After she walked out, Hoshino's expression darkened. His knuckles went white.
Her silence earlier, and that last line, made it obvious.
If he rebelled, Kobeni Higashiyama would end up dead.
"…Sigh."
His head slumped. All the fight drained out of him. "There's just no dealing with this woman."
Inside the closet, a white cocoon rested against the wall. Hoshino pulled the silk away, revealing the man. His wounds were much better than before.
"Thank you," the man said.
"No problem."
"You're Hoshino?" Even wrapped in silk, sound traveled clearly enough.
"Yeah."
"My name is Baizhu. Are you here in Japan as an international student?"
Baizhu looked to be in his early forties, dark-skinned, thick eyebrows, round nose, plain and honest-looking.
"No. I moved here."
"Then why become a Devil Hunter? Desperate?"
"Wrong place, wrong time. Like you saw. I'm not a Devil Hunter. I'm that woman's dog."
"You… want to join us?"
Hoshino snorted. "You recruit this casually?"
Baizhu laughed too. "There's a saying. Overseas, no matter how perfect someone's Chinese is, they might not be one of your own. But if they shout '卧槽 (What the fk)' in a crisis, they definitely are."
He continued, "Normally, someone living alone should be using much less Chinese. Your habits should've changed. So I'm guessing you haven't been here long."
"I haven't," Hoshino admitted.
"Then join us." Baizhu repeated. "Help us kill Makima."
Hoshino glanced at the door instinctively. He shut the window before speaking. "You have a plan?"
"I can tell you a secret right now. A secret that cost the lives of eight agents who hid in Japan for over twenty years."
Hoshino kept his face neutral, but doubt stirred inside him.
He's giving me that huge of a secret this easily?
Baizhu met his eyes and spoke clearly.
"Makima formed a Contract with the Cabinet. She can never die. Any fatal wound she receives transfers into accidental civilian deaths in Japan."
Hoshino's eyes widened slightly.
"But we've identified the three ministers who made the Contract with her."
Baizhu held out his hand.
"You just need to deal with those three. We'll handle Makima."
"I'll give you an answer by the day after tomorrow," Hoshino said after thinking for a moment.
"No rush. Life-and-death decisions deserve time."
"Oh, and one more thing."
Baizhu raised a hand across his face. The skin dissolved like fog. In the blink of an eye, his head was a smooth, featureless mass.
The flesh writhed. In two or three seconds, it reshaped into the face of a sharp-browed, chiseled young man. Even his voice changed.
"No matter what you choose, you saved my life. I can teach you the Human Skin Devil's Contract method."
"Nice!" Hoshino grinned, then karate-chopped the "awake but pretending to sleep" black cat again.
Baizhu bit his left thumb, flipped over his right palm, and pressed blood onto the shed face-skin lying there. It sprang upright with a pop.
He gestured politely for Hoshino to step closer.
Hoshino leaned in, and the face-skin snapped up and slapped him.
"What're you leaning so close for? No manners."
Hoshino's eye twitched. He muttered, "Three percent."
The little face-skin curled up at the edges like it was shrugging. "Three percent? What good is that? Can you even afford the Contract? Broke boy!"
"I want fifty percent of your Authority. What do you want?" Hoshino asked, deadpan.
"I want money! Didn't your introducer tell you?"
The face-skin squeaked, "Fifty percent is five hundred thousand US dollars!"
Five hundred thousand dollars. Over sixty million yen.
"Where are you right now?" Hoshino asked kindly.
"New York! The city that never sleeps, you know? It's expensive here. Playing with supermodels costs tons of money. You guys gotta fund that!"
Hoshino's smile grew strained. "Can I pay later?"
"Small business, no credit!"
"One month from now, I'll give you seven hundred thousand dollars. If not, you can take my life."
"What am I supposed to do with your life? If you can't afford five hundred thousand, what's your life worth? Broke boy!"
Slap.
Hoshino smacked the face-skin across the room.
"You think I'm giving you face?"
"You dare hit me?!" The skin mask flipped upright and launched itself at him.
Baizhu rushed between them before they collided.
"Alright, alright. Calm down. Business negotiations take time."
As Baizhu mediated, his expression grew complicated.
From what he overheard earlier, Makima clearly trusted Hoshino's abilities deeply.
But watching him nearly get into a fistfight with a piece of skin…
If Baizhu hadn't stepped in, they'd probably be wrestling right now.