Chapter II—Learning Curve

The room was dark and no sounds could be heard save for the crickets chirping from outside and the occasional howl of a wolf. The clinking sound of chopsticks hitting the bottom of a ceramic bowl echoed through the enclosed space.

Rōkura all but inhaled the rice she ate, her eyes fixed to the soft white kernels. This was her second bowl, and she thought she might eat and third—

“Ah-ah-ah…”

She glanced up and turned toward the sound. “Hm?”

There was an old woman there, standing still with her eyes wide. She was ancient. Her lips trembled. “D-d-d-deem”—she breathed, stumbling back as she raised an old hand to point accusingly at Rōkura—“o-o-onnn!”

“N—no!” Rōkura said with a frown, her heart stopping in her chest. “I’m not a demon.”

The old woman’s eyes dropped to the floor where Rōkura’s short-clawed toes wriggled with anxiety, then went back up her legs, lingered on her sword and her fully exposed breasts—what, it was hot out!—and up over her face. Rokura blinked, realizing how she must have looked to—

The old woman’s gaze clung to the horns above her head and she gasped with a deep breath like that of the last inhalation of a dying old hag.

Rōkura’s eyes widened with understanding and she reached out toward the old woman. “Nonono!” she pleaded.

“AaaaaaaAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHhhhhhhhhhh!!!”

Shit!

“Naaaaniiiii?” a man barked from the other room.

“A DEMON! THERE IS A DEMON IN THE HOUSE!”

Screaming erupted from several portions of the enclosed chambers and as washi-paper dividers slammed open to admit the other occupants of the house, Rōkura dashed across the tatami mats and hurled herself straight through the front slider, ripping through loudly as the wooden slats housing the washi cracked and toppled about noisily over the hardwood porch.

Rolling over the hardwood porch, she came back to her feet and ran into the dirt road. Startled voices from the other houses accompanied the lighting of candles and Rōkura gasped.

A dog barked furiously.

Rōkura turned her head at the sound of paws beating the dirt and squealed as the thing jumped at her with snarling teeth. She turned, grabbed the mutt by a thick wad of for on the back of its neck.

“Away!”

She hurled the dog in the same direction it had jumped and it barked a high-pitched cry, but landed safely. She dashed toward it. The dog scurried out of her path, whimpering in another direction as she sprinted across the dirt.

The houses ahead lit their candled and figures came out onto the porches with clubs and knives. Her heart jumped into her throat and she cut left, jumping up a grassy ridge on the side of the road.

With her heart pounding inside her chest, she cut across the field and glanced back as angry voices filled the night, following after her.

Then her feet stopped as she was flung forward, her knees and for arms sinking in wet mud among shoots of freshly planted rice. She groaned, lifting herself up as the watery dirt—really more like mud—sucked at her.

The farmers were coming out into the field and Rōkura wasted no time. She ran, sprinting across the field parallel to the wet field of rice. Once she cleared it, she jumped into the dry road, then went to the other side, crossed another field and hurtled into a forest and the cover of the trees where she ran hard.

With so many guards and soldiers in the town farther down the mountain, she made sure to run for a long time over hills and dales until she was well clear of the village. When she stopped, she gasped.

Her heart thundered inside her chest, mostly with her exertion, for she had run a long way. It beat so hard she could hear it in her ears, knocking incessantly. Straightening, Rōkura took in a deep breath, realizing just how far she had gone.

Before gaining her abilities given to her by Ogai-sama, she would never have been able to run a quarter of that distance, and not at the speed she had managed either. She had been so scared. There was nothing any of those farmers could have done to me with their stick and clubs.

It seemed they thought her a demon, but Rōkura had been as scared of them as they were of her, or perhaps she was more afraid, for she had been the one to run like a scared rabbit.

But that was the nature of a monster, wasn’t it? They ran away when discovered. First they feasted—then they ran. The oni had only feasted upon rice, and her stomach was full, her hunger subsided, and it was then that she realized her want for blood was almost completely gone. With hunger comes my bloodlust, but if I eat it goes away?

“I’m not a monster,” she breathed.

Turning around, she glanced over the forests and the hills toward the city. “And now urgent business calls,” Ogai-sama had said. “I will not see you for some time, but rest assured little oni-kun,” and he had patted her head between her horns, “that I will send you a supporter.”

When she had asked after that topic he had only said, “someone to orient you and to guide you along on both your quest for revenge, and my little errands I have need of you to handle for me.”

That sounded to the Rōkura to be easy enough, and convenient. “But how will I find this supporter?”

He smiled broadly and looked at her with his glowing blood-red eyes. “Oh, he will find you, Rōkura-kun.” And then he had departed with a snap of his fingers, his body disappearing amidst a bright burst of magical energy.

She sniffed, wiped her mouth with the back of her hand as a trickle of sweat fell down the back of her neck. The night was cool, but running about had made Rōkura work up a sweat, and even before her run she had worked up a sweat.

Ever since she had woken up and been captured by those guards on the road, an anxiety had come over her. She was a stranger in a strange place. She didn’t know where to go or what to do.

She didn’t even understand herself or her new abilities.

Rōkura made to step forward, and remembering, she glanced down to make sure there wasn’t a hole right in front of her. Persistent Bad Luck… How did it work? Did it… create situations that were bad for her? Like that branch breaking?

When that old woman had found her stuffing her face, had that been a part of it? The dog? The mud?

The oni sighed.

To her understanding, all of that could be her bad luck—or none of it. She had no idea and Ogai-sama had been rather vague with her about her abilities.

A wolf howled in the distance and Rōkura glanced in that direction. Just as she did, something came out of the brush between the trees behind her. She reached down and took hold of her katana hilt jutting up beside her left hip.

Turning, she found what had made the noise.

It was a wolf, large, black and with a shaggy main. It’s eyes glinted with green light as he stalked forward, snarling with its head low.

Rōkura was not afraid. One wolf—

The brush broke from multiple directions and more black wolves came out of the forest to greet her, to surround her. She glanced between them, her eyes narrowed as she reached across her waste to take out her katana in a slow but smooth motion.

The blade glinted in the moonlight as a breeze swept in, tussling leaves across the clearing and making her straight black hair flutter over her neck. A thick strand brushed over her eye, obscuring her vision.

She blew it out of her way, but it fell back down.

Rōkura blew again.

It fell.

She growled, took a hand from her blade and pushed the rebellious black locks behind her ear. Right—Persistent Bad Luck?

She smiled.

No way.

Pattering, heavy and fast, came up behind her. Rōkura whirled, swung her sword and the black mass snarling for her neck.

Her sword passed across the wolf’s neck and severed its head. The two pieces whumped into the grass at her feet.

Raising an eyebrow in challenge to these beasts, the hot smell of the dead wolf’s blood wafted into her nose, and the effect was almost instantaneous. Her eyes widened and her pupils sharpened. Rōkura’s heart beat faster, and apart from feeling the desire to drink that blood on her tongue, she could almost feel it in her veins.

Opening her mouth, she snarled, resisting the impulse to drop and lick it up like a starving vagrant hungry for scraps, but the call for that blood was overwhelming. She knew that, should she drink it, her Oni Rage and Overpowered nature would manifest, and then the rest of the night perhaps would be a rage-filled blur the next day.

The prospect frightened her.

“Come on!” she demanded angrily, hoping the wolves would attack her, distract her from the blood on the ground. “Attack me!”

They didn’t move.

Fine.

She stepped forward—and something under her foot hisses. She glanced down with a subtle gasp of surprise as a snack struck up at her with sharp fangs.

“HnnngghhaaaaAHAHHH!!!”

With her heart in her mouth Rōkura jumped back reflexively, fell on her backside and scurried away the snake, her sword lost.

The wolf behind her snarled and she turned, realizing her sword lay in the grass a few paces away.

The oni swallowed.

The wolf lunged at her, snarling with white teeth. She squalled, lifting her hands to protect her face and throat as the beast attacked her.

Rōkura took hold of the wolf and held it back. It kicked and snapped with sharp teeth as she flinched, trying to keep her face away from its maw.

The other wolves barked and snarled from the side.

Holding this one was like holding a very formidable child trying to attack her, but fighting off five at once… there was no way she would be able to do that without at least being bitten.

This isn’t… fair!

She squeezed her hands with a grunt of effort and the wolf let out a cry as she snapped its neck. It went limp in her hands and she tossed aside like a heavy rug, glad that there was no blood. As the wolf fell into the grass, the others lunged at her all at once.

“Eeeeee!!!!”

Rōkura jumped to her feet and ran when something heavy hit her back. It bit her shoulder and she shoo kit off. When the next wolf lunged at her, the oni made a fist and bopped it on the head.

It squealed and shrunk away.

The one that had bit her came back and she swung at it, but the beast recoiled just as her thigh was bitten.

She shrieked.

Even though these wolves were far weaker than her, even though she could rip them to pieces with her bare hands, when they bit her, it hurt—it really hurt!

Hot tears stung her eyes as two more wolves came in nipping and snarling. Rōkura growled, her anger rising. She lashed out with her foot and took one of them in the chin.

The beast convulsed and flew into the air, squealing as it kicked and writhed back to its feet where it slunk back.

Breathing heavily, and her heart pounding in her chest, her ears throbbed with the beat of blood when a sharp pain took her on the upper arm. She cried out as the weight of the wolf pummeling her send Rōkura to the ground where she sprawled out.

One of them came and attacked her, but the stupid beast tried to bit her horn. There was no pain but the force of its trying to rip her head off made her vision sway as sharp nips and bits pinched at her legs and hands.

She screamed loudly and snarled with rage.

One of the wolves bit her in the butt.

Rōkura’s tears flowed freely and she snarled, pulled all her limbs back, recoiling into a fetal position. As she shrunk in on herself the wolves were emboldened, and their vicious slathering and snapping maws quickened.

One of them howled, calling his friends for dinner.

But Rōkura was not going to be their dinner. She was far too powerful for this pack of dumb beasts to kill. Baring her teeth and making tight fists, she lashed out with all her limbs at once.

The wolves shrunk back for a moment, giving Rōkura enough time to stand, her butt and arm and shoulder and left hand all smarting at once. With a sniff, she looked at them as they glared at her with hungry eyes—hateful eyes.

She was food to them.

They saw her as nothing more.

“I’m not going to let you hurt me anymore!”

They came in to attack. Rōkura bent, lunged into the air above the wolves. They howled and snapped at her as she landed. With the momentum of her fall, she rolled across her bitten shoulder, the pain making her wince as she gasped her sword.

With her heart soaring now that she had her weapon again, she was prepared to fight these beasts trying to eat her.

A wolf came at her from the side.

She cut it down.

Another lunged and she brought her sword down, splitting its stupid head into two pieces, spilling its blood out over the grass.

With each kill the wolves seemed to simultaneously shrink back and become emboldened all at once, angry that their pack mates were dying just to get tonight’s dinner.

Paws pattered heavily behind her—there was a snarl of effort and Rōkura knew the wolf had lunged at her.

She turned, swung her blade and took off both of its front legs. It squealed pathetically as it landed, howling and gnashing its teeth.

With just a few wolves left—

They lunged from her other side, this one higher than the others! Rōkura lifted her arm to take the beast in the stomach with her blade. It landed on her sword and shrieked with pain as it landed atop her.

She slammed into the ground, the weight of the beast sending white flecks through her eyes.

It must have been the natural excitement of danger, but she felt furious and full of energy. She threw the wolf off her, the dead beast flying like a stuffed piece made by an artisan at a fair.

It landed limply paces away and its fellows that were still alive, howled and shrunk back as Rōkura stood, her sword in one hand, covered in red blood. It dripped down the blade onto her hands.

Rage filling her, she snarled out a wordless oath of death and hatred at the beasts. I’m going to cut you all—kill you, gut you and drink every drop of your—

What is happening?!

Blinking her luminous eyes, Rōkura flinched, confused. Why was she so angry? Why did she want to separate these beasts into little pieces, drink their blood and writhe in their guts?

Something salty and iron-like was in her mouth. She moved her tongue, reaching up to touch it with her clawed fingered. When she saw what she brought back, she gasped.

The blood from the wolf she had stabbed most have spurted into her mouth when it landed on top of her. Oh-no!

The pulsing in her ears thrummed like drums—like music and the call to wonderful violence and savagery. Rage continued to build inside her as she snarled and hissed, the sounds coming out of her of their own accord.

She screamed, unable to control her wild impulses.

As if a celestial spirit controlled her actions, her feet lifted and stamped as she leaned forward, her bloody blade glinting in the moonlight as the terrible shadow of a monster with horns and a sword lumbered in front of her.

The wolves shrunk back and squealed, their bushy tails thrust between their legs as they ran for dear life.

All was a red blurry rage as Rōkura forgot who she was.

Birds chirped musically in the trees, their wings fluttering as they jumped about from branch to branch.

The back of Rōkura’s head pounded horribly.

As she blinked awake, she shrunk back from the light, lifting her hand to shield her eyes. Thankfully she was in the shade, under a tree. But how…

What happened? The last think I remember is… the rice, running from those farmers, and… and the—

She sat up and gasped as the memory of the wolves flashed within her mind. The very last thing she saw in her mind was the blood on her fingers, of the salty, irony taste, and the red beat of her blurry peripheral vision, like tendrils, veins or magic.

And then nothing.

She sniffed, smelling… something.

Death.

A lot of death.

And blood—dried blood.

Rōkura blinked some more, acclimatizing her eyes to the new light of the early morning. At least she hadn’t slept all day. Moving her shoulders, she checked for hurts, for wounds from last night.

She found none.

But then she winced, brought her hand up to her head and rubbed at the pounding, like a hangover. What had Ogai-sama called it? An oni hangover? Rōkura groaned as she lay back against the trunk of the tree.

The birds above were unworried at her waking, and continued to ship and play on the branches, occasionally fluttering their wings in a playful dance as they encircled each other.

Rōkura smiled, and then she saw something on the trunk of the tree. Tilting her chin up more, she saw it—a massive gash in the bark, exposing the lighter color of the tree beneath, the fresh would splintered and ruined.

With a sigh, she glanced back down at her hand.

There was dried blood there, the claws, more like thick, short nails, and yet sharp, nails, completely intact, dangerous—deadly.

Rōkura took in a deep, saw that her sword lay still in the grass beside her. She took it and stood up. Sheathing her weapon, she took in a deep breath and walked forward.

The clearing was… a battlefield of destroyed bodies.

The wolves had been mauled, destroyed by an angry demon that had cut and ripped and tore them to shreds, their pieces and parts scattered about the grass. And that was not the only evidence of her rage last night.

The trees…

Eventually when she was done with the wolves, she had taken her anger out on them, felling more than one and putting terrible gashes in many others. The grass was completely gone in one part of the clearing.

She stepped up to the hole, deep, messy.

Rōkura gasped, putting a hand to her mouth, terrified at what she had done. What would have happened if she had been in the middle of the village? Or a city? There would be dead people everywhere.

Her eyes widened and her heart nearly stopped. Oh my gods—what is this terrible power I have? She breathed, she breathed but she felt dizzy. Too fast. Slow down. Long, deep breaths, Rōkura.

The oni knew then, that she had to be the one to control this power, and not the other way around. But it had been an accident. She had tried to stay away from the blood, and she had done well, but in the end Rōkura could not stop herself, as just a few drops of that wolf’s blood had gotten into her mouth.

And then this.

Despite the rage and the carnage it had produced, Rōkura was relieved that no one was hurt. Except for those wolves.

She touched at her shoulder again, knowing the wound was gone. Rōkura was healed—completely.

And tired.

Very tired.

She blinked, feeling the fatigue. And yet her tiredness was at a far lesser extent than it had been the first time she had gone into her Oni Rage state. She put a hand to her chin, wondering why.

Was it because she had healed that gaping wound in her chest? There had been a sword sticking out of her!

Rōkura pulled her cloak apart and glanced at the place where she had been stabbed by those monsters who had killed her and her parents. The scar, just to the side of her left breast, was almost completely gone, and yet her anger smoldered. Glancing back up and closing her cloak, she saw what looked to be mist coming up over the trees in the distance.

She wondered what that could be, and was afraid that people might be there. Nevertheless, curious, Rōkura moved in that direction, mostly forgetting the carnage she had left behind.

That in and of itself was a curious thing. Before her resurrection, Rōkura would have never let such an event simply be forgotten to the past—and especially not so quickly.

It was, in her understanding, out of character for herself. And yet, I’m a new person. I’m not the same girl before I died.

Moving across to the other side of the meadow, Rōkura wondering when her supporter that Ogai-sama had promised, would find her.

“And how will he find me?”

The oni felt impatient. Ogai had said he had a task for Rōkura, and once completed, he would reveal the name and the location of the first individual responsible for her and her parent’s deaths.

She couldn’t wait to kill him.

Flinching from sudden movement in the trees, Rōkura hid herself behind a bush as a woman in celestial form, ran through the trees, giggling.

It’s my Celestial Eyes.

Rōkura came out of hiding as the naked woman barely tried to cover herself while a man laughed, pursuing her up toward where the steam was coming from. Frowning with curiosity, she increased her gait through the forest until she found a flagstone path.

The oni followed it until she reached the side of a cliff that overhung a bright blue pool of steaming water. With a gasp and a smile of surprise, she realized it was an ōnsen!

Rōkura glanced about to make sure no one was around, and finding no trace of other people, she unbuckled her belt, dropped her sword and flung her cloak off before diving headlong into the hotspring.

“Ahhh,” sighed the oni contentedly, a smile on her face. Despite her hot-pink skin, there was an added warmth to the color of her cheeks from the hot water. As her muscled relaxed every bit of her skin prickled from the warmth of the pool, and with no one but the birds for company, Rōkura was able to let her worried dissolve away.

At least for a time.

She needed this.

Despite her filthy state, she knew that had been the least of her worries ever since coming to this world—wherever “this world” was. As she relaxed, she rubbed her skin to wash away the dirt and grime.

Her run from the village last night had put a lot of dirt underneath her nails. She lifted them, listening to the trickle of water drops as they fell in front of her. Rōkura rubbed them together, then floated back, allowing herself to be submerged completely.

When she came back up for air, she leaned back and poked her clawed toes out of the water, wriggled them. As she focused on her toes, the forest beyond went out of focus. Then she moved her toes and looked at the trees, squinted. I can’t see that well, but this isn’t normal for me. She continued looking, blinking. She submerged herself again, then looked again. It was still the same. My eyes have definitely gotten worse since Ogai-sama helped me roll for my stats.

Was that normal? She needed to ask him. Perhaps she could ask the supporter who was supposed to find her.

Rōkura looked at her toes, focuses, really focuses on them as she wriggled them. If she could slash through trees with her fingernails, then she could certainly use her toe nails as deadly weapons.

At least when she was in her Oni Rage state. With that state came her Overpowered state—but even now without it, she was still rather strong. But… how strong? The oni had no idea.

She needed a lot of help. She was like a baby on her own, unable to properly take care of herself. If she went into the city, would they be looking for her? And if so, she wondered if she could blend in somehow. I don’t know if there are other oni here, and yet, there must be. Even Ogai-sama is an oni.

His blood-red skin reminded Rōkura of her father. Though that’s where the similarities ended. Her father had black hair—like her. She tried to think of him, to remember him, and realized she couldn’t even recall his name.

Nor the name of her mother.

Ogai-sama! You took too much.

She would have to talk to him about that next time she saw him. And she didn’t like that she was waiting on him for her revenge. Maybe that’s how it was when you made a deal with a devil. Stupid metaphor.

The oni was beginning to feel piqued in the hot water so she lifted her foot out, enjoying the coolness of the air. Again, Rōkura looked at her toes. The trees behind were out of focus. She looked at them, watching her foot go out of focus. Then she looked at her toes again.

That woman last night thought her a demon.

But she was an old lady—a villager on the outskirts. Maybe she just hadn’t seen an oni before? Spreading her toes, she looked at the trees beyond between her big toe on the next as she closed one eye.

Rōkura could see her face as she screamed, and she chortled. The old woman was fine—but the oni wondered how she could laugh about that. Normally she would have been heartbroken to have scared an old lady so badly.

She closed her toes. A big change. I am definitely different than I used to be. Am I still the same person? Should I care? I don’t feel like I do—I only want to kill those men and women, and yet… I can’t remember anything about them except their faces. Rōkura opened her toes and saw a face.

Flinching back against the rocks, she covered her breasts with her arm as her eyes widened like saucers. The man standing at the edge of the pool was tall, broad shouldered and leering at her with jagged teeth.

“My, what a way to catch you, little demon.” He chortled.

“Who are you?!”

With an arrogant grin, he lifted his sheathed katana up over his shoulder. The blade was massive, longer than anything Rōkura had ever seen. “You might say, I’m a travelling swordsman.”

“And what do you want?”

“I come through Momori Kazō from time to time. I do work for Administrator Fujiwarai. This time he asked me to track down a little horned girl causing a ruckus around these parts.” He smiled again—actually, more like leered. “But you’re no girl.”

Narrowing her eyes, Rōkura realized this was really bad. Her eyes went toward her cloak and sword on the other side of the rocks. “You like talking.”

“Haha! That’s right!” He flung his sword arm out and extended his scabbarded blade. “My name is… Ken-sama!”

There was no reason for her to be afraid of this lout. Yes, he was tall, he was strong, and surely a master with that huge blade. His big brown eyes and his loose hair that hung down to his waist was not intimidating. Besides—no one in these parts can beat me, especially if I get angry.

“Hmph,” she sniffed with a sneer. “Pathetic.”

“N—nani?”

“Who names themselves ‘sword’ after all?”

With a malicious smile, he pulled the scabbard away. “You won’t be laughing after I’ve diced you like a fish, you horned demon!”

There was definitely scorn there, and contempt. Rōkura couldn’t help but glance toward her sword again, her heart beating so hard and so fast she could feel it thumping against her hand from inside her chest.

“Go on,” he said, thinking there was no chance she could lunge out of the onsen and take up her weapon before he cut her in half. “Try it.” At least I’ll get to see her naked before I finish her off.

He’s challenging me because he believes I won’t be able to defend myself without my weapon. Rōkura smiled. “I’m going to get my sword, Ken-kun.”

She deliberately addressed him with the “kun” honorific, placing himself lower in stature to her, as if she were his big sister, or perhaps the next door neighbor she came over to watch when his parents weren’t home.

“Tch!” he hissed with frustration.

She smiled more deeply, though every reaction in her body wanted her to flee. The only reason why Rōkura wasn’t trembling like a leaf even then, was because she believed he was no match for her.

“Now let’s see who is faster!” she bluffed, and Rōkura lunged out of the water with a violent splash, feinting for her sword.

Ken-sama was quick, and he got there before she did, cutting Rōkura off. He grinned, admiring her body for a split second and taking pride in his own ability to outdo the monster he had been sent after.

She grinned, rushing toward, not her sword, but him, causing Ken-sama’s smile to falter as realization dawned on his big stupid face.

With a powerful kick from the bottom of the onsen, Rōkura pounced and—

Her foot slipped on the slick stones beneath the surface and she flailed—“GyaaAH!”—smacking the hot water with her arms and face with a crash that stung her skin.

“Ahhhhahahahahhahaha!” Ken-sama laughed, pointing a finger as he cringed in on himself against the pain in his stomach.

Surfacing, Rōkura knew the cause of that slip instantly, since she had been leaning forward and kicking at a slight backward angle, the chances of her foot slipping like that, and especially since she had claws, was nil—and yet, against all odds…

Rōkura’s expression fell to an all-time low.

“You thought you would faint for your sword—and I commend you for such an excellent tactic. I can tell, you’re fast, demon, and had you managed it, perhaps you would have changed the outcome of our little fight.” He laughed some more. “Look at your face.”

“Nnngh!” Rōkura made tight fists, her nails cutting into her palms. “Tch!”

“Awe—now don’t get angry little baby.” He laughed again, his jagged teeth having clearly been filed down to make them look like that. His voice was like a bed of rocks being spread by a gardener across a fancy path.

“Who is the demon here?” she muttered, though her tone was so quiet that Ken-sama didn’t hear her say the words.

“Huh?” His eyes widened. “Hey, why aren’t you all shy anymore? You know I can see your boobs, right? Wow, you got great tits. You’re not a baby at all.”

“I have nothing to be embarrassed about,” she said, drops of her own blood dripping into the water below her. She could smell that blood, smell its sweet, addictive scent. Did that mean she could go into her Oni Rage state by consuming her own blood?

“Ha! You’re not attracted to me are you?” he peacocked, reaching his free arm behind his neck. “I can’t say that I’m really all that surprised.”

Rōkura shook her head. “It’s not that… I just have no reason to feel embarrassed by a corpse.”

Cocking his head back, Ken-sama smirked. “Now that’s some tall talk coming from a naked girl without her sword. Why don’t we see you back up those—“

She blinked.

Ken-sama closed his eyes and opened them again to see if what he wasn’t seeing was in fact, true, when suddenly a flash appear behind him.

Rōkura could have made a fist and punched her opponent in the back, but instead she displayed her clawed fingers like a tiger and raked his back, then lurched away before he could swing his blade around.

“Agh!” he growled, gritting his sharp teeth.

“What’s the matter?” Rōkura asked, “are my claws too much for you?”

He showed his teeth. “No,” he said. “That felt kinda good. You’re just getting me started, you little whore. When we’re through here, I’m going to have you sit on my lap for a while.”

“Hmph.”

“Don’t believe me, huh?”

The naked oni girl shook her head.

He had followed Ken-sama here, knew that he had been on her trail. There was something wrong, Shinjiro knew. For Administrator Fujiwarai to take an active interest in her, meant that there was more to this than met the eye—and the fact that they weren’t allowed to go to the summit, either.

From the tree line on the cliff, the swordsman watched as the girl with the horns stood in a defensive stance, her legs spread and her hands in a position to defend herself. What she had just done caused Shinjiro to blink several times.

She did what she had done last night to get away—except this time she had done it to attack Ken-sama.

The swordsman gritted his teeth. Ken-sama was a villain, doing the Administrator’s dirty work where there were no eyes. But what could he do? What should he do?

“Now it’s my turn,” Ken-sama said with a vicious smile. I can be fast too, you little devil.

Swallowing, Rōkura knew that she should not play with this man. He was dangerous. Cursing her bad luck from earlier, she decided she needed her blade. But he’s standing right next to it!

He moved and she reacted, blinking away from his attack, and yet—

“Nope!”

Her vision swayed and Rōkura kicked her feet to avoid losing balance as white flecks exploded in her vision.

As she caught herself, she touched the side of her face where he had punched her. Rōkura felt dizzy.

Another one of those, Ken-sama knew, and she would fall into the dirt, done. He smiled, knowing where this was all leading. It was only a matter of how much punishment she wanted to take.

Wincing, Rōkura glared at Ken-sama—at this loud with the huge sword. If he was that fast, he could probably cut her in half if he wanted to. With this realization, the oni girl was starting to worry, and her heart was thrumming with negative anticipation.

“You’re not bad,” Ken-sama said, lifting the back of his sword onto his shoulder. “You’re very fast—just too plain predictable. I get it—you’re young. You don’t have a lot of fighting experience and you don’t know how to handle a guy like me.” He laughed. “But I’ll teach you, little girl.”

Baring her teeth, anger assailed Rōkura, causing her cheeks to heat and her vision to swim. It wasn’t the Oni Rage, but she was certainly enraged. With an angry shriek, she lunged toward him.

When he moved to react, she fainted to the left, then blinked to his right. Once she landed, she used her powers to blink again whereupon she appeared atop her sword.

“Not so fast!”

He came at her, his whole body leaning forward like a tree trunk that had been thrown by a giant, his sword held downward with the top of his blade near his feet.

Snatching her sword, Rōkura jumped, rolled across the rocks with a grunt of pain as Ken-sama flipped and swung his blade, missing her by mere inches. I thought he wanted to play with me? How’s he supposed to do that if I’m dead.

“You look real confused.”

She lifted her sword, but her eyes were in the sun. “I’m just deciding on which way I’m going to kill you—with my claws, or my blade.”

“Heh… Considering you just went for your sword, little girl, I’m going to have to make a guess and say your sword.”

“Smart.”

“Right?”

Rōkura narrowed her eyes swept up to him and struck out several times with her blade. Their skirling steel caused sparks to fly that would have lit the ground had it been nighttime.

With such a long sword, Rōkura knew she needed to get in close, so he couldn’t defend himself. The length of his sword was ludicrous.

The oni pressed her attack and Ken-sama knew her strategy at once, giving ground to her easily, almost playfully. The poor girl had no idea what she was doing.

She lunged in close suddenly and Ken-sama almost got nicked by that sharp blade, but he backhanded her.

Rōkura stumbled, almost losing balance.

Shrieking with bared teeth, she lunged with a stab, but he dodged her attack, grabbed her horn and hurled her to his other side. She had to kick her feet to keep from falling on her face.

Rōkura whirled, keeping her blade high in case he came in for an attack. He didn’t, and she was glad of that, because has he struck out just now, she knew he would have pierced her back with his blade.

She knew she couldn’t beat him. Not like this. Not the way she was. Am I going to have to use my Oni Rage? And if I do, can I beat him then, or will I be cut down without even my own knowledge that I had lost?

Flexing her hand, she considered biting it to draw blood, when another figure came out of the trees. It was that swordsman from last night.

“Stop this!” he said, running forward. “Ken-sama—that’s enough!”

“What?”

Dammit! Now I can’t use my Oni Rage! Why are you here? Leave! Thinking those things, Rōkura snarled, but decided not to react further.

“Who are you?” asked Ken-sama, scratching the side of his face.

“I am a samurai under Daimyo Hino!”

“So?”

“I outrank you in this province!”

“Then kill me… because I’m taking this tasty little bitch with me.” He licked his lips.

Rōkura frowned, deciding she would enjoy killing this man. She had killed before—thought nothing of it, other than how much she wanted it. But those men had been different. They had deserved it.

And this Ken-sama…

Well, Rōkura didn’t care anymore, but realizing she was completely naked, she tried to hide her sudden embarrassment as Shinjiro glanced between them. To his credit, he didn’t seem to notice, or at least chose not to act like he did.

“I will!” Shinjiro warned.

“Stay out of this!” she snapped at him. Rōkura knew he couldn’t handle this dangerous animal. She was trying to save his life, though she didn’t know why. Don’t challenge him, you fool.

“I, Shinjiro Tanabe, challenge you, to a—“

Grinding her teeth, Rōkura screamed with as much rage-filled hate as she could muster. Shinjiro stopped talking in his tracks, his eyes widening as even Ken-sama was forced to give her his full attention.

She kicked her legs, running at him with her full speed. She blinked, once, twice. She came upon him and jumped, slamming her blade with as much force as she could manage.

The skirling of their blades together was enough to shake rocks, and even Shinjiro flinched back, both from the sudden ferocity of her attack, but also do to the scraping of their steel.

Ken-sama jumped back, defending with his huge katana as Rōkura stuck again and again, each slice one that would have sheered his body in two, and yet he defending against her attacks! All of them!’

Rōkura snarled, striking harder, faster, and Ken-sama, again, jumped away, putting distance between them. He wouldn’t let her get close.

As he landed, he put enough distance between them that she was now out of range.

“You’ll have to try a little harder,” he said, smiling. “Come one.”

“HnnnngaaaaahhhH!!!” she screamed, charging forward with all her might. She blinked, attempting to get right into his personal space where she could cut him in half!

She sheered through the tree as Ken-sama narrowly dodged her blow, and bounced back, once, twice, landing safely up on the hill near Shinjiro, who held his sword angled down at the ground.

The tree rumbled and leaves flitted though the air as the trunk cracked and the thing fell over, the broad expanse of shade it had been creating fell away.

Rōkura breathed in and out, all her strength seemingly gone, her throat horse. She narrowed her eyes. How did I… How did I do that? It was magic, but she didn’t know what magic, or how, but she had sheered through a thick tree. She glanced up the hill at Ken-sama. That was everything I had. I can’t… beat… him…

“Well,” he said. “You tried.”

Rōkura gritted her teeth, furious at his arrogance.

“Again, I commend you, but it’s time to put your blade down.”

“Never!” she spat.

“Stubborn little girl. Then I’m going to make you.” He grunted, flexing his body in a martial stance, then he lunged.

“NO!” cried Shinjiro. “KEN-SAMA! STOP!”

He flew straight at her. Rōkura lifted her blade, but he hit it out of the way, grabbed her by the throat and lifted her high into the air. The noises Rōkura made sounded unreal to her ears, like they weren’t her own as her air supply was cut off.

Shinjiro continued screaming orders and threat, but his cries were utterly drowned out, and so were the taunts of Ken-sama as he laughed and squeezed. He rage filled her, but her Oni Rage would not come, not without blood.

Vision blurring and dimming on all sides, she was about to black out.

“Squirm, little girl,” Ken-sama said.

“Stop! Or I will strike you.”

“Oh come on,” Ken-sama said. “I’m just having a little fun before I knock her out. She’ll be just fine.”

Shinjiro’s eyes widened as he looked up at the horned demon.

“Huh?”

While the oaf wasn’t watching, Rōkura, with her last strength, had pulled her leg back, then she kicked forward with all her might.

When she came into contact with with Ken-sama’s throat, she felt her toe nails pierce his neck.

What she struck him with, he didn’t rightly know, but he needed to cough as his eyes bulged from his head. He grasped at his throat, dropping the naked girl.

As he fell back, his vision blurring from the tears, his tried to cough as hard as he could, and what came out of his throat, he didn’t expect. Blood!

Oh no! How can this be? What did that bitch strike me with?!

It spurted out, and he tried to hold it in, but he kept coming. His vision swayed, and everything became cold and dark, and then…

Rōkura gasped for air, coughed and choked on the grass. When the swordsman rushed up to her, she squirmed, tried to get away from him, but he didn’t attack her.

“Breath!” he said. “Just breath.”

Gasping again, Rōkura coughed and breathed—breathed more and then lay her head back down upon the grass. She was alive!

I won! I can’t believe it—I won!

And then her vision blackened.

With his heart beating, Shinjiro looked down at the horned girl, worried something was wrong with her. He checked her neck, moved to put his ear against her heart, but took pause as he noticed her breast. He pushed his ear against her, then, found her heart beat.

Rising, he realized she had simply passed out.

Glancing about, he felt… confused.

What had just happened?