Chapter 8: Let the Party Begin! Part 1

The moment I opened my eyes, I knew what our target was today. I reached my hand to the light on the ceiling. I think I understood what Shiro had said last time.

"The light looks small from here, but it's actually big, like my goal. Heh, no, our goal."

I clenched my hand in confidence and said.

"This time, this time I'll not fail!"

I got up and prepared myself as usual and headed to the lobby. Everyone wasn't here yet. I looked at the time. It was only eight. Since everyone was supposed to meet at nine, I guess I can hang out for a while. I walked around the whole building; I realized there was a bar. Hm, I never knew there was a bar in this place. At least there aren't any brawls or bashing around here. I went into the bar and just asked for some water. I drank my water and thought. Man, being a hunter sure is not easy huh? Life sure is not easy.

"Just give me water."

A man said as he sat a chair away from me. He was a man with a black coat and black hat and it was dark as the night sky without lights. Everything was black, wow. Man, he doesn't look too friendly too. The only thing that shines in his dark suit was his earphones. It was an ear clip type earphone, pretty uncommon but I won't comment on it. He took his glass and drank it all down extremely fast. I turned around to look around the bar. This place sure is great. There is music here, but I wonder why this man here is still with earphones.

"Hey, what's this?"

Two men walked to the man right next to me as they looked like thugs.

"This guy's probably not around here. What are you? Wearing all black to make you look cool?"

The man simply ignored them, or couldn't hear them because he's wearing earphones.

"Hey you big show off! Answer us!"

The person took an earphone off and said.

"What?"

"W-What do you mean what? You didn't hear us?"

"Look, I got no business with you; you're ruining my favorite song!"

"You bastard!"

The man tried to land the punch on him. The man dodged it as he grabbed his hand and said.

"Man, I don't really want this, but a warm up should be fine!"

He punched the man on the face as the other got angry and said.

"You!"

"You just ruined the best part in Weekender Girl, wanna be next?"

"Hah!"

He immediately rushed to me and grabbed my neck. He had a knife on his right hand and put it near my neck. I immediately screamed.

"H-Hey!"

"Shut up! Hehe, you can't act as a big show now huh?"

"Sorry, your problem now!"

The man said as he walks away and puts his earphone back. The man who was holding me let me go and said.

"That guy's trying to play big! Gah! Can't you at least squeal for help?"

"S-Squeal? But that was a toy knife-"

"It doesn't matter!"

The two men left feeling unhappy. I thought it was a knife, but it was actually a toy knife, so maybe he probably realized that. I looked at the time. It was eight forty five. I better get going. I walked to the lobby, feeling a little uncomfortable by what had happened just now. I wonder who that man was… When I was at the lobby, it seems that Shiro was there already. I walked to him and said.

"Hey!"

"Shiki!"

"Where's the rest?"

"They'll be here, I think…"

When we looked at the entrance, we saw a man coming in. A man wearing a blue Chinese robe, light blue linings around it. Having a Chinese weapon on his right thigh. It's unusual to find people wearing ancient equipment, but it doesn't matter. He seemed lost, so he walked to us.

"Excuse me, can you please tell me where the lobby is?"

"This is the lobby."

"Oh is that so? Now I just have to wait for him."

"Man… Where's Octavia…"

He was about to leave, until he heard what I said. He turned to us and said.

"Octavia?"

"N-No! It's nothing really!"

He nodded and gave a smile and said.

"Thank you."

Just a few steps he made, we heard someone.

"Huang, where are you going?"

"O-Octavia? Oh, there you are!"

"Oh, Shiki. Don't worry, the Vanguard Squad is free."

"Oh, great!"

The man earlier walked to us and said.

"Oh? If that's the case I'm sorry to not introduce myself! I'm Chen Huang, Blade of the Vanguard Squad!"

"O-Oh! My name's Shiki Kiratami! Nice to meet you!"

We shook our hands and Octavia said.

"Now, where are the rest of them?"

"We have to wait for a little while. Come to think of it, our captain isn't here yet. He said he'll be early."

"Probably he's a little lost by this place. He doesn't like asking random people you know."

"Well, it's not so late yet, I guess."

A man was wearing a white robe, looking like he's from the desert. The man came and said.

"Octavia, where's that man?"

"Don't worry Skrillex, we'll find him later."

The man looked at us and said.

"Are these your acquaintances, Octavia?"

She nodded and the man introduced himself.

"I'm Skrillex, the Eidolon of the Vanguard Squadron."

"N-Nice to meet you, I'm Shiki Kiratami."

We shook our hands and I thought. In this squadron, does everyone hold a status? I mean there are a Blade and an Eidolon, I wonder what's next?

"Hey."

Another man came, probably another member of the Vanguard Squad. He had a bow at his back and he has short dark blue hair. Octavia immediately greeted.

"Ah, Vincent, you're here too."

"Of course I am, then where am I supposed to be? I was called right?"

"Of course."

"Now, who else?"

"Nobody. Only us. Only the five of us, except our stupid captain."

"Yeah, where is he?"

I sighed and said.

"Man, I wonder who the man was…"

I looked around and saw a man. He was the man I saw earlier with his earphones. He was leaning against the wall, looking at the door. Octavia turned to him and said.

"H-Huh?! H-He was there all along?"

"Who was?"

"H-Hahn! Over here!"

He turned to us and walked to us. I shook my head and said.

"W-Wha- I met him at the bar just now!"

"You did?"

He walked to me and said.

"Say, you okay there? It was just a toy knife right? Man, those guys sure know how to kill the mood properly."

"Ahahah! It's okay; I'm fine. It's just a bunch of people who think they're big and all!"

"Octavia, everyone's here?"

"Yes."

"Oh yeah, you are probably unsure who I am now. I'm Hahn Deathspark, captain of the twenty sixth's squad. You probably know now that we are the Vanguard Squad."

"Oh! Right! Nice to meet you sir! I-I'm Shiki Kiratami!"

"Don't have to be so formal. Just call me Hahn."

He turned to Huang and said.

"Hey Huang, got what we all need?"

"Yup, right here."

He took out a cylindrical metal tube and clicked a button. The button projected a map.

"Okay Huang, now tell us, did you locate his location?"

"Hm…"

Huang made a few refreshes as he looks at the map. Although he seemed ancient, I was completely wrong. I could only watch in amazement. Shiro nudged my left arm and said.

"Shiki, did you realize something?"

"Huh?"

"The captain, I have this strange feeling about him, like something so intense, but I can't explain about it."

"Really?"

If Shiro could feel it, then maybe I could. I looked at him, but I don't feel anything was wrong with him.

"He's right, something is strange, the spirit he has is definitely not a common one."

"Huh? Dawn Spark, you feel it?"

"Yeah, but be careful, I doubt that he will show his true colors easily."

"Yeah…"

After Huang scanned the map, he nodded and said.

"I've found it!"

"Great work Huang; now let's get our move on."

"Hold it guys."

I turned around and saw my brother along with Carla.

"We've talked to the leader here. He said he'll help out too. So wait for a while, okay?"

"Hold on…"

Hahn said as he looked at Shoji. Hahn smiled and said.

"Shoji Kiratami, got yourself a new girl?"

"A new girl? Uh…"

"Man, if Saika sees this…"

"D-Don't mention her name damn it!"

He said as everyone remained silent. Hahn nodded and said.

"Sorry, I completely forgot… I guess we can't do the impossible."

My brother looks really upset as Carla looks at him.

"S-Shoji, who's Saika?"

"…"

Shoji did not answer. Hahn walked to him as he grabbed both of his arms and said.

"But hey! Remember what you did for us, also what she did for us? Don't feel so down! Without her, we'd probably be dead!"

"Y-Yeah, thanks."

Shoji said as he nodded. Carla broke the moment between both of them.

"H-Hey! Mind telling me who that is?"

"U-Uh… Well she's his sister…"

"S-Sister?"

"Yeah, let me guess, you thought he had a girlfriend? Nah, don't sweat about it!"

"Y-You almost made me pissed damn it!"

"C-Calm down lady! Shoji, just like old times, after the war, I thought we don't have to do anything already!"

"But our hands are still full. We can't afford to let our guard down."

"Yeah."

Hahn turned to all of us and said.

"So, anyone with allies that isn't here yet?"

Allies? Wait a minute… I think we are missing someone. Oh yeah!

"Sakura and Rika! Yikes! We didn't tell them right?"

"Man Shiki! They'd be pissed if they knew you didn't call them!"

"Yeah Shiro, let's call them!"

"Let's go~~~"

I went to Hahn and said.

"Let me call my team mates, I forgot to tell them we are here."

"Okay, take your time, but not too much time."

"Alright."

We went to Rika's room first. When we knocked the door, nobody replied.

"Well, let's see if Sakura's around."

Shiro nodded and when we wanted to knock the door, Shiro grabbed my hand and said.

"Wait, did you hear that?"

"Huh?"

I listened as Shiro instructed me to.

"Ah! R-Rika! That's too tight!"

"S-Sorry!"

"Man, I'm messed up now…"

"Let's do it again!"

Both I and Shiro gulped. Shiro tapped my right shoulder and said.

"W-What do you think is happening inside?"

"W-Well what do you think?"

"Man… Are they?"

"L-Let's just knock the door!"

I knocked the door three times. The moment I did, Sakura we heard Sakura screamed.

"Kya!"

Shiro was gripping my shoulder tightly and said.

"You know, when a man wants something, he will do it even if they know it's dangerous!"

"W-What do you mean?"

"Shiki! Let's burst in!"

"Y-You mad?"

"J-Just do it! Hahn said not to take too long right!"

"B-But they're-"

"COME ON SHIKI! HAVE SOME BALLS!"

Shiro opened the door and immediately said.

"E-Excuse me!"

The moment he did, we saw Rika arranging Sakura's hair. Both of them weren't wearing any armor, just plain clothes. Rika wore a green shirt while Sakura wore pink. Sakura was basically screaming just now because Rika pulled her hair too hard. Man, talk about dirty thinking… Sakura asked.

"Huh? It's Shiki and Shiro, what are they-"

"So you aren't doing it huh…"

Shiro replied quickly and both Sakura and Rika were confused.

"Doing it?"

Shiro shook his head and said.

"N-Never mind! Let's go! We have somewhere to go to! Right Shiki?"

"Y-Yeah!"

I tapped his shoulder and whispered to his ear.

"Y-You idiot! Luckily they didn't see what you or I was thinking!"

"S-Shut up man!"

Sakura sighed as she gets up and said.

"I thought today was a holiday for us, but we got more stuff to do?"

"Yeah, the whole gang was here. Sorry we forgot to inform you last night."

"I'll arrange my hair some other time then! Rika; next time don't pull my hair so hard okay?"

"Okay!"

Shiro and I walked out of the door as we waited for them to prepare themselves. Shiro grabbed my shoulders while looking down and said.

"I thought I could take a glimpse of heaven you know…"

"Man, you're really into this!"

After a few minutes, both of them came out in their casual armor. Shiro was basically disappointed as what he thought he would expect didn't happen. But that's more of a ridiculous idea. Anyway, we went down. Hahn looked at us and said.

"That's all your friends? So all set right? Oh yeah, Mr. Ryo said he couldn't come. He's busy with his current work."

"Yeah."

Sakura asked.

"Who are they?"

"They are the Vanguard Squad, they located where Shirai was, so all we have to do now is find him."

"Vanguard Squad?"

"From the angel forces, you probably don't know."

"Right…"

Rika asked me.

"Angel forces?"

"Yeah, sounds like a myth. I have no idea too. But since it's something in the past and there was such things as demons, it wouldn't hurt to believe there are angels right?"

"Hmhm!"

Rika gave a reassuring smile. I couldn't help but to smile too as I looked at her face. She doesn't seem to get angry once no matter what we did. She had never burst into anger before like anyone would. Strange… Hahn called us as we followed him and his group. As we walked with him, we listened to his conversation between him and Huang.

"So Huang, got those automobiles ready?"

"Yeah, always ready to roll."

"Hm… It's been some time we used that. Ever since the war that was ten years ago."

"Man, I really don't like those times!"

"Think about Sir Lancer too. He used to fight alongside Arlen ever since the Battle of Magic."

"B-Battle of Magic? Wow, that's such a long time ago!"

"Yeah, we only joined the second war. The Sheskara War. Shoji, you were one of the commanders, weren't you?"

"Yeah, my sister works as a researcher there as well. I went back home a few times too just to take care of Shiki."

"Sister? But I didn't even heard her before!"

Carla said as she heard what Shoji had said.

"Really? You don't? Maybe you had seen her before?"

"Seen her? How does she look like?"

"Short black hair, the color of it was like mine. She had brown eyes like mine and also someone who is pretty cheerful."

"Oh? Then…"

"You knew her?"

"Nope! I must've forgotten!"

"Never mind then."

Hahn sighed and said.

"Man, back then I was only eleven! It was enough to scar my poor life a little!"

"Haha, take it easy Hahn. Remember? You have someone you admire right?"

"Oh yeah! How can I forget! Haha, yeah, at least she did remind me how beautiful the world can be sometimes."

I asked my brother as I got a little confused.

"Uh brother, I don't get it. If you actually raised me ever since I was little and there was a second war, then why I wasn't with my dad?"

"I told him to have you back, but he insisted I keep you. He told me it was for your own good. I think I do understand his intentions. Leaving you to him means allowing Shirai to easily find you. An ordinary person like me wouldn't be suspected that easily."

"Oh…"

"You're probably your father left you, but you must-"

"It's okay, I do understand. Living with you was good enough!"

I said with a smile as he nods and said.

"Alright, connected to blood or not, we are still brothers."

"Yeah!"

As we walked further, we reached the garage. As usual, Carl was over there performing maintenances on vehicles. When we arrived, he looked at Huang and said.

"Ah, you're here to pick up your ride?"

"Yeah."

Carl turned to me and said.

"Say, these your pals?"

"Yeah."

"Haha, then why would you walk with them anyway?"

He tips his hat and we followed him. As he led us to one of his rooms, we saw a machine that seemed like a bus.

"So, Mr. Huang, let me take a guess. This must be used during the Sheskara War, right?"

"You got that right, how did you know?"

"While I was changing the oils and some parts were damaged and rusted, I saw the model's name. It's pretty old, but with new parts in it, it should work like normal now!"

"Really, oh that means the pay will be high too…"

"Hehe, don't sweat about it. It won't cost too much. All of the repairs only cost twenty thousand."

"Oh is that so? Wait, after discounted?"

"Hey! Don't lower the price even more! It's reasonable enough! The parts are made in our town! We have our pride too you know!"

"Haha! Okay, I'll pay."

Huang hands his card as Carl takes it and goes for the payment. Huang takes a look around the bus and said.

"This vehicle used to take damage, lots of damage. It was to withstand cannon fire!"

"C-Cannon fire!?"

I said as I was shocked. If it can withstand cannon fire, imagine how strong or tough this is!

"Yup! Cannon fire! Reinforced with magic and some compound of steels, this thing was enough to withstand brutal punishment!"

"Cool!"

"But of course, I wouldn't say comfort is at its best."

"Wait…"

I realized the doors were at the back of the vehicle, making it look like an ambulance. When I took a peak in it, there were seats on left and right, making it look like a police car in it. I laughed a little and said.

"Wow… So this is what you rode during the wars?"

"Yup!"

"Say Huang; remember what we did last time?"

"Huh? Oh yeah! Haha, it was fun!"

Hahn said as Huang laughed.

"Man, we used to play games in here while waiting for us to reach our destination."

"Such fun, just couldn't forget those times."

Shiro tapped my shoulder and said.

"So… Do we get a second chance?"

"Second chance?"

"Yeah… Since this is such a crammed space, you know…"

"Shiro, what are you getting at?"

"Man, with all the boys and four girls… Just amazing!"

"Shiro, there's plenty of space! It can possibly fit ten!"

"Oh but I wanted to sleep!"

"Man, you sure are desperate aren't you?"

"Hm, seven men and four girls, that makes eleven. Hey! Just perfect! I have a great idea! Hahn, Huang, Skrillex, Vincent and you can sit at one side while I sit on the other side with the other four girls!"

"Then where does my brother sit at?"

Soon after that when Hahn checked all of us and counted the space in it, Hahn laughed and said.

"Last time we had twenty people in it. Now it's eleven huh? But the numbers is a little different, so boys have to squeeze!"

"H-Hey Hahn! I can sit with girls! No problem at all!"

Shiro interrupted and Hahn sighed and said.

"Get the girl's confirmation then."

Octavia immediately gave a straight answer.

"No."

Shiro grabbed both my shoulders like just now and said.

"You know… I think the god is playing around with me…"

"Well, that's what you get for trying to be a pervert!"

Huang thought and said.

"Say, two can sit at the front view. I'll drive, so who wants to take the other one?"

"Well, since the boy's side seemed a little unbalanced, one of the boys. So who wants the spot?"

Everyone remained silent. Of course, sitting in front will make anyone sleep. Hahn sighed and said.

"I'll sit in front then. Careful, the door came out once. So don't push the door, got it?"

"Okay."

All of us said. Carla yanked my brother's arm and said.

"I'm fine with him beside me!"

"I-If you insist!"

My brother said as Carla was yanking him all the way into the vehicle. All of us entered the vehicle and waited for it to move. Well, at least in the vehicle you have an air conditioner. Without it, may the gods be with us. Huang spoke; hm there were speakers in it too.

"Everyone set? Alright, we're moving!"

The moment he finished his sentence, we heard the vehicle's engine and it started to move. I looked at the window as we got out of the garage. Carl was waving with a smile as we leave. I turned to Shiro and said.

"Shiro, I know this might not be the best time, but…"

"Go ahead."

"What actually happened, I mean between you and Shirai?"

Shiro looked down and said.

"Well, I can't keep it forever anyway."

I tapped his shoulder and said.

"Hey, it's not your problem now, it's our problem too."

"Yeah, thanks. It's a long story, so if you're bored, feel free to stop me anytime!"

"I'm all ears."

When Shiro was eight.

My parents died during a hunting mission. I was adopted by a family and I had a brother and a sister. My brother was Shirai and my little sister was Shouka. All of us were treated very well by mom and dad. Although we quarrel sometimes, none of them were taken seriously. I was lucky to have a family. My step mother and father, no, mom and dad is the correct one. I had never cried or anything about losing my parents. The parents I have now are already good enough. I always wished that I could stay in this family forever, until that day…

"AH!"

"W-What was that?"

I said as I was in my room, I couldn't sleep well that night. It was twelve midnight. What would possibly happen now? I went out of my room and went to the kitchen. There was nothing scary or whatsoever. I could have sworn I heard something.

"NO!"

"Mom, what's going on?"

I said as I was scared. I ran to my parent's room and opened the door wide enough for me to see what happened. There was someone with emerald hair was over there, standing on both mom and dad. I was frightened. Who would do such an act! Worst of all, all I saw was a boy, not some adult! I opened the door and said.

"Mom! Dad!"

The boy turned around with a smile and said.

"Oh hello my dear brother…"

There were blood stains on both of his hands. There was blood all over the floor. There is also a knife covered in blood on the floor.

"W-Who are you?"

I said as I walked back very slowly. He went closer and said.

"Oh can't you recognize me? Come on! I am your brother! Don't tell me you can't even recognize me!"

I was too scared to accept the fact that he is actually my brother.

"N-No! My brother has grey hair!"

"Oh? Oh! You mean THAT guy? He was me! Come on! Get the picture! I AM YOUR BROTHER!" and I quickly ran away to Shouka's room.

"Shouka!"

"Uh? What's wrong big brother?"

"Come on! Let's get outta here!"

"Huh?"

"Oh brother, where are you going? Let's play!"

The moment I heard that boy said that, I quickly grabbed Saika's hand and ran out of the house. We ran to a hill and Shouka asked.

"What's wrong?"

"Stay here, it will be okay!"

"Where are mommy and daddy?"

My mind couldn't portray what happened to them. The thought of them makes me scared.

"Big brother?"

"Hey Shouka, please help me. Stay here until I get back, can you do that?"

"But where's mommy and daddy?"

I can't possibly lie to my little sister! But if I tell her the truth, she would be very heartbroken. She was tugging on her favorite teddy bear. It was a birthday present from mom.

"Just stay here okay!"

I said as I quickly ran away. I ran back to the house as quickly as possible and I can hear a creepy laugh coming from the house.

"Shiro, oh Shiro, oh come on! I didn't say play hide and seek!"

I gulped in fear and entered the house and said.

"Tell me! Why did you kill mom and dad?"

"I only played with them! It's not such a big deal!"

"Shut up!"

I ran towards him and tried to punch him but he grabbed my hand and said.

"Oh! Finally! You do want to play! Let's have lots of fun!"

He grabbed my neck and lifted me. His eyes looked like any killer's eyes would have. I was scared as he was choking me. He choked me harder, making it extremely hard to breathe.

"You pitiful little bitch! Your parents are dead so what about it? You want to know what game I played with them. The game was called DEATH!"

"Big brother, where are mommy and daddy?"

Shouka said as she comes in.

"Shouka! Ack! I told you to-"

"Oh they are in their room! They are sleeping, FOREVER!"

Shouka quickly ran to mom and dad's room.

"Shouka, don't!"

It was too late. She dropped her teddy bear and went in and said.

"Wake up mommy! Wake up!"

"Oh Shouka! Don't disturb mom and dad! They are sleeping! It's rude to wake someone up from their sleep right?"

"Saika get out of here! Gagh! G-Get out!" and suddenly Shirai grabbed my head and slammed me down to the ground and I blacked out, not knowing what happened after that.

Shirai slammed me down, giving me a harsh choke slam. I blacked out the moment that happened. I didn't know what happened afterwards.

Four years later

I still couldn't forget what I saw. The incident that happened four years ago, I have been living in a life of fear. Now I am living in the same house, alone. I feel lonely sometimes and I had to work after school so I can pay for the bills. It was tough and I had to face it. Life is definitely a pain in the butt sometimes. I thought I can simply forget what had happened, that is when shit happened. I was going back home from my work. I work at a construction site.

Picking up bricks and whatsoever around and I don't mind actually. The pay is good at least. It is very near to my home so I don't really mind working. As I was walking, I had an ominous feeling as if something bad is coming. I ignored it and just walked home. As I was reaching home, I saw a wolf being treated very badly by a man. He was chasing it with a stick. The wolf was running towards me and hid behind me. The man shouted at me.

"Hey! Step aside! Let me get that wolf!"

I looked at the wolf and it looked scared.

"No."

"Move you little brat!"

"Never!"

The man lifted his stick and tried to hit me. At that moment I shut my eyes and prepared for the worst and as they were shut, I heard someone yelling.

"Ouch! Get off me!"

I opened my eyes and found out the wolf was biting his leg. I took the wolf away and said.

"I'm sorry!"

I quickly brought it back home. The wolf was very weak. It looked like it was at the edge of a cliff. I grabbed some milk from the refrigerator and poured into a bowl for it to drink. When I left the bowl in front of its eyes, the wolf was overjoyed and quickly drunk the milk. I was happy to see the wolf being happy. As I walked away, I tried to get a blanket for it to keep it warm. When I came back, it was already sleeping soundly. I left the blanket on it and went to sleep.

The next morning, I felt something heavy was on me. I tried to move but it was tough. I feel another body, what is it? I touched around and said.

"H-Hey… get off me…"

"Master!"

"M-Master?"

I woke up and when I looked, it was a girl, naked. I immediately covered my eyes with my pillow and said.

"W-WHO ARE YOU?! P-PUT ON SOME CLOTHES!"

"Huh?"

She licked my hand as I tried to calm myself down. What am I doing sleeping with another naked woman I don't even know?! Man if someone sees this, I'll be famed as Shiro the pervert! I looked on the place where the wolf was supposed to be sleeping. It wasn't there, strange. The girl pounced on me and said.

"Master, can I have more of that white drink you gave me yesterday?"

"Y-You're the wolf?"

"Yeah!"

"C-Can you at least turn back into that wolf form?!"

"Huh? But I don't want to!"

"T-THEN PUT SOME CLOTHES ON!"

"Clothes?"

"I got out of my bed and rushed to Shouka's room, it used to be her room. I found some clothing and went back to my room. I gave it to her while looking away and said.

"P-Put them on!"

"What is this?"

"Clothes! Just put them on!"

"How?"

"Y-You don't even know how?"

"Is this a toy?"

"ARGH I'LL DO IT MYSELF!"

I braced myself and forcefully put clothes on her, possibly enough to make anyone think I'm raping her. When I finally put some clothes on her, she was trying to removes as she said.

"It's so stuffy in here!"

"D-Don't take it off! Come on, if you want clothes, let's go to the clothes shop and let's see what you really like, got it?"

"Okay!"

She looks everything happily like a little child would as I held her hand all the way to the clothes shop. I went in and told her.

"Alright, tell me, what kinda clothes do you want?"

"Hm…"

She looks around at all the clothes excitedly. Since there was an endless choice of clothes, it would be normal for one to take some time to choose one. A lady came to us as we were trying to pick one.

"Excuse me, sir; may I suggest some clothing for your girlfriend?"

"Girlfriend? Never mind, just get her anything! As long as she's happy with it."

The lady took her away as the girl looks around like a retard. Man, she looks pretty and all, but the way she acts is really way off! But she's a wolf, can't blame her at all. After fifteen minutes of waiting, The lady came back with a smile and said.

"Well, here it is sir. That will be ten thousand credits!"

"T-Ten thousand? What is she even wearing?!"

I turned to her and I immediately blushed. She was wearing a white shirt with a fur coat accompanied by pants that was until knee length. She smiled as she looks at everything and said.

"I'm fine with this!"

"Okay, but don't ruin it. Man, there goes my well-earned cash!"

I gave the lady my card and she came back, deducting ten thousand credits from it. I sighed and said.

"I know you can choose anything, but I never knew you picked the latest and the most expensive one in the shop!"

"But this was the most comfortable! The rest was all itchy and stuffy!"

"As long as you don't ruin it!"

We walked back home together. Since tomorrow's school, I prepared myself for tomorrow. She looked at my stuff and said.

"What's all these rectangular steel thingies?"

"It's my textbooks! Come on, you don't know?"

"Nope!"

"Man, what are you? A human or a wolf?"

"Both!"

"You sure are weird…"

"Why?"

"Are you a loup-garou or something?"

"Loup-garou?"

"You know, my teacher thought us before about it. She said they're werewolves, or lycanthropes. Are you one of them?"

"What's that?"

"Half human half wolf?"

"Huh?"

"Man, you're really blurred!"

"Oh! Yeah! I am human and wolf!"

"Right, I don't see them these days. How can I possibly find someone like you?"

"Hmhm!"

"Say, what's your name anyway?"

"My name?"

"Yeah, it means what people call you. Don't you have any parents or anything?"

"What people call me? Parents?"

"Uh, I'm Shiro. They call me Shiro and parents, uh basically that means the ones that raised you!"

"T-They call me… A stray wolf… Nobody raised me before…"

"Nobody raised you? But how were you even born?"

"I only remember running away from flames…"

"Do you at least remember before that what they called you?"

"They called me?"

"Yeah, think about it."

She looked down for a while and said.

"I-I don't know… Ah! Wait, I think…"

"You think?"

"Sheila, I only remember that…"

"Sheila huh, nice to meet you. Let's start over! This morning was absolute disaster!"

"Yeah!"

She smiled and I just find it hard to ignore it. I smiled together with her and said.

"You can sleep at my sister's room, she's not here anymore so-"

"Okay!"

She rushes away to her room without any complaints. I sighed and said.

"Man she's energetic!"

The next day, I prepared myself and went for school. I just did my daily routine, after school, go for work, receive payment, buy some food and head back and cook. When I was walking home, at least for once the routine was changed, A LOT. When I opened the door, it was catastrophe. I guess you can't teach an animal how to behave! It was a mess! There were claw marks and the whole place smells horrible. I walked to my bedroom and saw that my bed was all messed up with holes!

"Sheila!"

"Yeah?"

"W-What the heck did you just do!"

"I only took a look at some stuff you had!"

"S-Some stuff? What are you looking at anyway?"

"A bunch of words. Hey Shiro! I learned some stuff!"

"Man, if you want to learn you can go to school!"

"School?"

"Yeah, a place where you can meet other people and learn some stuff. It's much better than just reading."

She continued reading an article on the photon textbook. I sighed and said.

"But if you like studying there; it's fine. But you don't have to create a mini bomb in my room!"

"But I got bored!"

"Ugh… That probably explains why…."

I looked at my room as it was full of paw marks. I guess she was in wolf mode for a while. After four years I never knew that I would have someone on my side. I thought I won't be lonely anymore… I guess she'll be a companion, like a little sister now. I thought this could last, but my hopes were shattered just like glass. It happened a month ever since I met her.

"I'll be going out for a while!"

I said as I walked out of the house to buy groceries. Sheila liked the books I had and read a lot. I'm impressed as in just one month; she's already a par with my studies. Sometimes she gets reference from me, but still she is pretty smart. She just nodded and continued reading. I went to buy some meat and vegetables and when I came home, there was nobody.

"Sheila!"

I said but she was not there. I quickly got out of the house and looked around. I saw a man standing at a house nearby and I asked him.

"Did you see a wolf coming out of this house?"

"Yeah I guess, I think it went that way!"

He pointed towards a hill, the place where I told my sister to stay four years ago. I nodded and quickly ran that way. When I reached the hill, I called her name. But there weren't any replies. I walked around the place and tried to find her, but not even a single sign of her was found. I thought she had already run away. Suddenly I heard a howl. It was definitely a wolf! I quickly ran to the direction where that sound could probably be which is north east. When I saw her, I couldn't believe what I saw. It was that person again with emerald hair and he is looking at the wolf with a smile of a killer.

The wolf looked badly injured and I said.

"Sheila! Is that you?"

It turned around and the person laughed and said.

"Shiro! Oh I had been looking for you! It had been so long since we last met!"

I ran towards him and tried to punch him. He grabbed my hand like how he did but this time I quickly kicked him away. He laughed and said.

"Impressive! You did learn something!"

Sheila turned back into her human form and said.

"No! He is too tough! You can't fight him!"

Shirai laughed and said.

"Wow! That's actually a girl! Man! Shiro, you didn't tell me you had a girlfriend!"

"You son of a bitch!"

"Hey Shiro… I have an offer for you! Why not join us? Be a part of the demons! It will be great right?"

"Screw you!"

"Oh that's pretty harsh! Come on Shiro! It's a once in a lifetime chance!"

"I said, screw you!"

I tried to punch him. He dodged and summoned a black spear and said.

"Too bad, I thought you want to join it!"

"Master!"

Sheila said and I quickly dodged that spear and said.

"What the hell!"

"Oh Shiro! Don't be scared! Let's have more fun!"

He said and I was angry and suddenly there was a voice in my head…

Darkness that envelopes light,

Scythes that bring hell,

Hellcraw,

Do you accept?

"Yes."

"Hellcraw!"

I said as I pulled out scythe on two.

"Wow! That's something new!"

He said as he summoned more spears. I tried to attack but it didn't hit him!

"Dark Impulse!"

My weapon was shrouded by darkness.

"Whoa! A power drive! Amazing! The game just gets better doesn't it?"

I looked at Shirai with rage in my eyes. I made a quick move and tried to slash Shirai with my scythe. He backed off and said.

"Hey that's mean!"

He tried a counter attack but the wave from the slash I made earlier parried it. I tried to slash him but he summoned black spears and blocked my attack. I attacked him ferociously and he looked angry and said.

"Alright enough you bitch!"

He kicked me away and I was at the edge of the hill.

"Well, let's play the game what I used to play with mommy and daddy shall we?"

I was scared. He ran towards me and tried to stab me with a black spear. I blocked it and he was very near and wanted to kick me down. I thought this is where it ends, until something worse happened. Sheila in her wolf mode pushed Shirai down, forcing both of them down the hill.

"Sheila!"

I screamed and Shirai pushed Sheila away and stabbed her back. I was terrified when he did that. There was blood and I couldn't do a thing. I sat over there at the hill, lonely once more.

I went down to my knees as everything was gone just like that. I screamed to the sky and punched the ground.

"Damn this… DAMN IT!"

I thought this would be it, Shirai will be gone now. I don't want to believe it was him, but I had to face it. I looked at the sky. Tears were flowing down my cheeks. Why am I crying? I'm supposed to be happy that he's out of my sight, but what's this heavy feeling? I seem to feel uncomfortable even when he's gone. Is it because I'm alone again? Probably… I said to myself while wiping my tears away.

"Mom and dad used to tell me to join a Hunter's Guild. I'll get stronger first! Sheila, thank you, and sorry."

After listening to his story, Shiro gripped his hand and said.

"But ever since I met him at the ruins, I know this is not over yet!"

"No wonder you hate him…"

"He took away everything I had, and possibly, you guys too."

"No, we won't leave you Shiro."

"Huh?"

I gave a reassuring smile and so did Sakura and Rika. Shiro nodded as he smiled and said.

"Yeah, this is our problem now. Thanks for reminding guys."

"We're a team!"

Rika said as she smiles.

"We got your back, don't worry. Don't weigh it all on yourself!"

Sakura said and I continued.

"You're not alone anymore, you have us!"

"Heh, you're right. Until this bastard is down, I won't even take breaks!"

"Alright! Now, let's give it our all!"

I gave Shiro a high five and we heard the speaker.

"Ah, we are here! Everyone, get down now."

Huang gave us the command and all of us went down from the vehicle. After that long chat, we didn't even realize we were in the jungle and also, it's evening already. The orange skies that was so beautiful that you just can't ignore. It's truly splendiferous. Nothing can be better than watching the sun set. Huang came to us and said.

"We're going to camp here for today. We'll continue tomorrow."

All of us nodded as Huang took a sphere around the size as a bowling ball and said.

"Hm, I wonder if this still works…"

He clicks the button on it and it deployed a camp. It looks like Rika's camp, but slightly bigger. Huang laughed and said.

"This camp can have up to twenty! But since we only have eleven here, we can actually divide the boys and girls in separate rooms!"

Shiro tapped my right shoulder and said.

"You free tonight? I have plans you know!"

"Shiro, what are you thinking?"

"What wonders can we do?"

"H-Hey! We can't do that!"

"Come on! Let's just sleep! I'm beat!"

All of us went into the camp. It was spacious, pretty much like Rika's; this was taken care very well. We can't ask for too much, but this is good enough already actually. Huang showed us the room for males and females he said there was once girls and boys had to sleep in one room because there weren't enough rooms. Man, I guess that's what Shiro wanted. Since when did he turn into a perv? And also, he had a girlfriend last time right? As expected, inside looks more of an army's camp. Beds that are double decks and nothing strange actually. I went to sleep as well as the others as I was pretty drained. I wonder, what is the dream this time?