A/N: Heeeey all ya new readers! If you didn't read the long-ass story Shattered Wings, that's okay, I don't blame you. This is just a short story that doesn't have to do with Shattered Wings's plot, but it is set in the same world, and it will probably end up being 15,000 words max.

Here is the first chapter and you can already tell how short the chapters are going to be compared to those 9,000 words suckers Rainbowkittyblossomwings and I cranked out. (You can find the full story on Rainbowkittyblossomwings's profile by the way, but I'm warning you. It's loooooong.)

It is very heavy in the fantasy/supernatural department, so there will be a lot in terms or rules about the demon realm and demon possession and etc that I have to explain.

For those of you who did read Shattered Wings, how? And also this features Garuru and Pururu because if you recall, they were married in Shattered Wings and now this is explaining how that happened because why not.

So, eehhhhhh I hope you enjoy this introductory chapter.

Even though Pulala appeared to roam the earth alive, Garuru still held a funeral for her.

The real Pulala—the one he knew and loved for such a short time in his long, long life—was no longer real. She no longer existed.

It was all because of that cursed Nishizawa Contract. The Contract had taken Pulala away.

As he lit some incense by the small grave he'd made for his daughter, a thought occurred to him. Was this karma? Was this his payment for the atrocities he had committed? Was he finally getting a taste of his own medicine?

Was this what it meant to be human?

It had all started with a young man named Goro.

Goro was a very normal man. He was a serious character and excelled at everything he did, from his schooling to the job he had taken up a couple years back as a commercial contractor. It was a boring job, but he got to travel various areas and see so many towns. People normally didn't travel out of town often, for fear of the unknown. Mysterious monsters loomed just outside of the towns, roaming the forests and beaches.

Because Goro travelled so much for his work, he was very distant from people. He made friends with much difficulty and never kept in contact with them for very long. He hadn't even seen his parents for two years. But they were writing to him often and insisting that he come home and visit, so at once point toward the end of spring he finally relented and decided to pay his folks a visit.

It was a long trip. He had just finished a building project over in Lichte, a town very far away from where his parents lived. When he finally got to town, it had been so long since he had seen the place that he couldn't quite remember where his parents lived. But after a bit of trial and error, he finally found their residence and entered it.

"Goro!" His mother and father greeted him happily with a big hug. "It's been forever! How is work?"

"Work has been going fine," Goro answered monotonously. He was about to set his bags down by the door, but his mother quickly took them from him.

"We'll get these set up in your room for you right away, honey." She delivered a kiss to his forehead. "We're just so happy that you've paid us a visit. Your father and I were worried for a while whether you were… well… whether you were avoiding us."

She exchanged a nervous look with his father.

"But you weren't, of course," his father quickly said. "Because… you're our son."

To break the awkward silence, he and his wife laughed together.

Goro frowned. This was why he never came home. Things were always so awkward at home, and he always felt as if he was walking on eggshells. But what wasn't spoken of wasn't worth worrying about.

For the rest of the day, he and his parents caught up with each other. They made him delicious, home-cooked meals and he told his most amusing and horrific stories from work. He listened politely as they gossiped about people from their own workplaces.

As he was stabbed at his food helplessly with a pair of chopsticks, his mom caught him off-guard with that dreaded question. "So, do you have a girlfriend yet?"

"What?" Goro asked. He didn't like the way she said "yet." "Well… no. I've been quite busy at work."

His mother frowned. "Too busy to socialize and meet people?"

He nodded very seriously.

"Honey…" His mother reached across the table and stroked his hand. "Your father and I talked it over and… we think it's about time you settled down with a nice girl. We're getting old, and… we'd like to be able to see our grandchildren before we leave the world."

"Of course," said Goro, swallowing a piece of food. "I just haven't met the right person yet."

"All right, but you had better do it soon," said his mother. "I'm not going to let you go back on your promise to me. You know what you always said when you were younger—'Mom, I can't wait to get married to a girl when I'm older. I'm so excited, because I love girls. Not boys.' I don't know why you always said the last part but your father and I have taken what you said to heart and now we want some grandbabies."

Goro coughed. "Thassgreat."

His father cleared his throat, as well. "Actually… since it has taken you quite a while to find 'the right person,' we've somewhat taken it into our own hands to set you up with someone."

Now Goro did cough for real. "Excuse me?"

"You'll like her," he said. "She's the daughter of a friend of mine from work. I've heard she works as a paramedic down at the hospital." He gave him a wink. "You know those doctor types. You two will hit it off for sure, son."

Goro was so excited. He expressed his excitement with an elated, silent gape.

"You are… excited, aren't you, son?" his mother asked cautiously. "Of course you are. Only a demon wouldn't be excited…."

Goro laughed. "Don't talk nonsense, mother!" he said. "You know I wouldn't have lost against a demon. I'm your boy. I'm better than that."

His mother smiled about him. But on the inside, worry constantly ate away at her.

Everybody knew about the demons, but only adults knew the true secret behind demon possession.

Every kid around the world at the age of fourteen was required to host a demon in their body. For the next two years, they went away to Secondary School and got to learn about their demon. Kids were taught that it was a painless process, that it was just like having a roommate in your head for two years.

But what they didn't know was, at the end of those two years, the demon and the human fought for permanent control of their body. If the demon lost, they went back to their demon realm, and the human got to keep their own body.

But if the human lost, the demon would eat their soul, and the human's spirit would die.

The only thing Goro's mom knew about the demon her son received was that he went by the name Garuru, and that he had never lost a Demon Fight in his near-immortal life.

And Goro had always called her "mom" before he went away to Secondary School. Not "mother."

Deep down, she and her husband knew that the person sitting before them was not actually their son. But the truth was more painful than playing pretend.

The next day, during the morning when Goro's parents were still asleep, Goro went out into the street for an early morning walk. He would have taken one during the night, since he didn't sleep much. But it was forbidden to use the streets at night—there was a curfew that the authorities and peacekeepers strictly enforced.

He didn't see anyone else out on the streets so early that morning. A couple of kids cycled past him on bikes, but that was about it.

He thought he was alone. But as he turned a corner around a building, he felt the unmistakable presence something approaching him from behind.

Attacker! his mind thought. Instinctively, he swiveled around and pointed a rifle perfectly at the forehead of the person behind him.

It looked to be an average-looking man, holding a pathetically small knife in his hand. He was shivering at the sight of the much larger weapon aimed at his brains.

"Y-you… you… took that gun from out of nowhere," he quivered. "H-h-h-how is that possible?"

Goro's hands glowed a purple aura, part of his particular ability, and the weapon vanished. "You will tell no one of what you saw."

The man narrowed his eyes. "You're a demon, aren't you," he realized. "No human should be able to do that." He turned his heel, no doubt to go spread the news to the authorities.

A dangerous demon like Goro—no… like Garuru—on the loose should be reported at once, after all.

Garuru had no choice but to silence him. He whipped out a sniper and trained it on the man's back, where his heart was located, and took him down. Then he walked over to the man, flung him over his shoulder, and carried him off to dispose of him.

There were kids out in these streets. He couldn't have humans spreading around his whereabouts where kids could hear.

It was always a grueling task, but the life of a demon was not an easy one.