It's time for breakfast. Everyone in the Devil Sect knows that 9 am is the time you sit at the table with Grandma Momoko and eat the breakfast which their spirit cook makes.
Today, however, that is not the case.
Grandma Momoko sits alone at the table with all the food served in the middle. Surrounding the table are eight empty seats.
However, it is not her duty to tell all those kids that they have to eat too. She grabs the chopsticks on the table and picks up the sushi served on the plates. Then, the rice balls. She gently puts the food on her plate and applies the sauce to it.
At her right shoulder stands a little woman with white feathered wings, leaning against her neck. She's the weakest form of Angel, her Devil.
"Momoko, where do you think the kids have disappeared to?"
"God knows, Angel. God knows," Momoko replies calmly, inserting a piece of sushi dripped in sauce into her mouth.
She chews it peacefully.
"Hm, isn't it suspicious, Momoko?"
"Even their existence is a deep mystery, Angel. Or maybe, they're just too busy doing an orgy together. I'm not surprised if they do that at this point. Soon, even that 15-year-old child would be tainted by those monsters."
The angel spirit seats herself upon Momoko's shoulder. "But Momoko, do you not ponder about the day these kids might turn against you?"
"Me?" Momoko asks, chewing her rice ball. "Me? And you? Hah! They dare turn against us, Angel. That day, I shall put an end to this family once and for all. To be honest, I shouldn't have had kids in the first place to continue this wretched bloodline. I'm glad their parents are dead, Angel. I don't know what the fuck they'll do if they were still alive… and that goddamn mother of Takehiko. I'm still frightened of the day she'll return to this sect."
"True that," Angel adds.
Momoko finishes her meal. Even now, the children do not return to the breakfast table.
She gazes at the empty table silently. Angel doesn't speak anymore. She simply stares at Momoko's face, seated at her shoulder.
Momoko narrows her eyes. "Every child is gone. Not even Obake is coming. What the fuck happened to these kids?"
Angel chuckles. "Go, see it, Grandma. Your grandchildren might be getting bashed by the authorities outside for the countless crimes they've committed."
"No. This is just suspicious," Momoko refuses to agree with Angel, but she stands up from her seat.
She walks down from the house toward the middle of the sect. She walks through the white stone pavement. No one is in the gardens.
She walks into the Minka (Traditional Japanese House) where Takehiko, Hebi, and the Twins live. But no – not a single sign of a brother fucking sister or a human fucking snake spirit.
"Huh?" She ponders, sliding open their doors. Not a single person in sight, except for a messy bed and weird slime in Hebi's room, which she does not want to think about.
She walks to the grave where Ghost's shrine is. She opens the doors. The only thing that greets her is burning sandalwood sticks that are left in the middle.
'Even Obake?'
Then, she steps up the stairs to Soju's office. She slides open her door and the framed picture of a shirtless Takehiko hangs in the walls.
He's lifting his shirt, for the camera to capture his abs.
Even in the picture, it's as if Takehiko is staring with uneven eyes right at Momoko. It's unnerving for her. "Ugh."
"I guess it's time to check?" Angel whispers in her ear. Momoko sighs, clasping her hands together.
Her mind washes over every thought in her head, clearing her head in an instant. Peace joined with the aura of the world. Spiritual essence seeps somewhere beneath the sect. She senses it from the distant rock.
"The training grounds?" She asks herself, narrowing her eyes. "And all the kids are there. I wonder if they changed the place for having breakfast. Maybe they've finally decided to cook for themselves?" She ponders, surprised by the very thought.
***
"But Take, do you have a plan to kill Angel and Granny?" Hebi asks, finally deciding to speak up.
Takehiko seats himself upon the holder of the amulet once more. He gazes at his family with a grin.
"I asked you guys to come here just to explain the plan to you. And oh yes, it is a damn fine plan," he smirks.
Everyone gathers around Takehiko and gazes up at him. Their spirits appear behind them, one by one. Every human and every spirit are all ears for Takehiko's plan now.
"First of all, there are the elites that surround Granny." He begins, raising his hand and summoning a dark flame into the top of his palm. He throws the flame into the ground ,and it shapes into the form of his Grandmother and four more human figures created by flames beside her.
"These elites constantly keep tabs on Granny. They know a lot about us, which is exactly why we can't let them live. First is George Carter. The government agent collects all the information about us Spirit Tamers. He has international relations too, so that makes it more of a hassle to continue our plan if we keep this man alive."
The family eagerly listens to it.
"Second, we have Uma. Grandma's best friend. She's also a spirit tamer, who was the babysitter of our parents. She has a strong spirit in her possession. And she knows everything we are capable of. We put her to sleep too."
Another figure takes form in the fire. An old man with glasses, wearing a coat of a doctor.
"Doctor Fuji. He's bad news. Grandma's boyfriend. He's gotta go~ whoosh!" Takehiko swings his hand, blowing away Doctor Fuji's fiery figure.
"And bam. Our Babysitter… Shinhai. Our Grandma's caretaker. I know, it's fucked up to kill her. But she probably knows every secret for our devil forms, guys. We have to remove her. She's an infraction," Takehiko adds calmly, waving his hand and making the figure of Shinhai disappear.
"And… At that point, Granny has no backup. We shall release a strong spirit in the middle of the Devil Sect once we have left on missions. Yes, every one of us to weaken Granny. The next day, on her Birthday, which is set to be in a few weeks… we shall put Granny to her grave. Is that a nice plan?"
The Twins rub their chins, making the same expressions. Ghost stares at Takehiko with uneven eyes. Hebi nods in approval, along with his wife. His sisters smile, furrowing their eyes to make themselves look evil. They fail at it, miserably.
They are both too cute.
"All good? Perfect plan… right?" Takehiko asks the family.
"It's more than perfect —" Kuma tries to add, but Takehiko raises his hand, seizing Kuma's words. He senses the presence, finally.
She's coming down the stairs.
He raises his finger at everyone, shushing them all at once.
"Perfect plan…?" Her voice echoes inside the silent cave. "Perfect plan for what, Take? I'm sorry, but I'm old now. I can hardly hear you, dear."