Hunter: Gods & Monsters

Chapter 6

We stared at each other for a moment before I started to laugh.

"You are clearly attached to him. I do not understand why you are laughing?" His anger poured off him, filling the space around us.

Somewhere, in a dark, tiny corner of my brain an alarm went off; the skin prickled on the back of my neck as if in warning, yet as I stood to face him, all of that disappeared as a new call to action took over and I felt my power intertwining with my rage to meet his.

"I am. Very much so, and to threaten them? I thought you would be smarter than that, considering." I shrug, moving a step closer. He didn't retreat. "I don't get the bean thing. Is it like an allergy?"

I shake the bag in my hands, and he breaks our staring contest to look at it.

"It doesn't actually matter to me how or why you're here. It doesn't matter what you say or threaten to do. I mean, for a second there, you almost had me. Then I remembered I can do this-" An arm of my power flexed, wrapping around him like a snake causing his blue skin to darken as it cut against his skin. "You need me. I don't need you."

He struggled and fought, but I held strong. Standing before him, I smiled.

"No harm will come to your so called, Seer and his fiance. Understand? Let's pretend none of this happened, and we are no better or worse off than we were before now. That is my offer to you." Standing before him, I smiled.

Genzo gave a nod in agreement and I released him. He is not a God, not a Power. Like Baheela, and the other creatures that roam here, even in my world, their abilities are outranked by mine and those like me. I pitied them all. What chance did that actually leave any of them with in that war?

"Look, I get this is a shit situation for everyone, and I'd be happy to see about-" I never got to finish as he lunged for me.

His bulk knocked me off my feet before I could blink and as his fist came down like a hammer, I was then standing over him. With a handful of soybeans, I threw them down onto him earning a growl of pain as cuts appeared where each one had landed. He spun around, with more ease than I expected of someone his size only it didn't matter.

"Oni wa soto, fuku wa uchi!" Oni go out. Good luck come in.

His skin began to smoke and with a final grunt, he went to charge at me again only the force of his hit never came as instead a gush of wind that once again had me on my back, wooshed past. I stayed on the floor for a few breaths, until I saw the mouse staring back at me from under the chair I had been sitting on.

Sitting up and looking around, Genzo was gone. Where, I had no idea, but maybe there was something to the Japanese tradition, and throwing those soybeans actually worked. The demon was out and so was I as the tiny rodent boldly moved towards the closest bean, clearly experiencing some good fortune already as he got an easy meal. Hopefully some of that luck would come with me too. Though as my phone started to ring, I wasn't so sure.

"You've reached Elise, please leave a message. Beep!"

"I woke up with a feeling that I needed to check in with you. What is going on, Hunter?" Ailins superfriendly voice greeted me.

"Nothing?" I shrug as if she could see me.

"Elise."

"Tiny something. V is watching Heath for me at night and I'm doing it by day." All I could hear was a sigh.

"And?"

"And I've got a lunch date in like an hour I have to go get ready for." I mumble.

"Can you please just tell me what you're not saying so we can both get on with our days?" She growls impatiently.