Chapter 3

Nao gave a soft sigh as she continued to pack some things into her bag. She then picked up a Travel Magazine and smiled at the cover, “Wow, Okinawa! It’ll be nice to have a vacation!” She said as she sat down,

“It’s not much of a vacation,” Tokyo said as he came out of the wall and into the living room.

“It will be for me! I’ve always wanted to go there!” Nao said as she looked through the magazine, “So many fun cultural activities to do! Plus the beach, the castles, and many more!”

“We can do stuff like that later,” Tokyo said as he folded his arms, “Are you finished packing?”

“Yeah, just about,” Nao said as she put the magazine down and went into the bathroom to grab her tooth and hair brush. “So you said your girlfriend lives in Okinawa, right?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Will we get to see her?”

“Most definitely.”

“That’s awesome! I bet she’s a nice person!” Nao said as she came out of the bathroom with her toothbrush, toothpaste, hairbrush, and some medications. “What’s her name?”

“Sashi.”

“That’s a cute name!” Nao said as she then put her laptop and some other video equipment into the suitcase before she zipped it up. “Alright! Let’s go! What times is our flight?”

“We aren’t taking a plane.” Tokyo said as he headed out of the apartment.

“What? No plane?” She asked as she picked up her bag and followed him out the door. She turned and locked the door behind her before she followed him down the hall and down the steps. “Why not?”

“Because I’m not taking a flying bus to Okinawa.” He said as his left eye started to glow and soon his motorcycle formed. His motorcycle resembled that of a Kotobuki, with the motorcycle model being a Honda DN-01. He conjured a helmet and tossed it to Nao before he got on, “Let’s go.” Nao nodded as she looked around, she then paused and said.

“Where will I put my suitcase?”

“Just put it on the back,”

“Oh, okay.” She then set her suitcase on the back of the bike and suddenly chains came out of the bike and strapped it down. She gave a soft smile before she put the helmet on and sat behind Tokyo. She blushed as she leaned forward and wrapped her arms around his body. Tokyo then started the motorcycle before the two then drove off. They went through the city before they eventually came to Tokyo Bay. “So um, you and your girlfriend, how long have you been together?” Nao asked as the two then came to a boat dock.

“Several years,” Tokyo said as they came to a stop.

“Oh, I see…” Nao said a bit saddened as she removed her helmet. “So we’re taking a boat?”

“You could say that,” Tokyo said as he got off the bike and walked over to the edge of the dock. Nao removed her suitcase before Tokyo’s motorcycle turned to glitter and it flew back into his eye. She came over to him at the dock as he stuck his hands in his pockets and took a deep breath. The rings in his left eye turned a bone white and silver color as a pulse shot through the water several times. Eventually, a whale’s soft moan was heard in return and the dock shook a little. Nao panicked as she looked around,

“What was that?”

“Our ride.”

“What…?” Nao said a bit confused. She suddenly turned as she heard a bird call, as she looked around her eyes suddenly became fixed on the skeleton of a bird which was perched atop a sailboat. She swallowed heavily before she heard a soft hum followed by the water shifting. It was then that the skeleton of a large whale came to the edge of the dock where they were standing. “Oh...uh….what is that….?”

“Our ride,” Tokyo said again as the skeletal whale opened its mouth, “Get in.”

“What?! Get in?! Like...in its mouth?!”

“Yes,”

“I can’t do that, I’ll drown!” Tokyo sighed before he then quickly pushed Nao into the skeletal whale's mouth. She screamed as she tossed and turned before she realized she hadn’t fallen into the ocean. “What the heck…?” She then jumped as Tokyo jumped into the whales mouth shortly after. The skeletal whale closed its mouth before it then submerged beneath the waves and started to swim off. Nao sighed before she then sat across from Tokyo. “So um...what’s this Yokai?”

“It’s a Bakekujira.”

“Bakekujira?”

“Yes, it’s a whale skeleton.”

“I see,” Nao said as she leaned back. She looked around the mouth of the whale and said, “It’s not carnivorous as I don’t see any teeth. So it must’ve been a baleen whale before death, right?”

“Yeah,” Tokyo said as he crossed his legs and placed his hands behind his head. “She used to be a Blue Whale.”

“A Blue Whale? That’s so cool!” She said as she looked around, “Wait a second, she?” Nao then said, “How do you know it’s a girl?”

“Look down there,” Tokyo said as he turned his head, Nao then turned her head in the same direction before she gave a soft gasp. She saw a smaller whale skeleton curled up against the larger skeleton.

“Wow...is that, a baby?”

“Yes,” Tokyo said, “She’s pregnant.”

“Wow, I didn’t think that was possible.”

“It is,” Tokyo said, “Despite what media leads you to believe, we Yokai and other supernatural beings are people too. When we’re sad we cry, when we’re hungry we eat, we have sex and reproduce, we fall in love and get heartbroken. The only difference between us and humans is our physical appearance and abilities.”

“I never even thought of that.” Nao said, “There’s always urban legends and ghost stories made to think they’re all monsters.”

“Not all of us, some of us are gentle and kind. It’s the stories that often vilify us.”

“That sounds awful, I’m sorry to hear that.”

“There’s nothing you can do about it, it is what it is.”

Nao sighed before folding her arms and said, “Can I ask you something?”

“What is it?”

“Well, the other day at the Highschool...I saw the way you were with your sister. I honestly don’t think I’ve ever seen you naturally smile. So what’s the deal there? You told her about never letting her get hurt again. What happened to her?”

Tokyo paused before he sighed and said, “It’s a long story, I don’t think you’d understand.”

“Can you at least try to make me understand?”

He then closed his eyes and said, “She died during an attack. Me and her were out one day and there was an explosion. She lost her life.”

“Oh, that’s awful.”

“It is what it is, human life is very delicate.”

“Human life? You mean, E.X.O.R.C.I.S.T didn’t kill her?”

“No,” he said, “She was human, and I was human for a time. When I was conceived my mother had possessed a woman. It’s how she was able to get pregnant with me, so I was born in a human body. Eventually, my powers awakened and my human body died. The way you see me now is how I looked as a human. Same with Hanako, our mother momentarily possessed a woman for about 9 months before Hanako was born.”

“Is that the only way to reproduce?”

“It is for ghosts like our mother.”

“I see,” she said, “And, I was also wondering, what did Buddha mean when he called your mother an Omega Level threat?”

“They have different rankings for us Yokai and supernatural beings. They’re all reliant on our strength and abilities. There’s N which means they’re not a threat at all and are extremely harmless. Then there’s R, and R means Resistance. SR is Severe Resistance, SSR is Super Severe Resistance, UR would be Ultimate Resistance and LR is Legendary Resistance. Omega would be just above LR. It’s nearly impossible for a being to become an Omega level threat. Most of the beings who are Omega Level are naturally born people like Angels and Devils, as well as Concepts like Sin and Virtue, Good and Evil, Light and Dark. My mother happens to be the only supernatural entity to ever become an Omega Level threat.”

“Wow, so she’s extremely powerful then.”

“She is,”

“What about you? Where do they rank you?”

“LR.”

“Woah, so you're like super strong and stuff then, right?”

“Yes, being the King of Yokai I am without a doubt the strongest. However if one trains hard enough they could surpass me. Each rank has a recompense or a bounty, it shows how different in strength one LR threat is compared to another.”

“So what about Belial and Lucifer? Your sister mentioned those two.”

“Those two are in the low end of the Omega Threat,”

“What?! So Buddha is really that strong?!”

“Did she mention him defeating them?”

“Yeah! She did!”

“Then it’s likely,” he said, “When he introduced himself he said he was the Extreme High Commander. It would be the equivalent to LR and possible low Omega.”

“He must really be tough as nails.” She said before she gave a gentle sigh and opened her suitcase. She took out her tablet and turned it on to go over what little footage she had of the events at the school the other day. She watched different clips and deleted what was unusable.

“Hey,” Tokyo said, Nao looked up at him to see him point up, “Pop Quiz, what’s that guy called?”

“Hm?” She then looked up to see a tall dark figure standing above the surface of the water. It looked down at them and didn’t seem to move at all as they went by. “Oh, it’s a…” She then paused for a second, “I know, it’s a Umi Bōzu, correct?”

“That’s right,” he said as he sat back,

“Wow…” she said in awe, “When I first started to read up on them I found them super creepy. They just stand there in the middle of the water and do nothing. It’s even eerier when they stand there at a completely calm sea.”

“Some do nothing, others try to sink boats and ships. However, they aren’t exactly the brightest, so if you give them a hollow barrel they won’t be able to figure out how to drown the ship.”

“Yeah,” she said as they began to move further and further away from the large Yokai. She then looked back to her tablet before she looked back to Tokyo who seemed to be falling asleep. “You’re already sleepy?”

“I might as well take a nap, it’ll be a few hours before we get there.”

“Oh, I see.” She said, “Well, you can go ahead and rest, I’m just going to be here looking over footage from the other day.”

“Alright...cool.” He said as his head slowly drifted downwards and he fell asleep. Nao gave him a soft smile before she looked back down at her tablet.

“Let’s see…” She said to herself as she started to flip through everything. She continued to look through everything, deleting, splicing, and rearranging the clips and footage. She kept doing this as she sat in numerous different positions over the hours. She’d slowly blink every now and then as if she were falling asleep before she’d rub her eyes to wake herself up. She eventually felt her eyes become burnt from the screen and she put we tablet back into her suitcase and pulled out her Okinawa Travel magazine. She looked through the pages before she looked up to Tokyo, “I wonder what his girlfriend is like…” She said to herself,

She looked back to the magazine and said, “If she’s anything like the women in these pictures she has to be drop-dead gorgeous.” She sighed, “How the hell am I supposed to compete with that…?” Eventually, the whale gave out a low song as it came to a stop. Nao looked around to see it approach the surface of the water as it sat on the bank of a beach. “We must be here,” Nao said as she placed her magazine back in her bag before zipping it closed. She then gave Tokyo’s foot a gentle kick, “Tokyo! Hey! Wake up!”

“Hm…?” Tokyo groaned as he slowly started to wake up,

“We’re here.”

“Oh,” he said as he yawned and stretched his arms above his head, “Alright.” He then rubbed his neck before he turned to the shore. He gave the inside of the whale’s mouth a gentle knock as he stood up and stepped out onto the beach. Nao smiled as she then jumped from the whale and onto the beach and took a deep breath.

“Aaaaah!!! The air is so much cleaner here than in Tokyo!” She then reached into her pocket and pulled out her phone and started to take some pictures. Tokyo rubbed his neck as he looked around,

“Alright, let’s see…” He said, still feeling a bit groggy. He then snapped to attention as he heard a woman scream,

“TOKYUN!!!!” Tokyo turned to his left to see a woman run towards him. His face turned red with blush as his eyes widened and his mouth came to a smile.

“S-Sashi!!!” He said as he held out his arms. The woman then jumped and wrapped herself around his head.

“OH MY GOD, IT'S BEEN SO LONG!!!” She said as she squeezed him tightly. Tokyo eventually became very too heavy as he fell onto his back. He then gasped for air as she let go of him to sit by his side.

“Fresh air!!!” He said as he took his first breath of life, “I thought I was dead…”

“Hm?” Nao said as she then turned to them. Her eyes had widened to such an extent they nearly came out of her skull, “HOLY FUCKING SHIT SHE’S THICC AS HELL!!!!!!” Nao screamed internally. Tokyo rolled onto his hands and knees before he then looked up at Nao and said,

“Atom Airbags,”

“ATOM WHAT?!?!?!!!!”

“This is Sashi, Sashi, this is Atom Airbags.”

“It’s nice to meet you!” Sashi said with a smile, Nao’s eyes then suddenly drifted to Sashi’s chest before saying.

“Y-Yeah...Atom Airbags is right…” she then cleared her throat and held out her hand, “It’s nice to meet you, despite what Tokyo says my real name is Nao.”

“Oh! It’s lovely to meet you!” Sashi said as she stood up and shook Nao’s hands. Nao stood there looking up to Sashi inside her enormous shadow.

“Sh-She’s a freaking giant…” Nao said to herself, “H-Hey...h-how tall are you by chance?”

“Hm? Me?” Sashi said, “Oh, well last time I was measured I came in at 205.74 Centimeters. However, I am finished growing.”

“Oh...wow…”

“What brings you down to the beach?” Tokyo asked Sashi,

“Hm? Oh, well, I was originally back at the palace.” She said as she turned around. Nao’s nose splurted blood as her eye twitched.

“Jesus...I could bounce a coin off her ass and it’d likely ricochet and destroy a whole building…”

“However, I caught onto your scent and came down as fast I could.” She said with a smile as she bent her knees slightly and cupped Tokyo’s cheek with her palm. “Are you hungry? You look a bit thin.”

“I’m fine,” he said, “I came here to talk to you about something.”

“Oh? So you didn’t come down here to see me?”

“Well, yes, that too, but there’s something important.” He said, as he began to explain, Nao started to dig through her pockets hoping to find some spare change to test her building destroying theory. “The other day we ran into a Lamia, however, it turned out to be a Sōryū.”

“Really?” She said as she raised an eyebrow and stood up placing her hands on her hips. “This far South? What was it doing here?”

“I have no clue, I figured you could help us.”

“Yeah, of course.” She said with a smile, “Anything for you, Tokyun.” Tokyo’s eyes widened as he blushed before he coughed and looked the other way.

“Yeah! Cool, thanks!” Nao gave an overjoyed grin as she pulled out a ¥500 coin. Before she went to throw it she was cute off by Tokyo saying, “Atom Airbags, got everything?”

“Eep!” She squealed before she placed the coin in her pocket. “Yeah! I got everything!” She said as she picked up her bag.

“Alright,” He said, “Care to lead the way?”

“Yeah, of course,” Sashi said with a smile as they started to walk off the beach. They walked through the town before they eventually came to a train station. As they waited for a train Nao started to take in her surroundings. She then paused before she leaned over to Tokyo and said,

“Hey, why aren’t they aware that your friend is freaking ginormous?”

“They don’t see her that way,” Tokyo said in response, “She has a field around her that changes their perception. While she’s actually very tall, everyone else sees her at a normal height.”

“I see…” she said as a train then pulled up to the station. Nao walked onto the train followed by Tokyo. A faint thud was heard followed by Sashsi saying,

“Ow…”

Tokyo turned to her to see her bent down slightly and rubbing her forehead, “You okay?”

“Yeah,” she said, “Even when I bend down it’s still easy to hit my head on the train.”

“Will you be okay?”

“Yeah, yeah, I’ll be fine.” She said with a smile as she followed Tokyo and Nao to a seat and sat down. Nao exhaled softly before the train doors closed and the train started to move. She saw movement out of the corner of her eye and she turned to it. Her eyes popped once again when she saw Sashi interlock her fingers with Tokyo’s.

“W-Wait a second!!!” She said to herself before she then looked at Sashi, “D-Don’t tell me that she’s-!” Sashi lives in Okinawa, she had red hair, and was now holding Tokyo’s hand! It all seemed to be coming together. “That’s his girlfriend?!?!?!?!!!!!!” She frowned as she looked at her bag in her lap, “I have zero chances with Tokyo…”

“So. Nao,” Sashi said leaning forward a bit past Tokyo to look at her,

“Yeah…?” Nao responded as she looked to Sashi,

“What do you do for a living?”

“Oh, uh,” Nao said before she cleared her throat, “I’m a Ghost Hunter. Well, not like E.X.O.R.C.I.S.T, more like the kind you see on TV. The cameras and crew that go and explore haunted places.”

“Oh wow, that must be quite the adventure.”

“Yeah,” Nao said, “Since I met Tokyo he’s been teaching me about Yokai, and where to find them, and he’s also served as protection when I go to a place that’s actually haunted.”

“That’s really nice of him,” Sashi said with a smile,

“Yeah, it is, so, tell me about you.”

“Oh, well, I’m really into sports. I like to watch any sport with a ball, though my favorite one to play is Baseball, I also don’t mind a nice game of fetch.”

“Fetch…?”

“Yeah, like, you throw something and I go get it.”

“Oh, yes, of course, fetch.”

“Mhmm!” She said with a nod, “However, I’m really into martial arts.”

“Do you know any?”

“Yeah! I know Karate!”

“Really? That’s awesome! What’s your belt color?!”

“Oh, well it’s not an official one, but if I had to give it a name it would be an Infinity Rank Black Belt.”

“Infinity Rank Black Belt?”

“That’s right!”

Nao then looked to Tokyo, “Explain?”

“She’s done Karate her whole life, her parents knew it, and it was passed down to her. Every and any Karate moves and all their infinite variations and styles she knows.”

“So...like a martial arts Yokai?” Nao said,

“Not really,” Tokyo said as he placed his hands behind his head and leaned back, “However if I say what she is then everyone on this train will swarm to us. So let’s wait until we’re at the palace.”

“Fine…” Nao said with a groan, she leaned back in her seat and looked at the ceiling of the train. She then turned back to Sashi and said, “So what else do you like to do?”

“Well, when I’m not looking out for others I like to sleep around.”

Nao’s eyes widened, “Y-You mean, you’ve cheated on Tokyo?!”

“Hm? Oh, no, heavens no. Tokyo means far too much to me for me to commit such atrocities. I mean I like to laze around the house and take naps. Just about anywhere works.”

“O-Oh, okay, that makes more sense.”

“Mhmm! I also like to watch the Koi fish in the pond. I don’t want to touch them, but I just find their movements really mesmerizing.” She said with a giggle,

“I see,” Nao said, “So do you live at Shuri Castle?”

“Yep, I live in Naha! The castle is where I do most of my business as well as where I live!”

“So, are you like a princess then?”

“Yeah, you could say that.” She said with a smile, “What about you? Where do you live?”

“Oh, me? I just live in a small apartment in Shibuya. It’s nothing special.”

“I see, are you going to school there?”

“Oh, uh, no, I dropped out.”

“Why’s that?”

“I couldn’t stay awake in class, plus I was bullied, and being a foster child didn’t really help. Overall it was just exhausting. So I dropped out, and my foster parents help pay for my apartment.”

“Oh, do you have a job?”

“Sort of, I get paid for the type of videos that I make, but sometimes I get a job at a restaurant now and then.”

“Oh? What kind of restaurants.” Tokyo then snorted before he bit his bottom lip and looked away.

“I wasn’t going to tell her about THAT job!!!!” Nao said,

“What job?” Sashi asked,

“She used to work at a maid cafe,” Tokyo said holding back his laughter, Nao growled before she punched him in the shoulder,

“YOU JERK!!!!”

“You should’ve seen her trying to practice to be a good maid,” Tokyo said before he burst out laughing.

“AGH!!! YOU’RE SUCH AN ASSHOLE!!!!” Nao screamed as she started to whale on him. Sashi gave a soft smile, she thought it was nice that Tokyo had made a nice friend. The rest of the train ride seemed to be quiet until they all got off at a station near the castle. As Tokyo and Sashi walked hand in hand, Nao trailed softly behind them.

Nao took a deep breath and said, “Okay, here we go…” She reached in her pocket and pulled out the coin she had before she flicked it in the air before catching it in her palm. She looked around for a building, one that was probably worn down and needed to be demolished. She eventually saw a full gray building and smirked, “Alright! Let’s do this!” She then threw the coin through the air. However, Sashi took notice of a bright light on a cab and she fully turned around to watch it drive off. This then leads to the coin flying into her left eye before it magically shot out of her right eye with twice the force that Nao threw it with. Nao’s eyes began to widen as the coin flew back at her with immense force.

(DEATH)

Nao quickly covered her face as she halted to a stop and hunched over as she groaned in immeasurable pain. She felt herself move in and out of consciousness thousands of times in less than a fraction of a second. “Hey, you okay?” Tokyo asked her, Nao only gave a soft groan in response.

“I’m sure she’s okay,” Sashi said, “However, we should hurry, I’m fairly certain a mosquito just flew through my eyes just now, and I know how much you hate to get bitten.”

“That’s true,” Tokyo said, “Hey, Exiguous Eclairs, let’s go.” The couple then turned and walked off. Nao slowly wobbled to her feet as she felt a massive bump forming right between her eyes. She then slowly followed after them. The three eventually came up to the Shuri Castle. Sashi went up to the door and twisted part of the decoration on the door handle. Suddenly the afternoon shifted to night and the lights inside the castle came on. More so, a giant tower started to form near the back and the smell of food, as well as the sound of running water, became overwhelming. “Hey,” Tokyo said as he walked over to Nao, “Here, wear this.”

“Whazzit???” Nao said now being able to form words again,

“It’s a pendant,” he then put it around her neck and said, “This will hide your human scent. You’ll also want this.” He said, taking out a small black disk out of his pocket.

“Hermmmm…?” Nao said looking down at it,

“It’s a contact lens,” he said as he opened it, “This way, one of your eyes will look like mine. Do you want it in your right or your left?”

“Erm….urhma….righ???”

“Whatever,” he said as he placed his hand on her right eyebrow and lifted her eyelid before he put the contact lens in. Nao blinked a few times before different colors formed in her eyes. From her pupil, she gained a blue, yellow, and then red ring. “Alright,” he said, “Don’t be rude, don’t poke, don’t pry, don’t talk unless spoken to.”

“Erhmmm….mhmmm….” She said with a very wobbly nod

“And whatever you do, don’t stare.”

“Eh…?”

“Well,” he said with a shrug, “At any of it.” He then turned as Sashi then pushed open the doors.