This story is what happens when you give me the prompt “female ninja” and then show me an Urban Fantasy novel to try and emulate. It was fun to write but almost zero sex. There is definitely a budding romance between the female lead and Koko, the cam-girl and stripper who befriends her at an ex-pat hostel. Overall fun to write, but I nearly had a nervous break-down when I thought I had to kill Koko. Anyway, read and enjoy.
Bishop
1
She held the hilt and scabbard of her ninja-to in front of her as she crouched before the statue of Buddha. Kumiko was short, but she was wiry with taut muscles and had her long black hair braided. The long tail hung to her waist. Her outfit was a black ninja-yoroi, but she wasn’t wearing a mask or cowl. She scanned the treeline and could feel the creature’s eyes on her as she waited for him to strike. She saw movement to her right, but kept her gaze steady, if she reacted too quickly she could be caught off guard, she thought better to wait for a decisive attack. It was a waiting game. She never had patience growing up in the States, but since her parents died she didn’t have much of a choice. She needed to use clear thought and clear action to see through to her goal, which she reaffirmed daily. Find the demon that killed her parents and destroy it. It was not an easy path. She left home. Traveled to Japan without knowing the language or even how she would accomplish her mission. Her only resources were her memories of her father and his lessons. She meditated daily and kept a picture of them both in a locket around her neck. She hated that it was a cliche, but the locket kept her focused and reminded her of her goal.
A pale face appeared at the treeline. It looked like a woman in the woods, but the darkness was so deep she couldn’t make out a body. It could be her demon, but it could just be her mind playing tricks on her. Her brain wanted visual stimulation so it may have created it in the form of a hallucination. The face hovered in the air it seemed. It wasn’t a hallucination. Another face appeared to her right, then another to her left. Still she waited. The demon wants her to act first. It was toying with her. In one swift motion all three of the faces flew at her and it was time for her to strike. When the ghostly faces got close enough her sword flashed from her scabbard in a smooth arc that caught all three heads. For a moment the hovered motionless then red fluid bloomed from the site of her cut and the faces split apart in two, the lower half from the upper half and let out a piercing shriek. Kumiko backed against the statue behind her and saw the bisected faces attached to one amorphous creature the bloomed from the treeline. Its body was a collection of blue, purple, and black blobs of ichor. It flowed from the trees and coalesced in front of her in a bulbous humanoid form. “You can not survive mortal.” Its voice was a warbled chorus of a thousand voices screeching at once. The sound of it speaking was already making her ears ring.
It lashed out at her with its arm, but Kumiko jumped over the limb and flipped in the air. She landed on the creatures right and slashed at its flank, causing a small geyser of blood to erupt spraying the ground. “Where is Nanimonai?” She yelled to the demon.
The demon didn’t answer but looked at her. It formed a face that looked more like a collection of tumors than anything human formed its mouth into a gory smile. “You will die as your father died, screaming for mercy!” It shrieked as it lashed out again with six psuedopods that sprouted from the side of its body. The black-purple tentacles grabbed her at her arms and legs and lifted her high off the ground. She quickly slashed down at the tentacles with her ninja-to. The blade cut through three before she was dropped to the ground. She focused on the center of the monster’s body and slashed as she flew at its body. She moved, jumped, flipped, and slashed as he moved against its thousand appendages that were sprouting almost as quickly as she could cut them. Finally, she moved towards the center. Her sword slashed an X into its body. Blood plumed from the cut as she thrust her sword into the demon’s heart. Its screeches made her ears bleed. She held the blade as she pushed with gritted teeth until the blade finally struck the heart of the creature. She was covered head to toe with the gore that pulsed from the wound. The force of the deluge knocked her against the statue.
She coughed and retched on the ground. She pulled herself and spit the offal from her mouth. She held her ninja-to at the ready. “Where is Nanimonai?”
It sputtered and spoke out of its chest. “Tokyo!” it screamed and the sound dropped Kumiko to her knees.
The search leading to the fight took its toll on her. Her body was pushed to its limits. Her body was shaking as she git on her feet. She used her sword in its scabbard as a crutch to get herself upright. Once she was on her feet she moved uneasily towards the east, towards Tokyo.
* * *
Hina stood on her balcony smoking a cigarette. She stared dispassionately at the man in her apartment. He reminded her of everything she hated about Tokyo. He was an attractive, well to do professional, in a stylish t-shirt and jacket. Physically there was nothing wrong with him, but she wanted to go in a different direction. Her feelings were born from a desire to be something more outrageous. She felt she was basic. A young girl, just barely past her twenty-second birthday and she was already bored with her life. She wanted to be a monster, a beast, a demon. Instead she was a shop-girl who rarely went out and never went on dates. When Kenta asked her out at the shop she wanted to say no, but she heard her mother’s voice worried that she’ll never meet a nice boy and settle down. She wasn’t sure what it meant to settle down when she never did anything out of the ordinary. She didn’t really do anything, except smoke cigarettes and read books on magic and witches. She had symbols all over her apartment inviting demons into her soul. She didn’t actively believe in any of it, but her life as a shop girl was making her sick. On his face Kenta was perfect and that made him somehow more awful to her. Her mother would love him. She smoked her cigarette slowly and played with a butterfly knife she left on the balcony if she took long enough maybe he would get bored and leave.
As she snuffed out her cigarette she watched a cloud of smoke rise from the ashtray. The smoke formed a face and as she saw it she only thought it was a neat coincidence that it looked like an oni mask. She smiled at the shape expecting it to dissipate but was startled when it spoke, “Hina,” it said.
“What?” She looked at the face astonished. She thought she should go inside, but this was something she had been waiting to see all her life. Real magick manifesting in front of her. She poked towards the smoke and her finger drifted through exactly as you would expect, “amazing.” She muttered.
“He is boring.”
She nodded and tilted her head in confusion. “How is this possible?”
“I am Kami, Hina.” He said with a smile.
“What do you want?”
“I think the more important question is, what do you want?” The Kami asked.
What do I want? She thought to herself. She had wanted something like this to happen since she was a child but it’s happening here and now. She wanted so many things to be more attractive, to have more money, to travel more. Where did she possibly start? “I don’t know.”
“Well perhaps we start with Kenta?” he suggested. “I can make him someone else. I can make him someone more interesting, someone more dangerous.”
“Like what?”
“Watch,” the smoke said with a mischievous glint in the black orbs that appeared in place of eyes. The face turned to Kenta who sat on her couch looking at his mobile phone oblivious to her or the strange spirit balcony. His body seized and he fell back against the couch whimpering and groaning as his body warped and changed. His skin changed and became darker in color. His hair grew around his head and his features became smoother, softer. He sat up from the couch a different person. Before he was a Japanese man, now he was a Latina woman and she was staring down at her manicured fingernails and running her hands through her long smooth hair.
“Turn him back!” She demanded.
“Really? Nothing there, no interest?” He asked seductively.
Hina looked at her. She was a gorgeous woman with a large chest and long smooth legs. Even his clothes changed, she was dressed in a short skirt and a halter top revealing her generous cleavage. Hina was utterly stunned, “Can you change him back.”
“I can, but why would I?”
“He…” She stammered and looked at the face, “Where did he go?”
“He’s gone, snapped out of existence, She doesn’t even remember being him.” Hina watched as the voluptuous woman checked her phone and took a selfie as she sat on the couch.
“Can you change her into something else?”
“Yes.” He said with a smile.
The changes came again and this time the Hispanic girl leaned forward bracing herself against the coffee table as her skin lightened and her chest shrank. Her hair stayed the same color, but dirty blonde roots at the part revealed it was obviously dyed. Her face shifted into a chiseled jaw and five o’clock shadow. The clothes became a black metal band t-shirt and leather pants. She was a man again, but now a white man with large muscular arms and piercing blue eyes. Hina shook her head, she felt fear rising up from the pit of her stomach. She ran into the apartment away from the face made from smoke.
“Hey, you ready to go?” The former boring Asian man turned curvy Latin girl, turned rock and roll white guy said with a smile.
“Yeah,” She nodded her head and grabbed his arm as they left her apartment. “Can we stay at your place tonight?” She asked as they moved into the hallway.
He grinned, “I think we can arrange that.” He let his hand drift to the small of her back.
Hina swore she could hear the devilish face laughing from the street many floors below. Did he kill the man who asked her out? Is this new person at her side a murderer? She had too many questions swirling in her head. She thought of the Kami’s words, someone more dangerous and looked at the newly minted man next to her and felt the fear growing in her heart.
* * *
Kumiko saw her father and mother across the dinner table. Her mother was standing by the sink pouring a glass of water. Her mother was a Sudanese beauty with jet black skin. Kumiko’s father smiled and asked, “How was school?” Her father was a Japanese man with a strong handsome face with an infectious smile.
“Same as it is every day, awful.” Kumiko groaned.
“School isn’t supposed to be fun. It’s about knowledge and instruction for life.” Her mother said as she sat down at the table.
“It should be some fun,” She protested.
“Save the fun for the dojo,” Her father added. “speaking of I got some new focus pads so I figure we can work on some boxing tonight.”
She nodded, “Sounds great.”
She heard the door explode at the front of the house. Her father sprang from his seat and her mother ran quickly after him yelling his name. Kumiko was stunned and frozen in place, but she made herself go see what the commotion was about. She saw a giant wearing black onyx samurai armor. Her father looked at her as he blocked the giant’s sword strike. “Run!”
Kumiko jumped as she woke on the train. She rubbed her face and looked out the window. Countryside sped by outside as her father and mother’s faces lingered in her sleepy mind. She leaned back in her seat and tried to meditate on what her father taught her about fighting demons. “I will find you Nanimonai.” She said to herself.
2
Kenta was gone and in his place was Den. Den took Hina dancing and he said pretty things into her ear all night. She was almost constantly blushing from the attention he gave her. She found herself at his place in the middle of the night. His soft lips pressed against her neck and she swooned as she touched his muscular chest. He moved to her mouth and she returned the kiss passionately. Her body was heating up as their kissing intensified. Suddenly, he broke off from the kiss. He shook his head and put a hand to his temple. “Are you alright?” She asked.
Den made a choking sound. His head jolted back as his neck twisted and contorted. Hina screamed and rose from the couch. Den’s shoulders and arms joined in the twisting and soon his entire body was racked with shifting bone and muscle. She backed against the wall as bone spikes shot through his flesh. His formerly piercing blue eyes changed to a vile red color as he lowered his head. His teeth became sharp and he opened his mouth to scream. His head split at the jaw into a massive shark-like maw. She jumped over the couch an instant befor it slashed at the couch with newly formed claws. The couch was shredded as Hina pulled herself up and blasted out the door.
Hina made it to the elevator and desperately pushed the button. The doors opened as Den turned his apartment door into splinters. The elevator opened and Hina moved inside, crying as she punched at the first-floor button. The doors closed as the monster bashed at the door. She moved to the back of the elevator and slid down to the floor. She wrapped her arms around her legs and rocked in place.
She stood outside her apartment door praying that the Kami had gone. She unlocked the door and took a deep breath before opening it. The Kami was no longer only a smoke face, it had a body now, its long limbs and lank body stood in the middle of the room. It looked over its own body as it realized Hina had entered. “How was your date?” he asked with a devious smile.
“What do you want?” She asked.
“Nothing much, just your soul,” He said.
* * *
Kumiko stood on the sidewalk considering her first move. Looking for a lead was always the hardest part of her mission. Tokyo was the location, but to find a demon in a city she would need to wait for something to happen. Her father always told her that demons reveal themselves pathologically. “They are made up of ego and hatred. It is in that nature that they can not help, but reveal themselves.” He said as they stood in their kendo sticks outstretched. She could hear the click-clack noises in her mind. Some days she still woke to that sound, like a song that got stuck in her head
“How long do you have to wait?” She asked.
He attacked with a yell. She moved her stick to defend, but he was too quick and caught her on the top of the helmet. He took off his helmet and said, “As long as it takes.”
She walked through the city getting a feel for the rhythm of the city. Tokyo moved like a vast living organism. People flowed like blood through its circulatory system. Cars, trucks, and bicycles reminded her of neurons and the buildings its limbs. She let her mind wander and walked through the crowds of people with her mind open to the universe around her. That’s when she found herself in front of a hostel.
“Welcome to Miki House.” A young Japanese girl said as Kumiko entered. The place reminded her of a dive bar she went to before she left the US. Kumiko scanned the room quickly trying to absorb as many details as possible. There were three entrance points that she could see from her vantage, plus the simple wooden door behind her. Four access points, exit, office, bathroom, and a stairwell to the sleeping area. There were little tchotchkes stuck in every nook and cranny of the place. A small bar was directly behind the girl. She saw two tourists, a man, and a woman, both were young, both blonde but looked older than Kumiko. The Japanese girl in front of her girl dressed in a simple blouse, jeans, and pink tennis shoes. Nothing hidden on her except a bottle opened stuck in her back pocket. The tourists were dressed simply t-shirt, jeans, and a light jacket. They both had beers in front of them and seemed to be deep in conversation.
“Hello, I’m Kumiko,” Kumiko said with a smile as she stepped up to the counter.
The girl gave a little bow and said, “I am Aiko, how may I help you?”
“I would like a bed, do you have private rooms?”
She looked over the small laptop in front of her, “Yes, we have two available.”
“I’ll take one, please.” She said as she pulled her wallet.
Aiko set everything up and gave her a little key card. Kumiko was still in a strange dazed headspace so she deposited her things in the room and checked the window. Only two stories above the ground and no fire escape. Survivable if she needed a quick exit. There was a single bed and a small desk decorated with more pop culture tchotchkes. Kumiko set her pack down and laid in the bed for a moment. She had no intention to sleep, but it claimed her regardless. When she woke it was dark outside. She sat up rubbing her eyes. She grumbled to herself and made her way downstairs to wake herself up.
Kumiko sat at the bar, “I would like a beer.”
Aiko was still behind the bar. She nodded at Kumiko and filled her order quickly. The tourists were gone, but in their place was a young black girl decked out in a teal bikini top with a matching miniskirt, and a little pink waistcoat. She also wore fuzzy teal boots and her little pink cat backpack set next to her on the bar. “Hello.” she waved cheerily at Kumiko as she settled in.
“Hi.” She said back.
“I’m Koko Jones, It’s a pleasure to meet you.” She stuck her fist out.
“I’m Kumiko, but my friends always called me Kay back home.”
“Where is that?” Koko asked as she sipped on what looked to be some plum wine.
“Honolulu and you?”
“Boston.” She nodded.
“I love your outfit,” Kumiko commented.
“Thank you, I kind of toned it down today, feeling casual.”
Kumiko nodded and thought, that’s toned down. “Alright. What brings you to Tokyo Koko?”
“Oh my god isn’t it obvious,” she motioned to her outfit, “I’m getting my little weeaboo fix.”
“I’m just getting back to my roots.” Kumiko offered, “My father was from Japan, but he died before we got a chance to come together.”
“I’m so sorry.” She patted Kumiko.
She shook her head, “It’s okay, they’re still with me.” She clutched the locket hanging at her chest.
“May I?” Koko asked. Kumiko nodded and Koko scooched closer. Kumiko could smell her perfume, gummy bears, and she felt little butterflies flutter in her stomach.
“Your mother is gorgeous,” Koko said as she looked up at Kumiko’s face. She felt her cheeks blush. She’d never had this reaction to a girl before and it made her feel awkward, a sensation she wasn’t used to. The only similarity between Koko and her mother was that Koko’s skin was almost as dark as her mother’s, but where her mother was tall and statuesque, Koko was short and voluptuous. Koko looked adorably soft and at that thought Kumiko blushed again. “Was she from Africa?”
Kumiko nodded, “She was from Sudan but emigrated just before high school, That’s where they met. He grew up in Hawaii and had only been to Japan once.”
“What? That’s crazy.”
She nodded emphatically, “I know, but most of his family moved to Hawaii in the 50s. They were trying to get away from some kind of family curse.” Why was she telling Koko everything? She felt comfortable with the girl.
“You have great genetics. You should be a model,” She suggested.
“No, I couldn’t, I have a thing I do,” She stammered.
“I mean it, you’re gorgeous and your skin is like flawless.”
“You should model,” Kumiko suggested.
“I do, I mean, I’ve got a huge Instagram following and I’m a Cam-girl and a stripper, but that’s totally modeling.” She grabbed her little backpack. “Say, do you want to go dancing?” She suggested.
“I’m not really dressed for it.”
“So what? Come on,” She tugged at Kumiko’s sleeve. “We’re in Tokyo for God’s sake.”
Kumiko let herself slide off the stool and follow Koko. Hunting demons can wait, she thought to herself as they left the hostel.
* * *
Hina’s hands shook as she washed her face in her tiny bathroom. The mirror revealed her puffy tired eyes. “What’s wrong Hina, this is what you wanted.” She heard his voice from the bathroom. She stepped out and looked at the creature.
“I won’t give you my soul,” She said with as much conviction as she could muster.
“Then give me other souls,” He laid across her couch with his arms crossed behind his head.
“What do you mean?” She sat on the floor and tried not to look at the Kami. There was a smell in the room, like rotting meat. Flies buzzed around the creature’s body.
“I’m not finished, my body is in flux and without souls I rot as I’m sure you’ve noticed by the scrunching of your nose.” He sat up and leaned towards her. His lank body was tall enough to bridge the gap between them. The smell was overwhelming with his face inches from hers. “Everyone has wishes they want fulfilled.”
“Kenta died.”
He retreated back to his lounging position, “yes, but you didn’t like him anyway.”
She thought of Aiko, her friend once upon a time. They had a fight and hadn’t spoken in days. Aiko told her parents she was smoking and it enraged Hina. Aiko always seemed to think she was better than Hina and she was always undermining Hina’s efforts to rebel. She could sacrifice Aiko. She nodded her head. “Okay.” She said quietly. She looked at the spirit, he smiled but said nothing.
Hina texted, “I’m sorry.” to Aiko on her way out, she knew she would be working at the Miki House. Hina planned what she would say as she walked. She only needed to get her to make a wish, just one, and the Kami would have her.
Aiko saw Hina enter but she didn’t immediately acknowledge her. Hina bowed to her friend and said, “I’m sorry. I was angry but you didn’t deserve the things I said.”
Aiko regarded her friend and said, “Thank you for the apology. I’m working overnight tonight but we can discuss it tomorrow.”
“Could we talk now. It seems slow here.”
Aiko nodded, “It is tonight, but there will be people coming back in a while from their activities.”
“I promise I will leave when they start arriving.”
Aiko nodded and waved her to the bar. “Do you want anything?”
“May I have some water?” She asked.
Aiko gave her a bottle and they sat across from each other at the bar. “I’ve missed you.” She said quietly.
“I missed you too. I really am sorry for the things I said. I don’t care for how my mother conveys her frustration. She can be very cold.”
“I understand that,” Aiko said. They talked about what they had been doing in the past few days and Hina talked about her date but left out the part where he became a murderous demon. She was having second thoughts about sacrificing her friend when she spotted a fly near her hand. She could hear his laugh in her head. She winced at the sound, “Are you alright?” She asked.
“Do you have a secret wish?” Hina asked in response.
Aiko regarded the question and Hina felt a lump form in her throat. “A secret wish?” She asked herself, “I wish I was more like you.” Hina forced herself to smile even though she heard his laugh grow louder in her head. The flies multiplied they buzzed around the bar behind Aiko crawling on the bottles and the knickknacks.
Aiko noticed the flies as well and stood from her seat tow swat them away, but then she grabbed at her stomach and felt her face flush with heat. The mirror behind the bar showed the skin on her face undulating as though the flies were crawling just below the surface. She screamed as her face twisted and became the spitting image of Hina. Her hair grew to Hina’s length and acquired the same blue streak. Her septum was now pierced and she wasn’t having a hard time thinking. She knew her name was Hina, no that wasn’t right. Her name was Hina. No, it was something else, but she couldn’t remember the name. It was on the tip of her tongue. She looked back at her friend whose face was filled with terror. They were twins now, but not twins they were the same person. There couldn’t be two Hina’s. She felt a need in her heart. There could be only one and it was her. She was the true Hina. She looked at the small pairing knife behind the bar and saw the imposter on the other side of the bar.
Her hand gripped the knife with one hand as she grabbed Hina by the back of the neck with her other hand. Hina pulled away and the former Aiko climbed over the bar after her with the knife in her hand a look of murderous rage on her face. “Please Stop,” Hina said as she backed away.
Aiko-Hina shook her head, “I have to kill you.”
The door opened and two blonde tourists walked in and dropped their packages when they saw the twins. Aiko-Hina ran at the couple with the knife.
3
Koko took Kumiko on a mad run through the city. Kumiko swam in oceans of neon and club lighting. They blasted through arcades and danced as Koko took her by the hand. It was the first time she laughed since her parents died. She hadn’t thought of anything but training and fighting. The night reminded her of the importance of taking a break. Even though she felt guilty she knew Koko was helping her release a pressure valve she wasn’t aware she had.
It was nearing two in the morning when Koko brought her to a brightly lit diner. They shared a burger, fries, and a shake between the two of them though Koko drank most of the milkshake herself. Kumiko seldom drank so the inebriation was catching up to her quickly. The greasy food was working its magic when she leaned over to Koko and said, “Thank you.”
“Don’t mention it. You looked super high strung when I met you. I can tell when a girl needs a night out,” Koko explained.
“Tonight has been amazing.”
“Don’t mention it,” she said with a wave of her well-manicured hand.
“It’s good to finally have a friend. I got so wrapped up in my work that I didn’t even realize how high my stress level was.”
Koko stuffed some fries in her mouth before asking, “What is it you do?”
“It’s complicated,” she waved her hands in exasperation. “You could say it’s the family business.”
“Oh, now I’m really intrigued,” Koko said with a raised eyebrow.
“I can’t, You wouldn’t believe me anyway,” Kumiko’s head was spinning from the alcohol.
“Kay, seriously, just spit it out. I’m a stripper. Nothing you say will shock or surprise me.”
She looked her new friend in the eyes. Her father told her to always keep their work secret but he did tell her mother. A confidant could be helpful. Now she was looking at Koko and the way she smiled with her whole face. “Okay,” She said as she nodded. “It’s going to sound crazy but I need you to keep an open mind.”
“Mind opened and my ass will follow,” she crossed her heart.
“I hunt demons,” She said as soberly as she could, but the smile on Koko’s face was infectious and she couldn’t help but smile as she said it. “Specifically the demon who killed my father.”
She cocked her head and was waiting for the punchline. “Are you messing with me?”
“Nope, I’m a demon hunter. I was taught by my father.”
She rolled what she heard around in her head then pointed at the girl across from her. “Kay, you are bat-shit crazy,” she stood from the table and headed for the door.
Kumiko was stunned and got up to follow her before she realized they hadn’t paid for the meal yet. She quickly pulled bills from her pocket and dropped them on the table as she ran out. “Koko!” She yelled as she ran up next to her. “I warned you. I told you it would sound crazy.”
“The crazy part is you gotta make up a story though. Why are you gonna do me like that?”
“It’s not a story. I can prove it. I have a ninja-to and a ninja-yoroi in my room.”
“Oh, you’re a ninja now, well that proves it.” She said sarcastically.
The argument carried them to the hostel. As they walked to the door Koko was silent Kumiko couldn’t read her thoughts, but she had a feeling her friend was trying to figure out what Kumiko was hiding.
Kumiko felt the hair on the back of her neck prick up, “Wait,” She said, “something is wrong.”
She didn’t look at her she just raised her hand and said, “Kay.”
Kumiko grabbed her arm and put herself in between the door and Koko. Koko protested but Kumiko was already opening the door. Inside there was a trail of blood leading from a few feet into the door to the stairs leading up to the sleeping rooms. “We need to call the police,” Koko whispered, but Kumiko put her finger to her lips.
“Where is Aiko?” Kumiko asked and Koko shrugged, “The auditor.”
“I don’t know, we should get out of here and call the police.”
“No, wait. This is what I do.” She looked at Koko and despite the alcohol still working its way through her system she had a look of confidence and poise that made Koko listen.
Kumiko crept across the floor with her head low and her eyes focused on the trail. Koko said, “I’m going to stay down here.”
Kumiko shook her head, “It’s best to stay together. Ever seen a horror movie where separating the party worked for anybody.”
She nodded her acknowledgment and followed Kumiko up the darkened stairwell. The first sleeping room held seven bunks set against the wall. To her right a Japanese girl was weeping. She saw Kumiko and Koko and shook her head. “Get out,” she whispered. There was a wet smacking sound coming from the next room. The girl covered her head.
“Stay with her,” Kumiko said to Koko. She had a look that said, you’re crazy. “I’m just going to look on the other side of that door.”
She nodded and went over to the cowering Japanese girl. Kumiko continued on her path. She pressed the pads of her fingertips gently against the door and pushed. She dropped low against the door and looked inside. There was the silhouette of a girl sitting upright on top of someone. She raised a small fruit knife in her hand high and brought it down with force then heard the door open and turned to the sound. Kumiko was hidden in the shadow of the door. The girl with knife stood up and walked over to the door and flicked a switch. The lights flared to life and she saw the same girl who was crying in the previous room looking down at her. Kumiko rose and struck her at the same time. She dropped the girl in one punch and called the others over.
“What happened?” Kumiko asked as she stood over the girl’s prone body.
“I, she’s my sister,” Hina quickly answered. “She went crazy and killed everyone.
With the lights now on Koko could see bodies in many of the bunks against the wall, “Oh my God!” She yelled in shock.
“Who are you?”
“I’m Hina.” She kept her eyes on Aiko-Hina’s body.
“I’m calling the police. This isn’t a demon, just a crazy girl gone on a killing spree,” Koko said.
“Looks like it.”
“No, no, no, no.” Hina pointed at her friend on the floor.
Kumiko turned and the girl was rising from the ground her limbs twisted and warped as she stood. Koko’s eyes went wide and she screamed. Kumiko looked at the girl transforming in front of her eyes. She calmly picked up the paring knife from the floor and held it upside down with the blade on the pinky side of her hand. Aiko-Hina grew to nearly three meters tall, Bone-y spikes jutted from its back and shoulders, and its jaw split into a toothy gape as she lashed out at Kumiko. Kumiko somersaulted in the air over the strike and ran at the creature slashing at its flank with the small blade and using the monster’s knee as a spring-board to jump in the air and bring the fruit knife into the side of its neck. She nearly stabbed herself on one of the monster’s spike, but reflexively jumped away. At her back. Kumiko looked to Koko and said, “close the door and get downstairs,” she ordered.
Kumiko slashed at the back of the creature’s knees as she crossed to her room door. The beast ran after Kumiko, but Kumiko was already inside her room and had her hands on her sword before Aiko-Hina bashed through her door.
Kumiko wasn’t able to unwrap it before it started clawing at her. She blocked the first two strikes but was caught along her stomach. Had she not rolled with the strike it would have disemboweled her. The room was too small to effectively fight. She used her sheathed sword to block its strikes as she tucked her chin into her chest and threw herself through the closed window. She caught a wicked slash as glass cut her arms and the back of her neck. She managed to roll to a standing position as she waited for the creature to dive at her. She saw it look out the window and it looked like it would jump, but it abruptly disappeared from the window. “Koko,” she said to herself and ran to the front as quickly as she could. She felt warm sticky liquid down her back and realized she had been cut badly. The blood was pouring worse because of the alcohol in her system. She burst through the front door and saw Koko screaming in the center of the room with the Japanese girl. The creature made it to the bottom of the stairwell. Its bulk made it difficult to get through the doorway giving Koko a precious few seconds. “Koko!” Kumiko yelled.
Kumiko burst forward drawing her ninja-to from its sheath. She kept the sheath in her off-hand. She cut the creature as it destroyed the wall around the doorway. It grabbed her by the throat, but her sword cut the hand free from the arm. The beast cried out and dropped to its knees. Kumiko beheaded the creature and fell back against the floor.
* * *
Hina ran home as fast as her legs would carry her. She slammed the door as she got inside and dropped with her back against the door as she cried. “That was good,” the Kami’s mocking voice drifted to her from the balcony.
“Why do they become monsters?” She asked.
“Without a soul they become empty vessels waiting to be filled.” He walked in from the balcony and looked at her on the floor in front of the door. His body was still tall and lank, but his skin looked healthy and the smell of rotting meat was replaced with a floral bouquet that filled the room.
“Filled by what?”
“Oni, demons,” He said as he walked towards her with his arms behind his back.
“Do you have enough now?” she asked, but cast her eyes to the floor, she didn’t want to look at him.
“Look at me Hina,” he ordered.
She did and his form changed from the gangly-looking creature to a handsome older man in a tailored business suit. “Just give me what I want and I will leave your life.”
“I don’t want to be a monster.” Her mind flashed back to Den’s transformation and the to Aiko-Hina’s and it sent a shiver down her spine.
He nodded, “It is a terrifying visage, but I had nothing to do with their transformations,” He knelt on one knee next to her. “You have bad energy following you. It sticks to you and latches on to those around you.”
“I don’t know what you mean.” She looked at him.
“Look around your home. You have these names and scripts hung all over your house. You have been literally inviting evil into your home.” She looked at the Ofuda hung all over her walls. She didn’t know what most of them meant, it was true, she just thought they looked interesting. She liked the idea of Kotodama and loved all the ancient meanings and the strange creatures, but her knowledge was superficial. She knew many of them were malevolent which was largely by design. She wanted to be malevolent but never had the heart to go through with it in practice.
“Are you evil?” Hina asked.
He chuckled to himself, “I am a nature spirit. I am not defined by these kinds of moral signifiers. I eat souls, by nature, as a lion eats a zebra, by nature.” his face looked almost compassionate.
“Why my soul?”
He tilted his head with curiosity, “I could tell you, but you’re not ready to hear the answer yet.”
“I was almost killed if it wasn’t for that girl I would have died.” She said and stood up. She was still terrified of the spirit in her house, but her stomach was screaming out for food. She pulled some food from her small refrigerator and ate it next to the counter while she watched the spirit. He didn’t move or say a word while she ate. She considered the Kami’s request, she asked for evil, she asked to be a beast but was unwilling to go as far as she needed.
“What girl?” He finally asked.
“Her name was Kumiko. She knew how to fight the Oni.”
“Do you have a wish, yet?”
She shook her head, “No.”
“Then I will need another.”
“Why, you look well.”
“I have heard rumor of a demon hunter stalking Oni and Kami alike, she makes no distinction. If you have met her she may follow you here and I will have to defend myself.”
She considered it as she digested her food. Her neighbor was often petty, but he had a crush on her, which was a horrible combination in a neighbor. She couldn’t believe she was considering sacrificing a third soul, but Aiko was a true friend and she had it in her to sacrifice her to the Kami. What was her neighbor to her? She already felt corrupted and the Kami’s words were starting to make more sense each time they spoke. “I know someone.” She said as she took her last bite of rice.
The Kami smiled wickedly at Hina.
4
Koko was the first thing she saw when she opened her eyes. “Hi,” she croaked. She was still on the floor.
Koko had a concerned look on her face. “Hey,” she responded. “that’s a hell of a way to prove me wrong.”
“Where is the girl?”
“She ran when you killed her sister.”
“I don’t think that was her sister.” She dabbed at the back of her neck and saw blood on her fingers. She tried to sit up, but her head spun and she felt her stomach churn. The combination of drunk, fighting, and blood loss caught up with her. “I’m gonna be sick.” She said and tried to dash for the bathroom. She found another body stabbed to death in the bathroom and just couldn’t hold it in anymore. She threw up on the floor in front of her. “We need to leave this place,” she said as she emerged from the restroom.
“Okay.” Koko nodded. “Where will we go?”
“We need to find that girl, Hina,” Kumiko said.
“Why?”
Kumiko explained her suspicion that Hina’s twin was actually an exact copy of Hina. “The clothing, the jewelry, everything was exactly the same,” She explained. She went on to explain something her father called doppelgangers and how usually it was a demonic dog whistle.
“Okay, how do we find one girl in this city? Tokyo is a pretty huge,” Koko looked over the bar and thought about grabbing a drink. She shrugged to herself, at this point she was already embroiled in some next-level supernatural stuff so why not indulge in a shot before they figured out their next step.
“I don’t know, but this will be impossible to explain to police and there will be spirits coming, a kind of magical cleaning crew. We shouldn’t be here when they arrive.” They collected their things quickly. “What are you doing?”
“One for the road,” Koko said as she poured herself a healthy shot of tequila. “Just need a chaser,” She looked over the bar and saw a cellphone sitting next to a bottle of plum wine. “What do we have here?” She picked up the phone and slid her finger across the screen. The first thing she saw was a text from Hina that read, “I’m sorry.” Koko smiled as she took the shot. “I got her phone number!” She yelled as she tossed the phone to Kumiko.
“That’s amazing!” She said as she wrapped a bar towel around her neck wound and another around her arm. “We can hopefully track it to her apartment.” She grabbed her phone and synced the two phones together. “I have an app for this,” she grinned as she set up the call.
Kumiko dialed Hina’s number and it didn’t pick up. Frustrated Kumiko tried again, this time she picked up, “Hello,” she answered.
Kumiko spoke, “We got your number from Aiko.”
There was a pause, “you should be careful.”
“Say again,” Kumiko answered.
“I know what you are,” she said and hung up.
Kumiko considered the girl’s response, “I know what you are,” she said to the hung up phone. “Are you finished?” She asked Koko.
She nodded as she held an empty third shot, “yeah. Let’s go,” She smiled at Kumiko.
* * *
“She knows,” she said to the Kami behind her.
“The hunter?” Kami asked as she put her phone down. She nodded, “well, it was inevitable. Tell me more about this neighbor.” He said with a gluttonous tone.
She paused to consider her approach. “He is obnoxious. I don’t care for him much, but he is attracted to me.” She moved to her bedroom and changed clothes, something that flattered her body. She knew she was attractive, but she always had trouble dressing to enhance her features. She tried to think of what she had seen on social media. After some thought she decided on a ripped band t-shirt with a push-up bra, some tight pants, and heavy eyeliner. She looked like a different person when she was done and she had to admit to herself she liked the look. The sheer absurdity of sacrificing her friends and neighbors made the look resonate for her. She wasn’t quite the same girl she was when she met the Kami. She felt freer, more uninhibited. The monsters terrified her, but she survived those encounters. Perhaps with time she could become like the demon hunter and learn to fight. The idea of being a kind of demon queen warmed her to her core. She realized as she stared at the vampish woman in the mirror that she didn’t care if the Kami out there was good or evil, she wanted into this new world she discovered. “It’s time,” she said with a seductive smile.
The Kami clasped his hands together with joy.
Hina knocked at Fumihiro’s door. “What?” He asked from behind the door.
“It’s Hina,” she said and followed with, “your neighbor,” clumsily. Her palms were sweating worse than they were for Aiko. She felt the sudden rush of what she was doing. She knew no matter how the Kami tried to calm her that something strange and terrifying would likely happen soon.
He opened the door and said, “Hina?” He looked her over and she couldn’t quite read the look on his face. “Is something wrong?” He asked as he stuck his head out and looked down at either end of the corridor to see if trouble was coming.
“No,” She pouted, “I’m just a bit lonely tonight. My date stood me up.” She brought her arms together in front of her as she bowed her head. The way her arms were positioned was intended to emphasize her cleavage, but Hina wasn’t sure what effect it was having.
He looked her over then opened the door and sort of half stepped out of the apartment. “Are you alright?” He had a concerned look on his face, “Did someone exploit you?”
“No, nothing like that, I just don’t want to be alone right now. You’ve always been so kind to me, I just thought we could talk.”
“It is very late.” He looked at his watch.
“What were you doing up this late?” she asked with a knowing smile.
He stammered, “Nothing, just couldn’t sleep.” His tone shifted to a more confident tone. “Tonight has been strange. Have you noticed any weird voices? I swear I heard someone in your apartment, but you didn’t seem to be home.”
“No, nothing strange tonight,” Her brow was sweating and she felt dread returning.
“Come in, please,” he said realizing how long the conversation has taken in the hallway. Inside he moved some things from his couch quickly and clicked on his laptop before she could see what was on the screen. Hina’s confidence was floundering. “Sit,” He gestured to the couch.
“Thank you,” Hina said as she sat.
Fumihiro kept stealing glances as he quickly tidied the room. Finally, he sat down, an appropriate distance away from her. “What are your troubles?”
She smiled at him, “Do you have a wish?” she surprised herself with her directness. She felt something wrong as soon as she walked in, but she couldn’t put her finger on what it was. Fumihiro was always awkward and his place was close to how she pictured it. Something felt strange.
“A wish? That is an unusual question to be asked at,” he squinted at the clock on his laptop, “3:33 am.”
“I realize it is a strange question,” improvise Hina, she thought to herself, “I’ve just been thinking about wishes and mistakes I’ve made in my life.”
“Go on.”
“I just wish I could be the kind of person I want to be,” she caught herself, but it was too late. She knew what she said. She looked at the balcony doors in the same place in his apartment as hers. Her eyes focused on the door next, then back at Fumihiro.
“What’s wrong Hina,” he said as he stood up. His visage changed and he grew taller and lank in his limbs with that oni face she saw for the first time only a few hours before. Kami smiled down at her.
“Where is Fumihiro?”
“What do you think I was doing while you were gone? I didn’t isolate myself in your hovel. I needed a lay of the land and Fumihiro is just so nosy,” He explained.
“You killed him?”
“Like you care, you have put up zero resistance to sacrificing anyone in your place. Friends, neighbors, I would wager your parents and siblings were next on the list for the chopping block.” He mocked as her tears welled up. “That is the kind of person you want to be Hina, devilish, evil, and I will give that to you.”
* * *
Kumiko changed in the alley outside of Hina’s building. Koko watched her change and tried to imagine what it was like to be her and to move like she moved. She had been to Tokyo once before with three other girls, they had a blast and got lit up every night, but none of it compared to what happened to her tonight. All her childhood fantasies about being a bad-ass ninja superhero crystallized and fixated on a girl she only met a few hours before. All she wanted to do was help.
The app Kumiko used showed the relative area at the time of the call so her time was limited, “I’m going in,” she said.
“I’m coming with,” she insisted.
“No. It’s too dangerous, go to a hotel I’ll meet you when I’m done.” Kumiko said as she pulled her mask over her face.
“I’m here already, two hours ago I thought demons were reserved to fiction and religious allegory.” Koko pleaded.
“I need to focus, I don’t know what I’m walking into…”
“Are you calling me a distraction?” Koko asked in her teal bikini top and bright pink waistcoat.
Kumiko nodded emphatically, “Yes, please get someplace safe.” She gave her friend a hug and was surprised when Koko started crying. “What’s wrong?” She didn’t handle crying or really any emotions well, they always made her feel too robotic.
“I’m sorry,” she sniffed, “I just really hope you don’t die.”
“I won’t, I promise. My father trained me very well and I, well you’ve seen me fight.” She pointed out.
“Yeah, I believe you,” Koko admitted.
Kumiko jumped at the fire escape of the building and scaled the side of the building with alacrity. Koko was left alone and with the city sounds of traffic and distant human movement. She walked to the street in front of the building when the sensation struck her. She had to pee, desperately.
Koko walked into the lobby of the apartment building. The lobby which housed a wall of mail slots, four elevators, and an army of vending machines. However the one thing she didn’t see was a bathroom. She ran down what looked to be a promising hallway, but it only led to a locked utility room. She felt suddenly like she was going to explode. She decided the street was the best option given the circumstances. As she got to the main entrance the lights shut off. She suddenly worried about Kumiko as she pushed on the door, but it wouldn’t budge. “No, I have to pee!” She yelled as she shook the door, “Please let me out,” she whined.
She heard laughter behind her and a smooth voice ask, “Do you have a wish?” she turned and saw a slender man with his hands clasped together.
5
Kumiko got to the roof and quickly found an entrance to the building. She couldn’t get Koko’s crying out of her head and cursed herself for not focusing on the mission. It was difficult to meet new people given her apparent calling, but she couldn’t stop now, she was close to Nanimonai, she could feel him in this city. That rubber and licorice smell that was burned into her nostrils for weeks after the encounter. She caught wafts since she arrived in town. She was fixated on the demon, before she met Koko. In another world maybe she could go to Boston with Koko and build a life for herself. She would never be a model or work at a strip club but she couldn’t imagine what Koko would be like without those experiences.
She moved down the stairwell without knowing exactly what she was looking for but her instincts told her that Hina was at the center of it all. Her mind tracked straight back to Koko, unbidden. She couldn’t explain it any other way, she was smitten. She always thought of herself as straight but Koko challenged all that for her. The glances, the blushing, the surreptitious touching. She felt warm when she thought of Koko and it turned her brain upside down. Yesterday she checked into a random hostel and maybe met the love of her life. Koko couldn’t be that, could she? Maybe fate took her to the sight of a demon attack, after all, both occurred. Her mind swam with theories and timelines and she almost missed the scream she heard.
She drew her sword from her sheath as she worked her way down the hall. The dirty fluorescent light in the corridor left her no shadows to work with. “In the absence of shadow, keep moving, there is no other option,” her father told her. She moved steadily and held her sword high, but couldn’t shake Koko from her mind.
Kumiko saw Hina in the hallway. She was just standing looking downtrodden. Kumiko approached cautiously and said to her as she approached, “It was a trap, it was never about me,”
“Who?” She asked with dread creeping around her words.
She only said one word, but it was the word she knew she would hear, “You.”
Rage filled her eyes and her first instinct was to strike but she restrained herself, “Why?”
“Why do you think?” She turned to her as she posed the question. Her form shifted and distorted as she threw her weight into her attack. Kumiko was taken momentarily off-guard and she dove back slashing upward. Distraction, was the first word on her mind. Hina attacked again, her size and strength was greater than her counter-part earlier. Kumiko had dodged around her. Who was she talking about? The question loomed in her head and she put the pieces together. Who was behind the doppelganger? She got caught along the flank with a claw and it brought her back to the present. She yelped as she spun out and dropped to the carpeted floor.
Hina turned to her as Kumiko scrambled to her feet. “You’re off-balance, unfocused, dead meat,” Hina said with murderous glee. Her voice degraded and sounded as though her throat were full of gravel. She moved in for the killing stroke, but Kumiko cartwheeled out of the way and she cut through the wall to an electric line. Sparks flew from the wall and blasted Hina through a doorway. The lights cut out leaving her alone in the dark. Kumiko capitalized on Hina and cut her across the chest. Hina could feel the wound was serious. She had never felt so much pain in her life. Blood drenched the floor below her and she searched out the hallway or this neighbors home for signs of the spirit near her, but she yelled his name all the same, “Kami!”
Kumiko paused for a split second as she heard the girls plea and looked down at her bleeding on the floor. Hina’s form was bathed in green and red neon from the street through the balcony doors. She looked up at Kumiko with her hand outstretched. The light color switched to red. “Stop.”
“Where is Nanmonai?” Kumiko asked.
“Who?” Hina said as the light shifted to green. “It’s Kami, he did it all.” She explained. “He did it all.”
Kumiko brought the blade down and bisected Hina’s head as the light shifted to red. She limped back to the hallway and it was still dark, so she ran for the stairs.
* * *
Koko stared up at the strange tall creature in front of her. “Wishes are for children. I need a bathroom,” she said with her arms crossed.
“Oh you are lovely aren’t you.” He said as he moved closer to her.
She winced the creature glowered down at her as she crouched lower and lower until her butt was touching the floor. “What do you want?”
“Everybody seems to ask that question. In truth I am more concerned about what you wish.” His skin was an ashy black color, but his teeth were gleaming white.
“Nope, seen enough horror movies to know when a demon asks what you wish nothing good ever happens,” she tried to appear defiant, but the creature in front of her seemed to be intimidating by default. The position she was in felt like cowering by default.
`She pushed herself upright but he stayed still as a painting in front of her with his creepy gaze. “Fair enough,” he finally said and backed away. “I suppose you’ll do as bait then.”
“Excuse me?” She asked, but an instant later his hand was around her throat.
“Kumiko is my quarry and you will provide adequate motivation for her to do as she is told. Your life for hers, you get the idea, horror movie stuff,” he quipped. Shuriken shattered the glass door and sunk deep into the Kami’s back. He tossed Koko aside without care and she landed on her shoulder accompanied by the snapping of bone. She shrieked in pain as she put her hand to her shoulder.
“Why don’t you ask me about my wish?” Kumiko asked as she stepped into the entryway.
The Kami reared up like a cobra and hissed as she drew her ninja-to. He lunged headfirst at her, his teeth bared with elongated canines pushing out from the creature’s red gums. Kumiko ran at the Kami with her sword at her side. He moved like liquid as she swung her blade at its body. Se grabbed another handful of shuriken with her off-and and threw them in a wide arc at it. Several sunk into its black flesh as the monster wrapped around Kumiko wrapping her in its coils. The Kami tightened his grip around her and made her gasp. Her vision was going dark and she dropped her sword to the ground.
“I have killed the demon slayer!” He yelled with joy. He felt the steel blade sink into his back and the ensuing pain forced him to release Kumiko dropping her to the ground, “What?” He yelled and he saw Koko with the sword and in her hand.
“That’s right,” she said, dropped the sword, and ran for the exit as the Kami thrust at her.
Kumiko gasped for air as her eyes shot open. She saw Koko head for the door, she did a quick kip-up and scooped her sword up as she ran at the Kami. She jumped at the monster cutting him through the middle of his grinning face. Is lower half squirmed and flipped like a snakes body as the two sections of his head fell away from each other. Blood spewed from the wound and splashed against the floor.
Kumiko walked outside and dropped to her knees. “Koko!” She yelled, and the girl ran to her and gave her a one-armed hug. Koko was beaming at Kumiko, “Are you okay?” Kumiko asked.
She shook her head, “No, I think I broke my shoulder,” Kumiko reached for her with concern, “Don’t, don’t touch it.” Kumiko laughed gently at her friend.
The End
Neon Rabbit 