“What the hell do you think you’re doing Corromperre?! Stop trying to grope your fellow runners and get back to work!”
“NO! Come back my delicious grade-A ass!”
Kevin watched Coach Deretaine chase Eric across the field. Meanwhile, Eric chased one of the girls on their team across the field, his hands making those pervy grasping motions again, like he was already imagining fondling that poor girl’s butt.
Must. Not. Facepalm.
“Kevin!”
Kevin looked up to see Lilian and Kotohime approaching him from the bleachers, the redhead moving at a light trot while the older kitsune languished back, taking her time.
“Lilian.” Kevin did his best to ignore the mixed surge of warmth and guilt pulsing through his veins at the sight of her. He only had a marginal amount of success.
“Are you sure you’re feeling okay?” Lilian’s eyes shifted from joyful to concerned. “I know you said you were alright this morning, but you looked really tired out there, and you drank nearly six cups of coffee this morning. I thought you didn’t drink coffee.”
“I don’t drink coffee, at least not usually.” He tried to brush off her concerns. “Anyway, I’m fine. You really don’t need to worry about me.” When he saw that Lilian still looked worried, he gave her the most reassuring smile he could muster. “Thank you for being so concerned, though. I appreciate it.”
Lilian scrutinized his face, but decided not to argue, accepting his words at face value. Kevin felt like he’d just stabbed himself in the heart with a knife straight from the forge.
I’m such a jerk. Here I am, lying to the girl who loves me more than anyone else, and she accepts what I’m telling her just like that. I really don’t deserve her, do I?
“Well, if you’re sure.” Lilian perked up a second later. “Anyway, here. You look like you could use a drink.”
Lilian handed Kevin a bottle of water, and he ignored the jolt that shot through him when their hands made contact.
“Thank you.”
As Kevin took a quick drink, Kotohime placed a hand on Lilian’s shoulder.
“You’re always so thoughtful, Lilian-sama. Your mate really is lucky to have someone as amazing as you. Why, you're like every boy’s dream girl; kind and caring and thoughtful and so very beautiful. I don’t know a single male who wouldn’t want to be your boyfriend.”
While Lilian beamed at her maid-slash-bodyguard, Kevin twitched. That was totally a jab at him, wasn’t it?
“Thanks,” Lilian said, “but I don’t really care about any other men. The only person who matters to me is Kevin.”
Now it was Kotohime’s turn to twitch. Her smile became fixed.
“Indeed. Your dedication and loyalty to your mate is truly inspiring, Lilian-sama.”
A loud crash echoed from somewhere behind the bleachers. Lilian and Kevin looked at each other before rushing over to see what had caused such a ruckus, Kotohime trailing after them at a more sedate pace.
The scene they found was a familiar one. Eric Corrompere was laid out on the ground, his face planted into the pavement. The ground around his head was cratered, and several cracks had spread out from the center of impact. The giant baseball sized lump on his head was coated with a thin layer of ice.
“Christine,” Kevin greeted the snow maiden cautiously. The cute girl clad in gothic lolita clothing looked rather livid at the moment, and he really didn’t want to get on her bad side, especially when she got like this.
“Kevin,” Christine grunted, retracting the almighty fist she’d used to bash Eric’s head in, “you really should keep your friend on a tighter leash.”
“What do I look like, Eric’s keeper? I don’t have any control over what that idiot does.” When Christine glared at him, Kevin nearly squealed and retracted his previous statement. “B-but I will certainly keep that in mind and do my best to stop him from bothering you.” That seemed to satisfy the girl, so he relaxed. “I’m guessing Eric did something perverted again?”
“Yes,” Christine growled. Kevin and Lilian took a slow step back at the sight of the girl’s eyes freezing over, turning into two thick glaciers of icy blue. The air around them became cold, freezing even. Their breath came out in thick streams of mist. When they looked down, they saw the cement beginning to freeze over as hoarfrost crept along the surface, icy lines of pure white that spread out like the writhing, amorphous tentacles of Yog-Sothoth.
“Uh, Christine?” Kevin spoke up hesitantly. He almost squeaked when Christine’s icy cold eyes glared at him.
“What?”
“N-nothing… it’s just… your powers…”
Kevin’s words seemed to have a powerful calming effect on the girl. Taking a deep breath, the yuki-onna visibly settled down. The hoarfrost receded, the temperature started to rise, and the mist stopped coming out of their mouths, which was good because it meant that they no longer looked like a trio of chain smokers.
“Okay,” Christine said, breathing out a deep sigh, “I feel better now.”
“Uh… huh…”
Kevin looked at her skeptically. For some reason, he didn’t believe her.
“Uuuugggg…”
Eric just groaned—he wouldn’t be feeling better for a long, long time.
***
Kevin, Lilian, Christine, Kotohime and a broken, bleeding Eric strode across the school grounds toward the parking lot.
“Eric, why are you following us?”
“What do you mean, why am I following you? What kind of best friend asks something like that?”
Pressing the palm of his hand against his face, Kevin had a difficult time keeping a sigh from escaping his lips.
“I might have been let out early because I’m not in the best of shape right now, but Coach Deretaine did not give you permission to leave. What do you think he’s going to do when he realizes you’re no longer practicing?”
When Eric didn’t respond, the group turned to see the lecherous and lanky student staring off into the distance, a look of wide-eyed horror etched on his normally pervy features.
Kevin deadpanned.
“You completely forgot about track, didn’t you?”
“NNNnnooo-aaahhh!!”
The three youngsters plus one kimono-clad female watched as Eric disappeared into the distance, a large cloud of dust trailing in his wake.
A strong wind blew through the clearing. Kevin could hear a few crickets chirping, and a crow in the distance was cawing in a most annoying manner.
Christine managed to sum up everyone’s thoughts rather succinctly.
“What an idiot.”
***
After Eric ran off, the group continued moving--unfortunately, they bumped into someone annoying before they could get too far.
“Ah! My lovely, dulce la flor―”
“Stop calling me flour!”
“―How are you doing this fine day?”
Kevin wondered what kind of bad karma he must have incurred to have a run-in with this idiot. Wasn’t school supposed to be closed? It was, so what the heck was someone who wasn’t part of the track team doing here?
“I would be doing much better if you stopped stalking me like some kind of creeper.” Lilian didn’t seem too thrilled about seeing the idiot, either. In fact, she looked even more annoyed than Kevin.
“Such harsh words, my beautiful señorita.”
“If you’re trying to flatter me, I’m going to tell you right now that it’s not working. Now get lost.”
“Denial is just another sign of attraction.”
“I’m not a tsundere! And no one in their right mind would ever be attracted to you, matador boy!”
Christine stared at the young man wearing the vibrant pink matador costume with a mixture of shock and disgust. She then leaned toward Kevin and whispered in his ear. “Who the hell is this kid?”
“Just some idiot who doesn’t know how to take a hint.”
Christine frowned at him, but Kevin didn’t pay muc
h attention to her. He stared at Juan, gritting his teeth and clenching his fists. After a couple of seconds, the gothically dressed yuki-onna came to a startling conclusion.
“I can’t believe it. You’re jealous of him.”
The look of disgust on her face was truly a sight to behold.
“J-jealous?” Kevin looked startled and embarrassed. He scowled seconds later, his face turning a deep shade of red. “Me? Jealous? Of him? Don’t be ridiculous!”
Kevin had also taken several levels in tsundere, it seems.
“And why do I suddenly have this strange urge to strangle someone?”
“Don’t ask me,” Christine shrugged. “As for why you would be jealous, I honestly don’t know. Maybe it’s because of his infatuation with the fox skank.”
“That’s not jealousy,” Kevin snapped. “I don’t care who he’s infatuated with!”
“Whatever,” Christine mumbled under her breath, “It’s not like I care who you’re jealous of.”
“I’m not jealous!”
“Come now, my enchanting little ma bella.” Juan ignored the byplay between Kevin and Christine. “There is no need to be so distant with me. You need not be intimidated. It is just like I said; just because I am a handsome diablo, does not mean you need to feel timido in the presence of my magnificent self.”
Juan slid up to Lilian and tried to wrap an arm around her, but was quickly thwarted by Kevin, who’d pushed himself between the two.
A frown crossed the matador boy’s face. “Is there a reason why you are getting in my way, Sweeft?”
“It’s Swift.” Kevin gave the other boy a large, ear-to-ear grin that forced his eyes closed. A vein also popped out on his forehead, throbbing in time to the beat of his heart. “And I think Lilian has made it abundantly clear that you’re bothering her, so why don’t you just leave us alone?”
“Hmph.” Juan gave him a bored look. “Sounds to me like someone is jealous.”
“Who the heck would be jealous of you?!”
“Now, now, there is no need to deny it.” Juan’s smile was one of triumph. “I understand how you feel. I can see now that you are just jealous of the bono, the bond, that Lilian and I share. Understandable. It must be difficult watching the girl you’re so fond of falling into the arms of another man, but really, you should learn to accept your defeat gracefully.”
“Defeat?” Kevin glared as he stepped into Juan’s personal space and literally ground his forehead against the other boy. Not one to be outdone, Juan pushed back as sparks flashed between them. “You must have a few screws loose if you think you’ve defeated me at anything!”
“That’s just what I would expect someone who knows nothing of women to say!”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about!”
“Ha! Of course someone like you wouldn’t understand what I am speaking of! Your lack of masculino makes it impossible for you to understand someone as manly as myself!”
“What the heck is that supposed to mean?!”
“It means what it means, pavo!”
“I don’t know what you just said, but it sounded pretty insulting!”
“That’s because it was an insult!”
The three yōkai watched from the sidelines as the two teenage boys butted heads like a pair of bulls in a male pissing contest.
“Wow,” Christine whistled, “I don’t think I’ve ever seen Kevin get so worked up at someone before.”
“Really?” Kotohime looked at Christine, who nodded. “I see…” She then went back to staring at Kevin and Juan. “Ufufufu…”
And then she began giggling.
Christine took several steps away from the woman.
Lilian worried her lower lip. Should she feel guilty for enjoying the way Kevin appeared to be fighting over her? Maybe. Probably. But she didn’t. This was the proof she needed to confirm that he did feel something for her, even if he didn’t know what that something was yet.
After taking a moment to bask in Kevin’s obvious jealousy, Lilian decided it was time to break the two up before their argument could come to blows. Grabbing Kevin by the arm, she gently pulled him away from the other boy.
“Come on, Kevin. You don’t need to lower yourself to his level. That idiot isn’t worth your time. He’s just jealous because he knows you’re the only person I could ever love.”
Kevin blushed. Juan looked like he wanted to cry.
“Why must you always be so cruel, ma bella flor?”
A large vein pulsed on Lilian’s forehead, though she did her best to ignore Juan something-or-other’s terribly cheesy, internet-translated comments.
“And my name isn’t Juan something or other! Its Juan Martinez Villanueva Cortes!”
Thankfully, Juan chose not to follow them. Most unfortunately for Lilian, Christine did.
Kevin and Lilian both stared at Christine as she attached herself to Kevin’s other arm. The snow maiden who hated the cold blushed bright blue under their scrutiny but defiantly kept herself stuck to Kevin’s side.
“W-what are you two staring at, huh?” she asked defensively, turning her head away from the two. “I-I’m just making sure that whore over there doesn’t try anything! D-don’t think I’m doing this cuz I like you, stupid Kevin!”
“What are you talking about?” Kevin proved himself to be clueless about women.
“N-nothing! Shut up! Just forget I said anything!”
While Kevin shrugged off the girl’s strange behavior―he was used to it by now―Lilian glared at the girl before hugging Kevin’s arm closer to her chest.
“Whatever you say, tsun-tsun-chan.”
“What was that?!”
“Nothing. I didn’t say anything. And I certainly didn’t say anything about flat-chested little girls who act like stereotypical tsunderes. Nope. Nothing at all.”
“How dare you! I am not tsundere, Titan Tits! I’m not!”
“Keep telling yourself that.”
“Why you!!”
Kevin tried to ignore the two girls arguing. He also tried to ignore Kotohime, who he could just tell was staring at the back of his head. He could feel her intent, not quite killing intent but close enough, as she bore a hole through his cranium. It made him very uncomfortable.
As they continued walking to the parking lot, they ran into the Social Sciences teacher, Professor Nabui.
“Ah, Kevin, Lilian,” he greeted in his heavy Japanese accent, not even the least bit Americanized despite having lived in the US for several decades already. No one knew why the man still had an accent. It was like one of life’s greatest mysteries.
“The reason he still has an accent is because you’re an Otaku.”
U-ugh. I already told you that it’s one of life’s greatest mysteries, not because I’m Otaku. That’s a rather harsh thing to say.
“Harsh, but true. Kotohime is right; you’re a complete Otaku.”
Y-you guys are so mean.
“Who the hell are you two talking to?” Christine asked.
“Yes, who are you two talking to?” Professor Nabui seconded.
Kevin didn’t ask that question, mainly because he’d already asked it many times and received the same, unfulfilling response each time.
“No one,” Lilian and Kotohime said in unison.
While Christine stared at the two with twitching eyebrows, Professor Nabui shook his head. Kitsune were such an odd breed.
The Japanese secret-agent-turned-professor turned to look at the statuesque bodyguard. “I do not believe we’ve had the pleasure of meeting. My name is Nabui Nagase. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Ms…”
“Katsura,” the katana-wielding beauty answer with a slight nod of her head. “Katsura Kotohime.”
“You are Japanese, yes?”
“That’s correct, though I have not visited my homeland for many years.”
“I see. A pity,” Professor Nabui said, “I often find myself missing my country. It would have been nice to hear news about what is happ
ening there from something other than the internet.”
“You have my apologies for being unable to help, Nagase-san.”
“There is no need to apologize, Katsura Kotohime-san. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have some paper-work that simply must get done before the day ends.” He looked at his two students, then at Christine, nodding politely at them before walking off.
Kevin and Lilian shared a look. That had been a really random chance encounter.
***
Inagumi Takashi sat behind his desk, his fingers steepled and his face carefully blank.
The meeting with Kevin and his redheaded target had been very informative, much more so than when he’d been spying on them at the mall. Being up close had allowed him to get a much better sense of who and what he was dealing with.
Who would have thought there would be another kitsune living in the area? Judging from the way she had been standing several feet behind his target, the sharp look in her eyes, and the fact that she wielded both a katana and a wakizashi, he determined that Katsura Kotohime was likely the younger kitsune’s bodyguard.
That meant the girl was of some importance to the kitsune world. That was troubling, but not worrying enough to make him stop his mission.
It did mean he’d have to change his plans, however. He wasn’t up for tangling with a kitsune powerful enough to be used as a bodyguard.
That was fine, though. While going after the young kitsune directly was officially out of the question, he could still go after her indirectly.
What better way to do that than by stealing away the person she cherished most?
Chapter 8
A Twisted Game of Twister
Later that day, Kotohime traveled to a complex several miles from the Swift residence. While she could have been there in minutes with some reinforcement and kitsune-style roof hopping, she wanted to enjoy the ambiance of Arizona.
Although most yōkai didn’t like large cities such as Phoenix, Kotohime had no such issues. She’d spent a lengthy amount of time with the primate race before becoming a vassal for the Pnév̱ma clan, so she knew of humanity’s worth. There was just something about the large buildings and wildlife interspersed between that she found beautiful and wondrous.
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