Forever yours

Chapter 16

A month passed and it seemed like the world was in turmoil. Every day news channels and papers reported freak weather phenomena's from tornados to flash flooding hitting with no warning. A rise in murders and missing person cases popped up world-wide leaving authorities and scientists baffled. For those with the sight and in the know knew it was because the war between the demons under Haizaki and the exorcists and demons opposed to his ways had begun.

Kuroko's Pov

I walked down the street, squinting against the bright light. It had been a long time since I had any free time since the exorcists had forced me into their ranks and it had been nothing but fighting, all day and all night. When I wasn't fighting they took blood samples. I was glad that the experiments on me had ended though. After a week fighting for them I had managed to help and protect a large number of exorcists and they had voiced their rage at the experiments being done on me. The higher ups had shut down Hanimya's experiments and they only took my blood once a day to run tests. Akashi was still a prisoner but they had loosened his restrictions, he was now free to roam the top five floors though he rarely did. He had met up with Aomine and Kise regularly at the edge of the barrier and he had been able to contribute his clan to the fight. The exorcists would never openly work in conjunction with the demons however the Intel from both sides had been a key factor in many victories. I saw my reflection in one of the shop windows and couldn't help but stop and stare. I raised a hand and the skeleton in the window copied my movements. I had lost so much weight that I looked like skin and bones. My skin was almost translucent and I could see dark circles around my eyes. Even though I was shocked at my appearance thanks to the demon blood flowing through my body I was still beautiful. My hair was still a brilliant cerulean and my eyes seemed to pop and sparkle more in contrast to my luminescent skin. I could see people glancing at me, both men and woman, and blushing when I caught their eyes. I sighed and continued down the streets, hands in my pockets. It seemed that whoever my father was, whatever part demon I was, the only thing I gained from that side was the pestering ability that made people crave my body. I stopped when something flashed in one of the shop windows. There was a beautiful glass carving of a phoenix in flight, its wings spread wide above its head and its beak open in a silent cry. Other beautiful works of art littered the display window, animals and mythical creatures. Well, mythical to most of the human race. I looked up at the store sign, it read simply 'Rebirth'. It was only a small shop, jammed between two busy cafes and I would have walked past it on any other day. I opened the door and stepped in. As soon as the door closed behind me the noise from the street faded and I was hit with a lovely vanilla smell. Once my eyes adjusted I could see it was a small coffee shop with books and artwork covering every inch of wall space.

"Welcome, what can I do for you today?"

I turned to see a young man behind the counter pulling a tray out of a small oven. He had long fiery red hair that was tied back with a bandanna and striking sky blue eyes. As he moved it looked like his very hair was made up of flames as I could see streaks of orange and yellow through it. I realised I had been staring and shut my mouth, moving over to the counter and looking at the menu. I realised that the vanilla smell was coming from the small cakes he had just pulled from the oven and my mouth began salivating as my stomach gave an embarrassing grumble. I had not been eating much as I never had an appetite after the fighting.

"Have a seat and I will set you some of these to cool. While your waiting did you want a vanilla shake?"

I nodded, surprised that he guessed what I wanted to drink.

"My name is Kagutsuchi."

He placed one milkshake in front of me while he took a sip out of a second one and put a plate with the small cakes on it in front of me.