A Fox's Love (American Kitsune Book 1) (35 page)

"Why is that?" asked Kevin. Now that he had found his curiosity growing, Lilian literally conforming herself into his side didn't bother him... much.

"It all started a long time ago, like, one thousand years or something, when a Kitsune fell in love with a human." Kevin raised an eyebrow. Lilian saw this and smiled. "It's not unusual for a Kitsune to fall in love with a human, is it?" When he flushed and looked away, she giggled before continuing her story. "Anyways, this normally wouldn't have been a problem. Plenty of Kitsune have mated with humans before, but there
was
a problem when she fell in love with
this
human. You see, this particular human already had a companion. An Inu Yōkai."

"So, what?" Kevin furrowed his brow. "Did he cheat on this Inu after he met the Kitsune or something?"

"No. Good heavens no." Lilian giggled as if he had said something funny. Kevin pouted at being laughed at. It wasn't that funny, was it?

The girl finished laughing at his expense, then continued speaking. "Back then Inu rarely ever used their human forms. They usually preferred to stay in their hybrid form, which is what you saw that ugly mutt transform into, or their dog form, which just makes them look like a regular dog. This particular Inu had been in dog form and the human in question had thought it was just a normal dog. It wasn't, and when the human started spending more time with the Kitsune, the Inu became jealous. In a fit of rage, it killed the Kitsune in a brutal and violent manner, then killed the human for his betrayal. Ever since then we Kitsune have had issues with Inu Yōkai."

"Oh, well, I guess that make sense." He wasn't really sure what to think of that story. In some ways, he could sorta, kinda see where the Inu was coming from. Kevin was sure he wouldn't like being ignored in favor of someone else by the person he loved.

At the same time, killing both the Kitsune and the human just because they fell in love was really extreme. Besides, it wasn't their fault they fell in love. These things just happened some times.

Of course, if that Kitsune had been anything like Lilian, he could see why problems would have arisen. But surely not all Kitsune were as... um... devoted (read, obsessive) as she was when it came to their mates, right?

"Besides, it's like I told you before, we Kitsune aren't fighters." Kevin's eyes focused on Lilian. "We prefer avoiding fighting whenever possibly, unless, you know, it furthers The Plot in some way."

"The Plot?"

"Inu, on the other hand, are born fighters," Lilian continued without answering Kevin's question. If he didn't know any better, he would say she was ignoring him. "You could say they're natural warriors. Born and bred for combat. They revel in violence and bloodshed. It's in their nature to fight."

"I can kind of see that," Kevin admitted. "Chris was on the school wrestling team. While I've never seen any of the wrestling matches―" because, you know, watching sweaty men grappling each other wasn't really his thing, "― I've heard that some of them have gotten really violent. I remember this one rumor about how Chris was nearly expelled from the team because he had almost broken another boy's spine during a match once."

"I'm not surprised," Lilian wrinkled her nose in barely concealed derision. "Inu have always been a bunch of mindless, violent brutes."

Kevin shrugged. He was sure her perceptions of Inu were colored by her own nature and dislike of them, but seeing as he had never met any Inu other than Chris ― at least he didn't think so ― and that boy had done nothing to make him think the red head was wrong, he couldn't really say anything against her.

Either way it was time to change the subject.

"So what was the power you used against him?" asked Kevin, "You know, that strange ball of light?"

"That was my specialized ability."

Kevin tilted his head.

"Specialized ability? Is that something unique to you?"

"No, all Kitsune have specialized abilities." Lilian sat up a little straighter so that she could look at him. The action ended up inadvertently pushing her bosom into his arm. Kevin squeaked, causing her to look at him for a moment before shrugging off the strange noise and continuing her small lecture. "All Kitsune are born with a special affinity to a specific element. There are thirteen specialized affinities that come in three tiers, or levels; Lower, Middle and Upper."

"The first, or the Lower tier consists of what we call normal elements. They are Fire, Earth, Water, Air and Lightning. The Middle tier contains Ghost, Forest, Magma, Ocean and Ether. And the last tier, the Upper, only contains two specialist affinities; Celestial and Void."

"I'm guessing your power is... Celestial?" he asked tentatively. Lilian smiled, telling him he was right.

"Yes, I am a Celestial Kitsune. My powers are those that are said to be the closest to the Divine. Among Kitsune affinities, ours are supposedly one of the strongest because the only other beings who are capable of wielding Divine powers are the Gods and their servants. No other race of Yōkai can use Celestial powers. Every other affinity, including the Void can be used by the other Yōkai races to some extent."

"Of course, that doesn't mean the other affinities are weak," Lilian continued. "Fire for example. It's in the lower tier of Kitsune abilities, but I don't think anyone can deny the destructive power of fire."

Kevin rubbed his jaw as he tried to absorb all this information. His mind absently went back to how Lilian shot those strange balls of light at Chris. "So those balls were your specialized powers?"

"Uh huh. That particular technique is called Kōkyū, or Sphere of Light, if you want to use English," seeing Kevin's blank look after she told him what her technique was called, she added."Not very original, I know, but it gets the job done.”

“
I guess.”

“
Normally, a Kitsune won't start learning how to use any specialist techniques until they've gained their third tail." A proud look crossed Lilian's face. "But I happen to have such a high affinity with my Celestial powers that I was able to learn a number of techniques shortly after gaining my second tail. Right now, it's limited to just those Light Spheres and basic healing techniques, but I know of a few others that I'll be able to learn once my youki is high enough."

“
youki?”

“
The energy that all Yōkai use.”

"Energy? Like chakra?"

"Chakra?" Now it was Lilian's turn to look questioning.

"Mmm." Kevin nodded. "Chakra is this one internal energy source in the human body that I read about in one of my manga."

"Ah! You mean Shinobi Natsumo." Lilian nodded her head thoughtfully. "Yes, I suppose there are similarities to those two powers. But there are also a lot of differences too. In Shinobi Natsumo chakra comes from an internal network similar to the veins that carry blood through the body. All of a Kitsune's power is contained in their tails. That's why Kitsune dislike keeping their tails hidden. It's also why most Kitsune can't use enhancement until they've gained their third tail at least. We don't have any network like those chakra pathways so we have to pretty much pump our bodies full of youki, which not only costs more youki than it's worth, but is also a very inefficient method of strengthening ourselves."

"I see." Kevin nodded, then blinked. "But wait. You can use enhancements and you only have your second tail."

"Yes, but only use in short bursts," Lilian informed him. "Anymore than sixty seconds of using the enhancement technique and I'd burn through all my youki."

"Oh." Kevin looked contemplative. "It's still a pretty cool ability though. Almost makes me wish I was a Yōkai." Lilian beamed at him. If she were a peacock, he was almost sure she would be fanning her feathers out.

Which, by the way, really wasn't needed. Her chest was large enough as it was.

An awkward silence soon engulfed the room. Well, Kevin thought it was awkward at least. Lilian didn't seem bothered by it at all. She just lay there, all smiles as she snuggled contentedly against him. Yes, she was perfectly happy just to let the silence ensue and enjoy the feel of her mate's body conforming to her own.

"Hey, Lilian, do you think you could, you know, let go of me? At least until I go to sleep?" Normally, Lilian would wait until he was asleep to sneak onto his couch. He still didn't like it when she did this, but at the very least it meant he wouldn't have to deal with her until he woke up the next day.

"Not a chance." She nuzzled her face against his chest. It sent all kinds of strange feelings and shivers down his spine. "I almost lost you today. There's no way I'm letting you go now."

Kevin sighed. Couldn't blame a guy for trying, right?

It looked like it was going to be a long night.

Scene Break.

Located in a small apartment in a rundown apartment complex was none other than the Inu Yōkai that Lilian had so thoroughly thrashed with her Celestial powers: Chris Fleischer. He had woken up in that Gods forsaken alley the fox bitch and her boy toy had left him in several hours after the sun had gone down. It had been a miracle no one had found him, but that could have just as easily been due to some kind of illusion that red-haired whore had placed over him to make him invisible to the eyes of others.

After waking up, he had managed to get himself back to his dingy little apartment. It had taken him hours to get there, dragging his broken and battered body inch by agonizing inch across the ground. His fingers were bleeding from the many rocks and cracked surfaces he had cut himself on, and his body wasn't in much better shape, covered as it was in scrapes, scabs and burns, both from the dragging and from that damn fox's Celestial attacks.

The high school junior was currently staring up at the cracked and pitted ceiling of his bedroom, his eyes glazed over and unseeing, his mind lost in limbo. His entire body felt like someone had dipped it in boiling lava, like his cells were being ripped apart molecule by molecule. Never in his life had he felt so much pain. Nothing, not even the fights he'd had with his sister or old man could have prepared him for the agony he was now feeling. The pain was unfathomable.

None of that mattered to him. The pain, the agony, the torture of his body being invaded by a thousand needles piercing his skin due to the Celestial powers of that bitch who had nearly killed him. None of it. All that mattered was the agony of his defeat, the knowledge that he had lost to a Kitsune. A Kitsune of all creatures! He was an Inu! A proud warrior! A fighter of incredible strength and power! A creature that all Kitsune were supposed to fear! And yet that fucking little whore of a fox had nearly killed him! Him! He who was the son of one of the greatest Inu to have walked the Earth in a thousand years! A Yōkai whose strength was known far and wide to match those of the legendary Kyuubi! To suffer such a defeat from a two-tails (of all things) was a disgrace to his heritage!

The mere thought of that fox bitch made his wounds burn like nothing else, yet he did his best to ignore this as he focused not on his defeat, but on how he would get his revenge. He didn't know why that bitch had left him alive. Maybe she had been too worried about her toy, or perhaps she was just one of those soft-hearted little sluts that couldn't bring themselves to kill another living creature. Or perhaps it was just a Plot Device being used by The Author in order to give the readers more Shōnen Style fanservices.

...

...

Wait. What was he thinking about again? Oh, right. The fox bitch. Whether the two-tailed bitch had let him live as an act of mercy or because she was just too soft to kill him didn't matter. The only thing that mattered was that he had been given an opportunity to exact his revenge, and he would not be wasting it.

He would need help though. As much as it pained him to admit it, that red-haired slut was stronger than she looked. Those strange light balls of hers packed a serious wallop.

Fortunately, he knew exactly who to get in touch with in order help him. While he didn't particularly want to call
her
for a favor, he didn't have many options. If nothing else, he knew
she
would get the job done.

Laying there on his bed, his body still black and crispy, Chris began to laugh a devious, diabolical laugh. You know, the kind of laugh all insane Shōnen Manga antagonists have. "Hehehe... Hahahahaha... HAHAHAHAHA... MWAHAHAHAHAHAHA―ack! Gods fucking dammit! My spleen!"

Okay, so maybe he shouldn't try the Evil Villain Laugh until
after
he fully healed.