Third Person

~

Troy felt the excruciating pain rip through his body, pulling a gravelly groan from his lips.

He could feel the burning heat all around him, a sweltering inferno pulsing with negative energy.

He knew it wasn't real, the visions were always like this, and the sensations were always so overwhelming he hardly had time to focus on details.

He forced his eyes open to be met with very familiar red ones.

Sadly, the eyes staring back at him were blank and devoid of their usual fire and humor. Night-dyed feathers were littered everywhere and a small hand was reached out towards him, but it was pale.

Kuro was dead.

He felt the tears roll down before he could stop them, he must have gotten closer to the raven-haired brat around whenever this was for the emotions to be this strong.

He stretched out a trembling hand and placed it on top of the other's slightly warm hand while trying to get into a better position to see what was going on.

He didn't have much time until it all stopped, a vision this vivid was something that had never happened. He had to take advantage of it.

He could smell the flames licking at the burning hellscape that was supposed to be Tokyo city.

He couldn't believe things had gotten this bad, and there was nothing he could do. His body in this vision felt weak and exhausted.

Numb.

Tears of confusion were still streaming down his face when the sound of metal against metal reached his ears.

He straightened himself on his knees and searched for the source of the sound to find Kira, ragged and bloody, using a giant broad sword to fight off an opponent that was at least thrice her size.

She fought with efficiency and focus that Troy had never seen in her before. Her blows were heavy and vicious, steps lighter than he ever thought was possible.

But whoever her attacker was was just as skilled, having a size and height advantage topped with a blazing aura of fury and hate, but Kira was going strong. Taking on the blurry mesh of limbs and armor with a vengeance.

A flower of hope bloomed in his chest but just as soon as it came, it was crushed.

There was the bone-chilling sound of a blade tearing through flesh.

A pained cough.

Kira was impaled on the enemy's spear. There were tears in her eyes but they still burned with stubborn fury.

She tried to pull back but the enemy pushed it in deeper until they had her on the ground, blood quickly pooling around them.

Troy felt himself physically deflate.

It just couldn't be possible.

After everything, after how far they must have come for her to grow as strong as she was here.

They had still lost.

And he was the last one left.

He wanted to call out, he wanted to do something, but his body just wouldn't move.

Kira turned to face him, her eyes, slowly losing their glow, widened for a fraction of a second before she opened her mouth to speak.

He could see them moving but no words came out, he strained his ears but he could hear nothing.

Suddenly, all he could see was a bright, glaring white.

***

Troy sat up slowly.

He lifted a hand to wipe the track of tears from his cheeks. He always hated these visions.

They brought up emotions too intense for him to focus and no matter how hard he tried, whatever version of himself was there would never let him think straight.

He'd had several visions, all of them came to pass and his intervention had just managed to prolong the result.

Yet, none were as strong as this recent one. He could still see the flames licking at the city. There was no way that was the future of Tokyo.

He was very sure he was missing something.

He wasn't too worried though, the visions kept showing themselves until they came to pass.

He stood up from his bed and grabbed his towel to head to the bathroom.

No matter how excruciating the pain or how deep the despair, he'd keep trying, keep searching the vision for something. Anything at all that would aid in saving the future of the world.

He'd also make sure not to grow attached to Kira and Kuro. They all decided to start this journey together. They all knew the price.

Death was inevitable.

If he let them in, he'd grow dependent on them. Dependency led to failure. That was something he could not let happen.

During his bath, he tried to think of the last vision he had. Probably about three or four years ago, he had a vision of a little boy with very large dark wings, kneeling, naked, in a pool of blood.

Flaming dark feathers fell all around him. There was the sound of laughter echoing in the infinite white void, but the little boy's lips were sealed in a grim line.

He remembered being so captivated by the sad picture it painted, that he forgot to look out for anything that would speak to him.

His master helped him interpret that it was probably a sign he would meet an ally whose darkness would aid him.

A year later, Troy met Kuro, amid burning shrines and screaming people.

The child he met was completely different from what he expected.

Goofy, small, and trustworthy.

A friend? Definitely not, but a valuable ally would suffice.

By the time he was done dressing, he already had three missed calls from Kuro telling him to get over to the Vermillion household.

He frowned, so pesky.

Ever since that first night that they all went there, Kuro and Moriko had dubbed Kira's home as their official hangout spot.

Kira as always, couldn't stop them.

The day after, Moriko had called everyone over so they could set up Kira's room. Troy only went because Kuro dragged him, that and he was completely put off by how unused the place looked.

Kira Vermillion was a complete mystery to him.

He came to regret helping when Moriko tripped and sent a box of what he had hoped was clean underwear landing on his head.

Kuro's immediate reaction was to pluck one bra out of his hair and state how it seemed smaller than what he expected.

Troy's follow-up was to smack him over the head.

He picked up his phone and packed everything he would need into his bag. After he, Kira, and Kuro spent some time planning how to track Nightmare at her house, they'd meet up with Moriko and Jade for a movie.

He got downstairs, "Ren, I'm leaving."

"But you haven't had breakfast yet?" A male voice called from the kitchen.

"I'm not hungry." He said simply as he reached the door.

"Have you texted Master Wei Long this morning?"

Troy paused, "He's on a mission, it's best not to distract him."

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A head poked out from the entrance to the kitchen, a young man probably in his late twenties with slender brown eyes and beautifully trimmed dark hair. He glared at Troy.

"He would be happy to know you care, Troy."

Troy didn't look back and finished tying his shoelaces.

The dark-haired man with frosted tips, Xie Ren, sighed, "Whatever, just be careful out there, and bring someone over some time, this place gets lonely with you two workaholics leaving all the time."

Troy shut the door without managing to slam it. Ren always had to poke his nose in everything.

He plugged in some earpiece, not worried because his other senses were sharp enough to protect him.

He lived in a quieter part of Tokyo than where Kira's home was and it was a bit farther from their school.

He got on a bus and made his way to the back seat, he was less likely to draw attention that way. He didn't hate his looks by any means but they were more of a liability than an asset.

'Too gorgeous to be easily forgotten.' Kuro teased often when they first met.

The bus ride took about twenty minutes, he hopped off and started his trek towards the Vermillion building when his ears his eyes landed on the Tv display of an electronics store.

"The New floral gardens as an addition to the Kunoichi Park is scheduled to happen next week Monday." An anchorwoman said standing in front of said park gates, "Park manager, anything you might like to add?"

The park manager, an elderly man in a well-pressed suit, beamed at the camera, "This is really a big event for our park since very special flowers will be there to make the exhibit more-"

He was cut off as a more unkempt man stepped into the scene, snatching the camera.

"Don't go, bad things will happen, that garden it killed-"

"Hey you, step back!" The manager screamed at the man.

More voices and hands joined in the scuffle until the screen went blank.

He mentally filed that away as something he would look into once he got with the others.

Once he got to the building, he checked in with the receptionist and took the elevator up.

He was greeted at the door by a sleepy-eyed Kira. Leave it to the person who fixed their schedules to not be a morning person.

"You're too dressed up for a casual hang out, Troy." She yawned.

"Good morning to you too." He said simply before pushing inside.

"You guys are too early for a Sunday." She moaned, she gestured to the living area where Kuro and Ares sat, weeping over some TV drama they were both into. "Go chill with those two until I'm ready."

Troy studied her with narrowed eyes, as previously stated, she was a mystery to him. Her resolve towards a commitment could waver at any given moment, she was plain, to say the least, but she was disrespectful with an air of sass that pissed him off.

She could act above everyone else but come down from that high to get into anyone's good graces.

She also complained a lot.

He was never completely sure what to make of her, the word coward would never completely suit her but she wasn't heroic either.

'I'm just doing what I have to.' He remembered her saying once when they were training.

Besides, he could feel the aura of the demons dwelling within her, the stronger she grew, the more intense it became. He just wondered how long until she gave in and he might have to end her before even his vision came through.

It had just been three weeks since the fight with Nightmare but he could feel the change hovering around.

He watched her trudge to the kitchen, grab a carton of juice and trudge back in the direction of her room. She paused and gave him a half-hearted smile with a peace sign.

He sighed, resigning himself to this new fate, the world was going to burn in a matter of who knows how long and Kira Vermillion was probably their only hope.

"Oh, Troy, welcome." Ares greeted warmly, "You'll be joining us for breakfast right?"

The blond shook his head, "No, thank you."

"You're going to lose muscle if you keep going on your weird hunger strike Angel boy," Kuro murmured, red eyes still glued to the TV.

"It's called a fast, and I'm just not hungry," Troy said through gritted teeth, "Also, stop calling me that."

"I think it's a nice nickname," Ares commented.

Kuro chuckled and stuck his tongue out in mock. Troy gave him only a slight glare as the younger male settled back into watching the show.

Troy pulled out his homework and got to finishing it.

An hour later, Kira appeared once more. Her pajamas had been switched out for comfy-looking clothes and her hair was in its signature side ponytail.

"Study time!" She beamed.

There were days those words meant Kuro would help with (or more likely do) her homework but more often than not, it signaled the start of their strategy meetings.

"If you three need any help I'm right here, not to brag but I got pretty high marks." Ares grinned smugly.

"We're fine, Ares." Kira huffed.

He smiled, "I'll call when the food gets here."

Once the trio was in the privacy of Kira's room, Kuro did a few hand signs to cast a silencing barrier around the room.

That way, their conversation wouldn't reach other ears and if it was forcibly broken, he'd know someone was unto them and they could act accordingly.

"Any news Kuro?" Kira asked as she flopped onto her bed. Troy made himself at home at her desk.

"I've sent feathers all over Tokyo for the past three weeks, there seems to be no sign of corrupted Yokai energy anywhere, it's like he just vanished."

"That or he is disguising himself as a regular human." Troy pointed out.

"Or maybe he's not in Tokyo at all," Kira added.

"You know, I actually thought about that before but he has to be and you're the key to my certainty," Kuro said pointing at her.

"Why me?"

"Not you exactly, but the history of Demona. Since we can't talk to Lucifer of pride directly and he's not giving us any information-"

'You brats never ask so I let you run around in circles. It's quite fun to watch.' Lucifer huffed in Kira's head.

"I got in contact with my master some days ago and they gave me some insight into the past movements of the previous Seal Keepers. Apparently, they always moved after the Seal was transferred. That way they kept evil forces trained on them, making anyone think that whatever they were protecting was on them."

"Instead, they were just diverting attention right?" Troy interrupted.

"I was getting to that Angel boy." Kuro sneered.

"You were too slow."

"Not now you two," Kira snapped, "Kuro where are you getting with this story?"

"Over the course of the last century, Nightmare must have found a way to figure out which place was most important. Hikari, was it? Wasn't staying in Tokyo until Nightmare began his attacks here." The dark-haired boy stated.

"Think about it, when there are others like me and Troy's master who could easily handle corrupted yokai attacks, why did Demona rush all the way here, herself?"

"Because it would be too much for anyone but her right?" Kira asked.

"It means he's figured out what he needs is here and he's not leaving without a fight," Troy answered, "How irritating."

"You think everything's irritating," Kuro huffed, "Anyways when my suspicions were confirmed by my master, I went into research on what exactly he was searching for. On my own, I was just tracking him to kill him but now I realize to kill him I need to know his end game."

"You mean 'we'," Kira stated.

"Practically the same thing," he brushed her off in the excitement of his explanation, "He wants to destroy the Barrier between two or more planes of existence, which is impossible by the way, unless..."

"No dramatic pauses brat." Troy hissed.

"Fine. There are only two ways you can do that, you either rewrite the entire formula of the universe in the ancient script of the universe which is hidden in limbo or... you open the biggest rift using a Rift dagger and a large sacrifice of-"

"Human souls." She cut him off.

"What's up with you two and stealing my thunder?!" The younger boy pouted.

"He's probably trying to figure out how to get that many souls at once, over a large summoning seal." Troy said, ignoring Kuro, "Any ideas brat?"

"There aren't many ways to harvest a large number of souls at once but there has to be. If we figure it out first, we'll be able to take it out of the picture and derail his plans.

"If he's desperate enough to get it back, we'll need a way to defeat him when he comes for it." He replied.

"This is all starting to look like a really big deal. Do you guys remember what he did to us three weeks ago? There's no way we're on his level, we're only alive cause we got lucky!" Kira shrieked.

"We have to keep trying Kira," Kuro stated, "If we keep focusing on the negative aspects, we'll never move forward."

She bit the inside of her cheeks to quell her next outburst, "I'm sorry, it's just, I'm not like both of you, I wish I was but I'm not. I want to be sure I know what I'm doing but this whole thing-"

"Is crazy, we know, you just-"

"Have to not put yourself first." Troy snapped firmly, cutting Kuro off and leveling her with a harsh look, "Not everything is about you and your perfect life Vermillion. Whatever wall you've built around yourself, it's best you take it down now before it's forcefully shattered."

The air pressure in the room seemed to drop, "I think I hear Ares calling," She said stiffly before leaving.

The door closed and Kuro turned a disappointed look Troy's way, "You could learn to be more subtle, you know?"

"She needed to hear it. She was beginning to piss me off."

"You look cute when you're angry."

"You piss me off too."

Kuro rolled his eyes, "Emotions are a thing, Troy, if Kira has to work on opening her mind, you have no right to give that kind of advice until you do the same to your heart." He walked towards the door, "Not everyone was lucked out with talent and the zeal to protect the world, some of us never really had a choice but to accept it."

That last part was said more quietly, but it was still audible.

"I'm sure breakfast is here already." The shorter male said before leaving.

Troy pulled out his homework, trying not to mentally rant about how humans were so touchy about everything.

***

By that evening, the tension between Kira had Troy had simmered down only slightly.

Kuro tried his best to lift it completely before Jade and Moriko arrived but was definitely not happening.

"Did Zhao make someone upset again?" Jade asked.

"We're fine," Kira said quickly as she went to Moriko's side.

"Let's grab some taiyaki on the way." The blonde female said as they started their walk under the warm evening sun.

"I heard you could get the Sakura-flavoured ones around that area." Kuro joined in.

"Is food all you ever think about?" Troy drawled.

Kuro pretended to be offended with an exaggerated hand grab at his chest, "And I thought we were best friends, Troy."

"We are not."

"No fighting." Kira hissed.

"Hey, did anyone hear about what happened on the news this morning?" Moriko asked.

"You mean that guy that ran up to the camera at the interview of the new Kunoichi Gardens in Minato?" Jade asked.

"What happened?" Kuro asked.

"He ran up to the camera screaming about how no one should go," Troy said, he hadn't forgotten about it but the right time to bring it up hadn't appeared.

"Yeah, apparently his daughter was raped and killed earlier in the week in the unfinished gardens," Moriko said.

"That's... gruesome," Kira said with a shudder.

"Yeah, they did really well to keep it hush hush but the man, Sato Kaneko, didn't let it slide and brought it up again but everyone is guessing he's after some more hush money, the cops just crossed off his claims that the Park authorities were involved." Moriko was scrolling through her phone for more information and it was up to Jade to keep her from walking into lampposts.

"Oh, the official news is that she must have been seeing someone and decided that sneaking into the park to get a look before the grand opening would be a good idea. The guy probably turned on her then."

"That sounds like a load of bullshit." Kuro said.

"True, but no one knows what actually happened." Jade said with a shrug, then a grin, "Bet it's built on some ancient burial ground and the spirits are out for vengeance. Which is why I plan on checking things out myself."

"Please no," Moriko frowned, "If it's something like that, just leave it to Demona."

Kira shared a fleeting glance with Troy and Kuro, a silent agreement that they'd look into it that night.

The next day was Monday but that definitely didn't stop evil spirits from messing with their weekend.

She sighed, and pulled out her phone, as they got into their train. She ran a search for the news and more on what Moriko said. She found a picture of the victim, a young-looking girl, probably eighteen.

Sato Akemi.

The after picture was something completely different.

The body was mangled and the clothes on it were shredded to pieces. Her eyes were wide and her face frozen in abject horror.

How would people just cover up something of this magnitude?

She clocked out of the app, a little bit more determined than earlier. She really hoped this was just a regular human case that the owners of that park were involved with so they could suffer for pushing it aside.

Yet, a deep part of her that resonated with the darkness of the city told her it was a totally different case.