Takeshita Demons (7 page)

I looked across at Cait, and she nodded. It certainly
sounded like Mrs Williams at the door, and all the
doors and windows had been locked. You'd have to
think we were safe in our own house.

"Sure," I called out. "Come in."

The door opened and Mrs Williams walked in.
She looked around, searching for somewhere to sit.
Cait and I moved quickly from the window to sit on
the bed, leaving Mrs Williams the chair.

"Thank you, dears," she said. "I just thought
I should come up. We need to have a talk."

I looked down at the stitching on my bedspread.
I loved having a bed, a real bed, that you could sit
on and be tucked into. In Japan we'd only ever had
futons, rolling them out each night to sleep on the
tatami floor. Sometimes I missed the smell of straw
and the cosy feel of sleeping in a sandwich of thick futon mattress and puffy futon quilt. But I never
missed having to fold it all away the next morning.

"I've just had a call from your father," Mrs
Williams said. "He's stuck at work. His train isn't
running and the buses are all cancelled because of
the snow. He and some colleagues are going to stay at
a hotel tonight, the roads just aren't safe..."

I sneaked a look at Cait. Already the bottom
was falling out of our plan. Dad would be no help
tonight.

"I told your mother I'd watch Kazu till your
dad came home," Mrs Williams said, "but it's just
that Andrew will be home tonight and I'd really like
to keep an eye on him too. I know you must think
he's all grown up, but to me he's still just a little boy.
I don't like to leave him alone on a night like this..."

"That's OK, Mrs Williams." I knew what she
was getting at. "I can look after Kazu by myself.
I've done it heaps of times." This last bit wasn't
exactly true, but I had looked after him once while
Mum had nipped out to the shops. Although that was
before my supply teacher had turned out to be
a nukekubi demon.

"Oh no, dear," Mrs Williams said, shocked.
"I don't think that would be right at all. I couldn't
leave you and little Kazu alone, especially when he's ill. That would never do. Perhaps you should
come over to our place for the night..."

"Don't worry, Mrs Williams," Cait piped up.
"I'll be here too. I don't expect my dad will be able to
pick me up either, so I'll have to stay here or at yours,
and I think all of us sleeping at yours might be a bit
of a crowd, don't you?"

Mrs Williams looked uncertain. "Well..."

"We'd only be next door," Cait added. "You could
call us any time to check we were OK."

"I suppose," said Mrs Williams.

"OK then," said Cait, getting up from the bed.
"I guess we can heat some leftovers for dinner,
hey Miku?"

"Sure," I mumbled. "I'll put some rice in the
cooker. There's some veggies left from last night.
Mum's got all the dressings and stuff. Plus there's
always toast if we get hungry later on."

"Well..." said Mrs Williams again.

Cait knew we were winning. "OK then," she
said. "We better head downstairs if we're to take
care of little Kazu and get dinner started. You've got
our number then, Mrs Williams?"

Mrs Williams nodded, and followed Cait and
me downstairs. Kazu was still on the sofa, coughing
and watching TV. He hardly looked up when Mrs Williams gathered her things and leaned over
to give him a hug goodbye.

"Well, if you're sure you're OK..."

"We're sure. Thanks for your help so far.
We'll call if we need anything."

We bustled Mrs Williams towards the door.
This time I was careful to pull a chair across so
I could climb up and peek through the peephole.

"What are you doing, dear?" Mrs Williams asked.
"Are you sure you'll be all right?"

"Better safe than sorry," Cait chimed.

The corridor was clear.

"Thanks, Mrs Williams," we chorused. "Say hi
to Andrew."

She was out in a jiffy, and we were careful to shut
and lock the door behind her.

It was suddenly quiet. We were alone: me, Cait,
and my little brother, still coughing on the sofa.

"Wow," I said. "I guess that's that."

"Yep." Cait looked determined. "Now we're free
to work on this Okuda problem. Let's heat a pizza
and get started on a plan."

We headed to the kitchen. I felt so lucky,
I couldn't believe it. Cait was seriously into all
this. She was going to help. "You really believe me,
all this stuff?"

"Sure," she said. "Why not? We have our
own demons here, vampires and werewolves and
leprechauns and kelpies. There's no reason why your
demons wouldn't be just as real as ours."

I was confused. Vampires and werewolves
I'd heard of, but leprechauns and kelpies?

Cait saw my look. "Not now," she grinned.
"Let's deal with one set of demons at a time."

I grinned back, then opened the freezer.
"Hawaiian or pepperoni?"

Just then there was another knock at the door.

Cait and I shared a cautious glance. There'd
been no one out there just seconds ago. I was getting
a bit sick of all these surprises.

"Probably Mrs Williams," I mouthed.

She nodded, and together we headed to the front
door. I climbed back on the chair to look through
the peephole. There was someone out there all right.
But it wasn't Mrs Williams.

Through the warped glass I could see a man,
dressed in a suit. His brown hair was thin on top and
he kept checking his watch, as if he was in a rush.

Could it be? He was very early.

"I think it's your dad," I whispered, getting down
so Cait could climb up to confirm.

She took a quick peek. "Hey, Dad," she yelled through the door, getting down from the chair nearly
as quickly as she'd climbed up. When she opened the
door, sure enough, Mr O'Neill was standing there,
dusting the snow off his clothes and stamping his feet
against the cold.

"Gait," he said, pulling his daughter into a hug.
"Hello, Miku."

I nodded, not wanting a hug. My family weren't
as big on hugging as the O'Neills.

"Isn't the weather dreadful?" he said. "I didn't
think I'd make it. The roads are a mess. Have you
got your things? We shouldn't stick around too long.
The snow's still coming down out there."

"OK," said Cait, looking at me uncertainly.
"It's just that..."

Then the phone rang. Perfect timing.

"I'll get it," I said, leaving Cait and her dad alone
to figure out whether she'd be able to stay the night.
I was really hoping he'd say yes. I didn't like the idea
of me and Kazu alone all night with who knew what
kind of demons lurking around outside. The way this
day had been going, there could be almost anything
out there. And Cait was always a good person to have
on your side.

Together we'd figure out a way to defeat the
nukekubi, cure my brother of his sudden illness and protect the house from any other supernatural
guests.

I reached the phone on the fifth ring. Kazu hadn't
moved, he was still glued to the box. One day he'd be
old enough to be useful, but not yet, and not with that
awful cough.

"Hello?" I said, picking up the phone. Mum had
taught me never to answer the phone with my name,
just in case it was a lunatic kidnapper on the other
end. If only she'd been more careful about lunatic
demons. But this time it wasn't a kidnapper. I even
recognised the voice.

"Miku," the voice said. "How's it going?"

My heart stopped. I felt as if I was trapped in
some sort of scary movie, the kind Mum would never
let me watch on a Friday night.

"Hello?" I whispered. "Mr O'Neill?"

"Miku." The voice sounded relieved. "I don't
suppose Cait's with you, is she? I've only just heard
that school was let out early, so I'm hoping she
went home with you. It's just that the buses and
trains are all down and I can't find a way to pick her
up tonight. I think it might be safer if she stays the
night with you. Would that be OK?"

I tried to speak but couldn't make my tongue and
mouth work together properly.

"Miku? Is everything OK?" Mr O'Neill's voice
sounded worried. "Gait is with you, isn't she?
Is she OK?"

Dazed, I began walking down the hall towards
the front door. On the phone, Mr O'Neill was getting
anxious. I had to make my voice work.

"Yes," I stammered. "Yes, everything's OK.
She's right here."

And she was. When I reached the front door,
Cait was standing there, with Mr O'Neill and her
schoolbag. She didn't look happy.

"Dad says we have to go," she said. "Sorry."

The Mr O'Neill standing at our door nodded.
"It'll be best if we get going now, Miku. Thanks
for looking after Cait."

The Mr O'Neill on the phone spoke again.
"Are you sure everything's OK? Can I speak to
Cait please?"

"Who's on the phone?" Cait asked, catching
the look on my face. "What's wrong, Miku? Is it
your mum?"

I couldn't speak. I just stared at the Mr O'Neill
at our door. Then I stared at the phone, now bleating
with Mr O'Neill's concern.

"Miku? Miku? Can I speak to Cait please?"

Whatever was happening, it couldn't be good.
I had to think fast. "Can we have a minute,
Mr O'Neill?" I asked, talking to the man standing
in the door.

"Sure," he said. "But make it quick, please, girls.
I'll wait for you in the hallway."

He stepped outside and Cait pounced on me.

"What is it?" she asked. "Who's on the phone?"

I took a deep breath, then I told her.

"It's your dad."

"What?" I could tell she didn't believe me.

There was only one way to convince her. "Here,"
I said, passing her the phone. "It's your dad."

"But," Cait stammered, looking from the phone
to the man waiting in the hallway. She put the phone
to her ear.

"Hello?"

"Oh, thank God," Mr O'Neill's voice sounded
loud with relief. "What's going on, Cait? Are you in
trouble?"

Cait paled for a moment. Her freckles drained
of all colour and her eyes grew wide. Then she took
a deep breath.

"No," she said, her voice airy and light.
"Everything's fine. Sorry, it's just that we're
distracted. Miku's little brother is sick. You
remember Keiji?"

"Keiji," I heard Mr O'Neill stop. "Keiji?" Cait and
I both held our breath. "I thought it was Kazu," he
said.

"That's what I said," Cait covered. "Kazu. So
yeah, he's ill and Miku's a bit worried. Would it be
OK if I stayed here tonight?"

I waited for Mr O'Neill's answer, keeping an eye
on the Mr O'Neill in the hallway. He was facing the outer door, kicking at a bit of loose carpet. He had
Cait's bag and looked ready to leave at any moment.
My stomach churned. Something was very wrong.

"OK, thanks, Dad," Cait was finishing up.
"Thanks, take care. I love you too."

She hung up the phone, raised an eyebrow at me,
then turned to look at the Mr O'Neill in our hallway.

"Dad," she said.

"Yes, love?"

"I'm ready to go now..."

"Great," said Mr O'Neill. "We're parked just
outside."

"...But," Cait continued, "do you mind if I say a
quick goodbye to Miku's little brother before we go?
You remember Keiji?"

"Oh yes, Keiji," the Mr O'Neill replied. "I hear
he's not well, poor little boy. Say a quick goodbye,
and then we really have to hit the road."

Cait and I exchanged glances, then ran off down
the hall towards the living room.

"Keiji," Cait hissed. "He said Keiji, not Kazu. And
how did he know Kazu was sick? And how'd he get
into the building anyway? He doesn't have a key.
I don't think he's the real thing, Miku."

"Then what is he?" I asked. "And what's he doing
in our hallway?"

The TV was still on when we reached the living
room, but Kazu was nowhere to be seen.

"Kazu," I called, hunting in the kitchen and
under the table. "Kazu? Perhaps he went upstairs?"

We raced upstairs, running through rooms and
searching under beds. "Kazu?" I cried. "Kazu?"