It was a windy autumn afternoon. The trees were restless during their leafless months. Children in their teen years were everywhere raking the many leaves that fell the past night.

"Mom!" a girl cried, "I'm done raking!"

"That's great Koriko!" her mother replied, "You can go play now."

"Thanks mom." Koriko smiled.

Koriko went for a walk in the park since her friends were busy. She sat on a bench and observed the ducks in the pond. But then, the water started to boil. Koriko noticed this and looked around only to realize she was alone. A man popped out of the water with what looked like a little imp.

"Wh-Who are you??" Koriko stammered. The man said nothing and grabbed the girl and pulled her under the water.

Koriko awoke later after losing consciousness. She realized she was no longer at the park. The room felt damp and cold. She had no idea where she was. She stood up an walked towards the door leading out. As she was about to go through the strange door, the man she saw earlier came in.

"I see you're awake girl," he said softly.

"Where am I? And who are you?" Koriko questioned.

"I am Jifuu and my imp, Unji," he said.

Koriko stared at him in wonder, 'Why is he acting so nice?' she thought.

"Come with me," he ordered.

She followed as ordered, still wondering what was going on. On the way to where ever she was going, Koriko saw a strange boy. He had long white hair and instead of regular human ears, he had Dog Ears! She kept walking but couldn't help but look. The boy looked at her and leaped away.

"you will sleep here," a sudden voice said.

Koriko silently walked into her new room and looked around. 'Why didn't he just take me here in the first place' she wondered.

The next day she woke up and stretched, hoping that what had happened was just merely a dream. But of course, there was no such luck. The door slammed wide open and standing in the doorway was the same strange boy she saw in the hall yesterday.

"I suppose you're hungry," he said irritably as he tossed her some food, "eat up unless u wanna starve to death."

Koriko ate the egg roll and then stared at the boy.

"What's your name?" she asked suddenly.

"Wakako," he replied right before he left.

Koriko continued to stare at the empty doorway. Just as she started to eat, Jifuu came in.

"Good you are eating," was all he said.

"What does Wakako do here?" Koriko asked before she could stop herself.

"He is my pesky half-demon brother," Jifuu snarled.

"Oh," Koriko stared at the ground thinking to herself, 'half-demon?'

After Jifuu left, Koriko decided to walk around the house to lessen the boredness. After a while, she came across a room with what looked like punch marks on the door. So, curiously, she went in. It was an amazing room! There were all sorts of weapons that Koriko never even heard about or even seen for that matter. As she was about to walk out, a dark figure towered over head. She looked up and saw the mean look on Wakako's face.

"What in the seven hells are you doing in here?" he hissed.

"I-I'm sorry. I didn't know this was your room," Koriko said nervously.

"Well know you know." Wakako snarled.

Koriko scooted past him with her head down, while Wakako watched as she left. After she was no where in sight, Wakako started to bang his head against the wall.

"Stupid! Stupid!" he said aloud, "How can you be so stupid?"

Koriko went back to her room after that incident. She got to the room and closed the door, planning to just lay in her "bed" until she died. But then, she heard a strange sound coming from outside. She got up and went to see what it was. As she was about to do that, a demon tore the roof off her room and grabbed her. She struggled to get free but she was too weak.

"Help!" she screamed hoping that someone would hear her. Just as she thought all hope was lost, Wakako barged in.

"Feel my razor sharp claws demon!" he scoffed. He jumped up and clawed his arm off that help Koriko. Wakako landed just in time to catch her.

"You all right?" he asked sincerely.

"Yeah, I'm fine" she replied.

Wakako laid her down gently on the bed and went to fight the demon. Wakako drew one of the swords that Koriko saw in his room. He fought bravely, then the demon hit him while Wakako jumped at him. Wakako hit the wall and lost consciousness for a minute. He gained it back then noticed he was gripped around the waist by the demon. He frantically looked for his sword only to find that it was half way across the room. He couldn't use his claws because his arms were forced by his side, and the demon was too strong to break out easily.

"Wakako!" Koriko screamed.

To Be Continued…..