A Fox's Maid

by Brandon Varnell

“There’s always a choice. It’s just that sometimes the right choice happen to also be the hardest choice to make.” Kevin ignored his fear, pushing it aside in order to smile at the beautiful girl in his arms. “I’m not the kind of person who would leave someone I… someone that… well, someone who’s important to me while she’s in danger, especially when she’s in danger because of me. I won’t leave you.”

  “You won’t?”

  “No.”

  “Then you’ll… you’ll stay with me?”

  Kevin instantly knew they were no longer talking about their current predicament. “If you’ll have me.”

  “And you’ll let me stay with you?”

  “For as long as you want.”

  Lilian smiled. Despite how tired she felt, how much her body ached, and the danger they were in, she smiled at him. It was the most beautiful thing Kevin had ever seen.

  “Hey! Are you kids listening to me? I said get down on your knees, put your hands in the air, and give up peacefully! I want to play my eroge, damn it!”

  Kevin and Lilian looked at the woman. She appeared annoyed, probably because they’d been ignoring her. Even in the dark, they could see the angry red vein throbbing on her forehead. It was luminescent.

  “Um, ma’am. You didn’t say that,” one of her people said.

  The woman blinked. “I didn’t?”

  “No, ma’am. You just told them to give up or you’d have us open fire.”

  “Oh. Well, I’m saying it now. Hey! Brats! Get down on your knees, stick your hands in the air, and give up!”

  Kevin took a deep breath, gathered his courage…

  … and then began shouting.

  “Shut up, lady! Just who the hell do you think I am?! I’m going to tell you something right now, so you’d better dig the wax out of your ears and listen up! I’m not an intimidating or impressive guy. I don’t have any combat training or superpowers. But even so—” Kevin clenched his left hand into a fist “—even so, I’m not the kind of guy who would just hand over the woman he loves to a bunch of Power Ranger villain rejects like you!”

  The blond gaped. The people around her gaped. Everyone was pretty much gaping by this point.

  Except Lilian, who simply deadpanned.

  “You totally stole those lines from an anime,” she accused.

  Kevin looked away, mostly to hide his blush. “T-that’s not really important right now, is it?”

  Lilian’s weak giggle was like music to his ears.

  “No, I guess not.” She used what little strength she had left to lean up and kiss him on the cheek. “It was actually kind of cool.”

  “I agree.”

  She appeared before them without warning, her body flickering into existence like an evanescent breeze. Her dark kimono clung to her curvaceous frame, and her raven locks of hair gleamed yellow under the lamp posts.

  With her back to the company of infantry and military vehicles, Kotohime faced Kevin and Lilian wearing an odd smile. She seemed… satisfied? Yes. Satisfied. Her curled lips were

  dazzling, and her dark eyes held a gleam of the utmost satisfaction.

  “I am most pleased to see that you have decided to finally stop hesitating and make a choice, Kevin-sama.”

  “Eh?” Kevin stared at her with a stupid look on his face.

  “For that, you have my gratitude, respect and acceptance. However―” her eyes suddenly narrowed “―I do not want you think this means I will be going easy on you. There is much that you must learn if you are to stand by Lilian-sama’s side.”

  “Wha-what?”

  Kevin stared at the woman in confusion. Lilian was blushing. The spandex wearing soldiers? Well…

  “Hey! Who the hell are you?!” The blond shouted at Kotohime. She did not look the least bit pleased at being ignored… again.

  Kotohime turned to the woman, her eyes wide in mild surprise. Kevin knew almost instantly that it was fake.

  This woman… she really is dangerous.

  “Oh, dear. I seem to have forgotten to introduce myself. How rude of me.” The bodyguard bowed low. “My name is Katsura Kotohime.”

  Her ears shifted as she straightened, transforming into triangular fox ears covered in midnight fur. Four fluffy black tails with white tips shot out from underneath her kimono as well. Her smile was pleasant and her disposition amiable, and yet, all of the soldiers quaked in their boots as she stared at them.

  Her left hand came to rest on the hilt of her katana.

  “And I shall be your opponent tonight.”

  No one saw Kotohime move. One second she was standing before them, and the next she was gone. While the others looked around, Kevin gawked at the place she had been, wondering if she had used some kind of instantaneous movement technique. Did this woman know the Flash Step or something?

  “W-where did that woman go?!”

  “Sh-she just vanished!”

  “What kind of monster is she?!”

  “Calm down, men!” the blond woman barked. “She’s probably just using an illusion to try and scare us.”

  “I wouldn’t be so sure of that,” a voice said from behind the group of soldiers.

  Everyone turned to look at Kotohime, now standing in front of one of the Hummers, her katana slowly sliding into its sheathe with a sibilant hissing of steel. No one had seen her even take it out.

  Click.

  The sound of Kotohime’s katana being fully sheathed was like a prelude. The Hummer immediately behind her suddenly split apart like a ripe fruit that had been sliced by a cleaver, the two halves falling away and clattering to the pavement.

  For one second, there was silence. No one blinked. No one breathed. They could only stare at the scene before them, their minds’ refusing to believe what their eyes had just seen.

  “That… that was really cool,” Kevin mumbled.

  Lilian grinned. “I know, right?”

  The blond woman’s eyes bugged out as she realized how much danger they were in. “Holy―Fire! Open fire!”

  The infantry, goaded into action by the blonde’s shouting, raised their weapons and prepared to fire on the four-tailed kitsune.

  They never got the chance.

  Kotohime gripped her katana and took a stance. Legs spread wide, feet planted firmly on the ground, the femme fatale brought the katana down to her side.

  “Ikken Hissatsu.”

  Kotohime’s sword became an indistinct blur, moving so fast that Kevin could only see the glint of polished steel reflected by the lamps’ yellow light. Loud sonic booms shattered the air. Soldiers were sent flying, some hitting the ground, their bodies unmoving. Others crashed into vehicles, leaving dents in their wake. Lampposts were bent as humans crashed into them with unimaginable force, the bulbs shattering as they struck the ground.

  “What the… what’s going on?”

  “That’s one of Kotohime’s special blade techniques,” Lilian answered Kevin’s question, “She uses reinforcement to increase the speed and strength of her swings and thrusting motions in order to generate shockwaves.”

  “I hadn’t realized such a thing was possible.” He paused, as if realizing something. “But, with everything else I’ve seen so far, I suppose I really should have.”

  When Kotohime finished, every soldier lay unconscious, and the military vehicles had been perforated with numerous holes, as if a drill had punched through them. Kotohime stood in the center of this devastation with what could almost be deemed rapture. Nodding several times to herself, she turned about and strolled over to the teens calmly, placidly, as if she hadn’t just destroyed an entire infantry company and several military vehicles with a single attack.

  Kevin felt a cold sweat break out on his forehead.

  Note to self: never get on this woman’s bad side.

  “Well,” she said, her pleasant demeanor greatly disturbing Kevin, “shall we head home now?”

  Kevin couldn’t find his voice to respond, so Lilian took the liberty of speaking for the bot
h of them. “That sounds like a fantastic idea.”

  Kotohime clapped her hands together. “Excellent. However, before that…” She stuck two fingers into her mouth and whistled. Three figures walked out from behind a building and over to their decimated part of the parking lot. Kevin and Lilian recognized them immediately.

  “Lindsay! Christine! Eric!” Kevin and Lilian said at the same time, their faces wearing identical expressions of shock.

  “H-hey, Kevin. What’s up?” Lindsay gave them an unsure wave, keeping her distance from the katana-wielding femme. Kevin couldn’t blame her.

  “Tit Maiden!” Eric charged the epically proportioned fox-girl. “I am so pleased to see you’re unharmed! Now you can let me stick my face between those―FFUUUGYYAAA!”

  Everyone stared in shock as Eric crumpled to the ground, clutching his balls. They warily eyed the foot which had struck the young pervert, and then followed the appendage to the person it was attached to.

  “What?” Kevin couldn’t quite hide his blush. “He wanted to grope Lilian.”

  Lilian smiled at her mate. “Thank you, Kevin.”

  The redness on Kevin’s cheeks spread across his face. He couldn’t help it. That smile was just too cute.

  “Ah, um, you’re welcome.”

  “I found these three following Lilian-sama,” Kotohime began, gesturing to the sheepish trio, though Christine seemed more upset than anything. Eric just groaned. “It appears that Lindsay saw you transforming into your hybrid state.” The elder kitsune gave her charge a reproachful glance. “You really must be more cautious, Lilian-sama.”

  “I couldn’t help it,” Lilian mumbled, her cheeks red. “I was angry. They took Kevin from me.”

  Kevin tightened his arm around the redhead’s waist, causing her to glance at him. The world around them vanished as they stared into each other’s eyes, those windows through which all emotions became visible. Within each other’s gaze, they found everything they needed. It was—

  “Oh, for fuck’s sake! Stop making googly eyes at each other!”

  Lilian scowled, her ire turning on Christine.

  “How about you just keep that tsun-tsun trap of yours shut?! You’re ruining the moment!”

  “There’s nothing to ruin! The only thing I see is a whorish little fox who thinks stripping someone with her eyes is romantic!”

  “I was not stripping Kevin with my eyes! You’re just jealous!”

  “J-J-Jea―shut up! Shut up, shut up, shut up! Why would I be jealous of you, boob head?”

  Kevin sighed and firmly planted a hand into his face. Why did this crap always happen when he was around?

  “Don’t hate me just because I have bigger boobs than you, teensy tits!”

  “Shut up, thunderjugs!”

  “Ant bites!”

  “Udder woman!”

  “Bitty bumps!”

  While Kevin watched the two yōkai argue, Lindsay saddled up to him.

  “Rough night, huh?”

  “Yeah…” Kevin turned away from the arguing supernatural creatures to look at his longtime friend with curiosity. “So, how did you and Eric get involved in all this?”

  “Franken jugs!”

  “Cherry bombs!”

  “It’s a really long story,” the tomboy sighed.

  Kevin eyed Lindsay before slowly nodding in understanding. “I’ll take your word for it.”

  “Mumbo Jumbos!”

  “Mini lumps!”

  “Are they going to stop anytime soon?” she asked, eying Christine and Lilian warily.

  “God, I hope so.”

  “Ufufufu…”

  “Oh, for all that is good and holy! Would you stop laughing like that?!”

  Chapter 12

  Returned Feelings

  An awkward tension hung in the air between the five youngsters, although Kevin felt that term was something of an euphemism, seeing how Lilian was actually over 100 years old. Still, by kitsune standards, she was quite young, so Kevin felt the term applied just fine.

  “So…” Kevin decided to address the large pink elephant stomping alongside them. “How did you three get mixed up in all this?”

  Christine, Eric and Lindsay all shared a look. For once, Eric did not look at Christine with lustful intentions. Kevin didn’t have time to be surprised, as the trio of high schoolers launched into a brief summary of the events that led to them ending up under Kotohime’s tender mercy.

  By the end of the whole story, Kevin could only sigh and palm his face with his free hand. “Really, Lindsay… I can’t believe you would do something like that…”

  Lindsay frowned. “What’s that supposed to mean? Are you saying that I should have ignored the fact that Lilian had extra appendages humans aren’t supposed to have?”

  “Yes,” Kevin’s answer was swift and sure. “Yes, you should have. It would have been much easier on you and Eric had you never found out about Lilian’s and Christine’s secret. It’s illegal for humans to know about the existence of yōkai, and humans that do discover it are often dealt with, usually by having their memories erased.”

  Lindsay and Eric paled.

  “Speaking of,” Lilian turned to her maid-slash-bodyguard, “just why haven’t their memories been erased?”

  Kotohime didn’t hesitate to answer. “Because neither myself nor Lilian-sama have any skill at erasing memories. I am a combat-oriented kitsune. All my techniques are related to killing people. Erasing memories is a very subtle art that requires a finesse which I lack. And Lilian-sama is, of course, too young and not skilled enough at controlling her youki to learn such a technique.”

  “Muu, do have to put it like that?” Lilian, still leaning against Kevin for support, pouted at her bodyguard. “You make it sound like I don’t have any talent.”

  “I never said that. Among all the kitsune Lilian-sama’s age, Lilian-sama is definitely one of the most talented that I have seen. However, Lilian-sama is still young and lacks the control for many of the finer kitsune illusions and enchantments. Erasing memories requires at least three tails’ worth of power, and the control that can only come with age.”

  “Hey, speaking of age, just how old are you two―GUAG!”

  Everyone watched mutely as two tails, one red and one black, pounded Eric into the ground with enough force to leave a small indent on the pavement in the shape of his body.

  “Ufufufu, don’t you know that you should never ask a woman her age?”

  “Gu… right… my bad…”

  ***

  “Hey. You remember those people you ordered me to monitor? You were right, it seems. They went against orders to simply watch the yōkai attending Desert Cactus High School and tried capturing one. It’s caused quite the mess. I imagine the news will be reporting about numerous unexplained explosions and chaos tomorrow.”

  “…”

  “Oh? So you’re going to dispatch people to get rid of the evidence. Good to know, though you may want them to get here soon. Otherwise, it’ll be too late.”

  “…”

  “No. They went after your son, not the yuki-onna.”

  “…”

  “Yes. They were using him as bait to lure a kitsune into a trap. You’ll remember from my previous report that she’s been living with Kevin Swift since sometime in August. Unfortunately for them, I don’t think they anticipated such heavy resistance. That four-tails was really something. She gave them a major thrashing, though I don’t think she killed anyone outright. Probably didn’t want her charge to witness such violence. And speaking of resistance, I take it those who made the order to capture the kitsune on your end have been dealt with?”

  “…”

  “All right. All right. I won’t ask anymore questions about that. I know when something is outside of my jurisdiction.” A pause. “Though I do have another question, and not about the group who decided to go against orders.” Another pause. “I was just wondering if you wanted me to do anything about the kitsune. She’s become a
wfully close to your son, you know.”

  “…”

  “What a cold father you are. No wonder you left them. You’re really not the sentimental type, are you?”

  “…”

  “Yes. Yes. Your dedication toward keeping the world safe from the yōkai menace is very admirable. I was simply saying that it’s awfully frigid for a father not to be concerned for the safety of his son, especially when that son has become involved with one of the very yōkai he’s claiming to protect the world from.”

  “…”

  “No son of yours, huh? Man, you really are heartless, aren’t you? But whatever. It’s not like I care about that. I’ll do as you ordered and keep an eye on the kitsune and her bodyguard for you. I doubt I could take that swordswoman on anyway. She managed to defeat over three dozen men without using a single kitsune technique, though she did use a wicked sword technique.”

  “…”

  “Don’t worry. I won’t reveal myself to anyone. I’ve been doing this for nearly two years and haven’t been caught yet, have I?”

  “…”

  “I know. All right. Out.”

  Dark eyes hidden under a curtain of equally dark hair stared at the cellphone in his hand. With a smile, he put the cellphone on its charging station.

  Some very interesting things had been happening lately, and given how things were playing out, it was guaranteed that life would become even more interesting soon enough.

  “Kevin Swift and Lilian Pnév̱ma. I wonder what will become of you two in the future?”

  Knocking came to his door. “Justin? Justin, are you still up?”

  Justin opened the door to reveal his “mother” standing on the other side. She looked nothing like him, of course, as they weren’t actually related. Still, for the past two years she had been his mother, treating him just like she would her own son, and he’d played the part of son quite well, if he did say so himself.

  She had been selected by the Sons and Daughters of Humanity to be his “mother” because she and her husband were unable to have kids.

  Müllerian agenesi is a congenital malformation caused by a failure of the Müllerian duct to develop, which results in a missing uterus and various degrees of vagnical hypoplasia.