Cow Thief: Chapter 9

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That day, Tokuma began preparing to leave after Ryoichiro had gone to work. He planned to visit Hara's house and uncover the woman’s true identity. Though he didn't know what could have given birth to such a creature, Kuwaba had said it wasn’t far off. If that were the case, Tokuma suspected it might be "something" inside the house itself.

Not only old foxes and raccoon dogs, but even ancient trunks, old houses, and even old pots and buckets could turn into yokai. If the object wasn't too large, he might be able to destroy it with his own hands.

Having once visited Hara's house with Ryoichiro, Tokuma knew where it was located. It was on the opposite side of the university from where they lived, just across the street. The area was bustling with the sounds of rickshaw pullers and cheap student eateries, along with second-hand clothing shops and small goods stores.

"Ah, Tokuma-san!"

Turning around, he saw Chie waving from the front of a shop selling Chinese goods.

"How unusual! To see you around here."

"Chie-san, what brings you here?"

"Well, a friend of mine’s been sick and bedridden, so I’ve been filling in at the store since yesterday."

Chie wiped the sweat from her brow, then stared intently at Tokuma's back.

"Are you planning to go up the mountain to cut some grass or something?"

Tokuma was carrying a large basket on his back. Inside were an axe, some newspapers and bottled oil, matches, and other items he had gathered in case he needed to break or burn "something" when he found it. He couldn’t very well say he was heading out to exterminate a yokai, so he vaguely muttered, "Well, something like that."

"By the way, I’m sorry for what I said yesterday," Chie continued.

"Sorry for what?"

"You know, about how that woman reminded me of a woman I used to work with. I thought I might have made you feel uneasy with such an eerie story."

Chie looked down, and Tokuma smiled. "It’s fine."

"Actually, speaking of that woman... Did you ever notice anything unusual about the men who got involved with her, besides the fact that they died?" Tokuma asked.

"Well, it’s been such a long time," Chie replied, her brow furrowing.

"How about something she really cherished? Anything like that?"

Chie tilted her head, pondering, but seemed to have no recollection. If only they knew what she cherished, Tokuma thought, it might lead them to the creature's true form, but it didn’t seem so easy.

"I never liked that woman," Chie muttered. "And before I was even sold, she disappeared. It was as if she’d been spirited away."

"Disappeared?"

"The whole brothel went into an uproar. But she was never found."

Now that he mentioned it, she remembered something.

"There was a strange camellia tree in the back garden of the brothel that bloomed all year round. When I asked the doctor about it, he said there was no such thing as a camellia that bloomed year-round. But I used to play under that tree all the time. Then the brothel owner, who noticed it, said 'This is rare!' and had the tree dug up and sold somewhere. That’s also when the woman disappeared."

Tokuma barely thanked Chie before running off. A camellia... He had heard that when an old camellia tree grew to a certain age, it could become a yokai. A camellia-turned-yokai would deceive people. If Yukie was a camellia spirit, it made sense that she would disappear as soon as the tree was gone.

When Tokuma reached Hara’s house, he handed a letter to a young girl playing in front of the neighboring house. The letter read:

"I sincerely apologize for my rudeness the other day. I would like to make amends. Could you please come to the Fūrai Bridge? —Tokuma Tanaka"

The young girl took the letter, pushed open the lattice door of Hara’s rented house, and soon returned, saying she had delivered it. When Tokuma gave her some candy as a tip, she happily ran off. He hid around the corner of the fence and watched, spotting Yukie excitedly heading out. Tokuma waited until Yukie’s figure disappeared from view, then quietly slipped inside through the lattice door. Hara was at the university, and he had sent the woman to the bridge. There was no one home.

Hara’s rented house was large. Tokuma had heard that his family was a wealthy merchant, even though they came from the countryside. Tokuma didn’t even glance at the front entrance but instead ran to the west side of the house, where the garden was located. It was a vast garden—so large that one might think another house could be built there.

The garden was packed with plants. Along the fence were large trees like cherry and magnolia, while smaller flowers like rain lilies and crocus bloomed in the foreground. The garden, which had once been neatly tended and orderly, was now completely overrun with weeds, completely neglected.

Tokuma stopped dead in his tracks. Among the overgrown garden, one red object stood out in an almost eerie way. It was a camellia tree, planted firmly in the center of the garden. The camellia had grown so tall it surpassed the roof of the house, towering over all the other trees along the fence.

The camellia was in full bloom. Its flowers were beautiful under the scorching sun, but at the same time, there was something unsettling about them. The abundant red petals dropped from the tree, plopping onto the ground, staining the earth beneath with red, almost like a pool of blood. One of the petals fell right in front of Tokuma, and as he picked it up, its cold, moist texture reminded him of Yukie’s unnatural skin.

The camellia tree’s trunk was thick, and the rings of age were evident. "No doubt about it," Tokuma thought, certain now. He lowered the basket on his back and took out an axe. Without hesitation, he swung it down at the tree’s base.

Swish, swish, swish...

The camellia tree shook violently, as though it were writhing, despite the lack of wind. With each powerful swing of the axe, flowers fell, almost like hail.

On the fourth strike, there was a strange sound—clunk!—and Tokuma felt his fingers loosen. The axehead had come off the handle. He tried to fix it, but the wood of the handle had split, and there was nothing he could do to repair it. He didn’t have the time or money to buy a new axe, and while he was fumbling with it, Yukie might return.

Tokuma quickly scanned his surroundings. Hara’s house had a gap of about seven ken (roughly 12 feet) between it and the neighboring house. A camellia of this size wouldn’t catch fire easily enough to spread. Plus, there was no wind today.

Tokuma didn’t hesitate. He knew he had to exterminate Yukie, or more innocent men would die, just like those who had been killed in the brothel. And most importantly, Hara had to be saved.

He wrapped newspaper around the camellia tree and poured oil from a bottle onto the trunk. He had planned to burn anything possessed by a yokai after destroying it, in order to purify it, but he never thought he would use it to burn the source of the curse itself.

Thinking of the possibility of fire spreading, Tokuma fetched a bucket of water from the well at the back of the house. After preparing for the worst, he lit the camellia on fire. With the help of the oil and newspaper, the flames leapt up vigorously.

"Gyaaah!"

A scream like silk being torn apart echoed. Tokuma turned around to see Yukie, who was supposed to be heading to the Fūrai Bridge, standing there.

"You..."

Yukie’s voice crawled up from the depths, guttural and strained.

"This... is strange, strange, I thought..."

Her eyes glared at Tokuma with fury, but her movements were slow. She hunched over, dragging her right foot as she walked. As if staggering to the right, she suddenly collapsed, falling to the ground.

"Hot, hot, it's so hot..."

Yukie's hands, feet, and face, her translucent white skin, were rapidly covered in red blisters from the heat, and began to blacken and scorch. She had not even touched the fire, yet like the tree, her body was burning and rotting. Crawling like a beast on all fours, Yukie crawled toward the bucket that Tokuma had prepared, plunging her face and hands into the water.

"Hot, hot, it's so hot..."

In her frantic thrashing, Yukie overturned the bucket, lying on her back and flailing her limbs like a baby. Her once beautiful face quickly crumbled and burned away. Suddenly, a strong wind blew. The wind fanned the flames, and a pillar of fire shot up from the camellia tree. Yukie let out a high-pitched scream, "Hiiiiii!" and leapt up. Like a rat abandoned on a hot iron plate, she ran barefoot around the garden, before collapsing in the flower bed.

It was pitiful to watch her burn, but remembering how she had killed so many men, Tokuma clasped his hands together and muttered a prayer, accepting it as fate.

Once again, a strong wind blew, and the sunlight softened. The blue sky, which had been clear until just now, was gradually covered by clouds the color of ash, flowing across the sky like a curtain being drawn.

Tokuma thought, Could it be...? before the sky turned completely gray. Then, raindrops began to fall, and soon, the rain turned into a torrential downpour. The fire he had set to the camellia was extinguished in an instant.

Tokuma ran to the eaves, but Yukie, still collapsed in the flower bed, did not move.

"Kuwaba."

When the name was called, an oni emerged from the palm of his right hand.

"Has Yukie died?"

"She ain't dead. A yokai with an original form, if it dies, it disappears without a trace. The camellia hasn't burned all the way through either."

"Could you eat Yukie now?"

Although Yukie is a yokai, Tokuma believes that Hara is human. It's better to erase her completely rather than leave behind that pitiful, burnt form.

"If she's weakened that much, I might be able to eat her. But she's all blackened and looks awful."

Complaining, Kuwaba hopped over to Yukie, who was lying face down, and with a wide-open mouth, sank his teeth into her head.

"GYAAAAH!"

Yukie screamed and ripped Kuwaba off her head. Then, slowly rising, she grabbed the oni’s legs and slammed them repeatedly against the ground.

"Kuwaba!"

Before Tokuma could reach them, Yukie sank her teeth into Kuwaba’s limp legs. Kuwaba shrieked, "Gyaa!" Yukie then spat out the severed legs into the flower bed, and with a swift motion, threw Kuwaba’s upper body at Tokuma.

"Kuwaba, Kuwaba!"

Kuwaba cried out, "It hurts, it hurts!" in Tokuma’s arms. This was the first time Tokuma had seen Kuwaba so easily hurt.

"A mere oni of a few decades can't possibly match me, who has lived for centuries."

As Tokuma held Kuwaba, Yukie dragged her feet and slowly approached. Her once-beautiful face had been burnt and was now unrecognizable.

Tokuma slowly, slowly began to step backward. He could only see yokai and mononoke, but he had no power to exorcise them. It was only because Kuwaba was there that the problem had been dealt with.

"You damn human. How dare you try to burn me alive? I'll show you hell!"

Holding Kuwaba, Tokuma sprinted out into the torrential rain. However, his geta slipped on the wet stepping stones, and he collapsed with a thud. In his panic, he tried to get up and reach for the fallen Kuwaba, but just as his hand stretched out, he was grabbed by the back of his kimono.

He was yanked backward, falling to the ground. With his back against the earth, Yukie climbed on top of him, pressing her weight onto his stomach, and began choking him.

"Ugh... ugh..."

Her burnt face twisted into a sinister smile. It was a grotesque sight, like something from a scene in hell.

"What are you doing in the garden, Yukie?"

He heard Hara’s voice. It grew distant, and as it faded away, Tokuma lost consciousness, falling into a deep, dreamless sleep.

◇:-:◆:-:◇

When Tokuma woke up, he found himself inside the house. His limbs were immobilized, and he couldn’t move. It didn’t take him long to realize that his hands and feet were tightly bound, and his waist was secured to a pillar. Beside him was Kuwaba, in his feline form. Kuwaba’s back legs had been gnawed off, leaving him limp and tied to the same pillar.

The room was a six-tatami mat space with an alcove, dimly illuminated by the flickering glow of a lantern placed in the corner. Tokuma recognized it as the same room where he and Ryoichiro had once been served tea and sweets during a visit to Hara’s house. Outside, the sound of heavy rain pounded relentlessly, the downpour muffling the world beyond. He didn’t know how much time had passed since he’d lost consciousness, but it was unmistakably night now.

Tokuma shivered, his soaked kimono clinging uncomfortably to his body and intensifying the chill. Glancing at Kuwaba, he saw his curled-up form, shrunken and eerily still.

“Don’t worry about me, Kuwaba,” Tokuma whispered. “Escape.”

Kuwaba opened one eye. The cat’s head wavered slightly, and before Tokuma’s eyes, his face shifted back into his oni form. In his feline body, Kuwaba couldn’t speak, but in his oni form, he murmured faintly.

“I can’t walk without legs,” he said.

“Then shrink to the size of a mouse and hide somewhere. That way, you can slip out of the bindings,” Tokuma urged.

“I can’t change size without my legs,” Kuwaba replied. “I turned into a cat to keep Hara from making a fuss, but that’s all I can manage in this state.”

After a pause, Kuwaba added quietly, “If you die, I die too.”

A chill ran down Tokuma’s spine, though he wasn’t sure if it was from Kuwaba’s words or the cold. He was grateful he hadn’t been killed outright, but at the same time, he couldn’t comprehend why he was still alive. From Yukie’s perspective, he was someone utterly detestable, someone she had every reason to destroy. Perhaps Hara had begged her to spare him.

“At least return to my hand,” Tokuma said softly. “That way, even if something happens, you won’t have to suffer.”

Kuwaba shook his head. “I have no legs. If I return to you like this, I’ll remain a legless oni forever.”

Suddenly, the sliding door creaked open. Yukie appeared, her face, hands, and feet wrapped in bandages. Only her eyes and mouth were visible, her disheveled hair spilling around her, and her undergarments peeking out as she limped toward Tokuma.

“Awake now?” Yukie’s voice was sharp, her bandaged eyes gleaming an unnatural red.

“You’ve done this to me,” she hissed. “How long will it take for me to return to how I was?”

Her lips, once lush and vibrant like camellia flowers, were now charred black.

“The only reason I haven’t killed you yet is that I can’t seem to calm the beast inside me.”

Yukie knelt in front of Tokuma, hugging her knees as she scrutinized him.

“You’re the professor’s little male concubine, aren’t you? How did someone with such a meek face manage to deceive him?”

Her bandaged fingers lashed out, scratching Tokuma’s cheek. A sharp pain seared his skin, and his right cheek throbbed.

“Should I burn that face of yours, the one the professor likes so much, until it’s as blackened as mine?” Yukie sneered. “I’ll show you what it feels like to burn alive.”

From the sleeve of her undergarment, she drew a match. With a sharp flick, the match flared to life, and she brought the small flame close to Tokuma’s face. The acrid scent of singed hair reached his nose, and he instinctively blew on the match, snuffing it out.

Yukie’s hand shot out, and she slapped Tokuma across the face. Her arm was slender, but the blow carried strength, and a metallic taste filled his mouth.

“Yukie, what are you doing?”

Hara’s voice came from behind the sliding door.

“I was about to burn his face, make it look like mine,” Yukie answered nonchalantly.

“No!” Hara cried out, rushing into the room. He grabbed Yukie’s arm and pulled her to her feet.

“If you do that, he might die!”

“Let him die, then.”

Yukie tilted her head, her expression puzzled at Hara’s reaction. He shook his head violently, his face pale.

“No, no, you can’t!” he stammered. “If you kill someone, you’ll be a murderer.”

Covering her mouth with one hand, Yukie chuckled softly.

“Well, if no one finds out, it’s fine, right? You’ve got a big enough garden to bury him somewhere.”

“That’s absolutely unacceptable!”

Yukie narrowed her eyes, her hands clenching over her chest.

“I was almost killed,” she said, her voice shaking with fury. “That man set me on fire. It was hot, painful, and I writhed on the ground. It really hurt.”

Tears spilled from her crimson eyes, splattering onto the floor.

“After all that, you won’t even avenge me?”

Hara’s face twisted with anguish as he avoided her gaze.

“It’s not like the old days in Edo anymore. If you seek revenge, you’ll also be punished. I can’t forgive what he did to you, but if we hand him over to the police, the country will punish him.”

Yukie threw her arms out in frustration.

“Even if the country punishes him, it won’t soothe my anger. I won’t be able to sleep at night unless I make him pay for what he did.”

“That’s not acceptable,” Hara insisted, his voice pleading. “Please, Yukie, understand.”

Yukie pointed sharply at Tokuma.

“He’s not human. If he’s not human, it’s fine to kill him, right?”

“What are you talking about?”

Hara’s face crumpled in distress as he gripped her shoulders.

“That legless cat is actually an oni,” Yukie said. “He owns it. This man is a yokai, and he’s used oni to do all sorts of terrible things.”

“No, that’s a lie!” Tokuma shouted. “I’m human! The one who isn’t human is Yukie!”

“Don’t lie! You’re the one who isn’t human!” Yukie cried, clinging to Hara. “Hey, you believe me, don’t you?”

Hara’s gaze darted between Yukie and Tokuma, confusion and hesitation etched across his face.

“Yukie is a camellian oni,” Tokuma said firmly. “She seduces men, drains their life and spirit, and kills them—she’s a terrible oni!”

“Stop it! Enough!”

Hara clutched his head, pressing his hands to his ears.

“I don’t understand! A legless cat is an oni, and you’re calling a human a yokai? I can’t believe it!”

“Look at me!” Yukie screamed, pressing her bandaged cheek with trembling hands.

“I’m burnt to a crisp, wrapped in bandages. My whole body aches. Why should I have to suffer like this? I haven’t done anything wrong! The one at fault is that man!”

Hara’s eyes widened in shock as he stared at Yukie.

“You’re right. You haven’t done anything wrong. The one at fault is Tokuma.”

“That’s right. So—”

“But you can’t kill him. If you do, the Buddha will scold you.”

Yukie slapped Hara across the cheek with her bandaged hand. He staggered and fell onto the tatami mat. Yukie stomped her feet and stormed out of the six-tatami mat room. Hara sat silently, clutching his sore cheek and hanging his head.

"Tokuma-san, why did you do such a terrible thing to Yukie?" 

Hara turned toward him slowly. 

"Her once-beautiful face is now so horribly burned. She was such a kind and gentle woman, and you even made her say she wanted to kill you." 

"The one I burned was not Yukie." 

Hara spread his hands wide, trembling. 

"But Yukie is covered in burns all over her body. She’s in such a terrible state. She refused to see a doctor, so I had to wrap her wounds in bandages myself. Her entire body is in awful condition. She cried and sobbed in pain; her tears wouldn’t stop." 

"You may not believe me, but Yukie is the camellia spirit that resides in the garden. When I burned the camellia, the spirit—Yukie—was also burned." 

"Did you notice the clothes that creature wore?" 

Kuwaba spoke from beside Tokuma. Hara, not knowing where the voice came from, glanced around the room nervously. When he finally noticed the cat-like figure with an oni’s face, he jumped back in shock. 

"That woman—no matter how much her body was burned—her kimono wasn’t even singed. Didn’t you find that strange?" 

"T-This yokai!" Hara stammered, pointing a trembling finger at Kuwaba. 

"You’d better get away from that woman—no, not a woman, but a yokai—or you’ll die!" 

"You’re the yokai here! Stop badmouthing Yukie! For Yukie’s sake, I’m willing to die. I’d give my life for her. We’ve promised to be together as husband and wife forever." 

At this, Kuwaba burst into a fit of cackling laughter. 

"W-What’s so funny?" Hara asked, his voice shaky. 

Even though Tokuma tried to scold him, Kuwaba couldn’t stop his high-pitched, mocking laughter. 

"If you want to die, go ahead and die. Die all you want. Do you think a yokai is capable of sincerity? If you die, that woman will just go and find a new husband!" 

Hara’s lips trembled slightly, left half-open in stunned silence.

"Untie me and my master immediately. I’m going home. You can go ahead and let that camellia yokai kill you." 

"Don’t act so high and mighty, you yokai!" 

Kuwaba shook his shoulders. 

"If you don’t believe what I’m saying, why don’t you try cutting off that woman’s head? Even if her head separates from her body, she won’t die, and not a single drop of blood will spill. After all, she’s a camellia." 

After letting out a mocking laugh, Kuwaba returned to his cat form and meowed. Hara’s eyes widened in disbelief, and he pinched his cheek. He stared at Kuwaba with a bewildered look, as if he were being deceived by a fox. Kuwaba, seemingly amused by Hara’s confusion, meowed again. 

Irritated, Hara stood up abruptly, left the room, and slammed the sliding door shut. Kuwaba, still in his cat form, closed his eyes and stopped responding to Tokuma’s calls. 

The ropes binding Tokuma’s arms and legs bit into his skin, causing pain as he shifted slightly. Thanks to Hara, it seemed he wouldn’t be killed by Yukie, but it was likely he’d be handed over to the police tomorrow. 

Tokuma had once been imprisoned for stealing a cow. At the time, he had dragged Ryoichiro into the mess, causing him a great deal of trouble. Although returning the cow to its owner had absolved him of the crime, this time, Yukie was a witness. With her skill at disguising herself as human, no one would believe her to be a yokai. 

The thought of causing Ryoichiro trouble again made Tokuma want to cry. He had come here to help Hara and get rid of Yukie for Ryoichiro’s sake, but now he was the one captured—a complete failure. Despite causing such a commotion, he had accomplished nothing. 

Outside, the rain continued to pour relentlessly, with occasional thunder rumbling in the distance. From beyond the sliding door, there were footsteps and the rustling of fabric, but no voices. 

"…Yukie, Yukie… not tonight, please." 

Hara’s weak voice came from the other side of the door. 

"You don’t want to hold such a burnt, ugly woman?" 

"Not tonight. I’m really not in the mood. Besides, I don’t want to harm your injured body." 

"I’m fine. I want you." 

"Yukie, Yukie, Tokuma-san is in the next room. He might hear us." 

"Let him hear. If you’re not in the mood, you can just lie there." 

Suddenly, Kuwaba’s face transformed into that of an oni, and he let out a cackling laugh. 

"Lustful yokai are cruel indeed. Squeezing out the last bit of life from a dying man, even as he resists, right to the bitter end." 

Kuwaba’s voice was loud enough to compete with the pouring rain. From beyond the sliding door, however, there was no reply. Tokuma assumed they were ignoring Kuwaba’s mocking words, but soon, heavy, angry footsteps approached. 

With a loud slam, the sliding door flew open. Dressed in only her undergarments, Yukie stormed in, grabbed the lantern in the corner, and hurled it at Tokuma. Oil splattered everywhere. Although Tokuma’s kimono was wet from the rain and didn’t ignite easily, the tatami at his feet caught fire. 

"Yukie, stop it!" Hara rushed in, panicked. 

"Let this man and his oni burn to death already." 

"Don’t be ridiculous!" 

Hara tried to extinguish the flames around Tokuma with a cushion. However, Yukie kicked him hard in the side, sending him sprawling to the floor. Looking down at the flustered Hara with her red eyes, Yukie sneered. 

"The rain’s pouring, so the fire won’t spread far. It’ll only burn these two." 

"You… you’ve lost your mind," Hara growled in a low voice. 

Yukie responded with a dismissive "Ha.”

"If you’re no longer of use to me as a man, then you’re just as disposable. Why don’t you go ahead and die too?" 

The fire from the tatami licked at Tokuma’s legs, scorching his skin. Even through the soaked fabric, the heat was unbearable. His feet, tangled in the flames, seared painfully. Tokuma thrashed his legs desperately, like a fish flailing on the shore. 

"Uooh!" 

With a shout, Hara ran out of the alcove. Next to Tokuma, Kuwaba yelped, "Gyah!" Flames had spread to the cat's fur. Tokuma tried to blow them out, but the fire refused to die. Kuwaba squirmed, twisting his body from side to side, while Yukie pointed and laughed loudly. 

"Kuwaba, return to me!" 

Tokuma commanded. 

"If I go back like this, I'll lose my legs!" 

Kuwaba, his face now transformed into that of an oni, cried out. 

"Having no legs is better than burning alive. If you die, it’s all over. The fire will take time to reach the pillar behind me, so hurry!" 

As Tokuma opened his palm to let Kuwaba return, water splashed over his feet with a loud splash. Another splash followed, and most of the fire around Tokuma’s feet was extinguished. The flames on Kuwaba’s fur also died out. Hara tossed away the bath bucket he had been using and stomped out the remaining fire. When the flames were finally gone, the room plunged into darkness without the lantern. 

"It was fun, so why ruin the moment?" Yukie said, pouting. 

In the dim light seeping in from the adjacent room, Hara shook his head with a pale face. 

"How… how can you be so cruel? Burning people alive… it’s monstrous." 

Yukie’s eyes narrowed sharply as she glared at Hara, but then her expression softened unexpectedly. She untied the sash of her undergarment, which hung loosely around her waist. Smiling, she approached Hara as if to embrace him, but instead wrapped the sash around his neck. 

"Hara-san, no!" 

Tokuma’s shout came too late. By the time he noticed, the sash was already tightening around Hara’s neck. 

"Ugh… guh…" 

Hara’s eyes rolled as foam bubbled from his mouth. 

"Stop it! Please, stop! Hara-san will die!" 

Tokuma screamed. But Yukie’s grip didn’t falter. Just when Tokuma thought it was too late, a black figure burst into the room and rammed into Yukie. She was flung into the tokonoma, releasing Hara in the process. Hara fell onto the tatami, letting out a rasping wheeze before coughing violently. 

In the middle of the room, soaking wet, stood Ryoichiro, still wearing his shoes. After confirming that Yukie was sitting motionless in the tokonoma, he moved to untie the ropes binding Tokuma’s hands and feet. 

"Untie me too, young master!" 

When Ryoichiro noticed the cat-bodied, oni-faced Kuwaba, he let out a loud scream. 

"What is that yokai?" 

"T-That’s my oni. It’s not dangerous, so please untie it," Tokuma pleaded. 

Still looking uneasy, Ryoichiro reluctantly untied Kuwaba. Once both Tokuma and Kuwaba were free, Ryoichiro turned to Hara and Yukie. 

"What is going on here? I was told Tokuma hadn’t come, so I went home, but I couldn’t shake the feeling something was wrong. When I came back, I heard screams and rushed in to find this mess. What were you all doing?" 

Hara hung his head, while Yukie clicked her tongue in annoyance. 

"I said, what were you doing?" Ryoichiro demanded again. 

"Your boy concubine tried to burn me alive," Yukie said with a sneer. "Look at these burns on my body." 

In the dim light, Yukie began unwinding the bandages from her face. Her burned and disfigured visage, horrifying and grotesque, was revealed. Ryoichiro gasped audibly, but he quickly steeled himself and tightened his lips before shouting at Yukie. 

"Tokuma wouldn’t do such a thing without reason. You’re the one at fault here." 

Yukie glared at Ryoichiro with her blood-red eyes. 

"So, you’re going to defend a murderer?" 

"You’re not dead, and despite your burns, you’re still moving around just fine. You were the one trying to kill Hara, weren’t you? Doesn’t that make you the murderer?" 

"Your boy concubine is a yokai who uses that oni right there!" 

Yukie pointed at Kuwaba. 

"I don’t care if he’s an oni user or a yokai. As long as Tokuma is Tokuma, that’s all that matters to me. Tokuma is far more endearing than a vulgar woman like you." 

Hara looked between the two of them, dumbfounded. Yukie clenched her teeth and dragged her feet as she stormed out of the room. Ryoichiro snorted dismissively and turned to Tokuma, who was still sitting on the floor. 

"Can you stand?" 

"I think I can…" Tokuma replied, not wanting to worry him. But from the side, Kuwaba quietly muttered, "Your legs are burned." 

Ryoichiro ignored Tokuma’s protests and lifted the hem of his hakama. Tokuma’s feet were blackened with soot and red from burns, all the way from the ankles down. 

"What happened?" Ryoichiro demanded. 

"I couldn’t avoid the fire…" Tokuma admitted. 

It seemed Ryoichiro had finally noticed the charred tatami around Tokuma. 

"Who did this?" 

When Tokuma hesitated to answer, Ryoichiro turned to Hara. 

"Was it you?" 

Seeing Hara tremble with fear, Tokuma quickly intervened. 

"It wasn’t Hara-san. He helped extinguish the fire." 

But Ryoichiro’s anger was already ignited and wouldn’t subside. 

"Then why did he let it get that far? If the fire hadn’t started, Tokuma wouldn’t have been burned at all!" 

Thunder rumbled and cracked outside, mirroring Ryoichiro’s fury. Hara, silent and trembling, clenched his fists and lowered his head without offering a word in his defense. 

"You’re all incomprehensible. And you too, Tokuma! Talk to me—explain what happened with all this talk of burning and not burning—" 

Ryoichiro’s words stopped short. His gaze was fixed on the doorway. Yukie had returned. Having left earlier, she was now back. Ryoichiro swallowed hard. In her hand, she held a kitchen knife. With a large swing of the blade, Yukie charged at Hara, who still hung his head. 

"Hara, run!" Ryoichiro shouted. He grabbed the nearest object—Kuwaba—and flung her at Hara. Startled, Hara twisted his body to avoid Kuwaba. 

Slash!

The knife grazed Hara’s arm before stabbing into the tatami mat. Hara screamed and scrambled to the corner of the room. Yukie clicked her tongue, pulled the knife from the floor, and, after casting a brief glance at the trembling Hara, turned to face Ryoichiro, who stood protectively in front of Tokuma. 

"Ryoichiro-san, run!" Tokuma cried, his voice trembling with near-tears. 

"How could I leave you behind?" 

"I’ll run too! I will! Please, just go!" 

"With your burned legs? You can’t even walk!" 

Ryoichiro grabbed a partially burnt lantern nearby, ready to use it to counter the knife.

Tokuma knew Yukie was strong—Tokuma’s attempt to subdue her in the garden and being choked by her hands had proven that. The thought of Ryoichiro being hurt or, worse, killed made Tokuma’s heart pound with dread. It would all be meaningless if Ryoichiro were to suffer. 

The distance between Ryoichiro and Yukie narrowed slowly. Then, Yukie struck first, lunging at Ryoichiro. He blocked her attack with the lantern, but she pressed forward, forcing him to retreat step by step. Her strength was overwhelming. 

"Uwaaaaaah!" 

Hara, who had been cowering in the corner of the room, suddenly dashed out and grabbed Yukie’s waist from behind. Yukie, startled, flinched, and Ryoichiro seized the opportunity to lunge at her arm, trying to wrest the knife from her grasp, but she threw him off easily. Kuwaba leapt at Yukie’s head, sinking her teeth into her, but she was swatted away. Hara, clinging to her waist, was also flung aside. 

Yukie turned her attention to Ryoichiro, who was still sitting on the floor, and lunged at him. Tokuma forced himself to stand and ran toward her. The skin of his burned feet peeled away with a slick sound, and the searing pain twisted his face as though he were walking on needles, but he couldn’t care about that now. He threw himself at Yukie’s right arm, but she easily shook him off, and he landed heavily on the tatami mat. 

"Tokuma!" 

Ryoichiro rushed to Tokuma’s side, shielding him by throwing himself over him. 

"R-Ryoichiro-san," Tokuma stammered, writhing under him. 

"N-No! Please run! Ryoichiro-san!" 

If he were stabbed, it would be fatal. Tokuma knew that was why Ryoichiro was protecting him. 

"Leave me here! Just run, run!" Tokuma pleaded, beating his fists against Ryoichiro’s chest. The thought of Ryoichiro being stabbed, or worse, killed, made Tokuma feel like he would lose his mind. 

"You seem awfully fond of your boy concubine," Yukie sneered from above them, her laughter echoing in the room. 

"I’ll send you both to the underworld, one at a time." 

Over Ryoichiro’s shoulder, Tokuma saw Yukie raise the knife high above her head. Ryoichiro tightened his hold on Tokuma’s head, cradling it protectively. 

At that moment, a deafening crack of thunder roared. The sound was so close that the house shook with its force. 

"GYAAAAAHHH!" 

Yukie’s scream echoed in the dimly lit room. She froze, the knife still in her hand, and then suddenly collapsed backward, landing flat on the floor. 

No one understood what had just happened. Ryoichiro turned around, cautiously approaching Yukie’s fallen form. Her eyes were wide open, her mouth slightly agape, and she lay still like a lifeless doll. 

"Is… is she dead? What happened?" Ryoichiro muttered. 

Before the three of them, Yukie’s body suddenly vanished, as if it were absorbed into the air. With a soft thud, only her white undergarments and the bandages that had wrapped her body remained. 

"I don’t understand any of this!" Ryoichiro exclaimed, clutching his head in frustration. 

"Was everything I saw just an illusion? What was that woman? Hara, explain this to me!" 

Could it be… Tokuma thought. Crawling on all fours like an infant, he made his way to the sliding door and opened it. Ryoichiro followed him, asking, "What are you doing?" 

"Please open the storm shutters," Tokuma said. 

The six-tatami room with the tokonoma faced the garden. When the storm shutters were opened, Tokuma let out a small sigh. Hara, peeking over Tokuma’s shoulder, gasped softly. 

"The camellia…" 

The camellia tree, in full bloom, had been struck by lightning. Its trunk was split cleanly in two, and despite the rain, thin white smoke rose from the crack.  

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