Nero II

The training was complete, the locations had been confirmed and all seemed to be going well for the organization. Things were going splendidly for Nero as well; a new member had recently joined their little group. Her name? Katie. Beautiful because it was so simple, so filled with everything that he was lacking. Humanity, for one thing. Her name was uncomplicated, unlike the complexities his own life held for him.

This, as well as her beauty had drawn him closer and closer to her, a helpless moth hypnotized by glowing, inviting, dangerous flames.

Dangerous, the girl was dangerous. Not because she was a threat to him, oh no; the girl couldn't fight her way out of a wet paper bag with holes in it. No, she was dangerous because he was insanely attracted to her. He was falling for her, at least, he thought he was falling for her; he couldn't ever be really sure when it came to matters of the heart and he had to be so much more cautious than others.

Lust and love were two easily confused elements and the bestial, demonic side to him was more partial to lust and to shed blood, to pillage, to rape whereas the other side, the more human side…well…just because he had a human side, it didn't mean that it was automatically pure, that it was incapable of being fuelled by lust.

He wasn't a fool, he was young, yes, but he wasn't a fool and he had watched the people around him, had seen as they had lusted over others, had heard their tales of broken marriages, had been a distant spectator as guys fell in lust with girls, got tired and bored of them and then threw them away as if they were nothing more than toys made for their pleasure. It wasn't just the guys, girls did it too, he knew.

Human in general were just as controlled by lust as any other creature, but the effects of them losing control were less…graphic then if a demon were to take leave of his senses.

So it was that he had, in the past, kept his distance from the opposite gender, too afraid of what it would do to him, too scared to find out how it would make his heart and soul react, too worried about what that reaction would mean. And yet, despite all of this, he just could not seem to shake her out of his thoughts and as the days passed and as the final preparations were rapidly put in place, he was getting closer and closer to her, actually wanting to pluck up the courage to speak to this mysterious woman. His surprise therefore, was absolute when it turned out that she made the first move.

She had smiled at him sweetly, and with a nervousness, with sudden shy behaviour that was unbecoming of him, he smiled back. It was their first brief contact with each other and it had remained in his mind for a long time afterwards. Then, in typical boyish fashion, he managed to forget his fascination for half an hour as he focused his energies on training.

The next time they chanced to come into contact, they exchanged greetings, saying "hello" to each other as they passed through the corridor before continuing on their way. Nero could have kicked himself; this was all so high-school, and he had just attained a degree. He was an adult, not a mere schoolboy! And yet, he knew he couldn't even call himself a "boy". He'd never been one, he'd always been aware of the fearsome power that lurked within him and he had always tried to shield the children around him by barring himself off from any contact.

What a shame that now he was an adult, his barriers appeared to have somehow become weakened, tampered with by a desire to love and feel loved.

He knew better though, he knew the dangers.

Though surely, it couldn't hurt if he approached her as a friend?

Surely not.

And so it was that his fate was unknowingly sealed.