Page 43 of The Oni's Heart

And then, through the haze of adrenaline and bloodlust, I heard it—her voice.

"Tatsuya? What do you think you’re doing?"

The sound of her voice, sharp and unexpected, stopped me dead in my tracks.

Tatsuya surged forward again, his voice now louder than ever. "You can’t go to her after this. You can’t let her see you. It’ll ruin everything."

“We can’t keep leaving a trail of dead bodies behind, it will lead them right to us!” she continued.

I didn’t know how long I could keep this up, how long I could hold onto Tatsuya’s humanity before the Oni completely overtook me. But for now, for this moment, I knew one thing for sure, if I was going to keep her alive, keep us both alive, I had to control the monster inside me.

“I don’t care how hungry you are, demon! We have things to do!”

Somehow, I was going to have to find a way to get us all out of this mess.

But even as I promised myself I would do everything to protect her, I could feel the rage growing again, threatening to burn it all down.

The air between us was thick with tension—my hands clenched into fists, my mind struggling to stay focused as the demon’s presence clawed at me from within.I can't lose control.

Momoi’s words echoed in my head. We had a choice: continue this madness or find a way out before we became just another pile of bodies to be forgotten.

The Oni’s rage was a living fire burning inside me, but it wasn’t all-consuming—not yet. Somehow, in the back of my mind, Tatsuya remained tethered to the body, holding on by a thread, desperate for control.

I won’t let him win. I won’t let this destroy us.

I glared at the bloodstained floor, thinking of the dead men outside, the Yakuza closing in. I couldn’t let this spiral further. I had to think of a plan, something—anything—to get us out of this.

Without preamble, the Oni surged inside me, its deep growl shaking my core.

"I’m hungry, Tatsuya." The voice rumbled from within, a bone-chilling sneer dripping with malice. "I want to taste their blood."

"I don't care how hungry you are, demon!" I snapped, my voice tight, teeth gritted. "We have things to do. People to protect. We can't keep killing. If we don’t stop?—"

"Stop?" The Oni’s voice interrupted, low and guttural. "You don’t control me. You never did. You think you can hold me back?"

I felt the rage rising in my chest, but I knew I couldn’t let it explode.Not yet.Not with Momoi standing there, watching us, waiting for us to figure it out.

"You think I care about your plans, your control?" the Oni hissed, dark satisfaction dripping from its tone. "I care about blood. I care about power."

The demon’s voice was overpowering, but something in me—something that still felt likeme—fought back.

"If we kill them all, we’ll be hunted. All of us." I clenched my fists tighter, trying to suppress the monstrous side that clawed at my skin. "Momoi won’t survive this if we keep going. You heard her—she’s not just in this for the thrill. She wants out. She wants us out."

The Oni fell silent momentarily, the dark presence within me pulling back just enough for Tatsuya to take a breath. I used that moment to push back, forcing my thoughts into clarity.

"We need to think, demon." I ground out, knowing I had to find some way to reach the twisted side of me. "If we keep running, we’ll only lead the Yakuza to us. We need to stop them before they figure out where we are. But I can't do it alone. We have to work together—for her. You understand? For her."

The Oni growled in frustration, but there was a shift, a flicker of something I recognized as agreement. It wasn’t much, but it was enough.

"You speak as though you still have control." The Oni's voice sneered, but there was a touch of interest now. "Tell me, then. What’s your brilliant plan, human?"

I could feel the demon’s disdain, but I knew this was the moment we needed to find common ground. I forced my mind to stay sharp to focus on the task at hand.

"We’ll go after the Yakuza. But we need to do it quietly." I didn’t care that the words were clumsy. I was trying to put the pieces together while I still had a semblance of control. "No more blood on the streets. We find out where their headquarters are. We hit them fast, cut them off, and make sure they don’t have time to retaliate. We get in, we get out, and we keep it clean."

The Oni was silent for a moment, and I thought for a second that I had lost it—that I’d failed to find any ground with this beast inside me.

But then it spoke again, a dark chuckle in its voice. "You’re asking me to play nice?"

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