They had fallen out in my sleep. I had assumed with the magic a kitsune possessed, my fangs and horns would only be masked, hidden from view by the outside world. I never guessed I would wake up to find them spread around my pillow, or that I would potentially have to go through the pain of growing them all over again. They were gone, though, and I had no time to waste before they’d push their way back through my skull. I had changed out of my traditional wear, donning the hiking gear I had brought with me, and packed my backpack. I rolled my futon and went to return Ietake’s mask to him and thank him for his help and hospitality.

He took his mask with both hands. “Let me have your horns and fangs,” he said. “We will make you a mask for your return.” Without hesitation I handed him them, there was nothing I needed them for, anyway. “There will be a place for you, and your friend if he chooses to come back.” He placed his mask on his face, the visage of a red oni staring back at me. “Oshia-san, anzen na tabi o. Safe travels.” We bowed, and I returned to the room to wake Malachai.

It took more effort than I had wanted to exert to wake Malachai. I figured it was the vampirism that made him detest mornings. I had to admit when he was asleep, there was a different attraction to him. He was…cute, mouth slightly ajar, fluffy hair sticking out awkwardly from tossing and turning. It was a shame I needed him awake to hike down the mountain. He pushed himself up, eyes barely open as he felt around for his glasses.

He held my hand the entire descent, just as he had when we had hiked up the mountain. The journey was much easier, not having to fight the incline. We took much fewer breaks, only stopping for a quick rest to recuperate before taking on a particularly hard part of the path. The further down the mountain we went, the more I felt my phone buzz with unread messages. During one of our rests, I checked it to find hundreds of texts and missed calls from Shii, and a dozen or so emails. I scanned Shii’s messages, the closer to today they were dated, the more worry I felt from them. They were all wishes for my health, turning into a pleas for my safety. I sent her a simple “Daijyoubu desu. I’m alright.” before we continued.

It had taken us most of the day to reach less steep ground. We were almost there. It became a race against the sun at that point. Even with Malachai’s confidence that he could scare off any youkai, I didn’t want to chance it. Not every youkai would run at a simple hiss from him. As the light from the sun almost disappeared from the horizon, we were spit from the cedar forest, hiking boots hitting pavement. I had barely any time to orient myself in the direction of my home when Shii threw herself at me, wrapping me in the tightest hug she could manage. “Hontou ni daijyoubu desu ka?” She removed herself from me, looking me over in the dimming light. “Are you really okay?”

“Hai hontou ni,” I said, “Yes, really.” I felt Malachai shift next to me, his hand still in mine reminding me of what our next moves were. “Shii, I will tell you everything, but let’s go home first?”

Shii led the way, walking on roads we had grown up on with ease, even in the cloudy darkness. I took to buying plane tickets on my phone, hoping the reception would last just a minute longer, or my battery would keep just a moment more to let the sale go through. She let us wash, eat—though Malachai very slowly—before I told her the big secret. She looked at me with great reservations, going through the information one more time in her head. I was an oni because our mother was descended from them; I couldn’t live in polite society anymore; I was living on borrowed time before my physical appearance changed.

She looked at the tatami mat, unsure on how to proceed. “Aki-nii, I’ll miss you,” she said, voice breaking. She wiped her eyes with the sleeve of her kimono, and I felt terrible with myself for making her cry. I inched closer, to hug her, but she held up a hand to stop me. “I’ll be okay, you know I will.” She took a composing breath. “Aki-nii, just…be safe. And…say goodbye.” I promised her I would.

Shii drove us to the airport in the morning, handing me good luck charms. Her assurance that I would always be her brother no matter how monstrous I looked, how much I went against the norm, meant more to me than she ever knew. She had always been so supportive of me, and I of her in turn. She didn’t look at me in disgust when I came out to her in our high school days, spurred on by alcohol we shouldn’t have been able to get our hands on.

We retraced our steps to the mainland, taking a small plane to the international airport. We stood in a crowded terminal, waiting for boarding, Malachai taking in each and every face. He was assessing them for something, for what I didn’t really know. I assumed for threats, or maybe he was trying to see if that man had followed him all the way to Japan. He was rigid, arms crossed, my focus split between keeping him calm and responding to emails from my advisor and texts from Naddy and Dr. Chase. Numbingly, my tongue kept poking at the gaps in my gums, fascinated at the new flesh.

Malachai had to pull me to the gate when boarding was called, I was so engrossed in deflecting questions from my advisor and Dr. Chase and answering Naddy’s on what had been going on with me. I was probable as tense as Malachai was thinking about seeing them one last time before I would drop off the face of the earth.

“August,” I jumped at Malachai’s voice in my ear. “Where will you sleep?” I hadn’t put any thought into that. I would have to go by my dorm to clear it out, but I could potentially crash at Naddy’s apartment for a few days, or at Dr. Chase’s. “Stay at mine,” he offered in the silence. “I’ve…been taking my mood stabilizers regularly since we’ve become…more intimate.” He pushed his glasses up his nose. “Just seeing you…reminds me to…because I don’t want to…scare you terribly.” I almost told him I would figure it out, the words beginning to form when he entwined his fingers with mine. “Please?” His voice was thick, my words catching in my throat. All I could bring myself to do was nod. “Maybe…I can convince you, you won’t need the outside world.”

I gripped the armrest, his words penetrating deep in me. Would it really be all that bad if I never left his apartment? Let him dote on me, the only thing he wanted in return to indulge in carnal desires? Could I give up all of my control of my life? I had already told him he could own me, but our relationship was fairly ambiguous. He had not really tried to exert his ownership over me. I kept calling his bluffs and being proven right. I bit my lip. He would surely do something to keep me in line now that we would be cohabitating in a small apartment for two months at the least. I couldn’t say there wasn’t a part of me excited to know what it was he was cooking up in his fantasies.

If I were bolder, I might have asked him to meet me in the bathroom. If we weren’t on a plane with ten people to a row and our bathroom rendez-vous wouldn’t be a hinderance. The last thing I wanted was to be caught and glared at coming from the bathroom uncomposed. He kissed the back of my hand, smiling, mumbling words I didn’t quite catch. That last little bit of rationale was desperately fighting to keep me from dragging him to that tiny stall. He rested his head on my shoulder, closing his eyes and letting out a long breath. He stayed like that for the rest of the flight, not asleep, but not willing to move, an ever present weight keeping me from changing my mind.

The cold air bit through me, at least forty degrees colder than the winter we just came from. I shook in my heavy winter coat, waiting for Naddy to pull up, the only person I had yet to self-isolate from. No amount of pretending I was okay would explain to Dr. Chase why I had horns growing from my head. Nothing I could say would excuse my behavior to my advisor. All I had here was Naddy and Malachai, and I knew Naddy would soon detach herself from me. That’s what she always did since we met in high school. Withdrawing when secrets held from her were finally divulged, only to come back with a firm “I knew it!”

“Akimiya-kun,” she said, still glancing at Malachai. “Daijyoubu desu ka?” She spoke Japanese in the way most Americans did, loudly, and without care for who would overhear the conversation. “Are you okay?”

“Ha—” I almost lied to her, but there was so much I was already keeping inside. “Iie, daijyoubu jyanai desu.” Naddy reached a hand out, stopping before she touched my shoulder. “No, I’m not. There’s…a lot, Naddy.”

In the passenger seat of her car, I told her what had transpired in Japan. She kept looking between me and the road, her face emotionless. I thought she assumed this was an elaborate hoax, but she dispelled that, speaking in English this time around. “My nana told me witches and things were real,” she parked her car near Malachai’s apartment, “I didn’t believe her until…well, that’s a story for another day.” She patted my cheek, Malachai growing tense in the back seat. “You better still come to the wedding, Akimiya, horns and fangs and all are welcome.” She turned the engine off. “Get some rest.”

I knew deep in my gut that she had jinxed any rest I would have for the rest of the day. It would be one thing after another, whether it was my brain finally being able to go through weeks’ worth of information, or something happening with Malachai. We climbed the stairs to his apartment with our meager bags, the only thing on my mind at the present moment being taking a hot shower and crawling into a warm bed. I didn’t have the energy to even think through if he would crawl into the same bed or not.

He had just pushed his door open, stepping back to let me in when he was shoved through by a man. If I had been a half second too late, he would’ve locked me out. The door slamming into my foot hurt more than it should have, the shouting in a foreign language, seasoned with hisses was disorientating. I knew how Malachai felt, now. I pushed the door open slowly, not wanting them to turn on me, to see them in an entanglement. Malachai’s glasses on the floor, hands at throats before being knocked away.

There was the unmistakable sound of glasses being stepped on, of punches being thrown and connecting. Someone was going to get hurt if they didn’t stopped, and I feared that someone would be me whether I tried to stop them or not. I stepped in, closing the door behind me. I had to think of something, getting my person between them would get me killed. Malachai picked up a knife, poised to stab the man in the stomach, repeating the same phrase over and over again. It gave me an idea I raced to enact, there was only so long before Malachai overpowered him and stabbed him. I looked around quickly, grabbing the first sharp thing I could and cutting my wrist open with it.

My blood scenting the air got both of their attentions, Malachai looking on with concern, unaware that the man took the knife from his hands. He bent the blade, setting it down, Malachai stumbling towards me. “Malachai,” he stopped in his tracks at the man’s voice, “it’s time to come home.”

He whipped around, body going rigid. “You…” He inched closer to him, as if stalking prey. “How many do you have?” He cocked his head to the side. “How many do I have to eat?”