The sun shining brightly overhead, the wind in my face, and Dia by my side. It seemed as though the day was going to be pretty great, considering what I was going to have to do. The kid, Shunsuke, and I were going to be meeting up rather soon. It was mid afternoon, so school would be letting out soon.
I had a clear view of the school, the front gate, and a good look into several classrooms from my perch on the roof of the convenience store across from the school building. I wasn't quite sure how to approach the kid, yet. As he walked home, I'd introduce myself then. Officially.
As I waited, I smoothed out the plaid skirt and white blouse I was wearing. This way, I would fit in a lot better than the clothes I would wear in the Shadow World. Running a hand through my hair, I caught the scent of some sort of monster.
Turning, I saw it. The creature stopped a few yards ahead away from the school, just outside the trees that lined the school, which was on the edge of town. It was down on all fours like a dog, and it’s face looked somewhat like a wolf, but it wasn’t as furry, and it’s snout wasn’t as long. It’s shoulders were wide and the arms long. It’s hind legs were muscular and tensed, as if it was preparing to pounce. Suddenly, it stood on it’s back legs and took a few steps forward before running, back on all fours.
I dropped down from the roof, landing on my feet, I took off after it, chasing it into the grove of trees away from the school. It was quick, and it had gotten a head start. I was at a disadvantage here, but I was a quick thinker. I climbed the nearest tree and moved through the trees from the highest branches.
I saw it bellow me a few feet away. Carefully, I moved over a branch and fell on top of it, a dagger ready to plunge it into its chest. However, it grabbed my wrist and flung me into the nearest tree. Getting up, I raced towards him, but he flung the dagger back at me, lodging it in between my clavicle before disappearing through the grove, again. Stopping, I winced and began pulling it out. Grimacing, I held the dagger in hand and chased him.
I lost him, but I followed his scent, which led me right back towards the school. Stopping at the front gate, I saw that the students were already leaving and heading home. Cursing to myself, I ran after the scent. I'd have to deal with Shunsuke later.
I ran down a few streets, wondering where the stupid demon had disappeared to. I caught sight of Shunsuke fighting off the Wendigo. It was ready to bite him. Speeding up, I pushed Shunsuke aside and let the beast bite down on my forearm with its sharp, fanged teeth.
Without flinching, I twisted my arm around and held the creature’s head as I took out a dagger from my waist belt with my free hand and sliced the beast’s throat, spilling it’s blood on the pavement at our feet. I stepped over the body of the creature I had just slain, coming to stand in front of the kid.
I turned to Shunsuke, “We have to talk.” I cast a glance down the street. “Alone.” I didn't want any passing humans to overhear our conversation.
Shunsuke looked back at the creature that was lying dead at my feet. "What was that?” he asked as he pointed to the Wendigo. “How did you know how to kill it?”
“It’s a Wendigo, and I killed it because I’m a demon hunter. It’s what I do,” I informed the kid. The answers I gave only seemed to confuse the poor human even more. He shook his head; as if that would help.
I took the opportunity to lift him up off his feet and over my shoulder. I began running at an inhuman speed; soon enough, I was in Jayden’s room. I remembered how to get there from a few nights before.
“What the heck?” Shunsuke asked as I threw him off my shoulder; he landed on his bed with a thump. His black brows were pushed together in anger as he rolled off of the bed and stood up.
I shrugged nonchalantly. “I needed to talk to you alone, and I figured this was the quickest way.” I placed my hands on my hips and stared up at him. He was taller than I remembered, about four inches taller than myself.
“Well,” he crossed his arms over his chest. “What did you need to talk to me about?” He looked down at me patiently waiting for me to continue.
I sighed, still unhappy that I had to be here, but I knew it wouldn’t do myself any good to complain. Before I could speak, however, Dia flew out of her cage and appeared in front of Shunsuke. “What my Lady needs to talk to you about is of grave importance. You better listen well!” she told him, pointing one small, slim finger at him, poking him in the chest.
His blue eyes widened in surprise, his mouth falling open for a moment. I chuckled at this. “I suppose before we delve into the reasons I’m here, introductions would be wise.”
“You think?” he asked, his attention returning back to me.
I ignored him and continued, “I am Lady Kayden Nicole Ghile, of the Ghiles of Matadae. But, you may simply refer to me as Kayden. This,” I held out a hand for Dia to land in. As she did so, I continued, “This is Diablo Mae, my faithful familiar from the esteemed family of the Hays. The Hays have been with the Ghile’s for many centuries.” Dia did a little bow to Shunsuke.
He looked a little taken aback. “Ok. So, you’re Kayden, and that’s Diablo. Got it.” He nodded to himself.
“Please,” Dia said, “call me Dia. Diablo is what I am called by my mother when I am in trouble.”
“Ok, Dia. Pleasure to meet you,” Shunsuke held out his hand. Dia just looked at it curiously.
“What are you doing?” I asked him, frowning. I exchanged a look with Dia who seemed as confused as I was.
“It’s a handshake,” he replied. I stared at him blankly as he continued, “It’s just a greeting, a way to say hello.” He retracted his hand and ran his fingers through his black hair, a nervous habit he had.
I held out my left hand, curious to learn this gesture of greeting the humans used. If I was to coexist with them for awhile, I needed to learn their ways.
“No, it’s supposed to be your right hand. It’s more polite, or something,” Shunsuke told me, holding his hand back out. He seemed unsure of his own greetings. This confused me. Did the humans not know why they did all the things they did? How peculiar.
Dia flew onto my shoulder as I held out my right hand, palm up. Shunsuke grabbed my hand and moved it so that my palm was sideways. Shaking it up and down firmly, once, he let go. Simple enough. It wouldn’t be hard to remember.
Dia whispered into my ear, “Why don’t you show him how we say hello back home.”
I nodded, smiling. I walked up to Shunsuke, pulling his head down, kissing him on the forehead before engulfing him in a hug. “Hello,” I told him with a smile. I walked passed him and sat down on the bed, letting one leg swing off the bed, the other bent at the knee.
He was blushing again, but I ignored it. “So, let’s get down to business.” I said, my face serious again. “I’m a demon hunter. So, I hunt demons. I was sent to protect you, to keep you safe. Apparently, you are very valuable to the System.”
“The system?” he asked, sitting on the floor in front of me.
“The System is who we work for. They are in charge of assigning the demon hunters. They’re only goal is to save the innocent. And you, dear, are an innocent Kayden has been assigned to protect,” Dia explained.
“Does everyone have a demon hunter protecting them?” Shunsuke asked.
“Yes and no. Not many have one like me. But then, not many are as valuable as you are,” I replied.
“What makes me so special?” he asked.
I shrugged. “There are things even I don’t know. The System doesn’t tell me a whole lot. But, your essence is appealing, even to me. So, it’ll attract other creatures. I am in charge of watching over you and making sure you don’t get yourself killed by one of them. I’m also in charge of protecting the people you are with, so you don’t have any reason to worry.”
It bothered me a lot that the System didn’t tell me just what they wanted with this boy. His essence wasn’t the only thing that interested them, that wouldn’t make any sense otherwise. I suppose I’d find out the more I stayed with him.
“So, demons and monsters are real?” he asked suddenly, pulling me out of my thoughts.
I looked down at him. “I thought that would be obvious by now.”
“I’m just supposed to accept that all this is real. I’ll probably wake up in the morning, this whole thing being one big, bad dream,” Shunsuke’s voice was filled with uncertainty. He didn’t believe what he was saying as much as I knew he was wrong.
“Sorry, kid. But, this is very real. There are creatures out to get you and those around you. I’m here to keep you and your friends alive.”
He sighed, as if resigning himself to what I had informed him. “This is going to take a lot of getting used to.” He took a deep breath, slowly letting it back out. “So, how are you going to go about this? You can’t really go to school with me, and having a girl in my room will be hard to explain to my grandmother,” Shunsuke said, listing off all the problems on his fingers.
“The System is enrolling me in your school. So, starting tomorrow, I will be your newest classmate. You will already know me. I’m an old childhood friend that used to be your neighbor. I moved away to New York City when we were ten. I’m back now because my parents got a job here at a local company,” I informed him.
He nodded. “Ok, I can do that. You are a childhood friend, Kayden Ghile.” He thought a moment. “Where are you going to live? My grandmother is not going to like the fact that you are living with me.”
“I take up very little room," I held up a bag. "All of my things are in here. Besides, your grandmother is in the hospital. I can move out to somewhere else when she returns. We will walk to school together. To ensure your safety, I am leaving this with you,” I handed him a whistle. “When something goes wrong, and I happen to not be around, whistle. The sound will reach my ears no matter where I am. I’ll be at your side in a matter of seconds,” I told him.
“This whistle?” he looked at it skeptically. He put it to his lips and blew into it. The sound was loud and piercing, hurting my ears.
I grabbed the whistle, pulling it out of his mouth. “I’m right here!” I shouted at him. “You don’t need to do that!” I rolled my head to the side, rubbing my temples. The seeds of a headache having been planted already.
“But, no sound came out!” he insisted, taking the whistle back and looking it over. It looked like an ordinary referee whistle, except it was wooden, and longer and narrower. There was no ball in it either, which was why there was no sound when he blew into it.
“That’s because it’s a special whistle!” I cried, shaking my head. “If it was something humans could hear, it might cause problems. Now, you must not loose that! It’s super important.”
He nodded. “I won’t lose it!” he promised, fisting his fingers around it.
“Good.” I nodded. I grabbed my bag. "I'll sleep on the floor in the corner, so you won't have to worry about me taking up too much room." Every fiber of my being wanted to throw him out of the room and make him sleep outside, but this was no my house. It was his.
He sighed, resigning himself to the fact that I was not leaving. "Do you want to take a shower first?" he asked me.
I frowned? "A shower?" I asked.
He looked at me as though I had sprouted another head. "Like a bath, a way to cleanse yourself," he trailed off as if I was the dumbest person in the world.
I frowned. "If you show me how to use it, then of course I'd love to cleanse myself."
