Crimso's Notes

Oh my gosh. This is seriously creepy. I sent my computer into the tech center and now I have a loaner with a new version of Microsoft word that I'm not used to. Hopefully I'll get it back in a few days, but its issues are so bad that… urgh. W-Where's the double spacing button?

1. Short chapter.

2. This is a little fast paced so far, but trust me, it slows down.

By the way, I figured out the problem with my computer and FF. It's my Flash Player. It hasn't been updated yet, and I need the administrator of my computer (AKA the guys of the tech center) to update it. We'll see if that is fixed when/if I get it back.

~~~~X~~~~

Chapter 3: Research

A figure entered the dark room again for the second time that week. It was much lighter now, since it was now morning. He grinned as he walked towards the back of the room, catching sight of the two other figures he had been talking with the night before. Both of them froze and turned to look at him the moment he arrived, staring at him with wide eyes.

"Ohoho. Are you surprised to see me again?" the man asked the two other figures. "I'm glad to see that look of surprise on your face. And guess what, Number Twenty-Seven? I didn't bring you food, just like I promised!" he spoke, a sadistic grin on his face as he heard the demon growl.

"Why?" hissed the other demon.

The man grinned. "Simply because I can! I may not be the one in complete control of you, but I've been hired to take care of you since the others are much too busy to be tending to you silly, powerless demons. And yes, Number Twenty-Eight, I just called you powerless. You want to know why? Because you demons must obey us weak humans now, and you're a creature that's below us now, which automatically makes you weaker than us."

One of the demons growled, but the second one held up a hand to tell the other to stop. "Why don't you just go bother all the other demons you're in charge of?" the demon questioned.

The man shrugged. "The other demons have other people looking after them besides me, and I get a lot more money from this. I don't even need to pay for your food to get tons of money!" he cackled.

One of the demons looked just about ready to claw the man's face off, while the other was simply growling furiously without as much murderous intent as the other. However, the man just smirked. He knew that they couldn't lay a finger on him, since he was the one that was taking care of the demons now.

"YOU JUST TRY TO KILL ME! YOU CAN'T DO IT!" cried the man as loud as he could, throwing his hands up in the air. "I'm above you now, don't you see? I CAN DESTROY YOU IF I WANTED… BECAUSE I AM THE ONE IN CHARGE OF YOU!"

"What is this all about?" an unexpected voice rang out from behind.

Suddenly, the man whipped around and his eyes grew wide as he spotted the figure approaching him with a less than amused look on his face. This person was the person who actually owned the demons he was supposed to look after. He gulped as he looked at the figure, taking a few steps back. He was in big trouble now.

"You," hissed the new figure, "I thought I told you to feed those damn demons…"

The man jumped. "M-Master! Y-You know I was only doing this to save a little money. I mean…! We can have more money later and then-."

"SILENCE!"

The man froze the ground. His head turned slightly so he could get a look at the two demons' expressions, finding that both of them didn't look any less hostile upon noticing the figure of their true master.

"Now, didn't you join this scheme because I promised you power? In order for this to work, we need to make sure the demons are fully fed! They're more powerful that way, you got it?" the figure scolded him, a ferocious look on his face.

"Y-Yeah but… we can feed them later! They'll obey us no matter what! With their power, weakened or not, they could still…!" the man was trying his best to explain his actions, but he already knew that he was about to be punished severely. His rambling was no use to him.

The figure eyed the two demons in the cage, an emotionless yet stern expression on his face. "Hey, demons. I still despise you with all my heart, but I think we can both agree that we hate this guy right here, and that he deserves to be punished for his actions," he spoke to the demons.

They both nodded.

"Good. Now listen, I'm going to let you out ONLY so that you can maul this guy to death. Right after that, I'm going to lock you back up and I will not let you out," the told the demons strictly, though neither of them looked like they were going to comply. Sensing this, the figure continued to speak. "I could force you to listen… but I'm not going to do that. Instead, I will say this. If you do this, I'll reward you with a little meat…"

Both of the demons' faces lit up and they licked their lips, causing the man to gulp.

"Uh… master? Spare me, please?" he requested.

The figure pulled a key from his pocket and placed it in the lock of the demons' cage, twisting it open. He pulled the great, steel door back, so that the demons were now free. They both looked up at the man who had been refusing to feed them with a sadistic look in their faces, both of them licking their lips as they raised their newly unsheathed claws.

"Kill him. And when we're done with the body… I'll toss it in the forest… so that everyone can be warned of what's to come…"

And then, the demons leapt.

~~~~X~~~~

It had been a few days since the incident of Satoko blurting out about demons, and the group had been acting as if it hadn't happened at all. Of course, that didn't mean that Keiichi had forgotten about what Satoko had said, and he hadn't forgotten that restraining board or the conversation Satoshi and Satoko had either. There was definitely something up with this village, and Keiichi knew that he just HAD to find out what it was, even if it cost him his life. If he didn't, then he'd probably die from a demon attack anyways.

And yet, at the same time, he didn't want to know if demons existed. For if they did, he didn't know what he was going to do. There was no way that he could convince his parents to move away, since neither of them believed in demons. He didn't want to see one, either. They probably looked hideous and horribly mutated, something that would be horrifying to the human eye.

And so, just like they had promised, the group of friends decided to go for a picnic right next to the Furude Shrine. Rena had made most of the food, though Satoko and Rika pitched in and added a few side dishes to the meal. There were six hungry mouths to feed, so the amount of food was just right for them.

They all seemed a little too cheery to Keiichi. Satoko hadn't gotten close to mentioning demons again. Satoshi probably gave her a long talk after the incident at the Irie Clinic, Keiichi figured. They were all acting like nothing had happened, and neither of them mentioned Hayashi the demon doctor or anything related to the incident that had happened. They all were continuing on, enjoying their lives.

"Tada! Rena made sure that she added extra flavor to these dishes over here, and I made sure that the side dishes were nice and pretty!" Rena yelled out as she presented the food she made. "Please eat all you want!"
"Whoa! As usual, Rena, you made great food!" Takeru cried as he eyed the food in front of him greedily. His mouth was watering just from looking at it.

Rena blushed. "Y-You haven't even tried any yet, Takeru-kun…"
Takeru just grinned at her and gave her a wink. "But I already know it's going to be good, Rena. You always make the best food, after all!"

"H-Hau!"

Keiichi sighed as he watched Takeru continue flirting with Rena. Satoko, Rika, and Satoshi had already begun munching on the food, enjoying its taste thoroughly. Rolling his eyes, Keiichi began to eat Rena's food as well, and after swallowing his first bite, he realized that Takeru really was right. The food was incredible.

"Ah, I was so busy looking at your beautiful face that I forgot to eat the food!" Takeru cried out as he lunged for a piece of meat, which looked that it had been cooked perfectly. Rena's face was still flustered, but she began to eat her food anyways. She was still eyeing Takeru every once in a while, her blush turning even redder each time she did so.

Man… that guy doesn't even try to hide his feelings. He just outright admits it! Keiichi thought.

Keiichi munched on the food in front of him, trying his best to enjoy it. However, he felt as if his suspicion about the village he was in was tainting his enjoyment of the food. He could remember the time where he questioned the large amount of desks in the class, and how they had brushed that off by saying Chie kept them there just in case anything happened. That just had to be a lie. Satoko probably didn't destroy desks that much! Sure, she was a trickster, but she would probably be forced to pay for the desk if she broke it, and not the school.

It was killing him. He just had to know the answer to that question. Perhaps the students who had been sitting at the desks all died, and that because of that, they had a lot of spare desks. Perhaps the demons had killed them all horribly, as children were probably defenseless against such beasts. The curiosity was about to kill him. He knew he couldn't just outright ask if there were demons, but he could try to come to conclusions by asking them questions…

"Hey… I know I asked you this before, guys, but I have a question. Why are there so many desks at the school? And don't say just in case. I know there's got to be a real reason behind it," he asked them once again, glancing down at his food so that he didn't see the look of shock on their faces.

Satoshi looked over to Takeru, who sighed and nodded. "I guess it's not much use hiding so much any longer, huh? Well then I'll tell you the truth about the desks… and only the desks for now," Satoshi told him in his usual soft, timid voice.

"That's fine," muttered Keiichi. "As long as you answer the question…"

The blonde-haired boy rubbed his temples as he tried to think of a way to explain thing to the boy in front of him without making him worry too much. "…Well, the people who sat at those desks… have mysteriously disappeared without a trace. We don't know why, but they're all just… gone. One after the other, the kids just disappeared."

Keiichi's eyes went wide. They…disappeared? No. That couldn't be it. They were probably all dead, then! That just proved his theory about the demons really existing, and only increased his fears.

Rena frowned. "But don't worry, Keiichi-kun. W-Whatever it is… we'll make sure it doesn't get to you. I can tell by your face that you're upset… but you have to believe me when I say that. Onigafuchi… really isn't all that bad…"

Satoshi opened his mouth to protest, but he shut it quickly as he realized that his words would only make the boy in front of him worse.

Satoko looked like she wanted to say something, but she also said nothing. She was probably thinking back to a few days ago, where she just couldn't keep her mouth shut and said something that scared the poor boy. She certainly didn't want to make that mistake again.

"All right," muttered Keiichi. "I… I'll trust you," he lied.

~~~~X~~~~

In the end, the picnic didn't really get much more cheerful. It was a disappointment to Keiichi, who had been hoping to get his mind off of the idea of demons, though in the end, he managed to get some important information.

And now, the brown-haired boy was on his bike, pedaling to the nearby city of Okinomiya. People of Onigafuchi often visited there, and Keiichi figured the citizens of Okinomiya had probably gotten used to them by now. But right then, that wasn't something he was concerned about. The boy had one destination, and that was the library. He was to look up a book on demons, and judge whether or not the legends about them were true or fake.

He didn't quite know his way around town, but he had gotten a map of the city from his mom, who had been there previously to go shopping. "Let's see, if I go that way, then it won't be too long until I reach the library." He didn't know how many books they had on demons there, but it was sure to have something. After all, it was a city located right next to Onigafuchi. There had to be at least one book.

He parked his bike right outside the building, having found it after a little bit of struggle. But all that was behind him. He had one goal in mind, one goal that he would stop at nothing to achieve. He had to find the truth out about demons, and he needed to do so quickly. If he really was living in a village infested by demons, then he knew he had to do something about it.

The boy walked into the library and began to browse the shelves. They had many books, ones of all kinds. Moving towards the "D" section, he scanned the shelves for a book that started with "demon" or anything similar to that. Though, to his dismay, the only books that had the word demon at the front were fictional books about people who slayed demons or things similar to that.

Sighing, he looked down the sections to find any book that was about demons, one that wasn't some kind of fictional adventure book aimed at younger teenagers. He needed to find a book on actual demons.

Then something caught his eye. It was a red book, a book with a picture of a ferocious demon on the cover. "Koichi's Demon Book," he whispered to himself as he read the title, brushing some dust off of it. It didn't appear that people read the book all that much. Glancing around to see that no one was watching him look at such a ghastly book, he wandered off towards a small table intended for two people to sit at. Not that it mattered, though. He could sit at it if he wanted to.

He placed the book down and began to scan through the pages.

Demons are an evil species that infested Onigafuchi. They are all twisted and evil, none of them having a single hint of good in their heart. They are all monsters that are intent on killing anyone in their sight, and they will not spare even children.

Demons will not give you a second chance at life if you cross one. They will look at you straight in the eye and then pounce on you. They will tear at your life with their sharp claws and ghastly fangs until you are no more. Then, they will eat your remains. This is certainly not a death that anyone wants to go through, so it's advised that residents keep out of the forests at all times, and avoid wandering at night.

He flipped the page.

Usually, the corpse of a person killed by a demon will be scratched up and have several bite marks. Chunks of flesh may be taken out, and there may be tears in the skin. They also tend to target eyes of humans and try to blind them so that they certainly do not escape. Such actions are common, and it is not rare to see a corpse without eyes.

Keiichi felt like throwing up. That was just too gross. It was too gross to be fake. There was too much detail about the corpse of someone killed by a demon to be made up. Surely, the person who had wrote this had encountered corpses many times, and surely they had gotten up close to a demon several times. Perhaps they had even survived an attack, but by judging by the description, he doubted it.

"Who even wrote this book?" grumbled Keiichi. He flipped the book over, getting a good look at the name of the person engraved in the crimson color in a shade of shining gold. "…Kimiyoshi Koichi is the name of the guy. So he was probably one of the previous heads of the Kimiyoshi family. So that means he definitely can't be lying. But then again… maybe… Maybe he just wants to scare people… but why?"

Perhaps Keiichi had been talking to himself a little too loudly, as he soon noticed a figure seated across from him. She was smiling, a single hand cupping her cheek as she observed the boy in front of her.

"N-Nurse Takano! Is that you?" he cried out, dropping the book out of surprise.

Takano, as Keiichi identified the woman sitting in front of him, simply laughed. "My, my. I didn't mean to scare you! I was just curious as to why you were reading a book about Onigafuchi Demons," she commented, gazing at the cover.

Keiichi rubbed the back of his head. "Uh… I was just curious myself…" he lied.

The nurse smiled sweetly at him. "Ah, well it's a subject I'm quite well informed of. I may not look like it, but I'm a huge fan of the legends of Onigafuchi. I could tell you what you wish to know… if you want," she offered him.

Keiichi's eyes widened. Takano could tell him the truth, here and now! "Thank you, Nurse Takano! Please tell me everything you know about demons!"
She laughed. "All right," she spoke, giving him a wink. She reached for the book with her hands, looking at the pages the boy had been reading before. "Hm… demon attacks, huh? Well I'll assure you that you don't need to worry about those."

Keiichi tilted his head to the side. "Why is that?"

"...Demons are no longer creatures that wander freely around Onigafuchi," Takano explained to the boy. "You see, the person who wrote this book was a previous head of the Kimiyoshi family. He managed to defeat the demon king and forced demons to become the slaves of humans. Now, everyone owns demons. They keep them in their closets, in their basements, in their garden sheds… anything they can think of."
The boy was quite surprised by the information he was receiving from her. So, it appeared that demons really did exist. But what was this about them being forced into slavery by humans? "Wait a moment, don't the demons just attack the humans?" Keiichi questioned her.

Takano laughed. "Not possible. The humans control them, now. They own them now. They cannot rebel against their masters. They must comply to their every order."

"W-Wow… that's amazing," was all Keiichi could say.

Takano giggled. "Isn't it? The people of Onigafuchi are amazing. They managed to tame beasts like demons. Well… for the most part," she said softy to him, placing the book down and handing it back to the boy. "And I believe that clears up any mysteries you had about this village. Know that the demons probably won't attack you and you're fine. Of course… that all would change if someone ordered a demon to attack, hm?"

Keiichi did his best to grin at her, finding her words slightly reassuring. So that meant that demons had a low chance of attack him? Well then, he supposed he would be fine. Takano, according to everyone, was such a nice person and wouldn't lie. Surely he could believe in her words.

"I'm glad you're happy now. But unfortunately, I must go. I hope to see you around, hm?" she spoke, smiling at the boy.

The brown-haired boy nodded quickly. "Yeah, thank you!"

Now that his work was done, he could leave. He took the book in his arms and returned it to the section, now feeling a little better. Demons wouldn't attack him without anyone ordering them to. There was almost no way.

Something about that didn't settle too well in his mind, though. There was a suspicion in the back of his head. Perhaps someone would one day come and try to kill him, ordering their demon to attack him. It would be impossible for him to avoid them, if that were the case.

He tried to forget about that. A demon wouldn't kill him without order. That's what Takano promised, anyways, and so, he would believe it.

~~~~X~~~~

Keiichi wandered through Onigafuchi, on his way home. He felt a little better about the dangerous paths, now, and he could walk home without too much worry in his mind, aside from the ones he pushed away. He was humming a small tune to himself as he walked along to distract himself from any remaining bad thoughts, wondering what was for dinner that day. Whatever it is, it'll be good! Although I don't know… is Mom or Rena a better cook? It's kind of hard for me to decide.

He could imagine the nice smells in his mind. He could smell the wonderful spices that his mom would put on his food, and the fragrance of perfectly cooked meat and vegetables. He licked his lips as he continued to imagine the smell of it. It smelt like the most delicious thing in the whole wide world, and he was sure that nothing could top it, nothing could.

Then the smell of the wonderful food suddenly turned foul. Keiichi covered his mouth as he tried not to throw up his lunch. There was suddenly an awful stench coming from the trees nearby, and he was sure that, in contrast to the delicious smell of his mom's cooking, the smell he smelled was the worst in the whole world.

What the heck is that? It's coming from over there…

Keiichi noted that one of his weak spots was letting curiosity get him almost all of the time. He turned around and pushed himself through the trees to the source of that foul smell, which only intensified when he got closer. At that point, the poor boy was truly struggling to hold his lunch in. He was sure that he was about to spew it out all over the ground.

And when he caught sight of what was before him, he did.

Right in front of him was a horribly mutilated corpse. It was a male, and the guy had died a terrible death. He had claw marks all over his body, and several piercings from what Keiichi assumed to be fangs. One of his eyes had been clawed right out, just like the book of demons had described.

And at moment, there was no doubt that a demon had done it.

Keiichi got a closer look at the corpse, just so he could look at his face. He still had one of his eyes, and his face wasn't touched too much aside from the missing eye.

"H…Hiroshi?"

It was indeed the old man that had shown him around town. It was him without a doubt. He fell backwards on his butt, pushing himself against a tree nearby.

"I thought demons didn't hurt humans without order, though! I thought that…!"

Takano had lied to him. Or maybe she hadn't lied to him. The demon just complied to its master's order, but judging by this, it probably wasn't something too uncommon. Though he had to wonder why someone would hurt an old man like him, and what he could have done to be ordered to die.

"What the hell is up with this place?"

~~~~X~~~~

Crimso's Corner V.2

This chapter was actually finished yesterday, but be glad I didn't upload it then because I was in a terrible mood. Gosh, I can be so critical of myself sometimes. In fact, my Spanish teacher last year always told me that I was too negative, and that that was my downfall. Man, I should really listen to him and cheer up. …Actually, he switched to our grade this year… so I have him again. He'll probably keep telling me to be positive. And this year, maybe I'll actually listen to him when he says that.

I'm actually in study hall right now. If my homeroom teacher notices, she will get me in so much trouble. She was actually the History teacher I wanted to have… and had last year. She's not going to go easy on me if she sees what I'm doing…

Don't know when I'm getting my computer back.

Please review again! For this chapter, you can get a plushie of Satoshi. I don't know why it's him… but he's huggable anyways! Oh, if you point out typos and such, you will get a piece of well-cooked meat from Rena. Or anything else if you're a vegetarian. And you know, Rena is a great cook.

~Crimso

P.S: I actually had some more time to look over this chapter... for once...