Bzzzt

The sound of static could be heard as a scene unfolds. Flames consuming a home with no signs of being put out. Inside of the home were members of a clan that will soon be forgotten as time moves on. If some bodies weren't already burned to a crisp, some were dismembered as if they were ripped in half.

Bzzzt

Outside of the home stood a young boy. He was only met with silence as he witnessed this event unfold. The way his home was being burned to the ground. The way the corpses of his family were spread out. The way their blood was forming a puddle as it slowly made its way towards him. His heart began to beat faster the longer he was there. He wanted to scream, but his voice wouldn't come out. He wanted to run, but his legs were shaking. He was only focused on the chaos in front of him. Unaware of anything else. Unaware of his mother calling out to him.

"Shiki! RUN!!!!"

Unaware of the man behind of him. Unaware of the bloodlust directed at him. Unaware of the killer responsible for this was about to finish his job. Unaware that these last moments could possibly be his last. The moment he turned around, he was only met with blood on his face as a woman stood in front of him. The woman spat out blood as she saw the attacker's fist was now impaled into her chest. Soon she felt it, the same flames that destroyed her home were now burning her own body. While the boy she protected looked at her, the boy could only say one thing.

"M-.......Mother?"

~Current Date:November 18, 2019~
"Mother!!!!!"

Inside of a bedroom, a boy that looks to be the age of 16 was seen jumping up in his bed after having a bad dream. The boy was breathing heavily as he rubbed the back of his black hair. However, when he opened his eyes, he held his head in pain as he suddenly saw them.

Lines. Lines were everywhere inside of his room as the pupils of his eyes were shining a blue color. Soon he quickly put on his black-framed glasses. One by one, the lines began to escape his sight. As the boy was now getting his breathing under control, he looked at the mirror as his eyes were now their normal green color. Though his black hair was a mess due to the tossing and turning he did in his sleep. When the boy looked at his clock, he saw that it was currently ten minutes past 8 in the morning.

"I missed my bus!!!!!"

Soon the boy began to panic as he dashed towards his closest to put on his uniform. His uniform consisted of a black blazer with red linings along with a white formal shirt underneath it and a red necktie. Soon he began to put on his black slacks, some socks, and his black shoes. The moment he was done he quickly brushed his hair, showing that it was straight mid-length hair that reached to his ears.

As the boy ran out of his room, he looked to see if his father was anywhere. However, all he found was a note on the table saying he had to go to work and that he might come home late, along with some money for him to buy some food with.  After taking the money off the table, the boy ran out of his home as he screamed at himself.

"Why does school have to be so far away?! Dammit!!!!!!"

~Meanwhile~
"So this is Miyagi prefecture! It looks so amazing! If I remember correctly, i'm in Sendai."

After exiting her train, a young, voluptuous woman could be seen walking around with her luggage close behind her. She had long blonde hair that was slightly above her butt as her blue eyes were observing her surroundings. She wore a long grayish-blue dress that goes down to the bottom of her legs, white thigh-high stockings, and silver high heels shoes.

"Look at all the shops. If I wasn't here on business, i'd be out shopping right now. However, I don't have that luxury right now."

"There have been sightings of our target in Sendai. Apparently there have been reports of people going missing late at night and when their bodies were found, they were all found with pieces of their bodies missing whilst looking as if something took a bite out of them.  Not only that, our informant also told us something absolutely crucial. One of the Seven S-Ranked Cursed Treasures has been spotted in Sendai as well. Your job is to investigate any abnormal activity in Sendai, retrieve the S-Ranked Cursed Treasures, and report it back to us. That is your mission, Hayasaka Megumi."

As Megumi remembered her mission from her superiors, she was walking towards the hotel she planned on staying in. Since this creature would only strike at night, she had a bit of time to herself. She wanted to put up her luggage first before going out on the town in order to get familiar with it. Soon she sighed as she had one thing to say to herself.

"Why am I always stuck with the icky jobs?"

~6 hours later~
"As long as I can make them laugh, it doesn’t matter how, I’ll be alright."

The young boy that left his home late was seen sitting at his desk as he was resting his head. In his hands was a book by one of his favorite authors, Osamu Dazai. The book he was currently reading one of Dazai's most famous books, No Longer Human.

"If I succeed in that, the human beings probably won’t mind it too much if I remain outside their lives. The one thing I must avoid is becoming offensive in their eyes: I shall be nothing, the wind, the sky."

"Geez, Koritsu-kun. You really do love Osamu Dazai's works. Though it's a bit concerning how you read that same one almost everyday. Are you okay?"

As the boy turned his head in the direction of the voice calling out to him, he saw a girl standing next to him. This girl could be considered beautiful on all accounts. She had shoulder length, dark brown hair as her brown eyes met with his cold green eyes. She wore the female equivalent of his own uniform. Her tie was undone and hanging around her neck while her skirt was ankle length with a slit on the right side as she wore her indoor shoes for the school. Seeing this girl, the boy sighed.

"Come on, Kazuha. I keep telling you that you can call me Shiki. We are friends after all."

"I-I know that. But you make it hard when you call me by my family name as well. It wouldn't kill you to call me Mirei for once."

Kazuha Mirei and Koritsu Shiki, these two were friends since they first met in junior high. Mirei would often have guys hit on her despite her not showing any interest. The reason she liked hanging around Shiki was because he actually shared some interests with her and they were in the same class most of the time. That and he wasn't thinking with a certain appendage between his legs.

"Anyways, Shiki, I came to get you because the bell already rung. Everyone is going home minus the students with club activities."

"I see, thanks for coming to fetch me. The last thing I want is to spend more time in hell than I need to."

"It's amazing how you call this place hell despite your good grades, Shiki-kun."

Soon Mirei and Shiki began to walk out of the classroom as they were both getting ready to head for their homes. As they were walking home together, Mirei looked at Shiki with a worried expression plastered upon her face.

"Are you sure you're feeling alright, Shiki-kun?"

"Of course I am, why wouldn't I be?"

"Yeah, you crack jokes and laugh a lot sometimes. Yet, you don't look like you're having fun. Sometimes it looks like you're forcing yourself."

"Geez, I appreciate you looking out for me. Really, I do. But I keep telling you, I feel just fi-."

Just as he was about to answer Mirei, Shiki suddenly stopped walking as he felt it. He felt a shiver down his spine as he could've sworn he was being eyed like prey. Mirei looked at Shiki in concern. The boy stopped so suddenly and by the time she saw him, he was just looking around as he held a pencil in a reverse grip.

"Shiki, you must be stressed since we had those exams. You seem extremely on edge. You can spend the night at the apartment with me, if you like. My parents love your company and we're just around the corner from the apartment complex."

"Huh...o-oh, sorry about worrying you. Thanks for the offer, but I'm gonna need to head home tonight. Dad's gonna come home later tonight due to business, so I'll have to cook dinner."

"I see. Well then, just be safe. I worry about you sometimes, idiot."

"Heh, okay. I'll try my best."

Having heard Shiki's answer, Mirei walked towards the apartment complex she was staying at. While this happened, Shiki decided to go to the store and buy some ingredients for dinner tonight. As he walked away, he still felt off. He felt as if something was watching his every move. Soon he began to go to the grocery store and was stocking up on ingredients, unaware of a pitch-black bird staring at him before its body began to melt into the shadows.

"I wonder if anyone else has felt like I have. Out of place...or like an outcast. It's not like i'm going out of my way to stay hidden, it just feels like, i'm missing something.  People always throw around the phrase "just be yourself" but what if I don't know myself as well as you think I do. Mirei tries her hardest to cheer me up and i'm grateful for that but.....sometimes I wonder, am I worth the trouble?"

As Shiki left the final store he was visiting, he was surprised to see that it was already night time. Soon he began to run as he tried to hurry home before his dad could return and would have to wait even longer for dinner. Just as Shiki was running, he decided to take the shortcut through the park. The moment he did, he felt it again. That strange sensation that always put him on edge. Beyond the veil of trees in the park, he felt somewhat drawn to it. Despite wanting to turn back, he felt like he should move forward.

"One choice. One choice can change many things. Whether you pass or fail a test. Whether you find love or end up being rejected. One choice.....can even determine how your entire life will change in just one moment."

Shiki couldn't believe the scene he was now witnessing after he finally made it to the middle of the park. Bodies, a numerous amount of bodies were seen lying on the ground. A man, woman, child, not even a dog was spared from the carnage. All of their bodies were disfigured as it looked like something sunk its teeth into them. The ground was stained red with their blood as Shiki fought the urge to vomit.

"What the hell is going on?"

"Feeeeeeeeeeast."

The ominous silence that was in the park was now broken by an echoey voice. Soon Shiki couldn't believe what he saw next. Emerging from the shadows of the other side of the park could only be described as a monster. It was tall, dark skinned humanoid-like creature with long arms and flashing blue markings all over its body. It had long white hair that undulates similar to flames, vanishing at the tip. Not to mention that the monster's eyes lacked any eyelids.

"I can hold back the hunger no more......AGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHH!!"

After letting out a roar, the beast looked towards Shiki's direction. It could hear the sound of Shiki's breathing. Yet it stood still, as if giving its prey time to run or to charge in foolishly only to be devoured. The moment Shiki noticed this, his heart began to race faster and faster. Yet for some reason, he knew. He knew this wasn't due to the fear of ending up like the people on the ground. It wasn't even due to fear at all.

"This is finally our chance. Our first time killing a creature we were raised to be prepared to kill at any moment."

Static. As a voice spoke inside of Shiki's head, he heard the sound of static entering his ears. The moment the voice and that sound entered his ears, Shiki felt off. To be honest, it terrified him. Not because of how bloodthirsty it was. It wasn't even because it was talking about killing. He wasn't even scared that the sound of static never escaped his ears. No, Shiki was scared because the voice belonged to him. He smiled as if he was agreeing to it. Soon the static in his ears grew louder. As that noise got louder and the voice spoke more on what to do, Shiki slowly began to lose himself. So much so, that he was unaware that he took out a weapon. A weapon his father told him to always carry but never show to anyone. It was a simple switchblade with a plain hilt, with its blade and hilt of a length around 10 cm.

"We were outcasts from the main family, but their blood still courses through our veins. That thing isn't human, it shouldn't exist. You have the tools necessary. Plus it looks like you can't hold it back any longer either. It's time to go wild. Even if the Koritsu family was thrown away.......we still have the blood of a Nanaya with us. So do it."

"I will. I will.....kill it."

The moment Shiki said this, he used his left hand to take off the glasses on his face. The moment he did, his green eyes had a blue hue to them as he saw them. Those damn lines were everywhere in his sight. He hated seeing these line. The way they make everything seems like it could fall apart at any moment. The way looking at them made his head hurt. He hated every moment of it. However, he couldn't hold back the smirk on his face as he saw those lines all over the creature's body.

"You should've killed me the moment you saw me, Monster. Now then, let's see it. What type of blood will you shed for me?"

"What the hell am I saying? I should be running. I shouldn't be here! So why....why can't I help but feel so excited about all this? Why am even thinking about killing this thing?!"

As Shiki crouched downwards, he was putting all his strength into his legs as he was prepared. One attack, this beast was so confident it could kill Shiki, that the boy could probably only get in one attack to surprise him. Just as Shiki lunged forward towards the beast, he thought to himself.

"The way this knife feels in my hand, it's so natural. I know i'm in danger, but I can stop smiling. My only focus is on this damn monster in front of me. My mind keeps telling me to turn back, but my body wants nothing more....no, it's screaming at me to kill this thing!!!!!"

One second. In one second it was almost like the boy teleported in front of the beast. That was how fast and powerful Shiki's lunge was. Just as Shiki swung his knife at him, the beast quickly transformed its arms into wings. Just as this happened, Shiki quickly jumped backwards as he saw something fly pass both him and the beast. As the beast flew in the air, it looked at Shiki.

"Interesting. You and I are mirror images of each other. I have shattered my human shell in favor of this beastly form, but you....you are a beast, yet choose to cover yourself in human form. Our forms may be different, but our nature is the same. I hope the day comes....when you can kill the beast that I have become. Or else....I...will....FEAST!!! ARRRRGGGGGGHHHHHH!!!!"

Having said its word, the monster flew off into the night sky. Meanwhile, Shiki was ready to put on his glasses again. However, the moment he reached for them in his left pocket, he quickly ducked down as he saw another object fly over him. When he turned around, he saw the objects that were thrown at him that stopped the altercation between himself and the monster. They were long and slender rapier-like swords with blades measuring over one meter and extremely short hilts. When he looked in the direction they were thrown from, he screamed in pain as he felt his body being blasted with electricity as he fell to the ground. Soon he slowly began loseconsciousness as his body felt very numb . The last thing he saw before passing out was a beautiful woman with blonde hair and blue eyes as sparks of electricity were seen dancing around her right right hand.

"Shoot. I was so focused on taking out the target, I ignored the fact a civilian was involved. I'll admit, I screwed up here. However, that monster was prepared to retreat even before I began my assault with the Black Keys. Is it possible that it saw this boy as a threat? For this boy to find him before I did and to go as far as to try to attack him without any form of Sacraments or cursed tools. To be able to make a beast like that fell the need to retreat. It seems I found myself an interesting catch. Goodnight, reckless boy. As of this moment, you're in custody of Hayasaka Megumi."

On that night and forward, I realized many things. The normal life I had was shrouded in secrets. The danger that loomed over the city was slowly beginning to rise. The emptiness I felt was going to be stripped away.....and in its place .....would be my sanity beginning to crumble.