Page 25

25

The Quiet Before the Storm

MOMOI

I couldn’t help but be taken aback by how quickly Tatsuya had shifted into action. One moment, he was this monstrous, terrifying Oni; the next, he was pulling himself together, his voice calm and controlled. It was akin to watching two people share the same skin—his demonic side constantly clawing for dominance and the human part of him desperate for control.

But I wasn’t going to argue about it. Not when he was somehow managing to hold it together enough to make a phone call—though, how he knew the shady people who had apartments for rent, I couldn’t say. There was no way I was going to ask. Not when the reality of what we were dealing with sank in. His mind was always shifting, unpredictable, and I wasn’t sure whether to be impressed or terrified by how quickly he adapted to a situation.

It was a gritty, old part of town—one that reeked of neglect and crime, the kind of place where only the most desperate or dangerous would end up. And Tatsuya... well, he was a magnet for danger.

We’d moved into a nondescript building, a decaying structure that seemed as if it had been abandoned for years but somehow still had a purpose. The hallway smelled of dampness, the floorboards creaking beneath our feet, but it was a place to lay low, and I supposed that was all that mattered.

He had found the place quickly, knowing just who to contact and making sure to keep his voice low and steady, no trace of the demonic growl in his tone. It worked, and by some miracle, we had an apartment. One of those "random" ones he mentioned, which could stay indefinitely, if necessary. And right now, we both needed a place to breathe, even if it was just for a few hours.

As soon as we got inside, Tatsuya dropped onto the couch with a sigh, his body still tense, the demon lurking in the background, but he looked… calmer. He had his moments where I thought he was himself again, and then there were times when the weight of what he'd become almost crushed him.

I paced the small apartment, trying to steady my own racing thoughts, but everything felt... wrong. It had only been a day, and yet it felt like we were on the edge of some inevitable collapse, as if, at any moment we would run out of time.

"So, what now?" I finally asked, breaking the silence. My voice was steady, but there was a tinge of unease that I couldn’t mask. The adrenaline was fading, leaving me with questions I couldn't push away.

Tatsuya didn’t answer immediately. His hands were clasped in front of him, his gaze distant. And just as I was about to repeat the question, he finally spoke, his voice strangely calm for someone who had just become an Oni.

"We handle it." His eyes met mine briefly, the weight of those words settling between us. "You stay here. Out of sight."

I stared at him, my mind racing. Stay out of sight? I was in this mess just as much as he was. I couldn’t just sit back and wait while they made decisions for us. But he didn’t offer me any more details. His expression hardened, that familiar wall he put up whenever something bothered him.

"Handle it?" I repeated, crossing my arms. "What does that mean? You're not going to—" I didn’t even want to ask the question, but the way he looked at me, I knew the answer wasn’t going to be good.

Tatsuya looked at me, weighing his words carefully. “The Yakuza will come looking for us. We’ll deal with them. And you stay here. It’s the safest thing for you right now.”

My eyes narrowed, and I couldn’t quite keep the suspicion from my voice. "And what, you think I’m just going to sit here and wait for you two to finish this mess? You don’t even trust me enough to tell me what’s really going on, do you?"

He didn’t flinch. “It’s not that. It’s that you’ve already been through too much. We can’t risk putting you in danger again.”

There was something about how he said it—so calm, so composed—that set my teeth on edge. I wanted to argue, to demand answers, but something in me told me not to push it further. Not yet.

I peeled the clothes I had on away from myself. “I’m going to need a few things…”

The Oni’s nostrils flared, and I narrowed my eyes. I could tell, Tatsuya quickly took over again after that slip.

I lowered my arms and stepped toward him, standing there silently for a moment before speaking again. “The Yakuza are not one to be messed with or easily taken out, you know this right? They’re the same as roaches, infested everywhere even if you can’t see them… but they can see you."

Tatsuya didn’t respond at first, but then he sighed deeply, running a hand through his demonic form’s long, black hair. "You can’t change what’s already been set in motion. But if we handle this the right way, we can end it. Without it coming back to bite us."

I still didn’t feel great about the situation. But what else could I do? He wasn’t offering me any other choice. And the longer I stared at him, the more I realized I didn’t just want answers—I wanted to believe in him. To believe that, even in this twisted situation, he would find a way to protect us both.

Look at me, healing and crap. Who would have thought I would ever learn to trust again. A real life Oni demon at that.

With a final glance at the door, I nodded reluctantly. “Alright. I’ll stay out of the way. But this better not be some sort of trick, Tatsuya.”

He didn’t answer me right away, his focus shifting somewhere distant. But I could see the wariness in his eyes. He wasn’t telling me everything.

But then again, I wasn’t exactly being honest with him either.

The silence between us grew, heavy and thick. I had no idea how we were going to make it through this alive. The Yakuza wouldn’t stop coming, and Tatsuya… the Oni ... was more dangerous than I could’ve ever imagined.

I just had to hope that somewhere in that chaotic, raging storm inside of him, he would find a way to save us both.

The tension between us was palpable, hanging thick in the air as the hours ticked by in silence. I sat on the edge of the threadbare couch, trying to keep my thoughts from spiraling into the darkness of what might be coming next. The city outside was a distant world, muffled by the decaying walls around us, but I knew danger was just waiting to break down that door.

Tatsuya—the Oni—was pacing, the heavy footsteps of the demon echoing through the tiny apartment as he wrestled with whatever battle was going on inside his head. I could feel it, the storm brewing just beneath his skin, the two entities vying for control.

I had to admit, as much as I wanted to believe in his ability to protect us, to fix everything, part of me feared that we were already too far gone. And even though the Oni’s power was something I had come to recognize—hell, even admire at times.

Tatsuya stopped pacing suddenly, his eyes locking onto mine. A brief flash of humanity flickered behind the demonic gaze, but it was gone in an instant, a shadow swallowed by the flames.

“I have to go,” he said, his voice rough but firm, as though it cost him to admit it.

My heart stuttered in my chest. “Go? Like, right now?”

“I can’t be here with you,” he cut me off, his voice colder, more distant than I’d heard it since the transformation. The demon was rising again, pushing at the edges of his control. “It’s not safe for you.”

I stared at him, frustration bubbling up in my chest. Since when was it safe for me? His hand reached for the door handle, and for a moment, I thought maybe I was imagining it when he paused, his back still to me. Then he spoke again, his voice a bare whisper. “I’m sorry… for all of this.”

And in the next instant, he was gone.

The door clicked shut behind him, leaving nothing but the silence of the apartment and the steady beating of my heart in the air.

“That was weird.”

I stared at the door for a long time, my emotions swirling in a mess of anger, fear, and— surprisingly —something akin to a twisted kind of longing. He hadn’t given me any assurance that he’d come back. In fact, his leaving felt more of a goodbye than anything else.

The storm was coming. And even though Tatsuya had just walked out that door, I knew one thing for sure. It wasn’t over yet.

Not by a long shot.