Early mornings were, perhaps, Alfred's favorite time of day. His shoes pounded against concrete as he enjoyed a light jog, the early Sunday daylight beaming down on him as he passed by a few other early morning joggers. Sure, he may have accidentally blown Malice up with his chest explosion last night, but Threat didn't seem too bothered so it probably was fine. Nothing was all too bad for him, it was a peaceful morning, a good morning. So obviously, it didn't last.

His poor luck started when the rock comm on his ear (one which Kiyome was very specific on him not giving away this time) began to vibrate. He pressed the button, not expecting much other than the usual hello and maybe a request to stop by. He instead got a headache, as she screamed into his ear.

"YOU COMPLETE IDIOT! I TOLD YOU TO TAKE IT EASY WHILE I WAS GONE!"

He winced, holding his ear as he tried to ignore the ringing in his eardrum. "I mean, I basically did. Nothing too crazy."

Just his usual antics of fighting supernatural creatures and performing several unnecessarily risky maneuvers because his understanding of his power was awful. He had hoped that she wouldn't notice, but unfortunately, she somehow did.

"Oh, sure, and I didn't get an alarm from one of my assistants saying that the sample of Threat we have in the lab wasn't going absolutely ballistic."

"How does that even work?"

"Likely some sort of pseudo-hivemind effect based on some tests I've been- don't you dare distract me!"

Letting out a quiet groan, he decided that it wasn't worth it to keep her angry. "Sorry, sorry. Circumstances came up and I had to act, you know how life can be."

"Do I ever. Anway, I need you to come to the train station and help me carry some things. The parts necessary for some equipment I needed ended up being a little bigger than I thought."

"Sure. When should I get there?"

"In five minutes."

Damn it. Giving Kiyome a quick confirmation that he'd be there, Alfred quickly adjusted his route and began to jog towards Kuoh Station. Well, it was less jogging and more of a half-sprint, but regardless he made his way there without issue.

Stopping outside of the station, he crossed his arms over his t-shirt and watched as she carried a stack of boxes on top of one another, the total stack being taller than her head. He opened the glass door for her, taking some of the boxes before she tried to walk down the stairs with them. "A bit short notice. How was the trip?"

She bobbed her head as a black cat peaked out from the hood of her gray hoodie, looking at him with a tilted head before vanishing back in the hoodie. It was a weird occurrence but was also somehow something he fully expected from her, so he let it go and just listened to her ramble. "Most certainly! I managed to find quite a deal on limestone, not to mention that there was a buy-one-get-one sale on strawberries at the local farmer's market. Lamiae love strawberries, and ever since someone saddled me with a whole squadron of them, I've found my supply getting dangerously low."

He had the decency to feel embarrassed, holding the boxes in one hand as he scratched the back of his neck with the other. "Sorry about that. So, where is this limestone anyway?"

"Oh, it's in the boxes you're holding alongside the rest of the stone. They're just enchanted to feel feather light."

Testing the weight of the box in his hands, Alfred found himself very impressed with the magic behind their construction. Sure it wasn't the flashiest thing, but this was one of the few times he had seen magic used for something practical. The only thing better would be a smoke detector that didn't malfunction every other day. Those damn maintenance people still haven't gotten to the work order he put in last Wednesday. "How do you still manage to have so much money after all this time? Like, sure I get that your family is rich and all, but doesn't that run out at some point?"

His question must've been hilarious, as she let out a rather annoying chortle at him. So much so that chortle was the only way he could mentally describe the action, as her face made an expression which was as if a penguin had learned to laugh. It took several minutes before she realized he wasn't joking, and eventually began to explain to him the magic behind it. "Oh, you're serious. Well, it's not like I'm working with no income coming in at all. Over the centuries my family has invested in several global companies and agencies, which earns me quite a nice profit. And for more exotic goods, I work as a physician for all manner of supernatural beings. Gets me a tidy sum and some rather powerful connections."

The cat poked its head out again, making an oddly satisfied face before disappearing once more.

"Damn, life just isn't fair."

While he did get a monthly stipend as per the terms of his scholarship, it was barely enough to keep him fed and anything leftover was emergency cash should something bad happen. Actually, it would likely end up being the money he used to find an apartment after the school year was up and he graduated. He really needed to find a job.

Having somehow read his mind (or his face was just too expressive), Kiyome pitched in her own idea. "You could always work as a mercenary. There is no end to the number of odd jobs the supernatural world has, and considering your only strength is being able to hit things hard, it's the best you've got."

However true her words were, there was no denying that he took some offense to it. "I can do other things. Just… normal things."

She laughed again, though this time it was more good-naturedly than the last one. "Don't stress too much about it. You're just getting your footing in this world of ours, so I wouldn't expect you to have a perfect solution right out of the gate. Let's focus on figuring out what you even are, then we can go from there."

Her reassurance was, well, reassuring. As much as he was doing things, most of them were just him throwing shit at the wall and seeing what sticks. He had very little clue as to how his magic worked and was relying more on Threat than anything else to carry him through it. It was a sobering thought, and one that frustrated him as much as it motivated him to get better.

"Wait."

Kiyome's voice interrupted his thoughts, bringing his attention back to the road. His eyes narrowed at the lack of people around them, a tingling going down his spine as several figures in church garbs stepped out of the alleys around them. "What are priests doing out here? Shouldn't they be at mass right now?"

"These aren't priests, they're exorcists."

He had no idea what that meant in this context, but by the tone of her voice it couldn't be good. "Shit."

"Yeah."

They reached to their belts where some oversized gun and cylinder rested. They held the former in one hand and pressed a button on the latter, a beam of white light coming out of the tip of it as it made whooshing noises. One of the exorcists stepped forward, gun pointed to Kiyome as he glared at her. "We know you've brought a devil with you. Relinquish the vermin and we may spare your life."

The exorcists seemed perfectly fine ignoring him, focusing their guns on her. She didn't seem keen on letting them intimidate her, however, as she turned her nose up and spoke down to them in a way only a short person could. "This is devil territory, exorcist. Church business should be dealt with elsewhere."

"We're not with the Church."

That seemed to trouble her slightly more, her confidence wavering as she reassessed the threat before her. "Strays then? Betrayers of your own order?"

That made quite a few of them agitated, especially the one acting as a representative. "We betrayed nothing! It is the Church who have betrayed the tenets of the Lord with their cowardice ways! We should be fighting those damn devils and fallen, not engaging in a pathetic cold war!"

Alfred grimaced as he knelt down to put the boxes on the floor, earning the attention of the exorcists as several of them focused their guns on him. He held his hands up, trying not to earn their aggravation and search for a peaceful solution to the conflict. "Do we really have to do this? I mean, it's just us two. Can't we just talk this out or something?"

Their leader scoffed at him, pointing the gun in his hand at Kiyome once more. "Stay out of this. You may be assisting this heretic, but maybe if you keep your mouth shut you won't suffer the same fate as her. Now, surrender the devil."

Despite the threat made against him, Alfred tried again. "There is no devil with us!"

"Look at her hood then, fool."

He did as he was told, spotting the cat poking its head out of her hood. "It's just a cat, dude."

"Idiot. Very well. Men, take care of these heathens."

Kiyome and him matched gazes, her head jerking to the side as his shoulders dropped. Today was starting off so well too.

Several shots were fired by the exorcists, none making their target as two shields formed over Alfred's forearms. They covered the first few shots, expanding out to cover Kiyome's entire body as several more went a bit lower than anticipated. Their target of fire soon switched to him, and all he could do was keep his head down as their light-infused bullets bounced off his "clothes", which hardened in response to the impact. He waited for the sounds of clicking to confirm that they had run out of ammo in their magazines, before turning to the offensive.

"What the fuck is that thing!"

The exorcists screamed as Threat covered his body, their attention locked onto him as they panicked and attempted to reload their guns. Alfred responded by letting out a wave of negative ki, freezing them on the spot as bladed tendrils formed out of the back of his shoulders. He flared his claws, projecting his voice outward as he gave them an ultimatum. "You can either drop your weapons and run or face me."

One of his tendrils punched through the concrete of the floor, furthering his point. None of the exorcists seemed eager to test him, all of them dropping their weapons and bolting out of there while the leader just growled, swore, before doing the same.

There were benefits to having a visually intimidating powerset.

Returning to his normal outside wear, Alfred let out a breath and jabbed his thumb in the direction the exorcists ran off to. "Weaker bite than bark, eh?"

For the first time that morning, Kiyome laughed hysterically at something other than him. "I would too if I had to fight you. No matter how much of a softie you are, you have a very terrifying look about you while fighting."

"It has its uses."

"A shame I was hoping to watch you eviscerate those fools, nya."

He squinted as a womanly voice that was definitely not Kiyome's came from her back, eyes landing on the cat as it licked its paw. It seemed to notice his stare, tilting its head as it purred. "What? Are you just now questioning why I'm here?"

Nodding slowly, he felt his attention tear between staring at the talking cat and watching Threat extend itself to grab at the dropped weapons on the floor. "I try not to question every strange thing I see, Miss…"

The two girls looked at him funny, and he refused to be the weird one for assuming the cat had a name. "You do not get to pull that. I swear to God that cat better have a name, or else I am just leaving you here."

Hissing at him, the cat jumped out of Kiyome's hood and huffed at him. "Careful with the G-Word, nya. It's offensive to my soft little ears, nya. Pick me up now."

Deciding that of all requests, that was one of the least weird, Alfred didn't even bother questioning it as he grabbed the cat under its front legs and began to lift it. He did start to question things as the cat suddenly grew several times heavier and became a busty older woman, who closed one eye and tilted her head with her tongue sticking out. "Meow~"

"…Cat girls may be where I draw the line."

He set the woman on her feet, taking a moment to look away from her only to stare as Threat began to eat the guns and the hilts of the light swords. Not even in a metaphorical way either, as his partner formed a mouth and began to chew on the metal of the weapons unabashedly.

"What the fuck is my life."

… … …

A few lengthy explanations went on as they cleared out the area, Kiyome taking time to explain to him that the exorcists had erected an ignorance barrier and what that entailed. Basically, it was just a barrier that made people want to ignore the area, allowing for them to ambush them without much issue. She then started talking about dimensional barriers and almost went off onto a tangent before eventually cutting herself off.

The main takeaway he got from that is that no matter how hard a magic was, the moment there was a step-by-step guide on how to do it everyone was going to start trying.

From there it was just business as usual as they made their way back to her home, with Kuroka (the scantily clad cat lady who had a fascination with smelling him) introducing herself and explaining a bit about her circumstances. Most of which were just… great. Just fine.

"The fact that devils can just, like, enslave other people and literally race swap them without their consent is a new kind of evil for me."

Alfred sat with Kuroka right outside Kiyome's lab, enjoying some tea the stray devil had prepared. He wasn't typically a tea guy, but even he had to admit that this stuff tasted good. A bit tangy, but good. "What'd you put in this tea anyway?"

"Some lemon and every last drop of my gushing love, nya~"

Must've been a secret recipe then. He took another sip, watching as Kuroka watched him drink it. Was it unsettling? Sure. Was it enough to make him stop? Not in the slightest. It was probably just a cultural difference. "So, whatever happened to your sister anyway?"

the older woman sighed, cat ears drooping as she looked off into nowhere in particular. "After killing my bastard of a master, I was forced to leave her behind. Last I heard, she's living a much better life with a much kinder master, but I still miss her. Sometimes I just want to snatch her up and leave this place, but I can't."

"How come?"

She waved a paper fan in front of her face, lips pursed as she moved her saddened stare back onto him. "I've gotten myself wrapped up in some… interesting shenanigans, and I can't quite work to clear my name until I've taken care of them."

While he had no idea the specifics, he could sympathize with the idea of being caught up in a series of events you have little control over. That was just about his life in a nutshell. "That sounds rough. While I'm not sure how much this is worth, if you ever need any help, I won't mind lending a hand if I can. So long as it isn't anything crazy."

He had to add that last bit in a bit hastily after seeing the gleam in her eye, but it didn't seem to dissuade her none. "I'll be sure to keep that in mind, nya. Unrelated, but how much stamina do you have on average?"

"Uh, a lot? Why do you ask?"

"Nothing, nya~"

The doors to Kiyome's lab were roughly thrown open, keeping him from questioning the cat lady further as his mad scientist friend pointed at the two of them. "The latest renovation to my laboratory is complete! Come quickly, you have to see it!"

Alfred and Kuroka gave each other a look before following along with whatever Kiyome had in store, noting several obelisk-like structures forming a square perimeter in the center of the room. All but pushing the two of them inside, the short brunette pushed a few buttons and cackled as a barrier formed around them.

"This barrier should not only keep your negative ki from leaking out, but also act as protection should anything explode! Oh, my genius assistants, we have done it again!"

Several fairies around her whistled in delight, each of them wearing a miniature version of Kiyome's lab coat and goggles. It was a very odd sight, and not one he was certain he would ever get used to. Kuroka was of a different mind, not batting an eye as she instead focused more on him than the dancing fairies. "Now seems as good a time as ever to get to the crux of the matter, nya."

"Which is?"

Kuroka's two tails wagged in a very dog-like manner (a thought he'd take to the grave) as Kiyome appeared at the edge of the barrier with a notepad in hand. "You see, despite my great scientific prowess, my knowledge falls quite short when it comes to matters of the soul. No human magic has ever been very good at dealing with it, as it's quite hard to quantify and measure. So, Kuroka here is going to take a look at your soul and use her senjutsu knowledge to get a better idea as to what the exact problem is. Kuroka, if you would."

"Gladly, nya."

Kuroka clapped her hands, the playful attitude she'd adopted since their meeting vanishing in an instant as a more serious look came across her face. She began to draw some symbols into the air, eyes glowing before she took a step back as Threat attempted to skewer her with one of its tentacles. Alfred cringed, holding his partner back with sheer willpower as he apologized to Kuroka. "Sorry, Threat gets like that sometimes. Though usually it takes someone trying to dissect him to get like that."

Threat eventually calmed down, much to his delight. Thankfully, she didn't seem too phased by it. If anything, she had expected the reaction in the first place. "Understandable. Your familiar likely sensed the youjutsu I was casting and thought it a threat. What kind of creature is it anyway?"

"Well, I-"

"Nya."

He stopped himself, wondering if she added it in because she forgot to earlier or if she just wanted to interrupt him. Deciding that it didn't matter, he completed his answer. "I'm not really sure. It's been with me for as long as I can remember."

"You should name the species then, there is no greater honor, nya."

"I'll workshop it."

That seemed to satisfy her somewhat, as she returned to casting her spell. It was somewhat awkward standing there as she wrote symbols into the air, having to restrain Threat every now and again every time it started to get antsy. It didn't last long, thank goodness, as she moved her finger to his chest and wrote the last symbol on him. It glowed for a while, not disappearing like the others as she hummed, having gathered some information from the spell.

"You are lucky to be alive, nya."

"I hear that too often to be affected by it."

Kuroka giggled at his dry wit (perhaps a bit too much to be authentic), before slamming him with the truth. "I mean it. The core forcefully injected into your soul was done sloppily at best, and incompetently at worst. Like shoving a straw into your heart and hoping it becomes a laser of death, nya."

Grabbing the sigil on his chest, she turned her hand and transformed it into a model of the magical core in his chest. It was spherical in a basic sense, though the different segments of the core seemed to shift and move around all at once, flickering in and out of view as different segments of it materialized before his eyes and others vanished.

"Your soul is particularly flexible, however, and managed to adapt to the changes the best it could. Unfortunately, it had no idea how to conform to the actual core itself. After all, a magical core is the metaphysical embodiment of a magical being's soul and having it be shoved into a non-magical being's soul causes some problems. Nya."

Her nyas were becoming almost forced the further she went on, her brow curving in sympathy as she flicked the model of his core. It shrank as what looked like a wispy fire covered it, stable at first but slowly destabilizing as bits of the magical core shot off of it and hit the fire.

"At this point, your actual soul is barely hanging on at all. The only thing keeping you alive is the core itself, and even then, that's temporary. Too much stress to the core and eventually it would give out entirely, which would be bad considering that's the only thing keeping you alive."

The model of the core stopped moving, what remained of his soul around it falling apart around it. It was a grim sight, and one which sobered him greatly. "How much time do I have?"

"Typically, I'd say a few years, but it seems that recent stress has bitten that down to a few months at best. Weeks if you keep pushing yourself. And it wouldn't be a sudden death either. Your bodily functions would begin to shut down as your core begins to malfunction, your body decaying before your own eyes over a period of weeks or days. Not the best way to go."

"There has to be a way to save him!"

It wasn't him who spoke first, but Kiyome, and he was glad. He didn't trust himself to speak, not now. Mostly since he had no idea what he would say. It wasn't every day you heard that your life was ticking away, and that it would be a rather painful death. He figured he had more time than that, even if it wasn't as much as he hoped he would have gotten.

"There is."

"Then do it!"

Nothing about either of their tones filled him with much hope, but he took what he could get. Kuroka didn't seem to see it that way, however, as she maintained a fearful wariness regarding her solution. "The process isn't without potential cost. The only way I can think of to save his life would be to force the tattered remains of his soul to merge with the magical core, fusing the two in order to create a new core from the remains of both. That is a power beyond my ability, meaning that the process of actually doing such a procedure would be left up to you, Alfred. The most I can do is start it."

There was a heavy implication behind her words, but he wanted to hear it. "And if I can't figure it out?"

"Then both will collapse and you'll die a painless death, at the very least."

On the outside of the barrier, Kiyome seemed torn at the prospect. He could understand. Had the situations been reversed, he would have been just as conflicted as she was. The situations weren't reversed, however, and he knew exactly what he wanted. "Let's do it."

Kuroka's lips tightened in a thin line at his declaration, expressing a mess of different emotions. "Are you certain? Even if you succeed, you won't be the same. To be perfectly transparent, there's a chance that you as a person may not wake up after the spell is cast, but something different. Even in the best-case scenario, you won't be fully human anymore. You'll be something else, something… different."

A terrifying prospect, but what choice did he have? Sure, he could wait and hope that something better comes along, but time wasn't exactly on his side. At best he had months, worst weeks, and his odds were probably pushing closer to the latter than the former. Waiting any longer would be close to suicide. "I'd rather be different than dead. Besides, if I can say anything about myself it's that I'm stubborn. So… just do it before I change my mind."

"If you say so."

A chair was pushed into the barrier, and he found himself sitting back as Kiyome bound his arms and legs to it. Threat writhed around him, eager to cut through the bonds but maintaining its conduct for him. It was a touching bit of restraint, and one that he found a sense of stability in as Kuroka placed her hands on his temples. He could feel her magic working its way through him, his vision blurring as her final words acted as a subtle goodbye.

"No matter what you see, remember that it is little more than a bad dream."

And that was when the rain hit his face.

Rain was always there at funerals. He could scarcely remember a time when it was sunny out, or even just a tad cold. It was always raining, though sometimes it didn't come from the sky.

"How fitting. We begin where it all ended."

Alfred clutched the handle of his umbrella tightly, face downcast as his shadow stared back with a cheshire grin. It laughed at him, eyes like crooked teardrops as it permanently mimed the rain which fell from his own.

"What's wrong there, boy? Not afraid of your own shadow, are you?"

He dropped the umbrella on top of the grinning shadow, the black of it obscuring its visage as he looked towards the coffins instead. They were cheap and wooden, the best his family could have afforded and the most his father's job was willing to shill out. He could see the other guests cry, their tears fat and well-practiced as they traded stories. His father's boss, a mere rung on the ladder of success, spoke vaguely of him while decrying his mother. The man was here out of formality, having already replaced his father several weeks ago.

It was an intoxicating affair, and one he wanted nothing to do with.

Digging his hands into his pockets, Alfred left the graves and wandered down the cemetery. Tombs and statues towered over him, angels crying for those who could afford it while the rest were stuck with bits of rock with their names carved upon it. No single grave stood out, the yard too congested to allow such a thing to happen. Each one was one of over a thousand, stretching across the horizon as the dead were given the same respect that manufactured goods would get.

"Running from the dead now? I didn't take you for a coward."

His shadow followed him eagerly, giving the stone angels a cruel grin as it passed each one. Its claws framed him with every step, tendrils tickling his legs with every step.

"If you're looking for sympathy, you won't find it amongst the dead. Then again, you never found it with the living either."

He loosened his tie, finding the end of the graveyard in a shabby metal door. He grabbed the handle, turning it open as he walked into his home. It was a small home, a living room with a kitchen connected and a half-bath jammed between the two. A cramped staircase led to a second floor, two rooms and full bathroom squished together in order to fit the home.

Alfred walked up the stairs, the wood creaking underneath him as he walked into his old room.

"I'm surprised you remember it. You can hardly remember anything else."

He sat on the bed, eyes closing as he tried to remember what else was in here. A desk with a chair, some posters and a few choice toys that his parents could afford. The floor was always clean, his mother throwing a fit if it wasn't. Even before the incident, she was always so tightly wound. Quick to anger, quick to yell. She was probably stressed, and father was never around to help with anything. Much less the amnesiac child.

"She was a cruel thing, wasn't she? Never satisfied, never happy. Just a fountain of negativity."

His eyes opened as he stared at his shadow sitting at his desk across from him. Its red and black coloring seemed to ooze pus, the holes where the red meat could be seen having long since grown infected. It didn't seem to mind it however, as the grin stretched across its face never faltered as its eyes bore deep into his own.

"ALFRED, DINNER TIME!"

The shadow cackled as he looked at the door, its mouth ripping open as teeth like kitchen knives revealed themselves. "This is my favorite part."

Heart heavy, he stood from the bed and made his way downstairs, following the scent of food. His father was already seated, bags under his eyes as he drank one of the many beers he kept in the fridge. Mother stood in the kitchen, whistling a happy tune as she smiled at him. She never smiled.

"Sit down, honey, I'll serve you in just a second."

Doing as he was told, Alfred sat down at the dinner table and said nothing as his shadow did the same, never moving its head so that it could stare at him. It didn't move, not even to breathe, simply sitting there as his mother walked in with several plates in her hands. She served all three of them, walking back to the kitchen as she grabbed three knives from the kitchen.

He kept his head bowed low and just looked at his plate, the memory of what he had eaten having faded a long time ago. He grabbed a fork, stabbing into the nothing and taking a bite. His mother's footsteps grew closer, but he didn't look up. He chewed nothing and swallowed nothing, ignoring her happy whistle as she placed one knife in front of him, and another beside her plate. He cut into nothing as she walked over to his father, savoring the flavor as a scream pierced his ear and a heavy thud hit the table.

The nothing tasted like copper.

His father fell to the floor as his mother continued to hand him the knife, the blade in his hand leaking red as he tried to cut into the nothing. The color spoiled his appetite, and so he finally turned his gaze away from the plate and towards his mother.

She was red, from her hands to her clothes. Her smile was red and reminded him of the grin shadow always wore. Her eyes were bent in ecstasy, like teardrops twisted by cruelty. The face burned its way into his mind, the way strings of black hair covered her face and red painted her grin which hid beneath the hashmark pattern of her hair. Her nails were long, like claws ready to cut into flesh, and the struggle between her and father had left several gaping wounds across her skin. Her flesh looked dark with bruises, almost black, the open wounds being the only bit of red to peek out from behind the black.

It was the clearest memory he had of her, because it was the happiest she had ever been in front of him.

She collapsed crying in a mix of anguish and joy. She was happy, so happy. Happy enough that she knew that it would never get better. She was confident in that, so much that she spoke it to him in her final moments before her joy took the rest of her away from him.

He sat in the chair, hands on the table as he watched their reds intermingle. He sat there for a long time, just watching as they laid there so peacefully. It was a better memorial than the one they had been given, one truer to who they were.

A pair of fucked up people.

"A pair of fucked up people that made you."

His shadow sat across from him still, having not budged from its place or moved its gaze. He stared back, mimicking the shadow as it began to laugh.

"Wouldn't it have been nice if she had been kind enough to take you with her? Kind enough to be angry with you like you hoped she would have been. To think of you at all in her final moments?"

The light above them flickered off and on, the brief moment of darkness spreading the shadow all around before it returned to its proper place.

"Aren't you going to say something? Do something? Or have you grown numb to the feeling? Has it really stopped mattering to you?"

"…No…"

Another flicker, and this time the shadow was to his right, sitting in mother's seat.

"It would have been nice to have joined her. She was always so distant in life, maybe in death she would've been more appreciative of what she had."

Off, on. The shadow sat in father's seat.

"But what would it have mattered anyway? You barely knew her. Barely knew anyone. You were a stranger in your own home, a ghost walking in the shoes of someone else."

Off. The shadow whispered in his ear.

"Life was getting too good. It was only a matter of time before something fucked it up."

The light to his dorm flickered back on as he sat on his bed, the shadow sitting across from him. The dorm was empty, like it always was. He never had much in the way of possessions, why would he? It was always such a waste.

"You can sleep now. You can rest and let it all fade away as you dream."

Sleep? Alfred looked towards the bed, the pillow barely creased from use. Sleep was hard to get, he was always up so late. Maybe a quick nap wouldn't be so bad. He laid down across the bed, arm over his forehead as he closed his eyes and counted to ten.

"One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Six. Seven. Eight. Nine…"

He stopped, the ceiling glaring down at him as if confused that he did. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see the shadow crawling around on the ceiling, its head twisting around to stare at him as it made its way above his bed. Its mouth opened and opened and opened, rows upon rows of teeth dripping onto his face as it titled its head.

"Ten."

The shadow fell down, jaw clamping over his head as it began to chew him. The teeth dug into his skin, blood leaking down his torn cheeks like rain. Its claws carved their way through his chest, ripping him open as it played with his insides. Tendrils grabbed at his arms and burrowed into his veins, filling them up and extracting them from his body. He laid there, body breaking down as his shadow devoured him alive.

But he did not die. He couldn't really. No matter how much the shadow bit and tore at him, it couldn't kill him. How could it? It was just a shadow, an extension of himself. And no matter the pain he caused himself, he would not let death be amongst it.

"ALFRED! DINNER TIME!"

Alfred sat up in his old bed, the walls of his childhood bedroom cracking as bits of it began to fall. He stepped out of the room, walking down the rotted steps as he entered the crooked dining room. Father sat head down on the table, mold growing out of him while mother cooked dinner in the dilapidated kitchen. He grabbed a chair, sitting opposite of their son as the two of them waited for supper to be served.

"Mother's happy. She's never happy."

The child was confused, unsure of what to make of the worms crawling out of his father. He was downtrodden, uncertain how to make things better. How he was supposed to fix everything before the rest of the home shattered. Alfred sympathized, pressing down on the table and watching as the old wood splintered. "People can be cruel, especially the ones you love."

"I was trying to take away her sadness."

Mother walked by, a face painted onto glass masking her own as she set the plates down. "Maybe it's for the best that you don't remember what they were like before the accident. It would hurt more if you did."

"I thought I was helping. I didn't mean to make it worse."

She wandered to the kitchen, grabbing her friends from the cabinet as she approached the table. "It's hard to forgive the mistakes, when you know you could've done better."

"Why did she smile? Why was she so happy during it?"

A friend was placed in front of the child's plate, then beside her own. Mother walked over to father, stopping at the rotting corpse of a man before handing the last friend to Alfred. "The memory of it seems so vivid, yet the details are so blurry."

"What am I supposed to do now?"

Alfred held the knife, wiping the blade with his finger before realizing that there was no cleaning it. "Forgiveness was out of the question, but perhaps atonement could be found."

"Why are you ignoring me?"

The child glared at him, rain falling from his face as he held the umbrella. Alfred watched as he kicked dirt onto their graves, sitting by the dinner table as the wind rustled the leaves. He gave the knife one more glance, before gently setting it on the table and leaving it behind. "I'm not. I never could."

He knelt down by the graves and wiped the dirt off of them, cleaning away the rage and grief the child let take hold. His hand rested on the stone, letting the child crumble by his side as the temporary strength of hatred gave way to misery. "When they left you behind, I didn't know how to take care of you. I wasn't in the right place, the right mind. Perhaps I'm still not. But, at the very least, I'm willing to try."

"…Is it wrong that I still love them?"

Standing with the child's hand in his own, Alfred led the boy away from the graves and to the end of the graveyard. "No, not really. Even if they didn't love themselves, you can love them. Just don't let it consume you."

"Loving them hurts."

The gates of the graveyard opened for the first time since he came there, the rusted iron groaning at the unexpected movement. "Yeah, it does. But I'd rather love and forget then hate and never move on."

"They were bad people."

They stopped at the gate, the boy hesitating to leave. Alfred glanced back at the hill holding the two graves, before letting out a sigh. "They were broken people, we all are. What they forgot was that it was okay to be broken, so long as you're broken together."

"What about you?"

He led the boy through the gates, the small hand in his fading away as the gate closed behind him. "I'm broken too, and that's okay. I can be better tomorrow or the next day, so long as I try to be."

"So that's it then? You just forgive yourself and move on like nothing happened?"

The shadow growled at him from below, little more than a shade cast by the rising sun. A reminder of gloomier times, but little more. "The rain's stopped falling. I don't have to mourn any longer."

And then, he woke up.

Alfred's eyes cracked open, a single bead of warmth going down his cheek as the remnants of his dream lingered in his memory. He looked down, distinctly aware that he felt different somehow. He was lighter, the stress in his back no longer as prominent. His heart beat with a little less strain, and even his breathing felt clearer.

"I-It is done."

A sniffle came from his side as Kuroka dried her eyes, undoing the bonds keeping him in the chair as she cleared her throat. "Magic involving the soul always tends to bring the trauma of the caster to the surface, don't mind me. How are you, nya?"

Her hands struggled with the bonds on his arms, not out of any inherent difficulty but instead from a shaky fumbling that seemed to come from whatever it was that she saw. It is for that reason alone that he didn't mention her odd use of "nya" there, deciding that perhaps some things were better left to lie as they were. "Not sure. I… I saw things. They didn't make too much sense, in retrospect, but it felt important."

"Dreams of the soul are like that. Their logic isn't always clear, but the emotion behind them remains long after they've ended."

He rubbed his wrist as he stood from the chair, mind replaying the fragmented dream over and over to himself. It was important, that much he knew. And while the words of why that was refused to come to him, perhaps he didn't need words to understand it. "What about you? Are you alright?"

Kuroka laughed away the tears in her eyes, lifting her hand up like a paw as she tilted her head and closed a single eye. "Aww, worried about little old me, nya?"

"Yes."

Empathy felt like the right course of action in this moment, even if it was to a relative stranger.

"W-Well, aren't you a charmer."

Kuroka was saved from having to recover from her sudden embarrassment as Kiyome dropped the barrier, running in with her magnifying glass as she placed it over his heart. She tapped on the glass, turning the dial several times as she gasped at the results. "Amazing! Whatever your spell was, it managed to fuse the two broken souls into a complete magical core! I cannot even begin to imagine how this may affect you, so please try not to strain yourself too much!"

Rest sounded good, to be honest. He was actually quite tired all of a sudden, though not quite physically. More of a mental fatigue. "Can't argue with that. Are there any more tests you need to-"

"I'm glad you volunteered!"

Kiyome dragged a variety of stone machines around him, taking blood samples and running small tests while Kuroka sat on the sidelines and watched him with a contemplative look. He had no idea what it was that she saw while performing the spell, but somehow, he imagined he could understand. It wasn't the look she gave him that triggered his empathy so much, it was the look she would give herself whenever she glanced down at her hands. He had worn that look several times before. What if he could have done something different? What if he had been smarter, faster, stronger? What if he had been better? What if he hadn't screwed up?

It was the look of a broken person wondering what broke them in the first place.

… … …

Hours would pass before Alfred found himself back in his own home, wearing a comfortable pair of pants and little else as he pulled himself up on the chin-up bar he had stuck to the walls leading to the bathroom. It wasn't so much working out for the sake of physical health as it was working out for the sake of his mental health. It was a new thought for him, having never really considered meditation before. But after realizing that he couldn't sit still to save his life, he came to an epiphany.

The thing that put him most at peace was being active.

It was the repetition of the motion combined with allowing him to release some of his pent-up energy, he realized. Counting always helped him level his anxiety, and releasing energy was always a priority even if not always in the same context. Combining the two helped clear his mind, leveling his energy while keeping the rhythm of his movements to preoccupy a part of his mind. It left the rest of him clear-headed to think, to mull over himself beyond the surface level.

More importantly, it helped him find his core.

Perhaps it was just a consequence of the merging of his soul and the magical core, but he could feel it properly now. While before it was just the movement of its generation that he felt, now it was the shape of the core. The way it bent in and out of metaphysical existence yet remained anchored to him. He could feel the seams where the damaged parts of the core were repaired with the damaged parts of his soul, the careful stitching which would likely come undone if he used it too recklessly in the coming days. It was like a wound that had been freshly treated, still raw from the pain but now on the path of healing.

What the consequences of such a healing would entail, he had no idea, but he was ready to believe that it would be better than he had been before. Perhaps it would be more painful in the short term, and maybe he'd have moments of regret, but beyond a shadow of a doubt he was certain this was it.

Alfred dropped to the ground as the window clicked open, running a hand through his hair as a newfound friend hopped into his dorm. The cat meowed, stretching as it transformed and Kuroka waved hello. "Ah, you sure know how to welcome a lady, nya~"

Turning on the sink, he began to wash his hands out of courtesy. He may not have been sweating, but it would still be rude to leave his hands potentially dirty while a guest was around. "Kuroka, I thought you'd be on your way out of town by now. Is there something you need?"

She pouted as he refused to acknowledge her teasing, her hand flicking the air as a book fell into her open palm. "Just dropping something off. Can't have my new apprentice going around without a clue how to use senjutsu, nya."

"Apprentice?"

At no point did either of them discuss this, though he did accept the book without much of a second glance. It was a gift after all, and as he opened up to the first few pages, he realized it was a handwritten one. It wasn't dedicated to anyone in particular, more like a journal of her findings and discoveries with the art, but there was a clear sense of personality running throughout it that gave it a unique soul. Then again, perhaps that was just his sentimentality speaking up again. It seemed to be doing that a lot today.

"Of course, nya! There are few people who can say they've had the pleasure of having me inside their soul, and there's no way I could let a natural talent such as yourself go without some guidance."

"That's very thoughtful of you, Kuroka."

Placing the book down on his desk, he felt her presence linger behind him. He raised an eyebrow, unsure of what to make of the complicated look she was giving him. "Is something else the matter?"

"…Your soul is still damaged."

"Yeah?"

She stalked around him, ears twitching as she sniffed his general area. Alfred said nothing, simply waiting for her to come to whatever conclusion she was approaching on her own. He didn't need to wait long, as she drew a few symbols in the air and formed some sort of barrier around the room. Her hand then pressed against his chest, palm glowing white as her ki intermingled with his own. She shivered, studying him with her lips pressed tightly against one another as she spoke once more. "As things are now, it may take you weeks to heal enough to use your powers again. And while I cannot promise to heal you fully, I can hasten the process just a tad."

There was a tinge of nervousness in her posture, the full intent of her offer weighing on her but not quite reaching him. "You seem hesitant."

At first she just scoffed, ready to bite back with a playful nya and a laugh. But she stopped herself before her immediate reaction could play out, taking a deep breath in before letting it out. "The process is something that I don't have the best history with, but… but I think I would like to with you."

"…Are you sure?"

He had an inclination as to what it might be but didn't dare speak it lest he offend her. Instead, he skirted around the word and left an easy out in case she felt the need to take it. She didn't. "Surprised? You shouldn't be. Those who use senjutsu have a way of reading the aura of people, feeling for their souls. And, having just poked around in yours, I can say that I wouldn't mind it."

Then, almost as if to save face, she put on a playful smirk as her tails wrapped around his arm. "Besides, they say that entangling your auras while you go at it makes the experience ten times better and I'm dying to try it out, nya~"

Taking her humor in stride, Alfred did his best to reciprocate the vibe. "Then let's get entangling."

"…You're cuter when you don't try."

"Sorry."

Her eyes rolled as she tugged on the sash to her kimono, whipping it around and wrapping it around the back of his neck as she gave it a tug. "Just follow my lead. After all, nothing can compare to a woman who knows what she's doing."

The kimono around her body fell to the ground, and in that moment, Alfred decided she was a paragon of wisdom. "Whatever you say, Ma'am."

"Ooh, keep calling me that. Oh, and keep the tentacles, nya~"

"Yes, Ma'am."

… … …

There was a bit more I wanted to have Kuroka imply or say, but to be honest, anything more would've been forced so I left most of her internal monologue a bit vague. Vague seems to be the word of the chapter here, to be honest. Outside of the beginning, I don't think I could have written this chapter the same way even if I tried. I knew right off the bat that I wouldn't really be able to plan out the dream sequence thing without taking away some of the… dreaminess of it. So I just went with what felt right in the moment and wrote whatever came to mind. That did end up leading to some bits of symbolism unintentionally popping up that I never even thought of myself, and does account for the odd tone that section takes because of its very unsanitized approach. I wanted it to feel slightly off, just a bit unnatural in comparison with the rest of the chapter. So, I didn't change much in terms of editing afterwards.

I will also say that I initially planned to be a bit more anime with the whole "core fixing" thing, but realized as I was drafting for the chapter that it wouldn't really fit the aethermorph theme. Much of the aethermorph power leans into the idea of self-modification of the rest of the transhuman heritage, as well as adding in a decent amount of mystical meditation and being in touch with one's conceptual self. It made more sense to me to have the powers grow through events that either A) fit with the theme of Alfred's element (you can probably guess) or B) Come from some sort of self-reflection or modification. The latter is a bit more boring so I wanna use it sparingly and only for things that don't cause an immediate noticeable change in power (at least, not a boost of it anyway) but would lead to better things a little down the road.

One final note on Kuroka and senjutsu: Yes, having sex to heal someone's soul is an actual thing. In canon it's mentioned as a way to heal Issei's lifespan but not used. I wanna be surprised, but it's honestly not the craziest thing. Really, it's just tantric magic so I can vibe with it. I have nothing else to say other than Akeno's part in the plot will return next chapter. I just felt that adding a scene at the end with her here would feel a bit awkward in regards to the chapter's tone.

This has been A Decent Hoonter, and the streak lives on for one last day.