Kasane Hattori and Her Dangerous Friend

Fifteen minutes had passed since Kasane Hattori sent a message to her brother, Kazuya. And yet, there was no answer.

“I heard you took on a dangerous case, Kazu. Please, be careful! I… I’m worried.”

She reread the message for the dozenth time. She sighed, sitting on a bed in a hotel room, with a towel strapped around her lithe body. She was a twenty-five-year-old woman with long, sleek brown hair and vivid green eyes like Kazuya’s.

She pursed her lips at her phone. Maybe she should’ve given Kazuya more details? But she didn’t know much either. It had slipped her friend, Yukihiro, that Detective Hattori’s new case was dangerous. At least, so the Kagenashi Clan’s moles in the police claimed. So, when Yukihiro went to shower, Kasane sent her brother a message. But she had suspected Kazuya wouldn’t listen, as always. Ever since she told him four years ago that the Kagenashi Clan might not be involved in their parents’ murder, Kazuya had been sulking. Then he heard about her affair, which worsened things.

Why can’t he realise how I feel? Kasane frowned, clutching the phone. I’m worried sick, and yet he keeps chasing those foxes… as if that would bring our parents back! Not all fire is foxfire, damn it! Can’t he at least assume that it wasn’t the Kagenashi Clan, as Yuki has told me?

The bathroom door creaked, letting out fresh steam. Kasane flinched and looked at it. Yukihiro, the heir-apparent of the Kagenashi Clan, had emerged, adjusting his black ponytail. The wavy strands of his hair framed his pale face from both sides. His crimson eyes with half-moon pupils and his purple claws made him resemble a wise old fox, despite his thirty-three years of age. His white bathrobe couldn’t fully cover his colourful nine-tailed fox tattoos, hinting at his belonging to the yakuza. He noticed the phone in Kasane’s hands and smiled.

“You sent correspondence to your brother when I wasn’t looking?” he asked in a deep, seductive voice. He walked to Kasane, bent down and leaned on the bed with both of his hands, cutting her way of escape, although she didn’t seem a bit startled. He raised his eyebrows at her. “You’re naughty, Kasane.”

“We agreed, any intel you give me goes to Kazu,” Kasane replied with a cheeky but loving smile. “You took fifteen minutes in the shower. I sent the message in one.”

Yukihiro chuckled, his vulpine pupils dilating with fondness. He rubbed Kasane’s head as if she were a child and not eight years his junior. Kasane adored this gesture, his quiet sign of care. He pulled back from her and enwrapped himself in purple flames – a sight that didn’t faze Kasane, having long gotten used to it. The fragrance of burning wisteria touched her nostrils, which she inhaled with ecstasy. It was Yukihiro’s unique magic. She had loved it ever since their first night together, four years ago. She asked Yukihiro out back then, having been friends with him for two years despite his yakuza ties. He was her best customer, always coming for her gardening and ikebana advice.

When the foxfire vanished, Yukihiro’s bathrobe had been substituted by a comely blue shirt, a black tie, white trousers, and a white suit hung on his shoulders. A silver ring with an amethyst gem adorned his finger. Now, he did resemble a yakuza boss in all his glory.

I wish I could change my clothes magically… Kasane pouted at his kitsune ability, which she envied. No fair!

“So, I take it your brother hasn’t responded?” Yukihiro asked, smiling, as he took a seat beside her.

“Ugh, don’t remind me of it!” Kasane rolled her eyes. She put her phone away on the bedside table. She stood up, took her clothes from the chair nearby, and walked to the bathroom. “I’ll be back in short.”

“Take your time,” Yukihiro answered, lying down on the bed.

As Kasane went into the bathroom, Yukihiro’s smile faded. He lay still until he heard her turn on the shower. Then, he took his phone out, tapped the unanswered call notification, and placed it to his ear. The call got through.

“Has he cracked?” Yukihiro asked calmly, his deep voice gaining a sharp, stern undertone. The pupils in his crimson eyes narrowed to slits.

“Yes, Wakagashira,” a high-pitched voice of his underling answered, addressing him as the heir-apparent of the Kagenashi Clan. “You were correct, the initiative to cut down the trees in the Inari Woods didn’t come from Fuyuki Nobara. It was the prime minister.”

“Lowly humans think they own the world… I’ll remind them who’s in charge here.” Yukihiro clicked his tongue, clenching his fist as he eyed his amethyst ring. “Good job, Hikari. Dispose of Nobara! We’ll think of the prime minister later.”

“Yes, Wakagashira!” Hikari said. “What about Detective Hattori? He and that dog girl seem to be on our tail.”

Yukihiro paused. He tapped his clawed finger on his knee. He glanced at the bathroom door where Kasane was showering. Then, he looked again at his silver ring.

“Leave them be,” he said, his tone milder. “Our little detective can have his consolation prize once in a while, can’t he?” His lips formed a malicious smirk. “Let him find the corpse!”

He hung up and reclined on the pillow. The corners of his mouth lowered as he stared at the ceiling. His eyes peeked at the bathroom door again, whence the sounds of the shower and Kasane’s mild hums echoed.

I thought no human would ever deserve my mercy, but now one has stolen my heart and keeps dangling it before me. He sighed. I can disregard some pests for her… Her sorrow is something I can never bear.

After some minutes, Kasane came out of the bathroom, fully dressed in the green-and-white outfit of a flower shop assistant. Yukihiro’s gentle smile reappeared.

“I’ll drive you to the shop,” he said.

They checked out of the hotel and exited onto the street. A black limousine of the Kagenashi Clan was waiting there. A gruff driver with sunglasses and cut marks on his face stood near it, with several other thugs, all in black suits. They were Yukihiro’s kitsune underlings. The driver opened the backseat door for him and Kasane. The latter noticed a bullet wound on the driver’s hand.

“Oh,” she muttered, raising her eyebrows with sympathy, “let me help with that!”

She held her hands over the surprised driver’s wound and emitted a soft green glow. His hand healed immediately. He gaped at it in wonder, but Yukihiro’s glare silenced him before he would even speak. They sat in the car.

Yukihiro drove Kasane to her flower shop, with his kitsune thugs serving as escorts. When they arrived, Kasane kissed Yukihiro and got out.

“I hope our fun time at the hotel will make up for my absence tonight!” Yukihiro told her with a smile.

“Oh, it was heavenly!” Kasane laughed. “Bye!”

She waved her hand at him and disappeared into the shop. Yukihiro signalled his man to drive off. When they were far enough, he finally explained.

“She has Herbal Magic,” he said, “the rare ability that heals yōkai and humans alike. Her mother was of the Hanabira Clan.”

The driver’s eyes widened behind his sunglasses. The Hanabira Clan had produced powerful female yōkai hunters in the warring era. Persecuted by yōkai, their numbers had gradually declined, so the clan no longer functioned. But their female descendants inherited powerful magic to this day. And still, Herbal Magic, the strongest curative ability a human could possess, hadn’t been seen in a thousand years.

“S-So, is that why my lord keeps meeting that woman?” the driver asked Yukihiro.

“I have no interest in lowly human magic.” Yukihiro’s crimson eyes flashed in the driver’s mirror, sending him chills. “Less questions, more driving!”

“Y-Yes, Sir!” The driver gulped. He accelerated the speed.

Yukihiro looked out the window. Gloomy thoughts overtook him.

The yōkai who killed Kasane’s parents must’ve been targeting her, because consuming a human with Herbal Magic can reinvigorate even a dying yōkai. He clenched his fist. I won’t let anyone hurt her, be it a human or a yōkai!