A peaceful time in a secluded college in the countryside. It was exactly what Akira needed: time away from the busy city and time to focus on himself. It's not like he absolutely hated his home life there. The Makimuras had cared for him like he was their son, but it was nice to be somewhere new, somewhere where nobody knew him. The apartment he stayed in had only four other tenants in a small building in the middle of the forest. He had a beautiful view of the trees and foliage from the main window. Often times, he'd be lounging by it with a mug of tea in hand. It was one of those evenings where he was doing just that. There wasn't any homework to be done and most people online were too busy to chat at the moment. When the knock was heard at his door, he figured it was probably one of the other tenants. Who else could it possibly be? Without much caution, he simply opened the door to be met by a blur of a person who sprinted past him to get into the room.

"Hey, what the hell-" He was about ready to put up his fists when he whirled around to face the intruder and was met with a familiar face. He'd know that blonde hair anywhere. "Ryo? What the hell are you doing here? I thought you went on some big trip? Some kind of site or something?" The shotgun in Ryo's hands didn't help to calm him down even if he was happy to see his old friend again. Ryo seemed like he'd been running for a mile, his breath ragged and chest heaving up and down as he breathed. With a sigh, Akira guided him to the nearest chair, insisting he sit down. He found the largest glass he had in the kitchen, filling it up with cool water and offering it to Ryo. Without any hesitation, Ryo downed all of the water within the glass in record time, managing a raspy "thank you." With a look of concern, Akira sat across from him, lacing his fingers together as he waited for him to catch his breath.

"Sorry, Akira. I can't recall how long I had been running for, but he would've caught me if I hadn't," Ryo said once he regained his composure. Even though he was visibly calmer, the hair on his neck still stood up as if whatever had been chasing him still was.

"Tell me what happened. What do you mean 'he would've caught you?' Who's he?"

"My father. He went berserk." Ryo's eyes met Akira's for a second before focusing on the floor again.

"Your father? But how? I always remembered him as a kind man." There had to be something else about this. Something didn't seem right.

"You're right. It's not like him. I'll tell you the whole story, but you have to promise not to hear me out, alright?" The dead seriousness in Ryo's eyes sent Akira on edge. Ryo had always naturally been a bit serious but nothing like this.

"I promise. Tell me what's going on."

"As you know, my father liked to study strange and interesting artifacts. I was helping him out with that at his lab, but recently, he's started looking into things much darker, more occult, demonic. To make things simple, he got into something he shouldn't have and got himself possessed by a demon. He was always careful when it came to that stuff, but I guess this time was different. I watched his body morph and transform right in front of me. It tried to kill me, so I set the lab on fire and ran. I can only hope it died in the fire, or we may be in some trouble. You're the only person I could think to turn to. You've helped me with demons in the past." Ryo had a hopeful look in his eyes.

"Look, I believe you. I know demons exist because of you, but you want me to help you with more demon hunting? Did you forget what happened to me? You had me get possessed on purpose! Now I'm some kind of demon/human hybrid. I don't even know what to call myself. That's why I moved out here, to get away from all that. I thought maybe I could live a normal life for once, but then you show up at my door again. I'm sorry that that happened to your dad, but I don't know what you want me to do about it." Akira pinched the bridge of his nose, sighing and taking a sip of his tea. He had hoped his time dealing with demons was done, but then it comes right back into his life again. Looking to Ryo again, he saw that his light blue eyes were downcast, and he wore a dreary expression. Then again, who else would Ryo really have to go to for something like this? Everyone else would just think he was crazy or making the whole thing up. They had been very close friends after all.

"Alright, alright. Take me to where the lab was," he sighed. "I just need to gather a few things up first." He left to grab a small duffle, shoving a few clothes into it along with some toiletries. He wasn't exactly sure how long this was going to take, but it could very well turn into a whole thing. It was best to be prepared. When he walked back into the room, Ryo was already up and ready to go.

"Unfortunately, the car I had fled in broke down a little ways from here. That's why I had to run here. I'm not sure if anything was following me," Ryo said, following Akira once he had locked the door.

"We can take my motorcycle then. You'll just have to tell me where I'm going." Akira could feel his nerves getting to him. If this really had to do with demons, he wasn't sure what he was going to come across. They were things straight out of nightmares that could rip people apart easily. Was he even capable of transforming anymore? It had been years since the thought of turning into a demon crossed his mind. Hopefully the thing had died in the fire. If not, it might be trouble. He was surprised at how natural it was when he felt Ryo scooch in behind him on the bike and how he wrapped his arms around his waist without a second thought as the bike roared to life. It brought old memories back like when they would both ride back from a hunt reeking of demon blood but didn't have a care in the world.

The directions were rather simple. They followed a main road that led through the forest and along the coast, passing by the car Ryo used that had broken down. There was an access road that lead up to where Dr. Asuka's lab was. Akira gasped when they came upon the charred remains of the once rather imposing building. A few areas still burned a bright hot orange while others were dwindling down to cinders. Pieces of material would break off, landing right in the smoldering remains, causing little flickers of light upwards and into the night sky.

"Geez, this place burned almost impossibly fast. I expected there to still be at least part of it standing," Akira said in awe.

"Akira, over here." Ryo pointe to a few indents in the ground. Akira moved the bike over there to shine the headlight on them. "This is what I was afraid of." The indents were definitely footprints that looked to be scorched into the soft earth. The trail went right into the forest where a path had been burned through the trees and brush. What sent a frightening chill down Akira's spine was the fact that there was a town not too far in that direction. If this thing was still alive somewhat, the people there could be in danger. The whole town could burn down if it was still on fire. "Demons are strong fuckers, huh? Not even a raging fire could kill it and give my father some peace." He turned to Akira with determined eyes. "You can still back out. Whether you agree to or not, I'll be going down there. I need it dead before it eventually gets to me."

"And kills innocent people," Akira added with a sigh of defeat. "Alright, I'll help. You take my bike and follow that trail. I'll make sure it doesn't get to the town." Akira thought he'd never have to do this again, but it seemed that circumstances called for it. With a deep breath, he honed into the demon within himself. His hair began to flow as if a breeze was tousling it back and forth, eyes darkened before turning a bright white. With a roar, his body transformed, growing bigger. Dark wings emerged from his back and enveloped him until he was completely transformed again. His tail whipped about as his legs steadied again. Without a moment more of delay, he took off into the night, his target soon within sight.