Summary: He found a female ghost sealed in a forest and managed to mysteriously to unseal and free her –and he doesn’t have a clue how he did it. Now she is following wherever he goes and he’s annoyed. And it was just going to get more irritating. A small, but powerful clan of reapers is after him and the ghost that follows him. Two different species now come together to defeat this dark clan. Even though both sides don’t get along, but they can agree on one thing… Fate is their punishment.

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Prologue

I am Akako, the Red Child, or so everyone used to call me. I’m a ghost… you could say, but I wouldn’t call myself that. Where did I come from? Well, I was living my life in solitude, sealed as one with the forest, sealed with a powerful incantation. How long had I been wondering there all by myself? I don’t remember anymore. But that’s no big surprise, I don’t remember too well nowadays. Is it because I’ve been living here in this forest for too long or was I like this all along? I don’t remember, I forget.

Sato Aki, my savior and my hero, that is his name. Sometimes I call him Akiko, Yuki, or something else, but that isn’t intentional. It’s just my memory and me. Like I said before, I can’t remember too well.

I’ve been following my savior for a couple of days now, but it seems that he’s upset with my presence. Maybe because I really do go everywhere with him, but I’m only doing that because there’s something else I want to ask him… though I couldn’t bring myself to ask him when I have the chance. I’m afraid that he’ll answer that he doesn’t know.

Akiko –I mean Yukito… shoot, what was his name again? Okay, that’s not the point. Aki-sama (oh yeah! That’s his name!) is a tall sixteen year old gentleman. He has glasses, but you can still see his pretty pale brown eyes. His hair is jet black and I think he’s a handsome young man… without the glasses that is.

Aki-sama has this familiar aura in him that attracts me to him. Yes, I am eternally grateful of him that he released the seal for me, but that’s not the reason I’m following him around like a puppy dog. I’m not following him so that I can repay back the debt. I’m only following him because I want to know who he really is.

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Chapter 1 – The Quiet Autumn and the Red Child

‘Man, how long am I suppose to be followed by this ghost? It’s like I’m being haunted by a dead girl who’s out to kill me, but she’s not doing anything to be but smiling!’ Sato Aki thought annoyingly. ‘I mean, I don’t mind being followed by a beauty like her… but the only problem is the way she looks.’ He complained to himself. He glanced behind him and a young girl floating behind after him with an ease smile. Her long silky black hair reached below her hips and her skin was a pale peach. Her clothes were one of those large kimono robes from a long time ago. The designs on the robe had cranes, probably over a thousand of them. But what were more disturbing about the ghost were her crimson red eyes. ‘She looks like Japanese, but no human could ever had red eyes. Unless she’s an albino, but albinos has white hair… maybe she dyed her white hair to black…’ He shook his head from the nonsense that went on his mind.

Aki had enough. She had been following him for too long. Didn’t she have anywhere else better to go? He stopped in the middle of his study in his school library that one afternoon. He turned fully around to come face to face with the floating girl. “Can’t you leave me be? Can’t you go and haunt somebody else?” He asked her frustratingly. “I like being alone!”

People peeked over at Aki, who was pretty loud when he talked, and found that he was literally talking to no one but himself. They all shook their head and concluded him as mental.

Her eyes grew wide with shock. “Haunt?” Her eyes turned bright quickly. She covered her mouth with her small hand and giggled lightly. “Akiko-sama, I’m not haunting you, if that’s what you think I’m doing.”

Aki boiled. There she went again! How many times did he have to tell her that his name wasn’t Akiko or Yuki or whatever name she will call him! And why did she have to be so formal? It’s not like he’s superior to her or something.

Aki ignored the ghost once again and faced at his homework. He started writing his English essay rapidly. Though, after a couple minutes of writing, he realized that he had completely written nothing but nonsense. He growled, frustrated. He tore the paper up and crumbled it. He sighed and glanced back at the beauty behind him. “Your presence bothers me…” He told her quietly. He didn’t want others staring at him any more than he liked them to. “Why is that?”

Akako pointed to herself questioningly. Aki nodded, irritated. He turned around and went back on doing his paper. Akako smiled over his shoulders and giggled. “I guess it’s because I’m some sort of a ghost and my aura is just affecting you. Do you feel cold?”

Aki stopped writing and nodded without looking at the red-eyed ghost. “Should I worry?”

“I don’t think so.” Akako replied. “Since you are a strong magic-caster after all. You broke that incantation as if it was nothing.”

“I didn’t do anything!” He hissed. “How many times do I have to tell you that?”

Akako shook her head, unknowingly. “No! You did! You’re a very strong magic-caster! All you did was to walk into the barrier that sealed me in that forest and it just disappeared! I am forever thankful that you freed me.” She gave him a kowtow bow. Aki shot up from his seat, shocked. He never had anyone bow to him as if he was king or something. He had a feeling that he wasn’t going to get rid of Akako for a long time.

“So tell me…” Sato Aki started a conversation with the female ghost as he walked back to his home. “Are you purposely named ‘Akako’ for a reason? Since your eyes are red and all.”

Akako smiled sweetly at the tall man. She shrugged. “I don’t know… or maybe I just don’t remember.” Aki nodded, blankly. He knew it. Her memory was the worst, which he can agree on. “But…” She started saying and Aki looked over at her. “… I am not named the Red Child for nothing.” She smirked bloodthirstily.

Aki got chills up his spine. He didn’t know if it was her smirk or the cold autumn breeze that just blew by. But he did know that he didn’t like the look on her face. “So…” He nervously started another topic. “How old were you when you… aw… died?” He asked.

Akako looked at Aki’s sweating face. She smiled brightly and shrugged once again. “I don’t remember. How old do you think I look like?”

Aki looked up and down at Akako and stared at her face. “Hmm… probably you and I are about the same age… maybe… who knows?” Aki shrugged.

Akako giggled softly at him. “Perhaps.” She agreed. Akako looked up at the sun-setting sky and smiled at the red sun. “It’s getting pretty dark.” She informed him. “How long of a walk is it to your home again?”

Aki shook his head. She had been following him back to his house more than a couple of times and he even reminded her before they left the library grounds, when will she get it through her head? “Perhaps in twenty-five minutes…” He told her. He glanced up at the floating ghost, suspiciously. “Why?” Akako was biting on her sleeves silently. Her crimson eyes looked almost vicious and her body was shaking.

“I don’t know if you have noticed… but if we don’t get out of this empty street in ten minutes, something bad is going to happen.” She told him, her voice trembled.

Aki stared at her bloodshot eyes. She looked like she was ready to burst out something from her stomach, as if she was suffering from the inside for a while now. He got curious and asked, “What do you mean by ‘bad’?”

Akako shook her head. “If you don’t want to see blood…” Aki’s eyes widen at her. “We better run… now.” She advised him, her body still trembling.

Aki sighed. “Man…” ‘Just when I thought it couldn’t get any worse… I don’t know what Akako means, but I better not take that chance… It seems that she’s afraid of something…’ He quickened his pace. “Okay, Akako, I’ll do as you ask.”

In her soft voice, she thanked him, “Thank you, Akito-sama.”

“It’s AKI!” He glared at her –she gave him a sweating face in return –as they both ran down the people-less road as the sun set slowly to their right. After a long one-minute sprint, Aki stopped running, out of breath. “Wait… wait…” He called to Akako who didn’t notice that he had stopped running.

Akako turned around and floated to him. “Aki-sama, if we don’t go now, they’ll catch up. We don’t have a minute to lose!”

“That’s easy for you to say! You’re a ghost for god’s sake! You can’t get tired! You’re not even using your legs!” He complained. He dropped down on the cement. “Just give me a second… or minute… or hour.” He told her, really out of breath.

Akako bit her lips, stressed out. “Yukito-sama--”

“—It’s AKI!!” He glared at her, forgetting about his tiredness.

Akako shook her head, her body starting to tremble again. “We don’t have time to argue what’s your name and what’s not… if we don’t leave here, death will be involved.” She told him with fear in her eyes. “Can’t you feel them? They’re getting too close…”

“What are you talking about, Akako-san?” He demanded. “I told you once before…! I’m not a wizard, or magic-caster, or anything… AT ALL!!”

Akako shook her head. “But-” She started.

Aki stared at her frozen face, confused. “But what?” He asked her frozen body. He stood up from his spot and realized that she really is frozen. “Akako-san…?”

“It’s no use. The Red Child is frozen under my spell.” A monotone voice told him that echoed under the dusk sky. “She is now mine… hand her over.” The voice warned.

Aki turned around and saw no one. He remained calm as best as he could, which was doing a great job of. “Who’s there?” His shaking voice demanded. “Sh-show yourself!”

A little girl –who appeared to be the age of ten –emerged a couple of meters away from black haired teen. Her cold blue eyes and dirty blonde hair certainly gave away that she was foreign. In her hands, she held a reaper that is over half her size. Aki took note of a floating cloaked person right over her, with the same type of weapon. “For someone with a strong aura…” She began with her monotone voice. “You sure don’t sound like the aura belongs to the right body… who are you child?”

“Child…?” He asked, his glasses dropping to his nose. “I’m the one who’s older than you little girl.” He told her, standing in front of frozen Akako protectively.

“I am over 9,000 years old, child…” She told him rather calmly.

“NI-NINE THOUSAND?” He screamed, unbelievably. “THAT CAN’T BE!! YOU’RE JUST PULLING MY LEG!!” He couldn’t believe it! She was much older than him yet she looked she wasn’t 12 years old yet.

The blonde narrowed her icy eyes at him. “You… take my warning and leave. The Red Child is mine.”

Aki shook his head slowly. “I-I can’t.” ‘I can’t believe I just said that…!’

“You… can’t?” She questioned him icily. “Has she cast a love spell on you already? I am already too late to save your mortal body from the monster then…” The little girl walked to the tall teen slowly with caution.

“M-monster? Are you talking about Akako-san?” He stepped back slowly back to the frozen ghost, afraid what the girl was thinking to do next.

“She doesn’t deserve such a name. It makes the Red Child seem so… human…” She glared coldly at the black haired boy.

“Wh-what are you thinking you’re doing?” He asked hesitantly, fear whelming up in his throat.

The blonde haired girl glared coldly at Aki. “Child, you don’t know what the Red Child is capable of. If you don’t step aside now, you will certainly die with pain. And I will make sure that you reach to the Underworld’s eternal flames as your punishment for protecting such a criminal.”

He couldn’t move. Was it because of fear? Maybe this was why Akako was trembling. It was because she was afraid of these two would catch up to her. Akako was afraid that she would be captured and locked up (or something like that) again. Akako was trying to run away from being isolated again.

The teen glanced back at the frozen ghost. He was telling himself to forget Akako and run back home and believe everything that happened to him was just a bad dream. He wanted to run so bad. He was never good sticking up for others because no one ever stuck up for him. But this time, it was different somehow. He couldn’t move not because he shook with fear with every little step the short child had taken towards him and Akako, but he really couldn’t move for some reason. It seemed that his body was frozen for a reason. Aki knew what he was doing wasn’t like him, but he couldn’t just leave Akako behind. “N-n-no.” He managed to say.

The little girl was only a yard away from him. His answer had angered her cold blue eyes and she lifted up her reaper, ready to slash him into two pieces. “Don’t take this personally, you did it to YOURSELF!” She slashed down to spilt the teen in half. But before she could even land her sharp blade on Aki’s head, flames came in between them. She jumped back ten yards back, alarmed. “What the-?”

Akako was standing in front of the cowering teen, flames in her right fist. “You thought that spell could hold me, the Red Child, long enough eh, Alisa…?” Her soft and peaceful eyes turned bloodshot. “Even with your body changed, I can sense your ancient aura…” She softly giggled. “And the delightful smell of blood on your Reaper is stronger than ever.” She told her, her body trembling and her eyes wide and bloodshot. “Though, you had talked way too much… even over the years, you’re still the same, old hag.” She smirked.

The girl named Alisa glared hatefully at the Red Child. “Shut up, Red Child! Just because you’re a hundred year younger than I am doesn’t make you any younger!”

Akako giggled lightly at the angered little girl. “At least I’m not stuck as a young little girl.”

The blonde had enough with her taunts and leaped into the darken sky. “At least I have a body!” She screamed with rage.

Akako glanced back at the frighten teen. “Tami-sama—”

“—It’s AKI!!” He glared at her again.

Akako chuckled nervously as she summoned the ground under her to make a cube over them to protect from Alisa’s razor wind that she had just summoned. “Aki-sama, please, let me handle this… you find a safe place while I battle with Alisa. But please, don’t leave me… I’m afraid I will definitely have to wonder in this world forever. I still don’t know where your home is.” She gave him a smile.

Aki sighed. He didn’t like the idea of fighting, especially with an insane little girl who’s over 9,000 years old and he didn’t like the look that was in Akako’s eyes. He could tell, it was going to a bloody fight. He still doesn’t know why the little girl was after Akako too. He nodded to Akako’s request anyways. “Okay, okay! I promise I won’t leave you.” ‘I’ll have to remember to ask her about what happened today when we get back home…’ He told himself secretly.

“I’m sorry to have burden you.” The red-eyed girl gave him a bow.

Aki waved his arms back and forth, freaking out. He was still not used to with so much respect. “I-I-it’s okay…! We’ll talk about this later! You should take this fight seriously. It’s a matter of life and death… kind of.”

Akako’s bloodthirsty smile appeared again. “I will…” She licked her lips.

Before he could ask what she meant by that, her protection barrier collapsed and Akako disappeared within a flash and up in the dark sky with Alisa, summoning elements to her aid. Alisa, though, seemed to have the same abilities as Akako. Both were summoning the elements and seemed to be even in magic.

Aki couldn’t believe his eyes. All his life he believed there weren’t such things as ghosts and magic. But he was proven wrong. His life changed at the speed of light when he walked into the barrier and broken the seal, releasing Akako, a mysterious girl who seems to be attracted to him for some reason.

Aki smiled when Akako managed to hit the little girl with her blast of fire attack. Alisa’s clothes weren’t fully burned into ashes, but her skin was really burnt. She fell from the sky and landed on the street with a loud thud, breaking the cement around her. “Now that had to hurt…” He said to himself.

The girl stood right back up, leaning on her reaper. “Damn you, Red Child.” Alisa hissed her name. “Even if I get eaten by you, Red Child, the other five Reapers of the Underworld will not stop to kill you. Now that you’re freed and still wondering on Earth, we’ll take you to the Underworld with us, Red Child.”

Akako sneered as she levitated to the ground. “Those thousands of years ago, you guys couldn’t even touch me…” Then she pointed to the ‘grim reaper’ look-alike that was floating above of Alisa, “…even with those Six Reapers of Hell by your side.” She licked her lips. “I haven’t had a meal for thousands of years now… your flesh should taste good.”

“Wha-what does Akako-san mean by that?” He asked himself, horrified. Suddenly, Aki realized that the ‘grim reaper’ that was with Alisa earlier, Reaper of Satan, or whatever Akako had called them, raised his own reaper, ready to slash through the ghostly body of Akako. Akako was busy looking straight at Alisa’s cold eyes, hungry for something. Aki freaked. He stood up. “Akako-san! Watch out!”

Akako looked up, horrified. ‘Damn…’ She thought one final thought. With its blade only an inch away from Akako’s neck, the Reaper of Hell was blown away with a blast of light. Akako turned to the teen behind her. His right hand was stretched out, lights disappearing into the palm of his hand. He looked afraid and shocked at the same time. Akako quickly turned back to Alisa and took no more chances. “Alisa, your current body and immortal soul and aura are mine!” Akako opened her mouth wide and took a huge bite on Alisa’s neck, ripping it out, chewing it quickly with blood slipping at the side of her mouth.

Aki fell back, stunned. His face grew white with terror and it got paler as Akako continued to eat up the little girl’s body, from limp to limp. Alisa’s lifeless eyes stared up to the dark sky as Akako ate her away. Within minutes, Akako finished up her ‘meal’, licking her hands stained with red blood. Akako smiled, satisfied. She licked the last blood on her fingertips and turned to Aki with her same smile.

Aki had sat there and watched the Red Child eat up a kid who claimed to be way older than she looks. He watched through the whole thing, trembling with fear. ‘This was why that Alisa girl called Akako-san a monster… why calling the Red Child ‘Akako-san’ made her seem so human… Akako-san eats human flesh…’ Aki looked up, afraid, as Akako stood over him. Her pink lips were now scarlet red with the other girl’s blood. No matter how many times she licked her lips, the redness of it never came off.

Akako kneeled to Aki’s level. She smiled kindly. “I won’t eat your flesh… you saved me…” She giggled as Aki took a sigh of relief. “See! I was right! You did have magic! Why did you have to hide it from me! That aura of yours…!”

Aki slowly stood up from his place and looked over Akako this time. “Akako-san… was that really necessary?” He questioned her slowly, ignoring her questions. His eyes were filled full of shock and fear. “Did you really have to eat her like you really enjoyed it?” He knew that he’d remember this night for the rest of his life.

Akako’s murderous smile returned. “Yes… because I really did enjoyed it.” Her eyes flashed amusing. “Blood smells and taste so good…” She licked her lips once again.

Sato Aki stepped back from the Red Child who was still smirking from her victory over the blonde haired girl. He looked regretful. ‘What have I released?’