Sorry this took so long to complete. My ideas are starting to run out of juice. Hope you enjoy! :)
Chapter Ten
Noriko tossed and turned all night long. Flashes of unknown people and war spilled across her mind. The sounds of war and screams of pain ran through her ears. She woke up with a jerk and was covered in sweat. Noriko sighed, combing her fingers through her and calming down her heart rate. She glanced over at the clock and saw that it was 5 am and the sun was just starting to rise over the city. Noriko groaned and laid back down on her bed. Listening to her heart beat normal out, she began to drift off and lul back to sleep.
When her alarm woke her, she did her normal routine and got ready for class. But while she was getting ready, she felt like she was being watched. Goosebumps arose from all over her body and made the back of her hair stand on end. She shook it off and continued her routine.
On her way to the academy, she continued to feel that she was being watched. Noriko looked behind her constantly and used her energy to see if any demons were following her, but there was nothing. As she walked toward the main building, she saw Ryuji leaning against the wall resting his eyes. Noriko smiled and snuck up on him. Quietly walking towards him, she got close enough to smell his cologne that smelt of pine and something else she couldn't quite put to words.
"Hey." she said quietly.
Ryuji slowly opened his eyes and saw her smiling at him. He returned the smile and pushed himself off the wall.
"Hey yourself."
There was an awkward silence.
"So… what are you doing out here?" she asked.
He blushed and scratched the back of his neck, "I… well I… wanted to walk you to class."
Noriko smiled and said, "I'd like that."
She started to walk towards the main door when the icy feeling came back, freezing her in her tracks.
"Hey you alright?" Ryuji asked.
"Ya… ya I'm fine. Just dozed out for a second."
Noriko motioned him to follow her and they walked down the low lit hallway that seemed to go on forever. Ryuji looked down at Noriko's hand and saw that she was wearing the bracelet he made for her. Smiling, he grabbed her hand and intertwined their fingers together. Noriko blushed and then remembered something.
"Hey Ryuji… can we make a deal?"
Stopping in their tracks, he looked down at her and grinned.
"What do you have in mind?"
"Well… I kind of want to keep our relationship a secret to the others." she said nervously. The hold on Ryuji's hand tightened as she said it. Ryuji cocked his head in wonder and asked why.
"Well… I don't want the others to make fun of us and … I don't want you to get hurt." she looked down at her feet and bit her lip.
"Hurt? Why would I get hurt?"
"Ryuji… I have demons and who else God knows after me. If they knew we were together as a couple, they would use you as bait to get to me… and I refuse for you to get hurt… or the others."
Ryuji looked down as well. She had a point. He used his hand that was not intertwined with hers and used it to touch her cheek. Bringing up her face to look at his, he saw the look of fear in her eyes.
"I understand, but remember that I'm always by your side."
Noriko smiled and leaned her head towards his hand that was placed on her cheek. Ryuji bent forward and kissed her on the lips. His kisses made Noriko's knees feel like jello. She closed her eyes and sighed as she enjoyed the warm sensation of his lips on hers. When they separated, Noriko quickly kissed Ryuji's nose and smiled up at him. Ryuji pulled her into a bear hug and sighed in her hair. They separated quickly when they heard the main door open and voices fill the hallways. Noriko stepped away from Ryuji and hid her smile by looking down and heading towards class while Ryuji was left there alone.
Once everyone was in class, Noriko went to her seat and went on with her classes staying quiet. But the whole time she still felt as though someone was peering at her from the window. She would occasionally glance behind her and to the windows but nothing was there.
When class was in session, Ryuji would glance over at Noriko and see that she wasn't paying attention. Her face showed frustration, wonder, and sometimes just lost. He wanted to see what was wrong but he remembered that he needed to do it secretly. Grabbing his cell phone from his pocket, he texted, 'R U Ok?'
Noriko jumped when she felt the vibration of her phone go off in her pockets. Pulling it out she saw that it was from Ryuji. She glanced over at him and saw that he was acting normal and taking notes.
She bit her lip while texting her reply, 'Ya I'm fine, just remembering that an essay is due tomorrow and I haven't even started it yet.'
Ryuji looked at his phone and squinted his eyes at her reply. He felt that something was wrong. He shook his head and replied, 'Liar'.
Noriko groaned and turned off her cell phone; pissing off Ryuji when she wouldn't reply. As class continued, there suddenly a loud pop noise and a greeting Noriko did not want to hear right now.
"Well hello there darlings! Sorry to interrupt but I must steal one of the students for the rest of the day. Ms. Hitomi, come with me please." Mephisto said in the front of the room with his creepy clown smile plastered on his face. The whole class looked back at her and watched her as she got her things together. Feeling embarrassed she looked at the floor while walking towards the front of the class room, her hair hiding her face. She felt Mephisto put a hand on her shoulder and him saying good bye to the class. Next thing she knew she was in his office.
"What do you want?" She said while shaking his hand off her shoulder and towards an empty chair where she threw her bag on.
Mephisto smiled evilly and sat in his huge chair, "I have some… interesting news."
There was a long pause and Noriko crossed her arms while waiting for his reply.
"The council wants to meet you and give you a job opportunity, of course they didn't bother on telling me what the job was. But they should be contacting you soon, so be prepared for anything."
Noriko raised her eyebrows at the news and sat down in one of Mephisto's fancy chairs.
"This sounds really fishy… and why me and not anyone else?"
"Because they knew of your father and mother and expect to see great things from their daughter."
She sighed and got up from her seat, "Thanks for the news, I have class now so-"
Mephisto stopped her before she spoke again, "Thats not all."
She turned around with a pissed of expression and sat back down crossing her arms.
"Ahem, now the dagger I gave you for your birthday was from your father. I want you to train with one of my… colleagues and see how you like it."
"Mephisto, I've worked with a lot of weapons, and daggers was one of them. I don't need training for something so simple."
"You do if it can absorb your energy and form it into whatever you desire." he said with a smirk.
She looked at him and sighed, "Ok fine."
"Excelent! Your training will begin now. You can come in now!" Mephisto said in an excited tone.
The doors opened to reveal a busty woman with red and yellow hair. Her body barely covered with only short shorts, a bikini top and combat boots.
"This is Shura Kirigakure. She will be your instructor until you are able to manage your new power."
Shura bowed to Noriko and said, "It's good to meet you. I've heard a lot about you from mister Pheles here."
Noriko bowed back and said, "And I know absolutely nothing about you."
"Quick at comebacks… I like it. Let's go, better late than never on starting that training." She said while leaving the room without looking back. Noriko grabbed her things and shrugged on her bag.
Noriko followed Shura without saying a word. They entered a huge door guarded with exorcists with guns. When they saw us they let us in immediately without asking anything. As they walked in, the long dark hallway was dimly lighted by candle light. They stopped in front of a huge door and Shura put in a combination on the lock of the door. Its thick, large metal doors opened up to reveal a huge room with slashes and huge dents along parts of the walls. When the doors shut, Shura crossed her arms under her huge boobs and said, "Ok, let's get started. The daggers if you will."
Noriko took her daggers out from her boots and waited for the next instruction. Shura took them from her hands and said, "Now release your bindings. Don't worry, this room is heavily protected with charms, spells, and blessings. No demon will be able to sense you."
Noriko calmed her heart beat and started to chant the verse of her releasings on her wrists. The tattoos on her wrist disappeared and a sensation of power washed over Noriko. She cracked her neck and rolled her shoulders.
"Excellent" Shura tossed the daggers to Noriko and said, "Now try to form your energy though the daggers."
Noriko felt a humming sensation when she grabbed the daggers. They never did that to her before. Was it the power that ran through her veins that made her sense the daggers ability? Or was it a feeling of once knowing that her father once held these in battle? She shivered as the goosebumps ran across her entire body.
Collecting her energy was easier than she thought it would be. The daggers glowed in a light blue haze and the tips of the daggers grew out like a sword with her energy. Noriko chuckled and started to slowly get the hang of the daggers power and the feeling of it in her hands. As she got used to it, she saw a purple glow coming from Shura. When she looked over, she now had a long violet sword pointed at Noriko.
"Now the fun begins!" Shura said as she ran towards Noriko.
Noriko grinned and right when Shura had the sword close to her heart, Noriko jumped in the air and crossed the daggers in an 'x' shape. She collected her energy and forced out a wave of power that formed in a blinding light. Shura jumped out of the way before the attack hit her. A large blast formed from the attack and left a huge dent in the cement. When Noriko landed, she and Shura paced slowly in a circle, not taking their eyes off of each other; even with the smoke from the blast in the cement causing their eyes to focus harder.
Noriko came running at Shura in a zig-zag formation with incredible speed. They parried and locked eyes on each other.
"Not bad there angel, just as I expected from what I heard from the clown." Shura said with a smirk.
"Well he doesn't know all of my strengths." Noriko growled as she kicked Shura in the stomach, making her fly and hit the wall with a loud booming sound.
Before Noriko gave time for Shura to recover, she held the daggers at her neck and heart area, making Shura smirk.
"Looks like I lost. Nice work kid. Your parents taught you everything didn't they?" Shura chuckled as she got herself off the floor and put back her sword in her chest.
Noriko smirked and put her daggers back in her boots and chanted the spell to put back the seals on her wrists. Once they were on, Noriko felt exhausted and almost fell to the floor. She never used that much energy in one sitting.
"Woah there, you alright?" Shura asked as she put a hand on Noriko's shoulder.
"Ya, I just never used that much energy before. So when do we train again?"
Shura chuckled and slapped her hand on Noriko's back, "Tomorrow after your classes are completed."
Noriko smiled at Shura and they left the room. Once they left the building Noriko headed towards her own building and was ready for bed.
When she got to the front door of the building, she smelt Rin's cooking. Smiling, she took off her shoes and walked to the kitchen to see Rin and Ukobach cooking away with Kuro on the kitchen table drooling with the smell of cooked meat. She smiled and petted Kuro's head, responding in a purr.
"What are you guys cooking in there? It smells amazing!" Noriko said as she looked in through the kitchen window.
"Oh hey Noriko! Just wait and see. We are almost done here anyway. Can you go grab Yukio for me?"
"Sure."
When Noriko went to go look for Yukio in his room, she saw him talking on the phone and writing down some notes. She lightly knocked on the door and surprised Yukio.
"Dinner is almost ready." She whispered. Yukio nodded and gave her a thumbs up as he listened to the other person on the line.
Once everyone was at the table and ready to eat, Noriko and the rest of them chowed down on Rin's delicious cooking once again. They discussed what was due and how everything was going. Rin asked Noriko what Mephisto wanted and she told them about her little training with Shura. Rin had a face of awe while Yukio had a raised eyebrow.
"Holy crap! You were able to defeat Shura in less than three minutes! Damn Noriko!" Rin yelled in excitement.
"That is quite impressive Noriko, Shura is one of the best besides the Paladin Angel. Maybe we have a better Paladin at this table right now." Yukio said as he cleaned his glasses off.
Noriko shrugged and finished her meal. Thanking Rin, she went up to her room and collapsed on the bed, sleep taking over her every being.