Shikigami: Oni King Shuten-dōji

Sakura Kyou Kirumo was furious.

Not only was her phone camera on, but the flash had been lit too.

This meant the man had known all along she was faking the call, deliberately watching her perform.

And she'd been gleefully proud of her acting skills!

He'd definitely intended to witness her embarrassment.

Sakura Kyou Kirumo lifted her flushed face; the man was grinning widely, one eye winking in open challenge.

Bang

Sakura Kyou Kirumo angrily hurled her phone aside.

Thud

A flying kick slammed the door shut. She yanked the blinds down.

Baring her metaphorical claws, she pounced on Fang Zuo.

Pinning him tightly against the wall.

Her little fists showered down on him like rain.

"Baka! Baka! Baka!"

"Aku! (Evil!) Laugh at me? Let's see you laugh!"

"Still smirking? Still smirking?"

Fang Zuo endured her blows, his large hands settling around her backside.

They perfectly covered the twin peach-shaped mounds.

He squeezed hard.

Fingers sinking deep into the pliant flesh.

Sakura Kyou Kirumo shuddered violently, her fists stopping mid-air.

Her breath came in rapid gasps. Arms instinctively looped around his neck.

Rising onto her tiptoes, she crushed her lips against his – kissing, biting, licking fiercely.

The frenzied struggle went on for some time.

Only when the reactions stemming from her hypersensitive constitution finally subsided did it stop.

Fang Zuo held Sakura Kyou Kirumo, settling back into the wide office chair.

He shook his head with a wry smile.

Another shirt button was gone.

His face and chest were a battlefield.

Beyond the generous smear of her saliva,

Lay lipstick smudges, teeth marks, scratches, gouges, pinches, bites.

He looked like he'd been mauled by a feral cat colony.

Just kissing could wreak this kind of havoc.

What shape would he be in if they actually…

His knuckles lightly stroked her cheek.

"Who sent the flowers?" Fang Zuo asked.

Sakura Kyou Kirumo moaned softly, nuzzling her head to find a more comfortable spot in his lap. "Probably Takamashi Senma." She rolled her eyes. "Most of my obvious pursuers in Tokyo have been chased off by now."

"That exorcist from Kyoto?" Fang Zuo remembered him; his reputation was more memorable than his name.

"Sou ka, the most outstanding member of the Takamashi family in Kyoto, infamous playboy." Sakura Kyou Kirumo fiddled with a button on Fang Zuo's shirt. "The Bureau Chief invited him for the last case. He's been relentlessly pursuing me since."

"What families hold power in Kyoto right now?" Fang Zuo inquired.

He needed to go to Kyoto eventually to retrieve the notebook from the Oda family; understanding the landscape wouldn't hurt.

"Hard to say." Sakura Kyou Kirumo shook her head. "Kyoto isn't like Tokyo; many families operate in the shadows."

"The Takamashi family is quite prominent. Their elders sit on the Tokyo Spiritual Anomaly Council. The family's inherited shikigami is ​​[Shikigami: Oni King Shuten-dōji]​​."

"Is it stronger than your ​​[Shikigami: Princess Kaguya's Lantern]​​?" Fang Zuo switched from knuckles to fingertips stroking her cheek, feeling the difference in sensation.

"Far surpasses it." Sakura Kyou Kirumo's expression turned serious when discussing official matters. "Even stronger than the Sakura family's ​​[Shikigami: Tang-Style Oilpaper Umbrella]​​ by a vast margin."

"Although many onmyoji families harbor powerful shikigami beneath the surface, and have experimented to create even mightier ones."

"But ​​[Shikigami: Oni King Shuten-dōji]​​ is one of the older, established shikigami known publicly. It has weathered countless major battles and witnessed the rise and fall of dozens of families, passed down through generations."

An established shikigami?

So this ​​[Shikigami: Oni King Shuten-dōji]​​ implied it was a spirit of pure, unadulterated essence?

Not some mishmash experimental creature.

That would be a major tonic for his damaged nascent soul.

Fang Zuo was definitely interested now.

Sakura Kyou Kirumo sank her teeth sharply into Fang Zuo's chest.

"I'm going to dispose of those flowers," she said, shifting to get up. "These flies are truly... ku so (damn it), Baka yarō! Can't they focus on real work?"

...

After dealing with the flowers, Sakura Kyou Kirumo received an urgent call from her superiors requiring her presence at a Tokyo Police Headquarters meeting.

The matter sounded critical over the phone.

After sternly ordering Fang Zuo not to go stay at Shiraishi Nagimitsu's place, she hurriedly mounted her Kawasaki heavy motorcycle and sped off.

Fang Zuo checked the time; it was nearing the hour agreed upon with the twin catgirl sisters.

Stepping out of Tokyo Tower, the sky had begun to darken with the evening.

Fang Zuo hailed a taxi bound for Shinjuku's Kabukicho.

As usual, neon lights blazed brightly, throngs of young women filled the streets.

Rejecting numerous touts and solicitations along the way, he bought a large strawberry cream cake at a patisserie.

Fang Zuo then turned a corner, arriving at the catgirl sisters' small establishment.

Inside, the lighting was dim.

No customers were present.

Stools were upturned on the tables.

No one was visible behind the counter, only the tops of four pink cat ears engaged in hushed conversation.

"What to do, Onee-chan? If we close, we won't make money. How do we feed ourselves? And what about all the little nya?"

"I don't know either. And the kittens back in Fukushima are waiting for the money we send. I hear they can't fish there anymore now."

"Uuuuu! Onee-chan, so sad. I'll never be able to eat strawberry cream cake again."

"Baka! Just having food will be a problem! And you're dreaming about cake?"

"Uuuuu! It's all Onee-chan's fault! You ate the last piece!"

"Baka! You'd saved it for two days! It would've spoiled!"

"I couldn't bear to eat it! All the money got sent away. It's rare I buy a piece..."

"Ehh~ Weren't we talking about how to earn money? How did we switch back to strawberry cream cake?"

"Huh? I forgot. Uuuuu, what to do? Maybe... we should become 'thief cats'?"

"Ehh~? 'Thief cats'?"

"Hai! Chi-chan became a 'thief cat' and earned so much money! She can eat five, no, ten pieces of strawberry cream cake a day!"

"Ehh~? Sugoi! But... how does one become a 'thief cat'? So confusing!"

Thump

A sound resonated on the countertop.

The four pink cat ears perked up in shock.

Their fur stood on end.

Vibrating with tension.

"Onee-chan! Look! Strawberry cream cake!" the younger catgirl sister raised her head excitedly, reaching out a tentative paw.

"Matte! Imōto (Hold on, little sister)!" the older sister blocked her sibling protectively, lifting her gaze. "Ah! It's you, Demon-sama!"

"Ehh~," the younger sister peeked around her sister's shoulder. "I remember you! The poor Demon-sama. Only had 2000 yen."

Fang Zuo: "..."

Seems the twins had completely forgotten their appointment.

"I'm here to see your Auntie Fox. What's the word? Will she meet me?" Fang Zuo placed the cake on the counter. "This is a gift for you both."

"Ari... arigatou gozaimasu!" The older sister bowed deeply in gratitude. "Auntie Fox agreed to meet you!"

"Onee-chan! Demon-sama, you're truly a good person!" The younger sister immediately dipped a finger into the frosting and licked it clean.

Fang Zuo followed the sisters as they wound through several older neighborhoods in Shinjuku.

They arrived in front of a dilapidated single-story detached house.

"Demon-sama, Auntie Fox rents here with some of the clan," the older sister explained respectfully. "Not sure if she's back from work yet."

Still working this late?

Didn't seem like the behavior of a transcendent expert.

Fang Zuo felt a flicker of doubt.

"What work does she do?" he asked.

"Human rickshaw puller!" the younger sister piped up, licking frosting off her fingers.

Fang Zuo: "..."

He knew about the human-pulled rickshaws in Japan, akin to Beijing's pedicabs. A physically demanding job, though it could be decently profitable.

A transcendent expert pulling rickshaws? Highly improbable.

What puzzled him more was that while many young women worked as rickshaw pullers in Tokyo, "Auntie Fox" implied a certain age – unlikely to be a young woman.

Suddenly, Fang Zuo's eyes narrowed.

He stared intently at the house and smiled coldly.

"Are you absolutely certain this Auntie Fox is a rickshaw puller?"

The house pulsed with vast, roiling demonic energy! No simple matter!

Hmm?

No.

That aura... it was the scent of devoured human souls!

This "Auntie Fox" had consumed quite a number of people!

Well, well, well.

Fang Zuo thought, a grim smile touching his lips.

Fallen right into the Taoist master's hands.

How long since he'd last defended the Tao by vanquishing monsters?

"Hi! Arigatou!" A figure approached from the side street, dressed like a rickshaw puller, wearing a traditional Japanese headband and face mask.

Wrapped thoroughly from head to toe.

"Auntie Fox!" both sisters cried out together.

Fang Zuo froze!

This was Auntie Fox? Then who was the ancient demon inside the house that had devoured countless human souls?