Page 4 of Curses & Kitsune

“I need to hold a meeting, make sure everyone remembers their duties and keeps their eyes open for Takada-kai or hunters.” It’s still surreal that I’ve found myself in a position of authority after having no control over any aspect of my existence. “Everyone’s depending on me to succeed Namikawa and get us out of the mess he left us in.” I don’t know if I can be what they need, what Jinta needs. How the hell can I balance both?

Jinta offers a smile. “Do your best.”

It’s hard not to want to give him the whole damn world when he smiles. “I’ll try.”

Jinta eats the last bite of egg. “Just think about when this is all over. It can be just us. You can leave the yakuza. We can go far away from here.”

I lift up my arm and show him my tattoos. “What am I supposed to do? I’ll never be able to get a normal job with these. I’m marked for life.”

Frowning, Jinta runs his fingers up and down my forearm. “Become a tattoo artist.”

I snort, and Jinta cracks a grin. “Don’t think my customers would appreciate stick figure tattoos.”

“You’ll think of something. Come on, there really aren’t any, I don’t know, witches or something who can remove tattoos?” Lacing our fingers together, Jinta leans in and presses his lips to mine. “This isn’t forever. Once the Takada-kai are gone and the hunters take a hike, things will calm down. It’ll just be us.”

He always speaks with such surety that I can’t help wanting to believe him.

Even if I’m terrified, I’m incapable of giving him the life he deserves.

Closing my eyes tight, I focus on the softness of his lips and his sweet cherry blossom scent—until Jinta yanks his mouth away and stumbles off the seat. One hand over his mouth, he books it toward the bathroom.

Alarmed, I jump out of my seat and follow him. “Jinta! Hey!”

Throwing himself through the door, Jinta collapses on his knees and clutches the toilet seat as his body heaves. My knees hit the tile, and I touch his lurching shoulders, wincing in sympathy as his body purges itself of everything he just ate. Fuck. My poor sunshine.

Finally, the nausea subsides. Jinta spits into the toilet a few times, then sits back. His sweat-slick skin has taken on a greenish tinge. I stroke the damp hair from his forehead and kiss his temple. “Okay?”

Jinta nods, clutching his stomach.

Seeing him so ill hurts like a knife in my heart. “Stay put.” I run to the kitchen and grab a bottle of water. When I get back, I sit on the floor beside Jinta and hand him the water. Jinta flushes his mouth with the water a few times before he takes a big sip. Closing his eyes, he leans his head back against the wall.

“Are you okay?” I run my hand up his thigh.

“Feeling a little better.” Jinta’s voice is hoarse.

When I rest my hand on his forehead, his temperature feels normal. “You don’t have a fever, but still, you should call out of work today.”

Jinta shakes his head.

“Jinta,” I growl. “Call out. You’re sick. You should stay home and rest.”

A muscle feathers in Jinta’s clenched jaw. He pushes himself up and splashes water on his face over the sink. “I need to work! I’ve got to have some control over my own life, okay?” Toweling his face off, he stomps from the bathroom.

Damn it. I hate the thought of him going to work sick. What if he gets worse? I bolt after him and find him in the foyer, pulling on his shoes and a light jacket. “Why? What’s so urgent that you can’t skip a day?”

Jinta yanks on his shoes, cheeks flushed with anger, but I can’t tell if it’s at me or himself. “It’s bad enough I can’t control the kitsune. I’m a burden already, I can’t be a financial burden to you, too.”

How could he think he’s a burden? I walk around him so I’m blocking the door, arms crossed tight over my chest. “Have I told you you’re a burden?”

“No, but—”

“In case you haven’t noticed, I’m more than capable of supporting the both of us. Namikawa trained me for years to take over his investing business.”

“I know that!” Jinta snaps.

An exasperated sigh puffs out of me. “Then what—”

“If I can’t contribute, then what good am I?” Jinta’s sudden shout fills the foyer. “I already disappointed my family. I can’t disappoint you, too!”

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