Answers

We all gathered around the dining table. I didn’t know exactly where to sit, and I definitely didn’t want to be near Sir Strechalot. So I waited until everyone was seated before I took the final seat, at the end of one of the table’s sides, next to Yukimura.

I got the best seat in the house.

I could feel my smile widen as I sat down, basking in the sight of Yukimura eating breakfast. Before digging into her food, she tucked her hair behind her ear, removing the wall that blocked her smile. She didn’t even notice me staring; she must’ve been entranced by the plate of bacon and omurice that was in front of us; in fact, everyone was. They only made contact with their food, which filled the surrounding air with the warm aroma that only a home-cooked meal could replicate.

I looked down at my own food to see what all the fuss was about, but there it was. Spelled with ketchup, over the golden shine of the omurice, was the word Kishin. I didn’t recognize the word, but it seemed as though my body did.

Upon seeing it, my head exploded into a headache. Unable to deal with the pain, I dropped my spoon. Slammed my elbow into the table. Gripping my hand on my head. Squeezing it as if I was trying to contain the pain in the palm of my hand. However, as if the act of it would break my pain instantly, the man at the head of the table laughed. I couldn’t help but glare at him.

“What’s so funny?” I sprang up while continuing to bark at him. “Why am I here? What is that word? And who are you people?”

The stretchy guy who sat across from Yukimura rose from my outburst. “Hey, quiet you-”

“Calm down, Rentarou.”

With those three magic words, Rentarou did as the old guy said, immediately sitting down. His gaze then turned to me, squinting his eyes that were lined with wrinkles, before meeting me with a smile. Closing those aged eyes of his.

“Sorry about that, I said I’ll explain, but I was too lost in the food that Yukimura and I made.”

“Yukimura, you made this?” I turned to her, expecting her to give me a nod or a shake of the head. But she said, “Only the bacon.” That gave me even more reason to sit down and continue eating.

“Fine. I’ll sit down and listen, but you’d better answer all my questions without fail.”

He chuckled once more. “Of course I will. Go on, fire away.”

There are so many questions. Which one do I ask first? Well, he said he’d answer all of them, so I might as well ask the obvious one first.

“Okay, first off, who are you people?”

“Well, I’m guessing you already know the girl beside you is Suki…”

Yukimura gave him a death glare when he revealed her given name.

“I mean, Yukimura. The hot-headed boy, whom I heard punching you from the other room, is named Rentarou. Next to him is his sister, Hinako. Just like the characters of her name imply, she’s a delicate child. Last but not least, my name is Takeda. And we four are all Onmyoji.”

“What even is that?”

“Onmyoji are practitioners of magic who the government funds in secret to regulate, hunt, and kill yokai all across Japan. Just like yourself.”

“I’m a yokai? Nice joke. I’ve been a human all my life.” I chuckled because he must’ve been messing around with me. However, the stern look on his face made a part of me feel like he was being serious.

“No, you are. At least, you are one now; the horn on your forehead is proof of that fact. And you aren’t just a run-of-the-mill yokai either. You’re…”

Takeda took a brief pause. His hand rested on his chin like he was thinking of the perfect word to define me. Finally, he settled on saying, “the K-word.”

“The K-word?”

“The K-word.”

“What’s the K-word?”

“The same word that was written in your meal.”

Kishin.

“Why are you calling it the K-word instead of just saying what it is then? You had no problem writing it.”

“That’s because I suspect that every time you hear or see it, your body goes through a violent fit of pain. Am I wrong?”

“No, you’re right. I think? I’m not really sure. But I was in a lot of pain, and I have a painful headache right now.” Or so I thought. By the time I mentioned it, the pain had already subsided.

“But now it doesn’t hurt at all.”

“You can thank Hinako for that. Despite being roughly your age, she’s adept at sealing magic. So much so that she can seal most creatures and things, including the pain you experience from the K-word.”

I turned my head around to thank her for now and for earlier. But when I looked at her, her eyes darted away, fixing themselves onto her plate.

“But shouldn’t you be asking the bigger question here, instead of inquiring about your pain?”

“Hm? And what’s that?”

“Aren’t you worried about being in a house full of Onmyoji like us? Aren’t you scared that this omurice and bacon meal will be your last, right before one of us kills you?”

“Nah.” That reminds me, I still haven’t taken a bite yet. I picked up my spoon from the table, scooping out a piece of the food before sticking it in my mouth. The taste was…

“Delicious!”

Takeda, once again, burst out in laughter at my reaction to his question. However, besides Yukimura, who wore her usual distant expression, everyone else at the table seemed puzzled at Takeda’s odd burst of laughter.

“So why aren’t you afraid, then?”

“Because Yukimura is here.” After I said those words, even Yukimura’s face revealed a bit of confusion. It was slight, but from the shift of her eyebrows, I could tell. Meanwhile, Takeda simply nodded along.

“Good answer. Good answer. My daughter really does relieve anyone’s worries, and you’re right. You've got nothing to be afraid of, because we can’t execute you until you have your trial.”

“Trial? What trial?”

“So you know how I said Onmyojis are funded by the government, right? We, Onmyoji, aren’t simply independent teams that the government reaches out to. Instead, we’re a branch of the government that is headed by three individuals. The first is the combat director, the only Onmyoji who has more recorded yokai kills than I do, General Isamu. Next, the magic director, the Onmyoji who records and passes down the knowledge of all spells for the future generations of Onmyoji, General Kurea. And the final one is the longest-living Onmyoji, at the ripe age of 117, Leading General Hyon.”

“Okay, how does this relate to the trial?”

“I was getting to that. They’ll be the ones who decide your sentence. So, you have to convince the majority of the generals that you’re able to control the K-word. If you can’t do that, we’d have no choice but to execute you.”

“Execute me? But I haven’t done anything wrong?”

“That’s not true. You made a hole through your school, and you nearly killed Yukimura.”

“Wait, no, that can’t be right. Why would I want to kill Yukimura? Plus, I’d be in handcuffs right now, not eating breakfast, if I destroyed the school like that.”

“Well, you didn’t actually. Before you wrecked it, Yukimura used a talisman separating the physical space of the school, so the actual school is fine. However, the K-word inside of you did try to kill my daughter. And, without a doubt, they’ll use that against you in this trial.”

My palms started to feel sweaty, sticky, but cold. The only thing warming up my body was my heart. It beat like it never has before. Like if it stopped, I’d die.

“How long do I have until the trial?”

With enough time, maybe I can control it. But how long would that take? A day? A week? Months? Or even years?

Takeda glanced down at a watch on his wrist before answering. “About an hour.”

“An hour?” I repeated it back to him as if he were crazy.

“Yup. An hour.” That’s what he said as he rose from his seat.

“But that’s not nearly enough time to prepare.”

“Don’t worry, all the preparations have already been made right here.” He said this while waving around a wad of papers toward his face like the pile of documents was nothing more than a paper fan. “So don’t worry. I’m gonna go warm up the car while you go take a bath, because you reek.”

“Then what am I supposed to wear? I don’t think I can get a suit in under an hour.”

“Just borrow some of Rentarou’s clothes. I know he has clothes in all sizes.”

Rentarou jumped out of his seat, yelling. “Why does it have to be my clothes? I don’t want them to be contaminated by a yokai!”

“Because you’re the only one who has clothes that would fit him. And if you’re that unhappy about it, then here.” He passed Rentarou a few 10,000 yen bills. “Use these to buy new clothes for you or your sister, if you’d like.”

Without hesitation, Rentarou took it. “You got it, boss.”

“Also…” he glanced at Yukimura, who was still halfway through her food, unlike everyone else. “Yukimura, you’re coming with us too, so get ready.”

“Okay.” That was the only thing she said as she briskly walked back into the room we were in before, shutting it promptly. And it was only then that I realized that was Yukimura’s room from the name tag on the door.

Was I in Yukimura’s room earlier? Wait, brain, stop; it’s not the time for that, I have a trial to win.