Chapter 1: Walking in dark hours.

Tatsumi port city, 2006:

It was very late, the trip to Tokyo to Tatsumi was very long. Didn't help that he couldn't find tickets at time so he grabbed what he could, what he get was the last train to Tatsumi. 3 Hours of travel with no stops, it was a very long and boring trip. His mp3 player was almost out of battery.

He got a call from his grandmother to see how he was but she didn't sound very interested but more relived that he was gone. They weren't close, she was her legal tutor until he reached 18 in a couple of months, after that, they will cut relations.

"Arriving to Tatsumi Port station.

Thank you for choosing us."

At last, the train arrived to Tatsumi port and he left the transport. He was a young man, well "man", he was 17 year old boy turning 18. He was wearing black jean shorts and a sports jacket. He was carrying a bag on his shoulders and a luggage package on his hands. He was moving to this place to finish school.

His name was Kashida Naoki, a third year student at Gekkoukan High school.

Honestly, it was a miracle that he managed to get into that school. Especially with his antecedents. The whole city had quite a story: it was actually an artificial island made by a corporate conglomerate.

Naoki walked to the night streets of Tatsumi port, at this time no one was walking but him.

"I don't get what's so great about this place" Besides him was flying a tiny person, she had red hair and was wearing a purple leotard. Although it was impossible to such a tiny person to exist, the wings on her back explain her existence: she was a fairy of the forest.

"Pixie, how many times do I have to tell you that you mustn't get out in public?"

"What public? We're the only ones here!" Pixie was in fact a demon, perhaps the only one who he call a 'friend'. Emphasis on that words, because demons does not possess a heart to enjoy feelings like love, sadness and friendship. Even so, she was the most close to him mostly because she spend the most time with him since the conception. "Also, why you have to go to school? Is not like they can teach you stuff that you don't know."

"This is my last year, when school is over we can go whenever we like."

"Hmm, try not to get expelled this time, Nao."

"Don't call me that and I didn't get expel, I quit."

"A-ha, and god loves us all…"

"Get back."

"Don-"Just like she appeared, she disappeared. Naoki grabbed his earphones and play a rock song. Call him edgy but he like American rock bands a lot. They have certain tone.

But as he was listening to music, his wrist watch marked midnight and his mp3 stopped.

"Dammit, is midnight…" During the last couple of years, every 24 hours times seems to stop for everyone except him and demons. During an entire hour, all human beings will turn into coffins and all electronic advices won't work. He asked to different demon what was happening, they didn't know but accordingly to those who are versed in magic this was a moment between the days. An empty hour if you will.

The problem is that he needed to go the school dorm and if he goes now, the only ones who will receive him will be coffins.

So he had to kill time for an entire hour, great.

Naoki looked around and see one of those gooey monster that appeared. They are not intelligent as demons, knowing this after his failed attempts to recruit them. The creatures were a black blob of arms with a blue mask acting as a face.

They only appear during this empty time and search for beings like him.

The monster attack him but a single kick was enough to kill it.

If he had to describe these monsters in one word it would be:

Weak.

They weren't demons or beasts, accordingly to his companions they were the results of human negative emotions. He could sense it since the beginning: Anger, sadness, regret, shame, fear, envy, lust and greed. Emotions that are exclusively to humans.

Thankfully they were too weak.

"Daisoujou, are you there?" He speak and a dark vortex emerged from the floor. From it, a figure emerged. It looked like a Buddhist monk of high rank, but what was different it was that he wasn't a human but a skeleton.

"A voice I haven't hear in a while. What is that you want from I, Demi-fiend?"

"What can you tell me about this empty time?" The skeleton look at the sky and saw that it wasn't the current black but a yellow green.

"How interesting. Such a sight is not normal for this world. Tell me, how long has it being like this?"

"A couple of years now. It last for an entire hour. All humans are turn into coffins during that hour. What can you tell me about this?"

"The atmosphere is not natural. An outside force is the source of such condition of your world."

"Who?"

"I do not know. You will have to figure it out by you own biding" In other words, he didn't know shit. "Now answer me: Why calling me? You haven't contact any of the fiends or our lord since the conception. Matador and Hell biker are anxious to fight you once again. And Mother Harlot never seize to speak of you, Demi-fiend."

"I believed that a fiend will have more knowledge of this. My demons haven't manage to give me a proper answer and from all the fiends you are by far the most reasonable of all. Also, I have time to kill."

"You dare to use me as entertainment?! You said that from all the fiends I'm the most reasonable…" Daisoujou extended his right arm, inside his hand was a Japamala. "What makes you think that I don't desire your death?" The demi-fiend didn't say anything, he just stare at the demon in silent. "You revert fate, returned the world to how it was. Going against god and our lord. You rejected salvation. Why wouldn't I don't want to save you?"

"Because the old man won't let you."

"DO NOT MOCK MY LORD!" The ground cracked, all the lights and windows were destroyed only by his scream. "But you are correct. Lucifer-Sama has forbid us to attack you as our punishment for betray him. It's shameful to say it but you did us a favor by killing us back at the vortex world." When he finish his sentence, the same portal that bring him reappeared below him. "I came with no ill intentions but Lucifer-Sama just let me stay for a short period. This is goodbye. But remember this words, Demi fiend."

"Life is suffering, we come to this world to suffer. Even our mothers suffers to bring us to life. Death is the inevitable fate for all men. Only death will bring salvation. Men once again will face the inevitable and you will not be able to stop it." His body was almost gone, only his head remained. "I will pray for your salvation, Demi-friend." Hell reclaimed Daisoujou, leaving Naoki alone again.

Should he call Pixie? No. After shutting her like that, she would nuke his face the moment she sees him. The best course was to wait to things to calm down and buy her an ice cream. She loves to eat that stuff for some reason, so it could work as a good bribe.

He walk for a while and very slowly. He fight a couple of monsters that he dispatch immediately with no effort. Naoki follow the instructions and managed to reach his destiny: the student dorms.

It was bigger than he thought. A little too big for a school dorm.

For his surprise, the door was open. He could say that he arrived and no one greet him so he went straight to bed. So, the demon went inside the building and saw the lobby. It was fine. A living room with a dinner room behind. Nothing out of the ordinary. Actually, it remind him of a hotel lobby.

"You're late, I'm being waiting a long time for you." Naoki immediately turn his head to his left and saw a boy behind the reception desk. He was very young looking, a pre-teen. Black short hair and blue eyes. He was wearing a classic prisoner outfit. He look human but he could feel that he wasn't one. "Now we can proceed." Suddenly the boy was before him and snapped his finger. "You-"

"If you don't tell me who you are and what you want, I'm going to rip you in half with my bare hands." He threaten the boy with a calm and cold tone. The boy didn't seem scared but rather surprise, like he wasn't waiting for that answer.

"I want you to sign this contract but don't worry. You just need to write down your name and take full respo-"

"Did I stutter? I won't sign anything. And you actually believe that I will sign a contract without reading it?" Naoki's eyes were changing from silver to yellow, slowly transforming himself into his demonic form. "Last warning. Answer my questions."

"Who's there?!" Before the boy could answer, another person came in. This one was a girl. She had brown short hair and was wearing the gekkokan high school uniform. But her sweater was pink rather than the black he saw on the papers. The girl had something attached on her right thigh that immediately catch his attention: a gun.

Whoever she was, she was on edge. Her constant patting, the fear on her eyes and her hand about to grab the pistol.

"You're shaking." The girl flinched. "Free advice: a gun is a killing tool. If you don't have the resolve of using it…"

"…bad people are going to do things to you"

Naoki closed the distance between them in a fraction of a second. His left hand was holding her arm from moving while the other was on her mouth, preventing her from screaming. If she was shaking before then now she was about to faint of fear.

"What are you doing?!" At their side another girl appeared. She looked slightly older than the one he was holding, mostly because of her hairstyle and the makeup that make her look older than she was. She had red long hair, with one eye being covered. She was also wearing the gekkekan uniform but her skirt was longer. The redheaded girl give him the vibe of a high class girl.

Suddenly, his mp3 playing start working again and light turn back on. The empty hour was officially over and these two were able to interact with him during that non-time.

"Interesting." He thought while realizing the brunette. "Sorry for that. But I don't like people who want to shoot me."

"Y-You came out of nowhere, and who are you?!"

"Takeba, I talked you about him. He is the new transfer student, Kashida Naoki. Sorry for what happen, we didn't expect you to come this late."

"I get what I could get. They weren't many trains available."

"So it seems. Forgive me, I haven't introduce myself. I'm Kirijo Mitsuru, I'm a third year at Gekkokan high school. And also your classmate."

"A pleasure."

"She is Takeba Yukari."

"S-Sorry for what happen…."

"Don't be. I should come early." He needed to play safe. This two were human beings. Naoki couldn't feel the strange boy anymore, meaning that he could only appeared during that moment. "I don't want to be rude but I'm tired. I just want to sleep."

"Of course, follow us." Naoki grabbed his luggage and follow the girls. They walked to the second floor, Takeba walked with a certain distance. She was still scared of what happen. "This is your room. Takeba will take you to school tomorrow."

"I see."

"Do you-"

"No, goodnight." Naoki left the girl and went inside his room. He could hear that Takeba called him asshole when he went inside.

The demi-fiend drop his stuff and lay on his bed. One of the bad things of being a demon is that he cannot sleep naturally. Whenever he wanted to sleep he summon one of his demons to cast a sleep spell. But even so, he wasn't able to dream. It was a shut black view for hours.

But he wasn't summoning a demon for a good reason.

The moment he went inside his room he felt that someone was watching him. Not a demon or a specter. No, he couldn't feel any kind of magic or smell a demon. Human eyes were watching him right now.

A camera perhaps. But he couldn't let them that he knew. So he went to bed and pretend to be sleep.

Tomorrow he will take care of things.