Sorry this chapter's late. As always thank you for the reviews. Hope you enjoy this chapter :)

Chapter Five

Quickening Shadows

Before Kotoko could explain anything to Takendo they both caught sight of people starting to trickle back to the wrecked castle, probably wondering why the demons were not loner in pursuit. She grabbed onto Takendo's arm and transported them to another location within the theme park, materialising somewhere where Ripo assured her there was nobody about.

She and the spirit guardians promised Takendo that they would explain things to him as soon as they got away from here. In the meantime Kotoko felt it was her duty to slip back into the crowd of people and help the injured as much as possible, once she had sorted Takendo and herself out first. Kotoko had sprained her left ankle a little but she ignored this insignificant injury so she could help those with more significant problems. By then the military officers swooped in to secure the area and tried to calm everyone down. Paramedics arriving at the scene were directed to those seriously injured, with military and police personnel accompanying them in case the demons weren't as gone as they thought.

Takendo had to make her turn away when they loaded body bags onto waiting ambulances. She was shaking hard at the evidence of her failure to protect everyone. She had failed to do her job. His arm slipped around her shoulders comfortingly as she began to cry. She was far from the only one to do so but she didn't notice.

"Hey," he whispered in her ear. "It isn't your fault. You couldn't have known this was going to happen. You did the best you could." Kotoko didn't say anything, just leant closer into him for support.

It took a while to escape from Wonderland. The officers directed everyone to a safe area, providing first, aid, blankets, and hot drinks. Then before they could leave each person was questioned about what had happened, what they had seen. Had Kotoko not been in such a state of grief then she may have been annoyed at how some of the military personnel seemed more concerned with finding more about the Warriors rather than the demons.

She was heartened a little when many of those there defended the actions of the Warriors, claiming that they had arrived on the scene quickly to take care of the demons before further damage could be done. True, she had done the best she could have done but that wouldn't be much of a comfort to the relatives of those who had been lost forever.

When their turn for questioning came and went, they went into the car park only to witness a rather jumpy driver crash into Takendo's car. After calming the man down and sorting out insurance details, the two set off somewhere else.

"Let's find someplace quiet to go," Takendo suggested, looking carefully at Kotoko's tear stained face. "I don't think you're ready to go home yet."

That was how Kotoko found herself once again sitting in the park where she had first gained her powers. They sat there in silence until Kotoko finally decided that she had kept him in the dark long enough.

They talked for ages afterwards and Kotoko filled him in on the Jinn and what she knew as well as Princess Minako's plight. Takendo had not been fortunate to speak to the Princess. Kiko informed them that the Princess was most likely trying to conserve her energy. Kotoko then demonstrated her powers for him and watched as he took a turn teleporting and trying to form energy orbs. He picked it up a lot quicker than she had, much to her chagrin.

As the two watched the phoenix and dog spirits chase each other, they analysed their powers. Takendo, as he had discovered earlier, had the very cool power of telekinesis. Whilst Kotoko could move objects within an energy orb Takendo could move the actual object itself as well as manipulate its shape. Kotoko envied him slightly for his ability as it allowed him to provide more of an attack and defence front, different from the espionage abilities her powers gave her. His ability to form energy orbs was similar to hers except his energy took on a yellow coloured form. Their guardians had informed them that all magic users had this ability and the colour indicated the user's personality.

"So this is really why you wanted to distance yourself from Irie," Takendo mused.

Kotoko hummed in agreement. "Do you understand? It wouldn't be good if he got involved in this."

Takendo gave a small chuckle. "Wow, I can't believe things turned out like this!" he glanced at her sideways. "Don't worry; I said before that I would help you. Now I just have even more of a reason to do so."

Kotoko stretched slightly, smiling gratefully. "Arigatou. I'm glad that I no longer have to do this alone. It seems less scary now that there are two Warriors."

He nodded in agreement. "I guess we should look for the others as soon as possible. I guess you will be more useful here since you can sense auras." She grimaced at the reminder.

Takendo looked at her thoughtfully. "This may seem like I'm trying to take advantage of the situation but I have a suggestion to make."

"Oh? What is it?" Kotoko asked curiously.

He looked a little embarrassed. "Well, we're going to be spending a lot more time together now right? More time than necessary for 'study sessions.' Wouldn't it make sense to let other people think we are dating? That way nobody will get suspicious if we hang out a lot."

"Date?" Kotoko echoes, a little faintly.

"Pretend to date," Takendo interjected quickly. "Like I said before, I know you still like Irie and I'm fine with just being friends."

"Hmm." Kotoko said uneasily. He had a good point, and besides, she had agreed to go on a date with him. But that was because he had been so kind to her, and because it was a more of a get-to-know-each-other date rather than a romantic date. Actual dating, or pretending to actually date, was a totally different thing altogether.

"I'm not sure if that's a good idea," Kotoko said finally. "And it's unfair for you too, pretending to be in a relationship with someone you've confessed to. If we did act as couple are you sure you'll be ok with it? Really be ok with it?" First he had offered to pretend to tutor her so Irie-kun would get off her back. Surely this would be asking too much of his goodwill.

He smiled that kind smile as if he could sense her thoughts. "Kotoko you worry too much. Just like you've made sacrifices, I'll have to as well. I think that we can both agree that this whole Jinn thing is way more important than having a relationship at the moment, especially as right now it's us two against all of them."

Well, when he put it that way...Kotoko definitely agreed now wasn't the time for romance.

"I won't kiss you," Takendo promised. "Even if I want to." Kotoko turned a little red. "All that's involved is saying that we're a couple. That should keep any nosey people off our trail." They both knew that by nosey people he especially meant her friends, Irie-kun and Mrs Irie. "Besides," he added mischievously, "The chances of you actually liking me are even higher now."

Kotoko batter his arm playfully. "Takendo!" she exclaimed.

"Just kidding, just kidding," he said with a laugh. "...Maybe. But onto more important things, like how are we supposed to contact each other when we run into trouble?" Takendo suddenly made an 'oomph' noise as Kiko landed on his head.

"As you have discovered, both Ripo and I can converse telepathically with you. Even over long distances we spirit guardians may communicate with each other, in turn allowing us to relay information to our charges, that is, providing that there are no magical barriers in place. For now this is how we shall communicate," Kiko spoke elegantly. Kotoko didn't even know that animals could be so eloquent but then again Kiko was a majestic phoenix.

Takendo frowned. "But what if there are magical barriers or for some reason you have to leave us?"

Kotoko looked thoughtful. "I guess we'll just have to rely on mobile phones. Shoot! Then I'll definitely have to get a new one now!" Takendo agreed.

"My phone's messed up too. Hey...do you think our families have been trying to get in contact with us? I guess the Wonderland incident must be all over the news by now."

Kotoko's eyes widened in horror. "Oh no! Our families must be frantic!" She suddenly took note of the darkening skies. "I didn't realise it was so late! We'd better hurry home!" There's no way that Irie-kun would forget that she had gone to Wonderland with Takendo and by now he must've relayed the information to his family if he'd heard of the incident. Which he would've done as he was Irie-kun and nothing seemed to escape him. She just hoped that she wouldn't get into trouble.

Naoki had taken off before it was even his lunch break and had run, taxied and bussed as far as he could towards Wonderland but there was indeed a police barricade and so he had been forced to turn back in vain. With no other options, all he could do was to ring Kotoko's phone multiple times but it was also in vain for she didn't pick up a single time.

Despondently he made his way back to Donny's and Matsumoto wisely didn't make any mean comments about Kotoko. His boss, having been informed by Matsumoto about the turn of events, graciously let him off early to head back home to wait for news of Kotoko.

It was a very stressed and worried Naoki who returned not to his new home but to the Irie household to explain things to his family. His family were surprised to see him back so soon but this quickly turned to alarm as he conveyed what had happened. Of course there had been pandemonium when they had heard what he had to say, even Yuki looked uneasy. Shigeo was called at once and Kotoko's father had closed his shop immediately to rush back.

The report on the news stated that the situation was unknown; reporters were not being permitted access to the site at the moment. This news was repeated over and over until eventually reports came out that a few people had witnessed Warrior Heart at the scene with a new, mysterious accomplice and that soon after the demons had been vanquished. Naoki allowed himself to relax a little knowing that the demons had been dealt with.

So here they all were, once again waiting in tense anticipation for Kotoko. Nobody said anything much as they listened to the news, the only one who spoke much was Shigeo, who called Kotoko's phone every few minutes or so. They all stared with their eyes glued to the TV as images of the destruction at Wonderland began appearing onscreen. Naoki felt the unease flare up as he calculated the scale of destruction. The explosion would have caused he debris to travel quite far, and the castle wasn't the only building damaged in the explosion. Then the aftershocks would have caused a fair amount of damage too.

He was right. A lot of people had been injured by the explosion. The seriously injured were those that had been in the castle when it had exploded heart wrenchingly a large number of those injured were small children. They prayed that Kotoko had managed to get away unscathed.

Reiko text him to ask if he had heard anything. Apparently Ayako was going crazy with worry about not being able to contact Takendo, Reiko had obviously told her cousin that Takendo had gone to Wonderland. Brushing aside the irrational annoyance that the mention of the other guy brought up, Naoki replied with a negative. He would put aside his feelings about Takendo as long as the other guy had looked after Kotoko and kept her safe. If he hadn't then Naoki didn't know what he would do.

The hours trickled by painstakingly and they remained in their seats or took to pacing the living room, ignoring feelings of hunger. Finally, just as it was getting dark, they heard the front door open.

As one their heads snapped towards the sound and they all jumped out of their seats just in time to see the sight of a weary and limping Kotoko being supported into the room by Takendo, who looked rather battered himself. Naoki chose to ignore the arm around Kotoko's waist and instead focused his concerned gaze on the bruise on her face and the scratches and bruises marring her arms and legs.

Kotoko plopped down into a chair gratefully as her dad and Noriko swopped on her immediately. Shigeki kindly thought to offer Takendo a seat, which he gratefully accepted. Takendo had a fair few scratches and bruises but not as much as Kotoko, Naoki observed with keen eyes.

Kotoko managed to calm down his rabid mother and her stressed out father long enough to introduce Takendo. "This is Takendo, he is my boyfriend," Kotoko said simply.

Her boyfriend. Naoki could only stare at her in incomprehension. What? Hadn't Kotoko been saying up till now that she wanted to go on a few dates with Takendo to get to know him better before they decided to become a serious couple? When had that changed?

Takendo smiled and gave a small wave before shaking Shigeo's outstretched hand. "I'm sorry I have to meet you in such a way, this isn't how I wanted to introduce myself," Takendo said mournfully. "And I'm sorry that Kotoko got hurt whilst she was with me."

Naoki bit back a retort. It was woefully obvious to him that this guy clearly wasn't good enough to be with Kotoko if he couldn't even look after her properly.

Kotoko protested. "Hey, it's not your fault. You went to get me a drink because I felt sick. It's not like you knew that they were going to attack." Upon hearing this Shigeo agreed and assured Takendo that there was nothing to forgive and he was grateful that he had brought Kotoko home.

Takendo and Kotoko both explained that they hadn't been close to the castle but they had still been knocked to the ground by the explosion. They had both been jostled by the crowd in the ensuing panic. They had stopped to help a few people too before the paramedics arrived. It had taken a while to get home with the area in panic, not to mention the confused orders from the military and police. Takendo's car had been accidentally hit by a panicking driver and so they had to get public transport, once they had been allowed to escape the questioning of the police that is.

They were both clearly at their limit. Mrs Irie ordered them to rest and even offered to let Takendo stay, much to Naoki's inward annoyance. Thankfully Takendo declined, saying that he needed to get back to his own family. Both his and Kotoko's phones had been damaged during the escapade. Kotoko helplessly held out the plastic remain of her phone for them to see.

Shigeki graciously offered to drive Takendo home, in fact he wouldn't hear of anything else. Kotoko made to get up and see him off but Takendo made her stay, giving her hand a gentle squeeze before leaving. Mrs Irie watched him leave worriedly, whether the worry was for the boy's wellbeing or his status as Kotoko's boyfriend Naoki did not know.

When they looked back to Kotoko the found that she had fallen asleep. Before Shigeo could act out Naoki scooped her up in his arms and carried her upstairs. After all he had a lot of experience in taking care of Kotoko and he wasn't about to let her down now.

When Naoki placed her gently upon her bed he frowned at the sight. She looked like a broken doll lying on the sheets and her injuries looked even worse contrasted against the pink and white bedspread, even if he knew in his mind that they were just superficial injuries. His eyes zeroed in on her swollen ankle and at once decided he needed to take action.

He left her room for a few moments, returning with a towel, bowl of water and first aid kit in his arms. Drawing a chair up close to the bed, Naoki set upon the work of cleaning every single cut and bruise he could see. He worked meticulously, dabbing at each one with water, patting it dry with a towel and rubbing on a little antiseptic ointment. He didn't want to keep count of the number of plasters he used but his mind wouldn't let him forget that there were eleven opened wrappers lying on the floor so far.

Naoki gently lifted Kotoko's left foot and proceeded to clean that too. He carefully wrapped a bandage around her ankle, constantly peeking at her face to make sure that she didn't awaken from his ministrations. When he had finished with this task, he then went about combing the dust and pieces of debris from her hair, gently handling the silky strands of her hair.

He cleaned her face too, touching her skin with the gentlest of touches. Her lips were parted slightly and before he even registered what he was doing Naoki reached out to touch them. Kotoko's lips were soft and her warm breath tickled his fingertips. One finger gently traced the outline of her lips, the touch bringing back vivid memories of stolen kisses. He wondered if Takendo had the chance to kiss her or if his chance had been interrupted by the demon attack. A very small selfish part of him felt satisfaction if that indeed was the case.

As he continued to look down at her sleeping form, it occurred to him that Kotoko most likely had more bruises underneath her dress. Naoki swallowed nervously. Clearly he hadn't been thinking properly when he had brought her upstairs. His hand ghosted by her waist, wondering at what the best course of action would be.

"Naoki?"

His eyes widened and he turned quickly, catching sight of his mother standing in the doorway. Noriko took this as an invitation to come into the room, assessing the girl on the bed. She didn't have that gleeful expression on her face that often troubled him and Naoki felt some relief that she might not have seen him being so...intimate with Kotoko.

"You've done a great job fixing Kotoko up," Noriko commented in a gentle, quiet voice. "I'll do the rest. Why don't you go and get some sleep? Of course you can stay here tonight instead of going back to your apartment."

Naoki blinked in surprise as he suddenly remembered that actually yes, he had in fact moved out. He was hit with a sudden fatigue as the events of the day caught up to him. Naoki cast one more look at Kotoko.

"Fine. I'll go tell Yuki I'm staying."

Noriko watched him leave and shut the door behind him. First she set about removing Kotoko's ruined dress and replacing it with her pyjamas. Then, once Kotoko was safely and comfortably tucked into her bed, Noriko allowed herself to do a silent victory dance. It was just a jig on the spot; she didn't want to wake Kotoko up. But it was a dance nonetheless.

So, her son did care for Kotoko after all. Noriko had been worried that Naoki really wasn't interested in Kotoko at all but the little scene she just witnessed dispelled that. Naoki obviously had some sort of feelings for the girl. She just wished it hadn't taken such an incident such as the demon attack to make him realise it.

Noriko let out a soft sigh. Kotoko was obviously disturbed by what had happened today and she would need a lot of support. She wondered briefly about this Takendo guy who was apparently Kotoko's boyfriend. Noriko wasn't as worried by this claim as her family might think. She was a master in reading emotions and she knew that although Takendo obviously liked Kotoko (and who wouldn't?) and Kotoko got on well with him, the atmosphere between them wasn't one of a couple. No, those two were up to something but she couldn't think what. She wondered if it was to do with all those study sessions that Kotoko was taking.

The older woman smiled slightly. No matter what the reason for Kotoko claiming Takendo as her boyfriend, she hoped that it would spur Naoki into action. If events had happened differently she might even have persuaded Kotoko to go out with Takendo to make her son jealous. Kotoko probably wouldn't have liked that idea though. Oh well, her son was starting to really take notice of Kotoko now and she hadn't even had to engineer the situation. Maybe they didn't need her help after all.

Considering everything that she had been through, Kotoko had a relatively dreamless sleep, protected by a safe presence.

When she woke up as the sun began to rise and she did so with a small, content smile and it took at least thirty seconds before her mind reconnected her with the incidents from the day before and at once the smile was wiped off her face as she face up to the sobriety of the situation.

People had died yesterday because she hadn't done a good enough job. Even if Ripo and Takendo didn't blame her Kotoko would always blame herself. Even if she had never wanted to be a Warrior she had still vowed to take her role seriously and do her best to protect her fellow citizens. The taste of failure left her with an unbelievable feeling of despair and bitterness. Kotoko was determined not to fail again.

Kotoko made a move to get out of bed and looked down in surprise at her sprained foot. It still hurt but the pain had been minimised by an expertly wrapped bandage. In fact, she suddenly realised, all her cuts and bruises had been cleaned and plasters placed over the most damaging ones. Scrunching her face in confusion, she found that she couldn't remember doing this herself. In fact, she didn't recall even going to her room at all.

Her clothes had been changed too, she wore her clean flannel pyjamas and there was no sight at all of her ruined date outfit. Kotoko reasoned that it must be the work of Mrs Irie, and vowed to thank her. At least, she hoped it was the work of Mrs Irie.

She pulled on her slippers and padded down to the bathroom with her clothes. Without really looking properly, Kotoko reached to push the door open only to fall forward slightly as the door suddenly opened. She only caught a fleeting glance of Irie-kun's face before her head smacked into his chest.

"Irifh-kup?! Vaf ere yooi dong hor?!" Kotoko spluttered.

Naoki pushed her away from him. "What?"

Kotoko brushed her hair out of her face. "I said, what are you doing here?" Great, just what she needed, to make a spectacle of herself in front of Irie-kun again. She had hoped that with him moving out she would have no more embarrassing incidents.

He only shrugged at her. "I stayed over the night." Her inner self cursed at herself for not thinking of the possibility that he would stay over sometimes. Kotoko had thought that he wanted to put a distance between himself and home for a while. Some of her horror most have shown on her face because he raised an eyebrow and said with that annoying smirk of his, "Hey, just because I moved into my own place doesn't mean I won't come back here. It's still my home, or did you forget that? I'm a little hurt, you got used to being without my presence so quickly? You really are quite fickle."

As counting to ten to calm her nerves would take too long, Kotoko merely said through gritted teeth, "I need to use the bathroom."

His annoying smirk persisted. "Well I would move but you're standing in my way." Kotoko moved aside at once and he sauntered out of the bathroom slowly. "See you at breakfast," Naoki remarked casually. Kotoko shut the bathroom door behind her a little harder than necessary.

Geez, just when she thought she had gotten rid of him he had to pop up again. Kotoko fumed for a bit but then felt a bit guilty when she remembered that he must only have come over yesterday because he had heard about Wonderland and had known that she was there. She didn't really know how to feel knowing that she was the reason he had come back to the Irie household so soon. She would have to work hard to avoid worrying everyone like that again.

Kotoko suddenly brightened up, thinking of an excellent idea. She mentally poked Ripo, only to become disappointed when he shot her idea down at once. Turns out it wasn't possible to create a magical clone of herself. Some magic users, he informed her, could make illusions but to make a solid clone that mirrored one's personality and memories required so much energy that it would draw the Jinn like bees to honey. And besides, illusion making wasn't one of her abilities anyway. Oh well there was no helping it, she would just have to continue with her usual teleporting and running home as fast as humanely possible routine.

She was considerably calmer when she went down for breakfast, repeating the reasons in her mind why she shouldn't get cross at Irie-kun. However when she sat down Kotoko got a little bit freaked out at how the others were looking at her.

"Heh...is something wrong?" Kotoko asked nervously.

"Hn," was all that Yuki said but he stared at her with a gaze removed of the traces of his usual condescension. He silently pushed a stack of pancakes towards her and placed a bottle of syrup near her. He then surprised her further by pouring her a cup of tea. Kotoko was touched at his odd behaviour but knew better than to do anything other than mutter a quiet "Thank you." He nodded in response and continued with his meal. Kotoko realised that Yuki must've been worried about her too. She worked hard to fight the grin that threatened to break out on her face.

Oba-sama was looking at her with a dopey, dreamy expression, like she had some happy, romantic news that she was just dying to tell Kotoko. She kept taking peeks at Irie-kun and sighing happily. Kotoko pretended not to be freaked by this, especially as she had introduced Takendo as her boyfriend the day before. Had something happened that she didn't know about?

Speaking of Irie-kun, his look was the freakiest of all. He had finished his food already and sat scrutinising her with his chin resting on his propped up arms like some evil villain. His gaze was steady and unblinking and she looked away quick. Kotoko couldn't sense any abnormal energy from him but his gaze made her feel as if he could look right into her soul.

"Ah, isn't nice that Naoki will be going with you to college today?" Oba-sama sighed happily. "Just when we all thought that we would hardly see him he comes back again so soon. Aren't you glad Kotoko-chan?"

"Hehe, yeah..." Kotoko said weakly. She risked a glance at Irie-kun, who only smirked at her unconvincing tone.

On the way to college they didn't speak much but once they got off the train Irie-kun started his grilling of her. He wanted to know what happened from her point of view, why she was more bruised than Takendo, and why it took so long to get back. It seemed as though he wasn't really convinced by her excuses yesterday.

Kotoko answered as truthfully as possible. Of course, when it came to mentioning the demon fights she claimed to have been caught up in the crowd. Her excuses for why it took so long to come back sounded a little weak, it was only a twenty minutes or so drive to Wonderland and even with a blockade and controlled traffic flow that wouldn't have made her get home as late as she did.

"How did you know, you weren't there were you?" She countered back in defence. Naoki didn't reply, it was true after all, but after a few moments of awkward silence Kotoko eventually conceded that Takendo had taken her away to comfort her and calm her down after seeing the dead bodies being taken away.

Naoki didn't question her anymore after she said that. He could see that she had been greatly affected by what she had seen and knew that it was something that she would probably never forget. He just didn't know that it affected her more because of her responsibility as a Warrior.

Before they went their separate ways, Naoki handed something to her. "Here, take this, it's my old mobile phone but it's still a decent model. My number and home's number is already saved on it. If you need help with anything just call me." He seemed to hesitate slightly, and then said with a great effort, "Even if you just want to talk it's ok to call me." Although he didn't look like it, Naoki felt slightly awkward saying that. He wasn't used to comforting people and he hoped Kotoko didn't think that he didn't want her to call.

Kotoko took it gingerly. It was a slim, flip-phone design, simple yet elegant in design. "Is it really ok for me to have this?" she asked softly.

He smiled slightly. "Sure, it's not being used. Besides it saves you having to buy a new one, and getting a new job to pay for a new one. With your grades the last thing you need is a job to distract you from your studies."

She rolled her eyes. "Well thanks, I guess." Kotoko tucked the phone away carefully in her handbag then looked at him slightly awkwardly. "So I'll probably see you around on campus?" she asked, hoping he would reveal his plans so she could avoid him.

Naoki gave a small smile. "Maybe, who knows? I might just decide to go back home for a visit sometime whenever I feel like it."

Kotoko watched him leave and sighed. Great. Just when she thought she could get over him easier if he weren't home he reveals that he'll just randomly come back without warning. Great, that's just what she needed.

A few hours later found Kotoko wedged between her friends, head cradled in her arms as she determinedly did not look towards Irie-kun, who she had spied moments earlier from the corner of her eye, walking past her aisle to take a seat somewhere behind her in their shared English Language class.

The professor, who Kotoko disliked immensely since he often picked on her just to ridicule her, was late. Since Kotoko didn't care much for him she didn't mind at all. Instead she closed her eyes, letting the chatter of the other students wash over her. Giggles, whispers and rumours found their way to her ears but she did not care for any of them.

It could not be a few moments longer when the students suddenly hushed and she felt rather than saw the people around her straighten up and face the front. But that wasn't all. A prickling at her consciousness alerted her to someone entering the lecture hall. No...not someone. Something.

She opened her eyes slowly, dreading what she might see and so she did so calmly without making any sudden movements so as to draw attention to herself. But when she assessed the situation, there was no sight of any demon. Confused, she followed the other students' gazes to the front of the hall to where a rather human male figure stood writing onto the board.

No. Kotoko looked at the man carefully. Surely her senses were not deceiving her?

The man finished writing his name on the blackboard. He turned around to face them, revealing the name Dr T. Miyami written in chalk. The man was tall and slim, with dark hair showing no hint of grey. He pushed back his glasses with his fingers and smiled at the class. Kotoko felt a chill run down her spine.

Kotoko vaguely heard a few girls tittering about how good looking the man was.

"Good afternoon class," the man said in a smooth, charming voice that immediately captured everyone's attention. "As you can see, I am Dr Miyami, a professor of the language department. I'm sorry to inform you that your usual teacher, Dr Ai, has fallen ill and will not be returning for some time. For now I will be his replacement."

He moved out of the sunlight and the glare from his glasses disappeared, causing Kotoko to see his eyes. They were a dark green colour, some may call them beautiful eyes but Kotoko only saw coldness. Despite Dr Miyami's polite smile and demeanour, his eyes betrayed a hint of something much, much darker. Kotoko could feel his dark aura, the waves of dark energy affecting her much more than that of the Harvesters. Her head began to throb.

"Ripo", Kotoko whispered in her mind, as if speaking loud in a telepathic conversation. "What is he?"

Ripo growled softly in her mind. "Shape shifter," her spirit guardian growled. "This is bad. I had hoped they would've waited longer until they started infiltrating themselves. Guess the Arachnids already gave them enough information to blend in."

"They?" Kotoko echoed.

"Be careful Kotoko," Ripo warned. "This is a more powerful demon than you've dealt with before. They're moving much faster than I anticipated. This isn't good."

What an understatement. Kotoko sunk into her seat, not wanting the demon to notice her. She could feel how powerful it was, its energy was greater than anything she had felt before from the Jinn. What's more, she felt that the demon was holding back a far greater power. She felt Ripo shift in her mind as he took notice of this too.

"Are all shape shifters this powerful?" she said fearfully.

"No. Many shape shifters can only maintain a borrowed form for a few hours, give or take," Ripo whispered back. "I almost don't believe it."

"What is it?" Kotoko asked anxiously.

"It's one of the higher demons," Ripo whispered back just as anxiously. "A demon mage."

"Ah," was all Kotoko could say in reply.

Not good. Not good at all.