This man wasn’t the only person present. David looked around at the other people in the room. There were quite a few. All of them were yōkai.
“It looks like we’re all here,” the yōkai, who David only knew by the name Volks, grinned at the gathering of people. “Good. That means we’re ready to start the plan. Looks like you newbs are gonna get the chance to prove yourselves.”
“What are we gonna do?” asked another yōkai, a bakeneko with brown hair and pointy ears. David didn’t really know him that well. They went to the same school but hadn’t been friends. However, circumstances had forced them all together.
The one in charge laughed, a noise that grated on David’s ears.
“That should be obvious.” The gargantuan yōkai grinned. “We’re going to cause some chaos.”
***
Morning that day was the same as any other day. It was Monday morning, the start of the new week. The morning air was warm, as expected. It was the beginning of September, which meant Arizona was just entering fall, and of course, being a desert state well known for its warm climate, the temperature had yet to drop below the mid-90s.
Lindsay woke up at her friend’s house that day. Jessica had asked her if she wanted to spend the night. While Lindsay’s parents—or at least her mom—had been vehemently against it, she’d decided to go anyway. She’d told her mom that she was staying at another friend’s house.
Fortunately, her mother had never asked for any of her friends’ phone numbers, so it wasn’t like she could find out that all of her friends had abandoned her because she refused to abandon Jessica.
Jessica’s parents were, like most yōkai, struggling to stay afloat. Her mom used to work for a big law firm and her dad had been the manager of a small business. Now her mom had been laid off and her dad had lost nearly fifty percent of his customers. And to top it off, most of his employees had quit when they discovered that their boss was a yōkai. Only a handful of people hadn’t cared about his origins enough to remain loyal. Jessica and her family were living off her dad’s income alone now, and since her dad only made about half the amount he used to, that meant they’d hit hard times.
I really hope that changes soon.
Lindsay sat on the bus with her friend. She and Jessica were in the very back, with her friend almost huddled in the corner to avoid the other people who were also riding the bus. Lindsay glared at anyone stupid enough to come near them, hoping against hope that it would keep them away.
“E-eek!”
A squeal from Jessica startled her. Lindsay twisted her head around so fast it actually cracked. Something was stuck on Jessica’s left ear—a spit wad. Lindsay seethed when she saw the white, wet substance sticking to the blond bunny ear. She could feel her blood boiling, rising up like a tidal wave threatening to consume her.
How dare these people do this!
“Who did that?!”
Lindsay stood up from her seat, jumping to her feet so suddenly that they slammed against the ground with a loud thud. Her voice was so loud that it echoed along the bus. Everyone who’d been chatting about this and that, laughing and joking around, ceased speaking to stare at her.
Seeing no one even getting ready to speak, Lindsay’s emotions surged.
“Which one of you lame-brained idiots did that?!” she pointed at Jessica’s left rabbit ear, where a spit wad could be seen on it clear as day. Still no one answered. “WELL?!”
The silence that reigned was nearly deafening. It was like someone had stepped into a grave. However, silence rarely ever lasted, and it wasn’t long before someone spoke up.
“Who cares who did it?” one person asked, and with those words, the others began expressing their own opinions.
“Yeah, she’s just a monster!”
“We don’t need her kind around here!”
“She should just crawl into a hole and die!”
The shouts penetrated her brain, incensing Lindsay to the point where she saw nothing but red. She considered herself to be a very mild-mannered individual. She didn’t get angry very often. In fact, Lindsay couldn’t remember the last time she’d been angry—truly angry.
However, in that moment, listening to these people belittle, taunt, and verbally abuse her friend with their words, Lindsay felt nothing but an indescribable rage.
“Oh, that does it.” She cracked her knuckles. “These people are going to get it.”
She took a single step forward, intent on causing massive bodily harm to everyone there—
“P-please don’t.”
—when a voice and a hand stopped her. Lindsay froze, her mind shutting down as she turned her head. Jessica was staring up at her, clear eyes filled with fright and worry, yet also a silent plea. Her friend didn’t want her to use violence, she realized. Jessica was asking her to show restraint.
Lindsay warred with herself. She hated it when people bullied her friends. She hated it even more when her friend had done nothing to deserve it. At the same time, she didn’t want Jessica to be angry at her for something like this. The desire to protect her friend warred with her desire to not have Jessica upset at her.
In the end, Jessica’s big, pleading eyes won out.
“T-thank you,” Jessica murmured when Lindsay sat back down.
In response to those words, Lindsay crossed her arms and huffed. “Yeah, yeah. You’re lucky you’re so hot or I would’ve never listened to you.”
Jessica blinked. “W-what?”
“… Nothing.”
***
When they arrived at school, Lindsay and Jessica went to class like they always did. They didn’t share classes, which was unfortunate because it meant Jessica didn’t have Lindsay there to protect her. Every time they met up again, the usagi would almost always be in tears—or at least intimidated by something. One time, Lindsay had actually caught several teenage boys sexually harassing her.
That had been the one time Jessica hadn’t stopped her from beating those boys black and blue.
She sat in her first class of the day, math, bored out of her mind and wondering how things could have gone so wrong. She glanced at the empty desks beside her, the ones that Lilian, Kevin, and Iris normally sat in. Pressure pushed down on her chest. It was like an elephant was slowly crushing her under its foot.
She turned away from the sight of the three empty desks.
They’re not here, so it’s up to me right now. I have to do what I can.
Jessica was counting on her. The girl needed someone to be there for her, and to look out for her when other people were picking on her. Ever since her yōkai status had been revealed, her once peppy friend had become a frightened and easily scared girl, like a, well, kinda like a rabbit. Lindsay needed to be the shoulder that her friend could lean on.
“E-excuse me.” The school-wide intercom suddenly came online, and their principal’s voice echoed from it. “C-could I have your attention, please? Would all the students please come to the amphitheater? I repeat, would all students please come to the amphitheater?”
The speakers shut off. Their math teacher, Dr. Allan Spencer, sighed, as if the idea of having his lecture cut short was a relief.
“Well, class, you heard the man. Get up and get moving to that amphitheater.”
Lindsay followed the other students to the amphitheater. She didn’t know what was going on, but she felt wary of setting foot in that amphitheater again. Given what happened the last time they were called there, she felt her dislike of that place was justified.
As she walked, numerous conversations took place around her.
“Hey, man. Do you think there’s gonna be another announcement like last time?”
“Who knows.”
“I really hope not. I don’t think my heart could handle something like that.”
“Like, I really hope this isn’t going to be like the last time we went there.”
“I know, right? I don’t think I can deal with there being more monsters living among us.”
“Totes.”
Apparently, her classmates felt the same way, though Lindsay felt some of their commentary was completely unnecessary.
When they got to the amphitheater, it was to find the large chamber already filling up. Lindsay found Jessica waffling amidst the crowd. She was pretty easy to find. Her ears stood out.
“Jessica!”
The girl’s head whipped around. Her eyes brightened upon catching sight of Lindsay. The relief in those eyes was so palpable that Lindsay felt her heart clench.
She’s afraid.
Not that she didn’t have a reason to be, considering what happened last time.
“Hey,” Lindsay greeted her friend with the same cheery smile she always did. She needed to be strong. “Any idea what’s going on?”
“None.” Jessica shook her head.
“Well, whatever it is, I’m sure it’ll be okay.” Lindsay placed a hand on her friend’s shoulder. “Try not to worry too much, okay?”
“O-okay.”
More and more people filed into the room through one of several doors. The amphitheater became very crowded very quickly. While it was a fairly large chamber, it still only had a maximum capacity of about 2,500 people. Desert Cactus High School was quite large, boasting somewhere around 2,000 students. While there was still some space to maneuver, with the yōkai now out in the open, that space had begun acting as the divide between them and humans.
Lindsay and Jessica, being one of the few human and yōkai pairs who still got along, remained off to the side with two other people—a human female with brown hair and a large yōkai with bear ears on his head. Lindsay didn’t know his species.
“He’s a kuma,” Jessica said when she caught Lindsay looking at the giant of a yōkai. “A bear yōkai.”
“Ah. Okay. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
The sudden slamming of doors brought a halt to further conversation. Lindsay looked around and was surprised to see several mean-looking yōkai standing in front of the doors. She didn’t know their species but, just from looking at them, she knew that they weren’t there to make a peaceful protest.
Mutterings broke out. A cacophony of voices spoke out at once. Some sounded worried, others angry, but all of them were wondering the same thing as her.
What’s going on here? What do these people want?
A large man stepped onto the stage. His massive black boots thudded loudly against the wood tiles. Ripped jeans revealed spikes jutting from his knees. He wore no shirt but had a sleeveless leather vest thrown over him, revealing muscular abs and pecks. Spikes protruded from his shoulders like medieval fantasy armor, and his bald head had a crown of thorns shooting out of the skin—gray skin, which appeared ashen and cold, almost like stone. Clawed fingers clacked a maddening rhythm, audible even from so far away.
A yōkai? What species is he?
Jessica gasped.
“What’s wrong?” asked Lindsay.
“T-that yōkai,” her friend stuttered. “He’s an oni.”
Oni are another kind of yōkai from Japanese folklore. The name roughly translated to demon, devil, ogre, or troll. Depictions of oni vary widely, but they are usually depicted as hideous creatures with sharp claws, fanged tusks, and spikes on their head. All oni have a vaguely anthropomorphic body, but a number of them are usually seen having extra features—a sixth toe, another finger, four arms. Their skin color can also differ wildly, with some having anything from red to blue skin.
They are also a very violent race—one of the most violent races, which explained why a lot of other yōkai feared them.
“Hello, shitty humans,” the oni said, his voice rough and uncultured, as if he didn’t know how to speak very well. It was also grating and barbaric. Just hearing it reminded Lindsay of metal being ground apart by a hacksaw. “You, all of you, are now my prisoners. Try not to panic. I’d hate to have to kill you all and find new hostages.”
***
At first, people scoffed at what the oni was saying. Many, it seemed, did not believe the yōkai would actually go through with his threat. Several exclaimed that it was nothing but the bravado of a beaten species, and then they further demanded that he release them before they call their parents.
And then the oni killed his first human. It had been a teacher—their French teacher. Even though Lindsay didn’t take that class, she knew that Kevin did, and she recognized the bonnet sitting atop the teacher’s head.
A head that was now staring sightlessly at nothing, attached to a broken body that lay in a heap on the stage, the neck twisted at an awkward angle. The oni had grabbed her head and snapped her neck like a twig.
That’s when the realization set in.
That’s when the panic spread.
Chaos. Pandemonium. All of the students were trapped within a waking nightmare. They screamed and cried and begged and pleaded. They tried to escape, but the yōkai blocking the doors wouldn’t let them. Those who attempted to fight their way out were brutally and viciously put down. Several students were screaming themselves hoarse as they held the parts of their body that had been broken. One had already passed out from the pain.
Lindsay had quickly grabbed Jessica and moved to the back corner of the room. There she stayed, huddled up with her friend, who clung to her with strength bred from fear.
He killed someone.
Lindsay felt sick. Her stomach threatened to regurgitate her breakfast, and her mind wanted nothing more than to shut down. She wanted to wake up from this nightmare—except she couldn’t, because this was no nightmare. This was real.
He really killed someone.
Lindsay had learned about the yōkai world ever since seeing Lilian in her hybrid form. She had accepted the girl despite her strange new appendages. It hadn’t been hard as Lilian was a difficult person to not get along with. She was just so cheerful and vibrant that Lindsay couldn’t help but like her. The fact that Kevin accepted the redhead helped immensely, too.
However, she also knew about the darker side of the yōkai world; the violent one, where death and combat were a staple of everyday life. Kevin had done his best to keep that side of Lilian’s world from her, but he couldn’t keep all of it from her.
She still remembered how her mother had been attacked. She remembered what happened during their spring break trip to California. She might not have been awake, but she knew what happened during her soccer game.
Still, though, even if she knew about yōkai, nothing could have prepared her for this.
“L-Lindsay…”
Lindsay started at the sound of her name being called. Jessica. Her friend was more frightened than she was.
I have to protect Jessica.
“SHUT UP!” The shout came from the stage. “ALL OF YOU, SHUT THE FUCK UP BEFORE I START KILLING MORE OF YOU!”
With the shout came the fear, an ironclad grip that wrapped around Lindsay’s heart. She could not describe the feeling. It was terror in the purest sense of the word. It made her entire body seize up, her joints lock and her muscles stop. Even her heart felt like it had ceased to beat—and she wasn’t the only one who felt this way.
The other students had all stopped what they were doing. Crying ceased. Throats closed. Everyone became completely still and focused their attention on the oni standing on stage.
“That’s better,” the oni grunted. “I want all of you to keep yer traps shut, you got that? If anyone here talks, I’m gonna do to them what I did to Ms. Bonnet here.” He unceremoniously kicked the body of what had once been their French teacher.
The students whimpered in fear.
“Now, David, get out the camera.”
One of the other yōkai there, a boy with wolf ears, quickly pulled a camera from the bag he was carrying. He turned it on and signaled to the oni that he was ready.
The oni’s grin made Jessica quake. In response, Lindsay tightened her arms around the usagi.
What’s going to happen to us?
<
br /> Huddled in a corner of the room, Lindsay prayed for a miracle.
Kevin, Lilian, Iris…
… Christine…
***
Life had been slightly better since the incident with Frederic and his buddies. They had stopped trying to mess with him for one. Come to think of it, Kevin was almost positive they quaked in fright every time they came within a certain distance of him and Lilian—except for Frederic, who seemed to have gained a new respect for him, though Kevin couldn’t really understand why.
The sound of the bell ringing marked an end to class, and, also, an end to school.
“All right!” Lilian pumped her fist in the air as she stood up. “Time to go home! Ne, ne, Beloved, can we play Battlefront when we get home? Can we?”
Kevin barely withheld a chuckle as his girlfriend-slash-mate jumped up and down like a hyperactive kid in a candy store.
“I don’t see why not. I was thinking of watching some Fairy Tail, but kicking your cute little butt in Battlefront will be just as fun.”
Lilian’s cheeks swelled like a balloon being filled with hot air.
“That’s not a very nice thing to say.” She pouted at him and crossed her arms. “Just you wait, Beloved! This time, I’m definitely going to beat you!”
Kevin grinned. “Didn’t you say that the last ten times we played?”
“This time will be different, for sure!” Lilian declared, her eyes alight with an inner fire that defied explanation.
***
“I can’t believe I lost again!”
Lilian rolled around on the floor like a child throwing a tantrum, moaning and groaning about her fifth consecutive loss of the day.
She and Kevin had been playing Battlefront for the past two hours, and in those two hours, she had lost no less than five times. It was truly remarkable, the difference in skill between them. While Lilian was talented—insanely talented—at FPS and RPG games, she still wasn’t at Kevin’s level, especially now that he’d been trained in how to use real firearms. He felt like that had given him a distinct advantage.
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