Just as Chisuke was about to order his next bowl he noticed a familiar presence. Sumire furiously stormed the restaurant, knife in hand. Chisuke slipped his mask into his kimono and pretended not to notice the girl. Hopefully she wouldn't notice him, that would have been the most ideal situation if the colour of his hair hadn't been an eye-catching shade of white.
He felt Sumire's gaze move round the shop until it was finally directed at him. The girl radiated bloodlust, but to Chisuke who had faced demons it mortal combat, it was hardly unnerving. He didn't feel threatened by it, but still.
What a pain.
The shop owner arrived at Chisuke's table with a fresh bowl of ramen. Chisuke turned to the steaming bowl. His eyes were closed shut but his other senses made up for the lack of sight. He was still more than able to perceive the bowl.
A ripple spread across the surface of the noodle broth, Chisuke shifted his weight and leaned to the side. A knife moved past Chisuke narrowly missing him, at the same time Chisuke grabbed the scrawny arm holding the blade.
The unruly girl felt her legs leave the ground as she was flung by Chisuke's inhuman strength. Sumire floated weightlesly for a moment before she was forcefully slammed into the table.
The untouched bowl of ramen spilled over from the force of the impact. Chisuke suddenly felt faint as he watched the noodle slide off the table onto the floor, he felt it was such a waste.
At the same time, Sumire lay perfectly still with her back on the table. It took her a few seconds to process what had just happened. A second ago she had been charging at Chisuke, and now she was sprawled on a table.
She took in the view of Chisuke's face underneath his mask. The sight of an unearthly beauty, a face perfectly sculpted with porcelain skin and dark circles underneath his closed eyes.
The eyes demanded Sumire's attention, she simply had to see them. As she stared with vested interest she lost sight of everything around her, even the fact that Chisuke had lifted his hand.
The reaper brought down his hand and placed a single finger on Sumire's head right between her eyes. Chisuke's finger was long and slender with pale skin, it also ended in a black nail that could almost be mistaken for a claw.
"Got you."
The restaurant which had been noisy beyond measure was now filled with silence, perhaps it was in respect for Chisuke and Sumire. The duo were perfectly still, they both gazed into each other's eyes, or at least it felt that way. In reality Sumire was the only one doing the gazing and her eyes found it hard to see past Chisuke's eyelids.
The moment of silence held true of a second or two until Sumire decided she had had enough. Chisuke watched as the girl burst into motion and swung her knife, it's blade went straight for Chisuke's neck.
Such murderous intent.
In the next few seconds after Sumire's would connect with Chisuke's skin he was sure to have his throat slit. The swordsman leaned backward allowing the blade to effortlessly move past his face and at the same time landed a chop on Sumire's neck.
Round two had come to an end with Chisuke still alive and unharmed, meanwhile Sumire lay on the table unconscious. Chisuke's strike had completely knocked her out.
"I guess this one is my win."
Chisuke grabbed his mask and stood up from his table after donning it. With the mask on he was free to open his eyes to take at look at his attacker. The girl was anything but ladylike in her unconscious state, her eyes were rolled back with saliva drooling from her mouth, her grip on her knife was as solid as ever.
Chisuke didn't feel inclined to kill Sumire since she wasn't a demon, but something felt off about her. He couldn't quite out his finger on it. The girl had a unique smell, not that of a demon but not completely human either. It felt like something was missing, like the girl was some incomplete broken doll of sorts.
"Thanks for the meal."
He was done with his meal and his eating expenses had been taken care of. Chisuke saw no further need to stay in this town, most of all he wanted to get away from Sumire.
He exited the restaurant with the redhead on his mind. He just couldn't wrap his head around her. Her saving grace was that she wasn't a demon, else Chisuke wouldn't have hesitated to end her.
Her smell was human, but different, more complex. It was like she was still the same species, but only a different breed.
Chisuke could already feel a headache just thinking about it.
Well, it's not my problem.
Trying not to think too hard about it, Chisuke made his way through the city. He could see children playing like nothing else in the world mattered. He even saw the boy he'd met at the town's entrance.
If nothing else he had managed to preserve their smiles. The though of that gave him enough strength to keep moving forward.
Chisuke heard a footstep. His superior hearing allowed him to discern far more than a human could. He could tell the distance between him and the sound, the weight behind it and so much more.
Not again.
The single step became two, then three. It continued without stop until it was already upon Chisuke. The swordsman sidestepped and evaded a knife aimed at him.
He watched as Sumire lost her balance from the failed attack and leaned forward. He moved his hands and landed a chop.
Round three was his win.
Sumire'e eyes began to roll inward. She felt herself slowly losing consciousness, it was frustrating, so so frustrating.
The girl was about to lose to Chisuke once more. The thought of being completely at his mercy annoyed her and her anger managed to keep her conscious mind from slipping.
Sumire grit her teeth and took advantage of the situation. She twisted her body midair and swung her knife before falling, her mind was hazy but she managed to catch a glimpse of red. She had cut Chisuke, she was sure if it.
Sumire fell back and sat on the ground as her mind cleared. She had finally done it, her revenge. She was sure she had cut Chisuke, but she couldn't shake off the ominous feeling bearing down on her.
Something was wrong. Her mind was starting to clear and her senses were returning. Sumire's gaze was aimed at the floor where she saw blood. There was a small patch of it on the ground with two fingers in its centre.
Sumire suppressed the urge to smile. Something was wrong, she could feel it in her bones. There were two severed fingers on the ground but there was no screaming, no cry for help.
The unruly girl slowly lifted her head and was met with an unnatural sight. Chisuke hand had already stopped bleeding and Sumire watched as it slowly began to regenerate with steam pouring off it.
Firstly, his middle finger that previously dangled by a piece of flesh was the first to heal as it quickly reattached itself in place. The fingers which had been severed off regenerated, bone formed and tendons grew, attaching themselves to it and then it was finally covered by skin with a long black nail at the end.
Chisuke moved his hands briefly, closing and opening it. After familiarizing himself with the newly grown fingers he brought them to the hilt of his katana.
Sumire saw it. Through the slits of the mask she finally saw the crimson eyes Chisuke hid. Standing before Chisuke Sumire finally realized the futility of her actions. She realized how many times Chisuke had gotten the opportunity to kill her and simply passed it up.
Following her sudden realization, Sumire felt like a helpless animal in Chisuke's presence. She instinctively felt it.
"You see, it's not that you won't kill me. It's that you simply can't."
Sumire had no hope of killing Chisuke, it was just impossible.