Prologue:

In the past two years I've tried to change everything about me. I wanted to forget everything that had happened. I left on my sixteenth birthday, leaving the only home I've ever known.

Now at eighteen, you wouldn't recognize me as the timid girl who lost everything after one huge mistake. I lived in Mitaka with an old family friend for a while. I attended regular school for the first time.

When I turned eighteen and graduated, I moved to Kawasaki into my own apartment and started an online college program. I got a part time job at a café as a waitress down the street for extra money. I wasn't sure what I wanted to do with my life, but I was getting somewhere. Even if it was slowly, step by step.

Everything seemed to be going great. That was until the day I found out that Aki had escaped. I realized once again that I could never be normal.

Part 1:

The clock on the wall read 7:02. I jumped in shock as I looked at it, dropping my cup of coffee. It spilled onto my kitchen floor, but luckily the cup wasn't glass so it didn't break.

I overslept and was late for work, great.

I quickly cleaned up the coffee. Once that mess was taken care of, I ran back into my bedroom to throw on clothes. As soon as that was settled, I ran around my apartment, looking for my left shoe and keys that I couldn't seem to find anywhere.

Ring, Ring

My phone went off, making me jump once again. I sighed as I looked for it. It was probably my boss. I found it on the living room table and I picked it up without looking at the caller id. It was probably my boss.

"Hello?" I answered as I struggled to put my found shoe on while holding the phone up to my ear.

"Don't hang up on me Lucy!" a familiar voice said quickly.

"How did you get my number Julie?" I asked, my day suddenly getting worse. I hadn't spoken to my cousin since I had left. The village doesn't even have phones. She must have had to drive miles to the nearest town. Whatever she had to say, it must be pretty important. Not that I cared. I didn't want to talk to her and she knew that.

"Just because you left the village doesn't mean we're not watching over you. You can't escape the shrine," she replied. I rolled my eyes, even though she couldn't see. So much for a normal life. I knew what she was saying was true, but I had been trying to ignore it for the past few years.

"What do you want? I'm late for work and I really don't want to talk to you," I told her sharply.

"Aki escaped," she spit out, but I didn't hear what she said after that because the phone dropped from my hand. It hit the ground and bounced a few times before stopping. I could hear her asking if I was okay. I fell to my knees, putting my hands to my head as my brain went into shock.

How could he have escaped? Where was he going and what did he want?

A bunch of flashbacks flashed through my mind. Us as kids opening the gates to hell. Kyohei carrying me as I cried and dragging Aki as he tried to get us away from the monster we released. Aki, covered in blood, surrounded by bodies of people he had murdered.

I shook my head and blinked, pushing all those memories away. I picked up the phone and cut her off from whatever she was saying. "Where is he?" I asked, knowing I wasn't going to work today.

"We think he's either after you or is heading to Tokyo to find Kyohei," she paused. "Wait! Lucy, don't tell me you're going after him? You can't! It's too dangerous!"

"Kyohei left the village?" I asked in a small voice, no longer feeling safe. If Aki could escape than he could find me or Kyohei with ease. I'm not sure what I'd do if he found me. There probably wasn't much I could do.

"About a year ago."

I shut my eyes, realizing what I had to do. Or rather, what something inside of me was telling me to do.

"Goodbye. Please don't call this number again," I hung up before she could tell me I was making a mistake and that she would come find me if I left my apartment. But she wasn't in control of me anymore.

I took the rest of the week off of work, claiming I was having a family emergency. I jumped onto the first train with only a small suitcase. I arrived in Tokyo in the early afternoon, starving. I read one of the local papers while I ate at a diner, looking for evidence of Aki.

The top story was about a dead body found in an elevator in an apartment complex near here early this morning. That was all the proof I needed. Aki was here. Now I needed to find him and Kyohei. Couldn't be that hard.

But what was I even doing here? I paused as I was walking down the street, finally realizing what I was doing. I was here, searching for the two boys that had helped ruin my life. I left the village to try to forget that.

Yet I was here, searching for them. That stupid voice was telling me to keep going. I had to know what was going to happen. I couldn't be left out of the action. I guess we really couldn't be apart.

Finding Kyohei's apartment wasn't easy. It was nighttime when I finally found the right building. I wasn't used to big cities and kept getting turned around or completely lost.

I looked up and took a deep breath. I only hoped I hadn't come too late. I had to help Kyohei with whatever was coming, right?

The shattering of glass caught my attention, and I looked up to see Utao, Kyohei's little sister, fly out of one of the top window. I ran into the building, my worst fears confirmed. I skipped the elevator and ran up the stairs, knowing my physical strength would get me to the top in no time. Luckily that was one of the things that had followed me out of the village.

Once I reached the floor I thought was correct, I heard another sound, almost like something else was being destroyed. Aki was here. Destruction always followed his path. At least I wasn't stuck cleaning up his messes anymore.

I ran down the hall, wondering where they were. I saw a green flash and saw the door blast off, the whole room destroyed.

No one noticed me as I called forward my Kakashi, Koneko, better known as Kitten, but suddenly decided against it. If someone saw it then I would be in huge trouble.

After I left the village and quit being a Seki, I was told I would have to give back Kitten. But I faked the ceremony and got out of the village before anyone would notice. I made it so it looked like Kitten was returned, but no one would know until they tried to give Kitten a new master.

Luckily, from the sound of my sister's call, they hadn't figured it out yet. I wasn't surprised. Kitten was too hard for normal Seki. She hadn't been used for fifty years before being given to me.

"Utao! Kyohei!" I called as I ran forward, hearing Aki laughing as he stood on his doll.

"See you soon Kyohei!" Aki called as he disappeared. I glanced over at him and he caught my eye, but only for a second. I don't think he even recognized me.

"Are you two okay?" I asked as I ran up to where they had been thrown on the floor.

"Who are you?" Utao asked.

I couldn't help but smile at this. I wanted to be a different person than I was back in the village. I was glad she didn't recognize me, not that I was ever close to her in the first place.

I helped her up without replying, but Kyohei caught on. "Lucy?" he asked in an unsure voice. I looked at him, seeing nothing had changed about him, except maybe that he had gotten a little soft. I can't say I hadn't either.

"Good to see you Kyohei. I didn't even know you left the village until this morning," I said as I brushed my hair out of my face. "Seems I got here too late. But the rumors are true."

"Aki is back. And it's now dangerous for both of us," Kyohei replied, but then looked at Utao. "The three of us. What are you doing here?"

"When I heard Aki escaped I knew he would come here to find you first. I couldn't miss the party now could I?" I paused, laughing. Damn, I couldn't really be getting jealous about this, could I? "I guess I'm not as special as you are, or maybe I'm better at hiding."

I looked at the huge hole in the side of the building that Aki had created. "How are you going to explain that?" I asked as I pointed to it. I heard him sigh, but I saw him hold Utao close to him.

"I don't know."

"So I see that Utao got Kukuri after you got fired," I said as I sat down on the couch. We were at Kyohei's friend Hibino house. Her father use to live in the village. He had offered for all of us to stay at his house, but I declined since I already had rented a hotel. I also couldn't stand Hibino.

"Yeah," Kyohei replied.

After the accident the village had decided that Kyohei wasn't a good enough Seki. Only certain people had the natural born ability to control a Kakashi. They locked Aki up since he had started using his Kakashi to murder. I was the only one allowed to keep mine since they said I was too talented to let go, even after I made such a disastrous mistake. But once I wanted to leave the village they gave up on me and let me quit.

'Truthfully, I wouldn't think they would let kids so young be Seki after us," I replied as I took a sip of tea. "Why is Utao here anyways?"

"She came to warn me of Aki's escape and to capture him," Kyohei replied. "Shrines orders."

I tried not to laugh. "No offence, but an untrained Seki to catch Aki? The village is getting more and more pathetic."

"Be quiet!" Utao screamed and everyone went silent. I don't think she liked me very much.

"Still, Aki is out there, and we are all in danger," I looked up at the time, sighing. I needed to get back to my hotel before it got too late. Walking around a big city wasn't always safe even if I knew how to fight. Plus it was probably going to take me a while to find it. "Be safe Kyohei," I said as I got up.

"But those guys, they said they caught him and were talking him back to the village!" Kyohei replied as he stood up too.

"Kyohei, don't be stupid. We know Aki better than anyone. Do you really think they can contain him that easily? He will be back, mark my words. We just need to figure out why he's here and what he wants," I walked over to the door.

"Thanks for the tea. I'm staying in a hotel down the street if you need to find me," I said as I walked out the door into the night.

I heard Kyohei curse behind me. I admit, the three of us are pretty stubborn, but I guess that was what used to make us friends.