"YAARGH!"
Yukiko jumped in her bed. That had been Marika. Immediately she dashed out of her bed and hurried out of her room. "Marika?!" She spotted her daughter in her pajamas, holding an umbrella in her hand, aiming the tip toward something in the living room. "Is everything all right, child?"
"Who the hell is that?!" the girl shrieked, not taking her eyes off the person in the living room.
The blue-haired woman stepped next to her daughter and fixed her eyes on her guest. Confused, the oni looked back and forth between the two women in their living room. "Yukiko?" he whispered.
"It's all right, Marika. This is Tirr." The mother carefully placed her hand on the umbrella to point the tip to the floor.
"Why is he naked?!" The girl finally turned her eyes away. "Is that your boyfriend?!"
"No." Yukiko looked at Tirr. She had given him a pair of trousers to sleep in, but apparently he had ripped them to shreds. Just like her sofa and her coffee table. She inspected the window front, but was relieved to find that he hadn't ravaged over there. The oni took a step forward. "Tirr. Apparently, your power is strength. Please be very careful when handling something."
The male oni looked around in the rubble of his bed. "I'm sorry."
"It's fine. You must first learn to control your power. Don't worry, we can fix it all, or replace it."
"Give him something to wear!" Marika hissed as she stormed to the kitchen.
The two oni followed the girl with their eyes. Then they looked at each other. "That's Marika. My daughter."
Without understanding, Tirr looked at the blue-haired. "She's not an oni."
"No. She's a human. I adopted her."
He frowned. "Adopted?"
"I made her my child. Come on, I'll give you something to wear."
Tirr reached for the remnants of the table, which shattered under the pressure of his hands. Shyly, he raised his eyes again. "Sorry."
"It's all right. Take your time."
Yukiko looked briefly after her daughter, who smeared herself a toast and apparently tried to ignore the scene in the living room. Then she went to her room and picked a wide pair of training pants out of her closet. Maybe they would fit Tirr. He was nearly two heads taller than Yukiko, but the fabric was stretchy. Hopefully enough.
When she came back into the living room, he was at least upright and seemed to have destroyed nothing more. She smirked as she looked at the inexperienced oni, as he rubbed his hands in front of his stomach and looked uncertainly around the room.
"Here." She handed him the pants.
"Thanks." He put one foot in and pulled, which caused a tearing sound.
"Tirr. You have to do it slowly and carefully. I don't have a dozen trousers to wear."
A bit slower and more careful, he slipped in his pants. "I'm sorry."
"He's like a giant baby," remarked Marika, leaning against the kitchen counter and watching.
Both Tirr and Yukiko looked over at her. "Yes. You're right. He must first learn how his power works," laughed the mother.
"But he's cute. And look at those muscles. Like a top athlete's."
The oni pulled the pants over his hips and looked at Yukiko. "Am I your child, too?" he asked.
"Oh, I've always wanted to have a brother," Marika squealed.
"Marika, stop that." The blue-haired turned to her guest. "No. But I will help you until you have settled in. And I will introduce you to the other oni."
Tirr's stomach growled loudly. The cheeks of his human form flushed as he looked at the piece of toast in Marika's hand.
The girl grinned. "So you are hungry? Come here, then you can have some too."
"Okay." Tirr gently stepped through the living room to the high-school student. He stopped in front of her. His huge form surpassed the girl for over two heads.
"Wow. Your stomach muscles are really... wow," the girl was amazed.
Tirr looked down at himself. "No idea. They've been like that since yesterday."
"Open your hand." The oni opened his palms, which hung sideways from his legs. Marika groaned and grabbed his left hand. Irritated, Tirr jumped. "So I can put something in, genius." She pulled his hand up and twisted it so that the palm was up. Then she put her toast in. "For you. I hope you like apricot jam."
Blinking, Tirr looked at the piece of bread in his hand. "Thank you."
"Now eat." The teenage girl squinted over to her mother, who was watching them. A warm smile appeared on her face as she nodded to her child.
Tirr stuffed the whole piece into his throat and then chewed hard with his mouth open. "Tastes good," he choked out smacking.
Amused, Marika laughed. "You are so funny. You don't eat it in one piece, instead bite off as much as you can chew. You are like an animal."
"A beast," Tirr corrected her.
The light brown eyes flashed happily. "Yeah, you're like a beast." She returned her gaze to his stomach. "May I touch them?"
Her mother tilted her head. "Marika..."
The oni looked to his hostess, then back to the girl in front of him. "No. It's all right. Sure."
Timidly, the high-school student put her left hand on his belly button and then stroked upward. "Wow. Hard as stone." She noticed that the oni was already blushing again. She quickly pulled her hand away. "Thanks." Silently, he nodded to her.
"Shouldn't you go to school?" Yukiko interjected.
Marika's head whipped around and she stared at the clock. "Oh damn!" She rushed past Tirr to her room. The eyes of the oni followed her impetuous movements without understanding. "Mommy. Lunch?" roared out of Marika's room door.
"Buy something."
"Money." Cloth rustled and a drawer opened quickly and slammed shut.
Yukiko searched for her wallet, while Marika was busy putting on her top as she stormed out of the room. She caught sight of Tirr's eyes on her, so the brown-haired girl hissed, "Don't stare like that, you pervert!"
The oni flinched. "Sorry."
Smiling, the girl straightened her top. "He's really funny. Do we keep him?"
"Until he's self-reliant." The mother handed her a note. "Have a nice day, dear."
"You..." She looked at Tirr. "... too." The high-school student slipped into her shoes, then looked at the oni again. "By the way: I'm Marika. Nice to meet you."
Tirr smiled widely. "I'm Tirr. You too, Marika-chan."
After the girl left, Yukiko phoned her work to call in sick. Meanwhile, she fed Tirr with more toast, which he devoured eagerly.
She made another call before returning to her guest.
"Okay. We will visit Sachiko afterwards," said the oni.
Tirr shrugged. "Who is that?"
"Our leader. Well... the wife of our leader, but Kuro-sama is at work."
"Okay." Tirr got off the stool carefully. "Ha. I didn't break anything," he rejoiced.
"Just stay careful. And one more thing." Yukiko cleared the plates in the sink.
"Huh?" Tirr watched her curiously.
The blue-haired turned to him, giving him a cold look. "Stay away from my daughter, do you understand?"
He tilted his head without understanding. "How do you mean?"
"You don't come too close. You don't become friends with her. You stay away from her."
His expression reflected a deep uncertainty. "Did I do something wrong?"
Yukiko shook her head, little snowflakes falling to the floor. "No. I just don't want her being pulled into our world."
The oni frowned. "Then you shouldn't have told her to begin with."
"I didn't. Not intentionally, anyway." She looked at his helpless look, so she explained the matter to him.
Cursing, Yukiko pushed open her apartment door. She glanced back again, but she had left no trace. The ice band had worked. Quickly she slipped out of her shoes and hurried into the kitchen, where she held her right hand in the sink. In pain, she pulled the ice from her forearm. With her eyes narrowed and her teeth clenched, she let water flow over her wound to assess the damage. If only Kira were in town, she could have gone to her to be healed. There was still the Kitsune, but she trusted the little stinker only as far as she could throw him.
When the blood was washed away, making her dizzy, she realized that she was missing the tips of her four fingers. The damned beast had bitten off her fingers. Well, it was of no use for the beast, as the next moment it had been impaled by several ice spears.
"Holy shit."
She glanced around the kitchen, but apart from towels and kitchen paper, she had nothing here to take care of the wound. Carefully she stroked her right forearm with her left hand, whereupon a fresh ice crust arose and enveloped the arm. Just as she was about to turn, she heard footsteps.
"Mommy? Are you finally home?" Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, Marika stepped past the sideboard and into the kitchen.
"Why aren't you in bed?" Yukiko hissed brusquely.
Irritated, the girl looked at her. She was still a middle-school student back then. "What do you have, Mom?"
The oni gritted her teeth. "Go to bed! Immediately!"
"Did you hurt yourself, Mom? Can I help you?" Curious, the brown-haired girl craned her neck.
"Marika. Go to your room right away. This is none of your business." Yukiko blinked hard. Despite the cold, her hand felt like it was burning. She slumped down a little, but could hold on to the sink.
"Mom!" The girl approached anxiously.
"Go to your room!" The oni growled and pushed her child away from her.
The middle-school student stumbled and landed on her backside. Tears came to her eyes. "Ouch..." Confused, she looked at her mother. "Why are you hurting me, Mommy?"
"I'm sorry. Just do what I..." She saw her daughter's eyes widening in horror. "Marika?"
"Your hand, Mama!" The brown-haired girl stared at the lump of ice that encircled her mother's right hand. "What happened?"
"Don't worry. That's just..." She looked at the reddish ice block helplessly.
"You're bleeding, Mom. I'll call you a doctor." Marika scrambled to her feet.
"No!" The girl winced. "No doctor. Don't worry. That's just a small cut. Everything will be fine in a few days."
The brown-haired girl stepped closer and continued to stare at her mother's right hand. "Your fingers."
"Everything will be fine, child. Don't worry."
"They are missing. Your fingers are missing." The little color the girl had, left her face.
"Don't worry. It will heal."
"Mommy. Even I know that limbs don't regrow. This must immediately be seen by a doctor." Shivering, Marika rubbed her arms. "Mom, please."
"Be quiet. Go to bed now. Everything's fine by the end of the week, okay?"
"But Mom..."
Yukiko growled annoyed. "Go. To. Bed!" Angry, she stared at her daughter, who left her shoulders hanging.
"Okay," the girl mumbled and ran out of the kitchen.
"Damn it. How do I explain that to her?" Yukiko wondered.
Sobbing, Marika wrapped her blanket around herself. What had happened to her mother? Why was she so rude to her? And what happened to her hand? When she heard that the door handle was pressed down, she held her breath and shivered. With tear-stained eyes, she stared at the wall, listening for the smallest noise.
"We have to talk, Marika," her mother said as she walked slowly into the room. The girl heard the footsteps beside her bed stop. "May I sit?"
The middle-school student peered over her shoulder up into her mother's face. Her eyes darted down to her mother's right hand, which was bandaged. "Are you mad at me, Mommy?"
Soothing, the oni smiled. "No. Not at all."
Marika turned around and made room for her mother. She sat down, hesitating to pet her child's head. When the brown-haired girl didn't retreat, she put her left hand on her head and stroked her lovingly through her hair.
The girl wiped her eyes and dabbed her nose with her blanket. For a while, they looked at each other silently, while Yukiko continued to stroke her.
"Mommy?"
The oni sighed. "I knew I would have to talk to you sometime. I just didn't expect it to happen so early." Thoughtfully, her eyes slid into the distance.
"About what, Mom?" The girl's eyes clung to her mother's right hand, which rested in her lap. "What must we talk about, Mommy?"
"I'm an oni, my child." Yukiko spoke the words slowly and clearly so she wouldn't be misunderstood.
"An oni? What does that mean?"
The mother sighed again. "Do you know what Yōkai are?"
Marika nodded hesitantly. "Beings from Japanese mythology. Demons."
"Yes. Well... people call us Yōkai. We still call ourselves oni, as we did thousands of years ago." Agitated, she smiled at her daughter, who displayed a face that was difficult to interpret. "You know that you are adopted. We oni can't have children on our own, so we have to adopt some if we want them."
The girl swallowed hard. "Okay..."
"You don't have to be scared of me. I love you more than my own life." Yukiko looked at her mutilated hand. "I had a fight and was injured, but my body is completely regenerating. In a few days, my fingers will be completely regrown." Marika stared silently at the creature she had called mother. "Do you have any questions, my child?"
"Why are you telling me these things?"
The blue-haired woman ran her left hand through the broad, white strand in her hair. "You have to trust me, Marika. And in return, I trust you. This is my darkest secret. And I want to share it with you, so that you understand how important you are to me." The middle-school student looked at the oni in disbelief. "We oni live in secret, and it's important that we stay a secret. You can't tell anyone about it. Do you understand that, Marika?" The mother's eyes looked urgent. Shyly, the girl nodded. "It's really important to me, Marika. Do you really understand?"
"Yes."
Relieved, Yukiko smiled at the child. "I realize that this is very confusing for you. I can imagine that you don't want to live with someone like me. If you want, you can leave me. You can go back to the orphanage if you want to."
"No!" escaped the brown-haired. "I don't want to go back there." She moved away from the oni, sat up and pulled her knees up. "I never want to go back to the orphanage."
"It's all right. Don't worry." Carefully, the blue-haired woman raised her left hand. "I... I just wanted to offer you this option."
"You are my mother. For over four years." Tears were in the girl's eyes. "You are my mom. Please don't send me away!"
Slowly, Yukiko's throat tightened. "I would never do that. I love you," she sobbed as tears gathered in her eyes. "Come here, my child."
Marika slid over the mattress and snuggled up to the oni. "I want to stay with you. I'm fine with you." She wrapped her arms around her mother's waist. "Please."
"Of course." The woman put her left arm around the girl and stroked her. "You are my one and only."
"Just promise me you're not fighting anymore, Mom," Marika demanded.
Yukiko hesitated. "Sometimes we have to fight, dear."
"Promise me. Please!" The brown-haired girl looked up at her mother with her reddened eyes. "Please."
"Okay. I promise you, darling."