[Story] Mr. Darkness and Mrs. Moonlight

[Krozam]

So, I finally got into writing a story again, and I figured I'd post it here for all to read, and hopefully comment. Only prologue ready so far, I'm aiming to continue in portions of about 2 pages, it's a long-ish story. I didn't know where else to post it, so I decided to post it in General Discussions. The title is a working title, borrowed from the Buck-Tick song that I consider the "theme music" for this story. Hopefully I'll come up with a good original one eventually.

If Puddle or anyone else has harsh criticism, shoot without mercy. I'm not exactly looking for criticism, because this is just something I'm writing for fun, not trying for a masterpiece, but I can take it if you want to shoot, and I'll thank you for it. I'm mainly just looking for some encouraging comments in order to keep up my motivation, which is very fickle. But anyway, I hope it's something you find enjoyable to read and won't read just for my sake.

Now, I must warn you, it started as an erotic story idea I thought of writing for myself, and myself alone. Then I got some more or less good ideas, and eventually I started taking this story idea half-seriously. However, there are still plenty of elements left from the original. It's not enough to say that there will be sex and violence: there will be rape and fairly explicit descriptions. It might seem like bad hentai at first, but I swear, the story is more important.

It's a fairly simple story: modern fantasy settings, nightly battles, a cool guy and a pretty girl, all that stuff... but isn't that exactly what made Kaze no Stigma so damn entertaining? So, if you enjoyed it there, you might enjoy it here as well. Despite the perverted stuff. Enjoy!

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Mr. Darkness and Mrs. Moonlight

Prologue

She was a true beauty. At a moment like this, even Wryn, a being of an entirely different species, had to admit the extraordinary potential for beauty that the human species possessed. He felt strong attraction – and yet, he also felt oddly reluctant to lay a hand on a woman of such fey-like beauty. But Power called. His blood felt searing hot as it rushed in his veins, his desire for the Power within this woman resonating with his lust for her body. Wryn had no intention of refusing his desire. Tonight, he'd change his destiny and join the ranks of the Kraj Lords.
   
He held her up in the air before him with his four tentacles. The weight was nothing to him, for she was light, and the Ais sub-species had an excellent balance. He extended his hand to tenderly touch the flawless skin between her perky breasts, which heaved with her heavy breathing. In the moon's silvery light her skin looked alabaster white, cold and hard, but to the touch it was warm and soft. She shivered at the touch, hopelessly struggling against the tentacles. Her once so fine light blue dress no longer covered anything, it was torn to shreds by the demon's claws. Wryn slid his fingers downwards, careful not to damage the skin with his deadly claws. His eyes followed, all the way past the navel and the slender waist, until he reached her holy place.
   
She made a sound, a stifled moan. Wryn raised his eyes to look at her perfect face, framed by silky golden hair that fell halfway to the ground. In contrast to her fair skin, her eyes, moist with tears, were deep brown. Her beautiful face still had an expression of terror and despair, but it was slowly fading. Her cheeks were reddening and her breathing was getting heavy, as she wondered what was happening to her. Wryn smiled, revealing his impressive line of sharp teeth.
   
“You feel it, don't you?” he said, in the language of this country. Wryn was quite proud for having learned to speak the language. Most of his kind didn't bother, lacking the mental capacity to understand its usefulness. ”The curse is spreading. You'll feel even better soon.” The Lust Curse, Wryn's greatest pride. It was powerful magic, stretching the limits of his current Power. It was also quite unnecessary, and most of his kind would call him soft for using it. To be honest, they were probably right. Wryn took no pleasure from screams of terror and pain, so he made the effort to make his victims... willing. Well, kind of. The curse was powerful enough to override all your inhibitions, your libido took complete control. Soon, she'd literally beg for it.
   
Wryn put a hand under her soft buttocks, lowered his head between her shapely legs and gave her a lick with his tongue. As the tongue retreated, he stiffened and shivered for a moment, as a tiny part of her Power became his. Humans with Power were rare, but humans with this kind of power were one in millions. Her juices were full of it. And it would soon all be Wryn's.
   
With his long, nimble tongue working on it, it did not take long to get her moaning and overflowing. She had screamed at first, struggled and called for help, but after receiving the curse, she had little strength left. All she could do was to try and smother her moans. She was strong and prideful, Wryn had to admit feeling certain respect for her. Many had been broken by now, their shocked minds escaping into the comforting embrace of the Lust Curse, but this woman still had a little fight in her.
   
He raised his head again and looked her in the eyes. “Shall I put it in?” he asked, as if it were her choice.
   
“Go... to hell...” she answered defiantly, but her panting voice lacked strength and her expression was downright ecstatic. She had a beautiful, resounding voice, but right now it was rough from all the screaming earlier. She closed her eyes and grit her teeth as the demon touched her crotch with the knuckle of a finger.
   
Curious, Wryn thought, how that expression resembled one of pain. Perhaps it was pain, in a way. The pain of shame and indignity. The woman was clearly of a high status in this country, despite her young age. Wryn didn't entirely understand how the systems of power worked in the human world, but there seemed to be an element of... inheritance. Yes, that was it, she had to be the daughter of a powerful man or woman, taught to be prideful since childhood. To Wryn, it made this even more enjoyable: he enjoyed bringing down powerful people and using them as stepping stones on his own path to prominence.
   
With a self-absorbed grin, he put his hand on her left breast. It was small compared to his large hand, but well proportioned for a human girl of her slender build. The shape and elasticity were superb, speaking of youth that had only just achieved maturity. How old was she in human years? Sixteen? Seventeen? No matter. Wryn's touch had been gentle so far, but now he pinched her nipple, just enough to make her cry out softly.
   
“Ready or not, here I come!” he declared, preparing to plunge his thing inside her. It was large, it would hurt, but she'd come to enjoy it soon enough. By contracting certain muscles in his tentacles, he brought the girl closer to his body. As his hard thing finally touched her, she twitched violently and let out a weak “no!” She knew the foreplay was over, next there would be pain and even greater indignity. Wryn revealed his teeth once more and took a hold of her hips.
   
“Sword of Darkness, Blade of Death...” suddenly, a cold voice came from somewhere up and to the left of them. Instinctively, Wryn turned his head and sought out the source of the voice.
   
“...pierce my enemy and take his life...” He found it. To their left, there was a long, black car. The girl had been riding on that car a while earlier. On its roof, there now stood a human male, facing a bit behind Wryn. Young and skinny, but he radiated power, much like the girl. Dressed in dark trousers and a white shirt, a dark coat hanging under his arm. His hands were tucked in his pockets. A flurry of incomplete thoughts passed the demon's mind in these last seconds: Shit, he found me! I was too engrossed... But the diversion...
   
“Dourakusen!” A large black blade pierced Wryn from the back. A moment later two- no, four more pierced his body from all directions. Life fled him much faster that he'd thought possible. He could feel the blades greedily drinking his blood. The pain was excruciating. The last thing he saw before his vision failed him were eyes filled with cold anger, staring at him sideways and downwards under a long, dark fringe and quadrangular glasses.
   
I see... I never should have... challenged someone like you...

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Sorry, Wryn isn't our main character this time. Although I'm sure he'd make a good one, I think I'll go instead with the badass human who just killed him without moving a finger.

[InfinityStream]

Badass Human's VS. Aliens.

I like the premise!

Now onto the grammar shtuff.

He felt strong attraction – and yet, he also felt oddly reluctant to lay a hand on a woman of such fey-like beauty.

This is more of a suggestion.

There are a bunch of rules surrounding dashes. However, the best policy is to avoid using it as much as possible. I'd change that sentence to a way you can take out the '-'. Here, it's technically being used right (It's emphasizing the pause.).

That's really the only problem I have with it. I'd go through and check your word choice (Which I will now refer to as diction.). You might also see this but some of the words don't fit the kind of dark landscape you made. Perky breasts?

Perky isn't a dark word. Although it's a preferable way to describe breasts, it just doesn't fit already dark motif. "Her cold, stiff, nipples." might be something better. (I don't read lemon's that much so I might be wrong here.)

[Krozam]

Thanks for the comments, Puddle. The thing about atmosphere and word choices is a very good point, and I ought to pay more attention to it in the future. As for '-', I'm pretty confident in my ability to use it right.

I wrote this next part of the story a long time ago, but I lost interest before I did the final check, so I didn't post it back then. Reading Maid-sama gave me some new inspiration (apart from Kaze no Stigma it's the most inspiring anime/manga for this story), so today I made the last check and now I'm posting the first two scenes of the first chapter. Hopefully I'll be able to write some more before my fickle interest moves on to something else again. -.-'

Now beware, there are a lot of Japanese words in the second scene. I used them because I'm aware of my audience and some of the food names just don't have very good translations. However, I'm linking the more unusual words to wikipedia articles just in case.

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Chapter 1: The Princess and the Geek

If there was one thing about high school that Noboru hated, it was math. Not only was it boring, it was also difficult, which meant that he couldn't doze off without falling behind. To make it worse, Nakagawa-sensei, the math teacher, was an old man whose voice stayed soporifically monotonous through everything. He couldn't tell an adventure story in an interesting way if it killed him, let alone teach a math lesson. Noboru tried to fight it, but he found himself startling awake time and again, the teacher's words going in one ear and out the other.
   
He startled awake once more when Nakagawa called a student to solve a problem on the blackboard. It wasn't Noboru, was it? No, of course not. Noboru was just a random student who didn't stand out in the class. The student who stood up was Miss Emi Peak, the teacher's favourite. In fact, the whole school's favourite. Pretty enough to die for, grades at the top of the school, well-mannered and kind, and from a rich and prestigious family. She was the school idol, the princess. She did have a bit condescending attitude, but that was only to be expected of a 'lady' – it showed that she knew her worth. One had to wonder why a perfect little thing like her even went to a public high school, since her parents' money could easily buy a private school.
   
It wasn't much of an exaggeration to say that every male student in the class had their eyes glued to Miss Peak's backside when she walked to the front of the class. Admittedly, a very beautiful backside. Her wavy golden hair glittered in the bright morning sunlight shining in from the windows. She was a “half”, her mother was the only daughter of a rich Japanese family and her father was an influential English politician and ambassador. A match made in heaven, one had money and the other had influence. And they probably both had looks, if their daughter was of any indication.
   
Was Noboru jealous? He, who was known as one of the three geeks of the class 2-A? Who never stood out positively and only had three friends? Whose parents were dead and who had neither siblings nor a girlfriend? Nah, not in particular. Noboru's life was hard, but he wasn't prone to self-pity – and besides, a celebrity's life wasn't something he'd ever desire for himself. Let the princess be the princess, and let the geek be the geek.
   
Noboru absently fixed his obstructive fringe and tried to concentrate on the math problem on the blackboard. Peak's steady hand quickly filled the board with complicated-looking equations and stuff. Only very brief moments of hesitation here and there. Was she a natural or did she just work like hell?
   
“Thank you, Piiku-san. That is correct.” The girl never seemed to be bothered by the fact that nobody here could pronounce her name right. She made a small bow to the teacher and turned around to return to her seat. She had a small, pleasant smile on her pretty face, as usual. She seemed to always be in high spirits, no matter what kind of a day it was. Reasonably energetic, but always calm and collected. She had an admirable control over her demeanor, Noboru figured.
   
But not unbreakable. Their eyes met for a brief moment, and during that moment she flinched ever so slightly. It was almost unnoticeable if you weren't looking for it, little more than a blink, a vibration of those long eyelashes. She can sense me, Noboru thought. But she probably doesn't know what it means. This happened all the time, she just couldn't face him without flinching. She even went out of her way to avoid him sometimes. It was as if she were afraid of him. Maybe she was. For the hundredth time Noboru considered speaking to her, explaining things. But she'd probably be better off living in ignorance for a while longer. Ignorant of the danger that constantly haunted her. Haunted them both.
   
Noboru was fully awake now. He decided to try and make the best of it, and spent the rest of the lesson trying to figure out what the hell Nakagawa-sensei was trying to teach.

* * *

On lunch break, the three geeks pulled their desks together, as usual.
   
“Man, your bentou looks amazing! Can I take some tamagoyaki? I adore your sister's cooking.” Geek #1, Sakamoto Kazuya, always the first to speak. He was a full-blown anime otaku, who claimed he didn't give a damn about “3D girls”, and for some reason seemed proud of it. Somewhat on the chubby side, he got a lot of verbal abuse both because of his obsession as well as his appearance, but it never seemed to get his spirits down.
   
“No.” Geek #2,  Higuchi Fumio, always sharp and to the point. He was the one who truly deserved the name 'geek', as it was difficult to separate him from his computers. He brought a laptop wherever he went, including school, even though it was technically forbidden by the school rules. Nobody cared enough to report him anymore after the first four times it'd been confiscated. His grades were clearly above average, but otherwise he pulled much less attention to himself than Kazuya, which resulted in far less bullying.
   
“...Stingy. Why not?”
   
“I overslept today, skipped breakfast. I'm starving.” Fumio mechanically fixed his glasses before grabbing his chopsticks.
   
“I guess it can't be helped, then. I'll have to do with my mom's poor cooking. At least she doesn't put raw daikon in it anymore. She knows I hate it, but it took me two years to get her to cook it! Noboru, what're you eating?”
   
He peered over the desks at Noboru's lunch box. It was a classic makunouchi bentou with rice, broiled salmon, tamagoyaki and a simple salad. Only the umeboshi was missing, as it was too sour for Noboru's taste. Making your own food came with the privilege of choosing all of its ingredients.
   
“Oo, looks good. Can I-”
   
“No,” Noboru replied, anticipating the question.
   
“What's your excuse?”
   
“There is no excuse. I just think you should appreciate your mother's efforts a little more. Cooking isn't easy, you know.” It had been over five years since Noboru had had anyone making his meals for him. He'd learned to cook adequately out of necessity, and although he wouldn't normally mind sharing, Kazuya's ungrateful attitude towards his mother's cooking irritated him just a little. If not for the unfortunate fact that Kazuya's mother was a terrible cook, Noboru might have lectured him more seriously.
   
“I know,” Kazuya said sighing, then grimaced: “But she's just so bad at it. It's like she never learns, no matter how much she does it.”
   
“Maybe it's because she doesn't know your tastes well enough?” Fumio suggested between mouthfuls of rice and chicken. He seemed to be greatly enjoying his meal. Probably because his older sister was a great cook. “I know about the daikon thing, but what about your other tastes? Have you been honest with her about things you liked and things you didn't like?”
   
“I have! Well, most of the time. Sometimes it's difficult, since her confidence is so fragile. She's like a child when she looks up to me with those big eyes of hers and asks me if the food was okay, how could I say it wasn't? But I still think the main reason is because she simply doesn't have any talent for cooking.” Despite his words, he was already stuffing his mouth with the rice. Kazuya has an amazing ability to speak clearly even with his mouth full.
   
“You could just learn to cook for yourself, then,” Noboru suggested, the corner of his mouth twitching.
   
“Such heartless friends I have! Schoolwork is already taking hours of my time, how could I take any more time from my precious anime and manga and eroge and...” Noburu was already shaking with silent laughter at his friend's exaggerated antics. The conversation in itself was nothing new, talking about food was natural during lunch and Kazuya's complaining about her mother's cooking was regular content, but Noboru truly valued the light mood.
   
“...Speaking of which, Noboru, have you tried this manga yet?” Kazuya pulled a manga tankoubon out of his bag and handed it to Noboru, who put down his chopsticks for a moment and reached for the book. Mamorigami no Monogatari, The Tale of a Guardian Deity... an unfamiliar title. The cover picture presented a swordsman in heian era clothing, with a dragon statue on the background. The art looked kinda shoujo-ish, but Noboru was instantly interested.
   
“It's historical fantasy, I think it'd be right up your alley. The story so far is only so-so, but the art is gorgeous! I really like the character designs-” Kazuya continued his review, but Noboru shut his ears for the moment and focused on browsing the book, forming his own opinion. The character designs were indeed excellent, even the female characters were pleasing to the eye, which was somewhat unusual in a manga drawn by a female mangaka. As for the backgrounds...
   
An unusual sound returned him to reality. Someone's mobile phone was making noise. Noboru glanced up from the book, just in time to see Peak rising from her seat.
   
“I'm sorry, I forgot to set the sound off,” she apologised, briefly bowing to her friends. Even in such an embarrassing situation, her composure was perfect. She left the table and headed outside the classroom, answering the phone on the way.
   
“Piiku-san is busy as usual, I see,” Kazuya said, looking after her.
   
“Well, she is the heir of two powerful families,” Noboru mused, “I wouldn't be surprised if her parents are already making her take some responsibility over the business.”
   
“Or maybe it's her boyfriend calling? You know, that rich and handsome guy she sometimes meets at the school gate. Okuno or whatever his name was.”
   
“Actually,” Fumio cut in, “Okuno-san isn't her boyfriend. They're childhood friends, but not engaged or going out or anything.” Fumio looked very pleased with this fact.
   
“Really? How do you know?” Kazuya asked, looking somewhat doubtful.
   
“Have you forgotten that I'm a member of Piiku-san's fan club? It's my business to know these things.” Oh yeah. Unlike Kazuya, Fumio had quite normal interests as far as girls were concerned. It would be wrong to call him an obsessive fan of Miss Peak, and he didn't make too much noise about it, but he certainly was a member of her unofficial fan club. School idol or not, Noboru always found this kind of fan clubs ridiculous... but of course he kept quiet about that out of consideration for his friend.
   
“Well, either way, she's in a different world from the likes of us.” Noboru picked up his chopsticks again. To this, even Kazuya nodded and looked slightly down. The lunch break would be over soon, so for the rest of the time they concentrated on eating.

[Krozam]

Long time no update. Tonight I felt like continuing this story, so here is the next scene:

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Emi leaned on the wall outside the classroom, staring blankly at the smartphone in her hand. Yet another long-awaited day ruined by her duties. It was at times like this that she hated being the heiress of the Izumi family and their fashion business. Her mother was training Emi to become her successor, and she rarely took no for an answer. In principle Emi had nothing against the idea of succeeding the business and working hard to earn her mother's approval, but today she'd had plans for the day with her friends, and that phone call just now forced her to give up those plans. Or at least move them to another day.

Sighing almost inaudibly she lowered the phone and refocused. One blink, and suddenly her smile was back. Always control your demeanour. Not just your expression, but your whole body. Never let people think that something troubles you. One moment of weakness, and your image will be broken forever. Her father's teachings. People who stood out were fragile, they had countless enemies, few true friends, and many weaknesses. They must always be on guard and show no weakness. Sometimes it was hard, but the rewards of success were sweet.

As usual, many eyes turned on her immediately when she returned to the classroom. Emi ignored them, she walked straight back to her seat in the four-desk-table she'd made with her closest friends in the class. They, as well, looked at her with questions in their eyes.

“I'm sorry, girls, but today is off,” she said, her expression apologetic and showing a calculated amount of her disappointment. “My mother's assistant called in sick, and because there's a very important meeting today, I have to go in her stead. I'm really sorry, I was looking forward to going shopping with you today.” Her friends exchanged quick glances while Emi slipped her phone back to the little, flower patterned holding pouch attached to her bag and sat down.

“Well... if your mother needs you, it can't be helped.” Morita Kanako, who sat next to Emi and was arguably her closest friend in the class, looked the most disappointed. Kanako was a sweet and pretty girl, she could have stood out on her own if not for Emi casting her shadow over every other girl in the class, but she didn't mind at all. In fact, she was probably happy about it, because she was somewhat shy and didn't handle boys well. Emi was quite good at detecting envy around her, but Kanako never gave her that unpleasant feeling. Emi truly appreciated it.

“Next time, then. Today would have been good, since I don't have club activities, but I'm sure there'll be another chance soon.” Sitting opposite to Emi was Katou Akemi, the star of the volleyball club, for whom skipping club activities was almost out of the question. As an athletic, tall and energetic girl with a bright smile she stood out in her own way. She hated to talk about serious things, and preferred to make a joke of them whenever possible. That was also her way of dealing with the envy in her: she talked openly about how Emi left everyone else in her shadow, but always jokingly. Emi knew there was genuine envy in her, but she was a good enough person to not let it come between their friendship.

The fourth girl in the table didn't even raise her gaze from the book she was reading. Matsui Keiko was a neighbour of Akemi's, and Akemi was the one who'd pulled her into the group. Emi didn't actually know Keiko very well, she kept to herself whenever Akemi wasn't dragging her around, and she never talked much, or showed much emotion. Emi was pretty sure that she wasn't just controlling her demeanour, she simply didn't care about most things. She clearly cared about her books, but not much else. Or maybe she was bottling her emotions for some reason. Keiko was somewhat of a mystery, and Emi was admittedly curious about her.

“How about Saturday, then?” Kanako asked, facing Emi. Emi was the one who usually didn't have time on the weekends. Her parents filled them with lessons on things they considered important for her future but that weren't taught in school, and meetings with important people to forge beneficial relationships. But this Saturday she didn't have anything important booked, just a kenjutsu lesson, and that could be cancelled without much fuss. Masaki-kun, a childhood friend of hers and the heir to the powerful Okuno family, who was taught by the same kenjutsu teacher, would be disappointed to hear that she was skipping practise once again, but this was more important.

“Yes, I think I'll have Saturday free, unless something important comes up.” That was by no means an unlikely event, but if she told her parents today, she was sure they'd try to keep Saturday free. They were understanding enough to let her have some time to hang out with her friends occasionally. “How about Akemi and Keiko?”

The two other girls said that they were fine with Saturday, and so the matter was settled. They finished their lunches while chatting about meaningless things, and Emi allowed her mind to wander, to plan the evening's 'performance'. The trick to getting along with many different people, even rich and influential people, who might be wilful or even downright eccentric, was to adapt your behaviour to meet – or in some cases not to meet – their expectations. Sometimes it involved the proverbial boot-licking, but if you were good enough, you could usually get people to like you without compromising your dignity. And the Peak family, all four of them, were very good.

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I must apologise for only serving such a boring scene after all that waiting. Got to get the introductions out of the way. The next scene should be slightly more interesting... but of course, I have no idea how long it'll be until I get it written. <.<

Edit: Changed kendo to kenjutsu, which is a much broader term and leaves me more freedom to decide just what kind of swordsmanship it is that they study.

[Krozam]

The inspiration is holding up for now, and I've finished the next two scenes.

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Going to be another sleepless night, I guess, Noboru though, staring out of the classroom window apathetically. Somewhere not very far, he could feel a faint surge of power, just for a second. It was still nearby, sleeping out the daylight. No doubt set its sights on her. Noboru glanced at the shining beauty sitting in the middle of the classroom. If only she knew what I'm doing for her... then again, I'm also doing it for myself and many others. Can't have a demon running around in the city unchecked.

The bell rang. The school day was over. Many students would go to their club rooms, but some, like Noboru, would head home now. Yawning and stretching he stood up, then packed his book into his bag and turned to leave. Another surge.

Huh? Noboru turned and looked out of the window with a frown. Is it my imagination or...? Had that surge just now come from a slightly different location from the last one? If so, it could only mean one thing.

He hurried out of the classroom, forgetting even to say goodbyes to Kazuya and Fumio. Distraught by the revelation, he barely registered the curious looks he got from people as he nearly ran through the corridors. He was already outside, at the school gate, when he finally stopped to think seriously. Tracking the demon was difficult enough during the night, it would be nearly impossible during the day. So rushing after it wasn't a good idea after all. Perhaps he should focus on its target instead? Of course, staying near miss Peak during the day wasn't easy either: he had no excuse to accompany her, someone he'd barely ever exchanged a few words with. He couldn't very well just go to her and say, “hey, there's dangerous demon after you, can I stay by you so I can protect you?” He did have means of following her, even with the car, but it was risky without the concealing darkness of the night. Unfortunately, there was no invisibility spell in his grandfather's old spellbook.

He sensed her approaching well before she reached the gate. He must've looked strange just standing there absorbed in his thoughts. They both threw a sideways glance at each other as Peak walked past him into the black limousine. She quickly turned her gaze away when she noticed him looking. Again that inconspicuous flinch. Her driver, a man in his fifties who carried himself with the dignity of a servant who took pride in his job, held the back door open for her and closed it behind her. Noboru had to make his decision quickly.

* * *

A shiver ran through her body as Emi entered the car. That boy, Satou Noboru, he always had this effect on her. Anyone else she could handle, but not him. It wasn't those looks he threw at her, sharp though they were. Emi was used to being looked at, be they adoring or hateful eyes, such things no longer bothered her. No, the reason she couldn't handle Satou was because of this unexplainable feeling of danger he gave her. Although he'd never given her any cause, she feared him like nothing else in her life.

Ever since she was eleven or so, Emi had had these strange... hunches. Occasionally she'd get the feeling that there was something dangerous nearby, and she always instinctively did her best to avoid going towards that feeling of danger. She still wasn't sure if these hunches of hers were something to be trusted, but... once, she'd convinced her mother that they shouldn't go into a certain jewellery store. Later, she found out that there'd been a murder in that very store that day.

Satou Noboru gave her by far the strongest “hunch” she'd ever felt.

“I assume my mother has informed you about where to take me?” she asked the driver, Morishita, as they got under way. Finally getting away from Satou, Emi sighed in relief. Day after day, it was always like this. Even though they'd been in the same class already for more than a trimester – Emi had transferred to this school at the start of the school year in April, and it was now late September, a month after the summer holiday – she still couldn't get used to him. Although nothing in his behaviour suggested he was anything but an ordinary student, she still couldn't get rid of the idea that he was someone incredibly dangerous, deadly even.

“Yes, miss. I am to take you to the office first. At 18:00 I am to drive you and madam to the meeting with Teshigawara-san.”

“I see,” Emi replied and took out her makeup kit. Even a natural beauty like her had to do some minor touching up, but in this case, rather than making herself look prettier, she had to make herself look older. Mother wanted her to look adult when she acted as her secretary. It wouldn't do to have people doubting her ability because she wasn't eighteen yet. Emi had been able to do this since she was fourteen, and by her fifteenth birthday she'd been able to apply the right makeup by herself. Now, getting close to seventeen, it was easy.

By the time she was done, they were approaching the city centre. There was a bit of congestion, but nothing unusual. In distance, they were more than two thirds of the way to the office, but in travel time, they weren't even halfway there yet. This was all within her mother's calculations, of course. They'd be ready to leave the office by 18 o'clock.

But then, she had a hunch. It was just for a second, but it was clear. And it was right between them and the office. The hunches were like that, sometimes they only lasted for a moment. Now that she was keenly aware, trying to sense it again, she also noticed another unpleasant feeling. It was further away, but it was strong, and the lasting kind. It was behind them.

It's him. She knew it. Just knowing that he was there, near the school, gave her a bad feeling. Just knowing that he was in the same city sometimes gave her that bad feeling, as if he was watching her somewhere nearby. Emi shuddered at the thought that it might not just be her imagination, that it might be something else than stress playing tricks on her mind.

But that was something unavoidable. The other hunch, on the other hand...

“Morishita.”

“Yes?”

“Drive through the 3rd district, please. I need to pop by Tadachiya.” Tadachiya was a cosmetics store Emi and her mother sometimes used. Going through the 3rd district, they'd circle around the place that had given her the hunch and probably still make it to the office before six.

“Eh? But, miss-”

“Just do it. I'll take full responsibility. This is important, so please.”

“I... yes, miss.” The driver resigned and started to look for a suitable place to turn.

As soon as the matter was settles, Emi took out her phone and called her mother. “Hello, mother. It's me. I'm sorry, something came up, it looks like I'll be a little late. No, I'll be there by the time we need to leave for the meeting. I should have time to change, too, but if you have any instructions for the evening, you'd better tell me now...”

--------------------------

Should be getting a bit of action in the next scene, unless I change my mind about something...

[Krozam]

Here's my Christmas present for the people of Doki:

--------------------------

The sun's last rays still lit the western horizon, but for for all practical purposes, the night had begun. Noboru sat in the terrace of a café, eating a sandwich and drinking tea, alone. His posture was relaxed, cross-legged and leaning on the backrest, but behind his rectangular glasses and the fringe that almost covered his right eye, his eyes gazed at a nearby high-rise building sharply like a hawk following its prey.

“Okyaku-sama... excuse me, but we're closing.” While his eyes never left the building, he was aware of the waitress standing to his right and placing the bill on the table.

“Ah, yes. I'll be on my way, then.” He finished his already lukewarm tea, paid, and walked out with the remains of his sandwich.

Yawn. Damn it, he'd missed his chance to take a nap. Following Peak had been unexpectedly easy, Noboru was quite sure nobody had seen him. After all, people didn't usually randomly look up at the sky. However, afterwards he'd had to wait and keep watch for hours, while the demon moved around close by, occasionally announcing its location with a power spike. Chasing it would've been a fool's errand, so Noboru kept close to the steady flame of Peak's power.

The demon's power had stabilised and started rising some fifteen minutes ago. Since then, it'd stayed in one place, the rooftop of the building that he was watching now. Noboru had considered going over while it was still weak, but thirst and hunger caught him unawares, so he popped by in the café right before its closing. Thirst and hunger were bad, they sapped your strength and disrupted your concentration. Losing your focus in the middle of a battle was a sure way to get killed.

“Right, then. Time to go say hello.” He threw a quick glance at a building on the other side of the street, an office building where Peak had stayed since around half past six. She was still in there, at one of the highest floors. She would be aware of him and the demon's powers converging, unless she was keenly focusing on something else. But that had happened a few times before, it couldn't be helped. Demons were drawn to her power like moths to a flame.

Finding a quiet place to move 'upstairs' was no easy task within a busy town centre. After ten minutes of looking, he found himself in a small park with no lights except those following the single road through it. There were some pretty dark spots among the trees some distance away from the road.

“This will do,” he concluded, looking around one more time to ensure no one was looking. Then he closed his eyes for a brief moment, recalling the humbling feeling of powerful stormwind blowing against him. He clung to that feeling, anchored it in his mind.

“Divine wind, raging vortex, carry me to the sky and deliver me to my destination... Benayaizu!” At once, he felt the rush of magic flowing in his body. It burned like fire, and yet it felt so good you just wanted to drown in it. This ecstatic mixture of pain and pleasure was something every mage had to deal with. If you failed, your mind was lost. If you could hold your focus while enduring the constant assault, you could produce miracles.

All of a sudden, a whirlwind appeared where nothing but a gentle wind had sighed in the trees. It swirled around Noboru, focusing and wrapping around him. And then it raised him up to the air.

Leaving behind the safe and steady ground he ascended to the night sky, wrapped in a whirlwind. The cold wind outside and the burning magic inside, they warred over his body. Keep them balanced. Focus on the destination. He had to squint to protect his eyes from the wind, but he knew the direction and willed the wind to carry him there. Even with all these sensations warring over his body, he was still clearly aware of the two beacons of power ahead. He headed for the weaker one.

Mere moments later, he descended on the rooftop and dispersed the wind. There was no one in sight, just a big rooftop unit. It was on this cubic air handling machine that Noboru set his gaze on.

“I know you're there. Why don't you come out and play? Did you fall asleep waiting for me?”

At his words, the shadows moved. From behind the rooftop unit, a large creature stepped out of the shadows. It was well over two metres tall, dark-coloured and very muscular. It had rather handsome horns curving back from the side of its head, but it had no hair. Its eyes were black, so black they could be distinguished even with this little light and against the dark skin, and there were no whites. Its slightly arched middle body was protected by a blood-red scale armour and its crotch was covered with a loincloth made of grey fur. From its back four long tentacles emerged, wriggling around slowly, like snakes. Its heavy arms and five-fingered hands were rather human, except for the deadly eagle's claws on its somewhat pointed fingers. Its legs were robust, its feet large and taloned both in the front and behind, much like a bird's, designed for both walking and grabbing.

“Yeah, I almost fell asleep waiting. What took you so long?” The demon spoke good Japanese, if heavily accented. Noboru knew this already, otherwise he wouldn't have bothered talking. Most demons didn't speak Japanese. This one did, as Noboru had learned in the past two nights that he'd spent chasing this demon around the city.

“Popped in a café and took a bite. Now, show me what you have for me tonight, the reason why you risked running around in broad daylight. Let's get this over with, so I can go to bed.” Despite all his exhaustion, Noboru found himself curious about the trap that had been prepared for him. Demons were usually more straightforward and arrogant, being confronted by one as cunning as this one was a rare treat.

The demon smiled, revealing its uncomfortably sharp row of teeth, startlingly white against its dark face. “As you wish, boy. Enjoy your death.” It raised its hand towards Noboru and uttered some words that a human mouth would have great trouble repeating. A violet light started shining from below, and a wide, glowing magic circle appeared on Noboru's feet. Well, it didn't exactly appear: it was probably there already when he stepped in it, he just hadn't noticed it before it was activated.

Immediately Noboru regretted giving the demon the first move. The magical trap paralysed him completely, he couldn't move a muscle. Even breathing became difficult, as he could only expand his chest and stomach a few millimetres. It was almost as if the air around him had suddenly become solid. Shit, this is bad!

“I spent all day preparing these in various convenient locations, but it seems only one was needed,” the demon gloated. “I'd kill you quickly now and spare you the pain of suffocating, but I'd be frozen as well if I stepped inside the circle. If you're still alive when I return, I promise I'll finish you off myself. Now, excuse me as I go and grab my prize.” With heavy footsteps fitting for its hulking body, the demon walked past the circle and its prisoner towards the edge of the roof.

Noboru had exactly one chance of survival. Being so completely paralysed, unable to breathe, death imminent, a lesser mind would have been absolutely panicked by now. However, with incredible effort Noboru managed to retain his composure, block the rising panic away and ignore the discomfort, concentrating on the wind. He'd dispersed the wind earlier, but he hadn't ended the spell yet. Magic still rushed through his body and his mind still commanded the winds around him.

As the demon approached the edge, his stride was interrupted by a strong gust of wind that forced him to raise his arm and cover his face. “What the...?”

Winds fluttering his clothes, Noboru stood on the elevated edge of the roof, right in front of the demon. Hands in his pockets, showing no anxiety, he stared directly into the black eyes, now roughly on the same level as his.

“Leaving so soon? I thought the party was just getting started.”

* * *

“What's wrong, Emi?” mother asked, putting a gentle hand on Emi's shoulder. “You seem distracted.” They had finally finished the long meeting with Teshigawara-san, and were now leaving. Morishita was waiting in front of the building with the car.

Emi turned to look at her mother – and froze. Right where she felt an especially strong 'hunch', up on the rooftop of a nearby building, there was a bright violet glow. A blink later, it was gone. The night sky above the building was just as dark as everywhere else.

“Oh, nothing.” Her eyes had been playing tricks, surely. The light had only been there for a second. “I'm just tired.” Tired enough to start seeing things?

“Yes, it has been a long day. You did well today, dear, I'm proud of you.” Mother stroked Emi's hair briefly before they entered the car. Despite taking this long, the meeting had gone well. Teshigawara-san had clearly been taken with Emi (like a dirty old man, which he probably is, Emi thought with disgust), so mother was in a good mood.

* * *

The time for leisurely talking was over. The demon revealed its teeth again, now in an expression of rage, and swung its arm horizontally. Stepping back, Noboru witnessed a quartet of eagle's claws slicing the air right in front of his unprotected throat. Feeling nothing under his backfoot, he fell off the roof. A moment later, the rough winds picked him up and threw him back up to the roof's level.

The magic circle faded out in an instant, as the demon cut it off from its power source, himself. There was no point holding up a spell that had failed its purpose, especially such a draining one. This demon, while relatively powerful, didn't have the luxury of wasting power. Not when facing someone of Noboru's calibre.

It was casting a spell again, in that strange language. A few words, and suddenly its tentacles started thrashing around wildly, as if in pain, stretching and changing form. They became something akin to the 'wings' of a flying squirrel, thin membranes connecting its arms and legs. This flesh-molding spell was one that Noboru had seen before. He knew that those wings were not meant for actual flying, but gliding.

But there was more to the demon's ability to always flee from Noboru. Its legs were strong, incredibly so. It could run faster than Noboru could fly. And even with such a large and heavy body, its legs pushed off the rooftop with such force and speed that Noboru barely managed to evade, the powerful whirlwind wrapped around him being his salvation. With the aid of its freshly shaped wing membranes, the demon sailed towards the next rooftop just as fast as Noboru could force the winds to carry himself.

And so began the third night of the hunt.

--------------------------

Roughly halfway done with the first chapter, I think.

[Krozam]

I decided to cut the chapter here, after all. Felt like a good place to end a chapter.

--------------------------

Chapter 2: The Diversion

As if conjured by Noboru's whirlwind, there was an unusually chilly headwind next morning when he walked to school. In September, typhoons sometimes caused strong winds and rain even this far inland, but this wind was too dry and cold to be considered normal for the season. Luckily, today was just the day when the students in his school were supposed to stop using the summer uniform, so Noboru was now wearing his dark blue, almost black blazer, and the white shirt under it was now long-sleeved.

Just as he was crossing the street at an intersection, he heard a familiar voice call him from somewhere left and behind. “Yo, Noboru! Wait up!”

After crossing, he turned to wait. A moment later, someone ran across and stopped to take a breath  beside Noboru. This someone was a high schooler like him, though from a different high school, and he still had a short-sleeved shirt and no blazer. It revealed well his athletic body. He was a tall and pleasantly muscular guy, though his face was too average to be a girl-magnet. His short hair was dyed blond.

“Morning, Arata. What's up?”

Arata recovered quickly from his sprint to catch up with Noboru. “Morning. I was just wondering, haven't seen you at the gym since last week's Monday. Any particular reason? You know it doesn't work if you don't do it often enough.” Inoue Arata was affiliated with a certain... group who were involved with a nearby gym, and he'd arranged Noboru a discount there for years already. Noboru didn't particularly enjoy working out, and he certainly wasn't trying to grow muscles to impress girls: for him, keeping his body in a good shape was a matter of necessity. While it didn't come as useful nowadays as it had when he still couldn't put too much faith in his magic, he still considered things like stamina and running speed essential in his 'job'. On his slim body, the results of the training didn't really show outside, like they did for Arata, but Noboru frequently had to hold back in PE in order to avoid drawing too much attention. A geek running almost as fast as the track team ace would certainly result in uncomfortable questions.

“I've been dealing with someone... difficult the past three nights. I really need my naps after nights like that.” Noboru flashed a pale, joyless smile, and Arata nodded. He understood. He knew. In fact, he was one of the two people in the world, besides Noboru himself, who knew of Noboru's nightly hunts.

“Alright then. As usual, give me a call the day before when you want to go.” Suddenly, the vicious wind reminded them of its presence. Arata tensed up and rubbed his bare arms, eyeing Noboru's blazer enviously. “Brrr... Feels like a bad omen, doesn't it?” Noboru fixed his fringe, which the mischievous wind had rudely played with, and nodded.

“I have to go now, Shou is waiting.” Arata gave a little nod towards another boy who was now waiting for him on the other side of the street. Tachibana Shou was slimmer and had a much more handsome face than Arata, and he definitely didn't look like a delinquent. However, the truth was that Tachibana was the leader and Arata the follower. They were close friends, as far as Noboru could judge, but the power relationship was absolute.

“Yeah. See you later.”

“See you!” Arata slapped him on the shoulder and ran across the street again – forcing a driver to pull the brake suddenly, and receiving an angry toot as a reward. Noboru walked on.

Barely half a minute later, Kazuya and Fumio appeared as if magically next to him on both sides.

“You were talking to that delinquent again,” Kazuya said in an accusing tone. Geeks and delinquents didn't get along, that was a universal truth, as far as Kazuya was concerned. “Decent people like us shouldn't associate with his kind of people, they are dangerous.”

So am I. “Kazuya, drop it. I don't like hearing my friends badmouth each other.” It was a good thing Kazuya had no idea whom Arata was really working for. He might get a heart attack.

“I know he wants to repay you for saving his life and all,” Fumio cut in, “but is it really wise to hang out with him? People might start avoiding you.” The official story was, Noboru had pulled Arata out of the road when he'd almost been run over by a car. A likely enough story, given Arata's recklessness in traffic... but the truth was, of course, more complicated.
   
“Fumio,” Noboru said and put his arms around both of his friends' shoulders familiarly, “if I was really that concerned over my public image... would I really be hanging out with you guys?”
   
“....”
   
“....”

* * *

Be it by chance or by fate, Noboru and his friends arrived at the school gate at the same time as the black limousine carrying miss Peak stopped before the gate. As she stepped out of the car and noticed him, she almost tripped on her own feet. A much stronger reaction than the usual split-second freeze or inconspicuous flinch. She must still be distraught over last night. There was no way she wouldn't have sensed Noboru and the demon's combined power within less than 500 metres from her. Noboru hoped she hadn't actually seen anything, that'd be bad.

“Good morning, Piiku-san!” Fumio piped up, his voice somewhat higher than usual, clearly too anxious to make the greeting natural. Come to think of it, in this situation it'd be strange not to greet each other. Oh well, too late, it'd be awkward now...

“Eh? Oh, good morning!” Peak was clearly caught off-guard, and while the smile she flashed at the three of them was beautiful, Noboru still thought it looked a little fake. However, when she walked in through the gate, there was no sign of haste or uncertainty in her walk. The three boys still stood outside the school grounds and watched on as practically everyone on the courtyard greeted her with respect, and she responded with much more grace than just a moment before.

“Don't you think something's wrong with Piiku-san?” Fumio asked, frowning thoughtfully.

“Yeah, that smile had to be fake. And since when has she ever stumbled like that?” Kazuya agreed.

Sometimes they surprise me with how sharp they can be, Noboru though somewhat rudely about his friends. “Who knows?” he said in a tone as indifferent as he could make it. “Let's go, the class is starting.”

--------------------------

I'll be releasing full chapters in FictionPress from now on, but here I'll continue as I have so far, a scene or two per update.

[Krozam]

Heh... Someone posted a "review" on this story on FictionPress and said they got hooked already. Apart from actual constructive criticism, that's pretty much the best praise a writer could get.

Here's the last update before shit hits the fan on the second chapter and we reach the events of the prologue. Look forward to reading that scene from Emi's perspective. The rest of the chapter will be posted at once, almost certainly before the holidays end.

--------------------------

“So, Emi, how did yesterday's meeting go?” Akemi asked on the lunch break. After meeting Satou at the gate – Emi still berated herself over losing her composure like so – the morning had been uneventful. Emi frequently found her attention slipping, as her thoughts were occupied by the party she'd be attending tonight. Houjou Ichirou, a successful businessman who'd made his fortune with electronics and later also stock market, had turned fifty and was holding a grand birthday party. Because the party was in Tokyo, she'd be leaving a little early from school and returning late in the night. She'd be returning alone, by the way, because her parents had taken the opportunity and arranged some meetings in Tokyo for the next day.

“It was boring”, she replied absently. “I really didn't like the man we were meeting, but of course I had to put out a cheerful front.” Just recalling that dirty old man gave her the creeps. She quickly and deliberately returned to thinking about tonight's dress options.

Akemi and Kanako were looking at each other questioningly. It was unusual for Emi to be this absent-minded.

“What are you thinking about so intently?” Kanako asked, peering at her downcast face.

“I have another party tonight. It's in Tokyo, and there will be many important people, so my parents want me to make the best if it.” That meant making connections, charming boys and milking them for information.

“Aww, I wish I could take part in a party like that,” Akemi said with dreamy eyes. “Wearing a beautiful dress, meeting rich and handsome boys, maybe even falling in love with one...” Keiko snorted, raising her eyes from her book (she always read while eating) just for a brief moment to cast a disapproving glance at the daydreaming Akemi.

Akemi quickly returned to reality. “I bet they'll all fawn over you, Emi.”

“No doubt,” Emi replied drily. “And that's exactly the problem. I'll have to dance with dozens of horny boys, most of them self-absorbed and spoiled rotten. It'll be worth it just for the few nice ones among them, but it does get tiring. Trust me, these parties lose a lot of their glamour when you're actually in them.” Thank god Masaki-kun would be there. They were planning to enter together, that alone would spare Emi from a few propositions of the kind that she invariably rejected.

“I think you're just too used to it to see what a dream life you live,” Akemi complained while chewing a piece of tamagoyaki.

Dream life, huh? I guess I've been fortunate compared to many, but... sometimes I just feel like everything I do is meaningless... Her contemplation was interrupted when Satou walked past right behind Akemi and Keiko, on his way out of the classroom. That glance he shot at Emi, it made shivers go down her spine again. Was it malice? No. Once again Emi had to conclude that she couldn't read Satou at all.

Akemi turned her head to see what it was that had – Emi just now realised – made Emi freeze in the middle of picking up a piece of chicken with her chopsticks. Quickly she resumed the movement, but it was too late, the damage was already done within that two seconds of immobility.

“Nee, Emi-chan,” Akemi began, using the suffix that she only ever used with Emi when she was about to say something mischievous, “do you, by any chance... like Satou-kun?”

Oh god, this misunderstanding is going to be a pain to correct. Having picked up the warning signs, Emi managed to keep her composure. Just. “Of course not. Whatever gave you such a silly notion?”

Kanako, and even Keiko, was now looking at Emi curiously. Akemi carried on, clearly enjoying the situation: “Well, I was just thinking, you always look at him in a different way than everyone else. I can just feel the tension between you two, though maybe there's some other reason...?”

Emi sighed and put down her chopsticks. She motioned everyone to come closer, then spoke in a low voice: “Don't you think he's sort of... frightening?”

“Frightening?” Akemi and Kanako shared a confused glance. “You think Satou-kun is scary? That... geek?”

“I've heard he hangs out with a delinquent from another school,” Kanako continued where Akemi left, “but to me he doesn't seem scary at all. Maybe a little creepy, but harmless.”

“His record is spotless, except a few missed attendances,” Keiko added. “No violence.”

Emi shook her head, frustrated. “I'm not talking about delinquent level scary. I'm talking about psychopathic killer level scary! Look, I have enemies, powerful enemies, but none of them make me tremble in fear like he does, with just a look in my way!”

Maybe she'd said too much. The three other girls looked really confused and worried now. Kanako put her hand over Emi's right hand on the table.

“Emi, you shouldn't judge others so far based on looks alone. Is this one of your hunches again? I know you trust those premonitions of danger, but...”

“I know, Kanako, I know.” Emi put her own left hand over Kanako's and squeezed gently, smiling as reassuringly as she could manage. “I know it has to be my imagination. I'm just so used to trusting my hunches that it takes some time to get over this. I'll try.”

Thankfully, their hushed discussion seemed to have passed without raising anyone's attention, and for the rest of the lunch break, they dropped the subject in favour of more light-hearted chatter.

* * *

For Noboru, the rest of the day went by uneventfully. Or so he would have liked. A certain group of delinquents, however, had other plans.

They were waiting for him on his way home, on a quiet section of the street. It was one of those residential areas where the streets were flanked by walls. Well, they probably weren't waiting for him specifically, Noboru was quite sure he'd never seen them before, but regardless, they were there and they were trouble. There were three of them, they were chilling on the walkway, each with a can of drink in their hands. They looked like your common punks, with bleached hairs and piercings and school uniforms worn loosely. Noboru recognised the uniform, it was the same as the one Aruta wore. His school was close by, so it was no surprise.

Better just go around, Noboru figured, turned right and crossed the road to the walkway on the other side. Too bad it wasn't far enough. As soon as they noticed him, the delinquents also crossed the road and positioned themselves on his way.

oboru was in a bad mood. He hadn't had any sleep in nearly 48 hours, there was an annoying demon in his city, and now these punks were wilfully getting in his way. He seriously considered using magic to deal with this, as inconvenient as if was to clean up afterwards. (No, not that kind of clean-up.)

“What do you want?” he asked, trying to remain patient. Maybe they just wanted to ask some questions?

Yeah, right. “Lend me some money, man,” the punk in the middle demanded. He was the tallest of the three, kind of scrawny, and he had two rings on his left ear and a blonde mohawk. “I'm broke, and my, uh, sister is sick, she needs medicine.”

Well, this was new. The guy actually bothered coming up with a half-decent excuse. Noboru rolled his eyes.

“Oh, sure,” he replied with a sarcastic smile. “Can't leave your sister without medical care, can we? How much do you need? Keep in mind, though, my interest rates are high. I'll make it ten percent, since it's for a humanitarian cause.”

The punk blinked a few times, then his face distorted in anger and he grabbed Noboru from his blazer's lapel. “You fucker, do you think you can get away with making fun of me?!”

“Get out of my way. I don't have the time to deal with small fries like you.” Noboru lowered his head and glared at the punk over his glasses with all the anger, arrogance and bloodlust he could muster. Demons had backed away from that glare. But then, they could feel his power. These poor fools could only see his admittedly unimpressive body.

Still, it seemed to work at first, the thug let go and took a wary step back, startled expression on his face. But then he seemed to gain courage from the presence of his two friends.

“Huh? You think you can just order us around? Who the fuck do you think you are?”

Several things happened during the next few seconds. The punk reached for Noboru's lapel again, Noboru stepped sideways... and someone ran over from behind the thugs, bellowing “ORRAAAA!!” very manly, and jump kicked the middle guy in the back, sending him flying on his face. Ouch.

“Ba- Banchou?!” the two remaining thugs cried in unison. Before they could make a move, the “Banchou” punched one of them in the face, sending him flying onto the middle of the street, roaring “YOU-”, and then turned around and sunk his leg into the stomach of the other, making him double up, and finishing with: “FOOLS!!”

Noboru surveyed the scene of carnage. “Swift work. Impressive.”

The Banchou ignored him. “Haven't I told you idiots not to bother ordinary people?! We'll talk about your punishment tomorrow, now get the fuck out of my sight!”

Only when the three unfortunate thugs had picked themselves up and limped away, did the Banchou turn to Noboru. “I'm sorry about that. They're freshmen, and numbskulls like them are slow to learn.”

“It's alright, it's not your fault,” Noboru appeased the steaming Arata. “Anyway, thanks. You saved me.”

They started walking side by side. “It's nothing. I saved them just as much as I saved you. You looked like you might... you know...”

“Use magic?” Noboru chuckled. “It's possible. I was feeling rather pissed off just a moment ago. But seeing that beating you gave them somehow cheered me up.”

“You know, you're much more bloodthirsty than you look.”
   
“Comes with the job, I suppose. Anyway, you saved me the indignity of having to run away. And more importantly, you saved me some precious naptime.”
   
Arata shook his head in amused disbelief. “I'm glad to hear you have your priorities straight. Anyway, we'd both best head home now.” He stopped as they reached an intersection.
   
Noboru turned and nodded. “Yeah. See you around.”
   
“Have a good nap!” Arata bid him with a grin.

[Krozam]

Chapter 2 finally uploaded. http://www.fictionpress.com/s/3086123/3/Mr-Darkness-and-Mrs-Moonlight

[Krozam]

After a long wait... Chapter 3 is out: https://www.fictionpress.com/s/3086123/4/Mr-Darkness-and-Mrs-Moonlight