Amy Blankenship - Black Winged Angel

He arched a dark eyebrow, “House of Screams… damn that’s cheesy. You want us to check it out?”

“Yohji and Kotaro can check it out if they will stop pawing Kyoko long enough.” Kamui answered in an irritated voice.

Toya growled as he turned and sure enough, Kotaro had his arm around Kyoko’s shoulders while Yohji’s was around her waist, his hand riding dangerously low on her hip. Toya rubbed his hand over his forehead as if he were in pain before he took long, determined strides toward them.

They immediately jumped back, both clasping their hands behind their backs and looking as innocent as possible. Kotaro even had the audacity to start whistling while looking up at the buildings around them like they were the most fascinating things on earth.

“Kotaro,” Toya growled, “keep your hands off of Kyoko.”

Kotaro pouted and Toya turned his glare on Yohji, who was actually stupid enough to return it.

“Don’t even think about it,” Toya stated. “Now are you two gonna check out that drain or do I have to throw you down in it?”

Kotaro threw up his hands in surrender, “Fine, fine… we’re on it. But I’m sending you my dry cleaning bill.” He quickly pulled Yohji out of harm's way when he noticed the idiot was trying to kiss Kyoko on the cheek. “Come on dummy, before demons aren’t the only thing you have to worry about fighting tonight.”

Kotaro touched his earpiece, “Hey computer nerd, where does this drain lead?”

“Hold on, I’m searching,” Kamui said slowly. “I think… yeah, got it! It leads right under the haunted house directly in front of you. Let’s see, it’s a pretty old place… give me a minute.”

“Just tell us if there’s a way into the drains from the house,” Yohji demanded.

“What the hell do you think I’m looking for?” Kamui yelled back. “I swear, you all seem to think that this stuff is always easy to find. It takes research damn it!”

Yohji gave Kotaro a deadpan expression, “This coming from the guy who can break into the CIA database in his sleep.”

“Whatever, we’ll leave you three to argue about it,” Toya stated. “I’m taking Kyoko over to the children’s section of the festival, so we can do our part.”

Toya put his arm around Kyoko’s shoulders and steered her away from them. They froze however when Kamui’s voice came back over the earpieces.

“Um, people… we got a problem.”

“What is it pipsqueak?” Toya asked, his voice changing tone at the seriousness Kamui was emitting.

“That drain leads into the house alright… through the basement. It also leads to the local cemetery about five blocks away. Apparently, the tunnels were dug during some kind of revolution. Local legends say it was an underground ‘highway’ for demon activity.”

“Damn, I’m glad I’m not you guys. Totally sucks to be you right now,” Toya said with a smirk. “Hey, Shinbe, Tasuki, think you can come over and help these ladies out?”

“I do humbly apologize Toya,” Shinbe said over the radio. “But Tasuki and I are on the other end of the square and unfortunately, we are currently preoccupied with our own work.”

“Yeah,” Tasuki stated then screamed.

“Tasuki?” Kyoko asked. “Are you okay?”

“He’s fine,” Shinbe said trying not to laugh. “He just got the life scared out of him by an old man and a teenage zombie wanna-be. Hey Tama, love the costume.”

“We changed our minds, we’re coming,” Tasuki growled. “Damn old man, always scares the crap out of me.”

Kyoko giggled along with Suki. It seemed Grandpa Hogo had found Tasuki.

“Tell Grandpa hello for me and I’ll call him tomorrow,” Kyoko said.

“I’m not telling that old geezer shit!” Tasuki exclaimed sullenly.

“Tell him or else,” Kyoko warned, as her emerald eyes grew stormy.

Kotaro, Yohji and Toya took two big steps back from the auburn-haired woman. When Kyoko got that expression on her face, there was only one alternative… run.

“Um, we’re gonna go ahead and check out the inside.” Kotaro said hesitantly. “We’ll keep you posted at what’s going on.”

Yohji didn’t even need prompting. They took a couple more steps back as though Kyoko might attack them once their backs were turned before hastily making their way to the house.

“Kyoko,” Toya said wonderingly. “You’re scary, you know that?”

Kyoko smirked, “It runs in the family.”

“Tell me about it.” Tasuki mumbled in her earpiece.

Suki could be heard laughing again, “And you guys all wonder why I love working with you.”

“Suki dear,” Shinbe said softly. “You can be scary all you want… it only makes me want you more.”

“Shinbe, shut up,” Suki said in frustration.

Chapter 3 “Haunted Houses”

Darious stood in the shadows, watching as the small group went in separate directions. He hadn’t even bothered with invisibility because, tonight of all nights, he would blend in just fine. His eyes narrowed on the fact that Toya had thrown his arm over the woman’s shoulder. Why was it that they were so accepted within the human circle… when he had always been rejected? What made the guardians so damn special?

His brooding gaze caressed Kyoko’s face as she smiled and he knew she did not fear them, but instead, stood among them as if she belonged. What would he give for her to smile at him like that… like a man instead of a monster?

Something tightened in his chest, but Darious shrugged off his melancholy as his attention returned to the two cops that were entering the makeshift haunted house.

He could sense the demon activity inside but he was more interested in the source of the demonic activity. The master controlling the peons is what he needed to find. Destroy the master and you destroy their underlings. It was a simple concept that most found a bit too easy to overlook… until you actually faced a master in combat. Only then did it not seem so easy.

First and foremost, he needed to find the master demons and kill them. The Guardians could handle the rest of the vermin loose tonight… the easy targets. He slowly turned his head and gazed in the direction of the graveyard before vanishing from site.

Kamui slurped loudly on his blueberry slushy then chewed for a moment on the straw. He saw the disappearing act of the man that had been stalking Kyoko since she and Toya had arrived and it made him smirk. Turning to another one of the laptops open next to him, he scanned the frozen frame of Darious.

‘So, you have finally found us,’ Kamui thought to himself, making sure to keep that particular thought locked away from Amni and Yuuhi. He had often wondered if the dark angel was still stalking the lands.

He enlarged the photo and his smile died as he noticed the lonely look that haunted Darious’s eyes.

*****

Kotaro and Yohji approached the woman standing at the entrance of the House of Screams and started to make their way in. They immediately noticed a sign outside that indicated no one under the age of eighteen was allowed, which meant ID’s were being checked.

“What’s the big deal with the age limit? They have naked zombies or something?” Yohji joked, secretly hoping he was right.

“I’m sorry gentlemen,” The woman said. “It’s a ten dollar entry fee to go in.”