That night, I found myself falling asleep on the couch, a rare occurrence given my typically nocturnal nature. With Rei holed up in his room and Han Riu nowhere to be found, I had little choice but to surrender to an early rest.
Despite the unfamiliar surroundings and my initial unease, I found myself growing at ease on the couch, sleep overcoming me.
Morning arrived, but not so gently. With a jolt, a sudden weight on my chest ripped me from sleep. Coughs wracked through me, and I soothed my pained chest with a couple of soft pats.
"Wake up; we're eating breakfast."
A glare followed the cat as he padded into the kitchen, oblivious to the panic he'd just caused. Lying back, I closed my eyes and focused on calming my still-racing heart. The apartment, a supposed temporary solution, already felt suffocating. How long could I endure this before restlessness turned to desperation?
The sound of shuffling from the kitchen piqued my interest, prompting me to rise up enough to peer over the back of the couch. Rei was busy setting the table with plates and food, moving as if this were the norm for him.
Rei finished setting the table, then turned to face me. "Are you going to keep staring or join us?" His words held a note of teasing, his eyes crinkling at the corners as if he suppressed a laugh at my expense.
Now that I'd been caught staring, Rei clearly expected me to join them, but I felt like being stubborn. To my surprise, I felt refreshed, as if I'd slept far better than I had any right to given the new living situation.
My reflection on the TV confirmed my suspicions: I looked like a mess. Rei, on the other hand, looked as polished as ever. No doubt he knew where my clothes were stashed—I'd have to ask him about that later.
My unruly hair stuck out in every direction as I made my way to the table. I took my seat, eyes fixed on the unexpectedly abundant spread of food before me. Rei occupied the chair across from me, while Han Riu perched on the table beside me. The setup felt bizarrely like some sort of improvised family breakfast.
"I don't know what you like, so I just made a little of everything," Rei said, taking bites and glancing up at me. "What do demons eat?"
I shrugged. How considerate. I watched as the other two began eating and picked up my chopsticks to do the same. I ate slowly and hesitantly. Demons didn't need to eat as often as humans, but sometimes I liked to indulge in Eden's great food.
"Nothing out of the ordinary. We have certain foods in the underworld, but up here, we don't really eat much."
"Then why are you eating?" Han Riu chimed in after quickly finishing his food.
"I just like it," I mumbled, picking out the things I didn't like.
Rei's expression softened at my answer. "It's like I picked up another stray. Cute."
The cat turned to Rei and yelled out, "Another?!"
Smiling, Rei stuck his tongue out at Han Riu and got up, cleaning the table and putting the dishes away when everyone was finished. Who was he calling stray?
After a moment of contemplation, Rei went into his room and came out with a set of clothes. "Here, I hope you don't mind that I cleaned them. They had some blood on them."
I squinted my eyes and took the clothes from his hand, our fingers brushing. "Thanks," I mumbled, quickly retreating to the room to change.
I closed the door behind me as I straightened out my jacket. It was white, black, and purple, with the word 'MUNDANE' running down the sleeves over a plain turtleneck. Nothing really fancy, but I liked this style.
Today, I would be helping Rei with whatever work he did while also looking for clues myself. There might be little to no leads, but I had to try something.
I finally came out of the room, and when I looked up, I noticed Rei taking a couple steps toward me. Instinctively, I took a step back, but the door behind me blocked my path.
"W-What?" I stuttered nervously, eyeing him warily.
Why was he standing so close to me? I turned my head to the side, my face growing hot with nervousness at his proximity. I deliberately avoided eye contact with him.
"You promise to behave?" Rei's voice was soft as he spoke.
That annoyed me. "I said I'd help you with whatever, and you promised you'd let me out if I—"
Click.
I paused at the foreign sound below and felt a cold sensation around my wrist. I looked down to see Rei holding my hand, his touch sending shivers down my spine, so I pulled away quickly.
My wrist was now decorated with a beaded bracelet similar to the one Rei wore. It felt heavy against my skin, the beads cool and smooth. I could sense a strange energy emanating from it, like a buzz in my veins.
"What is..?" I began to speak, but Rei only smiled. He was up to something.
I went to take it off but found it extremely difficult to do so. I pulled at the piece of jewelry, but it didn't budge, and the force I was pulling hurt like hell.
"What is this?" I barked at the exorcist, who hummed in response.
"Repercussions." He turned to begin putting his shoes on as he spoke. "Did you really think I'd let you come with me without knowing you'd try to escape? That bracelet is infused with my mana. You can't run away or attack me with it on."
His smirk grew wider as he straightened, his eyes gleaming with amusement. "You said you'd help me, and I'm holding you to that, demon."
"Are you serious?" I yanked at the bracelet again, ignoring the pain. I had to get it off.
Rei chuckled. "Save your strength. You won't be able to remove it."
I glared at him, clenching my fists. I couldn't believe my ears. He cornered me to do this?
As I struggled against the pain of my own strength and whatever the heck was in this bracelet, Rei walked to the door. This punk actually tricked me.
"If you behave, I might just take it off~"
This exorcist was sly, and he was treating me like a misbehaving dog. Fury burned through my veins, but I forced myself to still. I wouldn't give him the satisfaction of seeing me struggle.
He glanced back at me, a raised brow indicating his surprise at my sudden compliance. My eye twitched in annoyance.
Han Riu glanced at Rei questionably. "You're using those?"
He could see the confusion in my eyes and answered before I could even ask. "They're the Cuffs of Atonement. Rei uses them for out-of-hand spirits, but to use them in this way is unheard of."
The exorcist was putting on his gloves as he spoke in response. "They come as a pair, but by infusing my mana into one and distributing it to a second party, I can track you down wherever you go."
I wanted to strangle him, but if what he said was true, I wouldn't be able to touch him. Han Riu looked impressed, but I wasn't. This was a whole new level of control.
Rei opened the door, a mocking bow accompanying his gesture for me to exit first.
"Well? Are you coming or not, Eve?" His tone was light, but the command was clear.
I walked out of the apartment, followed by Han Riu and then Rei, who locked the door behind us.
The whole time we were walking around town, I was following behind Rei with my arms crossed and holding Han Riu. I was annoyed that I couldn't get the bracelet off, but even more than that, I was angry with myself for letting my guard down.
I watched Rei walk ahead, staring at his back with a scowl on my face. He hadn't said much since we left the apartment besides a simple "follow me," and I've been doing that for a while now.
Han Riu chuckled in my arms. "If you keep staring like that, you might burn a hole in his back."
I looked down at the talking cat and let out a 'tsk' in annoyance.
"Good.."
"What did you expect to happen? He'd let you out of the house so you'd escape." Han Riu had a point, but I thought Rei wouldn't consider something like that. Clearly, I was wrong.
The cat jumped out of my arms and walked next to me. I looked down at him.
"So, is Rei powerful?" I asked, curiosity getting the better of me as I stretched.
"Hm? Well, yeah, that's why I chose to stick with him. He might be a human, but he's more powerful than your average exorcist."
That made sense, but I'm sure I would've overpowered him if it hadn't been for Lucien. Speaking of, I wonder why our conversation hasn't continued. He just left and didn't even drag me back with him. Was he giving me a choice? What was he scheming? And why did the thought of freedom come to mind?
While I was lost in thought, I failed to notice Rei stopping and ran into his back. I rubbed my nose and leaned over to look up at him.
"Hey, why'd you stop?"
"Shh." I went quiet. noting how focused he looked. "This way."
I followed him to an alleyway where we stayed just before entering. It was dreary-looking but empty, contrary to the caution we were taking.
"I can feel a spirit nearby, so stay alert."
"And you need my help for that?"
Rei grinned down at me and put a hand on my head.
"No, you'll sit back and watch. If I need your help, I kindly ask you to assist me."
I smacked his hand away again and scoffed.
"What makes you think I won't let you die?"
Was I just his little attack dog or something? How would he know I wouldn't wait for him to get exhausted and then attack him too?
"Just watch," Han said.
I rolled my eyes, and we entered an alleyway similar to where Lucien and I had met up just the other day. Rei crouched down and touched the ground, his fingers glowing with a soft white.
"It was here not too long ago. I just hope it didn't attack anyone."
I raised an eyebrow and listened, watching as he stood and began inspecting parts of the alleyway. He looked like a detective searching for clues at a crime scene.
Finally, Rei closed his eyes, seeming to focus on something. He took a deep breath, and that gold light I saw before began to surround him, pulsating with an otherworldly energy.
Suddenly, my chest tightened, and I felt a bit sick. Not a physical kind of feeling, but an uncomfortable one. My eyes began to search around the alleyway that was seemingly normal and quiet. It was cool, damp, and menacing; I hated it.
My eyes landed back on Rei, who, in one swift motion, was aiming his hand directly at me.
"You—!"
I had no time to get a word out, backing up to dodge, but thankfully his hand went past and struck something behind me.
"Move!" Rei shouted at me, and my reflexes had me down without asking questions.
I dashed out of the way and behind the exorcist, turning around to see what it was.
A large, globular figure started forming where I had been standing, dripping down from above and landing on the ground. Only two giant red eyes and a toothy grin were visible. Rei's hand had sunk into its body, but he quickly retreated and took a couple steps back, shaking the goo off his hand in distaste.
I've never had to deal with spirits personally, so this was a new experience for me.
Han Riu stepped in front of me, positioning himself between me and the creature. Funny, I felt I needed the least protection out of all of us. Nonetheless, I remained still, grossed out, and watched Rei do his job.
"Eat...e…ea..t….eat…." The creature repeated as it inched closer to Rei, little gelatinous arms reaching toward him.
It looked harmless, almost sad, and disgusting, and its behavior was that of a hungry child. But suddenly its demeanor changed and its mouth grew wider, revealing its many rows of teeth as it let out a menacing hiss.
"Spirits are the souls of humans that have an attachment to the earth after they die," Han Riu explained beside me. "Sometimes that attachment can be harmless, but other times it can be the manifestation of hatred and resentment or past traumas, resulting in what you see now."
I knew little about them, but it was different seeing it so close. This was part of humanity.
Rei jumped forward, but the moment he landed on the ground, he rolled to the side and kicked the blob's side, taking out a portion of its body. The missing area wiggled a bit before slowly coming back together.
It turned around, trying to swipe Rei left and right, but the blonde just dodged it flawlessly. He waited for his opening, the golden light around his hands intensifying. When he punched the spirit's body, the piece would evaporate, not allowing it to regenerate.
The creature screeched and hissed at Rei, getting slower the more pieces were taken out. Finally, there was nothing left but a small slime on the ground.
Rei wiped a black substance from his face that only caused it to smear since it was all over his gloves and clothes. It looked like he had rolled around in mud. I walked forward, looking down at the thing struggling on the ground.
"Wooow, that looked easy enough. It's kinda cute." I crouched down and poked at it.
"Stop that."
Rei scowled and shook his head as he picked up the spirit that was no longer a threat, walking past me and over to Han Riu. What did he need my help for? It looked like he had this plenty handled. Was it a show of power to say "you have no chance to escape"? It didn't matter to me.
While I was thinking, I noticed Rei making some markings on the ground that I recognized. It was the same symbol that appeared under Lucien every time he teleported from the human realm to the underworld and vice versa. The only difference were the outer markings.
"What is that?"
I walked over and stared down at the symbol, but Rei held his arm out to block me from getting any closer.
"Stay back, unless you'd like to go with it?"
I couldn't tell if he was being serious or not, but the moment I stopped, he smirked. His expressions were hard to take seriously. Either way, I decided to keep my distance, unsure exactly where this portal would lead me were I to go with it.
Han Riu grabbed the small spirit in his mouth and placed it in the middle of the circle. After that, he went to the opposite end of Rei and closed his eyes. The exorcist placed his hands on the ground, and a red light emitted from the portal.
The symbol turned into a large door, opening beneath the spirit.
"Spirit of the dead, I hold thee in contempt. Vessel of emptiness, I cast thee back into the veil of darkness. Be at peace." He spoke softly as chains emerged from below and wrapped around the spirit, dragging it into the ground to where I would imagine would be the Underworld. But where in the Underworld?
Without a sound, once the spirit disappeared, the door closed and disappeared along with it.
I guess he was pretty powerful. I was a little thankful I hadn't been exorcized or gotten too much on his bad side. It looked a bit creepy, but that brought up the question of why Rei hasn't exorcized me and gotten it over with?
I gave a side eye towards him, examining his features. Rei looked a little distressed, but when he noticed me staring, he turned to me, and that expression disappeared.
"Are you alright?"
He took a couple steps towards me, observing my face. I waved him away with a sigh.
"I'm fine, obviously. I didn't even do anything." I rolled my eyes.
"So? How'd you like the show?" He cracked his knuckles. I didn't like the glint in his eyes. "Still thinking about trying to escape? You'll just end up like him."
He pointed behind him where the spirit had been previously dragged away.
"Of course, I'll get away one way or another." Despite my words, I hadn't planned to run for now. If he wanted to get rid of me that much, I'm sure I wouldn't be standing with him right now.
"Let's go, Eve; we're not done." Rei motioned for me as he headed out of the darkened alleyway with the small cat.
We needed each other, so I'd let this contract play out and see where it would lead me. I had a feeling I'd find what I wanted, but when exactly, I didn't know. For once, the anticipation for the future excited me a bit.