The 21st volume of her favourite comic, Umeko's Diary, had just come out that Friday afternoon. Alora had already called Hazuki and told her to wait in line, knowing that her academy dismissed an hour earlier than the others. Regardless, it was not just them who would be waiting in line, but other college students and middle-aged men who were too absorbed in the fantastical world the mangaka created.
And who wouldn't?
In her own opinion, Alora thought that the Umeko's Diary series was a work of art, better than the so-called poets of ancient days. She found the storyline compelling, a sweet sense of thrill that arose from the protagonist life that was shrouded in music and murder. Though she was never a fan of the yandere archetype, there was something about the protagonists undying love for her significant other that just made things feel right.
Khaya had already expressed his displeasure for the comic countless, hinting at that it would warp her brain. But Alora didn't care, she loved the odd mysteries found in the comic and the unusual fantasies of Umeko, her thought process familiar to Alora. Who could deny Alora the pleasing sight of seeing the main character chase after the one thing she loved, not being afraid to get rid of anything that stood in her way.
As dark as things would get, Alora always found herself squealing beneath the sheets every time she read a volume. Volume 20 left of with the protagonist holding up her supposed enemy of the ledge of skyscraper, contemplating whether to drop her or pull her back up.
Speed-walking through the alley, she could only think about getting her hands on the fresh copy of the book.
"Aren't you ashamed of yourself," Khaya said, rolling his eyes as Alora, holding on to his hand, pulled him forward.
"Not at all," she said. "It's not like I've done something wrong."
He scoffed, "You're buying from an illegal distributor of comics. Don't you think you should at least purchase from an authentic store?"
"Why should I?"
"Cause," he said, stopping dead in his tracks, pulling Alora back.
Khaya squared his shoulders, looking down on her as his eyes hardened. "People look up to you, and the masters have certain expectations of you. You should try being a model student."
As if she hadn't heard that before. As long as she aced her tests and completed her missions, all was well.
Besides, buying from the store down the street meant getting a copy of the comic book before it's official release.
In her eyes, buying the comic was the same as downloading files off a pirating site.
Alora made no comment. She simply grabbed Khaya again and began pulling him towards the store.
"Alora," he called. "Is it because you don't have friends? Or perhaps you have bad company. Maybe you shouldn't be friends with Hazuki. You know she works in an illegal organisation, right?"
"You're not my father," she sharply said. "Stop lecturing me and move your feet. The sooner I get my comic, the sooner we can go out to investigate."
"You should hang around me from now on."
She kept on pulling, rushing faster, hoping the wind or some screeching alley cats would block out his words.
"You can have your meals with my friends and me. Or join a school club. I recommend the Goodwill Society. Hopefully you can get a few good friends there."
"I have plenty of friends. I don't need more."
"Really?" he asked cocking his head to the side with a little smile. "I barely see you in the cafeteria, and aside from your classes and investigations, your always holed up in your room."
"Is it a crime?"
"Of course not." He laughed. "It's just you never seem to get out much."
"Perhaps I'd like to enjoy the few moments of solitude I get in a day. It's already rough going out for investigations all night, every night. Now, mind your business".
She could see the line curl round the corner. Somewhere wedged in it, slightly ahead was Hazuki, her distinct mask hard to miss.
Sighing in relief, she pulled Khaya towards the store entrance.
"I have a friend," she said pointing at Hazuki. "I like her. We get along and go out sometimes. Are you satisfied?"
Lazily strolling to the door, leaning against the glass he shrugged. "I'm just trying to make sure you're alright. As an upperclassman and your partner, I have a responsibility to look after you."
"Whatever."
It didn't matter if she was alright or not. The point was she was on Kokonoi for a reason; to hunt and kill Aki and his wives. If she died while doing it, well, at least there wouldn't be a lot of people crying over her when she was gone. And if she survived, well, then that'd be it. She would pack her things and go back to Asale. Most likely she'd be sent to go aid one of the clan members on the way or sent to a new location for another mission.
It was clear that everything she saw, her stay at the academy and the people she met wouldn't be a permanent fixture in her life. Or, at the very least, a long temporary thing worth acquainting too.
She didn't need friends who would cry for her once she was gone; dead or not.
That made being alone bearable.
But, on an honest, she was really exhausted from running round Kokonoi with Khaya every time. He was like a human battery, constantly moving from clubs to brothel to underground apartments in search of more soul marbles. The last place they passed through the previous night was a struggling entertainment company. It took all night to collect the single stone, having had to negotiate, threaten, and then ultimately eliminate the company CEO. That, and stealing a few of their business documents. But it didn't end there, Khaya had Alora locked in his dorm room to sort out the documents so they could hand them over to the headmaster at 6am.
Her brain could barely function through her classes.
And at that point, since he had already planned to drag her away to another company that night, she only found it fair to make a quick stop to buy another comic volume.
Hazuki hooked arms with Alora and whispered, "Guess what I heard. There's a rumour at my academy that one of the girls was recruited to debut in a new girl group."
Alora's lips pruned at the mention of it.
She leaned in, whispering back to Hazuki, "Was she a loose one?"
"Very!" Hazuki said. "I heard from some upper-class men that she was being sponsored by the Fujiwara clan. Every weekend she'd go to their mansion to entertain businessmen and family friends. That's where she met the company head. She gave a private audition and was told she'd debut right away!"
Alora didn't know whether to laugh or feel sorry for the girl. Hopefully the group wouldn't flop upon debut. But it wasn't like she was that interested. There had been tons of articles accusing certain idols of using their ties to get into groups. The most recent scandal was of a girl named Suki Midori. Apparently, she was the granddaughter to her company's CEO. Fans put two and two together and concluded that her granddaddy pulled some string to have her debut as the centre of the idol group. And they were not pleased, calling her a worthless harlot who couldn't even sing. Her biggest asset was the surgery she had to improve visuals. But, unfortunately for her, netizens couldn't let the issue go. She distinctly remembered an article on Suki that called her the bloated barbie for her plastic like skin. Netizens then jumped on the bandwagon and flooded her social media page with malicious comments.
Every time Alora logged into her Space Page and saw Suki's posts, there was always some comment with 'die you stinking whore!!' reoccurring from different accounts.
Unfortunately for Suki, she jumped of the Ibarra Tower three months ago.
Alora hoped that wasn't the case for Hazuki's schoolmate. If she didn't have amazing talent, at the least she could be plain beautiful, attracting the average man's gaze easily.
A simple art media companies had mastered, balancing talent with beauty to create the perfect girl group. Something she picked up from her feminine etiquette class.
It was now a matter of figuring out which side of the spectrum this girl belonged.
"What do you say we stalk her and find out whether she's worth the bucks or just another visual," said Alora. She quickly pulled out her wallet and jangled it over Hazuki.
"How much?"
"30 Ko if she has talent."
Hazuki grabbed the wallet, laughing through the mask, "Alright. But don't get mad when you lose your money."
The next Monday, letters from the Student Representative Committee were distributed to every student at the Academy. As she rummaged through her locker, picking out her training uniform, a girl tapped her shoulder, pushed the letter into her hands, then rushed off as fast as she could.
She didn't know whether she accidently glared at the girl to make her run off, but she couldn't be too bothered about it. Bringing the letter up as she slammed the locker shut, she read its contents, which left her twisting her face.
It read as follows.
Dear Students.
In honour to commemorate the coming Fire Festival next month, we have organised a fund-raising event to showcase the various skills we have learned in our performing arts classes.
In short, it'll be a community showcase, to which the residence of Kokonoi and the surrounding villages will be in attendance. As such, it is advised that most, if not all students, should participate to better the reputation of us Demon Hunters.
The categories for the showcase include, dancing, singing, poetry and Noh theatre.
No sorcery or esoteric art shall be permitted or used in the showcase.
Proceeds shall be donated to families affected by the recent Blackwater outbreak and various hospitals.
The most loved act shall win tickets to the debut showcase and press conference of the up-and-coming girl group, Ai-Doll.
Please forward your names to the Student President, Ryoko Kamakura.
We hope you all participate in the school showcase!
Yours Sincerely
The Student Representative Committee.
Lifting her eyes of the page, she turned her head down the hall. Ryoko and her entourage already had swarms of students buzz around them, shouting, pushing, and trying to get their hands on the clip board that Ryoko had been passing around.
Alora craned her neck to check if Khaya was with them.
No sight of him.
It wasn't her style to compete in competition. Alora always thought of them as being cringey occasion to showcase a skill well-crafted to deceive the average human eye. No matter how skilled they all where, they were really nothing to showcase when everyone was trained to the exact same thing.
If it were an eating competition, maybe she'd consider entering. But not this.
She crumpled the letter and threw it into the trash can, walking away from the crowd and towards the training yards.