A Fox's Family (8 page)

“Now
then, apprentice, I believe it is time for me to teach you my first
lesson.”

Eric
somehow managed to look incredulous. “What? Now?”

“No
time like the present.”

Eric
looked behind him at the horde of outraged high school girls, and
then back at his new master.

“Um,
okay. So, uh, what’s this lesson you want to teach me?”

Heather
nodded, pleased to see someone so receptive to her teachings.
“Whenever you are being hunted by a mob of angry women, you
never have to outrun the mob. You just have to outrun the person next
to you.”

“Huh?”

Before
he could decipher that statement, Heather stuck her foot out and Eric
suddenly found himself eating pavement. Ignoring the pain, he looked
up at the blonde woman, who grinned and winked at him, before hauling
butt out of there.

And
then the horde was upon him.

“Now
we’ve got you!”

“Don’t
think we’re going to let you get away with this!”

“You
damn pervert! DIE!”

Eric’s
shrill screams echoed across the campus.

***

Lilian
sat on the bleachers, waiting for her mate’s track meet to
begin.

All
around her people spoke with increasingly rising volume. Having so
many people talking at once, all of them trying to be heard over the
other, caused her eardrums to hurt something fierce. While her ears
weren’t as sensitive as a dog’s, they were still better
than human ears.

Her
“Go Beloved!”
sign
was conspicuously absent. She would have brought it with her, but
didn’t know where it was anymore. She had asked Kevin, but he’d
just looked away and said that she must have misplaced it or
something.

“But
I know I didn’t misplace it,”
Lilian
muttered to herself, frowning. “I could have sworn I had it in
my Extra Dimensional Storage Space. That’s where I put all of
my paraphernalia.”

“Lilian?”

Turning
to the speaker, Lilian saw Lindsay sit next to her.

“Hey,
Lindsay! I didn’t realize you would be here, too!”
Lilian
greeted her friend cheerfully. She then saw who else was with the
tomboy and her face went flat. “Christine. What are you doing
here? Don’t you prefer hanging out in your cave to being
surrounded by people?”

“I’m
not a vampire!”
Christine
growled. “And I’m here because, because I…
I—w-well
it’s because…”

“She’s
here to support Kevin,”
Lindsay
answered for her friend.

“Right.”
Christine
nodded. “I’m here to support Ke-Ke-Ke―no I’m
NOT! W-w-w-why the hell would I support that jerk?! H-he’s
nothing but a loathsome, foolish little prick who's too taken in with
big tits to notice when there’s someone else much better
for―I-I-I mean he’s an idiot!”

As
Christine’s tsundere protocols activated, causing her to
sputter out her usual diatribe, Lindsay continued talking. “That’s
also why I’m here. You didn’t think I’d be willing
to miss my friend’s last track meet, did you? My support might
not mean as much to him as yours does, but I still want to support my
friend.”

Lilian
smiled at the tomboyish blond. It was hard to believe that she’d
hated this girl as little as one month ago. “I’m sure
Kevin will appreciate your support. He still cherishes your
friendship a lot, and I know he appreciates you.”
She
paused, her eyes flickering from Lindsay to Christine, and then back
again. “By the way, I’ve noticed that you and Christine
have been spending a lot more time together. What’s up with
that?”

“Ah.
Well…”
Lilian
blinked. Was it just her, or was Lindsay blushing? “I just sort
of thought she could use a friend, you know? Christine is so rude and
abrasive.”

“Who’s
abrasive?!”

“And
she’s always scaring people away because she scowls so much.”

“I
do not scowl!”

“And
she’s really, uh, what’s the word I’m looking for?
It’s the one you used a while ago…”

“Tsundere?”
Lilian
supplied.

Lindsay
snapped her fingers. “That’s the one. She’s really
tsundere.”

“I
AM NOT TSUNDERE!”

Lilian
and Lindsay stared at Christine, who squirmed under their deadpan
looks.

“W-what
are you two staring at? I’m not tsundere.”

“You
are totally tsundere.”

“Completely
tsundere.”

“So
tsundere you make Taiga look like a kuudere.”

Lindsay
stared at the redhead. “Who the heck is Taiga?”

“No
one you would know.”
Waving
her right hand in the air, Lilian got back on track. “Anyway,
you were saying something about Christine? I think you were telling
me why you’re spending so much time with her or something?”

“Don’t
talk about me like I’m not even here!”

“Right.
It’s sort of like, even though she acts all rude and stuff,
Christine is still a really good person, you know? I-I mean…”
Lilian
noticed that, indeed, Lindsay was actually blushing. “I think
she’s really kind of cool and nice once you get to know her,
and her clothing is really pretty. Totally wouldn’t wear them
myself. Never in a million years. But, still pretty.”

Lilian
stared at her friend and her…
not-friend
with the observant gaze of someone trying to solve a puzzle.

“You…
are
you two into each other?”

“WHAT?!”
Christine
shot to her feet. “I am not into Lindsay! She’s just a
friend! A FRIEND! I am completely straight and in love with―”
Her
eyes widened. She looked at the kitsune and the tomboy, who were
giving her strange looks.

“Are
you telling me that even though Kevin and I are now dating, you still
have a crush on him?”
Lilian
shook her head. “That’s…
shouldn’t
you try and, I don’t know, find someone else?”
she
asked, not condescendingly, but out of honest curiosity. “I
don’t mean to be rude, but Kevin is my mate, and he’s
finally returning my feelings. There’s nothing on this entire
planet that could ever take him away from me.”
There
was a very brief pause as Lilian tilted her head. “And I don’t
think Kevin wants to take the harem route, so you’re kinda out
of luck there, too.”

Christine’s
face morphed into an icy shade of blue. This time, it wasn’t
because she felt embarrassed, but because she was angry.

“Just
because he’s yours now doesn’t mean he’ll stay with
you forever. He’s a fifteen year old boy. They’re prone
to falling in and out of love every other week.”

Lilian
shook her head. “You don’t understand anything.”

Christine’s
eyes narrowed. “And what am I supposed to understand?”

“It
would take way too long to explain, and I don’t feel like
repeating information that was already in the last book.”

Christine
and Lindsay blinked.

“What?”
Lindsay
looked nonplussed.

“The
hell are you talking about?”
a
flabbergasted Christine asked.

“Let’s
just enjoy watching my mate beat everyone here, okay?”
Lilian
ignored her friends’
questions,
smiling at them before turning back to the track field.

The
meet was about to begin.

***

Coach
Deretaine marched in front of Kevin and the others, back straight,
chest out and hands clasped behind his back. He reminded Kevin of a
military sergeant about to drill his troops.

“Okay
brats, listen up! This is the big one. The last track meet of the
year. We’ve done well so far. This year we’ve had more
success than any other year. However! I don’t want any of you
to become complacent just yet. Just because we’ve done well
doesn’t mean we can afford to become lax. I expect all of you
to give twice the effort today that you’ve given for every
other day…”

Kevin
zoned out as Coach Deretaine continued his spiel. He’d heard
this speech, or others similar enough, so many times that he could
have probably quoted it by heart.

His
gaze traveled to the bleachers. Even without her banner, spotting
Lilian amongst the crowd was simple. All he had to do was look for
her vibrant red hair. She was sitting with Lindsay and Christine,
which brought a smile to his face. It was nice to know that his
friends had come to support him.

“Swift!”

Kevin
focused back on his coach.

“Yes,
Coach?”

Coach
Deretaine stared at Kevin, his eyes harder than diamonds. “You
can make googly eyes with your girlfriend later. Right now I need you
to stay focused. I’ll be counting on you out there.”

Several
giggles broke out amongst the female track members. Kevin blushed.
“R-right.”

“All
right!”
Coach
Deretaine barked. “Let’s shows these pansies who’s
top dog around here!”

“OORAH!”

The
track meet soon started. As per the usual, women’s hurdles was
the first competition. Kevin and his friends sat down on the bench
and observed the girls while they raced. He ignored the comments from
his friends about which girl’s boobs bounced the most and
instead focused on his own thoughts.

Perhaps
not so surprisingly, most of his thoughts were centered around a
certain fox-girl and what they would do after this track meet. He
didn’t know what the plan was, but Lilian had apparently
prepared something special for him.

“
Ufufufu,
I would wish you luck, but I know you don’t need it. You should
also know that I have something fun planned for us after your track
meet. Please look forward to it, ufufufu.”
As
Lilian giggled in the middle of the hallway, several people who were
standing next to them began slowly backing away.

Those
had been her words right before the track meet. He assumed she had
made plans for some kind of celebration and had asked Kotohime to
gather ingredients for a feast, which explained why the
maid-slash-bodyguard wasn’t present.

On
a side note, even though Kevin loved Lilian, he still thought her
laugh was creepy.

“All
right, Swift! Chase! You two are up! Show those lousy, good for
nothing bastards who's boss!”

Kevin
sighed at his coach’s potty mouth and stood up. He and Chase
made it to the track field, where several other runners also stood,
waiting for the race to begin.

“I’ve
got nothing to say to you,”
Chase
told Kevin as he stretched. “You might have gotten a lot faster
somehow, but I’m still going to beat you.”

“I
thought you had nothing to say.”

“Tch!”

Everyone
got into position. Kevin knelt down, eyes and mind focused on his
goal with laser-point precision. His breathing slowed and his mind
became calm. This was the last track meet of the season, so he wanted
to make it count.

A
gunshot rang out. Kevin blasted off the ground and tore across the
track. He pushed the muscles in his legs. Harder. Faster. His arms
swung, his legs strained, his chest tightened. The world around him
blurred.

80
meters…

Several
people tried catching up to him. Kevin saw them out of his peripheral
vision.

60
meters…

Kevin
ran faster. Pushed himself harder. He wouldn’t be beaten here!

35
meters…

The
world came to a crawl. Time seemed to slow down. Several people on
either side of him tried to race ahead, but he refused to let them
pass him.

5
meters…

His
chest became unbearably tight. His breathing turned ragged. His lungs
burned like never before as he rushed across those last five meters.

And
then it was over.

***

Lost
in her own euphoria, Lilian had completely forgotten herself.

“WHOO!
Way to go, Beloved!”

She
stood on the bleacher to better see her mate run the one- and
two-hundred meter dash, watching as he blitzed past his fellow
runners. A few people kept pace, but it wasn’t long before
Kevin pushed himself harder, slowly widening the gap between him and
everyone else.

Sitting
on the bleachers beside her, Lindsay watched her with a face that
seeped amusement. Christine just looked repulsed.

“Ugh,
could you shut up and sit down?”
The
Yuki-Onna groused. “Seriously, fox-skank, everyone’s
staring at us.”

Lilian
cast a mild glare at the goth tsun-loli. “Then don’t sit
near me. I don’t care about these people or what they think. My
mate is out there doing something he loves doing, and I am going to
show my support whether you like it or not.”

“W-whatever,”
Christine
scowled, but didn’t say anything else. Lindsay shook her head.

The
tomboy had noticed the distinct differences in personality between
Lilian and Christine—aside from the whole “tsundere”
issue,
which she still didn’t really get. Lilian was bright, cheerful,
and always looking forward to each new day with excitement.
Christine, in contrast, was kind of dark, easily irritated, and
generally anti-social. Perhaps that explained why Lindsay had been so
surprised to discover that Christine, for all her irritable behavior,
was actually really nice.

“Ah,
there you are!”
a
voice with a horribly fake Spanish accent said. Lilian’s body
shuddered from head to tails. “My
Preciosa
de Flor
!
How I’ve missed you these past few moons!”

Lilian
turned around, Lindsay and Christine following her gaze. Several
seats up stood the weirdest-looking boy Lindsay had ever seen. He had
large, pompadour style hair and wore what appeared to be a matador
costume. The neon pink and obnoxious blue of his outfit contrasted
horribly with his bright blond hair and olive colored skin. He looked
like a Spanish bullfighter who had picked a fight with a tie dye
filled spray hose and lost.

“Not
you again,”
Lilian
groaned.

Juan
ignored her. “My dear, my love, my sweet
más
bella flor de loto
!”

“Would
you stop it with the internet-translated Spanish already!”
Lilian
paused to draw breath. “And I am not your love!”
Another
pause. “And for the love of Lord Inari, stop calling me flour!”