"Ruri........Ruri is.........is....."

Rika couldn't find the words to say in the moment. All she could do was cry as she saw the head of her only friend near her bare feet. As for Shiki, he was leaning against the wall of the cave as he covered his mouth with his right hand. He couldn't stop thinking about what he just did.

He killed a human. He killed a human child and that sin was on his hands. Soon Rika looked at Shiki as she saw the boy vomit in disgust. In his eyes, Shiki failed miserably. He couldn't keep his promise to Rika, he failed to reunite Aiko with her daughter, and he robbed an innocent young girl of her future.

"Mr.Shiki..............."

"Come on, Rika. Let's just go, a child like yourself shouldn't look at this any longer."

"Mr.Shiki, are you ok?"

It was just a simple question. Yet, Shiki's mind couldn't help but think about everything that happened. Forced to do this line of work or dying, risking his life over and over, feeling joy at the mere thought of killing monsters, and now being a mere plaything for the boss of the Demon Hunter organization. Now that he thought about it, this wasn't the first time he ruined a family either considering that he killed Olivia's father.

"I don't know Rika....... I don't know if I was ever okay to begin with."

As Shiki said this, he began to walk out the cave as he held Rika's left hand. While the two of them was walking, they didn't notice the shadow from Ruri's head slowly growing bigger and following the two of them. While Shiki and Rika were walking, Rika began to speak up.

"Mr.Shiki, what will you tell the village? The Beast of Jinoshima, after it devours the victims, it drains them of their mana and then the victim becomes a part of its pack."

"...Rika. Could you repeat that."

"U-um.....after it devours the victims, it drains them of their mana and then the victim becomes a part of its pack."

Shiki's eyes widen in shock the more he began to think about it. Ruri was turned into a part of the Beast's pack, meaning that the girl had mana that could be drained. However, the chief told him that the beast's actions were out of place because it doesn't attack people without mana. However, if what Rika said is true, Shiki was left with two questions.

"If the chief and the others don't have mana like me....how can they be able to sense who has mana or not. Not only that, if the chief somehow knew Ruri was actually a mage, why ask for her rescue?"

"Mr.Shiki, will the village blame me for this too?"

As Shiki looked at Rika, he saw the girl shaking like a leaf. He couldn't begin to understand how the girl must be feeling. The village kicked her out for being a mage and the only friend she had died right in front of her. Now here he was, the killer, standing before her.

"The village will probably think it's my fault that Ruri died. I don't want that......I didn't kill Ruri. I didn't!!!!"

"You did nothing wrong. Ruri's death was at my hands so i'll take responsibility. It was my fau-"

"YOU DIDN'T KILL HER MR.SHIKI! You're too kind. You even gave me a chance and didn't treat me like a monster. Plus Ruri was definitely suffering from being turned into a monster. It was that little creature that caused this pain. In my eyes, Mr.Shiki is the nicest person!!!"

"Stop it, Rika. If you keep this up I'll.....I'll ..."

It was too late for him. The moment he heard Rika say this, Shiki immediately got down to hug the girl as tears began to run down his face. Rika didn't say anything. She didn't even want to ask why the boy was doing this. All Rika did was hug him back as she too began to cry. As the two broke the hug, Shiki wiped away his tears as he looked at the girl.

"Rika-chan.........how would you like to come back to Sendai with me?"

"Sendai?"

"Yeah, it's a wonderful place. We could enroll you into school, I could try to convince my dad to let you stay with us. You don't need to stay in a village that doesn't want you. You won't have to survive, you can just live a normal life."

Rika couldn't hide the look of shock on her face. A place where she can live a normal life. She wouldn't have to scavenge for food, she wouldn't have to worry about a village hating her for her origins. She could live her life like a normal girl.

"Mr.Shiki, can....can I be able to eat a full course meal?"

"Of course."

"Can I even make friends with other people like me?!"

"Of course, a friend and an acquaintance of mine are very strong mages. They could even give you tips on how to use yours and improve if you wish to do so."

"Then......then.....please. Take me with you, Mr.Shiki."

This was their only chance to be saved. A chance to be saved from an environment that only wants her downfall, and a chance to be able to save one person despite taking the life of another. In this moment, Rika and Shiki needed each other. As Shiki held out a hand towards Rika, he had a sad smile appear on his face as he had one thing to say.

"Let's go home, Rika-chan."

"Yes, Mr.Shi-"

BAM

That one noise rung in Shiki's ears as his eyes could only widen with horror. Right in front of him, the smiling Rika was now on the ground as blood began to escape from her head as a bullet hole was seen. Soon her blood began to form a small puddle that reached Shiki's feet. As Shiki got on his knees to hold Rika, he didn't notice the shadows that were close to enveloping Rika going away from her.

"Rika.....oi. This is no time to be taking a nap, Rika. We were just about to head home. We were going to have you attend school and everything. You can't do that if you don't wake up. You'll wake up right......right, Rika. This is just a bad dream, right Rika!!!! ANSWER ME, PLEASE!!!! KICK, SCREAM, CURSE MY NAME!!! Please......give me a sign that you're alive."

"She's not waking up, no matter what you do, you can't change it. That girl is dead. Just in time too, last thing we need is for Eve to get a vessel the moment she awakens."

"You bastard!"

Shiki suddenly grabbed Asuramaru and swung the blade as fast as he could. The moment he did this, he saw several bullet shells split perfectly in front of him on the ground. A low whistle could be heard as he looked at the person approaching him.

"Well, looks like guns aren't that effective on you. Those reflexes, the fact you haven't even tried blasting me away with some kind of fancy magic of sorts. To think i'd be hired to take on a mini version of me."

"Who the hell are you?"

"Fushiguro Toji. I was getting bored killing those wolves on the other side of the island-"

Just as Toji was about to finish his sentence, he quickly used his blade to stop a slash from Shiki. As the two magicless men clashed swords, he saw the look in Shiki's eyes. Right now, in this moment, Shiki wanted nothing more than to kill this man. Seeing this, Toji merely looked at the kid with a smirk on his face.

"I swear, you and I are more alike than I thought. Fine then, i'll play along, Mini-Me!!!"