A Fox's War

by Brandon Varnell

  “I think nyou should just ask her about it.”

  I-I can’t do that! What if she gets the wrong idea?

  “Then set her straight.”

  B-but what if I hurt her feelings…?

  “So, nyou’re going to pretend what happened back then didn’t happen? Didn’t Lilian say that nyou should confront this issue head on?”

  Sh-she did, but I…

  “Christine? Christine? Earth to Christine.”

  Christine blinked several times as a hand was waved in front of her. Jerking back, she looked from the hand to its owner. Lindsay was giving her a concerned look, which only made her feel worse about this whole situation.

  “Are you okay, Christy? You’ve been spacing out for a while. You almost ran into a pole.”

  “Oh, yeah. I’m fine,” Christine dismissed her friend’s concern. “I was just thinking about—wait. What’s this about a pole?”

  It wasn’t until her mind caught up with the rest of Lindsay’s words that she realized that there was something long and furry wrapped around her. There was also a pole right in front of her, mere inches from her face. She looked down. Two bright red fox tails with white tips were coiled around her body, having clearly been what prevented her from smacking head first into the pole. After staring at the tails for several seconds, she looked at Lilian, whose amused smile made her cheeks flush blue.

  “That was a close one, huh?” said Lilian.

  “Y-yeah,” Christine said awkwardly. It was so embarrassing to have been saved by her friend-sorta-still-rival. “T-thank you.”

  “You’re welcome.”

  They began moving again. Christine tried to get her mind back into sorts, but it was hard. She’d been gone for so long, and Lindsay’s spontaneous goodbye kiss invaded her mind. Still, for the sake of her friends, she did her best to ignore her discomfort. She smiled as they went into shops, laughed when Lindsay tried on goofy clothing, and argued with Lilian about what was and wasn’t considered appropriate clothing to wear in public. It was almost like she’d never left.

  Except there was still that niggling in the back of her head—the whispering voice that told her to confront her friend quickly.

  “Nyou should talk to nyour friend… nyaaaaaa…”

  Shut up, stupid cat!

  As Lindsay went into a changing room to try on another outfit, Lilian leaned down.

  “Are you spacing out because you don’t know what you’re going to say to Lindsay?” she asked in a hushed whisper.

  Christine thought about snapping at her, but only for a moment. “Yeah… I just… don’t know how to… let her down easy, I guess.”

  “Just be honest,” Lilian suggested. “If you’re not honest, then it will eventually come out, and you and Lindsay will both get hurt even more.”

  “I know…”

  Lilian offered her a comforting smile and placed a hand on her shoulder. “Let me know if you need my help when the time comes. I’ll support you any way I can. For now, let’s just have fun together.”

  In the face of her friend’s sunny smile, Christine could do nothing but return it. “Right. Thank you.”

  “Ufufufu, what are friends for?”

  Iris parted ways with them after they had split up from Lilian’s group.

  “I have some things that I need to take care of. Besides, it’s not like you or Lilian care about what I do,” she had said before disappearing.

  Kevin didn’t really know what to do about her. He felt bad, of course, and he wanted to patch things up with her, but he didn’t really know how.

  It’s not like I can just start making out with her in public. If I started kissing Iris in public, people would think I’m cheating on Lilian… not that they don’t already know. Ugh, this is one really complicated relationship.

  “Hey, Kevin. What kind of presents are you gonna buy?” asked Alex.

  “First, I’m gonna get something for Christine,” Kevin informed his friend. “Which is why we’re going there.”

  Alex looked at where Kevin was pointing. Like all of the other stores, it was built to be easily disassembled. Wood lintel posts stood on either side of a doorless entrance. The glass displays were plastic and easily removable. Beyond the door and glass was an assortment of racks filled with gothic style clothing.

  Because of the nature of this war, which was being waged across civilian population centers, many yokai and humans who wanted to escape came to Neo Seiryuu and took their businesses with them. That was why the four malls and the many business centers had been built.

  Walking into the room, Kevin went straight to the section containing gothic style jewelry. He was going to buy Christine a bracelet. It needed to be cute. Her clothing, despite its gothic nature, was adorable and covered in frills, so the accessory needed to match.

  Kevin didn’t know much about gothic lolita fashion. His mom was a fashion guru, but she focused more on the fashion trends that magazines like Vogue paragoned. Still, even if he knew little of gothic lolita fashion, he knew enough about Christine to know what she would like.

  It didn’t take long to pick out her gift and have it rung up by the cashier.

  “That’ll be twenty-two dollars and fifty-seven cents,” the cashier said.

  Kevin paid the woman her money and then turned to Alex and Andrew. “I bought Christine’s present. Do you two want to stay here or…”

  Trailing off, Kevin’s expression morphed from satisfied to deadpan in seconds.

  “Piss off, Dickweed! We both know that I look a thousand times better in this shirt than you!”

  “The only thing you look good in is an environment suit that hides your ugly ass face! Now let go!”

  “You let go!”

  “No, you let go!”

  “No, you!”

  “You!”

  Alex and Andrew were fighting over a shirt. It was an admittedly cool shirt, which depicted Deadpool on the front. He was sitting on a couch and hugging a unicorn with assless chaps. At the same time… they were fighting over a freaking shirt.

  “H-hey! You guys are going to wreck my merchandise if you keep fighting!” the store clerk shouted at them.

  Kevin sighed. Then he knocked Alex and Andrew upside the head.

  “Ouch!”

  “Gya!”

  “If you’re going to fight, then do so when you’re not in a store,” Kevin scolded them.

  “You’ve become awfully violent,” Andrew complained.

  “I should sue you for marital abuse,” Alex added.

  “Whatever.” Kevin rolled his eyes. “In any event, you two do know that there are several sets of that shirt, right? You don’t have to fight over it.”

  Alex and Andrew looked at where they’d grabbed the shirt. Indeed, just like Kevin had said, there were several sets of the Deadpool shirt, and they were in the same size as the one they were fighting over.

  “Oh,” they said. “Would you look at that. I guess we didn’t need to fight over this, after all.”

  Kevin could only facepalm.

  Iris was trying to solve her newest problem, or rather, she was only now realizing that there was a problem and was rushing to fix it.

  It seems I was too careless in how I dealt with Lilian and the stud.

  She had spent a lot of time convincing Lilian to convince Kevin to let her join them, and Lilian had bent over backwards to make Kevin receptive to the idea of letting Iris become a part of their love nest. Honestly, if it wasn’t for her and Lilian going into heat on their last birthday, the relationship probably wouldn’t have happened. That said, she had assumed after it was all said and done that Kevin would become okay with the idea since there was no reason for them to stop.

  Unfortunately, she’d forgotten something important in all this: Kevin was a human.

  Iris felt a sort of irony at realizing that, in her desire to be part of Lilian’s relationship, she’d ignored this fact, especially after her conversation with Christine this morning. Kevin was
a human. He followed the moral standards of his society. Even if he was willing to accommodate her for Lilian’s sake, it didn’t mean he was going to show the same devotion for her that he would for Lilian.

  He’s ashamed of it.

  That was what it came down to in the end. Kevin was ashamed to admit that he was in a relationship with her and Lilian. To him, the act of being with two women at the same time was an abhorrent breach of social mores. It didn’t help that she and Lilian were fraternal twins. Incest was even more unacceptable in the human world than polygamy. And while most men would brag about banging a pair of hot twins, Kevin was too much of a goody two shoes to even think of doing such a thing.

  Damn it. I was way too careless.

  Rather than trying to force Kevin and Lilian into letting her join them, she should have tried to slowly make Kevin accept the idea that human social standards were useless and should be discarded.

  I guess it’s back to the drawing board.

  “Hey there, baby,” a drawling voice said. “You alone? Wanna hang with us?”

  Surrounding Iris were several teenage boys. She didn’t recognize any of them, but that didn’t surprise her. She only knew the people who Kevin and Lilian spent time with, and that was only because of Kevin and Lilian. Nobody else mattered to her.

  “Sorry, but I’m not into pubescent boys who use cliché come ons like that,” Iris said.

  “Hey, now,” the spokesperson of the group started as he placed a hand on her shoulder, “there’s no need for such words. We’re not such bad guys once you get to know us. Why don’t you give us a chance? I’m sure we’ll surprise you.”

  Iris thought about telling this guy to shove off, but she paused for half a second as an amazing idea thrust itself into her mind. Grinning, Iris’s eyes began to glow like blood as she channeled youki into an enchantment.

  “Sure, I’ll hang out with you,” she said. “But in return, I’ll need you boys to do me a favor, okay?”

  After nearly an hour of traveling through stores, they decided to finally begin shopping for Christmas presents.

  “Hey, Lilian. What are you planning on getting Kevin?” Lindsay asked as they walked through the crowd of people. The number of teenagers had increased in the past hour, so she, Lilian, and Christine were forced to walk close together.

  “I’m gonna buy him the latest volumes of One Punch Man and Noragami,” Lilian answered immediately. “I’m also thinking of getting him a National Geographic movie detailing animals found in Africa.”

  “Kevin would like those,” Lindsay admitted, her face etched into a tomboyish grin. “He’s such a nerd.”

  “Nerds are sexy,” Lilian said.

  “Well… considering you’re a nerd, too…” Lindsay trailed off, her cheeks glowing pink as she stared at Lilian.

  “Your yuri is showing.”

  “My what?”

  “… Your lesbian is showing.”

  Lindsay’s already flushed cheeks went from hot pink to bright crimson. “S-sorry,” she stuttered, glancing at Christine out of the corner of her eye.

  “It’s okay. I’m not bothered by it.” Lilian tossed her friend a reassuring grin, which caused Lindsay to smile uncertainly. “Could you two wait here for a moment? I need to go to the bathroom.”

  “Oh, sure.”

  “Thanks!”

  Lilian headed off to the nearest restroom, leaving her and Lindsay alone. Christine felt uncomfortable. She also felt guilty. She wanted to start a conversation with her friend, but she no longer felt comfortable around the tomboyish blond. That was why she tried her best to ignore the other girl’s presence, even though doing so made her feel like a jerk.

  “So…” Lindsay said, looking everywhere but at her. “H-have you thought about what you’re going to get everyone for Christmas?”

  “No,” Christine admitted. “I don’t know what anyone wants, so…”

  “Me neither…”

  “Oh…”

  Silence descended upon them.

  This isn’t awkward at all.

  Thinking about Christmas made Christine remember when she’d gone shopping with Kevin just before they’d gone on that rescue mission. Back then, he hadn’t bought her a present. Would he do so now?

  “He probably will. You nyow he’s kind to his friends.”

  Y-yeah, that’s true, but if he does buy me a present, it’s only because he sees me as a friend.

  “Maybe, but nyou can always change that.”

  She wondered about that. Iris seemed to think that she could convince Kevin to “add” her into their relationship, but it didn’t seem likely considering what happened this morning. There was also another problem with her being included into Kevin’s relationship with Iris and Lilian: Polygamy.

  Having spent her entire life living among humans, Christine knew very little about the world that she came from, the yokai world. Iris was right when she’d said that Christine followed the expectations and laws that humans had set down. One of those laws was on polygamy, which was illegal in most parts of the world. She’d been taught that relationships were between one man and one woman. She didn’t know if she could accept a relationship like that. What’s more, she didn’t know if she wanted to be in a relationship like that.

  “Christine?”

  “Kya!” Christine shrieked when Lindsay’s face suddenly appeared right in front of her. Stumbling backwards, she almost fell onto her backside in her haste to put some distance between them. “W-what the hell, Lindsay?! Are you trying to give me a heart attack?!”

  Lindsay’s shoulders slumped at her harsh rebuke. “I’m sorry. It’s just that I’ve been talking to you for the last few minutes and you haven’t responded.”

  “Sorry,” Christine apologized. “I didn’t mean to ignore you.”

  “It’s okay. I can tell that you’re thinking about something important. I’m sorry for bugging you.”

  Lindsay was another problem that she would have to deal with. She planned on talking to Lindsay later today, but she was nervous. Even though Lilian had offered her support, it didn’t change how she felt like her nerves were slowly becoming frayed the longer time passed.

  “No, you don’t need to apologize,” Christine said. “Um, what did you want to talk to me about?”

  “Ah.” Lindsay gasped, then her cheeks turned pink. “W-well, I sort of wanted to talk about, um…”

  “Lindsay!”

  Before Lindsay could say anything more, a group of girls came up to them. Christine vaguely recognized a few of them. This must have been Lindsay’s soccer team.

  Lindsay greeted the group with a grin. “Hey, you guys! Are you all Christmas shopping, too?”

  “Did you forget what today was, Lindsay?” one of them asked. It was a girl with blond hair, blue eyes, bunny ears, and a large bust.

  “Today is… oh!” Lindsay’s eyes widened. “Today’s the day that we got the last member of our current team. I remember we were…”

  “… Going to go out together in order to celebrate,” one of them finished.

  “Sorry.” Lindsay wore a sheepish expression as the girls deadpanned at her.

  “Oh, my. Who’s this?” asked one of the girls.

  Christine stiffened when several eyes turned to her. She tried not to squirm as the blond bunny girl of the group frowned at her.

  “You are…”

  “This is Christine,” Lindsay told everyone. “You probably don’t remember her, but she hung out with Kevin a lot back in—”

  “You’re the tsundere!” one of the girl’s said, snapping her finger.

  “I’m not a tsundere!” Christine exploded. What was it with everyone calling her that? She wasn’t a tsundere. She wasn’t…

  …. was she?

  Kevin had just finished buying the last of the presents and some wrapping paper. Once he got home, he planned on locking himself in his room and wrapping up the presents before Lilian or, gods forbid, Iris found them. Standing behind him, Ale
x and Andrew were bickering about something.

  “You clearly don’t understand what he’s doing, idiot. This is all so he can feed his harem.”

  “And I’m telling you that he doesn’t need to feed his harem. The harem feeds itself.”

  Those two are totally talking about me, aren’t they? Kevin thought with an irritated twitch.

  After leaving the store, his hands full of shopping bags, Kevin traveled through the mall with Alex and Andrew. As he looked through the mixed assortment of humans and yokai, he saw someone familiar walking through the mall as well.

  “Isn’t that…?”

  Eric was not having a good time. He was tired, cranky, had a trap trying to sleep with him, and to top it all off, he was stuck with a talking stick. This was quite possibly the worst situation he’d ever been in. Was this karma? Maybe all that peeping he’d done had somehow given him loads of bad karma. The thought depressed him.

  “Master,” the trap walking beside him started, “why are we at the mall today? We should be training so you can learn how to become a magical girl.”

  “I agree with Julius, Master,” the stick in Eric’s hand said. He didn’t know why he’d brought the stupid thing. “You have yet to even try learning the first thing about becoming a magical girl. At the very least, we should begin your training in how to cast basic spells. I refuse to have a weak magical girl as a master.”

  “I don’t want to hear that from a talking stick!” Eric shouted.

  “Eric?” a familiar voice said. “Is that you?”

  Kevin watched as Eric froze. Slowly, oh so slowly, the young pervert turned his head to face him, his expression a combination of shock and fear. Though Kevin didn’t know what his pervy friend was afraid of, he did wonder if it had something to do with his companion.

  “L-Lord Kevin!” Eric squeaked. “W-what are you doing here?”

  “Are you still calling me ‘Lord’?” Kevin sighed. He really had thought that Eric had gotten over that. “Anyway, I’m doing some Christmas shopping. What about you? What are you doing here?”