Beyond, With a Yokai

Chapter 3: Enemy and Ally

"Why didn't you cry last night? Why keep playing that dull little camp game?"
His voice was soaked in sarcasm. "Maybe I should've scared you more. I'm losing my edge."

He lazily stepped away from the stove, still watching her.

Yesenia felt a fresh wave of rage crash over her. That cold, twisted sarcasm—it was the last straw.

"So that's it? You want to see me cry?" she shot back, meeting his gaze head-on.

"I do."
He tilted his head like he was examining prey.
"I'm waiting for the moment you finally break."

"Hate to disappoint you, but it's not happening."

Her voice came out sharper than she expected, but it wasn't fear speaking anymore. It was fury.

"And once again," he said, voice low and dangerous, "you forget your place."

The fox took a step forward, and his expression shifted in an instant. His eyes darkened—cold and lifeless, like the dead of winter.

"A big scary guy who just wants to make a little girl cry?" Yesenia shot back with forced sarcasm, but the tremor in her voice betrayed her.

"I don't just want you to cry," he said, his voice dropping to a velvet whisper as he closed the distance between them. "I want you desperate."

He placed both hands on the counter, boxing her in. Yesenia instinctively leaned back, feeling the cold press of the surface against her spine. Her nerves screamed.

"You think I'm not desperate?" she challenged, breath tight in her chest.

He smiled.

His face remained unreadable, but something flickered in his eyes—something curious. He was studying her, observing every detail.

He had never been this close to her before.

His warm breath fanned across her skin—eerily similar to the fire that had danced across his fingers not so long ago.

"No," he said flatly, breaking her defiance like snapping a twig.

How dare he mock her?

She had agreed to remember. To talk. Was this punishment for trying to learn his name?

Yesenia clenched her fists. Angry retorts bubbled to the surface, sharp and reckless.

She refused to be just another victim in his game.

Steeling herself against the fear tightening her chest, she made a silent vow: she wouldn't let him manipulate her that easily. Not her mind, and definitely not her fate.

The fox noticed the bold, familiar gleam in her eyes. But he said nothing.

This girl... she was different.

She was trying to stand on equal ground with him—knowing full well he could end her with a flick of his hand.

Amusing.

How far would she go?
How much would he have to break before she truly fell—before it wasn't just an act?

"Whose face are you wearing?" she asked, surprising even herself. "Ashamed of what you really look like?"

The question had haunted her for a while. She never dared voice it—until now. Her heart pounded as the words left her mouth.

But the fox didn't lash out.

If anything, his voice held a hint of pride.

"This is my face. My body. Believe it or don't."

"But... you're a fox."