Author's Notes:

Sorry for being dead for... months "OTL Kinda lost track of the story and couldn't make it move any further *sob* I was busy with school and other stuff to so I didn't have the time to make any progress...

I wanted to post 2 chapters by the time I return but sadly the draft for my next chapter got lost (I feel so stupid and useless *sob*)

Chapter 4: Planning for the sake of…?

"They are the ones that killed my friends!" Sylph stated, the thought struck to me and I have to admit they're the only ones who can do such things.

"Don't worry you'll be the next." the girl said with a smirk as she licked the tip of her knife.

"I can't fight anymore though… " I panted slowly and sweated quite a lot.

I noticed that the other guy isn't doing a thing. "Maybe he's responsible for what happened earlier…" I thought. "Argh! It's really hard if you don't know the enemies power!"

I jumped behind Yamada who is facing Hitori and slid my feet on his legs making him slip.

"You let your guard down." I sticked my tongue out and evaded the chains from the girl before it hit me. "That was close… " I wiped the sweat on my face with my hand.

Sylph then started to get surrounded by some strong wind. By the looks of it… "He's casting a spell?"

I saw the girl aiming for Sylph, so I covered him taking a thin sword out. "I'm not gonna last any longer if this continues… " I panted and sweated a lot.

The other guy is smirking, "Looks like he's up to something… "

Our fighting continued, Sylph's spell affected the other party greatly and helped me. As we fought, the school bell suddenly rang.

"Why would it ring at this time?... "

"Looks like time's up." the girl stated and left, as well as the two boys.

They disappeared in thin air. I was confused. "What was that for?... "

"Tch, weaklings." Hitori muttered.

I really have no idea why they retreated, but I guess it's better. If I continue fighting, I would just end up like yesterday… And I don't want that.

"Sai… Are they your enemies?" Sylph looked at me with a serious expression. I somehow have an idea what he's going to ask next… "Can you help me in getting my revenge on them?... For my friends… " Sylph bowed sincerely. I can feel his determination to help his friends.

"Yeah… I'll help you. But… "

"… But? What is it?" he looked up with a curious face.

"I'm not that strong enough… And I still have to ask the others for permission in dealing with the Kurogami."

"I understand." Sylph nodded. "Whether they agree or not, I… would like to at least protect you. Will you be alright with that?" he continued, with a serious expression. I want to help him with all I've got… but I'm afraid I alone can't do it… I have to get stronger…!

"I'm pretty sure Miyu would help you out." Hitori blurted out. Sylph and I both looked at him in surprise, and smiled in delight.

"Really?" Sylph jumped and flew in front of my face. "I'll do my best!" he bowed, and looked like a knight pledging to a princess.

I blinked and suddenly remembered some things I need to do. "I want to look for my parents… and brother… "

"Anyway, you should head back to the dorms… I'll tell Miyu about what happened." Hitori was about to head to the dormitory, and suddenly remembered that boys aren't allowed in the girl's dorm.

"Don't worry, I'll tell her. Do you know her room number?"

"… 5325"

"Thanks… " I waved my hand at Hitori as I head back to the dorms, with Sylph following me.

A girl with short chocolate-colored hair inside a dark room is swinging her dagger, hitting a decoy.

"I need to get stronger… The Kurogami can attack us any time." Miyu wiped her sweat after practicing for some minutes.

*ding dong* the doorbell rang.

"Who would be coming here at a time like this…?" Miyu wondered, and suddenly felt cautious… "It can't be them right?"

Miyu gripped her dagger firmly, and went near the door.

"Maybe she's not here… " A boy's voice can be heard from the other side of the door, after another ring on the doorbell.

Miyu held the doorknob with her left hand and the dagger on the other. She slowly opened it, and attacked.

"?" Sylph managed to block it with a light wind barrier, just in time before the dagger hits him.

"M-Miyu! We're not enemies!" Sai assured her. She showed her face, which was covered by Sylph.

"Ah… Sorry about that. I didn't think anyone would visit me right now so… "

"It's alright. Anyway… I want to ask a favor… "

"You want to defeat the Kurogami?" Miyu yelled. "That's crazy!"

"What do you mean by crazy? They have powers, and so do we! I don't think there's anything to be afraid of!"

"I know that… But, they're strong. And their number is big as well, their someone we don't want to mess with."

"But if we don't, this world's balance might be destroyed you know!"

"!" Miyu couldn't fight back… And put her head down to admit defeat. "Tsk… Fine… But we need a plan."

Sylph and I looked at each other with a huge smile on our face. "Success!", we held each other's hand and shouted at the same time.

"… So as for the plan… " Miyu took a paper out and gave it to me.

"? What's this…?" I took a look at the paper and found some names… In it include the people who I know, which are the exorcists… Some people I don't know… And on the last line, is my name.

"These are the current exorcists here in the spirit world. The ones in black are available and are in here, in green are those who are on the physical world… And red for those that aren't an exorcist anymore." Miyu explained.

"… I see… " I took a look at the ones in black. And saw Sara, the name of the girl I met yesterday. I noticed that the name before her is Kaien Rutherford, who has the same last name as her. "So they are siblings… "

I also saw Hati's name, "Inyou Hati… hmm… ?", like Sara and Kaien, Hati also has a relative. His name is Inyou Skoll. If I remember correctly, the guy next to Hati looks kind of similar to him…

"Is the guy next to Hati in cla-"

"Yeah, that's his twin… Skoll." Miyu replied instantly, not giving me a chance to finish what I was saying.

"I see… " I nodded and continued examining… But Miyu stopped me by taking the paper away from me.

"Well, as you can see… Our number is a bit low."

"Low? I'm pretty sure there's more than ten people in black." I replied with a confused look.

"Exactly… That's short. We don't know how many people are in Kurogami. And we also don't know their abilities."

"Why not gather information about them then?" Sylph interrupted. "I can help with that, but I don't think they can show it… Since they don't get into battles a lot."

"Good idea, we can fight them and know their abilities." I added. "But as for their number… "

"If we challenge them on a battle, won't they know that we're observing them?" Miyu argued.

"I got in a fight with them earlier… I think they're making their move. They seem to be observing us, and our powers."

"How was it?"

"… They're strong. If they didn't retreated I would have lost. I fought 3 people, a girl and two boys. Sylph and Fuuta assisted me in the battle, but their still strong. The girl seems to be using chains, while Yamada one of the boys use a dagger. I can't seem to find out what the other guy does, but he seems to be nullifying some of my spells."

"This might be hard… " Miyu sighed.

"… We'll just observe them for now. Since we know some members… The girl seems to be the leader, but my guess could be wrong."

Miyu looked at me for some few seconds and let out a sigh to show her defeat. "Sure."

"I-I'll help!" Sylph raised his hand and volunteered.

"Sorry Sylph, but I don't think we should send you out." I said with a worried tone, and looked at him in the eye.

"?... Why?" Miyu and Sylph shouted in unison.

"The Kurogami are hunting and killing the spirits here right? So they probably know how to detect you, even if you conceal you presence."

"… I understand… B-But tell me if there's anything I could do to help, ok?" Sylph smiled faintly, but looked disappointed.

"You did said that you'll protect me, right? I think that's enough." I reassured him and succeeded, seeing Sylph returned to his cheerful self. I looked at the window, which showed an orange light… The sun is setting.

"Anyway Miyu we'll be going back now. See ya." I waved at Miyu as I walked slowly to the door, with Sylph following me behind.

"… " I woke up in the middle of the night. Sylph is sleeping soundly on one of my round cushion pillows that's inside a basket located next to my bed.

"I… " he mumbled. Looking at him sleep is quite cute, he's like a little baby. I had this urge to pat him, but stopped. I don't want to wake him up do I?

I rolled around the bed and stared at the window, which is on the other side of where Sylph's bed is located. The tree leaves are flowing together with the cold breeze, making a rustling sound. "… I forgot to put some curtains on… I'll do it on Saturday, which is five days from now…"

The moon shines brightly, and its light makes me feel nostalgic. I closed my eyes and tried to recall what has happened today.

"I met and had a fight with some members of the Kurogami… " I have to admit, they're strong. I wonder why they are acting like that… It's probably something personal. I don't want to stick my nose unto their lives at all, but thinking about it makes me curious. I giggled from my excitement, and let out a sigh afterwards. "I wish everyone would just get along though… "

"There's Sylph and the spirits… Their purpose and responsibilities in this world, the spirit world.", as Sylph told me about what the spirits in this world do on the way to Miyu's room. I somehow noticed how important they were in here, and made me wonder why the Kurogami would do such things. It may be that they… want to destroy… it?

"The spirits are what puts this place to balance… Without them, things similar to natural calamities on the Earth will happen in this world. Kinda like those end-of-the-world crap that people say these days." I don't really care about the world ending and stuff… To be honest, I think it's the humans fault why it's happening. But what annoys me is their way of thinking. Why the hell are they looking forward to this end-of-the-world thing, if they value their lives so much? It really makes no sense… "Then again… If this world is destroyed, where would the souls go?... That's what intrigued me… And I want to know more."

I checked my phone to see what time it is… "Woah… 1am. I didn't sleep much did I… Might as well fix my things."

I left my bed and went to the boxes scattered around my room. These boxes arrived this morning before I went to school, but I couldn't get a chance to fix my stuff when I got home earlier because I got hungry. "Time to do some unpacking."

I left the box with my gadgets unopened, I'll need to buy someplace to store then first. The same goes for my books and sketchpad. So I just took out some curtains instead, since I have nothing to do. The curtain I took has a gradient of a dark purple color on top and somewhat indigo-ish on the bottom, similar to the night sky. It has some small light colored flowers on the bottom, like those you see as designs on kimonos, and a layer of aquamarine-colored transparent cloth above it that glitters brilliantly.

"This should do?" I looked at the curtain, that is now place on the window, flow with the wind. Judging from the cold wind that's coming frequently… Winter must be around the corner.

I placed my head on the bed with my arms crossed to support it, and stared at the window. "… I feel tired. Stupid stamina… " I closed my eyes… and before I knew it, I was sleeping.

"Hey Sai, wake up! It's 6 o'clock and you haven't gotten ready for school yet." Sylph shook me in an attempt to wake me up, but failed. "Urghh… What should I do to wake her up?"

Sylph flew around the room… And went to the kitchen to cook instead.

I started to gain consciousness after smelling something good. "…?" I rubbed my eyes and slowly opened them.

"… Huh? Sylph?... " I looked at Sylph who was busy cooking. He didn't hear me, so I just ignored it. I looked at the clock… Six o'clock… Too early… Classes start at eight.

"Oh? Sai, you're awake! Hurry and get ready or you'll be late for class!" Sylph pushed me out of bed and ordered me around.

"Late for class? What the heck? Classes start at eight, and it's only six." I stared at him, with a slightly irritated look. I hate waking up early so I get moody during mornings.

"Ehh… But you set your clock at five thirty so I thought it starts at seven."

"Oh that… I have a hard time waking up so I set them early to avoid oversleeping."

"… " Sylph went back to the kitchen to cook, looking somewhat annoyed. "... Did I said something wrong?..."

The strong smell coming from his cooking is quite good… I wonder what he's cooking. "Never thought Sylph would be good at cooking… "

I took a bath and wore my uniform that was hanging near the door. I placed the clothes that I just wore on the washing machine near the door of the bathroom.

By the time I returned, the table is ready. Sylph cooked broiled fish fillet for breakfast. The fish was placed next to a slice of lemon with some herbs on top of it, while the rice was on the other side of the fish which has two loaves of French bread on the upper side of it. The plating is good… But probably could use some improvement. Not like I could do any better.

"Sylph… Where did you learn to cook?"

"Hnn… I dunno, hobby I guess?"

"I see… " "A spirit who has cooking as a hobby… Is that even possible?" I took a seat and ate it. It was delicious! I can taste the fish, and some sauce he used. What kind of sauce is this? I don't think I have this kind…

"How is it?" Sylph fidgeted while asking.

"It's delicious!" I said with an contented smile. Sylph looked relieved and happy, and ate together with me.

I looked at the clock again after washing the dishes. "Six fifty… It's still too early… "

I tied my hair to my usual braids and wore my socks.

"Your hair sure is long… Don't you want to cut or trim it?" Sylph stared at my long purple hair, that reached the level of my knees.

"Hmm… Maybe cutting it a little might be good… " I took a pair of scissors on my drawer, which is next to my bed.

"Can you cut it for me Sylph? Around three or four inches should be fine. But you can cut more if you want." I gave him the scissors and the comb I have. I untied my hair, and placed the hair band on the table.

"U-uhh… Ok." He took the scissors and comb, and slowly cut my hair. I stare at the pile of hair that Sylph cut. "I… somehow regret this… "

"It's done!"

I looked at myself through a large oval mirror around my size. My hair is now around the level of my hips, well a bit higher than it. If I were to give an estimate it would probably be around fifteen to eighteen inches above my knees. "Thanks Sylph."

Even though I always braid my hair, it doesn't look that curly when I have my hair down. In fact it's kind of straight instead, which makes me wonder why...

"I think I'll let my hair down for today… " I thought as I twirled in front of the mirror, a bit content with the haircut.

"Ok! Time to go to school!" I took a hand out to Sylph, waiting for his hand I said. "Let's go to school."

"Ok." he took my hand and we headed to the elevator with our hands held together.

Hitori placed his bag on the chair and had a seat. He then looked at me, and looked a bit surprised. Must be because of my hair…

"… " he opened his mouth like he was about to say something, but shut it back again. "I almost couldn't recognize you there. I was wondering who this boring looking girl sitting next to me were."

I suddenly felt pissed and had this urge to punch him but sticked to my usual emotionless expression. "Well I'm sorry for looking boring." I then took my pen and notebook and started writing stuff.

"Die die die die die die die!" I poured all my angered on the notebook. Hitori can't see what I'm writing so he just ignored it and looked at the sky through the window.

"He sure pissed you off… " Sylph commented on my mind using telepathy. It seems he saw what happened…

"Yeah, he really did!" I replied to him with a face that's ready to kill. Sylph backed away a little as soon as he saw it.

"Ahahaha… Sorry about that." I smiled at his reaction, it was kinda… How should I call it? Cute? "Don't worry, I won't kill anyone… Only monsters."

"Hooo? Who's this?" Miyu walked next to me and stared… "Ah! Wait is that you Sai?"

"… " I stared at her with a somewhat irritated look. "Do I really look different today?"

"Well… Kinda…"

"Hey you got a haircut!" Elena played with my hair by flapping them here and there.

"… Sylph thought it was kind of too long, and suggested to cut it so… " I blushed a little and fidgeted. For some reason… I feel shy about the attention I'm having right now.

"Whoa… Sai's blushing! Isn't that cute?" Miyu glomped me and started pinching my cheeks.

Hati and his twin Skoll arrived, and started to notice my change in hairstyle as well. "Letting my hair down is a bad idea after all… "

Hitori just ignored the ruckus and took a nap while waiting for the teacher to arrive. The girl who's a member of the Kurogami, on the other hand, observed us. I tried to ignore it, but her stare is somewhat… Disturbing. Her glare gives me chills down my spine! I wished she'd stop… But even with this chill, I can feel some sort of heat in my body. "… What is this feeling?"

Miyu and Elena went back to their seats, the school bell rang.

I looked at her to possibly try to stop this weird feeling, our eyes met. She stared at me through her crimson red eyes, that shows no interest on her surroundings. And slowly… her indifferent expression turned to a sly smirk. Her sudden change surprised me. "Is she planning something?"

I looked away from her and somehow felt this weird sensation again. I can feel chest burning. "What's wrong with me?" I hid my face on my desk.

"I think I'm sick… Yeah… That must be it."

I haven't felt our teacher arrive yet, so I stayed on this position. The whole class is filled with noise. I can't feel the girl's stare anymore so I'm safe to say that she stopped.

"Hey… Are you alright Shizou-san?" Hati, who was sitting in front of me, is looking at me with a worried look.

"Uh… Yeah, just a little… tired." I replied, without raising my head and continued to shove it on the table.

"Didn't get to sleep well again?" Hitori blurted. I can feel him looking at me.

"No… "

"Ok class!" I heard a high pitched voice, and the class suddenly got quiet. I looked up to see that our teacher has arrived.

It's our homeroom teacher. The one that helped me yesterday morning, where I almost got lost… well somehow. Her straight yarrow hair sure looks good on her, it makes her look mature. But personality-wise… forget it.

Author's Notes:

Did you guys like it? T^T Sorry for starting it as somewhat... corny "OTL I'll try to remember what will happen in the next chapter "ORZ