Hollows Eve

Chapter 8

And now I'm officially back within the driver's seat in terms of narration. I can't even BEGIN to tell you just how crazy of a week it's been for me in the past few days….

This new world that I've been thrust into is dangerous, scary, creepy, nightmarish, horrific, and somewhat weird all at the same time. Is this seriously what the afterlife is like? All… dark, brooding, blue & black, & scary? Like something out of a horror movie? Everything looks like a giant Halloween decoration. Hell even my so called "Costume" when I activate Shokanju looks like something you'd wear in a costume party. At least I don't have to go out and buy one next Halloween.

If this is what Purgatory is like, then I absolutely shutter in petrifying, horrific, shaking fear at what Hell could possibly be like. Heaven doesn't worry me in the slightest since that's the plane of existence in which streets are aligned with white & gold, and everything's holy, and all that good stuff. But in general…..

The world of the afterlife just gets crazier and crazier for me. And now that my so called "

Spiritual Guardian" is living with me, it'll only get much more insane from here on out. But unfortunately I've been thrust into something that I can't escape. There's a great mystery that I must solve, and some questions that need to be answered.

Why was I chosen to be Grim Reaper? Why does that giant, black mass of skeletal slime that calls himself "Lord Death" think he's my father? And what did he truly mean when he said "Embrace Your Destiny"? Because if my destiny is just killing off random demons and sending them back to hell all the time, then that's not a destiny I can embrace.

I already have enough to figure out as it is…. And with the back & forth between the world of the living and the world of the dead comes concern from my friends & family. Mom might get concerned about me, and lord knows Tomomi wants an answer…. I don't know how long I can keep this up. But I do know that I'm going to get answers.

OH and hi… my name is Kaila Amiyuki, and I'm the grim reaper of the underworld. That's my profession apparently…. Nay…... my so called "Destiny".

.: HOLLOWS EVE CHAPTER 8 :.

The night was surprisingly still young inside Kyoto, the moon's luminescent glow shined down on the streets of my urban community, as it seemed to be crawling with people walking down the streets just looking for trouble.

Now… Where I lived wasn't exactly the worst place on earth, but it wasn't the safest either. We lived in a neighborhood where Kamina's "Gang" if you could call it that, dominated the streets. Those who weren't skilled or strong enough to stand up to his thugs were often picked on or beaten up in an attempt to show his dominance across the prefecture. Kamina was not only a bully in the school, but he was also a bully on the streets as well. His beat downs were very discreet so he could get away with it without the cops getting on his ass.

Surprisingly he doesn't do that much beating, he often just scares people into submission for territory rights. The reason why? Well I'll let Reyabe explain that one later.

"UGH!" Someone just grunted in a nearby alleyway, it seemed like Kamina's gang had just found their next victim. He was just a boy who went to our school and had black hair, while wearing a white shirt. He seemed innocent enough, but with the 4 to 5 goons gathered around him, it seemed like he had done something personal to Kamina. Maybe the word was getting out? Who the hell knows?

"Please…. I-I I'm only stating the truth…. I beg you don't do anything like this…. This neighborhood is peaceful enough!" The boy told them with his hand extended out.

His goons made lee-way for him and lined up, as Kamina himself approached the boy with a black-leather jacket on and a red shirt underneath.

"Oh?... Well then it's time someone disrupted the peace a little y'know? Shook things up. And it seems like you're trying to exactly that." The boy looked at him puzzled, wondering what he could mean.

"What do you mean?" He said as Kamina loomed over him.

"What I mean is Toshiro…." So that's the boy's name huh?

"I mean that little story you could put out? It's a story about how we operate around town. If that gets out, that could throw the entire town into a panic. Because a few friends of mine down in Tokyo might catch wind of my plans here. Besides, I'm not doin' anything wrong. I'm just…. Fitting things to my liking here. Business in Kyoto is delegated through people that have no respect, and y'know what no respect translates to with a guy like me?" He then grabbed Toshiro and slammed him against the wall, getting in his face to intimidate him.

"It translates to a f*****g beat down. No matter where you are. So you're gonna take that story of my transgressions OUT of the school paper and publish something else. Understand? Otherwise, I'll have to deliver some "Social Justice"." He said while smiling at him deviously.

"Y-Y-yes Kamina…. I will, I promise." He said with his hands up while trembling.

"That's MR. Kamina to you. Now get out of here." He then shoved him to the ground and Toshiro took off running. His crew let him go. I always knew there was something wrong with Kamina…... No wonder Reyabe never talks about her family.

***********

Besides that, I'm back home again. As a spirit portal begins to open up in my room, I fall out of the portal, flat on my face. What a ride out….

"OW! …. Dammit." I sit there on the floor, generally feeling comedic misery. You know that feeling when you're so incredibly tired that you wanna just lay down, take a nap, and do nothing all day? Yeah that was me after that little "Training Exercise" I had in Purgatory with those nightmare triplets. *sigh* …..

Jack also jumped out of the portal and landed on the floor right next to me. "Now what's all this? C'mon midnight, don't tell you're tired already?" He asked me while looking down at me.

"I AM TIRED." I grumbled with my face still in the carpet. Yeah I have a carpet not a hard-wood floor.

"But there's still so much to do. C'mon, don't be such a bludger. Give ol' Jack-a-boy a dolly & let's get goin'. The night's still youn-" I've had enough.

"LISTEN YOU FREAK!" I immediately get up on my feet, and get in his face.

"I'M f*****g TIRED! I NEED SOME REST! THE AFTERLIFE OR WHATEVER CAN WAIT! I WANT TO SLEEP!" Jack frowned at me, but then folded his arms, smirked and started….. laughing?

"Heheheheheh….Hahahahhaha! HAHAHAHAHAHA!" His laugh slowly grew from soft, to maniacal, to…. Hearty?

"Hahahahah! You're a riot when your angry Midnight Bliss! I gotta admit though…. With all I've subjected you too, you suddenly havin' the guts to come up and give me some blue? You HAVE grown. Alright. We can take five." He's actually…. Letting me take a break? This is new. I've never seen him do anything nice for me like that. I thought he'd work me like a damn slave or something.

"Oh…. Well… Thank you! Finally, some damn recognition around he- EEP!" Just when I thought he was actually being nice, he points a gun at my face again.

"Don't get it twisted dolly-girl. Remember who your spirit guardian is. That's me. And first thing when night strikes tomorrow, we're at it again. Got it?" I just sigh and say…

"*sigh* …. Fine. Whatever." And then I just fall face first onto my bed, while Jack sits with his legs crossed in the corner as well as his arms.

Normally I don't really get as angry as I did, but once you push me to the point where I just can't take it anymore…. I won't hesitate to lash out. I'm obviously not the bravest person around, but I won't let anyone walk all over me like a doormat. That includes Jack himself. Though…. Maybe this is all a part of his "plan" to train me. He wants me to be scared of him, originally I thought it was just to f**k with me, but maybe he's doing it for my actual benefit? I don't know…. I honestly don't care at this point.

I start to fall asleep slowly, as I lay my head down to sleep and slowly close my eyes, ready to gain some much needed rest. As I start to close my eyes I begin to hear a voice calling out to me….

"Kaila…... It's me… Where are you?" The voice…... it sounds familiar…. I can't see who it is…. It's too dark…..there's nothing but pitch blackness surrounding me.

"Kaila…. Where are you?!" Wait a minute…. There's two voices blending together…. Both of them sound male…. One sounds deep, yet calm and soothing…. The other sounds rather in the middle of high & low, but has a glimmer of fret to it. Like it's scared…..

"Midnight where are you?! Where'd you go?!" I'm beginning to tremble as the voices get louder and louder in my head…..

"Midnight?!" I begin to see a light…... A light at the end of a tunnel…. As I'm moving towards the light I can see my shadow bending…. It's growing in size and something's…. something's coming out of it! It looks like the same skeletal mass from before…... It's…. forming something… is that….?

"Midnight?... Why didn't you stay with me? Where did you go?!" All of a sudden…... I hear a BANG!

"MIDNIGHT!" I immediately awoke from my slumber with my mom shaking me in order to wake me up. "Midnight! Kaila honey wake up! Where have you been?!" She keeps asking me and asking me.

"AAAH! Ahhh! Wh-what?! What happened?! Wha…..." I look at my mother with concern on her face. She looks scared to death….

"Kaila wher5e have you been? You disappeared without saying anything! I almost thought you ran away or something. Though I can't imagine why you'd run away. Where did you go?!" She asked me while slightly shaking my shoulders.

I knew this would eventually come up….. she's wondering about why I disappear every night. How am I gonna explain to my mom that I go off with a Pumpkin-headed monster freak to the afterlife to kill demons?! She's going to think I'm crazy…... But where else would I go? I can't say Tomomi's place, because she'd know if I was there by now.

"*sigh* …. Ok mom…... you're gonna think I'm crazy when I say this…..." I begin to tell her while looking slightly down.

"Tell me what? Where have you been all this time?" She responds back, then grabs my chin so we can meet face to face. "Honey you can tell me anything, but I was worried sick about you. Where have you been?" She asks me again.

"Well… The reason I've been gone for a while now is because- "Before I can answer….. I hear his voice again….

DON'T. YOU. DARE.

My eyes expand again, it was definitely Jack's voice. I looked around slightly to see if he was there, and I couldn't see him.

"Kaila! Where have you been?!" My mom asks me again, raising her voice…. Oh man what do I tell her?!

Do not say a word. You'll blow our cover if you do this. The matters of the afterlife must remain separate from the matters of the living. This is law, so there's nothing you can do about it. DON'T tell 'er a THING.

Damn….. What will I tell her now? I'm out of options!

"Kaila!" She raised her voice fully to get my attention. I shook my head and looked at my mother, blinking twice nervously….

"I…. I…I'm sorry mom but I can't tell you. It's a secret." Now I think she's mad… I never usually hide secrets from my mom considering she's a person I could trust.

"What do you mean "It's a secret"?! What secrets do you have to hide from me? Are you doing something wrong?" She asked with concern and a hint of upset in her voice.

"No." I ask very nervous at this point.

"Are you doing something illegal?!" Why would she ask that?!

"No!" I chime back at her.

"Then what?! Why did you leave the house without MY permission in the middle of the night Kaila?! Answer me!" She was getting very testy…..

"I just…. I just…... I took a slight walk ok! I was just stressed…. The pills aren't really working. If anything they make things worse! So I just decided to take a midnight walk and enjoy the fresh air is that so wrong?" I said while raising my own voice….

"There's nothing wrong with that…. But for the love of god TELL ME next time you decide to go outside so that I know where you are! For goodness sakes I was worried sick about you! I even called Tomomi to see if you were at Takuro Gardens, which you weren't." Thank goodness…. Anymore of this conversation and I would've broken down crying.

"I'm sorry I had to yell…. But don't go anywhere without me knowing about it ok? I would be devastated if anything happened to you." She then gave me a warm hug, with me returning the favor.

"Your right….. I'm sorry mom. I promise I won't do something like that again….."

After that we talked about it, and I managed to convince her that I was just walking to clear my head and that I'd be right back. Though I couldn't explain why I went off without telling her…. So I ended up getting grounded for a while. I'm only 16…. So I still get groundings, like a damn child…..

But now that that's over and done with…. It's finally time to go back to the good stuff. Jack forced me to keep quiet to Tomomi as well. I can't say a word of our adventures to anyone, even my family & my best friend.

"Why not?! At this point a secret like this is getting hard to keep under wraps Jack." He came in my room after the talk I had with my mom, laying on my bed and looking at me with a frown on his face.

"We cannot afford somethin' like that happenin'. If your friends & family found out they could be in some deep danger. I'm doin' this for your own good midnight. Don't gimme no lip." He said while closing his eyes and folding his arms.

"I don't get it though. Why do I need to keep it a secret?" I asked again for like the 100th time! Answer me goddamit!

"Alright alright. I'll tell ya'. There's two reasons, ONE. If you tell them, our lurking foes from down under could use that against you. Demons have an intricate way of crossing over to the real world without being seen in a physical form, haunting other beings in the world of the living. They come in the form of poltergeists, and they could drive your mum & friends to complete insanity. Or even worse…. Make them become one of us. If you catch my drift…" And no laugh afterwards…... he was serious….

"Oh…. *gulp* I…. I understand… what's the second reason?" I asked him, trembling a little bit at the thought of losing everyone I care about.

"Two? Heh… well two's obvious. Everyone will think you're as mad as a cut snake! Hahahahhaha!" GRRRRRRRRRH! Now is not the time for jokes! He kept on laughing as I started to raise my voice.

"Hey! Now's not the time for Jokes Jack!" But then I covered my mouth, remembering that mom was downstairs. She can't hear what I'm saying, lest I give my secret away….

"Oh calm your t**s. Just funnin' with ya' that's all. But seriously, you think that anyone would generally believe you if you told them that you're a scythe-wielding servant to the very embodiment of death itself, going around lobbin' the heads off demons?" He does have a point… Any sane person wouldn't really believe a story that sounds that ridiculous. And even if I showed them proof, it's a safe bet to assume that Jack wouldn't exactly be willing to help me in that regard.

"*sigh*….. alright. Y'know what? I want to just take a break from all of this? Can I do that?" I said to him crouching down a bit.

"Eh? Whaddya mean "Break"?" He asked while looking up at me and sitting up.

"I mean I want to have a day of normalcy! I just…. Want to have a day where I can just hang out with my friends and relax. And I think I know what to do tomorrow." I've got just the thing to get my mind off of all this grim reaper crap.

"Uh-Uh. No time, Lord death could call us back any minute and we need to be read-"

I cut him off, knowing that if I do something like that it might cost me…. But I'm tired of this crap!

"NO! I want a damn break! I'm tired of this and I just need a day where I can- EGH!" I tensed up and closed my eyes tightly, as Jack pointed one of those enormous guns at me once again. His entire body radiated a dark spiritual pressure that only I could sense, and shadows loomed over him as his eyes turned an evil red.

"Are you talking back to your spiritual guardian?... I'M The one protectin' your un-grateful arse. So get it straight that we can't keep takin' breaks. No one said that this job was enjoyable, so your gonna do it, and you're gonna like it. Got it midnight?" I decided that enough was enough.

"No…" I said while still tensed up in fear. "I… I just want one day off…...I-I'm way too stressed right now with everything going on….. Having to take out demons…. N-not even that often mind you….. being thrust into a so-called "Destiny" that I didn't even want…... Having a pumpkin-headed freak always watching over me!" Jack's eyes narrowed at that comment, as his pumpkin pistol c****d, fully loaded and ready to blast out a bomb at my head.

I was shaking in fear…. But part of me knew something…. And he knew it too. "Anyone in this situation would be scared and stressed out! Lord knows I had a hard time explaining this to my mother, so how am I gonna explain this to Tomomi & my friends?! I just want some time off…. That's it! And if that's not going to happen…. Then go ahead… " I looked up at him, glaring intensely with my yellow eyes into his yellow eyes.

"Do it. Pull the trigger, kill me and blow this entire house sky high. You don't even have the pumpkin guts to do it…. Do you?!" Jack hesitated, he looked virtually annoyed at me challenging him like that. His trigger finger inched super close to the trigger, but then he retracted and then pulled his finger up.

I closed my eyes, and braced myself for the worst…. But then Jack's spiritual pressure receded, and went down completely. He retracted his gun away from my face and finally peeled back, looking down at me with a smile instead of a frown.

"Heheheheh….. Hahahahahah! Wow, what trooper you are." I looked up at him confused. "I gotta admit, no one's even had the guts to stand up and challenge me like that. I'll respect that for now and grant you this one wish. But once the day's over…. It's back to work." A smile slowly came across my face. He's actually being nice to me!

"Yeah! Sure, of course!" With that being said, we shook hands in respect to seal the deal. I guess he's not such a bad guy after all. He's still a creepy freak though for certain.

Tomomi's P.O.V

Ughhhh the sun. It's glaring in my eyes…. I must've stayed up too late last night looking for Kaila. Her mother was worried sick about her, so I naturally tried to help find her. I looked everywhere she could be, in the tree of life, down by the Okamatsu river, down by the To-ji, even along the Sakura trail leading to Maruyama park. And she was nowhere to be found!

I kept myself up so much, that I was searching until 12 o clock at night. Luckily, Kaila's mom Kaguya called me back and said that she had come home and was….. On a walk?! HOW did I not see her?! Somethin's got to be up. You don't just GO on a walk and I don't see you anywhere. She must've been hiding, or she must've been in a secret place I don't know about. And that's more impossible! She tells me everything!

Now I'm asleep, and the sun is in my eyes, I worried myself to sleep so late last night, that I think I only got like 6 hours of sleep. Good thing I have a grandmother who gets on my ass about these kinds of things!

"Tomomi-San! WAKE UP!" That's my grandma, Grandma Takuro. She's an only lady who surprisingly doesn't look all that old. She's in her early 60's, but still counts as my grandmother. She came in wearing a black kimono with pink Sakura blossoms on it, and also has her hair styled in a brisk ponytail that is braided. She has magenta colored eyes for some reason and some wrinkles in her skin, but generally still looks fairly young. She sounds like an old fart though, and looks like a shaman. She's into a bunch of spiritual stuff that has to do with sorcery and supernatural gunk. Stuff like that.

"AAHH!" I jumped up and looked around. "Grandma?! What time is it?! What happened last night?! What's going on?!" I kept asking her over and over.

"It's morning time Tomomi-San. You had a rather rough night, so if you want to, get up and claim all of the onigiri before I do!" She then ran off towards the kitchen.

"Ah crap! Not again Grandma! That Onigiri is MINE!" I LOVE Onigiri. It's the best kind of rice balls! She always cooks it for me and then eats most of them to test my hunger & speed levels. She trains me in the weirdest of ways, but it keeps me fresh and ready. I quickly slipped some things on and headed downstairs as fast as I could.

Lucky though! I got at least 3 rice balls! NEW RECORD!

"Sooooo grandson did you find what you were looking for last night?" Referring to Kaila and her disappearance last night.

I was too busy stuffing my face with rice balls & Teriyaki. "Mmmghmghm. Mmgh? Did I find what I was looking for?" I said with my mouth completely full.

"OW!" Grandma just whipped me on the forehead! Did I mention she's REALLY strict sometimes?

"What have I told you?! No talking with your mouth full at the table! Now swallow." I swallowed the food in my mouth and began speaking again.

"*gulp* sorry Grandma. Anyways, yeah Kaila came home eventually, so I didn't find her, but she's alright. Her mom said that she was on a walk, but I'm wondering why She's on a walk in the first place." I told her.

"Then the answer you should've gave me is NO." She said while smiling slightly at me. What does she mea NO?

"Huh? But Grandma she's okay. What else do I have to find?" I said back to her.

"Hmmmm… Well then. Let me tell you a little story to try and give you an idea." Oh no. Here we go again. Grandma always speaks in anecdotes. She tells me these little stories in order to try and get her point across. See I told you she works in weird ways.

"This story takes place underground. Involving three of the zodiac animals. The rabbit, the dog, and the rooster. The rabbit was hoarding carrots, plants, radishes, and all kinds of vegetables from the farmer's wheat fields for winter. The rooster came and asked said rabbit "Why are you hoarding so many of these vegetables." She started to explain. I know it's weird to me too.

"The rabbit exclaimed that "It's for the harvest next fall, I need as much food as I can last me through the winter. I plan to stay inside during hibernation." Wait a minute….

"Uhhh…. Grandma…... Rabbit's don't hibernate in the winter." I told her. "OW!" BEFORE…. Being whipped on the forehead with two fingers again. God that hurts….

"I was getting to that. Hush Tomomi-San. Anyways…. *clears throat* The rooster knew that rabbits don't hibernate during the winter. They seek shelter in burrows. So the rabbit was hiding something. But the rabbit would not come out of its hole, as it kept taking vegetables back & forth through the forest. However, one day…... the rabbit was eaten by a ravenous wolf in the forest that hunted it. The rooster could've protected the rabbit…. But the rooster was not willing to come to the rabbit's aid. Think about that while you are with your friends today." Wait how'd she?...

"How'd you know I was gonna go out with my friends today?" I asked her straight up.

"Oh Tomomi, it is the weekend. I may look young, but I'm old enough to know exactly what happens on weekends with you & your friends. Now you should go and find your kimi." Kimi…. What does that mean?...

"Kimi?... Hey wait a second! GRANDMA!" That's a Japanese term for "Wife". She just chuckled. "You think I am talking about your friend? I am of course talking about your girlfriend Amuki Otsukemi." Oh s**t…. how could I forget about her?... Damn she might be pissed at me for not calling her yesterday…. We're already on thin ice from before.

I folded my and looked away from her slightly. "Oh!... Well... uhh…yeah! I totally… knew that's…who you were talking about!" I swear I did!... What I did!?

"Hmhmhmhmmh. Sayonara Tomomi-san." I finished all my rice balls and started to grab a bag full of all my stuff, and then I ran out the big sliding doors to our mountain-side home. "Bye grandma! Love you!" she might be a total trolling pain in the neck, but she's trained me all my life. And has taken care of me for a long time. And I'm only 17 years old, so that's saying a lot.

************

Later on, I finally get to the tree of life after walking down a CRAP-TON of stairs. Like I said we have a mountain-side home within Takuro Gardens. We live on Mt. Kurama, which is north-west of modern Kyoto. This huge mountain is home to the Takuro Gardens, which have a massive amount of steps to climb. Even though it's much easier going down than it is going up.

"I am getting VERY restless here. Where is Tomomi?!" That's my girlfriend, Amuki Otsukemi. She's getting a bit impatient…... I'm starting to see where Kaila's going with her being a "Problem". But I'm not the one to build something like that up. I said I'd make it work, and that's what I'm gonna do. Or at least TRY to do.

"Keep your shirt on Boob-zilla, he should be here any minute." Reyabe, the brown haired girl in the schoolgirl outfit said.

"HEY GIRL! My breasts are not that big!" She said while making an angry anime face, glaring at her and grimacing with a vein mark visible on her forehead.

"There about as big as your attitude that's for sure." Reyabe's got a mouth on her, but she uttered that comment under her breath so Amuki couldn't hear.

Kaila was there too, sitting on the opposite side of the tree with her arms wrapped around her legs. She looked rather stressed about something, like she was thinking of something else, something that worried her.

"Hey guys! I'm here!" I arrive onto the scene fashionably late. Amuki ran over and gave me a hug that felt loving, but really REALLY freakin' tight.

"About time! Where were you? I missed you last night. And why didn't you call me?! You jerk." She said playfully as she went in for a kiss, but I put one finger on her lips to stop her. "Hold that thought." I told her, as I began to walk towards Kaila.

"Wait what?" She said, generally puzzled. I walked right over to Kaila who was still sitting in the fetal position. She looked up at me from the shadows looming over her in the shades of the tree branches.

"C'mon. Don't give me that look. What happened last night?" I put my hands on my sides. "You go for a walk and don't call? Don't tell anyone anything?" She can't expect me to believe that bullshit story.

"Well… yeah. I just needed to clear a few things from my head." I offered my hand to help her up. "Mind tellin' me what those things are as we head out?" She looked up at me and then looked away, like she was in trouble or something.

I just smiled at her, re-assuring her that she's not. I just wanted to know what's up. "Hey c'mon midnight. I'm not here to patronize you…. I just want to know what's goin' on with my bestie." I said to her. She smiled back at me and took my hand, as I helped her to her feet.

All the meanwhile it looked like Amuki was fuming at the sides. Her face turned red with intense anger too…. I knew she was pissed.

"Why is it that he's always caring about HER?! And not ME?! GRRRRRRHH!"

**********

Kaila's P.O.V

Now we're busy walking through a veranda known as the Arashiyama. It's a beautiful walkway showcasing a bamboo forest that leads to a lovely water vista that is perfect for swimming. That's what we're doing today! Going swimming. Thank god Jack didn't come along, otherwise I'd have a severe creeping feeling going up my spine every two seconds.

Don't count your chickens before they hatch midnight bliss… heheheheheh….

Anyways, I'm busy walking with Tomomi, while his…. Ugh…. "Girlfriend" Amuki Otsukemi is holding onto his other arm. But Tomomi is steady looking at me, constantly pressing to get information on why I left that night on a walk. Fortunately…. I got an "Excuse" to use just in case I can't think of anything.

"Sleepwalking?... " Yes…. Don't judge me! It was all I could think of.

"Well yeah. The pills I take often have drastic side effects, such as sleepwalking. With these nightmares still going on inside my head, I think they're leading me somewhere….. that's why I had to get up and take a walk. I don't know where they lead me to…. All I can remember is getting up and walking somewhere unconsciously… " I folded my arms and looked down.

But then I looked back at Tomomi. "You believe me?... Don't you?" I asked him. He looked at me with a sort of suspicious look on his face. "Honestly…" I sort of tensed up a bit when he said that, blinking twice with a nervous look on my face.

"I'm just glad that you're alright! Sleepwalking is believable, I think that's something you'd do. I just hope those sleepwalking ventures don't take you somewhere where you can get hurt. You know it's rather dangerous out here with Kamina and his thug family runnin' our neighborhood right?" He said to me looking with genuine concern…. And that bright, warm smile of his. It brightens my day a little every time.

"Yeah…. I know." I smiled back at him and blushed a bit, but honestly I'm just glad I got out of that unscathed. Luckily Tomomi's more understanding than mom is.

I also heard Reyabe growl at the slight mention of her brother and his "Gang", but nothing more, causing me to look forward at Reyabe. Before I could ask her what her problem was…..

"Yeah yeah, she's fine. Now honey can't you focus back on me?" Otsukemi gripped Tomomi's arm a little tighter to get his attention.

"Oh… yeah sorry babe! Of course." He nervously scratched the back of his scalp as Otsukemi looked at him smiling."

"Great. Now I just have ONE question for you…... WHY DIDN'T YOU CALL ME LAST NIGHT?!" She exploded with anger, yelling at him with a visibly comical angry anime look on her face.

Tomomi's eyes widened in fear." Hey hey hey! Calm down! I'm sorry, I was looking for Kaila last night! I thought she was missing!" He said back to her.

"Well ok, but still you could've given me a call, shot me a text anything-" Before Otsukemi could finish her sentence.

"Yo guys! We're here!

" Gajenma called out, we had finally arrived off of the turning point of the bamboo forest path and reached our destination. One of the gorgeous water verandas of Arashiyama!

This veranda was a giant lake surrounded by Sakura trees, and in the distance was a temple ward called Ukyo that was west of the Kyoto Prefecture. It too looked gorgeous.

"This is it! The water veranda, let's swim before tourists come in and swarm the place!" Reyabe said, as she began to strip down to a bathing suit that was aqua green & pink in color. The same happened for Otsukemi, who's bathing suit was…... Ugh, incredibly skimpy.

"WAY Ahead of you. How do you like my bathing suit Tomomi-Kun? Incredibly fresh and ready for some serious swimming." I'll admit…. She did have a very nice body. Her boobs were bigger than mine though…. That just made me jealous. But my breasts are already pretty big, so I guess I shouldn't be THAT jealous. Hers are just enormous. I'm a D-cup, she's an F-cup. See the difference there?

"Uhhmmm… wow. Jesus. Your….." Tomomi blushed at the sight of her, barely able to contain his excitement. Damn boys and their hormones! Fortunately….. this works in my favor as well.

"Oh come on, don't be shy. I wanna hear what you think of me in this bathing suit Tomomi-Kun." She curled her leg up on his own and pressed her chest against his, using her s****l charms on him. GGGGRRRRRHHH… f*****g…. Tgh. I'm not that petty, but every time I see her kiss up to him it makes my blood boil.

"Well… uhhh….." He started blushing as Otsukemi got closer and closer to him. But now it's time to crash that little party she's having.

"Uhhh Tomomi? What do you think of my bathing suit? I mean…. If it's okay to ask?" I took off my clothes and was wearing an orange bathing suit underneath. With my arm around my waist and holding onto my other wrist, most of my skin was visible.

I had a pretty fit body if I can sport myself, but I kinda looked down a bit and blushed, sort of shy to reveal my body to him. But ANYTHING to get that skank away from my best friend!

"OH MY GOD…..YOUR BEAUTIFUL! MARRY ME KAILA-CHAN!" Gajenma again….. he leapt into my arms trying to catch & hug me with hearts flowing from his body in a cartoonish way, but that noise was cut off real quick by Reyabe. Who knocked him on the skull.

"You had your chance moron….." She left Gajenma with lumps in his head. Ouch….

"Why me?..." He said while wheezing.

Tomomi blinked twice and just looked at me while blushing profusely. He was blushing so much that his face turned red. "Uhhhhhmmm…..you…..You look….." He then regained his composure and shook his head. "You look amazing Kaila." He said…. That's….. actually pretty sweet.

"Thank you Tomomi." I gave him a bright smile, but then I looked at Otsukemi and gave her a devious smile.

"How's that you friendship ruining skank?"

"You'll f*****g pay for that later b***h. Trust me. Just fuckin' watch." We began to stare at each other with a rival spark forming between us…..

Later on, we're finally taking a dip into the water. Reyabe & I are engaged in a friendly, playful splash fight. Getting each other so wet. Don't take that the wrong way you perverts.

"Ah! Your gonna pay for that Kai!" she splashed me right back as I blocked and covered myself from the water, we went back and forth until….

"RAAAAGH! Here comes the Jaws of GAJENMA!" Gajenma grabbed Reyabe from behind around the waist, causing her to blush for…. Some reason?

"Hey?! Wha-what do you think you're doing?!" She said while looking back at him.

"Get ready….. TO DUNK ON! BANZAI!" He suplexed her into the water behind him while still wearing his goggles. What a dork. But at least he's having fun.

"You jackass! I could've been killed!" Reyabe angrily said to Gajenma.

"Oh come on! It's only water! If you don't like being dunked that way, how about THIS WAY!" He then began to pick her up bridal style and throw her into the water once more.

"What?! Again!? Nonononono Gajenma don't- BLAAGGH!" And she gets thrown into the water again, causing a big splash of water that gets on me.

"Ah! Heheheh…." I'm having fun! Finally some normalcy. I'm actually glad to have friends like these. They're the ones that keep me sane through all of the insanity I go through normally, even outside of the world of the Hollows. But…. Where's Tomomi?

"Hey Tomomi! Come on in the water's great! Hurry before things get rough!" I called out to him, but he was too busy talking to his girlfriend, they hadn't even gotten into the veranda yet….

"Tomomi? ….." I asked out loud…. But he couldn't hear me. He was too busy talking to his so-called "Girlfriend". They were sitting beside the veranda talking in what seemed like a heated argument with me just kind of…. sitting there. Watching awkwardly.

"Y'know you could learn to ease off once in a while. It's not like I said she looks better than you." He said while closing his eyes with a slight glare in them.

"Yeah, but you didn't say anything about MY bikini either. I thought you weren't gonna be all touchy with her again? And here you are complimenting her before you even talk about me! I'm supposed to be your girlfriend. And you're constantly looking at her. Why?" She asked while looking dead at him.

"Maybe because on the normal you get on my nerves…" Tomomi said under his breath.

"What?!" Otsukemi said out loud, sounding a little angrier than before.

"You heard me! Your always so self-conscious that I'm gonna get with her or something. Seriously! She's my best friend, nothing more. And she'll ALWAYS be my best friend. If you don't like it then whatever, but I'm not gonna stop hanging with her just because you're jealous." Ooooooh… I felt like he shouldn't have said that. He just made things worse.

"I'M JEALOUS?! If anyone's jealous it's that little midnight trite over there in the orange bikini! She WISHES she had my kind of body and beauty! She WISHES she had you as a boyfriend! She had her chance a long time ago, but that was then, this is now. Stop looking at her like you-" Tomomi interrupted her mid-sentence.

"Like I what? Like I like her or something?! I told you I don't have feelings for her!" He said…... Reyabe & Gajenma are starting to look….

"Then why do you always googly-eye her all the damn time?! You should be looking at me! Not her!" She said while yelling out her words….

"I can't compliment my friend on how she looks?! Damn! I got another question for you. If I'm supposed to be your boyfriend then why don't you trust me?! Why can't you trust me enough to be able to let me be around my best friend?!" Tomomi roared back at her….

Otsukemi just folded her arms and looked away…. "I think you know why." I blinked twice at such a comment. What did she mean?... No she couldn't mean….

"Ok…. I've had it. I'm not gonna sit here and be accused of playing with someone's heart like this. You really think I'm like that don't you? Your one to talk. Especially after what you did years ago-" *SMACK*

"*gasp* ….. Oh my…." She smacked him across the cheek….

"DON'T Talk about what I did. This is about what YOU DID! What YOU'RE doing now!" She's angry…. I can feel it.

"Talk about a lover's quarrel. Am I right?" Reyabe said.

Tomomi turned to her and glared straight into her eyes. "Y'know what… that's enough. Kaila was right about you. I'm done with this. And I'm done with you. This is over. WE'RE over." My eyes…. They just widened…. Holy s**t….. did Tomomi just-

"Well well well. What do we have here? A Lover's quarrel?" Wait I recognize that voice…. Oh god not now! Seriously?!

There were footsteps seen walking up the pathway towards us, as the footsteps began to approach us, Tomomi didn't move a muscle, he simply gripped his fists tightly as I had gotten out of the water and told Reyabe & Gajenma to stay inside.

"Stay there guys. We can handle this." I quickly got out of the water and low and behold… Kamina and his cronies pulled up. And he had four of them with him bringing his gang to about five. What were they doing here?

"Sorry am I interrupting anything? I just came by to tell you a few things." He said while looking at them, with that ugly smirk in his face.

"What do you want now Kamina. We're trying to have a day off. Go bother someone else." I said to him.

One of his cronies pulled out a knife... "*gasp* H-hey…. Why does he have a knife?!" I said to him. "Are you crazy?! This is a public place!"

"Don't worry I'm not here to hurt you whimps. I'm here to tell you to keep my name out of the papers. Do that, and no one gets hurt, Toshiro and I had a visible conversation. And he agreed to keep the story of our little fight out of the newspaper at school. There's one thing I have to tell you, you little midnight blue haired freak." He was looking directly at me….

I grimaced with anxiety, wondering what he was going to do, as he started to walk toward me.

"You are still on my hit list, I said I wasn't gonna hurt your friends….. but your friends are gonna have to watch you get hurt for that little embarrassment from earlier." He cracked his knuckles, as all of his cronies started walking towards me.

I got ready for a throw down even though I was in my bathing suit still…. But then suddenly WHAM!

"OOF!" Tomomi socked Kamina right in his jaw. "I'm not playing games right now…... SO f**k OFF!" One guy in Kamina's gang with blue hair, the one that had a knife tried to stab Tomomi, but he moved his arm to the side and bent it, snapping it completely.

"AAAAGGH! GGGH!" Tomomi elbowed the guy and then jumped and knocked one thug behind him to the ground with a roundhouse kick, another one came from behind and grabbed him, but I snuck up right behind him and gave him a swift blade chop to the neck.

We both went to work kicking the asses of Kamina and his gang. They're not so tough, they're just a bunch of wannabe thugs. Two of them came flying at Tomomi with their fists, but he struck both of them across the face with a wave snap kick, while spinning back around and kicking another one to the ground.

The next one he punched in the stomach twice followed up by an uppercut to the jaw and a palm haymaker knockback to plant him into the ground.

One of them tried to s***h my throat but luckily I was swift enough to dodge by bending backwards, then following it up with a head butt, followed by a knee to the face to knock him out.

Kamina came right up behind me, poised to attack…. "You little…. COME HERE YOU MIDNIGHT COLORED b***h! I'M TIRED OF YOU KICKING MY ASS!" He tackled me, but I flip-kicked him right off, he was really pissed now but I decided not to play with him anymore.

So we traded blows back and forth for just a bit, before he went for a haymaker punch to my temple, which I responded by dodging, grabbing his arm, palming his elbow in order to snap his wrist, and then judo slamming him into the ground.

"Get lost…..NOW!" Tomomi roared out to all of his dumb goons. Bunch of losers.

"Your dead for this you know! I'll get you back yet! Just wait…... I got a surprise for you that might change your mind….." He looked dead at Otsukemi, and I noticed this too….. He's not plotting what I think he's plotting is he?! God he's crazy….

But for now he's running away. Him and his so-called gang. They're dangerous sure, but we can handle them every time. This wouldn't be the first time they got their asses handed to them.

"We're done here. Let's go." Otsukemi looked at Tomomi liked she had seen a ghost, she was scared, yet heartbroken at the same time. I honestly….. felt a little bad for her.

"Tomomi…. I-"

"I SAID WE'RE DONE! I'm leaving. If you can't trust me, then I don't wanna trust you. I'm going if you guys aren't." With that Tomomi just….. left in a huff….. He was so incredibly mad….. This just can't go well for us later on.

He just left everyone there in an awkward silence….. I couldn't even really speak for Otsukemi, who just started….. crying. And eventually….. it turned into sobbing. I don't know whether to feel bad for her…. Or…. If she got exactly what she deserved.

.: TO BE CONTINUED :.