"That's why I would say he did us a favor," Shi ended his explanation. Sachiko, Kira and Yoshiro all stared at him.

"You can't be serious, Shi-san," Yoshiro said, shaking his head.

"Why not? We haven't had hunter attacks in weeks. They understood that they are going to die here." The leader grabbed his tea mug and drank.

"We want to protect the humans, Kuro-sama." Kira exchanged a gaze for approval with Sachiko, who stared thoughtfully at her rice bowl.

"Above all, we want to protect our species. If the oni are doing well, they will not harm humans." Shi soundly placed the cup near his wife. Silently she got up, reached for the teapot and refilled his mug, which she then put down at her husband's place.

"Say something, too, Sachiko-chan." The skin color of the healer changed in rapid succession between different, dark shades.

"Shi may be right," confessed the praying mantis.

"You can't really think that." Determined, Yoshiro shook his head. "That's not what we wanted to create."

"If the hunters leave us alone... if we don't have to fear persecution all the time, then we can focus on living with the humans." Sachiko looked back and forth between Yoshiro and Kira, hoping for understanding.

"And what if Tirr doesn't stop? What if he keeps killing? If he just kills all humans?" The teleporter rose to his feet. "Shi-san, you have to think further ahead. Tirr will not stop killing."

The oni with the black skull began to smile with amusement. "He will. And he already has."

"Just because he hasn't killed anyone at the moment doesn't mean he has stopped." The yellow-skinned's eyes narrowed. "You can't possibly be so blind."

Shi got up from his seat. Cozy, he marched to Akito, who was lying on a large pillow in a corner and squatted next to the dog. He patted the animal, whereupon it yawned thankfully. Waiting, the other oni watched him.

The leader got up and came back to the dining table. "He stopped because I told him to." Three red-glowing pairs of eyes stared at him, stunned.

"Darling?" Sachiko asked. "What do you mean?"

Kuro-sama picked up his tea mug from the table and sipped on it. "I told Tirr to eliminate the hunters. He obeys my command." Kira and Yoshiro exchanged suspicious glances.

"How could you?" The mask's indifferent facial expressions didn't fit in the least with the anger in her voice.

The leader raised his hand placatingly. "I have done what I think is right. Without the hunters, all oni are better off. We have achieved this."

"You started a war!" Yoshiro shouted. "They will come back. In larger numbers. They will kill us all."

Shi stopped him with a raised hand. "You start to annoy me, Yoshiro-san. The hunters are afraid of Tirr. My scouts have gathered information. They believe that he is invincible. They know that a single oni killed them all."

"Kuro-sama, please listen to me," Kira interjected.

"Of course, Kira-san." He nodded and looked at her.

The healer looked at Yoshiro and then at Sachiko. "Even if Tirr has served the community by pushing back the hunters, we shouldn't forget, that he still has to be held accountable for the death of Marika."

"He deserves death. You should have killed him, Shi," the praying mantis growled.

"I don't think so." Again, the other three looked at their leader. "He is too valuable a tool to kill him."

"That... I don't believe you. Shi... darling... he murdered Marika. He has the child of our daughter on his conscience!" sobbed Sachiko.

"She was just a human. That's no reason for me to shed tears." The cold-hearted sound of his voice sent chills down the others backs. At least that's what they thought because in fact the room temperature started to drop drastically.

"I've heard enough," Yukiko's voice sounded, while she pushed the paper wall aside so she could enter the room.

She looked beat. Her face was sunken and the ice on her skin had thickened. The corners of her mouth hung down as she came over to the dining table. Right before Kuro-sama, she reared up and stared at him. Calmly, he returned her gaze. She reached out and slapped her palm in his face with full force. Without resistance, he let it happen and then continued watching her.

"You're a monster, Kuro-sama," she said, then looked at the others, who stared at her stunned. "You all are monsters! He killed my child and no one holds him accountable."

Sachiko rose quickly. "Yuki-chan. Please calm down."

"I am calm. I'm as calm as I've never been before." She looked down. "My heart is just a lump of ice."

"Yukiko-san...", Yoshiro started, taking a step towards her.

"Yuki-chan..." Kira's eyes darted back and forth between Shi and the ice oni. What would he do?

The praying mantis stood beside her husband. "Apologize, Shi."

"No." He shook his head.

"Please, honey."

"I'm not a liar. I'm not sorry. She knew the risks of adoption." Yukiko continued to stare at her feet. "Humans die."

"Show some decency and heart, Shi. We're talking about her daughter, our granddaughter." The leader nudged him with her sickle.

He turned his black skull to her. "I have no grandchildren." His gaze shifted to the blue-haired. "And I have no children. Oni don't have children and shouldn't have any." Even Kira's skin flushed from anger.

"Where can I find him?" asked the ice oni.

"I will not tell you that, Yukiko-san." Shi crossed his arms over his chest.

Her shoulders hung down. "Then I'm not sorry either."

"Yuki-chan..." Sachiko breathed.

Yukiko raised her eyes, which were full of determination. The next moment, her Yukata was torn apart as ice spines left her body and impaled the leader. Blood spurted in all directions as his body was pierced by the ice.

Startled, Kira and Yoshiro sucked in the air. The praying mantis had backed away, staring at her husband's body. Then she turned her gaze to the ice oni. Akito jumped up and whimpered in confusion.

"Yuki-chan!" she hissed.

Shi started to giggle. Blood flowed from his mouth. "You're really brash, you brat." He turned his head so he could look at her. Breathing heavily, Yukiko stared at him. "How annoyed you are that I show no compassion." He shook himself with laughter. "Death is a gift!"

"Shi!" Sachiko lifted a claw reproachfully. She glanced at Yoshiro and Kira, who had apparently calmed down.

The impaled clattered with his jaws. "You know what, Yuki-chan? Go get him. Get yourself killed by Tirr as well. I don't care if you live or not. You find him in a cave in the big forest."

The ice thorns disappeared back into Yukiko's body, whereupon Kuro-sama landed bleeding on the tatami mats. He pushed himself up, while the holes in his body slowly disappeared. Kira had also got up to provide first aid, but obviously this was not necessary. She looked at Yoshiro, who was staring intently at the leader.

"We should all calm down," Sachiko whispered.

"No." Furious, the ice oni turned around. "I'm going to kill Tirr. I'll get my daughter's soul back."

Kira hurried over to her. Her skin was a mess of colors. "Yuki-chan! Be sensible." She grabbed the blue-haired woman's arm.

"Let me go, Kira-san!"

"He will kill you!"

"I don't care." Yukiko broke away. She took a few steps, then stopped. Relieved, the healer breathed.

"We can talk about everything, Yuki-chan." Sachiko took a step forward. "We will get Tirr and judge him. He shouldn't get away with it." She looked over at Shi, who was completely healed. "It doesn't have to end like this."

"Really, Yukiko-san. The community will take care of Tirr. Together," affirmed Yoshiro.

The ice oni glanced over her shoulder back at them. She looked at Kira and Yoshiro, both of whom looked at her with hopeful eyes. Sachiko, her eyes glaring blankly. And Kuro-sama, whose skull gawked at her.

"The community can blow me. I'm out." The Takagi couple jumped in surprise and gasped. The praying mantis bowed her head and stared to the ground while Shi rattled with his jaw.

"Yuki-chan...", Sachiko started. "We are your family. You belong to us."

Yukiko growled threateningly. "My family is dead. She died with Marika. I'm done here." She took the next step.

"Wait, Yukiko-chan!" Kira lunged forward and grabbed the blue-haired woman's wrist. "Don't do that! We'll fix it."

"You just don't understand. You don't understand how I feel. You can't." Yukiko broke away again. "You've never really loved anything, you monsters." Speechless, the others watched her as she left the room.

"We have to stop her!" Kira shouted as she turned to the remaining oni. "We can't let her go!"

"Then stop her. I really don't care if she's alive or not." Shi went back to his seat, sat down and continued eating.

"Kuro-sama..." The healer turned her gaze to Sachiko. "Sa-chan... we have to stop her."

"Let it go, Kira," Yoshiro said.

"But... but..." Dissolving, she looked at each one. Her skin changed between different blues and greens. "She will die."

"She made her decision." Sachiko went back to her seat, but without looking at her husband. Akito sniffed the floor, licking up blood from the tatami mats.

"She is your daughter!" The colorful oni shook her head without understanding.

"It's enough, Kira. That's not our problem." The yellow-skinned oni looked at her sternly.

"Darling..."

"Yukiko-san is obsessed with fighting Tirr." He turned his eyes to Shi, who was quietly eating. "She is just another victim of this war. You're responsible, Shi-san."

The leader accepted the challenge and returned the look. "Have you ever considered that I don't care who lives or dies?"

Kira couldn't stand it anymore. She looked at the other oni again, then ran off to search for Yukiko. If the others didn't want to do anything, that was their business, but she couldn't live on, if her young friend was killed by Tirr.

"That was not the last word," Yoshiro said, then he was gone.

Sachiko and Shi ate in silence. He couldn't say what was going on in his wife's mind. It would be a shame, if the Takagis fell victim to Tirr, but even they were expendable for him. Everyone was expendable for him. Even his own wife.