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

Masaki
buried himself deep as his lover came, and he too spilled, filling
Hiro’s clenching hole with his seed. They kissed, much more
passionately than before, and Hiro clung to him. Masaki rolled them
so that Hiro lay atop him, and they rested there in a silence a
while.
    Then Hiro began shaking, and he
struggled to get up.
    “ What’s wrong?” Masaki
asked, noting that Hiro had grown pale.
    “ Still cold. Don’t know
why.” He put the suit jacket back on and wrapped his arms around
his legs. He scratched his chest. “Itching. Burning.” He glanced
down. “I must be having a reaction. Maybe it was a
spider?”
    Masaki looked at the red spot again.
“I don’t know, but you need a doctor.”
    “ You think? I felt fine
until a moment ago.”
    “ Your senses were
overloaded. You began scratching while we were still in Tokyo, and
you had chills earlier. We need to be sure.” Without asking
permission or bothering with any of their clothes, Masaki hefted
Hiro into his arms and carried him into the house. A yokai appeared
and followed them, awaiting orders.
    “ Summon my
doctor.”
    Hiro didn’t protest, leaning his
forehead on Masaki’s shoulder. “You have a doctor?”
    “ Yes. Magic cannot fix
absolutely everything.”
    Hiro shivered. “So cold.” He put his
arms around Masaki’s neck. “Stay with me.”
    “ Of course. Don’t be
scared. It might be nothing, a sudden chill or virus.”
    They reached his room, and Masaki
paused. “May I enter?”
    Hiro nodded. “Yes. Anyone can enter.
It’s fine.”
    Masaki took him in, willing the covers
to draw down. He placed Hiro on the bed, noticing the semen all
over him. If things had been different, he’d likely be licking the
seed from his young lover’s body, but now was not the time for such
thoughts. He grabbed a washcloth and soaked it in warm water,
quickly cleaning Hiro and then pulling the covers over him. At a
thought from him, two yokai brought more blankets and spread them
over the bed while Masaki cleaned himself. He slipped into a simple
linen kimono and went back to Hiro’s side.
    “ Masaki.”
    Masaki looked up when he heard the
powerful voice, which he knew came from a very small man. Toyohiko,
who had been his doctor for hundreds of years, stood in the
doorway. He bowed, and Masaki gestured him forward. “Thank you for
coming, Toyohiko.” He bowed without rising. “His illness is too
sudden for me to call a human doctor.”
    Hiro looked at Masaki. “You told me
not to worry.”
    Masaki gave an apologetic look and
kissed his forehead. “So that you wouldn’t be afraid. Forgive
me.”
    * * * *
    Hiro swallowed, his throat burning.
“All right. It’s not important.” He looked to Toyohiko, who
appeared to be ancient, maybe close to a hundred years old, based
on his looks. The man wore yellow Buddhist robes. “You’re not a
human doctor?”
    “ Oh no. I was mortal,
once, but no more.” He waved his hands dismissively. “Enough of
that. Stories later. What’s wrong?”
    “ I have a strange mark on
my chest. It itches and burns. My entire body does at times. I’m
cold, colder than I’ve ever been.”
    The doctor leaned forward and drew
back the covers. He touched the flesh and pinched it.
“Pain?”
    “ No.” The way the spot had
felt earlier, it amazed Hiro the man’s touch didn’t
hurt.
    Toyohiko withdrew a pin from a small
bag, which Hiro had not noticed until then, and held it up. “Just a
small prick, to test. Not deep.” He stuck Hiro with the pin and
withdrew quickly. A few drops of black liquid came from the spot,
and Toyohiko dapped at them with a white cloth he pulled from his
little bag.
    “ Have you offended anyone,
my friend?” the doctor asked, looking up at Masaki.
    “ Not that I know of,”
Masaki said.
    “ Someone means you both
harm. A spell.” He felt Hiro’s forehead and cheeks. “Have you
spurned advances? The smell of sex is still in the air. Jealousy
could be the root.”
    “ No. I’ve had