Page 46 of The Oni's Heart

So, I turned. I walked away, my mind clouded with frustration and regret. My hands clenched into fists as I felt the bloodlust inside me build. The Oni wasn't going to let me wallow in the past for long. It wanted to hunt, kill, and remind me what I was truly capable of.

And there was no better place to start than the Yakuza.

We didn't have to look hard to find them. A quick check of the area around the temple and the Oni led me straight to the first group of thugs—the ones I had been seeking. Their stench hit me. They were gathered in an alley, laughing as if they owned the damn world, unaware that the Oni had already marked them for death.

"Fools congregate together like scavenging birds," the Oni growled, his voice a low rumble, the growl of an ultimate predator in the dark. "I’ll tear them apart. I'll make them regret crossing us."

But I held the reins, even if only slightly. I reminded him, as I had done countless times before, that we had to be careful. We couldn’t leave a bloody trail. We couldn’t let it all spiral into chaos.

“Don’t leave a bloody massacre, Oni,” I hissed, trying to rein in the fury that surged in my chest. “We have to do this clean. Efficient.”

The Oni growled in frustration, but he held back for now. He was a force of nature, but even he understood the necessity of keeping things under control. He wasn’t stupid, despite what I sometimes feared. He knew the longer we kept making a mess ofthings, the more attention we’d draw. The more of a target we’d become.

So, we moved swiftly. My body was a blur of calculated violence, every strike precise, every hit lethal. The Yakuza men didn’t even see it coming.

By the time the last of them fell, their blood staining the pavement, I was already on the move again, the Oni growling in my mind.

"We're not done," I reminded him. "I need to get her something."

The Oni's mood soured at the thought. "Get her what?" he sneered, his voice dripping with disdain. "She doesn’t deserve anything from us."

I knew he didn’t care for Momoi, not the same way I did. But we had a job to do, and I needed her to be safe. I wasn’t about to let her be left with nothing.

“We’re getting her clothes,” I snapped. “She can’t go around naked, can she?”

The Oni snarled. "Clothes? What need does she have for coverings? She doesn’t deserve anything from me."

“Shut up,” I muttered under my breath. “She needs them. She can’t just be left with what little she has. She doesn’t have anything else. You’re going to have to get used to it.”

I could practically hear the Oni grinding his teeth in my head. He hated the idea. But he hated the idea of me leaving her alone even more.

So, we went to a store. Not a fancy one—just a small, rundown shop. The Oni, in his usual fashion, had killed the owner before even consulting me. We grabbed the essentials—some shirts, pants, a jacket. Anything that could hide the bruises on her skin or give her the illusion of normalcy.

But even as I grabbed the clothes, I could feel the Oni’s resentment. He detested their scent. He despised the fact that they didn’t smell like her.

I could feel the Oni stirring, his presence clawing at the edges of my mind.

“You can’t give her these,” he growled, his voice thick with irritation. “It’ll taint her with its stench.”

I raised an eyebrow, trying to push back against him. “It’s just clothes, demon. It’s not as if we’re handing her a dead rat.”

He snarled, clearly not amused. “You don’t understand.Her scent... she deserves better than this mockery."

“Right, because nothing says 'I care' like obsessing over the scent of her clothes,” I shot back, trying to keep my voice calm. Seemed I wasn’t the only one confused when it came to Momoi.

“You don’t get it!” the Oni rumbled. “Those clothes don’t smell likeher...they smell like the store... likepeople.”

I sighed. “Okay, so what do you want me to do? Set the clothes on fire and call it a day?”

“Youdon’t get it,” he retorted. “She needs to smell... safe. Smell like she’s ours.”

I ran a hand over my face, feeling the weight of the situation. “Yeah, well, she’s not a pet. We can’t just claim her as some sort of territory. Now stop being ridiculous and let me get her something she can wear.”

The Oni growled again, clearly displeased. “Fine. Butdon’tthink I’ll forget this.”

I shook my head. “Yeah, I’m sure you won’t... but we still have bigger things to worry about.”

But I was past listening to him.

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