I'm considering adding time stamps to the chapters. That would require editing past chapters as well to keep it consistent. Stay tuned.

- ML

UPDATE 27 July 2024: timestamp

Chapter 8: Village Chief Master Pruzo

Year X820

The world was dark and foggy. In her dreaming state, Reiji recognized this world, but couldn't control her body like usual. The film in her closed eyes was blurry as ever. Typical of a near-sighted creature. There were voices, so subtle. Sometimes she heard "chosen," that useless word. Or she would hear "cursed," which she sort of figured. None of it was news to her.

Reiji watched red fill the screen that was her dream vision. A child—a very young female—began to cry. It slowly fazed into earshot.

Why am I crying?

Reiji heard three children taunting her, followed by rapid scuffling and muffled cries of pain. Reiji's heart felt heavy with panic in this space, but there was nothing she could do. They were hurting someone weak, and she hated doing nothing.

Hands touched her other self all over, but it wasn't molestation. Bruises grew in place of those child sized handprints. Oh, she remembered now: Otto, Kiki, and Mars. She hadn't dreamed of them in years. Why now?

"Please, please don't! I'm sorry! I'm so fucking sorry, I—"

Otto's desperate pleas were cut short by the sound of teeth biting into flesh. Choking. Gurgling. Crunching. Silence.

"I hate you, you fucking monster! You whore! You black beast!"

Is that Kiki? Why is he...

Screams echoed out of earshot, those of a high pitched female. Mars... Kiki swore incoherently for what felt like several minutes. His anger turned to pain, then terror as his body suffered. Reiji watched through blinded vision as a limb fell from a limp body. All at once, three lives were snuffed out.

Reiji used to daydream of revenge, but had no courage to act. This must be one of those dreams again. But. Why?

There was a flash of pink, or rather it was just a lot of pink and black on that figure. Reiji felt so much sadness; she supposed it was good to be blind in this moment. Pink and black merged for a moment. Soft flesh brushed up against her face.

I don't think I know you.

"S-Sagara... I love..."

Sagara-kun!

Once again, Reiji's mind shot to life upon waking up. She was panting, covered in a cold sweat. The tightness in her chest made her suggest she had stopped breathing from the stressful dreams. The dark skinned demon sat up, staring ahead. Reiji did not remember anything from her evening or her dream. That wasn't exactly odd, but forgetting an entire evening was. She checked her little clock: 0745.

A few weeks had passed since Michelle Imitatia bid Reiji farewell. She had left for her parents' home near False Line City. Technically, they could communicate via telecommunication devices, but Michelle did not answer her letters. In fact, Reiji's two letters were either returned or went unanswered.

The female worried for her friend, but there was nothing she could do. Traveling from the Scarlet Desert to False Line was time consuming, dangerous, and expensive. Perhaps the reception of telecommunications was disrupted by the distortion of the land.

Ryouichi, Takeshiro, and Shugo continued to go on missions without Reiji, which she did not mind. Mina returned a bit earlier than expected, safe and happy to be back. Reiji happily rejected the assistant manager promotion. That was the hardest 12 days of her work life. She wished she could've blacked out and worked that way instead. Maybe that silly "curse" of hers could also wait tables. Who is to say?

Miratona recently announced that the Chief would return later today from a work trip. The town folk always got excited about the Chief. Reiji never met the fellow in person, but she regarded him as one of the many heroes in her life. Nobody actually knows what he looks like except his town hall staff. Miratona doesn't so much as describe his eyes.

"His nightmare curse festers and spreads for a whole week if someone were to see or describe his appearance," Miratona once said to Reiji and her group.

"Aww, what? That's so dumb!" Ryouichi huffed.

"I have those all the time, a few more is nothing," Shugo joked (only Zumi laughed).

"I once had a dream so bad I threw up for ten minutes!" the ginger female chirped.

"No one wants to hear about your private activities, Zumi," Takeshiro said with a bored look. His eyes were always closed but one could still tell what he felt.

"What about you and your colleagues?" Reiji asked worriedly. "Surely the curse will eventually harm you?"

"Satan level mages are not affected, you see," she replied. "We have stronger resistance than the average creature. You have nothing to worry about."

"Will he be behind a blackscreen when he comes back?" Ushizumo asked.

"No, Zumi, he wears identity concealing cloaks," Takeshiro answered. "You wouldn't notice him unless you heard him speak."

"But-"

Oh, scratch that. Reiji shook her head quickly, attempting to clear her spacing out moment. The most the Chief will do is make an announcement of his return, then hide from the public again.

Reiji got herself ready for the day. She showered, washed and conditioned her hair, brushed it, cleaned her teeth, then washed her face in cold washer. She stared at her reflection, blinking water from her eyes. She could make out her face as it was inches away. She broke the silence to get dressed into typical day clothes: light blue skirt and a white petticoat, white blouse tucked into the skirt, and a dark blue cardigan sweater with purple and pink mushroom crotchets. She slipped into a pair of bamboo sandals before heading out the door with her keys. Of course she did not forget her gifted glasses.

"REI-TARAAA!" the green hair demon found herself ambushed outside her door by bubbly Ushizumo hugging her. Reiji's kneels bucked under the sudden weight. She stood straight with the shorter female clinging to her, nearly a foot off the ground.

Ushizumo wore a short, fluffy blue and black tutu with black and white striped leggings. Her pink polka dot sweater was tucked up under her bra to make a cropped sweater look, complete with a cotton toad hat. When Ushizumo dropped to the floor, she landed with green boots that matched the hat. The eyepatch over her right eye was black.

"Look, I wore blue like you!" she beamed, twirling for Reiji. The taller female grinned. "You look very cute, Zumi. Where is Shugo?"

"Shugo? Oh, he's in bed still. Ryo dared him to eat a weird mushroom and got sick," the ginger explained while adjusting the bangs in her face. "Grr! It's in the way and I can't see!"

Reiji lifted Ushizumo's face, removed the hat, then combed the bangs back with her fingers. She used the frog hat to catch the hair from blocking her face. The ginger female smiled brightly.

"Thanks, Rei-tara, you're the best!"

Reiji gave no response other than a smile. She had not expected company, much less from the cherry female who hardly left her older brother's side.

"My face!" Zumi exclaimed, pulling free from Reiji's grasp.

"Oh, sorry."

"What're we doing today?"

"I had no plans, but we could do something together," Reiji replied. The duo went down from the apartment building onto the main street by the river. A crimson sunrise turned the clear water bloody in its reflection. Ushizumo looked at her reflection, posing and making silly faces. Reiji chuckled.

So innocent and carefree, she thought. Ushizumo did not grow the way most demons their age did. There was something about her that just... locked her in between adult and child. From her mannerisms and voice to her clothing and the glee in her eyes, Reiji knew the female had to be protected from the world. It was cruel to them in the beginning. She could not let it be cruel to any of them again, especially Ushizumo.

No one else knew why her favorite crayon switched from red to blue. It was their secret nobody needed to know just yet. For her sake, Reiji kept quiet.

"Ooo, a cool fish!" Ushizumo said, squatting on at riverside. Reiji bent forward, but the pink scaled fish vanished when her shadow covered the water.

"Oh, you scared it off, Rei-tara!" the ginger female pouted. Reiji giggled.

"Come on, you must be hungry."

"Mina's!"

"Anywhere else, literally anywhere," Reiji pleaded. "The overtime hours were tedious enough, Zumi. Please?"

"Hmm... is Otto open today?"

"Uh... no, I do not think so."

"I want strawberry cake from Mina's, then!" Zumi declared, jumping to her feet. She ran along the bricks on the water's edge. Reiji ran after her, covering her chest from bouncing with every step.

"Slow down, Zumi! You could slip and fall!"

.

Reiji settled for "matching milkshakes" with her best female friend. This particular day, the cafe dining room was closed for deep cleaning, to Reiji's relief. So the next best option was SHAKE IT UP just across the street. Reiji and Ushizumo sat at a two person table at the little milkshake stand.

"Wanna see who slurps the most at once?" Zumi smirked. Reiji smiled smugly, knowing the female would lose to brain freeze much quicker.

"Challenge accepted."

"Ready... go!" Immediately they plugged straws into the shakes and sipped away. Reiji was taking her time, unbeknownst to the ginger who sucked up the frozen drink until her cheeks sunk in. She gasped in shocked, stamping her feet on the ground. Reiji gulped down half of her drink as her friend struggled, easily surpassing Ushizumo.

"Dang it!" the ginger giggled. "My throat is so cold!"

"Oh well," the green haired female shrugged. Ushizumo smudged Reiji's left lens, sticking her tongue out. "Mmm!"

"Hey!" Reiji snapped Ushizumo's eye patch string. The ginger laughed, fixing the patch. As Reiji took off her glasses to wipe them, she paused to look at her glasses. They had not changed physically. But something seemed different somehow. Now that she thought of it, the quality of the glasses was off. Reiji put them back on. Everything was clear enough. Clear enough?

"Rei-ta-ra~" Ushizumo sang. Reiji smiled assuringly as her friend held her hand. "Still here, Zumi..."

Ushizumo's flesh was smeared with dirt and dried tears suddenly. Blood crusted around a split on her swollen lip and her right eye was covered only by messy hair. The ginger looked at her with a bloodshot, empty eye. Reiji's blood ran cold seeing her bubbly friend so disheveled. The ginger moved her lips, but nothing came out.

Reiji stood up, knocking her chair over. She could not break free from Ushizumo's grip. The female kept moving her mouth In inaudible chatter. Reiji's surroundings were practically invisible through her senses heightened with anxiety. She shut her eyes, gritting her teeth.

"LET GO!" A flash of metal from her palm sliced the thing in place of her friend. It burst into blackish orange dust, morphing and spreading. Her hand, no, her arm still did not budge. The orange fog engulfed her vision. Reiji slid her feet on the ground, pulling desperately to no avail. She let out frustrated sobs and yelling. It was suffocating in this place. She could not understand anything that was happening. The air was thin to breathe and her legs were sore from pulling this incredible weight of fog.

"OUT! OUT!" one voice, a million voices, screamed in her head. Reiji blanked out, watching herself through her eyes. She heard her deep breaths gulping precious oxygen. A flash of a silver grey axe swung on the ground, followed by a great crackling. With one arm, Reiji slammed a half forged axe on the ground again and again, further damaging the black bricks. The black ground gradually became brick and stone again.

Ushizumo was lowering her voice with worry beside the panicked Reiji, grasping her shoulders.

"Rei-tara, wake up. Please come back," the ginger pleaded. The dark skinned female blinked sleep from her eyes, groaning. Her heart was still pounding, but the nightmare was over. She looked around, puzzled. When did I...

"Thank goodness!" Zumi cried, throwing her arms around Reiji. She returned the hug, furrowing her brows in confusion.

"Was I asleep?" she asked.

"You just fell on the table," Zumi replied. "Are you okay? Was the milkshake too cold?"

"N-no, I guess I slept poorly," Reiji mused. The dream was fresh, unlike most others.

Reiji got up from the table, with Ushizumo's arms wrapped around that same arm that stuck in that dream. She gently picked her arm free. Zumi pouted, grabbing the milkshakes before leaving the shack.

"The following have been called for a summon to the Loner Village Hall by Chief Master Pruzo: Reiji Sagara."

Reiji froze up upon hearing her name. Why me? She looked at Zumi. "Would you walk with me?"

"We're already walking, silly," Ushizumo chuckled. "Let's go to Piggie Princess, I wanna see if that dress is in stock."

"Didn't you hear the announcement?" Reiji inquired.

"What announcement?" Zumi looked at her blankly.

"I, I was summoned by the Chief, alone," Reiji murmured. Zumi's eyes widened in surprise.

"Ooohh! Chief Pruzo must've only sent that to you," Zumi nodded in agreement with herself. "That's great, Rei-tara! Let's go!"

"But I don't—whoa!" Zumi pulled Reiji along, nearly knocking the taller female down.

.

"MISS MIRATONAAA!" Zumi shrieked at the village hall doors. Miratona opened the two doors wide.

"Only Reiji will come with me, Ushizumo," she said. Zumi wilted, then hugged Reiji tightly.

"Good luck!" Then, she ran off for the boutique shop. Reiji looked at the mission secretary as she went inside. The village hall was empty of visitors, as usual.

"What is this summon about?"

"You will see," Miratona replied with a kind smile. "Master Pruzo will see you in his office."

She took Reiji up to the second floor. She had never gone up here before. The green haired demon wiped her sweaty palms on her skirt. Her whole body felt hot with nerves. Did she do something wrong? Was it trouble? It was obvious Miratona might say nothing was wrong, but she still had a bad feeling.

They came up to a brown door lit by a purple light above the doorframe. Miratona turned the knob to peek inside.

"Master Pruzo, I've returned with Miss Sagara."

"Thank you, Miratona. You can leave us."

Miratona bowed to Reiji, then took her leave. Reiji hesitantly entered the room. The male before her stood by a deeply tinted window. The rest were covered by curtains. He wore a white lined with spotted fur and solid dark purple pants. He wore his black hair spiked, with four white braids to her shoulder blades. He turned to Reiji. His tired eyes were red and his face was covered in plain black and white makeup.

"Hello again, Reiji Sagara. You've grown quite a lot."

Reiji was frozen in that spot. Oh no, that nightmare...

"D-did you," she trailed off, trembling. "Y-you attacked me..."

"You figured it out," he smiled. "And you broke my curse almost immediately. Tell me, how did you do that?"

Macbeth was a baddie when I first saw him in Fairy Tail. He deserves a place in the story XD

Thanks for reading!

- ML