It was a crescent today.
I was being surrounded as a group of ten circled me. I stood there, watching carefully. In my hand, a metal pipe. This group would be the fourteenth group that i've encountered for tonight. I wondered why there were so many demons showing up today.
The first to make a move was them. From behind, they decided to attack, and then continue from there. However, it failed. I moved back and got rid of the three that were behind me and then proceeded to take out two more that were in front of me. The splashes of red could be seen as they all fell. I don't know why, but I was slightly agitated. When the remaining three decided to attack me, they were quickly deflected and taken care of. Once there was nothing in sight, I looked at the stains and splashed of red that were on the ground. I reached for something in my pocket and pulled out a leaf. I placed it in the palm of my hand and blew it away towards the stains. And once it was flying, it began to dissolve, just like the blood that was there.
I turned around and stared at a spot where it was completely dark. There was a faint sign of movement, before he came out. Kris.
"What're you doing here ?", I asked nonchalantly. "This area is prohibited to people like you." Kris pulled a face to make it look like my words had hurt him. "Ouch", he replied, slowly walking over to me, "Is that what you say to someone that you haven't seen for years ?" I stared at him blankly. "You're not alone", I said, "Who else is with you ?" Kris smirked and looked behind him. "Sharp", he mumbled. "...Touya is also here." He looked back at me. "To think that you're all alone", he said, "Have you been watching over this area all alone ?" "And if I am ?", I asked. He shook his head. "Nothing really", he replied. A cold breeze blew by the both of us as the rustling of the trees could be heard. "So tell me", I recalled, "What're you and Touya doing here ?" Kris sighed.
"We're not here to fight you, we just needed to make sure of something."
Kris and I both looked in the direction of his voice as he emerged from the shadows. "Touya !", Kris blurted as he walked towards us. The both of us locked eyes for a short moment before he looked away. '.......' "Did you find anything ?", Kris asked him and walked over to his side. I stood there, watching the both of them. Touya shook his head. "There wasn't anything", he replied, and looked over to me. "So are you finally going to tell me what two people of the Morishige Branch are doing in an area like this ?", I asked. They exchanged glances. "Shiori...", Kris started to say, "Has there been anything... strange happening lately ?" I looked at the ground and thought about it. Then I remembered how anything in this area wasn't of their concern. I looked up at the both of them. "None", I replied. There was a long pause.
"Is that so ?", Touya mumbled. "Pity", Kris added in. I looked at the night sky and took a deep breath. "If that's all", I said, "Then you both should be on your way." They looked at me, and Kris grinned.
"What a shame this is", he said, slowly beginning to circle me. I stood there, looking ahead. "You've changed." "What are you implying ?", I asked. Kris stood in front of me and smirked. "If only you didn't become a traitor", he replied with a bitter smile, "Then maybe things would have turned out differently." I sighed and broke out into a grin. "So that's what it was", I mumbled, "Could it be that you've still not accepted my leave ?" Kris moved closer and placed a blade at the side of my neck. I didn't move. "Kris !", Touya had shouted. "If only you didn't leave", Kris said, "If only you listened. But why ? You had everything ? You were born into the first branch of 'hunters', the Nakanishi Branch. You could have been 'prefect'." I smirked. "And ?", I asked. "What of it ?" I could feel the cold metal slowly cut me slowly. "You could have had happy life", Kris whispered softly, "You could have been standing by our side...!" He moved and the cut slightly got bigger as blood moved down the side of my neck quickly. I stared at Kris as he panted in irritation. "You could have been the one !!!" Kris quickly moved towards me with that blade in his hands. I moved and he noticed. He slashed at my arm, but only managed to get my clothes. He attempted again, but this time, he was open. I hit him the in stomach. He flinched and stood there, frozen. I was behind him, looking towards the other direction.
"Kris", I said, "Did you really believe that I was happy when I was still involved with the Nakanishi Branch ? Did you really believe that I had everything ? That I was a 'happy' child that got everything I wanted ?" I looked up at the star filled sky. "When I was still involved with the Nakanishi Branch, I was locked away to so many things. I didn't have 'everything', like you thought I did. I wasn't that 'happy'. The only happiness I had was when my parents were still alive. But when they died, I gave up on everything." I stood up straight and turned around to look at the Kris who was clutching onto his stomach. He was looking away. "To begin with, I was never seen as a 'prefect' child. I was always seen as a hindrance. If you want to ask someone about a good life in that branch, ask Sotaru. Not me."
"........"
I looked at Touya and placed a hand at my neck, where I was still bleeding. "I'll take my leave now", I told him, "I suggest you leave this area quickly." Touya nodded his head. "Yeah."
"So you don't care if people hate you ?", I heard him ask. "You don't care if you die alone in this world ?" I laughed and continued to walk away slowly. "I've always been alone", I replied, "For as long as I remember. And what cause would that do ?, If I cared about all those little details ? I've never been afraid to walk this world alone."
"....Shiori... You really are such a cruel person."
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When I returned home, the first thing I did was go into my room and clean the wound. My room was the master bedroom, so it was the only room with a bathroom. It was only 4:35. My lights were on, and I hoped that Mizuki wouldn't wake up. I stared at the wound that Kris inflicted on me and sighed. It wasn't deep, but it hurt. Once it was all clean and it had stopped bleeding, I covered it in some medicine and wrapped a bandage around it. While doing so, I stared at the small glass bottle that held the 'candy'. Like the one I had given Mizuki. I stared at it, but decided not to take one. I was pretty sure, that Kris didn't have the intention to cut me in the first place, rather it was out of agitation. If so, then I might as well feel this pain.
I thought about what I had said to him and grinned to myself bitterly.
"To begin with, I was never seen as a 'prefect' child. I was always seen as a hindrance. If you want to ask someone about a good life in that branch, ask Sotaru. Not me."