"Here have some water." Yumiko handed him a bottle of water. He chugged it down, his dry throat thanked him.

He was propped up on a wide cushiony sofa in which he sank right in. The sofa disharmonised with the remainder of the room. The thin walls were adorned with japanese calligraphy and several paintings of what appeared to be a wrinkly old lady with neatly plaited white hair in a kimono. The windows were nailed shut and the floor was blanketed with tatami mats. The mat felt firm but soft under his bare feet.

"How are you feeling?" Yumiko asked taking away the empty bottle and placing it on the wooden table in front of them.

"I feel better now. Thanks." he said drowsily.

"What the hell did she do to you?" Infuriated she examined his head closely.

"I don't know she just held my head down and said something about saving some girl and soemthing about only saba." He grumbled. "It was really weird, she spoke in japanese but I understood what she was saying but also it didn't make sense. Am I making sense?"

"I'm sorry you had to deal with her. She's completely deranged. I have filed many complaints but she keeps coming back."

"It's fine. I'm fine. See, no scratches." he grinned at her.

"I guess you must be really tired. Come on, I'll show you your room." She got up and opened the sliding door with a rumble.

He followed her through the poorly lit narrow hallway. The wooden floors creeked under them. James tiptoed fearing the floor might collapse and swallow him whole. His biggest phobia was being eaten alive.

As they made a couple of turns he realized the house was larger than he expected. On either side of the hallway were similar looking doors that led to similar looking rooms. One could easily lose their way in here.

A squeaking noise coming from inside a dark open room caught his attention. Inquisitive as he is and not learning from the past, he peeked inside. A wrinkly old lady with neatly plaited white hair in a kimono rocked herself back and forth on a rocking chair while knitting something that he couldn't identify in the darkness.

"That's my grandma." Yumiko informed peeking inside along with him. "Isn't she cute?"

"Yeah she is." James fibbed.

They left her alone and proceeded to the end of the hallway to a staircase which was just as poorly lit. The stairs creaked louder at each step they took upwards.

At the top of the staircase were two similar doors on either side. Yumiko slid open the door on the left and entered it, breaking the cobwebs in the doorway.

"I'm sorry it's a little messy but all the other rooms are under renovation." she said as she switched on the lights.

The room lit up revealing a dusty bed and a dusty study table opposite to it. The floor was carpeted with dust that captured their footprints. James walked over to open the window to let some fresh air in but it didn't budge.

"Oh, the windows don't open. They're really ancient. Need to get them changed." she said. "Why don't you make yourself at home, I'll bring you some snacks."

"Wait, I'm not hungry-"

Before he could protest she ran downstairs.

The lights in the room flickered. The whole building was dilapidated, he thought, it needed a serious makeover. Perhaps he could work at construction.

He inspected the dusty table. It looked like it hadn't been cleaned in years. A mischievous smile crept on his face. He traced his finger on the dusty surface of the table.

'James was here.'

He felt proud of the little stunt.

He wiped his dirty finger on his shirt and tried to pry open the lone drawer.

It opened after a few more strenuous pulls. Dust particles scattered in the air and peppered his face prompting a chain of sneezes and coughs. He waved the dust away from his face and squinted at the contents of the drawer.

The drawer was filled with a dozen flip-phones and a few outdated smartphones from their early era. Under all the devices lay a heap of yellowed papers. The writing was in japanese so he lost interest and closed the drawer.

He heard heavy creaking footsteps coming up. Quickly dusting himself off, he sat on bed obediently.

Yumiko entered the room holding a tray with a glass of water and a single triangular slice of strawberry cake on a saucer.

"Hope you like cake." she grinned. She placed the tray next to James and handed him the cake.

"I don't really eat anything two hours before I sleep and I feel like sleeping now." he said and placed the saucer back onto the tray.

"Please try it, I made it at home." she insisted and brought a spoonful of cake towards his mouth.

Involuntarily, he ate it. It tasted nothing like strawberry cake and had a rather chemical aftertaste.

He nod his head and told her it was good, to not upset her. She took it as a sign to feed him another bite. He gulped it down instantly without chewing.

"Good boy." she said and put the cake back on the tray and sat next to him. "Did you know-"

James screamed at the doorway interrupting her. He got up and shielded Yumiko who jolted at his abrupt scream.

"Get back!" he yelled at the tall scawry creature in a pink frock standing in the doorway. It let out a low growl baring its razor sharp teeth at him. It stood almost ten feet tall with its long claws hanging by its sides. Its yellow demonic eyes glared at both of them.

"Yumiko, stay behind me!" he yelled. "Try to break the window!"

He kept his eyes on the creature that now swayed back and forth emiting a continuous growl. It salivated excessively. Saliva dripped down on the floor creating a puddle near its hideous feet.

James felt light headed and weak. His heart beat unusually slow at the moment. His legs gave out and he fell to the floor, creating a cloud of dust around himself.

Yumiko bent over him and scowled. She then turned to the creature.

"Emily you weren't supposed to come out yet, I didn't give the signal." she bickered. "I was going to talk about how real yokai are, while the drug kicked in, then you were supposed to reveal yourself. You ruined all the fun."

"What's going on..." James mumbled. Yokai are real? That means the Kappa was real, thats all he could think.

"Yumiko, run, run." he mumbled again.

"Aww James do you still not get it?" she said sitting on the bed. "You're supposed to run away from us." She let out an evil laugh. "Didn't you say you watched a lot of horror movies? How did the big scary house and the crazy lady telling you to run away not raise a red flag? You're so naive, it's cute."

"Why are you doing this to me?" he asked tearfully.

"Well, don't take it personally, someone has to feed the family." she said taking out a kitchen knife from under her hoodie. She lay down on her side next to him and traced the tip of the knife on his throat lightly, teasing him.

"So was everything you told me a lie?" he said choking on his words. He felt betrayed and hurt. His heart felt heavier than ever.

"I didn't lie, I just altered the truth a bit." she giggled. "The only thing I altered was about Emily and why I came to Japan."

She sighed and rested her head on his chest that heaved up and down heavily. She now traced the knife tip on his abdomen and occasionally mimicked stabbing him while giggling at the thing called Emily.

"You know, we used to have so much fun in school, Emily and I. But some idiot claimed we bullied him and got us in trouble. We were just playing with him, it's not our fault that he was such a pussy." She clenched her teeth in anger. She took a deep breath and continued.

"Then one day we decided to get revenge. We called him to my house promising to bury the hatchet and play video games. And can you believe he actually came? He was just as dumb as you." she laughed.

"When he finally came we buried the hatchet as promised, in his back. But that bitch was a little persistent and wouldn't die alone. He removed it somehow and lodged it into my poor Emily's neck. Obviously being the good bestie that I was, I bashed his head in. It was so satisfying to see the light leave his eyes." She smiled reminiscingly.

"And by the time I went to help Emily she was already dead. I felt so alone at that moment. I just wanted to be with my parents. When they did came back from work and discovered me in that state, instead of comforting me for losing my only bestfriend, they just yelled at me and panicked. Can you believe that?" She raised her head to look at James, who's eyes were now drenched with tears.

She smiled and rested her head on his chest again. "Of course you can relate, your parents were just as shitty. No, I think my parents are shittier, to be honest. They sent me here after covering everything up. They made it look like he killed Emily and then I killed him in self defense, which was exactly what happened but they just wouldn't believe me. Urgh, it's so frustrating when they don't believe you even when you're telling the truth." she groaned.

"And the fact that they have never picked up my calls or called back, pisses me off even more. What wrong did I even do to them? I was a really good daughter to them, why can't they be good parents to me?"

Annoyed, she hit James in the abdomen with the knife's butt. He grunted, still motionless.

"Then one night when I was chilling in one of the rooms in this stupid building, Emily showed up. She had turned into a jikininki. A bloody jikininki." she exclaimed gesticulating at the creature.

"She didn't exactly look like herself but I recognized her from clothes in which we buried her. She was so stinky that day." she smiled at the creature closing her nose with her index and thumb.

"Initially I was obviously a little scared and distrusting of her but then as time went by, I realized it really was my Emily. She's just a little ugly now that's all but there's nothing a little makeup can't fix."

She put the knife down and made a half heart sign with her hand towards the revolting creature. It made a similar gesture with its claw.

"She's always hungry, my little snack monster." she shook her head. "But it's so difficult to find her food. Food, as in humans that's what I mean." she added blithely.

"Apparently that's what jikininkis' survive on according to the internet and my grandma. They don't hunt but they eat the corpses, like vultures. I guess I must be a mama bird then because I do the hunting for her." she smiled at her vulture child proudly. "And ofcourse humans are everywhere but seldom do I come across rejects like you who won't be missed by anyone. I was lucky to find you."

She hugged him like she had done so all day.

"Why are you telling me all this? Why don't you just kill me already?" he cried out. He tried to move his paralyzed body only managed to lift his fingers. The effect of the drug was wearing of slowly.

She lift her head. "Oh sorry, I guess I went of in a tangent in-between there. I just needed to get that off of my chest." she said in a mocking tone and laughed.

"I like drama, what can I say? Well okay I've had my fun. Time to feed my child now." she said as she got to her feet looking around on the floor. "Now where the hell is the knife?"

The knife cut through the air and found a home in Yumiko's calf. James let go of the handle as Yumiko writhed in agony and fell on the bed. He got up trembling, the drug was still in effect. He now faced the hissing jikininki blocking the doorway. He let out a warcry and charged at it. He tackled it with his shoulder and they fell together in the hallway.

He got up hastily, crying out for help. He seeked out to anyone.

"Mom! Dad! Kamado!" he shouted. No one came to his aid.

The jikininki clawed his foot. He lost balance and tumbled down the stairs, breaking his wrist and bruising his knees in the process.

He crawled away from the staircase seeking refuge. His foot leaked blood leaving a trail behind him. He cried desperately for help. He wanted to live. For the first time in his life, on the brink of death, he wanted to live.

A pair of old cracked feet appeared in front of him. He looked up, an old lady in a kimono looked down on him with a blank face.

He broke down in tears again. "Help me! Please help me! Your granddaughter is a bloody pycho! Save me!" he begged putting his broken hand out to her.

She smiled maliciously. In an instant his arm vanished. It happened so fast that it didn't register with him until his arm spouted blood. The old lady in the kimono licked the blood of her lips and smiled again.

"You can run but you can't hide, bitch-" Yumiko shouted from the stairs. She came down limping taking support of 'Emily' and saw what was happening. She laughed.

"Oop, did I forget to mention that my grandma isn't my real grandma but the onibaba that the crazy lady outside warned you about? My bad, must have slipped my mind." she said snarkily. She was holding the knife in her free hand. Her calf was tightly bandaged with a torn piece of the creature's pink frock.

The lady in the kimono berated Yumiko in japanese.

"Yeah, yeah, I know, I know. I'm a human, I make mistakes sometimes. I put the wrong dose. Boo-hoo. And why the hell did you eat his arm, this one was for her." Yumiko argued back.

The kimono lady grumbled in japanese again.

"Yeah you better keep your promise. Or else Emily gets two arms from your turn next time."

The old lady nodded silently and looked back down to James. He was dizzy and losing consciousness.

Yumiko hopped on her good leg with the knife in her hand and mounted James after turning him on his back.

"You don't have to do this, please. Please, you can still save me." he pleaded wearily.

"I'm sorry but I have to. I made a deal with her." she said pointing the knife at her 'grandma'.

"Funny story actually, she had made this house her base while it was vacant. When I arrived here, she was going to eat me but I promised her that I'll bring her other humans to feed her. So she let me live and here we are. She helped me alot in navigating the supernatural world and also in dealing with Emily. She's really sweet and kind if you get to know her. Well unfortunately you won't."

James weeped and put his good hand up to shield himself.

"Oops, sorry did I ramble again? My bad." she giggled.

She lift the knife above her head with both her hands gripped around the handle.

"You really don't have to do this. I like you, Yumiko." he confessed. He threw out desperate words hoping to get his life spared.

"I liked you, too. If I didn't have a family to feed I think we would have made a really cute couple." she kissed her index and middle fingers and placed them on his cheek. "Goodbye." She lift the knife again over her head.

"Mom, Dad, I miss you." he said his final words.