Rise of a Regulator
Chapter 1
"So, what topic is this project going to be about this time?" Kimiko asked me." "It was something about what the Japanese are doing to try and save the planet." I replied.
"It's due on Monday morning and we are in groups of three so it would be easy, but we got..." I stopped talking when I realized she was staring off into the distance. "I'm boring you right now, aren't I?" I asked "What... Oh, no you're not boring me." she said, smiling politely. "How about we run to my house. Let's see who comes first." I challenged her, stuffing my textbooks into my backpack." Oh really? You're on!" she answered, her smile changing into a grin," I'll have a drink waiting for you." That girl thinks she can beat me? I thought to myself, running ahead. We'll see who's going to win!
Kimiko had been my friend for as long as I can remember. She lived pretty close to me, and since we were family friends we'd always hung out together. This race wasn't anything new; she always took the chance to try and beat me in everything she could.
A few minutes later, we were running down my street. She really was fast, but I could always outrun her. That didn't stop her from trying though; that's what made her so fun to be around. I stopped outside my home, and was waiting for her to catch up when my cellphone started ringing. I quickly looked to see if Kimiko was nearby, then flipped it open. Almost immediately Kyori started speaking.
"Ken. There have been cases of humans disappearing from their homes all over town. We need to find out where these people are disappearing to." "If I'm going to help," I said, sighing," I need to know the whole story. I'm already home, so I'll meet you here." "We'll finish that project eventually, don't worry." she said, laughing. I finished just in time to see Kimiko jog up to me, panting. "Hey, why don't you come in and we can do our homework there?" I asked. She agreed and we went inside. I took Kimiko to the kitchen and asked her if she didn't mind waiting while I did some research for the project. I ran upstairs and into my room and shut the door. "You're rather late." Kyori said, making me jump.
Apart from my regular life with school and family and friends, I worked as a Regulator, a member of a secret society that existed to protect the world from the evil that existed within it. Though many people don't believe it, souls and spirits really do exist in our world. When humans die they are to move on to the afterlife, where they stay for a while, after which they are reborn on Earth. Once in a while, a certain soul refuses to pass on, for whatever reason, and stays in this world, constantly seeking to fulfill in death what it could not in life. While some souls do find peace eventually, most of them linger for too long, and are consumed by feelings of sorrow and loneliness. These souls become angry and vengeful, and eventually become Void, creatures of pure hatred and evil, that only want to kill and destroy everything around them. We Regulators exist to help souls, normal and Void, pass on to the afterlife, by any means necessary.
Kyori was my Commander, and kept me up to date with activities of souls, especially void, around the area. Each Regulator is assigned a specific area to monitor, and a Commander controls a group of Regulators in a larger region. Whenever some suspicious activity seemed to occur, we were alerted and sent to take care of it. This time however, it seemed serious. Commanders don't usually drop by your house; it must have been something really bad for Kyori to agree to meet at my house. I was all ears when she began explaining what had happened.