Kevin would have shuddered, but another fireball came close to turning him into a pile of ash, forcing him to swerve.
“
Did you just say that I was ‘your Lilian?’” The redhead twitched, and the writhing of her tails became increasingly intense. Ominous shadows hid her eyes as Lilian lowered her head, long locks of crimson falling in front of her face. “You know what? I take my question back. I don’t care why you’re chasing my mate anymore. It doesn’t matter. All that matters is that you are, and I’m going to teach you three a lesson.”
Oh boy. She was serious. In all the time he’d known her, Kevin had never seen such a severe and menacing look on her face. Was this what Chris went up against after he’d passed out from blood loss? Scary.
“
How could you say something like that, Lilian?” Nick seemed genuinely shocked. At least, his voice did. It was kinda hard to tell since he was a ball of fire and all. “He doesn’t deserve to have someone like you in his life! He’s just a human!”
Kevin winced.
“
I’ll be the judge of that,” Lilian said as bright orangish yellow fox-fire burst into existence, hovering over the tips of her tails. “Now get lost!”
With a ferocious shout, Lilian launched the fox-fire at the trio of supernatural creatures. The first one struck the blob in the face―um, stomach―while the second one hit the umbrella, setting it alight.
"Uwa! I’m on fire! I’m on fire! Get it off! Get it off!"
“
Don’t you mean put it out?”
“
Shut up and help me!”
“
What do you want me to do? I’m a hi-no-tama. I light things on fire. I don’t put them out. Do a barrel roll or something.”
“
UWA! Hot! Hot! HOT!”
While the blob was launched backwards and the karakase-obake began rolling along the floor—which did absolutely nothing to put out the fire consuming its umbrella head―Lilian threw a light sphere at the hi-no-tama, which didn’t even flinch and continued sending fireballs at Kevin.
“
Ha! Your Celestial powers may be devastating, but my elemental nature is fire. Something as simple as that won’t work on me—”
“
Then try this on for size!”
SMACK!
“
OOOF!”
Kevin watched in mute shock as one of Lilian’s tails extended and struck the hi-no-tama with incredible force. The fire-natured yōkai went sailing into air, screaming loudly. It ascended higher and higher into the sky, its form getting smaller with each passing second before it vanished in a twinkle of light.
“
And now for you two! Stay away from my mate!”
An angry Lilian launched more and more light spheres at the two remaining yōkai, causing them to scurry away in fear. Kevin simply stood there like an idiot, watching Lilian thrash the three unusual beings that had given him so much trouble.
He also made a mental note never to get on Lilian’s bad side. She was really scary when angry.
When the three yōkai were gone, Lilian turned to Kevin, breathing hard, as if she’d just finished running a marathon. Her eyes scanned his body, searching for what he could only guess were injuries.
“
Are you okay? You’re not hurt anywhere, are you?”
“
Not unless you count my pride,” Kevin muttered softly. Lilian’s ears twitched.
“
Did you say something?”
“…
No,” Kevin shook his head. “I didn’t say anything. Thanks for the rescue.”
Lilian beamed at him. “Of course. I’ll always come to your rescue whenever you need it.”
Kevin tried to ignore the clenching in his gut. He looked around―and promptly sweatdropped.
“
Uh, Lilian?”
Lilian was all smiles. “Yes, Kevin?”
“
What are we going to do about, well, all this?” Kevin gestured to the surrounding area. What trees and cacti hadn’t been burned to cinders by the hi-no-tama had melted due to the karakase-obake’s acid. The cement pathways were fragmented where the blob’s fat and surprisingly dense body had landed. Scorch marks littered the ground, and several fires still burned brightly nearby, sending their plumes of smoke into the sky like a Moltres rising out of a volcano. It looked like a warzone.
“
Uh… leave before anyone can pin the blame on us?”
Kevin deadpanned. “That’s not what I was talking about.”
“…
Mugyu…”
“
Don’t go picking up random catch phrases!”
***
It was evening.
Dinner had ended a while ago. Kevin knew that, were he to turn his head, he would find Kotohime washing the dishes, humming a soft tune that sounded suspiciously like the opening theme song for
Death Note
. Lilian was probably in the restroom.
He leaned against the wall, staring at the darkening sky. The sun remained invisible, hidden behind a thick layer of dark clouds. Lightning streaked through them, flashes came and went within a split second. They perfectly reflected the stormy collection of thoughts that gathered within his mind.
On August 19th, almost one and a half months ago, Kevin had been an ordinary high school student. There had been nothing particularly special about him other than his ability to sprint short distances in seconds, his independent streak, and a severe inability to talk to girls.
Now he was living with a fox-girl who wanted to mate with him, her equally foxy maid who didn’t like him, and had discovered that yōkai actually existed. He’d also been in several confrontations with various yōkai, some of which had ended with violence, and one of which ended with him befriending a violent yuki-onna. It went without saying but, for an ordinary high school student like him, it was all getting to be a tad bit overwhelming.
Man, when life throws a curveball, sometimes it really curves.
“
There you are.” Kevin turned his head as Lilian joined him on the balcony. Her pink pajama bottoms looked awfully cute. It contrasted well with the large T-shirt she wore, which fell off her left shoulder, leaving her unblemished and perfect skin visible. “I was wondering where you had wandered off to. What are you doing out here?”
“
I was just thinking,” Kevin answered, turning his head back to stare at the sky.
Lilian stopped on his left and placed her hands on the wall. “What are you thinking about?”
Kevin did his best to ignore the feeling of Lilian’s eyes on him. “A lot of things. So much has happened recently, and I guess I’m having some trouble wrapping my head around it all.”
“
A lot has happened lately, hasn’t it?” Lilian shuffled just a bit closer to Kevin. “My fight with Kiara and Chris, that stupid goth tsun-loli, and those three other yōkai we ran into today. I can see how this would be overwhelming for anyone. But you know what?”
Kevin turned his head and was struck speechless.
Bright green eyes shone with a vibrancy that even the brightest star could never hope to match. Lilian’s lips had curved in an expression of tenderness and love that he’d only ever seen from her.
Were her lips always that glossy?
“
I wouldn’t trade it for the world, because I get to be with you. Even with everything that’s happened, all I need to do is look at you to know that every hardship I’ve been through was worth it.”
It was like a chain reaction. Kevin’s heart thumped like a ticking time bomb, pumping blood straight to his face, which he already knew was boiling lobster red. Why did everything this girl say have to be so heartfelt and genuine?
He looked back at the sky, more to give himself time to master his blush than for any other reason.
“
That’s something I don’t really understand,” he said into the silence. “Why me? Out of all the guys you could possibly choose to be with, why do you want me to be your mate? I’m not that special. I’m just a jock who can run really fast.”
“
Because I love you,” Lilian answered simply, as if it should have been obvious.
“
Why though?” he pressed. “I’m nothing special. I’ve got no talent that makes me unique, nothing that makes me stand out. This isn’t some kind of anime, where the beautiful girl falls in love with the main character just because he showed her a bit of kindness. Things like that don’t happen in real life.”
Lilian’s answering sigh was so despondent it made Kevin feel like kicking himself in the balls.
“
I wish I could give you a straight answer,” she told him sadly, “but I honestly don’t know what to tell you. We kitsune are ruled by our emotions, so I don’t even really understand why I feel so strongly about you. I just know that I love you.” Lilian shrugged. “That’s enough for me.”
Yeah, well, that wasn’t enough for Kevin. He couldn’t just go with the flow. He wanted—no, he needed to understand these feelings. Kevin couldn’t afford to go with his whims, to be guided by transient desires, not if he wanted to keep from following in his old man’s footsteps.
He chose his next words carefully. “I heard from Kotohime that a kitsune’s first mate is a pretty big thing in your culture.”
“
Oh? She told you that?”
“
Yes.”
“
Hmm, I’ll have to speak with her later. I didn’t want something like that coloring your perceptions.”
“
Why?”
“
Because you’re too nice.” Lilian ignored the look he sent her and stared at the sky, hands clasped behind her back. “If you found out how important a kitsune’s first mate is, I thought you might decide to start dating me because you felt obligated to. I don’t want you to be with me because of something like that. I want you to become my mate because you love me, you know?”
Kevin was astounded by her answer. Truly, this girl’s love for him was more pure than fresh snow.
He looked back at the desert landscape. “Yeah. I can understand that.”
“
Also, kitsune mating isn’t really a cultural thing. It’s just… instinct.”
“
Instinct?”
“
Yes.” Lilian’s red hair swayed as she nodded. “All kitsune instinctively know what they want in a mate. It’s… I guess you could say it’s almost like the traits we look for in a mate is hardwired into our DNA. Something like that. I don’t really understand the whole thing. I kinda fell asleep when Daphne was lecturing me on that part.”
Kevin chuckled when an image of Lilian, her face planted on the desk as she snored away, entered his mind. It was, not so surprisingly, a very cute image.
“
Anyway, that’s more or less the gist of it. When we find someone who has the traits we desire in a mate, we seek to make them ours. It supposedly has something to do with our desire to procreate and have kits. Even kitsune like myself, who have not gone through a single mating period, have this instinct hardwired into us.”
“
Mating period?”
“
A lesson for another time,” Lilian determined. “This chapter is beginning to get a bit too long.”
“
Right…” Kevin felt a drop of sweat trickle down his forehead. “I guess I kinda understand what you’re getting at. I mean, it’s sort of the same with humans. Not the instinct thing, but how we look for people who we think are desirable and stuff. That still doesn’t explain why, out of all the people on this planet, you chose me.”
Lilian sighed, her shoulder slumping a bit. “If you don’t remember, then I’m not going to tell you.”
Kevin tilted his head. “Remember? Tell me what?”
“
Nothing,” Lilian muttered morosely.
Kevin gave her a strange look, and Lilian responded by shuffling closer to him. He only had a moment to be surprised before she grabbed his arm, wrapped it around her waist, and set her head on his shoulder.
“
Let me stay like this for a while, okay?” she murmured softly in his ear. “All this talk of mates is making me a little depressed.”
Kevin wished he could claim ignorance about the origins of Lilian’s sadness, but even he wasn’t that stupid. He knew why she was sad, and that knowledge made his stomach twist.
“
Okay.”
He ignored his own discomfort in favor of letting Lilian do as she pleased. It was the least he could do after she saved him from those yōkai today, especially since he hadn’t been able to give her the shaved ice, having dropped it during the yōkai trio’s initial attack.
Lilian’s hair carried the scent of lilacs, reminding him of spring. Her scent didn’t bring him comfort, however, but did the opposite instead. He still didn’t know what to do.
Not matter what anyone said, Kevin wasn’t sure he’d ever be what Lilian needed in a mate. It wasn’t like he’d had many great male role models to show him what to do in a situation like this.
Kevin thought about his father, the man he’d never met, the man who abandoned his mom. Loyalty. Fealty. Those words had meant nothing to that man. He had abandoned the woman who’d sired his son, leaving her alone and stricken with grief, forcing her to work several times harder than what should have been necessary just to survive.