Kira

  ~

  Troy's cold and distant aura in no way hindered my persistence in dragging him around. After we finalize everything in the admissions office, I take us in the direction of the main school building.

  I'm still torn on whether it’s good or bad that he's gotten placed in my class.

  "You can let go of my elbow now," He says, eyes glaring at where I'm holding him like he'd cut it off if he could.

  "How do I know you won't get cold feet and run away?" I joke.

  "Why would I?"

  "You don't seem to be the best at human interaction."

  "That's because I don't care for humans," He yanks his arm out of mine, "Once I finish my mission here on earth to rid it of Nightmare's toxic influence, I'll be called back to my rightful place among my kind."

  I cough loudly to cover up the sound of the ugly laugh threatening to burst out of my lungs. Troy's good looks were attracting way too many stares in the hallway and I couldn't risk looking like a bully now, standing straighter, "I'll make fun of you later. Right now, we need to get to class." I get behind him and start to push.

  "You're annoying and embarrassing." He hisses, not budging.

  "If you don't want us to remain here then move." I grit out.

  He sighs, moving quickly so I just barely manage to get my footing and jog after him, "Wrong way!"

  ***

  "Troy! You finally made it!" Moriko squeals just as we enter, "Everyone’s been talking about the cute new kid they saw entering the school. Tell me, do you like it here?"

  I give her a look, he's not even been here a whole day.

  He simply nods, looking over her at the classroom.

  "Oh right, there's a seat here!” She pulls him to the empty desk up front, “It's right where the teacher will see you though.”

  Troy sets his bag down, "I have no intention of causing trouble so I fear no authority."

  I smile nervously from a distance, the attention he's getting has me feeling I shouldn't let us seem to close at school. If he ends up popular there's definitely going to be more drama around him.

  Speaking of which, I shift my gaze to a group of girls glancing constantly in his direction. Some wear braver expressions than others as they hype themselves up to approach.

  I count eight of them in total.

  The most confident seemingly Ayaka, the class pretty girl with all the influence who had witnessed the bathroom incident firsthand.

  I sob internally, my reputation had been ruined before I even got a chance.

  "Nice to meet you, Troy-kun, you've got a nice name, I'm Moriyama Ayaka," She held out her hand.

  He ignored it, "Zhao Troy, how may I help you?"

  "You're new so I wanted to know if you need any help,” she bats her lashes sweetly, "My friends and I could show-"

  "Not necessary,” He shuts her down, “Vermillion is already my guide. If that's all, you may leave now."

  Cold.

  And why’d you have to mention my name?!

  It's almost impossible to ignore Ayaka's glare as she returns to her disheartened friends.

  I walked over to Troy, no use faking now, "Not exactly gentle are you?"

  "Pretending to be interested in small fry is a waste of time," He pulls out his books, "I advise you to settle down for homeroom."

  "Just because Kuro isn't here to keep your attention doesn't mean you should pick on everyone else," I wink, "I'll tell him you missed him."

  If looks could kill I'd probably be dead already, I hurry over to my seat before he can refute my statement.

  "He seems to be settling in fine," Jade addresses me after loudly popping a bubble as she flicks through a manga, "Too bad everyone will ignore his nasty personality ‘cuz he's hot."

  I nod my agreement as I sit down as my own dislike for hum was mild at best. It's pretty hard trying to befriend someone just waiting for the moment they could put a hole in your heart.

  Literally.

  Forcing him to like working with me would get us nowhere, we all wanted to do our part toward stopping Nightmare and that's what mattered. Once I'm settled in, I call out to the presence in my head.

  'Lucifer, I need to get stronger. Is there a faster way?'

  His tone is bored as usual, like he really couldn't be bothered with me unless he was getting a kick out of me getting kicked around, 'Simmer down, flesh sack, it's only been what? A week? You've gone pretty far from where I thought you'd be.'

  'Thanks for the compliment but I don't have that time. You told me Nightmare plans to take down the Spirit Barrier. I've got to hand these powers to someone more before that happens!'

  The Makai Kekkai also known as the Spirit Barrier.

  As promised, Lucifer had told me and the boys what Hikari had gathered from looking into Nightmare and after both of them had taken turns giving me the rundown of a world I never knew existed. Life was separated into different Planes of Existence.

  The Human Plane, the Spirit Plane and The Divine Realm of which little is known.

  The Spirit Barrier kept spirits like yokai, ghosts and Demons from interfering with humans. It was a force that grew stronger as the human race advanced and became less dependent on magic and the creatures associated with it. There are rare exceptions but usually only very high-class spirits can get through but even then some couldn't take a physical form unless a life was offered.

  The Keeper's Seal breaks every rule, allowing the bearer to Summon Demons without shedding blood like all Summonings required. Nightmare, and many others before him, had targeted the Keepers because they wanted its secrets. For some reason, he's given up and concocted another crazy scheme Hikari still hadn't worked out before her death.

  Despite how much I'd rather not get involved, he probably won't stop until all obstacles in his path are cleared.

  A new Keeper was clearly an obstacle.

  'You'll be useless to everyone if you burn out and end up worse than you started out,' He warns, 'Your soul isn't built for the Seal so it's best we take things slow.’

  'I understand you think I'm weak but I got to fifteen percent in a week, give me some credit.'

  ‘Believe me when I say that's more a cause for concern than celebration.’

  ‘What's that supposed to mean?’ I ask suspiciously.

  ‘You'll learn soon enough, your will to live happily is admirable. For now, that's all we need of you.’

  I feel his presence vanish, leaving me to focus my mind back on what was going on in class. The teacher had walked in a long time ago and my body had gone into autopilot. But even with our conversation over, I can't get Lucifer's words out of my head.

  We.

  More like him.

  More they're not willing to tell yet.

  Doubt churns in my gut as I make a mental note to be more wary of Lucifer's instructions in the future.

  In just a week, my whole life had crumbled before my etss and I was struggling to hold on to the least affected bits. Whatever little control I had left, I'm never handing it over to them.

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  Right now, I wasn't Demona. I was Kira Vermillion, a high school student who had to pick up trash after school and go sign up for Volleyball tryouts. I didn't have to save anyone else now, just myself.

  ***

  The day passes by in a flash, ending sooner than I'd hoped. While I slave away picking up the trash on the grounds Troy is in the library, using the notes I had lent him.

  Jade and Moriko had gone home leaving a strangely quiet Kuro as my only company. He says nothing, but his red eyes flash thoughtfully in my direction occasionally. Admittedly, this side of him has me a bit unsettled.

  "Don't tell me you've got a crush on me now, I'm way out of your league," I smirk offhandedly as I tossed a second full bag into the trash bin.

  “I'm only into blondes,” He doesn’t even blush.

  Have a bit of shame!

  "Still, you're pretty cool despite how reluctant you are."

  My shoulders slump dejected, “Is it that obvious?”

  “Yeah,” he chuckles, “But after watching you for a bit, it makes sense. It's…inspiring seeing how far you'll go for what you believe in such a short time. It's got me thinking, you'll be the best fit to lead the team.”

  Lead? I never signed up for that. "You and Troy know so much more than I do!” I protest.

  "But you suggested a team, you gave us conditions, and you sorted our schedules for training and patrol," He points, "You've got experience working on a team, something neither of us have. You're also hyper aware of your limitations and gouging the situation. You might be a bit rough around the edges but you've got potential.”

  My mind is racing a mile a minute, trying to think up a way to convince him otherwise. They really put me on the spot here. I'd be the one calling the shots so all our failures or victories would be because of whatever decision I made.

  "Did you two talk this over behind my back again?" I ask knowing that all he'd said couldn't be the whole story.

  Kuro grins, standing from where he'd been relaxing under a tree to follow me back to the main school building, "Just a bit. You’ve got more to lose between the three of us, which means you should be the one to carry the burden of leadership.”

  Of course.

  "This is exhausting," I groan.

  We quickly arrive at the auditorium where I'm to sign up only to find it empty, save for one girl I think is a senior.

  I run up to her, Kuro at my heels.

  "Excuse me, but aren't the Volleyball tryouts meant to be held here?" I asked.

  "Oh yeah, they are but it's been moved to Friday, the manager couldn't make it to school today and the coach is busy with the boys' team," She replies.

  "Oh," I couldn't keep the slight disappointment out of my voice.

  She gives me a reassuring smile, "No worries, this just gives you more time to practice. Anyone can hand in a club form but if you want to be a regular player for tournaments, you need to bring your A game."

  I nod, "Thank you...uh..."

  "Kamurai Asuna, second year, nice to meet you."

  "Thanks, Kamurai-senpai, I'm Kira."

  "I think I've heard that name-"

  "She's the one that broke the sink," Kuro chirps in unhelpfully.

  Kamurai-senpai’s face splits into a grin, "Oh right, the daughter of the big-money American family. Nice. Bring that kind of strength and you're sure to make it on the regular team."

  I flush, embarrassed and excited beyond words, "O-of course."

  The older girl pats me on the shoulder, "I'm going to be here after school every day, if you need pointers just come find me."

  I wait for her to leave before falling onto one of the benches from exhaustion and disappointment, "And I was looking forward to today too."

  "Are you sure about this?" Kuro asks, sitting beside me and leaning comfortably against the wall.

  "Huh?"

  "You're already super busy with our late night activities."

  "You probably think I'm stupid right?"

  "No, I just think you're a masochist."

  I huff out a laugh, “I can't sit on my ass moping forever. I've done a lot of thinking before we moved here. The new life Ares gave me after my family's death…I want to live it right this time and do things because I like them, not because I want people to like me,” memories of my time in America come flooding back, pretending to be someone else wouldn't help run away from the past, but I was going look forward k the future, “I didn't start the game ‘cuz I liked it but it's a part of me now, I don't want to ignore it anymore.”

  “Anymore?”

  I shake my head, a bit embarrassed at how I'd rambled out, “Forget I said anything, turning to the side I find him watching me thoughtfully again. A flash of emotion, envy maybe passes so quickly I'm almost convinced I'd imagined it.

  He covers it up with a smile, carrying on in his usual carefree tone, “I wish I could run from the past as easily as you can.”

  He doesn't elaborate and I don't feel I have the qualifications to pry.

  Change the topic.

  "Enough of the gloomy stuff, let's focus on training, but damn I've got so much homework to do before then," I put my arm around his shoulder, "Kuro, you're super smart right?"

  He narrows his eyes at me, "What's that supposed to mean?"

  I chuckle nervously, "You'll help your big sis with her homework won't you."

  "No."

  "Don't answer so quickly! Come on please!"

  "We know you’re pathetic Vermillion but have some dignity," Troy emerges at the entrance to the court, "You're begging a child to do homework."

  "You're here," My tone was dry.

  The blond hands me my notes, "Your writing is atrocious, do something about it,” he pulls me up by the neck of my blazer, “Let's finish that homework so we can train."

  I feel the insult to my writing pierce through my heart like an arrow, "Switching from English to Japanese is hard!"

  "I write in English, Japanese and Mandarin. Like I said, do something about it." He instructs.

  I turn to Kuro, letting pull my dejected form back to the library, "Are you sure I'm the leader?"

  ***

  "We’ll be doing something different today," Troy announces, wind billowing past his short cloak and hair. No matter how big a jerk he is, even I had the decency to admit he looked damn gorgeous with his hair braided long.

  "Can you two stop giving me that look?" He spits.

  “It can't be helped,” Kuro sighs.

  Troy gives him a demeaning look but it seems to have no effect whatsoever. He turns to me, "We've been instructing you throughout last week, teaching you and correcting everything from your stances to how you attack. It might seem overwhelming but you don't have the luxury of years to catch up so it's best you adapt our teachings to your own style of battle.”

  “My own style, got it!” I nod.

  "If you want to be stronger in a short amount of time, you have to train more, work more, and sleep less."

  I nod, less assured where this is going.

  We've had this kind of discussion before, but this time I can tell there’s something different. Was he really me as a teammate rather than an inconvenience? Did it have something to do with what happened in the sewers?

  "You're fighting me today, a real fight," He states boldly.

  I'm about to nod absently again when his words actually settle in, I flinch, "Wait, what?!"

  "He's going to try and murder you." Kuro beams, practically bouncing on the ledge where he's perched, "It was meant to be me but our match would be over in seconds even if I went with my weakest attack so he's the better option."

  "You're bragging." Troy and I state in unison.

  He nods ecstatically.

  Troy rolls his eyes. The air around him implodes with his Magic Energy, harshly dragging me from my thoughts, he moves his hands in swift graceful arcs drawing indecipherable spell runes in air, bending the light and energy to will. Turning the destructive form of nature at his command into Sais.

  My heart sinks, I’d never seen him do that before.

  "You've gotten used to seeing me attack with my main weapon, and you also seem to succeed more at throwing long-distance wind attacks,” I note the shift in his stance and back off immediately.

  'He's read you like a book,' Lucifer informs as I summon my weapon, 'You can try to keep your distance but he's more experienced, he'll break through and still engage in the close-range attack. It's inevitable, but you need to keep your head and find an opening.'

  "Pressure? That's what this is about right?"

  The blond lunges for me, "So you do have a brain?"

  The vein in my forehead twitches in agitation, I feel the stone roof beneath my feet give as I take to the air to avoid him.

  'Control how much force you put into take off!'

  ‘I'm trying!’ I arc through the air, diving back down to counter. I had the larger and longer weapon. It didn't make me confident but it gave me an advantage.

  He dodges the first swing and catches the second one with the longer edge of his left sai.

  "Precision. Wild swings won't work on smaller attackers," he instructs some more.

  "Let's hope I don't chop off your hand."

  "Please do!" Kuro squealed.

  "Shut up!" We both ordered before returning to our fight. I try attacking again. I had to control the fight at all costs, subtly increasing the strength of my blows on my right side since I’d noticed he was left-handed. Something I couldn't help but pick up on while watching him do homework.

  The wind roars past me with each strike our weapons connect and the air is tinged with the scent of a thunderstorm. I manage to push him to the edge but he just simply takes off to another much lower building. He's beckoning to come after him.

  My blood is pumping through my veins at a frantic pace, the kind of rush I'd gotten when I was fighting the Jorōgumo but I could tell Troy wasn't at full strength yet. I'm debating leaping down at my own full strength and taking him by surprise.

  'Decent plan. Try not to destroy the roof,’ Lucifer adds nonchalantly.

  I smirk and launch myself down at the blond, I should have known better, the world lights up a dazzling gold, my situation made worse by my enhanced eyesight. I lost aim and tumbled to the ground. I barely registere my surroundings before he comes at me almost immediately.

  This time with katanas.

  Shit.

  I spring out of reach, to my annoyance, he’s leading with his right hand this time. This guy was a freak.

  “Your observation wasn't wrong, just incomplete," He tells me dryly, noticing how I'm taking his strikes with difficulty, "If it wasn't for your enhanced strength, I might have broken your wrist by now."

  "Lucky me," I hiss, using the staff to stop the downward strike that might have left me without both arms if not for my reflexes. We lock gazes, he's still stubbornly trying to drive the staff down.

  I take advantage of his closeness, creating a whirlwind that throws him back into a wall. I'd been practicing them all weekend, trying to get them larger and larger.

  A cry of victory leaves my lips, "Going on and on about long range attacks but you forgot I could still do that!"

  I can see the anger and irritation in his eyes at being called out, I'malmost intimidated to take back my statement. He wants to come for me once more but Kuro's shout of concern breaks the atmosphere.

  "You two get back!"

  We both flew back in opposite directions as a bright blue ball of energy strikes where we’d been standing.

  An unfamiliar voice cackles derisively, "What a pitiful fight!"

  I stare in confusion as the wisps of bluish smoke clear to reveal a tall figure with an imposing aura, a billowing cloak of black smoke behind them and a Mask distorting the top half of their face.

  At some point, Kuro had taken place beside me, and in a quiet whisper I heard him say in the most venomous tone to leave his lips.

  "Nightmare."

  *Senpai: an honorific for an upperclassman or senior.

  Picture of sais.