Chapter 3-Risk and Reward

“You look awful, Saya.” Kira said as his sister wolfed her breakfast down.

“Do I? I feel great.” Saya drawled through a mouthful of fish. She was too preoccupied with the throbbing in her head to worry about table manners. “More rice.”

Kira rolled his eyes, but topped off the bowl regardless. Their father had already gone out to work, leaving the twins by themselves.

“You’re going to make us late if you don’t get a move on.” He said.

“Then don’t let me keep you. I’m sure you have Sai to keep you company on the way to school. She didn’t say the words in any particular way, but Kira could tell she was a bit miffed that he left her alone afterschool.

“Saya, look, I’m sorry about ditching you yesterday. If I had known you were going to get into a fist fight with a freaking tengu, I’d have made sure you stayed on the path home.” Kira sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. “Look, can we not start this day off on a bad note?”

Saya looked at her brother before scarfing down the entire bowl of rice and dropping the bowl onto the table.

“Okay, we can chill. Besides, I don’t even need your friend, because I made a new one of my own yesterday.” Saya said before giving a beast-like burp.

“Like, an actual friend and not some random dude you knocked out for pissing you off?” He asked.

“An actual friend, you asshole!” She shouted. “His name’s Shirai and he’s in high school.”

“He?” Kira looked at her suspiciously. “Should I be worried?”

“No, dummy. He’s the boy who was being attacked by the tengu. We kicked ass together, and I made a new friend.” Saya decided against telling Kira about Shirai’s powers without his permission. “And you’re going to meet him after school so we can all have a little chat about something important.”

“And what exactly is that?” He asked.

“You’ll see when the time comes.” She grumbled.

Kira checked his watch and got up, taking the now empty bowls with him. “Time to go. Wash up and help me with the dishes, will you?”

The twins quickly did the dishes, cleaned up, got their bags and left their house to exit into the cool morning air. They calmly walked down the street with other students from their neighborhood and adults heading to work.

“Sai said that he’ll meet us a few block ahead.” Kira said. “I think you’ll like him. He’s a swell guy.”

“I never said I didn’t like him. That’s mostly your fault.” Saya huffed. In an effort to make herself feel better, she started playing around with her light powers, tapping her fingers together and coating them in light. “Kira, did you get some practicing in? After yesterday, I think I’m really starting to get the hang of this…”

Saya’s voice died out when she saw Kira not only making shapes with his light, but also forming small circular shields! Kira saw her expression and grinned.

“Yeah, I’ve been practicing too.” He said, trying not to sound too smug. “You’re right, sis, it really does get easier the more you use it.”

Saya puffed out her cheeks and turned away from him. “How the hell were you able to do that?!”

“I don’t know.” He shrugged. “Just came naturally to me.”

“Everything comes naturally to you.” She muttered.

“Okay, now that’s not true.” Kira growled. “You’re the big, bad martial arts prodigy here. If you can still call that barbaric brawling even that.”

“Get bent! You’re the bookworm everything gushes over like it’s a lost art!”

“That’s not true and you know it!”

“Excuse me.” Someone said behind them.

“Yes…” Kira’s voice choked up as he looked back to address the speaker.

It was a woman, but she looked…wrong. So very wrong. She stood extremely tall, standing around eight feet tall, with a rail thin body that made an anorexic look fat. Pale skin stretched along long, bony limbs and a pale yellow dress hung of her lanky form. Her hands, which were also skinny, had bony fingers tipped with sharp nails.

The woman’s face was long and narrow to an unnatural degree, and her eyes stared blankly at the twins, little more than two black pinpricks in a sea of white.

“You two have such bright souls.” The woman said in a raspy whisper. “So strong…so powerful.”

“C-can we help you?” Kira asked nervously.

“Hmm? Oh, yes. I was wondering if you’ve seen the oracle.”

“Oracle?” Saya repeated, warily watching the strange lady. “No, we have seen any oracle. Sorry.”

Saya turned to grab Kira’s arm and pull him away, but a bony hand grabbed her shoulder in a tight grip, stopping her in her tracks.

“Oh, but I think you do.” The woman said, her voice giddy. Slowly, her already wide mouth spread into a demonically big smile that split her face in two, a smile too wide for a normal human, and the twins saw her teeth glint in the sunlight. Inside her mouth was a row of shark-like teeth exposed as her lips pulled back to her gums. “You have the scent of one, girl. You two…you two are half-bloods.”

Saya froze at the term while Kira stepped forward and pushed the woman back, nearly dragging Saya with her. “Look just leave us alone before we call the po—“

“Oh blessed oracle! I have searched for you for so long!” The woman moaned, somehow still capable of forming words despite having her lips pulled back over her teeth. “I do not know why you have been reborn into two children, but—“

“Sneak attack!”

The yell came seconds before Sai flew in, slamming his heel into the tall woman’s jaw and deforming her face for two seconds. She stumbled back but quickly recovered with a snarl, her face now looking more demonic as she hissed through her teeth.

“What the hell?!” Saya exclaimed, taking a step back. She noticed that a crowd was forming around them.

“Kira, Saya, go on without me.” Sai’s voice was hard as stone, totally different from his usual laid back attitude. He raised his fists and got into a fighting stance.

“Sai,” Kira said. “What are you-“

“Get out of my way, boy!” The woman’s face was practically dominated by her gaping maw. The crowd began to panic as they began to notice her demonic features, with some people calling for the police.

“You’re not getting near them!” Sai growled. “You two need to leave, now!”

“Come on, Saya.” Kira grabbed her hand and pulled her back into the crowd.

“Wait, we can’t just leave him!” Saya protested.

“We’d only be in the way.” He said. Something told him that Sai was more than just some new kid with a lazy disposition. Even he knew what a proper fighting stance looked like. “He’ll be fine.”

Saya bit her lip and looked back, watching as Sai’s back was obscured by the crowd.

XXXXXX

Sai wouldn’t get to school until about an hour after that particular incident. For the twins, they were too shaken by that encounter to really feel the boredom of morning classes, and before they knew it, it fourth period was over and it was time for lunch. Oddly enough, the ever tardy Mai Asakura had never reprimanded Sai on his lateness.

“What the hell was up with that woman, this morning?” Saya grumbled, shoving a piece of chicken into her mouth. “I’ve never seen a person who looked that thin.”

“That woman wasn’t human, Saya.” Sai said, taking a sip of his soda. It was just her and Sai hanging out in the lunchroom while Kira was off with his friend. “She was a monster.”

“I mean, it shouldn’t be a surprise to you. She wasn’t even trying to look human.” He said, as if it were a normal thing. ”Monsters can assimilate any living being they consume, from animals and plants to even other monsters. Shapeshifting is nothing to them, but some are better at hiding among humans than others. That woman was one of the reckless ones.”

Saya mentally berated herself for even being remotely surprised at that revelation despite having just started a fight with a crow tengu the previous day. “You sound like you know a lot about yokai. Did you run into them back in Xing?”

“Plenty of times. Many of them were harmless, but there are some that are dangerous. Those type of spirits like to hanging out in large cities where it’s harder to notice their differences.” Sai said. “You gotta be careful when dealing with strangers. Never know when one of them might be some monsters looking to swipe your money or swipe your liver.”

“Don’t worry, I won’t go looking for trouble with those bastards.” She promised. “So, um, do you know what species that skeleton lady was?”

“No clue. Probably one of those free-range monsters that don’t belong to any particular species. You know how they’re always changing.” Sai looked at her. “Are you and Kira alright?”

“Yeah, we’re fine. Just a bit shaken, but nothing serious. That bitch just creeped us out, that’s all.” Saya waved off his concern, but gave him a little smile to show her gratitude. “Thanks for bailing us out, though. That was a brave move you did. Or stupid.”

“A little bit of both. Rule of encountering demons, don’t go jumping in to fight them unless you know what you’re getting into. I got lucky when the police showed up with some mages on site.”

They ate in silence for a moment, lost in their own thoughts. Sai glanced at Saya for a moment before asking what was on his mind.

“Hey, do you have anybody in your family that’s a mage?”

“Huh?” Saya blinked. “Why do you ask?”

“Just curious. I mean, I heard that some demons go after people with magicians in their bloodline and stuff like that, so I was just wondering.”

“I don’t know anybody on my mom’s side, but I know that my dad’s mother, baba, was a very talented magician.” She said.

“Really?” He said, interested.

Saya nodded. “She used to be a combat mage in the imperial army, one of the few women who actively fought in the war at the time.”

“She even fought in the East Pacific War?”

“Baba didn’t go overseas, but she did defend the country from Joseun battleships trying to surround the islands in the Sea of Susanoo.” Saya smiled as she remembered the old war stories her grandmother would tell her. “Baba was a combat mage during that time, and she was one of the few female officers in her division. She was one of the best of her generation and she was even offered a position on the Sun Guard at one point.”

Sai was impressed. The Sun Guard were a special team of battle mages in the imperial army who answered directly to the emperor. They were elite mages skilled in multiple types of magic that were both versatile and highly destructive. To be offered a spot on the Sun Guard was one of the highest honors a mage could have in Nippon. Sai would’ve loved to meet a war hero like that!

“After the war she retired and married my grandad, who was also her commanding officer. Nine months later, she had my aunt, then my dad a year later. That’s all I know about my dad’s family, really.”

“That’s some legacy. Having that kind of magical lineage in your bloodline could do wonders for you down the line.” Sai said. “But your grandmother never taught you two magic?”

We were too young, and she passed when Kira and I were seven.”

“Oh, sorry about that.” He apologized. Saya punched his arm. “Ow, what was that for?”

“Don’t apologize, dummy. You didn’t know.” She smiled and leaned her elbows on the table, her lunch forgotten. “Baba was great. She helped dad raise Kira and I after our mom left us and told us all kinds of stories. Even at her age she somehow was able to keep up with us.”

Kaede Asakura, the twins’ grandmother, was a woman who many girls aiming for military careers in this day and age would look up to as an idol. It took courage to join the imperial army as a combat mage in a time where women were mostly regulated to medical and receptionist roles. Kaede was an extremely talented magician who learned various types of magic that she tweaked for modern use, creating various spells that could create and destroy. Her training and innate skills allowed her to survive through some of the bloodiest battles of the East Pacific War.

“You miss her, don’t you?” Sai said softly. Saya nodded.

“Every day.” She replied. “She was more of a mother to us than…that that woman who tossed us aside.”

When she spat out the word “woman” Sai wisely did not comment on it and smoothly eased the conversation into something more lighthearted. Deep down, he wished that he had a family as close as hers. It’d be nice to spend the holidays with someone other than his dad’s old barrack buddies after all.

XXXXXX

Up on the roof, Kira was eating lunch with his friend, Emi Ohara. She was a member of his book club and one of the few kids in school that wasn’t merely an acquaintance to him.

Emi was a girl who could pass for a “proper Nipponese girl” in this day and age. Fair skin, dark gray eyes and long black hair, with a quiet and demure attitude that matched her looks. She was just a year older than Kira and stood a bit taller than him, though neither she nor Kira mentioned that at all. Their shared interest in reading and writing had forged a surprisingly strong friendship between them and Kira definitely did not take it for granted.

“I heard some of the girls in my class talking about a woman assaulting two students from our school, but I didn’t expect it to be you and Saya.” Emi said.

“I wouldn’t call it outright assault, just being a public nuisance.” Kira said, trying to be cool about it, though the lingering shakiness in his voice whenever he thought about that creepy woman made the illusion weaker than ill-tempered glass. “But she was…freaky.”

“Do you think she was a yokai?” Emi asked. Kira snorted.

“Of course she was. You should’ve seen how her mouth nearly split her head wide open.” He said and looked at his half-eaten food. “I keep hearing about all these yokai attacks and encounters on the news, and after hearing what happened to those two girls from our grade, it’s starting to get pretty depressing.”

“I know. My mom’s been worrying herself sick every time Taro and I leave the house.” Emi said. Taro was Emi’s little brother, who was in second grade.”

“And your dad?” Kira smirked. Emi returned it with one of her own.

“What do you think? He seems to mistake being in middle school for being an adult. To him, we’re responsible enough to watch our asses, he’d always tell mom.”

“Your dad’s a bit of a tough customer.” Kira laughed.

“He’s a bit rough around the edges, but it shows that he has faith. So that’s something, I guess.” She replied with a shrug.

Kira turned to look at her, but any words died on his tongue as he spotted the glowing outline around her body. It was a visible dark gray glow that ran along the outline of her body, like the neon lights on an LED sign. Kira blinked, thinking it was the sun playing tricks on him, but the glow remained.

“Kira, are you okay?” Emi asked, looking totally normal, seemingly not noticing that she was glowing. “You look a bit pale.”

Kira’s eyes were starting to hurt and he clenched his eyes shut. To lessen the pain. “I-I’m fine, just a bit tired. It’s been a rough morning, haha.”

“I doubt that’s the only reason. Look, you’re sweating.” Emi said.

He was sweating, and his headache wasn’t getting any better wither. And why did he feel so hot? He opened his eyes and saw that he too was glowing, his body outlined by a deep red aura that felt warm across his skin.

“Come on, let’s get you to the nurse. You don’t look so good.” Emi reached out to take his hand, but the moment they made contact, something weird happened.

As soon as Emi touched his hand, an electrical jolt surged through their bodies faster than they could process. Emi’s gray aura briefly melded with Kira’s red aura and a spark exploded between them, making them jump apart.

“W-What the hell?!” Kira exclaimed, his heart pounding.

“What was that?” Emi squeaked. Her hand felt warm and her fingertips tingled.

“I don’t know.” Kira’s headache was fading, but he didn’t feel any calmer. What just happened between them just now?”

Suddenly Kira’s senses flared up as he sensed something behind him and he spun around to find himself staring into the blank eyes of a Noh mask.

“Ah!” Kira screamed and scrambled back toward Emi.

There was a man standing before them on the roof, and he definitely wasn’t part of the school faculty. He had a taller, slender body, and wore a black business suit that somehow didn’t fit his frame. His hands were covered in black gloves and his face was covered by a Noh mask, staring blankly forward.

“Child…” The man muttered, staring straight at Kira.

“Who…who are you?” Kira asked, pushing Emi behind him.

“Child…sage.” He said again. There was an odd, distorted effect to his voice that made it sound lie two people were talking at once, one voice layered over another.

Sage…”

“W-What sage?” Emi asked shakily. “Look, get out of here before we call the police-“

The man’s shot forward with inhuman speed and was in Kira’s face in seconds. The children gagged at the smell of rotten meat drifting from him.

“Sage…sacred power…” He growled. “Hunger…”

The Noh man reached forward toward Kira, and Kira pushed Emi back as he prepared to fight the stranger.

Fortunately, things didn’t reach that point, as Kira’s aunt, Mai, shot out of the stairway and leapt, as in literally jumped, the entire length of the roof in a single bound before grabbing the masked man by back of his shirt. Swinging him around in a feat of strength previously unknown and unseen by the children, Mai threw the man to the ground and pinned him down with a hand on the back of his neck.

“You have some nerve attacking my students inside my school.” Mai snarled. “You two, head back inside and back to your class. The school is on lockdown!”

“Auntie, what’s going on?” Kira asked.

“Just do as I say and go!” She ordered.

Emi grabbed Kira’s hand and pulled him toward the stairs, snatching up their bags along the way. Mai waited until she sensed they were gone before glaring at the yokai in her grasp. “You bastard. Attacking my nephew in my school and expecting to get out of this alive?” Mai growled, showing another side completely different from her stern demeanor. “Your arrogance is insulting!”

“Child…sage…” The Noh mask grumbled, attempting to break free. He hissed as Mai’s hand began to heat up to scalding temperatures. “Sage…m-must have…”

“Stop talking, you filthy parasite!” he growled. “You won’t get the chance to harm my niece and nephew! Begone!”

The heat building up in her hand increased until it exploded outward, blasting off the man’s head. She raised her other hand and fired an intense beam of light that completely destroyed the head in one shot. Underneath her, the headless body that the parasitic Noh mask was controlling began to rapidly decay, shriveling up until all that was left were bones and torn clothing.

XXXXXX

For centuries humans and monsters have clashed all over the world for a myriad of reasons. They are natural enemies, fighting for survival and territory since ancient times. Nippon was one of the few places humans and monsters have shared a peaceful relationship, even though there are plenty of monster (or yokai as they are called in Nippon) species that are hostile towards humans. This relationship has lasted for thousands of years into the modern age, living in their own little parts of society. Yokai lived disguised in plain sight, while humans acknowledged, honored and respected their power. But not everyone accepted this status quo.

Yura had spent much of her life watching humans pervert the land with their technology and magic. She watched as the mortals who once feared and worshipped the yokai grow arrogant because of their advancements and achievements. Magic, science, technology, they were all tools to cover humanity’s inherent weaknesses and flaws, all a result of their mortality and natural place as the weaker species.

‘They make a few grand spells and a couple of advancements in weaponry and they think they can take on a monarch-class monster. Pathetic.’ Yura thought with a scowl, looking out at the landscape of Makura Town.

To the average observer, Yura would appear as a normal, if not exceptionally beautiful, woman, wearing a dark blue blouse with a black skirt and heels. She had dark violet eyes and long flowing silver hair that fell down her back in ivory waves. Her lips were red like blood, contrasting her pale complexion. She looked like she was the most beautiful woman any man would ever see…and it’s because of that beauty that the second thought to cross anybody’s mind would be that she was too beautiful to be human. Yura was a nurarihyon, one of the most powerful yokai in Nippon that sat at the top of the country’s monster hierarchy. A queen of monsters.

“Lady Yura.”

Three large white foxes that were the size of great danes hopped onto the roof she was waiting on. They were definitely not normal foxes, for they had snow white fur with red marking going down the length of their bodies and one of them had two tails.

“You lot took your sweet time getting here.” Yura sniffed.

“The human mages are covering large parts of the town. They have sensory spells covering almost every major residential area.” The lead kitsune said.

“It can’t be helped. Those damn savages got too greedy and now we’ve got the human authorities on our backs.” Yura sighed and rubbed the bridge of her nose in agitation. “I told you we should’ve killed them. Not all yokai deserve to even breathe the same air as me, let alone go roaming around in my turf.”

“Do not blame us for your own shortcomings, my lady.”

“Like you’ve done any better in policing them, Kin.” Yura retorted, but she wasn’t in the mood to argue right now. “Any updates on our search?”

“We’ve located multiple potential half-bloods all over the town. Some of them are humans with above average energy levels, but the others are definitely the mortals we’re looking for.” He reported. “We’ve also been able to confirm that the two recent yokai deaths were caused by half-bloods. The first one was a rogue oomukade that was torn apart by someone who smelled of cats, and the second one was a crow tengu murdered in front of a shrine. I smelled two scents there and one of them had a powerful aura.”

“How powerful?” She asked.

“It’s hard to say. There was something different about this scent. All I can say is that it belonged to a child with an extremely potent aura.” Kin said.

Yura put a delicate hand to her chin. If there was a human with such potent power, then they were probably the half-breed child of the One God’s servants—the angels. These days people called them Nephilim, the result of a human and an angel having a child together. There have been numerous examples of these semi-divine children growing up to become powerful warriors, and were often slayers of the very monsters that hunted them. Their very existence emboldened humanity to fight back against the demons and made them arrogant. Yura herself had killed hundreds of Nephilim who thought she was easy prey to hunt for a quick paycheck.

“It seems we may need some reinforcements to see our journey through.” Yura said and snapped her fingers, materializing a cellphone in her hand.

In a flash, the three kitsune reared back on their hind legs, their animal bodies swiftly changing into that of human warriors clad in crimson samurai armor and brandishing swords. Their faces still sported bestial snarls as they glared at her.

“Filth! Why do you have that human trash here?” Kin growled. Yura rolled her eyes.

“Good grief, calm down you furballs. Get with the times. Magic won’t cut it for us if we’re going to see this through.” Yura pressed a button and waited for someone to pick up. “We need allies to hunt down the source of the spiritual disturbance in this town. And I know someone who might have an idea of what’s causing it.”

Yura had to get answers from a trusted and reliable source. Once she knew who or what was causing such strong ripples through this small region in Edo, she was going to wipe it out and settle the balance once more. The balance between human and yokai must be maintained, and no one was going to uproot that balance under her watch.

XXXXXX

School had been let out early on account of the yokai appearance. The students were sent home, but most of them high-tailed it downtown to enjoy the start of their early weekend. Kira and Saya parted ways with Emi at the gates and they immediately set off to meet with Shirai, Saya’s new friend.

“Saya, shouldn’t we head home?” Kira asked. “I’m pretty sure auntie called dad and told him what happened already, so shouldn’t we be going the other way?”

“He won’t be too worried if we just stay together and remain in public places. Right now, I want you to meet Shirai before more shit happens.” Saya said in her usual crass manner.

“You high school friend?” Kira frowned. “Why do you want me to meet him so badly?”

“To get some answers.”

She led her brother to a playground where she planned to meet Shirai after school. As expected, the boy was waiting by the slide, hands in his pockets, his expression alert and his body guarded for any uninvited guests. Saya called out to him and he nodded in her direction before looking at Kira.

“Yo, Shirai! Sorry we took so long, we had some problems at school that needed to be settled.” Saya said and pushed her brother forward. “This is my twin brother, Kira.”

“Hello.” Kira said quietly.

“Kira, this is Shirai, the dude who saved my ass yesterday.”

“Hey.” Shirai said gruffly. He turned to Saya. “So any reason why we’re having this little get-together?”

“So we can discuss our sweet ass powers. We all have these weird magic powers, and apparently its drawing all these yokai to us.” Saya said. “Shirai, my brother and I can generate light from our bodies. Kira, Shirai here eats spirits and gets these really awesome superpowers from them.”

“Whoa, really?” He said. Shirai shrugged.

“It’s a bit more graphic than how she’s describing it, but yeah, that’s the gist of it.” He said.

“Okay, so both of us can control light and Shirai devours spirits to become stronger.” Kira said, losing his patience. “Now that we’ve established that, what the hell are we trying to accomplish here, Saya?”

“I’m trying to figure out what the hell is going on here.” Saya replied, crossing her arms. “Kira and I ran into two yokai today that were a little too interested in what we are. I’m sure I’m not the only one here who thinks that they aren’t the last monsters to come sniffing around us. I want to know why they keep popping up and how we can avoid running into something worse, like a kuchisake-onna.”

“This is just happening to you guys? I’ve been hounded by yokai since I started munching on spirits.” Shirai said.

“Well, she does have a point.” Kira said. “I’ve read that yokai are attracted to large concentrations of spiritual energy, like religious sites or…”

“Or people with large mana reserves,” Saya grinned. “Like us!”

“Saya, for the last time, we’re not mages.” Kira sighed.

“Then how do you explain being able to light yourself up like a freaking flash grenade?” She growled. “This shit is magic, boys. Magic! And it’s generally well known that only people with high magic potential attract spirits like that.”

Shirai looked at Kira with a disbelieving expression. “Is she serious?”

“Just roll with it. She’ll burn out eventually.” Kira said wearily.

“Both of you shut the fuck up and get serious.” She said. “If we play our cards right, we can live it up as prodigies while kicking yokai ass on a daily basis.”

“Or we could end up attracting more yokai because of it. I’m already on someone’s shit list because I killed a tengu.” Shirai said.

“He’s right, Saya.” Kira agreed. “Look, why don’t we just focus on-“

“Help!”

A little girl’s scream caught the trio’s attention and they saw a young girl, around five, run into the playground looking dirty and panicked. Seeing them, she ran over to them and started crying.

“Please, help me! My brother’s being attacked by this big monster!” She cried.

“Monster? What happened?” Saya asked.

“I don’t know! I was coming home from school with my brother and we were passing by this old house when he was grabbed by someone and dragged inside. All I saw was this green hand and that was it.” The girl whimpered. Saya rubbed the girl’s back to calm her. “I went looking for someone to help me, but I couldn’t find an adult.”

“Don’t worry, kid, we’ll help you.” Saya promised, earning scolding looks from the boys.

“Saya, this isn’t something we can handle alone.” Kira warned her.

“Kid’s right. Leave it to the police.” Shirai said.

“By the time the police get here, the boy will be bloody chunks. We need to at least rescue the guy!” She said and stood up. “Let’s go, kid. Show me where the house is.”

The girl nodded and led Saya out of the park. Kira and Shirai traded frustrated glances and ran after them.

“Your sister’s a fucking psychopath.” Shirai grunted.

“Tell me something I don’t know.” Kira replied.

XXXXXX

There was another side to Edo that tourists don’t see. Past the glittering high rises and historic temples was what many called the “other” Edo. Wrecked old buildings, abandoned construction sites, creepy piles of decay…this was a less glamorous side of Nippon. Why did the city never repurpose these old neighborhoods? It’s because they weren’t completely abandoned.

The desolate houses, parking lots and backyards were all populated by yokai. Most of them were relatively harmless to humans, but some were dangerous enough to ward people away. Which meant that three children who’ve each had less than peaceful encounters with yokai in the past few days running headlong into a zone notable for yokai activity was not the smartest idea. Still, it wasn’t like Kira and Shirai had a choice, with Saya still following the girl through the creepy, fog-ridden neighborhood. Wasn’t it just bright and sunny just a few minutes ago?

“Is this it?”

“Y-Yes.”

The girl had led them to an old fashioned house that was built during the medieval period. It was made entirely of wood and looked like it could’ve belonged to a wealthy family descended from a noble lord. Saya felt goosebumps form on her skin, but she swallowed her fear down and gripped the girl’s hand, pulling her along as they walked past the broken gates and into the front yard. Kira and Shirai caught up with the girls and joined them.

“One of these days, Saya, I’m gonna sock you one.” Kira growled.

“You can try.” Saya shot back, looking around nervously.

“He’s inside. Come on!” The little girl urged, pulling Saya along.

They entered the house, and almost immediately they felt an oppressive presence saturating the air, filling every inch of the building like a thick, poisonous miasma. Even Shirai had a hard time keeping his cool as they walked through the old, rickety halls of the house that was too large for itself. Kira stayed close to Saya as he looked around for anything threatening, which was basically everything.

“Where’s your brother?” Saya asked. “I don’t see him.”

“And I don’t hear anything.” Shirai hissed. “Kid, where the hell is he?”

The girl didn’t answer, keeping her eyes forward as she led them into the living room, which was bare and empty of any furniture. The kids looked around but saw nothing, no sign of anyone having even been in there let alone any prisoners.

“Um, is this where your brother is, kid?” Saya asked uncertainly. “Please tell me it is.”

“Yeah, this is where he was kept…along with his sister.” The girl’s head twisted around unnaturally to grin at them, her chubby face now pale and gaunt, eyes red and grinning mouth full of sharp teeth. “After I killed them both!”

“I fucking knew it!” Shirai yelled, raising his fists.

“Saya!” Kira grabbed Saya’s arm and pulled her away before the girl could grab her.

The girl’s body contorted and twisted before her skin began to literally melt away, revealing a pristine white skeleton underneath. Her body grew, arms and legs lengthening as her human disguise shed itself and a pale green kimono draped itself over her form. The spectral skeleton cackled like a witch from a children’s fable as she grew into her true form, a green aura cloaking her body.

“It’s so laughably easy to lure you brats into my home!” The skeleton yokai, known as the kyokotsu, laughed. “I thought your parents taught you better!”

“Oh shut up!” Shirai, hands and eyes glowing with energy, leapt at the kyokotsu, but was swiftly smacked aside by the skeleton. He crashed through a wall and landed in the next hall.

“Leave him alone!” Kira shot two beams into the spirit’s chest, but to his surprise, it didn’t do much damage. The kyokotsu hissed and raised a bony hand, firing a blast of green flames at him. “Shit!”

Saya slammed into him and they both fell over, dodging the extremely hot flames that sailed over their heads, bursting through the rotten wall and straight out the door. They quickly got up and dodged the second blast fired at them.

“Just stay out of the way and let me handle this.” Saya said.

“You? You got us into this mess-crap!” Kira raised a light shield to block the next fire blast, which nearly threw him off his feet.

“Just let me make up for it, okay? This bitch isn’t going to get away with fooling me.” Saya growled, her hands glowing intensely.

“No need for that, Sa-chan! The Calvary’s here!”

Saya blinked and turned to the hole in the wall to see Ayane standing there. She looked different, sporting a gray blouse and dark purple skirt with long socks and ankle boots, as well as short green hair in contrast to her vibrant pink from before. But Saya still recognized those amber gold eyes that were all too similar to that of a cat.

“Ayane?” She breathed.

“Hey, Sa-chan. Sorry I’m late, but I lost track of you guys.” Ayane winked at Saya and cracked her knuckles, her teeth sharpening into fangs and nails lengthening into sharp claws. “Now let’s teach this bony bitch a lesson about stranger danger!”

Ayane gave a feline hiss and lunged at the kyokotsu. The spirit made to attack Ayane, but Shirai, body coated in bright blue energy, burst from the wall behind her and slammed a punch into her spine. The kyokotsu howled and swiped a hand at him, but he dodged it and punched her again. Ayane had leapt onto her shoulders and was slashing away at her skull with her claws.

Together the two were laying down a serious smack down on the yokai with such brutality that Kira and Saya could scarcely believe what was going on. They wanted to help, but they had no opening to intervene; at least until Shirai was thrown into the wall next to them.

“Bad bonehead!” Ayane slammed her first into the spirit’s exposed, claw marked skull. “That’s not very nice.”

“Heads up, Ayane!” Kira called out. Ayane saw what he planned to do and jumped off.

Charging energy into his hands, he thrust his fists forward and sent a concentrated blast of light into the kyokotsu’s chest. The attack actually did more damage, and Ayane took this chance to land some more blows on her face some more. The yokai hissed angrily and threw Ayane off, flying forward to attack Kira. Kira yelled as he saw her large bony hand coming at him, but he was pushed aside from Shirai, who took the brunt of the blow that should’ve shattered his arm had he been a normal human.

“Okay, you had your fun.” Shirai growled, grabbing the spirit’s arm and raised his other hand, charging his energy into it. “Now it’s my turn, bone bitch!”

With a supercharged punch, Shirai’s first punctured the spirit’s chest. The kyokotsu roared as her body exploded into a mass of energy, which Shirai quickly inhaled through his mouth. His wounds healed in an instant, though his clothes remained bloody.

“Not again.” He groaned, glancing at the blood spot where his bone was poking through his skin. The flesh was healed, but there was a bloody hole torn into his sleeve.

“Wow,” Saya whistled, eyes wide. “That was awesome.”

“Sa-chan!” Ayane hugged Saya, nearly knocking her over. “It’s good to see you again!”

“Ayane, how did you even know where to find us?” Saya asked, trying to escape Ayane’s stranglehold of a hug.

“I was in the neighborhood and I spotted you three by chance.” Ayane said, nuzzling her face against Saya’s.

“Looks like you two know each other well.” Shirai said as he walked over to him. “Who the hell is she?”

“Shirai, this is Ayane, the girl who saved me and Kira from an oomukade attack.” Saya pulled herself from the hug and looked at her friends. “Is everyone alright?”

“We’re fine, no thanks to you.” Kira growled, glaring at his sister. “What the hell is wrong with you? You just led us right into a trap. A very obvious one at that.”

“How was I supposed to know it was a trap?” Saya replied. “You didn’t know it either.”

“But you should’ve been more cautious. Did you forget about the stories of yokai luring people away using illusions? I know you’re a walking firecracker, Saya, but act like you have a brain!” He yelled.

“Get off my back! We made it out of that mess in one piece, didn’t we?” She growled. “Yeah, it’s my fault, but we’re all still alive.”

“Just barely. We got lucky, that’s all. Luck is what’s kept us from ending up on the evening news for this long, but you can’t take chances like that.” Kira said. He looked at Ayane and Shirai. “Look, we all have some weird powers that may or may not be magical, but whatever it is, the reality is that we’re being hunted by yokai. We need to be more careful or we’ll get ourselves killed. You might not care about the consequences, Saya, but I do. I’m not going to have dad lose another person in our family like grandma and mom.”

He pushed past her and left the battered room, leaving Saya behind. Shirai wisely stayed quiet and followed after Kira, while Ayane gently took Saya’s hand in her own as a comforting gesture. Saya scowled, but even she couldn’t deny that he was right. She screwed up and almost got them killed.

Luck was keeping them alive at this point, but how long will it be before their luck ran out?