A Fox's Vacation

by Brandon Varnell

  “I see.” Heather cupped her chin in thought. “So, it is that time already. Apprentice, we must convene later today, preferably before everyone goes into the hot spring.”

  “Yes, Master!”

  Kevin stared at the group, then looked down at the cat. “I feel like I’ve just lost something important in all this,” he told the feline.

  “Nya?” the cat tilted her head.

  “Never mind,” Kevin sighed.

  The hotel they’d booked rooms with appeared every bit the five-star resort. Built like a combination of a Mediterranean palace and Greek mansion, the Sobre el Natural Resort was an oasis in a jungle of glass and steel. An impressive structure of symmetrical facades, the resort towered over them at four stories in height. Corinthian columns lined the building. Fountains dotted the front and side entrances. Kevin could see a number of gazebos built within grassy fields and meandering trails.

  They walked through the front entrance, marked by an extravagant archway. Pavement changed into tan marble tiles polished to a shine. An arched ceiling loomed above them. More columns stood as silent sentinels as they walked up to the front desk, where a lady dressed in a business suit stood ready to greet them with a smile.

  “Hello, welcome to Sobre el Natural. How may I help you?” she asked.

  “We have a seven-day reservation for thirteen,” Kiara, having been the one to book the reservations, did the talking. “It should be under the name Kiara F. Kuyo.”

  The woman’s eyes widened. She definitely recognized the name. Who wouldn’t know the name of the woman who’d revolutionized the fitness world?

  “Yes, yes, it’s right here,” the woman’s voice became high-pitched and excited. Kevin could practically see the woman’s thoughts as she stared at Kiara like the inu was the sole center of the universe. “Please wait just one moment and allow me to get your keys.”

  The woman practically tripped over herself to grab their key cards. When she returned, she handed them to Kiara.

  “Here you are. As per your reservations, all rooms are in the same hall and located across from each other. Your rooms are on the third floor, west wing. That’ll be down the hall and to your left. Just keep going until you reach a pair of elevators. You can’t miss them.”

  “Right. Thank you.”

  “Oh, it’s no trouble at all.” The woman smiled before noticing the cat in Kevin’s hands. “Now, I do need to tell you that while we have a pet-friendly policy, you are responsible for them, meaning that, should they make a mess of your room, you will be charged extra.” She sent Kiara an apologetic and nervous smile. “I hope you don’t mind?”

  Kiara gave her a strained smile. “I don’t mind at all.”

  “Good, good. If you need anything, please be sure to let me know. I’ll do anything you ask of me.”

  Kiara’s strained smile twitched. “I actually do need something from you.”

  A radiant smile was given in return. “How can I help you?”

  “You can help me by letting go of my hand.”

  “Eh?” the woman blinked. Then she looked down at her hand. When she realized that, indeed, she was still holding Kiara’s hand, the female attendant gave a “kya!” and jerked back as if scalded. She then apologized profusely, bowing several times and begging for forgiveness.

  Kiara sighed. “Come on, everyone. Let’s go.”

  Kiara led the way. The group followed. They walked along a red carpeted floor. Beige walls trapped them on either side, and a curved ceiling with evenly spaced lights lit their path. Kevin, the cat enjoying her place in his arms, hastened to match the brunette’s pace.

  “Is it always like that wherever you go?” he asked, making strange gestures with his head.

  “Not always, but most places, yes, I receive a similar reception.” If Kiara was bothered by this, she did not show it. Kevin figured she must have been used to such treatment.

  They were led to their rooms and given their keys. They’d gotten three rooms: one for the adults, one for the girls, and one for the boys. The inside of the rooms were just as elaborate as everything else. With dark brown carpet and tan walls, each room was ornately furnished with beautifully burnished decorations made of rich woods that sparkled in the light. The beds, four in total, were all four-poster beds with their own curtained canopies. The light-colored blankets, satiny white sheets, and fluffy pillows fit the resort’s regality with the conformity of a glove.

  The black cat leapt out of Kevin’s arms and walked further into the room. Kevin let it be in order to explore his new surroundings.

  “Man, talk about ritzy.”

  Eric and the twins rushed into the room. Kevin and Justin held back as the three other boys each claimed a bed for themselves—or tried to.

  “Hold up, you two,” Kevin stopped Alex and Andrew before they could claim separate beds. “There are only four beds, and since you two are twins, you’re going to be sharing one of them.”

  “WHAT?!” The shout came from them both.

  “That’s not fair,” Alex whined.

  “Yeah, why do I have to sleep with this idiot?”

  “Don’t act like you’re the victim here. I’m the one who’s gonna be stuck dealing with your antics, you damn bed-hogger.”

  Blink.

  A vein throbbed on Andrew’s head. “A bed-hogger, am I? Well, who’s the one who’s always stealing the sheets? Huh! Huh?!”

  Blink. Blink.

  “At least I don’t still wet the bed!”

  Massive blinking.

  “You… you promised you’d never tell anyone that! And I haven’t wet the bed in, uh, well… a while! Besides! Who was the one who left his bed a sopping mess the other day?!”

  “Why you… that was a special moment! SPECIAL!”

  Kevin, Eric, and Justin watched as the two fraternal twin brothers tackled each other to the ground. They rolled around on the floor, pushing and pulling and biting and hitting and clawing. It was like watching two dogs trying to chase each other’s tails.

  “Ne, Kevin, do you know what those two are talking about?” asked Eric.

  “No.” Kevin shook his head. “No, I don’t.” A pause. “And I don’t think I want to know.”

  “… Hehehe…”

  ***

  Lilian entered her room with the other two girls. Christine and Lindsay preceded her while Iris followed behind them. Her sandal-clad feet moved along soft carpet, while her emerald eyes surveyed the beige walls and illustrious decor.

  If she was being honest with herself, the room bore too much of a resemblance to those she had seen in the mansions of rich, snooty noble kitsune clans for her taste. It made her feel confined, restricted, and like her freedoms had been taken away by the cold hand of her birthright.

  Christine and Lindsay didn’t seem to agree.

  “This is so cool!”

  Lindsay squealed like the teenage girl that she was. Her eyes panned across the room, then locked onto the bed. With a grin, she dropped her suitcase and jumped onto the sinfully soft mattress, bouncing several times before lying still on her back.

  “This has to be the most incredible hotel room I’ve ever stayed in.” Grinning, Lindsay rolled over onto her stomach and kicked her feet in the air. “I feel like royalty.”

  Although Christine’s reaction was much more muted, Lilian could clearly tell that the yuki-onna held the same excitement as their friend.

  “It is very nice.” The pale-skinned girl set her own baggage down and crawled onto the bed. She moved up towards the headboard and lay against the pillows. She was smiling. “This is a lot more comfortable than my own bed, that’s for sure.”

  Lilian set her stuff down and kicked off her sandals. She, like the other two, tried out the bed for herself.

  “I think I like mine better,” she declared.

  Christine clicked her tongue. “You only like it better because Kevin sleeps with you.”

  “So? And who said that’s the only reason? This bed is too so
ft for my taste. I feel like I’m sinking into the mattress rather than being supported by it.”

  “Excuses.”

  “I agree,” a grinning Lindsay said. “I think you’re just grumpy because you’re not going to be sleeping with Kevin.”

  “If you’d like, I could keep you company, Lily-pad.”

  Iris, a salacious grin on her face, crawled onto Lilian’s bed. The redhead would have said something, but found herself momentarily stunned as her sister “walked” towards her on all fours. Her feline-like grace, the arch of her spine, which curved into sensually swaying hips that encompassed a magnificent rear end, caused all of Lilian’s brain-motor functions to cease.

  “Ho? Are you thinking about it, my dear, sweet, Lily-pad?”

  Iris’s alluring crimson eyes gazed into innocent emeralds. Lilian took a slow, shuddering breath.

  “No…” she managed. “I have no desire to let you sleep with me, especially since you can’t seem to remember how much I hate that nickname.”

  “Oh, but it’s all in good fun,” Iris teased. “There’s nothing wrong with a little bonding between siblings, is there?”

  “It is when that sibling is obsessed with her twin sister.”

  “Aster and Azalea are lovers.”

  “They’re also raging lesbians with several screws loose.”

  “Hmph. Fine, fine.” Lilian breathed a sigh of relief when Iris backed off. “I suppose I’ll let you sleep alone, for now.” Getting off the bed, Iris stretched, ignoring the gawking Lindsay and the disgusted Christine. “Now, then, I think we should check out these hot springs I’ve heard so much about. You girls in?”

  Christine, Lindsay, and Lilian looked at each other.

  “We’re in,” Lindsay spoke for all of them, “I’ve always wanted to try out an authentic hot spring.”

  ***

  “All right, men! Today is the day we all step into the wide world of manhood!” Eric barked at his friends.

  They were all sitting on their respective beds… except for Kevin. He’d gone off somewhere, which was why they were even having this discussion. There was no way they could let their friend know what they were plotting.

  “Uh… what manhood are we talking about?” Alex asked, raising his hand like a kid in a classroom.

  “I am glad you asked.” Eric had a notoriously lecherous grin on his face. “I’ve received intelligence that the girls will be taking a bath in the hot springs—”

  “And who gave you that intelligence?”

  “—which means this will be the perfect opportunity for us to peep on them!”

  “Seriously, how do we know this isn’t a trap?”

  “You all know what girls do in a hot spring, don’t you?” Eric held a fist up to his face. His eyes ignited with the powers of perversion. His mind conjured images only a man of his salaciousness could conceive, and he had no problem sharing that imagery with his friend. “They get naked! They strip down and frolic through the hot, steam-filled room, their boobs bouncing, their butts wiggling. Hot, wet, naked, nubile flesh is waiting for us just around the corner, my friends!”

  None of the people there—aside from Eric—could be described as perverted, but they were still men. While they probably would have told their friend to piss off on any other occasion, tonight, they found themselves caught up in Eric’s depraved desire to see naked female flesh—that every female on this trip was drop-dead gorgeous certainly helped.

  Eric pointed a finger at the ceiling. “Yes, today is the day. Today is our day! The day we all become men! The day we see those magnificent bouncing bazongas for ourselves! Men! Let us be off! To the land of tattas!”

  “To the land of tattas!”

  A great cheer went up.

  “… Tattas…”

  And then there was Justin.

  “To me, men! Come! We must make haste!”

  ***

  When Alex, Andrew, Justin, and Eric arrived on the male side of the hot springs, the place was mostly empty, save for one old man with a balding head and an odd green tint to his skin, like he’d been stuck in the ocean for too long and his skin had soaked in the sea’s color. The group of hormonal teenage boys paid little attention to him, busy as they were drilling holes through the bamboo wall that separated the male section from the female section.

  “Damn it, I can’t see anything. Why can’t I see anything?”

  “Is it because of the fog? Maybe it’s too thick?”

  “No. If that were the case, I would at least see white. All I can see is gray.”

  “… Steel…”

  “Eh?”

  “He’s saying the walls have a layer of steel between them.”

  “Dang it. Eric, what do you think we should do?”

  …

  “Eric?”

  Upon receiving no response, Alex and Andrew looked around to see that Eric had vanished.

  “Where did he—”

  A hand clamped against Alex’s and Andrew’s mouths. The pair’s eyes widened.

  “Ah, ah, ah, ah. Don’t scream. That wouldn’t be good. Do you want the ladies on the other side to hear you?” Two head shakes. “Good. Now, I’m going to let go. Don’t scream, alright?” Two nods.

  The hands were removed. Alex and Andrew spun around to see who’d snuck up on them.

  “M-Ms. Grant!”

  “Shhh!” the woman held a hand to her lips.

  “S-sorry,” they apologized.

  “What are you doing here? Uh, you know this is, um, the men’s side, right?”

  “I am well aware of that,” the amused Heather Grant said, grinning. She was dressed in a bikini instead of buffing it. It had nothing to do with modesty. She had a job to do, and she couldn’t do that if these boys were distracted.

  “Um, then, may I ask why you’re, ah, here?”

  “You, ah, may, um, ask.”

  “Okay… so, why are you here?”

  “I’m glad you asked!” Spreading her feet shoulder-width apart and placing her hands on her hips, Heather gave the group of boys a grin. “I am here because my peeping senses told me that a couple of young boys would need my help to learn the sacred and traditional art of peeping!”

  …

  Silence. Several crickets began chirping.

  “That’s right, boys! Today is your lucky day, for I, Heather Grant, Master Peeping Tom, am going to teach you how to peep with style!”

  More silence. A crow cawed in the distance in a most annoying manner.

  “By the way, where’s Eric?” Heather asked.

  ***

  “Hehehehe…”

  Giggling, Eric hid behind one of the large boulders located on the women’s side of the hot spring. Like a good deal of hot springs, this one tried to retain a more natural look, rather than the manmade look of a spa. The spring appeared as a placid pond. Smooth rocks covered much of the surface. Large boulders like the one he hid behind rose from the water, giant fingers stretched towards the sky.

  There are so many perfect hiding places.

  The doors slid open. Eric giggled some more. It was show-time!

  “Kukuku, come to me, my pretties…”

  “Hawa! Such a lovely hot spring!”

  “Please be careful, My Lady. You wouldn’t want to—”

  “H-hawa!”

  “… trip…”

  “Ufufufu, it seems Camellia-sama never changes.”

  “Damn, she’s clumsy.”

  “… Hawa…”

  Peeking out from behind the rock, Eric was given a sight that made his daring, cunning, reckless, and downright stupid plan totally worth it. Four of the hottest women he’d ever seen walked into the hot spring. Their figures were covered by towels, but he didn’t mind. They would lose them soon enough.

  “Ku ku ku…”

  “H-hawa… is something wrong, Kiara?”

  “…No. Nothing’s wrong.”

  Eric clamped a hand over his mouth to keep from laughing anymore. He kept his back
to the rock, listening to the sounds of sloshing water, as the women waded into the steamy spring—

  “Hawa! It’s so hot! Look, Kirihime! Look! Steam! Hawa!”

  —or in the case of Camellia, rushed into the water with reckless abandon.

  “Hawa!”

  “My Lady!”

  And ended up tripping. Again.

  She really is clumsy. Eric grinned. But she’s so hot I don’t care!

  Peering around the hot spring again, Eric found a sight that would never leave him. His eyes devoured the sinful vision, delighting in the bouncing bosoms, becoming mesmerized by the nubile flesh, and thoroughly enjoying the gorgeous, naked bodies before him. So into the magnificence was he that Eric never even realized he’d been spotted, until a bright flash of silver created a graceful arc immediately in front of him.

  “AAHH!”

  Eric stumbled backwards in shock. The rock he’d been hiding behind had just been cut in half! Even now, he watched as the upper half of the rock slid off the lower half and fell into the water. The surface where the rock had been cut was perfectly smooth.

  Standing on the opposite side of the rock was Kotohime. Her katana was out, the flat of the blade resting against her shoulder, the sheath in her left hand. She stared at Eric with her unfathomably dark eyes. They were like a storm brewing within a tumultuous black sea.

  “Hello, Eric-san.”

  “Uh, um, h-hello.”

  Eric’s heart pounded in his chest. What was this abominable fear? Why did he feel so cold? He was in a freaking hot spring!

  “Are you enjoying the view?”

  “Ack. U-u-um, y-yes?”

  “Ufufufu, that is good. It is always nice to have one last good vision before being turned into a corpse.”

  “Gurk.”

  “Can I kill him?” asked an utterly insane-looking Kirihime. Gone was the appearance of a beautiful and demure young woman. In that person’s place, was a woman whose widened eyes and dilated irises gleamed with the spark of insanity.

  “No, no, not yet, Kirihime.” Kotohime smiled. It was the smile of a woman about to unleash hell upon the hapless and foolish man who dared to peep on her. “Perverts like him must be made to suffer before they die.”

  “Gah.”

  Eric knew that he had to get away from here. Reluctant though he was, he couldn’t afford to stay in this place, not if he valued his life, which he did. Even perverts had self-preservation instincts.