“
Such harsh words, my beautiful
señorita
.”
“
If you’re trying to flatter me, I’m going to tell you right now that it’s not working. Now get lost.”
“
Denial is just another sign of attraction.”
“
I’m not a tsundere! And no one in their right mind would ever be attracted to you, matador boy!”
Christine stared at the young man wearing the vibrant pink matador costume with a mixture of shock and disgust. She then leaned toward Kevin and whispered in his ear. “Who the hell is this kid?”
“
Just some idiot who doesn’t know how to take a hint.”
Christine frowned at him, but Kevin didn’t pay much attention to her. He stared at Juan, gritting his teeth and clenching his fists. After a couple of seconds, the gothically dressed yuki-onna came to a startling conclusion.
“
I can’t believe it. You’re jealous of him.”
The look of disgust on her face was truly a sight to behold.
“
J-jealous?” Kevin looked startled and embarrassed. He scowled seconds later, his face turning a deep shade of red. “Me? Jealous? Of him? Don’t be ridiculous!”
Kevin had also taken several levels in tsundere, it seems.
“
And why do I suddenly have this strange urge to strangle someone?”
“
Don’t ask me,” Christine shrugged. “As for why you would be jealous, I honestly don’t know. Maybe it’s because of his infatuation with the fox skank.”
“
That’s not jealousy,” Kevin snapped. “I don’t care who he’s infatuated with!”
“
Whatever,” Christine mumbled under her breath, “It’s not like I care who you’re jealous of.”
“
I’m not jealous!”
“
Come now, my enchanting little
ma bella
.” Juan ignored the byplay between Kevin and Christine. “There is no need to be so distant with me. You need not be intimidated. It is just like I said; just because I am a handsome
diablo
, does not mean you need to feel
timido
in the presence of my magnificent self.”
Juan slid up to Lilian and tried to wrap an arm around her, but was quickly thwarted by Kevin, who’d pushed himself between the two.
A frown crossed the matador boy’s face. “Is there a reason why you are getting in my way, Sweeft?”
“
It’s Swift.” Kevin gave the other boy a large, ear-to-ear grin that forced his eyes closed. A vein also popped out on his forehead, throbbing in time to the beat of his heart. “And I think Lilian has made it abundantly clear that you’re bothering her, so why don’t you just leave us alone?”
“
Hmph.” Juan gave him a bored look. “Sounds to me like someone is jealous.”
“
Who the heck would be jealous of you?!”
“
Now, now, there is no need to deny it.” Juan’s smile was one of triumph. “I understand how you feel. I can see now that you are just jealous of the
bono
, the bond,
that Lilian and I share. Understandable. It must be difficult watching the girl you’re so fond of falling into the arms of another man, but really, you should learn to accept your defeat gracefully.”
“
Defeat?” Kevin glared as he stepped into Juan’s personal space and literally ground his forehead against the other boy. Not one to be outdone, Juan pushed back as sparks flashed between them. “You must have a few screws loose if you think you’ve defeated me at anything!”
“
That’s just what I would expect someone who knows nothing of women to say!”
“
I have no idea what you’re talking about!”
“
Ha! Of course someone like you wouldn’t understand what I am speaking of! Your lack of
masculino
makes it impossible for you to understand someone as manly as myself!”
“
What the heck is that supposed to mean?!”
“
It means what it means,
pavo
!”
“
I don’t know what you just said, but it sounded pretty insulting!”
“
That’s because it was an insult!”
The three yōkai watched from the sidelines as the two teenage boys butted heads like a pair of bulls in a male pissing contest.
“
Wow,” Christine whistled, “I don’t think I’ve ever seen Kevin get so worked up at someone before.”
“
Really?” Kotohime looked at Christine, who nodded. “I see…” She then went back to staring at Kevin and Juan. “Ufufufu…”
And then she began giggling.
Christine took several steps away from the woman.
Lilian worried her lower lip. Should she feel guilty for enjoying the way Kevin appeared to be fighting over her? Maybe. Probably. But she didn’t. This was the proof she needed to confirm that he did feel something for her, even if he didn’t know what that something was yet.
After taking a moment to bask in Kevin’s obvious jealousy, Lilian decided it was time to break the two up before their argument could come to blows. Grabbing Kevin by the arm, she gently pulled him away from the other boy.
“
Come on, Kevin. You don’t need to lower yourself to his level. That idiot isn’t worth your time. He’s just jealous because he knows you’re the only person I could ever love.”
Kevin blushed. Juan looked like he wanted to cry.
“
Why must you always be so cruel,
ma bella flor
?”
A large vein pulsed on Lilian’s forehead, though she did her best to ignore Juan something-or-other’s terribly cheesy, internet-translated comments.
“
And my name isn’t Juan something or other! Its Juan Martinez Villanueva Cortes!”
Thankfully, Juan chose not to follow them. Most unfortunately for Lilian, Christine did.
Kevin and Lilian both stared at Christine as she attached herself to Kevin’s other arm. The snow maiden who hated the cold blushed bright blue under their scrutiny but defiantly kept herself stuck to Kevin’s side.
“
W-what are you two staring at, huh?” she asked defensively, turning her head away from the two. “I-I’m just making sure that whore over there doesn’t try anything! D-don’t think I’m doing this cuz I like you, stupid Kevin!”
“
What are you talking about?” Kevin proved himself to be clueless about women.
“
N-nothing! Shut up! Just forget I said anything!”
While Kevin shrugged off the girl’s strange behavior―he was used to it by now―Lilian glared at the girl before hugging Kevin’s arm closer to her chest.
“
Whatever you say, tsun-tsun-chan.”
“
What was that?!”
“
Nothing. I didn’t say anything. And I certainly didn’t say anything about flat-chested little girls who act like stereotypical tsunderes. Nope. Nothing at all.”
“
How dare you! I am not tsundere, Titan Tits! I’m not!”
“
Keep telling yourself that.”
“
Why you!!”
Kevin tried to ignore the two girls arguing. He also tried to ignore Kotohime, who he could just tell was staring at the back of his head. He could feel her intent, not quite killing intent but close enough, as she bore a hole through his cranium. It made him very uncomfortable.
As they continued walking to the parking lot, they ran into the Social Sciences teacher, Professor Nabui.
“
Ah, Kevin, Lilian,” he greeted in his heavy Japanese accent, not even the least bit Americanized despite having lived in the US for several decades already. No one knew why the man still had an accent. It was like one of life’s greatest mysteries.
“
The reason he still has an accent is because you’re an Otaku.”
U-ugh. I already told you that it’s one of life’s greatest mysteries, not because I’m Otaku. That’s a rather harsh thing to say.
“
Harsh, but true. Kotohime is right; you’re a complete Otaku.”
Y-you guys are so mean.
“
Who the hell are you two talking to?” Christine asked.
“
Yes, who are you two talking to?” Professor Nabui seconded.
Kevin didn’t ask that question, mainly because he’d already asked it many times and received the same, unfulfilling response each time.
“
No one,” Lilian and Kotohime said in unison.
While Christine stared at the two with twitching eyebrows, Professor Nabui shook his head. Kitsune were such an odd breed.
The Japanese secret-agent-turned-professor turned to look at the statuesque bodyguard. “I do not believe we’ve had the pleasure of meeting. My name is Nabui Nagase. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Ms…”
“
Katsura,” the katana-wielding beauty answer with a slight nod of her head. “Katsura Kotohime.”
“
You are Japanese, yes?”
“
That’s correct, though I have not visited my homeland for many years.”
“
I see. A pity,” Professor Nabui said, “I often find myself missing my country. It would have been nice to hear news about what is happening there from something other than the internet.”
“
You have my apologies for being unable to help, Nagase-san.”
“
There is no need to apologize, Katsura Kotohime-san. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have some paper-work that simply must get done before the day ends.” He looked at his two students, then at Christine, nodding politely at them before walking off.
Kevin and Lilian shared a look. That had been a really random chance encounter.
***
Inagumi Takashi sat behind his desk, his fingers steepled and his face carefully blank.
The meeting with Kevin and his redheaded target had been very informative, much more so than when he’d been spying on them at the mall. Being up close had allowed him to get a much better sense of who and what he was dealing with.
Who would have thought there would be another kitsune living in the area? Judging from the way she had been standing several feet behind his target, the sharp look in her eyes, and the fact that she wielded both a katana and a wakizashi, he determined that Katsura Kotohime was likely the younger kitsune’s bodyguard.
That meant the girl was of some importance to the kitsune world. That was troubling, but not worrying enough to make him stop his mission.
It did mean he’d have to change his plans, however. He wasn’t up for tangling with a kitsune powerful enough to be used as a bodyguard.
That was fine, though. While going after the young kitsune directly was officially out of the question, he could still go after her indirectly.
What better way to do that than by stealing away the person she cherished most
?
Chapter 8
A Twisted Game of Twister
Later that day, Kotohime traveled to a complex several miles from the Swift residence. While she could have been there in minutes with some reinforcement and kitsune-style roof hopping, she wanted to enjoy the ambiance of Arizona.
Although most yōkai didn’t like large cities such as Phoenix, Kotohime had no such issues. She’d spent a lengthy amount of time with the primate race before becoming a vassal for the Pnév̱ma clan, so she knew of humanity’s worth. There was just something about the large buildings and wildlife interspersed between that she found beautiful and wondrous.
Perhaps the reason I can appreciate humanity’s worth is because of him…
Kotohime’s quick head-shake dispelled that particular line of thinking. It was best not to travel down that road. She’d already been there one too many times since arriving in Arizona.
That is just another reason to disapprove of Kevin-san.
Kotohime eventually arrived at her destination, one of several cookie-cutter apartments in a nice, well-maintained complex. Several people eyed her as she strolled sedately past them, but she ignored their lingering gaze as she traveled along the pavement toward one apartment in particular. She walked up the stairs and knocked on the front door.
“
Discúlpeme
! I shall be there in just a second!”
Footsteps reached her ears, proceeded by the rattling of a chain before the door swung open a moment later.
“
Ah! Hello there, my lovely
señorita
. How may I be of assistance today?”
“
You can be of assistance by dropping the act first,” Kotohime stated flatly, “and stop using that internet translated Spanish. It’s terrible. You can also drop the illusion.”
“
Ma bella flor
, I do not know what you are―”
“
I said drop. The. Illusion.”
Juan looked at Kotohime for several seconds, then at the katana gripped tightly in her hand.
“
Very well,” he sighed theatrically, allowing his body to shift. His olive-colored skin turned a much darker chocolate brown, and his eyes went from light brown to pure onyx. Even his large, yellow-blond pompadour haircut disappeared, replaced by short black hair. Finally, one dark black fox-tail with a white tip sprouted from his tailbone and a pair of droopy fox ears appeared on his head..
“
I hope you’re satisfied. I rather like that disguise, and do not particularly enjoy being in this form,” no longer speaking in his fake Spanish accent, Juan’s voice had become much deeper.
“
Of course you do. Only someone like you could possibly enjoy disguising yourself as an idiot.” Juan pouted. Kotohime ignored it. “Now then, are you going to let me in, or should I let myself in?”
“
Ah, of course. Come inside and make yourself at home.” Juan smiled as he held the door open. “You know that my humble abode is always welcome to one as beautiful as yourself.”
Kotohime shook her head, but didn’t say anything as she entered the apartment. Juan closed the door behind her.
Surveying her new surroundings with the sharp eyes of a warrior, Kotohime found that Juan’s room was just as eccentric as the young man himself. The floor was… pink. Bright, hot pink. It almost looked neon. His walls were a splash of psychedelic colors; an amalgam of reds, blues, yellows and greens that swirled