“Oh. OH. That reminds me. You’re not gonna believe this. Hino-chan here thinks you’re a hafu. Ha, ha! Can you believe that?!” Out of habit, Akki smacks Zaniel in back of the head. The yokai laughs, hard. “Oh, cool! Check that out, Hino, I can touch people in here! Awesome! Ain’t gonna be no more sittin’ around the house for me. I’m gonna be bringin’ bitches here all the time!” He interprets the look on the young man’s face not as a reaction to pain, but of shame. Guilt. “Wait. That true, kid? All this time, you’ve been a hafu?”

Zaniel pins his arms by his sides to keep from rubbing his head. He is in trouble. “I apologize, Akki-sama. It’s true. But my mother is Japanese, and I am a full citizen, born on Japanese soil. I have nothing to do with my foreign side anymore, I swear.”

“Huh.” Akki sneers down at him. “Guess that explains the eyes. And the accent.” And a great deal of other things, now that Akki thinks about them. His smile returns. He will not let this ruin his good mood. He is feeling merciful tonight. “Ah, lighten up, kid. We’ve known each other too long. I ain’t gonna hold it against ya. Ain’t like you’re gonna give me reason to. Gotta say, I’ve never seen anythin’ really gaijin about ya, aside from those weird eyes of yours. But I guess it can’t be helped. Don’t worry, I still think you’re one of us — well, not us.” He gestures at himself and Hino. “Japanese, I mean. Nihonjin. You get me.”

“Oh.” Zaniel exhales. “Um … thank you? I mean, thank you. Akki-sama is too kind.”

Akki sighs. “I know.”

“I do not mean to question you, Akki-sama, but how long have you been here?”

The yokai shrugs his giant shoulders. “No idea. Twenty minutes. Couple of hours. Why?”

“A couple of …” Zaniel pulls at his obsidian bracelet, nervous. The stinging sensation of its potential removal stops him. “But I thought — tonight —”

“And why you still standin’ there, kid? What are you, a foot soldier? Take a seat or somethin’. Have a whiskey sour. They’re go-od.”

“Akki-sama,” Zaniel says with a little more urgency. “Your guest, um … she’s been waiting for you all night.”

“My guest?” Akki’s eyes search the bottom of his freshest glass. Realization spreads across his face in a lecherous grin. “Oh, yeah … well, she can wait a bit longer, can’t she? I’m still digestin’. Oi, omae!” he barks in Japanese at a passing waitress. “Another whiskey sour, chop chop.”

“Akki-sama,” Zaniel trembles. “I had to leave her to come and find you. If you don’t go now, she might not stay. I’m sorry I left her. I didn’t know what else to do. And I’m very sorry, about the last one … that time, I …”