Page 24

24

Flesh and Fury

TATSUYA

T he Oni thrummed through my veins, pulling at the very essence of who I was, clawing for control. Inside, Tatsuya and the demon fought tooth and nail—one trying to regain humanity, the other reveling in destruction.

I could hear Tatsuya’s voice in my head, strained, frustrated. " We can’t just tear through the Yakuza without thinking. We need to plan, Oni. Plan. " His words felt distant, as if they were coming through thick fog.

I felt the demon's grin stretch across my face, savage, wild. "Plan?" I growled. "We’ve never needed a plan. We just need to take what's ours."

Tatsuya’s voice surged again, sharper, more desperate. " We can’t keep doing this. Not this way. You’re going to get us both killed. "

But I was beyond caring. The blood boiled in me, rage clouding my vision. It wasn’t about survival anymore. It wasn’t even about the Yakuza. It was about her . The pull of her—the heat of her touch, the fire of her defiance—it was everything I wanted.

"She’s mine," I hissed, ignoring Tatsuya’s protests. " She wants this. "

The argument raged inside me, a storm tearing at the fabric of my mind, but I wasn’t listening. The Oni wanted nothing but chaos, destruction, and Momoi. Nothing else mattered.

In the distance, there was a rustling, faint but unmistakable. Footsteps. My senses locked onto them, a predator with a fresh scent. I could feel the shift in the air, a tangible thrill running down my spine. Finally , something to rip through. Something to destroy.

Tatsuya’s voice was strained, panicked. " Don’t. Don’t let the rage take over. We need to think. We need to be smart, or we’ll lose everything. "

But it was too late. The Oni wasn’t listening. It was always too late. It was a hunger, a need that burned too bright to be ignored.

I surged forward, my body moving with a mind of its own. There was no hesitation. The door of the building ahead creaked, swinging open just as the figure emerged. A man, casual in his walk, unaware of the beast about to pounce.

I couldn’t stop myself. The rage was too much.

The Oni roared inside me, demanding release.

Before Tatsuya could say another word, I was already upon him. The world around me blurred as my claws reached out, tearing into the man’s flesh, rending him apart without a second thought. The blood sprayed across the floor, a hot, thick spray that soaked my skin. The satisfaction was immediate, primal, and absolute.

But even as the life drained from the man’s eyes, there was a flicker—a small voice in the back of my mind. Tatsuya.

" What have you done? " His voice was shaking now, full of disbelief and disgust. " We were trying to control this, trying to stop. "

I wiped the blood from my claws, my grin stretching wider. " This is control. "

I could feel Tatsuya retreating further, his words growing weaker as the Oni pushed him back. And for the first time, I felt the demon in me fully in charge. There was no trace of humanity left.

But as the blood pooled at my feet, something inside me—the small part of Tatsuya that still existed—shifted. I felt it. The doubt. The confusion.

"This isn’t us," Tatsuya whispered, and I wanted to ignore him, but his words gnawed at me. "This isn't what you promised me you would be."

But the Oni didn’t care about promises. It cared about hunger, desire, and rage. And right now, the only thing it wanted was her.

The moment I thought about Momoi, a twinge of hesitation ran through me. The battle between Tatsuya and the Oni shifted again, both of us struggling for control. But I wasn’t ready to let go. Not yet.

" We need to go to her, " I growled.

" Not like this, " Tatsuya shot back, but it didn’t matter. The Oni had already decided.

I didn’t give him a chance to argue. I was already moving. I needed her.

As I stalked through the streets, the bloodstains still dripping from my claws, I could feel the tension building, the pull of the demon’s rage swirling in the air. Each step was heavy, the weight of the world bearing down on me.

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 like me —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? "

"I’m asking you to stop being an idiot," I spat back, the frustration rising in my chest. "If we’re going to survive, we need to think this through. We can’t afford any more chaos. Momoi is in this mess, and we owe her. I owe her. You understand?"

There was a strange pause, an eerie quiet before the demon’s voice spoke again, less mocking, more contemplative.

" Fine. " The word was heavy, laced with the twisted amusement that always came when the Oni had its way. " But remember, Tatsuya... I still want what’s mine. And I won’t forget. Not after what you’ve put me through. "

The demon’s words were a warning, a promise. But for now, it seemed to have agreed to my plan—perhaps out of necessity, or perhaps because it too understood that this was the only way to get out of this alive.

" We’ll do this your way, " the Oni murmured, its tone shifting, dark but compliant. " But when the time comes, we’ll settle the rest. "

And with that, for the first time, the two of us—demon and human—had come to an uneasy agreement. The plan was set, and I had no idea whether it would work. But I knew one thing for sure: if we were going to escape this hell we’d created, we’d have to rely on each other.