Self Validation (2)

The sign of an arriving Christmas was that long queue outside a good old Kentucky Fried Chicken branch. Even in a pandemic. A few foreigners were outside chatting in the queue amid the quiet Japanese who were trying to keep a distance. 

Still, everyone obeyed the health advice and masked up, waiting in patience like the regular factory processing queue to grab that infamous bucket of fried chicken home. 

Good old KFC planted its chicken as an essential newfangled item to get since 1974 on the heartstrings of the Japanese and increasing their cholesterol levels. All it took was a little deception of an eager cashed up audience in the economic boom years on how the US celebrated Christmas.

Just a little more yōkai in the atmosphere, soaking in the gloom of another day when the COVID-19 cases spiked up. None of the neon city lights were cheering up the residents of the area. Neither did their buckets of chicken in hand. 

Neither will it end well for that unlucky girl who earns the ire of Kanamura's mother, Sasori. Like grandfather, like son, like grandson, all three Tengu had a weakness for the opposite gender.

If a Tengu came from a human mother, the lucky girl could count on his mother to live a longer than usual lifespan and die after with a chance that she won't become a ghost. 

No ghost, no future mother-in-law troubles. The end. 

Nevertheless, the money offered is high, but Sasori's method of death was troublesome. This was the first time that she hired me. 

I would rather pull a Glock, fire it point blank into the head of the girl, and deal with Kanamura in the aftermath. Or send Arahabaki in. What can a Tengu do against a god? 

An instinct told me that Kanamura would not care for her demise, but there is a risk that he will hold this killing against me. He loved to torture me centuries ago while I trained with Sojobo. 

Kanamura would sense my presence within a certain distance, but him being in Tokyo was more an abnormality than me passing through any of its streets. 

Arahabaki was my cover since a god could shield my presence from a fellow yōkai. He was tagging along to ease his boredom.

There they were, Kanamura and the girl clutching his arm like some desperate creature clinging on for dear life, looking at the store window. The girl is pretty. No doubt. 

"That's the target?" Arahabaki gestured towards her. "You know, if you shield like this and pop up out of nowhere, he will sense trouble. So what's your game plan?"

"Run into them," I said. "Have to get near to her."

"Right, prepare yourself then."

Both of us pretended to approach in Kanamura's direction. No reaction. Too odd. Arahabaki had already dropped the shield.

"Spell, that Tengu got a love spell on him," Arahabaki chuckled in a low tone. 

That's why Kanamura's mother wanted her dead. For a yōkai to fall into the spell of a human was humiliation. Whoever her onmyoji practitioner was, the person is powerful.

Kanamura had ignored our presence. That was not a good thing. A skilled Tengu like him would have better defences and senses to notice his surrounding. This girl was endangering him with this foolish move.

"Can you remove it?" I asked Arahabaki. 

"Yes, but I won't. And to remove it, I need to kill the practitioner," Arahabaki shrugged. "The spell is strong. I mean, she isn't that attractive. Just a case of pump and dump."

I rolled my eyes as we slowed down the pace, passing them. Kanamura only turned for a minute. Instead of his usual cold psychotic look, there were glazed eyes greeting me.

"Hey…," he called out as Arahabaki and I walked past. 

Both of us turned around. 

"Oh hey Kanamura," I said. "With a friend?"

I could feel the girl's eyes focused on me, trying to drill a mental hole in my psyche. Arahabaki folded his arms in amusement at my expense. 

"Are these your friends?" The girl asked. 

"Saki, this is Kuro," Kanamura introduced me and then turned to Arahabaki. "And…".

"Abara Hakuto," I introduced Arahabaki by his given mortal name. "Kanamura."

A slight nod given by each side. 

"He has such a cool outfit," Saki glanced at a grinning Arahabaki. "Goth punk, totally love it."

"Thanks," Arahabaki said as he nudged me. 

There is darkness deep within her, which is nasty despite that sweet, innocent facade radiating. A jealousy, an insecurity and the possessiveness which rivalled that of a haunting ghost. 

One of those manipulative sugar plums who looked sweet with sugary makeup to enhance her looks, but sour like a fucking lemon inside.

Not that looks mattered, since two decades or three later, her plump supple complexion will begin its descent into a wrinkled prune. No amount of Shiseido could cover the curse of mortal ageing.

Beauty did not last forever with humans and watching them go crazy when it happens was a hilarity.

Kanamura the sadistic Tengu had a lot to pay for the past torture which he inflicted on me, and having a little entertainment at his expense is a tiny repayment. But this whole situation was unsettling.

"Love your shirt," I said, to break the awkward silence. 

"Oh thanks, Kanamura loves it," she stroked his arm and cooed to him, "don't you?"

"Maybe we should head back to…," Arahabaki then lowered his voice, "Kakuriyo."

I stared at Arahabaki. At the least expected moment, he had to mention Kakuriyo. Still, no reaction from Kanamura, other than him eyeing us in awkward silence.

"Kakuriyo? Oh, you mean a new night club? My friend told me about it. Kanamura, can we go?"

I coughed. Come on, take the bait. 

"Um, no honey, we can't go to Kakuriyo. It is just not my kind of place," Kanamura answered. 

"I want to go to Kakuriyo. Come on," she whined, tugging at the grimacing Kanamura. "It is just a club… And besides, I thought you were so cool. Why don't we all be friends?"

Raising his eyebrow, Arahabaki asked, "Has your friend been there before?"

She shook her head. "No. But he knows someone who knows that night club. They all say it is an elite club." 

"Did he tell you the location?"

"Roppongi," she answered. 

"It isn't in Roppongi."

 "I heard it from a regular clubber. Can't be wrong," she quipped in. Like that validated her wrong answer. "I mean people online have mentioned the club."

Is she kidding? I could see that Arahabaki was typing into his iPhone to check something. 

"So just to confirm, your clubbing friend said it is in Roppongi. I don't see it on any of the forums," Arahabaki looked up. 

"Are you saying that several people I know are wrong? I know many people in Tokyo."

Yeah, but Arahabaki also knows a lot of yōkai in Tokyo, especially Yako. Yako and the male kitsune gang dominated more than half of the night club scene in Tokyo. Even Kanamura would know that fact. 

She was indeed validating herself, as Sasori said. 

I had a tremendous urge to smash a baseball bat right into her face and watch those looks melt away in an instant. It would be fun to watch her type show their full toxic colours when their looks are destroyed. That's adding one more to the ghostly population.