Chapter 12
Returned Feelings
An awkward tension hung in the air between the five youngsters, although Kevin felt that term was something of an euphemism, seeing how Lilian was actually over 100 years old. Still, by kitsune standards, she was quite young, so Kevin felt the term applied just fine.
“
So…” Kevin decided to address the large pink elephant stomping alongside them. “How did you three get mixed up in all this?”
Christine, Eric and Lindsay all shared a look. For once, Eric did not look at Christine with lustful intentions. Kevin didn’t have time to be surprised, as the trio of high schoolers launched into a brief summary of the events that led to them ending up under Kotohime’s tender mercy.
By the end of the whole story, Kevin could only sigh and palm his face with his free hand. “Really, Lindsay… I can’t believe you would do something like that…”
Lindsay frowned. “What’s that supposed to mean? Are you saying that I should have ignored the fact that Lilian had extra appendages humans aren’t supposed to have?”
“
Yes,” Kevin’s answer was swift and sure. “Yes, you should have. It would have been much easier on you and Eric had you never found out about Lilian’s and Christine’s secret. It’s illegal for humans to know about the existence of yōkai, and humans that do discover it are often dealt with, usually by having their memories erased.”
Lindsay and Eric paled.
“
Speaking of,” Lilian turned to her maid-slash-bodyguard, “just why haven’t their memories been erased?”
Kotohime didn’t hesitate to answer. “Because neither myself nor Lilian-sama have any skill at erasing memories. I am a combat-oriented kitsune. All my techniques are related to killing people. Erasing memories is a very subtle art that requires a finesse which I lack. And Lilian-sama is, of course, too young and not skilled enough at controlling her youki to learn such a technique.”
“
Muu, do have to put it like that?” Lilian, still leaning against Kevin for support, pouted at her bodyguard. “You make it sound like I don’t have any talent.”
“
I never said that. Among all the kitsune Lilian-sama’s age, Lilian-sama is definitely one of the most talented that I have seen. However, Lilian-sama is still young and lacks the control for many of the finer kitsune illusions and enchantments. Erasing memories requires at least three tails’ worth of power, and the control that can only come with age.”
“
Hey, speaking of age, just how old are you two―GUAG!”
Everyone watched mutely as two tails, one red and one black, pounded Eric into the ground with enough force to leave a small indent on the pavement in the shape of his body.
“
Ufufufu, don’t you know that you should never ask a woman her age?”
“
Gu… right… my bad…”
***
“
Hey. You remember those people you ordered me to monitor? You were right, it seems. They went against orders to simply watch the yōkai attending Desert Cactus High School and tried capturing one. It’s caused quite the mess. I imagine the news will be reporting about numerous unexplained explosions and chaos tomorrow.”
“…”
“
Oh? So you’re going to dispatch people to get rid of the evidence. Good to know, though you may want them to get here soon. Otherwise, it’ll be too late.”
“…”
“
No. They went after your son, not the yuki-onna.”
“…”
“
Yes. They were using him as bait to lure a kitsune into a trap. You’ll remember from my previous report that she’s been living with Kevin Swift since sometime in August. Unfortunately for them, I don’t think they anticipated such heavy resistance. That four-tails was really something. She gave them a major thrashing, though I don’t think she killed anyone outright. Probably didn’t want her charge to witness such violence. And speaking of resistance, I take it those who made the order to capture the kitsune on your end have been dealt with?”
“…”
“
All right. All right. I won’t ask anymore questions about that. I know when something is outside of my jurisdiction.” A pause. “Though I do have another question, and not about the group who decided to go against orders.” Another pause. “I was just wondering if you wanted me to do anything about the kitsune. She’s become awfully close to your son, you know.”
“…”
“
What a cold father you are. No wonder you left them. You’re really not the sentimental type, are you?”
“…”
“
Yes. Yes. Your dedication toward keeping the world safe from the yōkai menace is very admirable. I was simply saying that it’s awfully frigid for a father not to be concerned for the safety of his son, especially when that son has become involved with one of the very yōkai he’s claiming to protect the world from.”
“…”
“
No son of yours, huh? Man, you really are heartless, aren’t you? But whatever. It’s not like I care about that. I’ll do as you ordered and keep an eye on the kitsune and her bodyguard for you. I doubt I could take that swordswoman on anyway. She managed to defeat over three dozen men without using a single kitsune technique, though she did use a wicked sword technique.”
“…”
“
Don’t worry. I won’t reveal myself to anyone. I’ve been doing this for nearly two years and haven’t been caught yet, have I?”
“…”
“
I know. All right. Out.”
Dark eyes hidden under a curtain of equally dark hair stared at the cellphone in his hand. With a smile, he put the cellphone on its charging station.
Some very interesting things had been happening lately, and given how things were playing out, it was guaranteed that life would become even more interesting soon enough.
“
Kevin Swift and Lilian Pnév̱ma. I wonder what will become of you two in the future?”
Knocking came to his door. “Justin? Justin, are you still up?”
Justin opened the door to reveal his “mother” standing on the other side. She looked nothing like him, of course, as they weren’t actually related. Still, for the past two years she had been his mother, treating him just like she would her own son, and he’d played the part of son quite well, if he did say so himself.
She had been selected by the Sons and Daughters of Humanity to be his “mother” because she and her husband were unable to have kids.
Müllerian agenesi is a congenital malformation caused by a failure of the Müllerian duct to develop, which results in a missing uterus and various degrees of vagnical hypoplasia.
Justin didn’t know the specifics of this disease, other than what he’d been told. He knew that women could undergo a uterus transplant to solve the problem, but that was far too expensive for an average family.
“…
Wrong…?”
“
No, no, nothing’s wrong. I just saw that your lights were still on, and thought you’d forgotten to turn them off. I was coming up to your room when I thought I heard voices.” His mom looked around the bedroom and, not seeing anyone, looked back at her son with clear worry. “You weren’t talking to one of your imaginary friends again, were you?”
“
No…” Justin shook his head. “… Notes…”
“
I see.” His mother looked relieved that her son’s autism wasn’t showing signs of further degradation. “Well, in either case, please be sure to turn off the lights. It’s quite late, you know, and even though the school has been closed down, it’s good to keep in the habit of going to bed early.”
“…
Kay…”
The door closed and Justin frowned. He really did like his mother, even though she only thought they were related due to a combination of brainwashing and drugs. He sometimes felt guilty about that, but guessed that was the price one paid for being a spy.
Turning off the lights, Justin crawled into bed and fell into a deep and instant sleep.
***
Lilian, Kevin and Kotohime ate a cold dinner upon their return home. It didn’t taste nearly as good as it would have fresh out of the oven, but one glare from Kotohime put a clamp on any complaints they might have expressed.
“
Maybe this will make you think twice about trusting a person whom you know so very little about,” Kotohime said as they stared at the cold meal on the table.
Kevin would have argued, stating that, as a teacher, Inagumi should have been trustworthy, but he didn’t want to be on the receiving end of her glare again.
When dinner ended, Kevin had led Lilian to the restroom so she could clean up. She’d had several twigs in her hair, dirt smudging her body, and a number of cuts that he knew didn’t come from her rescue attempt. When he asked her about them, Lilian had flushed a deep shade of scarlet and mumbled something about bikes. She had then promptly changed the subject.
He had turned down her offer to shower together and walked back into the living room. That had been fifteen minutes ago.
Lilian, now clean, dry, and dressed in a large T-shirt and panties, walked into the kitchen where she found Kotohime washing the dishes.
“
Kotohime.”
“
Something on your mind, Lilian-sama?”
“
Yes, there is, actually. I know that your intentions were good, and I’m grateful that you’re willing to go so far for me.” Lilian paused, her expression growing dark. “However, the next time you manipulate my mate, you and I are going to have problems.”
Kotohime finished drying the pot she’d used to make miso in and turned to Lilian. She smiled demurely at the younger kitsune.
“
Why, whatever do you mean, Lilian-sama? Surely you are not suggesting that I manipulated Kevin-san into growing a spine and confessing his feelings for you by purposely goading him with rude and spiteful comments?” Her eyes glittered with mischief as she raised her left hand, masking her smile behind the sleeve of her kimono. “What could possibly make you think I would do such a thing?”
Lilian’s snort was very unladylike. “Right. I’m sure you have no knowledge of what I’m talking about. Regardless, don’t do it again. My mate is off-limits from any sort of manipulation. I refuse to manipulate him like that, so I won’t let others play with his emotions either.”
“
Very well,” Kotohime bowed in acknowledgment. “However, I do not believe Lilian-sama will need to worry about this humble maid or anyone else manipulating him anymore. Now then,” she smiled benevolently at the twin-tailed beauty, “why don’t you go see to your mate? He has been moping around on that balcony ever since you entered the shower.”
“
You know what? I think I’ll do just that.”
Lilian left Kotohime to continue her cleaning, traversing the living room to join Kevin outside.
She paused upon reaching the balcony to study the boy she loved. He had his back to her and was looking up at the night sky. She couldn’t see his face, but she could imagine the way his brows were furrowed in contemplation.
“
There you are,” Lilian said as she closed the sliding door behind her. Kevin turned his head and her lips curled into a small “u” as she walked up to him. “The shower is available if you would like to take one. After everything you’ve been through, I’m sure a nice hot shower will help.”
“
Yeah…”
When Kevin went back to staring at the stars, Lilian frowned. “What’s wrong?”
The blond teen sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “Nothing… I’m just… I’ve got a lot on my mind, I guess.”
“
Like what?”
“
A lot of things.” Kevin’s eyes appeared vacant, staring at something only he could see. “So much has happened to me… it’s kind of hard to believe that it hasn’t even been two months since I met you and discovered that yōkai are real. I’m feeling kind of overwhelmed.”
“
I see.” Lilian studied his pursed lips and conflicted eyes. “There’s something else on your mind, though.”
Kevin scratched the back of his neck and looked sheepish. “Am I that easy to read?”
Lilian’s smile was that of a woman keeping a secret. “It’s not that you’re easy to read. It’s just that I know you so well I can tell when something’s bothering you.” She grabbed his hand and was pleased when he didn’t pull away. “Come on, tell me. What’s on your mind?”
“
Last week, before Kotohime arrived, you mentioned meeting a little boy near your home.” Lilian stiffened when his blue eyes gazed into hers. “That boy… it was me, wasn’t it?”
“
How did you…?”
“
It wasn’t that hard to figure out.” Kevin’s smile was soft and gentle and contained just a hint of wryness. “It was nine years ago, right?”
“
Y-yes…”
“
Nine years ago my mom had just gotten her first big gig, which took her to Greece. She couldn’t find a babysitter on such short notice and brought me along. The resort we went to was on a small island in the Pagasetic Gulf. Despite that being the first time I’ve traveled outside of the US, I can barely remember anything that happened. I know I was young, but I wasn’t that young. You’d think something that exciting would have been more memorable.”