A Fox's Vacation (American Kitsune Book 5) Read online

  Written by Brandon Varnell

  Artwork by Kirsten Moody

  Edited by Crystal Holdefer

  Copyright © 2016 Brandon Varnell

  All rights reserved. In accordance with the U.S. Copyright act of 1976, the scanning, uploading and electronic sharing of any part of this book without the permission of the publisher is unlawful piracy and theft of the author's intellectual property. If you would like to use material from the book (other than for review purposes), prior written permission must be obtained by contacting the author.

  Thank you for your support of the author's rights.

  ISBN: 1535445572

  ISBN-13: 978-1535445573

  Dedication

  I owe a lot of people for helping me with my stories, either through their constant presence and personal support, or for supporting me by buying my books.

  My parents and family have been a huge help. My parents have always supported my goals, and my sister and her husband have done the same. My sister and brother-in-law have also recently blessed me with a niece, and on top of becoming an uncle, I've also become a Godfather. The responsibility of being a child's Godparent is large. I hope I can live up to their expectations and pay them back for the support they've given me.

  I also need to thank my readers. Though I'm sure all of you know this, I'd have never made it this far if it wasn't for you. Even during the bad times of my life, reading the comments and reviews that people who've read my stories have left me has motivated me to keep writing. I hope to do right by all of you by continuing to write enjoyable stories that bring a smile to your face.

  Thank you.

  Words you should know:

  Onigiri: Also known as o-musubi, nigirimeshi, or rice ball, it is a Japanese food made from white rice formed into triangular or cylinder shapes and often wrapped in nori.

  Kyūbi: A nine-tailed fox yōkai found in Asian mythology. The most popular telling about the kyūbi is the legend of the Bijuu.

  Ecchi: Often used slang term in the Japanese language for playfully sexual actions.

  Sanzu River: A Japanese Buddhist tradition and religious belief similar to the River Styx. It is believed that on the way to the afterlife, the dead must cross the river, which is why a Japanese funeral includes placing six coins in the deceased's casket.

  Nakama: The Japanese word for a very good friend. Calling someone your nakama is like telling someone you love them in a non-romantic way.

  Iaijutsu: A combative quick-draw sword technique.

  Shuten Dōji: A mythical oni leader who lived on Mt. Ooe of the Tamba Province between Kyoto and Tamba in Japan.

  Iaidō: A modern Japanese martial art and sport that emphasizes being aware and capable of quickly drawing the sword and responding to a sudden attack.

  Shotacon: Japanese slang describing an attraction to young boys.

  Bishōnen: A Japanese term literally meaning “beautiful youth” and describes an aesthetic that can be found in disparate areas in East Asia: a young man whose beauty (and sexual appeal) transcends the boundary of gender or sexual orientation.

  Bishie: A shortened derivative of Bishōnen.

  Yamato nadeshiko: Refers to a girl or shy young woman with “good” traits, which are perceived as being increasingly rare.

  seiza: The Japanese term for one of the traditional formal ways of sitting in Japan.

  CONTENT

  Chapter 1: Spring Break

  Chapter 2: The Cat Goes Nya

  Chapter 3: Road Trip

  Chapter 4: The Obligatory Hot Spring Chapter

  Chapter 5: Trouble When the Clock Strikes Twelve

  Chapter 6: Good Times at the Beach

  Chapter 7: Heartache

  Chapter 8: The Ocean Colored Red

  Chapter 9: Of Water, Illusions, and Light

  Chapter 10: Revelations and Shopping

  Chapter 11: The Turtle and the Bodyguard

  Chapter 12: Cats Love a Good Tale

  Chapter 13: Los Angeles Comic-Con

  Chapter 14: A Convention Stained Red

  Chapter 15: Remnants of a Painful Past

  Chapter 16: A Loss of Innocence

  Other books from the American Kitsune Series

  A Fox's Love

  A Fox's Tail

  A Fox's Maid

  A Fox's Family

  Chapter 1

  Spring Break

  She entered the room of her esteemed mistress. It looked a lot like an office. She wandered across the beige carpet, until she stood in front of a desk made from oak wood. Behind the desk sat her mistress, reading over and filing away documents, a no-nonsense expression on her face. Before this female, who’d built this village with her own two hands, she prostrated herself.

  “You summoned me, nya?”

  Her mistress didn’t even look up from her work. “I did. I have a job for you, one that I feel you are uniquely suited for.”

  She perked up. She was being given a job? This was an awfully rare occurrence. She was almost never selected for such tasks these days.

  “You are to locate and dispose of Lilian Pnév̱ma, who is living in Phoenix, Arizona.”

  Phoenix?!

  Cassy’s breath caught in her throat. Phoenix was where her last job had been! That particular mission, like most she’d taken, hadn’t ended very well, and thus, she’d been forced to return home, more disgraced than ever.

  If my mission is in Phoenix, then…

  “I have been very lenient with you, Cassy Belladonna. However, know this, should you become distracted by consorting with human children while on a mission again, your punishment will be much harsher than it was last time. Do you understand?”

  Cassy nodded emphatically. “Understood, nya.”

  “Then you are dismissed. You leave tomorrow morning, so pack your things and be ready before daybreak.”

  “Yes, Mistress, nya.”

  As Cassy left in surprisingly high spirits, she contemplated her next mission’s destination.

  Phoenix… I wonder if I’ll get to see Master again…

  ***

  Kevin Swift, Iris noticed, was a most unusual human. Maybe her perceptions of him were skewed, but there was something about him that seemed off to her.

  It was not his personality, nor was it his personal life. He did all of the things that she imagined a normal human boy would do: He went to school, hung out with friends, watched anime and read manga, worked at a part-time job, trained to become capable of fighting yōkai, and spent time with his supernatural girlfriend-slash-mate. While those last two things definitely weren't something ordinary human boys did, the facts remained the same. In all regards, Kevin Swift was an average human teenager.

  Except for one tiny difference. His unbending will.

  Iris didn’t know if this part of Kevin was something intrinsically connected to him, or if he was just odd. She only knew what she saw. Kevin’s determination, his will, his drive to succeed—these traits of his exceeded those of anyone else that she knew. All she had to do was remember the time when she’d tried to cast an enchantment on him. No regular human could have thrown off an enchantment like hers—standard enchantments maybe, but not hers.

  The Aura of Allure was a powerful technique. It was the strongest enchantment in her arsenal. Even three-tailed kitsune could not break it. She knew this. She’d tested it. For Kevin to break free of her enchantment with nothing but sheer willpower was nothing short of astounding.

  You could say it put him up a notch in her book. Just one, though.

  “Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait! Hold on! Timeout!” Alex made an x-sign with his arms as he stared at Kevin, his bulging eyes an
d slack-jawed mouth giving him an appearance that made Iris snort. “You’re telling me that you and Lilian still haven’t done the deed? Seriously? After all this time, nearly five months of dating, and you two haven’t fucked like rabbits in heat?”

  “The heck is that supposed mean?” Kevin mumbled as he ate. “And it’s foxes in heat.”

  “What?”

  “Never mind.”

  I still don’t know what she sees in him.

  Iris would admit, if only to herself, that Kevin was decently handsome. He wasn’t the best-looking guy at school, but he was cute in his own way. Tousled blond hair swayed as he ate, and eyes of the brightest blue stared at the world with an unusual sharpness, which hadn’t been there when they’d first met. Light tan skin, visible beneath his T-shirt and shorts, appeared to have been kissed by the sun.

  He’d put on a good deal of muscle, too. As she watched, Iris could see the way his arm flexed as he raised the chopsticks to his mouth.

  It was lunchtime. She, Kevin, Lilian, Lindsay, Christine, Justin, Alex, and Andrew were sitting around the stone table. Iris sat beside her sister, silently observing Kevin, whom she’d become fascinated by. She really wanted to see what made him tick.

  “Whatever, my point is that Lilian has offered herself to you, and you’re not doing anything about it. What kind of man are you? I can tell you right now that if I were in your position, I would have already shoved my hot, throbbing—”

  “All right, that’s enough out of you,” a red-faced Kevin said.

  The innocence that Kevin still displayed amused Iris. Sure, they hadn’t had sex yet, but he and Lily-pad had shared some passionate moments together. She should know, having spied on them often enough when they thought no one else was looking.

  Kevin continued. “Why are we even talking about this? My sex life really can’t be that interesting, can it?”

  Alex and Andrew shared a look. They were twins, but they looked nothing alike. Alex had brown hair while Andrew was a redhead. Andrew had a lot of freckles, but Alex had none. The only similarity was their height. Like her and Lilian, they were fraternal twins.

  “Considering you’re the only one among us who even has a sex life, I’d have to say yes. Yes, it is. None of the girls we’ve dated are willing to put out. You’ve got a girl who actually wants to do the horizontal mambo, but you’re not actually doing anything with her. Do you know how much that pisses me off?”

  “What he said,” Andrew added.

  “Did you ever think that maybe the whole reason no girl is willing to do anything with you is because they know you’re only looking for sex?” Kevin suggested. “And Lilian and I do plenty of things together that are, um, not meant for anyone else to know about.”

  “Oh, yeah? Like what?”

  Iris grinned when Kevin froze. “You walked into that one, Stud.”

  “Shut up,” he snapped at her before addressing his friends. “Lilian and I, well, we do lots of things together… things that are… um, you know…”

  “No, we don’t know. That’s why we’re asking.”

  “Ugh. R-right. W-well. Well!” Kevin tried to put on a confident front, but Iris could practically see the gears turning in the boy’s head. He was panicking. “That’s… it’s… how do you say…”

  Having heard the conversation from where she was speaking with Lindsay and Christine, Lilian helpfully interjected. “Kevin brought me to multiple orgasms last Saturday when we were taking a shower together.”

  “Right.” Kevin nodded. “I brought her to—LILIAN! You’re not supposed to tell anyone that!!”

  “Um… whoopsies. I forgot. Tee-hee.”

  Lilian bopped herself on the head and poked her tongue out. Her red hair swayed from the action, and eyes like emeralds peeked out from underneath her bangs. A green off-the-shoulder shirt showcased her slender shoulders, magnificent bosoms, and flat stomach. Jean shorts covered her small, shapely bottom and revealed her lean legs, which ended in a pair of delicate feet that were encased in gladiator sandals.

  What I wouldn’t give to kiss that stomach, or those legs. I’d even suck on her toes.

  “Don’t say that in such a cutesy tone!” Kevin barked. “And don’t make that pose! You’re not an anime character!”

  “Hawa.”

  “And don’t use your mom’s catchphrase!”

  He makes a surprisingly good tsukkomi.

  “Would this be a bad time to tell everyone that you were gnawing on my panties the other day?” Iris asked, her tone nonchalant.

  “Oh, shut up,” Kevin snapped. “I was not. You shoved those panties in my mouth while I was sleeping—and those weren’t your panties anyway. They were your mom’s panties. You don’t even wear panties!”

  Everyone stared at Kevin, who only realized what he’d said several seconds after he said it.

  “Uhuhuhu.” Iris’s grin became the epitome of devilish desire. She looked over at the fraternal twins and winked. “He knows me too well. Ev-ery-nook-and-cran-ny!”

  Andrew and Alex were both blown back by nosebleeds. They fell from their seats, blood gushing from their noses like a water hose gone out of control.

  “I-I-I-I do not! SHUT UP!”

  “Uhuhuhu… how cute,” Iris muttered. This boy was just too easy.

  “But seriously, you’ve changed a lot, man,” Andrew said, wiping the blood from his nose as he sat back down. “You used to be a total pansy.”

  “Guh!”

  “Biggest pansy I’ve ever seen,” Andrew agreed.

  “Urk!”

  “You were so completely pansified that you couldn’t even talk to girls without passing out.”

  “Gurk!”

  Iris watched in mild amusement as several arrows appeared seemingly out of nowhere and pierced the blond teen’s back. Lilian, being the good girlfriend that she was, carefully pulled each metaphorical shaft out and tossed them to the ground.

  “Do you guys really have to put it like that?” Kevin whined piteously.

  “Are you denying it?” Alex asked.

  “…”

  “Thought not. Face it, Kevin, you were a complete loser. Worse than those main protagonists who are all buff and badass, and then get turned into complete wimps because some chick with more estrogen than she knows what to do with got this idea in her head that yaoi fan fiction is art.”

  Kevin’s cheeks puffed up. “You guys are awful!”

  “And you shouldn't make fun of yaoi fanfiction,” Lilian added.

  “Right,” Kevin said. “Wait. What?”

  “Don’t worry, Stud.” Iris grinned as she pressed her breasts into Kevin's back. “I don’t doubt that you’re a paragon of masculinity.” She blew on his ear, enjoying the way he shuddered. “In fact, I would love to help you show these peons just how much of a man you are. Right. This. Instant.”

  Iris could practically feel Kevin’s struggle. It was admirable, really. Any other male would have succumbed ages ago. Yet even now he fought against her, denied her. Perhaps that was Lilian’s influence, but the fact that her sister and Kevin had yet to have hot, passionate, and raunchy sex suggested otherwise.

  “Come on,” Iris whispered, her voice suffused with her intent, her lust, her desire. “Why don’t you show me just what you’re made of, big boy—gya!”

  Something hard and strong smacked Iris in the head, sending her sprawling to the ground.

  “Iris, stop picking on my mate,” Lilian said, her bushy red tail disappearing before anyone but Iris and Kevin could notice it.

  “Aw!” Iris pouted at her sister from where she sat, sprawled across the ground. She grinned when Alex, Andrew, and even Justin tried to stare down her shirt. “I was just having a little bit of fun.”

  Lilian pouted at her, which Iris thought was adorable.

  When Lilian realized that Iris wasn’t going to apologize, she turned her attention to Kevin, eyes softening in concern. “Are you okay, Kevin?”

  “Yeah, I’m fine.” Kevin sniffl
ed. He looked at Lilian with big, watery eyes. “Thank you, Lilian. I love you.”

  Lilian’s eyes also went wide, but then, inexplicably, they became warm pools of love and compassion. A smile touched her lips. “I love you too, Kevin…”

  “Lilian…”

  “Kevin.”

  “Lilian.”

  “Kevin!”

  “Lilian!”

  “Oh, for all the gods’ sakes! If you two are gonna get all lovey-dovey like that, then get a fucking room!” Christine shouted.

  As per the usual, the yuki-onna was decked out in classic Lolita clothing. Iris didn’t understand how someone could wear something so stifling in Arizona, but she had to admit that it gave the girl a certain charm. She looked like a doll. Iris was even tempted to take her home and play dress up.

  Uhuhuhu, maybe I could even get Lilian and the stud to join in. That would be fun.

  Sitting on her butt, Iris switched her gaze from Christine to the still hugging Lilian and Kevin. For some reason, whenever she saw them hug like this, she imagined waves crashing against a beach with a sunset backdrop. She didn’t know why.

  “Is something wrong?” Lindsay asked Christine, tucking a strand of blond hair behind her left ear. Doe-like brown eyes gazed at her Lolita-clad friend. Lindsay was a cutie, in a tomboyish sort of way. She was the most normal girl Iris had ever met, but cute nonetheless.

  The yuki-onna blinked, and then looked at the lithe blond. “No. It’s nothing. I just realized we’re missing someone.”

  Lindsay looked around and realized that Christine was right. “Now that you mention it, we are missing someone.”

  “… Eric…” Justin added unnecessarily. Iris didn’t know how he’d heard them. His ears were covered by a pair of headphones, which were as black as his hair. Pale skin made a startling contrast with his dark hair and clothes, lending him a gothic appearance.

  At the mention of their perverted friend, everyone began searching. Even Iris peered at her surroundings from her place on the cement. Eric was a lecherous fool with lanky limbs and spiky brown hair. He reminded her of a monkey. Lilian had nicknamed him “Saru” in reference to some anime character with the same personality. Iris didn’t get it, but she wasn’t an anime nerd like her sister.