CHAPTER 9

On the bright side, Chi was incredibly quiet during their next patrol. Kou never knew her silence could be so loud.

It was a peaceful night. Past the half-moon mark, the moon began her swing into the gibbous moon territory, shining brighter and brighter each night, and it’s one of those nights where not even the clouds were being a bother. The skies were clear, there was no mist—physical or mystic—and everything looked to be in order.

There was no noise around the neighborhood. If anything, the night felt so eerily silent. Did the nightwalkers suddenly feel a shutdown or something? Did they realize that Kou’s mood had been turbulent as of late? All that said, though, it wasn’t the first time Kou had these nights, either. After all, their operating zone was restricted to only around the places they’re familiar with. Unlike with hypnosis, their parents had taught them to use the most of their limited teleportation since a rather early age. It was one of their most important assets for self-defense. Count Dracula used it to prey on humans, sure, but Kou couldn’t remember an instance where he or his parents used it that way—most of the time, they used it to run away.

Their teleportation was limited. Severely. It took a lot of leaning to use it properly. Unlike transforming into mist, teleportation didn’t change one’s physical makeup to be retranslated as something else: it’s asking the world to do the same for them, as they were to be retranslated elsewhere in the world. Apart from the very tricky leaning, they also had to have a very clear image of where they were to be physically relocated—so clear that their five senses could distinctly feel it.

This limited the number of spots they could disappear to as kids, so their parents weren’t particularly afraid of that. They had to defend themselves, and teleportation gave them that ability.

This limitation also meant that Kou couldn’t go to somewhere he didn’t distinctly remember, so a single cross-country trip still wouldn't give him access to the whole country. In other words, his nightly patrols were restricted to some parts of the Tokyo metropolis at most—and it’s not like he’s got it all covered, either.

With this tiny range, there weren't really a lot of nightwalker activities to be monitored. In the modern day, most nightwalkers had accepted that they had to fall into the obscure shroud of the night to continue existing. There was just simply no beating the way humanity made the world their own through the physical end of things, and there was no denying that the sun was a powerful limiting factor in how nightwalkers could act. There was also the long history of encounters between humans and nightwalkers, which often did not end well for the nightwalkers thanks to what Himiko called the ‘creativity’ of humanity.

Humans’ curiosity knew no bounds, and unfortunately, their empathy didn’t quite catch up.

Kou and Chi both agreed to this compromise of area. To begin with, it would be impossible for them to solve every issue from every nightwalker they came across. It’s thanks to this compromise that Kou realized that this fatigued night felt very quiet, very silent, very orderly.

It’s like the calm before the storm.

They jumped over a few more rooftops, carefully landing near a local river that went through the residential area, and finally stopped. Kou just followed Chi’s lead. To his surprise, Chi apparently decided to sit down by the riverbank, allowing the gentle breeze to sway the grass by her feet and join the soft sigh she let off.

“Onii-chan,” she muttered. “I’m sorry.”

Oh. She’d only ever called Kou onii-chan when she’s feeling spoiled. Kou was so used to seeing his sister don her ruthless mask and spew her venomous words that he sometimes forgot that she’s only two years younger than he was—and he’s still plenty young, himself.

Also, she was always more attuned to the nightwalker lifestyle, but maybe it’s just for the sake of survival. Underneath it all, Kou knew that his sister was kind. She said she agreed with Himiko’s decision in the end, but that was definitely considering all the things Himiko said—including the safety of her own family and friends. There’s no way she could walk away from seeing death in front of her eyes unaffected.

So Kou sat next to her. “For what?”

She looked away. “I know you didn’t like what happened with Kurotarou. I know I said I agreed with Yamato-senpai’s call. I know that hurts you. I’m sorry.”

She didn’t waver or quiver or anything. She kept her tone neutral. She just said it a little louder than a whisper, that’s all. Kou couldn’t help but pat his sister’s head. “Thanks. I’m sorry, too. I didn’t realize you were also hurt by that.”

“It’s not like I’m hurt or anything, don’t get me wrong.”

“Right, right.”

“Just say that once.”

“Right.”

Chi sighed, then—yet to Kou’s another surprise—leaned on her brother’s shoulder. “Thanks.”

They stayed like that for a while. In the cool breeze of the night and the gentle sound of the splashing water from the river, the total lack of nightwalker disturbance was a very welcome change of pace. It was quiet. It was peaceful.

“Onii-chan, you’re not angry?”

“Why would I be?”

“I agreed with … killing Kurotarou.”

“You’ve warned me.”

“Yeah, but you’re….”

Chi let the question trail away. Kou patted her head once more. “I’m not angry. I’m just sad.”

“Because Kurotarou…?”

“Well, that too, but I still feel like we could’ve solved that one differently.” Kou stared at the moon for a second. “We could’ve figured it out much faster. Himiko-san was right. You were right. We’re always working on a time constraint. I can’t just rely on things to get better on their own.”

Chi didn’t reply, but she didn’t move either. Kou took a deep breath.

“It’s my fault. All of this. I should’ve been able to figure out what went wrong. I should’ve come up with something sooner. I should’ve been able to save Kurotarou.”

“We’re running in fully blind, there’s no way you could’ve done any of that.”

“I wish everything’s as simple as a mushiyoukai attack.”

“Even that isn’t simple.”

“Yeah, but I could just let my body move and do the job. The rest of this stuff is … pretty overwhelming.”

It was Kurotarou the other night. Who would be next if Kou let this happen again?

But what else could he do? He didn’t inherit any instructions from his dad. His Great Ancestor refused to speak to him through the Authority. His mom wasn’t around.

The only guide he had was his own sister, and she was just there to teach him how to vampire. She earnestly tried her best to make things work for them, even recommending Kou books about self-help and leadership (which did absolutely nothing, if he might add) on top of her training during their patrols and the usual reading about nightwalkers to make sure they kept some edge over them, but there was only so much a fourteen year-old could do to assist her brother in becoming a king.

It was Kurotarou the other night. Who would be next if Kou let this happen again?

But what else could I do?

“Chi?” Kou whispered. He could feel his sister shifting a little.

“Hmm?”

“Thanks for having my back.”

She softly giggled. “I’m your sister, Dummy. Of course I’ve got your back.”

And they fell into that comfortable silence once more.

It’s been a fair while since Chi was sweet and spoiled like this, so Kou wasn’t in any rush to let the moment end. She would have to put on her usual persona again once it was all over. Not that it was any less truthful of her, but it’s still a necessary push. At least, for just a few moments, Kou would love to feel like he could make her feel safe, like a good brother would.

She also seemed almost hesitant to let the moment come to a halt, but duty’s a duty. Slowly, she stood straight back up, then got on her feet.

“Come on,” she said. “Night’s not over yet.”

Kou got up, and they finally continued with their patrol.

Chi was still silent, but at least Kou could tell that her mood was much better. After scouring around two blocks, however, Chi once again suddenly stopped—this time on the rooftops.

“Nii-chan, please don’t take this the wrong way,” she started. Kou raised his eyebrows. She didn’t usually start off that kindly.

“What’s up?”

Chi took a deep breath. “I still think you need to be careful about opening up to Yamato-senpai.”

Kou processed that for a bit. “Why? Didn’t you agree with her?”

“It’s exactly because I agreed with her.”

Kou landed next to her. “How does that translate?”

“You’ve seen her exorcism—it was based on the Christian exorcism rites.”

“With the Psalms and banishment,” Kou recalled Chi’s words. She nodded.

“The passage she read was from Psalms 68. You don’t read that to banish evil from someone being possessed, you read that if the place was haunted. You read different passages for different rites.”

“Okay?”

“But she read only the first two verses. She then didn’t go with any of the other rituals—no Holy Water, no liturgical address, no prayers with congregation, nothing. She didn’t even have a congregation. She had no Holy Water with her. She just recited two lines from the Psalms and shortened her banishment call, too.”

“You’ll have to explain to me where the issue is, I’m not very familiar with Christian exorcism.”

Chi judged Kou for a minute. “It’s something you can’t do alone,” Chi said. “The basis of Christian exorcism is faith. Even the Vatican said the rites weren’t a rigid ritual. It collects its magic through faith, which should resonate with each other. The rites simply gave it shape. The exorcist could use that shape to the effect of killing a nightwalker.”

“But she….”

“Did it entirely alone, yeah. And she truncated a lot of the rites.”

“And she wasn’t even Christian.”

“Exactly. There’s the problem. She came to the same decision I did, and she had the power to bring that about—with none of the prerequisites normally required for Christian exorcism. That isn’t right.”

Kou touched his own chin. “So you’re saying that something’s wrong with her that allowed her to do this impossible exorcism, is that it?”

“Not just that. She’s strong. You could probably overcome her if you could properly control your Authority, but until then, she’s already strong enough to keep me down. I wouldn’t be able to fight for you if anything happens.”

Kou let that sink in. A faithless girl could perform an exorcism based on faith. This girl did it all alone without requiring the resonance usually needed by the spell. Not only that, she shortened much of the ritual and even neglected some of the items it usually requires.

This same girl still managed to cast that spell with enough power to actually keep Chi at bay, and Kou had never seen a nightwalker as strong as she was apart from his own parents.

Logically speaking, Chi was right. There was also still the state of hyperfocus, the focus state usually entered by exorcists when dealing with nightwalkers, and hers was probably stronger than what Kou usually heard from other nightwalkers who had seen exorcisms before.

Not only was she an oddity, she was strong.

The only thing keeping her reined in was her love for Kou. What would happen if that ever disappears? What would happen if they’re fighting?

Logically speaking, Chi was right. However, Kou just took another deep breath.

“Thanks for the warning,” he said. “But I trust her.”

“Nii-chan!”

“I agree that she’s abnormal,” he continued. “I agree that she’s strong. I agree that she could be dangerous. For the nightwalkers in general, sure, but for us, too. I don’t deny all that.”

“Then—”

“But that’s not all that she is,” he said. “She’s an exorcist, yeah. But she’s also a girl. She’s also a student. She’s also the student council president. She’s also my friend. She’s also my girlfriend. I know you’re wary about trusting her as an exorcist, but I trust her everything else.”

Chi’s expression shifted very quickly from protest, to disbelief, to anger, to whatever the heck just happened there—he wasn’t sure how to describe it—until it finally ended with just a small pout. “Fine. But don’t tell me I haven’t warned you.”

“I won’t tell you that.”

“Just for the record, I don’t want us to die!”

“I won’t let it get to that, you tsundere.”

“The heck’s that mean?!”

The siblings continued their patrol, this time with Chi pouting throughout the night, until they’ve made sure that they’re finished with their usual route. It really was a quiet night. Kou didn’t know if Chi noticed, but even among their quietest nights, that night felt weird. They didn’t see any other nightwalker on their patrol. None. Not even the mushiyoukai.

Kou had no idea what to make of that.

When they returned to their home, though, around a hundred meters out, Chi gasped.

“What is it?” Kou whispered.

“In front of our house!” Chi hissed.

Kou squinted—there, in front of their house, were two shadowy figures. One was about probably their own height, and the other one was taller.

They were standing right by the gates, waiting.

“They’re not human,” Chi muttered. Kou nodded.

With that, the two vampires landed on their rooftops—maintaining their high ground as they spied the figures from closer quarters.

The shorter of the figures was a beautiful young woman with long jet-black hair, wearing a crimson kimono with gold-laden patterns of colorful flowers tied together by a cute obi of pink, green, and white; her two hands resting peacefully and elegantly in front of her, her expression very serene. The taller one was much messier with her blue yukata, which was nowhere as decorated as her shorter partner, with one side of her outfit falling off her shoulder and showing that she was wearing a sarashi chest binder, and even her short blonde hair stood out in the darkness of the night.

Only one thing stood out even more than their traditional outfit, and it was the fact that they both had horns.

The horns did not look like they’re separate appendages. They were skin-colored, protruding directly out of their foreheads. The shorter figure had two identical horns, while the taller blonde had only one on her right side.

“Oni,” Chi whispered. “At this timing?”

They just faced two rogue oni, after all. It’s definitely got something to do with that. Could it be a matter of revenge? Both oni felt powerful. At the very least, Kou knew that if they decided to fight and lean down, they could tap into vast reserves of spiritual power.

However, Kou realized that it wasn’t the time to be cautious. First, they waited patiently outside of his home—no sign of damage or attempt to enter. Kou’s house was protected with multiple anti-nightwalker measures by his mom, measures even he wasn’t entirely familiar with, but aggression leaves marks behind and Kou felt none of that. Secondly, there was no sign of bloodlinking whatsoever.

They didn’t go mad. They weren’t bloodthirsty. They knew to wait patiently and they were in control of their behaviors.

Whatever they were, they weren’t bloodlinked.

With a smooth step, Kou floated down from the rooftop of his own house to the sweet background noise of the subtle hissing of his sister’s complaints.

“Good evening,” he greeted as he touched the ground.

The elegant oni responded with a polite smile and a deep bow, which the taller one reluctantly followed. “Greetings and good evening, Milord, Mayonaka no Maou-sama.”

“How may I help you tonight?”

The elegant black-haired oni took that as her cue and continued without lifting her head. “My name is Onihime, Milord. I come here with my retainer Tenka Gozen to humbly apologize for the issue with our clan just the other day.”

So they’re aware of those rogues. ‘Onihime’ also sounded less like a name and more a title or a nickname—it just literally meant ‘Oni Princess’. Could they also be aware that the two rogue oni were being tailed by his shikigami? Kou ran through all the questions quickly in his head, then realized that he was going nowhere stupefied. He just nodded. “Understood. Please raise your heads. It’s rather late—would you like to come in? Let’s talk about this inside.”

Kou knew Chi would have her own fair share of complaints about letting oni into their house, but he figured that if she’d rant anyway, he might as well listen to that in the comfort of his home rather than out here. Onihime raised her head, gave Kou a very nice smile, then nodded. “Understood, Milord. It would be our honor. We gratefully receive your consideration.”

*