The burst of villagers rushed through the doors and spread out into the streets of Osamu village. Mixed in with the dissipating crowd where Alora, Khaya and Hazuki, walking past the quiet huts.
The stench of blood filled the blackened sky, a rumble in the earth that had Alora walk with extra caution. The dead toiled beneath her, and the knells of hell rang lowly through the icy mountain air. Hazuki and Khaya seemed unfazed by the surroundings. Alora thought perhaps it was her own figments of her imagination sending her into a cascade of red haze in the village. But she was certain she had taken her medicine before, and she didn't feel the rising vengeance in her heart try and sputter out. Perhaps it wasn't her imagine, but what she felt was true.
Something was buried in the soil, trying to creep out and tell her something, but her pace was too quick to catch up to.
Alora brushed the feeling away and narrowed her eyes down to the warehouse on the other end of the village.
The iron corrugated sheets laid flat atop the concrete walls had her ask what this building was used for. Perhaps a makeshift battle station that was abandoned during the warring states period. Thought it didn't quite fit, that explanation at least. It reeked of nuclear juices and rotting wood. Clear from the piles of damp shanks and shingles strewn across the open space of the warehouse.
She walked into its shade, following Hazuki and Khaya.
Placed far in the deep corners of the warehouse were lockers. Hazuki ran to them and commanded Khaya to look for a table. He rummaged through the piles of wood and brought the table out into the open space.
Alora stood beside him, as Hazuki unlocked one of the twenty lockers and pulled the bloody body of the woman in the pictures.
Lugging it over her shoulder, she brought her to Khaya and Alora, placing her gently over the wooden table.
"This is the woman," she said, looking at the dented baby bump. Her head was caved in, her mouth ripped open as the white dress she wore had crusted from the dry blood. "Should I bring the toddler too?"
Khaya grimaced, "No. She'll be enough." He popped his fingers, and gently laid his hands over her chest.
"What now?" Alora asked. "What're you going to do with her? I suppose Soul Eater has some power that I don't know of."
"That's right," he said as his hand slowly dug into her chest cavity. A burst of blood rushed out and he winced at the sight.
"Souls hold memories. I'm going to try read what happened before her death."
His eyes began to glow a deep blue. His Aura changed, from the malevolent mysterious creature Alora had grown accustomed to, to a soft natured feminine energy full of life and sympathy. She gawked at him as his hand twisted and turned within her chest.
"What will happen then? How is that going to help. Memories are nothing more than someone's version of the truth; things they witnessed from their eyes. For all we know, everything happened before she could witness it."
"It's not only that," he answered bluntly. The glow in his eyes faded, and he reverted to the usual state of his own soul. His hand slipped out of her chest, pinched between his fingers was a blue marble. "This is what I wanted."
"Great, a marble," Alora said rolling her eyes.
"What did you see?" Hazuki asked, taking the marble into her own hand, and cleaning it up with a wet wipe she pulled from her pocket.
"Her name was Sayo. She started the sub-division within Aki's organization known as the Cult of Beauty. It mainly involved performing courtesan duties to customers and devout followers of Aki, but judging from her recent memories, it's been loaded with more raunchy acts of service, especially to clients."
Alora got up, and scanned what remained of her face, "I should have been the one to claw away her face, but anyway, continue."
"She got pregnant in one of her rituals to Aki. Then ran all the way from Takahara to Osamu. It was an act of blind obedience. After setting foot on Osamu soil, her mind went black. It clips to her being on the ground, eye's covered in blood. That's it."
Hazuki and Alora looked at each other, Alora's face washed with disbelief, "So this was a waste of time?"
"Not necessarily," Khaya said. "I have her soul marble. Which means whatever was tied to her soul, we can find."
"Yokai don't pass through Osamu often. It's rare to spot anything this side of the mountains," Hazuki said, running her hand through her hair.
Hazuki and Khaya went back and forth in their speculations. He thought it was the typical demon strolling through, probably under Aki's command. It would then lead to the notion that perhaps he had a fleet of demons under his command, which would explain why Aki hadn't been caught. Hazuki was quick to thwart that idea, speculating that it was probably just a vengeful apparition that passed through on the wrong day. Alora silently listened, soaked in the array of possibilities.
Nothing made sense. Her death, her life, her reason for following Aki. It did not complete the puzzle in her head. Perhaps Khaya had withdrawn useful information, but from what she heard, Sayo was just another fanatic who ran towards someone alleging to be a saviour.
She ran it over in her thoughts, the Cult of Beauty. Onda had said Aki fed of jealousy, greed, and lust. Perhaps he thrived of the youthful energy of experiencing pleasure for the first time, or the greed of wanting unwavering attention, or the jealousy of rejection. They all centred around one thing, but even she hadn't had enough life experience to understand this fickle and sporadic human urge.
Alora picked the marble out of Hazuki's hand and sniffed it. "Spice," she said.
The other two turned to her.
Hazuki asked, "Does it remind you of something? Any idea?"
"No," she said squinting her eyes. It was hinting at a primal energy, a burst of aromatics. She took another sniff and let the scent simmer. An old language that required no words. A strange feeling that oddly reminded her of the state she was constantly in, a state of bordering death. An old fire that didn't burn when fed but hurt so bad when starved. It reminded her of her own hunger that threatened every person she met, except this time, it was gentle. In fact, it was so gentle it, for the first time, calmed her mind and eased her constantly fretting heart.
"I don't know what this is," she said. She turned to Khaya, took a deep breath, and looked him in the eye.
He stiffened at her gaze.
Pushing past the wall of his initially energy were the hints of the same spice that filled the marble.
"I have a good guess though," she said. "Can you control a mind?"
Khaya nodded.
"Then that's it. It doesn't matter who killed her. What the point is, is that Aki controlled her. But not a forced kind of control, a wilful relinquishing of her own senses. Why?" she said, smiling wickedly. "Everyone needs a form of escape. That's the beauty in beauty."
She turned around, ready to go back as she thought she had cracked the code to finding Aki. The daunting dark night had turned into a blissful pool of energy. Coming alive was the numbing ecstasy, the bodies rumbling in the earth couldn't get to her now.
She took one step forward, but Khaya gripped onto her wrist.
He raised a brow, "You seem sure about your conclusion."
"You said whatever is tied to the marble will find us. All we have to do is put ourselves in positions to become members of the Cult of Beauty, and then hopefully, Aki will find us."
The three barely made it back to Kokonoi before sunrise. Turns out trains didn't regularly pass through Osamu, so, they had to wait till 5am for the next one. Alongside the workers who'd journey to Kokonoi in hopes to make an earnest living, they went back to the port town.
Alora snuck herself into her dorm room, tiptoeing towards her bed as she eyed Ryoko's sleeping body, trying to make sure her steps wouldn't wake her. She crawled beneath the sheet, and huffed out, gazing at the ceiling.
A boring blank canvas of white with nothing on it. As numb as she was in the early morning, there was no point in trying to catch sleep. Her lessons for the day required the utmost attention and early attendance. She had energy boosting waiting in the back of her closet. At least that would get her up and running, forgetting about sleep that was hours away. Another day in the life of a demon hunter student.
*
Isolated in the corner of the cafeteria, Alora silently munched on the tuna sandwich that had been served. The lunch lady had given her an extra orange juice box, must've figured that Alora's only companion would be the citrus liquid for the days to come.
She bit into the sandwich, and watched the students engage in their usual foley and antics. Hazuki had called earlier on, inviting her to a mini drum rehearsal for her school band. It wasn't like she had anyone to hang it with either way on the weekends, usually she'd spend her day cooped up in her dorm room testing new poisons for her needles. It'd be nice to soak in the sun for once without the hustle of schoolwork or a mission. Just, a day spent with a friend.
Alora's eyes drifted to Khaya and his clique. The usual laughter as Ryoko casually stole pieces of bread from their plates.
He seemed calm, so relaxed. His aura washed in the gentle and euphoric scent of tulips. He rested his hand on another student's shoulder, playful banter leaving his lips she supposed. It was times like this she wished she had sonic hearing, alas, she could only guess what they talked about. Probably a comedic story of one of their lessons during the day, or Ryoko's hellbent intent on gobbling up their food. Whatever it was, must have been great to hear.
There were only ten minutes left till lunch was over, Alora sighing as she looked at the clock hung on the wall, its hand striking awfully slow. Gulping down the last juice box, she proceeded to pack up her books.
Dropping her lunch tray at the wash line, she fastened her bag over her shoulders and took the longest route out of the cafeteria. Weaving through the tables, she went to the panel of windows by the zen gardens. Passing by Khaya's table, just to catch a closer look at them.
Her pace slowed as she passed, praying he wouldn't turn around and catch her.
Khaya had his head rested on the table, talking to Ryoko. His glittering deep blue eye's zoned on her as she collected the lunch trays off the table. The other people there mindlessly got their books together, but Khaya seemed as though he had a second to spare. Just a little moment to listen to Ryoko's voice and watch her do the dutiful act of collecting her friends lunch plates, then take them to the wash line.
Alora huffed out, turned, and looked at the reflection of herself in the windows. Everyone was clustered behind her, in small groups of 2's or 3's as they walked out the cafeteria. Smile's riding up their faces, skipping and pushing each other out. Her grip tightened around her bag's straps, biting her lip.
Blowing out, she boldly took her next step.
That one step, however, was not like the one's before. When her foot hit the ground, she felt a zap of energy shoot through her and straight to her heart. A corrupted bundle of energy that had the wind knocked out her lungs. She gripped her shirt, breaking out in a cold sweat.
A shadow passing over the windows cast her body within its radar. Her neck tightened, seizing her body into a grip of overwhelming fear. Pushing through her own senses, she turned, eye's meeting the hollowed-out sockets of a giant skeleton standing in the garden.
It peered down on her, jaw parted as it sent a rattling of bones into her ears.
"You can see me?" It asked, it's voice a low rumbling of mixed souls.
She nodded.
"You're the first person to see me. What are you? Where are you from?"
She glanced over her shoulder, everyone was still deep in conversation, the sun still on them as they slowly left the cafeteria.
She turned back to the giant skeleton, keeping her head low and mouth out of view whispering, "Asale. I'm an Out Born."
It hummed, "I see. So how did you see me? Last I knew this school was a buffet of blind children ripe for the picking."
"Second Sight," she blandly whispered. "People might think I'm crazy if they see me talking to a window, so I'll make this quick. I'm assuming Aki sent you, why?"
"That's a plausible guess. Thought not quite my mandate. I just like the taste of human flesh, and this temple has been a sanctum closing the likes of me out for a long time. I hear that the children here are well fed and taste good. Word travels fast in the world of Yokai. I'm here just to have a feel of my new home and check up on my cattle."
The skeleton drew closer, placing its bony hand on the panel of windows. "Though I guess it's thanks to Aki. An exchange if you will."
"Can I change it?" she asked. She lifted her head, staring into its dark eye sockets. "Don't kill them. Instead, I'll give you a feast. But in return, tell me where I can meet Aki."
It scratched its chin, "Normally I wouldn't agree to this. But you're a peculiar little fiend. I can feel it, that dark energy in you."
"Yes or no. I really don't have time."
"Yes," it said. "The blood bath will be worth the while in the end. How can I contact you?"
"I assume you've already scoped the school. Do you have a mobile number?"
It nodded.
"Then slip your number through my dorm room window. House Shinya, first floor, room 8."
They stood frozen for a minute, then it disappeared, leaving behind a gust of wind that rattled the fallen leaves of the garden into a lazy whirlwind.
Her body eased, the tension dissipating.