Chapter 6

Hiro stepped out of the portal. Thankfully, the man called Grell was nowhere to be seen. Hiro looked around. The sun was setting behind an enormous clock tower, casting a large shadow on a strip of shops. Hiro heard murmurs behind him. He turned around to see people looking out of their doors, then ducking inside and locking them. "Strange…" he thought.

"Excuse me…" said a small voice. Hiro looked down to find a young girl, no older than 5, in a purple sundress with a floral pattern. "You should go inside before the monsters come out…" Then she ran off and into a house down the street.

"Monsters?" he thought. "What kind of monsters?" Hiro decided to take the girl's advice and find a place to stay. He picked a direction and started walking.

Ayaka took the hot washcloth off Xion's forehead and replaced it with a new one. "She works so hard for this town…" Ayaka stood up and walked out of the room, closing the door behind her. She walked past an open room then stopped. "Did I just see someone in there?" she wondered. She took a few steps back and poked her head in the doorway. There was nothing but an empty room, save for the bed and chairs that belonged there. "Must've been my imagination."

When she turned around she saw two green eyes looking back at her. Ayaka screamed and fell backwards. "Who are you?!" She asked.

The dark figure stepped into the light. "Now you can't say you don't recognize me. One of your gods shows up and you don't know my face. Someone's not a very faithful subject."

"G-Grell Sutcliff…" Ayaka looked straight at him, hateful fire burning in her eyes. "You are no god…" She spit at his feet. "You are a traitor… a demon… so far from our lord…"

"Uh, YOUR lord. But not for long." He grinned fiendishly. "Not once MY lord comes to power."

"That will never happen…" Ayaka stood up. "Nothing is stronger than Lord Death. No conjuror of souls, no ancient beast. Not even the Steampunk Alchemist can defeat him."

"Ah yes, I spoke with him recently. You see I'm looking for someone… Eibon told me that this someone is in Twilight Town. If you'd just keep an eye out for me I'd be most grateful." Grell said with a chuckle.

"I will never serve a creature as low as-" the Shinigami grabbed her throat and picked her up off her feet with one hand.

Grell shook his head. "I think your brother will be very… dead if you object." he said with a laugh. Ayaka strained against his grip and muttered something. "What was that, dear?"

"If you go within one-hundred worlds of him…" She closed her eyes painfully "…then the deal's off…"

Grell set her down and she gasped for air. "Then we've come to an agreement. Look out for a boy named Hiro. He should draw a fair amount of attention to himself. He isn't exactly from Twilight Town." Grell smiled and vanished leaving one last remark hanging in the air. "In fact, he serves your god…"

"Anyone here?" Hiro said as he pushed a curtain aside. He had found what appeared to be a clubhouse made in between two buildings in an alley. It had beanbags, chairs, a card table, a television and other furniture. The floor was covered with trash and the roof was nothing but a tarp. There didn't appear to be anyone there so Hiro didn't think anyone would mind if he spent the night. Hiro lied down on a beat-up couch and tried to sleep. "Monsters… those wolves from the Death Room… were those the monsters?" Hiro wondered. This town seemed to be terrified of them, whatever they were.

A low scuffle outside the curtain reached Hiro's ears. He opened his eyes and turned his head. "Probably just my imagination." Then he heard it again, accompanied by a growl. Hiro slowly stood up. He grabbed a broken bottle of root beer on the ground and picked it up.

He walked across the room to the makeshift door. He listened for noises on the other side but heard nothing. He closed his eyes. "One…Two…Three!" Hiro threw back the curtain and found nothing but the lantern lit road.

Hiro rubbed his head and laughed a bit. "I am way too jumpy." Then a he heard a snarl and the tarp came crashing down. Hiro fell and felt his way around until he found an edge. He climbed out and turned around just in time to see a Twilit wolf jumping towards him. It tackled him to the ground. Hiro grabbed the beast's face and held it away from his own.

"That was unexpected!" Hiro felt the wolf's sharp claws digging into his legs and chest. He winced as he felt the blood trickle down his side. "I can't hold this thing back much longer!" Hiro looked the monster in the eyes. They were cold, black and angry. The thing mashed its teeth, Hiro barely keeping it away from him.

The wolf pushed harder against Hiro's hold and just when the wolf was about to win, Hiro noticed a marking on the creatures head. Drawn in blood. It was a circle with strange circles in it. It almost looked like… "That's a transmutation circle!" Hiro realized. "Maybe if I just…" Hiro used all of his strength and rolled the beast off of him. The wolf unsteadily regained its balance and Hiro stood up, waiting for the monster to move.

The creature lunged at him, but this time Hiro was ready. He jumped towards the wolf and wrapped an arm around its head. He then proceeded to flip over the beast, catching it in a headlock. The wolf struggled to no avail. Hiro quickly started to rub the circle off of the animal's head. The creature howled and… screamed…

No it was something inside the wolf. Something that was put there with the circle. As Hiro kept rubbing the voice got fainter, until the mark was gone, and so was the voice. The wolf blacked out, now appearing to be a normal grey wolf, not uncommon in this area.

Hiro, exhausted, leaned down to the wolf to see if it was still breathing. When he confirmed it was still alive, he lay down on the couch again, wrapped himself in the fallen tarp, and fell asleep.

He sat elevated in a tall white throne. Before him, knelt the Shinigami Grell Sutcliff.

"The boy will soon be found, eliminated, and his soul destroyed. Everything is according to plan, my Lord." The red-haired Reaper reported.

"And the girl?"

"Hasn't come out of that coma for a few days. The poison in the medicine is doing the trick. A few more doses and her heart will stop."

"Excellent. Soon we'll get there, my faithful servant."

A buzz followed by an electronic voice rung out in the room. "Sir, a wolf has been decommissioned."

"So? Why interrupt to tell me the one wolf is dead?"

"No Sir not dead. The Poe Soul was removed."

"Oh. Well that is certainly new."