Mai's POV
Pocketing the phone, I glanced around making sure that no one I knew was in the area as I headed towards my home. I got halfway down the street when I saw a figure walking down the opposite side of the street. As the figure came closer I saw that it was Stephen which caused me to have a momentary moment of panic. I knew without a doubt that if Stephen saw me that I'd have to deal with whatever issue he was wanting to talk about with me.
I had a general idea of what Stephen wanted to talk to me about then I definitely didn't want to deal with it right now. I really didn't want to talk about it in front of any new demon hunters or anyone who has expectations of me. Speeding up I undid my hair and let it fall blocking half my face from sight.
I was nervous to the point of being distracted and I wasn't paying attention to what was in front of me. I ended up running into someone hard enough that I fell to the ground which caused me to be embarrassed. I couldn't believe I was caught off guard enough to be knocked down after all I was supposed to be the best of all demon hunters. Looking at the other person, who'd I'd also knocked down, I apologized.
Looking at the other person I saw that the person was a male who was maybe a couple years older than myself, which made him to be around twenty-one. He was as tall as Naru with white blonde hair and the brightest green eyes I'd ever seen. The man was wearing a white muscle shirt that said mess with me and you'll regret it with tan khaki cargo pants. He was obviously a foreigner, but what made me do a double take was the fact that he was also born demon hunter. He wasn't want one of the unofficial Japanese demon hunters.
I wasn't sure if he was a rouge or not, but one thing I did figure out was that he'd been following Stephen. He glared at me when he realized that Stephen was too far away to catch up to without drawing suspicion. I assumed that his glare was supposed to intimidate me, but with everything I've been through on top of dealing with Naru's glares, which I will be the first to admit were scary, his glare did nothing other than irritate me.
"Watch it," he said in English, a German accent accompanying his voice.
I narrowed my eyes and replied back in English allowing my Scottish accent to show, "I donna know if ye understood me the first time or no', but I did say I was sorry fer bumpin in ta ye."
At this his eyes widened as he gave me a once over. His scrutiny of me wasn't unnerving which was unusual for me, but then again, he wasn't eyeing me like I was a piece of meat. He seemed interested in me on a curious level instead of a I want to take you to bed level. I wasn't offended at all because I knew he was probably wondering why I had a Scottish accent when I didn't look Scottish.
"You're not Japanese, are you?" he asked.
"Half," I replied dropping my accent. "There's a coffee shop over there. Why don't we go there? We can chat and you can explain why you're spying on Stephen Summers," I added pointing to the coffee shop across the street.
I had guessed correctly that he was spying on Stephen as his face became considerably pale and his eyes widened. He then became embarrassed as his cheeks reddened a bit. I kind of felt bad for him since he obviously didn't recognize who I was and wouldn't know that I am very perceptive, I can ferret out any information if the mood strikes me.
"Very well," he said following me to the coffee shop.
Once seated coffee in hand he looked at me asked, "How did you know I was following Stephen Summers?"
I smiled at him and said, "First off I would like to know your name."
He blinked then blushed, "Sorry my name is Victor Geller and you are?"
"Ah so you are indeed German. I am Mai Taniyama," I said in reply earning an astonished look from Victor.
"Mai Taniyama as in the infamous Celtic Demon?" he asked astonished before blushing.
I blinked in response. It had been a long time since I'd heard someone call me by that nick name. I received that nick name from a demon that I didn't kill as he had done nothing to receive death at the time. Ever since then both demons and demon hunters have called me that which is ironic since I'm a demon hunter.
"People still call me that? I would have figured that, that nick name would have died down after five years of not being a part of the council."
He blinked before saying, "Why would it die when you're a legend? Everyone talks of your feats especially of the battle between you and Desi. Is it true that you defeated Desi with your bare hands and didn't use any weapons?"
It was my turn to blink. I had never thought that people would continue to talk about what I had done when I was a part of the council. It was unusual and somewhat flattering. Normally if a person were to leave the council they would be labeled a rogue and promptly forgotten. This made me wonder if the council still considered me a member or if I was labeled a rogue.
"What does the council have me labeled as?" I asked needing to know.
"What do you mean?" Victor asked.
"Last I knew I was no longer a part of the council which means I should be labeled as a rogue," I said with a ring any bells kind of attitude.
"That's weird the council members have told us that you vanished and had no idea where you were. They played it off as that you're still a part of the council, but had gone MIA. I know some of the demon hunters don't believe that you exist. They say you're nothing, but a myth to motivate hunters into doing their best. As for myself I wasn't sure if you existed or not, I'd talked with those who claimed to have personally known you, but when I asked about where you were they clammed up so fast that I believed they were lying," he said in reply.
Hearing this caused me to raise an eyebrow in surprise. "The person you're talking about is Mathe isn't it."
"Yes, it was. How did you know?" he asked.
"I have my ways. So now why don't you explain as to why you were tailing Stephen," I said directing the subject back to what we were originally talking about.
"Ah that would be because the council asked me to spy on him. They believe he is trying to set up his own demon hunter's council or that he is plotting with rogue demon hunters on a way to over throw them," he said looking appalled that anyone could associate with a rogue demon hunter.
It interested me that the council would care. If they cared it meant that they viewed Stephen as a threat. If that was the case, then I definitely wanted to hear what he had to say.
Looking at Victor I saw that he was looking at me expectantly as if I should be agreeing to something. "Victor you do know that it isn't against the rules to talk to rogue demon hunters, right?"
"What do you mean? Of course, it is against the rules," he said sounding so certain that it was.
I gave a small laugh at him. He had no idea about the rules and what some of them meant. "Can you tell me what rule says that you cannot associate with rogues? When you were being trained did the council or one of the council's lackeys tell you this?" I asked.
"I… don't what rule it is, but Nathaniel was the one who told me that it was a rule," he said looking uncertain when he was speaking.
I smiled and then asked, "How well do you know the rule book? Have you even read it?"
He looked at me blushed and then looked away. "I skimmed through the rule book, but have not fully read it."
"I gathered that. I will tell you this, it is wise to know the rule book inside out as it allows you to do things that the council frowns upon, but they cannot punish you as it was not against the rules. Not associating with rogues is a spoken rule not a written rule. The council cannot make it a written rule as it would contradict another written rule. The rule that prevents them from making a written rule to prevent association with rogues can't be taken away. If they did take that rule away they'd have to re-write the entire rulebook. They know that they can't re-write the rulebook because it would cause a revolt amongst the demon hunters. There are reasons why we have a rule book and a code. I can guarantee you that the council knows it inside and out," I told him trying to make sure that he understood the importance of knowing the rules.
He looked at me and took a few minutes trying to figure out what he was going to say. He was deep in thought and I didn't mind as I wanted to hear what he was going to say or ask. "You say that knowing the rules are important, but I don't get why it's important."
"I see, then let me explain. There is a rule that say you don't have to kill every demon you come into contact with, but there is also another rule that says you must kill every demon that intends to harm the innocent. Those two rules go hand in hand, but there are also other rules that affect these two such as the rule that says you must know how to tell what a demon's aura is. By knowing a demon's aura, you can tell whether or not the demon needs to be killed. I can honestly say that I have used these rules against the council. There were times where the council had tried to claim that I was traitor by not killing a demon, but since I knew the demon was not evil yet I could prove that I was not going against the rules," I said explaining this as much as I could without confusing him.
"I see, but why would the council try to convict you as a traitor when you're the best demon hunter there is?" he asked.
"Ah the question of the decade. The council isn't as good as you think it is. Several corrupt hunters currently reside on the council and they don't care who the step on in order to gain more power. Haven't you ever noticed that out standing hunters are mysteriously killed or they've been tried as traitors and are forced either to die or become rogues? These hunters at one time or another have disagreed with the council. The council members won't do the killing themselves, but it is easy for them to set up the downfall of a hunter. This was one of the main reasons I left.
Before my parents' death they both held a seat on the council. One was to go to my older brother while the other was supposed to go to my older sister. My brother is holding his seat and my sister was killed before she could take her seat. Following her death, I was supposed to take her place, but I was only ten at the time. The council was going to take the seat away from me, but I irritated them by reciting a rule."
"What rule?" Victor asked as he tilted his to the left.
"If the person who is to take a council seat is not of the age of twenty-one they can't succeed the seat, but they are allowed to have a temporary placement until they are of age. I have my other brother holding my seat until I am of age. As a result, a majority of the council has been trying to get me branded as a traitor, but knowing the rule book as well as I do has saved me from that fate. Also, it's been near impossible for them to do anything to me without drawing suspicion on themselves ever since I defeated Desi. This allowed me the opportunity to leave which started the age of rogues.
I highly suggest that before you jump head first into doing something for the council that you thoroughly examine the situation and the job they're having you do. The council views rogues as a threat because they could take away their power if they so desired, but don't get true rogues mixed up with falsely accused ones. To be completely honest with you and I am not saying this to boost my own ego, but I am possibly the only person the council fears the most because if I were to start my own demon hunter's society about 95% of the current council will leave to follow me," I stated telling him part of the reason I was not amongst the society.
He was silent through the entire story which was nice as most people would interrupt me half way through. He didn't say anything until the very end, "So let me get this straight the council is corrupt and Stephen knows this and is trying to find you?"
"That is a correct brief summary. Stephen has been trying to convince me to start my own society ever since I left. I had successfully been able to avoid him until recently. He somehow has found out my location which only two people should have known about," I said in reply.
"I have a question what is the difference between an accused rogue and a true rogue? And if your brothers are on the council does that mean they are corrupt too?" he asked looking puzzled.
I smiled took a sip of my coffee and said, "To answer your first question a true rogue demon hunter basically becomes something similar to a demon. They have no regards in who they kill innocent or guilty. They don't just kill demons either they also kill other hunters or non-hunters. In regard to your second question no my brothers are not corrupt. There are more corrupt council members than good ones so there is no balance and the good members are constantly trying to fix or make right what the corrupt ones do."
"I see, well thank you for talking with me. I definitely have a lot to think about and much to read on," he said with a small smile before leaving.
I have a feeling my life is just about to get more interesting.
