“My name is Zuiho Matsumoto. Welcome back to Japan, kid,” the old man said.

“W-What are you talking about?! Where’s my friend? How… how can you see me?!”

Zuiho scoffed, his voice cracked and gravelly. He rubbed his sparse goatee before running his hand up along the buzzed black hair he had on his nearly bald head.

“How could I not see you runnin’ around like this is some nude beach! It’s my home, dammit! We have rules here in Japan, a lil’ something called etiquette?? Or did you happen to forget those from your days as a human?”

Lilith blushed and crossed her arms over the trashbag dress she concocted. The man in front of her looked to be in his mid-sixties, maybe younger. His body was toned and muscular, with a slight tan. But his face was lined with wrinkles as if the years had been rough to him than most. He was wearing a black casual kimono with an intricate golden dragon motif along the right sleeve. Underneath was a scruffy white shirt and baggy beige slacks. To top off the man’s rough appearance were the zori he wore on his bare feet.

“Listen here, buster! I don’t know if you’re our enemy or not, but whoever you are, don’t go around insulting a lady’s appearance!!” she said with childish tears in her eyes. “You talk about etiquette but you call young girls gremlins, you assbag!”

“Fine, fine. Don’t have a cow,” Zuiho said, taken aback. “Come with me. Your friend nearly fainted when he saw me earlier, must’ve spooked him.”

Zuiho turned and waved for Lilith to follow his lead. Mura was gone and this old man knew the way to where he was. She didn’t trust him, but had to follow regardless if she wanted Mura’s location.

The two walked along the clear beach as seagulls continued to caw overhead. There were palm trees on the left side of the shore, leading up to the road where a row of small houses were located. Lilith looked around at the sights, briefly looking up after hearing a flock of the birds squawk in anger. A flying car high above them nearly hit the avian creatures on its automated track to wherever it was headed.

“Ever since the aeromobile was created some decades ago, that’s all we see in the sky anymore,” Zuiho remarked as he walked onward. “Can’t even enjoy cloud-gazing anymore... After they destroyed nature’s groundwork for the sake of industrialization, it only makes sense they’d turn to cluttering the skies too.”

Lilith noticed that there was a staunch lack of cars parked on the roadside. None were even driving around on the road, nor were there any bikes either. The asphalt was cracked and barren, seemingly abandoned for some time now.

“No one drives through this village anyway. Kids nowadays would rather spend their summers elsewhere than on a beach or catching beetles. Not how it was when I was a kid.”

“So you grew up here, Mr. Matsumoto?” Lilith asked.

“Not originally, no. I grew up in Nagano and moved here in my later years. I’ve traveled quite a bit, to be frank. But out of all the locations I’ve seen and places I’ve experience, I found this to be the most tranquil,” he explained while crossing the street. “The neighbors are mostly older folk, like myself I reckon. They keep to themselves.”

A stray cat walked through the shrubs on the other side of the road, its fur white with brown and black spots. It looked up at Lilith briefly before becoming distracted by a dragonfly and scampering off after it.

“And how do you know about… well, spirits like us? The yokai,” Lilith asked again.

“It’s nothing new, kiddo. Stories like this have been passed around since mankind’s inception. It’s just that the majority of folk don’t pay any heed to it.”

That thought never really crossed Lilith’s mind before. She vaguely recalled hearing tales about ghosts and evil spirits as a kid, praying for them to find peace in the afterlife. It never dawned on her that she would become one herself someday.

“That’s just how we humans are. The unenlightened, that is. Too fixated on the material. On the rational and scientific. A demon could destroy an entire town and they’d simply see it as a bizarre wildfire or gas explosion. Hell, even some of the worst plagues to befall Earth’s history have been the result of the supernatural. That’s how I see it, anyway.”

Zuiho reached a little traditional home surrounded by some palm trees. Walking along the front steps, he slid open his door and kicked off the zori on his feet into the corner of the room.

“Come in, come in!” he said, sliding his feet into some slippers. “You still here, demon??”

“Mura?” Lilith called out, peaking into the house while still remaining outside.

“Lilith!!” Mura yelled from within the home, rushing out past Zuiho and nearly knocking him over.

The yokai gasped as Mura ran towards her, no longer naked but dressed in a graphic t-shirt with a samurai design and grey baggy shorts.

“Gods, I’m sorry about disappearing on you!! That Matsumoto guy surprised me, throwing stuff in my face. I thought he was the enemy at first, until I realized what he tossed at me was a pair of his clothes…” Mura admitted sheepishly. “He dragged me off here, telling me to hide since he sensed other spirits. I couldn’t get a word in until I was inside. Told him the other spirit was you nearby and to wait for you there.”

“You idiot!! Moron!! Dumbass!!! I thought you died!!” Lilith barked at him. “While you’re off getting a makeover I’m busy digging through the garbage!!”

Mura laughed, hugging his friend before leaning in to whisper in her ear.

“While he went out to find you, I searched his house. Nothing indicating he’s working for the Empire or Goetia, but there’s a large cache of swords in his basement. Keep your eyes peeled. Just in case he’s not what he seems, we’ll get what we can from him and leave. No need to overstay our welcome…”

Mura pulled away and looked her in the eyes with a serious gaze. Lilith nodded silently in approval of his plan, trusting his judgement.

“Hey Matsumoto? Where’d you go?” Mura asked loudly, looking around for the old man.

They both heard nothing, as Zuiho had already disappeared into his home while the two friends were catching up. Mura took the lead, having his trashbag-covered buddy follow along.

He walked carefully into the home, past the doorway and starred into the dim hallway before them. Zuiho walked in front of them, smiling.

“Don’t mind me, I’m just looking for something that might fit your yokai friend there.”

Mura smiled and raised his hand in support of the gesture.

“Of course, no problem at all! Thank you again for the hospitality, haha!”

His jovial act worked on the elder, making Zuiho share a casual chuckle as he rounded the hall into another room.

Mura and Lilith walked into the main living quarters of the home. It had a square table in the middle with a couch and recliner that had seen better days. In front of them was a large transparent screen which functioned as the television. It was mounted on the wall like a pane of glass, the images of a video game illuminating it in crystal-clear quality.

“Were you playing games in here?” Lilith asked.

“No, actually… Never thought I’d meet a geezer gamer,” Mura replied in slight disbelief. “After we’re settled here, I was thinking maybe we could go out tomorrow. We might be able to garner some insight on how things work here from that schoolgirl we met a while back.”

“Oh! Tomoe?? I nearly forgot all about her with the crazy stuff we’ve gone through lately.”

As the two talked, they were unaware of Zuiho slowly approaching from behind. In the shadows of the home’s halls, he had what looked like a long instrument in hand.

“…I have you now, accursed monster,” Zuiho muttered to himself.

Mura turned around at hearing the words, only to see Zuiho rearing the deadly object in hand over his head.

“Die!!” Zuiho yelled, swinging his arm down.

Mura instinctively moved in front of Lilith as the girl yelled in fear. He shut his eyes as he braced himself for the pain of Zuiho’s strike. He cursed inwardly, blaming himself the lack of awareness.

Slap! The sound of a smack could be heard against the wall next to the two as Mura heard a faint buzzing noise follow after.

“Goddammit! You scared it away!!!” Zuiho shouted, chasing after the target as Mura opened his eyes. “Blasted cockroaches, that’s what I get for leaving my damn door open all day!”

Mura lowered his guard as Zuiho ran across the hallway after the roach with what the demon could now see to be a flyswatter in hand; swatting it every direction possible.

The roach finally flew out the door as Zuiho screamed a curse at it in Japanese. Taking a moment to catch his breath, he calmed himself and turned to face Mura and Lilith once more.

“Sorry for scaring you. He’s been bothering me all day. Anyway, I left the clothes on the bedroom down the hallway to the left. Please try them on and see if they fit, alright?”

Lilith looked down at herself, remembering her current fashion statement. She bowed politely before heading off into the room he mentioned and closing the door.

“Now that she’s preoccupied, how about we continue our conversation from earlier, demon?” Zuiho said to Mura, his voice grave with severity.

Mura gulped and nodded, walking into the living room. He sat on the couch with a gentleness as if he was afraid to break it somehow. Following behind, Zuiho sat in his favorite recliner and faced the demon.

“That mark you both have… Frankly, it’s nothing I’ve ever seen before. What is it and what have you done to earn it,” Matsumoto interrogated, the deep wrinkles of his brow and under his eyes giving off an intensity Mura didn’t think could belong to a human. “You better not withhold a single detail, doing so could impact the advice I’m able to offer you.”

“You have a point… Thing is, I don’t know if I can trust you at all. I just met you and you want me to just up and tell you my life story?”

Mura was incredibly suspicious of this guy. He gave off a level of mystery, but not in a good way. Zuiho was hiding something. There had to be some reason as to why he’d go through all of this for them and why he possessed so many weapons.

“Don’t tell me anythin’ then. No one’s keeping you here,” Zuiho pointed out. “You didn’t see the door slam behind you when you came in, did you? It’s still open. Can’t trust me? Then feel free to leave.”

The atmosphere grew heavy between the two men. Mura peered into his eyes, trying to glaze some sort of information from them. The guy was unreadable; he had a poker face that’d make a Vegas veteran buckle.

Zuiho reached over to a table by his armchair, picking an already opened bottle of beer up and guzzling the warm amber liquid. He exhaled, still looking at Mura before wiping the remainder of his whiskers with the back of his arm.

“I take it you’re clearly not a newcomer to this kind of thing, Matsumoto. You’re face-to-face with a live demon and not even breaking a sweat.”

“Way I see it, you could have killed me if you wanted to. I pay no heed to the Shitidama. You didn’t smell like one at all. Hell, you gave off the scent of a human to be honest.”

—He knows about Shitidama?! Who the hell is this geezer??

“Fine... In short, my former employers gave this to me as a parting gift,” Mura surrendered, revealing the brand by pulling down his collar. “It’s a seal, but I’m not sure what it does quite yet. That’s all I know,” he lied.

Zuiho smiled, his teeth glinting.

“Thank you for trusting me, I know it isn’t something you’re probably keen on doing at this point in your life. I can understand you not telling me the entire truth, but I hope you will in time.”

The human took another sip of his beer, swishing it in his mouth before swallowing the foam.

“I’ve heard tales of some spirits with a black mark above their heart, same as yours. Clearly it isn’t somethin’ to be coveted,” Zuiho said. “I don’t judge you on the things you did in your past. We all have things we’d rather forget or secrets we’d have remain buried… But I need to know that if you’ve done such things, that you aren’t planning on doing them again.”

“I’m not a killer, if that’s what you mean.”

“Never said you are, but I’m guessing you were at a point. You have the stench of blood on your hands… The vacant gaze of someone who’s taken a life.”

“How are…” Mura gasped before reclaiming his composure. “How can you know that?”

Zuiho sighed and finished off the contents in the bottle he was clutching. Dropping it onto the floor with a clank, he looked at Mura with a tired expression.

“It’s an ability that I’ve possessed for several years now… I can smell the sins of others. Sense the things they’ve done, both commendable and… detestable. I can see it with you. You’ve taken the life of a demon by your own hand.”

—This human… Is this a Tamashi Genkai?? If so, he’s the first human I’ve met that could possess one.

“You’re correct. His name was Behemoth, he was a criminal and a fiend. I killed him in honorable combat back in my realm,” Mura stated.

“I see… That makes sense. Your scale of morality is tipped much more towards the good you’ve done for others; that is why I offered my help. Still, I’m sure you can understand my caution.”

Lilith walked out of the back room, now dressed in grey shorts, an orange zip-up hoodie and sandals.

“Thank you for the clothes, Mr. Matsumoto! They fit like a glove!”

Zuiho turned to look at Lilith and smiled.

“Good to hear! I pick up items from the local thrift store in case a smaller spirit like yourself needs something.”

Mura crossed his arms with a light smile. This man was something else entirely, he really did seem to have their best interests in mind. He didn’t trust him one-hundred percent just yet, but for now he seemed safe.

“Excuse me, Matsumoto. Do you mind if Lilith and I have a private moment?”

Zuiho waved them off wordlessly with a grin, picking up a controller from his table to resume the game he had paused. Mura stood up and led Lilith outside to the front porch where he closed the door behind them.

“I think we can stay here for now, if he’s willing,” Mura said, sitting down on the ground.

“Cool! I mean, he seems nice after all!”

“Yeah… Guess we can start a new life here, huh?” Mura chuckled. “The tables will be turned this time though. It’ll be your turn to get me accustomed to how humans do things here! That sounds like fun, right?”

“Exactly... it'll be a blast!” Lilith smirked. “At least you’re dressed like a human now? I don’t think these threads would pass in Yomi, haha!”

Looking over, she saw Mura silently staring at the ground. He had that optimistic grin on his face as always, but he couldn’t hide the wet streaks now staining his cheeks.

Lilith sniffled quietly, trying to maintain her smile. Despite her best efforts, the memories of their time together in the other world came flooding back as hot tears began to cloud her vision.

The two sat in silence, grasping each other’s hand as their tears spilled out onto the earth.