The Nightmares Walking Among Us

by Kira Zero Yamato

A threat hangs over the town of Arlen Texas. Left unchecked this threat could cause the end of the world as we know it. Luckily a crazy camp gives Bobby Hill the skills to help avert tragedy, as fate provides the allies he'll need to see the task through. Rated T for some violence, and minor swearing.(On Hiatus due to writers block)

The Nightmares Walking Among Us.

Disclaimer: I do not own King of the Hill, as it belongs to Mike Judge and Greg Daniels. I also do not own Tokyo Ravens, which belongs to Houhei Azano. The plot to this Fan-fiction is partly inspired by "Werewolf of the Hill" by TheWriter22, but is not part of that author's series and has nothing to do with it. The plot, however; is entirely of my construction.

General Warning: Rated T for minor swearing and some violence.

Author's Notes: Departs radically from both King of the Hill and Tokyo Ravens canon. Natsume is gender swapped. Contains a lot of Supernatural/Paranormal creatures, practices, events, and so forth. That does not mean it's related to "Supernatural," or "Paranormal Activity." Seriously it isn't related to either of those series I just mentioned. May or may not contain crossdressing in the future. If you don't like some/any of that, don't complain to me about it, no one made you read it..

Chapter One: Something Kumo This Way Comes!

Summer vacation for Bobby Hill had been stalled, though due to a summer camp, not the likes of summer school. For the past three years his father insisted upon sending him to a "bible camp," which turned out to be even stranger than he'd thought. The camp high in the mountains was no regular church camp, it was an exorcist training camp. Bobby was never sure what the staff of the camp smoked, but it sure must have been good. For the sake of Christ, these people drilled them on how to take down supernatural monsters, like; demons, ghosts, vampires, and other fictional monsters.

The bus ride home left the teenage son of Hank Hill feeling more than a little off-center, but he had to admit that it was actually pretty fun. Certainly a lot more fun than sitting around in some Bible study group reading the same verses from the good book over and over. The real downside was that the whole experience left him questioning his faith. He wondered if it was because of the more fanatical beliefs he was exposed to at the summer camp, but dismissed the train of thought.

He could see his reflection in the window of the bus, and looked him self over. He'd lost weight as he grew, he was still a little heavy, but more of a bruiser in shape now. This was partly because he decided to begin working out some. He'd grown his hair out some and sported a similar hair style to his father now. He was still a bit shorter than most of his friends at only 5'7" tall. Overall though he was still the Bobby Hill who was the good-natured class clown all his friends loved.

The bus stopped at the small ranch style house on Rainey Street that belonged to the Hill family. Bobby took his duffel bag and disembarked the bus walking up the cement path to the front porch. He found the door unlocked which meant that his parents were home, he walked in and found his way to the living room.

Peggy Hill walked into the room gathering things for her purse. "Welcome home Bobby!" She called as she spotted her son, walked over and hugged him tight. "Did you have a fun time at Camp?"

Bobby smiled at his mother and hugged her back, dropping his duffel bag in the process. "Yeah mom it was pretty fun."

She let her son go then looked at her watch. "Sorry Bobby, but I have to go. Mihn's going out late tonight and has nothing to wear so I'm going to help her find a new outfit. I left a snack for you on the kitchen table."

"Thanks mom, Have fun!" Bobby called after his mom as she hurried out the back door. He took his duffel bag and deposited it in his room, then walked into the kitchen and spotted a plate with aluminum foil. He unwrapped the plate, finding a ham sandwich inside, along with a generous helping of potato chips and a fruit pie. He set the pie aside, then lifted the top slice of bread placing some potato chips on top of the sandwich before he began to eat it.

As the teenager ate his father Hank walked in with a paper under one arm and a coffee cup in his hand. "Oh, hey there son! Didn't hear you get home." He greeted his son with a slight smile. "How was camp?" Hanks set the paper down on the table before walking to the coffee maker and pouring him self a cup.

"It was pretty good dad." Bobby responded cheerfully. "What's been going on?"

Hank looked at his son for a moment as he reviewed the past couple of weeks. "Oh the usual. I'm changing the oil in my truck today..." The elder Hill trailed off as if he was trying to remember something, then put his palm to his forehead. "I almost forgot, yesterday new neighbors moved into the house that Luanne used to live in, you know, the one with the pool."

Bobby gave his father a curious look. "We got new neighbors?"

"Yep." Hank responded, he then pondered for a moment. "Say son you're handy around the kitchen." The statement held a small bit of resentment, but was obviously leading to something.

"Uh-huh?" Bobby's response showed no concealment of his suspicion.

Hank sighed but put on a bit of a helpless smile for his son. "Well your mom went out and I'm busy. So do you think you could whip something up for when I go bring them the block charter, and invite them to the "welcome to the neighborhood" cookout?"

Bobby snorted. "Sure thing dad."

"Thanks son." The father replied before heading into the garage.

Bobby quickly finished his snack then grabbed an apron and his secret stash of recipe cards. He preheated the oven as he started to make the batter for his favorite white chocolate chunk fudge brownies. Once those began to bake Bobby's ambition got the better of him and he also set about making his secret recipe chocolate chip cookies.

By the time Bobby had moved the brownies and cookies to a tray, with a small batch of extras set aside, his father walked in from the garage. "Those look and smell great Bobby!" Hank complimented his son.

"Thanks dad." Bobby replied with pride as he put blue colored plastic wrap over the tray. "I made sure to make some extras too, so you can help yourself to those."

After washing his hands Hank took advantage of the offer as his son went over and washed the still dirty cookie sheet, along with the bowl he'd made the cookie dough in. Hank once again commented with pleasure on the high quality of Bobby's baking. After the teenager finished his clean up and placed the apron back on its hanger, he tried one of his own brownies and smiled with satisfaction.

Hank stood and walked out of the kitchen to get his supplies for introducing the new neighbors to the block. Bobby took the moment to look at the copy of the Arlen Bystander that his father had been reading. On the front page there was a picture of a crime scene near the woods with a headline that read: "Mysterious Murders! - Three bodies found with all muscle and internal organs removed." Bobby read on about how the bodies were still unidentified and that there were no incisions found to explain how the muscles, or organs were removed.

Bobby shuddered and put the paper back on the table. "Man that's creepy."

As the teen spoke his father walked up. "What's that Bobby?"

"Those murders..." Bobby said shuddering again.

"Yep." Hank responded. "There's a real sicko out there. Speaking of which son, when you go out this summer I want you to stay alert, at least until that freak is caught."

Bobby nodded picking up his tray of treats. "Sure thing dad, I'll be careful."

The older man nodded before walking out the Arcadia door and down the rear driveway with his son in tow. They came to the driveway for the new neighbor's house and noticed immediately a decent sized Nissan Coup, A Mitsubishi SUV, two cruiser type motorcycles, and a sport sleek sport motorcycle in the garage. They continued on passed the pool to the Arcadia sliding glass door at the back of the house.

Peering inside house Hank saw tall young Asian teenager with messy brown hair reading the news paper. The Propane Salesman rapped lightly on the glass catching the teenager's attention. The young man stood and walked over with a smile on his face as his green eyes scanned the two visitors. He opened the sliding glass door. "Hello you must be some of our Neighbors."

"Yep." Hank responded with a welcoming smile. "I'm Hank Hill, block captain and this is my son, Bobby."

Bobby offered the tray to the other teen. "I baked you guys some brownies and cookies."

The other brunette teen grinned as he took the tray. "Thanks, my name is Touji Ato. Come on in." He opened the door wider and waved the two in, but as they stepped in he spoke again. "Please take off your shoes."

Hank gave an irritated look but complied as did his son. Hank spoke again. "Say son are your parents home?"

Touji set the tray on the table and scratched the back of his head. "Actually it's just me and my two friends living here. We're studying here in America, but our parents are still back in Japan."

"Oh well-" Hank began before being cut off by a series of thuds fallowed by a loud crash emanating from the bedrooms.

"Bakatora! Are you trying to kill me?!" Came a high-pitched shout that seemed to fill the whole house.

"No I-! Itai!" Came a shout from another party. "What was that for!?"

"For trying to kill me! Bakatora!"

"But I didn't!"

"Get out of my room!"

Hank was taken aback and the look of shock that Bobby's face held was fading fast as they both stared at Touji who began laughing. "Don't worry about it, that sort of thing happens a lot."

Hank chuckled as a blond-haired young man, with violet eyes and what looked like a red pentagram tattooed on his upper left cheek, walked into the kitchen. He was rubbing the back of his head, and wore a rather upset expression that faded when he saw the visitors. "Um. Hi... You heard all of that just now didn't you?" His tone of voice was a bit on the sheepish side.

Touji chuckled some more. "Hank, Bobby, this is Harutora Tsuchimikado. Harutora, meet our new neighbors Hank Hill and his son Bobby."

"Nice to meet you." Harutora said with a bit of a blush offering his hand.

Hank shook his hand, and smiled at the teen's firm grip. "Likewise. Say what happened back there?"

Harutora sighed heavily then began to explain. "I was helping my cousin Natsume put up a ceiling fan... I accidentally over extended, knocked the ladder over, and it all fell apart from there..."

Touji sighed heavily but in exasperation rather than embarrassment. "You're hopeless, Bakatora."

"Bakatora?" Bobby asked.

"Harutora's nickname," Touji explained. "Baka means fool, idiot, that sort of thing." The teen looked over at his purple eyed friend. "I take it Natsume still needs help putting up that ceiling fan, you know, before he decides to kill you."

"I'll take care of it." Hank offered enthusiastically.

Touji blinked. "We really shouldn't bother you with it."

Hank's face faltered a bit, but he shook his head. "No I insist."

This time Harutora was about to speak up, but Bobby stopped him. "Aw, just let him do it, he loves doing home improvement, even small stuff."

"Knock your self out." Harutora said to the older man stepping out-of-the-way. He then spotted the tray of sweets on the. "Hey are those?"

"Yeah I made those for you guys." Bobby offered.

As the other two took a sample of Bobby's baking, Hank walked toward the bedrooms, finding the first two empty. He walked to the door of the master bedroom and spotted a figure standing in the room next to a ladder. The small teenager had very long hair that was nearly black, with an interesting purple hue. The person was slender with a very feminine frame. He was also rubbing his rear end and staring up at the place where a light fixture should have been.

"Excuse me," Hank said, "Are you Natsume?"

"Huh?" The small teen asked turning around. "Yeah you are?"

Hank noticed the young man's eyes were also a shade of purple, a bit more in a red hue than his cousin's. The older man also noticed the youth's facial features that would make it easy to mistake him for a pretty young lady. Hank blushed a bit, but collected him self. "I'm Hank Hill, your neighbor and block captain. Need some help with that ceiling fan?"

"Oh I couldn't impose on you for that." Natsume said smiling cheerfully.

Hank chuckled. "It's no imposition at all, in fact I'd be glad to help, tell you what."

The teen smiled more and accepted the offer. After a mere ten minutes Hank had the ceiling fan's fixture installed and all the blades attached. The final step of adjusting the chains for the fan and light switch were the last thing to do. "How's that, are the chains too short for you to reach?" Hank asked as he climbed down from the ladder.

Natsume moved the ladder off to the side and reached up and grabbed the chain for the light and gave it a gentle tug. "They're perfect, thank you Mr. Hill."

Hank nodded with partial satisfaction and walked over to the light switch and flicked it to the on position, which in turn lit the lights on the ceiling fan. "We should check the balance just to make sure."

Natsume, under Hank's supervision tested all the speed settings on the fan to make sure it was balanced. "Thank you again Mr. Hill." Natsume bowed slightly with his hands in front of him.

"Aw, you don't need to make such a big deal about it. I'm happy to help." Hank responded slightly embarrassed at the very formal "Thank You" he was given.

The two walked back into the kitchen where the three teens who had remained chatted about recent events. Hank walked over to his son and put his arm over the teen's shoulder. "This is my son Bobby."

Natsume offered his hand smiling. "I'm Natsume Tsuchimikado, it's a pleasure to meet you."

Bobby shook the offered hand and smiled back. "Like wise."

With the last introduction out-of-the-way the elder Hill broke in and began explaining the block charter. After he gave them the general information about the neighborhood, and the rules about noise his serious demeanor melted some. "Now then, we usually hold a cookout to officially welcome new neighbors." Hank watched the three teens nod understanding. "Is tonight at, oh say, five o'clock convenient?"

The three teens glanced at each other and Touji spoke. "Yeah that'll be alright. What should we bring?"

Hank chuckled, "You don't have to bring anything, except for your selves. The welcome to the neighborhood cookout is all about showing new neighbors our hospitality."

The three teens told Hank they'd be there, and the two Hills excused themselves and bid the three good afternoon before leaving.

Natsume looked down at the paper reading the front page, then looked at Touji. "Did you read the front page?"

Touji nodded and folded his arms. "Yeah I have, very suspicious."

Harutora picked up the paper and read the article and frowned. "Do you think?"

"I'm absolutely certain that no human is responsible for these killings." Natsume said gravely. "It's a good thing my father suggested sending us here, it looks like we're going to be busy after all."

Later that night the newbies to the neighborhood arrived at the cookout about the same time as Reverend Stroup did. Hank was somewhat surprised that Karen hadn't harassed the boys about weather or not they'd be attending Arlen Methodist Church. He smiled at the Reverend as she approached him at the grill.

"Those are some fine-looking burgers, Hank." Reverend Stroup complimented.

"Yep." Hank responded with a proud smile. "Say Reverend why didn't you pester those boys about going to church."

The brunette woman shrugged. "Well they're Japanese and most Japanese people say that they're not affiliated with any formal religion." She smiled. "Either way most Japanese people practice a non-formal fusion of Buddhism and Shinto. So I didn't want to step on their toes, they seem like good kids though."

"Yep they do." Hank responded simply as he looked over at the trio who were being lead around by Peggy and being introduced to various denizens who lived on the block.

Once the introductions were done Dale walked up to the teens, trying to act casual and failing. "You kids aren't gathering information for the Chinese invasion, are you?"

Before any of the teens could answer Kahn stomped over. "What's wrong with you, stupid paranoid hillbilly!?" The Laotian man demanded. "They Japanese not Chinese." He then looked over at the trio. "Sorry about him, but you'll get used to the rednecks quick enough. Good to have more Asians on the block though, maybe help these hillbillies get more cultured."

Harutor looked taken aback, Touji wore an expression of exasperation and shook his head. Natsume chuckled at the two men and spoke for his cousin and friend. "No need to worry we're students not spies, studying abroad will get us more credits when we start College." Natsume hadn't been lying, but omitted the other reason they'd come to Arlen.

"Okay, but I'll be watching you." Dale stated not bothering to hide the fact he mistrusted the three.

"Leave them alone man, they ain't don nothing to you man." Boomhauer said in his usual unintelligible manner as he walked over chasing Dale away. "Dang ol' sorry about Dale, man he ain't right. Pleasure to meet you kids an' all."

Touji smiled at the slender blond man. "It's no problem mister... What was your name again?"

"Jeff Boomhauer, man, but everyone just calls me Boomhauer." Boomhauer responded back to the young man with a bit of an apologetic smile.

After a while everyone sat at the pick-nick tables set in the Hill's backyard as Hank began to distribute the burgers. Reverend Stroup was given the honor of saying grace for the meal, when she finished everyone replied with "Amen." Everyone with the exception the Reverend was taken aback when the Japanese teens placed their hands together and said; "itadakimasu" in unison.

Many compliments were paid to the various providers of the meal by the guests, with hank receiving the lion's share of them. The rest of the meal passed pleasantly with light conversation, and questions about Japan directed at the trio from the aforementioned land. After the meal finished the party quickly wound down and Hank was surprised when the trio walked up and said, "gochisosama" before bidding a good night to their new friends.

Hank stood at the edge of the yard with a bemused smile as he scratched his head absent-mindedly as he watched the new neighbors leave.

"That meant 'it was a feast,' you know." Karen said.

Hank looked at the woman with a confused look. "What?"

"What they told you before they left, it means 'it was a feast,' it's proper etiquette to tell the host that before leaving. It's a very important custom." Karen Stroup explained to Hank.

"Huh," Hank said looking back at their house. "We'll they're good kids, I'll tell you what."

The brown-haired woman chuckled softly. "They sure are. Say, Hank would you invite them to church next Sunday?" The Reverend Stroup asked the question shifting uncomfortably with her hands behind her back. "I would have myself, but didn't want to come off like I was trying to convert them. I just want them to be exposed to our church in case they want to convert."

"Sure thing Reverend." Hank said with a smile. Then bid her a goodnight when she told him she was going to head home.

Later in the evening Bobby sat in his bedroom on the bed, back resting against the wall as he played a game on one of his handheld systems. He was deeply focused on a boss fight when his cell phone began to ring, causing the teen to lose his last "guy" in the game resulting in a game over. Bobby pulled out his phone seeing Joseph's picture on the screen. "Dang it Joseph this better be good." He grumbled as he answered the call. "Yeah, Joseph what do you want?"

"Hey Bobby," Joseph said sounding out of breath, "can you come pick me up? I'm down by the river and my bike's got a flat tire. I'm near our usual hangout down here."

Bobby sighed heavily. "Okay. Are you alright?"

There was a pause from the other side of the line. "I'm alright dude, I just don't want to walk back home from here all alone."

"All right then I'll see you in a few minutes." Bobby responded.

The phone moved away from Joseph's face after it was hung up. "I did good right, you won't kill me right?"

Joseph was looking up in fear at a man with a cruel smile on his face. The man was 6 feet tall with black hair and ruby-red eyes. "Yes you did good, but you'll have to do good again to save yourself." The man walked past Joseph and clubbed him in the back of the head with a large stick, knocking the teen out. The man chuckled a hissing laugh.

Bobby grabbed a thin trench coat out of his closet and paused looking at one of the bandoleers that he'd gotten from exorcist camp. He put it on feeling that for some reason he might need it, at least it had a dagger, just in case the murderer attacked him. He put on his coat and walked into the living room. His parents were watching the nightly news, and there was a report on about three more bodies being found with the same MO as the others.

"Hey dad," Bobby inquired shyly. "Can I borrow your truck?"

Hank looked over with a raised eyebrow. "Why do you ask son?"

Bobby shrugged. "Joseph's bike got a flat tire and he's too scared to walk it home alone so he wants me to pick him up."

"Sure son." Hank said. "Just so long as you put some gas in the tank." He handed his son the keys and a twenty-dollar bill from his wallet.

"I'll take care of it dad." Bobby said as he took the money and keys and walked toward the back.

"Be careful Bobby," his mother added, "and if you see that murder run his ass over!"

Bobby laughed. "I'll be careful Mom, but I don't think I could run someone over, even a murderer." Bobby put the money in his wallet then walked out the back door and to his father's truck. He started it, backed out of the drive way and drove off down the alley to the road, turning on to the street on his way to pick up his friend.

After Bobby had left the three motorcycles from the house full of Japanese teens idled down into the alley way, then rode off the same direction down the alley Bobby had driven. Then they made the same turn on to the street and sped off. Passing under a street light all three faces of the riders held the same look of determination and apprehension.

Bobby arrived at a parking area near the hangout he and his friends liked by the river, but didn't see Joseph. He turned the truck off and disembarked, locking the door behind him. "Joseph?" The teen called quietly, looking around, before he started walking to, then passed the tree line searching for his friend.

"Ah the good friend came to pick up his buddy." A voice said from behind Bobby.

As the teen spun to face the person who spoke to him he was grabbed by the collar and lifted effortlessly off the ground. The man with black hair and red eyes lifted him higher and transformed in to a hideous part spider part man. The creature stood over 9 feet tall on four legs, sported now four arms, and a spider like abdomen protruded from his torso behind him. "You'll make a good snack!" It hissed at him with pleasure.

Bobby had no time to process what was happening, automatically he reached into his coat and pulled a vial from his bandoleer. He popped the cork stopper with his thumb. "I don't think so monster!" He shouted as he splashed the contents of the vial into the creature's face.

The creature dropped Bobby howling in pain and fury, as the liquid burned on contact. It reeled back and growled at the teen. "Holy Water!? You little brat you'll pay for that!" It charged foreword roaring in fury.

From his bandoleer Bobby produced a large crucifix and a the dagger he'd been told was made of blessed silver. "Stay back!" He shouted at the creature brandishing the crucifix.

The creature reared back, halting it's charge and roared again. It took a swipe with one of its over-sized arms and stuck Bobby hard sending him flying back. In the process of being thrown back the teen lost both of his Holy weapons. The grotesque creature loomed over Bobby the appendages on either side of its mouth twitched and the fangs on them glistened with poison.

Bobby closed his eyes, turning his head away as the creature got closer. "Get off of him!" A voice called and Bobby's eyes snapped opened just as the creature looked up. A fist connected with the creatures face sending it stumbling backwards a bit. The Creature grabbed the new assailant with all four of its arms and slammed the person into a tree.

Bobby looked up to see his new neighbor Harutora pinned against the tree with the spider monster closing in on his face. Bobby's mind shouted at him to do something, but before he could the spider suddenly looked away from Harutora. A paper talisman hit the spider in the face and stuck, then a voice broke through the sudden quiet. "ORDER!" The talisman suddenly crackled and burst into gold flame. The spider again reeled back howling in pained fury, holding it's face.

Bobby was trying to get back on his feet when saw someone run past him at amazing speed. It was Touji who launched off the ground and delivered a punch directly to the monster's face with incredible force. For just an instant Bobby could have sworn he saw a pair of red horns on Touji's head. The spider was thrown back tumbling through the air before it landed face first on the ground.

The spider monster stood quickly and charged, this time at Touji, who was still recovering from the punch he'd delivered to the monster's face. "Kon! Slow that thing down!" Harutora shouted, much to Bobby's confusion.

"Yes master!" Said a child like figure that suddenly appeared from nowhere. It was clothed in a blue type of kimono, sporting white hair, fox ears, and a tail to match. It pulled a small blade and shot at the spider slashing across it's face. The monster roared, flailing madly, sending both the small creature and Touji flying in different directions.

Bobby sprung back into action, scrambling to gather his holy weapons, he managed to get them and turned back toward the monster. He froze at what he saw.

Natsume and Harutora were standing on either side of the spider monster, which was looking back and forth between the two in terror. They were both reciting some incantation in Japanese with their right hands in front of their faces with fore and middle fingers extended. In their left hands each had a small stack of paper talismans. "Rite of Purification!" They both shouted at the same time and the talismans shot forth somehow under their own power and attached allover the beast's body.

"No please!" The monster pleaded.

With no sympathy the two shouted again in Unison. "ORDER!" The talismans glowed and golden electricity crackled between them and all over the spider monster's body. Without warning a pillar of golden light shot from the ground, enveloping the monster, and extending into the sky. When it dissolved it left behind a circular scorch mark on the ground with a man standing in the middle. The man collapsed to his hands and knees retching blood, before collapsing completely.

Touji walked back into the area rubbing his head. "Did you get it?" He asked looking down at the man laying on the ground groaning in pain.

Natsume rushed over to the man and lifted him to his knees and supported his weight, and examined him. The man's eyes were now brown and a held a look of resignation. "Yeah we got it." The short teen said solemnly.

"I have a note in my pocket." The man rasped. "I W-wrote... it... When I was lucid... Explaining how I couldn't... Control... M-myself... Tell my family... I-I'm Sorry. God... Please... Forgive me." The man's eyes closed, he let out a long breath, then went completely limp.

Natsume set him down gently on the ground, shaking his head.

"Is he... Dead?" Bobby asked quietly.

Natsume nodded sadly. "He was possessed by a kumo yokai... It over stressed his body to make its transformation. Unfortunately with out its power, he'd couldn't survive anymore."

Bobby blinked with a look of surprise. "You've seen this before? What are you people?"

"We're Onmyoji." Natsume responded. "Kind of like you, seeing as you're obviously an exorcist." The teen's face took on a very disapproving look. "You really shouldn't go monster hunting all by your self. You'll get your self killed."

"But I wasn't." Bobby protested, but the look on the shorter teen's face made it plain that Natsume thought he was lying.

"He's telling the truth!" Came a new voice and the others looked to see Joseph pinned against a tree, with Kon standing in his lap, holding her blade to the teen's throat.

Kon growled. "Master I found this spy hiding in a bush."

Harutora groaned. "Let him go." At the order Kon backed off but kept growling.

"What happened?" Natsume demanded.

Joseph sighed in relief and began to explain. "I rode out here to get away from my parents, they were fighting over one of my dad's weird theories. Suddenly that guy attacked me, then held me at gun point, he told me if I didn't bring someone else out here... He'd kill me. So he took my cellphone, picked Bobby and made me tell him to pick me up. Then he knocked me out..." Joseph shook his head. "I came to about the time he attacked Bobby and turned into that... thing... I was scared so I hid in a bush."

Natsume folded his arms. "You need to promise me that you'll never get involved in anything like this again, and not to tell a soul. Do you understand me?"

Joseph nodded vigorously. "I promise, I promise!"

Natsume nodded, but the group's attention was drawn away by muffled screams coming from above them. They all looked up to see a man wrapped in web dangling from a branch by a strand.

"Thatherton!?" Bobby shouted.

"Kon cut him down." Harutora ordered.

The little fox person somehow flew up to the man, cut the webbing that was holding him without touching even his clothes. Thatherton screamed as he fell but was caught by his blazer and gently lowered to the ground. At which point the Texas flimflam artist grabbed a large stick and shook it at the group. "Stay where you are! I saw you kill that man! I'm calling the police!" He grabbed his cellphone and dialed 911.

"Kon stop him!" Harutora commanded.

Kon flew up to Thatherton's face, and blew a sparkling dust in to the man's face as he gasped. He still managed to hit the send button but his eyes became clouded and he dropped both the stick and the cell phone. "This has all been just a terrible nightmare." Kon said. Thatherton collapsed to the ground and began to snore softly.

From his cellphone a voice could be heard. "911, what's your emergency?"

"Quick let's get out of here." Natsume whispered.

Joseph grabbed his bike and Bobby grabbed the vial and cork, the group then returned to the parking area. The three Motorcycles were parked there along with the red pickup truck. Bobby and Joseph loaded the bike in the bed of the truck and climbed in, along with Kon. The other three mounted their bikes, Touji and Harutora mounted the Black and White cruiser bikes respectively, Natsume hopped on the purple sport bike. Sirens began to grow in the distance and the three motorcycles and truck took off in the opposite direction of the sirens.

At a stoplight Bobby told the trio to fallow him to the Get In Get Out. When they arrived they all parked to the side of the store. Natsume asked everyone what they'd like for a snack and a drink after to help ward off the shock of the traumatic encounter. Once he got all the requests he went into the store, returning a few moments later with a couple of bags and distributed the requested items.

"That kumo whatever, thing, isn't coming back is it?" Joseph asked then took a drink of soda.

Touji shook his head as he swallowed a mouth full of potato chips. "No, Natsume and Harutora purified it, effectively banishing it to the underworld."

"Phew!" Was all Joseph could manage to say.

Bobby took a bite of his candy bar as he watched Kon gleefully devouring a Drumstick ice cream cone. He swallowed and looked at Harutora. "What is that thing, and what did it do to Thatherton?"

Harutora took a sip from his large can of green tea before answering. "Kon? She's my shikigami. Don't worry about Thatherton she just made him fall asleep and think what he saw was a dream."

"Shikigami?" Bobby questioned now even more confused.

"Shikigami are bound spirits." Natsume explained. "Sort of like what most people would consider a familiar. Kon happens to be a spirit fox that's served the Tsuchimikado family for a generations."

"Neat!" Bobby replied. "Still I wonder what that monster wanted with me..."

"It seems that it was taking its prey in groups of three, for some reason." Touji responded waving a chip contemplatively. "Yokai can have pretty unusual habits, hard to explain why this one liked three victims at once."

"Man I never want to see anything like that again for as long as I live. I almost peed my self." Joseph said with a shudder, and the others laughed.

Once they finished their snacks Kon vanished and the group went to head home, stopping at a gas station so that Bobby could do what his father asked. The three Onmyoji took this as an opportunity to top off the tanks on their bikes at the same time. They finally made their way home and in the alley, Natsume again made Joseph vow never to speak of what he'd seen. This time under threat of a painful death.

The next morning Buck Strickland's office was brightened by the bright August morning sun as a news cast played on the television in his office. "Last night police and EMS responded to a 911 call tracked to the woods near the river. There they found an unconscious Milton Farnsworth Thatherton," the news anchor reported, "along with the corpse of Jamie White, alleged to be the "Arlen Spider Murder." The police found a gun on the man, along with a knife and a note. The note stated that Jamie couldn't control his actions and blacked out during the killings. It also stated his deep apology for having committed those terrible crimes."

"White is said to have died of wounds apparently inflicted on him by Thatherton. Wounds attributed to an apparent struggle in the woods after White alleged kidnapped Thatherton to murder him. In White's van they found medical equipment consistent with the condition the victim's bodies were found in. For more we go to Lisa Chan live at Thatherton Fuels."

The picture shifted to a short Asian woman in a green skirt suit standing next to M.F. Thatherton in front of his store. A crowd of people were cheering all around them. "I'm here with Mr. Thatherton who's being cheered as a hero for having taken down the serial killer. Your thoughts Mr. Thatherton?" She held the Microphone up to the familiar face of Buck Strickland's nemesis who sported his signature 10 gallon hat.

Thatherton chuckled. "Well I don't know about all of this hero stuff, I just did what any other red-blooded Texan would do. I defended my self from that sick vicious murder. The fact that I happened to take him down in the process and save the state the money and effort of trying him, that's just a bonus." Thatherton puffed up his chest and tugged at his lapels. "I say though it's great that both I and Thatherton Fuels have the support of this town, I thank you all..."

Buck muted the television and looked sickly over to Hank Hill. "Ol' top I don't know what we're going to do! With all this hero-worship Thatherton is going to put us out of business."

Hank shook his head firmly. "It's just another gimmick sir, this will all die down soon. In the mean time, I'm sure we'll think of something to put a dent in his advantage."

Buck stood, walked to his assistant manager, and put his arm over the man's shoulder smiling weakly. "I hope you're right ol' top. I hope you're right."

Buck guided Hank back out to the front of Strickland Propane to find a showroom empty of customers. Buck let go of Hank and sighed heavily.

"Now sir, everyone's just over at Thatherton Fuels for the cameras as soon as they leave our loyal customers will rush over." Hank reassured. The door then began to open. "See what I mean?"

In walked the three teens that'd moved into the house near Hank's own and Buck's face fell. Harutora and Touji both gravitated to the grills as Natsume strode to the counter. Hank noticed that the young man's hair was tied off with a pink ribbon and draped over his right shoulder.

"Good morning Natsume, what can I help you with today?" Hank asked in an accommodating tone, then leaned in with a concerned look. "What's with the pink ribbon?"

Natsume blinked then fiddled with the ribbon blushing. "A good friend gave it to me, so I wear it a lot."

Harutora stood up straight with a confused look on his face. "What good friend?"

"Bakatora." The other two teens said in exasperation performing face palms.

"Anyways," Natsume continued looking back at Hank. "I discovered this morning that our furnace, water heater, and stove all run on propane. Then I found out that the household tank is just about empty. After you mentioning you worked here last night we decided to come down and place an order to have it filled."

Touji walked up to the counter. "I'm glad Natsume picked this place. The one across the street is a complete madhouse."

Buck gripped his chest. "Oh! I'm gonna have an infarction!"

"What's wrong?" Natsume asked in sudden shock.

Hank sighed and explained. "Thatherton is being hailed as a hero after taking down the serial killer, so Mr. Strickland is trying to think of a way to steal his thunder."

Natsume's expression went thoughtful for a moment. "What if you did like a.. Donation drive and sale of some sort. You know, donate some of your profits and have a donation jar to help out the families of the victims."

"Hey that's a great idea." Hank said with a bit of a chuckle.

"Great idea!? It's pure genius!" Mr. Strickland exclaimed with devious joy. "It'll get us tons of customers and make Thatherton look like a complete jackass for capitalizing on his 'hero' status." Buck practically giggled. "Kid if you want a summer job you're hired!"

"No thanks." Natsume said with a bit of a nervous chuckle before turning his attention back to the assistant manager. "You guys can deliver propane right?"

"Sure can!" Hank said with a nod.

"Give them a discount, they deserve it for that idea!" Buck added.

"Thanks." Natsume said a bit uncomfortably. "Speaking of propane we're also looking for a grill. Do you have any suggestions Mr. Hill?"

Hank brightened even more. "Sure do, follow me." Hank lead the two teens back to the grills where their third counterpart was still hanging out. On the way he began his spiel about heat efficiency and BTU output.

Elsewhere in a dark room a large television displayed the finish of the news cast about the "hero" Thatherton. The flat panel was switched off by a man obscured by shadow sitting at a desk in a dark, but opulent office. "Tell me, do you call six killings an effective reign of terror?"

"No sir." A tall female standing next to the desk, also obscured in the shadow stated. "This is an unanticipated set back. That Mr. Thatherton must be an exorcist of some sort to have taken down one of my agents."

"And just what is going to be done about this unanticipated set back, and that Mr. Thatherton?" The man still seated at the desk asked trying to sound reasonable.

The woman stiffened. "Don't worry about that sir. I've already assigned the task of dealing with Mr. Thatherton to two of my most reliable 'people.' Taking out a local hero and starting a new rampage should sew seeds of panic through out the town."

The man leaned placing his elbows on the armrests of his chair and his chin atop his steepled fingers. "Very well, but remember these two things. I do not deal well with failure and if our plan is to succeed we need to take that town for our own, first."

"Yes sir." The woman responded promptly.

"Good." The man said a smile crossing his lips. "Do me one more favor if you would. I seem to have drained my donor completely last night, please find me another. A pretty young brunette, just like the last one."

"Of course sir, very good sir." The woman responded her voice growing cold. "Will there be any thing else?" She smiled wickedly.

"That'll be all for now, I'll call you if I require anything else. By the way the planted medical equipment was a nice touch." The man said and his eyes glowed dimly red in the dark office.

"Very well sir. Thank you sir." The woman said, then bowed and strode to the office door, leaving without opening it.

The man closed his eyes grinning. "Soon this world will bow to a new God and the Human cattle will be our slaves."

To be continued...

Ending Note: That was a pretty long chapter, I'm not sure if the rest will be like that, but we'll see. Flames/inflammatory comments will not be met kindly. Any potentially objectionable content has been listed in the Author's Notes at the top, so you've been warned already. No one forced you to read my work, so don't take it out on me if you just didn't like it. That said any and all constructive criticism, along with non-flame comments/reviews/feedback are welcome and greatly appreciated. Thanks for Reading!