Night had fallen when Urufu finished all her homework. Not that she spent the whole day doing it, she just spent more than half an hour only to finish it. But she wasn't going to snuggle in her bed just yet; from the drawer of her bedside table, she took out a sketchbook with a mechanical pencil and eraser in the ring, then continued her last drawing: a somewhat realistic sorrowful girl. The other unrealistic part about it was it was a little like Anime. She sat on her chair wile doing so. She focused intently on it, so focused like a real artist.
However, that wasn't the only sketchbook she ever had, there were ten completely used sketchbooks; five on a wall shelf above her table that sat Northeast to her bed and the other five in that table's drawer. The ones in her drawer were the ones she used when she was between five to nine while the others were used after her ninth birthday and till the present.
Her room was quite a simple one. A white bed with a brown comforter that leaned against the wall, a plain old wooden table along with a matching plain old wooden chair and a vertically rectangular window just in front of her table along with white floral curtains draping over it, only allowing a thin ray of moonlight into the room. Although the furniture was plain, her walls were decorated with her drawings.
There were drawings of sorrow, fear, monsters she'd see in nightmares that happen in occasion and other slightly metaphorical drawings like a boy with medium sized white wings and a straight jacket huddling himself in cage, a girl with a bleeding hole in her chest that was shaped like a heart painting a smile on her teary, frowning face and some others. However, none were of happiness, just negative things.
Those were all the present year's drawings. Every new year, she would tear down all the drawings she had on her wall and keep them in a file. The ones that were stuck to the wall were the ones that seemed like a good job to her, but every drawing was a fantastic job, she just didn't notice it. She also didn't like praise, since she thought that all her drawings were simple, nice drawings.
Strangely at first but not surprising if you knew her whole past, she would always draw a picture of a weeping girl with a pair of parents in traditional Japanese clothing walking away from her. The girl had outstretched arms, desperately reaching for the pair, but blood-red ribbons that sprouted from the ground behind her held her back while the parents had no eyes. The mother one was holding a baby in her arms.
Urufu paused for a second after she finished doing the last detail, then lifted up her head and looked at the drawing, which was right under her window and a centimeter away from touching her table. She then lifted her head higher, gazing at the small, faint ray of moonlight that seeped in, which made her play her memory...
Her memory was painful and full of betrayal, which took place when she was a seven year old. But she'd gotten used to accidentally playing it since she learned how not to feel any emotion at all. When it finished, she sighed and outlined the drawing with a black pen from a cup-full of pens of different thicknesses. When finished, she rubbed any traces of pencil from the paper and put the book back into the bedside drawer.
I'm ready, Rida-san, said Urufu, still sitting in the chair, just gazing at the ray of moonlight with a blank, vacant face. Want to explore this new, small town by the name of Pulau Rintis?
I'm always ready to explore a new area, chuckled Rida.
The girl walked to her bed, her long, black hair that reached the end of her back flowing gently and gracefully as she walked. Above the head of her bed hung a mask she received on her ninth birthday. It was a wolf mask carved in wood by Hane. He wasn't the best carver but he wasn't that bad at all. He painted the mask white and dipped the tips of the ears and curved fur on the cheeks in crimson red paint while he stuck fake fur in the ears. There was also red paint on the oval-like eye holes, acting as red makeup while the kanji word of wolf was painted on the center of the forehead.
Urufu took the mask off there and put it on her face, put on her black hoodie then walked towards the window, only to pull back the curtains and open the window to its widest. Then, her hair turned white from her scalp to the end. Those weren't the only changes; she grew white wolf ears, a tail that reached the backs of her knees, white fur that grew from her elbows to her wrists and knees to the ankle and long, sharp claws that replaced her human nails, even her toenails.
Then, the final change was her right eye dissolving into a shade of bloody-red, along with a thin, black, slit-like pupil with thin, black veins that stretched from there to the the end of the iris. That eye was slightly bigger than the other, which was her usual, brown eyes.
At that moment, Rida and Urufu switched roles; Urufu played the one who spoke in the body's consciousness while Rida was one who controlled the body. Rida jumped out of the window without flaw, landing on the roof with a soft tap. Whenever Rida was the body, her physical abilities improved so much more than Urufu's; she would have immense, inhuman agility, the senses of a wolf and the strength of a berserker.
She scanned the houses for a moment, making sure that everyone was asleep and no one was looking out of their windows. Then, she inhaled the fresh air of the small town and different scents seeped into her nostrils. She exhaled through her mouth, showing sharp, wolf teeth from the sides.
She started off by jumping towards the roof that was more than ten meters away from hers, which she did so without bending her legs too much. Whenever she jumped, it looked so abnormal but graceful while when she landed on the roof, she'd land on it with the sound of a faint clap. However, only the sharp claws that replaced her toenails made that faint sound; her feet barely did anything.
Instead of running on rooftops like the ninja she was, she walked on it. She decided not to run even though she had gotten quite a lot of rest when she was residing in Urufu's consciousness. And yes, even Urufu " sleeps " when she's not in control of her body. She doesn't really sleep, after all, she still could see what Rida could see, and the longer she stays in the consciousness, the longer she " slept ". Not only could she gain energy by residing in Rida's consciousness, but she could sense emotions and presences like Rida could when Boboiboy was following her. But since Rida was a wolf, she could still sense emotions and presences, but only at a shorter range while Urufu was able to do so in a longer range. Oddly, even though the one in the conscious cannot control the body, neither of them felt numb; they felt what the body felt.
Another reason why she didn't run was because she wanted to look at the streets and do her best to memorize them without stopping in her tracks. With just scanning a few areas of the street, she knew that the area was a peaceful, humble-looking place. Then, she spotted a small cafe, which made her say,
That cafe with the " Tok Aba " sign looks like a nice place. Perhaps you can tell Hane about it.
I think I will, responded Urufu. A small smile appeared on her face, but was concealed by the mask. Then, she continued jumping to other roofs that would let her see more parts of the neighborhood.
Suddenly, Ochobot was awoken by a sound. A sound that closely resembled to the sound of someone landing on the roof. Suspicious and slightly startled at the thought of thieves or Adu Du, he called and shook Boboiboy lightly, but just enough to make him wake up. The boy's left leg was hanging on the edge of the bed while the covers only covered his right leg, most of it sagged down until the tip touched the floor. Ochobot felt a bit disgusted when he saw a line of drool from his mouth.
" Hnng... " groaned Boboiboy who was half asleep.
" Boboi, wake up! I think I heard something, " whispered the yellow robot. " It might be a thief on the roof. "
" Hah? A thief?! " He almost yelled. That was what pushed away the sleepiness. Now he was alarmed. He rushed to his window and opened it in a hasty manner, then boosted himself up to the roof with some wind power.
Rida, I sense threat, said urufu in a cautious manner. It's not that strong, though. When Rida spun around, she saw a capped boy with a black t-shirt and messy hair, but his facial expression sent a strong, clear message: he was ready to fight. He also held a yellow, lightning-shaped weapon that crackled with yellow electricity around it. However, he seemed a bit shock for a moment when he saw a tail and furry limbs, along with scary-looking claws. But the one that shocked him the most was the red, unusual eye.
" W-who are you?! " he yelled, doing his best to put a fearless expression. " Are you even human?! "
" What about you? " said Rida in a curious manner, sending her voice up and down so he wouldn't recognize the voice of his classmate. She tilted her head to one side so he would never suspect Urufu since she's not like that. But Rida wasn't really like that either. " Are you human? "
" Lightning Kris! " he shouted, then threw a lightning sword in her direction, which she successfully dodged by raising her arm, the tip of the crackling sword almost touched her armpit.
" I'm not here to fight, but to explore, " she said in a flat voice, which might be a mistake. After saying so, she jumped off the roof and onto another.
The boy was stunned at such agility he saw. In his eyes, she was better than any ninja! But that wouldn't get in his way of questioning her. He immediately turned into Boboiboy Cyclone and raced after her on his hoverboard. The masked, white-haired stranger was fast, but his hoverboard managed to bring him close enough to her.
" Hey! I have questions! " he yelled, not aware that it was night time and everyone's sleeping. When she turned her head to the back, her eyes widened and she ran faster.
Rida, I don't sense any threat anymore. Plus, he's not a human being! Should we trust him? said Urufu in a slight, eager manner. She wanted a friend. A humanoid friend.
I don't think so. I still have doubt, she responded. Remember what I told you, Urufu, to not be betrayed is to not trust.
When Boboiboy grew tired of his hoverboard not bringing him any closer to the running stranger, he changed into Boboiboy Thunderstorm and immediately appeared right in front of her. Rida and Urufu were confused, but chose not to analyse the answer to this strangeness, so Rida jumped over him, but although she was twenty feet off the roof, the red-eyed version of Boboiboy appeared right in front of her in a flash, so she was left to no choice but to fight.
She swiped her clawed hand on his chest in one swift movement, lifted her feet up and pushed his chest, sending her falling upside-down. While doing so, long, thick, crimson-red, ribbon-like mist appeared, swirling around her wolf ears, tail, furred arms and limbs. This was when she was in her fighting mode. She then landed on her fours, one leg with a knee bent and the other outstretched, the foot far behind.
" If you want a fight, you'll get afight! " growled Rida.
When the boy got onto the ground, he threw several red lightning swords at her, but none touched her. The swirling, red mist around her tail stretched and caught all of the lightning swords and threw them back at him. One struck him, which pushed his to the edge of the roof, but he did not fall. While he was coughing, and dust covered his sight, Rida took the chance to run away. By the time he could see, she was nowhere to be seen.
" Dammit! " he hissed. With a defeated sigh, he returned back home.
Rida kept jumping from one roof to another until she started panting lightly, only then, she stopped and looked back. She sighed in relief once she saw not a single person in sight. The red ribbon-like mist then vanished.
We should probably tell Hane about this. I've never seen another inhuman that's not one of the Yokai King's minions, said Rida in a serious voice. Although Urufu was silent, she knew that she also agreed with her.
Hey, there's an old man down there! said Urufu. Then, Rida noticed him. Twenty feet below was a wandering old man with messy, grey hair, pajamas, along with sounds of ghostly moanings. He walked with his back heavily hunched, which made Urufu think that he was in deep pain, which she then mentioned.
I don't know. Something seems a little off... Rida replied in an uncertain, suspicious tone.
I don't care. Let's just help him. Rida knew that although the girl had a cold, emotionless face, she was still the heart of an innocent child and would take pity in the poor. The old man truly did look a bit off, but flr the sake of Urufu's worriedness, she jumped down the building and decided to check on the old, moaning man.
" Sir? " was the first thing Rida said when she jumped down without making a sound. She landed behind him and made a few moderately loud footsteps so she wouldn't startle him. " Sir, are you alright? " Then, Urufu felt something...malicious. Then, Rida felt it too, which made her stop in her tracks.
Now she knew what felt so off. She saw two faint, lines of almost invisible blue fire hovering over his rear end. It seemed like a cat's tail, but it wasn't sticking out from his pants, the beginning of the tail just...hovered. Not only that, but there were two almost invisible, triangular blue flames hovering above his head. But the one thing that gave it all away was the moaning. The moaning sounding like a cat's dead cries.
Tsk. Should've known, said Rida.
I was wrong, sighed Urufu.
Never mind that. I admit that I really want to help this man, but I'm afraid that we're out of cat repellent charms. Looks like we can't get this wretched Bakeneko out. But there might be a small chance of doing so if we fight until the body is tired.
In one sharp movement, the head that belonged to a possesed old man spun 180 degrees around, his body not making any movement. He had two fangs on his top row teeth and two other on his bottom row teeth. His eyes didn't resemble a human's eyes at all. They looked like they were burning woth blue fire. His eyebrows furrowed then hissed at the. At that moment, a smooth, malicious voice came.
" Calm, my minion. " After it being said, a figure in a purple kimono and a purple oni mask jumped down from a building beside them. The mask had furrowed eyebrows and large, grinning teeth with wicked fangs. " She isn't to be killed at this moment nor by our hands. " Rida and Urufu knew that malicious voice very well.
" How'd you even find us just immediately, Akuma? " growled Rida, small amount of red mists came out.
" Well, it's just a lucky guess that Hane and you two would be at such a peaceful, quiet, town. "
" I still haven't forgotten the eye you took from me, so in a fair exchange, how about I take both of your snake eyes? "
In all of a sudden, Akuma threw his head back and released an insane, high-pitched laugh which lasted about ten seconds. When he stopped he slowly put his head back down and looked into Rida's glaring eyes with his slim, purple, snake-like eyes.
" You'll get your chance next time, but for now, I will be savouring you for the right moment. "
When he jumped back onto the building, the possessed man gave her one last hiss before jumping onto the building, following him.
Why aren't you doing anything?! Now's the chance! Urufu yelled.
At this hour, everybody's asleep, it would be best not to make some noise.