So here is the third chapter of eternal. It took me a while to write it since I didn't quite know where I wanted to go with this story. But do not fear. Now I have my storyline streight.

Thanks again to the reviewers. I hope you all enjoy Chapter 3 of Eternal.

The Balance

The city she had chosen to travel to was the biggest one in this country. Its size was so impressive that people said one could loose oneself easily. The skyscrapers were around her by the hundreds. The lights were bright, the streets crowded, the cabs packed, the cafés full. Despite the presence of this permanent crowd, one could easily be overlooked and just be another face on the streets.

Kaoru had chosen this city because of all these reasons. Being lost was exactly what she wanted to do. Looking up at the high buildings, she allowed herself to feel wonder when faced with man's creations. The last time she had been here, it had just been a small town content with its size and growth. It had come a long way since then.

Her duffle bag on her shoulder, she slowly made herself to the subway. She was going to find a place in the poorer part of the city in the hopes that people there minded their own business. The longer they did, the better it was for them. The longer Kaoru could keep out of site, the longer she would be able to stay here.

With her crummy clothes and her face hidden by her hair no one paid attention to her. Just another young woman in the crowd making her way home.

As the subway made its way eastward towards the slums of the city, Kaoru scanned the people around her. They were lower middle class for the most part. Blue-collars that just wanted to earn enough money to have food on the table and send their kids to school. A stark contrast with the people she had seen in the Western part of the city where the elite of the population lived. With their expensive sports cars and their three-story mansions, those had more money than they needed and it showed.

'Such a waste…'

The society was unfair but it functioned with moderate success. It would not last however if work ran out and food too expensive. It had happened before and it might happen again.

Sighing at her gloomy thoughts, Kaoru got off at the last stop on the line. The walls had cracks in them and garbage was strewn everywhere. There was one pile she wasn't sure if it was man or garbage. The pile was so high… She moved on to the exit trying as much as possible to fade into the shadows.

Out on the street, she made herself towards an old apartment complex that stood nearby. She would start her search for an apartment there and then move on. The bricks were almost black due to pollution, the trees skinny and bare, the park on the opposite side of the street dark and gloomy.

'A perfect spot for ambushes and robberies. I'll have to remember to keep away from that place.'

Nearing the building, she scanned and found that there were three rooms vacant. One was in too bad shape but the two others seemed available. Looking at her watch, she noticed it was half past six. With a bit of luck, she might find the landlord and get an apartment tonight. For any other individual this would not be possible but compulsion was a powerful tool.

He stood at the top of the highest building in the city. He had traced her bloody trail until this point. He should have known that she would hide among the masses, in a big city. It had tried a small town with the result that 15 people had died. It had been its bloodiest act. Since then, its killings had been limited to five or six at a time. As if it felt remorse. No. That was quite impossible. It continued to be the cause of innumerable deaths. Its very existence was an abomination of nature, disturbing the balance of good and evil. He had to replace the balance by ending its miserable life. And soon.

Without a second thought, he jumped off the building, seemingly diving to his death. The wind was rushing past him, his crimson hair pulled away from his face. Dressed in all black, it was the only color that could be identified.

As the ground came closer, he twisted in mid-air to have his feet land first in a semi crouch. The passersby continued on their way without giving him a second glance. It was as if a man falling from the sky was an event as common as the rain that had started to drizzle. No one had turned to him to see if he was alright. No one had really felt his presence.

The man slowly rose from his crouch, straightening his black trench coat. Quickly scanning his surroundings, he slowly made his way eastward.

His prey was close.

Kaoru looked around her newly acquired apartment. It was small, only one bedroom. The kitchen linoleum was old and cracked, the counters scratched and used. The fridge seemed to be a relic from the 70s with its distinctive egg yellow color. The microwave didn't seem quite so old but wasn't in much better shape. There was a stove also included. That was all that could be said about it since it didn't seem like it worked

'I won't be using it anyways.'

She turned towards the living room which was facing the kitchen with the same critical eye. The wallpaper was forest-green and peeling at some parts. It gave the apartment a gloomy look.

'Fitting.' She thought with an ironic smile that didn't quite reach her eyes.

The carpet was so used, it might as well not have been there. The curtains on the only windows of the apartment were supposed to be white but with time had become beige. No balcony was in place and she preferred it that way. It was less likely she would get unwelcome visitors.

Moving to her left, she walked into the small bedroom. The walls had been painted at some point in its history brown with a white sealing. Kaoru wondered at the color combination. There were no windows in this room. The colors of the wall and the absence of windows gave a cave feel to the whole room.

The tiny bathroom was not much better. All done in 70's yellows and browns, it was probably the ugliest thing she had ever seen.

'Hopefully the ugliness of my apartment will rub-off on me.'

She went back to the entrance of the apartment to grab her bag. Slowly unpacking, she started to make her new apartment home.

The man had been walking for close to an hour. He had not wanted to take the subway, thinking that too many lowlifes stayed there at night. Avoiding any kind of trouble that might take him off course of his mission was what he most wanted to achieve. As a result of that, he now found himself in the dirtiest part of town, surrounded by even more lowlifes.

Continually scanning, he stayed away from the drunks, the whores, the villains, the mad and the rest of humanity's depravity.

He suddenly stiffened. Someone was here that wasn't supposed to be here. He pushed himself more into the shadows and scanned with a higher degree of effort. From the opposite side of the street, he could see a shape form itself from the darkness of an alley. It slowly stepped forward to put itself directly under a lamppost, revealing its identity.

He was tall and lanky with an untamable mass of brown hair that was held back by a red bandana. Dressed impeccably in a black tailored suit, he made a drastic contrast with the drunkards prowling this neighborhood. He was wearing a shirt that was made out of black silk and a tie that matched. For some strange reason though, he was chewing on a fishbone. Hands in his pockets and a smirk firmly placed on his face, he would have presented the typical image of a young business man out on the town if it weren't for his surroundings and the fishbone.

'What is this idiot doing here? He just had to be in this city as well?' Slowly stepping out of the darkness, the red-headed man made his way towards the newly arrived figure.

"Sanosuke Sagara. What the hell are you doing here?" he asked in an icy voice, betraying no emotions.

"Nice to see you too, Battosai." The tall man answered with a crooked smile. "Don't tell me you're not happy to see your favorite third-class demon. At your service." With that said the tall demon made a mock bow at his rival, his smile never wavering. "And you shouldn't use my master's home in vain."

"I should destroy you where you stand. The world would be a better place." His eyes had narrowed dangerously, the only sign that this demon was slowly grating his nerves. Fists tight at is side, Battosai continued to stare unblinkingly at his enemy.

"Hey, that's not nice. I thought first-class angels were supposed to set the example. You know better than anyone that you're not allowed to kill third-class demons, as we're not allowed to kill third-class angels. All about giving us a chance to repent our deeds and all that shit."

"I know what the pact states. You don't have to repeat it to me." Battosai's eyes had slowly taken a more amber color as the demon had spoke, a clear indication that his anger was rising. "You still haven't answered my question. What are you doing here?"

Sano, finally feeling Battosai's anger, decided to play it safe. 'No more taunting. Be nice.'

"Well, I come to you from my master with a proposition."

Battosai, turning on his heals, slowly walked away from the tall demon. He had heard enough. Clearly this weakling was wasting his time.

Catching up with the red-head, the tall demon tried to get the angles attention. "Hey wait! You haven't heard the proposition yet."

"I do not need to hear it." Battosai continued to ignore Sagara's presence, never looking at his companion.

The demon seemed desperate at this point. If he did not at least state his proposition, he knew that he would be in great trouble with his supervisor. He did not wish to think of the punishment that smoking bastard would inflict on him.

Trying to stop Battosai from walking away, he grabbed the smaller man's arm and immediately regretted it. Sagara found himself one minute standing on the street and the next being flung across the street into the alley to then hit the wall there. The impact was so harsh that spider web cracks spread throughout the whole wall. He could feel pain all over his back and chest where the air had been knocked out. The fact that he had bitten his tongue during impact did not improve his situation. Looking up, Battosai was at the juncture between alley and street with an absolute stony expression on his face. The only thing betraying his emotions was the glowing of his eyes.

"Do not EVER touch me, demon!" The last word had been as an insult and his eyes glowed slightly brighter. "While I am forbidden to destroy you, the pact says nothing about inflicting pain."

This was said with no emotions showing through. Sagara wondered at the fact that this being was an angel. He reminded him of his superior in a strange way.

Still laboring for breath, the demon tried to present his case one more time. "I have… a proposition for you…It would be beneficial for me …as well as you."

"Somehow I find that hard to believe." Battosai made as if to turn away but what was stopped by what was said next.

"It concerns … your prey."

Focusing his golden stair on the demon, Battosai asked: "What about my prey?"

Sagara got to his feet and leaned onto the wall behind him. After a few deep breaths feeling sufficiently recovered, he looked back up to the red-headed man in front of him.

"My master as well as yours wants to get rid of this abnormality. I am here to offer my help in tracking it."

"You want me to believe that you would want this abomination destroyed as much as I do?"

"Yes."

"And why would that be? It is of course fighting on your side. Because of it, the darkness is becoming stronger."

"The darkness might be getting stronger but it is doing it in a manner that is not satisfactory to us. There is no finesse it its ability to kill. It probably doesn't even know what it's doing exactly. Its abilities are too obvious and even you know we don't work that way. We infiltrate families and work discretely, claiming souls in a much more subtle way. This whole spotlight tactic is not our way."

He was interrupted in his tirade by a mirthless laugh. "You expect me to believe that what you're saying is true? There are numerous things in what you just that doesn't make sense. Your master wants this being destroyed because it doesn't like its manner of killing? I thought demons were better liars than that, even a third-class demon as yourself."

An evil smile suddenly appeared on his face. Slowly walking towards the leaning figure, he continued to focus his unblinking eyes on the demon. Temporarily hidden by darkness, the only thing left to Sagara's vision was the amber eyes of the powerful angel. Again, he wondered why this being was not a demon.

"You will tell me the true reason why your master is really interested in my prey or we have nothing more to talk about. Do I make myself clear?"

Lifting his hands in surrender, the tall man put on the most innocent face he could muster.

"Hey my friend, I'm only the messenger. My master wants to get rid of this anomaly as much as you do. Does the real reason matter? We both have the same objective and we can help each other out."

The red-headed angle continued to walk towards the demon, his mouth set in a firm line. The demon braced himself for what might happen next. He had long heard from his colleagues that Battosai was known to be unpredictable.

Battosai continued to move towards the demon to then blur in the darkness. Sagara looked around him, trying to find the location of the angel. When he finally did it was too late. Battosai had gripped his threat to then lift him and push him against the already cracked wall. The demon grabbed at the wrist that was holding him up, trying to get free.

The angel slowly leaned forward so that his face was a mere inches away from the demon's.

"You want to know why I want to know the true reason? I'll tell you why. Because I know that your kind are full of bullshit. It could be considered part of the job description if you will. Now. You might be idiot enough to work with someone when you don't know their true motives but I certainly am not. You either tell me your true purpose for offering this proposition or you leave now and stay way from me for a very long time."

This was all said in a half whisper, no feelings apparent on his almost feminine face if not for the cross-shaped scar.

"Alright. Alright." Choked out the demon. At these words, he was slowly put down on his feet and his throat was released.

Battosai stepped back one step and waited for the explanation.

"The true reason is that everyone is baffled by its presence in this world. We don't know where it came from or how it came to be. What we do know is that it is a threat to our way of life and our master. The oracle told us. We wish to destroy it before anything happens."

"This creature has been wandering this earth for centuries. Why are you only acting now?" came the calm question from the alley darkness.

"Truth of the matter is that we didn't know about its potential threat until recently. Something has changed to make this creature dangerous."

"Do you know what that change was?"

"We do not know and we see no need to know. Its destruction will suffice. With your strength and tracking skills as well as my connections in the unsavory parts of this world, the search would be more efficient. The creature would be destroyed so much the faster."

"You're offering a partnership." It was said as a statement. An uneasy silence settled around them. Battasi's stare remained unwavering.

He suddenly turned around and walked out of the alley and back unto the street. The angel looked back at the demon giving him a slow nod. That was all the encouragement Sagara needed.

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missy-oa