American Kitsune, Volume 11 (Light Novel)

1. Weak to Strong Protagonist (Expect Kevin to grow both mentally and physically as the series progresses)
2. Aggressive Main Love Interest
3. Accidental Perv Moments / Ecchi Shenanigans
4. Harem Hijinks
5. Classic Harem Archetypes
6. Fourth-Wall Breaks
7. Over-the-Top Fanservice

Despite being mostly empty, Full Brooks Café managed to convey a friendly atmosphere. Warm wood floors and lightly colored walls were illuminated by the natural sunlight that filtered in through the window. A few lamps sat in corners where the sunlight didn’t reach. Several tables sat in the center of the café, while booths lined the wall farthest from the kitchen.

Kevin and his companions had taken a booth. Lilian sat next to him, sipping at her caramel mocha latte, while Iris and Christine sat on the opposite side. Several empty plates sat on the table, remnants from their recently finished lunch.

Christine was a Yuki-Onna—a yōkai race consisting only of women. Yuki-Onna had powers over ice and generally preferred colder climates, which made their friend something of an oddball, since she hated anything cold. She ate hot foods, drank hot drinks, and lived—or used to live—in a desert well-known for its nearly unbearable heat. Her porcelain skin, which reminded him of a doll, and her ice-blue eyes, which sparkled in the light as though made from ice, were clear indicators of her origins.

But Christine wasn’t just a Yuki-Onna. Kevin knew that she also had Bakeneko blood in her. He wondered if her small, doll-like body had something to do with the two contrasting yōkai types stunting her growth. He didn’t really know.

She hadn’t changed since the last time he’d seen her. Her tiny figure was still clad in the same black gothic lolita attire as before, and even her personality seemed to be the same. Upon first greeting him, Christine had blushed, stuttered, and then gotten angry. He was just glad she hadn’t gone full tsun-loli on him. He didn’t want their relationship to be like the one between Saito Hiraga and Louise Francoise.

“Wow, I can’t believe we’d run into each other out here, of all places,” Kevin said with a grin. “I’m glad to see you’ve been doing well for yourself, though. When we returned from Greece and learned that you’d left, all of us grew really worried.”

“W-worried?!” Christine squeaked, her cheeks seeming to frost over. When a Yuki-Onna blushed, their cheeks turned blue instead of red.

“That’s right. Ah! But we still had faith that you’d be okay,” Kevin assured the girl. “We knew you could take care of yourself.”

“Speak for yourselves,” Iris said. “I thought she’d get herself killed.”

“Shut up!” Christine snapped at the vixen. “You mind your own business and let Kevin compliment me!”

… A moment of silence passed.

“Did she just…?” Lilian started, her eyes wide with wonder.

“… Admit that she enjoys it when the stud compliments her?” Iris finished, appearing equally surprised, though not for long. An amused look swiftly replaced the shock. “Uhuhuhu.”

Christine also seemed to have realized how her words could be taken. She squeaked, and steam burst from her ears like heat from a lava vent.

“T-t-t-that’s not what I meant! I just—I mean, I don’t get many of those! Shut up! It’s just nice to hear that someone has faith in me! That’s all!”

“Calm down,” Iris chuckled, patting the girl on the head. “We’re just messing with you. Ah, I missed that tsundere personality of yours.”

“Who’s a tsundere?!”

“But seriously, Christine, what are you doing all the way out here?” Lilian asked before taking a sip of her latte again. She came away with a brown foam mustache on her upper lip.

At Lilian’s question, Christine turned glum. Her shoulders slumped as she looked down at the table, though Kevin had the feeling she wasn’t looking at the table, but through it instead.

“I… during the battle with that kitsune who was trying to kill you, I was completely useless. I couldn’t be of any help. Iris even ended up getting hurt because of me.” Her shoulders shifted. Kevin imagined she was clenching the fabrics of her dress underneath the table. “In the end, I couldn’t help any of my friends, and one of you almost died because of me. I didn’t want that to happen again. I want to be someone that other people can rely on, so…”

“We understand,” Lilian said, placing her hands over Christine’s. “We know how you feel, and as your friends, you can count on us for support.”

As she looked away from Lilian’s brilliant emerald gaze, Christine’s cheeks flushed a light shade of blue.

“T-thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

“So, if you’re here, then does that mean you’re the contact that Kuroneko was talking about?” Kevin asked.

Nodding, Christine focused back on him.

“I would assume so,” she replied evenly. “Orin is my benefactor. He’s the one who took me away from that orphanage in Alaska, and he gave me my monthly stipend when I was living in Arizona. He told me that I was supposed to meet some people out here and take them to see him.”

“That would be us.” Leaning back in her seat, Iris subconsciously thrust her chest out. Christine eyed the other girl’s bouncing breasts with a mixture of disgust and envy. “We’re the ones that Tigress sent to find this Orio guy.”

“It’s Orin,” Lilian corrected.

“And who the heck is Tigress?” asked Kevin, though he imagined that was just Iris’s new nickname for Kuroneko. She came up with weird nicknames for people she actually liked.

“Anyway, we should probably get going.” Christine stood up. “It’s a bit of a drive, and we have to do some walking, too, so the sooner we leave, the better.”

Standing up as well, Kevin left enough money on the table to cover their tab. They’d eaten quite a bit. Having not been able to eat anything since yesterday, he, Lilina and Iris had been ravenous.

Turning to Lilian, Kevin almost facepalmed when he saw how much foam she had on her mouth. The redhead didn’t even seem to realize it was there. She blinked several times when she saw him looking at her.

“Is something wrong, Beloved?”

“Not really. You just have something on your face.”

Lilian raised her hands to feel her face, but Kevin grabbed her wrists, stopping her.

“No, let me get that off for you,” he said before leaning down and kissing her. Lilian leaned into him and tilted her head up as she kissed him back. He let go of her wrists, and her hands found purchase around his waist. Meanwhile, he placed his hands on either side of her face, his thumbs gently caressing her cheeks as he tenderly suckled on her upper lip, ridding it of the foam, then did the same to her bottom lip, simply because he could.

“U-ugh, I’d forgotten how lovey-dovey these two could be,” Christine said, her cheeks flushing a pale shade of blue.

“Hm, that was a clever move Lily-pad just pulled there,” Iris muttered, cupping her chin. “Maybe I should have also given myself a foam mustache so the stud could lick it off.”

Christine gave Iris a disgusted look. “I see you’re still trying to interfere in their relationship. That’s not a very good thing for a sister to do, you know.”

“Heh…” Iris smirked at Christine, who bristled at the look. “You’ve been out of the loop, tsun-tsun. Lily-pad and the stud have made me their mistress.” Leaning down, Iris cupped a hand to her mouth and whispered into Christine’s ear. “The three of us have become in-ti-mate.”

Christine stared at Iris for what seemed like hours. Her brain seemed to have short-circuited, and it needed some time to properly reboot. When it did, she responded in the most natural way possible… for a tsundere lolita.

“WWHHHHAAAATTTT?!”

Christine’s voice echoed through the city.

***

Christine seemed displeased as they followed her. The girl stomped through the streets, the few people who were also walking down the sidewalk scattering when she approached. Steam poured from her head as she muttered harsh words under her breath.

“Can’t believe it… those two… kill them both!”

Kevin could actually feel the sweat coalescing on his temple and leaving a wet trail down his face.

“Um, Christine, are you upset about something?” he asked.

“Of course I’m nyupset!” Christine snapped. “Nyow shut up and follow me.”

Okay, so Christine was upset, so upset that she actually sounded like a hissy cat. Kevin wondered why, but he couldn’t really think of the reason. Could it have been how he’d kissed Lilian? Probably not. She’d seen him and Lilian kiss plenty of times, and she’d never gotten too upset. She didn’t like him anymore, not like that anyway. They were just friends.

I’ll never understand girls.

Christine eventually led them to an old Ford truck. It looked like someone had cobbled it together using a bunch of spare parts that could be found in a junkyard. The left door was blue, the right a glaring red. Its hood had been painted a most obnoxious shade of yellow, and when combined with the black fender, made Kevin think of a bumblebee. Much of its body was also covered in dents and marks. Kevin didn’t think it looked very safe.

“You drive this piece of crap?” Iris asked. Despite how rude those words were, she sounded more shocked than mocking.

“Watch it, Skank,” Christine warned. “This might not be the best car in the world, but at least she runs.”

“She?” Iris made a face. “You actually gave your car a gender? Were that lonely living out here in the Boondocks?”

Christine’s face turned blue. “S-s-shut up! You don’t know anything, Boobhead.”

“Ha! She called me Boobhead.”

Watching the two trade barbs, Kevin felt an odd sense of nostalgia.

“Is it weird that I kind of missed this?” he asked his mate.

Lilian contemplated his question for a moment, but then shook her head.

“I don’t think so. I kind of missed this, too.” Her lips twitched into a grin as she took out a sketchpad. “Plus, watching these two argue is giving me some ideas for my manga.”

Kevin chuckled. “Of course.”

“Look, just get in the damn truck already!” Christine snapped/

Iris raised her hands in surrender. “All right. all right. Yeesh. So angry.”

Christine glared at Iris, who chuckled some more as she opened the passenger side. The truck was one of those really old ones that only had two seats—one on the passenger side and the driver’s seat.

“Sorry, but I only have one seat. Two of you are gonna have to sit in the back.”

Iris grabbed Lilian’s hand and pulled her to the trunk.

“Lily-pad and I can sit in the trunk. It’ll give me an excuse to make out with her.”

Lilian blushed, but she didn’t say anything as they climbed in. Christine was stockstill for a second, but her wide eyes soon panned over to Kevin.

“Please tell me she’s joking,” she said.

“I wonder,” Kevin mumbled. “Anyway, let’s get going.”

Moving around to the driver’s side, Kevin held the door open for Christine, whose icy face was the epitome of embarrassed.

“T-thank you,” she mumbled as she sat in the driver’s seat and slammed the door closed.

Kevin walked around to the other side and got in. There was no seatbelt, showing just how old this truck really was. Christine started up the engine, which coughed and shuddered before emitting a low bass rumble.

Christine pulled out of the parking lot and drove down the road. Kevin studied the passing structures, most of which were small and old. This place really was the definition of a “middle of nowhere town.” It felt quaint and unobtrusive, the kind of place where everybody knew everyone else. Oddly enough, despite all of the traveling he’d done, Kevin had never been to a place that felt so far isolated from the rest of the world. This place felt almost free from the problems going on outside of this little community.

“S-so!” Christine said, her voice abnormally high-pitched. “H-how have you been doing?”

Kevin smiled as he wondered why Christine sounded so nervous. She hadn’t acted like this for awhile.

It must be because we haven’t seen each other in so long.

“I’ve been doing well enough. A lot has happened, but I don’t regret anything.”

“T-that’s good,” Christine mumbled lowly. “So you and Lilian are still, uh, mates?”

“Yep!” Kevin felt warm as he thought of Lilian. Their bond was stronger now than it had ever been. The many trials and tribulations they’d faced had forged a loving relationship that was stronger than diamonds.

“And… what about Iris?” Christine tried to sound casual. “What’s your relationship with her?”

“Iris?” Kevin blinked.

“N-nevermind!” Christine squeaked. “Forget I asked.”

Kevin wasn’t sure why she wanted to know about his and Iris’ relationship, but he was glad she’d decided to rescind her question. His relationship with Iris was strange at best and immoral at worst. He honestly didn’t know what he should think about it. Of course, the truth would come out eventually, but he at least wanted to catch up before Christine scolded him about how he was sexing up both Lilian and Iris.

“I’m really glad to see you again,” Kevin said, quite suddenly in Christine’s apparent opinion.

“W-what are nyou saying so suddenly?!”

“H-hey! Watch the road!”

The car swerved several times, moving into the opposite lane before Christine righted it. Kevin felt his heart leap into his throat. It was a good thing there were no cars driving down the road, or they would’ve surely suffered from a head on collision.

Minutes later they were leaving the small town. Black top became dirt, and buildings turned into trees. Kevin leaned against the window. Outside, all kinds of flora and fauna zoomed by—he didn’t recognize any of the trees, but he definitely recognized many of the animals. There were a lot of dear. Several mammals darted between the trees. Kevin wondered if he would see any bears.

“So, this Orin guy… he’s your benefactor?” Kevin asked Christine.

“That’s right.”

They hit a bump. Kevin’s ears twitched when he thought he heard a muffled moan coming from the trunk.

“You mentioned that you came here because you wanted to get stronger,” Kevin added. “Does that mean you’ve been training?”

“I—well, yes, somewhat.”

“Somewhat?”

“I haven’t gotten as much training as I wished.”

“Why is that?”

“Because the old farts a perv,” Christine declared with a scowl.

Kevin didn’t say anything at first. He needed to contemplate this new information, so he stared at the passing trees. It seemed Orin was one of those perverted masters. He must have been a Dirty Old Man type of master, Kevin concluded, like Mast Roshi.

“I’m sorry to hear that,” he said sympathetically. “If you want, I can write a very strongly worded letter to the author for you.”

“No thanks,” Christine said, then paused as she realized what Kevin had just said. “Wait. What did you just say?”

“… Never mind.”

***

Phoebe had long since stopped screaming. She wasn’t even sure if she could scream anymore. Her throat felt raw, like someone had poured boiling lava down it. She wouldn’t have been surprised if her esophagus had melted from screaming herself hoarse.

She dangled from the ceiling. Her arms, raised above her head, were shackled by a pair of manacles attached to a set of chains. With her feet dangling off the ground, her arms were carrying all of her weight.

The manacles had rubbed her skin raw. Blood poured from her wrists, leaving a glistening wet trail down her arms, the shoulders of which had popped from their sockets.

She wasn’t wearing any clothes. They’d stripped her clothes off soon after they’d arrived. Phoebe understood what they were trying to do. They wanted her to be as uncomfortable as possible. By exposing her body, she was supposed to feel naked and vulnerable, to better interrogate her. However…

“Our interrogation isn’t working,” a voice said from outside her field of vision. She never saw any of the people who tortured her. She guessed they were trying to give her a fear of the unknown.

“Have you tried enchanting her?” another voice asked, this one female.

“Yes, enchantments didn’t work either.”

“Great. Another stubborn prisoner. Put her in the cell with the other one. We’ll try interrogating her again later.”

“Sure thing.”

A blurry figure appeared in her field of vision. The manacles holding her opened, and she fell forward, into the arms of her torturer.

“Damn, this chick is fine. Hey, do you think I can—”

“Finish that thought and you die,” the female voice said.

“Tch.”

Phoebe would’ve winced as she was unceremoniously dropped to the ground, but she didn’t have the strength.

Her body was dragged along the stone floor. Skin peeled off her heels, and a thin line of blood was left behind like a trail from the B-budget movies some of her fellow Yuma Uba liked.

The world spun in and out of focus. Phoebe knew this had more to do with her own mind than something else. Even though she was only semi-conscious, she was at least lucid enough to recognize that the pain and blood loss was causing her vision to blur.

Loud squeals emitted from steel bars as a door was opened. She was dragged through the bars and unceremoniously thrown into the room, where her head cracked against the pavement.

“Here you go,” her torturer said. “You two can keep each other company, fucking bitches.”

As the steel bars slammed shut, and Phoebe’s eyes unsuccessfully tried to adjust to the room’s darkness, a sound to her left drew her attention.

She was not alone.

Despite how much it hurt, Phoebe strained her senses, listening. She could hear the creaking of metal, the groan of steel, and the wind rattling through a set of bars somewhere in the room. Laughter from down the corridor informed her of the warden’s location. Closer to home, practically next to her ear was the soft, raspy breathing of someone who’d been through the same torture as her.

Creaking issued from somewhere to her left. Footsteps, slow and agonizing, followed. Then a face swam into her field of vision, though she was in too much pain to see.

“Phoebe?” a familiar voice asked.

Her lips dry, her throat parched and cracked, Phoebe barely managed to produce a single word—a name.

“… Heather…”

***

When Christine said that it would be a long drive, she really hadn’t been exaggerating. It took nearly an hour to reach the first point of their destination—a little, out of the way are that was not-quite-a-parking-lot, where Christine parked her truck. It was, in all honestly, just a small clearing surrounded by a lot of trees and bushes.

“We’re gonna be walking from here,” Christine told Kevin as she hopped out of the car. He followed suit, and they both walked to the truck. “Alright, you two. Time to get out of the—”

Christine stopped talking. It seemed she needed several seconds of staring to properly understand what she was seeing. Kevin couldn’t blame her. It wasn’t everyday you saw two vixens making out.

Kevin took several deep breaths as Lilian and Iris lay tangled in each others’ arms, legs, and tails. He wasn’t sure who initiated it—his bets were on Iris—but the two were having a full-blown makeout session. Iris had stuck her hands down Lilian’s shorts and was directly massaging her buttox, her fingers digging deep into the redhead’s plump tush. Meanwhile, Iris had plunged her tongue into the other girl’s mouth and was stirring up saliva between them. The loud moans they produced caused Christine to look like her brain had been fried.

“… what… this is… what is going on…?” Christine didn’t seem quite capable of thinking properly.

Kevin only sighed as his morals waged war against his labido. How was he supposed to feel about this?”

“Buah!” Lilian gasped the moment Iris’ lips and tongue finally released their hold on her. This didn’t stop Iris, who didn’t hesitate to lick and nibble on her neck. “I-Iris! W-wait… if you keep going like this… I’ll—and all over Christine’s car! OH!”

Christine’s face turned a shade of frozen tundra blue when one of Iris’ hands suddenly slipped further down Lilian’s shorts and pressed against her back entrance.

“A-aren’t you going to stop them?” she asked Kevin who, after a moment of staring, closed his eyes, took several deep breaths, and shook his head.

“There isn’t much that I can do to stop them,” he informed her. “If I tried, I would likely only make things worse.”

“A-AHN!”

Lilian’s body quaked as a mixture of sweat and juices leaked down her legs. The girl looked to be on her last leg. Her bosom heaved with each shaking breath she took. Well developed thighs and slender calves shook in the aftermath of what must have been an impressive orgasm.

Christine’s face went poof! as massive amounts of steam rose from her head.

“H-how can this get any worse?” asked a highly embarrassed Christine.

The look Kevin gave her was more serious than anything she’d ever seen before. “Iris could always drag me into her shenanigans and turn that into a three-way sexathon.”

Christine blinked. Once. Twice. Three times. Her body shuddered. Her face swelled with color.

Kevin could practically see the girl’s thoughts as she imagined him joining in the threesome. Her face suddenly swelled with what appeared to be anger, but then, almost inexplicably, it relaxed. She looked back at him. He tilted his head and, as if that was some kind of stimulus, a massive amount of blood shot from her nose as she rocketed backwards, cracking her head against a rock before crumpling unconscious to the ground.

“Huh…” Kevin murmured to himself as he wiped the blood off his face. “For some reason, I didn’t expect that reaction from someone as straight-laced as Christine.”

Lilian, her mouth once again being thoroughly explored by Iris, moaned in agreement, or maybe she was begging for mercy. It was honestly hard to tell.

“You okay there, Lilian?” Kevin asked.

“Puagh!” Lilian somehow managed to pry her lips away from Iris. “B-Beloved…”

“Yes?”

“… I can’t feel my tongue.”

“Well, that isn’t good,” Kevin said, rather unnecessarily.

***

Christine woke up exactly five minutes later. Quite understandably, she couldn’t look at anyone else as she led them through the forested terrain.

Kevin found the experience absolutely fascinating. There was so much wildlife! He’d seen a number of animals in this area that he’d only ever seen at the zoo. Birds of all kinds flew through the canopy overhead. Deer leapt between large brambles, appearing and disappear as if playing hide and seek. Mammals roamed the forest floor, and reptiles clung to trees and rocks. They followed a small stream for several miles, from which Kevin could see plenty of fish and even a few amphibians lounging around, croaking strange tunes.

While Kevin took delight in traveling through the forest, Iris wasn’t quite as enthused.

“Who the hell would want to live all the way out here in the middle of freaking nowhere?” she asked.

“Someone who doesn’t want to be bothered, Skank. Orin’s a reclusive jerk who rarely ventures into human territory—except when he’s being a perverted bas—kya!” Christine screamed when she slipped on a rock. Lilian, who traveled by the girl’s side, caught her with a tail.

“You okay?” asked the redhead.

“Y-yeah…” Christine took a deep breath. “Thanks.”

Lilian beamed at the girl. “Anytime.”

“Hey, nature boy!” Iris called out to Kevin, who was lagging behind the rest. “Stop wasting time and hurry up.”

Kevin could’ve argued with Iris, but for the sake of keeping things peaceable, he merely quickened his pace.

This, unfortunately, turned out to be a mistake. As he passed Iris, she leapt onto his back, her arms locking around his neck, legs and tails coiling around his waist. More importantly, her twin mountains pressed into his back like two massive marshmallows.

“U-ugh,” Kevin grunted as he stumbled forward. “What are you doing?”

He could actually feel Iris grinning into his back.

“I’m tired. Carry me.”

“You mean lazy,” Kevin corrected. Even so, he reached underneath Iris and cupped her bum. His actions earned an appreciative moan from the fox-girl, who took a moment to grind against his back. “Stop that.”

“Why?”

“Because I can’t concentrate when you do that, and I’d rather not have my clothes smell like your sexual secretions.”

“Oh, I like that. Sexual secretions. Very nice. Mind if I use it sometime?”

Kevin would have shrugged if he wasn’t carrying Iris. “Sure, whatever floats your boat.”

As Kevin swiftly caught up with the other two members of their party, Christine turned to Lilian. “Doesn’t it bother you?”

“What?” Lilian asked, clearly not understanding what Christine’s question was about.

“Those two.” The Yuki-Onna pointed at Iris as she nuzzled her nose against Kevin’s neck, making the poor boy almost trip again. “Doesn’t it bother you that your sister is getting so close to your mate?”

Lilian tilted her head, appearing genuinely confused. “Should it?”

“You didn’t like it when Lindsay or I got close to him,” Christine muttered bitingly.

“That’s because you and Lindsay were a threat to my position.” Lilian thrust out her chest. “If either one of you had become closer to Kevin than me, then he would have never become my mate.” She shrugged. “Iris isn’t trying to steal Kevin from me, so I don’t mind it when she’s like this.”

She looked back at Kevin, who was busy bantering with Iris.

“Say, Stud, have you ever wondered what it would be like if I gave you a tail job while you were driving?”

“I haven’t, though I suspect that’s more for my own sanity than anything else—and if you did give me a tail job while I was driving, I’m pretty sure it would lead to our deaths.”

As always, whenever Iris spoke with Kevin, it had something to do with sex. Lilian knew that her sister thought about more than just sex, but anyone else would’ve been appalled by how often it cropped up in conversation.

“Besides,” Lilian continued, “I trust Kevin.”

“O-oh…” Christine suddenly looked depressed about something, but before Lilian could ask her about it, she spoke again. “Anyway, we’re here.”

Lilian looked around, yet she couldn’t see anything that would point to this being their destination. All she could see were trees, bushes, and animals.

“Where iss here exactly?” she asked, her ears twitching as Kevin stepped up beside them.

“Orin’s home,” Christine answered. “Where else?”

“You sure you’re not hallucinating?” Iris asked as she reluctantly climbed off Kevin’s back. “Because I don’t see anything.”

“It’s a barrier, isn’t it?” Kevin stated as much as asked.

Christine looked impressed. “Yes, there is a barrier here. I don’t really understand how it works, but I know that it not only creates the illusion that nothing is here, it also keeps anyone who isn’t tuned into the barrier from entering.”

“Then how are we supposed to enter?” asked Lilian.

“Don’t worry,” Christine assured her, walking up to a tree several yards to their left. “Orin taught me how to tune people to the barrier, though I’ll need a drop of your blood.”

“Sounds like some kind of kinky blood ritual,” Iris stated.

Christine glared at her.

“It isn’t, so get your mind out of the gutter.” She paused, then spoke in a softer, more contemplative voice. “Although I’m kind of surprised it isn’t. Orin’s a perv, so you’d think he’d make every ritual he has lecherous.”

“So, he’s like a really old version of Eric,” Lilian concluded as she pricked her finger, blood welling on the tip. “What do you want me to do with this?”

In response to the question, Christine removed a panel from the tree, revealing that, rather than a wooden hollow, this tree possessed what appeared to be a very complex network of glowing blue veins.

“Just place a drop of blood right on this little circle here.” Christine pointed to a small blue circle within the hollow.

“What is this?” asked Lilian as she allowed the drop of blood to fall from her finger. The tiny circle’s glow shifted from blue to red. Then the blood melted into the tree, and the color changed back to blue.

“It’s Scriptwriting,” Kevin said. Iris took Lilian’s place by the tree, nipping her thumb and letting some blood drop onto the circle. “It’s one of Orin’s special talents, the ability to externalize his techniques by infusing youki into writing.”

It was similar to a Kijo’s ability to use spells through the use of kanji. Orin could take any spell that he knew and, by drawing a representation of the spell’s concept, infuse the technique into a living but non-sentient object.

Now I understand why Orin prefers living in a forest.

The abundance of non-sentient life within a forest far exceeded any place else. It wouldn’t surprise Kevin to learn that several more techniques just like this had been set up all around the forest, additional defenses, traps, powerful illusions that could induce nightmares. Within this forest, Orin was practically omnipotent.

“You know a lot about Orin’s abilities despite having never met him,” Christine commented.

“Kuroneko told Lilian and I a lot about him and the other Four Saints when we were in California. I was interested in knowing what kind of yōkai the others were.” Kevin looked into the hollow before sighing. “Anyway, I’m afraid this won’t work for me.”

“What?” Christine didn’t appear to understand.

Kevin scratched the back of his head. “The truth is, barriers all break whenever my left hand touches them. If I walk through this barrier, even if my blood has been infused into it, the barrier will be destroyed.”

Christine stared at Kevin like she couldn’t believe what she was hearing. She then turned to Lilian and Iris, a question on her face.

“It’s true,” Lilian said. “Kevin has broken Kotohime’s barriers several times whenever they spar. It’s gotten to the point where she doesn’t even bother putting one up anymore.”

Christine was still incredulous. Her very expression seemed to define how little she believed them. Kevin didn’t blame her. Even he didn’t know much about this power, not how it came to be nor how a human such as him acquired such an unusual ability. However, she also seemed to sense that they were serious, for she eventually relented with a sigh.

“All right. Fine. I’m not the best at manipulating barriers, especially ones that don’t have some connection with ice or fire, but I can probably create a small gap in the barrier for you to pass through. It won’t last long though, and it won’t be very big. You’ll have to pass through it quickly.”

“That’s fine with me,” Kevin said.

“I can’t believe I’m actually doing this.”

Christine walked up to a small section of the forest. It didn’t look different from any other part, but there seemed to be something there, invisible, indefinable—a barrier.

“You two go on first,” Christine said to Lilian and Iris. “Just keep walking. Once you’ve crossed the barrier, wait for us.”

Lilian and Iris looked at each other. Grinning, Iris took Lilian’s hand, their fingers entwining. The two took a slow breath, then walked forward. One steps. Two steps. Kevin watched, blinking several times when the pair disappeared. It wasn’t a fast disappearance either. It looked almost like their bodies were slowly dissolving until nothing remained.

“Well,” Kevin started, “you don’t see that every day.”

“Okay,” Christine released a deep breath, as if preparing herself for something strenuous. “I’ll only be able to open a hole for a second, so you’re gonna have to be fast.”

“Right.”

Kevin bent his knees and prepared to sprint. It had been a long time since he’d been in track. The affairs of yōkai had forced him to quit, but even so, his body still remembered how it felt—and it wasn’t like he’d gotten any slower. He still trained to strengthen his body every day.

Christine raised her hands in front of her body. It looked like she was getting ready to summon something.

The air shimmered in front of them. Ripples appeared as if someone had thrown a pebble into a lake, starting from her hands and steadily expanding. She took another deep breath, then released it. The air grew colder. Icy particles gathered in the atmosphere. Kevin shivered, but the coldness seeping into his bones didn’t last as a small line appeared in front of him. The line than expanded into a rectangle-shaped box.

Kevin burst into action. He pushed off the ground, launching himself forward like a missile. He whizzed past Christine, sprinting through the hole and skidding to a stop on the other side.

What he found on the other side of the barrier was shocking. An entire community lay sprawled out before him. Large trees nearly one-hundred times thicker than anything he’d ever seen acted as houses. Looking at the trees nearest them, Kevin saw that the trees had been hollowed out. Windows allowed a glimpse of the inside, while wooden doors gave them a sense of privacy.

The trees also seemed to have stories. Circular platforms surrounded many of the trees, and numerous walkways connected each platform together. People walked along these walkways, rushing to and fro as they carried boxes and other items. There were also many people traveling along the ground, which held a bazaar of some kind. There were many people shopping and trading wares.

While this place wasn’t as large as Saint Byakko, nor did it have the modern yet oddly Asian look of Neo Seiryuu, there was a lively atmosphere about it, a sort of good-natured friendliness that the other two places didn’t quite have.

“Woah…” Kevin muttered as he stood beside Iris and Lilian. “This is…”

“Really cool,” Lilian finished.

Iris didn’t say anything, but Kevin could tell that even she was impressed. If she hadn’t been, then she would have made a degrading comment about it.

Christine walked in front of them and made a sweeping gesture, as if to encompass the entire village.

“Welcome to New Genbu,” Christine said. “Come on. I’ll introduce you guys to Orin.”

Kevin, Lilian, and Iris followed Christine further into the forest village. Twigs and leaves crunched underneath their feet as they steadily moved into the light pedestrian traffic. From up close, it became clear that this place, which was filled with people, was indeed a bazaar. Stalls lined the space on either side, set up between trees as the owners gathered crowds with their flamboyant shouts. Most of what was being sold was produce. Fruits and vegetables were in abundance, though several stalls also had fresh game—fish and deer. Some of the stall owners were cutting up the deer and frying them on old-fashioned charcoal barbeques.

“I wonder, do all of the Four Saints have their own community?” asked Lilian as several people called out a greeting to Christine, who returned each one with a wave.

“I wouldn’t know,” Christine said. “I don’t know any of the other Four Saints. But I can tell you that this community was only formed within the last month or so. Before that, Orin and I lived mostly alone here.”

“I guess the war has caused yōkai to congregate around the Four Saints,” Kevin said as he cupped a hand to his chin.

“That’s mostly it,” Christine agreed. “A lot of the people you see here are refugees who’ve been displaced by this war. They came here after somehow learning that Orin was living in this forest.”

“I guess the Four Saints really are famous in the yōkai world.”

It really was shocking to think about. Kevin knew, objectively, that the Four Saints were a well-known group of yōkai. At the same time, having only learned about them within the last year, it still amazed him whenever he learned something new about the group that Daven Monstrang belonged to.

“Of course they are. The Four Saints are the one who made North America a free nation for yōkai. Without them, this place would be under control of one of the greater yōkai clans. It’s only natural they would be well-known figures in our world,” Christine said as if that was obvious.

Our world. Kevin didn’t think that term could apply to yōkai anymore, not with the war between humanity and yōkai that was happening worldwide. He didn’t say anything, though, because he understood what she meant.

“Heya, Christine!” A man waved at her as they walked by his stall. “I saw you leavin’ early this morning. Grabbing some new members for the community?”

“These three aren’t new members, Gramps. They’re here on business.”

The man laughed. He was an old man with wrinkles lining his face, especially around his eyes and mouth. It was hard to determine his age, especially since he wasn’t human. Wearing a baggy white shirt and tan pants, his large round ears twitched on his head. Kevin couldn’t see a tail behind him, but he assumed it was a shorter one, since this person was a kuma.

Kuma were bear yōkai. Also known as Onikuma, the name itself was derived from a combination of “oni,” which meant demon, and “kuma,” which was the Japanese word for bear. Among the middle-tier of yōkai, they were one of the more physically powerful species. They were also known for their fierce tempers, though this old man seemed quite mellow, perhaps because of his age.

“So I see,” the Onikuma said, his eyes landing on Kevin.

The air suddenly grew tense. Choked. Kevin could feel the animosity pouring from the Onikuma, whose glare was fierce enough to melt through steel.

“A human?” The Onikuma’s harsh glare looked almost lethal. “You let a human inside of our sanctuary?”

A crowd gathered around them, surrounding the group. When they heard the Onikuma mention that Kevin was human, mutters broke out.

“A human? Here?”

“What’s a human doing in our home?”

“We should kill him before he can inform his friends!”

Kevin felt his muscles tense. The hairs on his neck prickled as the hostility directed at him reached a peak. His instincts screamed at him, telling him to pull out his guns and unload a barrage of bullets into the yōkai around him.

Lilian and Iris also sensed the hatred. They moved on either side of him, as if to protect him from the glares. Likewise, Christine moved, standing in front of him, protecting him from the Onikuma’s glare and returning it with a vicious one of her own.

“You would protect this filthy monkey?” the old Onikuma’s voice was a low, hate-filled growl.

The air around Christine grew warm as her lips peeled back to reveal pearly white teeth. Kevin actually felt heat waves searing his face, causing him to break out into a sweat. For just one second, he also thought he saw two triangular objects on Christine’s head. However, when he blinked, they weren’t there.

Am I hallucinating? And what’s with this heat?

“Nyou would dare insult Kevin?” Christine voice sounded like the angry hissing of a cat. “You, who doesn’t even knyow the first thing about him, would insult this person?”

The Onikuma took an unconscious step backwards. He seemed to hesitate for a moment, but he soon returned to glaring at Christine.

“That boy is a human. They’re the entire reason this war started. Because of them, we’ve been driven out of our homes! Our lives have been destroyed because of humans like him!”

Christine’s glare became, surprisingly, even more angry. She looked ready to claw the Onikuma’s face off. Kevin thought he saw her nails becoming sharper.

She would never get the chance, however.

Because a sphere of compressed light suddenly struck the Onikuma in the face.

“Gya!” The bear yōkai screamed as he held his hands to his face, thrashing around like an injured beast. “My eyes! They burn!”

“Don’t you dare insult my beloved,” Lilian said in a voice that was astonishingly cold, especially for her. “You don’t even know the first thing about him.”

“We don’t need to know the first thing about him!” someone in the crowd shouted.

“Yeah! He’s a human! That’s all we need to know!”

“Every human deserves to die!”

The crowd enclosed around them. Kevin, Lilian, Iris, and Christine stood back to back. Red and black tails bristled, ice grew from pale hands, and Kevin pondered pulling out his guns. He didn’t want this to turn into a fight. They weren’t here for that. But as he looked at the yōkai surrounding them, he knew that a fight may very well be in store.

“What is going on here?”

The earth stood still. A voice, one carrying both age and wisdom with it, rose over the din, froze everybody in place.

The crowd parted and man walked through. He looked old, frail even, yet he moved with an unusual grace and carried himself with confidence. His bald head shone in the light. His eyes were squinted shut, but that didn’t seem to hinder him, and he steadily observed everyone in the vicinity, making them squirm.

Baggy brown pants ruffled as he walked. He was barefoot, but that didn’t seem to bother him. His short-sleeved red shirt was skin tight, partially concealed by a black cloak, but still revealing his somewhat emaciated frame. A strange furry rope was tied across his waist.

“Does anyone care to explain what’s going on?” the man asked. Even though his voice sounded old and frail, Kevin detected a strength within it, something that went beyond mere appearance and age.

No one spoke for a long moment. Everyone shifted uncomfortably as heads were lowered in shame. Even Christine looked away from the old man, her body language conveying vulnerability.

“These people insulted my beloved.” Lilian didn’t seem affected like everyone else. That, or she was so upset that she could shrug off the old man’s presence.

“Your ‘beloved’, eh?” the old man mumbled, rubbing his cheek as he studied the redhead. “Hm…”

Kevin clenched his fist, resisting the urge to punch the man’s face in, when he saw the old man staring at Lilian’s chest.

“Che, too big,” the old man muttered.

“E-eh?” Lilian didn’t understand.

“Your chest is way too big. You should be flatter, like my lovely Christine over there.”

And just like that, the entire aura that the old man had been exuding suddenly vanished, much like a candle being snuffed out after having a bucket of water dumped on it.

“Freaking perv!”

Christine decked the old man in the face, which seemed to cave in under her powerful punch. Everyone watched as the old man was sent soaring. He flew through the air like a rocket, crashing into several stalls, which exploded, sending food and other items flying everywhere.

“Ha… ha… ha… ha…”

Christine breathed heavily for several moments. Her face was flushed a surprising red. Kevin didn’t think her cheeks had ever been that color. She normally turned blue when she blushed, which he’d assumed was due to her Yuki-Onna heritage.

Is something wrong with Christine?

“Still violent as ever, eh Tsun-tsun?” Iris asked, chuckling at the hard stare she received.

“Shut up, Skank. I’m not in the mood.”

Lilian had nothing to say.

“Hawa…”

So she said that.

***

Precisely fifteen minutes after Christine punched him, the old man introduced himself as Orin, the leader of this small community, which had been dubbed New Genbu.

He then invited Lilian and Iris to try out New Genbu’s hotspring, which he said were famous for its healing properties. Neither of them had enjoyed a hot spring in a long time, and while it wasn’t mixed bathing day—which this hot spring apparently did have—they were both eager to relax a little bit. Christine had decided to join them after some cajoling.

“I have to make sure that perv doesn’t try anything,” she declared solemnly. “You wouldn’t know it from looking at him, but that old man is more wily than a monkey and a thousand times more lecherous than Eric.”

Of course, it was unlikely that Lilian or Iris had to worry since this man was obviously a lolicon from the way he’d commented on wanting a woman like Christine.

The hot spring main building had been carved into a mountainous boulder. While the outside maintained the shape of a giant rock, the inside seemed like a semi-modern set of changing rooms. wooden floorboards squeaked as Lilian walked on them. She moved over to a several cubby holes set into the wall. There were no lockers, it seemed.

Grabbing her green off-the-shoulder shirt, Lilian lifted the clothing over her head. Her breasts bounced as they sprang free, no longer confined by the shirt. Next came her shorts and panties, which she slid out of before folding up and putting in the cubby hole, and then she took off her shoes. Finally, she grabbed a towel from off a rack, which she began to wrap around her—

“Kya!”

—the towel fell to the floor as a set of hands snaked underneath her armpits and squeezed her breasts.

There was only one person who had the audacity to do such a thing.

“I-Iris!”

“Uhuhuhu,” Iris’s lecherous old man chuckles filled the air. “You do not know how long I’ve been waiting for this. We haven’t been to a hot spring since volume 5. I feel like this chance would never come again.”

“I’m—ah! I’m happy you’re so excited—ahn!” Lilian moaned and squirmed as Iris’ fingers worked wonders on her nipples. “B-but could you ple—oh!—please stop now!”

“Hmph. Fine, but only because I love you.”

Christine glanced over at Lilian and Iris before shaking her head in disgust. “I can’t believe you’re actually letting her grope you like that.”

Lilian actually blushed a little. “W-well, she is my sister and stuff, so…”

“That makes it even more wrong!”

“Now, now, there’s nothing wrong with a little skinship between sisters, Tsun-tsun,” Iris’s voice came from behind Christine seconds before a pair feminine hands cupped her small bosom. Christine’s frightened squeak turned into a stifled moan as skilled fingers rubbed her nipples through the fabric of her towel.

“W-w-what are you—”

Dissension was silenced when Iris leaned into Christine, pressing her breasts against the smaller girls back and nibbling on her ear. The yuki-Onna bit her lip to stifle the erotic noises that wanted to escape. She looked disgusted at herself for even releasing a moan. Lilian watched on, rubbing her thighs together in spite of herself.

I blame Iris for this. If it wasn’t for her, I wouldn’t be so aroused.

Lilian liked men—well, she liked a man. Kevin. She didn’t like other men. That being said, Lilian was positive that she was a heterosexual female who didn’t get turned on at the sight of women. Sure, Iris could make her aroused, but her sister could make straight women turn gay. That was just how erotic she really was—it helped that Lilian, as a kitsune, was drawn to beauty, and she had always considered her sister to be the epitome of that word.

Despite her knowing that she didn’t find females attractive, the sight of Iris teasing the porcelain-skinned, doll-like Christine made Lilian really hot and bothered.

It must be the setting, she concluded.

Hot springs: The place where all erotic scenes happened in shōnen manga.

“DAMN IT! THAT IS ENOUGH!”

Christine finally had enough. After using her ice powers to freeze Iris solid, she rushed into the hot springs, the towel fluttering behind her. Lilian sighed and, after grabbing Iris with her tails, entered the hot springs as well.

They were natural hot springs. Unlike some of the man made ones she’d been in while living in the US, this hot spring came from geothermally heated groundwater. Surrounding the large hot spring, which had been sliced in half by a fence made of wood, were numerous large boulders. The variety of trees and plants interspersed throughout the spring made Lilian feel like she’d stepped into a jungle.

Sinking into the hot water, Lilian rested her back against a smooth rock and sighed. It really had been a long time since she’d soaked in the tub. Kevin preferred showers because they were quicker, and he didn’t like wasting water or spending more money. While she loved her beloved, she wished he wouldn’t be so frugal.

A splash to her left alerted her to Christine, who sat down several feet from her.

“You and Kevin have grown even closer than before.” It wasn’t a question. “I didn’t think that was possible.”

Lilian smiled as she thought of Kevin. She wished he was in the hot spring with her.

“Kevin is an accepting person. It’s only natural that he and I would grow closer.”

She knew how hard it was for Kevin to accept some of her more eccentric kitsune traits, especially when it came to matters of intimacy. He had been taught that relationships were between two people only, and that matters like same sex relationships and incest were wrong. 

Kitsune didn’t have those hang ups. Perhaps it was due to their longevity, or maybe it was just because kitsune were derived from foxes, and thus they didn’t recognize these issues as being morally wrong but, whatever the case may have been, matters like incest and same sex relationships weren’t a big deal to them.

Incest was common among yōkai. There many yōkai, kitsune and otherwise, who practiced incest to keep their bloodlines strong. This was especially big for clans with powerful elemental affinities. Even the Pnevma Clan practiced it. Ivy, Holly’s daughter, was actually the result of a mating arrangement between Holly and a second cousin from a branch clan. There were many other such instances, with that one simply being the most recent.

Besides, Lilian thought to herself, at least we’re not like Aster and Azalea.

Christine looked down at the placid waters. “I really do envy you.”

Lilian blinked. That was random. “Where is this coming from?”

“I…” Christine’s cheeks turned an unusual color. Purple. A mixture of red and blue. How odd. “Ever since you and Kevin started dating—no, even before that, I envied how open you are. You always say exactly how you feel. I wish I could do that.”

Frowning at her friend’s depression, Lilian wrapped an arm around Christine’s shoulder and gently pulled the tiny girl into her bosom.

“I think you’re fine just the way you are,” Lilian said.

“Says the girl who stole Kevin’s heart,” Christine muttered bitterly.

Lilian didn’t flinch, but she did feel a little guilty. She also felt really bad for Lindsay, who’d been lovesick for Christine for a while now. Of course, she’d already known that her Yuki-Onna friend was straight and nothing would ever happen between her and Lindsay, but she still felt bad.

Maybe I should test the waters a bit.

“What about Lindsay?” Lilian tried to sound casual.

Christine frowned at her like she’d said something completely irrelevant. “What about her?”

“Didn’t you and she kiss?”

“Wh-w-w-where did you hear that?!” Christine’s shrill cry echoed.

“Where do you think?” asked a now thawed Iris. Unlike Lilian and Christine, the raven-haired vixen stood underneath a miniature waterfall, luxuriating in the feel of hot water caressing her body from above. “Lindsay told us all about your passionate makeout session at the airport.”

Poof! Christine’s face exploded with color. The water also began to grow warmer.

“I-I-I-I—that’s not—we didn’t—”

“There’s no use denying it.” Iris grinned like a cat that had a rat trapped between its paws. She walked out from underneath the waterfall and walked toward Christine. “We heard all about it. Every. Single. Dirty. Detail.” By the time Iris had finished speaking, drawing out each syllable with sensual overtones that would’ve put any man in a coma, she and Christine were nose and nose.

Dark crimson eyes stared into frightened blues. Christine’s face looked ready to explode. For some reason, while the water was continuously increasing in temperature, the air seemed to have become ice cold. Lilian shivered as she ducked into the water.

“What’s wrong?” Iris asked Christine, whose eyes seemed to swirl around inside of her head. “There’s no reason to be embarrassed. I don’t mind if you swing that way. I’m rather partial to women myself—well, I’m partial to Lily, but it amounts to more or less the same thing.” Lowering her voice into an erotic whisper, Iris continued prodding the Yuki-Onna. “Come on, just admit it, you like Lindsay. You want have passionate, raunchy lesbian sex with her. You—”

Was about as far as she got before Christine exploded into violence.

Tsundere Protocols activated.

“DIE!”

“Woah!”

Fire erupted from Christine’s left hand as she swung it at Iris, who leapt backwards, out of the water, to avoid getting hit.

“What the heck? Fire?”

Christine stood within the water, fire covering her left hand and ice her right. With little ceremony, she tossed several icicles and fireballs at Iris, who was forced to leap off the boulder, which exploded.

“Is it just me, or have you gotten even more violent?” Iris asked.

Her answer was a fireball to the face. She ducked, going beneath the water’s surface.

“DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE!”

Lilian ignored the pair as Christine chased Iris around the hot spring. It looked like they were having fun, so she didn’t want to interfere.

The sound of a door sliding open drew Lilian’s attention away from the comedy routine. It had come from the other side of the fence.

Kevin?

Grinning, Lilian decided to pay Kevin a visit.

She was sure he would appreciate it.

***

Kevin wasn’t the first person to enter the male side of the hot springs.

He stared at the old man standing several yards away. Orin stood by the wall, pressing his hands against it and leaning over, his eyes attempting to drill a hole through it. Kevin had known Eric long enough to know what this man was trying to do.

“If you’re trying to peek on my mate and her sister, I am going to hurt you,” Kevin said as he stepped into the hot spring. The steamy water relaxed his muscles as he sank into it, causing him to groan in relief.

“Heh, is that so?” Orin muttered as he continued patting the wall. “I’d like to see that. A human trying to hurt me. How amusing.”

Kevin nearly gnashed his teeth at how easily this man dismissed him. He didn’t react outwardly, however. Both he and Orin knew that his threat had been nothing but him blowing smoke. Orin was a member of the Four Saints, one of the four most powerful yōkai in the United States. The idea of a single human defeating him, or even hurting him, was laughable.

“Tch!” Orin clucked his tongue. “It looks like someone decided to reinforce this with youki infused earth—and they set a trap to let them know when someone tries to break through using youki.”

“Sounds like some of the girls here are onto to you,” Kevin chuckled.

“This is only a minor set back,” Orin said, though mostly to himself. “Such minor setbacks will not be enough to stop a man of my power and tenacity.”

As Orin stood there, hands on his hips, looking off into the distance with eyes composed of steel, Kevin sighed.

Great, it’s a bigger, pervier version of Eric. This is just what I need.

The man turned around again, and that’s when Kevin saw it. His tail. It uncoiled from around the man’s waist, making him realize that what he’d initially thought was an accessory was actually an animal appendage. Long and flexible, Kevin recognized it as a monkey tail.

Saru. In Japanese, the word meant “monkey,” and it signified what Orin was—a monkey yōkai. Little was known about monkey yōkai, as they were exceptionally uncommon. The most well-known monkey yōkai was, in fact, Sun Wukong, the legendary Monkey King from the Chinese classical novel, Journey to the West. If one were to go purely by what was known about Sun Wukong, then Saru may very well be some of the most versatile and powerful yōkai in the world.

According to legend, Sun Wukong possessed an immense amount of strength; he was able to lift his 17,550 lb staff with ease. He was also extremely fast, capable of traveling 34,000 miles in one somersault. Sun knew 72 transformations, which allowed him to transform into various animals and objects. Sun Wukong was also said to be a skilled fighter, able to hold his own against the best warriors of heaven. Each of his hairs possessed magical properties, capable of being transformed into clones of the Monkey King himself, and/or into various weapons, animals, and other objects. He also knew spells to control wind, water, conjure protective circles against demons, and freeze humans, demons, and gods alike. In all regards, Sun Wukong was a god amongst yōkai.

He was also the inspiration for a popular shōnen manga.

Orin grinned as he hopped onto the wall… and stuck there. Kevin blinked, unsure as to whether he was seeing things or not. Orin, defying gravity itself, stood on the wall and walked up until he reached the edge. After which he grabbed onto the ledge, then lifted himself up to peek over the side.

“All right, pretty ladies. It’s time to… eh?”

Two sets of eyes stared at each other: Brilliant emerald and squinty black. Lilian and Orin gazed at each other in surprise for what felt like hours.

Then Orin looked down.

“Hm, they’re still too big, but you have very nice nipples.”

Faced with this unprecedented situation, Lilian did the only thing she could think of.

“YOU PERVERT!”

She smacked him with a reinforced tail. Hard.

***

The room was small. Possessing little in the way of decoration, Kevin would even go so far as to call it barren. The floor was made, not of wood or carpet, but of grass. And while the walls were composed of wood, that was only because this room had been built within a tree. Nothing else existed in this place, except for a few cushions, upon which he and the others sat.

Orin sat before them on several large cushions—the most extravagant objects in this room. They were arranged in such a way that Orin could lounge on them like an indulgent old man, or maybe even an arrogant emperor. Perhaps he would have looked similar to one of those two people-types, but the gigantic bruise over his right eye, which had swelled to the point where his eye was no longer visible, ruined that particular effect.

“So,” Orin started, blowing puffs of smoke from his mouth, an ornately carved pipe held in his left hand, “Kuroneko spent a great deal of effort in locating me. She wouldn’t have done so unless she had an excellent reason. That woman is not one to waste time.” He shifted to get more comfortable. After drawing from his pipe, smoke blowing out of his nose, he continued. “I am guessing the reason she sent you all this way is because she has a request that she would like to make of me, yes?”

“Actually, the one who made the original request was Daven Monstrang, not Kuroneko.”

“Ah.”

Even though Orin looked relaxed, Kevin sensed a certain tension wafting from the monkey yōkai, like he’d overworked his muscles and forgot to stretch.

“So… the old drac wants something from me, does he?” No longer the perverted old man, Orin’s smile turned mirthless. “If it is coming from Daven Monstrang, I can only guess that he wants to gather the Four Saints together and have us join forces once more.”

Kevin and Lilian shifted in their seat. A glance out of his peripheral revealed that Iris wasn’t uncomfortable like them, but he hadn’t expected her to be. Iris didn’t care about what was happening. She was here because Lilian and he were here. Christine was impassive, though her shoulders sagged a little.

Shaking his head, Kevin focused back on Orin. “That’s right. Daven Monstrang is of the opinion that, in order to present a stronger front in this war, one that can stand up to the United States Army and the Yamata Alliance, the Four Saints must come together again.”

“Of course he is.” Orin’s chuckle was condescending. “And I’m guessing he wants to pretend he’s our leader again. No doubt, he would like nothing more than to order us around and get on our case when we don’t follow his ideals.”

Kevin tensed. “I’m sure that’s not—”

“What’s more,” Orin raised his voice which, despite his old appearance, boomed with power and authority, “he not only doesn’t have the guts to come here himself, but he sent younglings to do it for him. Two young kitsune and a human boy. Does the man have no respect? Has he forgotten that it was I, Orin, heir to he who controls the west, that originally founded the Four Saints? The arrogance!”

Orin slammed a hand onto the ground. Abrasions appeared underneath his palm as the earth was split.

“This monkey shall never bow before that foolish young drake.” Orin smiled, but it wasn’t one of mirth, and instead possessed nothing but outrage. “Be sure to tell him that when you leave tomorrow morning.”

***

“I’m really sorry about that old perv,” Christine said as Kevin and Lilian set out their sleeping mat.

They’d been granted a place to stay the night. It wasn’t much, just a tiny tree hut with a single room like the one Orin spoke with them in. There was even less in this room than in that monkey’s room. It had been provided to them as a courtesy, but they didn’t have any furniture. The only reason he, Lilian, and Iris even had a place to sleeping mat was because they’d come prepared.

Extra Dimensional Storage Spaces really were awesome.

“It’s fine,” Lilian said as Kevin knelt down and straightened the mat out. “You’re not responsible for what happened.”

While Kevin and Lilian set up the mat, Iris lounged on her side, looking for all the world like an empress waiting for her man servants to tend to her. Christine stood beside him and Lilian, watching as they worked, her tiny fists clenched.

“I-I know that,” Christine said, looking away with blue cheeks and a scowl. “B-but still…”

“Lilian is right,” Iris interrupted. “That old fart is the one at fault. You have nothing to apologize for, so don’t. It’s not really in your character concept to apologize anyway.”

Christine frowned at the girl’s comment, but she clearly remembered enough of Iris’—and Lilian’s—odd personality traits to shrug it off.

“Whatever. I’m not apologizing because I feel responsible. I just felt like someone should since that old pervert won’t.”

“Thank you, Christine.” Kevin sent the girl a gentle smile. “I appreciate the sentiment, though I do agree with Lilian and Iris. This isn’t something for you to apologize over.”

Christine looked down at her feet, covered by black slippers. She drew several circles in the grass, her cheeks, already quite colored, gaining more depth.

“O-okay,” she whispered. “I-if you say so… then I guess I have no choice.”

Kevin finished spreading out the mat, then Lilian laid the blanket on top of it—a large fleece blanket that was oh so soft. He and Lilian had spent many hours under this very blanket, playing video games, watching anime, or reading manga on their new tablet. Iris joined them occasionally, too, but that was only when she wanted to seduce them or cuddle.

“There, all done,” Kevin said.

“Great!” Iris cheered, darting underneath the covers before anyone else. She roamed around inside before sticking her head out. One of her tails also popped out and beckoned Kevin and Lilian. “Come on, you two. Warm me up, would you?”

“In a minute,” Lilian said. “I wanted to show Christine my manga panels first.”

“Manga panels?” Christine blinked.

“Ufufufu, that’s right.” Lilian puffed up her chest. “I’m making a manga. I wouldn’t show you before, but I’m more confident as an artist now. I’ve evolved. Come on, I’ll show you.”

As Lilian dragged Christine off to a corner of the room, Iris pouted. Huffing to herself, the raven-haired vixen turned her attention to Kevin, giving him a coy look.

“How about you, Stud? Won’t you come into my bed and warm me up?”

“You mean my bed,” Kevin sighed. “I’m the one who bought it.”

“Semantics.” Iris waved his words off with an indulgent wave of her hand. “We’re family. What’s mine is mine and what’s yours is also mine.”

“That doesn’t even make any sense!”

“Sure it does. You just have to look at things from my perspective.”

“So, you’re saying I should put myself into the shoes of a narcissistic young woman? I don’t know if I can do that.”

“Cute. Your comebacks have gotten much better.” Iris held open the blanket and patted the spot beside her. “Now, come here. Lilian’s gonna be talking Tsun-tsun’s ear off for a while, and I don’t want to sleep alone.”

It was true. Once Lilian got into her manga, which she’d become confident enough to show people now, it would be hours before she stopped showing off. Not that she didn’t have a reason to show off. Her manga illustrations were quite good. But, whenever she got like this, not even Kevin could bring her back.

Since Kevin was also tired, he slowly crawled underneath the covers with Iris. She grinned at him and, after he laid his head down on the large pillow they’d brought, Iris curled up against him and was soon asleep. Wrapping an arm around the girl, allowing her warm body to lull him, Kevin closed his eyes and listened to his mate talk Christine’s ear off until sleep took him as well.

Lilian wouldn’t even realize that he and Iris had gone to  without her for another hour.

Step-by-Step Guide to Sideload EPUB Files Purchased from Shopify onto Kindle

Amazon now supports EPUB files on Kindle, but you need to send them through Send to Kindle or convert them. Follow these steps to get your EPUB books on your Kindle.

Method 1: Send to Kindle (Recommended)

Amazon now allows you to send EPUB files directly to your Kindle via email or the Send to Kindle app.

Step 1: Find Your Kindle Email Address

Go to Amazon → Manage Your Content & Devices (Link).

Click the Devices tab.

Select your Kindle device and note the "Send-to-Kindle Email" (e.g., yourname@kindle.com).

Step 2: Send EPUB to Kindle via Email

Open your email client (Gmail, Outlook, etc.).

Compose a new email to your Send-to-Kindle Email.

Attach the EPUB file you purchased.

Send the email. Amazon will convert it and deliver it to your Kindle.

Alternative: Use the "Send to Kindle" App

Download the Send to Kindle App (PC, Mac).

Drag and drop the EPUB file into the app.

Select your Kindle and send it.

Method 2: USB Transfer (For Advanced Users)

This method requires converting the EPUB to Kindle’s MOBI or AZW3 format.

Step 1: Convert EPUB to MOBI or AZW3

Download Calibre (Link).

Open Calibre and add your EPUB file.

Click Convert books → Choose MOBI or AZW3 as the output format.

Click OK to convert.

Step 2: Transfer to Kindle via USB

Connect your Kindle to your PC/Mac using a USB cable.

Open the Kindle folder in File Explorer (Windows) / Finder (Mac).

Drag and drop the converted file into the Documents folder.

Eject your Kindle, and your book will appear in your library.

Bonus: Use a Third-Party App

Apps like Send to Kindle for Android/iOS or Readwise Reader can also sync EPUBs to Kindle.

Now, enjoy your book on Kindle! 📖🔥