What killed the cat?

He set Kengo against the wall and grabbed his umbrella from beside the door. Things were about to get messy.

The tentacle retreated before he could slice it, so he barged into the hallway and was met with a terrifying scene. Minamoto stood in front of him, watching helplessly as the mass of tentacles dragged his wife down the hall. She was knocked unconscious, gripped by oozing appendages that coiled around her arms and legs.

"Get out of the way," Tachibana said. He stepped forward and approached the monster. His knife was coated in a poison that was deadly to them. If he managed to lodge it into the skin, the tentacle would die. Freeing the woman, whom he now knew as Fumiko, was his top priority.

He lunged at the gensing and swung his weapon. It hit directly into one of the fleshy tentacles, gliding through skin with a crunch. The monster immediately knew it was in danger and hurried away. Fumiko's head rolled back as the monster dragged her down the stairs.

"Not so fast!" he shouted. Jumping on top of it, he tackled the thick creature, which took up most of the space in the house. It had come in through the hole Araki made in the floor and was trying to take Fumiko down with it! Stabbing its flesh again, he'd managed to destroy two of the tentacles trapping her.

His clothes were soaked with blood, and it splattered on his face and hands. Another stab brought him closer to his goal, but the gensing was close to escaping fully into the hole, where it would be harder to kill. The space under the house was too narrow to fight in. His umbrella shook back and forth, tied to his waist.

"Guhhh-" he was hit from behind by a stray tentacle, and he fell off the beast. Tachibana hit the floor hard, his mind scattering when his head pounded against the ground. His vision cut out for a moment, and when it returned, he saw Minamoto standing at the top of the staircase.

The man had a deadly look in his eyes. It was like nothing he'd ever seen before.

He and his unconscious wife shared the same family name. Tsuyoshi looked down on her. His mouth was half open, and his teeth jankily fit together like a nightmare puzzle. This was not the gaze of the whiny, childish guy he'd met the day before. It was the expression of a bloodthirsty killer.

"Go...go away! You'll be injured!"

A tentacle wrapped around Tachibana's leg, and he swatted it with his blade. He struggled to pick himself up. The monster was close to bringing Fumiko under, but couldn't decide if it should continue the fight or retreat. He crawled towards it while it was distracted by Minamoto and stabbed the last tentacle keeping her hostage.

He picked her up and brought her away, but not quickly enough. The gensing realized its prey had been stolen, and a tentacle jutted out of the hole. Aimed for her body, it clearly intended to land a deadly strike. Tachibana had no time to react. She was done for-

Splat.

"Huh..."

Where Fumiko should have been lying dead on the floor was Tsuyoshi Minamoto, her husband. Pierced through the heart by a hardened gensing tentacle.

Tachibana didn't have time to attend to Minamoto. He was dead. The nest had to be exterminated before it took any more victims. Leaving Fumiko next to her dead husband, he chased the monster into the hole. When he entered the cavern, tentacles shot towards him and wrapped around his thick calf. "Aghh!" he swiped at them with his blade, but-

Shit. He'd dropped it. He was dragged further into the caverns until he couldn't see anything at all. Tentacles wrapped around his body, writhing and pulsing as they sucked on his skin. His neck was squeezed, and his head was covered by its thick appendage. "D...d..." he could barely squeeze a noise out.

The gensing dragged him all the way to the nest, where he was finally given space to breathe. "Die!"

The body twisted around him dissolved instantly, and he landed on the ground in a pile of sand. He jumped to his feet and opened his umbrella, preparing for a battle. Since he'd dropped his blade in the house, he unscrewed the tip of the umbrella, and a smaller knife dropped out into his hand. How convenient. If he could use a sword, he would be much more capable of defending himself. Unfortunately, that would get him into trouble with the law.

The nest was easy to neutralize, as all he had to do was utter his command a few times and the eggs were completely dissolved. But what about the parents? He trudged through the mountains of sand, venturing further into the cave. The second half of it went back further than he'd initially thought, opening up into an entire cave system beneath the city.

"I'll kill you, I swear," he muttered. He had to get justice for Minamoto. He wasn't fond of the man. Actually, he'd begun to despise him. But that didn't mean he deserved to die, especially after giving his life to save his wife, whom he barely cared about. Dying for her...did it prove he held a deep-rooted love for her that he chose to hide from the world?

He looked around for a while, but the parents were nowhere to be found. The one who attacked Fumiko might've been the only one there, taking human victims to mate with them and then feeding on their bodies.

Tachibana's heart ached as he made his way out of the cave. He'd saved Fumiko, but in exchange, Minamoto lost his life. Fumiko would be devastated. Maybe that was what he deserved for looking at her with desire. He'd be punished by carrying the guilt of another man's death on top of the mountain of grief he already had.

On the way up the winding path to the surface, a light drifted around the corner. When he came to it, someone stood in front of him holding a lantern.

"The kid told me everything."

Tachibana nearly fell over. He was looking at a dead man.

Minamoto adjusted his glasses. He'd changed his clothes and looked fresh. He was far too relaxed for having just been stabbed through the heart. "But you're..."

"Tabby. That's what they call me around here 'cuz I've got nine lives," he grinned. "Impressed?"

Tachibana didn't know what to say. It wasn't out of the realm of possibilities, since he was also affected by a supernatural ability, but to come back from the dead? "Figured I should bring this with me so I wouldn't die when you yelled 'AH! A ZOMBIE!', but I guess ya aren't the jumpy type..."

"Uh! You know?"

"Your kid is bad at keeping secrets. I'd kick em in the rear if I were you, Haimono guy."

He bit his tongue to stop himself from replying. Kengo knew better than to tell people he had Haimono. Minamoto must've tricked him. He had no idea what to think anymore. The guy in front of him was now an anomaly. He should be dead, but there he was, very much alive.

"I can't believe it. How did you stop the bleeding?"

"The wounds close on their own. I'm used to it, so it only takes a minute to pull myself together after I die."

Used to it. So Minamoto had died before? How could a simple man like him have died multiple times...? Maybe it was an accident- a slip from a cliff. But what if it wasn't, and the man he'd trusted to watch his nephew was involved in dangerous activities! He had no idea what city folks did in their free time, but the shark-tooth man was suspicious.

When they returned from the tunnels, Tachibana explained everything to the old couple. Fumiko had woken up and was being calmed down by Kengo and the old woman upstairs. The old man was shocked, rightfully scarred by the situation that almost took the life of his daughter.

He'd successfully finished the job he was hired for and was paid generously with food and travel supplies. The man insisted he take some money as well, which Tachibana gratefully accepted. What he thought would've been an easy job turned out to be something sinister. The plot to spread Gensing was clear now, and he'd have to plan his next steps carefully.

Continue travelling like normal, or attempt to find the unknown woman he'd heard about in town? He didn't know yet...

"I can't stay here," Minamoto said, breaking his train of thought. He hung his head, speaking to his father-in-law but avoiding his eyes. "Please tell Fumiko I died. It's for the best."

"Now, what's gotten into you?"

"I'm grateful for all your family has done for me, but I think it's best if I leave. Being here will only cause her more harm, you know."

The old man nodded thoughtfully. None of them questioned how Minamoto had survived being pierced through the heart. Even the old man knew about his strange ability. But could it be...? The guilty glances they exchanged said, 'she doesn't know'. Minamoto had never told Fumiko of his supernatural ability to come back from the dead. Now that his blood stained the floor, and pieces of his old flesh lay in the puddle of blood, it was clear that he'd died there.

It was wrong to hide such a thing. He'd rather run than reveal the truth that she'd married a monster.

"Are you sure?"

He nodded. The tension in the air was enough to squeeze more sweat from Tachibana's skin, who was still recovering from the time he'd just spent in the dark. "Tell her to move on and find a new husband. Someone who will love her lots."

The old man was hesitant, but he agreed to Minamoto's request. Then he left the shop, and Tachibana went to find Kengo.

They spent their last night in the guest bedroom and were packed, ready to leave by the morning. He tried to keep his bag light, but Kengo didn't understand that yet and always loaded his small backpack with everything it could fit.

As they left the shop the next morning, a cat jumped across shelves and watched them leave. Feelings twisted his heart, making his chest ache. He didn't want to leave this place. Only a few days had passed since he'd arrived, but he'd grown attached to the cluttered shop and its residents. Especially the beautiful woman who lived there.

Minamoto was squatting on the sidewalk with a cigarette in his mouth, counting a wad of money he'd received from the old man.

"Gonna find another job?"

"Not yet. I have something to investigate first," Tachibana replied. "Hopefully we didn't forget anything, Kengo."

"Nothing! I double-checked the room."

Tachibana unfolded his umbrella and let it rest against his broad shoulder. "What are you going to do now?" he asked Minamoto out of curiosity.

"Nothing. I bet I'll float around until I find a job and a nice place. Didn't really have a plan back there- just saw an escape path and took it."

Floating around didn't sound like a very reliable plan. He'd certainly become homeless if Tachibana didn't do something. Minamoto, who gave up one of his lives for his wife, had volunteered to leave his comfortable life. Temporary freedom from his responsibilities was probably exciting for the irresponsible man, but it seemed like a horrible idea to Tachibana.

"Would you like to come with us?" he offered. "It'd be nice to have someone who's basically immortal to work with. You'd be great at Gensing hunting, I bet."

Minamoto looked up at Tachibana with surprise. "I can?"

"Sure. As long as you're okay with Kengo being around."

The little boy had been silent during the entire conversation. He was crossing his arms a few feet away, waiting for Tachibana to follow with a scowl. Minamoto rose to his feet and strode towards the boy. "You'll be getting used to me then," he snickered.

"No fair! This guy can't come with us, Oji!"

"Oh, don't make a fuss about it. That's not polite. It's just a temporary arrangement, so there's no reason to get your tentacles in a bunch."

The boy grumbled, but didn't make any further protests as the three of them walked down the street.

"Whatever happened to that weird guy who came out of the floorboards?" Minamoto asked.

"I don't know, actually...didn't he leave yesterday?" Tachibana thought. He'd completely forgotten about Araki. Araki slipped out of the building so discreetly, he even forgot about his existence for a while. He would stick out in a crowd with how tall and foreign he looked. He'd probably gone on his way, never to be seen again-

"AGH!" Minamoto jumped suddenly, spinning around and thrusting his fist out, but hit only air as the person who'd just sniffed his neck jumped backwards smoothly. "It's you!"

Araki's eyes were wide, apparently startled by Minamoto's sudden reaction. "Don't fight, you monkeys," Tachibana sighed, forcing Minamoto to lower his fists as embarrassment washed over him.

"Why the hell are you sniffing me out of nowhere? Now I know how girls feel when pervs approach them!"

Araki crouched close to the ground and started writing on a scroll.

I was tracing Tachibana's scent, since I planned to follow him, but your smell ruined the trail. It's pleasant compared to his stench, but I would prefer the roses from the brothels, or the perfume the geisha wear.

"He is a pervert..."

"Mind telling me why you were following us, then?" Tachibana asked.

I see an opportunity here. My employer hasn't been paying me well lately, so I'd like to see what you can offer. If you hunt for a living, maybe you'd be kind enough to share some of your earnings with me.

So Araki wanted to team up. Tachibana wasn't sure how he could be useful, besides the fact that he was big and strong. Adding two people to his group was already starting to scare him, and he considered telling them both to leave. The truth was that he had no desire to travel with anyone other than Kengo. But seeing Minamoto's situation, he couldn't leave the man to live aimlessly. At least, he would accompany him to their next destination and sort out a place for him to stay there.

Araki, too? At least he wouldn't be talking much.

"Fine. Come along."

"Nooooo!" Kengo whined. Araki walked behind them ominously for a few minutes, watching Kengo closely. Then he swooped the kid up, carrying him on his shoulders. "Ah!" Kengo shouted, being hoisted seven feet into the air. Riding on Araki's shoulders must've felt like being on a giraffe to the small kid. Araki didn't have any trouble carrying him, as he was so light. The sight made Tachibana chuckle. "Whoa! I can see everything from up here!"

It wasn't long before they were making friendly conversation (excluding Araki) as they made their way to the sacred retreat in the south.