1 Chapter 1

When Sa'ng Tu' was a child, mealtime was his favorite time of the day. His mom and dad joked and prodded each other as they danced through the kitchen, making all sorts of colorful dishes. Braised beef and egg, stir-fried chayote, whatever their hearts desired. Sa'ng Tu' loved watching them work. He often pretended he paid his homework attention while listening to their teasing and half-hearted arguments about what foods to make for the evening. His mom was always the happiest when there was a meal to create. She was a happy person in general, always ready to give everyone a smile and a word of encouragement.

She continued like that till she died. Sa'ng Tu' remembered that much from his childhood. Whenever he worried his memories of her would fade away, he lit incense for her at the family altar. He lovingly thumbed the corner of her photo frame. She sat atop her beloved bike with a grin inside the framed picture. Even in death, she continued to warm their hearts. Sometimes though, Sa'ng Tu' wished she would walk back into their apartment one more time.

He felt that way now as he stood in front of her photograph. His dad's calls snapped him out of his melancholy thoughts. Sa'ng Tu' jogged into the kitchen so his dad wouldn't have to yell across the house. The older man wasn't a loud person and didn't enjoy being forced to be one. Once Sa'ng Tu' entered the kitchen, he leaned against the kitchen counter to watch his dad cook.

"Alright, alright," he chuckled, "I'm right here. No need to keep yelling for me. What's up, dad?"

His dad pointed his sauce-covered spoon at him menacingly.

"Well," the older man asked with a frown on his face, "when are you opening the letter? I want to know if you scored well or not."

"Come on, dad, it's just law school," Sa'ng Tu' joked. He had hoped to hold off a little longer on opening mail today. Most of the envelopes were the usual things like ads and student credit cards and whatnot, but one was special. One of them was a letter from the Law School Admission Council. Sa'ng Tu' was holding out for a score of 170 on his LSAT, but his nerves kept him from breaking the seal and finding out. Before his father could reply, his attention was stolen by the TV.

The news anchor, a serious human woman who Sa'ng Tu' was sure watched the solar system's creation itself, was in the middle of reporting another Eye of Kamado-related incident.

" ...another victim was found dead recently in the Downtown area," the news anchor reported, "with the trademark Eye of Kamado sigil carved directly above-"

"You know what that means, right," his dad cut in, louder than the TV itself, "that means the victim was a demon. They always say 'human victim' if they were human, you know? Never just 'victim.'"

"Yeah," the college student agreed, "but I get it, I guess. It's better than them not reporting on the deaths of demon species at all, yeah? Pro-demon protestors are probably having a field day anyways with these murders going on."

His dad's face scrunched up, but he didn't disagree. Being a loving man, his dad never directly wished ill on those of demon blood. That didn't mean he wasn't wary. Most humans were leery when it came to demons. The relationship between the human and demon species was just as rocky as it was initially. Challenges changed throughout the years, but the underlying issues remained the same.

Personally, Sa'ng Tu' found this connection to be one of the primary reasons he loved history. Learning about times long gone always fascinated him; throughout his years in school, history was the only class subject he consistently gave his all in. In the past, people were taught that even though demonkind existed just as long as humanity, they were noticeably absent in human history with few significant exceptions. For example, in the United States, the were tribes fell to ruin after the Revolutionary War. However, human understanding of the past changed as demons came forward with their version of events. Stories and evidence examined by experts lead to the current, unprecedented reworking of history as they knew it.

Sa'ng Tu' wished he could be involved in rewriting history to fit the changing narrative, but it wasn't meant to be. He and his father made a deal when he first started college to study whatever subject he desired as long as he went on to get a career in a well-paying field like law or medicine. In the end, he agreed to practice law; at the very least, he could read up on the history of old court cases to make his future job more likable.

His LSAT results burned a hole in his hoodie pocket as he decided not to bring the topic back up. Instead, he convinced his dad to finish up cooking so they could go ahead and eat. Dinner was a simple affair; his dad implied he'd whip up something special once Sa'ng Tu' told him his scores. As usual, Sa'ng Tu' chattered on about random history facts and what his friends were up to back at school, and his dad listened willingly. When they finished eating, he helped his dad wash and dry the dishes.

"What are you going to do now," his father asked as Sa'ng Tu' dried the last plate and placed it with the stack of dishes to be put away, "are you off to your room for the night? I haven't forgotten those scores."

"How about this," Sa'ng Tu' offered instead, "I'll tell you the score in the morning. I think it'll be a great start to my day, won't you? Anyhow, I'm gonna grab some more flan and bánh bao from the market. I'll be back in a sec, I promise." Having already dashed into his room by the time he finished speaking, he grabbed his wallet off of his desk.

His dad sighed, "You be careful out there, Sa'ng Tu'. No telling what kind of people you'll meet."

"I told you I'd be right back," Sa'ng Tu' laughed as he made his way to the front door and shoved his sneakers on his feet. He ignored his dad's mumbles about caring for his shoes better and waved as he headed outside. With a flick of the wrist, he locked the front door behind him. A smile drifted onto his face as he walked down the stairs of their apartment. On the streets, he didn't have to think about school or the future. He could relax here.

He strolled down the street aimlessly, hands sitting comfortably in the main pocket of his tropical fruit hoodie. The letter inside rubbed against his hand, reminding him of the real reason he wanted out of the house. Snacks were always an excellent investment, especially bánh bao; however, he would pick the food up later. Right now, he just wanted a chance to read the letter on his own time.

Sa'ng Tu' took a moment to look around. He spotted the permanently closed flower shop perching on the street corner and smiled. The old shop meant he wasn't too far from the house but still distant enough not to be seen by neighbors at the apartment complex. He felt they were too nosy for their own good. Still, as he was one of the few young people who lived there, they probably didn't have anything else to do but watch him wander around and make sure he didn't cause trouble.

He tried to lean back against the wall behind him but misjudged and nearly fell.

"Woah-," he cried out as he grabbed the wall corner to balance himself, "that was close." He turned around and nearly groaned at his own mistake; of course, he picked an empty alley to lean against. The wall itself stood partially behind him, but he was too far off when he tried to lean back. Sa'ng Tu' snorted, then shrugged and leaned against the actual corner instead. At least then, he wouldn't fall over.

Pulling the letter out of his pocket, Sa'ng Tu' felt his earlier nerves worse than before. His heart slammed against his chest like it wanted to burst out of him as he tore open the envelope. Ignoring the slight tremor in his hand, he pulled out the paper inside and steeled himself the best he could. Sa'ng Tu' pulled out the results and began to read.

Slowly, the hand holding the paper fell to his side as he stared out into the orange-tinted road. He wasn't sure how to feel now that he had his answer. For a moment, he considered not telling his dad the results. However, he already knew that plan was futile; his dad would be ready first thing in the morning to get answers.

Before he could debate much more on how to break the news, he was sharply yanked further into the alley beside him.

"Hey, what the-"

His response was cut off before he could finish by a harsh blow to the head. Sa'ng Tu' sank like a puppet with his strings cut.

"Oi," he distantly heard a voice say through the haze of pain, "make sure you...we need them alive…."

He heard snags of their conversation, but nothing past that point made sense. A pair of rough, dirty boots sat in front of his face. Some part of him was aware he was starting to float away and that nothing was right, but it wasn't enough to keep him tethered. He was out cold before he could realize it.