26 CHAPTER TWENTY SIX

"You better find her or our agreement is called off."

The girl shivered, watching her getting all worked up. Besides, the agreement... she needed her. She brought her so many clients... she couldn't afford to let her go.

"I'll do my best. We will find her in no time. Meanwhile... can you..."

"No. I have to go there by myself. Until I find her, I can't play around at your stupid tea parties. I have more important things to do. Now, if you'll excuse me."

The sharp-tongued girl bowed and left her. She watched her back becoming more and more distant and sighed. She was a stubborn one. She'd never encountered such a fierce girl. She was scared of her. And she knew she was much more than she could ever imagine.

Xsilia looked around her and sighed. Where the hell are you, Ivy Moore?!

She knew something was weird. Probably Kasho made a move. Or worse.

Satoshi.

Xsilia shook her head. Ivy was strong. And she had her bad luck. Everyone was wounded, but not her. For now, she had to trust her bad luck. And Satoshi. He surely recognised her. Maybe involuntarily. But he surely knew something was weird about Ivy and he wouldn't have killed her.

"Miss Mei."

Xsilia turned her head towards the guard who called her by her fake name. "What is it?"

"We may have found something. But... the demons might be involved. I think your friend might be as good as dead."

Xsilia chuckled and came closer. The man stiffened, watching her sly movements and the elegant way she was walking. His eyes narrowed and he could feel something wasn't good about her.

"Dear general." She said, placing gently her hand on his shoulder and whispered in his ear. "Demons are kids next to me. Tell me what you know."

***

"... but Jessica said hell hounds will come after her if she uses her powers!"

Caiden sighed, throwing me an annoyed look. "Xsilia is not very... accustomed to illusions and other secrets roaming around the old demons. Lucifer knew she will come after you and he projected a spell on my house. All the mirrors there were affected. Probably she came earlier than Lucifer said, just to be sure, am I right?"

I nodded, surprised by his sharpness. He smiled. "She's not as stupid as I thought. Anyways, if she really went back in the past, even if she didn't use any powers, the moment when she landed on the grass the hell hounds would've been at her bare feet. There's no way she could've gone in the past without being torn apart in a few seconds."

"She thought no one knew about a demon changing the past because they were smart enough to not let any information leaked about it." I replied, even though everything he said made sense and most probably, was entirely true.

He shook his head. "They are all destroyed. I can assure you of that. I have witnessed a few chasers being torn apart by the hounds. The Old One made sure I saw it. He knew I was bold and arrogant enough to think I might not get caught if I do it."

"The Old One? Who is he?"

He sighed. I knew I was annoying because I was asking him so many questions but, besides my curiosity, I was bored. I didn't have anything better to do in a cave, in the Edo Period.

"He's Lucifer's best friend. He's the original demon. The first one, to say it like this. He... you can say he's the hell's ruler. He doesn't really rule, because hell doesn't need a leader. He just advises demons and has a connection with a few angels so we can find out what's going on with the dimensions. He is the one who approached me and Xsilia, sending us to find Lucifer and restore the balance."

"Lucifer's best friend? What happened? He betrayed him too?"

Caiden chuckled and then coughed, making me frown my eyebrows. "Lucifer brought this upon himself with his own hand. The Old One warned him, but Lucifer is too arrogant to listen to anyone, even to his own friend. Heaven didn't want him. Hell either. So, he has to live among the creatures he hates the most: humans."

"That's... sad." I said and he laughed.

"Only you can pity the devil."

I shrugged. "He's a jerk, but if I imagine myself living only with the people I hate... it would be literally hell."

"Oh? You have people you hate?" He asked me, lifting an eyebrow.

I rolled my eyes. "No, not really. People I dislike, yes, but no hate. I'm just... imagining if I had people I would really hate, it would be hell to live only with them."

His eyes studied me for a few seconds and then he sighed. "I guess you're right. This is his personal hell. And, if he wants my sword, he wants either to live peacefully, without being worried he might be chased by demons or angels or... to destroy something. I'm not sure if the angels or the demons. Maybe both."

"T-t-to destroy them?!" I was a fool. Why didn't I think about that?! Of course, he could destroy anything he wanted with such a powerful sword! "Then what should we do?! Should we try to threaten him with your sword without giving it to him?!"

He chuckled. "He's not a demon nor an angel. If the demon blood didn't affect him... I don't know if the sword can be effective."

"Then... what are we going to do? Give it to him and hope he has mercy?"

He closed his eyes and sighed again. "I'll manage it. There's no other option. He's the only one who can restore the balance, because of his uncertain nature. After that, I'll find a way to stop him being reckless. Maybe the Old One will help me."

"Oh God, everything is so complicated!" I said, throwing my hands in the air, frustrated by the situation itself.

He tried to shrug but the grimace on his face told me it was too painful for him to do even that. I sighed, got to my feet, and sat next to him, making him throw me a suspicious glance.

"What are you doing, human?" He asked, his voice becoming even more tired.

I placed my head on his shoulder, closing my eyes. "We need to rest. Maybe the demon blood will disappear if you sleep."

He chuckled, his whole body trembling. "I doubt that. Those herbs make it stay in my system for a few days. Probably enough for Kasho to do what he wants."

"Shut up and sleep. The sleep won't make it worse either."

"True."

He let his head fall onto mine, and my body relaxed involuntarily. The fact that he wasn't disgusted by my sudden touch made my heart pound faster, but I knew it was only because he was sick enough to rely on me. I sighed and squeezed my eyes shut. We didn't have time for my childish thoughts. We had important things to think about.

But why couldn't I focus on them even just a little bit?

***

"That's so sweet. Satoshi-san, you truly know how to seduce a woman. And here I am... the lonely wolf, thinking that I could stand a chance."

I opened my eyes to see Kasho standing in front of us with his hands crossed over his massive chest. I blinked twice, trying to remember where I was. Caiden, waking up in a few seconds after me, moved his head and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Isn't it too early to visit us? I thought her departure was in a few days."

His cold voice made me shiver, but Kasho only laughed, coming even closer. "Satoshi-san... she's not as tough as us. She's human. Remember? Even if you're cold-hearted, that doesn't mean she has to die of starvation."

Caiden threw me a quick look and then shut up. Kasho frowned and I knew something was bad. It looked like Kasho tried to do everything to hurt Caiden.

If he thinks that I'm precious to him, then I might be screwed up.

"So, did you bring me food? That's perfect! I really am starving!"

Kasho turned his head towards me and gave me a sly smile. "Everything for you, sweetheart. As long as you bring me a lot of money, then I'm gonna treat you for now as a true princess."

He laid down the food, right in front of me and, even though there were only raw vegetables, I was more than happy to eat them. I really felt how my stomach was eating itself until that moment.

"Satoshi-san, would you like something as well? You seem kind of weak."

"Spare me with your shit. I don't need your sarcasm."

Kasho raised his eyebrows. He muttered something in Japanese under his breath and left, leaving me and Caiden alone.

"What did he say?" I asked him, feeling well for the first time in a few days.

He shrugged, putting on a pained grimace. "I didn't get it. I'm too weak to care about his spoiled brat issues now."

I sighed. "I guess you are right. We should focus on the important stuff."

"Yes... important stuff... I'd like to sleep now..."

His head fell on my shoulder and I threw him a panicked glance. "What?! You just woke up! Hey! Caiden! You can't sleep again! Maybe it's because of the demon blood!"

He exhaled sharply and chuckled softly. "Of course it's because of the demon blood. But don't panic. I won't die because of this. I just feel sleepy and maybe I will speed up the process of eliminating the blood if I sleep more, who knows? So, shut up and let me sleep."

I sighed. I didn't know if what he said was true or he was just delusional because of the goddamn poison. I closed my eyes, trying to find a solution to our problem, but everything I could think was death.

***

"Who is searching for her?" Kasho asked, looking straight into the tiny human's black eyes, intimidating him.

The human, shivering, answered him with a shaky voice. "She is known as... 'Miss Mei'."

"Miss Mei... doesn't ring a bell. Does anyone know her?" Kasho asked, confused by the woman who suddenly became so feared among the humans from the village.

The human exhaled nervously and threw his hand through his hair. "She just appeared. She controls the guards. No one knows who she is, but some people say she's a demon. Is... is this lady a demon?"

Kasho sighed, sitting on the rock beside him. "She's not from our group. And Satoshi wouldn't have hidden anything from me. She's... unknown by us. If your men encounter her, tell them to catch her and bring her to me. She's not ours. Got it, human?"

The man nodded vehemently and bowed, almost hitting the ground with his head. Kasho rolled his eyes, watching the pitiful human almost pissing his pants and gave him a dismissive wave of his hand. "Go human. You're disgusting me."

The man nodded again and left as fast as he could. Kasho sighed, watching the moon rising on the cloudless sky. When he was younger, the nights were torture for him. Hiding from humans. Eating wild animals.

Be careful, Kasho. Fear the demons. But, most of all, fear the humans, Kasho. The demons will not consider you one of theirs, but they will let you alone. The humans... humans kill the things they don't understand. Don't let them kill you!

His mother's face made him sigh sharply. There was no point in remembering her. She was dead.

And dead humans can't protect me. Or scare me.

"M-m-master-dono..."

Rolling his eyes, Kasho turned around, ready to kill the human who dared to interrupt him thinking about his past...

The human was dying. He was stabbed in his stomach with a sword, on which a piece of paper was stuck. Kasho got to his feet, his brows furrowing. The man rolled his eyes and fell hard on the ground, without making any other noises. He was clearly dead.

Kasho kneeled next to him and removed the sword. He took the paper and read the beautiful handwriting, frowning deeply.

'Kasho-san. I'm delighted to invite you to my tea party!

It's a private one. So, please, come alone. I have important matters to discuss with you.

Your dear, Miss M.'

Kasho crumpled the invitation, realizing that Lady Mei became a real problem. She purposely seduced one of his humans and made sure he was going to receive her message. She was smart.

And she knew what was going on between the demons and humans.

Another demon, indeed.

It was time to confront her. Getting to his feet, he threw away the crumpled paper and started walking towards the village. There was no point in playing around. There was one more day and the buyer had to come as well. He needed to handle all of the problems quickly.

***

"Miss Mei, you invited the demon over?!" The head of prostitutes screamed desperately. She soon realized how loud she was and, covering her mouth, looked quickly to her left and right. Fortunately, there was no one around. She sighed, relieved.

"Relax, Aiko-chan. I'm gonna deal with him. He has my friend. He's going to die if he doesn't give her back. You won't even notice him. They are cautious, you know them."

The woman shook her head. The color drained out of her face, making her look like a ghost, especially because of her white make-up. "I knew that little girl was in trouble. I shouldn't have brought her to him. It's my mistake. He wanted her because I gave her to him in the first place."

Xsilia sighed, putting on her most revealing piece of cloth from her wardrobe. She wanted to look sexy when she was killing demons. "It's not your fault. Now stop crying. You're ruining your make-up. Don't you have a party you have to attend soon?"

She whipped away her tears and blinked a few times, making sure they really went away. "You're right, Miss Mei. I shall go now. Please be careful."

Xsilia turned her head towards the head of prostitutes and her eyes almost went blue for a second. Aiko blinked twice, not sure of what she just saw. Probably it was only her imagination. Maybe she was tired. "Of course, Aiko-chan. I always am."

Xsilia smiled, her face becoming so bright that she could've been the sun itself. Aiko bowed deeply and left the room. She exhaled sharply when she stepped outside and watched the full moon reigning over her.

"All these gods... and no one can stop the demons." She whispered and, soon, disappeared in one of the tea houses, pouring sake and laughing at salty jokes, even though her heart was clenched by worrisome.

Please, Miss Mei. Please, be safe.