"An... Oni? You mean a... demon?" he assured himself.
"Forget it. That was stupid of me." From embarrassment she got some color on her face. "My apologies."
"Oh no. You have a razor-sharp, analytical mind, Omura-san."
"Um..." She gave him a helpless smile. "Thank you very much."
The undertaker leaned forward and whispered, "You are right. I am an Oni, just like Yoshiro Takagi was."
Her heartbeat quickened. "For real?"
"Yes, but perhaps we should have this conversation in another place." He had already identified several sources that paid more attention to their conversation than he liked. "Maybe you will allow me to invite you to dinner for my offense, Omura-san?"
She got a little clammy. "I'm not quite sure. We don't know each other."
"You have nothing to fear from me, Omura-san. We can only go for a drink if you prefer."
"Oh no. I'm pregnant. I can't drink."
When the details of her pregnancy reached him, the Oni almost lost his ability to speak. He stared at her face for a moment, then his gaze moved to her stomach. He knew that the thoughts were always subjective, but this woman in front of him was convinced that Yoshiro was the father of her child. A circumstance that was completely impossible, since Oni were incapable of having children. But then Yoshiro also left a body after his death, another circumstance that was considered impossible. Perhaps there was another clue to the mystery of the Han'yō right in front of him.
Maybe one of the parents of the Masuda girls was an Oni? From Yoshiro's thoughts, Shinji knew that Kensuke Masuda had powers, but these, like his daughter's, had only awakened after he had destroyed an Oni. So had his father been an Oni? Or has this latent gift been inherited over generations?
"Shiba-san?" Midori asked tentative. The undertaker had just stared at her stomach and showed no emotion. "Everything okay?"
Blinking, he shook his head. "I am very sorry. I..." He was not used to being surprised, since he usually was aware of all the processes around him, but this news had pulled it off. "I would prefer if we could continue this conversation undisturbed."
The nurse nodded understandingly. "I agree. You know what? Dinner would be just right. I'm almost starved to death."
"With the utmost pleasure, Omura-san." He offered his arm to her so she could hook in.
"You're awfully polite, Shiba-san," laughed the nurse.
"A circumstance that I have to attribute to my age."
"How old are you?"
"Almost seventy years, Omura-san."
"I would have guessed you in your mid-thirties. Will you tell me your secret?"
With a wink, the undertaker answered, "It's the bald head."
Laughing, Midori hooked in and together they walked outside. She was about to lead him to the taxi stand as he pulled her towards the parking lot. Irritated, she looked at him from the side, but he only smiled slightly, pulled a small remote control from his pocket and pressed a button. One of the cars turned on the lights and the doors were unlocked. The pregnant woman did not miss the fact that it was an expensive car.
"You have a car," she remarked.
"As I said, you have a very sharp mind, Omura-san." She had to admit that he had a very sympathetic grin.
"Are you making fun of me right now, Shiba-san?"
"Nothing would be further from the truth, my dear." He led her to the left, opened the passenger door and let her get in. Then he walked around the car and got in as well. "Where do you want to go, Omura-san?"
"Honestly, I rarely go out," she confessed sheepishly smiling.
"How do you feel about French cuisine, Omura-san?" Somewhat disappointed, he realized that she could not remember any meal she thought was French.
"So far I don't know it."
"I know an excellent restaurant. If you permit, I would invite you there."
Gently, she smiled at the driver. "I'm afraid I'll throw it up soon. Please don't make too much of an effort."
"Let that be my concern, Omura-san." He started the engine and drove off. After a few traffic lights, he tapped the display on the center console. Over the loudspeakers came the ring tone of a telephone. Excited, the pregnant woman stared at the center console.
„Bonsoir. Restaurant 'Le chien rouge'. C'est Monsieur Takahashi."
„Bonsoir, Monsieur Takahashi. C'est Shinji Shiba." Astonished, the nurse looked at the undertaker while he was on the phone.
„Ah, Monsieur Shiba. Quelle plaisir. Que puis-je faire pour vous?"
„J'ai besoin une table pour deux personnes sa soirée."
„A quelle heure?"
The Oni laughed. „Maintenant."
For a moment the man was silent on the phone. „Je suis très désolé, mais je n'ai plus des tables libre."
„Je vous en prie. J'ai une femme très gentille avec moi, et c'est très important."
For a moment the other man was silent again. „Bon. Je préparerai une table pour vous, Monsieur Shiba."
„Magnifique. Merci beaucoup, Monsieur Takahashi. Vous me sauver."
„J'espère qu'elle est très, très gentille," explained the man laughing.
„Elle est. Je promets. À bientôt."
„À bientôt, Monsieur Shiba." Shinji ended the connection and looked to his passenger.
"You speak French?" wondered the black-haired.
"Well..." Embarrassed, he grinned at her.
"I think that's very impressive, Shiba-san."
"Merci beaucoup." He winked at her.
She smirked. "And what was it about?"
"I have reserved a table in the 'Red Dog'."
"You can't be serious!" Midori exclaimed excitedly. She looked down at her simple everyday clothes. "I can't possibly go to a restaurant this expensive in these clothes." She thought of the dark circles around her eyes. "And my face."
"Don't worry. You look adorable, my dear."
"Please don't flatter me. I saw myself in the mirror half an hour ago. I look like Death."
The undertaker smirked. "In my eyes, that's no blemish, Omura-san. If you want, I'll take you home quickly so you can freshen up."
"Listen, that's all really nice of you, but I really don't feel very well. Could you please drive me home and we forget about the whole thing?" the green-eyed woman pleaded.
"Monsieur Takahashi would certainly be disappointed if I were to show up unaccompanied."
"Now you want to convince me because of my bad conscience, you scoundrel."
"You are right. I should not urge you. Where can I drive you to?"
Midori gave him her address. "Thank you very much."
"You know what? Otherwise, I'll cook something for you myself." She studied the driver in disbelief. "If you let me do that."
"No. Please go have dinner. I'll be fine," she protested.
"You are a very strong woman, Omura-san. I now recognize what Yoshiro saw in you."
Astonished, she opened her eyes. "He mentioned me?"
"As a matter of fact."
The nurse waited for him to continue, but Shinji said nothing. "What did he say?"
Slowly the undertaker turned his head and looked over at her. "That he was afraid to reveal himself to you. He feared you would judge him for what he was. Since you know that he was an Oni, he was able to overcome his fear."
"He told me a lot," confessed the pregnant woman.
"I hope he mentioned me praising."
Relieved, the red-scaled Oni read in her mind that Yoshiro had not told her about anyone else. That gave him a free hand to do whatever he wanted with her. How would she know if he was telling the truth or not?
"He only told me about himself."
"I understand." The driver focused again on the traffic.
"Are there many Oni? What ability do you have, Shiba-san?"
"There are a few. We act as a community that supports each other. To my regret, I must confess that I can't teleport like Yoshiro could."
"What can you do then?" the black-haired woman inquired.
"Talk to animals."
Midori suppressed a laugh and looked at him. "For real?"
"I know, not a very impressive gift."
"No. That's not it." She gathered her thoughts for a moment. "Is Haruka Narusegawa also an Oni?"
For a short while the undertaker was silent, then he nodded. "Yes. She is our leader."
"I understand. Thank you for being so open and honest with me, Shiba-san."
"Nevermind. I think it's hard to be aware of things that you can't tell anybody else. It's very lonely." He felt like a musician playing his instrument. All he had to do was post a theme, and her thoughts slipped there to be read by him.
"You're right. Do the Masuda girls know about the Oni?"
"Yuna Masuda does, but she definitely wants to prevent her sister from getting involved. We support her as much as possible," explained the driver. "I think you can help her with that."
"I understand." She looked ahead. "There you can drop me off, Shiba-san."
"Understood." He put on the turn signal and drove to the side of the road. "I am very sorry that you reject my invitation, Omura-san."
"Please don't take that as an insult. Maybe I'll come back to it when I'm feeling better."
"Of course." He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a business card. "Here. If you have any further questions or just want to talk to someone. Or maybe want to enjoy a French dinner."
Midori took the card. "Thank you, Shiba-san."
"I have a request." The pregnant woman raised an eyebrow and looked at him. "We Oni live in secrecy. I would appreciate it if you did not mention anything about your knowledge to anyone. I could fall out of favor with both Masuda-san and Narusegawa-sama."
"Oh... of course. I don't want that."
"Good. It was very nice to talk to you, Omura-san."
Embarrassed, the black-haired woman smiled. "Thanks, the same goes for you, Shiba-san. Enjoy your dinner."
"Dinner is only as good as the company you have with you. I'm afraid you've prohibited my enjoyment, Omura-san." He smiled placidly at her.
"I'm sorry," she confessed.
"Do not worry. I'm looking forward to our next meeting. Au revoir, Mademoiselle."
She smiled again. "Goodbye, Shiba-san." Then she opened the door, got out and shove it shut.
He looked after her for a moment before heading to dial a number on his car phone. The connection was established and the ringer sounded.
"Shinji?"
"I checked Midori Omura, as you requested, Haruka."
"And?"
"She does not know anything. She is just a simple nurse," he explained as he changed lanes.
"I wouldn't call her simple. She seems smart."
"I can not deny her a certain shrewdness."
"Okay. Thank you for checking on her."
"Nevermind. Would you be interested in having dinner with me?"
The leader smirked. "What are you thinking about?"
"I reserved a table at 'Le chien rouge' for two people."
"Do you want to show off again with your French skills?"
"Unlike you, I only speak three languages."
"Alright. I'll meet you there in about thirty minutes."
"I'm looking forward to it, Haruka."
"I dare you to let me eat snails again." The mayoress ended the call.
Shinji began to whistle a little song with pleasure. He absolutely had to find a way to stay in touch with Midori Omura and study the development of her pregnancy. And he had to make sure that Haruka would not know about it in any way.
He liked challenges.