“Alright, everyone! Let’s not waste further time!” Ume flashed her fangs in a charming grin. “C’mon! When we get to the station, get out as soon as possible. As for you, Tanuki, no one knows you and they won’t be looking for you, I don’t think. Just fade off screen, and make sure you’re not seen.”

Akuchi grinned. “I have just enough energy to make myself disappear and they could neither see nor put a hand on me. I’m not just worried about myself, however. If we could wait for a few hours, I could hide everyone here.” He rummaged in his kilt to produce a series of new leaves.

I stared at him and retched, turning away. My skirt fluttered up. “E--Eh... ?” I hadn’t paid much attention to myself, other than the fact that they’d applied makeup. I thought they had made me look like a handsome and dark goth guy, but this was unmistakably another goth dress!

“It’s a nice thought, but we don’t have that kind of time, and I agree with Susumu. Don’t put one of those things on me,” Ume spoke, giggling. “Your leaves smell.”

“Really!” Rui exclaimed. “Is that where you hide your leaves, Akuchi? Is that necessary, or are you just extremely sick in the head?” She took my hand.

“Hey! Inside my pants is where the magic starts!” Akuchi responded with a deadpan tone and expression. I flinched away from him.

“Ooooooooohhh..." someone whistled. Ume laughed.

“You’re banned, Akuchi!” Rui yelled.

“Everyone, move now. We don’t have time for bantering!” Ume spoke. Rui pulled me after her when Ume started moving. I wondered why the loli-oni was holding my hand. I blushed redly, not sure how to react. It was such a personal thing for her to do.

Akuchi walked beside us. I saw him glare balefully downwards. His eyes flicked towards our hands. Finally, he darted around and seized my other hand. I stared at him in horror. “A-Akuchi! Nooooo!” I jerked my hand away, but he held it steadfastly.

Ume glanced over her shoulder and laughed, clapping. “Such hot-blooded young folk!” She winked while the vampires flanked us. “The train passed recently, but another will likely appear. That’s a huge problem.” She frowned slightly. “If they see us, they’ll report what they saw, potentially adding to our troubles. But this time they’ll be looking for a tall African youth and a lot of goths.”

Rui shot a freaked-out look at Akuchi. Even though he noticed, he remained silent. His expression was thoughtful. “The way I see things, we can hide when a train comes along. We’re all in dark clothing, now. Our hair is all dark. If we crouch down low along the wall with our backs turned, there’s a chance they won’t see us, or maybe we’ll be better off if we lay along the wall and wait for it to pass. The lights are still out. Noh-face broke them, probably to make an ideal hiding zone.”

“That’s a decent enough proposition, RuiRui!” Ume winked. The vampires shifted the focus of the beams of the scavenged flashlights to whoever was speaking. The effect was like shining spotlights. “That’s the plan so far, but the odds that we will succeed are dubious.”

Rui nodded and turned to Akuchi. “Okay, option number two would be making use of another Akuchi transformation. Do you have any energy left for another life-saving transformation?”

Akuchi hesitated, squeezing my hand. The flashlights shone on him. “Very little. I could not manage to become a massive train like I did earlier when Susumu was about to be killed... but changing into something with a lower profile would be possible.” He looked around, frowning. But finally he looked back to me; his face shone with optimism and he grinned. “Very well! I shall do my best, for you.” He relinquished my hand and flipped backward, taking a dramatic position. The vampire’s flashlights followed his motions. He did a little dance, starting to moonwalk.

“You idiot, stop showboating! Just transform! Stop pretending that you’re so cool. If you have enough energy to dance, you can transform!” Rui yelled. Her voice echoed up and down the tunnel. Akuchi glared at Rui, flinching.

“Damn..." he grumbled and clapped his hands before him with a serious expression. He gradually lay flat as though he was levitating downwards. His body spread to either side of the tracks. He gradually became a small cart with train wheels. It took a moment, but he formed a headlight which bathed us in light. The vampires jumped up onto Akuchi with surreal grace to land with a clattering of shoes.

*THUMP* *THUMP* *BUMP* *CLATTER*

“Oh, my! What a talented tanuki!” Ume patted him delicately. The light turned slightly pinker. “On board!” She grinned broadly, and then did a little flip. Her skirt floated up briefly as she landed on Akuchi amidst the vampires. I blushed at seeing her cute panties. A small warm trickling of blood leaked from my nostril as my heart hammered against my ribcage.

“Get moving, idiot!” Rui yelled and swung me forward, I went flying up onto Akuchi, and I landed on my back. Rui scrambled up onto him as the car started moving. He honked loudly and started picking up speed like a train.

“Oh... such a wonderful Tanuki!” Ume exclaimed, loudly. For good measure, Akuchi built up even more speed! It didn’t speak. Perhaps he was almost out of energy.

I stood and shot a glare at Rui. “You’re so brutal! My back hurts!”

Akuchi honked loudly again, rocking left and right on the tracks exaggeratedly. “Now, now... I’m sorry.” Rui smiled. “But we had to get going, didn’t we? I’m a natural leader. What can I say?”

“Umu... Yes, you are,” Ume agreed as she took Rui’s hands. “You should be gentler, however.”

“You’re right.” Rui nodded. “I won’t make promises I can’t keep.”

Ume laughed and the laughter was contagious. We all laughed together. Akuchi honked loudly. A light was approaching. Moments later we pulled into the station. All were blinded when we slipped out from the shadows into the well-lit station.

When our vision cleared and Akuchi had come to a stop, policemen had ringed the tracks. The regular passengers stood behind them, anxious and excited. We stared up at them.

“Now, Akuchi!” Rui barked. He rattled beneath us and suddenly we were catapulted high into the air, above the officers. The vampires landed first, gracefully. A vampire caught Rui, and Ume herself caught me; even though she was smaller than me, she had incredible strength!

She purred and winked. “I owe you a kiss, Susumu!” She leaned forward and kissed me. I gasped and exploded. At the same moment, Akuchi exploded, turning into dense fog. It filled the entire station. Ume set me gently down on my feet. “Mmmm... if you want to become a vampire someday, I’d be happy to convert you.”

I blushed intensely, clutching at my neck. I just regained my humanity! What makes you think I’d want to become a yokai again?! Ume laughed cutely. Rui darted forward and wrapped her arms tightly around Ume to kiss her.

“K-kyaaa..." I blushed, clapping my hands up against my face.

“HALT! Stand down! Enough of this nonsense! Whatever tricks you have up your sleeves won’t work. You’re surrounded!” a policeman barked loudly.

“Mmmmm!” Ume purred and the kiss broke. “That’s a fitting reward for my grand escape plan!” She giggled. “Everyone, enact part two!” The Akuchi-mist became thicker before it faded to reveal our surroundings.

The platform, which was filled with policemen and passengers, once Akuchi’s mist had faded, the whole station was full of vampires and policemen. All of the innocent-looking passengers were gone, replaced with goths! I gaped at the strange spectacle, but Ume took my hand and Rui’s as we fled. The crowd all at once panicked in confusion.

“Y-you’re amazing!” Rui murmured breathlessly.

The policemen yelled and tried to chase after us, but without success. They soon lost track of us. A few simply stood in place, shaking their heads. More than a few simply gave up trying to understand what was happening. A few tenacious ones aimlessly chased vampires around the platform. I could practically hear cheesy chase scene music playing in the background as we made our escape.