That last slashing sound was followed by a dying grunt, a thud here and a heavy sigh with a gasp there.

Haruchika's vision was filled with the smoke evaporating from the greenish liquid that was beginning to pool on the body of the Yōkai he had just fought and ultimately killed. Not the most difficult of those he had faced since he started doing this dirty work seven years ago.

Anyway, for now he had to take this corpse to the SNCB forensics department and get paid. After all, that was the point of all this, wasn't it?

“I'm done here!” Haruchika's shout echoed from inside the alley before his own figure appeared, one of his hands gripping his already resheathed nodachi while the other dragged the corpse of the Yōkai he had just exterminated.

On the street where the setting sun was shining with the dim lights of the street lamps that were starting to turn on one by one, his younger brother jumped from one of the building walls before his blade decapitated a giant Nure-onna, making its greenish blood spray onto the empty street.

“Me too.” grumbled Juri as he caught his breath, staring at the corpse of the woman-headed snake with disgust. This one was quite difficult, too slippery to catch and nimble to harm. He even earned a few cuts and scratches on his fair skin. “Damn, this little cunt's kinda hard to kill y'know.”

The four-eyed finally raised his gaze after kicking the Nure-onna's severed head away from him as he re-sheathed his large knife. He took off his tilted glasses to clean the greenish blood off with the hem of his sweater. “You done too?” At his question, Haruchika nodded, lifting up the Yōkai he had been dragging.

“Good. Then,” Juri pulled out his flip phone from the pocket of his sweatpants, his thumb pressing away at the buttons. “I'll find the nearest SNCB forensics facility from here first.” he muttered.

At Juri's words, Haruchika continued to walk over before tossing Yōkai's corpse on top of the dead Nure-onna. “At least today's work got done quickly, I still have an English assignment to do for tomorrow.” Haruchika stretched his arms high above him, listening to the sound of his bones crunching against each other.

Juri only chuckled at Haruchika's complaint, only further underlining the fact how they really were still high school students. Being an Exorcutioner was just a side job, well a dangerous one at that.

Which reminded him of, where the hell was their younger sister?

“Bro,” Juri called to him, making the two stare at each other. “Where's the squirt, tho?”

“Ah, our sister?” asked Haruchika back, more like a light bulb going off above his head. “She called me at lunchtime, said she couldn't join the extermination today 'cause her club had an after-school meeting or something.” Haruchika shrugged his shoulders as he reached into his uniform pocket for a piece of gum.

”For real? Man, I didn't know that girl that serious about her club.” Juri joked, still typing on his flip phone before he stopped. "'Kay. I found a facility, less than 2 kilometers to the south of here. Let's go.”

As Haruchika and Juri began to haul back the fruits of their culling, a distant noise caught the elder's attention, making his head turn towards it in alarm. Perhaps there was another Yōkai? His mind whirled for a split-second before his eyes finally caught sight of the figure approaching him.

“Oh, speak of the devil.” Haruchika elbowed Juri in the arm. “Yo, squirt!”

Juri adjusted the position of his square glasses on the bridge of his nose as he narrowed his eyes, finding himself putting that shit-eating grin back on as he looked at his sister.

“Doll! How nice of you to show up.” he said. He raised the Nure-onna's head to equal his chest with his other hand trying to lift its large body. “We could use your help carrying these two off, the nearest forensics facility's only 15 minutes away.”

Haruchika himself approached his sister as he ruffled the top of her head, his gentleness was just to bait her into helping the two of them. “Oh c'mon, squirt, help your brothers out. Hm?” teased Haruchika as he draped his hand on her shoulder. “We took out two Yōkai, we'll eat good tonight.”

Oh well, just another day for the Hanagaki siblings.