Picture of Archer Guy above*

Kira

~

I stared at the blond male before me, then down at the notched lightning arrow in his hold. I didn't need a psychic to know I should choose my words carefully.

"Now listen, miss-I mean, mister." I took note of how his glare became sharper. Definitely a guy. "I have no idea who Nightmare is or where he is, let's just-"

"Lies!" He snapped, letting the arrow fly toward me.

I rolled to the left just in time for the arrow to just graze my cheek. There was the smell of ozone in the air that had accompanied his initial arrival. Turning back, I saw there were three arrows in the bow now.

'Brat's a show-off, that's for sure.' Lucifer said as I rubbed the wound with a hiss. I forced my body to move hitting away the arrows away with my weapon.

"Who is this guy?"

'The all-knowing shit is Sathanas's job, not mine.'

"Why the hell are you so useless?"

'I'll pretend I didn't hear that.'

I faced the blond guy after hitting one of his arrows back his way, "Listen. I don't know who the hell you are but I'm going to need you to stop shooting at me."

"And lower my guard so you can get away? I don't think so." He fired a few more shots at me but I deflected them all, running right at him and taking a narrowed strike.

He stopped the edge of the blade by holding it in his hands which I noticed were covered in gauntlets.

"You need to listen to me please, I am not the bad guy." I pleaded.

He pulled a dagger seemingly out of nowhere and swiped it at me. I dodged.

"The old Demona died just yesterday, I'm totally new to this and have no idea who Nightmare is or what's going on." I kicked the weapon out of his hand and summoning the best of my abilities used a powerful gust of wind to blow him back.

The blond got right back up and glowered at me.

"What will it take for you to stop trying to kill me?!" I screamed, I was slowly getting exhausted, my head was slowly starting to throb and I felt faint.

"I believe you."

I looked up at him, his glowing gold eyes were full of hate and suspicion but he was no longer attacking me.

Thank God. I fell to my knees, taking in quick breaths, "Why now, you psycho?"

I heard him scoff, "My master told me not to come after you, you're powerful and would kill me without hesitation." He took a few steps she the gap between us was less, "I can sense how weak you are and I'm sure it's not just from exhaustion, you're new."

I breathed a sigh of relief.

"I'm still not sure about your connection to Nightmare but if I notice even one suspicious action, I'll place an arrow right through your heart."

"Why? Demona helps people doesn't she, I didn't like the chick as well but she saved me."

"And that's why you took her place?"

"It's complicated." His look turned questioning but there was no way in hell I was telling my story to one stranger that just tried to kill me. "Hey listen, you want to take down this Nightmare, right?"

He nodded slowly, eyes searching every inch of my face. I put my hand up to it.

"Is there something wrong?"

"Your Mask is still up, I pulled mine down a long time ago, it's only right that you do the same since it's a sign of trust."

"Mask?"

"How ignorant are you?"

I frowned, "We can handle etiquette later or whatever but what I'm trying to say now is that we should work together. If you help me train, I can help you fight Nightmare. Sounds good, yeah?"

'Are you sure it's right to work with this kid?' Lucifer asked in my head.

'Two heads are better than one, am I right?' I threw back.

"It will make things easier." God-Messenger boy said in a contemplating tone.

Our discussion was interrupted by the hiss of falling sand coming from the ceiling.

We both looked up to see bodies dropping from the ceiling and hitting the floor with heavy thumps.

"Don't think you've won just yet." Belzeblub's voice boomed all around us, "I'll get a new body, and the next time we meet, you'll both be at my mercy, that is if you survive my pets." As his voice faded out, the bodies on the floor began to move towards us, mouths open and revealing fangs.

'He must have fled the body before it was destroyed.' Lucifer said sensing the question on my mind.

"There are a lot of them," I said dumbly as I watched the zombie things.

"I can see that." The stranger boy snapped.

'Bel and cemeteries were never a good combination.' Lucifer drawled.

"Why don't you use that gigantic golden light trick you used earlier?"

"That move drained my energy, I was using my reserves to fight you."

"In other words, we're toast right?"

He spared me a pitiful glance before pulling out another dagger, "You give up too easily."

I would take that as an insult but I was getting more exhausted by the second. Was this really my end? Devoured in an underground room by zombies. If so, whoever wrote the script of my life should really be demoted for doing a pretty shitty job.

The sound of another loud crash drew our attention. A shadowed form swooped around the room on what seemed to be wings that had the color of night.

The person landed at the other end of the room, and all I heard was an excited laugh before seeing black, glinting feathers flying my way.

I raised my hands to shield my face, I felt no scratches on the upper part of my body but I felt a few not-too-deep slashes penetrate my boots to get to my ankles and calves.

I grit my teeth in pain and slowly dropped my hands to see large white wings keeping the onslaught of feathers away.

"Why the hell are you protecting her goody two shoes?" I heard an irritated voice ask.

The first stranger boy's wings fell away to reveal another stranger. This one was short, probably a bit younger than me, and First stranger.

I looked around to see that the black feathers had decimated the zombie monster's around us.

I turned to First stranger boy, he didn't have a single scratch on him. I was confused, staring from the blond to the newcomer as they glared at each other.

"What are you doing here, midget?" The blond asked.

"You could be more thankful since I just saved your life, Angel-boy. Why did you protect the demon keeper?" The shorter one with black wings asked.

"She's on my side."

The dark one cast his gaze on me, I expected to see irritation and distrust but all I could see was pure curiosity. He ran up to me, standing on tiptoes to peer into my face.

"Really?" He asked Angel-boy.

"I won't repeat myself." The blond huffed.

"Hi," I said stepping back, "Do you two know each other?" I studied the wings on both, maybe they were siblings of some sort, or maybe the same yokai race.

'They're not yokai.' Lucifer sighed bluntly, probably reading my mind. I had to figure out how to stop him from doing that.

Angel-boy saw me in deep thought, "We are not the same breed." He said firmly, "I am the chosen Angel sent down by God himself to rid this city of Demonic influence." He planted his right hand firmly on his chest, "I am God's Angel."

"I call him delusional for short." The shorter boy said, "I'm Kuro, the Dark One. If you notice the energy he exudes and the one I do aren't similar. Just like yours, mine is from dark magic. His is what some might call Divinity."

I looked between them in interest, now that he mentioned it, Angel-boy's energy did feel very different from mine and Kuro's. It had a light, easy feeling to it.

"That's... cool." I wish I could have said more but my brain was working on autopilot at moment. "I guess you both know who I am then?"

"Demona; Tokyo's Protector, Guide of Spirits, Keeper Of Demonic Forces, Helper of-"

"That's enough. I get it." I interrupted Kuro, "I'm guessing you thought I worked with Nightmare too?"

At the mention of that name, his bright ruby-colored eyes turned dark, "You're right. I followed this guy and his master here." He gestured to God Angel boy, "I want revenge, I planned to take you captive since I thought you were secretly working for him." He leaned heavily onto a staff I just noticed he was holding, "Back to square one, I guess."

"Work with us!" I blurted out.

"He refuses." God's Angel said simply.

"Ignore him, he doesn't like me much." Kuro stretched out his hand, "All I ask is that you two leave Nightmare to me in the end."

"You've got a deal."

He chuckled, flapping his wings to fly himself toward the blond, "We're officially on the same team Angel-boy, isn't that awesome."

"Shut up you noisy brat, I can hear footsteps coming." He shoved Kuro out of his face.

"Probably the authorities, they're a bit far off though."

"We have to leave." I said, "How do we get in contact again?"

Kuro waved to get our attention, "We meet at the entrance of this cemetery, midnight tomorrow. We'll talk more then." He grinned, wings lifting him higher off the ground.

"That sounds okay." God's Angel agreed, and he faced me, "You can walk yourself can't you?"

I nodded.

He spread his own wings and flew off, Kuro flashed me a smile before taking off as well.

I waited until they were gone before I set to work digging through the rubble. It didn't take me long till I found the body of a young boy.

He looked no older than ten; small, fragile, and pale. I carried his body to the center of the room and gently set it down beneath the moonlight flooding down through the hole the boys had left.

I knelt beside him and put my hands together. No matter how much I said I didn't want this, it didn't change the fact that I could have prevented his death.

If it were Hikari, the old Demona, she might have just burst in here and saved everyone.

I neglected one for the sake of my plan.

I felt like a monster.

"I'm sorry I couldn't save you," I whispered, fighting back tears. Helplessness was an old feeling I thought I'd never feel again but right now, as my body trembled, and my eyes stung, I could feel it coming back. Flooding me with guilt and memories I had buried years ago.

I stood up after several long minutes and started my journey home, a solemn promise in mind that as long as I would be Demona, I wouldn't let anyone I could rescue die.

I didn't need the guilt of others' loss weighing me down.

By the time I reached the penthouse, it was nearly midnight.

My wounds had healed and I was back in my normal clothes. I entered to meet a nervous Ares staring at the TV. He turned to me, relief flooding his eyes.

I ran into his arms.

"Where were you?!" He asked, shaking me furiously.

"Out being a teenager," I said.

"That explains nothing young lady!"

"I got carried away, besides, I'm fine, see." I twirled around for a bit. His exasperated sigh told me that he'd had enough of this conversation.

He dragged me towards the dining area and turned on the microwave, probably heating up leftovers of whatever he and Kat had for dinner.

"There was a sinkhole at one of the cemeteries not far from here." He stated simply, "Not to mention there were captives there, they say the serial murderer kept them down there to torture later, can you imagine that?"

"Some crazy shit happening right there." I sighed sadly.

He pulled out the bowl and placed it before me, along with some chopsticks. It was Nabe.

Nice.

I wasted no time digging in. I swallowed a mouthful, "I'm happy I'm back safe you know?"

He stared at me from where he had seated himself, "I'm glad you're back safe too."

Just his smile was enough to ease the burden of the secret I now carried. I would work hard, harder than I'd ever worked in life. All just so I could pass on the seal and keep him (and Kat) safe and sound.

***

I was up by five in the morning.

My new exercise regime would start immediately. Lucifer had told me I had to train my body as well as my powers.

If I trained my powers too much, my body would lack the strength to endure the strain.

I took the elevator down and stepped out, ready to breathe in the morning air and start the day.

What I wasn't expecting was to meet two guys waiting at the door for me.

"What the hell are you guys doing here?"

"We were about to go up and invite you down to join us on our jog but it's nice to see you had the same idea yourself." Kuro beamed.

"How do you know where I live?"

"It's a testimony to how weak you are that you didn't sense us following." God's Angel said.

Did he just roll his eyes at me? I think he did. Rude.

'I noticed them but said nothing. About time you start learning.' Lucifer hummed.

"I mean, I know Troy said you're weak but I didn't think you'd be that weak." Kuro laughed, "I kept expecting you to turn back and check or something but you just kept walking."

I felt the heat crawl into my cheeks, this guy was about a foot and a half shorter than me but he had the audacity to be so cheeky. I was beginning to see why God's Angel disliked him.

Speaking of which, I turned to the blond, "Troy?"

"It's my real name."

"And yours?"

"It's still Kuro," Kuro replied with a shrug.

They were both dressed in plain street clothes. Troy's hair was now short and his eyes were a pale blue. A golden cross hung from a string around his neck and not his ear.

Kuro had a blue scarf draped around his neck and his red eyes shone brightly in the morning light.

I sighed, remembering I was the one who suggested that they both team up with me.

"Isn't it suspicious that your fake name and real name are the same?" I asked as we began our jog.

"It's a pretty common name, and besides...I have no family to protect. Unlike you two." He replied simply like he was stating a fact.

The way he'd said it, I wasn't sure whether I should be sorry for him or just apathetic. I turned to Troy who gave me a subtle head shake.

Okay, not going to ask.

"Which school do you go to?" Troy asked.

"Hamada High, why do you need to know?"

"So I can transfer there to keep an eye on you." He shot back icily, "I just moved from China with my master, I've been waiting to come here since I learned about Nightmare and the spirit world. He finally conceded." He locked eyes with mine, "I meant what I said about my job being to rid this city of Demonic influence. Spirits are nothing but trouble, keeping them on their plane of existence is a top priority."

"Nightmare wants to do the opposite," Kuro informed. He led us down a turn, "If he gets his way, humanity has no chance of surviving, it'll be worse than the old days when spirits just lounged about in forests or old homes. We can't let that happen, which is why..."

He stopped. I got a few more steps ahead before I noticed. I faced them again. They were standing together, they had obviously discussed this ahead of time.

"Kira right?" He looked dead serious now, "Troy and I know each other's stories, we might not get along but we're willing to put our differences aside to focus on our hatred for Nightmare."

"What he's trying to say is that we trust each other but we don't trust you. How do we know you won't run into his arms the moment he takes someone you love captive?" Troy was straightforward, no words minced.

I didn't have to think of an answer, "That's because I would run into his arms." I watched as their looks became guarded, I wasn't going to lie, if they wouldn't work with me then fine but I needed them to know my stand.

"My family is the most important thing to me, if razing the world was the one thing that would keep them by my side I would do it. There's nothing you can say that'll change my mind. Which is why you should stay by my side, help me become stronger, and let's grow as a team so that I can protect my family, as long as they're out of his grasp, I'll keep fighting with both of you to get your vengeance."

I paused, remembering, Hikari and the child from last night, "I'm getting revenge on behalf of others as well, his presence has affected the lives of other innocent people as well but their lives are second to my happiness."

I could see the gears turning in their heads, an internal debate on whether they should trust me or not.

I turned around and continued the jog. I wasn't going to lie to anyone. Especially strangers, even if they did save me.

Soon, I heard footsteps to my left. Kuro appeared at my side, "Your old man seems okay, I guess that's why you love him so much. I respect that."

Troy easily caught up, "Keep a straight head and we'll get along fine." That was all he said to me.

I nodded, inwardly glad that I wouldn't be doing this alone.

***

The school day went much better than the previous one. All I had to do was ignore Lucifer's constant nagging and not think too much about anything outside school.

Jade and Moriko were walking to the gate with me, discussing where we should go.

"Kira! Over here!"

"Shut up brat, you're drawing attention."

"Oh, I think I see her, I should scream louder."

"No!" I yelled before Kuro could scream my name. My enhanced hearing had picked out their discussion. I wasn't about to let them embarrass me. I rushed to the gate, "I thought we were meeting at midnight?"

"I got bored," Kuro explained.

"How old are you? Seven?" I asked irritated.

"Thirteen actually."

"Awn! Who's cute little brother is this?" Moriko squealed pushing past me to Kuro. "Kira, is he yours?"

"Blondie quit talking like he's a pet," Jade said pulling her back before she could start pinching Kuro's cheeks. "Wasn't talking to you by the way," She said to Troy, then to me, "Friends of yours?"

I gave a slow tentative nod because what else was there for me to do?

"Awesome. We were just talking about getting ramen. You guys wanna come?" Moriko asked.

"Yes!" Kuro exclaimed.

"We don't even know their names yet, brat." Troy snapped.

"But the food." The shorter whined.

"Call me Momo."

"The name's Jade."

"Kuro!"

"Zhao Troy, it's nice meeting you."

I watched their exchange in wonder. I had intended to keep the magic aspect of my life separate from the regular part of it but here they both were, heading to bond over ramen.

"Hey Kira, quit falling behind," Kuro called.

"She mustn't be hungry yet." Momo joked.

Troy rolled his eyes, "Let's get going before it's too late Vermillion."

I couldn't hold back the sigh that escaped me. This surely wasn't going to end well for me, but I guess things to be worse.

I ran after them, hooking an arm around Jade's shoulder.

Friends and a team. Not too bad.

How do people update every day?!

I feel I'm beginning to regret the choice I made. I'll probably still keep to it though.

Thanks for reading, hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, it was much longer than I intended it to be.

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