About three years ago Yoshiro stood on a roof edge and looked around. It was in the middle of the night.
"Damn. I've lost him."
He scanned intently the surrounding terrain, but he was not able to find his target. He should have known better. The beasts were very agile and this specific one was also fast. Probably it was the leader of an entire pack.
But that was exactly why it should not be that hard to find them. Several beasts in one place usually meant trouble. They tended to fight each other and cause a ruckus.
He carefully listened to the night. Engine noise. A radio filled the air with pop music. He looked at his watch. 02.34. Maybe he should call it a day and go home instead. A new fragrance appeared in his nose. Aftershave. Someone uninvolved was here.
Yoshiro teleported to another roof to gain a new perspective. Down there was a security guard patrolling through the alley.
"What the hell?"
He reoriented himself. Indeed, the beast had lured him into the industrial part of the town.
"Cunning beast. You reversed our roles."
Now he was convinced that it was only a matter of time until the beast would be transformed. Ordinary beasts were not as intelligent and devious. Okay, he had to ensure that the security guard would remain unharmed.
He searched again the environment, as several paws scrabbled behind him. He glanced over his shoulder and saw three beasts who had sneaked up.
"Smart guys."
Roaring, the beasts rushed to him, but he teleported out of the way. With his gun drawn, he appeared behind the creatures and opened fire. A beast was hit and yelped. The other two were trying to flank him. Yoshiro rushed towards the wounded beast and emptied his magazine into its body. Lifeless it sagged.
Before any of the other creatures could catch him, he teleported to another roof. Quickly, he switched the magazine.
He watched the beasts, as they were looking for him. One picked up his scent and ran toward the edge of the roof. Did it really want to jump?
It kicked off, sailed over the gap and clutched to the facade of the next house. Then, it started to climb up the wall.
The second beast wanted to imitate it and jumped too. Yoshiro quickly exchanged his gun against two daggers and teleported to the leaping creature in midair.
He appeared above it and rammed his daggers from the sides into its skull. Blood spurted from the wounds, the body went limp and began to fall. Yoshiro teleported again.
Shortly before the last beast reached the edge of the roof, the man appeared at gunpoint on her. A bullet in the middle of its face ended its life and it plunged into the depths. Before the impact, it had completely dissolved.
"That's that."
A shout drew his attention. The guard! Yoshiro ran to the corner and looked down.
The security guard fled two beasts, who were hot on his heels. Without further thinking, Yoshiro teleported into the alley.
He appeared in front of the security guard, who dodged aside and tripped over his feet. Yoshiro fired at the beasts, which sprang apart to avoid being hit. One of them immediately attacked.
"Crap."
He grabbed with his free hand a dagger and could just use it to ram the tip in the lower jaw of the beast. He had little to counter the weight of the beast and was thrown to the ground. The gun slipped from his hand and with the now free hand, he grabbed the throat of the beast, to keep the deadly jaws off his face.
Quick-witted, the guard picked up the gun and riddled the head of the other beast, which wanted to pounce on Yoshiro. He discharged the rest of the magazine into the head of the beast that perched the other man on the ground.
For a moment peace returned. The security guard lend Yoshiro a hand and pulled him up to his feet.
"Good shot," he mentioned, while he brushed off some dust.
"What the hell is going on here?!"
Yoshiro looked at the beasts. Their bodies disintegrated and dissolved. "Do you want the short or the long version?"
The guard began to blink heavy. Then he rubbed his eyes. "Oh damn!" he shouted and pointed the gun at Yoshiro.
"Easy, man. I don't bite."
"What's going on here?!"
Yoshiro slowly raised his hands with the palms facing forward, to demonstrate that he was harmless.
"The magazine is empty. You won't shoot anybody with that gun."
The guard looked at the gun. "Right." He slowly lowered it.
"And now relax. Let's talk, okay?"
"Are you one of them?", asked the guard carefully.
"One of them?" Yoshiro was irritated.
"You're not human."
Yoshiro's mouth fell open. "You can see my true form?"
"If that includes sharp teeth and a set of horns, then yes."
"Fuck me."
The security guard calmed down, due to Yoshiro's utter surprise. "What are you? What were those creatures?"
"You can see me? Like, for real?"
"Yes."
"Damn. I've never seen anything like this, and I've lived for more than four hundred years."
Confused, Yoshiro scratched his head. There were rumors of other supernatural creatures. Hell, he even was friends with a Kitsune. But he had no idea with what he had to deal here.
From the reaction of the man he concluded that something must have changed just a couple of minutes ago, because otherwise he would have been previously troubled by Yoshiro's appearance.
"What's your name?", he asked the security guard.
"I don't think, I want to tell you."
"Come on man. I'm Yoshiro."
"Kensuke."
Yoshiro held out his hand for a hand shake. Kensuke looked at him, but didn't move. Instead, he bowed his head politely.
"Okay. You should come with me. There might be more Oni, that's what we are, around."
"And then you kill me?"
"If I wanted to, you'd be dead already."
"Of course."
Yoshiro disappeared before his eyes and appeared behind Kensuke. At least that was his plan, but the other man already pointed the gun at him again.
"Okay. That is weird."
Kensuke looked around confused. "How did I?"
"So, you can see Oni and you move even faster than me. In my opinion, you are now an Oni too, but you're also kind of human."
"What have you done to me?!"
"Nothing at all. I don't get it either. Calm down."
"Damn it."
"Oh yes ... damn it."