Yokai (10 page)

Mori chuckled. “He said he wouldn’t
leave until I agreed to take him on as apprentice.”

“
I figured as much,” Yumiko
said, looking back at the door to the antechamber. “Alright. But we
cut ties if it ends up not working out. If he’s a danger to either
of us, he needs to go.”

“
Of course.”

“
Then I guess I have no
choice but to reluctantly go along with this.”

“
That’s how I see
things.”

They grinned at each other, before the
sliding door opened, Shou appearing with a wide smile. “Did you
want a cup of tea as well, sensei?”

Mori glanced at Yumiko. “We could both
use a cup, I think.”

Shou glanced at Yumiko uneasily, then
nodded and disappeared back into the room.

“
I expect you to play
nice,” Mori said softly.

“
Sensei, I don’t play nice
with anyone.”

“
That’s my girl,” Tanuki
piped up, cheerfully.

Shou returned a moment later with two
steaming cups of tea. He bowed, then looked up at Mori, unsure. “He
transforms into a fox? He could be a kitsune.”

“
He is not a kitsune. His
situation is…
unique
, but we help with any and all supernatural threats, if we
can,” Master Mori told him. “That includes Mr. Mathis’s
affliction.” She glanced at Yumiko. “Even if we’re not fully versed
in the supernatural threat, the same rules generally apply to them.
You need not worry about your safety.”

Shou stiffened. “I’m not
worried.”

Yumiko hid a smile. “It’s alright if
you are. Just know that I’ll protect you.” She took a sip of her
tea and smiled over at him. “Well, Mr. Fujiwara, at least you make
a good cup of tea.”

Chapter Seven

The next day, Yumiko sparred with Shou
for the first time. They used wooden swords, and Shou bested her
nine out of ten times. She suspected that if he’d been the one
battling Kuchisake-Onna, he could have defeated her without
resorting to tricks, as Yumiko had. But she would never admit that
to him. If anything, his successive wins made him even cockier.
When Mori left to run an errand, they had lunch together, and Shou
studied her carefully.

“
What?” Yumiko asked,
shoving aside her bowl of ramen.

Shou shrugged. “I was just thinking
that if you didn’t have that gift for seeing yokai, Mori may never
have given you the time of day.”

“
What do you mean by
that?”

He shrugged. “I just mean that you’re
adequate with a sword, but nothing special.”

“
Well, there’s a lot more
that goes into hunting yokai than stabbing things.”

He chuckled. “I know. And word on the
street is that you’re hot stuff. You’re almost an urban legend –
the girl who hunts yokai. Fearless and brave.” He shook his head.
“Maybe you are. But you just seem like any other girl to
me.”

“
And you’ve seen plenty of
girls, I presume,” Yumiko said.

Shou winced. “Ouch.”

Yumiko smiled sweetly at him. “Don’t
mistake me for the girls you’re accustomed to charming.”

“
No, I wouldn’t do that.”
Shou looked her over lazily. “You’re far less refined.”

“
If you’re trying to insult
me, you’re going to have to do better than that.”

“
Then I’ll keep at
it.”

“
Will you two give it a
rest?” Tanuki asked, sauntering slowly over to them. “Some of us
brave warriors were injured in battle, remember?”

“
That was rather brave of
you,” Yumiko agreed.

Tanuki perked up. “Brave enough to
warrant some sake?”

“
Don’t push it.”

She looked up to see Shou studying
her. “What?”

He shook his head. “What I would give
to be able to see them like you do.”

“
It’s overrated,” she
assured him. “And don’t let Tanuki fool you. He’s usually just a
pest.”

“
A
heroic
pest,” Tanuki grumbled,
shimmering briefly as he made himself visible to human
eyes.

Shou blinked at him. “How’s your
head?”

Tanuki sat up and shrugged. “Feels
like it was slammed into a wall.”

Shou sat back. “How do you ever get
used to this?” He gestured to Tanuki. “He talks, and you act like
it’s nothing.”

“
I think your talking is
more distressing to her,” Tanuki said with a grin as he grabbed the
remains of Yumiko’s bowl of ramen.

“
Yumiko?”

Yumiko looked up to see the
sliding door being pushed aside. Reina stepped in and smiled at
her, then narrowed her eyes. “What’s he doing here?” she asked,
accusingly, pointing at Shou. “Oh, my god. You guys
are
seeing each
other!”

Shou sat back, beaming. “The doctor’s
office brought us together. She plays a mean nurse.”

Yumiko rolled her eyes. “He’s…Madame
Mori is teaching him.”

Reina’s eyes widened. “She’s teaching
a host?”

“
Tell me about
it.”

Reina pointed past Yumiko. “And what
is that thing doing in here? Is that a raccoon-dog?”

Tanuki looked up briefly from his
ramen. “Howdy, toots.”

Yumiko watched Reina’s eyes widen even
more, the color draining from her face. “Now you’ve done it,”
Yumiko murmured.

Tanuki looked up again, unconcerned.
“It’s what she gets for being so nosy. She’ll deal with
it.”

“
Is that a…” Reina’s eyes
darted to Yumiko. “A yokai?”

“
Guilty.”

“
He is,” Yumiko said,
glaring at Tanuki. “But he’s harmless. Don’t worry about
him.”

“
So, all this stuff is
real?” Reina asked. She dropped onto a cushion and leaned back
against the wall. “And here, I thought you were just
weirdos.”

“
Yumiko is a weirdo,” Shou
helped.

Reina rolled her eyes. “And you’re,
what, learning the trade now too?”

“
Something like
that.”

“
Wait,” Reina pressed a
hand to her cheek, as if to make sure she wasn’t hallucinating from
a fever. “So, all of those stories I’ve been told as a little
girl…like
all
of
them…” She looked at Tanuki, who paused to stare back at her. Reina
shook her head as he resumed eating. “No.”

“
Suit yourself,” Shou
shrugged indifferently.

Yumiko turned her knees so that she
was facing Reina. “Reina, I know this is hard to accept. It took me
a long time to accept it too.”

“
How long?”

Yumiko hesitated. “That’s a story for
another time.”

“
One I would like to hear,”
Shou interjected.

“
Quiet.” Yumiko shot him a
dirty look before turning back to Reina. “You see evidence right in
front of you. You have to believe your own eyes.”

Reina glanced over at Tanuki again.
“Can he sing too?”

Shou turned his head and laughed into
his hand while Tanuki pretended to look offended.

“
I’m a big fan of Lady
Gaga,” he said with a sniff.

“
Really?” Reina looked
doubtful.

Tanuki decided to ignore her, and
turned his back on the inquisitive girl.

“
So, Betobeto-San is
real?”

Shou looked up at that. “When you hear
the sound of footsteps on the pavement behind you, following at a
distance, in the dark of the night, but no one’s there. Or is
there? You stop, you listen, and don’t hear a sound, but the moment
you start walking again, the sound resumes. Betobeto-San is
following you in his sandals.” He smirked.

Reina looked uncertain. “So, he’s not
real?”

“
He
is
real,” Yumiko confirmed. “Just as
Shou described it.”

“
Really?” Shou
frowned.

“
Really.” Yumiko tilted her
head. “A lot like Greek mythology, our ancestors in Japan came up
with their own creatures to give reasons for unexplainable
phenomena. The footsteps that follow you in the dark when no one is
there is Betebeto-San. The squeaking sounds in the house at night
when no one could be up are yanari. Those sandals that you
neglected that you can no longer find? They turned into yokai –
Bake-zori.” She paused. “Like with most legends, there is truth in
them. In the case of yokai, I have seen most of them with my own
eyes and know them to be real. Some would even argue that humans
gave yokai strength to exist through their imagination, and through
their beliefs as they were handed down from generation to
generation.”

“
Like, we willed them into
being?” Reina’s nose scrunched up.

“
Very philosophical,” Shou
said, looking unimpressed. “I take it that Mori ran that one by
you?”

Yumiko rolled her eyes.

Reina sat up and looked at Shou. “Hey!
How come you get in on this?”

“
He begged,” Yumiko
said.

“
I did not,” Shou protested
loudly, scowling her way. “I was a logical choice.”

Reina didn’t look convinced. “Logical
to who?”

“
I’m clearly going to make
a better yokai hunter than her,” Shou snarled, sticking his thumb
in Yumiko’s direction. “I’m a natural warrior. I’m smart on my
feet. I have a face that people trust.”

“
You’d stick out too much,”
Tanuki chimed in. “You’re too pretty.”

“
So’s she,” Shou
protested.

Yumiko fluttered her eyelashes at him.
“You think I’m pretty?”

“
What about me?” Reina
asked, sitting up and leaning toward Shou. “Do you think
I’m
pretty?”

Shou threw up his hands. “I am so sick
of everybody asking me that.”

“
She’s
not a yokai,” Yumiko said, crossing her arms. “Am I going to
have to start pointing them out to you now?”

“
What is this?” a voice
asked as the door slid open.

Yumiko sat up straight and bowed as
Madame Mori entered, face stony.

“
Hello, Madame Mori!” Reina
greeted cheerfully.

Mori nodded to her and looked around
the room, taking in Tanuki at the table. “So, Reina knows too.” She
shook her head. “We must be discreet in this business.”

“
I’m sorry, sensei,” Yumiko
said, automatically dipping her head low again.

“
I just sort of barged in
here,” Reina admitted.

“
She did,” Shou agreed,
earning a glare from her.

“
What’s done is done,” Mori
said, taking a seat. “Reina, how would you like to assist in
research in addition to your chores at the desk?”

Reina blinked. “Really?”

“
Really?” Yumiko
echoed.

Madame Mori smiled. “I could use some
help on my end of things. In fact, Mr. Mathis is going to be
helping build our resources with some contacts he has who are
experts on rare texts. We must be better prepared to address the
uncommon problems that find their way to our door.”

“
Is he the one you brought
to the dungeon?” Reina asked Yumiko.

“
The dungeon?” Shou asked,
smirking.

“
I know, right?” Reina
tossed back her hair.

“
Yes, that was Mr. Mathis,”
Yumiko said, ignoring their implications.

“
He will be here shortly,”
Mori said. “I expect you to assist him in any way you can. If he’s
going to be in Japan for the foreseeable future, until we find a
cure, he wants to help us.”

Shou glanced at his watch. “Oh. I have
to go.”

Yumiko raised an eyebrow.
“Where?”

“
Work.”

She blinked. “You’re keeping your job
at the host club?”

He paused at the door. “Some of us
have to earn a living, Miss Sato. But don’t worry, I’ll be
back.”

“
I wasn’t
worried.”

He winked at her, then
disappeared.

Reina turned to Mori. “Why is he
here?”

“
Why are
you
here?” Yumiko asked
her.

“
I was invited.”

Madame Mori chuckled. “It’s certainly
getting lively around here. It’s going to take some getting used
to.”

***

“
Research is boring,” Reina
whispered to Yumiko as she flipped a page in the huge tome that lay
on the desk before her.

“
You’ll get used to it,”
Yumiko assured her.

“
That doesn’t mean it’s
going to get any less boring.”

Yumiko looked up as Mori approached
Brian’s desk. He was leaning over two books and seemed to be
cross-referencing something. Mori held an object out to him, and
Yumiko leaned forward, squinting to make out a silver wolf’s head.
It looked like a paperweight.