Erzulie Lachouette sat on the motel bed reading. Tired as she was, she couldn't go to bed yet. She had to stay up to greet her girlfriend Tori when she got back from driving Fiona and Megan to the airport for the Japanese recon mission. Besides, she was expecting her new apprentice Hōkō Jigokumoto any minute now. She hoped her Voodoo practice would prove useful to the oni exchange student.
The motel room doorbell suddenly rang. Erzulie got up and opened it. She was met by a tall, muscular Japanese girl. The girl bowed respectfully to Erzulie. "Greetings, Erzulie-sama," she said. "I am Hōkō Jigokumoto. I am a humble student in the sorcerous arts of Shugendō. Morgana-san told me that you may help me continue my magical studies."
Erzulie hastily bowed back, adjusting her dreadlocks as she stood back up. "I'm happy to have you, Hōkō. I hope you don't mind if I'm more familiar with Voodoo than I am with Shugendō."
"It's no trouble," Hōkō smiled. "I came to America to broaden my horizons. There is one thing, though. I heard that your girlfriend is a monster hunter. Will there be any trouble."
"I doubt it," Erzulie smiled. "Tori has a whole thing about vampires and zero patience for werefoxes, but she judges oni on a case-by-case basis. She might grill you with a bunch of questions to see if you 'mind your manners,' but that's about it."
"Where is she?" Hōkō asked.
"Driving some friends to the airport," Erzulie answered, not intending to give much away. "She'll probably be back around four in the morning. Hey, why don't you make yourself comfortable? Everyone in this room knows your true self."
Hōkō nodded and dropped her human disguise. Her skin turned a deep crimson as she grew three feet in height while her already massive muscles swelled. Hōkō's teeth sharpened into wicked fangs as her nails grew clawed. Her eyes became a fiery shade of yellow as foot-long horns sprang out of her forehead. "Ah, much better. Thank you, Erzulie-sama."
Hōkō then stripped naked. Erzulie tried to avoid looking at the oni girl's titanic boobs. Hōkō then opened her suitcase, rummaged around, pulled out a tigerskin loincloth, and tied it around her waist. She suddenly noticed the African-American witch's embarrassed expression as she eyed Hōkō's bare chest. "Oh, I'm sorry, Erzulie-sama!" Hōkō exclaimed. "I keep forgetting that humans wear more than oni do! I can put on something more covering if you'd like."
"Oh, don't bother," Erzulie laughed awkwardly. "Like I said, I want you to be comfortable while you study with me. Now make yourself at home."
"Thank you, Erzulie-sama," Hōkō smiled. She sat down in a chair, careful not to put so much weight on it as to break it, and picked up one of Erzulie's spellbooks. Erzulie smiled at the oni girl. Her new pupil was clearly very keen. She only hoped that Tori Vordenburg would like her. At least Tori knew that Hōkō was coming. Here's hoping they click, thought Erzulie.