-I don't know if I have mentioned this before or not so I will just say it now. The names Ganrougel and Aldmora were graciously created by Shodow17. Also I want to give my gratitude and praise to all who read my works and send their love and support. You're all glorious people-
-monsters in this chap are-
Giroro- Ganrougel
Keroro- Kurse
Dororo- Aldmora
~Please Enjoy~
Natsumi decided to keep by herself in the kitchen a little longer and made a tray of snacks and drinks. She entered the living room to see Fuyuki and Koyuki sitting on the couches. Aldmora was trying to sit next to Koyuki but it was clear he felt out of place. Ganrougel was leaning against a wall nearby, jumping into the conversation every now and then. His arms were crossed and he looked focused but annoyed.
"Hey sis! Thanks for the food." Fuyuki quickly grabbed some of the snacks as soon as Natsumi put the tray on the table.
"Geez Fuyuki. Didn't you have lunch earlier?" Natsumi teased.
"Actually I didn't, I was too busy thinking up theories." Fuyuki flipped the pages of his notes for her. Natsumi sighed and sat on the couch next to him. "So Ganrougel what abilities do you have?"
"You're not seriously asking them weird questions like that are you?" Natsumi asked embarrassed by her little brother.
"It's fine Natsumi. It's kinda nice hanging out with innocent humans like you guys." Ganrougel grinned.
"Well you'd think a human who just learned that monsters who can kill you, you know the ones they base horrifying stories and nightmares off of, actually exist, wouldn't want to befriend and study them right off the bat. I mean sure I'm fine with humans and monsters being friends but humans have to be careful." Natsumi shrugged her shoulders.
"Well we don't know if Dracula or the Frankenstein monster are real yet." Fuyuki stated as he nervously rubbed the back of his head. "I'm not even sure if these guys are as dangerous as you say they are."
"No she's right." Aldmora spoke clearly.
"We've taken many lives Fuyuki, don't get that wrong." Ganrougel looked dead into Fuyuki's eyes.
"Oh, but at least you don't hurt the innocent people right?" Fuyuki asked.
"I only kill betrayers." Ganrougel straightened up.
"I didn't have control over who I took. It was anyone unlucky enough to be close to me at the time. Their own depression and regrets became the means of they're death." Aldmora shivered at the memories.
"But now you can choose. You don't even have to take anyone for the rest of time if you want." Koyuki quickly spoke up to quell his fear. She grabbed his hand and held it tight. "I'll be here to help you if you want."
"Thank you Koyuki." Aldmora's eyes smiled and he griped her hand in return.
"See they're not like the monsters most books are based on because those monsters would attack anyone just for fun." Fuyuki smiled weakly at his sister.
"I still don't understand your fascination, I'm still pretty uncomfortable with the idea. No offense." Natsumi looked to Aldmora and Ganrougel.
"None taken. I know I'm deadly and should be feared. Actually being around humans like this is weird for me too." Ganrougel brushed off her comment.
"See even Ganrougel get's it's almost unnatural for humans and monsters to be fascinated with each other... in the friendly fascination not the I want to take you apart and slowly kill you fascination." Natsumi corrected herself.
"But they're not all bad, I can't believe that. There are humans that are just as bad as the stories so there have to be supernatural creatures just as good as the innocent humans." Fuyuki declared his belief.
"I know, I know." Natsumi gave into her brother.
"So where did Kurse go after you guys vanished last time anyway? He seemed like a nice guy." Fuyuki turned to Ganrougel.
"I'm not sure. We didn't end up in the same place and I haven't seen him since then." Ganrougel shrugged.
"There is one way to ensure he shows up though." Aldmora stated.
"That's true." Ganrougel nodded.
"What is it?" Fuyuki asked.
"You have to mess up a toy." Aldmora explained.
"Not just any toy though it has to be one you're making, that will increase his chances of finding you." Ganrougel continued. "Do you have another of those things you were making last time?"
"I think so... Let me go check the closet." Fuyuki rushed out of the room.
"Is he really that interested in things like us?" Aldmora was surprised to see Fuyuki so eager to pretty much summon Kurse the ghost.
"He's a supernatural nerd." Natsumi sighed.
"Nerd?" Aldmora asked.
"What I mean is he's curious about you guys. He's always been interested in monsters and aliens." Natsumi explained. "He's read so many books and learned as much as he could but he's never gotten as much evidence as today where you guys are sitting in our own home."
"Oh, ok." Aldmora nodded, now able to understand.
"Natsumi, I still don't understand why you're friends with Ganrougel now. You said he tormented you when you were a kid." Koyuki asked.
"Oh well he said I was marked which was someway for him to tell who he should kill. So he showed up in my room one night and tried to attack me but then he vanished. He tried again years later but he still disappeared. Of course that was after he turned into a decayed deer by the river." Natsumi straightened up and tried to make her story as quick and clear as possible.
"I was curious why she didn't have the same mark as my other targets, and somehow she kept finding a way to send me away right before I could harm her; I decided not to kill her. She clearly wasn't what I usually hunted. The next time I found her, she was getting ready to attack me first. I'm intrigued that a human would decide to fight back against me and not just scream at the sight of me." Ganrougel smiled as he recalled Natsumi's attempt. "She even gave her brother a weapon to fight me off."
"Then when I saw Aldmora yesterday, Ganrougel explained part of his story to me. He looked so sad and worried about you. He wasn't the heartless monster I knew as a little girl. So when he promised not to attack me or my family I gave him a second chance." Natsumi finished her explanation. Ganrougel glanced back at Natsumi while Koyuki and Aldmora listened to her. He remembered her words from yesterday, they still struck to his core. She was truly a different human than ones he had met before.
"Do you know why you were marked in the first place?" Koyuki asked, slightly intrigued by the story.
"No... I don't. I mean I wasn't a terrible person at least nothing bad enough to warrant my death." Natsumi replied.
"You didn't even have the same kind of mark. It was strange. It felt as if I would be physically sick and wounded if I didn't find you. When I did find you the mark faded, I was confused on what to do." Ganrougel tried to explain the mark in further detail.
"Maybe she wasn't marked to be killed like the rest but to be saved, or even befriended." Koyuki suggested.
"Well that just makes me sound like a main character or something." Natsumi winced at the thought.
"I doubt it because there are plenty of humans who need actual protecting from darker forces in the world. Natsumi seems to be able to handle herself just fine and I'm not exactly a bodyguard kind of guy." Ganrougel shook his head.
"Thank you." Natsumi was surprised by the compliment.
"Well you are a strong human. I'm just stating the truth." Ganrougel looked off to the side, avoiding everyone's gaze.
"But I didn't even really fight you, how do you know I can handle a monster?" Natsumi asked.
"I-I can just sense it ok? Leave it at that." Ganrougel huffed. To his relief Fuyuki ran back into the room.
"I found one!" Fuyuki held the box over his head victoriously. He placed it on the table and opened it eagerly.
"Good, now remember to make it as bad as you can. It has to be flawed." Ganrougel stated.
"Right." Fuyuki pulled out all of the pieces and starting jamming the joints together. Everyone watched as he poorly created the gundam toy.
"Um... everyone..." Aldmora softly spoke up.
"What's up?" Fuyuki paused his cruel toy torture and looked to Aldmora.
Aldmora pointed past Fuyuki and Natsumi. "He's right behind you."
Natsumi and Fuyuki turned to see Kurse's face perched on the back of the couch. His expression was twisted by tears and restraint.
"Aaahh!" Natsumi screamed as she fall from the couch.
"Fuyuki I know you're a cool guy so why did you destroy it so much?" Kurse looked to Fuyuki and whimpered.
"I'm sorry. You can fix it if you want." Fuyuki guiltily handed the crude toy over. Kurse eagerly snatched it up and began to work on perfecting it.
"So where have you been?" Ganrougel asked.
"I don't really know." Kurse kept his eyes to the toy and floated over the table where he could reach the other pieces in the box. "I was on some weird metal tower and I wandered around waiting for someone I recognized or a toy that needed saving."
"For four years?" Natsumi asked. She rubbed her elbow which had bumped into the table from her fall.
"Yeah, turns out I don't really have a sense of direction in the modern era. It all looks weird and crowded." Kurse chuckled.
"Didn't you go out and about before though?" Fuyuki asked.
"Well yeah but not too far from our base." Kurse answered while cutting off parts he couldn't save from the figure.
"You have a base?" Fuyuki's eyes lit up with fascination.
"Yep. Ganrougel and Aldmora met me years ago and we decided we could be cool friends so we found a place to call our own when we weren't drawn out to other parts of the world." Kurse smiled to his monster pals. "Wait a moment."
Kurse paused his toy salvation to glance at everyone present. After a few moments his eyes landed on Koyuki. "Who are you?"
"I'm Koyuki. I'm Aldmora's new friend." Koyuki grinned wide.
"Oh that's cool! Is that why he isn't crying like he always does?" Kurse teased Aldmora who tensed up at the comment. "Nice face mask by the way buddy!"
"Thank you Kurse." Aldmora nodded with a soft smile.
"Now you just need this." Kurse worked quickly with a paintbrush on Aldmora's mask. When he was done there was a roughly painted mouth of fangs in a crooked grin. "Now you really look like a vicious monster."
Aldmora started to tear up at the suggestion. Koyuki placed her hands on his shoulder to calm his crying. "You ruined Koyuki's gift."
"You idiot." Ganrougel turned his now angry eyes to Kurse.
"What? I thought it would look really cool. How was I supposed to know he wouldn't appreciate it?" Kurse crossed his arms as the toy and bits floated in the air around him.
"It's ok Aldmora. I have others you can keep." Koyuki assured her friend and pulled out spares from her bag.
"You're so nice to me Koyuki." Aldmora was once again stunned by her kindness and smiled.
"That's what friends are for right?" Koyuki smiled brightly for him, helping to raise his spirits.
"Wow... It might be a really good idea to keep Koyuki around Aldmora." Natsumi blinked her wide eyes to the pair. It surprised her how quickly Koyuki could calm him.
"How about it? Want to live with me?" Koyuki looked to Aldmora hopefully.
"What about your family? Won't I be a burden?" Aldmora looked down at his lap.
"Nope. I live all by myself and I would love to have a friend." Koyuki answered happily even as the others looked at her with sadden shock.
"You don't have a family?" Aldmora was first to ask.
"I was an orphan when I lived in my old village and now that my clan disbanded, we all live separately in the modern cities." Koyuki still smiled through her oddly sad story. "If you live with me I won't be so alone and I can teach you the ninja way which might help you feel happier and more at peace."
"If it will make you happy Koyuki, I will live with you. You've done so much for me already." Aldmora was so overjoyed he almost cried again.
"Thank you." Koyuki leapt up and hugged Aldmora. He smiled brightly with a soft blush on his cheeks, happily crushed in her loving arms.
"I've never seen someone so content with a human..." Ganrougel's statement faded out as he watched the roommate proposal.
"It is a little weird isn't it?" Kurse looked at the scene for only a moment more before he quickly returned to his re-modeling.
Ganrougel turned his eyes from the pair and rested his gaze once more on Natsumi. Can a monster like me and a human really be friends? Why is she different to me? Why do I... respect her so much? She's just a human child right? Natsumi smiled, happy that Koyuki and Aldmora won't have to be alone anymore and they seemed to get along really well. Ganrougel grinned to himself. I never thought I would enjoy seeing someone smile so much. Natsumi what have you done to me?