Chapters (30)
Turning back to the window, she takes a long, slow drag. “We are in Osaka. This is a real place, in the real world. Did you see the name outside, on the walls?”
Zaniel shrugs. He did, but they meant nothing to him.
“This is ‘Jibun Jishin.’ Look closely when you go back out. You are smart, so you have probably figured it out that it is a new restaurant for our kind.”
“I see,” Zaniel nods. “Um … it seems like a nice place to bring a friend.”
Hino’s head turns sharply to face him. She lets out two sharp puffs of smoke through her nostrils, like a dragon. “Akki and I are not friends.”
“But —”
“I am his friend. Does not mean he is my friend.”
“Yes, of course. I apologize.”
Satisfied, Hino returns her attention to the window again. “They will have to kick you out soon. The witching hour is coming, no humans allowed.”
“Yes.” Looking around the restaurant, he sees Hino’s description is accurate. No one besides the two of them and the employees looks human. He wonders if the creature from the other day could be here. If she can breach Akki’s private territory and change things, make things disappear, she might end up here. What was she? Zaniel cannot figure it out. Aside from being mysterious, and perhaps a little exciting, he is still unsure.
Hino speaks again. “Well, now … what do you suppose this could be?”
He turns. All this time Hino has been watching a tiny creature no bigger than a sake cup on the other side of the window. Her white kimono looks familiar. She catches raindrops on her long, snakelike tongue. She licks the drops rolling down the window. Then, she notices Zaniel. Startled, she scuttles away along the ledge with quick, fluttering steps. He gasps. Despite its size, it is indeed the Yokai, the same one from the other day.
“That was interesting,” Hino mutters. She turns and sees Zaniel is already gone. Her eyes droop closed on her next drag, during which she can hear him excusing himself to everyone he bumps past in his attempt to catch up with whatever is outside. He will not catch up with her in time. She leans back against the cushioned booth and surveys the damage from Akki’s buffet. She notices the lone whiskey sour in the midst of it. Hino eats the rest of her cigarette with polite, tiny bites. It does not satisfy. She clicks her tongue. What good will it do to waste a perfectly good drink? She reaches for it and takes a sip. It burns her lips, goes down smooth. Not bad. She takes another to be polite, but over time finishes the whole thing. It still pales in comparison to B-positive children’s blood. She almost wishes she had not turned Akki down.
However, she grins, it seems this world is indeed getting more interesting.