Chapter 2: All Around Us

Note: From now on, whenever Rito is speaking or thinking, it'll be in bold (speaking), and bold italic (thinking), so that you can distinguish between him and the other characters. Here we go…

Down the path he went, as the hooded Yuuki Rito followed the winding path of the park in the dim light; his enhanced vision picking up as much light as possible. He became aware of another presence after five more seconds of walking; "yeah, Nemesis… you don't have to hide- I know you're there…" he said with boredom. The small figure of the bioweapon came into view, with the usual smirk. "But you're my servant, Yuuki Rito, and you haven't treated me in over two months," she replied with a questioning look.

"As you can tell by my frown, you know that's not what we're here to talk about; Yami's darkness… what is it? Is it similar to what you see here," he pointed towards the ground as shadows crawled in towards him. "Well, as I've told you before, it's a manifestation and realisation that Golden Darkness does not belong here, and is a weapon," she replied with a smile.

"Look, I understand that- can't you tell me more?"

"You'll just have to wait and see,"

"I guess I'll have to just stop her when the time comes…"

"Really? Do you think that'll really be possible? Darkness is something very powerful,"

"I've faced werewolves, zombies, demons, vampires and so much more… I'd say that gives me a good chance against Darkness right? I didn't do the training just to be a bystander,"

"As always, Yuuki Rito, your resolve is strong- see you around," she waved as she disappeared into the shadows. I need somewhere to sit down and rest, he thought as he saw the devious assassin make an exit.

As he stood outside a shrine, he saw the clouds in the sky, their dark surfaces only being brightened by the moonlit sky; in the moonlight, he saw the small shrine, with only four small posts holding it up. As always, there is a place for all of us in this World, when we need it. Looking up to the skies, he drifted into thought as the soft breeze whistled quietly around him.

There's so much more to this World- so much that I've found out in these past years; and with all these events happening around me, I know that I have a heavy involvement with the supernatural. And what about all my friends? What about the future? I'll have to make these big decisions in the coming years- but I know for sure, that this life will be far from dull. He thought with a smile as a warm energy spread through his body as he got up. Then, he saw all around him, the spirits. The ones who had regret and had remained in this World as a consequence, and there were so many of them: they were in the skies, on the ground, weaving through the shadows… the supernatural world had become a lot clearer in a matter of moments. His powers had reacted with the supernatural energy in the shrine, and now he could see what others could not; I guess this was going to happen eventually…

After about another thirty minutes, Rito returned home as he sat down on garden of his house; he did not even have to look inside to know that everyone was asleep… well, that's what he thought. "You really suck with your punctuality, don't you Rito?" an annoyed but reassured voice asked. And out of the house, stepped the rather pale-skinned, red-eyed, blonde vampire called Viktoria, and she was in her pyjamas, which Rito found quite funny. "Sorry, but I had some thinking to do, and I needed somewhere peaceful to do it- I'll agree with you that I am a bit late though," he said apologetically. He also noticed how much more Viktoria's eyes shone in the darkness, and how much more radiance her hair possessed in the night. "You can't do that Rito, your sister as well as Lala & everyone else gets very worried when you do this. Even if I don't care, you've got family here, so don't do anything to hurt them,"

"Viktoria, I agree with you, but you do realise the same applies to you as well; we're your family as well, Viktoria- you can turn to us in your time of need. After all, we're all here for you." The last statement made her blush a bit, but Rito could not see this as it was too dark, and Rito himself was too dense to even realise. "Yeah, I know that, and I'm happy because of that," she smiled a little.

"If you only smiled a bit more… hehe."

The cloud covering up the Moon, darkening up the environment, and leaving them in total night, interrupted their conversation. However, a dim light, although flickering at first, illuminated the environment, and when both Rito & Viktoria looked for this light source, they were met with surprise. The light was coming from an entity- a spirit, and it looked like an old & wise man, and also wore a custom kimono; the dead eyes stared back at them, as they saw the torso and most of the legs disappear into nothing. Then it spoke, in a quiet but commanding voice: "so, you are the one who is called Yuuki Rito," the spirit said as it looked at him.

"Yes- this must be an important matter if the dead are made to speak to the living, especially when they require rest & departure from this World," Rito replied with politeness.

"You are of a kind nature, boy… but there will be problems coming- big ones. As you've probably realised, you're unique from the others- you possess abilities that many others do not. You are among those people they call superhuman. But this is bad for you, for you see, your power will attract attention, whether it be from this planet, realm, or dimension- this attention will come for you. They will hunt you down, and tear down the World if they need to…"

"How do you know so much about this?" Viktoria asked, mirroring Rito's thoughts.

"Well… I was one of their victims; these beings took me to their realm… and as you can see, I never returned physically…"

"So, you were among the 'superhuman' people? What sort of powers did you have?"

"I was once a priest in this area; I had exorcizing powers, and I used it to cleanse evil spirits… but it led to my downfall- they murdered my family, they tortured others, and they tormented me until the end… I can barely maintain myself…"

"Wait slow down! What do you mean by 'I can barely maintain myself'?"

"My resting place was in another realm, and because of that, I cannot move on, or be on Earth for long- just remember what I have said, and be very careful of what lies ahead…" he said as his words faded, just as his spirit disappeared.

Hey guys, here's the second chapter (for those who don't know, it's the author of the Change, R136a- I changed my name). As always, if you have not read the Change, please go read it, as then, more of the things in this story will make sense. The themes I'll be exploring are supernatural, friendship, mystery, that type of stuff- harem & love is more like a secondary genre (sorry for those who don't like this), so it isn't as much of a focus as in the actual manga. Been influenced by the idea of another realm and the supernatural (thanks to a bit of H.P. Lovecraft). Thanks for the reviews guys (WhiteBeaner, Jay2Jay: thanks for your constructive feedback, I've tried to make the conversations more distinguishable, with Rito speaking in bold, and also a bit less boring hopefully- and glad someone recognised the song heh!). As always, if there's anything you guys want to say, then review or PM me. Enjoy guys, next chapter in a day or two. Happy Chinese New Year (for those who celebrate)!