"Wait! Stop! Can't we talk about this?"
In all truth, even I was aware of how stupid and cliche my choice of words had been. Although, in my defense, panic attacks often did have their ways of twisting the tongue.
Reiha curled her fingers into a tightly clenched fist, which only seemed to deepen Jeremy's pain and struggling. "Take me with you," she said.
A question mark took form in my mind. "What do you mean?"
"You heard me. I want to go with you."
"I-I don't think I understand..."
Reiha sighed deeply and rolled her eyes to the ceiling. "I'm a changed woman, Hanako," she lied through her teeth. "I have realized the error in my ways, and I want to observe and take note of what it's like to have a heart of gold like your own." Her tone was so blatantly sarcastic, one could have labeled it as mockery. "Take me under your wing...master..."
My whole body trembled in undeniable fear, and I was far too overwrought to consider the consequences of agreeing to her demand—had I declined, she would have surely taken Jeremy's life on the spot, and with the hazy memory of another's blood already on my hands, I was only left with one option here.
"Yes! I'll take you with me, so just let Jeremy go!!"
Reiha's fingers unclasped, allowing her arm to fall limply at her side. Jeremy inhaled sharply and spontaneous wheezing ensued, his eyes darting across the room until they fell on me. At the time, I couldn't quite decide whether or not I should have asked him to thank me, or if an apology should have been presented on my part—so instead, I simply squeezed my eyes shut and turned my face shamefully away.
Reiha clapped her hands together as loudly as she could in order to seize our attention, and she announced, "Then it's settled; I shall be taking my leave now." She made a quick, terror-inducing glance at both the head priest and Jonathan. A sly smirk graced her lips. "Hanako, if you'd be so kind as to lead the way..."
I turned reluctantly to Jeremy, whose single eye I discovered was on the verge of filling with tears—physical pain, a voice in my head chimed, someone is suffering physically and it's your fault.
"Jeremy–"
I paused for a moment, taking into consideration the likeliness that speaking would come as a strenuous task for him now—so I shook my head sorrowfully and whispered, "Never mind. I'm sorry."
"Get a move on, Shadow Keeper," Reiha ordered, a drill sergeant tone stapled to her voice. "Oh, I have a feeling this is going to be good fun for me..."
Yeah, and I have a feeling I'm going to regret this...
+++
Upon taking a step out into open air, I was greeted with a pleasantly mysterious surprise; all of the snow had melted, every last snowflake. In its place sat puddles and puddles of water, but not a speck of white was to be seen. My eyes found their way to Jeremy, who, much to my dismay, appeared more worried than confused.
"Ah...well, isn't this a most wonderful surprise?" Reiha chuckled with delight. "It appears my brother has awoken from his 'eternal slumber'. I guess it wasn't so eternal after all. Hmm."
"Your...brother?"
Somehow the discovery of Reiha having a sibling did not sit well with me, for the possibility of him being anywhere close to her level of ferocity was enough to keep me on guard.
"Niall," coughed Jeremy. I shot him a look of concern, one that silently pleaded he not speak, but nonetheless he continued: "Niall...is another member...of the Midnight Legion..."
Reiha bobbed her head in a proud manner. "Yup! That's him alright!" She beamed. "And if the weather's changed this drastically, I'd say there's a good chance he's nearby."
She made it sound as though this were a good thing. Judging by the shameless joy in her countenance, I doubted she could detect my strong disapproval to the thought of another demon showing up out of the blue. I wanted to ask Jeremy what we should do, but the aching feeling that he were still angry with me continued to settle and deepen its sharp roots. A part of me couldn't help but wonder why he would feel this way; after all, I just saved his life...technically. Then again, it was because of my carelessness that he had been put in danger to begin with.
"Oh, how swiftly the winds change their course..."
Out of the depths of nowhere swept a dark and ominous voice, seeming to cast an eerie shadow over the exact spot were I stood. My fearful eyes turned once again to Jeremy, who I found nearly as distressed as I was. My heart, for but a moment, felt lodged in my throat, and it took quite a while for me to piece together a ragged, "who goes there?"
The strange voice replied almost instantaneously:
"Even now, after centuries of the same sequential pattern occurring in different places worldwide, the weather never stays the same in all places; people say that this is because the weather must be at a perfect balance, but I know that is not the case...the sky is unsure of how it feels..."
Shortly after these ambiguous words were uttered, the speaker became visible to us—it was a man, a man of fairly tall stature and a sturdy, healthy-looking physique. His hair, appearing to have been lazily combed by fingers, was a bizarre shade of blue—well, I suppose I couldn't really call it bizarre; apparently such things were the norm around here. Once the man was within arm's reach, I was able to take in the vibrancy of his cerulean eyes as well, which I couldn't deny had an oddly entrancing effect at first glance. His attire, too, was something I couldn't quite look past—camouflage khakis, knee-high silver booths, a leopard-print cotton shirt and a solid black blazer which he wore overtop it.
Eye-catching was the only word that came to mind...
Reiha released an exasperated sigh through clenched teeth as she gazed sternly into the man's eyes. "Niall," she began, "...what are you wearing?"
The man tilted his head and returned her look with a furrowed brow. "Winter, spring, summer, autumn...why are there four? Why not settle on one season year-round?" He then lifted his eyes to stare at the overhead clouds, watching intently as they drifted away from a certain patch of pale blue sky. "Oh, dear sister of mine, how can you not be troubled by this? Surely you, as well, are concerned for the well-being of this world. Surely you desire to make the sky feel welcome, and for it not to feel as though it is forced to make a steadfast decision of who it wants to be, and what it will do with its everlasting life? I have been asleep for a long time, sister, only to awaken to the same familiarity of the wonderfully indecisive, vastly beautiful sky I know and love!" His gaze abruptly dropped, and he firmly grasped Reiha by the shoulder, forming a tight fist with his other hand. "Can you not understand how great that makes me feel??"
My chest began to tremble as a result of my compressed laughter. Reiha looked to be as startled as I had been before, almost to a comical degree. I couldn't believe it...the majority of my being denied the fact that this joker could possibly be one of the eleven demons of the Midnight Legion...
"Niall, why are you such an idiot...?" Reiha shook her head in disappointment. "First of all, you've only been asleep for a few hours. Secondly, I thought I raised you better than this. Why are you-...?"
"Shhh...quiet, sister..." Niall pressed a finger to Reiha's lips. "...the wind...it's speaking to me..." He closed his eyes gently, a look of pure concentration settling into his expression and seeming to silence everything around him. Before long, however, they were opened once again. "The Shadow Keeper!"
My heart dropped like a rock. His exclamation triggered a waterfall of negative assumptions, most of which involved the idea that Niall were here to kill me. I had no idea how to react in this situation.
"He is near!"
I felt a sudden sense of relief wash over me. Oh, good. He really is an idiot...
"Boy!" He suddenly slapped his hands down on my shoulders, causing me to nearly jump out of my skin. "Strange boy, I sense that you and I are alike."
"Meaning...?"
"Your hair..." He took a strand of my hair between his fingers, scrutinizing it as though it were small print. "It is neither brown, nor red, but instead caught in between the two colors. I suppose you could not choose between the two, so you simply dyed your hair auburn. Am I correct in saying so?"
"This is my natural hair color."
Niall's eyes, suddenly seeming to brighten as they widened to their full capacity, now displayed unadulterated shock. "How..." He made a quiet yet audible gasp. "How peculiar, how outrageous, how...how...wonderful!!"
"I'm sorry?"
Within the time it took for me to blink, Niall had fallen to his hands and knees in quite the dramatic manner—although, I suppose calling Niall dramatic would be something akin to redundancy.
"Please! Peculiar boy! Would you allow me the privilege of knowing your name?"
"How thick is your skull, Niall?!" Reiha shouted, the veins on her forehead scarcely managing to hide themselves. Something told me she was used to this eccentric personality of his, but at the same time, she hadn't quite acquired the necessary skill to deal with it properly. "It's him!" She pointed directly at me. "He's the Shadow Keeper! This boy is Hanako Izumi! Don't you sense anything when you're close to him?"
Niall arose slowly to his feet whilst moving a hand towards his chin, which he then began to stroke ever so gently. "I do," he whispered. "I said he was near, did I not? I simply...did not expect that the Shadow Keeper...would be a young boy...and such a magnificent one at that."
He was observing me thoroughly now, head to toe, leaning from left to right so as to ensure every inch of my being could be taken into account by those frighteningly perceptive eyes of his. I struggled to conceal my uneasiness, lips twitching furiously as I stuttered, "Uh, t-there's nothing...that magnificent about me, really..." A nervous laugh escaped my clenched teeth, and I made a silent plea that Niall would simply agree and allow the conversation to end right there and then.
But alas, he did not.
"How could you say such a thing!?!"
This severe increase in volume came without a warning label, and I couldn't help but flinch as a result of being so cruelly startled. The demon was practically staring into my soul, absolutely bewildered by my timid opposition to his inexplicable compliment—that is, I assumed it were a compliment. "You are amazing," he said under his breath, "and don't let anyone else tell you otherwise."
I made a face of discomfort at him. "We've only just met..."
No matter how many hints I so kindly dropped for him, this strange man did not seem to be catching on to the fact that I wished no to continue conversing. I was never the social type to begin with, and that quality of mine had settled in long before I ever became acquainted with species—other than humans—capable of carrying a conversation. Niall was in his own little world, that was for sure. And I was beginning to think he rather enjoyed the sound of his own voice.
"Ah, yes, tis true," he began, the needless chin-stroking resuming after but a short period of its absence, "but I have heard countless stories and prophecies of the almighty Shadow Keeper for centuries now, and I have looked forward to meeting him my entire life..." He hummed a happy little time to himself and spun around once, allowing the three individuals observing this little scene adequate time to exchange variations of the "are you serious" glance; and yet again did poor Niall overlook this. Instead, he grinned from ear to ear with pure delight and leaned in close to my ear.
Uncomfortably close.
+++
"Allow me to follow in your footsteps," came his soft whisper, "I beg of you."
His sister, noticeably displeased with her brother's actions, glared at Niall with a facial expression deadly enough to kill a dozen puppies in the timespan of one second. "Back off, brother," she scowled. "The Shadow Keeper is mine."
"I belong to no one."
This argument Reiha was trying to spark puzzled me to no end; for the life of me, I couldn't figure out why these two were so desperate to follow me. If what Jeremy and Gabriel had said were true, and both demons were aware of it, then what possessed them to desire to tag along? Didn't they know I was supposed to kill them? Weren't they afraid that I might actually do that? Or could they somehow sense that I had absolutely no intention of doing so?
"Hanako."
I let out a groan as an instinctive response to Jeremy's voice, lifting my hands to rub my temples as I mumbled, "What is it?"
"Agree to his wish. Let him come along with us."
I wasn't given the chance to oppose. Simply upon opening my mouth to confirm I'd heard him correctly, Jeremy took hold of my collar and yanked me towards him so that our faces were mere inches apart. This, though certainly not the last, had been the first occasion on which I was acquainted with the truth behind the word opia, that ambiguous intensity resulting from staring someone directly in the eye. However, it was undesirable; Jeremy was far too intimidating for me to have even considered having a staring contest against.
"This is a good opportunity for you," he said to me in as quiet a voice as he could maintain. "If those two come along with us, maybe they can help us find the other members of the Midnight Legion, and then, when they least expect it, we'll strike."
"I already told you..."
It took a whole bundle of feigned courage for me to fight back Jeremy's asserted authority, but I eventually managed to grab his forearm and pry him off my collar. All the while, both our gazes were narrowed at one another with ire, though for some strange reason I seemed to possess—at the time—a silver of power more than him. I supposed that was why he bothered not to interrupt me.
"I'm not killing anyone...demon or no demon."
My message, though uttered to Jeremy, had been meant for me more than anyone. I knew what I was, and I was aware of the unrealistic expectations that so many strangers had long since seemed to set for me without my consent. But I also knew what I believed in, and there was simply no way I would be changing this mindset of mine anytime soon just for the sake of these people.
As I turned to face the demon siblings, I forced a collected composure, skillfully painting on my expression a smile, though so explicitly insincere.
"Of course you can come along, Niall. But if you cause me any trouble..."
The male demon's head shot up like a jack-in-the-box—in such an abrupt and frightful way that one might predict a shortened lifespan because of it. He, of course, was unbelievable unfazed by how greatly he had startled me, not hesitating to reach for my hand and shake it till it started to numb. "Thank you, master!" He cried with heightened enthusiasm. "I am eternally in your debt!"
"Don't call me that," I groaned in response, already sensing a massive headache approaching from around the corner. I glanced over my shoulder at Jeremy, who, just as I suspected, didn't appear pleased to have witnessed the way in which I'd handled the situation. In some twisted way, I had made it so that both of us got what we wanted.
"You are a demon, Hanako..."
Well, then, I guess I should be around my own kind, now shouldn't I, Gabriel?
"We should go."
Niall froze on the spot, his entire body tensing up as from fear or a sudden desire to fill me with fear.
"The sky..." He breathed softly. "It no longer desires to be filled with light...it wants to embrace the darkness...but then again, one can not be sure...it is unsure..."
Reiha heaved a great sigh. "What he means," she explained briefly, "is that it's going to get dark soon. We should get a move on."
"Where exactly are we going?" I asked her, slightly dreading what my answer would be.
Reiha paused for a moment, and her brow furrowed as though she were deep in thought. She hummed quietly and soon raised her finger in the air, moving it in small circles for no apparent reason. "Tell me, Hanako," she said, "what is today's date?"
"...April 16th. Why?"
"April 16th is some kind of holiday for this country, right? You guys dress up in ridiculous costumes—like Halloween, but not." Following this, she leaned forward slowly and stretched across her face a terribly suspicious smirk, one I had an eerie feeling I would be seeing a lot more of in the future.
"Y-yeah," I stammered, hopelessly struggling to make eye contact with her at all, for I feared it would have a petrifying effect on me. This woman absolutely terrified me, and the primary issue with this was that she knew.
I wasn't looking forward to this in the slightest.
"Brilliant!" she exclaimed, giggling innocently with glee for a brief moment. "Then how about we go to a festival? There's bound to be one in the next city."
"That's a great idea."
It went without saying that hearing these words fall from Jeremy's mouth took me by surprise—and unfortunately, this hadn't been a pleasant surprise at all. When I turned to face him, I was met with a glimpse of fire burning, a fire of vengeful rage kindling from the depths of his being that was anything but conspicuous. That was the moment I knew he had something else up his sleeve when agreeing to Reiha's suggestion.
"Ah, I knew you would accept, dear Ironmage," she purred, still grinning in her own twisted little way. "Now, let's not waste any time. We want to be there as soon as possible."
Yet again was I not given time to argue; sure, I knew that it would be futile to turn them down now, but that didn't mean I was satisfied with keeping quiet about the matter. Jeremy took it upon himself to lead me along with brute force, gripping my wrist without concern for the pain it might cause me in the future. Night was already beginning to fall upon us, streaks of sunset settling in, the sun hiding away behind wispy clouds and soon, the horizon. The wind picked up again, though it was much less harsh than before. There was no reason for me to worry.
I would only be attending a festival with two demons and a furious cyborg. What could possibly go wrong?