Takuya was very well concentrated on pursuing the triad’s car that he forgot about Shimura’s existence next to him. There was no time to waste. The triad was his top priority. As Takuya and Shimura tagged behind the car, Saiyou had driven himself to another route under a bridge. The car had screeched on its turns scraping the sides of other cars and made its way onto the highway. Saiyou zigzagged through a maze of cars and glided forward. He accelerated faster on the road. Meanwhile, Takuya and Shimura closely tailed the triad. Some subordinates appeared from their windows and pointed their guns at them. Shimura retreated, but Takuya charged forward. Saiyou had joined them at the intersection. “Takuya!!” Saiyou and Shimura screamed.
Takuya had one hand outstretched to hold onto the car. When he finally caught on, the car jerked wildly. The subordinates fired at Saiyou and Shimura, but they retreated further away. One subordinate pointed his pistol at Takuya about to shoot at his head. Takuya’s remaining hand on the bicycle took a revolver and fired at the subordinate, but missed. He then aimed at the car’s tires and pulled the trigger three times. One of the bullets pierced through the rubber releasing air rapidly. As a result, the car jerked and Takuya was thrown off. The subordinate that stuck his body out too much fell out of the car only to be crushed by a passing truck. He let out a short scream and that was the end of it. Saiyou drove faster to catch the now fallen Takuya on the road. “Ah! Saiyou!” shouted Takuya. “Hop on!” Saiyou shouted back. Takuya wobbled onto the seat behind him and Saiyou continued to steer forward. Shimura pulled out a gadget gun that fired a mysterious disc that latched onto the escaping car. In a matter of seconds, the disc flashed a red light and the car exploded.
A cloud of smoke and fire burst from the car and metallic debris flew in the air. Saiyou and Shimura stopped their motorcycles and watched the fire. A three fingered claw extended into the air and grappled the ground. A body with a mouth and no eyes rose from the fire slowly towering over the trio. Its mouth opened and a thick, purple tongue came out. It extended and hit Shimura’s motorcycle. Shimura was knocked off, but rolled back on his feet. Saliva had coated over the automobile and began eating away the metal. The tongue slid back into the mouth and another claw appeared from the fire. The oni took a swipe at Saiyou, but Saiyou revved away from harm. Shimura took out a gadget from his pocket and assembled it into a long rod with two prongs. Saiyou drove towards the oni and fired it with his handgun. The oni shielded its body with his arms letting the bullets pierce into its arm. “Bad idea,” smiled Saiyou as he fired some more. The oni’s arms suddenly exploded and blood rained from the wound. The limb dangled on some pieces of sinew and muscle and tried to regenerate. As the tissue attempted to join, it only split apart even more allowing more blood to ooze. The oni roared in frustration and attacked the small people with its decaying limbs. Shimura jumped closely to the oni and struck it with his forked weapon. Blue strings of electricity flowed from the metal into the oni. As it was electrocuted by high voltage, its arms were flung off. The oni swayed and collapsed into the pool of fire. It writhed for a while and then ceased of any movement.
The trio left the corpse for the organization to clean up and drove away. The street lamps lit up the road and the starless sky endlessly encompassed the land. Saiyou and Shimura parked their motorcycles in front of a large house. Saiyou typed in a code and the front gates clicked open. “Ok, I’m gonna go now guys. See ya ... “ said Takuya. “Nope. You’re coming with us,” said Saiyou. “It’s late, like really late. And my mom’s worried,” said Takuya trying to snake away. “Kid, you smell like shit. Your mom is going to be more worried when she smells the smoke, the weed, and a whole load of crap on you,” said Saiyou now taking Takuya’s arm. “But, but ...” said Takuya trying to release himself from Saiyou’s clutch. “You’re gonna shower and clean up at our place,” said Shimura. “This is your place! I thought that apartment was yours ...” said Takuya. “Oh, it’s ours too. Believe me, we got plenty of places to hide if we ever needed to,” said Shimura.
The large house was three floors high with multiple rooms including a library and laboratory. A butler greeted the three and took their blood splattered attire. Takuya washed off the dried blood and grime off his face and looked at himself in the mirror. He was covered in small cuts and scratches. If it wasn’t for Saiyou and Shimura protecting him all along, it would have been more than cuts and scratches. “Thanks guys!” said Takuya when he walked into the colossal living room. “Stay for dinner. I already called your mom,” said Saiyou. “What?!” screamed Takuya. “Don’t worry. I told her you fell asleep and I’m gonna drive you home,” Saiyou assured. “Shimura! I’m hungry!” “Shut up! It takes some time to prepare a meal you know,” yelled Shimura from the kitchen. “I can help,” said Takuya now walking into the kitchen. “Help me cut the vegetables,” said Shimura. “Unlike Saiyou you’re helpful in these situations.” Saiyou made a face and Takuya laughed quietly. “Saiyou doesn’t know how to cook?” whispered Takuya. “He’s an idiot,” Shimura said loudly. “He can’t even fry an egg.” “I heard that,” complained Saiyou. “Can we just order Chinese takeout?” “Saiyou, you know you still have to wait,” said Shimura. “At least I don’t have to cook,” said Saiyou.
“Itadakimasu!” the three people said and shoveled food down their throat. Saiyou took out three cans of beer from the refrigerator. He guzzled the first can and crushed it with one hand. The can was tossed into the wastebasket and made a clunk, rustling the plastic bag. Shimura poured Takuya a cup of cola and said, “Congratulations.” “Hm? For what? I nearly killed myself,” said Takuya. “For becoming a true oni slayer,” said Shimura. “Heh? How do you know?” asked Takuya. “When you caught up with me on the bike, I realized you gained a new energy. You should be exhausted by now,” explained Shimura. “Now that you mention it,” said Takuya. “I feel alright. Man, I was on a bike the whole time!” “See? You’ve improved. Due to constant interactions with oni, you reached somewhat of a new level of being. I’m very surprised,” said Shimura. “How did you feel when we left you behind today?” “Well, I was pretty pissed you know! But then I guess I was desperate to keep up so I tried to find a way to catch up,” answered Takuya. “Hmm, I guess struggle drew out your hidden potential,” concluded Shimura. “I can then do magic!” exclaimed Takuya with his fist in the air. “No, you’re definitely not up to it yet,” said Saiyou. “Goddammit,” said a sagging Takuya. “You just had to ruin the moment.” “It took us a few years to polish our skills,” said Saiyou. “Come to think of it, why did you bring Takuya along with us on such a dangerous mission?” asked Shimura. “Instinct,” Saiyou merely replied. “I had a feeling Takuya isn’t all he looks.” “Oh well, cheers!” said Shimura raising his glass of cola. “Cheers!” The glasses clinked merrily.
On the way home, Takuya began, “Hey, Saiyou.” “Hn?” “Thanks a lot. For today. Saving me and stuff.” “No problem.” “And sorry I guess.” “For what?” “When I first met you, I thought you were being disrespectful.” “I get that a lot.” “You’re a lot like my dad.” “I don’t get that a lot. Now tell me about it.” “He was a police office. ” “Mhm, go on.” “When I was eight years old, he passed away.” “How did he die?” “On his last mission, he took a bullet for someone.” “Shouldn’t he have been wearing a bullet-proof vest?” “He did, but he took it off and gave it to someone else. He was afraid that person would get hurt.” “And then what happened afterwards?” “The bullet shot right through the heart. The police caught the felons but my dad died on the way to the hospital.” “I’m sorry to hear. He’s a real hero.” “Yeah,” Takuya nodded in agreement. “Because of that, I want to be like him. That’s why I chose to be an oni slayer.” “So it’s not just vengeance?” “Well,” Takuya sighed sadly. “Tsukino ...” “I understand.” “Saiyou, why did you become an oni slayer?” “It’s a long story ...”
