Chapter 6:

Chapter 6

Tokyo Junkie


Okinawa

Tokyo walked through the room and over to the large bed. He looked down at Sashi lying there asleep. He reached his hand out to her and pet the top of her head before he turned and started to head toward the balcony. “Tokyo…?” Sashi said with a yawn, “What time is it….?”

“Just a few hours until sunrise,” Tokyo responded, “I didn’t mean to wake you.”

“You’re okay….I’ve been awake for hours…”

“I see,” Tokyo responded with a soft smile.

“Where were you….?”

“I was training, and clearing my head.”

“You haven’t trained a day in your life…” She said with another yawn as she slowly sat up, “What’s wrong???”

“Nothing,” He then sighed as he said, “Sashi, about earlier, I’m sorry.” He rubbed the back of his neck as he said, “I don’t want what happened last time to happen again. I honestly couldn’t stand seeing you so heartbroken.”

“It’s okay…” Sashi said as she drifted in and out of sleep, “I kind of sprung it on you so-“ yawn, “suddenly…” Tokyo shallowly looked over his shoulder as she rubbed her eyes and said, “However….you may have been right. What Nao said really stirred something in me….” Tokyo sighed as he turned his head away from her, “I just….I don’t want to be the only one anymore.”

“I’m sorry, she wasn’t trying to hurt your feelings.” he responded, “And speaking of feelings, I was only thinking of my own, I didn’t even begin to consider your feelings. Which is something I never intended.” He then turned around and walked over to the bed where he sat down and looked into Sashi’s eyes, “Sashi, if you truly want to have another baby, then we should.”

“No, it’s fine.”

“It’s not fine,” Tokyo said, “Since we’ve met all you’ve done is give to me endlessly. You’ve given me a purpose, a reason to live, a calm mind and something to come home to. If this is what you want then I’ll give it to you.” He took her hand as he said, “If you really want a baby, then I want one too.”

“You really mean that….?”

“Of course I do,” he then cupped both of her cheeks with his hands before he leaned in and gave her forehead a soft lick. A lick on the face was a true expression of his feelings to Sashi, much similar to Lions and Dogs. Tokyo and Sashi would kiss like normal people, but when something like this happened it was their way of expressing their true and immensely deep love for one another. He then placed his left hand on the back of her head as he closed his eyes and touched his forehead against hers. “My Queen…” Sashi closed her eyes before she placed her left hand on his shoulder, and the other on his bicep.

“My King…” Sashi responded softly. Tokyo then moved his chin forward where he then planted a kiss on Sashi’s lips. Sashi wrapped her arms around his neck as she kissed him back. Tokyo wrapped his arms around her waist as Sashi then laid onto her back.

EXORCIST Base

Purge walked into the back of the airship in the hangar where he saw Buddha sit with his arms folded. He then sat down across from him as Buddha said, “So looks like the boss has dragged you along on this mission too.”

“It’s my duty,” Purge said, “Whatever is going down in China we need to be there for it. From what I hear our Chinese branch has had no luck, many soldiers have gone in but none have come out alive.”

“Whatever it is I’m sure we can handle it while Kusanagi deals with Tokyo.”

“Tokyo?! He’s going to be there?! For what?!”

“He’s the King of the Yokai kid, not to mention Demons, Spirits, and Yokai from China have been leaving their home. My team and I came across a Sōryū at an abandoned highschool. If we think about it logically, Tokyo is heading to China right now to figure out what’s going on.”

“It’s true,” Kusanagi said as he came onto the airship, “The Gashadokuro needs to find a way to keep balance and harmony. Whatever it is will listen due to him being the Apex of his kind.”

“Are you going to kill him?” Purge asked a bit annoyed,

“Yes,” Kusanagi said, “I’ve been told that you’ve had no luck with it.”

“That’s bullshit! I’ve been-“

“Tell me,” Kusanagi said as he sat down and folded his arms, “What’s the weakest bone in the body?”

“What…?!”

“The weakest bone in the body. What is it?”

“I-It’s the collar bone, right?”

“Wrong. The weakest bone in the body is the lacrimal bone, it’s located between your two eye sockets and behind your nose. Seeing how the Gashadokuro is just a skeleton, that’s obviously it’s weak point. While in human form its weak point is also the brain and the heart. If I can target those weak points I can kill it.”

“Why do you get to kill Tokyo?”

“Because what he did to me is more deep than you can imagine.”

“Try me.”

“My mother’s name was Takarada Sayuri. When she was 16 she was possessed by the spirit Bloody Mary. Everyone presumed her dead as she had disappeared. She then reappeared a year later with no memory of what happened. Later in 1942 I was born, my childbirth had caused repressed memories to come back. And in 1954 I came home and discovered she had hung herself. I found a note in which she told me about what happened. When she was possessed she was pregnant and had given birth to the Gashadokuro we call Tokyo. She told me how he did this to her.”

“My god…” Purge said as he then looked down at the ground,

“It was then that I had found EXORCIST and I became what I am today. I’ve been training my whole life to kill what drove my mother insane. I’ve spent years studying the creature, and even all of your various methods on how to dispose of them. So if you think for a second that I’ll let a hot blooded kid take this away from me, then you are gravely mistaken.”

“So wait…if your mother was used to give birth to Tokyo, then would that make him-“

“My brother? To an extent. But I don’t want to stain my family heritage with a monster so vile, it’s why he must be erased.”

Okinawa

Tokyo laid sound asleep, Sashi and Nao stood over him. “He’s really cute when he’s asleep, don’t you think?” Sashi asked,

“Uh…” Nao blushed as she scratched the back of her head, “Yeah, I guess so.”

“It’d be a shame if we woke him up.”

“I’m sure you can let him sleep a little longer.”

“No, he has to get up.” Sashi said, “China is falling apart, he has to do his job. He can sleep on the train there.”

“Train?”

“Yes, the Omni Bullet Train. It’s a series of underground train tracks that go to all the major countries in the world. We use them to move around the world undetected by humans.”

“Oh…wow….”

“What?”

“Nothing, I just thought that maybe the Bakekujira was the only way around.”

“Well, if we’re small enough and just traveling around Japan and surrounding islands it’s the best. But when it comes to the rest of the world it’s too slow.” She then turned to Tokyo before she shook him, “Hey! Wake up!”

Tokyo groaned before he rolled onto his side and curled into a ball, “Go away….”

“You have to go,” Sashi said as she reached for the blanket,

“I don’t want to…” Tokyo groaned as he curled into a tighter ball and brought the blanket over his head.

“Tokyo, if you don’t wake up then I’m ripping the blanket off you and your friend Nao will see you naked.”

“N-NAKED?!?!?!!” Nao said as he face turned dark red as blood sprayed from her nose,

Tokyo groaned before saying, “You’re so cruel to me…” He then stirred before he then slowly sat up with a loud roar-sounding yawn. He then rubbed the back of his neck before he stretched his arms above his head. Nao’s face became an even darker shade of red before she spun around and knelt on the floor as she covered her face. Never in her life did she think she’d ever see Tokyo shirtless, she was both scared as well as being overwhelmed with her close to nonexistent libido soaring to ungodly heights! “Fine, I’m up…” Tokyo said with a groan as he looked over at Sashi. Sashi then gave him a smile as he glared at her, “What am I going to do with you….?”

“Good morning dear.”

He sighed before he turned to Nao, “What’s wrong with her….?”

“Oh, uh,” Sashi turned to Nao before she said, “Are you alright?”

“I-I-I’m f-f-fine…..! J-J-J-Just get Tokyo in some c-c-c-clothes….!”

“Whatever….” Tokyo said with a yawn as he then got out of bed and went to the closet to get new clothes.

“Since it’ll be a long trip to China, I packed a few extra things for you.” Sashi said,

“Like what?” Tokyo responded as he pulled a black long-sleeves shirt over his head, “You know I travel light.”

“Yes, but there’s going to be injured people there. So I just packed some medical supplies.”

“You know for a fact medicine isn’t my specialty.”

“I know, but hopefully Blanca might be able to help with it.”

“I see,” Tokyo said as he grabbed his signature vest and zipped it on. He turned to Sashi before he said, “It’s likely that we’ll run into EXORCIST, they have a branch in China. What would be the safest way out?”

“I’m sure you can use your Yokai Realm.”

“And what about the one human that’ll be with us?”

“Oh,” Sashi said as she had all but forgotten about Nao, “Well…uh…you could always, y’know.”

“Turn her into a Yokai?” Tokyo asked as he folded his arms, “I don’t think she’d be fond of that, besides she has a human life and a human family. I’m sure I can find a way out in case something were to happen.”

“Oh…well, alright…just, be safe.”

“We’ll be fine,” he said as she handed him the bag with medical supplies. He looked at it before his left eye flashed and the bag teleported inside of it. He then started to leave the room before he gave Nao’s butt a gentle kick, “Let’s move Bantam Bumps.”

“B-BANTAM BUMPS?!?!?!!!” She screamed as she raced after him, “WHAT THE HELL DOES BANTAM EVEN MEAN?!?!?!!”

“Small domesticated birds, person of diminutive stature, or the former town of Indonesia in the northwestern corner of Java, which do you prefer?”

“I’D PREFER YOU CALL ME BY MY FIRST NAME!!!!” Nao said as they came outside the bedroom,

“That’s gross, we’re not dating.” Tokyo said as he came over to the railing that looked down nearly a hundred feet to the entry level. He saw Nao head toward the elevator out of the corner of his eye. Instead he gave an evil smirk before quickly grabbing her by the back of her jacket collar before proceeding to jump over the rail. Nao screamed for dear life before Tokyo then landed softly on the ground, he looked up and quickly caught Nao in the bridal position. “You okay?”

Nao looked to him only for her face to turn red. She palmed his face with her hand as she said,“Get off of me!!!” And then climbed out of his arms,

“Alright, whatever you say.” He said as he placed his hands in his pockets and headed out the front door.

“Hey! Wait up!” Nao said as she then quickly caught up with him. As they stepped outside the castle Tokyo turned and closed the door before he turned the handle shutting off access to the Safespace.

“Let’s go,” he said as he walked with her down the road. Nao remained silent, she occasionally looked over at Tokyo before she looked back to the road.

“So, um…” She began, “I kind of overheard you and Sashi’s argument last night.”

“You did?”

“Well, yeah, it’s not like I was trying to listen. I just heard you guys yelling through the wall is all.” She then cleared her throat before she said, “I mean, it’s just weird, I mean I never pictured you as the dad type.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Well, you’re more of a rough and tumble type of guy. I also guess…I don’t know, you just seem like you wouldn’t resonate well with a baby.”

“It’s quite the opposite.”

“What do you mean?”

“It was strange,” he said, “As Sashi handed her to me I kind of tensed up. However once I held her in my hands…it just changed something in me. I felt like for once I had something to protect other than myself.”

“You don’t protect Sashi?”

“Sashi can protect herself.”

“Yeah, but don’t you think she’d like it if her boyfriend was able to protect her?”

“Yes but that day isn’t any time soon.” Tokyo said, “Sashi is stronger than me, she’s LEAGUES stronger than me. If anything she’s the one protecting me.”

“Oh, I see…” Nao said, “And…does that bother you?”

“Not really,” he responded, “I like a strong woman who can take care of herself.”

“So you’re really fine with it?”

“Yep.”

“I see,” Nao then paused before saying, “So, I know you only had her for a few hours, but, what did you name your daughter?” Tokyo looked down a bit saddened before he sighed, “Oh! No! Sorry! I didn’t mean to bring up any past wounds!” Nao said as she panicked, “You know what! Just forget I said anything!” Nao paused for a few minutes before she said, “You know, before I was adopted, the name I was given at birth was-“

“Saoirse.” Tokyo said, he then gave soft smile as he said, “I know, it’s not Japanese. However, my mother told me her favorite place she had ever been summoned was Ireland. After Hanako was born, if she had another daughter then that’s what she would’ve named her. Sashi liked the name a lot because it reminded her of the word Shisa.”

“Wow, that’s a beautiful name.” Nao said with a smile,

“Anyways, what were you saying?”

“Hm? Oh! My name at birth was Himawari!”

“Why’d your parents change it?”

“They just always a daughter named Naoko.”

“I see,”

“Do you like Himawari better? Because you can call me Himawari if you want!”

“No thank you,” he said before he then smirked, “There’s 164 synonyms for small and 300 alternative names for breasts. I plan on using every single one of them.”

Nao’s eye twitched as she glared and clenched her teeth, “Y-You idiot…! I’LL FREAKING KILL YOU!!!!” Tokyo then snickered before he then burst out laughing. Nao’s expression suddenly changed as she thought, “Oh god…I broke him….!” Tokyo then sighed as he rested his hands behind his head, “Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” he said, “I’m actually fine. Meanwhile you’ve been acting strange all morning.” He then turned to her as he said, “What’s wrong?”

“W-Wrong?! N-Nothing’s wrong!”

“Then why have you been acting weird?” He asked as they rounded a corner and started to approach a tunnel.

“I haven’t been acting weird! This is how I normally act!”

“You normally hunch over on the floor when I wake up?”

“W-Well, that was different! You didn’t have a shirt on!”

“Why would it matter if I had a shirt on or not?”

“You’re a guy! I’m a girl! I can’t exactly see you with your shirt off, that's creepy! I’d be invading your privacy!”

“Uh huh…and what if I was at the beach?”

“Th-That’s different!!!”

“Whatever you say,” he said as they then entered the tunnel, “Do you still have that pendant I gave you?”

“Yeah, I’m still wearing it.”

“And the contact lense?”

“Yeah, I’ve got it.”

“Good, put it in.” Tokyo said, Nao then turned to her bag and pulled out the contact lense. As she put it in her eye she gave a soft gasp as Tokyo wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her close to him. She blushed as she turned to him, “Stay close to me, the Yokai, Demons, and Spirits who ride the Underground Bullet Train have an accute smell for human. Red-Face is similar to them, his nose is highly sensitive hence why he could smell you even with the pendant on.” He then stopped before he stepped in front of her. He placed his hand beneath her chin before he then leaned into her and gave her a kiss.

Nao’s eyes widened as her face then boiled to a hot red. “H-H-He….! H-H-H-He’s k-kissing me….!” She started to close her eyes just as he pulled away and said,

“There, now your breath won’t smell human.”

“M-M-My breath…?” Nao said absolutely love struck,

“Believe it or not the breath of a human is quite distinct.” He said as he wrapped his arm around her again and they continued down the tunnel,

“Mhmm!” She responded with a girly giggle. After a while she said, “I see why Sashi loves you, you’re such a good kisser!”

“What?” Tokyo asked as he turned to her, “No, that wasn’t a kiss, it was a-“ He then came to a stop as he saw a woman in a conductors uniform. Her skin was a dead gray color and her eyes dropped.

“How many to ride….?” She groaned as Tokyo and the love struck Nao approached her,

“Just two,” Tokyo said,

“Okay….where to….?”

“China,” Tokyo said as he reached in his pocket and pulled out a golden pass. The woman took the pass before she then ate it. Not too long after the train then sped into the tunnel.

“Stay safe….”

“Thank you,” Tokyo said as he took Nao into the train before sitting down with her. Nao sighed before she leaned over and rested her head on Tokyo’s shoulder, “Don’t.” He said,

“Okay!” She said as she then sat up and then looked lovingly at him.

“What’s your problem?” Tokyo asked as he looked over at her with his eyes,

“I don’t have a problem,” she said,

“You look crazy.”

“I am crazy,” she said, “Crazy about y-“ She was then cut off as something started to sniff the air.

“Human?!” A voice came. Shortly after a long black creature similar to Red-Face started to walk towards them as he sniffed the air.

“Hold your breath,” Tokyo said over his shoulder to Nao,

“Why would I do tha-“

“Just do it!” Tokyo growled as he slapped his hand over her mouth. Nao sighed before she then held her breath. The long creature sniffed the air as it began to walk past them. It put its face close to Nao’s as it sniffed her up and down before it then growled and continued through the train. Nao clapped her hands over her nose as she felt herself needing to breathe.

She then gasped as she took in a breath of air, “I’m sorry!”

“Why did you-“ Tokyo began before he noticed the creature lift its head and start to sniff the air. As it turned its head Tokyo growled as he said, “Nevermind! I don’t blame you!” He then stood up as his left eye then turned blue. As he did the lights on the train turned red and something shot from Tokyo’s eye. It stuck into the backside of the long creature before it then ripped the creature in half with a loud roar. Tokyo’s eye returned to normal as did the lights. Tokyo sighed as he said, “Nao, don’t be upset, but you were going to find out eventually.”

“Find out what?”

The thing from Tokyo’s eye then stood up before it rolled its shoulder followed by its head. It then turned around revealing itself to be Zero. He gave a grin as he held up two fingers and said, “Yo.”

Nao turned to him as chills ran up her body and her jaw slowly dropped. She then screamed before she then stood up and stood behind Tokyo, “NO!!!! KEEP HIM AWAY FROM ME!!! I THOUGHT HE WAS DEAD!!!!”

“I thought I was dead too,” Zero said as he approached them, “It turns out I’m very much alive.”

“TOKYO WHAT IS HE DOING ALIVE??!?!?!?!!!!”

“It’s a long story,” Tokyo said as he folded his arms, “It’s one that I don’t think you’d understand.”

“OF COURSE I’LL UNDERSTAND I’VE LITERALLY SEEN SOME CRAZY THINGS SINCE I MET YOU!!!”

“My my,” Zero said as he leaned forward to look at Nao, “Your hair has gotten a little longer.”

“DON'T LET HIM TOUCH ME!!!” Nao said as she jerked Tokyo to the side,

“Sit down,” Tokyo said, “Both of you.”

“I’M NOT SITTING ANYWHERE NEAR HIM!!!”

“That’s fine,” Zero said with a shrug, “I’ll just sit across from you then.” Zero then turned and sat on a seat on the row across from where Tokyo and Nao were sitting. Tokyo sighed before he then sat down and Nao sat beside him. She huffed as she closed her eyes and looked away from Zero. “Ah, now then, what’s this?” Zero asked, “Is that a beauty mark on your face?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about!! I don’t have any beauty marks!!!”

“Then a spider crawled into the skin under your mandible then?”

“I don’t have one of those either!!!”

Tokyo sighed as he said, “Your mandible is your lower jaw.”

Nao’s eyebrow twitched as her face turned red. She then slapped her hand under her ear and near the back of her jaw where her beauty mark was, “It’s nothing! Leave it alone!”

“That’s a shame,” Zero said as he leaned forward and rested his forearms on his knees, “I thought it was kind of cute.”

Nao growled before she turned her head the other way. “There! Now you can’t see it!”

“Say Tokyo, how long is this ride to China?” Zero asked,

“If this train were non-stop it would be a little over two hours. But since it needs to make stops then it’ll be a little more than five hours.”

“WHAT?!?!?!!! FIVE HOURS?!?!?!!” Nao screamed, “I DON'T WANT TO SPEND FIVE HOURS WITH HIM!!!! HE’S A CREEP!!!”

“I’m not fond of him either,” Tokyo said, “But he’s the only other ally we have to take down whatever is in China.”

“Say, what happens after China?” Zero asked,

“You’re free to do whatever you want,” Tokyo responded, “You can go home and see your mother. As long as I don’t hear you’ve done something bad then we won’t have problems.”

“Wait,” Nao said as she looked over to Zero, “Mother?”

“Yes,” Zero said, “Believe it or not, even creeps like me have mothers.”

“Oh, I see…”

“My mothers name is Rumiko, and she lives in Osaka.”

“Then…wait, what were you doing in Tokyo then?” Nao asked, “That’s where we found you.”

“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you,” Zero said as he leaned back and placed his hands behind his head. “Let’s enjoy our five hours in peace.”

“Well…” Nao then huffed before sitting back with her arms folded, “Whatever! I don’t want to talk to you anyways!”

EXORCIST Air Ship

Purge sat there looking over at Kusanagi every now and then. Kusanagi had his eyes shut with his arms folded, his sword being held against his right bicep with his left hand. Purge had no idea how to process the fact that Kusanagi had a personal grudge against Tokyo. This grudge Kusanagi had made Purge feel perhaps they had a lot in common. “Tell me,” Kusanagi spoke, “Do you intend to stare at me this whole trip? Or is something on your mind?”

“No sir.” Purge responded as he looked down at his feet,

“I hear you’re the pilot for the mechanical Hōnengyo, it’s why we were sent to get the Luciferin. Your ability must be controlling light.”

“Yes sir.” Purge nodded as he turned to Kusanagi. All the soldiers at EXORCIST possessed some form of supernatural ability. It mostly pertained to ways to exorcise the supernatural. Once their abilities were stable they were then erased from any and all records of them and were all given mew names.

“Do you know why they made it a Hōngengyo?”

“Not really.”

“It’s because the Hōngengyo is an Apex Predator. It is its own king to its own species, and is a god in terms of the water. It's the only Yokai that does not answer to the Gashadokuro, with this being said, it gives the two species an ancient rivalry. The two often don’t cross paths, and each do a good job staying in their own domain, however if they encounter each other then it means death and bloodshed. Their battles have resulted in the genocide of countless ancient people.”

“Something like that won’t happen when I pilot the machine, right?”

“It depends on how violent of a Yokai this Tokyo is.”

Underground Bullet Train

Tokyo sat there on the train fast asleep. Nao sat beside him holding a device in her hands which Zero found interesting. “What’s that you got there?” He asked as he leaned forward, “Is it an explosive device?”

“No,” Nao responded, “It’s just a video game console.”

“A what…?”

“A video game console,” she repeated as she looked up at him, “Don’t tell me you don’t know what a video game is.”

“I didn’t have one growing up,” Zero said, “In fact I haven’t heard of one until today.”

“But you grew up in Osaka.”

“No, that’s where my mother lives currently.” Zero said as he leaned back, “I was born, and grew up in Takaharu.”

“In Miyazaki…?”

“That’s right, however, my mother was from the Aomori Prefecture.” He sighed before saying, “Either way, I was never really exposed to technology until my mother recently moved to Osaka. Even so we lived in a quiet house in the mountains.”

“Oh, I see…” Nao said before she then looked back down at the game. She then gave a soft groan before saying, “Do you want to give it a try?”

“I’m fine,” he said as he rested his hands behind his head, “I just wanted to know what it was.”

“Are you sure?” Nao asked as she looked up at him, “It’s pretty easy to learn.”

“No, I don’t want to creep you out.”

“Whatever…” Nao said as she looked back to her game. “So….what was growing up like for you…?”

“Me?”

“Yes,”

“Well, it was quite alright. I lived with my mom and dad and we had a quiet and peaceful life. My dad taught me how to do Kappa things, and my mother appealed to my human side.”

“Wait…you’re half-human?” She asked as she looked up at him,

“Yeah,” he said leaning forward, “You see, my mother was a shrine maiden. In the Aomori Prefecture they worship Kappas as a water deity. She was rather heartbroken once she had moved. However she then came across my father while exploring the woods. He was by a stream and had been hurt, so being the maiden she was she picked him up and carried him home where she nursed him back to full health in secret.”

“Your mother was okay with this?”

“Of course she was, she was raised to serve and worship his kind. A few years passed and my father kept returning to her house to see her, the two eventually fell in love, got married, and then had me a few months later.”

“So…you just had a pretty normal childhood…?”

“As normal as it can be,” Zero said with a smile, “Even so, Kappa often have great familial bonds and are often seen in family groups.”

“Okay…then why are you a creep….? When we first met you had come out of the bathroom after I finished using it! You then chased me around before you grabbed onto me!”

“That was a bit of a misunderstanding.”

“What do you mean?!?!?! What were you doing in the women’s bathroom?!?!!!”

“I was looking for you,” he said, causing her eyes to widen, “You see, when we moved to Osaka we finally got a computer. I eventually stumbled upon your channel and quite enjoyed what I saw. Anyways, one day my father just disappeared. I was looking for you to help me find him.”

“….you were?”

“Yes,”

“Why didn’t you just find me on my website…?”

“You have a website….?”

“Yeah, I do.” She then put her game console away before she took out her phone and walked over to him. She sat beside him as she showed him a website, “See, look, it has my address and everything.”

“I see,” he said as he looked it over, “Well, if I had known that then I would’ve certainly gone to your house.”

“That’s all you really had to do, or at least written to me.” She said as she put her phone away, “So you actually needed my help?”

“Of course.”

“So you weren’t just being a pervert then?”

“Certainly not,”

“Hmm…” Nao groaned before she sighed, “Well…alright,” she then rubbed her eyes as one of them began to twitch, “I guess I judged you too quickly…”

“Are you okay?”

“I’m fine…” Nao said as she continued to rub her eyes, “It's just insomnia, narcolepsy, and sleep apnea…”

“And those are?”

“Terrible sleep disorders,” Nao said with a yawn,

“When did it start?”

“Ummm,” she then ran her hand down her face as she began to think, “I was about 10, my parents hit a bit of a bump in their relationship and were up in the night just yelling at each other. Their loud voices made it hard to sleep. And then when I was 11 is when I started to have nightmares….the scariest part about them was how real they felt.”

“What happened?”

“Well, I’d be peacefully sleeping, and the next thing I knew some guy was on top of me. I know it was a nightmare but I honestly felt him do things to me…because of that it became hard for me to fall asleep, and when I did I didn’t sleep for long.”

“Hmmm,” Zero said as he rubbed his chin, “It sounds like you were possibly attacked by a Kuro bōzu.”

“No, it was definitely a dream.” Nao said as she leaned forward and rested her face in her palms.

“When was the last time you had a good nights sleep?”

“When I was nine…”

“How old are you now?”

“I’m 15.”

“Hmm, I see, so we’re pretty close in age then.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’m 17.”

“Really…?” She asked as she turned to him, “You look like you’re over 20.”

“I’m not.”

“I see…” She then ran her fingers through her hair before she stood up and walked back over to Tokyo’s side and sat down. She leaned back and looked at the ceiling as she crossed her legs.

“Why didn’t you ask a Baku to come help you with your nightmares?”

“Because I didn’t know they existed,” Nao responded, “Before I met Tokyo they were just stories.”

“And what about after you met him?”

“It’s not that serious, I have medication that helps me. Besides, I’m human, I need to deal with my human struggles in the most human way possible.”

“That makes sense.” Zero said before a long pause of silence.

“….since I met him I’ve been able to sleep a lot better.”

“Tokyo?” Zero asked as he looked over at him,

“….yeah, it’s hard to explain….I guess….I’ve always been considered weird, I never had friends at school, I was always bullied, and no one was ever really there for me. Once Tokyo started hanging around it’s been a bit easier to sleep. However I can only sleep in short bursts.”

“And why’s that?”

“Because I…” she then sighed before saying, “It doesn’t matter what I feel for him, he has a girlfriend, so us being friends will have to do.”

“Ah I see.” He said with a smile before he leaned back and said, “If it’s all the same to you, I think I’d like to try that video game now.” Nao gave a soft sigh before she reached into her bag and grabbed the game console. She sat beside him and turned it on before placing it in his hands and started to show him how to play.