Pure × Isaac Lahey

36.

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       "The Japanese Mafia?"

        "It's a long story," Elora defended as she stood from the back porch swing. "And I knew you would act like this so that's why I didn't tell you in the first place."

       "You have a personal contact with the mafia and I'm the one acting funny?" Isaac questioned, following Elora into the house when she gave up on the fading sun.

        "It's not as strange as it sounds, Isaac. It's not the 1940s, the mafia's not like it's known for. Not Yakusa, not under Katashi."

        Isaac looked bewildered, wondering if they were really having this discussion. "How do you even know this guy?"

        Elora leaned on the counter in the kitchen, shutting her address book without touching it. "While my parents were on the run from Deucalion, and I was still in high school, we stayed in Japan briefly. Katashi is well aware of the supernatural, and he was well aware of our arrival.

        "I was in the market place about two weeks into our stay in Yokosuka and I was approached by two men who offered me burning sage to tell me they wanted to talk privately, as well as telling me they knew what I was without words."

        Hesitating, Isaac's eyebrows drew together, "Sage? They didn't shoot you or anything? No weapons threat?"

        "This isn't The Godfather. Focus." Elora could see the streets of the coastal city as if they were there and not in her kitchen, recalling only three years before. "I knew picking a fight would only expose us so I accepted the sage and went with them. They took me to a small building where Katashi was waiting. My father was already there, sage burning on Katashi's desk."

       Isaac restrained himself from asking if Katashi was holding a fluffy cat, unable to shake the 'mafia' label as he listened.

       "Katashi needed help that only two magic-users of the same bloodline could offer. He had sensed our arrival, amongst other confidants he had with atuned powers. There was a creature on the loose that couldn't be killed. It needed to be locked down or it would destroy the entire island."

        "Please tell me you're talking about Godzilla."

        Elora looked flatly at Isaac across the counter, "Don't you think that would've showed up on the news if she got free?"

       Isaac's eyes widened, "You mean-"

       "It's not important," El interrupted. "What Katashi was dealing with was beyond ancient. It derives from the initial creation of the world, but the catch was that it could cause devastation if killed. If you can't kill it, you have to lock it up. That's where my dad and I came in."

        "There's a giant ass creature running around and you two had to lock it up?" asked Isaac, the picture not complete in his head.

       "Actually, the kuchiku-kan is a little girl. She runs around Japan begging like a lost child asking for help to find her mother. If you help, she kills you by putting a hand on any exposed skin and drains the life out of you."

        Isaac blinked for a moment, "Well that's terrifying. Wait, what if you don't help?"

        "If you stop at all, or even make eye contact when she asks," Elora softly shook her head, "you're a goner. The only way to survive it is to ignore her and keep walking. Any hesitation in your step will get you killed. You can't run, either. She can always find you."

        "So, if you're a kid lost in Japan..."

        "Only ask for your dad, or don't get lost."

        Isaac's eyebrows narrowed, "Why the mom?"