Foxfire (Nine Tails, 1) by Yuki Edo Read Free Book Online Page A

how can he have feelings for me? He doesn’t know
me.”
    “ You know it all now, I
swear. And you should read up on kitsune.”
    “ What? Just tell
me!”
    Akira muttered something and then
replied, “Nine-tailed foxes can see and hear everything that goes
on in the world, remember?”
    “ Vaguely, but he isn’t
that old. He only has one tail.”
    “ Well, that power doesn’t
just come from nowhere. Masaki made it clear when we met that he
and his brothers can all check up on our family at any time. Each
kitsune has its own way of doing this. Mirrors, bodies of water,
magic objects. They can watch us.”
    “ Spy on us, you mean.”
Hiro felt sick at the thought. How long had Masaki been watching?
What had he seen? Was he watching right now? “Can I leave? I don’t
want to stay here.”
    “ As long as you didn’t
agree to any specific timeframe, yes, you can. I delivered you, but
nothing was agreed upon. That’s why I didn’t promise you anything
when you said you’d do it a month. Presenting you to him is the
only action I was bound to take.”
    Hiro groaned.
    “ What?”
    His hand clenched again, longing to
either punch or strangle Akira. “You’re a moron! And a liar. You
didn’t say anything, so I told him I’d only stay a month. He
agreed.”
    “ And? Did he say you could
leave?”
    “ Yes. If I wanted
to.”
    After a long paused, Akira said,
“Well, can’t you make it a month?”
    “ No.” Whether he literally
could or not, he didn’t want to. His gaze searched the room now, as
he wondered if he was being observed.
    “ But you’re gonna have to.
I’m sorry, but I can’t help you if you agreed to that.”
    “ I’ve been deceived at
every turn. Unless you come up with a way to get me out of here,
don’t bother calling back!” Hiro ended the call and threw his
phone. It bounced on the carpet and seemed unharmed, but Hiro left
it on the floor.
    Under different circumstances, he’d
have been thrilled to hear his brother express his acceptance, but
the rest of his feelings about the situation made it impossible to
focus on that. Even if Akira truly was more enlightened than their
father and could accept Hiro being gay, what did it matter after
such a betrayal?
    “ No wonder no one believes
in the gods anymore. All they do is trick us and use us,” Hiro
muttered as he got out of bed.
    A knock sounded at the
door.
    “ Go away!”
    Another knock.
    “ Just leave the food. Or a
note. Whatever.”
    The door flew open, and Hiro faced it,
eyes wide. A thin, elegant woman in an incredibly long and flowing
blue kimono stood there. Amber-colored eyes covered the garment,
and she wore a glowing blue necklace. Several kanzashi held her
long black hair up, little silver bells dangling from the end of
each stick and tinkling as she moved into the room.
    “ Masaki’s promise doesn’t
apply to me. I can go wherever I choose, whether people believe in
me or not.” Her necklace glowed brighter, and Hiro could see it was
not a jewel but an orb of foxfire.
    Inari. Hiro had never been religious
at all, or remotely spiritual or superstitious, not even as a child
admiring the beauty of shrines, but still he hit his knees. “I
didn’t mean to offend.”
    She actually smiled as she approached
him and drew him back to his feet. “I’m not offended by what you
said. I’m angry you’re hurting someone I care for.”
    “ Oh.”
    “ Oh? Is that all you can
say?” She grabbed his chin and made him look up. “Masaki was being
patient and sweet, but you threw it in his face.”
    “ Sweet? He spied on me.
I’m guessing you can’t understand that, how it makes me
feel.”
    “ No, not really. I could
care less who sees what I do.” She pulled her hand away. “But you
should be flattered.”
    “ Tell that to anyone who’s
been stalked. It’s scary!”
    “ You didn’t even know
about it until a few minutes ago! And you haven’t exactly sounded
scared.” She laughed and moved to a mirror, adjusting