3 Chapter 3: Caught

Touya stepped outside of his house and inhaled the fresh air the beautiful morning. Walking down the street, he began to think about the things he had planned for the day. For one, he planned on rebuilding his lost videogame collection, starting with a PC. He had always wanted to play games on a PC, but he never had enough money and reason to. Now that he had no other consoles, it was the perfect time to change.

He came to an instant stop when he felt something burn onto his forehead. He moved his hand up to feel his forehead, and it was still hot. The strange sensation wasn't painful, but it was reminiscent of a fever.

"Good morning Touya."

He looked down to see Kieran looking up at him, "Kieran?"

"Correct. You can see me because I am using astral projection through our third eye."

"Wait! You can't do this in-"

"It's fine. Normal people can't see us. Now come, aren't we headed to Gamestop?"

"You know what that is?"

"Of course. I've been around humans for several decades."

"If you say so..."

They both continued to walk to Gamestop. Although Touya had his doubts, Kieran was telling the truth. He walked freely about in the streets, and no one batted an eye.

"Hey...can I use astral projection too?"

"Of course-but on a side note. Do you have a bluetooth earpiece?"

"No...why?"

"How much does one cost?"

"I could get one for about twelve dollars."

"Hurry and purchase it. If you continue to speak to me without one, normal humans will think you're insane."

"Oh...I didn't think of that."

They both remained silent until they arrived at an electronics store. Touya bought a bluetooth earpiece and placed it in his ear.

"Now we can talk on our way to Gamestop."

"Yes. Now, I must explain some things to you."

"Go ahead."

"First of all, I lied about the number of abilities we have." He looked up to see Touya's eyebrows furrow in confusion, "Before you criticize me, I have my reasons, that I unfortunately can't tell you for now."

"Then...why are you telling me now? You could've waited until you wanted to reveal it to me."

"Correct. I could've deceived you, but in turn, I would've lost your trust."

"So...admitting your lying to me makes it better?"

"Yes. You'll find out about these other powers in due time."

Touya saw a small red ball of energy fly pass his face, "What the hell?"

"Oh. That's a spirit, but have no worries. They're harmless in that condition."

"In that condition? What does that mean?"

"It's essentially what you humans call an embryo."

"Oh..."

"However, if that spirit sees enough negativity from humans, it will evolve into something far more fierce."

"Really? Shouldn't we kill it now?"

"It's called exorcising. But it doesn't deserve to be exorcised, it hasn't done anything wrong. It's you humans that corrupt us."

"Whatever. Of course you'd say that, since you're a spirit too."

"Correct. Perfect segway into our next topic. Since I am a spirit, don't tell anyone of my existence."

"Well that goes without saying. I mean, no one one would believe me if I told them anyway."

"I mean it Touya. No matter what they tell you, even if they promise you a million dollars, you must not reveal my existence."

"They? Who's they?"

"Exorcists. They make their living off of exorcising us spirits. It'll be bad news if you encountered one out here. You have no combat experience."

"True, but can they even exorcise me?"

"Yes, and since we share the same soul, we'll both die together."

"Oh...well, what are the odds that someone out here is an exorcist?"

"Not that high. Most exorcists stay near areas that are highly populated with spirits."

"Um...Kieran? How do you know so much about exorcists?"

"I've been around for a long time young man."

They both walked into Gamestop, and thankfully, it wasn't too crowded. He was free to look at whatever he wanted without having to worry about any strangers in his way. Of course, Kieran stay visible, since he wanted to fully immerse himself in the strange location.

Touya pulled out his phone and went to his notepad app, "Now. It's time to make a list." Since he didn't have that much money, he simply wanted to make a list of games he'd pick up once he had the money to. Of course, he'd be getting the PC versions of them all, but browsing in the store made things a little more lively. He went straight towards the PS5 section, and after devising a list of some games he'd want, he decided it was time to leave.

"Excuse me?"

He turned around to see a short girl with shoulder length red hair. Her dark chocolate eyes gazed right into his soul. Her face was mature, as if she was an early adult. He had to divert his eyes so he wouldn't continue to stare at her.

"Yes?" He locked eyes with the young lady.

"Do you recommend the Play Station 5?"

"Yeah. For the obvious reasons like graphic updates and the new controller, but next year, there's a new Last Dream game dropping. I'd recommend it just for you to play Last Dream 7, it's gonna be amazing."

"I see, thanks." She reached out to shake Touya's hand, "My name's Hayami, what's yours?"

"Touya. Nice to meet you." He shook her hand and smiled. After about three seconds, he realized that she wouldn't let him go. Instead, he felt her gently massage his hand with hers.

Her hypnotic gaze entranced him, and he found himself unable to look away from her. A small smile crept onto her face before she moved closer to him. He could smell the lovely fragrance of her perfume fill his nostrils as she touched noses with him.

Before he could say anything, she moved away.

"I'm sorry. I just have a tendency to stare into people's eyes."

"Uh...it's fine." He turned away and left the store quickly. "That was weird."

"By the way. I can see your third eye."

Touya's body froze as he heard Hayami's voice behind him.

"Huh?"

"I can see the cat too."

As his worst nightmares came to fruition, Kieran's face went pale. "Run Touya!"

Touya dashed away in an attempt to shake off the young lady. He looked back to see that she was pursuing him. He cut through an alley and jumped over a dumpster. Scaling a wall and leaping onto a roof with surprising agility. As he ran across the roof, he saw Hayami burst up onto the roof in front of him.

"Damn!"

"Touya! We need to kill her!"

"What?!"

Hayami raised both of her hands and smiled at Touya, "Look. I don't want to fight or kill you. I have a proposition."

"What?"

"I just want to know where you came into contact with the demon possessing you."

Touya still had his third eye open, so he was able to see the chi surrounding her. It was like a stream of blue, pure miasma. He didn't know the exact readings, but she had no ill will. One thing did confuse him though...

"Wait-Demon?"

"Yes. I'm sure that you can see it since you darted off as soon as I mentioned it."

"That's not the problem-nevermind." In the back of his head, he recalled Kieran referring to himself as a spirit, but this woman called him a demon?

"I promise that it will benefit you in the long run. You will continue to be targeted if I don't clear this up."

"By who?"

"I'll give you the details when you tell me what I want to hear. You don't need to worry about me. The demon possessing you is weak, so you're not a threat."

"Oh...I guess I can tell you."

Kieran reappeared out of Touya's third eye, "Touya! What did I say?! Don't tell her!"

"Kitty...I can see you." Hayami got down on her knees, with her hands still raised into the air.

"She has no ill intentions, you can see it too Kieran."

"So what? I'm telling you, nothing good will come of this!"

"I'm gonna tell her. I want to know about who's gonna target me." He looked back at Hayami, "I wanted to give up my soul to get my sister's soul back, and I met Kieran. I sold him 49% of my soul, and that's pretty much it."

He could feel Kieran staring at him in shock, but he refused to look down at the black cat.

"I see. Well...you should come with me. If you were found by any other exorcist, you would be killed by them."

"What?!"

"Some exorcists don't care about the strength of the demon that possesses the human, they'll kill them both no matter what. I can get you examined by my boss, and you'll be allowed to live."

"That sounds nice...but, I'm still not sure about this."

"I can ensure your safety with me. My boss deals with all kinds of people like you. You're not unique, there are tons of people who get possessed by demons. Since your demon is weak, you won't be treated as a threat that needs to be eliminated."

"When you put it like that, I guess I can come along."

"Perfect." She stood up and jumped off of the roof, "Come on. The sooner you get an ID the better."

"Alright!" he jumped off of the roof and landed next to her, questioning how he even survived the fall. "So. Do you work with other exorcists?"

"Of course. We use powerful spirits to exorcise demons, and our main line of work is helping normal citizens that are dealing with demons."

Touya's face lit up before he grabbed a hold of Hayami's hands, "I'm definitely in now! Let's go!"

"Uh. You're definitely motivated. C'mon." She turned around and dashed off, with Touya following right behind her.

-

"Well...here we are."

The duo stood in front of a large monastery with people of all different origins walking around. There were several constructs littering the streets, such as restaurants, arcades, and bingo halls. Before he could take in any more of the beautiful landscape, he was pulled away by Hayami.

"Come on. " She could see the desire to explore the entire area burning in his eyes, "I'll take you on a tour later if you want me to."

"Ok, thanks. But where are we going exactly?"

"To the main office. My boss will be in there."

"Alright." As they made their way through the streets into a dark hall, Touya couldn't help but feel excited. These steps were his firsts steps into a new life, one where he'd actually be able to help people. One where he could be a hero.

They came to a stop when a group of individuals walked in front of them.

The first person that caught his eye was a man with curly green hair. His face was quite feminine, but it was offset by a small scar on the bottom of his jaw. He wore a red and white kimono, leaving his chest free in the open.

The next person that caught his eye was a tall woman with long hair that was the same color as blood. Her icy cold stare shot right through his soul. She wore a black nun habit that stopped at her thighs, almost like a skirt. The rest of her fair skin was exposed. There was a cleavage gap in the habit. She also had on a wimple to cover the top of her head.

The last person with them was a girl who looked no older than he did. She had short, dark purple hair with two stray strands sticking out of the top like two antennae. Her furrowed eyebrows and shaky lips conveyed just how nervous she was. Of what? He had no idea. He couldn't see much else due to the fact that she was wearing a gray parka that reached down past her knees.

The tall woman was the first to break the silence, "Hayami, who is this young man?"

"A new recruit. I just found him today." Her tone and expression conveyed how much she wanted to ignore them.

The man was the next to speak, "What's your name?"

"Oh. I'm Touya. Nice to meet you." As soon as he answered the man's question, he noticed that there were at least five women standing behind him. They all wore the same kimono he wore.

"Hmph...whatever. Come on, my women, we have a meeting to attend." He walked away with the entourage of women that stood with him.

My women? Is he some kind of pimp or something?

"S...sorry for bothering you Hayami! I didn't know you were going to come back so early. You rarely stay here at the monastery." The purple haired girl flinched in fear, despite the fact that no one else made a single move.

"Shut up Kowaima." Hayami feinted a slap at the girl, making her squeal in terror.

"Yes ma'am!"

"Hayami. Stop bullying Kowaima." The taller woman turned to Touya and grabbed his hands, "My name is Red. I look forward to working with you in the future. And that other young man's name was Cain."

Her hands were incredibly soft and delicate, soothing his anxious soul. There was something frightenly beautiful about her. Her reassuring tone made Touya even more confident that he would get the job.

"Excuse me, Ms.Red?"

"No need for the 'Ms'."

"Well...Red? Is there a test that I have to take to get the job?"

"Yes. It shouldn't be hard for someone like you though."

"I see. Thanks!"

Red turned back to Hayami, who was aggressively pulling on Kowaima's face, "Hayami. What did I say about abusing Kowaima? She's faint hearted, now leave her alone."

"Thank you Red!" Kowaima ran behind Red and hugged her as soon as Hayami let her go.

For some reason, the fact that Kowaima just let Red say that she had a faint heart without saying anything made Touya feel strange.

"Let's just go..." Hayami pulled Touya away from the two women and continued to walk further down the dark hall. The only sources of light were the small candles that were attached to the walls.

"Do you have any advice for the test? You know...like what it'll cover?"

"Can't say. Every person receives a different test based on what the boss thinks of them."

"Got it." He tried to think of what kind of test he'd be put through, but he realized that stressing over it wouldn't do much.

They stopped as they reached a large red door, "Here it is. This is as far as I can take you. I already told the boss about your arrival, so go on ahead."

Touya took a deep breath as he grabbed a hold of the door knob. The cold steel sent shivers down his spine. He turned the doorknob and opened the door.

The scent of chicken filled his nose as he stepped into the large room. There were hummingbirds of all shapes and sizes flying around, and in the center of all of the chaos sat a desk. Sitting at the desk was a man with brown hair in a box cut. His hair was sponged, making the top spiky. He wore a pair of glasses and he had a short beard. He wore a black suit with a cyan necktie.

Their eyes met, and the tough looking man's face lit up. "Why hello there. You must be Touya, Hayami told me about you."

"Y..yes. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Same. You can call me Elijah." He kicked back in his office chair and smiled, "We both know why you're here, so let's get started with our test."

"Yes sir!"

"So..." He dug into his desk and pulled out a large box of DumDum lollipops and threw it towards Touya, "Pick a flavor."

"Uh...ok." Touya pulled out a lollipop and passed the box back to Elijah.

"What flavor did you pick?"

"Mystery."

"I see..." He searched through the box and pulled out a lollipop, "I chose fruit punch. Down the hatch?"

"Uh...okay?"

Elijah unwrapped the lollipop and placed it into his mouth.

Touya's mind began to run rampant.

Is this a part of the test? Maybe they're poisoned or something. Or...he's using this to evaluate my personality somehow? But what kind of info can you obtain from something like this?

"Now. Let's see your spiritual power."

"Right." Now that he thought about it, Touya didn't know how to activate his power without Kieran's help. He pressed his thumb onto his forehead in an attempt to awaken his third eye, but nothing happened. He noticed Elijah's stern stare, and it made him embarrassed. "I promise that I have a power. It's just that I got it recently, so I don't know how to-"

"I understand Touya. Are you religious?"

"Uh...I believe in God, but I'm not too crazy about it."

"I see. What are some things that you excel at?"

Touya arched his eyebrows as he dug deep for an answer. "I'm not quite sure. I'm the perfect representation of a jack of all trades but a master of none. The one thing that I'm good at is school work, but I just think that I shine because most students I go to school with don't even try..."

"Hm...okay. You should have more confidence in yourself."

Touya unwrapped his lollipop and placed it into his mouth, "Uh...I guess I've just never had it. At least in my teenage years..."

"That's too bad. You have potential..."

Touya felt something sharp pierce his arm, and he turned to see a hummingbird's beak lodged into him. A rush of adrenaline coursed through his veins, and his third eye opened up.

"Now...what's your name, spirit?"

Before Touya could question what he asked, Kieran projected from his forehead.

"My name is Kieran. It's a pleasure to meet you sir."

"Likewise."

The hummingbird pulled its beak out of Touya's arm and flew back to the corner of the room.

"Touya? How does the mystery flavor taste?"

"Huh?" He didn't even realize that he was eating the lollipop. As a matter of fact, he ate the whole thing. "Uh...I don't even know. I ate it too fast."

"Don't worry. Aren't DumDums the best? You can binge eat a whole box without a second thought. That's why they're my favorite snack in the world."

"That's cool I guess."

"Anyways...you passed the test!"

"I did?"

"Yes. It's barely a test in my eyes, but the exorcists see me as this intimidating figure, so they dubbed my introductory conversation as a test...It makes me seem like a monster, does it not?" He held out his hand for a hummingbird to rest on it.

"Oh..."

"Now..." He pulled out a certificate and signed his name on it. Touya couldn't help but notice that Elijah held the pen with his fist balled up like a little child. "Here you go, you're official certificate. You're now an official exorcist of the Cobalt Sector."

"Thanks." Touya took the certificate and smiled.

"Now." Elijah pulled out some sort of advanced gadget and reached out for Touya's hand. "I need to take a fingerprint of you for your ID."

Touya held out his hand, allowing for Elijah to scan his finger with the futuristic device. A flash of light emitted from the device, but it didn't really feel like anything.

Elijah then pulled out a camera, "Smile! It's for your ID."

Touya gave Elijah the best smile he could've, and stopped as soon as he heard the shutter.

"Here's your official ID."

"Thanks!" Touya held the ID and certificate in the air with a wide grin, "I'm official!"

"Yes-oh no! My chicken!" Elijah jumped from his desk and darted to the other side of the room towards a microwave. "Now this is my dinner. Have a good day Touya."

"You too...Boss." Touya stepped out of the room and continued to stare at his ID. An overwhelming sense of victory washed over him, forcing him to keep his giddy smile on his face. It felt so surreal, but it was so satisfying, his first job.

I can't believe it...I actually got the job! I'm one step closer to saving Tineka!

He saw Hayami sitting down in the food court eating a small sandwich, befitting her small stature. He ran towards her, "Hayami! I got the job!"

"Really? Good job. Not many people get accepted."

"Huh? I guess I got lucky then." He thought that that contradicted what he heard earlier from Elijah, but he decided to disregard it. Besides, he was too happy about getting the job to care. "How much money do we make?"

"Focused on wages huh? Don't you think you should've asked about that before applying?"

"Well...I guess so, but that's not the main reason I wanted to come here."

"Oh, isn't that nice? To put in simply, it's proportionate to the danger of the mission. D-Rank missions get you about a hundred dollars, while S-Rank missions put you into the hundred thousands."

He almost fainted from excitement. "Man...I'm lucky to have met you. Thanks Hayami." He reached out to shake her hand. As he did, he noticed that she had a look of disbelief on her face.

"N..not that many people tell me that. Thank you."

They shook hands.

Hayami stood up stretched her arms, "So, when are you going on your first mission?"

"Maybe tomorrow. I need to go visit someone and let this sink in."

"Ok." Her expression calmed down a little, "If you want to go on a mission, go talk with Boss."

"Alright. Thanks. I guess I'll see you tomorrow then?"

"Hopefully..."

She walked away, leaving Touya with nothing but confusion and uneasiness.

Hopefully?

He left the food court and made his way towards the exit of the monastery. Despite it being the afternoon, the streets of the monastery were now barren.

As he reached the gate, he felt something shoot into the back of his neck...His vision blurred before he crashed into the ground...