Re:Demon - Reborn as a Demon Book 1

12

Laughter rang, bouncing off the buildings even as the sharp clack of their shoes echoed down the alley, mixing in a way that could only really be enjoyed during youth. It was the kind of thing that filled their lives and days with joy, a sign that they were still free from the cares of the world.

Iniks ran alongside his two best friends, chasing the ball in the hopes to beat them to it. He almost had it when Tal shoulder checked him, causing him to stumble, losing a half step on them. Despite the fact that he knew he couldn't catch up, he dashed after them, listening to Tal's laughter as it streamed over her shoulder and slid past him.

She almost got the ball herself, but Kostos threw himself forward just as her foot connected, hitting the ball from behind and sending it careening down the alley, bouncing off the wall as it rushed away from them.

The game the kids were playing was like a mash-up of soccer and tag, only with less rules or organization. The goal was to get control of the ball so they could try and hit each other with it. Each of them wanted to avoid that, not just because of bragging rights, but because the ball itself was a sphere of light wood strips woven together and covered in leather, so it hurt to get hit by.

Most adults would've realized immediately that such a game was dangerous and likely to cause someone to get hurt, but to the kids, it was one of their favorite pastimes, despite all the bruises it caused. Their parents didn't give them too hard a time about it, despite the fact that they repeatedly warned them about the dangers of playing, mostly because they'd done it themselves when they were kids.

It wasn't like they didn't get injured, they often went home with bruises from getting hit and scrapes from sliding for the ball, which got them into a bit of trouble, but only if they complained about it, then they'd get yelled at about how many times they'd been told not to do stupid things, not that they really listened.

The only time they really got in trouble was if they tore their clothes, since that would mean more work for their moms. They'd often get their hides tanned for it, either by their moms, or more often, by their dads when they got home from work.

Those were the worst, having to sit there, waiting for their dad to get home. Getting spanked hurt bad enough, but not being able to do anything but wait, knowing it was coming was actually worse by far. The dread of it filling their minds since they had nothing else to think about. Sure, they were supposed to be thinking about what they'd done wrong, but they never did. Oh, they regretted it to be sure, but that didn't change their position. It didn't matter how much they pleaded or promised to never do it again, the blows would be coming and wouldn't stop until they're parents' hand was sore, or worse still, they'd counted out what they thought was the appropriate number of strikes from their belt.

Still, the threat from their parents didn't stop them from being kids and any punishment they'd face could wait till nightfall, right now, they had each other and their game.

Iniks watched the ball bounce off the wall and hit a crate, ricocheting back, which put him in the proper place to take advantage of it.

He managed to cut its momentum with his foot, knocking it to the side and as it reflected off the wall, the other two seemed to realize that they wouldn't make it to him in time to stop him from getting a kick off, so they tried to dodge out of the way, which mostly involved trying to throw the other one in the way.

It really didn't matter, he just kicked the ball at the both of them, glad for the bigger target. That was the way they often played, not really aiming, but just trying to hit each other. Sure, some of the time they'd aim for one of them, whether for revenge for getting hit rather hard or something else, it did happen, but if it got out of hand it could lead that one to quit, which killed all the fun, so they tried to avoid it, especially since it was hard to convince them to come back the next day.