Rade's Demon Elimination Service

Chapter 25: A Talk Before Viewing the Blossoms

"Come on, Rade!" Kalleid called out to Rade who was rubbing her eyes hard enough to poke at them. He motioned to her with a hand, urging her to move forward. "We're going to be late!" he even added which did nothing to soothe the distress on Rade's eyes.

Rade didn't know how she ended up being with Kalleid, running across the intersecting roads while the traffic signs were still all red.

She supposed it was her own undoing. It wasn't that she just mindlessly agreed to everything that Lyu told her or maybe it was just exactly like that. Since he was still recuperating, New York has to stay behind on the Aldeia clan's manor.

Meanwhile, London as a made-up honorary member of the Supernatural Club has been helping Kalleid immensely with the works and stuff in the clubroom and paperwork. The Supernatural Club has been working on an Anthology of Conspiracies, a compilation of conspiracy theories and creepy pasta to sell in the upcoming school fair.

With that came Lyu and Rade who have been both became honorary members of the Supernatural Club. Lyu has already filed for an application to the Club, but since New York wasn't around, they have to wait for the official president and that was to say he was only an official president by name since everyone knows that it was Kalleid who do everything. Lyu has already filled an application form for Rade herself, but Rade was still not sure if she would really commit to the club activities since it seemed like it was not a serious club in the first place.

She understood that it wasn't particularly about the club that the members were so busy for. Instead of running the club like a good normal mortal club in high school, the Supernatural Club's room has become some sort of fort for the hunters that came to the school. It has direct contact with the Watchtower and completed with gears and weapons that haven't been used from the looks of it.

And the placing of the club room was strategic to oversee everything for miles. It was in the topmost floor of the building and was easily the tallest building in sight of the part of the town. The main city was still around fifteen minute to twenty minute ride by a car or even by a bicycle and only a five minute ride on the train.

Meanwhile, the very reason why Kalleid was currently accompanying Rade was because she was asked by Lyu if she'd like to wear a traditional Japanese clothing courtesy of Miss Megumi for the cherry blossoms picinic they have arranged. Without giving much to it, she said yes.

There wasn't anyone who would fetch her in the Attic, Miss Megumi and Lyu's family book and photo shop combined into one shop, to take her to the location they set. And that was why they both ran their way from the school towards the shop while London and Lyu, who have previous culinary experience, made them food in the Aldeia clan's manor.

Since London and Lyu were working on the food they will eat, Kalleid and Rade took it upon themselves to finish editing the entries for the anthology of the clubroom. Their problem was that they took up too much time and now it was almost time. What was worse was that Rade hasn't even dressed yet.

It was all thanks to Kalleid who thought London was working too hard for an honorary member when, in fact, it was all Lyu who do everything in stead of her.

The Supernatural Club's adviser has been asking for the final anthology compilation file since last week and because of everything that happened, no one has bothered to do it except for Kalleid with the help of Lyu whose book knowledge came in handy. It was also upon Kalleid's urging that London and Rade helped.

"Miss Megumi!" Kalleid called upon the young lady behind the counter who smiled at them both.

"What took you so long?" she asked languidly, already walking out of the counter. "The kimono is ready up the stairs. Shall we go?" she asked Rade who nodded.

There was a notable flush on Rade's cheeks and Kalleid was uncertain if it was due to the exhaustion caused by their run from school to the Attic or something else.

Megumi motioned for Rade to follow her to climb the stairs, but not before turning to Kalleid and asking him, "Is it okay for you to wait here for a moment?" she asked politely.

"I don't mind, Miss Megumi," Kalleid responded. He planted himself to a comfortable chair by the window where a tea was steeping, still smoking. "I'll wait here."

"Then if you'll excuse us please," Megumi said, climbing the stairs to the upper rooms with Rade on her tow but Megumi suddenly returned. "By the way, Kalleid, there's a mail waiting for you. It's by the drawer beside the cashier, yes? I think it's allowance from your father."

Kalleid nodded before happily going to the cashier where his mail was. It was probably from his father, giving him a warning of what might happened now that the Shadow Fantasm was gone. After he was done pocketing the mail, he went to roamed the Attic.

Kalleid looked at the tea set on the table and the book which was marked by a bookmark that was only half way in and half way out. Kalleid realized that there was someone else sitting on the table and it might probably too rude of him to suddenly just plant himself like that.

He scrutinized the things on the table. The seat that he was sitting on was already cold, meaning it might not the chair the owner of the book was sitting on or that it has long since been deserted. The steeping tea might mean that the person was just waiting for it to be prepared, besides that, Kalleid looked at the book which had been marked with a bookmark.

He jolted awake from his wool-gathering by that bookmark.

He has been told of another presence in the Attic. Lyu has asked him how he felt and he said he was fine. After all, the real reason why everything became such a mess was actually Rade who engaged and stimulated the Fantasm to change course of its direction

It was only natural for a dying creature to seek ways of survival.

And here the Shadow Fantasm comes again for the second time this lifetime.

"If it isn't the half-breed," he said, his voice came just behind Kalleid who cannot turn to look at the source of the voice.

There were the sounds of tapping shoes against the floor of the shop disrupting the peaceful silence. The ambiance became eerie and frightening as if the arrival of the demon seeped every little happy thing around the world.

A moment later, Kalleid was faced by a pretty blond man. He was wearing a hanten over a loose peplos appearing like an eternal pagan god which he was most definitely the opposite from. There was a powerful aura around the man that made Kalleid stiff and frozen on his spot. He wanted to get out, and he wanted to be out of this man's sight.

But the bored expression the man gave to him erased his fright. There was no killing intent within the man's glowing red eyes. Kalleid's shoulders loosened a fraction, just a tiny bit.

Then he started observing the great demon manifestation in front of him.

Asides from the blond man's peculiar looking old clothes and the way he carried himself as though he was some kind of royalty, he was mildly beautiful. Not overwhelmingly so, but just enough for someone to be unable to lift their eyes off him.

His yellow hair glinted with gold, seemingly dusted with fairy dust. The eyes that bore into Kalleid's own were blood red and dangerous yet stunningly beautiful and alsp powerful. His face was very proportional and on his golden complexion were blue veins.

"Fannie," Kalleid greeted at the man, standing up. There was a gentle smile on his face as he regarded the older man. "It's nice to finally meet you."

Kalleid heard the man, Fannie his name was, sighed heavily, offering his hand to the half-demon. Kalleid accepted it and lightly shook it.

"Kalleid, is it?" Fannie asked.

A peculiar expression crossed his face which suddenly vanished as quickly as it appeared. Kalleid was uncertain if that was only a product of his imagintion.

"The half- demon, half- mortal," Fannie added in a whisper, withdrawing his hand from Kalleid's own hand and also exerting force so their spots would be turned. He sat on the seat that was earlier occupied by Kalleid.

Kalleid wasn't offended. What he did next was that he only moved to the other chair, looking at Fannie with a fascinated expression. However vain Fannie might have looked, he didn't want an unwarranted attention.

"If you're going to look at me like you'd like to ravish me," he started, jolting Kalleid from his daze. "I'm afraid I'll have to ask for your pardon. You're not my type. I want only pure breeds of either."

Kalleid looked at Fannie cluelessly, not comprehending what the other man was saying.

Until now, Kalleid wasn't quite sure was it was that held Lady Geneva Aldeia's sharp blade from taking the life of one of the great demons of humanity in the world. It was still puzzling him until now, but there must be a deeper reason.

When he first heard of the pardon that the Aldeia clan gave to the Shadow Fantasm, Kalleid understood. There was admonition about battling the great demon and they all have been cautioned and warned against from doing so, but Rade still did that very thing. But not even for a second did Kalleid expected that they would let go of their reins on the Fantasm's neck while it was still weak and not yet fully recovered.

"I'm just wondering why would the Aldeia clan let you live," Kalleid told the older man frankly. "And you're also not my type. You're simply too old for me..." Kalleid paused before adding a very crunchy word to the ears, "sir."

That made Fannie laughed, he even patted his stomach because he was simply laughing too hard at what the impudent little half-breed just told him.

"I'm not your type?" he asked the younger boy incredulously. "Well it's true that I'm older than you by almost a thousand years, but I like that you didn't beat around the bush. Won't that be extremely too annoying?"

"I'm certain it would be," Kalleid responded.

But Kalleid couldn't notice that Fannie didn't gave him any answer still.

"Here with the girl then?" Fannie asked, flipping through the book that he brought with him. He piled up the newly brought books to the one on the surface of the table and started reading one of them.

"Yes," Kalleid answered, wondering why would an immortal being like the Shadow Fantasm want to read a book about botany.

"She tried to kill me when she first saw my humanoid form," Fannie said casually.

"I think everyone would collectively agree that Rade's main objective with meeting people is to test if they can survive her," Kalleid responded.

The first time that they met, Rade also attempted murder to Kalleid's poor body. They went on like that for a couple of weeks until she gave up. Even Lyu, who has became Rade's closest friend that was her age, has also been attempted to be killed by Rade when they first met.

How odd the things have turned out, Kalleid thought while looking at the lingering smoke over the seeping tea.

Now Kalleid was talking with the greatest demon of the humanity, the Shadow Fantasm who could control legions of demons and whose presence could also affect and make demons go crazy. Indeed things have turned out not in the direction everyone was expecting. Though it may be odd, it was for the better.

"Since when would you be here?" Kalleid asked Fannie, making light conversation.

The man shrugged his slender shoulders off, his collarbone moving as he did so. He was truly spectacular to the eyes, Kalleid thought and marvelled.

"Since the time that I could regain my position as The One Who Brought the Skies and Wind," Fannie answered gently, his red eyes were still reading the botany book. The demon manifestation was sitting languidly at the other side of the little table, on the similar comfortable chair like Kalleid's.

Kalleid nodded.

"Would that take a while?" Kalleid asked.

"Can't wait to get rid of me?" Fannie asked sarcastically.

Kalleid shook his head.

"With a great symbol of power gone and out of the scene, there will be a shift in power," Kalleid said seriously. "That must be why the Aldeia clan let you go off even when it would bring an unfathomable honor to kill the greatest demon of humanity. They chose the demon that they have already been familiar with rather than risking someone else to take its place at the top."

"You think that you are like a human being," Fannie said, flipping a page of the botany book he was reading. "But in reality, you are much like us rather than those creatures. We strive in the deepest and darkest pits of humanity, and, in return, they hunt us down believing that it was just. What do you think your friends think of you?"

Kalleid took a moment before he answered, but he never had the chance since Fannie was already speaking.

"You're bound to get married, aren't you?" Fannie asked yet again, his eyes were rapidly reading the page he turned his book to. "To that one mortal that saved you from destroying your humanity, but your life will be miserable. It wouldn't be that feeling they called love that would drive your marriage, but your ability to procreate immortals like yourself. And they would want you to bear a manifestation just like how your mother did with your father to create a perfect being like you. You would be quite the useful tool for these humans and you will be cherished despite the disgust that will engulf them knowing you are half of what they hunt."

Kalleid looked down on his lap.

He never thought too deeply of what the future holds for him. He never wanted to, in fact. There were certain things he was meant to do in order to survive, but there were also certain things he couldn't bear himself to compromise with.

"How is my mother?" he instead asked, his voice trembled and Fannie noticed it too.

Instead of poking him any further, Fannie chose to answer his diversion of a question much to Kalleid's relief.

"Thriving, I should guess," Fannie answered. "The Tale Teller."

He reached out for the steeping tea and prepared both of them a cup each. The jasmine blossom that floated atop the surface of the tea was fragrant and the scent permeated through the shop, a breath of fresh fragrance in spit of the stuffy old books and parchment both of which scent were a little overwhelming the air.

"Thank you," Kalleid said to Fannie after receiving the tea cup that was offered to him with both hands.

"I'm suprised you didn't ask that first," Fannie continued casually. "But then I suppose you are a human too, at least half of what you are."

"What do you mean by that?" Kalleid asked Fannie and sipped timidly at the warmed cup.

"You are resentful," Fannie told him and Kalleid realized he was. "Resentful of her and probably of your father also."

Kalleid smiled, looking at his hazy reflection upon the remaining almost transparent tea on his cup. He couldn't see himself, but he knew he was there just as he was certain that he knew his name was indeed Kalleid without actually seeing it.

"I am human after all," he just said. "I thought you wanted to steal my body? What happened to that, Fannie?"

"Changed my mind," Fannie said, "the consequences are not worth it."

Somehow, Kalleid didn't understand that one bit but he turned away from the man and only happily drank on his tea. He checked the time on the grandfather clock and saw to his amazement that he has been here for over half an hour now.

Rade and I should really get going, Kalleid thought while thinking of what would be New York's reaction once they indeed became late. Deciding that he doesn't want to waste any more time to ogle at the humanoid form of the Shadow Fantasm, Kalleid went to the comfort room and changed into more comfortable and casual clothing then came back to his seat while Fannie poured more tea on the younger bou's cup.

A few more minutes and there were the footsteps descending the stairs of the shop. Miss Megumi hasn't, of course, changed her attire but she was already prepared with a little purse and a scarf while Rade fiddle with the sleeves of her kimono.

"Fannie," Megumi called to the person from across Kalleid while Kalleid himself strode towards their direction. "Make sure the shop is still intact and in good condition once we came back, yes?" Megumi said gently to Fannie.

Fannie only nodded and waved his hand towards his foster sister, not even bothering to look at the well-dressed people while one of his peplos' loose sleeves slid down his smooth shoulder. Megumi shook her head despite herself.

"Fannie," Megumi said, her peach blossom eyes directed at the man. "Be more appropriate. There might be customers wanting to buy something. Won't you please arrange your clothing more properly?"

The man's only response was to fix the sleeve of his peplos. The over drape of his clothing created more silhouette and drama making Fannie appear as if he was some kind of lonely and tragic prince. Megumi was sick on her stomach and Kalleid only chuckled lightly, not minding that the Fantasm wasn't noticing them.

Instead, Kalleid turned to Rade who was still fiddling with the sleeves of her kimono. Being used to seeing Rade so skinny, bones and no meat at all, it was refreshing to see some weight on her and it suited her just as well. The colors of the yukata Rade was wearing were in contrast to the usually bleak and dull colors of the clothes she bought in every thrift store.

Kalleid smiled at her and opened the door for the both of them, leaving Megumi to deal with Fannie.

As they both walk, Kalleid could still see the sun, so bright still. The oncoming train was noisy, very much like the first time they went in the Attic, and they both stopped at the railroad signs as the trains sped past them both.

Thinking about what Fannie told him earlier, Kalleid couldn't help but feel a slight grim touched his spine. It was chilling despiye his warm smile earlier. He wanted to run. He wanted to escape, but would there be any place out there that would shield and take offense for him.

This was the life he has been used to and these were the people he has loved and cherised the most in the past almost decade of years.

Your life will be miserable, Fannie have said.

Kalleid wondered how much of the truth that Fannie breathed into those words or if there were any truth in any of those.

Unintentionally filling himself with negative energy, he focused on the girl beside him and her anxiety with her new clothes. Banishing any of the lingering gloom and darkness in his core, Kalleid looked back and waved at Megumi who has started to catch up with then.