I made my way towards school with my recently borrowed library book clutched in my left hand, my right already being preoccupied carrying my schoolbag. I passed other students, not paying much mind to their faces or conversations, as I focused on daydreaming about cracking open this book and reading. It was a new anthology on mythological beings and other demonic lore. It's not a subject for everyone obviously, but it was certainly a subject for me.

With these lingering thoughts of reading fluttering around in my head, I quickened my pace to a skip, eager to get into the classroom; that was until I collided into another person. I stumbled back, the contents of both my hands dropping to the ground as I attempted to catch my balance. A hand shot out to grab onto my wrist, stabilizing me, and giving me a chance to notice the person I'd crashed into was a rather attractive guy. He wore a stylish, off-white jacket, not buttoned up so his equally stylish, on-brand polo shirt was visible for all to see. His hair was dirty blonde and completely unkempt, most likely to match this image he seemed to be going for. But what really held my attention were his eyes. He had the strangest…almost unsettlingly blue eyes.

Once I had regained my footing, he released my wrist and gave me an awkward smile. "Ah…sorry about that. You alright?"

I vaguely processed what he said as I rubbed my now sore head, giving it a few shakes to ward off an impending headache. After a few seconds of collecting myself, I took a chance to really analyze this guy. My eyes hyper-focused on him. His clothes indicated he wasn't someone from my school, no uniform. His hair and eye color led me to believe he might be a foreigner, but he spoke fluent Japanese…he even had an accent, Kansai I think. Maybe…he was a transfer student? "It's…" I paused, deciding my words carefully. "Yeah, yeah. I'm all right. You okay?"

He gave a gentle laugh which carried an ethereal sound to it, as though it wasn't natural…as though he wasn't natural. I shook off the thought before noticing him bending down to pick up my belongings. Panic surged through me! Last thing I needed was some stranger seeing my weird fascination with demonic lore and the occult. I quickly knelt down, scrambling to grab my book before he caught sight of it, but it was too late. He saw the title as I swiped it away. "Demons? I didn't think schools taught about those."

I hesitated at the statement, plotting out a reply that would both answer his question and not lead to further conversation. "They don't. It's…for a friend of mine. She's into the occult and stuff like that."

His gaze went from the book to me, but it felt like he wasn't really looking at me, more like a point past me…like he was looking through me. Or maybe…inside me? It stirred up an uneasy feeling for sure. I just needed to get away from him.

I finished collecting my things, stood up, and nervously waited for him. The guy stood up as well, allowing me to give him a small bow of apology and thanks before hurrying away from him and towards the school building. As I walked away though, I couldn't help the urge to give a glance back to see him…but he wasn't there anymore. Strange…

Ignoring that bizarre encounter, I continued with my normal school day, focusing all my attention on my anthology and schoolwork. It was a simple day of education: classes, breaks for reading my anthology, Tominaga Hideyo taunting and bullying me with a gaggle of overly done up friends, lunch, more classes. It was a normal day…at least it was continuing to be a normal day. It wasn't until the end of the day that the strangeness from the morning presented itself again.

I had already informed Father I would be coming home later than usual because I wanted to stop by the bookstore for some books and manga. That was the original intention and plan, but unfortunately it did not stay that way.

After the school cleared out more, people either leaving or going to club activities, I packed up and began to head out myself. Once I had changed my shoes, taking those first couple steps out of the school building, the strange, blonde-haired, blue-eyed guy from this morning pushed himself away from the gate and approached me. "Hello again!"

That…wasn't normal! He still wasn't wearing a uniform…of any kind! It was clearly evident that he wasn't a student at all! I began backing away from him, running the possibility through my head that he might have actually waited all day for me to come out of the building. He…He could be planning to attack me…or worse! My right hand crept into my bag as I clutched it closer to my chest. "S-Stay back! I'll…I-I'll scream! The teachers are still here…you'll…y-you'll have the police called on you!"

"Woah! Woah! Calm down…I'm not here to do anything to you. I just thought we could talk." The moment he noticed me backing away, he stopped moving towards me. I guess seeing my fear tipped him off that I was on-guard.

I kept my distance all the same, my hand still hunting for my danger buzzer inside my bag. "T-Talk about what?"

He remained stationary as he answered me. "Demons."

I balked at that, my hand forgetting its mission to find the buzzer. "D-Demons? You…want to talk to me about…demons?" He couldn't be serious! He just met me this morning after I bumped headlong into him, and after that encounter he waited outside my school all day to talk about demons with me?! He can't seriously think that I'd believe something like that, right?!

I could see the look in his eyes as he realized I wasn't entirely sure he was telling the truth. One of his hands went up and messed with his hair, ruffling it before falling to his side once more. A sigh left his lips as he gazed at me with the gentlest smile. "Would it make you feel better if I introduced myself? I'm Moegi, Moegi Nozomu, and I'm interested in demons too."

A name? He gave me his name willingly. Was this his way of trying to earn my trust? He must know that if he does anything to me, I will give the police his name without hesitation. But…but what if it was a fake name? "How…How do I know that's your real name?"

This guy, Moegi, shifted his weight as his hand ruffled his hair again. "Well…you have a point there, but you won't know unless you try."

I considered this, giving him a cursory glance, sizing him up before removing my hand from my school bag and straightening myself to stand taller. "Fine."

Moegi seemed somewhat relieved that I conceded to him as he smiled at me and bowed. "Fantastic! Can I have a name to call you by?"

Hesitation came for a brief moment before I took on a fake confident stance. "Nomura."

He winked at me with a smile still plastered on his face. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Nomura. Shall we find a place to sit and talk? I'd love to pick your brain about demons."

With nervousness coursing through me, and a great amount of reservations that I probably should have listened to, I made my way over to Moegi. "As long as the place is public and has people that can be witnesses if you try something."

Moegi didn't bat an eye at my statement. He merely nodded with a smile still on his face. "Then I know the perfect place. Follow me please Nomura."

He turned heel and began walking, and I did as he requested. I followed him. He was strange…and while his actions seemed untoward, he never actually caused me harm. In fact, as we made our way to wherever Moegi was taking me, he acted the perfect gentleman. He matched my walking pace, he took the side where more people passed by, he even offered to carry my bag. I refused that particular request. But he was utterly and completely gentlemanly. It was…unnatural, or perhaps unnerving was the right word.

He never faltered in his mannerisms as he led the way, until we reached the exterior of a bar, Moonshine. I started up at it in confusion before tensing and reaching my hand once more into my bag. "You deceitful little–"

"Wait! Wait!" He moved to be in front of me, holding his hands up in a gesture that pleaded for me to remain calm and composed. "I…I work here. The place is staffed with other people our age, and people are constantly frequenting this place. I swear, I am not trying to lure you–"

Moegi was cut off by the sound of the bar door slamming open and an enthusiastic male voice practically shouting behind him, "Nozomu! Oboro and Shion have been looking for you! Where have you been?"

Moegi gave a long exhalation before turning around to address the person who had burst out of the bar. "I was making a new friend, Akira. She just agreed to come to the bar so she and I could chat."

"Friend?" Was all I heard before spying a brownish, red-haired boy with milk chocolate-colored eyes staring at me. He had more piercings than I had ever seen on a person; it was certainly a fashion statement. He was dressed in comfortable clothes, almost sporty. A white tank top and some dark green shorts. Comfortable. He was a lot more casual than Moegi, and he gave off an aura that reminded me of a dog. "Nice to meet you! Any friend of Nozomu's is a friend of mine! I'm Yamabuki Akira, but you can just call me Akira!"

This was definitely becoming a weird day, and it was getting weirder by the minute. "T-Thank you…but I think I'll stick with calling you Yamabuki for now." Good, another name just in case I had to give a statement. Save that in the back of the mind. "I'm Nomura."

"Nomura…" He gave an expression like he was waiting for me to provide a first name. Rude.

Before I could decline giving my first name though, Moegi stepped in-between us, cutting off Yamabuki's line of sight to me. "Just Nomura for right now Akira. She's nervous, and you're really not helping fix that. I'll be getting to work in a moment, so why don't you go and let the others know I'm back."

I couldn't see any affirmation to Moegi's instructions, but I assumed there was some confirmation before Moegi twirled back around to face me. "Sorry about that. Shall we head inside?"

Every signal in my brain fired off not to go inside this place, but I ignored them all, resigning myself to the curiosity I felt and the chaos of the day. I went into the establishment. Moegi held the door open for me, allowing me to enter first before taking up the rear. The place was immaculate. It looked more like a club than a bar. Perhaps it was. There was a stage area for performances in one part of the open area, complete with drums, piano, and a microphone. The bar area was spotless, with assorted liquor bottles behind it for any customer to choose from. There were circular tables all around with chairs set at them.

"It looks more like a club than a bar." I stated just before a realization struck me. There were no patrons. No customers. I whirled on my heel to glare daggers at Moegi, "You lying bastard! There's no one in here!" I moved my position to wield my schoolbag as a weapon in order to get past Moegi if worse came to worst.

Moegi, on the other hand, tensed and raised his hands nervously. "T-They'll be here later Nomura, I swear. Also…there really are people here; I promise! They're most likely upstairs." He awkwardly and carefully walked past me, making sure to leave a wide space between us for my comfort, before shouting up the stairs, "I'm back, and I have a guest with me!"

After those words were shouted up the stairs, two people came down them. First was an older man with silvering hair and deep, thoughtful eyes. Second was a rather tall woman with long, wavy blonde hair and a confused expression in her emerald eyes. At first, they seemed confused by Moegi's call for them, but the moment they caught sight of me…they seemed shocked.

I stood awkwardly, shifting my weight from one foot to the other, trying to ignore their stares before, finally, the older man coughed and gave a greeting. "Welcome to Moonshine. I'm Kurosaki Oboro, the owner of this bar, and this is the bar's pianist Katsura Shion." He gestured his hand toward the woman he came down with. She waved to me, her expression taking on a calm appearance, but I could sense a trace of awe in it as well. As though she was baffled to see me…even though I'd never seen her before. I focused on her until Kurosaki spoke again, "What brings you here?"

I blanched at the question. I merely followed Moegi here, against my better judgment, to talk about demons. Should I tell him that though? It would be a good way to keep the story straight and truthful in case something happened. "Moegi brought me here to talk about demons."

Kurosaki's thoughtful gaze shifted from me to Moegi, who was simply watching the interactions between everyone from the sidelines. "Demons? Is this true Nozomu?"

A pause followed as Moegi put his hands into his jacket pockets in a suave manner. "It's true. I did ask her here to talk about demons. She had an interesting looking book on the subject, and I was curious if the Lunar Races were in there too."

I looked over at Moegi, all my thoughts and focus on him now as I forgot about Kurosaki and Katsura. "The Lunar what?"

Moegi gave a coy smile, implying he knew something I didn't. "The Lunar Races."

I'd never heard of such a race, and I'd been studying demon lore and mythology for years. What was he playing at?! My nervousness began to take over as my body trembled. I did my best to appear as calm as possible in the face of this possible realization that I was in total danger. "I've never heard of such a thing before. You said you wanted to talk about demons, not this…this Lunar Race."

Moegi caught wind of my tension and unease as he nodded calmly. "Yes, because, technically speaking, the Lunar Races are considered demons." It was then, while watching Moegi intently, I noticed a twinge of purple glistened through his unsettlingly blue eyes. At that moment, my only thoughts were to run…so I did.

I dropped my bag and ran home without looking back at the bar or the voices calling after me.