"Oops, I didn't hurt your feelings, did I?" Saki said to Arahabaki in the most sickening sweet tone that could give any mortal diabetes, twirling her hair. "I am wary of people Been through high school, you know. I don't like people to pick on me."
Saki is nothing more than a feeble human. Bringing in her personal shit as a defence is justifying her own shortcomings.
If Arahabaki or the charm on her were not present, I would direct the yōkai feeders on her. The feeders would dearly love to suck away at this female lump of negative human energy.
Arahabaki rolled his eyes deliberately for her face to turn sour. Her mortal charm won't work on him. Kanamura was getting jittery, realizing who Saki was speaking to.
"Not sure why you are telling me your life story when we are discussing trivialities - no matter what you say, it still isn't in Roppongi," Arahabaki smirked as her smile vanished.
Kanamura's fists were now tight balls. If I do not stop Saki, Arahabaki might end up fighting Kanamura. And Kanamura had no way of winning the capricious god.
I spotted the ring on Saki's finger with a phony diamond made of artificial compressed carbon, garishly set on 14K gold. Not even 18K. The hard sell one-way trip to Kakuriyo was not working and, with further pushing, could trigger suspicion.
"Nice ring," I commented on it to divert her passive aggressive focus from Arahabaki and on to her ring.
"Oh, I got it from the jeweler. One-carat diamond. Almost no blemishes," she said, flashing her cheap ring at me. "He knows his stuff, but a few of my female colleagues dared to tell me it's fake. They are jealous."
Well, he knew how to cheat her and truth hurts like a bitch. I would give him that much as she droned on and on about how she knew about his entire family, while Arahabaki and I smiled in politeness.
Nothing on her body screamed luxury. No matter how one tries to decorate dung with the most precious stones, it is still dung. That pretty face of Saki can only get her so far.
All humans will end up as plant fertilizers or ashes. That's why the trees and plants look so beautiful in cemeteries, feeding off the decomposing flesh of a physical shell.
Kanamura was not showing any emotion, standing by like a dummy. He is hopeless.
"Oh, because you are pretty?" I asked, sensing the inherent narcissism within her. "Nothing like others to tear people down out of envy. Totally understand it."
Poor sweet little dear. Yako's male kitsune could beat her in the female looks department. But boohoo, the little princess was getting weepy on Kanamura's shirt, wiping her beige makeup on its pristine white material.
"Oh my god! You understand my pain. It has been that way since high school. Girls pick on me all the time! I don't know why people act so mean and I try to be nice to everyone," came the crocodile tears and the boring defensive repeat of her reason.
"Could see that. Kanamura is lucky to have you. You are a beautiful girl with taste."
In fact, he deserves you. Perfect match. I wouldn't stand in the way of such love. A narcissist and a sadist. Kanamura was starting to look a little off color. His eyebrows were furrowed, like he was thinking of struggling against something.
"I know, right? We met at the bar through fate and started talking. Poor man. His mother is such a controlling bitch."
The way she gripped onto Kanamura tightly with her hand when he tried to pull away at the mention of his mother. Saki is the epitome of manipulative passive aggressiveness oozing out of her pores into the juvenile fake saccharine smile.
"I met her and she is so nasty. Thinks I am no good for her son. I don't know why. We are in love and she knows I will do anything for Kanamura. Do you know what she did to me? She offered me money like I am some gold digger. I don't just accept gifts from men. In fact, I reject rings from men whom I don't fancy."
Lies. Yōkai don't care about gold diggers. A few years or centuries later, they will be another replaceable human among others in the long lifespan of a yōkai.
No human is a unique snowflake.
No matter how much relevance or self importance humans assigned to themselves, whether through wealth or power, most will meet Death or enter our ranks.
Only a rare few could make it to godly status. Saki isn't in their league and unworthy of climbing to their status. She is still part of the food chain.
"Well, I can't comment on another person's mother. It won't be proper," I said.
"Well, as long as Kanamura will stand up to her, I am satisfied. I only want to be with a man who treasures me."
Right, you had to put a love spell on him for that to work.
Sasori had never controlled her son's behaviour, other than instilling them in skills to meld into human society. Kanamura and his brothers are obnoxious. His brothers were smarter to hide their callousness under a pleasant, polite facade.
None of them tolerated the weak.
Another slight struggle to pull away on Kanamura's part. The true oddity was that he did not try to defend his mother, who spoilt and pampered him into a sadistic bastard with genteel etiquette.
Arahabaki's iPhone beeped, distracting us for a moment.
"We better get going, they are waiting," Arahabaki interrupted us. "We have a VIP table."
Damn Arahabaki and his taunts. He didn't like Saki, for sure.
For a moment, I caught the look of relief on Kanamura's face. Was he jealous of, or angry at Arahabaki. The love spell was not ordinary.
"Well, then see you both around," I said.
Kanamura nodded, "Yes. I will be around here for the next two weeks."
"I still say both of you will get lost… if you don't follow my advice," Saki pipped in with an unwanted self serving comment.
Before she could say anymore, Kanamura pulled her away and waved to us. Her face said it all. Kanamura was in for hell later.
If such an onmyoji was engaged to toy with human emotions, he may be Shinde Inc.'s client. Or a lone wolf. There was no way of scanning Saki's memories without Kanamura noticing.
I pulled up my sleeve and ordered my serpent tattoo on my forearm, "Follow her."
"That's some bitch of a human. I could disfigure her face for fun and watch her go crazy mental," Arahabaki said as he waved his finger. "But with that love spell and charm on her, much too bothersome."
Both of us began walking in the opposite direction. A girl's shriek could be heard. A malevolent grin appeared on Arahabaki as I turned around.
Kanamura was helping a bawling Saki who had fallen down. There were some shattered glass like splinters lying around.
"Why not get a car to knock her down?"
"More fun to prove that her one-carat diamond isn't a diamond," Arahabaki chuckled. "Might be easy to disable the love-spell but you have to look for the guy yourself."
"You know who it is?" I exclaimed.
"Yeah. But like I said, I interfere little with what humans and yōkai do," he shrugged. "If you want to know who, find out yourself."