Cocoon

A few hours earlier…

“Kana-chan, we need to talk.” Kazakiri Daiya, Yuuya’s father, said to the woman sitting across from him on the living room sofa. She twines her finger around her hair, smiling faintly.

“I know we will have to do this sooner or later. It cannot be a secret forever, no?”

“Yeah. Akame and Yuuya. Those two…their ‘true’ selves are showing. Ah, kids going into puberty…” Daiya ruffled his hair. “As parents, we have to do something, right? Miss Akaname, filth-licking youkai?”

“My, is it that easy to tell? I thought I never gave you any hints. Still… you seem like a perfectly normal human being, unlike your wife and son.” Kaname’s perfect smile was frozen onto her face. “You remind me of my late husband. My actual one, before all of my remarriages.”

Daiya put his hands together.

“Let’s get right into it. Do you know why I want this marriage?”

“Of course. You want to delay Yuuya-kun’s awakening. You want other youkai in the house to disrupt his energy… like an Akaname.” The woman narrowed her eyes. “But, my daughter sped up his awakening process and ruined your plans.”

“Heh, your damn organization really had me fooled, Kana-chan.” Daiya chuckled, glaring at the youkai sitting across from him. “...They knew of my plans and sent you to me. You’re just here to observe my son and report back to them, and I didn’t know any better. I let you into the house myself, thinking you were just a random youkai on the street. Anyway, you weren’t one-hundred percent on point, but your reasoning was good enough.”

“I also did not know any better. I was not aware you knew so much about us.” Kaname giggled. “As you know, I belong to PUPA, an organization for the peacekeeping of the paranormal. My job is to marry you and ensure you and your son’s safety for the time being. It seems my daughter exposed me. There may be a change of plans.”

“Yuuya’s awakening is soon. There’s no need for you to do something like that anymore. We don’t need to get married. You do know that there’s no space in my heart for any woman other than Kazakiri Kuuga. What will you do?”

“My, I love your glare. Are you trying to make me fall for you?” She covered her mouth and giggled some more. “My job is not over. I need to protect the general population from any damage that Yuuya-kun might cause, and that is my first priority. So, I will watch over him, not as a mother but as a parent.”

“I see. Anyway, are you not planning to live a little? Give yourself some freedom, maybe?”

“I am not a bird. I am just a mother and an Akaname who married her job.”

“Well, that’s our arrangement, then.” Daiya clapped. “We will keep playing house, and as for our kids…”

“Is it really alright to keep Yuuya-kun in the dark?” Kaname stopped him before he could end the discussion. “He would be more comfortable knowing that I am not trying to replace his mother.”

“Truth is, I have no idea how to break it to my son. He has to know everything one day, but…one of Kuuga’s wishes was that I’d raise Yuuya into a happy boy. I don’t know if the truth would make him happy.” The father sighed. “But, he’s not happy now either. I don’t know what to do.”

“PUPA is aware of your desire for remarriage and Kuuga-san’s identity as a supernatural being, but we do not know the nature of the Kazakiri clan. We do not know what kind of youkai they are, or even if they can be considered a youkai. They do not appear in any folk tale or urban legend. Before I give you any advice, can I have some clarifications on that?”

Daiya went silent for a long while, before speaking again.

“Kuuga, huh… She brings calamities, I guess.”