Third Person

~

The next morning is warm and surreal in its arrival. The only reminders of the previous day's attack were the never relenting news channels, the internet, and the areas most affected by their battle.

Even then, an ethereal calm has befallen the city, like a strong haze pushing everyone to move on despite the restless fear that should be in its place.

The eerie feeling irritated Troy to his core but he more or less understood what was happening, forces beyond the average human knowledge were at work and he knows it was for the best.

During school, he lets his mind drift off to more concerning issues. He'd gotten a different vision last night which deeply unsettled him because he still felt some unresolved tension from the first one.

This new vision had an entirely different vibe from the one concerning the future of Tokyo.

A lone church in the middle of a stormy field with no other structures in sight. The bells tolled incessantly in the raging winds and the skies roared with thunder and bright flashes of golden light. The winds continue to rise in pitch every passing second, howling through the trees and pushing him ever closer to the church despite his aversion to it.

Rains poured down from the sky, bright red droplets that hit the ground and filled into golden puddles. He'd knelt by one puddle to closer inspect it but all he could see was his reflection wearing a smile he was sure he never wore.

He reached out a finger to touch the strange liquid when a hand reached out from the pool grabbing his, dragging him in and making him wake to reality with a pounding heart.

He was still confused as to what the vision was pointing to. A church, pools of gold, and lightning. There was no doubt it was connected to him. Was it a warning of danger, or a sign to search out for more about himself?

He hissed through his teeth as his brain throbbed, he really wasn't in the mood for more madness right now. Once the school day ended, he'd go home, find some relaxing activity to indulge in, and ignore the two morons that had attached themselves to his side.

"Now, set yourselves up with a partner while I step out for a minute and we'll start cooking once I get back," their homemaking teacher said to the class before leaving.

Troy sighed, ready to ask Moriko to be his partner again when he saw the other blonde fling herself into Jade's arms.

"So sorry Troy-kun, but I miss my bestie way too much," she whined while dragging the taller, purple-haired girl to a free table so they could set up, "Kira doesn't seem to have a partner though."

Troy looked over to the brunette in question who was pointedly ignoring his gaze and tapping her foot restlessly as she muttered curses under her breath

Yeah, they weren't going to get anywhere like this. He turned, steeling himself to just go with some random human but a firm hand on his shoulder stopped him. He faced Kira again, there was an embarrassed flush on her features but her eyes were determinedly locked on his this time.

"Since you insist on ignoring me until I say something, I'll be the bigger person. I'm sorry, there! You happy now?"

He wasn't but the words made him feel less on edge.

"Your turn asshole," she muttered.

"Why do I have to apologize?"

"For being a petty, controlling jerk!"

"Very well."

"I'm waiting," she crossed her arms with a glare.

"I already conceded."

He watched as Kira moved her hands to massage her temple, "You've got to be kidding me, whatever...just... let's continue being partners again, you'll have to apologize to Kuro after school but we're cool for now," she reached out a hand to shake his.

Troy removed his hand from her reach, he knew she was only conceding now so she could use him to pass this cooking class. Earlier in the year, the whole class learned she practically set anything she touched on fire, and no one but him was willing to put up with that.

He'd forgive her, but not until she learned a lesson, "I refuse," he huffed stiffly before turning to leave but she was dragging his blazer now.

"I didn't come up with an apology for you to ditch me you conceited bastard!"

"You call that an apology?"

"Look who's talking!"

Needless to say, they got through the class with Kira making minimal damage to their dish and aced it.

"Hey, Troy,"

"What?" He snapped, they were walking toward the gates where the rest of their group awaited them.

"If there's something wrong, you don't have to keep it to yourself, you know?" He looked down to notice she'd resumed her usual cool-headed but optimistic air of nonchalance, "We're here for you so don't bottle everything in."

"I'm fine."

"I never said you weren't, just know we're here for when you're not," she added before hastening her pace to meet the others to discuss lunch plans. Troy maintained a distance, trying not to think too deeply about her words.

***

They had all pretty much split up after lunch. Moriko and Kuro had hoped to drag everyone off for karaoke but Kira had insisted she and Jade wanted to finish up their own research today.

Troy had left almost as soon as the idea was proposed but Kira was sure he'd make his way back to the other three once he realized Kuro had nicked his necklace.

Haru had wanted to leave as well but Moriko and Kuro overpowered him easily and pulled him off with a promise to drag Kira and Jade later during the weekend.

"We managed to escape," Kira sighed in relief once they arrived at Jade's house.

Jade chuckled in response, "Poor Haru's going to have a heart attack without you there."

"He'll live, plus it's good for him," she laughed nervously, she had her reasons for not going as well and was only lucky for now. She toed off her shoes and stopped Jade from pushing the button for the lights, "Please."

Jade shrugged, "Go ahead."

Kira squealed softly before pushing the button that made the colorful lights spring to life.

They left the foyer to where the sound of footsteps approached them from the kitchen.

"You're still home, huh?" Jade said to her mum who pulled her nose playfully before turning to Kira and making some signs, "She wants you to stay over for dinner."

"Oh, is that really okay?"

Mrs. Keller nodded excitedly.

"She's still getting used to reading lips in Japanese, but trust me, it'd be no use arguing anyway," Jade groaned tiredly, "Just say you'll stay."

"Then I guess I'll stay,"

"Nice... Oh shoot! Gimme a minute while I get things cleaned up in my room," the dark-skinned girl said before racing up the stairs. Kira was about to follow when she heard her name called.

She turned her astounded eyes to Mrs Keller who fixed her with a pleased expression before proceeding to speak again.

"My Japanese isn't very good and it's weird using my voice but, I wanted to say thank you," the older woman stated, the sounds were slightly shaky but their meanings were made clear, "I don't know what happened between you and my daughter yesterday but last night she came home and spent all night painting. Before then, she'd just been smashing and tossing out the canvases."

"I didn't really do much." Kira chuckled, trying not to look too surprised.

"Maybe, but she's never looked so relaxed at home since...it doesn't matter but I think her visit to you had something to do with it. So thank you."

"Kira get up here!" Jade called out.

The brunette flinched, mumbling a quick 'You're welcome I guess,' to Mrs Keller before dashing up the stairs and entering Jade's room. In the corner, a new painting had replaced the uncompleted one left by her brother.

"Just something I was working on last night, it's not done yet but I'll get to it later." Jade waved it off as they settled down to work.

"And the other one?"

"It's with his stuff in the basement," she moved her hands in a vague gesture before settling her gaze on Kira once more, "I guess someone made me see a reason to move on and invest time in other things instead of feeling sorry for myself."

"I wonder who that might be?"

"Haha, funny."

"I'd never really pegged you as the artistic type until yesterday though."

"It's cause I'm bored and they're the easiest hobbies to have. My dad draws manga and shit so he roped me into it once we got here, most of the shit I read is his, so I help out once in a while."

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"I never pegged you as the sweet type either."

"Shut up and get to work, Demona."

Kira smiled before giving a mock salute and continuing to work on their project.

***

It's easy for one to leave all their worries behind as the world fell into a tranquil silence of night. Lights are ever bright but the streets are once again devoid of people and the curfew has once again been put in place.

Kuro puffs out a cold breath of air as he lifts his feet from the ledge to cross them beneath himself then resume his reading. There are books on either side of him and as soon as he drops one, a feather floats another into his hands, while a pen he controls with magic takes down notes on a scroll not far from reach.

He alternates between tomes on ancient artifacts and journals on how dark magic interacts with the human body. He's frustrated but he keeps going, because he's expecting just as much from himself as people do from him, if not more.

'I'm counting on you,' Kira's words echo at the forefront of his mind but there's his promise to Ryu as well.

He was ready to give his all but there were limits to what he could do if he didn't have an idea of where they'd go from here.

He claps another book shut just as his ringtone blares through the quiet.

"Yo, Ryu, you okay?"

"Yeah, it's been pretty stressful with all the tests but my chances are looking better. I'll be discharged soon but I'll also be in a wheelchair for a while though."

"Sounds great."

"Sucks though."

Kuro glances down at the book in his hold, maybe this would be the one, "Just hold on a bit longer," he whispers absently.

"What was that?"

"N-nothing! Just get lots of rest and maybe when you're out of that stuffy hospital room, you'll get the motivation to...start moving again."

"It'll be hard getting around when my best friend's too lazy to walk ten minutes."

"Shut up, I'll be there for you...and you'll get better soon."

"Hope so, goodnight Kuro,"

"Yeah, see ya."

The beep had barely registered in the silence before Kira's aura alerted him of her arrival. She skidded to a stop on the rooftop and by the teary emotional look in her eyes he could tell she'd probably heard them before she got there.

"So sweet!" She coos practically bouncing on the balls of her feet, "I wished someone called to tell me goodnight."

"Your chances would greatly increase if you at least tried to be attractive." Troy's tone is flat as he swoops down to join them.

"Don't be mean, Kira's a strong six at best but with some make-up and some accessories she could be more," Kuro said suggestively.

"I already use make-up," Kira mutters.

"Oh..."

"Then you're a lost cause," Troy adds.

"I'm suddenly in the mood to rip you to shreds," she seethes forming her weapon.

"I thought we were all cool now, there were apologies and everything over lunch," Kuro whines, as fun as senseless fighting sounded, they had a lot to do tonight.

"The brat is right," Troy settles into a lotus pose on the ground after he vanishes his wings, "The sooner you get a hang of this, the less time I'll waste teaching you."

"I'm not dumb you know?"

"I'd argue otherwise."

"So mean," Kuro chides, "Hurry up, I want to see them again."

"Geez, hold your horses," Kira huffs, falling to the floor and doing her best to mirror Troy's position.

"Just be comfortable enough to relax, you don't have to copy everything I do."

"I'm most comfortable on my bed beneath covers and this stone roof doesn't meet those requirements," she throws back before finally settling down.

"Deep breaths," Troy continues, ignoring her words before giving a few more instructions which Kira did her best to follow. Focus, deep breaths, flow of energy from within, and concentrate, that's basically the gist of it.

Kuro watches, keeping a lookout as he continues to flip through another book. The minutes tick by quickly and he's starting to worry. There was always the possibility that Kira's energy levels had stabilized lower than anticipated and summoning the Demons had also been a one-time thing.

He decides to wait a bit more before voicing his thoughts and he's glad he did because it's only a little while after that the air around them begins to sing and hum with vibrant energy. Green sparks and mist swirls around the trio before it gathers into two pillars rising on either side of Kira's form before solidifying into two familiar beings.

"Awesome," the younger boy gasps.

"You had to have summoned a Demon to get your power. Get a grip," Troy spits while fixing the demons with a calm, icy stare.

"I've never seen anyone do it without shedding blood. Even Summoners use blood. This is amazing!" He runs up to the two, pushing into their space and examining them.

"We're not wild animals you know?" Lucifer scowls.

"Might as well be," Troy rolls his eyes.

The three-horned demon turns to him, a staff forming in his grasp, "Say that again, but louder."

"Fight, fight, fight!" Kuro and Mammon chanted.

"I take on the victor!" The larger demon adds.

"Can all of you stop acting like children?!" Kira's voice boomed around them like an echoing speaker.

They all turned to her, her eyes were open and she was glaring with little drops of sweat forming at her brow, "Better, I can't focus when it's too loud."

"At least you can speak out and see now," Kuro encourages.

"Yeah, I guess."

"It's been a while since we've been, in the real world." Mammon breathes in deeply, turning away from their group to look over at the sprawl of the city before them. Lucifer scoffs, but he too has a softness to his gaze as he looks around.

"Didn't Hikari ever summon you guys?"

"Not in recent times, she grew strong enough to speak to every one of us but only mastered three abilities. Calling us forth took more energy than it was worth," Lucifer explains, "The world's really changed since then."

"Air's not as fresh as I last remembered though," Mammon grunts.

"Global warming does that to a planet," Kuro informs, "How are you holding up Kira?"

She beams, a pleased sensation of pride settling within her as she watches Lucifer and Mammon stare out onti the city. She might not be able to move for now but with practice, she'd be able to bring them to this world with no problem. They'd be able to fight for her and probably grow their strength where she couldn't.

She wasn't going to have to sit back helplessly. She wasn't going to run back or stay in the same position forever. She was going to get better.

So despite trembling limbs and the ache crawling up the base of her skull, she grins, "Doing great."

***

The days crawl by with seemingly increasing speed and everyone doing their best to clear up their busy schedules before the summer arrives. Even with the tension of Akio's warning dangling in the air, Kira can't stop herself from thinking of warm sandy beaches and at least a few days to catch a break before she's forced to face some psycho summoner overlord.

By day she's trying her best not to nod off whiles Haru tutors her in the library and by night she's working on keeping the Demons in the human world longer, even if it does mean Lucifer threatening to decapitate Troy every two minutes and Mammon challenging everyone to battle him at full strength.

By the end of the following week, she's able to summon them both while standing and fighting if she only summoned one of them. She keeps trying to reach out to Levi every once in a while but she's earned no response to her call no matter how deep she dug.

It was frustrating and disheartening all at the same time and it's all because she doesn't have some special gift from the universe. A familiar feeling of insecurity gnaws at her insides even as she tries to focus on her spar with the boys. Mammon is fighting Troy and she's taking on Kuro.

She's nearly sliced by a flurry of feathers and has to pull, back, she feels her connection to Mammon's physical form waver but he's still present and she's breathing hard. She may not be incredibly talented like those before and everyone around her but she could prove that she was needed. That she was capable of at least protecting the people she loved.

It's only a few minutes later that she falls to the ground of the scrapyard, calling for a time out as the exhaustion overpowers her will to fight. A tray of dark feathers glides over with a bottle of water which she takes gratefully. She can hear Troy trying to shoo Mammon away so he can take his own break instead of fighting some more.

"You're doing great Kira," Kuro encourages as always as they relax back to back.

"Maybe, but I still feel very annoyed about it all. I could probably still try to push the restriction, maybe just a little bit..."

"Kira..." His tone is slightly warning.

"I know I shouldn't, but I don't like feeling stuck, what if what we do isn't enough to end things with Nightmare once and for all?"

Kuro is quiet for a slow minute before sighing out into the night air, "I know we're all ready to put a lot on the line, but you'll do more harm than good turning into a mindless demon."

He's right and there's nothing she can do but groan out her agreement, "I wish I just didn't feel this way though, like... I'm never going to be enough." She raises her hand to claw at her chest, there's turbulent void in her heart that kept aching to be filled and sated but she was too scared to dwell on what exactly it wanted.

"I think you're-" Kuro stops, stiffening up shortly before shooting to his feet and taking a battle stance.

"Ku-"

"The forcefield's been breached and we've got company," he growls out.

Kira pushes herself up, battle ready and hyper-aware just as quickly. She's about to ask where the danger is when the air sways while an unknown aura settles around them. A light falls down on the four from above and Kira is ready to take it as an energy sphere attack when she realizes the light is the aura.

And the energy around them is super close to Troy's in quality but there's a thickness to it, not necessarily dark but not wholly pure either. Just...shielding and protective.

"It's pitiful but true, imposter," the stranger on the mountain of scrap before them says, voice derisive and matter-of-fact as he approaches them. He's dressed in all white but styled simply like any kid their age would be, but there's a sharpness to his dark eyes that tell of deeper experience, "No matter how hard you try, you'll never be enough."

"And you are?" Troy throws at the stranger without wasting time, he's sparking in readiness to attack.

The stranger jumps gracefully down and lands before them a flurry of lithe muscles and air of someone who knows what they were after. His gaze sweeps over all of them, landing on Mammon.

"You know who I am don't you, I haven't grown that much since I was last around you. Or should say, our master?"

"Master?" Kira turns to the demon, "Mammon, what's he talking about?" Her head is throbbing and she can feel the magic within her swirling in reaction to the presence of this stranger before them. Aversion, and the need to get away as soon as possible, Lucifer and Mammom's feelings clearly.

Were they...afraid?

"Since the demon has refused to answer, I'll introduce myself, Mochizuki Ryoichi, Gushiken Hikari's disciple and the one in line to be the next Seal Keeper."

A chilling breeze blows through the quiet yard at his words as the reality dawns on the trio.

'Trust me, when you meet someone who has it, you'll know...'

Kira swallows down the bile in her throat, not sure if the overwhelming feeling in her gut was relief or bile clawing its way up, "You're Pure of Heart, huh? That's the whole light show going on with your aura?"

Auras weren't usually overwhelmingly visible and were more felt by the sixth sense in terms of strength but this Ryoichi guy stands out just as Troy does when lighting up.

"Yes, and I request that you transfer the seal so that I can carry out my job."

A while ago, Kira might have been desperate to get rid of the ridiculous body tattoo that plagued her confidence to wear sleeveless shirts but she wasn't dumb. Something wasn't right. She turns to Mammon who hadn't taken his glare off their guest, "Hey, Mammon, is this true?"

Mammon doesn't turn to her but he answers with a stiff nod, "He was sort of Hikari's sidekick. He was eight but incredibly skilled so she sent him off to study with someone else so Nightmare wouldn't know of his existence, they only met a couple times over the years," the Demon explains.

"Great timing," Kuro jeers, "Unfortunately, for you, we've got things covered, and even then, Demona can't transfer the Seal yet right?"

Ryoichi doesn't say anything and settles one hand easily into his pocket while the other plays with a necklace of familiar wooden beads around his neck, "She can, Hikari-san taught me a lot before we separated. I wished I'd been there for her but my second teacher was worried for my safety and did all she could to keep me from coming to Tokyo. She said it wasn't worth it anymore, Hikari was dead and someone else had taken my place. I know she wanted to protect me but I can't sit back and let my promise to Hikari-san fade into nonexistence l, just like that."

He points at Kira, "Which is why, I request once more that you relinquish the Seal and let me do what I was destined to."

Kira's fists tighten at her side, she couldn't sense any foul play, he seemed genuine, his aura practically sparkled and she remembered mentions of a sidekick from her time in the Tethered Pavilions.

Then why? Why were the Demons shrinking away so fiercely?

'Kira,' Lucifer voice rumbles in her mind, 'No matter what, do not give him the Seal.'