Monica
Monica's gut clenched, weighing down, wanting to fall through her feet into the ground. "I'm sorry," she insisted, but sounded smaller than she wanted to. Lili may not be her favorite type of person, but she was a friend, truly. Or so she thought. Would friends so easily dismiss each other?
Giving up for now, the human girl started back down the stairs, seeing Sam as he just left and Shen vanish back into the kitchen. She didn't really want to talk to the Asian man, so found herself at the basement door, silently twisting the handle and tiptoeing down the creaking wooden steps.
Why she was creeping, she wasn't too sure. It did seem like KJ's territory, so perhaps she felt like she was intruding, but below she found no one around. Just a pile of towels, discarded water bottles on a shelf and an ornate wooden box that was longer than her legs, placed on top of a large chest freezer. The freezer wasn't on, so Monica assumed no food would be inside. Her curiosity remained with the box however, its polished surface gleaming when she pulled the chain to turn on a single bulb above. Roses were carved into the design, her favorite flower.
The hinges were soundless as she lifted the lid. Two long blades lay inside, katanas she thought, but wasn't sure. The silver was bright, blades shining, a single jewel embedded where the sword ended.
KJ didn't seem like a weapons guy. Not that Monica knew much of anything about fighting or weapons, but she figured he was more of fist fighter, direct contact.
She closed the lid, not trusting herself to actually pick up the blades, and glanced around the rest of the square space. It wasn't much a basement, though did have cobwebs where the walls and ceiling met. Nose scrunching, she considered cleaning up a little, just for something to do, but then wondered if KJ liked it this way. He obviously wasn't cleaning it himself.
Sighing, she returned to the first level, closing the door quietly and glancing around for any sign of Lili. There wasn't any.
So Monica slipped on her sneakers and left the townhouse altogether, finding no comfort inside at all. If Shen killed the monster, then she didn't have anything to worry about going into town. And it was daytime. The thing didn't like the sun as she recalled.
Pulling her gummy worms from her pocket, she munched on three, wiping sour sugar from the corners of her mouth as she wondered what to do on her own.
KJ
The ghost girl floated around the conversation, a strange worry crossing her face, but he disregarded it, as he always did with her. He wanted answers. He didn't trust Tex at all, his bare chest and PJ pants not threatening, but that smile, that damn smile...
"I'm Tex, your neighbor," he replied simply, taking the mug into both hands. "But I assume you want to know what I am, yes?"
Eyebrows giving away his agreement, KJ shifted his weight to one foot, nodding. "Spill."
Tex chuckled a little, looking to the ghost girl with that smile, the kind of smile that KJ could only associate with mischievous demons or the devil himself. It was impish and disgusting, but had the affect of not wanting to let it leave your sight. KJ didn't feel safe around it, but couldn't give it the upper hand by looking away.
"It's all right," Tex assured, raising a hand and setting the mug down on the side table. "I won't hurt you."
KJ sniffed. Like he could.
"What matters is that I have taken an interest in your...agency...next door," he continued, gesturing to their shared wall. "ABNI, as you call it. I wouldn't want to alarm you, but your names have popped up once or twice in the lower circles of society, and let me tell you...that's not necessarily a good thing."
KJ knew he had a reputation around here, his demon appearance stirring up rumors and myths among the humans, while the demon circles spun with adoration or disgust. KJ didn't adhere to the protocols. He didn't remain hidden. He went out during the day. With halflings, like Sam and Lili, it was easier to blend it so they didn't cause a ruckus. Red skin and horns weren't exactly normal, not to mention yellow eyes and claws he could call on.
"What's it to you?" KJ persisted. "So what if we're gaining a reputation. It's not going to affect anything we do."
"It won't?" Tex asked, grinning. "I hope you realize that your charade of Private Investigator won't last long in a city like this."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"There are bigger things here. Big picture type of things."
KJ rolled his eyes. "So? We're saving people."
"That's not why you do it."
"Who cares why I do it. I do it. End of story."
Tex tilted his head slightly, saying, "The human girl is an interesting addition."
The red demon blinked, squinting a little. "Monica helps with the money."
"But you could have figured that out on your own."
KJ blinked again. "I guess...but Shen wanted someone to help. With math skills."
"You don't have math skills?"
Huffing and folding his arms, KJ replied, "I do, but not...like her. She's all...genius about it."
"I see." Tex smiled to the ghost again, why, KJ had no idea. But if he liked her then she could move in over here. Fine by him. "Just know, that having a human around may not be safe. Especially that human."
"Why?"
"You could hurt her, for one."
It had already crossed his mind. KJ glanced down briefly, knowing Tex was right and that the smell of Monica's skin in such close proximity to him at night would soon cause problems. The dream catcher he had placed warded off bad thoughts and images, yes, but it was also kept Monica's scent over on her side of the room. KJ had a few of them around the house, just in case, the potions mixed to suit him and him and alone. Different scents could trigger his demon side quite easily, especially last night with that monster. But human scents...if around too long, trouble could arise.
KJ pressed on though. "And for two?"
Tex grinned as if reading his thoughts. "You know she's not just any ordinary human. You can tell right off the bat if something's off about someone."
"Like you," KJ put in.
This made him laugh a little, eyes glittering to the ghost girl who also smiled. "I would just go with your gut," he went on, scooping up the mug and starting toward the kitchen. "You know something isn't right. Don't ignore it. You can let yourself out."
Tex vanished around the corner, the ghost girl giggling and floating right through KJ. He shivered violently, waving her off and starting for the door to avoid another attack. She continued her cackle, slipping into the kitchen as well and KJ stood alone. Tex hadn't answered his question, but the red demon definitely didn't want to stay any longer.
Pulling the door open, he strode back over the porch to his side of the townhouse. He noticed Monica starting down the sidewalk and watched her for a moment as she stuffed gummy worms in her face and glanced around the lawns and fences. She looked normal, dressed normal, acted normal, like any teenage girl would.
But yes, Tex was right. Something was off about her.
KJ slipped inside and immediately made for the basement to be alone and calm his nerves. If he was going to get to the bottom of this, he had to make sure his demon didn't lash out. Putting his palms together and closing his eyes, he began his usual calming exercises.