The rest of the night had been quite peaceful. Somnia had shown me to my room, which had been decorated similarly to the rest of the house with a large futon and low-cut furniture. As soon as I’d gotten a good look around she practically dragged me to her room. Averyl had mentioned that she had a sibling who collected weapons, and one look at Somnia’s wall of weapons made it clear that she was that sibling. Swords, hammers, axes, maces, guns… there were even a few ceremonial-looking items I could hardly describe all hanging on her wall. After much deliberation, she ended up giving me a sword with a thin blade with a black hilt with a ruby jewel at its center. Following that, we convened in the dining room where I ate my first actual meal of the day – chicken skewers over rice with soy sauce. After an unusually long conversation about cartoons, we slowly began to separate and go to bed.

After we each woke up, ate a light breakfast courtesy of Archie, and finished our morning routines, Yugo told us it was time to start our first mission as a group. He led us to the house closest to us. It was five kilometers away and was just as lavish as ours and decorated much the same way. The first thing I noticed as we approached, though, was a group of Oni who were each above Level 200. These weren’t people contracted to an Oni, but actual, Rogue Oni. Most Rogues were one-of-one. I was the only Fallen Star, Lochness was the only Loch Ness Monster, and The Historian was the only Historian. Some Rogues like the Oni and Jikininki were species unto themselves, though, and of the more plentiful Rogues, the Oni were the most powerful.

The Oni outside were both gray-skinned, tall, muscular, and horned, wearing traditional Saikyojin robes with longswords at their waists. They waved at us as we passed by them into the house. I could’ve been wrong, but it felt as though they were almost reverent of Somnia. Perhaps it was because they didn’t hold her gaze, but something about the way they treated her reminded me of the way the Fallen Star Cultists treated me growing up.

As we made our way through the lavish house, more and more Oni greeted us and shuffled through the house which had been renovated to look like an office. Oni men and women of varying levels dressed in business attire scrambled about handling paperwork while others typed away at their computers. As the four of us made our way through the house, a sense of relief seemed to sweep through the workers as though our being there was enough to solve whatever problem they were dealing with.

Eventually, we made our way into the main office. It wasn’t called that, but it was in the same place the main bedroom of the Seekers HQ had been where Yugo slept, so I could only assume. Inside was a hulking man dressed in a too-tight gray vest with gray pants, a white shirt, and a pink bowtie. Just like the other Oni, his skin was gray and his hair was black. On the wall behind him hung a thick spiked club with the Oni Prefecture flag hanging above it – a red flag with flames at the end and an ominous demon mask drawn in the center.

“Shuten Douji,” Yugo began. “Your help has arrived.”

The Oni, Shuten Douji, furrowed his brow and grumbled. “Give me a minute, Yugo. I’m checking in with Ibaraki about a few things.”

His voice was similar to Fallen Star’s. It wasn’t as deep, but it wasn’t high enough to come from a human. I scanned him as Yugo said, “Take your time!”.

NAME: SHUTEN DOUJI

APPROXIMATE LEVEL: 325

CLASSIFICATION: HYBRID

When he stood, Shuten Douji took up the whole room. He hit his head on the ceiling, cursed, and sat back down in his chair. He looked over us all, putting his head between his thumb and forefinger as he focused on me.

“Is this the recruit you were telling me about? Rui Payne? The Curse User?”

“Yup! In the flesh!” Yugo cheered, extending his arms and presenting me like a cheerleader.

He made an uncertain grumble. “You sure you want to go out with a Level 34?”

“Oh, that? Pshh.” Yugo waved a dismissive hand. “Don’t worry. He’ll be fine. More than fine, he’ll be stronger than you in a month or two.”

“Hah! Really now?”

“Really! I’ll have you know he was Level 20 when I first saw him.”

“And how many days ago was that?”

“Hmmm… What time is it?” Yugo checked his phone. “In four hours, it’ll be one!”

Shuten Douji looked me over once again and snorted. “Surpass me, huh? If I had enough manpower to rush an Aura Point you wouldn’t be able to say stuff like that to me, Yugo.” He snorted, leaning forward in his seat and giving me a conspiratorial look. “Listen, kid. Yugo gives you a hard time, come give the Silent Hand a call. Yugo might be an idiot, but he has an eye for talent. If you’re as impressive as he says you are, we’ll always have space for you here with us.”

So that’s who these people are. The ‘Silent Hand’. Have you ever heard of them?

“I HAVE NOT. MANY SOCIETIES EXIST IN SECRET.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” I said. “Thank you.”

Yugo gave me an incredulous look. “What do you mean, ‘keep that in mind’?! You’re one of us now! Don’t keep that in mind!” He turned to Shuten Douji. “If you want to make the Silent Hand stronger, stop giving missions and start taking them!”

“We can’t do that, stretched thin as we are. It takes time to find Oni willing to work with us, and more to train them in espionage. Adding combat training to that takes far too long! Ibaraki’s training is coming along well, but I also need to teach him how to be a teacher. It’ll be years before we’re ready to replace you Seekers.”

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“With all the money you make selling information I assumed you would’ve been able to hire some tutors by now.”

“Tutors have no allegiance to us! That isn’t a risk I’m willing to–”

“I’m sorry. Can we get to the mission, please?” Somnia interrupted.

“Thank you,” Archie groaned, rolling his eyes. He turned to me. “Yugo and Shuten go back and forth for hours before any work gets done.”

“Tch.” Yugo scoffed, shooting us a dirty look.

Shuten Douji laughed. “No, she’s right. This is why she’s the real leader of the Seekers.”

Somnia sank into her seat as Shuten Douji gave us the details of our assignment.

Our mission was to take out a high-profile Myth here in the Saikou Prefecture that’d been slowly conquering villages on the outskirts of the Saikou Prefecture and settlements on the outskirts of the neighboring Oni Prefecture like some ancient Minashirajin Shogun. The Myth had slowly grown the Saikou Prefecture through intimidation, murder, and extortion either personally or with her “Honor Guard”. If anyone opposed their rule or attempted to fight back, they’d be made an example of by that very same Honor Guard.

“How long has this been happening?” Somnia asked.

“It’s been going on for the past six months.”

“Six months?!” Archie shouted. “Why are we getting this mission now? Those people need help!”

“You were Level 16 six months ago, and Somnia wasn’t part of the Seekers six months ago. Plus, she only started getting violent recently. Back then, she’d focused on political maneuvering to grow her Honor Guard and train them to be more than physical props for the Saikoujin Shogun. Now that she’s getting aggressive – with Oni prefecture –, I believe it’s to nip this in the bud… Before she starts a war she isn’t ready for.”

”And what’s their name?” I asked. “We’ve been talking around it, but I feel like that’s important information.”

“Which do you want to know? The Myth herself, or the girl she’s possessing?”

I twitched. So she was like me?

“SHE IS NOTHING LIKE US. STOP IT.”

“...Both.”

“The girl is named Okita Hana. According to our research, she’s a working-class girl from no notable family. Her Myth is named Futakuchi-Onna. Given how suddenly Ms. Hana gained her power, we’ve come to the assumption that she is in possession of a Mythical Weapon. It’s the only explanation for Futakuchi-Onna’s symbiotic control over her.”

I turned to Yugo out of curiosity, only to find him uncharacteristically tense. Nervous, perhaps?

“Futakuchi-Onna? Doesn’t Mamoru Ruma have Yuki-Onna as her Myth?” Somnia asked, equally tense.

“She does. That’s another reason we weren’t so quick to act.” Shuten Douji admitted.

Despite not knowing a ton about the outside world, even I knew who Mamoru Ruma was. I’d known who she was back in the Fallen Star Cult. My teachers all taught me that she was some legendary hero who helped found Minashire, but truthfully I only saw her as the lady who founded the Mamoru Clan that owns everything under the sun. Hell, they probably own the sun, too.

“Thankfully, Futakuchi-Onna isn’t as powerful as either of her sisters. That doesn’t mean she’s a pushover, though. We’ve observed her using highly toxic poison, a leech ability of some kind, and even high-level shapeshifting techniques.” Shuten Douji gave Yugo a smug look. “I bet she could even kill you if you aren’t careful.”

”...Ah,” Yugo stammered. He adjusted himself, reverting to the jovial teacher I’d come to know. “Yeah, that isn’t happening. Save the stories for the kids.”

“Still, how are we going to kill her?” I asked. “Where does she rest? We’ll ambush her.”

“Futakuchi-Onna isn’t like the Rogues you normally hunt. She’s smarter. She knows she has enemies, so she won’t just fight anyone who challenges her. Remember: She has an Honor Guard who does that for her.” He turned back to his computer and began to work while he spoke. “She only personally targets the wealthy and the powerful. Yugo will get her attention with no effort. For the rest of you, though, you’ll need to flaunt some cash to get her or her Honor Guard to approach you. According to our findings, spending $1000 in one day gets you tailed by one of the weaker Honor Guard, $10,000 gets you interrogated, and $50,000 gets you visited by Futakuchi-Onna herself.”

”We don’t have that kind of money, though,” I said, turning to the Seekers. “Right?”

Archie and Somnia both declined. Yugo, though…

“Hell no! I’m flat broke! Why do you think we’re taking this mission?! I’ll have you know I had to take a train to and from Miyafokuu yesterday to pick up Rui. We sat in Economy. Economy! I’m sorry Douji, but this mission might not be–”

“Yugo…stop.”

Shuten Douji clapped, and four Oni men rushed into the room carrying garment bags with expensive-looking kimonos all four of us. Four Oni women followed behind them, carrying envelopes each containing $30000 cash.

“It isn’t 50, but if all of you go in and spend copious amounts of cash, it’ll get her attention regardless.”

“Hey,” Yugo said, pushing the stuff away. “Listen, I was joking. I can afford to–”

“I insist,” Shuten Douji innterrupted. “If I’m being frank, we made a good amount of money from our last job with some businesswoman from Tesoro Gardens. Think of this as my way of being the bigger person and paying to resolve this conflict before things get too ugly.”

Yugo smiled. “How kindhearted of–”

“You can also think of it as payment for this mission.”

Yugo deflated.

“Listen, Seekers. You’re free to spend it all however you want. Just don’t forget that Futakuchi-Onna can shapeshift. Be on your guard. If you need any assistance, look for anyone wearing a red sash. Those are our guys.”

Somnia bowed. “Thank you, Shuten Douji. We appreciate your generosity.”

“Yeah,” Archie said. “Next time you’re in Harrowstead, dinner’s on me. Pick a pub and I’ll rent it out for you and your people.”

After Yugo and I gave our thanks, Shuten Douji gave us a slip of paper with an address on it.

“That’s the Tiger Lily Hotel. We own the place, and it’s the only place you all will be able to rest safely. When the sun sets, go straight there. Don’t eat any food after sunset unless it comes straight from us, because by then it’ll likely have been poisoned.”