[KAZU POV]
I rushed down the stairs and headed towards Juwan. He was there, lying down in the grass, hands behind his head. I sat down next to him.
"Hey, sorry about making you do all the work," I said, running the back of my head.
"Nah, it's okay," He says as he looks at me. "As long as it helps the others, it's fine by me. He continues to gaze at the stars. "Hey, Kazu?"
"Yeah?" I replied.
"This experience helped me a lot," He replied back. "I used to be afraid of scary stuff like ghosts and creatures and stuff. Now, I feel like I can take on them!"
"Good job, buddy!" I pat him on the shoulder. "Though, we might face more intense Yokai soon."
Juwan sighs and shown unease on his face. "You just have to say that, did you?"
We both laughed. I got up and reached Juwan a hand to help him up. "Well, we got to go now and report back to Thanatos."
He accepted the hand and got up. He dusted the back of his shirt and pants. "Yeah, you're right. Let's go?"
"Yeah," I replied.
"I wonder how's Hanzo doing in the kitchen…" Juwan thought as we walk.
***
[HANZO POV]
"Okay, put it in the refrigerator and every thirty minutes, mix it again," I said to the twin ogres, who was standing on their stools in my sides so they could reach the counter. Right now, I'm teaching them how to make ice cream. I'm holding the hand mixer, mixing the ice cream mixture. "You must do this six times before refrigerating it overnight. The reason we do this is so that the texture would not end up feeling like eating cheesecake."
"Oooh, let me take over!" Chi says.
"No, I'll take over!" Shi argues.
"Now, now guys," I said. "Why don't you exchange mixing every thirty minutes? Rock paper scissors on who gets to go first."
They both agreed and did it. Shi won. He celebrated while Chi grunts.
From the dining hall, I heard, "Hanzo! We're here! Juwan and I finished the mission!"
I took off my apron and hung it near the door. I grabbed a whole cake from the fridge and took it with me to the dining hall.
***
[KAZU POV]
"Hey, guys!" Hanzo greets us, holding a plate of a whole cake. "Have some cake! I know you guys are tired."
No one is at the dining hall right now, so it's just us three.
"You bet I am!" Juwan exclaimed. We all sat down on one table. We grabbed plates and forks that were already at the table.
"I made the red velvet cake that you like," Hanzo says to me. Before I could grab the cake slicer, Juwan already took it and grabbed a slice.
"Thank you, Hanzo!" I said. "Juwan is especially tired because he mostly did the work."
"Hanzo, your cake is divine!" Juwan remarks, looking like he's walking on cloud nine, making an OK sign with his hand. Though, we couldn't understand him because he was chewing on his cake.
We laughed. "Thanks," Hanzo says.
As we talk, Thanatos enters the dining hall. "Hey, guys!"
"Hello!" We all said. He sat down next to us.
"So, what's the status of Ittan-Momen?" Thanatos also took a slice of cake.
"Sealed," I said.
"Oh, really?" Thanatos says. "I'm impressed. Most Yokai are not easy to seal. Did it give you a lot of trouble?"
"I was a circus performer for almost fifteen minutes," He kept chewing on his cake. "But hey, at least the job is done."
"I'm not really athletic nor capable of doing what he does, so I couldn't do much," I said."
"Hey, if you didn't throw that barrier, I would've been a goner!" I could understand him more clearly now. "We make the dream team, don't you think?"
I smiled. "Yeah. Hey, how about this, I felt bad earlier for making you do all the work, so why don't you train me to be flexible and to at least try to increase my stamina if possible. In exchange, I'll help you with throwing the talismans."
"Hmmmm… Agree!" He reached for a handshake. I accepted.
"Looks like everything is going well here now thanks to you guys." Thanatos smiles. We all just sat as we talk and eat our cake.
***
[3RD PERSON POV]
Up in the Izanami mountains, the wind blows strong. The leaves of the trees dance to the blow of the wind. An eerie noise was heard near the large boulder in the mountains. Below the shimenawa of the boulder is a small hole, where the eerie noises are coming from. As the strong breeze hits the boulder, a part of it collapsed, causing the hole to grow, the eerie noises growing as well.
[CHAPTER 3 CONCLUDED]
[TO BE CONTINUED IN CHAPTER 4 - THE SECRET]