Evening fell faster than we thought while planning our next move. Haji kept a close watch over Saya from the distance, listening for her and becoming more and more distant. It wasn't that much different than before. He'd always distance himself when it came to Saya's awakening. I've gradually grown tired of it once, left him alone as I ventured off alone to find my own path for a time. That time I have come to regret leaving him, and it never leaves my mind for a single moment when he was drained of nearly all his blood in my arms and on the verge of death. To this day I never told him my resentment towards Saya. How finding him nearly at deaths door brought out the worst in me and wanting to kill her at that time. But I never spoke of it. Haji would never know that side of me.
A crackling sound echoed in the distance. Harrowing and spine chilling. Haji and I looked out the window towards the direction the howling came from and we both knew it was a chiropteran. Haji grabbed his cello case, swinging it over his shoulder and seemed panicked?

"Saya's in danger."
Not understanding how he knew she was but unable to ask as he already began leaping over rooftops. Following as best I could as my daggers lay pressed against my body, we heard the beast cry out once more followed by a scream. Taking no less than a couple minutes reaching a school campus and the smell of iron thick in the air, the chiropteran was in sight standing before a frail looking student. Haji took less than a second to act as he jumped into the sky and aimed directly to the beast to land on it. The crunch of its large body making my spine shiver as Haji straightened up and looked at the young girl he saved.

"Saya…" his voice was calm and collected. I looked down at the girl and couldn't believe it was the same one. She was young—probably no older than 16 by the look of her. Frightened by the event as she ran away from Haji and to the next building over, I leapt off the rooftop and had to question him.

"Is that really her?" Not believing it to be so. The image I had of Saya was nothing of the sort as the speculation of how she looked like in my mind was incredibly off. Haji nodded, giving no thought that I was in turmoil over this.

"We need to follow her. There are more here." He pointed to the rooftop and I glimpsed another chiropteran breaking into the building. The one he crushed didn't move, I was thankful for that.

"And how are we to go about this? We can't just—" my body was grabbed and thrown across the pavement and into the closest building structure. The wall caved in on me and I felt my body and head ache with sharp pains all over. Ringing in my ears made it difficult to hear Haji call out for me, but I wiped the blood out of my eyes and saw him kicking the beast away.

"Konella!"

"I-I'm fine!" Lies. "There's more than we thought, just get to Saya and do what you have to do!" Uncertain what that would really be, he pursed his lips and didn't go immediately until I threw a stone at him. "Go!"

"…just be careful." Worried that if he'd left I would crumble, I spat out the bloody saliva and took out my daggers. He nodded once and headed to where Saya ran off to and I shoved the debris off me to stand before the chiropteran that sent me flying.

"And you, fucker, are gonna pay for that." It huffed and snarled, saliva dripping from it's disfigured maw. The beady yellow eyes searching for another opening, I gave it none and readied my weapons. It charged almost immediately. The large mass of it's body hurling towards me so it could cleave me in two with those dagger-like claws. I parried it off and stabbed it in the throat to hear it's gurgling cries of pain. "Never fucking easy to kill," I snarled in protest to how strong it fought back. Snapping its nasty teeth near my face, barely managing to dig my dagger into it's throat further to sever its head, I kicked it off me and decided to find Haji.

Following the shrieking sounds of someone being chased, it led me to a classroom where I finally found Haji casually—slowly—following Saya. She was panicked. Hell the girl was frightened to death and Haji was not helping the situation by remaining silent. I was baffled that his response was to unbind his chiropteran arm and show her his beastly hand and slice his hand to offer his blood to her.

"Seriously, Haji? That's how you approach the situation?" Questioning the man and not believing it myself, I turned when I heard the clinking sound of talons on tile and found the chiropteran following us. "Dammit. Whatever you plan on doing Haji, make it quick!" I called out. I slowed the beast down when it started running towards me with two daggers thrown at it. One in the right eye and the other penetrating it's chest
The clattering of chairs behind me drew my attention back as I witnessed Haji holding Saya down on the ground and kissing her?

[Are you serious right now?!] I snapped at him through our telepathy and couldn't fathom this was the time or place for this. Then I saw the blood trickle down her chin and connected the dots quickly to Haji forcing her to intake his blood. [We have to work on your introduction methods…] I chastised.

"Saya…fight."
That was all he said to her. She looked dazed as she laid there motionless and I was ready to ask if she was 'waking up' now before hearing the chiropteran howl behind me. I moved my way into the classroom to gain distance and didn't know what more to do as I ran out of daggers. Haji moved to give Saya the space she needed as he helped her up. He had already taken out her sword for her as she demanded it from him with such a clear, harsh tone. It was colder than I anticipated from such a frail looking girl. The beast seemed manic. Its breathing changed and it popped out my dagger from its eye and healed itself while looking towards Saya. The luminescent yellow eyes began turning red as it huffed and sniffed the air like it was tasting Saya's essence and began salivating. It was strange watching it do so. The sound of her sword being drawn was a crisp, clean, sharp sound that reverberated in my chest. She was ready to fight, and her eyes seemed to have changed shape to become more hardened like a warrior, and changing red.
Unexpectantly a beam of light came into the room and to my horror I found a boy shining his light into the classroom and agitating the beast.

"The hell is that?!" The boy cried out in unison of the beast roaring.

"Haji!" Moving in sync to Saya charging the beast as I dove for the boy and tucking him into my arms to slam us into the ground for cover. The smell of iron wafted the air and the sound of something heavy thudded on the floor.

[It's done…Saya has slain the chiropteran.] Haji spoke telepathically.

[The boy is fine as well.] I stated. Though the moment the coast was clear he elbowed me in the rib where I was already hurt and I faltered keeping my stance.

"Saya!" He cried out, running to the classroom and stopping as he stared at her. I got up and winced my way over when I saw the way Saya looked.
She was covered in blood. Half her face was painted by the beast as she stood in the center with no emotion showing on her face.

"Saya?" The boy called out for her, confused and scared all the same.
She didn't seem to register him at first, turning only slightly to see her reflection in the glass cabinet and touch her cheek before she dropped her katana and grabbed her face while screaming. Haji ran to her side as she began falling, catching her and staring at her with confusion in his eyes not understanding what just occurred.

"The hell…?" I looked at Haji and wanted to know what just happened here before the boy started to freak out a bit seeing the body of the beast crystalize. Looking to Haji and seeing him lift Saya up, there was a commotion outside and many lights were peeking through the windowpanes. "We got company."

"The hell is this thing?!" The boy began to shout.

"You do well to keep your mouth shut." I warned. Haji didn't appreciate my approach, but I was in pain and needed t heal multiple wounds.

"Says who?!" He was getting feisty, and as the lights came closer to the building and the sound of heavy footsteps entering the building become clear, I gagged the boy quickly and lifted him up and followed Haji out the building and getting out of the school before spotted.

"Haji, look." Keeping the boy firmly in my grasp still as he struggled, I noticed some military vehicles pulling up. Some being faintly familiar as I kept staring. And a couple belonging to the military.

"Red Shield…" he knew exactly who it was and scowled briefly. "We need to move."

"Alright."
The boy shrieked again when we started leaping over rooftops, and until Haji found one that was relatively safe from the commotion did he place Saya on the ground.

"Let—GO!" The boy managed to ram his elbow into my ribcage, again, forcing a release as he plopped to the ground and started snarling at Haji. "Get away from Saya!"
It was unnerving to how the boy acted, but seeing Haji take a few steps back and letting the boy approach Saya and watching his movement carefully, Saya awoke and spoke his name.

"Kai…?"

"I'm here!" Protective, Haji was baffled from his expression. I wanted to approach and say my peace before I felt something jab me in the lung and a dribble of blood trickle out of my mouth.

"Well shit…" muttering to myself and figuring that the elbow jab punctured a lung, I got Haji's attention when I began coughing. "Haji—" the coughing coming quick and filling my hands with fresh blood, Haji was by my side and focused on what needed to be done. "Not healing…fast enough…is all…" the coughing making it worse, he lifted me up and said nothing to the boy named Kai and Saya. Though I could only guess that he wanted nothing more than to take Saya instead, guessing my health was a priority this one time.

By the time Haji brought me back to the abandoned house to patch me up, I took a moment to go over everything that happened. I had finally met Saya. She was so different than how I expected her to be. Unfortunate how we had met and what occurred between her and Haji. Only time will now tell how this interaction will take course. But I'm worried now. The connection Haji describes to me with Saya, I felt nothing of the sort. Rather, the feeling I got was that of both fear and malice instead.