“Damnit!”

Kisaki turned with a start toward her friend. “What’s wrong?”

“My cell phone,” Tamiko said. “I was trying to call my dad, but I don’t have international minutes.”

“I’m sorry if I scared you with ... this.” She waved her hands at the scenery around them. “It was not my intention.”

Tamiko laughed. The initial shock had seemingly worn off, but she still looked a bit wide-eyed. “I’m more scared of what he’ll do if he sees any roaming charges. Oh wait. I think someone has an open Wi-Fi connection nearby. Let me see if I can use that.”

Kisaki stopped and put a hand on her shoulder. “I didn’t mean for this to happen, but I promise I will get you home.”

After a moment, Tamiko nodded. “I believe you. And, hey, magic crystals are bound to be cheaper than airfare.” She looked down at her phone, smiled, and began to type on it.

“Wi-Fi?” Shitoro asked, still in his tiger form.

“Wireless internet. Not quite as good as magic, but it gets the job done.”

“What are you doing?” Kisaki asked.

“Shooting my dad an email. I’m telling him we’re going to be spending the weekend helping you with your sick grandmother, so he doesn’t worry when we’re not there in the morning.” She looked around. “Or whatever time it is back home.”

“I don’t have a sick grandmother,” Kisaki replied before turning to Shitoro. “Do I even have a...?”

“It doesn’t matter.” Tamiko pocketed her phone. “It’s just to buy us some time.” Kisaki inclined her head, not comprehending. “It’s like you said. We’re already here. We might as well make the most of it. I’ve never been to the United States before. So this is kind of like a vacation with friends ... and their pets. It’ll also give us time to try and find your father.”

Kisaki didn’t know how to express her gratitude in words. Instead, she flung herself at her friend and hugged her hard. After a moment, Tamiko returned it.

“Lady Kisaki,” Shitoro chided, “let that human go. You don’t know what kind of germs she has.”

The girls disengaged, and then Tamiko got down on one knee before the little demon. “Don’t make me buy a muzzle for you.”

“You wouldn’t dare.”

“Try me. Oh, and from here on out, a word of advice: I’ve never been to America, but if it’s anything at all like Kabira Bay, then the cats don’t talk back.”

♦ ♦ ♦

“What does it say?” Kisaki asked. The words on the sign were a jumble to her, although she could have sworn they seemed to make more sense the longer she stared at them.

“We’re in a town called Cartersville,” Tamiko said. “Looks more like a dump to me.”

“Amazingly enough, I believe we have found something we can agree on, human,” Shitoro replied.

“What did I tell you about talking?”

“You do not tell me anything. I am a superior being.”

“A superior being that needs a flea bath.”

“How dare you...”

“That’s enough, Shitoro,” Kisaki said. Despite her far greater age, she had to admit her friend knew Earth much better than she could probably ever hope to. Shitoro would sooner combust than admit it, but it was painfully obvious the same could be said of him.

The town that lay before them was in stark contrast to the resort where she’d spent the last few days. The buildings were smaller and older looking. They were also further apart, with lots of trees taking up the excess space. She could neither see the ocean nor smell any hint of salt in the air, leaving her to conclude they were far from it.

There was, however, lots of life here. Birds, far different from those she saw at the resort, flew through the air and, every so often, she caught hints of movement in the trees – tiny furred creatures that scampered through the branches. They paid her and her companions not the slightest heed, leaving her to conclude they were merely animals, not youkai in disguise.

She found the lack of youkai to be curious. The histories she’d read of this planet had always included them, whether they were warring alongside mankind or against them. Yet, Shitoro aside, she hadn’t seen any, nor had she been given any indication by the humans she’d met so far that they were even aware of them.

Kisaki wondered if something had happened, some event or plague that had either destroyed demonkind upon this world or sent them into hiding.

Before those thoughts could be allowed to wander very far, she was brought back to the here and now by a commotion from not too far away. Kisaki turned toward the source and saw a pack of humans, all males from the look of it, with a wide range of coloring and features. It appeared as if six of the males were harassing a seventh.

“What’s going on over there?” Tamiko wondered aloud.

If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

“It is of no concern to us,” Shitoro said before being shushed by Tamiko.

Kisaki couldn’t understand what the group was saying, but the voices of the six were rising in pitch. She didn’t need to grasp their meaning to know that they sounded angry.

She remembered the group who had teased her upon her arrival on Earth, how they’d pushed her into the water. Those had been mere children, smaller than her, and easily chased off by a few words from Tamiko. These males were larger, older, and they seemed far more aggressive. It didn’t appear to her as if mischief was all they had in mind. She watched as several balled their fists against the lone male. He had light brown hair, perhaps a shade darker than her own. Though as tall as the rest, he was lean where they were stocky. He held up his hands in a placating manner to the others, but Kisaki instinctively sensed that wouldn’t do him any good.

The largest of the group, a pale, portly teen with hair as dark as Tamiko’s but much shorter and greasier looking, stepped forward and grabbed him by the jacket. He dragged the lone male between two buildings, out of their line of sight. A moment later, the other five followed.

“Come on. We need to help him.”

“Help him?” Tamiko asked. “How?”

“I don’t know,” Kisaki said, starting off in the direction she’d seen them go.

Behind her, she could hear Shitoro quietly pleading that they should leave well enough alone, but she ignored him. That boy appeared to be in trouble, far more than she had been. Though she doubted her harassers would have done much more than make fun of her, Tamiko had arrived and chased them off nevertheless. Though she wasn’t a warrior, her actions had been those of a hero.

If her friend could do it, then so could Kisaki. She now knew she was half human, perhaps descended from the fine warriors of the past she’d read about. If so, then that same blood flowed through her veins. It was time to test her own mettle and do for this boy what her friend had done for her.

As Kisaki closed the distance to the alley, she heard the voices of the group again, still arguing angrily.

At first, it was just indistinct chatter, but then, as before, she was amazed to discover that the words quickly started to make sense.

“I ... too. I ... doing ... job.”

“...give a damn ... teeth.”

“Get him! ... one for me.”

“Come on, guys. I didn’t...”

“Shut up, asshole. You ... me out for shoplifting. Do you know what my old man did to me?”

“I work there. I can’t just ... oof!”

Kisaki sped up her pace, Tamiko and Shitoro still hot on her tail. Though she couldn’t be certain, it had sounded like someone had been struck.

“Hold him up. Time to teach this loser that snitches really do get stitches.”

Kisaki rounded the corner and saw she’d been right. The brown-haired male the others had been harassing was down on one knee, holding his stomach. Two others flanked him and were trying to drag him back up to his feet. Two more stood in front alongside the large male she assumed to be the one who’d made the attack.

A sixth, a young man with long hair pulled back into a ponytail, stood near the end of the alley she’d just turned down. When he saw her, he stepped forward angrily. “There ain’t nothing to see here. Get moving!”

Kisaki decided to test whether her newfound understanding of this language affected her tongue as well as her ears. “Leave him alone.”

“I said get out of here, unless you want some of the same.”

“Kisaki,” Tamiko warned from behind her.

“What’s going on there?” the large one, perhaps their leader, asked from further in.

“We’ve got an audience.”

“Get rid of them!”

“Help me!” the brown-haired boy pleaded. “Call the...”

He was again struck by the large one, a blow to his midsection that put him back on the ground.

Kisaki had seen enough. She made to step past the one who was trying to block her, but he caught her by the arm and shoved her away.

“Lady Kisaki!” Shitoro cried from behind her.

Kisaki stumbled back a few steps before being caught by Tamiko. She quickly nodded thanks to her friend.

“We need to get out of here,” Tamiko hissed. “We have to...”

“What the hell?” It was the boy who stood guard. He was staring down at Shitoro, his eyes wide.

Kisaki decided to use the distraction to her benefit. She pushed off Tamiko and raced forward, catching the guard with her shoulder and knocking him to the side.

She knew what she was doing was reckless, potentially dangerous, but she’d seen the good in these people through her friend. If there was one human like her friend, then there were others. Tamiko had taken a chance on her. Now it was her turn to even the scales by doing the same ... or attempting to anyway.

One of the boys standing alongside the large male moved forward to intercept her, blocking her way with his superior size. “This isn’t any of your business, bitch.” He slapped a fist into his open palm. “I don’t know you, so get lost before I’m forced to introduce myself.”

“I am making it ... my business.”

“Yo, Robbie, you hear this? Egg Roll here is making it her business.”

“Egg Roll?” Kisaki asked, confused.

“Hey!” a voice from behind her called, the ponytailed one. “I think this cat can talk.”

Kisaki said a silent prayer that for once Shitoro let his ego go and remained silent. She had a feeling this group was going to be even worse trouble for them if they managed to stand out more than they already did.

“What?” the big one, Robbie, asked, ceasing his assault for the moment.

The one blocking Kisaki let out a laugh. “I think Jack’s holding out. Been smoking some of the good shit without us.”

“He better not be.”

“Yeah, man. Say, what do you want me to do with Sum Dum Fuk here?”

“Do you really need me to tell you what to do with a woman?”

The comment caused the others to stop and laugh. Kisaki had just barely begun to understand some of Tamiko’s colloquialisms, much less the ones from this new land. However, she wasn’t a stupid girl by any means. It was painfully obvious that the boy named Robbie had just insulted the one trying to block her.

Perhaps it would cause him to rethink his allegiance.

He stepped forward and gave Kisaki a shove.

Perhaps not.

She landed on her backside on the hard ground, unhurt save for her pride.

“Kisaki!”

“Back off unless you want some, too,” the pony-tailed one warned Tamiko from somewhere behind her. “And take your freak-ass cat with you.”

Tamiko was putting herself in danger for her once again. This was not how Kisaki had envisioned things. She felt ashamed that in trying to help, all she’d managed to do was get knocked down again, same as the last time she’d faced a group of adversaries.

There came a stab of heat from her side. The quill again! It almost seemed to sense her mood when she was in trouble. She briefly wondered what would happen if she pulled it out. After all, Shitoro had claimed it was dangerous.

Kisaki didn’t want to hurt anyone, but perhaps she could use it to scare them off. That seemed a viable strategy to her.

She reached into her jacket pocket and pulled it forth, imagining it as the sword she’d seen hanging over her mother’s chair.

Climbing back to her feet, she held it out before her. “Behold, mortal, the power of...”

The sword was still merely a feathered quill in her hands. Nothing more.

“Hey, Robbie. Bitch thinks she’s gonna fly away. Drop that thing!” he said, laughing as he slapped it from her hand. “Don’t you know seagulls have germs?”

Kisaki watched in shock as it dropped lightly to the ground, landing in a puddle. Anger and outrage flooded her senses, and she stepped in close to the man. “That belongs to my mother.”

“Oh? Your mama gave you a feather?” he replied. “Mine just gave me this.” He backhanded Kisaki across the face with an audible crack.