Kira
~
The only sounds I could pick out as we neared the station were the rapid flaps of Kuro's wings and the erratic beating of my heart.
There was a sense of wrongness in the air like something was trying to distort my thoughts.
"Stay close," Kuro said as he flew closer to my side.
We got to the station where Troy said he'd be but the streets were empty. A cold chill blew past the both of us causing a shiver to run down my spine.
There were signs of a struggle, maybe they had taken him by surprise, but that would mean he'd had no time to send the text.
I studied the area, about to suggest heading down into the station when my eyes caught some movement from a nearby lamppost.
I walked over to it and pulled down the piece of paper.
"A talisman, the spell is probably to keep us from being able to communicate with magic," Kuro said, taking it from my hand, he tore it up.
"That's why he sent a text, I knew phones would come in handy." My smug grin was gone as quickly as it came when I realized we still didn't know where Troy was, "Then he should be here, right?"
"I have a bad feeling about this."
I felt the exact same way, but before we could discuss something in relation to a plan, my instincts flared up, alerting me to a presence behind me. I formed my staff, making it take up the form of the double-edged scythe.
I spun on my heels, ready to strike at whoever was behind me when my eyes met with Troy's golden lightning.
I was so surprised that I didn't react in time as the arrow was sent flying toward me.
I was roughly shoved to the ground by Kuro. I watched as the arrow flew past us and struck a Jorōgumo that emerged out of seemingly nowhere.
The yokai let out a pained screech as it fell to the ground, twitching legs unable to carry it.
Troy flew to our side and picked Kuro off the ground like a teddy bear, "You both took too long."
"Did you just use us as bait, Angel boy?" Kuro pouted.
"I needed it to go after another target, getting you two into this empty street would be temptation enough." The blond shrugged while dropping the shorter boy.
I stood up, dusting the dirt off my clothes, "Like what the hell was that for, you-"
"I had faith in the brat's ability to pull you out of harm's way, if not, the blast would only hurt a bit since you're not a yokai...I think." He brushed me off while creating his weapon once more
The street lit up with his light.
"We're surrounded," Kuro stated.
I could sense it as well, several beady eyes trained on all three of us standing in the open, "Shit."
"There's one that's dragging some hostages a couple of streets from here. Kuro, you'll go after that one, we'll cover you."
A few more spider women appeared around us, climbing down buildings and hissing loudly in our direction.
Kuro gave us a nod and took to the skies, I jumped into action, slicing off the head of the first Jorōgumo that looked in his direction. Troy joined in the fight, shooting off at anyone that so much as moved.
A week was by no means enough time for me to become the ultra-powered demon-wielding machine this city needed but the training was obvious in my movements.
I stayed out of Troy's way as Kuro had instructed.
"We don't expect you to go all out just yet." I remembered the darker-haired boy saying, "Take your time to learn your powers, the best opportunities are in the heat of battle."
"But what if I slow you guys down?"
"Then stay out of the way if you're not sure." He grinned, "Being a team means picking up where someone lacks we'll do that for you until you're sure you're ready."
I came down on one spider that wanted to claw at Troy's unguarded back. I hated having to do all this, having to risk my life day after day, not knowing if one misstep would lead to the deaths of one of the two boys who decided they'd team up with me.
I didn't want anyone's blood on my hands which was why I would push myself a bit harder each day. I wasn't going to wait till I was sure, I'd take whatever leaps my instincts told me to.
Slowly but surely, I'll let Hikari's memories and spirit guide me until I was ready to tackle this on my own, I wasn't going to fail.
I held out my hands, twirling the staff just lightly, "Lucifer."
'We've been over this human, treat the power as an extension of your emotions, let it out but control the amount you let-'
I let the winds around me burst, spinning wildly as they pushed everything back. Slamming the spiders into any available surface.
While they were disoriented, Troy took the opportunity to strike them all down. I flashed a proud smile while trying to get my breathing under control.
"Well done, let's go find Kuro." He said then broke into a run.
"You don't fly much." I pointed out, joining him despite the ache slowly making its home in my muscles.
"I'm saving up energy we'll need for the fight ahead." He gave me a sideways glance, "You feel it too, don't you? Something more dangerous than the Jorōgumo. It's probably controlling them. Hopefully, he would have figured it out before we get there."
"That why you sent him ahead?"
"He has extensive knowledge about the spirit world and how it'll affect our plain, he's the only one who would know what's going on."
I hadn't known Kuro for a long time but some part of me agreed with the blond. The Dark One. I wondered how he'd gotten his powers and that name.
Maybe sometime later, further in the future when we were more friends than just three teens coming together for a common goal.
We arrived at an alley where Kuro's magic energy was strongest. There were signs of a struggle leading all the way to a sewer hatch that was half closed.
Did he really chase the creature in there?
Troy beckoned me to follow. He went in first, electricity crackled around him for a bit to get a good look around before going dim once he was sure the coast was clear.
A simple hand gesture told me it was safe to come down. We descended the ladder quickly and studied the tunnel a bit more once we got to the bottom.
Other than the smell being absolutely awful and the disgusting humidity sticking to my skin, the place was actually quite spacious.
I created a small whirlwind around myself to disperse the stench.
"Stop that." Troy hissed.
"I'm sorry but this place stinks, really bad."
"Obviously, it's a sewer system." He started walking down the path to our right. "It'll attract unwanted attention, and it's distracting."
I resisted the urge to pout, stopping the winds and trying to focus on anything but the disgusting smell of rot and decay coming from all around us. The overpowering stench was like everything in the fridge decided to go bad at the same time before stuffing itself into a rotting carcass.
Troy continued the soft glowing thing he had going on, I was quite impressed at how he and Kuro handled their abilities. With seeming grace and ease.
An acceptance of a part of themselves.
My hands clenched uselessly at my sides. I wasn't sure I would ever get there.
The bigger question was if I even wanted to.
"Stop."
I halted my steps at his command. Squatting down, he peered into the murky sewage water and stared long and hard at it.
I readied my weapon, watching him reach his gauntlet-covered hand in and pull something out.
A hand.
A bloodied one that looked slimy and pale, caked in clumpy blood and water fluids swimming around in here.
My urge to barf just couldn't be tapered down any longer. I dashed off a few feet away and retched into the slimy water.
"You're overreacting, De-" He stopped coming towards me, facial expression morphing into that of confusion.
"You okay?" I made to go back towards him, but my feet wouldn't budge. I tried but they seemed to be...stuck.
I peered into the water, willing my eyes to see through the dark waters. What I caught sight of were webs. Intricately and thickly woven as far as the eyes could see.
It didn't take me long to realize the arm must have been a ploy to draw us into the water.
Before we could even begin to talk about a means of escape, heavy bodies fell from the ceiling of the tunnel. One landed directly on top of me, pushing me into the murky waters.
I held my breath, struggling to the surface and trying to fight off whatever had its hold on me. A slice from my weapon was followed by a screech.
I stood up, legs still being by the webs, I wiped at my eyes, they stung but I could still make out where Troy stood. Struggling against the rapidly increasing onslaught of spider women.
I made the half-thought-out decision to cut at the webs at my feet. Just as I raised the staff I felt a set of jaws dig deeply into my neck, filling my veins with a burning pain that caused me to shake and scream violently as I crumpled into the shallow flow of water.
Just as I fell, I saw Troy falling as well. I really didn't like where this night was going.
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