'Anything else?' Aki touched the side of his forehead lightly.
The wound that was bleeding, he can feel the pain from that.
Deep cut.
Risa was fuming.
Her sword was flaming with red fire.
The strike was a consequence of stepping into the trap she has set, placing Noah. He was sitting on a chair with eyes blindfolded, hands, feets were restricted with ropes.
Just like Aki's dream about Nora. Juko is quite injured and lying on the ground while protecting Aki from the surprise attack.
Several hours ago,
'God! I really don't get surprised when anyone doesn't see me! Why do you get surprised and pretend not to see me! I'm short and I'm ok with it.' A girl was entering the office with frustration.
Seeing Aki in his room, the girl was surprised. Aki didn't want to watch her but he couldn't remember her name or who she was.
'Good morning,boss!' She greets him.
'Morning!' Aki told her to come inside. She came inside politely.
'Since when you were an employee here?' Aki asked.
'I have joined recently. Three months.' She told him.
'Three months?! Sorry for not noticing.' She couldn't understand why he was apologising.It's natural to ignore her as she is just a clerk.
After talking with her he found out that she was Takaba Mira, Takaba-san's daughter.
'So how are you liking your job?'
'Very much,sir!' Mira smiles.
'Ok! If you have any problems, reach out to Nora or me without any hesitation ok?'
Mira was baffled at his generosity, 'Yes,sir!'
'Ah! Sorry for interrupting,did something happen?' Nora gets in.
'No,I didn't know her. So just asking about her.' Aki said.
'Akkun! You can be really ignorant sometimes.' Nora sighs.
'Ok,Ok! Go now you all!' Aki didn't want to be scolded by Nora in front of Mira.
They left.
Nora asked Mira, seeing her nervous, 'Why were you so panicked? I thought he was scolding you.' Mira became flustered, 'Oh no! He wasn't! It's just that, boss called me for the first time,I got nervous.' Nora smiles, 'Ow! No need to get nervous! We work here like a family. And he is an easy going person.'
'Yes,I always wondered how you all are so free with him. I never had a boss with an open personality.' Mira seems to become more relaxed.
Nora praised Aki saying he was more like a brother rather than a boss. So Mira can be free when there is no client in this office. No one will mind. Patting on her shoulder Nora leaves.
Aki called on Noah's phone.
Noah received 'Aki?!'
'Where are you?' Aki asked.
Noah frowns, 'In the dormitory. Why?'
'Nothing,just wanted to know. If you go somewhere let me know. I will go with you.' Aki said.
'O..k!' Noah sounded surprised.
Aki cut the call. He took out his phone and searched for the photo of that woman. But Only Mei and Noah were visible there. That woman was not in any photos. He starts feeling unsettled.
He calls Mei, 'Mei!'
'Senpai?' Mei quickly responded to the call.
'Mei, who was the lady that came to see you that day?' Aki asked.
'My mom.' Mei felt Aki's voice sounding distress.
'Oh! How does she know Noah?' Aki rubs his forehead, it was aching.
'Noah Sensei!? I don't know. She wanted to talk with me, and then she happened to see sensei accidentally...so she asked him for me as she knows he is my teacher…Why are you asking this sensei? Did anything happen?' Mei sits up straight.
Aki assures Mei that everything was fine and he just wanted to know.
Aki called Reiji as it kept bothering him, ' Sorry for calling you early.'
'It's ok, what is it?' Reiji became attentive towards him.
'So, I took Mei's mom's photo but it's not showing. Why?' Aki asks while looking at his phone.
'Not showing? In pictures?' Reiji frowns.
'Yes.' Aki kept checking again and again.
'You sure you saw her?' Reiji's question made Aki frown, 'I'm sure.'
'Then might be she was in her spirit form.' Reiji explains that they can travel leaving their physical body too.
Aki was astounded thinking why did she need to do that. Then he learnt that She possibly didn't want to be detected by Reiji. If they are in spirit form they can travel without being detected. Their physical form is easier to target than spirit form.
'What's the motive of her to come here like that?' Aki was still not satisfied with the interference.
'I will tell you later in detail. But why do you seem so worried?' Reiji found it strange.
Aki told him that Aki saw her following Noah from his office till high school.
Reiji tried to remember something then said, ''She must have known him from the entrance ceremony. Don't let that woman follow you. If she does, you can hurt her without any hesitation.'
'But she's Joshua's wife.' Aki was baffled.
'He will say nothing if she is wrong. Trust me!' Reiji tells him firmly.
Aki couldn't help but think that the feeling was not wrong. Something was not ok with her. After hearing Reiji he got more reason to doubt her, "I hope what I'm thinking is wrong. That day she was looking at Ginger. Why?"
The thought couldn't be continued for long. Aki was drowning in work. Ayush came here to give Aki a set of clothes.
'You gave dad and Nora a husky. Why didn't you give me one?' Ayush complaints.
'Aren't you staying with dad now!' Aki became confused at Ayush's attitude.
Ayush pouts, 'Dad won't let me touch him. I want to touch Kiyush.'
'What the hell!!? Kiyush? Why did he name him like that? Aki was beyond shocked.
'Why not? It's cute. Give me one na Nii-san!' Ayush requests Aki with a puppy face.
'Stop acting like a baby. I can't hold on to my laughter anymore.' Aki was about to laugh.
Ayush didn't stop and continued to whine so Aki gave up and agreed to buy him one.
Ayush keeps playing with Ginger and Juko while Aki does several things. The phone rang and he couldn't move.
After a while he received, 'Yes. Mei!'
'Senpai! Sensei didn't come today.' Mei said.
That made Aki's mind go blank.
'Why did you ask me about mom today?! Do you think my mom has anything to do with him?' Mei was anxiously biting his nails.
'Whom else did you tell about Noah?' Aki asked.
'Everyone knows him in my family.' Mei said.
Aki knew it was not the family, 'Who else knows without your family?'
Mei couldn't think of anyone then he suddenly remembered that Risa knows Noah, 'Risa ...my fiancée.'
Aki had a bad feeling, 'she has green eyes?!'
'Yes!' Aki cut the call as Mei confirmed it.
'Let's catch up later ok.' Aki told Ayush.
Aki took Juko from Ayush. Ginger rode on Juko's back
"That woman must have thought to hurt Noah by hurting me. That's why she targeted me so that Noah gets more hurt but when she saw I'm not that weak she was startled. That's why her expression was like that. She won't hurt Noah that much because he is a human. He is just a bait to catch me. Even after knowing I'm human she is still willing to hurt me. Which means she's not someone who cares for power. She has an absolute reason. I just have to know that and make her understand that Noah and I have no interest in their personal life."
Aki kept thinking all the way. When reached the dormitory building, he parked his car and got out. Before getting in, he looked at the building, "But would that be ok? You were right Noah. I have become reckless again. It's obviously a trap, still I'm walking into it."
All of the students are now in class. Every floor is supervised by a different teacher. Noah's floor is empty.
He stood in front of the door and knocked, 'Noah!'
Aki felt something moving. Juko could smell the scent of hers, he was uncomfortable.
Aki, seeing Juko nervous, said , 'Don't worry, I will protect you.'
He muttered something to cover them in a spell then entered the room.
Two rooms facility, with one kitchen and a small dining space. Noah was not in the living room. So he entered the bedroom. Noah was there sitting just like in his dream. Just instead of Nora, it was Noah. Noah's lip was bleeding.
Aki wipes the blood, "The blood had dried,that means he was hurt, hours ago and...She was not the one to hurt him"
He saw a teacher whom Aki knows as Noah's colleague lying on the floor, "She possessed him. So that's how you can hurt humans without getting caught and losing power. Why didn't I think of it before?"
He checked, the teacher was breathing, and Aki can see that. He came back and untied the ropes from Noah's body. Suddenly he felt a touch of force blowing. He turned back and stood up. He saw Juko jumping towards him while shielding the attack from an invisible being. He closed his eyes for a second, mumbling something open back. His eyes were glowing and even through coloured lenses his real eyes were visible.
The Jinn didn't miss the second and went to attack on him with a strike but the hit landed on the side of his forehead because Ginger bit her in the throat. She threw Ginger away and Ginger turned into a normal size leopard. The room was cooped with two large normal mammals. Juko was injured even after being protected by the spell,so severely that he fell down on the ground. That means she's not an easy opponent. Aki can see Risa now.
He looked in the eye of hers, 'Anything else?'
Her rage was sending a heat wave. Aki was mesmerised with her sword, a beautiful red flame, "It's like the sword in my dream. But that was a golden red flame. Does that mean I have seen another future?"
'You don't seem hurt at all.' Risa said.
'Trust me, it's adrenaline.' He touched the wound lightly and the pain could be felt.
Risa saw his wound was healing slightly,which Aki didn't notice.
'Adrenaline? Huh!' She strikes another hit on Aki's body but he moves behind Noah.
She emits a flame from her body and forces it towards Aki, Aki dodged that too.
"She's really crazy.She doesn't care? Then why would she hurt Noah possessing a human! It doesn't feel right." Aki couldn't understand her course of actions.
She keeps attacking Aki randomly and Aki keeps avoiding. He is trying to move Noah in the bathroom. When that was possible,he locked the door with a mandala. Just in case.
She stopped seeing Aki do that, 'You...how could you..'
Aki saw her attacks have stopped. He was curious, 'How could I what?'
While engaging her in talks, he slowly moves towards the colleague fixing his gaze on her.
Risa was baffled, 'You are a..human?'
'Yes,I am. What about it?' Aki keeps eye to eye contact with her.
'You? Really a..human?' Seeing her confused Aki scoffed, 'Did you really think I'm not? Unbelievable!!'
Hearing that Risa retreated. The sword in her hand disappeared. She tried to possess the body but she couldn't. Aki blocked the possession.
He can feel it piercing his body, 'You should not do that.'
Her eyes were confused seeing Aki not harmed. She can't possess the body. She tried to escape but she couldn't disappear. Under her feet she saw something glowing. A green light was spreading throughout the whole room, "Rune Mandala?! And so large at that!?"
Her eyes grew bigger as she saw the circle covering all the walls, "Seriously ! They told me he is just a half demon human."
She scratched Ginger with her nails and then brought out the sword again.
"Damn! I was right when I thought he is actually a half human child of Sora's. They hid it from me,he is not JUST an ordinary half human."
Aki eyes were glowing as well as exhausting a golden red smoke.
She ran towards him from the door and jumped past Aki. She landed on her four. Aki turned to her. She was smiling as she possessed the body. She entered the body and took full control of it.
Aki backed away from there, "She didn't make a deal with him."
'What?Finished all the tricks? I might say you are quite troublesome.' She went towards the door and touched the doorknob. She saw Reiji was standing there in the next room. Aki saw that too.
Risa was flabbergasted to see Reiji, 'Ah! Reiji!'
'You bi***!' Reiji seemed very angry. But he couldn't enter the room.
'Owww! Did you get stuck? Why don't you convince your half human lover to release you?' Her green eyes took over the human's eye.
She whispers in Reiji's ear, 'I know whose child he is...did you tell him that he is actually...your lover's child?'
Reiji clenched his fist and ground his teeth.
Aki was concentrating on chanting so he could only see what's going on and not hear them