Curse of the Nine-Tailed Fox: a New Adult Japanese Fantasy by Rowan Adelaide

Author:Rowan, Adelaide
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Crown of Dreams Publishing LLC
Published: 2023-11-27T00:00:00+00:00

I’d like to think I’ve become quite familiar with pain. There’s the sharp, obnoxious pain of shallow cuts. Then there’s the throbbing ache of torn muscles. And of course, the sharp, biting pain of a broken bone like fire in your body. When Physician Akiyama popped my dislocated shoulder back into place, it took my breath away like a punch to the gut. I wheezed and tried not to faint, my vision flaring white with pain. When I blinked it away, I found Susanno crouched beside me, eyes wider than saucers.

“Are you okay, Kuroko?”

I couldn’t respond. I took in a few deep breaths and let them out slowly. I couldn’t focus beyond the blood pounding in my ears, and the heavy thud of my heart. Physician Akiyama handed me a porcelain vial of liquid and used a bandage to secure my left arm to my chest.

I swallowed the vial, desperate for relief from the pain. My lip curled at the bitter taste.

I sat on a hard, bamboo floor while he cleaned my minor scrapes and cuts with gauze and disinfectant. Susanoo fluttered around the room like a breeze, rifling through the physician’s medicine cabinet, supplies, and herbal remedies, humming and murmuring to himself.

Hikaru stood with his back to one wall and arms folded over his chest. He’d changed out of his soiled kimono into a dark green kimono with a yellow obi. There were small pieces of gauze covering the small cuts on his face, neck, and arms. He hadn’t spoken a word since he’d come back, and he hadn’t taken his eyes off the only window in the room.

While Physician Akiyama worked, a servant bowed into the room, carrying a tray filled with bowls of rice, fried vegetables, and spiced salmon. Awakened by the heavenly smell, a massive growl rumbled through my stomach, hunger pains scraping at the inside of my ribcage. Wiping drool from my chin, I wolfed down the salmon and tore into the vegetables. The salmon flaked away from the bone, melting in my mouth with a sharp tang of pepper and another spice I couldn’t name. The vegetables had a satisfying crunch, and I savored every bite.

Within seconds, my stomach churned and clenched. Bile burned the back of my throat. I turned my head and vomited onto the bamboo floor. Tears stung my eyes, and saliva dripped from my open mouth. I groaned and wiped it away, scowling at the food. I tried eating more slowly, but the rich foods caused me to wretch and hurl in minutes.

The servant cleaned away the mess, nose crinkled against the acrid smell, left with the tray, and came back with a bowl of miso soup. I sipped at it, pausing every few seconds to allow my rumbling stomach to settle. Once I managed to keep it down, the servant left and returned with plain, roasted salmon.

Susanoo chattered to me about the various vials, herbs, and remedies in the physician’s work room – apparently, one smelled like cat urine and he named another “bird poop pellets” –

but Hikaru stared at the wall the entire time.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.