After running down several flights of stairs to get to the street, Kenji paused for a moment to catch his breath before taking a look at his surroundings. By the time he'd gotten to the first floor of the apartment building, Amaya was nowhere to be seen. He assumed she'd gone back to the alley to find the Onibaba, so that was where he headed.
However, when Kenji made it back to the alley, he found that there was no sign of Amaya or the Onibaba. The streets were eerily quiet and lacking any sign of life besides the city lights in the distance.
What now?
Kenji started to pace back and forth down the alley with a frown. He took his phone out of his pocket, thinking maybe he could find her contact information, but the battery was dead. The only other option left was to go home and pray Amaya had made it back safe.
How would he ever know if she was okay or not? He really didn't want to find out by seeing her face on the news under the headline "YOUNG WOMAN FOUND DEAD. CAUSE OF DEATH UNKNOWN."
That thought alone kept him from leaving. What the hell even was that thing? An Onibaba, yes, but that was just folklore. Where did it come from, and why was Amaya so adamant about finding it?
Kenji put his head in his hands and stopped in the middle of the alley. He tugged a little on his pale blond hair out of stress. Through all the years of being alone and often defenseless didn't seem so bad compared to this. He didn't even know Amaya personally, but there was no way he could just leave as if nothing had happened. There was no telling what the Onibaba was capable of.
The sound of a force hitting the pavement behind him pulled Kenji away from his thoughts. Wincing, he turned, and as he'd feared...the Onibaba was crouched and staring at him with crossed eyes.
Kenji covered his mouth, partly out of shock, but mostly out of disgust. The creature's skin was milky white and covered with grey patches and scars, while wrinkled fat hung off its bones. Its hair was thick, frizzy, and full of tangles as well. Yet, what disturbed Kenji the most was the long train of saliva hanging from the Onibaba's crooked and bloodstained teeth.
He took a few steps back, but they were slow and hesitant. Perhaps if he let the Onibaba eat him, it wouldn't go after Amaya. That was how it worked, right?
Kenji opened his arms, hoping the Onibaba would accept the invitation to have him for dinner.
"Here you go, Miss Onibaba," he spoke to the creature, which turned its head, "the opportunity to eat a tasty blonde such as myself. There's not a lot of meat on me, so I apologize for that. Anyway—"
The Onibaba bounded forward without warning, supposedly having decided that it was done listening to Kenji ramble. Kenji didn't move from his position, as he was determined to sacrifice himself for Amaya's sake...even if there was no confirmation at all that letting himself die would be any help.
Unfortunately, or maybe fortunately, the Onibaba wasn't able to finish Kenji off. Just when it extended its talons to reach for the boy's face, a streak of silver crossed his field of vision, passed through the Onibaba's neck, and severed its head within a split second. First the Onibaba's head rolled, its eyes still wide open, and then its limp body collapsed with a rattle that sounded too similar to a bag of bones being dropped on the ground.
Kenji immediately turned away and dry heaved while the dead Onibaba, along with the pool of black liquid surrounding it, turned to ash and dissipated. He noticed something land out of the corner of his eye, and when he turned back around, he let out a sigh of relief upon seeing Amaya.
"Oshiro-san," he cried out, "are you okay?"
Amaya approached him with a nod of her head before bending down to pick a round trash cam lid up from the ground. So, that was what Kenji had seen.
"I never thought I would use the lid of a trash can to slay a demon, but here we are," she mused rather casually considering the situation. The girl tossed the lid in the air and caught it by the handle. "Anyway, I'm glad it worked. Did you get hurt?"
"Physically, no," Kenji replied with a half-hearted chuckle. He ran his hand through his disheveled hair, his heart still racing from the night's events. "What...what was that? You said it was an Onibaba—"
"An Onibaba," she cut him off with a wise nod. "I'm sure you've heard of them from legends and folklore. However, I don't think this is a typical yōkai. It's something else...taking the shape of a yōkai."
Amaya sighed heavily and tossed the trash can lid aside. Her eyes met Kenji's, and finally, he was able to see her silver irises in their true glory.
"You shouldn't have seen any of that. I'm sorry...I'm really sorry you had to go through that." She lowered her head, her dark bangs covering part of her face. "I didn't expect you to show up. You're not even supposed to know my real identity...let alone the fact that I'm a little different from most people."
"I think 'a little different' is a bit of an understatement," Kenji joked, only to throw his hand up in surrender when Amaya glared at him. "Still, I swear on my life that I won't tell anyone. I promise. I'll leave you a good review, too. I owe you one, since you saved my life and all."
"If you weren't so nice, I would have let you become the hag's dinner," she said nonchalantly as she started to walk past Kenji and out of the alley. Alarmed, Kenji turned and jogged to catch up to her.
"Wait—"
Kenji stopped in front of the girl so she couldn't leave just yet. In response, Amaya's lip curled up in irritation.
"Before you go..." Kenji hesitated. "Can I...see you again?"
Amaya scoffed and stepped aside, having no trouble with walking past him again.
"If you want to schedule another date, do it through the company's website. I won't accept anything else." She glanced over her shoulder. "And don't even think to blackmail me. You have no proof that this ever happened, and anyone you talk to will think you're crazy. If you continue to pester me, I'll report you to the authorities for harassment."
Kenji was dumbfounded. Never would he have imagined that the sweet girl named Oshiro Amaya would turn out to be so cruel. It stabbed him in the heart, not because he wanted to pursue her romantically, but because he wanted to be a good person and keep her safe. It was what Kenji had always done.
"Oshiro-san!" Kenji called loudly, his voice echoing throughout the alley. It was enough to make Amaya stop in her tracks.
"Oshiro-san, I..." He clenched his teeth. "I want to protect you!"
Amaya turned around, but when she did, she laughed at him.
"You idiot!" The girl shook her head fiercely. "I was the one who saved your ass! You think you can protect me?"
"I do!" Kenji said without hesitation. "I'll do whatever it takes. I swear, even if you hate me, I won't let you get—"
"You don't even know who I am!" Amaya snapped. "Just because I pretend to be your girlfriend today doesn't mean we having anything between us! Honestly, if I'd known you were this obsessive, I would have never agreed to let you hire me!"
Kenji took another step forward and offered his hand even though he knew she wouldn't grab it.
"No— it's not like that—"
He closed his eyes to keep tears from rolling down his cheeks.
"Please understand, Amaya, I don't have anyone. I don't mean that romantically. I never see my parents, and my sister's always working. I need someone to protect. So please—"
He opened his eyes, finding that Amaya's face had gone pale.
"Please let me befriend you! Or at the very least, let me try and figure out the whole demon ordeal."
Amaya fell silent, and for her sake, Kenji didn't speak again. Finally, she shrugged her shoulders and turned away.
"Friday. Yokohama Station at four on the dot. If you're a minute late, I'll leave."
Her footsteps echoed in the alley until she was out of range. Kenji never stopped her.
Instead, he sighed and mentally made the arrangements to meet her at the station.