10 - Masanori
The statue in the centre of the Seika village was a lifelike rendition of a fox woman in jade, four tails curled behind her. A spot at her throat was hollow, a part of the figure missing. But the green skin did not hide Ryoka's identity written in the stone.
Three children, no older than seven or eight, ran around the statue, chasing each other. The girl pounced at one of the boys, a glimmer of a translucent, bushy tail reflecting in the light. Masanori flinched. She landed on the boy, and he writhed beneath her.
"You're the oni now," she said, "and I'm Ryoka!" She climbed off, teetering about and running toward the shrine, the boys chasing.
Masanori watched, at a loss for words at how normal the village seemed. He hadn't ventured out in the last month, not since his impr
