"What in Izanami's name? Did you just defeat Mr. Tanimura?"

Kumiko looked up at the face of the young woman who'd been accompanying Hideo and noticed the resemblance that she bore to Ichiro. They both had eyes that appeared warm and radiant in any sort of natural light, and because of this, the kitsune had to fight to prevent herself from being distracted.

She's practically a female version of Ichiro, so of course she's beautiful. Kumiko stood up, difficult as it was, and found in disappointment that her alleged sister-in-law was of roughly the same height as her. Damn it. Have I finally met my match?

"Don't just stand there. Answer my question," the young woman urged, clasping both hands demurely in front of her. "What have you done to him?"

Kumiko glanced down at the crumpled bodies of Hideo and Futoshi. "Nothing much, I hope. You should know that he attacked first, and I was just acting in self-defence."

The young woman's expression soured. "I don't believe you. Mr. Tanimura may be violent, but he'd know better than to challenge a kitsune without thinking of a strategy first."

"Well, he wasn't in his right mind. He was being manipulated by an amanojaku."

The young woman, or perhaps more aptly, Lady Misaki, rushed forward and fell to her knees by Hideo's side. She reached out to stroke the unconscious man's hair with such tenderness that Kumiko wondered if there was some kind of romantic relationship between the two. She shook her head. No, that would be ridiculous. She looks even younger than Yukari.

Kumiko turned her attention to Futoshi and approached him as he began to stir and open his eyes. He pulled himself up with a groan, then rubbed at his scalp. "Why do you always have to hit me so hard? You know I'm no threat."

"Easy to forget when you were spouting such hateful words at me."

Futoshi lowered his head in guilt. "Oh, of course. I'm sorry."

"No, the fault is mine. I've been saddling you with too many burdens lately."

"Yes, but it's like you said. The amanojaku just magnified the darkness that was already inside of me."

Kumiko understood and left Futoshi's side. She didn't want to accept that her landlord still held some discrimination towards her kind, but the shallow bite marks on her right hand were evidence enough. Perhaps, it would be best if she kept her distance until the tension from today died down.

She returned to where Lady Misaki was trying to coax Hideo awake. To Kumiko's relief, the charred and gaping hole in the shinigami's chest had already closed up, which meant it would only be a matter of time before he regained consciousness. She cleared her throat to get Lady Misaki's attention. "Your presence here is a huge deal, so you and I will have to talk later."

Lady Misaki nodded without making eye contact. "Understood. It's only fair that I get to know my brother's wife."

******

An hour passed in which Kumiko dressed the wound on her hand, Hideo woke up and chose to open yet another swirling portal so that he could fetch some clean clothes, and Futoshi excused himself from the apartment to set out on a search for Tsutomu.

Kumiko made a pot of tea and joined Lady Misaki on the living room floor in the hope they would find some common ground. Unfortunately, the way Lady Misaki's face wrinkled when she took a sip from her cup left Kumiko fearing what was to come.

"This tea hasn't been brewed for long enough. The flavor is lacking."

"Oh. Would you like me to fix it?"

"No, it's too late," Lady Misaki said with a dismissive flutter of her hand. "I'll just bear it."

Kumiko shrunk a little. She knew that Ichiro would have done a much better job at making sure the tea was perfect, and for the first time in a long while, she felt inadequate compared to her husband.

The sound of rushing wind from outside the living room prompted Lady Misaki's eyes to widen before she downed her tea in just a few swallows. She slammed her cup down and raised her hand to wave at Hideo as he emerged, carrying a pile of neatly folded clothes.

"Welcome back, Mr. Tanimura!" she exclaimed with a peppy smile.

Hideo ignored Lady Misaki and spoke to Kumiko, who was confused by her sister-in-law's sudden change in demeanor. "Do you mind if I use your bathroom? I've always wanted to have a warm shower."

Kumiko observed his disheveled and bloodied appearance and couldn't bring herself to refuse. "Sure. Futoshi's gone out, so just try to finish before he comes back."

"With pleasure. Thank you for understanding." Hideo allowed the portal behind him to collapse shut before he strode out of Kumiko's sight. She turned around to face Lady Misaki, only to be taken aback when the young woman stood up and straightened her pants.

"What are you doing?"

Lady Misaki gave Kumiko a mischievous smile. "You may not understand, but I still have certain urges, and I intend to satisfy them one way or another."

She ran out of the living room before Kumiko could question what she meant, and returned a minute later with her ears flushed red. She flopped into a seated position on the floor while keeping her head down.

"What just happened?" Kumiko asked, finding the display of shame a little concerning.

Lady Misaki kept her eyes averted. "I peeked at Mr. Tanimura, and he noticed. He'll definitely kill me now."

"Oh." Kumiko tried to show sympathy by reaching for her sister-in-law's hand. "Why would you do that? He's hardly attractive."

"I had to undress so he could inspect my body," Lady Misaki confessed. "Therefore, it's only fair that I do the same to him. As revenge."

Kumiko blinked as she tried to make sense of things. "You know, I could be forgiven for thinking there's intimacy between you two. Is that the case?"

"Oh no." Lady Misaki wore a glum expression while pressing both of her index fingers together. "He only has eyes for his dead wife, and he sees me as just a nuisance."

"So, unrequited love?" Kumiko guessed, finding it hard to believe that she was listening to her sister-in-law's romantic troubles.

"No, it isn't that deep. But I still feel something around him," Lady Misaki admitted as her cheeks also became flushed. "He's just so firm and stoic..."

"He also looks old enough to be your father," Kumiko said in concern. "I can't claim to know you as a person, but I think you deserve better. Hideo has a lot of baggage, and there's a good reason his daughter hates him. Do you really want to put yourself in danger by finding out?"

Lady Misaki raised her head with a sigh. "You make a wise argument. I mustn't let myself be tempted..."

Kumiko failed to see the appeal and decided to change the subject. "Don't you want to know about Ichiro? He's the reason you're here, isn't he?"

"Of course." Lady Misaki straightened her posture and assumed a serious expression. "Tell me about my brother," she requested in a deep and dignified tone of voice. "What kind of man is he really?"

"The best," Kumiko couldn't help but say in excitement. "He's the only one who understands and accepts me unconditionally, and I never get tired of looking at him."

"I think you're exaggerating. No man who shares my blood could be that remarkable."

Kumiko surmised that Lady Misaki had a low opinion of her appearance and merits, just like Ichiro did to an extent. "If you don't believe me, I can take you to his workplace tonight. You can judge for yourself when we're there."

"Is that so? I would love to." Lady Misaki smiled faintly. "Tell me, what does my honorable brother do for a living?"

Kumiko swallowed as she set about the difficult task of making Ichiro's new job sound respectable. "He provides hospitality and entertainment to restless guests. Occasionally, he may join them for drinks as well."

"I see he is no different from me, then," remarked Lady Misaki. "That sounds very much like the parties we have in the Underworld. They may be dull compared to the ones up here, but we enjoy ourselves regardless. It's the only time we court ladies can be forgiven for bad behavior, barring sleeping with the Queen's concubines, of course."

"What's this I'm hearing?" the gruff voice of Hideo sounded behind Kumiko. "You know that adultery is a serious offence. Punishable by being crushed to a pulp."

"I beg your pardon?" Kumiko said as Lady Misaki shrunk back in fear. She turned to face the shinigami and couldn't deny that he looked almost a gentleman in his clean suit. "Now is not the time to be morbid. We're just making small talk."

"Oh, really?" Hideo sauntered past Kumiko and crossed his arms as he glared at Lady Misaki. "Did you enjoy the show earlier? I ought to report your lechery to Izanami herself, so that she'll send you to the Screaming Hell, where you'll be boiled alive."

Lady Misaki trembled while darting her eyes towards Kumiko. Seeing her sister-in-law distressed felt like seeing Ichiro in a similar state, so Kumiko was compelled to intervene. She leapt to her feet and rushed over to slap Hideo across the face.

He grunted in alarm before stumbling backwards. "What on earth?"

Kumiko lowered her arm. "I know you're upset but threatening her like that is too much. Seems like Yukari has something in common with you, after all."

"Excuse me?" Hideo hissed through clenched teeth. "Take that back at once. My daughter and I are completely different."

"They say the apple doesn't fall far from the tree, but I won't argue with you on that. It'll distract us from what's important."

Hideo continued to glare at her for another moment, then slowly regained composure. "Perhaps you're right. I've lived a difficult life..."

"Good," Kumiko said firmly. "Now, apologize to her."

Hideo turned to Lady Misaki and bowed his head. "I'm sorry for being harsh with you. I'll try to be more lenient from now on."

Lady Misaki swallowed and curled her toes. "You're a frightening man, but I'll take your word for it. In the meantime, you should open up to people about your troubles. Preferably starting with me, so we can build trust."

The intent behind Lady Misaki's words wasn't lost on Kumiko, but she chose to ignore it and avoid further conflict.

"I'll give it some thought," Hideo replied. "But you should focus on confronting your own pain first. I know it runs as deep as mine."

"I suppose." Lady Misaki rose to her feet. "By the way, Kumiko was just saying she would take us to Ichiro's place of employment."

"Really?" Hideo craned his neck with interest.

Kumiko hesitated, then gave a nod. "Yes, but we'll have to look the part first." She studied Lady Misaki's overall appearance. "We're about the same height and build, so my clothes should fit on you just fine."

Lady Misaki tugged at the collar of her coat while glancing at Hideo. "Is that all right with you, Mr. Tanimura?"

"Of course. I'll explain things to Futoshi if he comes back."

Having won Hideo's approval, Kumiko got up to take her sister-in-law by the hand, and they departed for her place to begin dressing up for a night out.