Keeper Of Demonic Forces [A Paranormal Vigilante Action Fantasy Story]

Third Person

~

"You've got a lot of nerve Vermillion you that right? First you call out of the blue for the first time in months! What? Tokyo city girl life not that fun anymore? Then you drop one heck of job on me and expect me to do two more?! Just who do you think you her."

Kira can each accusatory statement like a brick to the skull, the shrill voice of another high school girl is made longer by the fact she's on loud speaker and she's pretty sure the walls in Troy's house aren't as sound proof as her. She can hear Kuro's fit of giggles on the other side f the screen door leading out of the bathroom but she tunes him down, focusing on what tk say to calm down her old friend.

The scathing tirade finally lulls of with a deep-seated sigh of annoyed resignation, "Well?"

"C'mon MaeMae, shit happens and I lost track of time," she laughs weakly, trying and failing to sound cool. Navigating the deep intricacies of a highschool student while protecting a whole city from the very real threat of Demon Summoning overlords would definitely make you forget to call a few old friends here and there but Kira had a much deeper problem.

She's just very bad a keeping in touch with people she doesn't see frequently.

The guilt drops like a brick again at Mae's next words, "But your busy schedule finally cleared up just to ask lil 'ole me to help you?! You're the absolute worst!"

"I am and I'm sorry, what more do you want?!"

"Pay double."

"But you don't even need the money!"

Maelyn Brooks was a friend from her life in Washington, a Texan born mega genius with a talent for hacking that had gotten her into some of the best schools in the state. A year above Kira's grade to be specific but they'd have never even met if not for a mutual contact they had both yet to bring up.

"Hey, you could've asked him y'know, he'd have been happy to help more than me."

Kira gulps, her ears picking out the clack of keys in background and the hum of the other girl's PC setup. She and Mae had never been that close but that had nothing to asking favours to change grades or just having fun targeting other companys that tried to sabotage Ares' charity galas and relief operations.

Good times.

What wasn't a good time was what happened between Kira and said mutual friend before their move and Kira wasn't going to wade through that puddle of awkwardness over the phone for the world. Not when there was a beautiful blond haired option probably wearing a pizza sauce stained tank top.

"He'd have told me to come to you either way 'cuz you're way better than him," she tries, pushing all the praise and adoration she can into her tone. Full English statements feel foreign from her throat after so long and she's working a lot harder than she used to to keep her accent out.

Mae stops typing, chuckling around the straw of her slushy, "You're a lot worse at lying now but I'll take that as a compliment."

"So about that discount..."

"Piss off."

"Why?! C'mon it's summer, you've probably got tons of business coming in!"

"I'll need the best lawyers if I ever get nailed for what you're asking me, Miss Moneybags." She huffs out, the typing resumes again, "You don't have to pay double I guess, but just send me the pictures of the other two and the details, I have to make this pretty convincing in case your old man decides he wants to go sniffing around them later."

Kira's first instinct is to defend Ares' honor but looking back she decides to hold her tongue and go for the joke instead, "I'll let him know you think he's old."

"Ain't he like forty-five?"

"He's thirty-nine."

"Pfft, Unc."

"Don't be corny," Kira chides but she's laughing lightly alongside Mae in seconds.

"I'll be real for a sec 'Million," Mae takes a long sip from her drink and the sound comes more distorted than her voice has over the line, "If you've gotten yourself into deep shit and need help, you can be honest y'know, I'll help and maybe Ri-"

"I'm fine I promise!" This time she doesn't have to fake the assuring strength of her voice, "This is just personal for a friend."

"A friend and his family with no background whatsoever...yeah sure, just be careful and if you dare call me after months of silence again, I'm going to send the nearest drones to crash into you for a year straight."

A shiver of trepidation dances up the brunette's spine, She can't really do that right?

"I can hear your thoughts Mills, I can if I want to," she snaps her fingers, "Try forgetting me then!"

"Drama queen much?"

"Y'know it." There's a thump and Kira can only assume the other girl is is moving about the room to get comfortable, "Send the pictures, make sure there are variations so they don't all look like they were taken in the same room or use green screen. Catch ya later."

"Sure sure," but the line's dead before she can get the full sentence out. A find smile crosses her lip at the memory of just how intense Mae could be at the sight of a challenge of this kind.

With a steadying breath to face what beyond the door, Kira stands from her kneeling position, throwing open the door to Troy's bathroom with a broad grin amd a thumbs up, "Deal secured!"

Kuro bursts laughing, unable to hold himself any longer. Troy pushes off the wall he'd been leaning on in an attempt to look like he hadn't been at all interested in the call.

"There's no saving face for you Vermillion."

"Prick."

"He's not wrong," Mammon adds.

Kira's furious expression morphs into a leering smile as she stomps into the living area to meet him and lucifer down the hall.

It sends Lucifer into a full body shudder as it contorts her face into more heinous version of itself, "What's with that look, brat?"

Since Ares' announcement of meeting the parents yesterday Kira had made sure to shield her thoughts from both of them. She could do it a lot better when they were physically out so she had been sure to let them run around a lot since then.

She could feel their suspicions from the start but now she had Mae on her side she could get down to business. Her phone dings and she spies the notification stating that the delivery truck of her equipment was just a couple minutes away.

Good.

She points between between her two Demons with the pompous air of someone who could make them dk anything she wished, "What do you two say to playing house, eh?"

It takes far longer than it should to click and when it does everyone in the room, save for Troy, erupts in shouts in varying degrees of shock, even Xie Ren all the way from the kitchen. In seconds he's poking his head into the living room to watch the drama with a small ceramic cup in one hand.

"No way!" Kuro is squealing, rolling on the ground now and Troy drops his questoning raised eyebrow to eye the younger boy in disgust.

Lucifer snarls, "You don't mean..."

"Ren-san is already showing up for Troy so Kuro's gonna need someone as well," Kira gestures with dramatic flourish, first at Mammon, "Mamoru Hatake, your brother and his wife died in a plane crash when Kuro was so young and damaged, what else could you do but raise his poor boy as your own?"

Kuro stops laughing, "Damaged?"

She pushes on, ignoring him and facing a quietly seething Lucier, "Lucelle Reed, a young South African lady who finished her studies in hopes to go home to seek out a simple teaching job but finds herself swept up by the strong, magnetic charm of this new single father who shared the train on her way to the gym. It's the sweet basic kind slice of life romance story that can't be questioned and too boring to look into! Perfect!"

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"I feel exhausted just listening to it," Troy adds, "It's like you put zero effort."

Kira bats aside the jab with a radiant look that definitely isn't hiding her crumbling confidence, "That's what I was going for!"

"I object," Lucifer growls.

"I'm not damaged," Kuro adds.

Mammon scratches a hand through his hair fussing up the already messy fringes, "I get why you think I should be the parent but can't I just be a single dad?"

"We already mentioned Kuro had two parents way back when we started hanging out," Kira sighs. She can't quite remember if they'd mentioned genders but a typical hetero couple was the safest bet in Japan either way and Mammon looked Japanese enough to pull off being distantly related to Kuro.

The Demons exchange a tense look between them that doesn't escape her watchful eyes and it confirms a long held suspicion she's had about their relationship for a while but there hadn't been enough free time to bother bringing it up what with all the school and trying not to lose her powers.

"It's probably asking a lot since you're exes or whatever-"

They turn on her with vicious glowers immediately, even Mammon.

"As if!" Lucifer spits.

"Where the hell did you get that idea?"

Kuro blinks, leaning in to whisper to Troy , "Were we meant to pretend we didn't notice?"

The blond's reply is a noncommittal shrug.

They're apparently not quiet enough.

Mammon whirls on him, "You noticed?"

Lucifer kicks him in the shin and Kira is pretty sure she hears a bone break but the taller Demon barely reacts, "Don't admit it for crying out loud, this why we never work out!"

"We don't work out because you're a self centered piece of shit!" Mammon scowls, his tone is far from the goofy muscle-head act he usually put up.

"Excuses, Excuses, you're just mad I always turned down your offer to merge our territories, like hell!"

"We could have made something better if you weren't a
damned, controlling narcissist," Mammon jabs a gfnger into his chest but Lucifer remains unfazed by the insult, his lips curled up in a mocking smile.

"Like you could handle me."

Kira groans quietly, turning away from them to where Xie Ren stands next to doorway quietly sipping his tea. She can hear the delivery truck just paces away already so she walks past him to door, hoping they'll have gotten it out of their system by the time she brings it all in.

'It all' consisting of several boxes of clothes, a green screen set-up and accessories of which she hauls in the last box just as the Demons lose steam.

"Are you done?" She folds her arms over her chest, steeling herself for a fresh batch of complaints.

"You got this all planned out don'tcha, Boss?" Mammon sighs, his eyes scanning over the numerous boxes.

It's the only way Kira could come up with in such short time if she still wanted to keep her identity from her family. Everything else was a lot more trouble than it was worth. Ares had always told her there were some problems that couldn't be fixed with money but with just enough of it and hopefully some creative help from a couple stubborn Demons and friends she could definitely pull this off.

Lucifer clicks his tongue, watching as Kuro dives into a pile of boxes to pull out frilly lilac sundress, "Why do I have to be the woman?"

Kira beams, a fake placating smile pasted onto her face, it's always harder to compliment him more than anyone else, "Because you'd definitely make a hotter woman than Mammon."

"Exactl-wait," Mammon trails off searching for the insult in her statement but Lucifer haughtily tosses his silver hair, eyes gleaming.

"The one time you make a good call...since you insist."

I wasn't insisting, you're just easy. With another exhausted sigh she wills down the swirling outburst. They have at least twenty-four hours to get their stories straight and make the "Hatake family" a believable existence with no holes to poke through.

"We'll need to do something about the horns, and your eyes, and his..." She circles the general area of Lucifer's flat chest with a finger. She'd bought a ton of stuff so with the roght clothes and choice of angles they could make it work.

The Demon snorts derisively, "I certainly won't be needing need your help." A mist of silver engulfs him completely, dispesing to reveal his new form, entirely feminine with his horns gone and the whites of his eyes no longer pure black.

The same mist engulfs Mammon's head giving him the exact same plain look so they seem like any regular human couple.

Troy blinks, Kuro whistles lowly and Ren off-handedly smacks him over the head while wearinh a longing stare of his own.

Kira paces around them, disbelieving eyes specifically fixed on Lucifer and the very generous additions he made to his chest, "How?" Kuro had told her Demons could only possess one special Ability but this had to be similar to Shiro's shape-shifting in someway, right?

Mammon grins, "The eyes are easy but the horns are just invisible to anyone with human blood now."

"Please, something as simple as changing sex is a walk in the park for any respectable Demon," Lucufer drawls, his voice unchanged, unlike the rest of him.

Troy scoffs, nitpicking as per usual, "I didn't know Demons could be respectable."

Lucifer looks about ready argue but Mammon holds him back.

"Why'd you make them so big though," Kuro appears out of nowhere, his up close scrutiny cut short as he's launched into the wall by a from Lucifer.

"Because I can," his reply is flat, furrowed brows relaxing as he pulls out a cigarette.

"No smoking in-," Xie Ren tries to stop him but Troy is up in Lucifer's face already, pointing an accusatory finger at the wall.

"Do something about that."

The Demon blows smoke in his face, "Not my problem."

The blond grabs him by the collar.

"No fighting inside either!"

Kira steps aside only let Ren run into the fray while Mammon checks up a disoriented Kuro with an 'I've been there too.' She slumps down onto the sofa, gaze resting beyond the window where the sun is slowly making its way towards the western horizon.

Maybe she should've taken Inoue up on his coma offer.

***

The moment they begin preparations in earnest Troy tries to leave but Kira sits him back down, giving him the very important job of evaluating whether the Demons and Kuro could keep their stories straight and though doesn't show it she gets the impression he's really into letting them know when they screw up.

They take several photos and selfies in front of her set-up and while sharing the rest between two new smartphones she had gotten just in case Ares decides to ask for either of their numbers.

When night falls, she calls Ares to let him know she'll be staying over at Troy's until tomorrow afternoon. By then she'll have picked up the paperwork from one of Mae's contacts in Tokyo and everything will be set for dinner that evening.

A crash echoes behind and her and she spins on heels to see Kuro and Mammon trying to harrass Lucifer into the sundress from earlier by chasing him him around the room.

"Stay back you freaks!"

Kira watches them with building dismay, hoping that her expectations they could pull this off weren't too far fetched.

It's a long night, but sometime around 3am Kira wakes on the sofa, her head on Troy's shoulder with Kuro on his other side sleeping soundly and a cotton blanket draped over the three of them.

She doesn't remember nodding off but in the direction of the kitchen she can hear voices floating over. Ren throwing questions at the Demons and both of them begrudgingly answering back, albeit with a lot less reluctance than before. She even catches some faint chuckles and terrible jokes.

A thought drifts through her mind before she can fall asleep again to let the unconscious power simmering inside keep the Demons here while she rests, 'So they can get along with humans afterall.'

There's still so much left to be done but there's a significance to this moment ahead wants to hold onto just as the warm of slumber takes her again.

***

The doorbell to the Vermillion penthouse sends chimes through the air, startling Ares from where he's setting up the dining area. He squeals in excitement, bolting towards the door to leave Kira and Kat wondering if they're really the only highschool girls here.

They share a stare and Kira almost laughs before remembering who she's looking at as Kat stifles her own momentary openess by turning to the sink.

Kira turns hurriedly too, moving in the direction of the door to see Ares already opening it. Troy and Xie Ren are on the other side, the blond dressed to nines as always even if it's meant to hb casual. He looks like an idol who didn't bother with trying to go on the downlow.

Xie Ren greets Ares with a smile while holding out a gift bag of wine and they immediately get to talking as her step-dad welcomes him in.

"Sorry our uncle couldn't make it but right after him I'm Troy's legal guardian so hope you don't mind?" Xie Ren grins.

"It's all good, seeing you let's me know where Troy gets his fashion sense from."

Troy huffs, brushing Ren's hand from his shoulder, "It's the other way round actually."

"C'mon save your big bro some face."

Kira thinks back to the elderly man she'd seen entering the Council chamber on trial night. There's no way he could pass for an uncle but that's a more likely story than him being their magic and martial arts Master. She had expected to see him at the Zhao house after then but at every meet-up she it was just Troy and Xie Ren home and they'd never brought him up.

She briefly wonders where he could be but Troy walking up to her side steals her attention back to the present.

"When are they coming in?" He speaks quietly, wary of Kat just some paces away but the redhead's attention is fixed squarely on Xie Ren and Kira can see her internally freaking out about her less than impressive choice of clothes for the night.

"Give it a few more minutes, it'll be weird if you all arrived at the same time."

'I'm sick of waiting,' Mammon's voice echoes in her head as if summoned.

'Tough luck,' She opens her phone to check the time and restlessly count down the minutes. Xie Ren approaches her from the other side of the room whe Ares attention us stolen by a complaining Kat.

Kira can hear her saying something about changing but he's telling her she looks perfectly fine.

Ren's hand on her shoulder brings Kira back and she looks up at him.

"Don't worry so much, trust me," he winks.

She nods at the encouragement, reaching out to the three in question through mental link, 'Let's do this!'

Rather than a reply the doorbell chimes again and she sprints to get it before Ares can, getting a look at her work before he joins her there, his smile warm welcoming contrast to her smug one.

On the other side of the doorway Mammon and Lucifer stand with strained smiles, the former holding out a wrapped bottle of soju Kira had picked for them. Kuro is in front of them, wearing a grin of his own that's more genuine.

"'Sup Mr. Vermillion?"

Ares acknowledges him with a nod before turningto the other two, "I take it you're Mr and Mrs Hatakr, I'm so glad you could both make it tonight. " he chirps taking the bottle and making way for them to come in.

Lucifer cuts Kira a subtle venomous look, fists clenched either side of him, "Believe us, the pleasure is ours."