The Twelve Kingdoms: Shadow of the Moon

their appearance to look human. That's what we call the half-demon. Most of them just look human, but there are some of them that can disguise themselves so that you can't tell the difference.
    Takki poured some more tea from the earthenware teapot. The tea was cold. "They say that somewhere the youma have a kingdom of their own. I can't say if it's true or not. At the end of the day, though, what it comes down to is, youma and people, they come from completely different worlds."
    Youko nodded. What she was learning was changing the way she saw things, and things were getting a lot more confusing. Like, Keiki probably wasn't human. If he wasn't, what was he? Hyouki and Kaiko and those strange beasts must be some species of youma. If they were, then didn't it stand to reason that Keiki was a half-demon?
    "Um . . . have you ever heard of youma called Hyouki or Kaiko or Jouyuu?"
    Takki gave her a funny look. "I haven't heard of any youma like that. Why do you ask?"
    "Or Hinman?"
    A surprised look came to her face. "Ah, Hinman. The possessor. A youma that possesses warriors on the field of battle. No body except for its red eyes. How did you come to know about a creature like that?"
    Youko felt herself shiver. Jouyuu was a youma called the Hinman, and even now it possessed her. But admitting that would probably only make Takki think she was weird or something, so she shook her head.
    "Or kochou?"
    "Kochou." Takki wrote out the characters for "rice worm" ( ko ) and "carve" ( chou ). "The horned bird. A ferocious animal that eats people. How did you come to know about the kochou?"
    "I was attacked by one."
    "Surely not! Where?"
    "That other place . . . where I'm from. A kochou attacked us and we had to escape. It appeared out of nowhere, like it was pursuing Keiki and me. We had to come here to keep from getting killed . . . or that's what Keiki said."
    Takki said in a low voice, "Did such a thing really happen?"
    Youko took a deep breath. "It doesn't sound right?"
    "Not right at all. It's a serious thing for people around here if youma start showing up even out there in the mountains. Back then, youma didn't make it a practice of coming around where people are."
    "Really? Is that really true?"
    Takki nodded. "But recently, for whatever reason, there's been a lot more of them. It's gotten dangerous. After sundown, people don't dare go outside. But when one of those mean ones like a kochou appears, what a hullabaloo."
    Takki gave her a stern look. "Youma are like any other wild beast. They're not the kind of creatures to go chasing after one person in particular, let alone to the other side of the sea. Never before heard of such a thing. You know, Youko, it sounds like you might have met up with something quite serious."
    "I guess I did."
    "Well, it's not that I'm any kind of expert. But recently, what with so many more youma around these parts, it all gives me a bad feeling."
    The tone of Takki's voice even made Youko feel uneasy. It seemed common sense to her that there were youma in the mountains and that they attacked people. What in the world had she gotten herself caught up in?
    Seeing her caught up in her thoughts, Takki said in a cheerful voice, "Well, not much point to worrying ourselves sick when it won't change a thing. So, Youko, do you have someplace to go after this?"
    At the question Youko raised her head. She looked at Takki and shook her head. "Other than looking for Keiki, there's not much else I can do."
    Even if Keiki were a youma, she knew he couldn't make things any worse for her than they already were.
    "That's going to take some time. Not a thing easily done."
    "Yes," Youko reluctantly agreed.
    "And in the meantime, you've got to make a living for yourself, no? Wouldn't mind you staying here, but my nosy neighbors find you out and they'd no doubt pack you off to the county seat. I could say you were the child of a relative, but they'd probably see through it before long."
    "I don't want to cause you any more trouble."
    "East of here there's a town called Kasai. My mother lives there."
    When Youko looked at her, Takki laughed. "She runs an hotel. Don't worry, she won't turn you in. She's my mum, see. I'm sure she'll give you a job. You willing to work?"
    "Yes," Youko agreed on the spot. It'd be tough looking for Keiki. And it'd be well-nigh impossible if she'd didn't have a place to live in the meantime. Fighting the youma every night, having nothing to eat, sleeping outdoors--if she could avoid all