Kira

~

My eyes were locked on the screen in shock, my mind still trying to piece together what I was seeing. The red letters burned their way through my morning haze and into my skull.

Blood.

They were definitely written in blood, the one of those we'd failed to save, and now that blood was being used to challenge me.

"Things in this city are beginning to get creepy as hell," Kat spoke up, bringing me back to the present.

"I don't like the look of things either," Ares sighed, he didn't sound panicked but I could tell he was worried, "You girls need to be more careful when you go out and don't stay out past seven."

I nodded absently, already heading back to my room, the thought of breakfast no longer appealed to me. I had to get in contact with Troy and Kuro before school, we had to talk about things before I left because this wasn't a conversation I wanted to have anywhere in public.

I opened up my laptop and clicked on my video chat application which quickly rang up both boys simultaneously. They pick up at almost the same time.

Troy is standing somewhere in his room if the cream-colored walls are anything to go by. Kuro on the other hand is framed by the wispy morning sky, birds and clouds flying behind him.

They both look as troubled as I feel which could only mean they'd seen the news as well.

"You both saw it right?" I ask still, wishing my heart would stop stuttering at the mere thought. I had to be strong.

"We have, I don't like it," Troy states simply.

"Feels like another trap," Kuro adds.

"We first have to figure out the meaning of those words at the bottom-"

"The first half is a time and a location," the younger male cuts in.

"How do you know?" I ask.

"It's some ancient demon language, I just happen to have learned it a while back."

"You said first half, is there more?" Troy questions without missing a beat.

Kuro nods, "The rest says we're free not to come but there'll be consequences."

"I really don't like the sound of that," I groan through clenched teeth. I had a feeling we were being toyed with. That no matter what the outcome would be the same.

"If they want a fight, we have no choice but to give it to them,"

"We can't do that, Angel boy, they have something planned and we might not be ready for it."

"We can't let them continue to have their way, brat, don't don't you see that?"

"Of course I do but this is Nightmare we're talking about, it's crazy to think we can just jump head first."

I watch their back and forth, not sure how we should even begin to go about things. My greatest fear was that I wasn't ready to face Ahlai, she could make me face memories I didn't want to see again.

Nevertheless, we had to do something, we couldn't hide in the shadows with the promise of consequences dangling in the open air.

What exactly was there to do?

The buzz of my phone drew my attention back to what was happening around me. Haru's name flashed on my screen with his good morning message that had slowly become part of my morning routine.

The discussion at hand couldn't wait but I had other priorities to see to. I turned to Troy and Kuro who were now glaring at each other. I didn't like it when we disagreed like this, the fate of the city was on our shoulders and although we were just kids, we didn't have the luxury to act as such all the time.

"Kuro's right when he says we can't just walk into Nightmare's trap, but we can't let them get away with everything. Troy and I will discuss more during school and when the day comes to an end, we'll make our final decision."

"We don't have much time. The time on the banner says we have until midnight." Kuro informs.

I give an encouraging smile to both of them, "That's more than enough guys, we can get through this. We're a team remember?"

The tension between us shifts a little, they're growing to trust my judgment and rely on me, more or less. I don't think I'm much help when push came to shove but I was ready to give my all.

Nightmare was shoving now and I wasn't ready to give up again. I didn't want to have to.

***

At school, Troy's words were barely able to convince me to go along with him. He was stiff and adamant as usual. His only point was that it was our duty to stop 'the foul demons' plaguing the city.

I perceived he was only so hellbent on this because we were dealing with demons.

After our encounter with Akio, I was hesitant to make any more calls that could lead to any of us getting killed or captured. I also knew I didn't have all the time in the world to plot things out at my usual pace.

Conflicting thoughts and emotions continued to battle for my attention throughout the day. I hated that I didn't want to fight, I hated I wasn't sure what to do, I hated that there was fear slowly clawing its way through my lungs, and I hated the excitement. The slight tremble in my hands and the thought of a battle.

"Kira..."

I came out of my thoughts, my eyes lifting from my open notebook on my desk to meet Momo's comforting brown ones. She was smiling down at me, hands on my shoulder. I had no idea when she'd put them there.

"You were shaking a bit, everything okay?" She asked.

"Yeah, just spaced out I guess," I returned her smile, "Say, where are Jade and Troy?"

"Troy didn't say where he was going but Jay-Jay said she was going to keep a nice spot so we should hurry up," she beamed, "But we still have time to stop at the clinic if you're feeling sick."

"I'm fine, Momo," I said simply as I cleared my desk. Once everything was thrown into my bag I followed Moriko out of class and into the busy hallway.

We were close to class 1-A when several pings came from Momo's phone in the pocket of her blazer.

"We've told you a thousand times to keep that thing on silent before the school takes it from you," I growl without heat. I still flick her head lightly as Jade does often.

She rubs the spot, glaring back at me, "You get Haru while I see what's up."

I go into the class, exchanging icy looks with Sasaki before going to Haru's corner. He's tucked into his seat as always, scribbling furiously onto one of his many notebooks and ignoring the world around him. His shyness is endearing but I wish he'd make more of an effort to talk to those in his class. Not like they deserved his attention when one thought about it.

"Haru, it's lunchtime," I say, trying to get his attention but he barely spares a glance, "Haru!"

He peeks up, blinking as if he'd just come out of a trance, "It's lunchtime already?" He asked meekly.

"I just said that."

"Oh," his cheeks turn a bit red, and he opens and closes his mouth like he's not sure what to say as always.

"Let me guess, you want to continue your writing instead of putting nutrients in your system?"

He nods his head enthusiastically, "I'm planning out a very important scene right now, hope you don't mind?"

"I really don't think you should be worrying about me," I say dryly, sighing inwardly, "I'll bring you back a snack on my way back."

His protests about how I don't have to fly over my head as I turn on my heels to leave the class. I notice the place has suddenly gone very quiet.

Everyone is staring at phone screens either alone or in groups, whispers are thrown around and some girls even let off scared squeals.

I hurry outside to Moriko's side, one hand is on her mouth while the other is holding her phone. The horror in her eyes is the first thing that really catches my attention.

"What's going on?" I ask.

She looks up at me, lips trembling, "I don't know Kira, a few minutes ago, people started jumping off buildings all over the city."

"What?!"

She hands the phone over. The internet is a pretty sick place, things had gone to shit barely thirty minutes ago but there were already compilation videos on any available streaming service.

I watched, each video was taken by any passers-by who managed to see the victims before they jumped. All victims are screaming at no one in particular, grabbing at their heads and stumbling away from those who managed to get up to try and stop them.

The dim glow of purple in their eye is enough to let me know who was behind this. My heart clenches in my chest as I recall the words Kuro said were on the banner.

'But there'll be consequences.'

I hear more screams as another victim tumbles off the edge, followed by another, and another. All hitting the streets of a usually peaceful city and striking dread into the hearts of the citizens.

'Restlessness and chaos feed demons and Yokai.'

A video of the latest victim comes up, a young man, this one taken from the Eitai bridge, the victim, pulling away from some that were trying to pull at him as he ran to the edge of the bridge.

Screaming at the top of his lungs. All of a sudden, he stops and turns his dim purple gaze in the direction of the camera. The hand of the person taking the video is shaking. He opened his mouth, speaking in a crackly tear-strained voice.

The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

How far could Ahlai's influence go? What was she making these people see to drive them off the edge in such a short time?

The man speaks, 'Will you come, Keeper?' With those words, he falls back off the bridge to countless screams following him.

I resist to reach out, it wasn't as if I could do anything from where I was. Right now I was Kira, a high school student with nothing I could do to change things. But I could stop them, it wasn't set in stone but I could try, if only just to hurt them enough to give the city a few weeks of peace once again.

'I'll come, and I'll make you regret it.' I tell myself as I hand the phone back to Momo.

***

I rush to find Kaito once school lets out. He was already on the court with Captain Miura and, unfortunately, Sasaki.

"I need to be excused from practice today," I state as I enter. They all turn to me, eyes equal measure of surprised and confused, I bow, "Please."

Sasaki's look turns smug, she pushes into my line of sight as I right my position, "This is the second time you're asking to be absent, Vermillion. The pressure getting too much for you, huh? Say something before you pass out like a princess again."

I glare into her eyes, several insults lined up at the tip of my tongue.

"Sasaki-kun, that's enough." Kaito firmly places a hand on her shoulder and gently pushes her to the side.

"What's it this time, Vermillion?" Captain Miura questions, arms folded as she looks down at me. I silently wished to have a growth spurt soon so almost everyone in my life could stop literally looking down at me.

"It's personal," I say simply, "But it's also important."

"I can't keep letting you skip practice, Vermillion, especially with so many matches coming up." She wasn't trying to be harsh, after spending about two months under her, I knew the Captain was the epitome of leadership. She motivated and cared for the team. Pushing herself beyond her limits when we all seem ready to give up. Her love for the game shines through every action.

She was everything I wished I could be as a leader.

"If it's because of your health, just say so, I'll bench you for the next game-"

"It's not that!" I cut her off before I could stop myself, "Today's the last time I'll be absent, I swear-"

"Don't swear Kira." Kaito cut in.

"I'll make it up on Saturday, just..." I trailed off, not sure what to say.

'Just trust me because I want to save everything even though I'm not sure how to?'

It sounded stupid even in my own head. Captain Miura seemed to get the gist though. She patted my shoulder, "Get out of my gym, but I have to see your ass here tomorrow, running laps before I even arrive."

I nodded with a determined look before I turned to dash out the door. I couldn't catch whispers of their conversation but I hoped it wasn't about kicking me off the regulars.

***

I canceled my study session with Haru, telling him we'd talk more when I was less busy. Right after, I ran home, packing an overnight bag and texting Ares that I'd been staying over at Troy's place as I left.

He tried convincing me that this wasn't the best time to be staying out of the house. He was evidently very worried and assumably wanted to keep as close an eye on me as possible but I had a job to do.

"We don't have much time guys, we've got a fight to plan for," I declared as I breezed into the house. Xie Ren shut the door behind me and Kuro came to my side.

I'd asked both of them to come straight here while I sorted myself out.

"So we're actually going to fight them?" The younger boy asked as I tried off my shoes.

"Yeah, they declared war, who knows when they pull a stunt like that again?" I said entering the house.

"My thoughts exactly," Troy said from the living room.

I dropped my bags off to the side, and sat on the floor in front of the center table, "Gather round, we need a solid plan within the next six hours. We also need to train a bit, we're not going in cold."

They nodded and joined me on the ground. Kuro pulled out several sheets of paper, "I noticed something while I watched those clips on the internet. A bunch of them in the same province happened within minutes of each other before they were moved to some other district. I think Ahlai's ability has a limited range."

"A large limit range we can't avoid to stay out of, we'll need to fight her remember?" Troy voiced.

"Her focus can be broken, leave the close range to me and Kira, if you notice us falling into her spell, you'll have to take her out."

"The question is, can you shoot from that far away?" I turned to the blond, watching his face for any hints of doubt. His calmness was the only thing I could ask for.

"Do you need to ask?"

"I guess I don't," I grinned and turned back to Kuro, "We also need to take this fight away from the city."

"Why?"

"If we're going to battle them, there's no way we won't cause damage, the larger the scale of the damage, the more people will panic. We've got to nip this in the bud before it escalates." I said.

"Vermillion is right. The government is still trying to convince the public this is all some big terrorist scheme, panic won't help anyone." Troy added.

Kuro sat quietly for a minute, scribbling on the paper in front of him, crossing out what he wrote before repeating the process over and over as the seconds ticked by. He was possibly running several scenarios over in his mind.

We were brought back to attention by his sigh, "We have no idea how many of them we'll be facing. But the location they chose can be used to our advantage."

"Where is that actually?"

"Some docks a bit far from here," he replies, tapping his pen lightly on the table.

"So what's our advantage?" Troy inquired.

"There's only one way in and one way out, at least that's what they'll expect," the scribbles down a rough sketch of the docks, "I scouted it sometime this morning, they're probably expecting we'll come from the entrance but I have a plan to catch them off guard."

He points at me, "With your chains, you'll seek out the most powerful demons, they'll probably have the same aura as Ahlai. They're stronger so the effects of the chains won't last long but it'll last long enough for me to open two portals."

"You can open portals?!" I gawked at this new piece of information.

"Anyone who uses any kind of magic can open portals, but unless it's like a demonic ability, you can't do it so frequently."

My mind flashed back to our first battle with Nightmare, he had definitely been teleporting then, which meant he had a demon whose ability was teleportation and another who could make the portals Alhai used to kidnap people some days ago. Just where was he finding these guys?

"I've never tried making two in a short span of time but we need to act fast," Kuro continued, "Troy will head out to the new battleground and wait there, I'll open the first portal, and Kira and I will jump through, and while they're still in shock, I'll open the second portal and Kira will use a whirlwind to knock them in. We'll go in with them and as soon as we're there," he pointed at Troy, "You'll take Ahlai out first, without her to mess with our heads, we'll be sure to take on the rest with more confidence."

It was an okay plan at best we didn't know our enemies as well as they probably knew us. The key point being 'knew'. They had an idea of our powers, but we'd grown stronger since our last encounter.

I held a hand over the table, closing my fist for a fist bump, "We've been training for this boys, it's time we show them what we're made of."

Kuro was first to join his fist with mine, a bright glint lighting up his ruby-red eyes, "We'll beat them and from there we'll stop Nightmare's plan once and for all."

Troy eyed our joined fist, his gaze betrayed no emotion but as he reached out his hand to slowly join in, I could see a flicker of emotion. Hope, maybe.

"Let's get this over with."

***

We spent the evening warming up and preparing for what might be the fight of our lives.

The pouches on my belt never held much; daggers, memory loss pills, and talismans that Hikari had never bothered to use. Demona's main assets were her powers, I wasn't at full strength so having a team behind me was the next best thing.

My body seemed to react to the setting sun, for every second it vanished beyond the horizon, my heart beat faster, and my mind refused to rest and believe in my own words of encouragement.

'You're ready,' Lucifer assured me as my gaze continued to linger on the beautiful orange and purple hues of the Tokyo sunset.

'Never forget we're just a call away if you need us,' Mammon added.

"I've never heard of such encouraging demons," I joked teasingly, trying my best to take the edge off. A shadow passed over where I was standing in the Zhao garden. I glanced up to see Troy soaring through the air. No 'I'll see you guys soon,' or 'Good luck, on your end.'

Typical.

'This has been our fight far longer than it was yours, give us some credit,' Mammon tried matching tone. I could feel their presence. Menacing auras on either side of me, but I wasn't afraid, they didn't make me scared.

Not entirely.

Not anymore.

Soon the sun was gone and stars dotted the skies without the moon to outshine them. A cold breeze filled the garden, hinting at storms to come later on.

I heard footsteps behind me, I turned around to find Kuro and Xie Ren approaching me.

"It's time Kira," Kuro stated. He was already in his costume.

"Sure, let's go."

"Are you all sure you don't need me there?" Xie Ren chirped in. He had an anxious furrow to his brows but I guess he was trying his best to believe in us.

"We'll call if things go sideways but for now, it's best they don't know of any other allies," Kuro explained.

"Besides, you don't need to worry too much, if all goes as planned, we'll be back in a couple of hours," I assured as best I could.

"And if they don't?"

"A couple more hours won't hurt," I pat his back before I transform and use a large jump to send myself into the air. There was no time to waste, I wanted to end things before the courage filling my veins ran out and left me a helpless mess at the most critical moment.

***

Kuro and I arrive at the docks, prepared to feel the aura of about fifty to a hundred soldiers. To our surprise, we meet only two very intense auras, indicating that both Alhai and Beelzebub were close to where the ships were tied down.

We'd arrived an hour early and Kuro was using special talismans to mask our presence while he got ready to create the portals.

"It's just them," I said dumbly, unsure of what make of it.

"It's weird and I don't like it either but we have to go on with the plan." He replied. He was right, this was our best chance to catch them by surprise.

"Think those damn kids will show up?" Beelzebub asked Alhai who still had her Kabuki mask on.

She was twirling a golden kunai blade effortlessly between her fingers, "If they don't I'll just have to kill twice as much as I did today. The despair of humans truly is a delicious thing almost as much as their flesh," she mused, I could practically hear her lick her lips. They made me sick.

"I'm ready," Kuro whispered, "Now, Kira!"

I took that as my cue to go ahead. I placed my palms on the ground, forcing the magic energy through my veins. I felt the chains come to live beneath the soil and I sent them after the two demons.

They seemed to have picked the shift in the air. I heard grunts of alarm but it was too late, the chains sprung from the ground, wrapping around their ankles and sapping their energies.

Their gasps of surprise barely reach my ears before the rush of so much magic numbs my senses for a split second. Powerful dark magic floods my veins but I return to my senses just as the world starts to tilt, dark red spots engulf my vision until they vanish, leaving me to stare at the skies as I hurtle toward the ground.

Wait, what?!

I was about to start screaming when Kuro's voice reached my ears from my side.

"Kira! Push them in quickly!"

Oh, right, the plan.

I spin, myself mid-air, calling the winds to slow down my fall so I can assess the situation. Ahlai and Beelzebub are glaring up at us with mixed expressions of hate and irritation. Behind them is a glowing red portal of swirling feathers.

I summon a powerful storm, directing it their way, to push them in. They're both struggling to maintain their footing and even without their powers for a few seconds, they're annoyingly resistant.

Unfortunately for them, I'm more stubborn than most people give me credit for. I form my staff, shaping it into my preferred double-edged scythe. I twirl it and in a split second, I slice through the air twice in an 'X' motion, creating two extra powerful gusts of air that send them both flying back.

The portal starts to close, and I dive in, a grin gracing my lips. The first part was done, we'd gotten them out of the city. Now we just had to defeat them.

The four of us are dropped into the clearing of a forest. An all too familiar clearing if I had to point it out.

I rise to my feet, glaring at our foes who are standing a reasonable distance away, their blazing auras signaling their magic energy was working once more.

"Of all places in the world, this is where you chose to take your last breaths?" Ahlai questions, she almost sounds amused, eyes dancing behind her mask.

I point my weapon to the destroyed hill, several feet away, "You made me go through a lot here, Ahlai, I'll end you here one way or another. For Yamagata-san and the other people you murdered." I growl fiercely.

"What she said, now let's get this party started, the sooner you start screaming, the sooner I may get to see Nightmare." Kuro pulled out his garrote.

"We'll never call our Master because of fleas like you," Beelzebub grunts, "But we do have friends who would enjoy a couple of new toys."

My body goes rigid as I watch Ahlai pull out a glowing silver dagger. This one looks nothing like her usual gold blades.

In one swift movement she slices through the air, the energy the strange danger releases is unusual, forceful, and heavy.

"No way," I heard Kuro gasp beside me, I really didn't like the sound of that. I also didn't like the sight of portals opening on their side of the clearing.

Before I could comprehend what was happening, several monstrous forms of various shapes and sizes stepped through the portals.

Yokai.

Several of them all screaming, roaring, and grotesque-looking, eyeing us hungrily from behind the two demons.

"As your partner rightfully said, Demona," Ahlai sneered, "Let's get the party started."