Mari drank some tea as she looked out the window of the principal's office. She watched as Riko and Yoshiko went home, the two of them animatedly talking – mainly Yoshiko, asking a lot of questions to the increasingly embarrassed Riko.
Mari sighed.
"Quite a day, huh, zura?"
Hanamaru entered the room, now back in her school uniform.
"I wanted to minimize knowledge of this to only the two of us."
"But now Yoshiko-chan knows. See, she's been a great help already, zura."
Mari sat down and placed the teacup on the principal's table.
"Yes, but how long until she starts blabbing about it? You know how dangerous it can be if the demons find out Riko's location. Tch. If I had my way that girl would be dead already."
"Is that really how it is, zura?" Hanamaru asked.
"What do you mean?" Mari said.
"Mari-san, you're in the same idol group as her, the same sub-unit even… you had all the chance to do it."
"Oh, shut up," Mari replied. She looked at Hanamaru. "You know, I'lm still surprised how mature you can be sometimes. Hard to believe you're the same person who gets so amused with technology."
"And it's hard to believe you're our group jokester, zura," Hanamaru said.
She turned to exit the room.
"I have to home, it's getting late."
"Very well, stay safe," Mari said.
As Hanamaru left, Mari looked at the framed picture on her desk, showing both her parents.
She thought back to when she was assigned to this mission.
Mari had been taking her education overseas. The best training facilities for demon hunters were also overseas too, so it killed two birds with one stone.
"What? Take care of her?" Mari looked at her father, who was sitting behind his desk and looking at her with a serious face.
"Yes… she'll be moving to Uchiura soon. It's a great opportunity for you."
"Opportunity! You want me to go… and watch over her…" Mari was seething with rage. "She's the reason mom is dead, isn't she? And you want me to stay with her!"
Her father raised his hands, trying to calm her down. "That wasn't her fault and you know that." Her father brushed one of his hands on his graying hair.
"She's a demon!" Mari said. "They're all the same."
"Half demon," her father corrected. "And no, they're not. Especially a half like her. Trust me, she's really well behaved."
"As if!" Mari said. "You don't seriously want me to believe that?"
"She spent her early years in Tokyo without incident. You need to grow up, Mari. That's why I'm assigning you this mission."
Mari looked unconvinced.
"Plus, aren't your friends there too? This would be a great time to see them."
This gave Mari some thought. She'd really like to see her friends again, but at the cost of being with that girl…
"Alright, fine. I'll do it this time," she finally relented.
"Good," her father said. "Apparently there's an apprentice shrine maiden in the area. I've already contacted her and she's willing to help."
Mari zoned out at that time. Yes, she would watch over that girl, but she'll also be waiting for her chance, any chance to take her out.
At least that was the plan. Riko Sakurauchi quickly gained a small group of friends and even became a school idol. As someone who dabbled in the idol industry in the past, she decided to assist them, using her position as the school director. She didn't expect to become an idol herself once again, but she excused it, saying it's a chance to get closer to her still. She's even in the same subunit!
Mari sighed. She's losing sight of her mission.
LATER THAT NIGHT – NUMAZU
The security guard yawned. He was already halfway through his shift. Just a few more hours till he can sign out.
Why did I even agree to this job anyway…
He guarded an antiques store in the city of Numazu. There really wasn't anything much of value here but the owner was a paranoid man. And they did sometimes get valuables here.
He gave the shop a look around before sitting back near the entrance, reading a magazine. He suddenly heard a noise and stood up to take a look, before he felt pain and everything went black.
MORNING- NUMAZU
I'm late, I'm late…
Once again, Yoshiko was being burdened with terrible luck. What happened last night, it kept her up for way too long. Riko was very happy that she was taking it well, and of course she would! After all, she's the fallen angel, Yohane. Although deep down she knew that she was just pretending, doing make believe, she really wanted to believe that she had powers, that demons and magical creatures exist. And now, it turns out her girlfriend was one of them. She's thrilled!
Well, I can't wait to see Riri… damn, why are there so many people?
Up ahead a small crowd was gathered in front of a storefront. Yoshiko's curiosity got the better of her, and she pushed her way through the crowd.
It was an antique shop. The windows were broken, and some items were missing.
A robbery huh… Yoshiko thought. Then her eyes saw the dead body.
The security guard's head was rotated 360 degrees. Blood was scattered around his corpse and around the area where he fell. There wasn't much of a mess though, indicating that the attacker was fast enough to kill the guard without the guard noticing.
"Man, look at that! That's brutal!"
"Oh god. I hope they catch who did this soon."
Yoshiko gulped. Great, more reasons to be afraid of walking home at night.
She then remembered that she was late for school.
Breaking off the crowd, she started running towards Uranohoshi, but the back of her mind was still on that crime.
Not the best way to start the morning.
