Demon Eyes

Chapter 2: The Courage to Fight

As the sun rises over Kawazumi in the morning, Noreyu jumps out of his cave home. The trees  sway in the wind, rays of sunshine piercing through their lush green crowns.

He wanders through the forest, watching nature slowly wake again as the new day begins. The first birds sing their songs, the squirrels run in searching for food, and even a deer watches him from a safe distance.

Walking along the rough dirt path, Noreyu reaches the end of the forest as Kawazumi's modern district and its massive skyscrapers comes into view. He reaches a street and watches as a car drives past him.

Until just a few years ago, Kawazumi was a quiet town, far away from modern technology. But with the new mayor's push for modernization, the townscape has changed a lot in recent times. Even though the old buildings still stand throughout most of the city, with cars driving everywhere, the landscape doesn't feel the same to many citizens.

Noreyu looks up at one of the skyscrapers in the distance. "I wonder if I could get up there," he thinks. "The view would be awesome."

When Noreyu arrived in Kawazumi, the town was already in the middle of the modernization project, so he doesn't care much about the changes. He wanders further through the streets, passing through the mostly empty city center, the only part of the town where no cars can drive.

After walking for a while, he reaches a path leading up a large hill to the north of the city. The large buildings on this hill are Kawazumi's school and university, all conveniently placed close together. There is only one school for the entire city, separated into one building for the lower and one for the higher grades.

The school is still empty, only a few students and teachers arrive as early as Noreyu does. He walks around the building, enjoying the fresh morning air.

An hour later, school is about to begin. Lots of students arrive at school, flooding up the staircase leading to the main entrance. Noreyu watches the chaos from the rooftop of his school building, letting his legs hang down casually. As he surveys the crowds, one person stands out to him.

Walking towards the same building he is sitting on is a student with dark blue hair whom Noreyu has never seen before. "My eye reacts when I look at them," Noreyu thinks. "There's some kind of weird energy."

The school bell's rings startle Noreyu while he is lost in thought. He slips and falls from the roof, face-planting into the dirt. He quickly stands up, with a faint teal glow in his eye.
"Seriously, what's up with that energy?" he thinks as he stands up. "It feels like that of a Demon Eye. But they don't look like they have one..."

Noreyu takes a seat on the side of the classroom as the teacher walks in. "Good morning, class," she begins, as usual. Noreyu is about to turn away when he notices someone else with the teacher.

"That's the person I saw outside!" he quietly realizes. "This might be my chance to get to the bottom of this."
"Their name is Hirisu. Their family moved to Kawazumi a week ago, and they will be joining you as an eighth-grade student from now on."
Hirisu slowly walks into the classroom, looking around nervously.
"H- Hello, everyone..." they begin, their eyes still constantly shifting around the classroom. "I- I'm-"

The teacher standing behind Hirisu slowly advances forward, forcing them further into the classroom. They start shaking a little as they have to step in front of the large class. She tries to give them a small push, when she suddenly feels someone grabbing her wrist.
"Hey."
As she turns, she sees Noreyu, towering above her with his Demon Eye glowing.
"Leave them alone."
A crunching sound shoots through the room. The teacher hurriedly slips out of Noreyu's grasp, the skin on her wrist taking a light red color.