A loud banging woke Korrozak from his slumber. Sleepily, he got up and answered the door.
"Yes?" he yawned. Outside his door was a trio of people in black suits, ties and cool sunglasses glasses. Each of them had a badge on their right that said their name and 'DMA Agent' on it. Korrozak looked at them. If I knew professionals would be showing up first thing in the morning I would've prepared myself better.
"Good morning. I am Agent Robin. I am here on official Demon Management Association business." the agent in front announced. He had short and smooth blond hair and bright yellow eyes behind the sunglasses.
"I already gave my testimony proving my Father was replaced by a demon and my Mother died a long time ago so please leave." Korrozak yawned, beginning to close the door. Robin grabbed the door and forcefully opened it again.
"I'm not here to listen to the tales of your mother and father, I'm afraid. I'm here for you."
"You must be confused. I'm not a demon. If you want to check my blood again go ahead but I can assure you it's as red as ever." Korrozak insisted.
"We have two reports of people seeing you use magic in the forest and evidence of a demon feather that was found in your apartment."
"Magic? A demon feather?" Korrozak repeated. What? Did Shiro and Theo rat me out? But... Shiro at least seemed to be having a fun time. Was it just Theo then? But he promised! Korrozak shifted a little from the door.
"I-I'm not a demon. Trust me! That feather isn't mine."
"Why are you so scared? If you're not a demon, you can be let free and return home after a few years." Robin assured.
"A few years? In prison? No one, demon or human, wants to go to prison. There's a reason to be afraid of it." Korrozak replied.
"Well once we obtain the feather, a simple DNA test will tell us whether you're lying or not." Robin reported. Korrozak stiffened. "After all, we still have some of your blood samples. And if it matches… well, will you be able to explain that away?" They found out! When Korrozak started to flee, Robin rushed in and grabbed his arm firmly. On reflex, Korrozak twisted his arm around and grabbed Robin's wrist, pulled him forward and punched him in the face, smashing his glasses and nose all in one swift motion. Stunned, Robin fell to the floor. Everyone froze. Korrozak looked up at the other agents.
"Would you believe me if I said it was an accident?" The other agents started to advance. Shit. He turned to run but the closest agent jumped on his back, pinning him while the other agent began to tie his feet together. Korrozak unleashed his first pair of wings and twisted around. He rolled the agent on his back underneath him and kicked the other agent in the face at the same time. Korrozak then got up and ran into his room, locking the door. He grabbed a few sets of clothes, shoved them in a bag, put his wings away and jumped through the window. Small shards of glass scraped him after the window broke and the land felt hard on his feet, but he ignored the pain. He stood up and made a break for the nearest exit. He ran so fast, his lungs began to hurt. All three agents were running after him. The exit was in sight, but two more agents pulled a car in front of the exit, blocking off his escape route. He slid to a stop, the concrete grinding on his bare feet. He was surrounded. He and Robin were both out of breath, Robin more so than him. All the agents except for Robin were pointing guns at him.
"Damn. I was hoping to at least graduate from high school before I got caught."
"Put your hands in the air and walk slowly to the car." Robin ordered.
"Yeah, no. I know better than to go with a bunch of strangers." Korrozak spread his feet a ways apart.
"We have you surrounded. Come with us quietly and it can seem like you just disappeared. Resist and we'll be forced to show our hand."
"And what do you think a gun is going to do against magic?" Korrozak smiled. He spread out his wings and leapt into the sky. He hovered in the air with a devilish grin on his face. "Sorry, but I'm not ready for jail yet!" A purple magic circle then appeared behind Korrozak.
"Watch out! He might try to attack us with magic!" Robin yelled. A small flash and Korrozak teleported away. Robin stared at the spot he disappeared from before it registered. "He tricked us." he said in disbelief.
~ * ~
Korrozak teleported back into his house. He didn't bother to put his wings away, as he was only planning to be there for a short while. He rummaged through his house, packing all the necessities into his subspace, leaving a few in a sack for looks. He then closed the door, tidied up the place, turned off the lights, put everything in order. He even managed to repair the broken window with magic. He wrote a letter to Shiro and placed it, with his mask, on the kitchen counter. He then teleported into the forest and put the black cloak on. Now, looking like a weary traveler, Korrozak started trekking north.
~ * ~
Shiro awoke in Theo's bed. Sleepy and confused, she got up, grabbed her crutches and limped slowly down the stairs into his living room. Theo was watching TV on his couch.
"Theo? Where's Korro?" she mumbled, sleepily. Theo turned at her voice and rushed over to her.
"Shiro! You're up! How are you this morning?"
"Where's Korro?" Theo's cheerful look turned dark and he looked away. Shiro got worried. "Theo, where is Korrozak?"
"Don't worry. It's nine in the morning. That demon should be long gone by now." he said with a ghostly tone.
"Theo... what happened to Korrozak!" He turned back to her with a creepy smile.
"I said not to worry. He's in a safe place where it won't matter if his little secret is out." She felt a chill run down her spine and she rushed out of Theo's house. She limped as fast as she could towards Korrozak's apartment, hopping up the stairs, and grabbed the handle. She was immediately alarmed at the fact it wasn't locked. The house was empty. The lights were off and everything was put in order but there was no sign of Korrozak. On the kitchen counter, an envelope addressed to her, with Korrozak's mask resting on top of it, laid untouched. She limped over to the kitchen and picked up the mask, setting it down before opening up the letter. It read:
Dear Shiro,
My secret has been discovered by the DMA. I don't know who reported me, but I'm pretty sure Theo gave them the feather you took from my wings. I'm sure he had his reasons and I'd rather you not let this ruin your friendship. I'll leave that up to you though. I won't be able to come back here for a long time but I promise to visit you every once in a while. You can have all my video games and consoles so do as you wish with them. I was really hoping I could at least graduate high school with you and Theo before I had to leave and I even had a dream of opening my own business, although I didn't entertain the idea much. I really loved it here, but it's too late to come home now. If anyone asks, tell them the truth. I'd rather not lie to them if it's inevitable. Make sure to do all your work on time. Stay safe. And next time you see, tell him I forgive him.
-My best wishes and love, Korrozak Zastaroth
P.S: Good luck strangling 'human Korro' tonight!
Tears started streaming down Shiro's face after reading the letter. She slowly slid down the side of the counter until she was kneeling on the floor, clutching the letter to her chest. Just then, the three DMA agents walked in.
"Excuse me, miss. I am Agent Robin. This area is going to need to be searched. If you know anything about the escaped demon, Korrozak, we would like to ask a few questions." Robin announced. Shiro folded the letter and hid it in her clothes before looking up at them and slowly lifting herself up to lean against the counter.
"He's a childhood friend of mine."
"Come with me, miss." Robin nodded to the other agents and led Shiro out and away from the house as the other agents rummaged through the place. He settled her down in a car and pulled out a notebook. "First question, how long have you known the demon, Korrozak?"
"The first time I met Korro was during school in 3rd grade. We became instant friends and he introduced me to his other friend, Theo."
"How long have you known him as a demon?"
"I only found out last night after he stopped another demon from attacking the town."
"How many wings does he have?"
"At least two pairs."
"What is the color of his eyes?
"Dark gray."
"What were they like when he had his wings out?"
"His eye color as a demon? Why?"
"You don't need to know. Please answer the question." Robin looked up from his notepad. "Unless you have forgotten?"
"They never changed."
"Did his hair ever stand out to you?"
"I always thought of how it was unusually soft every time I got to touch it."
"Any idea where he might go from here?"
"No." she shook her head.
"Anything else you'd like to add that seemed unusual about him or his life?"
"A few years after both his parents passed, he started appearing at night with a mask and protecting people. He even flew me back to the town when I got injured in the forest. Korro's not a bad demon. Please treat him kindly." Shiro pleaded.
"I'll give it some thought. You may go." Robin stepped out of the car. Shiro got out as well and was about to head home when she saw Theo run down the street.
"What are you doing here?" Shiro asked, trying her best not to sound cold.
"When you just bolted out of my house without another word I got worried. Why are you here of all places?" he scowled as he looked around.
"I was looking for Korro." Shiro replied.
"Looks like the DMA caught him." he observed, looking around. "But I don't see him anywhere."
"He escaped, thankfully." Shiro sighed with relief.
"Oh. He did now?" he asked, trying to hide his disappointment.
"Theo, why do you hate Korro so much?"
"What?" he sounded surprised. "I-I don't... hate him. What would make you think such a thing?"
"You like Korrozak, yet you refuse to call him by his name." Shiro narrowed her eyes.
"W-What?"
"Don't think someone wouldn't notice." she growled. "As far back as I've known you, I've never once heard you say Korro's name, ever! How long have you known, huh? I bet it was even before his father was killed. Were you the cause of that too?"
"W-what are you talking about?" Theo began to get nervous.
"How could you, Theo? Wasn't he your friend? Or was that all a lie too?" Shiro pressured. Theo gritted his teeth.
"How could I be friends with a demon! One of those monsters killed my best friend! The moment I found out he and his father were demons, I couldn't sit by and pretend as if nothing was wrong! Demons are a plague to humanity, a curse! If those wretched things never existed, my friend would still be alive!" Theo burst with anger. Shiro stared back at him with pity in her eyes. That only made him angrier. "Don't… look at me like that. It's not like you could understand!"
"You're right, I could never know what you're feeling. And yet you still want someone to understand you? Well guess what, genius, you just pushed away the only person who could sympathize with you. You, with your own hands, shoved him out of your life for being different. He's probably gone through more pain than you could ever imagine, and you only made it worse. If you suffer for this, it's your own fault!" Shiro retorted, tears in her eyes. "Congratulations, you just lost two of your closest friends." she limped past him and began back towards her house.
"Sh-Shiro?" Theo turned after her.
"Korro may forgive you, but I can't." Theo watched speechlessly as Shiro limped home all by herself.
~ * ~
It was nighttime. Korrozak had been walking all day. He had decided he would flee north. He had heard that Liona, the next continent over, wasn't as strict as Dryonis was in terms of demon hunting. Iron Harbor was the nearest town that could take him over. Once night fell, Korrozak released his wings and jumped into the air. After he left the forest, he traveled across a wide open plain that stretched as far as the eye could see, even with his sharp eyes. He flew high in the sky with the clouds, hoping that his cloak would blend him in with the sky if anyone were to spot him. He flew so high, the people he saw below looked like tiny little ants. People? In the plains? He stopped and focused on them. There were a group of people sitting around a small fire just a few feet from a group of horses. Horses? That's a bit behind the times. He looked at the moon to see it not too far from the horizon. And what are they doing up so early in the morning? I know I am too but I can't show myself in the light. He took one last glance at the group to find one of the girls staring right back at him, making eye contact. He got nervous and took off again to the north. He dived back to the ground at the first rays of dawn and tucked away his wings, making sure to keep the black cloak on. With no place to really settle for the day, Korrozak continued on foot, keeping his hood over his head.