Everybody Wants to be My Enemy

The oni is a common sight in Japanese folklore and popular culture. The man-eating, cludgel-carrying orcs that simply could not exist outside of storybooks.

But there’s one in front of me.

The humanoid ‘thing’ wore a bright red mask, with bulging eyes and snarling mouth. A plume of white breath seeped through.

I would have thought this was some freak in a mask, but now I couldn’t be so sure.

Now what? Run away? Turn around and lock myself inside Izayoi’s house?

“...Haibane…”

The Oni-masked figure spoke up, its voice high-pitched like a child's.

I remained silent, recalling the local legend that advised against responding to such voices. Otherwise, I might end up getting demoned away…

“...Must...eliminate…”

The bony arm lifted the cudgel off the floor.

Well, shit, what do I do now? I've never been chased or attacked before, so...ask Izayoi for help? No, what could Izayoi and her grandfather do? Wouldn’t it be worse if they got dragged into this mess as well?

As I pondered my next move, a realization struck me.

Haibane... ashen feathers...

If what they said about me growing wings were true...

Does that mean the oni-mask is after me?

“...”

I swallowed nervously.

“Izayoi, call the cops!!!” I yelled as I backed away slowly. Izayoi stuck her face out of the window and followed my line of gaze to the psycho with the cudgel, and immediately knew what to do.

The oni-masked figure lunged straight at me, swinging its cudgel down right next to my feet. The ground cracked, dust flew everywhere, and if I was a second slower, I would have been crushed to pieces!

“Fuck!!!” I spun around and ran for my life.

What now? Think, Yuuya!

I ran down the hill. Kaname-san must know something, but I don’t want my dad in this mess! I could feel the rush of air as the cudgel missed my legs by a strand of hair. I dared not turn around, but when I did, I could see the oni throwing the cudgel straight at my back.

“Gahhh!!!”

I dodged, lost my balance, and tumbled across the ground. The cudgel flew into a house, and the residents screamed in terror. At least this oni no longer had a weapon!

I was wrong. This one needed no weapon. It latched onto my back and pushed me to the ground, strangling me. I tried to claw at those red, bony arms to no avail. My throat was being crushed. My vision was obscured by blotches of black.

“Stop right there!!!” I could hear a voice. When I opened my eyes, I saw strands of black hair twisting around the oni’s neck, but they did nothing to help. “Go back wherever you came from!!!”

It was definitely Fumi’s voice. She spun around, the gaping mouth at the back of her head, with its two rows of razor-sharp teeth, chomped down at the oni’s shoulder and tore out a lump of flesh.

The oni released me, clutching its shoulder, while Fumi’s second mouth swallowed the oni’s flesh.

I coughed and gasped for breath as air rushed into my lungs.

“You better return my badge after this, Kazakiri-san.” Fumi made a ‘hmph’ sound. “Now, then, who is this oni that tried to murder someone in front of a PUPA investigator?”

“Futakuchi…onna…” The oni said through gritted teeth.

“How did you know I was here…?” I asked Fumi, my throat hurting like crazy.

“Thank Hyakuya-san. He foresaw this whole event.” Fumi answered and turned back to the oni. “I will count to three. Answer my question, or I will exercise my rights to conduct interrogational torture.”

“Kill…” The oni muttered. “Kill them all…”

The oni bared its claws and lunged straight at Fumi. She grabbed it with her hands and threw it sideways, knocking its mask off.

Once she saw the oni’s face, she fell into a state of shock.

“What…in the world?!”

It was dark, but I could still make out a bald head and a cheekless face. Saliva drooled from the gap between its teeth. As if that oni had been caught in ten fires that burned off so much of its flesh, permanently disfiguring it.

“What…the actual fuck…?”

Its cloudy eyes drifted from me to Fumi.

It happened faster than I could process.

The oni grabbed Fumi’s neck and unleashed an electric current, drawing screams from both of Fumi’s mouths. Her body convulsed, and her hair thrashed wildly. That scene shook me to the very core.

It didn’t take much electricity to kill a person, but how much would it take to kill a youkai? And moreover, where are the fucking police?! Are they too used to peace and quiet that they forgot how to mobilize?!

The oni released Fumi, and she fell to the ground with a dull thud. She’s done for. And I’m next.

“Y…you…”

“Fumi?!”

She’s alive?! Thank god!

“The b-badge…p-press o-o-on it…”

“What? The badge?”

The oni drew closer to me as I processed Fumi’s instruction. I took out her badge and pressed on it. There was a clicking noise. The ‘PUPA’ logo on the badge flickered, probably sending some kind of distress signal.

The oni yanked the badge from my hand and crushed it underfoot.

Up close, the oni is even smaller than I thought. It’s the size of a child. Its reddened hands grabbed my neck, and I immediately felt the electricity current flowing into my body.

Is this it? Am I going to die here? No! I don’t want to die!!! Not when I haven’t even apologized to anyone for what I did!

I heard a scream, when suddenly, I was thrown into a nearby house. Something stabbed at my back. When I clambered back onto the streets, I saw that the oni’s body was on fire.

“What now…?”

I glanced at Fumi. She struggled to get up, her eyes glued to the oni screaming and rolling on the road. I heard the siren, finally.

Fumi used her hair to prop herself up and limp towards me. She pulled me up from the ground and dragged me away from the commotion.

“Where are you taking me?”

“Somewhere nobody can see you!”

She pulled me to a narrow and steep stone stairway, one of the small trails leading to Shiroyama park. It was then that I realized something was awfully wrong.

“Hey, Fumi…there’s something stuck to my back, isn’t there?”

“Yes.” She sat down, exhausted. “We are all going to be doomed because of your awakening.”

I reached a hand to touch my back and felt a pair of wings.