A Fox's Mission

by Brandon Varnell

  “Hmm…” Orin murmured. Kevin, Lilian, Iris, and even Polydora leaned in, anticipation written all over their faces. “Very well. I suppose I can grant you this favor. It’s not like I care if you stay here anyway, though I can’t say anything for everyone else.”

  “Thank you,” Kevin said, bowing his head.

  “Yes, well, you’re welcome,” Orin responded before clapping his hands. “And now that we’re done with this conversation, I suggest we put it behind us and head over to the hot springs. You children look tense, and a nice soak in the hot water will undoubtedly do you some good—guu!”

  Everyone mutely stared as a black slipper smacked Orin in the face. Then, everyone craned their necks to see a blue-faced Christine, who glared daggers at the old monkey. Her left slipper was missing, and her toes wiggled in the chilly morning air.

  “You just want an excuse to peek on us, pervert!” Christine shouted.

  “That wasn’t very nice,” Orin muttered. “You should show more respect to your teacher, Christine.”

  “I’ll show you respect when you’ve actually earned it!”

  Stomping over to her fallen shoe, Christine snatched it up and put it back on. She then stormed out of the hut.

  Kevin, Lilian, and Iris all shared a look.

  “Follow her?” Iris asked the other two, who both nodded.

  “Follow her,” Kevin and Lilian said together before they, too, vacated the hut.

  Kotohime was not one to let herself be rushed. Indeed, even when the situation was serious, she preferred remaining calm and collected, moving with grace instead of haste. That had always been her way.

  However, Kotohime was also aware of time constraints, and when time was of the essence… well, moving with a little more haste never hurt.

  Her long legs easily carried her to Monstrang’s headquarters. The structure, a large skyscraper, loomed over her. Perhaps because they were underground, this skyscraper didn’t ascend into the sky, but rather, it connected the bottom of the dome to the top. Because of this, the building seemed more like a gigantic tube than an actual skyscraper.

  The doors slid open as she strolled up to them. She didn’t break pace as she entered, moving with long, loping strides. She didn’t run, but she did hurry.

  Several people called out greetings to her. She nodded back to them, but because of her haste, she would admit to brushing some of them off. Normally, politeness was of paramount importance, but in the current circumstances, she had neither the time nor the inclination to be polite.

  When she reached the elevators, Kotohime saw that one was on the verge of closing. Someone was already inside. It was Kiara.

  “Hold that open, please!”

  A hand shot from the closing doors, causing them to beep and retract. Kotohime hurried her pace and walked the rest of the way in.

  “Someone’s in a hurry, I see,” Kiara observed. “That’s not like you at all. I’m guessing something is wrong?”

  “You’re correct, I’m afraid. Something is very wrong.”

  “In that case…” Kiara pressed the button for Monstrang’s office. “What I planned on doing can wait for a bit. This sounds much more important.”

  “You have my thanks.”

  The doors slid closed. Kotohime felt a lurch as the elevator began to move at a snail’s pace. She really wished it would move a little faster.

  “I take it those three kids have gotten in trouble?” Kiara asked.

  “You’re close, but not quite,” Kotohime said. “I fear the situation is a bit more dire than Lilian-sama, Kevin-sama, and Iris-sama getting into some trouble.”

  “Sounds bad.”

  “It is.”

  A light ping emitted from the door as it opened. Kotohime didn’t waste time in vacating the elevator, and she quickly strode down the hall toward Monstrang’s office, Kiara trailing behind her.

  Knocking on the door, Kotohime waited until Monstrang grunted “Come in,” and then opened the door and walked inside.

  As usual, Monstrang was sitting at his desk, reading over reports. He spent so much time there that Kotohime sometimes wondered if he ever moved. Except for when there was a meeting, it seemed as if he was always in that spot.

  “Phoebe has been captured by the Yamata Alliance,” Kotohime said without preamble. “We need to mount a rescue operation.”

  Monstrang was smart enough to realize that she wasn’t kidding, and he was quick enough to understand that they needed to act fast. He didn’t even bother questioning her, instead pressing down on his intercom and speaking into it.

  “Mack, I want you to prep six squads immediately. Have them ready to leave in less than an hour.”

  The intercom speakers crackled.

  “Right away, Boss.”

  Monstrang retracted his finger and turned his head to stare back at Kotohime.

  “Tell me everything you know,” he started. “Leave nothing out.”

  “I swear to all eight million gods, if you peek on my mate and her sister, I’m going to shoot you.”

  “Is that any way to speak to the man who agreed to let you stay here?”

  “It is when he looks about ready to start spying on another man’s girl.”

  “Hmph! Worry not. I have learned my lesson from last time.”

  “Somehow, I don’t believe you.”

  Kevin, Orin, and Cien were all in the hot spring. While Cien sat on a stool trying to wash himself off—it was hard with only one arm—and Orin was attempting to discover how to give himself X-ray vision, Kevin sat in the steaming waters, leaning against a rock as his muscles loosened and relaxed.

  He wondered if the hot springs were becoming a theme for them, or if they simply spent so much time in them because they didn’t have any other place to go. He was seriously beginning to grow concerned. Three times in three days was odd, especially since they’d never visited hot springs this often back home. Either way, he couldn’t deny that this was a pleasant way to spend time, especially since his and Lilian’s tablet had run out of batteries last night.

  I guess that’s what we get for spending so much time reading manga , Kevin lamented. We didn’t even get to finish the volume we were reading.

  It was truly a loss for all mankind. He and Lilian had just gotten to the very last chapter when the battery decided to die on them.

  Such a shame.

  “I don’t know why I have to be here,” Cien complained as he climbed into the water.

  Kevin cracked an eye open at the inu, whose furry tail bristled as it touched the water’s surface.

  “Don’t ask me. You’re the one who decided to come with us, in case you forgot.”

  He wondered if the redness on Cien’s cheeks was because the inu felt embarrassed or the heat.

  “That—I only followed you because I didn’t have anything else to do.”

  Kevin shrugged to indicate that he didn’t really care for the other man’s reasons. Closing his eyes again, he rested his head against the rock. It was hard, and it wasn’t very comfortable, but the heat coming off it felt nice.

  “Say,” Cien started.

  Kevin almost groaned. “What is it?”

  “Why are you so friendly with us yōkai? Are you trying to ingratiate yourself to us in the hopes that we won’t kill you?”

  Kevin stared at Cien for several silent seconds. Finally…

  “Are you stupid?”

  “What was that?!”

  “Do you really think I would try to ingratiate myself to you? Have you forgotten who it was that beat you? It wasn’t another yōkai. It was me. I don’t need anyone to protect me.”

  “Then why are you so chummy with our kind?” Cien pressed. “I know humans. They don’t like things that are different. Humans always hate what they don’t understand, and because of their misguided hatred, innocent yōkai always end up paying the price.”

  Kevin didn’t speak for a long moment. He was replaying what Cien said in his mind, working through the word
s like one might solve a puzzle.

  “I’m guessing humans did something horrible to you in the past?” Kevin said.

  “That’s right,” Cien said, his teeth gritted, as if just thinking about whatever happened to him made him angry. “They did do something to me. What humanity did to me—no, what they’ve done to many yōkai is inexcusable. They used us like lab rats! We were kept in cages whenever they weren’t experimenting on us, and when they did perform their experiments, they’d strap us to chairs and inject us with all kinds of drugs. Many of my friends died from those experiments. Those of us who survived made a promise. That we would do everything in our power to make sure no yōkai would ever go through what those humans put us through.”

  Although Cien’s speech was somewhat jumbled, Kevin got the gist of what he was saying. His hatred of humanity was obvious now. He must have been one of the Sons and Daughters of Humanity’s experiments. Even now, a year after it happened, Kevin could still remember the words of Inagumi Takashi:

  “There is much we can gain from capturing and studying yōkai. Many of our technological advancements in viral weaponry have actually come from splicing the genetic codes of various supernal beings with viruses. The common cold plus the DNA of a kappa creates a deadly virus that causes the blood vessels to swell up with water, clogging the veins and arteries. Combining the genes of a nekomata with several strands of the flu creates a virus that causes deadly inflammation in the lungs. Even now, after many decades of research and advancement, we’re still coming up with more ways to use yōkai DNA to further develop humanity.”

  He supposed this had been a long time coming. Kevin felt like he should have expected this, meeting with one of the yōkai that had been experimented on. What emotion was he supposed to feel, as he sat here, listening to Cien talk about what must have been the most terrifying experience of his life? Kevin didn’t know. There were far too many emotions for him to count.

  “Hearing all that, I do kinda get why you don’t like humans,” Kevin said at last. “Really, I can’t imagine how horrible it must have been to suffer through all that. However, don’t expect me to give you any sympathy.”

  “W-what?” Cien growled. He looked like a Gundam had just socked him in the face.

  “You seem to be under the impression that all humans are evil, and that all yōkai are good. That’s naive. This world isn’t so black and white as you seem to think. You think humans are the only ones kidnapping people off the street? I can tell you at least one kitsune clan who made their fortune with human slave trafficking.”

  Kevin thought of the Mul clan, of what he’d learned about them from Kotohime and Phoebe. They’d apparently been one of the largest black market dealers in the slave trade. Phoebe had even told him that several slaves they’d bought had actually died on the trip to her old home once. They’d been packed like sardines in a can, barely able to move, hardly capable of breathing. About forty of the fifty humans that had been brought to them died of starvation or lack of oxygen.

  “Humans aren’t the only ones who commit evil deeds. For every human that harms a yōkai, I can pretty much guarantee that there’s at least one yōkai who has hurt a human.”

  Kevin stood up. Several feet away, Orin was beginning to climb the fence using what Kevin presumed was some kind of saru technique.

  “However, I can also tell you this,” he continued talking to Cien, who stared at him with uncomprehending eyes. “For every evil that humans and yōkai do to each other, there’s an equal number of humans and yōkai who treat each other with kindness. You asked me why I’m so ‘chummy’ with Lilian and the others? It’s because Lilian is my mate. Because I love her more than anything else in the world. Because she, her sister, Christine, Polydora, Phoebe, and all the other yōkai I’ve met in my life are a part of my family.”

  Wringing out his towel, Kevin twisted it up until it looked almost like a whip.

  “Know this, if you even think about tarnishing the relationship I have with my family by spouting that crap in front of me again, I’ll give you another beating, and the next time, you’ll lose a lot more than just an arm.”

  Without waiting for Cien to respond, Kevin spun around and threw the towel with deadly accuracy.

  “And you! Get down from there this instant, you perverted monkey!”

  The towel flew through the air. Orin tried to leap away, but Kevin had actually predicted that he would do just that and aimed accordingly. The towel smacked into Orin’s face as he flew through the air. With no traction keeping him grounded, he spun around like a top before belly flopping into the hot spring with a loud splash.

  “Kevin?” Lilian’s voice called out from the divide that kept the boys and girls separated. “What was that noise?”

  “Nothing!” Kevin called back, grinning vindictively when he saw that the towel had wrapped around Orin’s face, and now the old monkey was trying to pry it off with little success. “Just taking care of a small problem! Please continue to enjoy your bath!”

  On the women’s side of the hot springs, Lilian glared at the divider as if it was the cause of all her problems. It might as well have been, as far as she was concerned. If it weren’t for this stupid divider getting in her way, she would have been able to enjoy a bath with Kevin.

  Although, if this thing wasn’t in the way, the other two would see me.

  Lilian shivered despite the heat wafting from the hot spring. The thought of other men seeing her naked repulsed her. She didn’t know why. Kitsune were rarely bothered by people seeing them naked, but for her, the idea of a man who wasn’t Kevin looking at her with lust made her feel sick.

  Dispelling those thoughts with a shake of her head, Lilian slipped into the hot spring. The hot water did wonders to relax her muscles and soothe any aches and pains she had, and yet, despite this, Lilian couldn’t enjoy it like she usually did.

  “Enjoy my bath, he says,” Lilian grumbled. “I don’t know how he expects me to enjoy my time in the bath if he’s not here.”

  “Did you say something?” Polydora asked.

  “Nope.”

  Polydora sat a few feet from her. Her dark hair descended from her head in curls, falling over her shoulders and behind her back. Leaning against a rock, her chest was thrust out. Lilian was pleased to note that Polydora’s breasts weren’t as large as hers, but she also realized that the yama uba was much more muscular than her. This was a woman who constantly exercised to become stronger, whereas the only exercise Lilian did was when she sparred with Kevin, Iris, and Kotohime.

  “Is there something wrong?” Polydora asked suddenly.

  Lilian realized she’d been staring and shook her head. “Um, no. I was just curious to know how you were feeling.”

  “I am physically in good condition, if that is what you mean. I had plenty of rest, and my wounds have healed. My only concern now is rescuing My Lady Phoebe.”

  “You know, I never asked this, but why are you so dedicated to Phoebe?”

  The frown that creased Polydora’s face told Lilian that she didn’t understand the question. “I do not understand what you mean by that. My Lady Phoebe is the leader of us yama uba. It is only natural that I would be devoted to her.”

  “None of the other yama uba are as devoted to her as you, though,” Lilian pointed out. “Surely, there must be some kind of special reason that you’re so loyal to her.”

  Polydora grew quiet. Her eyes glazed over, as if she was revisiting the past, or perhaps just thinking really hard.

  Sitting on a stool several feet away, Christine complained as Iris washed her hair and back.

  “D-damn it, I can clean myself, you stupid skank!”

  “Uhuhuhu, now don’t be like that. We’re all friends here. A little skinship between friends never hurt anyone.”

  “W-whatever. I-if you’re going to be like that, I guess it can’t be helped. But make it quick! I don’t want to be here any longer than I have to.”

  “I see that you’re as tsunde
re as ever this morning. By the way, did you know that your strange speech impediment is gone, nya?”

  “S-shut up, Boob Monster!”

  “I suppose it is because I have always been in awe of My Lady Phoebe,” Polydora admitted. “She has always carried herself with a poise and grace befitting a ruler, even when we were younger. Even back when she was a child and I a young teenager, My Lady Phoebe had this presence about her that made me feel like I was the younger one between the two of us. She also acted like a leader. Back when she was a child, My Lady Phoebe was always settling disputes between the younger clanswomen. All of the younger generation would listen to her, and even many of the older clanswomen admired how calm and collected she was.”

  “I hadn’t realized Phoebe was such a respectable leader,” Lilian muttered, amazed.

  “What do you mean by that?! My Lady Phoebe is an amazing leader! AMAZING!”

  “Ma, ma, there’s no need to get upset. I didn’t mean that as an insult.” Lilian raised her hands in a defensive gesture. Even her tails moved up, mimicking her hands. “I just meant that, ever since I’ve known her, she hasn’t really acted very leader-like. I think it’s because the only time I see her is when she’s trying to convince Kevin to help her make a baby.”

  “Please do not remind me of that.” Polydora scowled. “That is the one thing I do not wish to ever think about.”

  Lilian frowned. Over by the stool, Iris and Christine had traded places, and now the yuki-onna was cleaning Iris.

  “Be sure to scrub my tails real good, okay?”

  “Tch! Don’t tell me what to do!”

  “You really don’t like Kevin, do you?” Lilian asked.

  Polydora grimaced. “Do not get me wrong. I respect Kevin’s strength and abilities as a warrior. However, ever since he appeared before her, Polydora has become obsessed with the idea of conceiving a child with him. I understand her reasoning. We yama uba have a strong desire to bear strong children. It is simply in our nature. What’s more, we can only bear children with humans.”