And here we are with the revised versions of Cheshire and Aislinn's introductions, something that I honestly did like going over. Cheshire and Aislinn of course are meant to be the Sherri and Brago like characters and for a girl who considers Brago her favorite out of all the demons, I wanted the best of the best. And of course, thanks to the creator of these girls, they fit their slots just too perfectly. You will find that a few of the characters have been created by this fellow writer and with good reason, I always love the characters they bring to life when sending them to me, so with hope, I'll get to bring every character they send to me to life.

Anyways, this along with the next chapter are introduction chapters, but this one is much darker where as the other brings in my favorite character and is a bit more light hearted.

But, without further ado, enjoy the fifth chapter of Demon Battle Rises!

xKiha

"I believe we have something to discuss."

Kimiko tried to hold in a breath of fear as she looked over the girl, this was her classmate that held out a spellbook before her. Another enemy, just what they needed. She didn't exactly feel up to fighting anybody else after experiencing what she did and there was no doubt that Tsumi really wasn't in the mood for another fight either. "And what would that be?"

"You know exactly what that something is."

The brunette couldn't really hide the fact that she knew where this conversation was going any longer, brushing a messy lock of her brown hair out of her face before she slowly nodded, trying to suppress the slight fear filling her body. "I guess you're right." Reaching into her bag and getting out her house keys. "At least you picked a time when my family wasn't around."

Tsumi looked up at his book reader as he began to feel those eyes on him again, shivering and tugging on the brunette's sleeve with slight urgency. "Is this a good idea?" Voice a wavering whisper of nervousness and needed caution.

She looked down for a moment, eyes holding defeat and fear. "I…..I have no idea, but what other choice do I have in this situation? She has a book and we can't ignore that."

"But, I feel those eyes on me Kimi!" His voice growing more desperate as he tried to cling to her, trying to warn her of the danger that was sneaking up on them with every little second that she let pass. "It's that person that fought with me before and that's her book reader!"

The brunette shrugged his warnings off, walking over and unlocking the door to the girl with long black hair and a face with scars. Smiling as she opened it, inviting this school mate inside with nothing but a hospitable look in her eyes. "Come on it, we'll talk about this inside."

The girl hesitated for a moment before nodding, knowing this would probably be better as she entered the Isahowa residence. It would be more personal that way and if they had to worry about leave damage, then these two would probably submit to her much easier.

Tsumi looked at his bookreader in awe as he shook his head slowly. Wasn't she listening to him at all, this wasn't going to be good at all! He didn't trust her, walking into the house and never dropping his gaze from his bookreader, they may be in this together but if anything horrible happened to them it would be her fault.

.

.

.

"There, I hope you don't mind if the tea taste's a bit rushed, didn't really have a lot of time to make it perfect."

Kimiko handed the girl a cup before sitting down with her own mug clasped between her jittery palms, sitting opposite from her with Tsumi sticking beside her with a cup of juice. The brunette noticed her class mate had comfortably set her spellbook on the coffee table, frowning before removing her book from her satchel and placing it on her side, hoping this would show that they were not at all a weak team to be looked down upon. "So, I never managed to get your name."

"It's Aislinn." The girl taking a sip from her cup and swallowing down the bitter tea with a slight grimace at the lack of good tastes in the tea Kimiko had managed to make in the five minutes she had been given. "Aislinn Akihira."

Well, that was getting them both somewhere, the brunette nodding. "Aislinn, what a pretty name." Smiling before putting her tea down, trying not to show just how disgusted she was with the excuse for a drink she had concocted. " I'm Kimiko, but I guess you knew that already since you managed to find my home. Still not exactly sure how you managed to do that, but that's not important right now."

Tsumi could feel the tension that was rising in the room before either girl spoke about what they were both thinking, nervously drinking the juice which was beginning to make him feel sick with its sweetness. Not that he would rather have some of that rancid tea Kimi had managed to create judging by the faces both of the girls were trying to hide from one another.

"Anyways," The brunette placing her cup down. "Why are you coming after the both of us right now? We've done nothing to bother you, so why do you see us as a threat?"

Aislinn didn't remove her cup from her lips, inhaling the scent of the tea before opening a single sharp teal eye. "It's not that I see you as a threat, it's just that you are another spellbook reader and a demon."

"And that means what to you? That we're exactly the same in this situation?"

The girl with the scars simply shook her head, eyeing Tsumi as the boy bit into his lip in intimidation. "No, it means that you are just another enemy in this game. It means that I am here to fight you because it is the way this game goes. I destroy you here and now because it is the nature of what they were sent here to do and the weakest always crumble first."

"And that makes us the weakest!"

Both girls turned to see Tsumi stand up, clenching one of his small fists tightly as he narrowed his eyes in an attempt to stare Aislinn down or at least slightly appear even the slightest bit stronger that her for this one moment. "What gives you the right to decide that the both of us are the weakest people in this battle!? Why do we have to be the targets instead of the allies that would be much easier to have to deal with?"

Kimiko watched the partner continue to shout in a bit of shock, then again he was right. Why are they the enemies here? They had never met, she had seen Aislinn in class but never before had they spoken or taken the chance to meet one another. What makes them worthy of being the targets when they had no interest in fighting either one of them? Did they really have to be enemies where there was no conflict to be heard of? The girl stroking the cover of the purple book as Aislinn softly smiled. "Allies don't exist in this game, only the strongest can succeed."

It wasn't that big of a lie, this entire battle was survival of the fittest and something that should have sounded so natural in the grit of this huge contest just sounded so cold as it left Aislinn's lips. Kimiko's fingers beginning to trace a spiral pattern on the cover of her book, feeling the warmth of the glow it gave off in return as a means of comforting herself.

Her classmate then stood up, picking up her own book before shaking her head. "I guess I don't have much of a choice, since you can't seem to understand what has to happen I might as well finish you while I have the chance." The girl opening her book and smiling softly as she spoke a name in a patient and yet expectant tone. "Cheshire." And for a split second after that, she made eye contact with Kimiko, her teal eyes had never been so horrifying and they probably never be so scary again.

Tsumi whirled around in horror as the eyes that continued to haunt him made themselves apparent within the bushes beside the open window, watching them glow grey and stare him down before the owner left the brush and quickly entered through the window. She was an anthropomorphic snow leopard, with soft white fur and black spots and even a soft looking pink nose. She was wearing clothing however; a grey t-shirt and dark jeans, but Tsumi was only fixated on the sharp black claws on her paws with a nervous gulp. The snow leopard took her place beside Aislinn, narrowing her eyes before looking at Tsumi with a soft smirk. "I managed to take him out without the use of his bookreader. And judging by the look of her, this won't take that long."

The more Kimiko listed to that the more enraged she found that she became, clenching her fists and looking to Tsumi in an attempt to tell him to get ready for another fight weather they liked it or not. Opening her book and finding herself filling with a rage that she couldn't really comprehend, feeling very protective and a deep need to prove herself to the two people daring enough to come into her home and degrade her. "We aren't that easy! We're not that weak! We're not that simple!" Her book beginning to glow a dark purple, reacting intensly to the anger now built up inside her. "Rachido!"

The toxic gas left Tsumi's mouth in a menacing color that Kimiko would be willing to call dark, watching it rush towards the girls. However, neither of them seemed to move at all, Aislinn opening her book and locking eyes with Kimiko as it to show the girl just how confident she was with her own powers and with what lacked in the brunette. "Dorīmushīrudo!"

Both braced for a counter attack, but were simply met with a large looking canine made out of energy. This "dog" growled as it noticed their attack, rushing forward and opening its jaws and lifting the claws of its front paws in a blind rage. The creature quickly tearing through their first spell and rushing forward at the poison duo who felt too stunned to move, bracing themselves for impact only for the canine to vanish moments before impacting with them.

"Look at them," Cheshire seeming to giggle with amusement. "They really thought that that spell was going to hit them! It was only a shield." Aislinn smirking with her own little giggle, the brunette watching them laugh at her with cheeks flushing with humiliation. How could they have known something like that? They had never seen Cheshire's spells before, let alone Cheshire in action.

Tsumi looked to Kimiko, his face much paler as he turned back to Cheshire. She had taken him down once before, which meant that there was no doubt that in this situation she was the stronger demon but he couldn't let himself loose to her. He wasn't going to go home after all of this, no he had fought through too much to even consider giving up now. He wanted to be here now and if that meant he'd have to fight with everything he had, that he'd have to bleed for it, he'd be willing. Now this victory was all Tsumi wanted, his voice taking on a gruff tone to it as he found his words. "Kimiko."

The brunette, who had been watching the both of their enemies in awe turned to her partner, praying to god that he had a plan while she was only drawing an awe stricken blank. "What is it, you on to something? Do you have a plan, or something in mind?"

"I think so. All I need you to do it call Rachido once more." Turning to her with a cocky smile that made the bookreader both nervous and a little impressed. "Trust me on this one; I have a solid plan that just might work and since we have no other choice we might as well give it a try."

Kimiko nodded in agreement, knowing this was a fact that she couldn't really argue with, looking to him and sighing to herself softly. "You better be right about this one." Touching the pages of her book and taking in a deep breath, her eyes impulsively squeezing shut with tension and focus. "Rachido!"

The poisonous gas left Tsumi's mouth again, shooting in a stream as the child lept into action. He was only using it as a smoke screen this time, rushing through it in hopes that they would call the spell and right as it seemed like Aislinn would do just as he predicted, the little demon boy pounced.

He sent himself barreling into Cheshire, tackling her with all the hate he had for her being able to beat him before and he was one to hold a grudge. The fury of him having to stand by and allow her to insult and humiliate Kimiko beginning seethe through his little enraged body. Never before did he feel he hated somebody like this, releasing a shout of agony and anger.

He sent his fist into her cheek as quickly as he could, trying not to think about what would most likely happen to him after he did this to the person much stronger than him. "I won't let myself lose to you! I'm not weak! I'm not pathetic! You can't win!"

He lifted his fist once more, closing his eyes in a blind rage and praying to god this was hurt her worse than it could ever hurt him.

Claws.

Tsumi opened his eyes as he felt a soft paw catch his hand, the claws on the edges of her paws slicing into the thin skin of his knuckles as the child let out a cry of pain. Opening his eyes to see the shredded and shaking hand, blood beginning to rush down his hand and pool on the wooden floor below him. He was in so much trouble if this left a stain, the child staring at his reflection in the growing puddle before struggling to look back up at the Snow Leopard.

He should have seen this coming in hindsight, but nothing could have prepared him for pain like that as he watched Cheshire snicker in joy. "Remember just who managed to beat who when we fought without our book readers. "

She was right, even though he didn't want to admit it she was stronger it was still true. He couldn't fight her hand to hand, because they'd had already seen the results and it wasn't him who had come out victorious. Tsumi trying to remove his fist from her claws soon proved itself unsuccessful as Cheshire decided she didn't want to release him, the child continuing to struggle in her grasp. Kimiko watching all of this in a silent terror, her trembling hands covering her gaping mouth.

"Cheshire, that's enough. Let's just end this right now." Aislinn holding the book and without giving either Kimiko or Tsumi time to react spoke the name of another spell. "Nemasu."

The poison duo braced for a burst of energy, but nothing really happened. Not that they could see. Tsumi finally ripping his knuckles from the leopard only for her to reach a clawed paw out and touching him roughly on the forehead.

For a moment the little boy felt nothing, but a moment later he was overcome with drowsiness and quickly fell forward into the puddle his knuckles had created for him. His eyes were slightly open, but everything else was completely still, giving the illusion that he might not even be living any more. Kimiko exhaling all of her horror as she saw his small chest rise and fall slowly. "What did you do!"

"Nemasu," Cheshire standing up and dusting her clothing off, only a few drops of blood staining her paws. "It's nothing more than a sleeping spell. He's fast asleep, but consider it like a coma. He'll be asleep for a varied amount of time, but he won't be here to wake up." Taking a step closer to the girl as she finished her statement.

However, Kimiko wasn't going to give up something so special without fighting, holding the purple book close to her chest as she sat on her knees. "Over my dead body you will lay a single finger on this book!"

While Cheshire smirked, Aislinn held out a hand, looking over the two as something strange began to overcome her. Yes, these two were pathetic, their spells did absolutely nothing that could have helped them. And yet, she couldn't find that deep lust to take them down, that deep rooted need to take out as many of the other players as possible. Frowning to herself as she looked over Kimiko with both hate and a bit of pity. They would get themselves destroyed anyhow, so why waste any more time when it seemed like this girl would only end up making this much harder than it needed to be at this point. Making her enemy, or rather her classmate, didn't seem so satisfactory. It wasn't giving up, but it was knowing when something wasn't worth doing. "We're going."

Kimiko looked up at the girl with scars, shaking her head in awe at what she was hearing right then. "You're not going to burn our book?"

"Not for now at least, but next time I won't be this easy going on somebody like you, no matter what happens." Aislinn glaring the brunette down one last time before she and her partner left, just as mysterious as they came.

The purple book reader quickly set the spellbook down, rushing over to Tsumi and picking the limp child up. "W-We're safe…even if it's just for a little while. We're lucky, that could have been the end."

Next time it will be if we keep this up.

Kimiko swallowed cold air, feeling it tickle her throat before clenching her fists and violently shaking her head. No, this wouldn't be the end yet, they were going to keep going on no matter what they had to risk. They had to train and get stronger, but what they really needed was an ally. Even in a battle against others who are fighting for the same cause, a friend couldn't be that too hard to find, right?

"That settles it, once you wake up, we need to find you an ally. And I think I know just where to find somebody we could ask."