The Naked Truth

I stared, breathless, as Tiffany's feeble voice grazed my ears. She sounded full of regret.

Kazuya adjusted his body so he could stand over my sister instead of being hunched over her. His hand ripped away from Tiffany's chest, his claw-like nails leaving Tiffany's shirt in tatters.

"What the hell are you doing to my sister!" I yelled with my fists tight, furious at the golden fox. "Get the hell off her!"

What in the world was going on? Kazuya decided to return and rape my sister? The fuck! I was angry and so confused.

"Mercy… calm down," Tiffany said in a strained whisper as she was allowed to sit up and face me after Kazuya lifted himself.

Calm? Being assaulted with her life in danger she expected me to remain calm?

Tiffany seemed tired as she looked at me like she knew what I was thinking. "You're gonna wake Mom and Dad screaming like that."

"Right now I don't really care." My gaze veered from her to Kazuya.

Kazuya grinned at my worried yet determined expression. "Now there's the fire I have missed. It has been too long, children."

Tiffany shut her eyes with a groan. "Goddamn freeloader."

The fear in my chest ebbed away and gave a rose to curiosity as the atmosphere changed. The air lost some of its tension. Maybe I was mistaken?

"What the hell is going on?" I muttered.

Kazuya hummed. "You wouldn't understand," he said, with a smile. "This is beyond you." Kazuya examined me for a moment, his brilliant golden eyes shining. He started to approach me with purpose, his long hair rustling behind him as he moved, the golden band of disks around his waist jingling.

I backed away and nearly stumbled over my own feet. My fear didn't deter him in the slightest. Standing in front of me, Kazuya reached outward—his hand gripping my shoulder. I closed my eyes and shivered, rooted to the ground even though I wanted to run and cower away from him.

Kazuya ran his hand down my neck, his clawed nails tracing over my skin, his cold finger messaging my clavicle—rising upward until he cupped my chin, causing me to flinch. He yanked my head up forcing me to look at him. His masculine yet unblemished face had me spellbound, seeing his eyes and silky white hair up close. I could clearly see the markings of gold drawn on the side of his cheeks, almost like whiskers. Kazuya inspected me more before attempting to lift the bottom of my shirt.

"If you try anything funny," Tiffany warned.

The Valterian Fox chuckled. "Let's see now," Kazuya said, lifting my pajama shirt higher, revealing my stomach and chest.

I gasped. "Wait…"

Kazuya hummed as he studied me, seeming pleased with my discomfort. "You've healed fully from that Arcadian's blades."

I blinked at his words, they pulled me out of the daze I was in. I glanced down at my bare abdomen without really thinking, his attention attracting me toward it. The faint scars from Tartys's swords no longer traveled down my body. I wasn't sure why that shocked me since Kazuya mentioned that aided by his healing, my scars would eventually vanish, but I had checked them religiously every day. I could have sworn they were still there this morning.

I shivered again as Kazuya's hands caressed my waist.

"Can you stop fondling my sister like the pedophile you probably are?" Tiffany asked, pissed. "I'll fucking kill you."

Glancing over to the side, I could see that Tiffany was standing but keeping her distance from the golden fox. Kazuya looked at Tiffany side-eyed with amusement. "Relax child, I have only returned to see if you and your sister were still alive."

"Bullshit."

"Were you not overjoyed to see me just a moment ago? You do not always need to put up a front for your sister."

"Bullshit!" Tiffany repeated with a snarl.

I frowned. What exactly was going on between them before I ran down the steps? I pushed the thought out of my mind. I'd ask Tiffany later. I knew Kazuya wouldn't come back just to check on or antagonized us. Considering my visions, what he told us and said to Shekhinah before, there must have been a deeper reason.

"Where have you been?" I asked once Kazuya had let go of me. "A lot has happened since you left."

Kazuya paused and then smiled, preening. "Miss me too, did you? I was busy getting some of my affairs in order. I look forward to hearing about these events."

"Affairs?" I asked.

"Yes. I had to speak with some of my associates here."

So there were more Valterians in Ravensworth.

"Could you stop messing around with your hair and give a straight answer for once?" Tiffany complained, hands on her hips.

"Behave and I'll consider it," Kazuya said as he turned and sauntered away from me, two of his bushy tails rubbing against my legs. They felt warm in comparison to his hands, for a second I was enveloped within thick pillows of fur. He moved toward one of the couches to get a view of both of us. "It's time to finish this." Kazuya motioned toward the sofa with a tail. "Strip, both of you. Then come here."

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. "What?" Tiffany pulled off her torn shirt and I stared at her, surprised that she would actually follow Kazuya's command. As she started to pull down her floral leggings my mouth dropped. "No—fuck no, Tiff, what fuck are you doing?"

Tiffany made a distasteful grimace, refusing to look at me. "If you can't handle it, you should leave."

"What the hell are you talking about?" I demanded, my hand lifted near her face, causing her to shy away from me. I almost slapped her. "What the hell are you thinking?"

Tiffany sneered at me while taking her leggings off. Lifting each leg—one at a time to pull the leggings off both feet, until she was in her birthday suit—barring her panties. "What's wrong, Ems? Thought you were just aching to see fox-boy here again, with how much you talk about him. Where's Kazuya—did he come back yet—oh, I wish I could see Kazuya again. He'd know what to do. You'd think you're in love."

I felt my face reddening at Tiffany's mocking; the bit of truth in her words stung but I refused to be provoked. "What about you? I thought you hated him." I scrutinized Tiffany and Kazuya, incredulous. "I mean, what the hell is this?"

"Hate is the closest to love when it comes to a woman," Kazuya said quietly, inducing us to scowl at him.

"Again with the sexist bullshit." Tiffany rolled her eyes. "How would you know what love is?"

"I'd wager I know more than you."

Hands on her hips, Tiffany tiled her head. "Is that why you killed the students of your lover?"

"Perhaps." Kazuya gave a soft smile. "She would have never given up fighting against me with her allies at her side. I would have been forced to take her life. Besides, have you forgotten? The both of you were in danger as well."

Tiffany sighed, at a loss. "Fair enough." She made her way toward the long sofa, pausing when I grabbed her by the arm.

"Tiffany, you are not sitting on that fucking sofa like that."

Why was she agreeing to Kazuya's demands all of a sudden?

She shrugged my arm off. "Don't you want to find out if we're hollowed?" Tiffany sat on the couch and crossed her legs observing Kazuya and me, impassive. "Come on, take your clothes off."

"What! No! Just because I want to know if we have powers, that doesn't mean I'll have sex with him so he'll tell me! What the fuck, Tiffany?"

Kazuya narrowed his eyes, annoyed. "And who said anything about sex, child?" He ran a hand through his hair before folding his arms. "You brats are ten thousand eons too young to be suitable women for me."

I was going to vomit.

"No one would fuck your old wrinkly ass anyway," Tiffany remarked, getting in Kazuya's face with an attitude.

"Tiff, please get away from him," I hissed in a strained voice.

"Fine." Tiffany shook her head and stood up from the sofa—she began to collect her clothes spread all over the carpet. Fully dressed, Tiffany walked over to me. We looked at each other and I gave her my best impression of our 'we're-definitely-gonna talk-about-this-right-after' face. She wasn't fazed.

"It appears, Mercy, that you are uncomfortable with my presence here. Perhaps, I should take my leave."

"Yes!" Tiffany said, smug. "Just as planned."

I frowned in irritation at my sister's lie. A hint of fear rose from my stomach. Though, what Kazuya said and did bother me, it didn't feel right to kick out the person that protected us and saved our lives, even if we could. Considering all we went through this month, I felt—I knew—that he'd probably have to protect us again.

"You don't have to leave… just—stay down here," I said. "Away from us."

Tiffany laughed. "All that and she still kinda trusts you, can you believe it?"

I glared at her and she stuck her tongue out at me.

"Of course," Kazuya said with a grin. "Just like you as well."

"Whatever."

After getting Kazuya set with some toiletries from one of the downstairs bedrooms, we went back upstairs in silence. Closing the basement door, I rounded on Tiffany.

"Mind telling me what that was about? You let Kazuya in?"

Tiffany refused to face me as she glanced through the kitchen window, aimless.

"Tiffany!" I whispered, angry she would try to hide something from me. "What were you doing in there before I came downstairs? Don't lie to me."

With a bitter smile, Tiffany chuckled and shook her head. "I can't believe this. What makes you think I'm responsible for him forcing himself on me, huh? He's a crazy fucker that can do whatever the hell he wants."

"Why do you sound so guilty then?" I snapped. "Did he do something to you? Tell me what happened. You should've woke me up before you let him in."

"Look, nothing happened between us," Tiffany said. "So stop bugging me about it."

"Excuse me?" I asked, indignant. Tiffany would've wanted me to share what I was feeling if I went through something traumatic but she wouldn't do the same.

Tiffany mouth curled in irritation but before she could respond we heard a loud thump and a creaking noise from upstairs. A door opened and after a moment it closed. It sounded like our parent's room. Dad must have gotten up to use the restroom and check the heater in the hallway.

"Fine. We'll talk about this tomorrow," I whispered.

Tiffany didn't argue—she just fixed me with a look, her arms crossed. She turned away from me and went upstairs to her room, climbing the steps slowly so our parents wouldn't hear. With an uneasy feeling in my chest, I followed.

oOo

The school was uneventful so far, the day normal for the most part. Tiffany and I didn't talk in the morning, and honestly, I felt conflicted about speaking to her or Terra since we arrived. Her words from the previous night hurt me more than I expected and it bothered me that she didn't take the initiative to smooth things over. Tiffany was fine with acting like yesterday was a figment of my imagination.

I sighed as I walked with Nathan from homeroom to our second period, thinking about my sister and Kazuya. Before we left the house in the morning, Tiffany and I checked in on the Valterian fox, who promised to stay in the basement and not cause any trouble while we were gone. I hoped that was the case.

"What's wrong?" Nathan asked, his voice laced with concerned, his brown eyes focused on me. "Still thinking about your ex?"

I snorted, almost amused Nathan's would think of that first. "He's the furthest thing from my mind."

"What's bothering you then? You've been quiet all day."

"Remember the Fox Valterian we talked about? He returned last night."

Nathan adjusted the books and binder in his hand, looking up in thought as our fellow students passed by. "Kazuya, right? So, he met with you guys again."

"…Yeah," I said rubbing my head. "Something happened between him and Tiff last night and it's pissing me off."

Nathan's eyes narrowed as he frowned. "What?"

I looked away. "I'm not sure. I walked in on him pretty much straddling my sister and then asked us to do some weird things. Like get naked and lie down in front of him. "

"The fuck? He wanted you to…"

"Yeah." Closing my eyes, I shuddered. "It's not what you think, Nathan, but the way he blatantly crosses boundaries. It bothers me."

He's just like Timothy.

"I'll tell Ashley and Ms. Frazzle. We can help."

I smiled at him, feeling a bit warm inside. "Thanks. So where did Katherine go? Weren't you talking to her before homeroom finished?"

Nathan scratched the back of his neck with a nervous smile. "Yeah… I wanted to walk to class with her and Terra, today. I asked her but when she saw you and Diana coming up, she ran off."

"Mmm." Even though I stood up for her I could see why Katherine was still frightened, because I still was friends with Ashley and some of the girls that bullied her. "So about Terra, where is he?"

Nathan shrugged. "Who knows what our master assassin is up to. I think Ms. Lopez and Hardy have been hassling him about skipping and getting to class on time."

I laughed a little and smiled. "Even Terra knows his limits."

"Could've fooled me."

We turned the corner trying to stay together within the congested corridor, but we ran into three girls, nearly bumping headfirst into them. In passing I recognized the trio as a group of freshmen, I'd see often in the gymnasium as the students who took the bus waited for school to start in the morning.

"Isn't that…?" One of the girls muttered in another's ear.

"That's the girl that had sex with Derrick and Malcolm," the third said in a loud whisper. "What a fucking slut."

My blood ran cold and nearly I stopped dead in my tracks. Nathan urged me onward with his hand on my back but he glanced back at the girls as they kept walking, annoyed.

"I knew they'd start spreading rumors," Nathan said, his face distasteful. "I bet you it was Rika and Brittany. Don't worry, Mercy, we'll get this handled."

"How?" I muttered, feeling hopeless as we continued down the hall. Passing by everyone, it felt like everyone was staring at me. The bloodthirsty and gleeful eyes of every person we passed, judging me. They were salivating, looking for a taste of drama, any hint of weakness so they can pounce on and attack me. Girls were whispering to their friends as they passed with their cruel smiles and some boys gave me these weird looks and smirks when they were convinced Nathan wasn't paying attention. Nathan could tell I was uncomfortable but he didn't seem to have a solution or answer for me.

Unfocused, I couldn't wait for Algebra II to be over.

After the lunch bell rang, I made a beeline for my locker, put books away, and went back to Ms. Frazzle's class. Ms. Frazzle greeted me at the door, apparently already knowledgeable about Nathan's and my lunch plans. Within ten minutes or so, Nathan appeared with Ashley behind him, his lunch tray full of food and drinks. He handed me the chicken salad and bottle of water I asked for before heading to the front of the room, and we followed. I gave Ashley a questionable look as Nathan didn't give her anything. She shook her head. Wasn't hungry today, I guessed.

We sat at the desks closest to Ms. Frazzle's. As our English teacher took her seat, I pretty much relayed to everyone how Tiffany and I came into contact with Kazuya after Timothy's party. His battle with Shekhinah and her Arcadian warriors. How he vanished and then returned.

Ms. Frazzle took everything in thoughtful silence, her hand folded in front of her face, hiding her mouth with elbows on her desk. "Kazuya seems to be quite the character. Interesting. You said he forced you to undress?"

"Not really," I said, feeling a little embarrassed, repeating the situation with Nathan and Ashley sitting right next to me. "He wanted to look at us naked for some reason."

Ashley stifled a laugh, her hand covering her lips. "As promiscuous as he may be, he wasn't trying to sleep with you. He has grandchildren more than half our age."

I blinked at her in surprise but, of course, Kazuya was serious about being like a gazillion years old. Even with him being god, that amount of time… It was difficult to fathom.

"Like that's stopped some people," Nathan said.

"He'd have to wine-and-dine me first," I joked in an offhand manner. Ashley shook her head, a slight smile on her face. Nathan tried to laugh but he ended up choking on a french fry.

I giggled, patted him on the back, and took one of his fries for myself. "I guess Shekhinah, is up there in age too," I said, between bites.

"Not quite." Ms. Frazzle shook her head. "Shekhinah isn't nearly as old as that fox."

"Do you know them?"

"Not personally, but many know of them across the realms as legendary warriors. Kazuya's been around since Valteria's beginning. Shekhinah is about a few centuries older than me."

"Damn, y'all old," Nathan said, before taking another bite of his burger.

Ms. Frazzle appeared to be entertained by his response. "That's no way to talk to a woman, Nathan."

"My bad," he drawled with a smirk.

"The Malakhim named Shekhinah…" Ashley said, gazing at her hands with half-lidded eyes, deep in thought. "Wasn't she instrumental in stopping the Makers during that war?"

Ms. Frazzle nodded. "The Arcadian kingdoms fought with Avalon against Tiphereth once the Elder Gods appeared. I believe Shekhinah and Tiphereth were close before the latter rebelled against Corinath and the rest of the gods."

Ashley scrunched her lips and stroked her chin with her fingers. "Shekhinah, hmm? I wouldn't mind adding her to my collection."

"Well, that's not ominous at all," I muttered.

Nathan laughed. "Yeah, that's pretty creepy, Aggie."

Ashley's attention cut to him with a glare. "If you call me that one more time, I'll rip out your tongue."

"Ashley, please stop with the threats," Ms. Frazzle said, exhausted.

Ashley rolled her eyes and crossed her legs, ignoring them.

I gave Nathan a warning glance knowing Ashley wasn't fond of the nickname given by the seniors on our soccer team. He held a finger in front of his lips as if he was shushing me and then pointed back at Ashley. He was letting me know he'd explain later.

A smiled on his face, Nathan asked, "Shanice can call you that but not me?"

"I allow that because she's our team captain," Ashley grumbled with closed eyes.

In her own unique way, Ashley did have respect for hierarchy—well—when it came to things she cared about. I guess it came with the territory of being a leader.

Still interested in the previous topic, I brought the conversation back around. "The war with that Tiphereth person, was it the war you and Terra were talking about before?" I asked, turning my torso to face Ashley and stretch at the same time.

She shook her head. "No. This happened fairly recently, compared to that. About a millennium or two ago."

"The end of the Millennia Years War," Ms. Frazzle commented, her expression unfocused. "We nearly lost everything then. Tiphereth almost succeeded in destroying all of reality. "

"Father did say she was attempting to end the Omniverse," Ashley said with a predatory smile, her hazel eyes glowing gold as energy from her draconian aura released in the air, holding me in place. "I would've have loved to fight her."

Ms. Frazzle sighed, hands on her chest. "Thank the Elders she was sealed."

"Wait," Nathan cut in. "How come we never heard of this?"

"Most of the battle was fought in Arcadia or on Avalon," Ashley explained. "Valteria and the Galactic Federation didn't get involved until later."

"We have a Galactic Federation too? Holy shit!"

"Nathan," Ms. Frazzle admonished, reprimanding him for his language. Nathan bowed his head, flippant.

"So Earth wasn't involved?" I assumed.

"For the most part," Ashley mused as she shifted her legs, relaxing them. "Regardless, Mercy, about Kazuya, I will handle him."

Ms. Frazzle's lips thinned in worry but Nathan responded first raising his hand to get Ashley's attention.

"Maybe we should go in as a group. I'm just saying… since he killed those Arcadians and all that?"

"I agree," Ms. Frazzle said, appearing conflicted with her hands balled into fists on her desk.

"You lot would only get in the way," Ashley hissed. "If I am to force him out, I don't want any burdens." She tore her attention from Nathan and frowned at Ms. Frazzle. "You two make everything such a hassle."

"We weren't invited to the party?" Terra's voice cut in as I heard the steps from him and another classmate near the entrance.

Gawking at the door, I noticed Tiffany and Terra standing side-by-side, Terra's arm wrapped around Tiffany's waist. Tiffany caught my eyes. She tried to hide it but I knew her micro-expressions better than anyone. The hint of a frown she was so desperate to hide, I could tell she was displeased. I wondered what she was thinking right now.

Afraid I'm going to tell Terra?

Did she think I would betray her?

"What's up?" Terra asked us.

Ms. Frazzle hesitated and then nodded at me. Nathan opened his mouth but sensing something was off, he slowly focused on me. Calm, Ashley took notice of the two aggravating and inseparable lovebirds before observing me.

Anxiety bled through my chest, my eyes shifting from Terra to my twin. Should Terra find out what took place last night?