User:Throat Wolf/Outfoxed Chapter 6

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Vore/Neko Project Campus story universe
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This story contains adult content.

Outfoxed (Chapter 6)

Author: Throat Wolf


Info icon.pngOutfoxed (Chapter 6)
Author:Throat Wolf
Website:http://aryion.com/g3/user/Throat_Wolf
Genre:vorarephilia
Series:Outfoxed (#6)
Previous:Chapter 5
Next:Chapter 7
Setting/Universe:Vore/Neko Project Campus
Co-written with KazukiFennec of Eka's Portal.

A

This is a vorarephilia (vore) story, in which people get eaten for erotic purposes. Unlike many vorarephila stories, my flavor of vore is entirely non-lethal; I'm not interested in snuff. However, if vore is not your thing, you probably will not enjoy this regardless.

nother day, and Ian was back on his bike, making his runs as usual. He was alone for the second day in a row, and as was usual he was having to work his ass off. Pounding down the streets, he started to get worried, because he was certain that he should have reached his destination by now—but the alley he had entered as a shortcut just kept getting longer and darker, as if the buildings were getting taller and choking out the light. Finally, Ian skidded to a halt.

“Janice? Is this you fooling around?” he called out, starting to get nervous. “Seriously, you’re giving me the creeps…”

“Janice? Is that what she’s going by now?” a distinctly masculine voice growled, and Ian quickly turned to face the source.

“Who are you, and what do you want?” the messenger bit out, as a tall, lithe form stepped out of the shadows.

“If you think I’m going to give away my name that easily, you’re a bigger fool than I thought you were,” the figure said. “As for what I want, you have my woman. I want her back.” The stranger brushed brilliant red hair back from his face, glaring at the human with gold eyes.

“She is a person—she isn’t mine to give,” Ian replied.

“Oh, but she is yours to give. You have her ball, after all. You could just hand it over to me, or simply order her to obey.” The strange kitsune stretched lazily, vulpine tails swaying behind him. “Now, this is how it is going to go. We will leave here, and return to where you keep her ball, and you will hand it over—or else I will kill you and take it. Either way, she will be mine alone.”

“Alright…” Ian sighed, and raised the kickstand on his bike once more, wheeling it around to face the direction he came—then he whipped around to face the accosting figure once more. “Rin, pyo, to, sha, kai, jin, retsu, zai, zen!” he shouted, and swept a hand through the air, miming the ritual nine cuts of the kuji-in.

Ian was half-astonished to see the kitsune knocked off his feet. “I didn’t really expect that to work,” he muttered. Around him, the buildings returned to their normal shapes.

Ian hopped onto his bike and made off as quickly as possible. Without thinking, he made his way home, shouting out for the vixen as he slammed and bolted the door shut behind him.

Janice, wearing her anthropomorphic fox form, stepped out of the shower in the bathroom and grabbed a towel. “Hmm? What’s got you so upset? I promise, I cleaned the fur out of the drain this time…”

“It’s a bit more serious than that,” Ian said, gasping for breath. “Tell me…did you used to have a boyfriend or something?”

Janice looked at him. “A bit late for you to be getting jealous now, isn’t it?”

Ian waved a hand dismissively. “It’s not that. It’s just that if you did, I just met him, and he’s pissed,” he said. “He gave me the choice of handing over your ball, or having him kill me and then come and get the ball.”

Janice blinked. “He what? Who? Where?”

“He wouldn’t give his name, but he’s a kitsune like you, he blocked me off in an alley, said something about you being his woman.”

Janice’s eyes narrowed. “Well, son of a bitch. Literally.” She tossed the towel aside. “If that’s who I think it is…grrr. He was a powerful seven-tail back when I was only a five. I was one of his concubines for a while, until…well, let’s just say ‘until.’ He was basically lazy, though. Not a lot of ambition. He was still just a seven last I heard, same as me.” She shook her head. “If that bastard thinks he still has any claim on me after this long, he’s got another think coming.”

Ian sank onto the sofa, still breathing hard. “I used the Nine Cuts on him to distract him and get away, but I don’t know how long that held him. I’m out of my depth, it’s up to you how we’re going to deal with him.”

Janice rolled her eyes. “Why now of all times? if he’d come any time in the last three years, I’d have been glad to see him. Er—not that I’m not happy now. It’s just…I really wasn’t then, and I’m sure I could have tricked him easier than I could those humans who had me.” She sighed. “He always did have the lousiest timing.”

“Listen, I know I’m keeping you here against your will, and I realize that’s wrong, I feel like an ass about it every day, and I am sorry…” Ian sighed, and stuck his hand in his pocket. “If you want this back, you can have it. It’s lucky your ‘friend’ didn’t know I always keep it on me, because it sorta keeps me closer to you.”

Janice frowned. “That’s…not necessary.” Her eyes flashed. “If he had business with me, he should have come to me. I will only be too happy to see him off.”

“You know that as long as I have this, you’ll be vulnerable, right? If I hadn’t known that charm, he might have your ball right now.”

“I’ll take that chance.”

“You know, I think that you trust me with this is the biggest complement I’ve ever gotten,” Ian said, smiling. He looked at the ball for a moment, then pocketed it again.

“If he thinks he’s got business with me, he should’ve taken it up with me.” Janice bared her teeth. “Not the brightest bulb in the chandelier, that one. Always thinking with his…heh. I think that’s what I’ll call him. Because he is one. Dick.”

“Heh, well, as I’ve got nothing else to call him, Dick it is,” Ian said, grinning. “Now that we know what to call him, we should figure out what to do about him. This isn’t the first time I’ve gotten a death threat, and I doubt it’ll be the last—but threatening you, that I can’t abide.”

“Now that’s funny,” Janice said. “That there is comical. Because that’s just what I was gonna say about him threatening you.”

Ian smiled. “Well, he’s not going to go away, so we’re going to have to make him go away. What can we use to bait a trap that he can’t resist?”

Janice sniffed. “Well, me, silly. What else?”

Ian considered. “Well, I know you have ways of taking care of people you don’t like—Angela and Brad, for one thing. And I’m just going to take a wild guess here, but if the people who had your ball previously were such assholes, I doubt they’re still walking around either, are they?”

Janice grinned. “Thaaaaat would be a negative.”

“So, if I were just another asshole and Dick really had scared me, I’d have given your ball back and either split or…gone wherever the other assholes went. That would leave you alone in the apartment with your ball…” Ian said, trailing off.

“Mmm.” Janice smiled thoughtfully. “So what you’re saying is, you hide in the closet, jump out and yell ‘boo’?”

Ian blushed at that. “Heh, well, I know a few mantras, so I figured the hiding in the closet might actually work. If I could distract him, you could do whatever it is you do to assholes to him.”

Janice thought about that. “Hmmm.” She started to pace. “I don’t know…it might work. Really, the best thing would be for you just to keep my ball safe. Because as long as I don’t have it, he can’t steal it from me.”

“So, you can handle him on your own?” Ian asked.

“Mmm, I think I might. Which just leaves the matter of where to hide you.” Janice grinned.

“Well, I know I’ve read things about kitsune having pocket dimensions they could send people to…” Ian said. “I think I’ve even bicycled through yours a time or two.”

“Mmm, I don’t think we need go to quite that length.” Janice grinned. “But I do think I know just where to put you. C’mere.” She led him into the bedroom. “Now close your eyes, and sit right here on the bed…”

He sat down, his eyes closed, and wondered what she had in mind. He knew kitsune had many different abilities, but he couldn’t think of one that would be practical to apply at this point…

Janice stepped back and considered him for a moment. How would he react to being…hmm. Maybe it would be better not to risk that just yet. She kissed her hand, then blew over it in the direction of Ian. “Sleep,” she whispered. As the spell hit him, Ian fell asleep quickly and soundly.

Janice turned to the large three-tailed kitsune plushie also on the bed. “Ryouko?”

The plushie came to life. “Yes, mistress?”

“I want you to tuck Ian here away—swallow him, keep him safe for a while, but don’t digest him, okay?”

The plushie nodded. “As you wish.” She moved forward, lifted the unconscious Ian by the shoulders, and opened wide. Janice nodded, and left her to it. Once she’d gulped him down, Ryouko would look like just another overstuffed stuffed toy in a room with plenty of them. Of course, “Dick” would know what she was if he looked closely, but Janice doubted he would bother—if he even looked into the bedroom at all.

Janice sat down on the living room sofa to wait. If Dick knew about her and Ian at all, he would certainly know where Ian lived. It would only be a matter of time before he recovered from Ian’s charm and came after them. She didn’t have long to wait, and the lock that Janice had put in could do very little to stop the door from being forced by another kitsune.

He looked just as she remembered, tall and slender, sleek in form, with dark red fur that only seemed to add to the fluid image he projected. His green eyes burned with the intensity of a predator stalking his prey.

“Where is that little whelp,” Dick growled as he stormed in. He looked to her with a raised eyebrow, “Or have you already gotten him?”

“Oh, I’ve taken care of him. You won’t be seeing him again.” Both statements were true, Janice thought with a silent chuckle, if not in the way Dick probably expected.

“Hm, shame.” he growled. “I would have liked a little quality time with him myself—he pulled a fast one on me. I tried to get him to give up your ball, but he…distracted me and got away.”

“I’m afraid you gave him a fright.” Also true. “But trust me, my ball is now in a very safe place.” True again. Janice winked.

Dick was not pleased, but he’d be damned if he would show it. He could be subtle, he could wait for his opportunity.

“It’s… good to see you again,” he said, as he calmed himself. “It’s been too long.”

“Perhaps it has,” Janice said, patting the sofa next to her. “C’mere, Dick. Oh…that’s right, I didn’t mention. Since true names are taboo, I’ve decided I’ll call you ‘Dick’ for now. It’s such a nice, masculine name…”

He rolled his eyes, and sat down. “Well, you’ve certainly called me worse before.” He grinned, rouguishly.

Janice put an arm around his shoulders. “Mmm. I have to admit, I’m surprised you came looking for me. I’m a seven-tail now, your equal, and I thought you preferred the company of the ‘lesser orders.’”

“With the way the world’s changed, you start to appreciate a mate who can take care of herself.” Dick said, shrugging. “And most are so timid now, it’s pathetic.”

Janice smirked. “And here I thought you liked them that way.”

“I don’t like running from humans,” he growled. “Some of us helped them, when they needed it, now look how they’ve gotten out of control.”

“I personally find them quite delightful,” Janice said. “Though I can see how you might have a different opinion.”

“Yes, you do like the taste of their… coffee, I think it’s called.” The darker-furred kitsune sneered. “I guess they aren’t all bad—they certainly make a good meal, occasionally.”

“I suppose I’ll grant you that, too,” Janice said mildly.

“It really has been too long. You look better than ever.” Dick smirked. “What do you say? You’ve gotten us a pretty good setup here, but someone’ll come looking if he goes missing.” His form flowed into that of Ian, but keeping his tails. “We could make a go of this for a while…”

“Oooh, not a bad likeness.” Janice grinned. “I might be persuaded. Only…” She frowned.

“Only what?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.

Janice looked concerned. “I’m worried about you. Is your ball safe? You know how humans are, and now there are more of them than ever. I wouldn’t want it to fall into the wrong hands. I mean, just look at me.”

Dick raised an eyebrow. “Now you know I always keep it close.” He produced a ball similar to her own seemingly from nowhere, balancing it on the tip of a claw.

Janice blinked. “That’s not your ball, is it? I thought yours was, y’know, bigger.” She winked.

He rolled his eyes once more. “You always were one for a bad joke.” he groaned.

Janice cocked her head. “No, seriously, are you trying to trick me?”

Dick held the ball out. “Here, see for yourself.”

Janice hesitated a moment, then reached out and took the ball. She held it up to the light, turned it this way and that, examining it. “No, no, I’m sorry. You were right. This is definitely your ball. I shouldn’t have doubted you.” With a flick of her wrist, she made it vanish. “I think it’s best all around if I kept it safe for you. Like I said, wouldn’t want any of those humans getting it.”

His eyes narrowed. “Give it back. You of all people should know what it’s like not having your own ball…”

Janice smiled at him. “I order you to kiss me.”

“You hardly need to order me to do that,” he replied, and held her close, kissing her deeply.

“Mmmmm.” Janice enjoyed the kiss for a long moment, then pulled away. “You know what? You’re right. I should come up with a better test.”

“Eh?” Dick raised an eyebrow, briefly mirroring the normal behavior of Ian, whose appearance he still wore.

“Well, first of all, drop that illusion. I’d rather see you as you right now.”

Dick hardly needed to be ordered, as he did not like Ian much in the first place. His form shimmered, and he returned to his normal humanoid fox shape.

Janice grinned. “Good boy. Now. I’m feeling hungry tonight. So when I open my mouth, I want you to crawl inside and wriggle all the way down into my tummy. You’ll make a tasty meal.”

His eyes went wide as if astonished, but, compelled by her having his ball, he could only answer one way. “Yes mistress.” he said, and made ready to do so despite himself.

Janice licked her lips. “Why, you look like you don’t want to be my meal. Can that be true?”

“You bitch…” he growled, finding it hard to believe that he had walked into this situation as blindly as he now realized he had.

“Oh, now that’s no way to talk to your mistress. If you don’t want me to eat you, just say so.” Janice’s face hardened. “In fact…I’d like you to beg me not to, you bastard. Beg me like I begged and pleaded with you not to take my fifth tail. Do you know how long it took me to earn that back? Did you think I’d forgotten by now?”

A sinking feeling came over Dick, and he knew that he wouldn’t get out of this on guile alone. “Please… Please, don’t do this, don’t eat me. I’ll do anything…” he begged, horror beginning to grow in his mind at the fact that she really would do it, she really would devour another of her own kind.

“Oh, I’m not going to eat you, don’t worry.” Janice smiled a toothsome, vicious smile. “You are going to feed yourself to me. And that’s an order.”

“Yes, mistress,” he said, disbelief taking over. Surely this had to be some bad dream, this couldn’t be really happening—could it?

Janice leaned forward and licked him on the muzzle. “Mmm, you are a tasty one. I can’t wait to have you all the way inside of me. I’ve waited so, so long for this…”

Dick nearly had himself convinced this was some sort of horrible hallucination brought on by the attack the human had launched at him, as he leaned forward, pressing his sleek, streamlined muzzle into her maw.

Janice took his muzzle, then his head into her mouth. “Mmmmm,” she murmured, as her arms pinned his down to his sides. “You’re just as yummy as I always thought you’d be,” she sent telepathically, opening wider and moving her jaws down over his shoulders. “Remember, you’re eager to get all the way inside me…”

He was starting to lose track of his true feelings. He wanted her, he wanted her to have him, he wanted to be with her, he wanted to be within her—his own wants and the planted suggestions were bleeding together into a single overwhelming desire. He pressed forward more urgently, his intentions no longer his own, but now much clearer than they ever had been before.

“Gooood boy,” Janice sent. “Delicious boy, in fact. Mmmm.” She placed her hands on Dick’s thighs and tugged, pulling him deeper inside as she started to swallow. His head bumped the back of her throat, and was then gripped by the strong muscles of her esophagus, pulling him inward. She ran her tongue over his furry, muscular chest, and kept swallowing as his hips reached her lips.

Feeling himself being drawn in, Dick continued to squirm in an attempt to make the passage quicker, to reach his final destination that much sooner. Far from the claustrophobia many would feel, the dark, close confines were comforting—he was with her, within her.

Janice swallowed again, tugging Dick’s hips (as well as his namesake between them) into her mouth. Her tongue began to play over Dick’s crotch, caressing, teasing…

At that point his mind was in such a simple, animalistic state that all Dick could think was to thrust against that sensation, to slake his lust even as he was drawn further within her. And Janice was only too glad to let him. It was an additional burst of flavor to accompany Dick’s overall taste.

Janice swallowed, and swallowed again, pushing the bulge that was Dick’s hips and bottom down her throat. After that, taking in his legs, tails, and feet was easy; she sucked them in like spaghetti. A few more swallows sent the rest of Dick down to settle into her stomach.

As he felt himself come to a rest, he curled up into the warmth like a kit against his mother’s side in the depths of winter—that warmth promising security, safety, everything he would ever need.

Janice sank back onto the sofa, rubbing her distended belly. “Dick? Can you hear me?”

“Y-yes?” he murmured, as reality started to come back to him.

“You know where you are?”

“I’m in… I’m in your… Oh god, you ate… I fed myself to you…” he said, as the realization of what exactly had just happened came to him.

“Mm-hmm. And you know what’s going to happen to you now?”

“You’re going to… You’re going to let me die, you’re going to digest me…” he whimpered.

“Mmm-hmm.” Janice smiled. “And you see, that’s where we have a little bit of a problem.”

“Pr-problem?” Dick stammered.

“If this were the old days, I’d just send your spirit back to Mother Inari, and let her clothe you in flesh again…maybe minus a few tails as a lesson to you to be more careful. But, since nobody venerates Inari anymore, well, even making you a mouse would be more than the poor dear has power for now.”

“You… you would destroy me? Body and spirit?” he whimpered, beginning to panic as the gravity of the situation became quite clear.

“Oh, no. I wouldn’t dream of that.” Janice sounded horrified at the idea. “Why would I want to destroy a fellow kitsune’s spirit? Apart from there being too few of us left as it is…” Her voice hardened again. “…that would mean it would be over too quickly for you.” She patted her tummy and continued. “No, you’re going to give me back what you took from me…with interest.”

“B-but, how, I… You have as many tails as I do now…”

“Mm-hmm. But that’s where the interest comes in. You might have taken my fifth tail…” Janice paused, savoring what she was about to say for a moment before she said it, “…but you’re going to becomemy eighth tail.”

“You… you’re crazy, that’s… can you even do that?” he asked, as much asking himself if she could as asking her.

“Oh, sure. All it takes is power…and you’ve got as much of that as I do, and now it’s mine. I’ll admit, I don’t specifically have to put you in it, but I just like the idea of having you attached to my butt, helpless to do anything except follow me around, while you have lots of time to think about what you’ve done.”

He was struck dumb with the thought, realizing the horror of his impending fate.

Janice smirked. “It’s funny, you know. Inari also doesn’t have enough power anymore to grant me another tail. And the feeling I get is that she would if she could. But you know how it is, sometimes when you have two problems, they kinda solve each other.”

“The irony doesn’t escape me,” he snapped, almost childishly.

“If it makes you feel any better, Inari isn’t entirely powerless,” Janice said. “And she watches us—all of us, even now. If she didn’t agree with what I’m about to do to you, she would certainly make her displeasure known to me. But I’m not feeling so much as a headache right now.”

Janice leaned back and closed her eyes. “Maybe it’s ‘cuz you’ve been such a naughty boy lately. I’m getting the feeling you’ve been ignoring her, maybe even preying on those she’d have wanted you to protect.” She paused. “It’s a very specific feeling.”

“I havent felt her presence in years…” he murmured. “She turned her back on me, turned her back on all of us. Why does she care so much about them and leave us, leave magic to dwindle, they’re just humans!” he ranted, uncaring of what he may say anymore. After all, he already knew his fate.

Janice massaged her tummy. “You silly, silly boy, don’t you get it? They made us. The humans did. Oh sure, Izanagi and Izanami made the world…and so did Yahweh, and Cronos, and every other old god out there. But they only made it retroactively, after humans made them up to explain how it had been made. Made us up. Do you think Inari would be so powerless now if she—and every other god or goddess—didn’t depend on human belief?” Janice snorted. “We’re lucky that we magical beasties just need magic, and it doesn’t matter if humans believe in us or not. And even with that, we’d still be stuck if something hadn’t brought magic back into the world lately.”

“But that’s…impossible,” Dick said, distracted even from the threat of imminent digestion by the argument. “We’ve always been…”

“Well, we’ve been as long as humans have made up stories about us. It’s the magic that let the stories become us. And now the magic is back, and so are we.”

“That’s why you left… To find out why the magic came back.”

“That’s right.” She shrugged. “I’m still working on it. I just got sidetracked.” She smiled. “You know, even with all that’s passed between us…I would have been happy to let bygones be bygones, except for one little thing. You had to go and threaten my Ian.”

“You… He made you do this, didn’t he? He ordered you to,” Dick growled.

“Order me? He didn’t have to order me.” Janice chuckled. “In fact, he hardly ever does order me, at least not without asking me if it’s okay to order me first. That’s what I lo—what I like about him, and why I’m determined to keep him.”

He sighed. “Don’t kid yourself. With the way you just talked about him, even I can tell you love him. You’re just setting yourself up for pain, you know that, right? He’ll die, and sooner, not later. He’ll never see the next century.”

Janice patted her tummy. “Thank you for your input. I’ll be sure to give your advice every bit of consideration that is due it.” She paused. “Or, in other words, BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! You really thinkyou’re in a position to give me advice? You’re the one whose life experiences led to ending up in my tummy. Maybe if I was looking for advice on how to get eaten, I’d come to you, but even then I’d have my doubts.”

“Well excuse me for getting tricked by a consummate trickster,” Dick grumbled. “You always were more subtle than I was.”

“Then I suppose you could call this natural selection in action.” Janice smirked. “Survival of the trickiest. Wouldn’t Darwin be proud? Well, once he stopped trying to figure out what would make foxes evolve multiple tails, anyway…”

Dick just growled. There really wasn’t anything left to say at this point.

And Janice had run out of words, too. “Well. It’s about time for you to begin your new life. Any last words before I put you in your new home?”

Dick’s growl broke, in favor of one last beg for mercy. “Please, don’t do this. It’s not too late to let me go, I’ll leave the both of you alone, just please don’t…” he whimpered.

Janice chuckled. “Wroooong answer.” She rubbed her tummy again, and Dick felt the walls starting to secrete moisture, growing slicker. He began to panic once more, the calming sensation of the close warm place long gone as he began to thrash about.

“You know…there was one thing you could have said…one thing that might have saved you,” Janice said conversationally, as her stomach began to fill with fluids. “It did all happen such a long time ago, after all, and I mostly got over it. But seeing you again brought it all back to me.”

Janice patted her tummy. “If you had just once apologized for what you did to me, and sounded like you really felt sorry now for doing it, I could have thought you’d changed enough I could have forgiven you. But being the kind of person you are, it never even crossed your tiny mind.” She smiled. “I’d suggest you spend some of your tail-time praying to Inari, if you think she’ll even listen to you anymore. Maybe if I get the feeling she forgives you, I just might start thinking about it myself. Bye now.”

Dick’s last growl turned into a gurgle as the fluids submerged him. Then, the world went even darker for him than it already was.

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Janice opened her eyes, and smiled. Dick’s power was seeping into her, filling her until it felt like little beams of light should be projecting out of her every pore. She had it—all of it! But she needed to anchor it shortly or she would soon burn herself out trying to control it all. But that was, after all, the very next thing she’d planned to do.

“Too bad Ian can’t see this,” Janice murmured, as she began to rise in the air off of the sofa. Her seven tails splayed in all directions, lightning crackling among them, beginning to outline an eighth tail-like shape. Janice closed her eyes, raised her hands, and the lightning intensified. For a moment, the tail-shape glowed pure white—then it faded back into red with a white tip, the same as all of her others.

Or no…actually the fur was slightly darker than all of her others’—closer to Dick’s fur than her own. “Well, that will at least make it easy to tell him apart,” she mused. She took it in her paw-hands and stroked it, holding it to her cheek. It twitched and jerked, trying to pull out of her hand.

Janice giggled. “Now you stop that this instant. You be a good tail, do you understand me?”

The tail relaxed, and Janice smiled. “Good boy. Remember, you belong to me now.” She let it go and gave her tails an experimental shake to arrange them. It would feel strange having an eighth tail, until she got used to it. But it had its advantages.

Janice still felt more powerful than she ever had before, but this was the kind of power that you kept, not that would burn itself out. She could now do much more elaborate illusions, spells, shapechanges, and so forth than she could have before—and that was saying something.

But she could think about that later. Right now, she had business in the bedroom. “Oh, Ryouko? Let’s have you let Ian out now, okay?”

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“Ian? Wake up, Ian!” Janice’s voice tugged Ian away from whatever vistas of sleep he had been exploring.

“Mmf… Whahappened? ‘Sitover?” he murmured as he sat up, his voice slurred with numb relaxation, “Don’t think I’ve ever slept that well before in my life…”

“Glad to hear it.” Janice grinned. “And yes, it’s over. Dick came…and went.” She shook her tails. “And look what he left me!” She singled out the new darker tail for Ian’s examination.

“That’s… eight… He gave you more power?” he murmured, now downright confused.

Janice chuckled. “In a manner of speaking. Let’s just say that I feel very close to him now.”

“You mean… that’s him?” he said, putting two and two together surprisingly quick this time.

“To paraphrase President Lincoln, how many tails would an 8-tailed kitsune have if you called a tail a Dick?” Janice giggled.

Ian raised an eyebrow, then rolled his eyes, nearly groaning at the comment.

Janice nodded. “He wasn’t happy about it at first, but now I can honestly say he’s behind me all the way.”

“The horrible, horrible puns…” he feigned a whimper. “Have you been reading Dominic Deegan?”

Janice giggled again. “Sorry! I’m just…relieved, really. He and I had some history, and it’s nice after so long to be able to put it all be—” She paused, and looked at Ian. “…um, out of my mind completely.”

Ian sighed, and shook his head. “Well, now, I suppose we see where we go from here. You know you have your freedom now, any time you ask for it, but now I know you don’t necessarily want it right away.”

Janice nodded. “I know.” She smiled. “But I don’t know what I want it for right now, so I’ll just leave it with you. Until I change my mind.”

“Well then, until then, I don’t have much I can offer beyond that you’ve got me, as long as you want me. Though I suspect you knew that already.”

“You know that’s not true,” Janice said, grinning. “You can offer me coffee.”

“Let’s go make some together,” he said with a smile. “You know I burn it half the time.”

“I know I’m the only one who knows how to operate the espresso machine properly.” Janice grinned, and followed Ian off to the kitchen.

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Dick was dimly aware of the conversation between Janice and Ian, the clatter and hiss of espresso-making sounds, and other distant sensations, but they came in second to the feelings of disorientation that gripped him now.

His “body” was long and supple, and not entirely under his own control. His “feet” were planted firmly at the base of Janice’s spine, with her other tails, while his “head” waved around in the air. He didn’t have arms, or else they were bound to his sides. At least, that was what it felt like. He supposed he would soon get used to it.

He remembered back to the old days, when he had captured the young five-tail kitsune in battle with a rival clan, and been so attracted to her that he had made her his concubine. But even then, she’d had a smart mouth on her, and ways of defying him while still staying within the letter of his orders. Finally, he’d had no choice but to let her go, keeping her last tail as the price of her freedom. But somehow, he’d never forgotten about her—even though he had somehow managed to forget about taking her tail. How embarrassing.

Dick sighed—or at least he would have sighed, if he’d had a mouth. He’d wanted to be close to Janice again…as close as a lover, if not closer. Well, he certainly was that now. Be careful what you wish for.

Lacking other alternatives, Dick let his mind settle into the business of being a tail. Maybe if he was a good enough tail, someday Janice would let him be something else again.

He hoped.

Preceded by:
Chapter 5
Outfoxed Succeeded by:
Chapter 7