[M] Zarma & JessieeJesterr IC

[JessieeJesterr]

Akira hid as she watched the ambulance take the two victims away rubbing the tears from her eyes.
“You shouldn’t have let that boy live, I have a bad feeling about this Akira.” River says with a grunt.
“B-but he goes to my school. You promised to never hurt anyone I know.” Akira says softly.
“You don’t know him personally plus this makes it that much easier to get him.” River says with a devilish laugh. Akira ran off for her house trying not to look suspicious she prayed the boy wouldn’t remember her face but she feared having to go to school again.
After getting into the house she grabbed some food at the point she was starving as she was eating her elderly grandmother came into the kitchen. It was rare for her to get out of bed and she looked rather shaky as if she could fall at any moment.
“You shouldn’t get out of bed if you need something I’ll get it for you.” Akira says softly.
“I sense evil around you it makes me fear having you come into my room so often.” Her grandmother answers softly grabbing a small cup of tea.
“G-grandma?” Akira says looking down.
“Go to bed now.” Her grandmother says softly as she leaves the kitchen. Akira did as her grandmother said she cleaned off her plate and went straight to bed closing her eyes tight trying to forget what had happened. She wanted to pretend to it was all a horrible nightmare that River had created to torture her.

[Zarma]

"Here," Mikado's uncle spoke, tossing him a small trinket he had found in one of his drawers. His bedroom was a mess, much like the rest of his house. Mikado examined the trinket, finding it to be a pendent with a radiant, but obviously non-precious stone dangling at the end. It had an oblong shape with pentagonal tips at both ends, and was secured to a thick cloth string by means of a metal ring. "Wear it," the man insisted, gesturing towards Mikado.

The boy lifted the pendent up and unhooked it, bringing it around the back of his neck and reattaching the metal connectors. "What does it do?"

"Makes you look kind of girly," he said immediately, putting on a smile as Mikado started to remove it from his neck. "Hey hey, I'm kidding. Keep it on. It'll keep the demon at bay,"

"What? Seriously?" Mikado looked at the mundane looking necklace, and back to his uncle. There was a good chance he was just messing with him.

"Well, kind of. It'll keep him from trying to eat any more of your soul, at least while it's on. Or... I think that's what it does. Don't go picking fights with him though- he'll, or, rather, she'll still beat the shit out of you. Unless you like that sort of thing," he chuckled, pacing the room briefly.

"She's not the one doing it- it's the demon,"

"But he does it with her body. That's a good thing to remember,"

"Right..." Mikado said, dismissing whatever it was his uncle was trying to tell him. "So, how does this thing work?" he lifted the green gem and stared into its core.

"It's pretty simple. If he tries to consume your soul, the gem catches it in your chest. Just keep it on when you're around he," his voice made it all sound perfectly logical, and Mikado simply nodded his head at the explanation. His uncle was good at this stuff.

"So, what if he tears it off?"

"He shouldn't be able to. Not unless he's very powerful, that is. Or, maybe if you're really unlucky. I don't think you need to worry so much- I doubt this demon has any real reason to consume you. It was probably just hungry. You were probably in the wrong place..." the uncle paused, as if he was weighing his next few words. "But now, of course, as a witness to that girls power... perhaps it would rather you didn't live. I mean to say that, as long as it doesn't believe you pose it any significant threat, it won't try outright to kill you. Is that reassuring?"

"No."

"Ah, good. It shouldn't be. We're dealing with a demon, after all. Well, I think you should get to know this girl. Ms. Adams, isn't it?"

"I don't know,"

"It is. You should know your classmates," his voice changed to one of mocking reprimand. "Akira Adams. Maybe she can be saved, even. I believe I'll leave that for you to decide. Let's go- your sisters are probably worried," the man motioned towards a clock atop a night stand, which said that the time was just now passing eleven o' clock.

"Uh- yea, sure," Mikado responded, and started out of the room. It would be complicated trying to talk to Akira after that. What would he do if he was in her situation? Probably deny it. He could work around that though. She needed to be confronted, if she really did carry a demon inside of her.

"Oh- how's your aunt, by the way?" his uncle's voice asked as they stepped into the car outside.

"She says your still a loser, and she's still way too pretty for you. Those are her words,"

"And still witty as ever, I see," he pulled the car into gear and drove out of the driveway.

When they arrived at his aunts house Mikado invited his uncle in. His uncle declined and returned home, leaving Mikado at the house with his two sisters. They had been waiting for him in the living room for some time, and ran frantically towards the door when he stepped in. In a moment, he found himself lying on the ground for the second time that night.

"Where were you?" Satoko demanded, looking down at him from above.

"Uncle's house-"

"Why didn't you tell us!" Rika cut in before he could finish, and put on a menacing glare.

"Uh, well-"

"No!" Satoko shouted at him, "no excuses. We were worried. And your food got cold,"

"And we didn't know where you were!" added Rika, suddenly appearing flustered.

"And aunt Sarah wouldn't answer our calls," Satoko finished, and Mikado recognized the seeds of tears starting to bud in her eyes. "Don't do that,"

"You called aunt Sarah... how would she- ah, never mind. Alright, I'm sorry, really. I'll make it up to you somehow. But it's late- you two should be in bed," for a moment, he assumed the roll of a responsible older brother, and Satoko removed her self from his torso. Rika stood quietly as he stood between them, and closed the front door behind himself. "Alright, go to sleep. You've got school tomorrow, too," they nodded, and walked off down the hall together. With a sigh he shook his head, feeling guilty for making them worry. He locked the front door and went to the refrigerator, finding a dish of that nights dinner waiting on one of the shelves. He ate a late meal, and went to his room. Falling face forward onto the bed, he fell asleep.

[JessieeJesterr]

A nightmare that wouldn’t end Akira was tossing and turning as in her dream she saw River rip himself from her body and attack everyone in her school in order to get to the boy she had attacked. She sat up breathing heavily as her heart raced desperately trying not to cry. River was still rather quiet and she was unharmed she assumed he must still be sleeping. She looked at the time and sluggishly got out of bed to change into her uniform.
Akira went into the kitchen and grabbed herself a little snack as she headed off to school it was eerily quiet like the calm before a storm. She slowly walked to school fearing to arrive early but not walking to arrive too late.
“What is that boy’s name?” River’s voice suddenly boomed from within her startling her.
“H-his name?” Akira asks nervously. She had never paid much attention to others in her class since most of them just made fun of her or ignored her. She tried to think of his name, “N..N..Nori? I think that is his last name but..Why would you need to know his name anyways River?” Akira asks.
“Am I not allowed to be curious?” River asks as she arrives in front of her school.
“He probably didn’t even see my face it was a little dark let’s not worry about it okay?” Akira asks softly. River didn’t respond as she walked to her first class and placed her bag beside her desk. The silence from River was a signal that he was obviously not going to listen to her suggestion but she wasn’t going to let him attack the poor boy without a fight.

[Zarma]

The next day Mikado walked his sisters to school. It was on the way to his own, and so it wasn't a big deal. They seemed to look at it as a sort of repentance for him leaving them the night before, although Mikado would have done it either way. Afterwords, he headed for the Highschool, thoughts of Akira and the night before still fresh in his mind. There was no easy way to approach her about that. How would he even do it without looking strange? Akira somehow seemed to garner an adequate amount of the worst kind of attention, and if he suddenly started appearing near her the word would spread. In the grand scheme of things, it didn't really matter. A demon was more important than reputation. It was unlikely that anyone from the school would be intrigued enough to find out what was really happening, and it was unlikely that anyone in the school even knew that demon's existed. He was a rare exception, with his Uncle's line of work being so closely related to the occult.

Mikado approached the front of the school and kept walking, entering with a crowd of students and trying to pick out Akira amongst the crowd. It would probably be better if he waited until after school to approach her, but he had no knowledge of where she went after school hours, and of course, he was far too anxious to wait. They were in first period together. It would be impossible for him to simply sit there when they both knew what happened. He moved quietly through the halls with an unusually straight face.

Mikado arrived at the door of his first class, and stood still at its threshold. With one hand, he felt the pendent that would supposedly protect him from the demon inside Akira, although he wasn't sure to what extent it would work. He could still hurt him, no doubt, but perhaps he would feel less inclined with the amulet in his presence. Mikado reminded himself of his uncle's advice, not to be reassured by anything when dealing with things like demons. He reached forward and push open the door. The class was empty, all except for Akira, which had taken her seat at her usual desk. Mikado stepped in, and closed the door behind him.

This was the awkward part. He stared across the room at Akira for a moment, and allowed the situation to dissolve between them. The look on his face alone would probably make it obvious that he remembered. The silence was generating an increasingly tense atmosphere. He sighed, starting forward, and stopping across from her desk. "Akira," he said, perhaps addressing her for the first time in his life, his voice grave but void of resent. "We need to talk."

[JessieeJesterr]

“You’re an idiot I told you to kill him.” River says calmly as Akira lifts her head to look at him.
“Y-you saw me didn’t you?” Akira asks nervously making sure no one was coming in the door behind them.
“Let me finish him off while no ones around.” River says suddenly his eyes beamed at the amulet hanging from his neck.
“What are you going to do?” Akira asks softly.
At this moment all Akira wanted to do was run she could feel River’s over whelming desire to attack him coursing threw her very body like a heart beating. River was silent as he glared feverishly at the amulet wanting to rip it right off his neck and maybe even rip his neck off while he was at it. River was furious he knew this boy must know someone and having Akira talk to him wasn’t very good for once he actually wished Akira’s overly emotional side would take over and she’d run off crying once more.
Akira was quiet she had no idea what to say, should she apologize for what had happened? Should she explain her situation to him? Would he even care if she did? Or does he just want revenge for her attacking him?

[Zarma]

Mikado sighed, nodding his head. In her eyes he could see something fiery staring back at him. He was sure it was invisible to most people, but he could see it. There was something that really hated him behind the girls soft face, an entity that wished so greatly to kill him. He stood still, tensing his muscles for a moment as he thought of what would happen if the demon decided to attack him. Would he take that risk? It would be obvious if Akira attacked him there, and then he would have many more people than just him to worry about. That put him at, if nothing else, a slight advantage.

"What am I going to do," he repeated, not quite sure himself. "It depends. What do you want me to do? I could try pretending it never happened, but I know I would end up dead. Or..." he let the words hang in the air as he considered the other options, "I could help you, maybe," he said, looking across the desk and into her eyes, and into the eyes of his newest adversary. "I don't know. But I can't let you keep going on like this. Not when you could be killing other people. How long do you think he'll be satisfied? How long before what you can provide no longer satiates his hunger?" Mikado looked for a moment towards the door, which remained closed. The next part was the most grim. His uncle had taught him some knowledge about demons, and by all predictions, the one within her would eventually grow implacable. He held the words in his mouth, his expression serious as he looked towards Akira. "I'm not sure how it can be done, but I know someone that might," he went quiet as he looked over Akira. Her frame was so small compared to his, and to him she looked somehow fragile. "Well?"

[JessieeJesterr]

She started shaking a little at those words he had said she knew they were all so true though she wanted to deny them. She looked down for a moment, "Y-you can help me?" She asked softly, "I'd really like your help I'd be most grateful for any help you could offer me." Akira says looking up at him.
River considered attacking the boy but at the thought of knowing someone that could help he considered waiting and attacking the other person as well. This thought satisfied River and he didn't say a word.

[Zarma]

"Well..." Mikado said slowly, before dismissing the words and nodding his head. "Yea, I think I can help you," he leaned on the desk slightly, looking down into the eyes of Akira. "What's his name?" he asked, leaning back and considering his next actions. The sooner they went to his uncle, the better. But they did have school that day, and it would probably be suspicious if they both turned up missing at the same time. Mikado's eyes drifted down to her legs, which were bandaged tightly in what appeared to be a new wrap. "I think... we should go, maybe," he said, looking over at the clock. It would be easy to get his uncle to cover for him if they left before the teacher came. He wasn't sure about her, but it was probably better that they go to see his uncle as soon as possible. "I can cover for myself. There's someone we need to go see," Mikado spoke, rolling his shoulders to adjust his backpack.

[JessieeJesterr]

"His name -.." Akira stopped for a moment she had never actually told anyone else his name even when she spoke of him when she was a child she'd never say his name to them, "His name is River." Akira says crossing her arms slightly.
"I don't mind getting into trouble if it'll help get rid of him." Akira says standing up and grabbing her bag. A sudden pain surged threw her body as she put her hand on the table to steady herself.
"You never left school when i asked you to, harlot." River says as he seems to tug on her organs, "Follow the boy let's see how much more trouble you can get him into, that amulet can't protect him forever he has no idea how much power I process at this moment." River says with a sneer.
"Promise me you'll be careful. River already doesn't like you but when you start helping me he's going to want you dead even more." Akira says turning to Mikado as she holds onto her stomach.

[Zarma]

"River?" he repeated, watching with some confusion as Akira seemed to under go some sort of pain. "You alright?" his expression changed to one of concern as he considered the strength of the demon inside of her- it wasn't often that one became so powerful that it could harm there host at will. As he recalled, his Uncle told him that curses such as hers were more common then anyone realized. Lesser demons would manifest themselves as nightmares or hallucinations, nameless figures to haunt the lives of helpless mortals. They often died in time, unable to sustain themselves, and if the host's will prevailed, they eventually consumed themselves. It was worrying, but he wasn't sure what to do about it. His Uncle was the expert, not him. He knew a little bit about protecting himself and warding off danger, but only through lecture and not practice. His Uncle refused out right whenever he asked if he could help.

"Akira," he mentioned, watching as she took her stomach in her hand. "Emm... yea, I can tell. Come on, let's go," he motioned for Akira to follow and started towards the door. As he reached it, it swung open, a familiar looking boy entered.

"Hey, Mikado! Good morning," his gaze went clearly over Mikado's shoulder, and to Akira with her hand placed on her stomach. His countenance changed to one of inquiry as he looked back to Mikado. "What's up?"

"Nothing..." Mikado looked forward, and his friend nodded slowly. "Seriously. Nothing."

"Right. Where ya going?"

"I've got to go home for a while. An emergency," there were some truth behind the words, "mind keeping it quiet?"

"Keeping it quiet? Shit man, you're not good at making yourself look inconspicuous," he lead on, shaking his head and stepping further into the class. "Alright. I won't say anything. Don't go and set something on fire though. I don't want to be dragged into anything like that,"

"It's not big deal. Thanks," Mikado turned to Akira and motioned towards the door. "Uhh... Akira?" he mentioned her name and stepped outside, deciding to take one of the back doors out of the school. He would rather not have the main office see him walking away in the morning. "We'll head to my Uncle's house. He should be there now. Are you going to be alright?" Mikado lead them through one of the halls and to a pair of double doors that lead to the outside. He passed through them, appearing as nonchalant about it as he possibly could, and stepped into the morning air. The chill remained, but the suns warming rays were working vigorously to elevate the heat. Mikado waited for Akira to follow, and decided that it would be best if they took a more populated route to his Uncle's. It wasn't that he didn't trust her, but if the demon were to get an opportunity to get rid of him, he wasn't sure how it would react. He had his suspicions about its current acceptance- it was possible that he was allowing Akira to follow him, perhaps to find the greater threat. Mikado smirked somewhat, trying to hide it as he looked towards the ground. He had for a long time believed that there was nothing his Uncle couldn't manage. River included.