After many days or maybe weeks, Alfred found a good, honest job. It was at a furniture store in a local strip mall. The strip mall also held a coffee shop, a clothing store, and a liquor store. When Alfred had come to them, admitted to having been abused by his adoptive father and, after having finally been able to be on his own, needed a job. The people that ran the store, a couple named Tino and Berwald, bought it, or he thought they did because they hired him. Berwald was very tall, almost as tall as Ivan, and he had a scary looking face and presence. Tino, on the other hand, was more average height, more happy looking and lively.
As Alfred started working there, Tino and Berwald had become like the parents he had never had. Tino would bring Alfred lunch and told him not to bother when he offered to repay him. Berwald would congratulate him on a day with good service, or, he thought he did, Berwald didn't talk much and was obviously hesitant to be near Alfred, so he was usually gave a small pat on the back, so light and quick that it was barely there. When Alfred came home at night and told Ivan about his day, Ivan congratulated him on finding a job, but something about it didn't sound sincere. He was probably put-off about how Alfred refused to let Ivan come with him when he went outside the house, even if he promised to stay well hidden.
More time passed and it turned out Alfred had been right about the inherited money running out. Luckily, his new job kept them going. Ivan still did not like the fact that Alfred would be out of his sight for more than an hour everyday, and he was also very suspicious of the scent that would barely cling to Alfred when he got home. He would have to investigate this 'furniture store'. Not now though, Alfred was there currently.
Ivan did not like to stay in the house. It was the house that the bastard of a human being that had been abusing Alfred had owned and lived in. Ivan had asked Alfred to move his dwellings but Alfred had refused, saying it would be expensive and he did not have much money. Ivan was very confused by human economy and standards. If you want something, you take it; If you don't like someone or something, you destroy it. It was as simple as that. Well, apparently, such ideas are not liked by Alfred and he was made to promise not to do such things. He liked his host, as most demons do, but Alfred confused him. For many years he was angry with his "father" but was to scared to hurt him, despite the strange strength that his host possessed. Most abused humans would hate the world and everything in it, be distrustful of everyone, but Alfred, for some reason, is bright as a star and kind. It made no sense to Ivan, he was made from the anger and fear and distress Alfred felt, yet, once his "father" was gone, he seemed perfectly fine, as if he had never felt a bad feeling in his life. Humans are very strange and complex creatures was all Ivan could conclude.
Another reason Ivan did not like to stay at the house alone. There was nothing he could do. He felt rather useless when he did not have Alfred around to protect. He usually walked about the house, hoping that some stray demon would be foolish enough to step into his boundaries. That, unfortunately, rarely ever happened. So he usually took to Alfred's old bedroom when he could no longer take his boredom, he would look at and maybe attempt to organize the messy room. Sometimes he would look at the now repaired wall near the window and remember the satisfying crunch of the bastard human's skull as it made contact with the plaster then the bricks and wood. It brought a dark, childish smile to his face. Occasionally the bed would catch his eye, he had the urge to burn the thing many times, he did not like to look at the thing that had hosted Alfred's abuse. Alfred would not notice the difference as he never went into the room anymore. Ivan decided that that was what he was to do that day. He would get rid of all Alfred's bad memories. He would save whatever seemed to hold value, but otherwise, he would get rid of everything, especially the bed. He would most likely leave everything in the trees outside the backyard, but he would make a bonfire out of the bed. He smiled in dark glee at the thought how big the fire might be or how long it might burn. He might have to wait until Alfred got home, just in case there was something that he did not want to lose. Ivan really wanted to watch this room—and if he had his way, the house—burn.
Kiku had planned to simply drop by and invite Alfred to go out during the weekend, but he had not expected to see a demon standing in Alfred's old bedroom. He had come to the door and knocked, but when he got no answer after a long time, he tried the door. It was unlocked. That was good, it meant someone was home, that or Alfred had forgotten to lock it when he left. If there was in fact no one home, Kiku resolved to closing and locking the door when he left. Since then he had found himself trying his best to keep up what Alfred liked to call his "ninja" mode, and try to make it out the door without dying. The demon was tall—intimidatingly so—and it had pale skin and hair, Kiku had only glimpsed its face, but he saw enough to make out inhuman purple eyes and a smile that resonated a promise of death.
When Kiku finally made it out of the house, he began to run, he ran all the way back to his own house and straight to the phone. He dialed a three digit number and frantically spoke when the line was picked up. He told the operator on the other end what he had seen and his friend's address. After the person on the other end had assured him that help was on its way, he hung up and called Alfred.
Haha, This is becoming bad. OK, so here's the thing, sometimes I can start out a story and it will be really good, but then, towards the middle and end, it becomes horrible, also school is going to start back up soon so I won't update quickly. I perfer to write during the summer when I have plenty of time, so who knows, maybe the next chapter will be out in a year?
Please point out any mistakes I've made (spelling, grammar, etc.) I own nothing.