Kotohime
waved away the woman’s words. “Not at all. I simply want
him to be prepared. The yōkai world is a dangerous place for
humans to tread. You know this as well as I do. In order to ensure
that Lilian-sama’s mate remains alive long enough for them to,
well,
mate
,
I need him to become as strong as possible.”
“Ha…
if you don’t want to tell me anything, that’s fine, but
don’t make up such a terrible excuse. We’re living on the
fringe of that world, so unless something is coming for one of us
specifically, then the boya shouldn’t be in any danger.”
Kotohime clenched the fabric of her kimono. Kiara saw this and placed
her hands on the desk. “Still, since you want him to start
learning how to fight, I’ll begin training him in unarmed
combat this weekend. How does that sound?”
“Perfect.
Thank you,” Kotohime said quickly, perhaps even a little too
quickly.
“Yeah.
Sure.”
Kotohime
stood up, grabbed her katana, and prepared to leave. When she made it
to the door, however, Kiara’s voice stopped her.
“You
know, Kevin reminds me of someone I knew a while back. Another young
human who fell in love with a kitsune around two-hundred or so years
ago.”
Kotohime
did not respond. She just left.
In
the silence of the room, Kiara chuckled. “Really, you’re
just too easy to see through, my old friend.”
With
a heavy sigh, she cast one last look at the door before picking up
her next report. This paperwork wasn’t going to get itself
done.
***
Kevin
was exhausted by the time he arrived home—no, he was beyond
exhausted. Tiredness seeped into his very bones, making them feel
more fragile than glass. All he wanted to do was lay down and go to
bed.
Too
bad Kotohime had other plans.
“Lilian-sama,
Iris-sama, I am pleased to see you two have arrived home safely. I
trust your time at school was eventful.”
“Eventful,
now there’s one way of putting it,” Iris snorted in
amusement. Kevin cast her a minor glare that went ignored.
“I
am pleased to hear that.” Kotohime ignored the byplay between
the two. “Kevin-sama, are you ready for your lesson?”
“Ugh,”
Kevin groaned, “I guess…”
“You
don’t sound very excited,” Kotohime said with a dangerous
edge in her voice.
“Ah!
No, no!” Kevin frantically waved his hands in front of his
face. “I am excited! I’m super excited! I just, uh, it
sort of slipped my mind because of all the stuff that happened last
night, ah-hahahahaha… ha… ha…”
Kotohime
gave Kevin a look hard enough to make him break out into a cold
sweat. He tried to keep his eyes from straying off hers, knowing that
to do so would mean pain—and humiliation, but mostly pain.
“At
least you’re honest.” Kotohime eventually sighed,
prompting Kevin to follow suit. He was safe, for now at least. “Now
then, come here. It’s time for your lesson.”
Understanding
that he wouldn’t be getting out of this, Kevin turned to his
girlfriend and her sister. “Why don’t you two do some
sisterly bonding or something? I doubt you want to be here for this.”
Iris
grinned, her eyes lighting up like a billion stars. “That’s
the best thing I’ve heard you say yet, kiddo. Come on,
Lily-pad, we’re taking a bath!”
“We’re
what? H-hey! Quit pulling on me! Kevin, make her let go!”
Kevin
watched as Iris began dragging her sister off.
“Sorry,
Lilian,” he said, “but you can consider this payback for
not helping me when the principal tried to rape me.”
“I’m
sorry, alright! Please, help me!”
“No
can do. I’ve got lessons, remember?”
“Don’t
be mean, Kevin! Kevin? Beloved!”
Kevin
watched with solemn eyes as Iris and Lilian disappeared down the
hall. Only after they were gone did he notice the observant gaze of a
certain maid-slash-bodyguard.
“What
are you looking at me like that for?”
Kotohime
gave him a mysterious smile that he couldn’t place. “Ufufu,
I was just wondering if you might have some kitsune blood in you.”
“Ha
ha.” Kevin’s laugh was flat. “Funny. Can we get
started on my lesson now, please? I still have homework to do after
this.”
“Of
course.” Kotohime guided him over to the couch. “We’ll
begin our lessons right now. Ufufufu…”
“That
laugh of yours really doesn’t inspire much confidence in me.”
***
How
long has it been since I’ve taken a bath with my sister?
The
question stirred within Lilian’s mind. It had to have been
several years at least. She had stopped bathing with her sister
immediately after meeting, at the time, a much younger Kevin. Her
sister had never quite forgiven her for that.
Sitting
at one end of the tub, her knees drawn up to her chest, Lilian tried
to get comfortable with no success. Steam rose all around her. Iris
lounged at the other end of the tub, one arm and one leg resting
lazily off the lip.
“This
is nice, don’t you think?”
“I
guess.”
Iris
cracked an eye open to look at her sister. “What’s wrong,
Lily-pad? I thought you would be happy. It’s been so long since
we’ve taken a bath together.”
Her
sister’s left leg rose from the water’s surface, the
movement one of sensual elegance. Lilian adamantly told herself that
she didn’t find her sister’s bare leg attractive. Iris
bent her leg and set her foot on the lip of the tub, and then began
rubbing her inner thigh while releasing a seductive moan that made
Lilian look away.
“It’s
not that I’m not happy, but I have a mate now. Being with you
like this, doing things like this with you, it doesn’t feel
right.”
Wearing
the flattest expression Lilian had ever seen on her, Iris set her leg
back into the tub.
“Doesn’t
feel right? What is that supposed to mean? How could it not feel
right?”
“Look,”
Lilian squirmed uncomfortably, “Kevin is a human. He… he
doesn’t really understand how kitsune relationships work, and
he would never accept how close you and I are.”
Iris
raised an eyebrow. “So?”
“So,
I love him. He’s my mate, and I want him to be happy. More than
that, I want him to accept me, but I don’t think he can accept
me if I’m, well, if my sister and I are… more intimate
than sisters should be.”
“Let
me get this straight,” Iris ground out. “You’re
going to throw me away like yesterday’s trash because you have
a mate now? Is that what you’re telling me?”
“I-it’s
not like that,” Lilian tried to say, but Iris was having none
of it.
“It’s
exactly like that. This is why you’ve been ignoring me for the
last six years, isn’t it?”
“I
haven’t been ignoring—”
“Yes,
you have.” Iris’ glare caused any words Lilian might give
to die in her throat. “Ever since you started asking Kotohime
about humans and their culture, you’ve begun ignoring me. You
no longer take baths with me. You no longer sleep with me. It’s
like you’ve completely forgotten that I exist!”
“That
isn’t it…”
“And
for what? Because you met some stupid human a couple of years ago and
decided that he was more important than me?”
“Kevin
isn’t stupid,” Lilian said through gritted teeth.
“Oh,
come off it,” Iris scoffed. “He’s an ape, a lowly
monkey. The only thing boytoys like him are good for is screwing.”
Lilian
snarled at her sister. “You don’t know anything about
Kevin, so I’d suggest you shut up!”
Perhaps
she hadn’t been expecting such a strong reaction, but Iris grew
wide-eyed at Lilian’s snarling visage. “W-wha—”
“Kevin
is an amazing person! He saved me! When I was at my worst, when our
matriarch was trying to sell me off like a prized trinket, it was his
words that saved me. Not yours. His. And where were you? Sneaking off
to join Aster and Azalea for a little lesbian triple play!”
Now
it was Iris’s turn to be on the defensive. “That isn’t
what I was—”
“Kevin
is the only reason I haven’t been sold off to that idiot Jiāoào
yet! Kevin is a kind and determined young man. He’s accepted me
even though I caused him nothing but trouble since I started living
with him. I love him, and I’m not going to listen to you
insulting him like this!”
Iris’
eyes widened as Lilian stepped out of the tub. “H-hey! Where
are you going?”
“I’m
clean, so there’s no point in staying in here,” Lilian
responded, wrapping a towel around her torso. “I’m going
to see how my mate is doing with his lessons.”
“W-wait
a minute! You can’t just leave like that! Damn it, Lilian,
you’re my sister! Why are you taking the side of some human?”
“If
you can’t figure out why, then telling you would be pointless.”
I
knew I shouldn’t have let Iris talk me into bathing with her
.
She
just doesn’t understand.
Lilian
stormed out of the bathroom and slammed the door before making her
way to hers and Kevin’s bedroom. After getting dressed, Lilian
strolled toward the living room, where she could hear Kotohime
lecturing her mate.
***
Kevin
sat on the couch. In front of him stood Kotohime, her hands clasped
behind her back, and her katana resting against the coffee table. She
looked down at him, her gaze sharp and penetrating as any blade.
It
was disconcerting, but Kevin didn’t let her know that. He
looked straight at her.
Kotohime
nodded in approval.
“Why
don’t we start with a quick recap of what you already know
about kitsune?”
“A
recap? Why?”
“Because
it’s been a long time since any information on the different
types of kitsune has been given. Three whole months, in fact. This is
as much for your benefit as it is for the readers.”
“I
see,” Kevin murmured, then frowned. “But wait, won’t
the readers get mad at us for repeating information?”
“T-they
might,” Kotohime stumbled over her words, but quickly
recovered. She then gave Kevin an appraising look, as if seeing him
in a whole new light. “However, the author also feels it would
be good to start this lesson off with a recap, you know, just in case
they forgot and need to have their memory jogged.”
Crossing
his arms over his chest, Kevin nodded. “That makes sense, I
guess.”
… A
pause. Kevin blinked, his face scrunching up in confusion.
“What
were we talking about again?”
“Nothing.”
Kotohime waved Kevin’s confusion off as one might swat at a
fly. “Now then, why don’t you tell me about the different
types of kitsune?”
“All
right. Well, let’s see… there’s fire, earth,
river, wind, and thunder. Those are the, uh, lower tier, I think…”
He looked up at Kotohime, a question in his eyes, to which she
answered with a nod. “And then, erm, there’s the middle
tier. That’s spirit, forest, mountain, and sound.”
“Good.
Very good. And the last tier?”
“Celestial
and Void. Those ones are easy.”
“Excellent.
It seems you remember your lessons well.” Kotohime clapped her
hands together. “I suppose it would be appropriate to tell you
about the last tier of kitsune types.”
“You
mean there’s a tier above the upper tier?”
“In
a way. The last tier isn’t really a tier because it only has
one type of kitsune. Time Kitsune.” Kotohime’s nose
scrunched up in a way that looked strangely adorable. “Time
Kitsune are a complete mystery: a combination of myths and legends.
Several times in the distant past, there have been people who claim
to have seen or even met a Time Kitsune, but no one truly knows
whether they exist or not. That being said, if they do exist, they
would exist on a tier higher even than Celestials and Voids, simply
due to the nature of their power. The ability to manipulate time is a
frightening thing.”
Kevin
nodded. He thought it would be kind of awesome to control time, but
he also knew how dangerous that kind of power could be.
“Now
then, among the many hundreds of kitsune clans, there are thirteen
that stand above the rest. These clans make up what is known as The
Thirteen Great Kitsune Clans. They are the most powerful clans of
their particular type. You will not need to worry about most of them.
The lower tiers, for example, tend to stay as far from kitsune
politics as possible, only getting involved when those they have made
a pact with call on them for assistance, such as during a war between
kitsune clans.”
“Does
that happen often?”
“You
mean war between clans? Not anymore, no. It wasn’t uncommon
hundreds of years ago, but ever since the technological advancement
of humanity during the early nineteenth century, kitsune—nay,
all yōkai, have learned not to squabble as much. For our own
safety, you understand.”
Kotohime
gave Kevin a moment to ponder her words.
“Of
course, it does still happen on rare occasions. Just like human
society, politics in our world are very cutthroat. However, unlike
your human politics, ours are decidedly more deadly. If one kitsune
clan wishes to usurp the position of another clan, then they may wage
war, provided they do so in a way that does not reveal our existence
to humans. Naturally, a clan from a different kitsune type, for
example, a fire kitsune clan, cannot usurp the position of, let’s
say, the great water clan.”
“Has
that happened recently?” Kevin was captivated by Kotohime’s
words.
“Not
recently, no. The last time this happened was around two-hundred
years ago, when the Great Water Clan of
Ślina
was destroyed, and their position was usurped by an upstart clan
called the Mul Clan.” Kotohime paused for a moment, her eyes
glazing over, before they regained focus and she continued. “While
clan usurpation doesn’t happen much anymore, there are still a
lot of cutthroat politics going on behind the scenes; assassinations,
backdoor deals, and political backstabbing to name a few.”