It felt like I was going to sleep. I looked down at my stomach to see it impaled with a sword. There was a beautiful blue haired female with a sad look on her face. Everything around me was going in slow motion. I couldn't help but notice that everything was becoming dark. Was I... dying? Help me...
An alarm clock went off in the distance. But slowly our young hero was waking up. The distant alarm clock was beginning to sound a lot nearer until the male slammed his hand down on the machine. He rose from his bed and stretched out his body. The young man's name was Ariku Shima. He had short brown spikey hair with brown eyes. He slowly made his way out of his bed and proceeded to the bathroom.
"Ugh, school. Another boring day of class." commented Shima uninterested. After a little bit of time he was dressed in his uniform and made his way downstairs to the kitchen. He sat down at the dining area in the middle of the kitchen and saw a plate of pancakes passed to him. His little sister had cooked breakfast this morning.
"Mom said to make breakfast for the both of us. They went to work already at the lab. Here! I made your favorite!" exclaimed Marika. She smiled proud of the food she prepared.
Shima looked down at the plate groggy and saw that she made a smiley face with the syrup on the pancake that was filled with blueberries. The young man couldn't help but smile and patted his sister on the head. She blushed with a sense of achievement and they both finished their breakfast.
After cleaning up the kitchen there was a knock on the door. Shima approached the door and looked through the peep hole. There he saw his best friend and his little brother. He opened the door and greeted his friend. Toma had blonde hair with brown eyes.
"Toma, good morning." Shima said cheerfully.
"Ah, good morning. Glad to see that you're up on time this morning. Usually we would all have to pull you out of bed. Did you happen to... You know, use that book I gave you to wake you up?" asked Toma with a smirk on his face.
Before Shima could reply Marika appeared behind him with both of their backpacks in hand. She handed one to her brother and slung hers behind her. Shima cut his voice short as to not ruin his little sister's innocence.
"Here onii-chan, I'm heading off now! Have a good day at school!" She said happily as she walked away with Toma's little brother Daisuke.
Shima smiled awkwardly and waved as his sibling was off to school.
"So did you?" Toma cut in trying to pull the answer out of Shima.
Shima sighed and continued out of his yard and down the sidewalk toward school without answering him. They began to talk about their Sunday and how boring it was. They discussed about hypothetical scenarios of what they would do when winter break came around. Slowly the sidewalk they had been walking on began to fill with other students making their way to the school. In the distance their school was in sight, Yasotenba High School.
Shima and Toma passed the front gates and looked up into the sun.
"You know Shima, I have a feeling that something special's going to happen. It's just a random gut feeling, but it should be a good thing." Toma said hopeful.
The bell rang for first period and all the students made their way to class. The student council president picked from the previous year announced everyone to stand and bow as the homeroom teacher entered. Shima was in his second year of high school. This year he had promised himself that he was going to do something. He was maybe going to join the basketball club, or maybe the music club. He wanted to make sure that he got the most out of his youth.
"Alright glad to see you again this year!" A young female teacher said cheerfully. Nazima-sensei was a popular teacher among the males for certain reasons made apparent when you saw her. She was very beautiful with brown female hair and a fit body, with proportions vying for the eye of all males that looked at her. "I have something special to announce."
All the students in the class whispered amongst themselves about what the something was. And then a young female stepped into the classroom. Shima stood immediately and pointed at her.
"Ah, it's you!" He exclaimed loudly surprised. His mind came back to his dream, the girl that stabbed him.
All the students in the class looked at him with confused looks on their faces. The student that stepped into the room was a girl with long blue hair with a small frame. She didn't seem affected by what Shima did.
"Ah, Ariku-kun do you know her?" Nazima sensei asked surprised. She never had a student outburst in such a way.
Shima froze for a moment. His voice was caught in his throat. Of course, it was all a dream. But his mind couldn't shake the fact that this girl was the one that killed him, or rather killed him in his dream. He chuckled nervously and stood at attention.
"No sensei, I've never seen her in my entire life." Shima said direct and serious, and sat back down. He was completely embarrassed by his sudden reaction.
"Well after that interesting..." The sensei paused for a second and couldn't find the word to describe it. "Um, I would like to introduce you to our new student, Yuno Reika."
Reika bowed respectfully and came back up. In her range of vision she could see all the males in the classroom blushing at her. The sensei directed her to sit down in an empty chair somewhere in the room and began home room.
Shima's thoughts wondered as he stared out to the world outside through the window. He was going back to his gruesome dream. It was unreal, the girl that killed him in his dream would be the new student in his class. He had never met her before but yet every feature about her matched his killer. He looked back into the classroom and stared at her for a long time. When she turned to look behind her, Shima blushed and looked forward immediately not knowing what else to do. When he looked back at her she was back to facing the teacher once more. He sighed out his tension and went through the day without any further thought to his dream.
When lunch time came around, Shima and Toma made their way to the roof to eat their home made bento. When they arrived they came upon Reika with three males standing close to her. The two hid themselves immediately and watched closely.
"Listen, allow me to introduce myself. I am Horoshi Nagato." Said the high schooler in the middle. His hair was long and silvery. His eyes were hazel and very entrancing.
"I am the most popular guy in this school. And you, I've designated as someone who needs my help making their way around. So what do you say? Let me show you the ropes and maybe in return you can show me some thanks." Nagato said flirtatiously while having Reika up against the fence. He leaned his arm next to her attempting to get close.
Shima didn't like this situation and was about to stop it until Reika spoke.
"I don't have any interest in popularity or your offer. So please, leave me be and let me eat my lunch." She said a matter of factly. Of course Nagato didn't take too kindly to the rejection.
"You listen here-" Nagato grabbed her hand roughly and was about to say his dislike of her when suddenly the female grabbed his wrist with her other hand and twisted around him pulling his arm with her and kicking out the back of one of his knees making him fall down while having his arm locked into a painful position.
His followers stepped back surprised and scared at what just happened. It happened so quick that no one had time to respond. They just stood amazed at what happened.
"As I said before, I do not care for your offer. Just leave me be if you want to keep this arm the way it is." Reika threatened.
She let the popular male go and walked off. Suddenly the other two males snapped back to normal and helped their leader up.
"No one makes a fool of me! I'm gonna make you pay for this!" Nagato swung his arm toward her and sent his goons on her.
The two followers made their way to her and began to swing punches in her direction. Without hesitation Reika moved out of the way expertly and countered with wrapping her arms around them and sent them flying to the ground. Shima and Toma were surprised at her counterattack. They cheered for her and at the same time learned to fear her. They continued to watch in amazement as she dealt with her assailents.
"You won't get away with this!" Nagato yelled as he picked himself up and left the roof. He passed the pair watching from the door and sneered at them. Shima and Toma left the roof and decided to eat their bento elsewhere.
The school day finally ended with the final bell ringing. Shima was excited for the fact that he could finally find his club he wanted to join. He knew that he would wait for the day the clubs would advertise themselves, but he couldn't wait. He made his way down the stairs and toward the giant bulletin board with all the clubs flyers. He saw one that caught his eye and reached for it. Before his hand could grab it another hand got in his way. He grasped it before he could stop and blushed. He looked over to his side and saw Reika. He blushed and pulled his hand back.
"I-I'm sorry, I didn't see you there." He replied with a nervous laugh. But the expression he imagined didn't come. He had hoped she would smile with him and laugh nervously as well. Oh no, I'm sorry. I got excited when I saw the club I wanted to join. I didn't see you next to me either, she would say. But that's not how the situation occurred.
"If you don't mind, could you let go of my hand?" Reika asked coldly.
Shima didn't know how to respond other than a simple nod. He let go of her hand and watched as she took the flyer with her when she left. The youth didn't know how to comprehend what just happened so he silently pushed the thought out of his mind and continued his search for other clubs to join. He explored every avenue available to him when it came to the clubs. Astrology, baseball, karate, kendo, cooking, even the manga club. But they all seemed good enough to join that he couldn't make up his mind. He took all the flyers with him and headed home.
Before he left out of the gate his friend Toma caught up with him.
"Hey!" He yelled as he approached, "I hope you're not heading home right now." He asked.
"Well yeah I was-" Was Shima's attempted reply.
"Ok listen. I saw Yuno-san heading that way. I was hoping we could catch up and introduce ourselves." Toma then put on a sly face, "Maybe she'll think you're cute."
Toma's remark piqued Shima's interest, but only slightly. After the encounter he had with her earlier, he didn't want to embarrass himself further. But before he could say anything Toma was already pulling him by the arm.
Reika was walking down a path behind houses and slowly turned a corner. Not too far behind her were Toma and Shima. They crept behind trashcans and telephone poles to avoid being spotted.
"I thought we were going to introduce ourselves to her." Shima commented annoyed.
He knew this would happen. Toma just wanted to know where she lived so he could concoct a plan to get close to her, and potentially make her his girlfriend. He was amazed that today he wasn't his usual self and hit on every girl he saw. He guessed that the new student staved him off the other girls so he could do this.
As they kept their distance in following, they eventually came upon a building that was in the middle of construction. The duo stopped and hid behind a crane. Finally Reika stopped. To her side came a cloaked figure that carried a long slender clothed item. The two attempted to stay extremely quiet to see what would happen.
"It's in here. The leader said that it lurks around here. Be careful, he says that this one is a rare type. Elemental." The unknown person explained.
By the sound of the voice, Shima thought, it was a female; an older female at that. She handed the item she held to Reika, who took it and unwrapped it. In it was a katana. She unsheathed it and examined it.
"It always feels nice to hold this. It's been a while since the last time I've held this." Reika stated in a happy tone. This was the first time Shima heard her sound cheerful. It sounded nice.
Reika and the female entered the edifice while Shima and Toma stayed behind.
"Did you see that? What do you think they're doing?" Toma asked with an inquisitive tone.
This situation seemed sketchy at best. The right choice was to go back home and leave it be. He didn't want to get involved with whatever she was doing. Suddenly an explosion occurred in the building. The duo ducked their heads as concrete fell from overhead. Shima looked up to see flames being spewed from the fourth floor. Toma grabbed Shima and pushed him out of the way of a giant cinder blocks slamming onto the crane they were hiding behind.
As the two recovered they saw the cloaked female hanging over the edge of the buildings opening. The cloaked that was covering her flew off to reveal a busty red headed female. She wore a black tank top with dark blue jeans and brown boots. She held on with one hand and a pistol in the other.
Toma was about to take his friend and flee but when he grabbed to where he thought Shima was, he was gone. Toma looked to his side in confusion then back at the building in fear. In the distance he saw his friend running into the skyscraper.
"You damn idiot what are you doing!" Toma yelled angrily.
Shima didn't know what came over him. He saw this woman in danger and something instinctively kicked in. He always had a heart to do good, but there was always some sort of fear that held him back. But this time his legs just took off before he could deliberate the situation. He sprinted up the stairs and rushed to the fourth floor.
"Sakura!" Reika yelled as she tried to reach her friend that was hanging on for dear life. In front of her was an ugly creature that was covered in flames. It had horns protruding from its head and black eyes. It roared ferociously and hurled fire balls toward Reika. She dodged expertly and dashed toward the creature. She slashed her weapon across its chest; the creature howled in pain and swung its arm sending the female flying back. From the stairwell came Shima, who was out of breath from sprinting the entire way to reach the fourth floor. He saw the female who was hanging on to the side of the building. He ran toward her when the creature stumbled in his path and knocked him aside. Luckily the creature knocked him in the direction of the red-haired female female. He grabbed her hand and pulled her up. He collapsed onto his knees as the female brushed off the cement dust.
"You're not supposed to be here kid. You need to-" Before she could finish the creature began to shoot fireballs everywhere once again. The female grabbed Shima and moved him aside to avoid the burning hot projectile. She returned fire back at the monster. Reika moved in its way and sliced through the spheres as they sped toward her. Again she managed to get close and cut away its arm. The fire monster cried in pain. It jumped back and began to breathe heavily. Its head swiveled around the room as if trying to find a way to escape.
Shima and the female stood slowly as Reika managed to keep it back.
"Are you ok? You need to get out of here. It's way too dangerous to be here." The red-haired female said in a hurried voice.
"What is that thing?" Shima asked not knowing how to feel.
In front of him stood a fiery monster; he couldn't believe that such a thing existed.
"It's a demon, and a rare one at that." The red-haired female explained.
The demon finally set its sights on Shima. Suddenly it roared an explosion of fire that caused a shockwave that sent Reika to the floor. The fire demon then charged at Shima and tackled him over the edge of the building. The red-haired female yelled as she tried to stop the monster but was too late. The monster stabbed his hand through the male's chest. In a flash the monster disappeared and absorbed itself into Shima.
The youth's body fell from the sky and slammed into the ground. A dust cloud and debris flew everywhere. As the cloud dissipated a crater could be seen deep in the ground. In the center of it was the body of the second year high school student Ariku Shima. Surges of electricity filled the air. His body was filled with red cracks around his body. Moments later Reika and the red-haired female approached the crater. They both jumped in and slid down toward the youth.
"Oh god, it's trying to regenerate itself." The red-haired female covered her mouth in desperation.
Shima opened his eyes slowly as he heard their voices. Something felt very familiar about the situation. His body hurt all over but somehow he was still alive. He slowly stood and found himself face to face with Reika.
"Yuno-san, what's going on?" Shima questioned fearfully as he looked at his cracked body.
"You're going to die. The demon possessed your body and is going to use your life force to heal itself and come back stronger."She muttered slowly. Reika couldn't look him in the face. She looked sad and regretful as she explained his situation.
Shima looked away as if he couldn't believe his ears. The first time he enacted an act of justice was the time he was going to die. He almost regretted his decision until he saw the female.
"Is she ok?" The youth asked bravely.
"She's going to be fine. Thank you for saving her." Reika smiled as she said this.
It was the first time she smiled since he saw her. It was a cute smile at that. It warmed his hear to at least know that his death wasn't in vain and he saved someone.
"So what's going to happen to me?"
Reika's smile went away and she looked deep into his eyes.
"I have to kill you. By doing that the demon dies." She explained solemnly.
The male smiled at this even though his death was just announced to him. At the moment, dying didn't feel too scary. He knew that at least he would have helped in some small way.
"If you can, make sure my family knows I died. I don't want them to get worried. And my friend..." Shima said softly
"You're friend is fine. He was hit in the head by a cement piece and was knocked out. But he'll be fine." The older woman said. She looked over to Toma's body lying still on the ground next to her. He nodded in thanks and looked to Reika. He put on a brave face.
"I'm ready." The hero announced.
Reika nodded her head and unsheathed her sword. She grasped the sword's handle and took a deep breath. Shima closed his eyes and waited for death to come. Seconds later he felt a sharp pain enter his stomach. The pain made him open his eyes and his mind snapped a memory to his head. The scene in front of him was reenacting his dream. The blue haired girl, the sword, her look, his death, came so fast.
Shima's eyes stared blankly into the distance. Slowly the light in his eyes faded and he dropped his head. Reika pulled her weapon out of his stomach and laid him on the ground. She turned to return to her comrade when suddenly she heard a noise behind her.
Shima's body began to convulse violently. A loud roar escaped from the corpse mouth and light emitted from his eyes and mouth. The wound on his stomach healed and the body lifted off of the ground. Reika and the female looked with fear. The body slowly floated into the air. The corpse was spread eagle in the air as it shook. Then suddenly it dropped into its knees. The body was alive again. It snapped its head up to reveal its jet black eyes.
"Did you think by killing the host you would destroy me?" Shima said in a playful manner. But it wasn't his voice. It was a much deeper menacing tone of voice.
The pair was speechless in fear. The demon lived. Reika readied her weapon. The demon lit fire onto his arms and was ready to battle once more. It jumped superhumanly high out of the crater. He smacked its hands together and a giant sphere of fire appeared. It raised its hand overheard and made it larger. Its body caught fire, burning away the shirt he wore. The duo stood fast ready to attack it. But suddenly the giant fire ball disappeared and the body dropped to its knees.
"No! You're supposed to be dead. How can you still be alive?" The demon yelled angrily into the air. He began to beat his chest, yelling at whoever to get out. Suddenly Shima's body caught on fire and the demon screamed in pain. Without warning the fire erupted and caused a shockwave to kick up dust. The duo covered their face and well as protect Toma from the dust.
Minutes later the dust subsided and stood Shima's body. Reika readied her weapon once more. But she lowered it when she looked closer. The cracks that were on the body were no longer there. And his eyes, they were brown again.
"Shima-kun?" Reika asked concerned at what might happen next.
"I don't know, am I me?" Shima asked in his own voice.
He touched his body to make sure everything was in place. He was alive again. Before he could inspect further a body flung itself into him with a hug. Reika was clung to him tightly.
"You're alive! But how?" She asked incredulous.
"All I remember was seeing him using my body, and then I fought back. I didn't want him using my body to hurt anyone." He tried to explain as best he could. He didn't even know what happened himself.
Hours passed and he stood in front of his house. The night took the sky. Reika and her partner stood with him dropping him off after they left Toma at his without alerting his family.
"We need to meet up tomorrow. Come to class 304. From there we can talk about what happened." Reika demanded in a serious tone.
He couldn't believe he was still alive after all that happened. He looked to the red-haired female.
"I don't even know you're name, but I'm glad you're ok." He smiled as he said this.
"I'm Sakura. And I'm fine thank you. But you need to rest well. We don't know what's going on with you. For all we know the demon could still be inside you." Sakura's tone went from kind to serious.
Hearing this put a fear in him. That fire demon could still be living inside him and could come out again and destroy everything. Reika and Sakura left Shima to go home. Whatever this was, he hoped that he could solve it soon, his youth was a stake.