Crimso's Notes:
Hello there! I just spent ten seconds trying to figure out how to spell Crimso. Wow. But that's aside from the point. I'm here with some good news… and some bad news. Well, they hardly relate to you, but I figured that you should know as well… because it also kind of affects fanfics. Mostly GED, though.

Good News: The Tech Center returned my laptop to me! YAY!

Bad News: …They wiped the harddrive.

So yeah. All of my stuff is gone now. All gone. Never to come back. I have my School work backed up from third grade to the end of last year (Yeah, I know, that's a lot of school work ._. ) but that's it. I don't have my GED files anymore, which means I'm going to have to go copy and paste each chapter into a word document and spend forever trying to indent each paragraph… ew. I seriously walked into there, and they went up and said, "OH HI THERE! WE WIPED YOUR HARD DRIVE! NOW YOU HAVE NOTHING! : DDDD". -.-

One: Pace has slowed… for the most part. I think, at least.

Two: Sorry for the long Crimso's Notes. It won't happen again…

Three: MEGA, ULTRA SHORT CHAPTER. Which is also sort of boring.

~~~~X~~~~

Chapter 6: The Hero

As the wooden door opened, all the demons turned to look at who had entered the room. There, standing in the doorway, was Rika. It was nothing unusual, so the demons stored in the hidden house located far in the woods went back to doing whatever they were doing, which probably wasn't much, as there really wasn't anything to do in an empty cage. Rika let out a sigh as she stepped through the hallways of the storehouse, the wooden, old floors creaking with each step she took. The bars of each cage were made with metal, metal that even a demon's strength couldn't bend. The only way out was to use a key.

Rika twirled the golden key with a single finger, gazing down the aisles of demons. There were a few who gave her malicious looks, baring their fangs at her and shouting long lists of curse words, but Rika was used to such things happening, She tried to treat each demon kindly, but there were a fair few who didn't appreciate her efforts to do so.

"LET ME OUT, YOU LITTLE PIECE OF SHIT!" screamed one of the demons as he clutched the bars of his cage, trying to break through the sturdy metal. "YOU KNOW WHAT I WAS? I WAS ONCE LEADER'S MOST TRUSTED DEMON! I'LL KILL YOU WHEN I BREAK FREE! I'LL KILL YOU!"

Rika shot him a silencing glare. "You can't do that, Number Thirty-Two, because I'm your master. There's no way you can break out of the cage, anyways," she pointed out, moving a finger to the stern lock binding the demon inside the cage. "I don't like treating you this way, but it seems as if you will kill me if I don't."

The demon was silenced with that, only murmuring a few words to himself. Rika moved on. She shot glances to any demons that tried to protest, instantly causing their words to die. She didn't really like acting cruel to those demons, but she had no choice but to do so as the heiress of the great Furude Family. With another great sigh, she wandered down the storehouse, until she reached the very back.

There was a cell unlike any other cell in the back of the cage, one with only a single demon sitting inside of it. She wore a black kimono, and her long, orange hair reached halfway down to her waist. Upon noticing that Rika had returned, she stood up, brushing off her somewhat dusty kimono. She walked over to the very end of her cell, wrapping a hand around the steel. "Welcome back, Master Rika. How have you been doing?"
Rika frowned. "Kaede, you don't need to be treating me like that anymore. I want you to be a friend of mine, and not a servant. You know, like how you act to Satoko and Satoshi…" she spoke, placing her small hand on the curled fingers of the demon in front of her. "I don't like being the great head of the Furude Family…"
Kaede let out a sigh. "I've been serving the Furude Family as the head demon ever since Kimiyoshi Koichi took us from Makoto. It's not like I can abandon my duties to you, Master Rika. It's different with Satoko and Satoshi. They're not great Furudes like you, Master Rika."

The blue-haired Furude rubbed her temples. "Kaede, you've been serving my family for many, many years, and I appreciate how loyal you have been since then. …Kai and Kenji are the same way, aren't they? …Well, that's how Kenji used to be like, before Oryou killed him. Quite a shock, hm?" She played with a strand of her hair as she gazed at the other demons from a distance. "…My parents were surprised when they heard the news, you know. Kenji has been the Sonozakis' Head Demon since… well, since the end of Makoto. It's not like Oryou just to kill him like that. Kai's still alive, though. Kimiyoshi won't ever let go of him."

Kaede nodded her head. "Kenji was a good friend of mine when the two of us and Kai were guarding Makoto's throne as the head guards. Kai has always been a little… distant, though, but who can blame him? It's gotten even worse since Kimiyoshi works him so hard." She looked at her master with eyes full of pity. "But I still can't believe that Kenji is dead. Didn't Oryou say something about how we couldn't live with demons anymore, and how they were going to bring this village to destruction if we continued that way?"

"That's what my parents told me, anyways," Rika spoke, watching as two demons argued over who would get the last scrap of meat. "I don't really know what got into her, but it's not something she regrets doing. She fully supports her actions, even to this day. Though I have to say, I feel bad for all the demons she had. The Sonozakis had around thirty or so."

"Imagine if you were to kill all of us, Rika," Kaede spoke as she looked over to the cage in front of her. "You would be able to do it without effort. The demons here cannot argue against you, they cannot fight against you. Even I wouldn't be able to fight if you were to say you were going to kill me. I'd have to accept my fate."

` "I wouldn't do that," Rika answered instantly. "Though I do think that we have a few demons that we could do without," she spoke, gazing down the hallway at the demon who had yelled at her a few minutes ago. "Maybe Oryou's right. Maybe this whole demon thing will get out of control, one day."

The orange-haired demon nodded. "That wouldn't be surprising. In fact, I think it's more surprising that no one has attempted to do so already. Kimiyoshi especially, what, with all the demons he has."

"How many does he have again? Forty? Fifty?" Rika asked.

Kaede shrugged. "Something like that."

"Well, I don't think we should think about such a thing happening. Oryou's actions were a little extreme. Who knows if she's right, but I'm not going to follow her example until things get worse," Rika spoke, running a finger down the bars of the cell Kaede was contained in. "My main concern right now is Maebara Keiichi."

Kaede raised an eyebrow. "Maebara Keiichi? Now that's a new name."

"Yes, it is indeed. A boy and his curious family transferred here a week or two ago. …We tried to hide the existence of you demons from him, but…" the girl let out a sigh. "Satoko accidently told Keiichi about Hayashi-sensei, and I think Takeru has given up on trying to hide it and is now just admitting it to him. So I think I'll do the same. But who knows where he will stand in the world of demons. He seems… a little scared."

"But that's to be expected," Kaede commented. "He entered a village filled with demons and curses and legends… of course the poor boy would be scared. I pity him. The poor thing."

Rika nodded. "Of course, but it's what action he will decide to take that's making me wonder. Will he run from the demons, or will he try to take control of one? Perhaps his very appearance means something to this village," she spoke. "After all, no one wanders into Onigafuchi for nothing. That's what my friend told me, anyway."

"Did your friend tell you anything about the boy?" the demon asked her master.

Rika shook her head. "My friend can't see the future or anything like that. She's not really as powerful as people think she is. She just told me that the appearance of the boy is fate, and that something's probably going to become of it. …But that's just her prediction. It has no more chance of being true than my prediction, or your prediction. So all we can do for now, Kaede, is to wait and see what he'll do."

"…I suppose you're right, Master Rika. Only time can truly tell…" Kaede said, gazing off into nothing.

~~~~X~~~~

After school that sunny day, Keiichi had decided that it was time to do a little more research on the topic of demons. Now that he knew they actually existed for sure, and now that he had actually met two, he figured it was best to do a little research on them. Sure, they weren't going to hurt him or anything like that, but if he was going to continue to see them, he needed to know a few things about the behavior of demons in Onigafuchi first.

He sighed as he remembered the smile on the demons' faces. That smile, he knew, was probably the only one that they had worn in years. He could tell just by their small tales that they were not treated very kindly, and probably hadn't experienced any affection in all of their lives. First off, they had been taken away from their mother instantly after birth, so they didn't know of the affection a mother could give a child, which was the first love a child ever felt. Second off, they didn't even know what a mother was, or that they were identical twins. Heck, they didn't even have names. Number Twenty-Seven and Number Twenty-Eight were not names. They were numbers.

He clenched the handles of his bicycle tightly as he thought about the horrible things that the Sonozaki family had probably done to them. What had they been doing down there all their life?

He hopped off his bicycle and chained it up. Sticking his hands in his pockets, he began to travel down the sidewalks towards the library. All the while, he thought about what he had seen down in the basement. Those two twin demons he had met weren't really that scary, now were they? They weren't ugly like he imagined, nor did they try to kill him. Sure, they were a little hostile at first, but that was because they thought that he was another servant hired to "take care" of them.

"Thank you… for talking to us. It's really nice… to talk to you. You're a very kind person, you know that?"
Number Twenty-Seven's words echoed in his head without end, and so did his goal to make them feel happiness. Visiting the two of them again was the least that he could do for them, but the problem was how he was going to. He had put the key back in Takeru's room, in the same drawer he had kept it in, so finding the key again was no problem. The problem was that getting down there had been such a risk in the first place, so it was likely that he may be caught sooner or later. What would happen, then?
He shook the idea out of his head. Now was not to time to be concerned about such matters. All that mattered right now was the two demons, and his goal. He had to make them happy, he had to teach them how to be happy.

Keiichi stepped into the library, wandering down the aisles. He wanted to find the book on demons once again; so then he could read all about them. Truly, though, what mattered was that he understood the two demons in the basement, but learning about demons in general wouldn't hurt. There were probably still some malicious demons out there, after all. There were probably demons that were not like those two, demons that didn't care about their suffering. Like that demon that killed Hiroshi, Keiichi thought with a shudder.

While he was trying to find the book, however, his eyes happened to come across another book. Its color was a dark blue, and on the side of the book, the words The Many Tales and Legends of Onigafuchi was engraved. Curiously, the book slipped the book out, taking it into his hands. He opened it, flipping through the pages within.

"H-Huh? What is this?"

He stopped upon coming to a page with a rather elaborate and eye-catching picture drawn onto it. There was a picture of two identical twins, swords in their hands, chasing down a bunch of terrified humans. The expressions painted on the humans' faces were that of pure horror and terror. A few humans had been caught by the twins, their lifeless, bleeding bodies left on the floor, being trampled over by the fleeing villagers.

His eyes wide, he looked down to the bottom of the page, reading the caption. "The Hero of Onigafuchi."

He glanced to the page next to that one, finding that it was full of text. Curiosity in his eyes, he began to read.

The Hero of Onigafuchi:

When Makoto died, the demons told a story to the humans. They told them that one day, two twins from one of the three great families would be born in the village, and that they would bring doom to it. They will torture and kill each and every villager, leaving no exceptions other than themselves. However, as this occurs, there will be one who appears, one called the Hero of Onigafuchi. He shall take down the twins and lead Onigafuchi to peace, and then be honored by the village forevermore. Yet, the demons told the humans that there would still be no escape from the twins, and that there would be victims. But still, the humans of the village believe otherwise. The great Kimiyoshi Koichi himself defied the demons, saying that their legend was not completely true. He told them that the twins would be born, and that they would try to kill everyone, but the Hero would stop them in their tracks before they could lay a finger on anyone. This is now what everyone believes, as they refuse to accept the words of a demon. As such, all twins that are born from the Sonozaki Family, the Kimiyoshi Family, and the Furude family, are to be killed instantly after birth.

Keiichi slammed the book shut, an expression of rage on his face. There was no way that those two twins would bring doom to the village! They were kind, friendly, sweet, and nothing like the legend described them as. He instantly put the book away, deciding that he wouldn't believe in such a tale. Number Twenty-Seven and Twenty-Eight would never bring doom to the village. He couldn't even imagine those two doing anything of ill intent, despite the fact that they were demons. It just didn't seem right to him.

Well, this was a total waste of time. I didn't learn anything that was true, Keiichi thought. He turned away from that section, moving towards the section where he had seen the book of demons before. Now, he needed to go look at things that were actually true. Grunting, the boy pulled out the crimson book from the shelf, gazing at the title.

Kimiyoshi Koichi himself had written the book. It was his most trustworthy source.

He flipped past the page he had been reading before. The pages before him were about the three demons given to the three great families of Onigafuchi. Their names were Kai, Kenji, and Kaede, who used to guard Makoto himself. They were the three who stood before his throne, preventing any harm to the king. However, they had apparently failed, since Koichi had managed to slay Makoto. When Koichi enslaved the demons, he gave one of the three demon guards to each of the three great families. The Kimiyoshis kept Kai, while Kaede was given to the Furudes. Finally, they gave Kenji to the Sonozakis.

However, the twin demons had told him that Kenji was dead. Their grandmother, the head of the Sonozaki family, had killed him. Now, there was only Number Twenty-Seven and Number Twenty-Eight, who didn't seem to have a high status in the world of demons. For what reason Oryou had killed the other demons, he didn't know, but something really was fishy. Another question in Keiichi's mind was why Twenty-Seven and Twenty-Eight had been kept alive, despite the legend everyone else believed in. He shook his head, unable to find any answers. All he could do for now was to ask the two twin demons themselves. They would know better than that old book would. With a sigh, Keiichi slid the book back, turning his whole body around and then walking away.

He kept what he had learned in mind, but he still refused to believe that Number Twenty-Seven and Number Twenty-Eight were said to bring doom. He didn't have a single suspicion about such a thing being true. He could just tell that they were innocent. Such a legend couldn't be true!

…Could it?

~~~~X~~~~

The basement of the Sonozaki Manor was dark, as usual, and it was mostly silent. Of course, since there wasn't anyone in there besides the two twin demons, there wasn't very much noise to make. The two twins were sitting down at the back of the basement, both of them sitting with morose expressions on their faces. They both looked completely worn out, with one of them panting.

"Sis, that was a complete failure. I don't think we're ever going to be able to bust out of here," Number Twenty-Eight spoke.

Number Twenty-Seven nodded her head. "I think that our plans for escaping will never work. Perhaps we really should just give up, sis. I don't think that there's a way anymore," she said, leaning her whole body back and letting out a large sigh. Her body crashed down onto the hard ground, though she did not feel too uncomfortable from the tough floor. She was already used to sleeping on the hard, cold floor every single day.

"Maybe one day, they'll stop treating us they way they do, and they'll start treating us like humans. You know, like giving us names, rooms, proper beds, allowing us to play… those kinds of things that humans always do," Number Twenty-Eight spoke, a hopeful look in her eye. "I would love a name. I don't like being called 'Number Twenty-Eight.' It just seems wrong to me…"

Her sister sighed. "But we've been so used to that, that I can't imagine being called anything else other than a number. It would be so strange to have a human name… yet so wonderful at the same time."

"We've lived all our life in here, sis. I think it's time we start to demand things from Yasuo. Maybe when he comes down here next time, we can ask for food. And then maybe, we could ask for him to name us. I-It shouldn't be too hard, should it? Just to come up with some kind of name… or just to bring us a small scrap of meat." Twenty-Eight looked up, deep in thought. "I've forgotten what meat tastes like, sis. He promised to bring us meat for killing that Hiroshi guy, but he never did…"

Number Twenty-Seven growled. "I've learned never to trust that guy. He wouldn't feed us if we killed all of Onigafuchi. He wouldn't even give us a scrap, nor would he give us names. He just doesn't care, sis."

"I thought that they were supposed to take care of us, sis. I thought they were supposed to be feeding us, paying some attention to us. But I suppose that's not true, huh?" the girl spoke, touching her throat. "…I'm hungry."

A moment followed, in which not a single sound was made. The basement seemed completely devoid of life at that moment.

"But…" Number Twenty-Seven spoke, causing her sister to turn and look at her."That Maebara Keiichi guy… you know, the boy yesterday… when I talked to him, I felt something… different. It… it wasn't like my usual conversation with humans. It was nice. I enjoyed talking to him," she spoke.

"Sis?" Number Twenty-Eight said, a look of surprise in her eyes.

"I'm sure that boy… I'm sure he'll come back. And then, he'll talk to us again, and then maybe, just maybe, he'll be able to save us," the other twin spoke, picturing the young, brown-haired boy that had come to her yesterday. She pictured his kind, smiling face, and just by that, the girl knew. "He just seems like that kind of person. You know what I mean, sis?"
Number Twenty-Eight frowned. "Sis, I think you're jumping to conclusions again. We thought that other guy was going to save us, but he never did."

However, Number Twenty-Seven just shook her head. "There's something different about this guy, sis… I can just tell… I can just tell…"
"Sis…" murmured the other twin.

Number Twenty-Seven stood up and walked over to the bars of her cell, placing her hands on the cold steel blocking her from seeing the world. "Trust me on this one, sis. This time… I'm sure… I know what I'm talking about when I say he's going to be different from the other humans…."

~~~~X~~~~

Crimso's Corner

So it may seem like their trust is a little bit… high, for people who have just met, but Mion's kind of relying on Keiichi because he's the only hope she has right now. And that aside, she's been treated like crap all her life, and suddenly, this kind boy appears out of nowhere and begins to talk to her. So if you feel that way, that's what I say about the situation.

And this was one of the short chapters. Trust me, there are going to be a lot, a lot, a lot, alot of short chapters. This fanfiction isn't going to be nearly as long as Green, so please bare that in mind as you are reading chapters. That said, I'm not sure how many chapters this is going to be. Green only took me three months, so I suspect Black should take me about that amount of time plus more due to school being significantly harder this year.

But you know what the hardest part about writing this fanfiction is? …Writing Number Twenty-Seven and Number Twenty-Eight instead of Mion and Shion. I keep messing up. Argh!

And sorry for the boring chapter, but please review anyways. Reviews make me really happy, and they motivate me to update faster and faster, so keep up the good work, guys! For reviewing this chapter, you can get a plushie of Rika. For pointing out any typos, you can receive… uh… more of Rena's cooking. But this time, her cooking is even BETTER than before! Oho~. And if you thought this chapter was boring, and you're disappointed by the lack of action, I will tell you now that the title of the next chapter is "Execution." I'll leave it to you guys to speculate on that one.

~Crimso

P.S: Kira file 2 comes out tomorrow! YEAAAH~. I'm excited, actually. I want to see more Shmion : D.