Update April 17-23 2024: Hello everyone, what a long two years it has been! So much has happened to me, you have no idea. I've ended a toxic relationship, dropped friends, gained few new ones, had low and high points, quit some habits, new job, new city, new car, new boyfriend, and so much more! Unfortunately, all of my old documents disappeared as I thought I'd never come back here. But her I am, still dreaming of the same characters and their strange little worlds...

UPDATE 13 July 2024: Timestamp and note change. It's fan fiction, obviously I don't own the original content.

UPDATE 31 December 2024: 36 spelling, punctuation, grammar, etc errors

Chapter 3: Get Home Safe

Year X820

Reiji kept her gaze fixed on her surroundings, her heart threatening to pound through her chest. She had agreed to a date—although one could hardly call it as such—with none other than Otto, an old associate from a long time ago. Reiji felt awful backing out after agreeing to meet with him in peace; she felt obligated to follow through in fear of disappointing him. She frequently asked passersby for the time. 07:45… 07:53… 08:09… 08:18…

Time couldn't move any slower for the green-haired demon. She wore a long black dress with a dark red cardigan sweater, keeping it wrapped around her chest purely out of habit. She even wore matching black shoes with little straps to secure them onto her sizable feet, one of her many body insecurities. He fiddled with the demon eye rosary around her neck. It no longer spoke to her, thankfully.

Earlier that day, it called out like a passing thought in the background of her mind. Michele insisted upon selling it at once. Whether it was cursed or not was not important at the moment. It was still kind of pretty for a rosary.

Speaking of blacksmith, her thoughts drifted to the sound of her accent, the way her thick locks draped down her shoulders, her style, the beads of sweat that sometimes dripped down her—

"Hey, I'm glad you came, Reiji."

She was jolted from her momentary fantasy, fixing her glasses towards the man before him. She took deep breaths, genuinely frightened by Otto's sudden appearance. His orange eyes gleamed in the gentle light shown through the Black Alley windows they stood outside of.

He wore the same pants from earlier but changed his shirt to a short-sleeve button-down, showing the many tattoos that covered his arms.

I hadn't noticed that before, she silently observed, eying an ink dragon hissing. Beady red eyes bore into hers. She forced a smile, returning her golden gaze to her shoes, as she sometimes did.

"Oh, hello, Otto. I did not see you there," she said, bowing hesitantly. Otto returned the gesture, smiling. "That's a neat shade of red. It looks nice with your shoes."

"Oh, thank you," Reiji replied, keeping her eyes on her sweaty palms. Her vision seemed distant as the horrible butterflies in her stomach began to spin out of control. As much as she wanted to run back home and puke up her lunch, she had to put on a brave front.

Sooner or later, I have to do this. I have to… move on.

Otto and Reiji entered the Black Alley Diner. They sat themselves at a table by the window. Otto pulled a chair out first. She watched, expecting him to sit. But he gestured toward her. Finally understanding, she sat. The built male sat across from her, pulling a menu from the napkin holder at the window end of the table. Reiji took one as well, taking note of the English to Demonic script translation. Her Demonic Script wasn't great, but it was good enough to make sense of the translations, at least.

The Black Alley diner was a quiet place with minimal interaction required of the servers. Reiji hardly ate out despite the quaint atmosphere, as it bothered her to be too close to large groups as it was. Work was one of the few exceptions.

"Have you, uh, ever been here before?" Reiji asked quietly, trying to adapt her volume to the energy.

"I come here on special occasions," Otto began. "Birthdays, anniversaries, a treat to myself. Well, I'm always by myself," he confessed with a shrug. Reiji nodded.

"I don't really eat out unless I'm with friends," she murmured, holding the menu up to cover her face. She felt so small under his gaze; it freaked her out just glancing at it. Otto's eyes softened at her mannerisms. He placed his menu down. Reiji looked up.

Oh no, oh dear, I upset him!

"You didn't have to come, you know. I would've understood if you bailed," he said. "I can tell you're still scared of me."

"Scared? Me?" The dark-skinned demon laid her menu flat, shaken by his words. I, I am not scared! … I think.

"I, I get it," he lowered his gaze, beginning to stand.

"Wait, please sit," Reiji insisted, grabbing his hand. She quietly retracted it, surprised she dared to touch a virtual stranger. He sat back down, looking at her hopefully. For the first time since she saw him again, she maintained that locked stare, the hotness suddenly falling away from her body in waves. For a moment, Reiji thought clouds had lifted from her mind. She cracked a small smile, relishing in the miraculous boost of clarity.

Unbeknownst to her, the demon eye of the rosary developed a faint, black line beside its thin iris, which was otherwise purely a blank red.

"I know you've changed, Otto, despite our history. I would like you to stay," she assured him, then tapped his menu. "Let's eat; it's been a long day for both of us."

The rest of the evening seemed to flow naturally. Reiji and Otto enjoyed a quiet dinner: fried koi seal and sautéed vegetables on Reiji's plate and a horse-beef ramen for Otto. They paid separately and left with two complimentary drinks on Otto's personal tab. Now they walked along the river. It was well past the eleventh hour, but Reiji couldn't care less. Her mind was so abnormally relaxed, she had no interest in ending the night just yet.

"They allow me to pay when I can, since I go there so often. Can you believe that?" Otto grinned.

"Oh, yes. My friends all try to open a tab or beg for free food at Mina's all the time!" Reiji chuckled softly. Otto laughed as well. Then he exhaled, placing his thumbs in his pockets.

"You're still with Shugo and the others, right?"

"Correct," the green-haired demon affirmed. "Although, I wouldn't recommend approaching them…"

"I know, trust me," Otto said, frowning. "Shugo came to my stand after you left earlier. He looked like he wanted to set everything on fire. Say, remember that night in the, um... back then. When Shugo actually burned everything?"

The dark green-haired demon froze in her tracks, suddenly recalling the sight of that angry ginger boy all those years ago, controlling an inferno of emerald green all by himself.

"Y-Yeah. Why?" Reiji asked blankly. She took her glasses off to wipe them on her dress. He turned to face her, slightly disturbed.

"That wasn't the only thing I saw there, in that chamber," he answered at last. "I saw red eyes in the darkness. It felt feral, not quite evil, but full of anger. It looked right through me," he recounted, a hint of fear in his tone. "I had nightmares for years about that... thing I saw. It was far more terrifying than being beaten with a baton," he mumbled, shaking his head. The green-haired demon stared at him with alarm, having never seen fear in such a tough-skinned male. He raised his right arm to Reiji, showing her that same dragon tattoo.

"To conquer that fear, I brought it to life, sort of. I figured such wild eyes best suited the Tiger Dragon, you know?"

"I had not noticed your tattoos earlier. They look really cool," Reiji smiled. Otto smiled back, fixing his sleeve. They continued on their walk after that, letting go of topics about the past. Although they bore physical scars of that time, some things were best left unsaid. And Reiji couldn't be more relieved. She wrapped her cardigan around herself once more, feeling self-conscious all over again. Her heart rate began to rise, feeling invisible eyes burning under her skin. She hugged herself a little tighter, taking deep breaths.

No, no, no! I was just beginning to enjoy this! Stupid brain, let me be normal!

Reiji had begun to quicken her pace, passing Sunset Valley Avenue altogether. Otto got in front of her quickly. She tumbled into the male. He balanced her with ease, ensuring his face avoided her bosom. Reiji yelped in surprise, jumping away.

"F-forgive me, I didn't mean to—"

"No, no, it's okay!" Otto put his hands up as he stepped back from the red-faced Reiji. She turned away, keeping her cardigan closed. "I'm really sorry, Otto. I've been such a mess today," she mumbled dejectedly, hot with embarrassment once more.

"I promise I don't mind, Rei."

Reiji turned to him, a stern look on her face. She was tempted to correct him from saying that name but paused. A warm breeze swept across the river, flowing through her living hair before relaxing once more. Otto went from strange to average in an instant. His eyes were marmalade pools of unreadable emotion. His once slicked-back, brown hair spiked up in the humidity, complimenting his naturally rugged look. What was wrong with her today?

He stepped forward, extending his hand.

"Come on, you have a mission tomorrow, right? I heard your name in the announcement this morning."

She swallowed to clear her throat, nodding. Disregarding his hand, Reiji turned away once more to walk back to her apartment. Otto followed her out of courtesy towards the female. She glanced at him, raising a brow.

"You're walking me home?" she questioned.

"I've learned it's polite to walk a date home to ensure their safe travel. My mentor taught me that," Otto explained. "If you do mind, I'll let you go home alone," he added quietly. Reiji looked up in thought, noting he had actually called this a "date." Dinner with an old face, she corrected herself. She wouldn't mind being cordial with him, but she could not become too close with him. What would the others think?

Her mind returned to the tattooed demon, smiling softly at him. "You had a wonderful mentor," she complimented him, attempting to wipe away the look of imaginary judgment from her friends' faces. Otto's eyes lit up at her response as they walked down Sunset Valley. She suppressed a humored chuckle at his little spark of joy.

As Reiji ascended the stairs to her apartment, she noticed Otto had stopped. She turned back. He gave a slight wave with his left hand, indicating that this was the end of their "date."

"I'll let you go now. I enjoyed the evening," he said. Reiji nodded in agreement.

"Yes, as did I," she replied. "Get home safe."

It felt nice to write a peaceful interaction between a once mean, angry brat and a scared, defenseless girl. Age is nothing if we're not evolved, right? I don't know what the other two are up to now, but it seems like Otto has been making an effort to heal from his past. Reiji won't forget what that troublesome trio did to her, but maybe she could forgive at least one of them, since he was truly sincere in his change. I don't know, I'm only the writer. Bye-bye!

— ML