A lonely mansion sits in a wasteland by itself. Empty houses line the street leading to the solemn building. The minute I expressed interest in buying the once empty lot, my bloody reputation influenced the neighbors to quietly move away in fear of unwanted visitors. I didn't mind though. The peace and quiet meant no one would bother us and we could hear challengers coming from far away. I designed the layout of the mansion myself, and everyone helped to build it.
When Yuki first saw the giant twin oak front doors, I chuckled at how his whole being lit up. He shone with an inner radiance I had never seen before. He was obviously amazed by the beautiful worksmanship evident in the realistic scales and coils of the twin dragons sprawled over each door. The head of each dragon was biting on the tail of the other, crossing them over the gap where the door should open. It looked like there was no way in from this entrance. However, there's a certain secret to this door.
I heard small snatches of gossip behind me as I led the way up to the door. I rapidly knocked twice on the door and all noise from behind conveniently stopped.
"What's for dinner?" asked a voice lazily from the other side of the thick doors.
"Squid," I replied seriously.
The moment I gave the password, the heads of the dragons went limp and they released the other's tail. I removed a few strands of golden hair from my face and waited for the dragons to curl up into a ball. This movement uncovered the gap between the doors and my henchmen on the other side pushed open the doors. A loud collective roar swelled up as the customary return greeting was given: "WELCOME BACK, BOSS!"
I nodded in acknowledgement at them, then turned to Yuki. Holding his hand up in the air with my own, I proclaimed to these men the same information as before. Yuki blushed from being stared at by so many eyes but managed to look up and smile shyly at the men while attempting to hide behind me.
After the introductions, the group in charge of the door locked it up again. Yuki stared at the giant locking mechanism on the back of the door in awe. Smiling to myself, I squeezed his hand tighly and held him a little closer to me for warmth. I stroked his hair, envious at how soft it was, and listened to the beating of his heart and th rhythm of his breathing. It seemed like his missing organs would not pose a great problem to his daily life, and I sighed in relief. I leaned over to whisper in the boy's ear.
"Welcome home, Yuki."
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