“Please…Jiku…please…don’t die…please…”

A young boy was kneeling next to the dead body of a girl, tears rolling down the sides of his face. His face and clothes were splattered in blood. He clenched the girl’s limp cold hand and hissed, “Please don’t die…please…please…”

Suddenly, a shadowed figure stepped up behind the boy. “Give it up,” he snapped, his tone emotionless, “Her soul has been devoured. She’s gone, boy…” Furious, the boy looked up at the man, ready to scream at him, when something stopped him.

As he stared at the stranger with a blank look on his face, the boy realized they both had the same eyes. Cold, dark and blue…

---

Kaou’s eyes snapped open. He quickly sat up and looked around, his hear beating wildly. Kaou soon realized he was in his bed back at LILAC. He stared down at his hands and saw that they were covered in sweat. Letting out a sigh, Kaou laid back and stared at the ceiling for a few minutes, trying to calm himself down.

Suddenly, within the silence, Kaou heard the sound of someone breathing. “Alright! Come on out!” he shouted, knowing full well who it was. Almost instantly, a small, grizzled old man stepped out of the shadows. A large, happy grin seemed to be frozen on his face.

“Hohoho! As alert as ever, I see!” cackled the old man as he stroked his goatee.

“You really shouldn’t spy on people while they’re sleeping, Rembrandt. You’re becoming a regular old pedophile!” Kaou replied. Despite the earlier problems before, he had a smirk evident on his lips.

The man named Rembrandt chuckled and, in an oddly happy tone, exclaimed, “Don’t push my buttons like that, boy, or I may really kill you!”

“So…why are you in here, anyway?” Kaou asked, completely ignoring the fact that Rembrandt just threatened him. The old man reached into his pocket and pulled out a small red envelope with the word ‘MISSION’ written on it in gold ink.

Kaou let out a small groan as he reluctantly took the envelope. “I hate these stupid missions…” he mumbled. Rembrandt tried to stifle a laugh as he turned around and vanished into the shadows.

“Just had to deliver that, so it’s off to bed for me!” he exclaimed over his back, his voice growing fainter and fainter. Kaou stared at the darkness for a few moments before opening the mission letter. Inside the envelope were two train tickets and a mission sheet that read:

‘Mission No.: 30455

Client: Yoshikawa Village

Job: Yoma Infestation

Reward: Jewel of Narushida, 500,000 yen

Hired Magicians: Kaou, Hiromu, Makio’

Kaou nearly lost his lunch when he read this. Out of everybody in LILAC, Hiromu and Makio were the most annoying people Kaou had ever met!

‘And I have to work with them…’ Kaou thought as he stared up at the ceiling again. He covered his face with his pillow and muttered, “Why must my life be so miserable…?”

As he slowly fell asleep, the sounds of the night could be heard in the passing winds...

---

CHARACTER BIOS FOR THE CHAPTER:

Kaou -

Age: 16

Gender: Male

Magic: Gun/Elemental

Height: 5ft, 4in

Weight???

Favorite Color: Pink (yes, really...)

Least Favorite Color: Red, Blue (Which happen to be his hair color/eye color)

Favorite Food: Anything with Cheese

Least Favorite Food: Fish Paste

Motto: All or nothing!

Favorite Person: Jiku

Yazu -

Age???

Gender???

Magic: Signal/Alert

Height: Crow-sized

Weight: None

Favorite Color: Red, Blue

Least Favorite Color: Pink

Favorite Food: Fresh Yoma Meat

Least Favorite Food: Spirit Seeds (Food for spirit guardians)

Motto: Get it right the first time!

Favorite Person: Kaou

Rembrandt -

Age: 86

Gender: Male

Magic: Spying/Invisiblity

Height: 4ft, 11in

Weight: 100 lbs.

Favorite Color: Green

Least Favorite Color: Purple

Favorite Food: Angel Hair Pasta

Least Favorite Food: Pork

Motto: Push onward, young one!

Favorite Person: All women with G-cup breasts and up