Chapter 1: Up in Flames
An instant, and it was all gone. Kat watched as her small apartment roared with flame. All of the pictures, books, drawings, and heirlooms were gone in an instant. Kat wasn't materialistic, but the few things she had brought with her from New York were the few things that reminded her of the people she loved. It had been hard to adjust when Kat first moved to Tokyo 2 years ago, but it was a welcome distraction from the all-consuming politics back home. She enjoyed embracing the new language and culture. Although, ever since her move, Kat hadn't ever felt like she was home. Kat felt like there was a hole in her heart she didn't know how to fill.
Watching her memories burn to ash, Kat couldn't help but stare in awe as the flames rose into the air as smoke. She felt a tear roll down her cheek. A masculine voice cut through the night and broke Kat from her stare. "Why isn't she dead?" Kat turned her head toward the voice, and was surprised to see her co-worker Kakeru. Kakeru was the office hottie everyone had been crushing on at work. Kat found it amusing the way mundanes swooned over each other, but she hadn't given it a second thought. As Kakeru stalked closer to her, she saw he had four other large men following him. Kat immediately put herself on high alert. The tall muscular formed a circle around her and Kakeru stood himself directly in front of Kat.
Kat was no longer confused, they wanted something from her, and she wasn't the type of girl who played games. Kat loudly proclaimed "Excuse me?! Who do you think you are?!" Kakeru laughed and replied "We devils are here to take your soul." Suddenly it made sense. When Kat focused her mind, she could feel the strong negative energy coming from the men who surrounded her. But it was clear these were more sophisticated demons she had ever encountered before. Kat thought of a plan for escape, but as strong as she was, she wouldn't be able to make a break-away surrounded and unarmed. She considered transforming to fly away, but she knew it was irresponsible to reveal her true form to unknown adversaries.
Suddenly, Kat was filled with rage. "Who are you to tell me when and how to die?! You'd have to agree that's quite audacious. "Kakeru tilted his head to the side and studied Kat's features a moment. He raised his hand above his head and snapped. The flames that had been consuming her apartment instantly evaporated, and Kakeru replied "We don't decide, you're fate is a done deal. Our duty is to carry out schedule." Kakeru turned to the man at his side and asked "Satoru, Why were the flames ignited early?" Satoru coolly replied "there was a mistake with the timing, I had foresaw her death a few minutes ago."
Kakeru visibly clenched his jaw in frustration. "God Damnit! The last thing we need is the angels on our ass about a timing mistake." Kat found that comment amusing. Classic angels vs. demons, a cliché she knew too well. Kakeru suddenly made contact with Kat's eyes. Kakeru smiled and softly commented, almost to himself "No worries, we can toast her right now." Kat screamed in a panic "ANGELS!" In shock Kakeru paused a moment, giving Kat just enough time to scream out again "ANGELS! HELP ME!" Kakeru didn't waste any more time. He deftly gripped her shoulders to turn her back against him and covered her lips with his palm. Kat could feel the rage coming from his chest as he pressed against her shoulder blades. Suddenly Kakeru laughed and spinned her around to face him again. "Did you just threaten me?" Surprisingly he didn't seem angry, He seemed to be more amused than anything else. Kat whipped her head to move her hair behind her shoulder and replied "Yes I did. " Kakeru had made a big mistake revealing who his enemies were. Kat was ready to use that information to her advantage. She at least needed to try and buy herself some time to put together an escape plan. "I want 10 more days." Kakeru didn't acknowledge her request, just stared into her eyes, probably trying to determine if Kat was bluffing or not. "Grant me my request and I won't call to the angels again."
Kakeru stared blankly at Kat, contemplating, then finally replied "Very well, I will grant you 10 more days. I will be your guard and watch over you during your final days." Kakeru addressed the others "Let's go home." Kakeru's sidekicks walked back the way they had arrived. Kakeru didn't give Kat the chance to run away, he quickly gripped her arm with a strength she wouldn't have expected. He was tall sure, but a slim build. He said nothing to her as he dragged her beside him, following the pack of his minions. Kat took the silence to study Kakeru. He had soft looking brown hair that covered his forehead and almost reached his shoulders. He styled it pretty tousled, which Kat had to admit, complimented his warm brown eyes quite nicely. Under the moonlight his porcelain skin almost glowed. He definitely wasn't human. Kat was almost surprised she didn't notice his demon energy, but then again, she wasn't one who engaged in office gossip. When she took the time to really notice though, she could see why he had so many women smitten. "So… Why is it you need 10 more days to live?" His deep voice snapped Kat out of her thoughts. She detected a sincere interest in his tone, and decided to be honest.
"My sister is giving birth to her first child in 10 days. It's important to me that I'm there to help her deliver safely." Kat could visibly see the look she could only translate as disgust on Kakeru's face. "Humans are foolish creatures. Why would you subject yourself to more attachment to this world?" Kakeru's voice seemed so cold, but Kat understood why he would be confused. "It's just human nature. I've always been there to take care of my little sister since I was young. If I'm truly to die in the next 10 days, I want to be there to help her through one of the biggest milestones of her life." Kakeru and Kat fell silent again as they continued to walk to the demon's lair. When they finally got there, Kat was genuinely surprised to see a house. She had always pictured that demons had lived in nests or caves, she definitely didn't expect them to be everyday tax payers. Then again, these demons were defiantly unlike any others she had battled before. They were more… human. Which Kat could only describe as utterly terrifying.
When Kakeru and Kat caught up to the others and stepped onto the front lawn of the house Kakeru grabbed the smallest man's shirt and pulled him toward himself. "Megaru." Kat suddenly pitied the poor boy. Being able to observe him she noticed he was significantly younger than the others. He almost had a kind face, she could tell that the silver haired boy didn't enjoy taking orders. "She's your problem now." The boy Megaru was shocked "What?" "I don't need to waste time babysitting a measly human woman. I have better things to do." As Kakeru left Kat and Megaru Staring blankly after him he shouted "Do as you're told little brother." Megaru, clearly irritated, muttered under his breath "Of course your highness." Kat turned to the silver haired boy and said "I realize this is an inconvenience to you, but I promise I won't be too much trouble. My name is Kat." Kat knew she had manipulated these demons into breaking orders. She didn't she a reason to be rude after allowing her to live, even if it was her back handed way of buying more time to come up with an escape. The boy blushed as he met her brown eyes with his silver ones. "No, really I don't mind. It's okay. It's nice to meet you Kat." Megaru was different than the others. He had this sort of openness and innocence that Kat found quite adorable. Kat smiled and asked softly "Maybe… You could give me a tour of the house?" "Sure I'd Love to." Kat followed Megaru into the house. He showed her where all the bedrooms were and the kitchen and dining area. Seeing the Kitchen, Kat could feel her stomach rumble.
"Megaru, would you mind eating with me? I completely spaced and I haven't eaten since this afternoon." Kat gave a soft smile at the younger demon "I'm always down to eat." Kat chuckled and started making note of what she could make with the ingredients the demon's had in the house. She finally decided that baked chicken was the healthiest option and deftly began cooking. Megaru sat at the breakfast bar, watching over her as she cooked. Kat decided to engage in conversation. "So Megaru, tell me, how old are you? What should I know about you?" Megaru seemed to release some tension he had been holding in his shoulders and replied "Well I'm eighteen…" Kat made note of the affirmative tone in his voice. Message received -IM NOT A BABY – Kat smiled to herself, remembering what it was like not too long ago being that young, determined to prove oneself. "I'm really into music. Specifically rock, and hopefully I'll get the all clear to move to LA to start a music career once I complete my demon training." Kat was intrigued "So, there's like, a special academy or something that you go to? What do you have to study?" "Mostly human subjects…" Megaru replied "but we also have to study the history of the demon species and discover our special skill." "What's your special power Megaru?" Kat and Megaru locked eyes for a moment before he turned away his head. "I don't know…" Kat sensed some un-easiness with her question and decided there wasn't a need to grill the poor boy. "So, I guess you're just a guy with his music and big dreams, huh?" Kat playfully slapped his arm and started platting dinner. Megaru laughed softly "Yeah, I guess so."
Kat sat at the dinner table with the other 5 demons. Kakeru was the last to join the table, and seemed surprised to see Kat had prepared dinner for everyone. "I don't remember issuing a command for this." He said flatly. "Megaru was kind enough to let me have some dinner, I thought the rest of you would like to eat with us." Kat saw the good inside of Megaru, maybe if she looked hard enough, she could find the good in the other demons to. She of all people knew you couldn't really know someone simply because of their blood. They may have demon blood, but she was determined to really see what their hearts were. The Purple eyed demon suddenly rose from the table. "I'm finished." "Are you sure? You didn't eat much." Kat replied. Satoru spoke up "Don't be offended Kitty-Kat, Shiki doesn't eat much, if anything." Kat turned her head to Shiki "Is this true?" "I'm just not that into eating." Kat was intrigued by the gloomy demon. As he went to his room for the night, Kat turned her attention to Kakeru. "So, how are you enjoying the chicken?" between mouthfuls, Kakeru curtly replied "it's edible" Kat softly giggled at his reply and started to finish her plate. "Hey when you're finished eating, come to my bedroom." Kat was curious as to why he needed her, but she knew she wasn't in a position to argue. "Ok." Soon everyone cleared their plate and left the table. Megaru was the last to leave. "Goodnight Kat, see you in the morning." "Goodnight Megaru." Kat and Megaru smiled at each other goodbye as he left for bed. She saw a lot of herself in him, he was very optimistic and ambitious. He had a slight different energy than the others. Kat knew in her heart she didn't need to fear him. She was fearful of meeting Kakeru in his bedroom. Kat had been playing nice, but she didn't know if she could keep up the act if he tried something inappropriate. If he did, she would only have the option to defend herself. She definitely didn't want to challenge an opponent she knew next to nothing about. Kat closed her eyes a moment and tried to calm herself down, she would need to tap in to all of her skills of persuasion if she was going to avoid exposure.
Kat entered Kakeru's room and knocked on the open door. "May I come in?" "Yes, sit." Kat paused a moment, then took a seat on his couch. Kat wasn't the kind of woman who took orders from anyone, but she was doing everything in her restraint from picking a fight. "I need your help preparing my presentation tomorrow morning." Kat couldn't help but release the tension from her body. "Oh, I see you still plan to work for our company." "Yes, the facade is convenient for now, and I'll need to be there to watch over you during the day. Which reminds me, I may have granted your request for ten more days, but don't think I won't hunt you down if you attempt to escape." Kakeru was a dominating man. He wouldn't be the first to under estimate her strength though. "I understand that the arrangement is null and void if I attempt to escape. I'm curious though, tell me why you agreed to my proposal." Kakeru moved from his place on his bed to sit next to her on the couch. "You surprised me, you're obviously different from other humans. Not many would've had the gall to make a negotiation with a demon. I figured it was worth seeing what was so important you felt you needed to extend your life for." Kakeru broke his eye contact with Kat with an eye roll. "Obviously I was wrong." Kat was surprised at his answer, he doesn't understand why, but he knows she's different. He obviously can feel her energy. Kat was impressed by his perceptiveness. Kakeru's annoyance with human kind was trying on her to say the least, but she remained patient. "I understand that my sister's life may mean nothing to you. But she's important to me. She's one of the few people in the world who genuinely cares for me because of who I am, not just because of what I might be able to offer her. Through my travels in this world, I have learned that it is a rare and precious thing to find in a person. I wish to help her in any way I can, so she may he love her daughter the same way."
Kakeru fell silent, processing Kat's words. After a moment Kat added "The need I feel to protect my sister is the same way you would protect Megaru if he needed you." Kakeru locked eyes with Kat. "You're a strange woman." Kakeru left his spot on the couch and grabbed a laptop and some paper files. "I need you to put the information from these files into an excel spreadsheet." Kat had been doing so well holding back, but she accidentally slipped "Will I get a reward?" Kakeru crossed his arms over his chest "Drop the attitude, it's a small favor to pay for me extending your life. I don't think you realize how many laws this whole house is breaking to protect you." Kat suddenly felt a pang of guilt. She thought of Megaru and his dreams of being a rock star. All of that could be thrown away if anyone knew they were extending her life. "I'm sorry, I made a terrible joke. I'm grateful you extended my life. I'll get started on that spreadsheet." Kakeru uncrossed his arms "Looks like you finally know your place. Next time just say that. Don't make any mistakes on that spreadsheet." His arrogance got on her last nerve. When she had a moment alone, she would send a fire message for help. If she was going to make it out of this mess, she was going to need to be smart about it. "By the way…" Kakeru interrupted her from her thoughts "What was all that tension about when you came in here?" Kat had hoped her uncomfortableness hadn't been detectable. She decided to play it off. "A lady should always be worried when a man invites her to his bedroom." Kakeru huffed out a laugh "Rest assured, human women are not my type." Well, at least she wouldn't need to worry about being pursued. It was kind of refreshing to be around a man who didn't have the intention of courting her though. The whole ordeal of dodging advances was very exhausting. "Noted." She replied. As Kakeru turned his attention to reading his other files, she let herself notice how attractive he was. He was slender but she could see the definition of muscle beneath his dress shirt. The boy may have an ego, but she let herself admit, she didn't mind looking at him. Kat turned her attention to her own work, she wasn't getting any rest for quite a long while.
Kat had finished her work just before falling asleep. As she dreamed, she thought of her friends she left behind in New York, Her home planet in Magix, and her father. Kat believed in protecting the human race, but just didn't want be another political figure arguing over insignificant threats in a board room. She had been running for so long, she was worried about how it would pan out now that she needed her friends help more than ever. Suddenly, Kat felt herself being lifted, and her check falling against a warm and muscular chest. Was Kakeru carrying her?! "Thank you for your help Kat, you're a real team player. Just another reason humans are so annoying." Kat felt her body being placed down onto a bed. Kakeru's fingers brushed the hair from her face as he whispered "Goodnight." Kakeru isn't so tough when he thinks no one is watching. Kat found this amusing, but also kind of sweet. There might be redeeming qualities to this devil after all.