Chapter 2

Kagura

She found herself in a weird place where she couldn't recognize.

It was dark and quiet. There was nothing else there but herself.

Kagura meticulously and tentatively walked without knowing where she was going. Occasionally she spun her head around, hoping that someone familiar would be standing behind her. But it didn't happen.

She continued to walk as a shrill crept up to her spine. Then she heard voices coming from the front. Glistened with hope, the girl sprinted forward, following the voices. A white light soon welcomed her presence, and a new picture appeared before her. She couldn't make well who the figures were but she could hear them well.

Both of them had their backs facing her. One of them had flowing golden hair, the other had spiky black hair. It had occurred to Kagura that they were arguing about something, and the golden-haired one was forcing something out of the black-haired one.

"Tell me," said the one with golden hair. "Why should I believe what you say?"

"W-what I told you is the truth. I don't know where the thing you are asking of is." The black-haired somewhat trembled under the other's presence.

"Really, you're telling me this? You know what I want, and you know where it is. Best you tell me or I'll burn you right now."

"I really don't—"

"You were there, Halphas (1). You were there when the raid happened. You helped those… traitors escape. You must know where it is. NOW TELL ME!"

Halphas laughed, his face was gruesome. "You're smart. But I'll never tell you. Not in a millennia I will tell you where it is. Over my dead body!"

"So you choose death like what your brothers did. What a stupid decision," the blond's palm glowed in white, something beautiful yet deadly. "One touch of this, and you're dead. Maybe you should reconsider."

"I have made my decision. I will keep the pact intact, just like what my brothers did. King Baal (2) will hear from this. You will die a miserable death, Slayer."

"We'll see. King Baal is no match for me." The light on the blond's palm brightened, overwhelming Halphas. "Through this light I send this filthy demon straight to the depths of Tartarus (3)!"

The light was so bright it blinded Kagura and she had to cover her eyes with her hands. The last thing she heard was:

"King Baal will avenge our deaths. Satan will make sure you will never end up in Elysium (4). This is the curse I implant on you, Demon Slayer! The pact shall be intact forever and you will never find what you are looking for! May God never bless you! May Death drag you along with me!"

With that, Kagura woke up in her bed, cold sweat drenched her shirt. The only question in her head was: what the hell was that dream about?


Rin

The boy stared at the girl who hadn't touched her breakfast since 10 minutes ago.

"Ooi! Kagura! Kagura! KAGURA!"

Kagura's head spun slowly at Rin's direction. "What is it?"

"You haven't touched your breakfast." Rin pointed at the bowl of cereal untouched by the girl. He noticed that she wasn't herself today. She didn't yell at him, or play pranks at him or even nag him like she's his mother. Something must be bugging her. "Are you alright? You look—"

"I… I'm fine."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Don't cha' worry of me. Finish your cereal."

"I've done that ages ago. It's you who hasn't finish the cereal."

Kagura stared at her bowl. As if she finally realized she hadn't touch her breakfast, she mouthed, "Oh."

"Are you sick or something?" Rin asked, staring hard at her face. It was as pale as ashes. Although she still looked nice. Wait… what?

"I'll be fine." Kagura rose from her seat. "I'll eat this later. I gotta' help father with chores."

"It's alright, kiddo!" Shiro popped his head into the kitchen. "Rin can help me with them. You go have some fun in the library."

"WHAT?!" Rin yelled.

"Be a gentleman, Rin. You start by cleaning the windows."

"I didn't agree to this!"

"You're grounded, remember?"

Of course the boy remember. It was last night when he got hired and fired at the same day. And he got grounded due to the damages his caused at the supermarket he worked. Long story short.

Rin sighed. "Fine. I've got nothing to do anyway."

"Oh yeah, Kagura," Shiro said before dragging his son with him. "Watch out when you go out to the library. The news kept saying about some serial killer murdering people. It's the 3rd this week. Just watch out, okay, kiddo?"

Kagura nodded languidly and left the kitchen.

"Hey, old man," said Rin after the two were left alone. "Don't you think Kagura's acting strange?"

"Really? Didn't notice."

"OLD MAN!"

Shiro stared at the boy incredulously. "Since when you start to care about Kagura that much? I thought you hated her."

"No I don't. She's… like a sister to me. She's kinda' my best friend or something like that, although she won't stop playing pranks on me."

"Or maybe you're just going through puberty."

Rin blushed. "W-what?"

"Oh nothing. I'm just saying. Since you think something's wrong with Kagura, I'll look in to it. Right now, Rin, clean the windows." And Shiro left.

Rin cursed under his breath. He took a pail from the bathroom and filled it half-full with water and grabbed a cloth. Easily, he lifted the heavy pail like it was nothing and headed to the nearest window. While cleaning he contemplated of a myriad of things. Finally he did realize Yukio was not here anymore. He had gone to the True Cross Academy after daylight broke. Rin will miss his younger brother a lot, definitely.

And there's the Kagura issue. What was going on with her? She acted like a different person. Maybe old man will find out what's going on with her. Yeah.

He sighed. Memories of last night flooded him. He was jobless, again. What the hell did happen? First, he chased a weird monkey creature that snatched a little girl's scarf and the next thing he knew, he was fired. Was he delusional about the monkey creature?

No, he's not. He was sure about this. That monkey creature was real. He admitted he didn't study much, but he knew that creature was unlike any animal he watched on the National Geography channel. But what was it?

Last night, he was sulking at the park on the swing where he and Yukio used to play. He didn't go home because he was ashamed, although the gang made his favourite sukiyaki (5). And then she came.


"Knew you would be here."

"Kagura?" Rin looked up from his spot. Kagura stared at him, her face was gentle and calm like the moon's rays. She was completely different from before in the morning.

"What cha' doin' here? You're late for your sukiyaki. Let's go," said Kagura.

"I can't."

"Why? Are you mad because I played you earlier today?"

"No. I… I got fired because the boss said I'm a rude person and knows nothing about discipline."

"Did something happen? You can tell me."

Remembering the monkey creature incident and was totally sure she would not understand, he snapped. "I can't! Even if I did, you wouldn't understand! Neither of you would!"

Kagura didn't flinch. "Rin… if you wouldn't tell me, how should you know whether I understand or not? You're not a diviner. You can't divine. Let's go home, Rin. Everyone's worried."

Rin refused to go. But suddenly the girl grabbed his hand and dragged him along with her. She was so strong and persistent he gave in and let her drag him back home.

"You're stubborn," Rin remarked.

"Says the original stubborn guy. Wait till we get home, you'll gonna' gulp down my another specialty—umeboshi(6), lime, and lemon 'Sour Juice'."

"What? No way! You can't force that in me!"

"We'll see."

Even without seeing her face, Rin could imagine her grinning evilly like a devil, ready to torment him. He wanted to escape but the girls' grip on his hand was so tight it could break his bones. If he tries to escape, God knows what will happen to him. She'll kill him for sure.

Maybe letting his taste buds suffer a little was better than permanent death.


Rin smiled at how stubborn the girl was. And she seemed cute when she was so determined and stubborn.

AGAIN?! WHAT?!

Rin shook his head, trying to clear his mind of these… thoughts. What the hell was going on with him lately?

As he continued cleaning the window, he looked outside and found something unbelievable. He gaped. Tiny black creatures floated in the air in numbers. They were things that he hadn't seen before and he rushed out to the courtyard. A lot of these creatures filled the air, like an invasion of alien bugs. Were those even bugs? As he looked around, people continued to buzz around as if those creatures didn't exist. Didn't anyone see them?

What was going on? Was he hallucinating?

"Okumura-kun!"

Rin spun his head. The boy whom he previously beaten up stood outside of the courtyard, covered in multiple bandages. His henchmen, 3 of them stood beside him.

"Could you come here for a sec?" the boy asked. Rin noticed the black bug-like creatures covered him like bee attracted to honey. He nearly stepped out of the gate when he recalled Shiro's orders.

You're grounded!

Rin stood still, obeying the old man's orders.

"What are you afraid of, Okumura-san?" the boy prompted. "Come on!"

"Do you want to hide behind your mama?" another boy snickered.

Intrigued by what they want from him, Rin stepped out of the courtyard and followed them.


Kagura

"Hey, kiddo!"

Kagura turned around and saw Shiro standing at the door of her room, his arms crossed before his chest. "Father?"

"Thought you're going to the library. Anything wrong, kiddo?"

Kagura hesitated on whether she should tell Shiro about her disturbing nightmare. "I-it's nothing."

Shiro raised an eyebrow at his daughter. Although they weren't related by blood, he was proud to call the girl his daughter. "Really? Even the most oblivious idiot named Okumura Rin can sense your troubles."

Kagura sighed. If Rin could tell she was troubled, how could her father not? "It's… about a nightmare," she blurted. "But it seemed so real… it was as if it is real."

Shiro's eyes widened in surprise. "What is it about?"

Kagura thoroughly explained of the people in her nightmare. "One of them was Halphas and the other, I don't know. But the Halphas guy mentioned of someone called King Baal."

Shiro's eyebrows knitted together in a frown. "This is bad."

"Bad? How?"

Suddenly, Shiro grabbed her shoulders and forced her to look at him. "Kagura, whatever happens next, if I'm not around, go to True Cross Academy and look for my good friend, Mephisto Pheles."

"Eh?"

"If Mephisto refuses to protect you, look for a girl named Aoife Barachiel (7). She will surely protect you."

"I know who Mephisto is, but who is this Aoi—whatever her name is."

"She is an Exorcist, like me. But she is a little bit different."

Kagura was surprised. Why would Shiro tell her all this? Was something bad going to happen?

"But, father, you told me not to have any connection with exorcists except you and Yu—"

"Kagura, things change now. Even though you know of the world of exorcists and demons and you're a trained exorcist under me, things aren't always as it seems. Remember that."

The girl rubbed her temples. Her head definitely hurts. Yes, she was an exorcist, trained since young to exorcise demons that existed in this world. Shiro was her guide and trainer and he trained her to become an Aria, ever since he discovered she had gifted powers of unbelievable strength. Although she was trained to become an Aria, she had a feeling that she was more than that.

"Kagura, whatever happens, I believe that you are a good person with a kind heart and not destined for evil. And you must believe in yourself too. You are a good guy, okay?"

"Umm… okay…"

"Remember: things aren't always it seems."

Kagura nodded and Shiro hugged her, so tight she can hardly breathe. But she liked her father's warmth. It was nice. It helped her to forget anything hurtful and troubling. She loved being hugged by her father.

"You are my sweetest daughter. Stay safe, and stay alive. Promise me, your father, okay?"

"Yes… father…"

Shiro released her. "Good. Now… I have Rin to trouble of."

"Rin?"

"He's gonna' be awakened. I have to look for him."

The girl sighed. She knew all along Rin was not a human, but a human-demon hybrid.

He was Satan's son.

"Get ready. Things are about to get messy. Go inform the others."

Kagura nodded and left the room. Her mind was thinking of what her father told her previously. Why did he tell her that? Did he know something was going to happen?

She had a bad omen of the future that awaits her.


(1) Halphas: Earl of Hell, commanding 26 legions of demons. Also a prince of hell.

(2) King Baal : According to le Grand Grimoire, Bael is the head of the infernal powers. He is also the first demon listed in Wierus' Pseudomonarchia daemonum. According to Wierus, Bael is first king of Hell with estates in the east and commands 66 legions.

(3) Tartarus: It is a deep, gloomy place, a pit, or an abyss used as a dungeon of torment and suffering that resides beneath the underworld.

(4) Elysium: is a conception of the afterlife that evolved over time and was maintained by certain Greek religious and philosophical sects, and cults. Initially separate from the realm of Hades, admission was initially reserved for mortals related to the gods and other heroes. Later, it expanded to include those chosen by the gods, the righteous, and the heroic, where they would remain after death, to live a blessed and happy life, and indulging in whatever employment they had enjoyed in life.

(5) sukiyaki: is a Japanese dish in the nabemono (Japanese hot pot) consists of meat (usually thinly sliced beef) which is slowly cooked or simmered at the table, alongside vegetables and other ingredients, in a shallow iron pot in a mixture of soy sauce, sugar, and mirin. Before being eaten, the ingredients are usually dipped in a small bowl of raw, beaten eggs.

(6) umeboshi: are pickled ume fruits common in Japan. The word "umeboshi" is often translated into English as "Japanese salt plums," "salt plums" or "pickled plums."

(7) Aoife: is an Irish feminine given name. The name is probably derived from the Irish aoibh, meaning "pleasure" or "radiant", although the name has also be associated with the Gaulish goddess Esuvia.

Barachiel: Kindness of God or Ray of God

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