Chapter 52: Nisan Is Inuyasha

The words had barely fallen.

“Sankai, are you thinking of slaughtering again?”

From the vortex stepped a woman in red, her voice sweet and intoxicating—just hearing it made one unable to resist—and her allure radiated like flame.

The woman was beautiful, unlike the six-eyed humanoid monsters; she looked exactly human, save for one difference—she was too dazzling, too seductive, that it left one trapped, unable to look away.

“You look like this, and I’m already overwhelmed.”

Sankai gnawed slowly on the last piece of wild boar meat, his mouth smeared with blood, his tongue—longer than a snake’s—coiled around the bone.

At these words, the woman smiled, her beauty unfolding in a thousand alluring ways.

“If you’re overwhelmed, I don’t mind.”

With blunt words, she lifted her slender, finger-like hand slightly, parting her red robe to reveal glimpses of skin—if this were Japan, a subway pervert would already have launched a full assault.

But Sankai only laughed, shook his head, and turned away.

“Forget it. I know your true form—I’ve seen it. You’re bigger than I am.”

Within Sankai’s six eyes, flashes of wariness, chills, and revulsion passed.

He knew well how ruthless and terrifying he had been in another world—and this woman was equally brutal, but her brutality bordered on perversion.

“Let’s go. Survey the scale of this low-level world, then return and report to the Sacrificial Master.”

“You go first. I’ll find something to eat—I haven’t eaten in three days since coming to this world.”

“Fine. I’ll investigate on my own.”

“I suggest you eat something too. The native residents of this world are delicious. You’re new to investigating other worlds, so you don’t know— the Sacrificial Master’s estimation of world tiers has never been wrong. He says this is a low-level world, so it is. Here, you can slaughter freely—he won’t blame you, and no one here can stop us.”

…

Arakawa Ward, apartment, Kamikawa residence.

“I’m home.”

Kamikawa Mitsu entered, kicked off his shoes, and placed the vegetables bought at the market into the kitchen.

He glanced around the house—Kamikawa Sashiko hadn’t returned yet.

Kamikawa Sashiko’s junior high was far from home; she’d likely be late.

“I’ll cook first.”

He went to the living room, turned on the TV to the news channel, then returned to the kitchen, tied on his apron, and began preparing dinner.

Japanese apartments have a convenient interior design: the kitchen and living room are connected, with no wall between them—only a sink separates them, letting Kamikawa Mitsu wash vegetables and cook while watching the news on the living room TV.

Convenient. No trade-off.

Since the Arakawa Ward upheaval, major TV networks have sent their best reporters there to secure firsthand information, even launching a special news talk show inviting scholars who study yokai to appear on screen and explain.

Kamikawa Mitsu washed greens, glancing at the TV.

“Typical government style.”

The news broadcast was a government press conference, explaining publicly the incident at Yunhu last night.

The government spokesperson spoke at length.

The gist was that Yunhu was still under investigation; whether yokai existed there remained unconfirmed. Citizens were urged not to speculate wildly, to avoid unnecessary panic.

The spokesperson also stated that anyone posting inappropriate remarks online or offline would be arrested on suspicion of inciting unrest and spreading rumors.

Finally, the press conference concluded with the government’s promise to investigate fully and release results to the public at the earliest opportunity.

Long silence.

After dinner.

Kamikawa Mitsu sat on the sofa, watching TV, listening as Kamikawa Sashiko chattered about her day at school.

“Nisan, if yokai really exist, then onmyoji, shrine maidens, and priests must have supernatural powers to subdue demons, right? Oh, I wish I could be a shrine maiden, slaying yokai like Kikyo—heehee.”

As she spoke, Kamikawa Sashiko drifted again into a girlhood fantasy.

Kamikawa Mitsu smiled.

“If you’re Kikyo, then what am I—a priest?”

In Japanese anime, if a shrine maiden has a brother, he’s usually incredibly powerful—either hailed as the top young priest, or the heir to a famed onmyoji clan.

“A priest?”

Kamikawa Sashiko blinked her clear, watery eyes, recalling the violent scenes of Nisan beating up thugs.

Priests and onmyoji aren’t usually violent, are they?

Clearly, Kamikawa Sashiko felt Nisan’s imposing presence had nothing to do with the gentle, benevolent image of priests or onmyoji—he was far more commanding.

The next second.

Kamikawa Sashiko immediately conjured an image—in fact, ever since she decided she wanted to be a shrine maiden, she’d already defined Nisan’s image in her mind; she’d just been momentarily distracted by his earlier words.

“Nisan isn’t a priest at all. Your image is Inuyasha.”

Kamikawa Mitsu: “???”

Though Kamikawa Mitsu wasn’t Japanese in his past life, he’d watched anime—Inuyasha, a nationally famous series, was no exception. He knew exactly who she meant.

“Isn’t Inuyasha a yokai?”

Kamikawa Mitsu laughed helplessly.

Kamikawa Sashiko’s bright eyes crinkled into crescents as she beamed sweetly.

“Yes, he’s a yokai! I think your image fits Inuyasha perfectly—you’re so self-assured.”

Since the NH137 incident, Kamikawa Sashiko had noticed Nisan no longer seemed gloomy—he’d become sunny, commanding, more considerate, and fiercely independent.

That matched Inuyasha exactly.

“Sister’s a shrine maiden, brother’s a yokai—doesn’t that sound weird?” Kamikawa Mitsu teased.

“Not at all,” Kamikawa Sashiko shook her head. “Kikyo and Inuyasha were lovers too—weren’t they close?”

At the word “lovers,” Kamikawa Sashiko’s cheeks flushed faintly, the red fading instantly.

She quickly pretended to pat her face, hiding the blush.

Then she lifted her sweet, girlish smile:

“Sister’s a shrine maiden, brother’s a yokai—what’s weird about that? It’s love and conflict—perfect! That’s what makes it interesting.”

Indeed, no matter the country, girls always adore contradictory pairings.

Inuyasha and Kikyo, angels and demons, student council president and student—basically, in anime, the male and female leads are always opposites, then somehow fall for each other.

“I’m like Inuyasha… a yokai?”

Suddenly, Kamikawa Mitsu froze, instinctively glancing at the script panel.

That morning at school, he’d decided to exchange for a yokai role—so now, he truly was a yokai, perfectly matching Sashiko’s guess that Nisan was Inuyasha.

As Kamikawa Mitsu pondered, Kamikawa Sashiko asked him:

“Nisan, you haven’t answered—do shrine maidens and priests really have supernatural powers?”

Kamikawa Mitsu was about to answer when a message popped up in his class group on LINE.

He stared.

Huh?

He looked up immediately.

“I don’t know if shrine maidens or priests have powers—but it seems a priest is transferring into my class. Apparently from a major shrine.”

…