A young woman with very long brown hair wandered the streets of a Tokyo residential area. She wore a light brown kimono with a white obi. It was nothing special and rather what farmers wives would have worn 200 years ago or what someone who worked in a traditional or craftmanship district would wear. She had two bags on her, both wear made of leather and one of them was stained with blood as if she had fresh slaughtered meat in it, which she actually did. She stopped at a Kabuki theater and asked there for a job.

"Well, we could need someone at the reception on weekday evenings and you should be a pleasant sight and we wont have to get you a kimono. State your name." The young man who runs the Kabuki theater said. Then the woman answered: "My name is Saki Kurudo." "Well Saki, if you need a place to stay, there is someone who might have a vacant apartment next door. Just tell him that Sakaima sent you and he should then give you the apartment for a fair rent. Please be at work tomorrow by 7 pm tomorrow. Or would you rather start today? It would be nice if you at least came by this evening for the premier of a new play." Sakaima said. Saki found him to be charming and maybe even her type as he wore a yukata.

"I would be delighted to come this evening." Saki said. She then made her way next door. Saki knocked at the door which an old man with door ears opened. He seemed to be at least 90 years of age and stood a bit crooked. Seemed to be an inu. "What would you like young lady?" The old man said. Then Saki said: "Sakaima sent me over here because of an apartment. Thanks for the complement but I am not as young as a look. I am actually 93." In that moment the old mans jaw dropped. "Come in! Have some tea or sake. I should have lots to talk with someone a year older than me." The old man said and guided her inside.

Cornelius was on break from his job the grey haired and pink-red eye demon looked around from the back of the restaurant. A clear and warm day greeted him lightly against his pale skin. Not one to be wasting his time off he jump in a single bound to the roof. He then climbed his way higher and higher up the roof tops. Until he was at least a few stories above the ground finding some what clean place to sit on the roof. Glancing around the area with a small glimmer of fascination he watched the humans go about there lives. "So simple minded." Cornelius says with some amusement.

Crossing his legs on the ledge he pulled from his dark grey vest a small horn flask. It was made from his own horn which also had some magical properties when he allowed. Opening the horn flask he took a small sip from it. Inside the flask was an ancient wine that he had with him when he was a general. In his home he had a single barrel left, so this drink he had should be savored a bit more. Cornelius put the corked horn back on he held it lightly in his hand. Steadily watching the crowds go by.

Mallory got home late after work. By the time she reached her apartment the sky was dark and a hazy glow was cast over the city; to Mallory, it was bright like synthetic stars. She opened the latch on her mail box and reached inside, unsurprised to see a single letter in a menila envelope. It was obvious by now; hate-mail. Humans were always opposing to something which isn't "normal". They figured that Mallory sided with the "other kind" over humans due to her nighttime occupation.
That was, however, untrue. Mallory took no side in this ever-lasting feud, but instead only wished like some for coexistence. Unfortunately, not many people were so open-minded. Sighing, Mallory set the letter on the kitchen counter and went to change out of her work clothes.
Although it was late, Mallory decided on going out into the town. Maybe buying herself something to eat and walking around a bit.
On that decision, she left her apartment wearing her usual. Good thing the town was within walking distance because it didn't take her long to get there. When she did the city seemed just as lively as it was in the day time.

Saki then put down her stuff in the apartment she was assigned to and put on a nice kimono with a flowery pattern and then headed over to the theater. The old man was there too. "Ah. Looking upon your beauty is a delight." The old man said. When Sakaima saw her, he was stoked. "Wow. You look absolutely wonderful!" Sakaima said. This appreciated Saki. Though no one knew that she was one of the most vile demons out there, a carnivore that ate human, youkai and demons alike. Saki pulled out a bottle of self-made shochu and gave it to Sakaima. "Maybe we can have some soon." She said.

"Kuhahahaha! That guy has no luck with women at all! I kind of want to mess with him." Hiroto commented, as he gazed upon those beneath him. He had been observing a young man from the roof of his mailing office, who has just gotten smacked by not one, but 2 different girls. As he was about to descend from the roof, he noticed that the male he was observing had begun talking to yet another female. "My, my. He just doesn't learn, does he?" Hiroto smirked before swooshing down and landing on a thick tree branch above them. "Come on baby. I promise that if you come with me, that you'll have a good time." The male said, as the woman cringed and began reaching for something in her purse. "Oh? It would appear as if something interesting would happen even if I were not to intervene. But I have to do something to relieve my boredom." Hiroto said to himself, before jumping down from the treebranch, directly in between the pair. They were both surprised, and the guy even fell down.

"Its a pleasure. My name is Kishinuma Hiroto. What would your name be, miss?" Hiroto started out in a bowing stance, before looking up at the woman, and taking her hand. Hiroto had his Tengu mask fitted over half of his face, only revealing part of it. "S-Sachi. Th-Thank you for helping me out." The girl said, blushing a little looking directly into Hiroto's uncovered eye.
"You fucking bastard. Who do you think you are cockblocking me like that!" The male from earlier stated, while grabbing Hiroto and turning him around to face him. The male's expression immediatly changed as soon as he saw the mask Hiroto was wearing, while sweating a little. He then curved his mouth into a smirk. "Hey look, everybody! We got us a Tengu here! These bastards are kind of rare to find around here." The people around the area soon began turning their attention towards Hiroto's direction. Hiroto looked about the people who had started crowding around them, expressionless. The majority of their faces were full of grimace.
"What do you think you're doing living around here? I happen to hold a particular hatred for Tengu. And pretty much anything with wings. You smug bastards think you're all that just cause you can fly, and I can't." The male then sent a kick into Hiroto's side, which made him kneel to the ground in pain. "Puhahahaha! You're so weak too! You're like a bird, right? So you must have hollow bones or somethin, right? As compensation for messing with me earlier, how about I break a few of them?" He stated before sending another kick toward Hiroto, only to have it caught in his left hand.

"Oh? So you think me inferior to you? You stupid monkey." Hiroto asked in a cold, emotionless tone. The male began to sweat a little, while trying to pull his foot away. Hiroto was practically crushing it in his grasp. "Unlike you towards my kind, I don't bare any hatred towards humans. However, I don't quite take kindly to those who make a mockery out of me." Hiroto looked up towards the male, showing a sadistic grin through the half of his face that was uncovered. He then moved his free hand onto the mask, and moved it to cover the rest of his face. "Shall we go for a ride? I'm not exactly in the transportation service, but I do expect some type of compensation. 1200 yen should do just nicely."
"H-hold on! Wait a minute!" The male begged, before Hiroto spread his wings, causing the crowd around them to gasp. "Sorry, Sachi-chan. Maybe we can meet again after this." Hiroto turned his head to see that the girl was completely horror-stricken. "Hm... Or maybe not."

Hiroto then took off, dragging the screaming boy along with him. After a while of kidding around on whether he was going to drop the boy or not, Hiroto got bored, and pulled the boy up, and took out his wallet. He took out 1000 yen, which was pretty much all the guy had with him.
"Well aren't you cheap." Hiroto sighed, dropping the boy into a garbage dumpster, and continuing on until he found a good spot to land. "Well it looks like that guy is buying me dinner. I forgot to thank him." Hiroto chuckled smuggly, while walking around. "Lets see. What do I feel like eating today?" Hiroto looked around, but didn't find a single restaurant in site. As he walked around, he soon came upon a small restaurant. "Oh. This looks promising." Hiroto smiled, before walking inside, not even noticing the man sitting on a roof not too far away.

The towns people seemed more uneasy than usual, and Mallory had guessed that it was a reaction to something which wasn't exactly human. She asked around- but no one seemed to know the true story.
Mallory walked into a restaurant and sat down at the bar near the windows. Since she was usually alone when she ate it was more entertaining to have something to watch when she did.
The bar-tender; a man who knew she was under drinking age walked over ot her a smiled pityingly. "The usual Kuro-chan?" He asked as he wiped down the glass. Mallory smiled slightly and nodded; it's was a basket of french-fires of course, something which reminded her heavily of her old life in America, ironically.
The bar-tender was also a coexistence activist, which might have been one of the reasons, Mallory had guessed, which he had been so kind to her.
"Hows that bill going," The bar-tender asked pushing the basket of fries across the counter into Mallory's hands.
She looked as the fries, and sighed "not well, unfortunately," she shoved a fry into her mouth and glared out the window at the passing people.
"The governement doesn't believe in "the equal rights of some species which shouldn't even be here"." She ended up growling the last part, remembering that she had been mocked when she sumbitted the bill.
A man, a drunkard had been listening, and though the words were not spoken toward him his eavesdropping led him to start talking. "Hey, why're you tryin to let those dumb sub-species have rights, they should be slaves to us is what they should be." He mock-shivered, "Oh, I could only imagine the nightmare of having the same rights as one of... them."

Mallory, for some reason was set off by that, anger boiling she leaped down from her chair and grabbed the man's collar. "And why, why should they be treated differently for no reason!?" Her voice was beginning to raise, uncharictaristically.
The man snorted and in a scoffing tone replied, "Because they belong in Hell! All of these damn mutants deserve to die!"
He had no reasoning behind his words, there was no intelligence. It quite frankly pissed Mallory right off. Using all of her strength she shoved the drunk right off his chair, and watched as he fell to the floor. Not quite satisfied with that, she kicked him hard in the gut before a pair of arms wrapped around her in restraint.
At first, she thought this was just a simaritan holding her back, and trying to stop her from fighting, but in truth another person was holding her so that the drunk could land a hit on her. The nerve! She thought, trying to rip her wrists from his tight grasp only to realize that unlike the first guy, this one wasn't drunk.

As Hiroto wandered into the restaurant, he noticed that it seemed like more of a bar than anything. "Oh. Maybe I should buy some alcohol. Heh. That is, if I was allowed to consume it." Hiroto said to himself, as he made his way towards the bar. The bartender gave him a bright smile at first, but then recognized the mask hanging off of the side of Hiroto's head, then contorted his face in the same way most others react when they see Hiroto. He didn't react, as he was quite used to it by now. After all. He wasn't ashamed of who he was. He smirked when the bartender turned his head away, pretending to be preparing a order for another customer. This was obvious because at the moment there was no one else around. "Good day, sir. Would you mind if I place an order?" Hiroto asked the man in an overlyfriendly tone, while placing the yen he had stolen from the guy earlier on the counter. "Heh. Sorry. Its takes an extra 300 yen for Tengu to eat here." The bartender scoffed. The strong hint of alcohol in the man's breath irritated Hiroto's nose. "Not a problem, my good man." Hiroto smiled, while taking out 300 yen that he had "borrowed" from another one of his little playthings. The bartender snarled at him and took the 300 yen. "What'll it be?" He asked disgruntledly. "Hm. Lets see. I'll have the beef yakisoba, and a glass of lemonade." Hiroto answered with a smug grin on his face. "That'll be 850 yen." The bartender demanded, while holding out his hand. Hiroto handed him the 1000 yen, and the bartender swiped it away. "Ah. Sorry. Don't got any change. Business hasn't been good lately, ya know?" Hiroto almost commented in irritation, because he could have sworn he had heard change rattle in the register at little earlier. However, he restrained himself, because he didn't want to do anything to get his food spit in. He went far to the back of the restaurant, and seated himself at a table until his food was ready.

After a few minutes the bartender called out that Hiroto's order was finished. Hiroto went to retrieve it, and noticed that there were no utensils that came with the bowl. "Excuse me. But could I have a pair of chopsticks?" Hiroto asked. The bartender pretended that he didn't hear him, and continued doing what he was doing. Hiroto huffed, and took out something from underneath his sleeves. "No matter. I brought my own!" He exclaimed, while taking out his own pair of chopsticks.
"Damn Tengu. Animals should eat like animals." Hiroto heard the man say under his breath. He ignored it, and continued back to his table to enjoy his meal.

A little bit later, a young female came into the restaurant, and attracted Hiroto's attention. 'Hm... She seems a little different from regular humans. Almost like shes a completely different species, yet at the same time still human. Interesting...' Hiroto thought to himself, as he slurped up some of his yakisoba. He was able to naturally tell normal humans apart from those disguised as humans, but this girl left him puzzled. It was then, that he saw what the man was doing earlier. He actually had been getting an order ready for someone. But that someone just hadn't shown up yet. The bartender handed the girl a basket of frenchfries. 'French fries? Thats an interesting food choice. Is she a regular here? How did he know she was going to show up around this time?' Hiroto wondered, and tuned in on the conversation going on between the two.
"The governement doesn't believe in the equal rights of some species which shouldn't even be here." Hiroto's ears almost perked at hearing this. 'My, my. This girl is becoming more interesting by the minute. Is she really a human?' Hiroto wondered, subconsiously devouring his meal faster then he intended. He had planed on taking as much time as possible to finish it, so the bartender would have to deal with his presence. "Hey, why're you tryin to let those dumb sub-species have rights, they should be slaves to us is what they should be. Oh, I could only imagine the nightmare of having the same rights as one of... them." The ass of a bartender remarked to her. 'Not that he'd actually care, but I am right here.' Hiroto thought, taking a sip of his lemonade.

Hiroto's eyes widened, as the girl grabbed the man in anger. Hiroto was almost sure now, that she couldn't really be human, with her reaction at the bartender's arrogant remark. Not only that, but she had pushed the man to the ground and even landed a hard kick to his stomach. Hiroto almost broke out into a hysterical laugh, and fought to contain himself. It was then that a man showed up out of nowhere and restrained the girl. He didn't seem to be just anyone. Perhaps a worker here? Hiroto smirked, and stood up, not able to keep himself still any longer. In his excitement he had spilt what was left of his yakisoba on the floor, which wasn't much more than a stray noodle and a few sips of broth. He walked up to the pair, and tapped the man on the shoulder. "Excuse me. But I do believe you are in the way of the door. I was just about to leave you see. But if you are going to continue to distrupt my path, I'm afraid that I will have to use force to get through." Hiroto faked a smile, hoping that the man would react at least semi-violently towards his question. This was just what he needed to keep himself entertained.

At the reception Saki had the time of her life as she was accepted by the people here although they didn't know what she was. But she thought they wouldnt care much since some of the guys werent human. Across the street she heard some commotion and went to see what was going on.

"What have I missed?" Saki said. She felt a tension in the air and a tengu look like he was about to brawl with a human. "Oh I get it. There must be a guest or two who might have something against a tengu. I do not have a problem with him and you shouldnt either. What makes him different from any human?" Once she would find out who the problems were, she would do one of three things: eat them, beat them up or try to keep people from going at each other. The last two were probably the better choices as eating people in public would firstly reveal her true nature and secondly probably have the police run her out of town. Sakaima and some others from the reception came over and Sakaima said: "I smell prejudice." He was already snapping his fingers. The old man stood next to him holding his walking stick like a sword.

"Cornelius! We got some trouble in the shop!" Called out the owner of the restaurant. The demon let out a sigh as he put the horn flask away. "Probably your employees causing trouble." He thought to himself as he bounded down the buildings and into the back door of the restaurant. Cornelius made his way to the small bar area where a Tengu getting into a fight with a co-worker. He knew the co-worker as prejudice bastard who made a comments about certain species. At the moment, Cornelius felt no remorse if this guy got the living crap beat out of him.

A bit of his old demonic self perked up wanting to see this guys head smashed in like a pumpkin. He walked up to the guy and tengu stood there for a brief second before kicking the human in the face. A sicking crack could be heard from the man's jaw as it went lop sided. The man let out a shriek of pain. "CORNELIUS!! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!" The owner yelled at him, Cornelius turned and faced him with evil grin. "I warned him about upsetting greater species and I am giving him a reminder of what will happen if he does it again." The owner gulped hard in fear as he never seen the usually calm demon turn to cruel. Cornelius looked at the Tengu. "I say this mortal hasn't learned his lessons yet do you Mr.Tengu?" His voice full of an evil yet playful gesture. "I think you should give a bit of a flying lesson." Cornelius licked his lips as he looked at the pitful human as he pressed his heel into the man's hand. Causing the slack jaw guy to shriek in pain.

Saki shook her head. "You didnt have to break his jaw goat-demon. Beating him black and blue would have been enough. And stop hurting him, dont you think he had enough?" Saki acted like a good samaritan although she might have been worse to the human when not in public. It was somehow funny that no one suspected her of being a demon and even where the old man knew her age, he hadnt asked about what she was. "Now why dont we now just calm down and maybe someone has interest to come to the premiere of a new play at the kabuki theater across the street." She said.

To Mallory's surprise once she had been restrained and before the man could hit her someone seemed to tap the one who restained hers' shoulder. "Excuse me. But I do believe you are in the way of the door. I was just about to leave you see. But if you are going to continue to distrupt my path, I'm afraid that I will have to use force to get through."
Everything seemed to happen so fast, but in that time she ripped her wrists from his hands and stepped back and away from what was going on, just as she did another person stepped in. There was a crack, and Mallory winced at the noise.
"Was that his jaw?" She mumbled aloud incredulously.
In her awe at the situation Mallory hadn't noticed until a few seconds later, the confusion and anger which this event had stirred. People were getting up from where they sat, and both the drunk and the sober began to brawl until the bar began to look like something off of a movie.
A stool flew after being thrown, nearly hitting Mallory who was beginning to get angry herself- unsure of how this one started she stood off to the side, not wanting to get caught in the cross-fire.

Saki shook her head. "You didnt have to break his jaw goat-demon. Beating him black and blue would have been enough. And stop hurting him, don't you think he had enough?" Cornelius grinned at the woman. "Maybe, but sometimes these mortals need to be taught there place." He lifted the heel of his shoes off the man's arm. Noticing that there was a brawl starting up he grinned as a few humans who were fighting cause the smell of blood to lightly drift in the air. "I think its time to leave." Cornelius says as he walks to the back.

As the man turned to Hiroto to respond, he was suddenly sent back, almost flying with a kick directly to the jaw. It sounded as if it had been broken or at least dislocated. Even if neither had occured, Hiroto sure wouldn't have liked to have been the one to recieve said kick. Hiroto plugged up his ears in annoyance as the man screamed in agony.
"This guy sure has some lungs on him." He commented nonchalantly. "CORNELIUS!! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!" Hiroto heard immediatly after he unplugged his ears. He was aparently speaking to the man who had just disabled the man on the floor. 'Oh? This guy is a demon.' Hiroto thought to himself, as the man before him began threatening the owner indirectly. Hiroto looked at them with a bored expression. 'I seriously don't see whats so intimidating about demons. The old fart didn't seem very frightened of me at first.' He thought in irritation. "I say this mortal hasn't learned his lesson yet, do you Mr. Tengu? I think you should give a bit of a flying lesson." It was then that he noticed that the demon had asked him something. His ears had heard it, but it took a few seconds for Hiroto to comprehend what he had said to him, as he was lost in his thoughts. "Hey. You're a mischiveous bastard, huh?" Hiroto asked in a lazy tone. "You a delinquent or something? I'm guessing you work here, right? Considering you practically just sent one of your co-workers to the hospital, I'm guessing this is your resignation letter. Heh. Cocky bastards like you are the worst. But then again..." Hiroto began before walking up to the bartender and crouching to stare him right in the face, and grasping his shirt collar in his hands.
"I'm sort of a cocky bastard myself." He finished before unfolding his wings. "Hey Mr. I need to borrow 150 yen, because some shitty bartender ripped me off. You got that much?" The bartender began to jumble his words, too frightened to speak clearly. Hiroto sighed, seeing as he was wasting his time. "You're so stressed out, Mr. How about I give you a nice ride around town at a discount. That'll just be whatever is in that register over there. Sound fair?" Hiroto smirked, as the bartender was now too scared to even utter a word. "Not hearing any complaints. So I'm guessing you're ok with that idea. Lets go!" Hiroto exclaimed before dragging the bartender outside.

Hiroto angled his wings into the correct motion and arced his back. "Ready, Mr.? Here we go!" Hiroto exclaimed before throwing the man a few feet into the air, and flapped his wings at a rapid speed until the wind around the man began taking a circular motion. Right before he hit the ground, the spiraling wind caught him and carried him higher into the air. "Have a wonderful trip! Try not to overwork yourself, ok old man?!" Hiroto pretended to be friendly as he waved, whiled still having barely any emotion in his voice what-so-ever.

Hiroto then returned into the resteraunt to see how the demon guy and the strange girl from earlier were doing. He was surprised to see that there were now many more people in the resteraunt than before. He was so busy concentrating on the girl and bartender's conversation, that he hadn't noticed customers wandering into the resteraunt. Except, the majority of the customers were now fighting, rather than eating. Even the demon guy, Cornelius was now stepping on the head of the man who's jaw he had broken earlier. 'That guy's pretty brutal. Maybe he is a delinquent after all.' Hiroto thought, as he walked up to him. He then noticed that a woman in a kimono had begun conversing with him. She seemed to be sympathizing with the man, Cornelius was practically torturing. Afterwards she started talking about some sort of theater premiere, which disinterested Hiroto. He also noticed that she didn't seem exactly human, and had an old man and some weird-looking guy following her. Hiroto decided they were too much trouble to be dealing with, and turned his attention to the girl from earlier who was now observing from the sidelines at the bar brawl. Hiroto smiled and walked up to her, replacing his sluggish posture with a sense of elegance. "Enjoying the scenery?" Hiroto asked her, while pretending to pick the nose of his Tengu mask, and see how she was going to react.

"Enjoying the scenery?" Mallory nodded slightly, taken in by the barbarian scene of a brawl; she stared forward for a moment before looking to the Tengu. When she saw him picking the nose of his mask she laughed. "It's amazing how things turned so suddenly." She remarked.
After a moment she looked down, suddenly aware of her earlier, more violent actions taken toward the man, and what had happened barely a few minutes ago.
"Thank-you... For earlier." She said, not unclearly, referring to when the Tengu distracted the man who held her. Her hands instinctively went to her wrists where the man's harsh grip from earlier held them. She hated more than anything the hypocritical humans who did just as terrible of things as they proclaimed other species' of doing. This situation tonight only further proved why she took both sides in the feud- though, after this incident she felt safer with those who weren't human. Reasons why she was so violent and why most of the time she was alone, were because of this.
Is it sad when you cannot get along with your own kind?
Mallory didn't think so, but it was slightly disappointing. However she's always found it easy to live with that.
"I'm Mallory," she didn't know if the Tengu would care what her name was, but she hadn't wanted to be impolite.

As the girl nodded, Hiroto noticed that she was somewhat mezmorized by the fighting going on. He then remembered the bartenders "payment" for the ride, and began eyeing the cash register. He then noticed her laugh when she saw him picking his mask. 'A laugh? How predictable. Maybe she is a normal human after all.' He thought to himself, still surveying Mallory's actions in his head. "It's amazing how things turned so suddenly." She said suddenly, breaking Hiroto's concentration on her reaction. "Ah. Well anything can happen when you mix not-so-mythological creatures and humans together." He said, matter of factly. Hiroto lifted his hand to his chin as he studied the girl. He guessed that she would be around her 220's-230's. Then again, he hasn't learned how ages differ between species, as he was never taught so.
He noticed that she looked down, obviously having something on her mind. "Thank-you... For earlier." Hiroto heard her say. He starred at her, puzzled before coming to realize that she must be talking about the brokenjaw guy. Hiroto chuckled a little at the thought. "Thank you? Please don't delude yourself. I don't do anything, unless it is to benefit myself. I wasn't trying to help you out at all. If I was, I would have charged you a fee. Feel free to show your appreciation if you wish, however. After all. This is all the compensation I need, really." Hiroto explained, refering to the cash register, and making his way towards it.

Once he reached it, the girl said one last thing to him. "I'm Mallory." Hiroto stopped in front of the register, and turned to look back at her. 'Hmph. Well she saved me the trouble of asking. How thoughtful.' He thought. "The name's Hiroto. Kishinuma Hiroto. Although I'm quite open to nicknames, if you would prefer to give me one."
He said, while putting up a fake, friendly smile. "It sure is amazing what you can get away with in this town. When you can fly that is." Hiroto commented outloud, not particularly towards Mallory. He lifted the register and observed the lock. "Hm. Should have taken the key from that bartender before I sent him off." He commented, before holding his right index finger against the tiny keyhole of the lock. "No matter. I don't really need it!" Hiroto exclaimed before sending a small gust of dense air into the lock, using it to push around the little mechanisms inside. After a few seconds he managed to get the lock to open, and took it off. "Seriously? For a drunk, that bartender if pretty honest. Business really hasn't been very good for him lately." Hiroto sighed, taking what was in the register and stashing it who-knows-where amongst his kimono.
"Unless you would like to chat more, I should be heading home. I'm not quite as interesting in dealing with ruffians, as you appear to be. But..." He began, before digging in his kimono sleeve for something else. "Ah! Here it is. My business card if you would like to contact me." He finished, handing Mallory what was no more then a small piece of finely cut cardboard with "Kishinuma mailing delivery", his number, and adress written(rather than printed) on it in red ink.

Mallory noticed him head toward the register. It was cash, huh? The seemed interesting choice for him to go after. Since he was a demon Mallory would have guess that if he wanted to, he could have just taken what he wanted, or threatened.
"The name's Hiroto. Kishinuma Hiroto. Although I'm quite open to nicknames, if you would prefer to give me one." She didn't understand exactly why, but she didn't feel complete honesty with how he spoke, as if he were trying not to be rude. Disregarding that, however, since in a way- even if he didn't think it, Mallory believed he helped her. But a nickname... Mallory was never good at such a thing, the most creative her nicknames ever got was "Mal", and she didn't even like it. Thinking about it for a long moment, Mallory decided on Hiroto-kun for lack of more creativity. When Hiroto-kun gave her his buisness card Mallory, accepted it unsure of when she'd use it, but she knew keeping these came in handy for most people. "Right. Since there wasn't very much money maybe I could treat you a meal perhaps one of these days." She placed the card into her pocket after watching the Tengu take the contents of the register.
The days now seemed to be getting shorter more quickly, and looking over at the time, and with work looming over her within the next day, Mallory knew she had to start heading back to her apartment soon. She had some questions she would have rather asked than remain silent, but instead she decided against bothering him to stay, even if she usually would have.
"I guess," She trailed off, her incomplete thought remained within the air for a second as she changed her dialog, "I'm going to have to go home. Goodnight then, Hiroto-kun." She said before maneuvering out of the bar to the exit.
When she stepped outside the air was chilly, the sudden gust which blew made her squint for a moment. Her eyes reacted and watered and she wiped her face with the sleeve of her shirt. She had many things still left unfinished, and tomorrow was going to be most important. She was entering in a deal with the city. This relationship with the city was probably most prior to her goal. Tonight only furthered her own reasoning. One wrong step and she knew that it would be counter-productive in her ideals, but nevertheless she couldn't help but be excited.
That was an interesting time she had, had- in a while it had been, at least. She knew she probably wouldn't be welcome to the place again. Then again, the convienience store was probably a smarter choice anyways from now on.

(I'm ready to time skip to morning when-ever)

Saki pulled out a cup made of bone and poured herself some sake. "My, my, what a bar fight." She said. The old man however overcame a fear from some strange reason as he saw the cup. It was made of bone and the old man knew that only one species of demons used bone utensils: the maneating demons. The very demons who ate humans and demons alike, where masters at bonecarving and made things from the bones of their victims.

Saki turned to the old man and asked: "Whats wrong? You look as if you had seen a ghost." The old inu man backed up into the street. A car was coming and Saki pulled him out of the street. "You need to watch out otherwise you might get hurt." Saki said. The old man shook off his fears. She seemed different to him as she was friendly even though she might eat his kind.

They both went back inside and Saki went over to the others who were talking. "Anyone of you would like to attend our reception at the theater. We have alcoholic beverages and food there. Normally you have to buy a ticket for the theater but I bet Sakaima can make an exception." Saki said to Mallory, Hiroto and Cornelius.

(Sorry, this post is just me rambling, but I'd hate to see this Rp get slow)
Mallory smiled, thankful for the offer- Well, I guess it couldn't hurt to go. She thought, glad that she wouldn't have to go straight home. "Yes, that would be nice," She said quickly.
Mallory was still a little hungry- she didn't really get to eat her food at the bar, so, why not?
Sleep could wait, and besides, it had been awhile since she went out to do something like this.
She wondered what was playing at the theater. Was it a play of some sort? A movie?

Mallory being that she lived in America up until recently was unused to all of this. It wasn't a bad thing, however, just new.

(Well since no one else will, I'm going to post again)
It was just as Mallory had agree'd, the sound of an explosion. It was loud and hurt her ears. The shattering glass and the sound of metal collapsing and bending made her skin crawl. But what had happened!?
A bright orange flame over powered a building, only a few blocks away- it started to spread and people began to panick. Humans and yokai alike both fled from the area, screaming. Uncaring of where they were going as long as they were safe.
Mallory fought not to be pushed back in the direction of the stampede and worked on moving her way in the direction of the explosion. She had to know what had happened, her curiosity overwhelmed reason.
She shoved through people, slamming her shoulder through them as they followed each other like cattle. With her hand on her concealed handgun Mallory approached the building unsure of where to go.
But that's when she heard a cry. A small voice wailed and it came from the building, next to the one which exploded.
Mallory, without thinking ran inside, looking around wildly for the person. The flame had not yet completely reached this building, but it was only a matter of time. One the owner of the voice was located, a child, Mallory pulled them out of the room in her arms, intending to escape the building. However, she wasn't as luck as she had thought. The gas of a car probably set it up, but another explosion, this time from a nearby parked car was set off and the flames quickly expanded over the apartment building.
It trapped the stairs, and the two were stuck on the second floor.

(Keep it alive! And I keep thinking of how to continue some action)

"Right. Since there wasn't very much money maybe I could treat you a meal perhaps one of these days." You could almost swear Hiroto's ears literally perked at that. "A free meal you say? Hm. That sounds nice. I'll hold you to that then." Hiroto replied giving her a smile that almost seemed sincere. He noticed her trail off when she spoke again, as she didn't seem to be able to complete her sentence. "I'm going to have to go home. Goodnight then, Hiroto-kun." She said out of the blue. Hiroto merely stood there, deadpan and unresponsive as she left. 'Until next time, myster girl Mallory I look foward to our next meeting, and the meal that comes with it.' He thought while chuckling to himself.

Right after the demon girl from earlier was still asking about her tickets again. 'Hmph. Like I have the time and money to waste on such a thing.' He thought to himself. Mallory seemed interested, but he however didn't. "Anyone of you would like to attend our reception at the theater. We have alcoholic beverages and food there. Normally you have to buy a ticket for the theater but I bet Sakaima can make an exception." Hiroto immediatly turned his attention back to her. "Oh? It's free?" He asked, with a hint of delight in his voice. "I think I might come after all." He then said, having not even said that he didn't plan to in the first place. 'There is alcohol too? I haven't had any in such a long time. I'm sure if these people are nice enough to give me a free show, they won't mind helping me break laws.' He thought, also noticing that the old man wasn't human as well.

After answering, he winced a little at the loud roar that filled the air. "What the hell?! A terrorist attack?" He exlaimed aloud as he held his ears in annoyance. Hiroto then noticed Mallory charging out of the bar. 'Ho? Someone seems excited. She definately isn't a normal girl after all.' He thought, following slowly out of the bar.
When he made his way out, he looked around for Mallory, only to find panicked citizens scattering, in order to escape the not only falling, but burning building. He finally saw her pushing threw the panicked crowd, towards the building.
"What is the girl thinking. Don't you ussually move away from that kind of thing?" He said aloud, nonchalantly. Hiroto facepalmed as he saw Mallory run into the building next to the one that had collapsed, wielding what appeared to be a gun. "What good will that thing do you? I swear girls make no sense these days."
He sighed, moving his tengu mask back over his face. "I can't exactly let you die either. You still owe me a meal. Idiot!"
He exclaimed, spreading his wings and quickly taking flight towards the building.

Right before he reached the building, a flicker caught his eye, and he quickly changed his course right before a car blew up. "What the hell?! That could have blown me to smithereens!" He exclaimed, barely escaping the explosion. The building Mallory had gone in was now also on fire. "Damn it. All this trouble for a free meal. That girl better pay me back with interest." He mumbled, once again heading towards the building. He broke through a second floor window while folding his wings in front of him to avoid getting stabbed by the glass. He figured she must have reached this floor by now, with the speed she was going. Hiroto heard crying coming from a nearby room. 'Whats that? Is it Mallory-chan? A kid?' He thought, right before a beam landed only 2 feet away from him and continued crashing through the floor.
"Shit! That was a close one..." He said, noticing that the air was already getting a little thin. He went back to the window and stuck his head out for a gulp of air before going back inside, covering his nose and mouth with his long sleeve.
'I'm not dressed for this sort of thing, seriously...' He thought in annoyance, as he grabbed a doorknob, checking to see if it was hot before opening it. It seemed ok, so he swung it open, and looked around quickly. After a few seconds he noticed Mallory and a child in a corner, trapped behind another burning beam. Hiroto quickly began gathering wind around his hand, and shapped it into a drill-like current. He then lunged foward, as the wind drill pierced through the beam, casting away the flames that surrounded it, by consuming oxygen. Afterwards, he ran to the two and reached a hand out.
"You're really troublesome, you know that? I expect double. No triple payment for this!" Hiroto exclaimed in a panicked voice. The air was getting seriously thin at the moment, and the smoke wasn't helping. He already felt himself getting dizzy.

"You're really troublesome, you know that? I expect double. No triple payment for this!" Mallory had hte kid wrapped in her arms, the gun she had knocked from her grasp on the floor.
When she heard Hiroto's familiar voice, she almost could believe it. To get here so quickly.. Wait... Why was he here? Then it hit her, what he said about the meal. Mallory almost smiled, but now wasn't the time. She couldn't understand it at first. But it was becoming more clear- this didn't seem like an out of the blue attack. It had to be the work of someone within her bargain.
THe territories between the yokai and huamns were actually and big deal in some spots. With the bill she wanted to bring to light becoming more public it would make sense for people to start inciting violence. However, Mallory never expected something of this magnitude.
She took Hiroto's hand, letting out a smokers cough which pained her throat, as it would anyones. The beam that had blocked her path was cleared and holding the little boy tight in her arms while hanging on to Hiroto's hand she tried to look for a way out.

---

But if this was planned... The thought horrified Mallory for she knew many non-humans lived in this area. Upon close inspection not even this boy was a complete human.
"This is bad.." It was as if her instinct spoke for her.
What if they're attempting to murder while making it look like a simple accident?
The building began to shake as the foundation became uneven. Under the prssure the frames of windows were making the glass shatter. The fire moved toward the windows for the fresh supply of oxygen immdiately covering the exposed air.
The smell of gas, smoke and burning debris filled the air. It momentarily blinded Mallory, who had to squint to see. It was so hot that it felt like it was singing her skin.
Only a mere second had passed since Hiroto entered and visiblity was decreasing rapidly.
"I'll pay you quadruple if you can help me out," Mallory nearly wheezed as she breath became shorter.

Saki watched as first Mallory and then Hiroto left to save Mallory. "My, this is a disaster, I thought that there would be more tolerance nowadays." Saki said. Gun shots were heard. Saki saw this as a way to kill some prey, get away with it and be heroic. She followed the sound of the gun shots. As a masked man shooting at all non-humans he saw came in sight, Saki slowly accelerated to a sprint. Luckily the man was turned away. There were a couple of them but she somehow still stayed unnoticed. A sinister smile came upon her face as she got closer. She tackled the man and he dropped his weapon. Saki cut him open with her sharp finger nails as he let out a scream of agony. "Shut up!" Saki said as she drove her hand through his face into his brain swiftly, killing him and therefore silencing him. "Mmmh. So delicious." Saki said as she ate a piece of the mans brain.

After harvesting what she needed from the man, it was time for the next few. As one of them noticed her, Saki quickly threw the pistol the man had on him hitting the other in the head. She then dashed forward carrying a bloody sack, then tearing one guys head off and tearing through another. In the danger of the situation, the others fled.

Saki picked up the severed head and took it with her, pretty much as a prize or at least to show one of the culprits. She soon got back to the point between the bar and the theater.

After Mallory grabbed his hand, Hiroto pulled her and the kid up, and towards him. He noticed her coughing, seeing that the smoke was now affecting her as well. It probably would have been easier for them to breath if they had stayed low, but they definately wouldn't get out in time. "This is bad.." Hiroto heard Mallory utter.
'No shit... I think we can get out through the way we came in...' Hiroto thought, barely maintaining his rational thought, as his vision clouded. 'Damn it. Where is it?' He thought, frusterated that his natural sense of direction was now gone. "I'll pay you quadruple if you can help me out." Mallory said through pained coughs. "Oh? That actually gives me a little more motivation than I already had to get out of here." Hiroto joked, knowing that now really wasn't the time. "THERE!" He exclaimed in relief as he made out the frame of the doorway he had came in. The floor underneath them seemed unstable, as if it were going to collapse at any second. Hiroto ran foward with all his might, and lunged foward, pulling Mallory and the kid with him. Just after, not only did the floor cave in, but the floor above them also gave way. 'There are too many close calls a guy can have in one lifetime. I've used too damn many in just a few minutes...' He thought, getting up and searching for the window he had come through. After a few seconds that felt like hours, he noticed that the smoke was escaping through several openings. Most likely the windows. As he did this, he noticed that his kimono had caught aflame. "Shit..." He thought quickly, and used his wind powers to form a thin line of air along the edge of his palm. He then swiftly sliced it along his kimono, separating the burning part. Hiroto then took Mallory and the boy with him, while once again spreading his wings. Gun shots were heard outside, but he didn't think anything of it. He held Mallory close to him, as he prepared to take off. "Make sure to hold on tight!" He instructed before, lifting off.

Once they had safetly escaped the burning building, Hiroto kept flying, not looking back. Only moments after he had gotten outside, what was left of the building finally fell. The one next to it wasn't much more than smoldering ashes by now. The loud, sudden crash caused Hiroto to stop and turn in surprise. Afterwards, he regained his composure, and decided on where they were going to land. He ended up landing on another fairly high building, about 23 meters away from the burning one. He let Mallory and the child down, then immediatly fell backward panting and breathing unevenly. He was covered in sweat. Only a few seconds later, sirens could be made out in the distance. "Bastards sure took their time. I bet they'd have been here much sooner if it was a human-populated building." Hiroto said arrogantly, still lying on his back and looking upward into the sky. He reached his hand up to his face, to find that his mask had fallen off. Most likely after the car exploded in his face.
'Man. Its gonna be a pain to find that thing. Its authentic too. Worth a good deal of cash in any pawn shop. Not as much as it would in the past, but still. Not to mention my clothes are ruined. I liked this kimono too...' He sighed, as he began comprehending the money he was losing. Even after this experience, that was the first thing on his mind.
He then sat up and looked towards Mallory and the kid she was with. "Hey, Mallory-chan. Who's that little guy?" He asked, listening for the firetrucks that had finally arrived.

"Make sure to hold on tight!"
Mallory didn't have to have him tell her that and hesitate clutching onto the front of his kimono she closed her eyes tight due to a certain slight phobia and held on to the boy tightly.
She was able to tell when they were out of the building because the heat seemed to lighten and finally she could breathe. The air was fresh and light- Mallory never knew she could ever be so thankful for fresh air.
The sound of the building finally giving out just as they escaped made Mallory note that this was just barely a close call.

It only took a few seconds- and Mallory knew they had landed. Hiroto set her and child down and fell back. Mallory dropped to her knees by him with the boy instinctively held close.
For a moment she was silent, speechless- her ability to decide and speak, momentarily impaired. She glared down at the setting before tearing her eyes away and glancing to Hiroto. She knew she owed him big time- and was completely willing. It seemed know that she was in his debt- and at this point, it didn't seem like a small one.

Mallory quickly composed herself, however, she knew this shouldn't be something which set her personality back so far. She looked to the young boy who was whimpering and clutching at Mallory's sleeves.
It was easy to tell that he was a yokai- small horns poked from his light brown hair. His eyes were a reddish brown.
"Hey, Mallory-chan. Who's that little guy?"
Mallory wanted to know the same- and with a gently, almost motherly tone of voice she placed her hands on his small shoulders, so that might get a better look at him.
"What is your name?" She asked trying to calm his mind as she searched his body for any sign of injury.

It took a moment, but the boy finally released his grip from Mallory and wiped his eyes- it was a bit of bravery she though she saw, and an admirable look too, at his young age. He couldn't have been older than 5 or 6.
"Arai," he mumbled hiding a hitched breath from his upset.
"Arai?" That was a handsome name, Mallory smiled, "I'm Mallory," she introduced and looked over to Hiroto, "and this one beside us, who saved you is Hiroto." She told him.
Arai looked to Hiroto and did his best to smiled and bow his head in gratitude.