"It's eyes were glowing." Scott states as I continue to tend to Chris' head wound.
"There was something almost ritualistic about it. Like it was looking right into his soul." Chris says.
"It's the same thing it did to me." Isaac states, watching my work.
"That's what it did to everyone." Allison says worriedly.
"Not everyone. It only went after the werewolves." Bobby says, glancing at Scott.
"And Lydia." I add.
"Anyone with a connection to the supernatural." Chris agrees.
"Then who was the guy they went after in Japan?" Isaac asks.
"A kumicho. A yakuza boss. It was my first gun deal. I was only 18 and it was supposed to be a simple exchange. Except Gerard left out the minor detail of the buyers being yakuza. He wanted to see if I could adapt in the moment." Chris tells us. "Testing my ability to improvise."
"Or, the more likely option, he wanted to test your ability to survive." I add, sneering at the mention of Gerard.
"The moment the sun went down it was like they just materialized out of the shadows. They had swords, not curved like katanas but straight, black steel. Like ninjatos."
"What did they want?" Scott asks.
"To get to the kumicho." Chris answers. "They cut down any living thing in their way."
"Defiantly sounds like demons." I say, looking at Bobby.
"Did they mark him like they did us?" Isaac asks, touching the back of his ear. We learned that everyone the figures touched, they marked with a backwards five behind their ear.
"Not exactly. His eyes turned white and rows of teeth appeared. The figures, they stabbed him with their swords."
"What was he?" Bobby asks.
"I don't know. But there might be someone who does. There are a few others that survived that night. One f them was a man named Katashi. They called him Silverfinger because of an unusual prosthetic. And it looked like he was getting ready to take them all on himself. I stood up and shot one of the figures." He sighs as I finish cleaning his wound. "I've known Katashi was in the country for a while. I spent yesterday tracking him down."
"Didn't look like he wanted to be found." Isaac points out.
"Not particularly, no." Chris says.
"You think he knows what they are? Or what they want?" Scott asks.
"Maybe."
"What if he doesn't want to talk?" Allison asks.
"What if he doesn't even remember you?" Isaac asks.
"He'll remember this." Chris stands up and walks over to a box. He unlocks it and lets us look inside. I step back, recognizing the mask of the creature. "I know I didn't kill it. I'm not sure you can. But I slowed it down long enough for us to get out of there."
"What was behind the mask?" I ask.
"Darkness. Absolute darkness." Chris sighs.
"What if he still doesn't want to talk?" Allison asks.
"That's where you come in." He looks over at me.
"Sure, I mean, I'm defiantly not against a little torture..." I say, keeping a straight face. Everyone turns to me with different faces. Bobby looks angry and Scott looks astonished. Chris looks impressed and Allison and Isaac look scared. "I'm joking." I laugh, shaking my head. "I'll look in the lore about it. See what I can come up with."
"But now, you all need to get to school." Chris says.
"Wha--?" I start.
"Lizzie. You're going to school." Bobby insists.
"I hate you both." I mutter as Scott pulls me out of the room.
"Have fun." Bobby yells in a mocking tone.
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As Scott and I ride on his motorcycle to school, two identical motorcycles come on either side of us. I smirk while Scott audibly groans.
Scott pulls ahead and parks at the school, only for the other bikes to park next to us. Everyone pulls off their helmets and Scott looks between the twins. "Are you guys gonna be doing this all day?" He asks.
"All day." Ethan agrees.
"All night." Aiden adds.
"Is this about being in my pack?" Scott asks.
"This is about you being the target of demonic ninjas." Aide says.
"You mean the demonic ninjas that pulled swords out of their chests and completely kicked our asses?" Ethan asks.
"Don't forget about the part where I held out the longest." I say proudly.
"No you didn't." Aiden says.
"Oh yeah. I got up first." I counter.
"But yeah, those demonic ninjas." Aiden smirks.
"I don't need anyone to protect me." Scott says. I hold out for a few seconds before doubling over in laughter. "What?"
"I'm sorry, you don't need anyone to protect you?" I laugh, trying to contain myself.
"I can fight." I double over in laughter again. "Stop that!" He hisses.
"I-I'm sorry!" I say, gaining control. "But you have no idea how to fight demons."
"And since it's our first encounter with these demonic ninjas, we're playing it safe." Ethan says.
"All day." Aiden adds.
"And all night." Scott mutters.
We get to Scott's locker and he starts to list off rules. "First thing's first. I need to talk to Stiles and let him know everything that happened last night. Without you."
"I'm coming with." I state, not taking no for an answer.
"No." Aiden says.
"Yes. And I don't want you listening in. No wolf hearing." Scott orders.
"How would you even know?" Ethan asks.
"I'm a true alpha. You have no idea what I can do." He slams his locker shut and starts walking away.
"Don't worry. He won't be able to know. But please don't listen in." I tell them before following Scott to the chemistry classroom.
Stiles arrives and immediately starts talking about last night. "So then she starts talking about phosphors and the key having chemicals on it, right? And so that made me think of the chemistry closet and the fact that someone had to let Barrow in..." Stiles pauses, looking at the empty board. He seems really freaked out, which is causing my anxiety to rise. "It's gone." He breathes, looking at the board.
"Ok, it doesn't matter though. It doesn't matter. I've still got the key" Stiles says, getting his key ring and running to the closet. He goes through his keys and looks down, confused. "What the hell..." He whispers. "I had it. I had it here. I had it here this morning, I swear to God, I had it this morning."
"The key you were talking about last night?" Scott asks.
"Yeah, I showed you it, right? Didn't I show it to you?"
"No, you just told me about it. I never actually saw it."
Stiles sighs and starts to walk back towards the whiteboard. "I was here a couple hours ago. And the message left to Barrow spelling Kira and Lizzie's names were right there on the board in my handwriting and I had the key to the chemistry closet."
"So you think that you unlocked the chemistry closet so Barrow could hide in it from the cops and then you wrote him a message to kill me and Kira?" I ask.
"I know, I know how it sounds, but look at this." He digs through his pocket and takes out a new article. "This is the news report that came out about Barrow when they caught him, ok? About the shrapnel bomb he used. See this? See what he did? He put nuts, bolts and screws. And then he hid the bomb and the detonator in a box that he wrapped as a birthday present. What does that sound like to you?"
"Coach, the joke we played on Coach." Scott realizes.
"That was my idea. You remember? That was my idea. That's no coincidence. It can't be." Stiles responds.
"I don't want to sound like I'm telling you that you're wrong." I start. "But I don't think you're trying to kill people either. At least, not you." I say, thinking of what could be happening.
"It was here. It was all here." He whispers, looking back at the board.
"Are you feeling ok? You're looking really tired." Scott observes.
"Yeah, I'm fine. I just haven't been sleeping really..."
"Why don't I take you home?" I ask, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Take a sick day or something?"
"Yeah, yeah..." He sighs.
"Lets get you home." I take his arm and walk him out of the school. We get to his jeep and I start to drive to his house.
"It was all there..." He whispers. "It was all there."
"Stiles, it's ok. We'll figure it out." I say soothingly.
"Could- could you take me to the hospital instead?" He asks.
"Yeah." I agree wearily. We get there and he heads to the front desk. Mom gives me a questioning look before looking up something on her computer.
"Dr. Gardner's not back until next week." Mom says as I come closer. "Do you want to try waiting for one of the urgent care doctors or..."
"Stiles?" I ask as he backs away from the desk shakily. "Are you alright?"
"I-I don't know." He responds quietly. "I guess... I guess not really."
"Alright. Alright kiddo." My mom says, grabbing his arm. "All right, come with me." I follow them to a room where my mom sits Stiles down on a bed. "What have you been experiencing?" My mom asks softly.
"Blackouts. But not for that long." He says shakily. "And sleepwalking, which I used to do a lot as a kid. Um...Also having some really bad anxiety."
"Panic attacks?" I ask.
"Yeah, a couple. Oh, and I temporarily lost the ability to read. But that might have had more to do with this giant magic tree and a whole human sacrifice thing." Mom snickers as I crack a smile.
"I recall something vaguely about that, yes." Mom responds. "How many hours of sleep are you getting?"
"Eight."
"A night?" I ask, knowing not everyone can function with the amount of sleep hunters get.
"In the last three days." Stiles responds. I look him up and down and notice that he is counting his fingers. "Defiantly eight."
"Been feeling irritable?" Mom asks as she walks over to a cabinet.
"Yeah. Possibly to the point of homicide."
"Inability to focus?" Mom asks.
"No, the Adderall's not working."
"Impulsive behavior?"
"More than my usual? Hard to tell."
"Vivid dreams during the day?" My mom asks, filling a syringe without Stiles noticing.
"Ok, basically all of the above. You know what this is?" He asks as she walks over.
"I think so." She says, holding the syringe.
"Uh, what's that?" Stiles asks.
"Do you trust me?" She asks.
"When you're not holding a needle." He says, making my mom laugh .
"It's Midazolam." My mom says, pushing the needle in. "A sedative."
"Why'd you give me a sedative?" Stiles asks wearily.
"Because you, Stiles, are one profoundly sleep-deprived guy." I respond.
"You need rest, and you need it now." My mom nods, pushing him onto the bed.
"Ok, ok how long does it take to... Oh, not long at all." He says, lying down with my mom's help. Mom brings up the covers as Stiles' eyes close.
"Get some rest." She whispers. Before she can turn to me, we both hear Stiles whisper something.
"Thanks, Mom." We both look at him sadly as he falls asleep. My mom turns to me and before she can say anything, I but in.
"I'm not leaving him. Plus, I can figure some stuff out about the demonic ninjas coming for Scott." I say softly.
"You'll need to tell me about these demonic ninjas later." She says, giving me a kiss on the forehead.
She leaves the room and I pull out some books that I stole from the library on Japanese mythology. "It's going to be a long day..." I whisper as I start to flip through the pages.
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"Oh my god..." I breathe, looking at the book. I grab my phone and call Scott.
"Lizzie, please tell me you have something. They're here. They're trying to get in." Scott says. "And it looks like they're gonna be able to do it."
"Listen, Scott. They're Japanese demons. They're called the oni. They're looking for someone posted. Someone with a dark spirit attached to them. A-"
"A nogitsune." Scott breathes.
"How'd you know that?" I ask.
"Tell me what else." He orders.
"They won't hurt you. They know you're supernatural but once they do his check, once they realize that you're not the nogitsune then they won't hurt you. As long as you're wearing the anti-possession charm, you're good. All they're looking for is the dark spirit. And Scott?"
"Yeah?"
"It's not Kira. You told me it looked like she had a fox surrounding her, right? She's a kitsune, but she doesn't have the dark spirit. Young kitsunes wouldn't know how to hide their aura. The nogitsune would be at least a thousand years old. I am 90% sure that she is a thunder kitsune and not the nogitsune."
"What about the other 10%?" Scott asks.
"I'd need to do more research, but this is the best I've got." I say, looking at Stiles' still figure. Scott hangs up and I exit the room. I grab Stiles' file and look at his symptoms.
I walk over to where the hospital keeps their files and go to a specific one. I grab the file and see the similar symptoms to Stiles.
Water begins to pool in my eyes as I look at the front on the file, reading the big sticked that says DECEASED 2004.
I call my mom quickly, trying to push down my tears. When she doesn't answer, I start to panic.
I call a few more times and she finally picks up. "Sweetheart, I can't--"
"Mom?" I ask, cursing myself silently for how broken I sound.
"Ellie? What's wrong?" She asks immediately.
"Did you know?" I ask.
"Know what? Where are you?"
"The file room." I say and she hangs up. A few seconds later she bursts through the door and runs over to me.
"Ellie, what's..." She stops she question when she sees the files I'm holding.
"Did you know?" I ask, trying to push down my tears.
"I had my suspicions." She sighs.
"Is he.. Is Stiles..." I start, but the look from my mom answers my question. I jump into her arms and let my tears fall. "No! He-he can't be--"
"It's ok." My mom says soothingly.
"No, it's not!" I say, pulling back. "I-I have- I have to tell Scott." I say, pushing past her.
"Ellie--" But I'm already out the door.
I run through the halls until I see my brother and Stiles walking towards me. I run up to them and wrap my arms around Stiles immediately. "Whoa. Lizzie. Hi." He says awkwardly.
"What's up Lizzie?" Scott asks worriedly.
I pull back and see their happy faces and I just... I can't tell them. "I-I'm just happy to see you up and about." I lie to Stiles. I think Scott noticed because he furrowed his eyebrows slightly before returning to normal. "How were the Oni?"
"You were right. Kira's not possessed." Scott smiles.
"We should continue this conversation with some food. I'm starving." Stiles laughs.
"Yeah, I'll meet you at the cafeteria." I say, watching them leave. Scott looks back once, but my eyes are on Stiles. I just can't tell them.
I can't tell them that Stiles is sick.
Hope you enjoyed! Hopefully I can get more chapters up. I'm skipping my class trip so I'm home all week! :)