Genma's meal with the tanuki children came to an abrupt end, when the fur all over Kaori's body bristled, and she stood up with a horrified look on her face. “Mom, she said. That single word contained volumes, and each word in those volumes was ’fuck!’

Kikyou came rushing from the kitchen, took one look at Genma, and snapped at Kaori, “Closet. Now. Hideki, help your sister.”

“What—” Genma started. Kikyou snatched the plate of chicken skewers out of his hand. He started to rise, but before he’d even got his feet under him, he was engulfed in a mass of brown fur, like a fish in a net.

When he elbowed and kicked, trying to get free, Hideki made a little whimpering sound, and the restraints tightened.

“She’s gonna be so mad,” Hideki said. He dragged Genma, who was still trying to fight his way out, across the floor.

“Not if she doesn’t find him, so keep quiet!” Kaori’s little voice had taken on serious steel.

“This is all your fault.” Hidek whined, raspy with anxiety.

“Me? You’re the one who wanted to come.” The bang of a closet door being slammed open came muffled through Hideki’s testicle trap. “Get the futon out,” Kaori ordered. “We can stuff him in it.”

There were a few scuffling, heavy sounds. “All right, now!”

At the moment Hideki’s balls loosened, Genma dove for the floor. And was promptly tangled in Hideki’s balls again, but at least this time his head was free.

“Let me go!” He thrashed at the constricting squeeze; it felt like his bruised shoulders and ribs wanted to crack in half. Hideki might have been a youngster, but he was viciously strong. “Can’t… breathe…” Genma gasped.

The pressure lessened just enough for Genma to draw in a lungful of air, then clamped again as he was thrust, still wrapped in Hideki’s scrotum, into the dark, cramped closet.

There was no way this was going to end well, but since he couldn’t seem to fight it, Genma hoped it would be to his advantage to play along for now, and learn what he could about the mother. He went still.

“I’ll be quiet,” he promised. Hideki’s grip loosened a little. But only a little.

Kaori closed the closet door.

“Ow! Be careful!” Hideki yelped.

“Well, keep them flatter so they fit!”

Genma’s peculiar prison twitched and tightened again, and the door snicked almost shut, leaving him with just a sliver to peer through. Hideki stood with his back to the closet, rocking slightly on his feet. His tail twitched unhappily.

Next to him, Kaori seemed more determined than afraid. “Okay,” she said. “So when Mom comes, we’re going to say that he followed us home.”

“What? That’s stupid!”

“Fine,” Kaori huffed. “Then you can tell her that we went to the Human World by ourselves, even though we’re not even allowed to use the watching well!”

Genma didn’t have to see Hideki’s eyes to know he was glaring at his sister over his sullen, “Fine.”

Genma squirmed just enough to get a good sightline through the gap. Kikyou was surprisingly absent from all this panic. Maybe she’d gone to buy the little ones some time?