Warnings: mentions of blood and gore.

Kira

~

I've woken up from several uncomfortable naps in my life but none could probably compare to this.

Trust me, I've fallen asleep in the craziest positions.

I pulled myself into a sitting position, taking the softness beneath my aching body as my bed.

Weird, when did I get home?

I searched my mind for what I could have done that had led up to the pain I was feeling all over but nothing came to mind.

Despite that, a strange nagging sensation wouldn't release its jaws on my mind. Constantly screaming that I was forgetting something important.

I glanced around my room, nothing looked off. I reached for my phone to check the time only to discover it was past midnight. And it was charging, that was nice.

Then again...

Why was nothing making sense?

My thoughts were cut off by the sound of the door creaking open. I could make out Ares' face, lines of worry pulled at his brows and he looked so anxious.

"You're awake." He said, relief calming his features slightly. He took quick strides to get to my side and embraced me in a hug, "Kira, what happened? You leave for hours without telling me where you are or what you're doing then show up at the door passed out and covered in bruises. Who hurt you?"

Now that he mentioned it I could feel tiny Band-Aids on my face and see some on my arms where scratches decorated the skin beneath them.

I searched my mind further but the less that turned up, the more frustrated I became. Why couldn't I remember anything? It was such bullshit.

"I...I... can't remember..." I admitted shamefully.

His eyes filled with anxiety, "I couldn't get a doctor to come at this hour but...do you feel any pain...down there?"

A burning heat crept into my cheeks and I screamed in embarrassment, "No, Ares! Shit.... don't ask me that?"

He merely chuckled but there was no joy behind it, he still looked pale and anxious, "Nevertheless, we'll go to the hospital in the morning and get a proper test."

"I wasn't raped if that's what you're implying."

"Better safe than sorry," he muttered under his breath, "Anyways, are you sure you can't remember anything?"

"I was just walking...I wanted to run actually but then...it all just goes kind of black." I said concentrating as hard as I could. I felt so annoyed with myself but as much as I wanted to remember what happened, my brain throbbed with pain and demanded sleep.

I fell back into my pillows with a great sigh. Ares took my left arm in his.

"It's okay Kira, You'll be alright." He murmured rubbing soothing circles into my arm.

To me, that was one of the best things about my stepdad. There weren't that many men out there who would know how to handle comforting a teenage girl. Ares was amazing at it, which was why I respected him so much. He genuinely cared for me and Kat would keep looking for ways for us not to feel like we were missing out on having another parent.

He was still shit at cooking though.

Everything else was just the best.

I held his hand back and flashed a smile his way, "I'm fine, dad."

His face broke out into a bright smile. He nodded before getting to his feet. "Try to get some sleep dear, we still have that trip to the hospital tomorrow. Goodnight."

"Goodnight." My eyes followed him until he was out of the room. I dimmed the lights with the remote at my bedside and pulled out my phone.

Yes, I was tired and exhausted but like every teenager, those feelings didn't always equal sleep.

The internet would be a great distraction from my raging thoughts and that nagging feeling that wouldn't let go of me. I pulled up my browser, aiming to type in the first random thought I could conjure when my eyes instead fell on an article about Demona.

Reading through it, not only could I tell that it was written by a very over-enthusiastic fan girl or boy, but it kept sending shivers down my spine, as well as dark cloudy figures dancing in the back of my mind.

I sat up once more, peering down at my screen like it held the secrets of the universe. My head began to throb once more, I could feel pain with every effort I made to push through the fog that surrounded the memory of what happened tonight.

Demona.

Throb.

But why?

Throb.

Shit!

I slammed the phone into the sheets and collapsed into them once again. If I said it out loud I probably would have realized how stupid it sounded but I think Demona had something to do with what happened to me.

The more my thoughts lingered on that the more my head throbbed but that feeling at the back of my mind seemed to calm.

I lifted the phone to my face, looking intently at the poorly taken picture of a lone, shadowy form on top of a tall building.

No, she's definitely involved.

***

The following days after that were little more than minutes and hours blurring into each other.

Obvious news, I wasn't raped and none of the injuries I had sustained were a major threat.

The doctor kindly suggested I just get lots of sleep and avoid being out late as that is when Demona hunts for criminals.

Go figure.

Ares tried to stop me but I kept venturing out at night but didn't wait until it got too dark before I headed home.

I ventured down the path I had taken to see if anything would shout out to me but the mist hung over the memory like a thick fog. My only drive was that Demona had something to do about it. I didn't trust whoever it was but I had grown curious and needed answers.

Immediately.

I turned the corner, nearly five days had passed and my mind still refused to settle. The thought of school starting the following day also wasn't helping.

Ares had insisted I try online schooling like Kat but I could speak fluent Japanese and I had brushed up on my writing, it wouldn't make sense to stay cooped up all day.

Besides, I liked having people around me. Friends and a social life helped me feel grounded. A long time ago I was shit at making friends and it didn't help when I had nowhere to go after my family's death.

I'd learned my lesson. Always have people in your corner.

The streets were busy and dark clouds hung over the crowd, constantly reminding me that I didn't bring an umbrella and I should probably start heading home.

To my misfortune, the rain wasn't going to wait, it started as a drizzle until it just became pure rain; not too heavy but also nothing to be taken as a joke.

I sighed, my luck really wasn't the best these days.

I was about to make my way to the nearest subway station so I wouldn't get drenched but I felt a sudden pull, like a gut feeling that something was terribly wrong and I had to act fast.

I looked around for any immediate signs of danger but I couldn't find any.

Weird.

I continued down the sidewalk until I was hit by that feeling again. It was so damn irritating. I turned around, ready to snap right there on the street when I saw a ripple of light.

Wait, that couldn't have happened.

The space in front of an alley seemed to shift, like a hologram seeming to fade, struggling to hold on.

My eyes narrowed, there was definitely something there. I kept looking, pushing past the fog trying to get around my brain.

It's the rain, Kira!

Turn around!

Go home!

Don't look!

All these thoughts screamed themselves inside my head but I knew what I was looking at. Whatever hologram had been there had sort of glitched for a split second and I had been able to see what was going on.

Jorōgumo.

Demona.

I made my way to the front of the alley, rain wiping sweat from my brow as I struggled to make sense of what I was seeing.

A cloaked figure fighting off at least six large spider women monsters. The mist in my head dispersed leaving the floodgates open for my memories to come back.

Demona had saved me.

I was so caught up I didn't realize I had unwittingly drawn attention to myself. One of the Jorōgumo spotted me and leaped for me.

A thick chain launched out from the ground, wrapping it up and throwing it into a wall.

"Get out of here!" She screamed at me.

I turned to the streets, how was anyone else not noticing this absurd display going on? I was too afraid to call out, but I needed to do something other than just stand there.

Run!

That seemed like a good idea. But instead, I had to look up and take in the state the city's acclaimed vigilante was in.

She was bleeding badly like she had just gone through one fight after another. But she kept fighting, despite these spiders being strangely larger than the one she had rescued me from.

I should be scared, and I was, really, but more than that fear, I felt pity and irritation, why did I easily feel indebted to people?

Run! A sensible part of my brain screamed at me.

I didn't. I grabbed the nearest object that felt heavy in my hand, a trash can lid, and ran right into a spider woman creeping up on Demona and bashed it on the human head.

"Suck on that, creep!" I yelled. Now that I wasn't too busy being terrified from seeing it for the first time, all my self-defense lessons were actually working their way into my head and boy were they seeming useless.

"What the hell are you doing?!" Demona screamed slicing a spider in half with her huge ass sword.

"Repaying you, stupid. You look like shit by the way."

I heard a frustrated grunt from where she stood beside me. Then I felt an arm around my waist and right after I could feel the wind rush past my face as my feet left the ground.

She was scaling the walls at breakneck speed until we finally reached a rooftop. She deposited me on the ground roughly, glaring with her scary-as-shit green eyes.

She opened her mouth to yell but instead, all that came out was blood.

Lots

And lots

Of blood.

I flinched, reaching into my pocket for the handkerchief I kept in case I ever began to sweat too much during a walk. I held it out to her but she slapped my arm away.

"You should not have done that." She said stiffly, tone as cold as the rain that beat down on us.

"Why? You're in bad shape and there were a lot of them."

"You've interacted with those yokai, now they know you, they'll track you if I don't kill them now."

"You don't look in shape to do any fighting any time soon," I said simply, a little irritated I wasn't getting a thanks.

"He's been hammering me with monsters all morning." I heard her whisper. She fell to her knees, seemingly tired. "Kira Vermilion...you have to...no...I have to... that's unlikely. Sath, help me out here...no I won't do that." She kept talking to herself, or probably some spirits.

"Who are you talking to?" I knelt in front of her.

"Nothing, just thinking about your predicament. You must have had quite the impression of me last time not to forget completely."

"I'm actually strongly suspicious of you."

The dark hood didn't hide her amused smile.

I didn't know what I was expecting but I definitely wasn't expecting to see how simple, non-threatening and human it seemed on her.

She was about to speak again but more blood began to make its way out of her mouth, the scarlet color mixing with raindrops at our knees.

Then I saw it.

A shadow above us.

I looked up to see the spider descending, a claw poised to stab the vigilante.

Like an idiot, I did the one thing you shouldn't do for a stranger you've known for less than ten minutes.

I tried to save her.

I shoved her back and decided to act as a shield. At the moment, it sounded far cooler than what actually went down.

A sharp pain flared up my left arm, I let out a blood-curdling scream as I fell to the ground while watching half of my arm fly through the air and land right beside me.

I didn't know what to do other than to keep screaming and letting the tears fall free.

Through the blur, I could see the panicked expression in Demona's eyes, and more spiders climbing the rooftop. She moved closer to me.

"I'm very sorry for what is about to happen next, Kira." Her voice was solemn like she had no other course of action.

I kept whimpering, mind too busy freaking over the pain to realize what was going on.

She picked up my arm and attached it back to the stump. A calming warmth enveloped me but at soon as it did, everything flared up into more pain.

I would love to say I grit my teeth through it but in all honesty, I cried like a little girl.

More screams joined my own and soon I realized it was the Jorōgumo. Screaming as Demona sang a deathly enchanting song that almost made me want to stop screaming and listen.

I heard the sound of something exploding, followed by another and more. I looked around, the spiders were blowing up

Silence followed once all the lifeless spirits were on the ground.

I could feel my hand again but I flexed it to be sure.

The rain kept pouring. The only sound other than the white noise going on in my head.

Demona made to get to her feet but fell almost instantly.

"Damn." I heard her whisper, it sounded faint but cracked like she was near tears. "Damn, damn, damn!"

"Thank you...for saving me, again," I said, I didn't know how to ease her frustration but I could feel the sorrow rolling off her in waves.

She turned to me, eyes full of pure gloom. "This is a thankless job, Kira." Her eyes then turned back to the sky, "But I've failed."

I said nothing, I didn't want to know.

"Kira." I looked into her eyes, she was holding the hand she had reattached but this time there was something placed in my palm. It felt wooden and shaped like tiny balls in a ring.

"I'm so sorry to have to drop this on you, but I can't go without out passing something on. These unfortunate circumstances have led me to make this decision."

My eyes widened, "What are you-"

"Please remember me." She sobbed.

"What the hell?!" But I was cut off as white-hot pain filled my body again, making me unable to speak, unable to think, this pain was different though like I could feel something settling into my skin, making its home in my spirit.

I slumped back down, breathing hard, fresh tears rolling down my face. I had a feeling I had just gotten myself into something I should have just stayed out of.

I met those green eyes only to see not a vigilante in a cloak but a young girl no older than me wearing a beautifully colored kimono. She had the most beautiful eyes and a small bloody smile.

"Try not to give into pride, he's a bit persuasive." She said, a small chuckle escaping her as her body dissolved to dust. "You're not the ideal type but please...do try."

I could only keep my eyes for so long after.

A powerful wave of exhaustion hit me almost immediately after she vanished. I knew I had to get out of the rain but at that moment, being unable to move, I couldn't think of anywhere more comfortable to fall asleep.

Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed reading. Just had to rip the band-aid off (pun not intended) here.

Anyways please support by sharing or voting (or both). And feel free to tell me what you think. Feedback is appreciated.

Signing off now cause Kira has a long way to go, and despite how much I want it to, that won't write itself.

See ya.