Chapter Text
I come back to New York to find… another ancient evil released from its prison?? Leo what is happening??
So, funny story
[Leo BN is writing…]
Nevermind I imagine you and your brothers handled it, I need to help these humans, call me later okay?
[Last online a minute ago]
[Leo BN is writing…]
[Last online a minute ago]
Usagi hurriedly tucked his phone into his hakama and checked that his cloaking brooch was working before walking out of the alleyway and into the city streets.
He had been trying to catch a flight from Salem, Oregon, to New York City the previous morning. First had been the strikingly sudden and massive flight cancellations without any explanation. A short while after had come the news: An unidentified flying object of gargantuan proportions had appeared in the sky atop Metro Tower through what people could only describe as a terrifying cosmic portal of some sort. There had been multiple reports of viscous, pink-colored, tentacled creatures taking control of the building. One could say that Metro Tower has been octo-pied, folks, the reporter would say, which would have left the rabbit wondering if these reports were anything serious after all… if not for the fact that he could vaguely recognize those pink figures from the pictures of his aunt’s ancient scrolls. Those weren’t yokai. They were otherworldly, cold-blooded demonic creatures which had long been sealed away in the Prison Dimension. But how had they come back to this realm? Why New York, of all places? And why now, of all moments, having completed his musha shugyo and wanting only to rest and see a friend again?
With taking a plane now out of the question, there had been only one thing he could do: travel by tokage across the hidden world’s pseudo-skies, and hope to make it there in time. Of course, Spot had been a little grumpy about it; he wasn’t used to flying such long distances. His disgruntled growls and huffs had reminded Usagi of the time he’d introduced Spot to his mutant friend, Leo. The tokage did not like him one bit, which was weird; Spot was usually so friendly. Anyhow, thoughts of his time with the mutant were what had prompted the text messages. Leo hadn’t replied for hours, probably much too busy with the situation at Metro Tower to look at his phone, but still, this made Usagi’s heart churn.
This was just like Oroku Saki; another world-ending threat to which he would arrive much too late.
What good was he, with all of his skills, his noble name, his knowledge of bushido, his mother’s amazing mystic sword, if he couldn’t just be there when real trouble appeared? How was he better than any common, regular, good-for-nothing… run-of-the-mill rabbit?
Had Leonardo and his portals been with him, then…
As he had expected, everything seemed to be already over by the time he got there. The Hidden City had been lucky to stay intact through the demon ordeal, but Usagi could easily see all the yokai going mad about it, about the military response, the destruction, and what this would mean for their relationship with those on the surface. Some yokai were grieving the loss of their loved ones to the alien creatures. The rabbit knew first-hand that the surface and the hidden world weren’t really that divided, after all. For a moment he dreaded having to leave Spot hitched down there to go up to the surface, but he couldn’t waste time anymore. Even if the demons had gone, someone could still need his help.
Finally, Usagi had been welcomed to the surface by a chill-inducing landscape. Buildings had collapsed, large flying objects had crashed and destroyed the pavement, the apartments and shops and billboards. There were large craters on the ground where explosions had happened, and the humans were still in the process of evacuating the site, looking for survivors and police-lining dangerous structures. The air was still thick and ashy even hours after the incident had passed and the fires had been put out. It stung his eyes just a bit. There was a strange, lingering scent beneath that of iron and gunpowder that his rabbit nose couldn’t identify. It was unique and alien, like ozone, but also had tinges of putrid flesh that sent shivers from his whiskers through his spine. It was the demons’ scent, hovering everywhere like a blood-curdling threat.
He’d just put on his brooch when Leo’s response came: So, funny story.
Funny story? FUNNY STORY?? He knew the mutant was quick to take the seriousness out of everything, but come on. Even so, a sense of relief immediately washed through him. At least Leo seemed to be okay, and it was all he needed to know for now.
So Usagi walked, in his human disguise, around the edges of the area where the human military had made its stand. He scanned the environment for any movement between collapsed structures or behind piles of rubble, a hand ever so gently resting on the hilt of his katana in case any danger was still around.
Evacuating all the people had rendered this place eerily quiet. Silence generally wasn’t something that bothered Usagi, but this was the first time in his seventeen years of life that he’d experienced so much destruction, and the silence just made everything even more desolate. More terrifying. He took a deep breath. He had to remember bushido. Bravery; the virtue of those willing to step away from the comfort of inaction. The virtue of those who didn’t fear the consequences of being true to one’s own noble principles. He was brave. He was strong. He was focused. He was lucky that his human disguise allowed him such small ears, or maybe the piercing cry of a small child coming from a collapsed gift shop wouldn’t have pulled him out of his own head.
He felt the air suddenly leave his lungs as he scrambled and rushed toward the sound. His heart pounded to the point of aching. Usagi jumped and climbed over mounds of rubble as if his weight was that of a feather, finally arriving at the wreckage and effortlessly pushing a large metal beam out of the way before stepping into the would-be shop. The cry stopped suddenly, and he did as well. Dread swelled inside his gut at the thought of him having inadvertently hurt a baby… but sure enough, the silence only lasted a couple seconds before bawling could be heard again. It seemed to come from further inside.
“It’s okay… It is okay, I’m here to help…” He attempted a calming tone as he kept walking inside the building, careful with his feet so as not to disturb the ruins. It wouldn’t take long for him to finally see something. A dim light reflection coming from a broken window revealed something like a small, pastel-colored shopping cart or a… a baby carriage. It was tipped on its side, and there was something moving and crying on the ground next to it. As the samurai approached, he could see it was a really small human baby, tangled in her own blanket and completely covered with dust and debris. She had been desperately using up her energy to wail and sob, but it didn’t look like there was much left in her. Usagi let out a trembling sigh and gently picked the baby up with both hands, slowly brushing and blowing the dust off of her face and getting rid of the tangles. “There you go, it’s okay… It’s alright, little one. It’s alright…Oh, look at you, you’re such a strong baby…” He helped her cough out any more dust, and then held the infant to his chest. The loud, rapid beating of his heart ironically seemed to be enough to soothe her. She babbled softly, looking content in the samurai’s arms. “Good…Good girl, good girl… I’ve got y-” He was suddenly interrupted by another sound.
He had heard a low gurgle coming from some broken down shelves, just a little further from where the baby carriage was. “... Hello?” Usagi shifted his weight, freeing his left arm to grab preemptive hold of his katana. He saw some of the rubble move and a postcard stand fall over as someone wriggled free. He could see frizzled brown hair and what seemed to be a pearl necklace just above a woman’s shoulders. “Fuu…Anshin shita…” He let out a sigh of relief, and was just about to go help the woman when another gurgle, this time louder, chilling and clearly non-human, came out of her. She crawled out of the debris by herself, clawing at the ground. One of her hands had dainty, pretty red nails; the other was covered in a pulsing, pink mass that seemed to have a life of its own, and ended in hardened, monster-like talons. As she stood slowly and turned toward the samurai, he could see how the pink mass had latched onto the human’s back and grown all around her arm and neck. Three glowing green eyes and a horrifying gaping maw had appeared just above her chest, and they focused on Usagi while the woman’s actual face stayed emotionless, swaying slightly, eyes vacant. The creature’s serrated grin let out a threatening growl.
“A-Are you…this baby’s mother…?” The boy asked as he started stepping back, gulping down a disgusted grimace. The alien smell was so pungent now that it seemed to burn his throat. “It’s okay. We can fix this. Just calm down, and we-”
The creature let out an ear-piercing shriek and launched herself at the samurai, her head trailing back unnaturally. Startled, the baby whimpered and soon started crying again in his arm as he jumped back to dodge the attack. “Please! Madam, you need to listen to me! I don’t know what is happening to you, but I assure you I’m here to help! I–... I’m not here to harm your daughter!” He pleaded, but received no more reply than a claw directly to his face. Fortunately, Usagi had finally decided to draw the sword and he expertly parried the attempt away.
It was quite complicated to deal with a rampaging demon while holding a baby; not so much for having only one arm to defend himself with, as he was sufficiently trained to do this, but rather for having his attention divided between an opponent that he didn’t want to harm and a delicate bundle that he didn’t want to drop. Not to mention that he doubted the ruins they were in were structurally sound. In other words: he had to get them all out of there, and he had to solve this situation fast.
The samurai did his best to ignore the baby’s cries in his ear as he focused on dodging and moving away from the creature, using the piles of rubble and tumbled shelves to hide and protect himself. “Madam.” He tried to raise his voice again, this time more authoritatively. “You are not acting like yourself, you are being controlled. You need to come back.”
The creature didn’t seem at all deterred. She clawed at the walls, knocking down objects as she swayed violently toward Usagi. She let out another shrill, which almost seemed to have a tinge of frustration, when her claws didn’t meet their objective.
Usagi deflected another blow right in the split-second it would have taken for it to reach the child. The claw caught some skin on his arm, drawing blood, but the samurai didn’t care to notice. He really didn’t want to hurt her. He tried again, this time staying dangerously closer as he stepped back slowly and parried the hardened organic weapons she was sporting. “Y-You’re making her cry!” He shouted, fire in his voice. He was fiercely protecting the baby with his own body and posture, keeping her turned away from the contact of his sword as much as possible. This time, for just the shadow of an instant, Usagi thought he’d seen a hint of hesitation in the creature.
“Stop this!” He continued, staring into the woman’s real eyes, searching for a sign that would tell him any of his words were getting through. He raised his voice again, sounding more desperate the more he kept being forced to block or dodge her attacks. “You’re hurting her!” He shouted, and the sudden pain in the human’s eyes felt like a stab in his chest. He easily dodged her claw and shouted again, louder. “SHE’S SCARED OF YOU!”
The demon seemed to falter, for a fraction of a second. Then she let out a terrifying, mournful, alien wail that made the samurai’s eardrums sizzle. For a moment he felt light-headed, losing focus, and that was enough for him not to notice a blow coming directly at his side and slashing right below his armpit. “AAGGHH-!” He tripped and had to drop his sword in order to protect the child as he fell, keeping her in his embrace as they rolled away into a pile of dusty I Heart NY t-shirts. A painful hiss came out of his throat. The baby cried softly now, exhausted, clenching her tiny fists and shifting uneasily in his grasp. Usagi was seeing some blotches of red on her, and he prayed it was just his blood, not hers. The pain was getting a little sharper now as the creature groaned unnaturally and moved past the katana on the ground, directly toward Usagi.
“Ssh, it’s okay little one, i-... it’s okay…” Usagi whimpered, struggling to collect his thoughts. His eyes wandered around the broken-down shop, trying to find the easiest way out as he, almost instinctively, started to hum a little song.
“Yuki-kun! Oh, welcome, I’m so glad you could make it. Please, come in. He’s here waiting for you. I was just about to put him to sleep.”
The yokai gave a small bow as a sign of respect before putting on clean socks and stepping inside. A couple steps behind him, his father did the same. This was a traditionally styled bedroom, and treating the tatami floors with care was capital.
Usagi had just arrived from his long trip across America. He hadn’t even taken a minute to put down his suitcase or make himself presentable in any way, so his ears were unevenly tied up, his fur was a bit ruffled from the tokage flight home, and he was still wearing a Wisconsin Badgers t-shirt that was a size larger than his fit would be. He didn’t have time to dawdle; after all, this had been the only reason he’d made a pause to his musha shugyo and come back to Japan in the first place. Well, there was also his father’s wedding three days from then but, honestly, this was way more important.
“Good evening, Tanji-san.” He addressed the elegant hare who sat by the little tea table, holding a really small bundle in her arms.
Ever so slightly, she smiled at him and pointed out “Not for long now.” Her voice was a bit hesitant, unsure. She lifted her gaze to her betrothed and in turn, Tetsuya tapped his son’s arm to correct him. Right. She was an Usagi now.
“Ah, sorry… Toshiko-san.” Yuki said, managing an awkward smile. It wasn’t that he didn’t like his father’s bride-to-be, it was just that he… didn’t really know her that much. To call her by her first name would have to be an adjustment.
She didn’t seem offended; in fact, Toshiko’s smile only widened at the gesture. “Come, Yuki, sit here. Come see your brother.” This time she sounded excited, a twitch in her ears being testament to the anticipation she was feeling. Tetsuya chuckled, though he kept perfect composure as he stepped ahead of his son and kneeled down to serve all of them tea. The young samurai, on the other hand, was starting to feel a little nervous for some reason. He quickly re-did the ribbon in his ears and combed back the fur on his face with a confident swipe of both hands. It was then when he finally approached the proud mother of his baby brother, sitting down by her side and peeking, fascinated, at the tiny yokai she was holding.
The kitten couldn’t be much bigger than ten inches, even counting his perky little ears. His chocolate-colored fur was still really thin, but it looked silky and soft around his twitchy nose. His eyes were wide open, round and attentive, twinkling like pools under the moonlight. Usagi had never seen something so utterly captivating.
“You named him… Jotaro?” Yuki asked, his tone lowered as if he was trying not to melt a snowflake with his breath. Toshiko nodded, her smile bright as she looked on. Yuki was smiling too, although at that moment he wouldn’t even notice. “... He’s so small…”
“He’s a big kitten, actually.” His father pointed out. The usual stoicity that Tetsuya had all but made his trademark had been now replaced with an amused grin. “You were almost half his size when you were born, you know.”
Yuki’s eyes widened in shock. He couldn’t help but look back at his father. “I w-... wh-.... I was smaller than that??” He stammered, which only made Tetsuya stifle another laugh.
“Would you like to hold him?” Intervened the hare, a question that instantly captured the young samurai’s full attention again. He stared at little Jotaro for a couple seconds, and slowly nodded. His heart started quivering as he received his baby brother in his arms and noticed just how little he weighted. Yuki shifted delicately and freed his left arm to offer a finger to the kitten. Jotaro held it tightly, eyes fixed on the snow-colored stranger whose cheeks were now sore from smiling.
“Hey, otouto~…” He greeted sweetly. “My name is Yuki. I’m your oniisan.”
“Hebebehbuh.” Jotaro replied.
“Aren’t you tired, Jojo? Your mom said you need to sleep.”
“Nmgnblb-” The kitten added, but then was rudely interrupted by a hiccup. Unfortunately the accident seemed to shock him so bad that he couldn’t help but whimper, confused, and promptly break down into a loud cry.
Toshiko winced a bit, ready to extend her arms to take her baby back, but Yuki had never been more focused in his life.
“Ssshh, hey, it’s okay Jojo, it’s just a hiccup… ssshh it’s okay…ssh…” He cradled gently, his face soft as he started humming in a low, calming tone.
“Pop pop po
Hato poppo
Mamega hoshiika
Sora yaruzo
Minnnade nakayoku
Tabenikoi~”
Usagi’s voice flowed over the wreckage like a blanket, drowning out all other sounds in spite of how mellow the song was. He winced in pain. He had to think fast.
“Pop pop po
Hato poppo
Mameha umaika
Tabetanara
Ichidoni sorotte
Tonndeyuke~”
He finally found dim light coming from the same spot he’d entered through. As quickly as he could he scrambled to his feet, about to bolt toward it, but he had to stop on his tracks upon realizing…they weren’t being attacked anymore.
He looked back and saw the woman down on all fours, flinching and wincing as if in pain, or struggling. The pink mass around her pulsed more intensely, parts of it starting to shrivel, to shrink and unlatch themselves from her body. He crouched beside her and saw her human eyes brimming with tears, alive and feeling. She sobbed. “E-... E-Emm-...”
“Oh, gosh, I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to say those things, I-I was just trying t-... You can talk to me, Madam. Be strong, I’ll get you both out.”
“E-Em…mma…”
“Emma?” He looked down at the baby. She had quieted down, her face scrunched, but looking calmer.
“Hnngh…” Struggled the woman, finally collecting the strength she had left to grab the biggest chunk of pink still attached to her chest and pull it away. She hissed, and then faltered… and then lost consciousness.
“No no no no, please-” Usagi dropped to his knees and reached to feel her pulse, a sigh of relief escaping his lips when he could confirm she was still alive. He took a deep breath. The pain from the wound on his side was only getting worse as the danger subsided, and yet he moved to pick out a t-shirt from one of the shelves. Leaving the baby safely on his lap, he used both hands to wrap the fabric around his wound, best as he was able. Then he took two more t-shirts and rolled them, attempting to create a makeshift baby carrier he could wrap around himself.
“Don’t worry, Emma. I’m gonna get you two to safety.”
About two hours had passed since he had walked out of that gift shop with a baby tied to his chest and an unconscious woman on his back. He had been lucky the emergency services were still around looking for survivors and tending to them, along with some seemingly government officials picking up pink residue from the ruins. He had let the doctors at one of the ambulances pick the humans up, surprised for a moment that nobody seemed concerned to see a seventeen-year-old wearing a real katana along with a slashed sasquatch t-shirt saying Salem Local Witches Union. But he figured they must’ve had more pressing matters to focus on than him, anyway.
He had been wandering on his own, slowly and aimlessly, for nearly the last hour. The wound from that mind-possessing creature burned below his armpit. He was looking for a doorway to the hidden city so he could at least go back to Spot and get his luggage, but the New York City system was way too chaotic and convoluted. There were so many doorways, but the clues to recognize them were so unnecessarily subtle and random that one could only hope to either see another yokai use a door or have someone point it out for them; plus, entry and exit doorways were sometimes in different places. Not very friendly to foreign yokai at all. True, at Big Mama’s place he had been graciously given a map for this purpose, but that had been many months ago, not long before his father’s wedding. He couldn’t possibly remember the locations.
Had Leonardo been there, then…
Leo.
He shakily took out his phone, checking his text messages. Leo hadn’t replied to his last message. He hadn’t called, either. In fact, he hadn’t even been online since his last message:
So, funny story
Usagi’s stomach turned. He didn’t know what to do. He needed to go back to the hidden city and get shelter for the night. He was tired. He was frustrated, and anxious. Should he have been patrolling again to check the area for more threats, even with that wound? He had no idea what was going on with his american friend, whether he was truly okay or not. He would check on him, but he didn’t know where Leo lived, just vague mentions to somewhere in the sewers, and he wasn’t completely sold on that not being a joke yet. Plus, Leo was smart and possibly the greatest warrior he knew, he probably was just…too busy. Just busy.
The young samurai felt tears build up as the image of the pink mind leech he’d just fought flashed again through his mind; but he promptly blinked to hold them back.
He typed another Please, call me. Sent… not read.
With a sigh, he was about to continue on his search when suddenly he saw a particular graffiti on a wall. He recognized that graffiti. Also, it was only then that he’d cared to recognize how terribly hungry he was, too. Suddenly his stomach growled a painful plea, his mouth had started salivating, and his hand was already picking up his cloaking brooch and pressing it to the wall. After all, you needed mystic power to open a doorway and Usagi couldn’t do mystic on his own, so mystic objects were the next best thing.
He was back to his good old rabbit appearance when he stepped into Run of the Mill Pizza. Pocketing his brooch, he let his gaze wander around the familiar place. It hadn’t changed at all. Except…there was hardly anybody there; just a lone draconic yokai far in a corner, wearing a bus driver uniform and quietly enjoying the last slice of a Super Creepy Supreme. There was some calm jazz music playing, and the rabbit’s nose was instantly greeted with the scents of coffee, cheese and oregano. It seemed to be a slow night; no waiter to be found, and no Hueso either.
He groaned as he walked, bothered by the pain on his side. “Hello? Hueso-san?”
“Yes, yes! Be right with you!” Hueso’s disembodied voice replied from the kitchen. He sounded a little bit frantic. “Welcome to Run of the Mill! Please be seated!”
The samurai raised an eyebrow in confusion, but obliged and walked himself to the nearest table. He couldn’t help but sigh deeply as he finally sat down, practically melting into his chair. It had probably been the most exhausting day of his life, and he hadn’t been idle on his warrior’s journey.
“Please excuse me, dearest customer.” Hueso said, finally coming into view and approaching Usagi’s table with a small notepad. The rabbit gave him a polite nod. Hueso hadn’t changed at all either; he was still the most elegant skeleton he had ever seen, and he was still absolutely rocking that tiny moustache. Honestly, the most disappointing thing was him apparently not remembering the last time they’d met. That, and the way he seemed to be hanging by a thread judging by his tone. “You must know here we pride ourselves in our strict policy of always being there for the customer, but yesterday’s events have uh, erm, led to employees having to quit. It’s uh, only natural, right?…My apologies. We are all unsettled. Anyway! What can I serve you tonight?”
“It’s alright, Hueso-san.” Smiled Usagi, reassuringly. “I understand.”
The restaurant manager blinked, his nerves seeming now replaced by confusion. “Have we met?”
“Yes, sir, my name is Yuki Usagi. I think… almost a year ago already. Leo took me here once, he said it was his favourite place and I was curious when he told me about you.”
“You’re friends with that piece of work.” He half-questioned, his tone immediately flattening at the mention of the mutant, which made the samurai snort a bit. “I’m sorry, it has been a long day and I just can’t seem to-...”
Usagi waved a finger to catch his attention, having suddenly realized how to crack the code. “Maybe a… parudo?”
“Huh? A p-...” Hueso blinked, realization slowly appearing in his eye sockets. “¡AH!” He grinned, tapping on his skull as if reprimanding himself for his poor memory. ¡Pues claro, Peludo! I do remember you, yes. You asked me to play Paul McCartney and ordered everything but pizza, right, rabbit boy?”
Usagi laughed sheepishly, only answering that with a nod.
“Good to see you’re back, Peludo. And where’s our Pepino anyway?... Didn’t he come with you?” There was a tinge of worry in Hueso’s voice. Everything had surely been very confusing since the demons’ sudden arrival. Even if mystic places couldn’t have been affected much by the destruction, there was no denying that it would have been at least, to quote the skeleton, unsettling.
The rabbit spared a wistful glance at his phone. “No, it’s just me tonight. But he’s alright, Hueso-san.”
“Yes, yes. Idiots like him always bounce back.” He said, and his tone hinted a bit of fondness. “So! What will it be, then?”
“Could I have the garlic bread and the… uh…” He showed Hueso the menu, pointing. “Canutarube gashupasho?”
“Gazpacho with crispy prosciutto, yes. And no pizza-?”
“And could I have bandages for this?” Asked Usagi, showing him the haphazard t-shirt strap he’d made for his armpit wound. That I Heart NY t-shirt was so soaked that at this point it read only I NY.
Hueso’s bones seemed to rattle with shock. “¡¡VIRGEN SANTÍSIMA, PELUDO!! Get up, get up right now.” He diligently instructed, helping him on his feet. “If you stain my chair it’s going to cost you extra, furball. Come with me.”
Usagi let himself be walked to the bathroom, muttering small apologies along the way. He was starting to feel just a little woozy. It was pretty late, and he was pretty tired, after all.
“Okay, just hold on.” Hueso said as he protected his suit with an apron and long gloves. He carefully removed the improvised bandage, and both were relieved to see that the wound had stopped bleeding.
“I just need to clean it a little. I can do it myself.”
Hueso gave him a sponge, and with that the rabbit started taking care of it. “So are those monsters still out there, Peludo?”
“I just met one.” He replied, grimacing a little. “It looked so…wrong. Incomplete. Like it was hungry.”
“Hungry monsters are the worst ones, aren’t they?” Sighed the skeleton, taking out some bandages from a small cabinet. Usagi couldn’t help but notice as he applied the bandages, now that he could see him closely, how…tough, Hueso looked. Rugged, in spite of how thin his limbs were and how polished he’d dressed himself. He could see scratches and marks all around the hard surface of his skull, and was pretty sure he would be able to see more under his sleeves if he paid attention. The owner of that run of the mill restaurant had this aura about him that suggested this hadn’t always been his life. He’d heard a couple incredible things from Leo and was fascinated…and of course, very curious.
“Do you bleed when something hurts you, Hueso-san?” He asked the first thing that came to mind.
“You know, I prefer Señor Hueso.” The eldest corrected, cleverly avoiding the question.
“Well, I prefer Usagi.”
“... Touché.”
It wouldn’t take long for the rabbit to go back to his seat and for Hueso to return to the kitchen. Being clean, even if his clothes were still ragged, made Usagi feel much better already. He made himself comfortable at the table and, for the first time since that morning, he untied the blue ribbon that held his ears up. They slid down the sides of his face, muffling the sound around him, and immense relief washed over his body. He never really noticed the soreness of his ears until he untied them.
“Enjoy your food, Peludo.” Hueso said, not aware that Usagi would not hear him.
“Arigato gozaimasu, Hueso-san.” Usagi said, not knowing he was actually replying.
Usagi put his hands together before the food on his table, muttered a soft itadakimasu, and immediately gobbled a spoonful of gazpacho. He doubted he’d ever been this hungry before.
Time passed. It was past 4 am, and Hueso was also tired. Nobody but the rabbit was in the restaurant and he was almost convinced nobody else would be coming that night so, letting out a weary sigh, he finally approached the rabbit’s table.
“I’m going to close the restaurant for today, Peludo. Say, why do you never order pizz-?” He interrupted himself when he saw the young yokai, head lying down on the table, one of his ears tossed over his right eye, as he gently snored without a care, deeply asleep.
“Oy vey…”
At least he had cleaned his plate.