Free How I was Murdered by a Fox Monster by M.C Queen Page A

head.
    “ This isn't something to laugh about!” Akito scolded. “You all
still have a long way to go!”
     
* * *
     
The sun was
setting by the time we finally made it back to the shrine. Akito
spent a good half hour lecturing the others on their mistakes, so
none of them were particularly happy.  Akito was only there
for my sake, so it wasn't hard for them to conclude that it was all
my fault, and I was given the cold shoulder all the way back to
headquarters. Taisei also spent the trip grumbling about all the
perfect photo opportunities he'd missed.
    “ Did you see that guy's teeth Kiyori,” said Taisei. “We're
never going to find one like that again!”
    “ Well if it weren't for a certain someone,” muttered Itsuki. I
wasn't sure why he was angry at me, because Akito spent at least
ten minutes praising Itsuki, and used him as an example to the
others. They should have all been mad at him for being such a show
off.
The only
person still talking to me was Souta, because the guy wasn't
capable of holding a grudge. It could have also been because he
didn't have many friends, and the others were often angry at him
too. Maybe it was because he didn't have any tact. 
    “ You might suck now,” said Souta. “But if you train really
hard for the next ten years I'm sure you'll make a great
exorcist.”
    “ Thanks Souta,” I said while trying not to feel any
worse.
    “ Beat you to the top dumb arse!” Yelled Kiyori. He punched
Souta in the ribs as he ran past, and then took off out of
sight.
I expected
Souta to follow (maybe even scream out his own declaration of war)
but he remained standing next to me, rubbing his side which must
have been in pain. Kiyori seemed quite charismatic and helpful. We
had gotten along well until then, but his sudden actions reminded
me of his bad side.  I'd seen Kiyori bully Souta on several
occasions, like punching him, or telling Souta to shut up. It was
painful to watch and Souta never did anything.
    “ I don't get it, why do you let that guy treat you like that?”
I asked.
    “ It's OK,” said Souta while forcing a smile. “Kiyori's not a
bad guy. He feels frustrated about his current circumstances, and
he's only taking his anger out on me.”
    “ Oh, I see, I hadn't thought about that before.”
    “ At least that's what my mother keeps telling me,” said
Souta.
I frowned. It
didn't seem like a good way to treat anyone. I really liked Kiyori
and he seemed like a good friend, but I also thought of Souta the
same way, and watching him being treated like that was slightly
mortifying.
    “ But you should really try and stand up for yourself more,” I
advised.
    “ It's fine, just forget about it,” said Souta. “So if your
adopted father passed away when you were small, who do you live
with now?” He asked.
    “ With my sister-” I suddenly stopped because of the horror
which stood before me.
Standing at
the base of the stairs was my sister. She was leaning against the
stair banister and her arms were crossed. You could tell from her
eyes that she was mad. I wanted to turn and run, but unless I ran
away from home I would eventually have to face her. I attempted to
dive behind Taisei and hide, but I had already been spotted.
    “ Dai-chan!” She yelled out to me.
I suddenly
realized how stupid I'd been. Sis was from an exorcist family so of
course she would know where to find headquarters. My fantasy of
living a secret double life was crushed. I was about to open my
mouth to beg for mercy until an equally shocked Akito interrupted
me.
    “ Kanako?” He asked.
    Sis squinted at him like she was unsure of his identity.
“ Akito? ”
I raised my
eyebrow in surprise, but it didn't take a genius to figure out that
Sis and Akito were already acquainted.
    “ Yes, it has been a long time hasn't it,”
said Akito nervously. “You look so much
more....   mature. ”
    “ Mature?   Akito, What's that supposed to-”
her voiced died in her throat when she caught sight of