew where. From the door they heard music, loud and blaring techno dance music. Was this the back entrance to a dance club? He and Iris shared a glance before they both decided to head up the stairs.
Kevin kept a firm grip on his twin handguns. His heart pounded in his ears, a sound of rushing blood that almost drowned out the music. The further up they went, the more distant the music became, and as the music slowly vanished from hearing, a new sound took its place.
Voices.
He couldn’t hear what was being said, but that just made his anxiety worse. He was almost afraid that the people talking would discover them simply from hearing the beating of his heart. Iris walked behind him, one hand on his shoulder, while the other hung almost limply at her side. He wondered if she felt as anxious as him.
They entered a hallway paved with red carpet. It helped muffle their footsteps, though it did little to stop the pounding of his heart, which was akin to the pistons of a V8 engine with 520 horsepower. They passed by several doors, all of them unmarked and plain. As they neared the end of the hallway, the voices became more distinct.
“So, you’re telling me that you failed to kill the boy and acquire the girl, meow?” a voice said, male, deep, and rich. If dark chocolate had a voice, Kevin imagined it would sound like that. There was just one thing about it that bothered him…
“Meow?” Iris mouthed with a scrunched face. He shrugged, indicating his own lack of knowledge, though he could make a rough guess as to what type of yōkai they were facing based on that stupid catch phrase.
> “I apologize, Rabbim,” another voice spoke, this one feminine yet raspy, as if they were not used to speaking—or more like they had spent at least two hours a day scraping their vocal cords with a fork. “They proved to be more cunning than I originally thought. They used an illusion to trick me and then attacked from behind.”
“So they knew you were coming, meow?”
“I believe the girl you wanted me to grab is a Void Kitsune. If that’s the case, she might have sensed my presence.”
“Hmm, indeed, meow.” The voice sounded contemplative, as if its owner was thinking deep and complex thoughts. “And you say they followed you here?”
“They chased after me. I may have lost them, but I don’t think—”
“Hold up, my dear. It seems we have some people loitering around outside, meow.”
Kevin and Iris froze. The sound of footsteps coming near a door to their right told them that trouble was coming. Knowing that retreating wasn’t an option, they entered one of the other rooms, thankful that it was unlocked, and softly closed the door behind them.
Pressing his ear against the door, Kevin strained to listen to what was happening on the other side. His fingers clenched the handle of his guns tightly. Beside him, Iris leaned against his shoulder, her ears twitching.
Anxiety heightened his senses. Adrenaline derived from fear pumped through his veins. He had so many worries. Would these yōkai find them? Would they have to fight their way out? Could they fight their way out? He didn’t even know how many yōkai they would be up against. They’d mentioned something about “idiot akaname,” which he assumed were those three they had already beaten. That meant he and Iris might have to face more than just these two. He didn’t think they could take on more than two yōkai at the same time, especially with so little information to go off of.
Another second passed. Then two. Kevin could hear nothing but the blood rushing in his ears. Finally, after a moment of absolute stillness, footsteps were heard, and the sound of a door closing came from outside.
“It seems I was mistaken, meow,” the smooth male voice said. “There is no one here. We’ll have security guard the back entrance in case those two show up, meow. Come along, Dіlara.”
“Yes, Rabbim.”
Two sets of footsteps receded. Kevin breathed a deep sigh of relief as he slumped against the door.
“That was too close.”
“You’re telling me,” Iris muttered, her own nerves looking a little rattled. “However, we’re not out of the nya yet.”
“Pardon?” Kevin blinked.
“The nya.” Iris’s lips twitched into a grin. “You remember those idiots mentioned The Cat’s Nya? I’ll bet you Lilian’s virginity that it’s the name of this club. Those three we beat up a while ago were probably exclusive members or something.”
Kevin had absolutely no response to that, though it was mostly because of what Iris was willing to bet.
“Anyway, it looks like the back way is out.” When in doubt, just change the subject. “Which means our only option is to go out through the front. We can probably slip out by blending in with the crowd, and maybe making it seem like we’re in a group. We might even want to go a step further and enchant a group of humans to make it look like we came in with them.”
Kevin wondered if he should be bothered by how easily he suggested enchanting humans. He disliked it when Iris had first tried enchanting him (though it was fine for training purposes), and here he was, suggesting that she enchant some innocent bystanders, enslaving their will, and forcing them to help. That didn’t sound like something a good person would do, and he’d always considered himself to be the kind of guy who stuck to the moral high ground.
Desperate times, a voice that sounded like him but was more logical and cold whispered in his ear. It was a voice that he had developed ever since coming to terms with his first kill. He’d taken to calling it his logical side. Of course, it would be easier if you could just get away clean without anyone being hurt, but that’s not possible right now. You need to rescue Lilian, and you can’t do that if you die here.
Much as he hated to admit it, he agreed with the voice. Rescuing Lilian was his top priority, and he couldn’t rescue her if he and Iris were dead.
In the end, it was his desire to rescue Lilian that swayed him.
His expression hardened. He stood up and looked at Iris.
“Let’s go. We’ll sneak into the crowd, enchant a small group of humans to walk out with us, and then slip away when the club is no longer in view.”
The look Iris sent him gave Kevin chills.
“Has anyone ever told you that you’re extremely sexy when you take command like that?”
Kevin tried not to blush.
He failed.
***
They traversed back the way they’d come and entered the door from which loud music blared. The room that he and Iris found themselves in would have been dark were it not for the strobe lights flashing all around them. His ears rung as loud music blared across the room, some kind of techno-fusion remix that grated on his ears like the piercing shrill of Coach Deretaine’s whistle.
He waded into the sea of humanity, of hundreds of bodies mashing together. Iris kept a firm grip on his arm to avoid being separated. The strobe lights danced off her face and body, highlighting her alluring figure which, even while clinging to his arm, swayed with sensual overtones that made everyone near her, male and female, stare at her with blatant want in their eyes.
Several people actually tried coming up to her despite being on his arm. A few even tried coping a feel. Kevin could ignore the way they hit on her, as she wasn’t his mate, but he drew a line at the blatant disrespect shown by the perverts hoping to grab her ass and disappear into the crowd.
The first person to try touching his mate’s sister inappropriately nearly had his hand broken when Kevin caught it, and then proceeded to crush it within his grip. The young man’s screams were drowned out by the music. After that, Kevin took to possessively wrapping an arm around Iris, who actually looked startled by their sudden closeness. He gave her a reassuring smile, a method of telling her not to worry and that he wasn’t trying to be purposefully grabby, and then he sent a ferocious snarl at the next person who tried coping a feel, sending them scurrying the other way.
Iris saw this, smiled, and leaned up to his ear. “You know that if you keep doing things like this, I really will have my way with you?” Even next to his ear, she had to yell in order to be overheard.
Kevin managed to keep from blushing this time.
“If you did that,” he replied into her ear, “Lilian would be most upset with you.”
The grin she sent him would have made lesser men run for the hills—or cream their pants. Whichever came first.
“You clearly don’t know Lilian as well as you think you do.” Kevin frowned at her, but she continued as if not seeing his expression. “Don’t worry, Stud. I won’t have my way with you until after we rescue Lilian. My plan is for the three of us to have a threesome.”
Kevin nearly tripped. Iris must have been expecting that because she reinforced her body and kept him from face planting on the ground. He sent her a dirty look, to which she responded by smiling at him with the innocence of a predator.
“Ladies and gentlemen,” the voice that they had heard not two minutes ago echoed from above, “I hope you’re all having a good time, meow!”
He looked up and found the source of the voice; it was a man who looked like the love child of Fabio and the Wicked Witch of the West. He had pale skin and a long nose, which sat upon his square-jawed face. His muscular body was just barely covered by his outfit, a horrendously bright hot pink muscle shirt, along with a pair of spandex stretch pants. He was leaning against a railing and looking down at the crowd, a microphone in his ears.
As a cheer went up, the man above them all smiled. It wasn’t a very pleasant smile.
“I’m glad to hear that,” he said, his voice boo
ming over the loudspeakers. “Because we’ve got a special treat for you today, meow, one that should make this night even more exciting, meow.”
The music stopped, and Kevin’s instincts suddenly blared at him, telling him to get away, to take Iris and run.
A spotlight flashed over him and Iris from above, illuminating them like a pair of robbers being chased by the cops. Everyone’s head turned in their direction, and the instincts that had been screaming at him turned into a bellow that would have put the roaring of a dragon to shame.
“Those two are going to be our entertainment tonight, meow,” the man said, his grin stretching from ear to ear. “They have so graciously volunteered themselves, and so it would be rude not to accept their offer, meow. You may kill the boy, but bring the girl to me alive. You know how much I love to entertain the ladies, meow.”
Kevin was not one for swearing. However, in that moment, only one phrase came to mind that he believed could adequately describe what he felt just then.
“Fuck me sideways.”
Despite their situation, Iris’s eyes gleamed. “With pleasure.”
“Quiet, you!”
“Tch!”
CHAPTER 2
THE CAT’S NYA
“I hope you have a plan,” Iris muttered.
“I’m working on it.” Kevin warily eyed the people around them.
He and Iris stood back to back. Surrounding them was a large group of people. Blank-faced and dull-eyed they stared. He saw slack-jawed expressions and slumped postures all around. None of the people crowding around them in a circle like children during a school fight looked like they were in control of their mental faculties. Was this some form of mind control? Enchantment? Did that mean the person above them was a kitsune? If so, why use the meow catchphrase?
Ugh, I’m surrounded by people who look like they’ve been brainwashed, and here I am wondering why our host says “meow.”
A Fox's Rescue Page 5
