Tsunami of Dead Tears: Part 1

Chapter 16

The first day was coming to an end.

Shinobu had been in the Pit for a long time, and it was getting pretty stale. She was almost relieved when Douma entered the room.

However she was also caught off guard to see that there was another demon with him.

"Hello again! Just came by to introduce you to your new companion!"

It was a little demon girl, about chest height from Douma. Her face was stiff and blank, but her eyes looked like they were about to pop. She looked traumatized, in a way.

"Rika, could you please serve our guest their meal?"

The little girl, Rika, walked over to Shinobu with a bento box in her small hands. It was a slow, methodical walk that gave Shinobu chills down her spine. It didn't help that the girl's expression was unchanging. The same blank face with traumatized-looking eyes. She stepped in front of the bars and slid the box over to Shinobu, which she looked at suspiciously.

"Arigatou..." Shinobu muttered.

In a very sudden change of behavior, Rika ran back to Douma's side with the leg speed of a cockroach. Shinobu flinched, certainly not expecting the early departure.

Douma smiled at Rika. "Well, I guess she's a bit shy. Well, sleep well, Shinobu!"

She hated it when he used her first name.

With nothing left but an empty stomach, Shinobu quickly finished her dinner and went to sleep, not thinking any more of the mysterious girl.

. . .

Shinobu woke up to a slight thump sound. She didn't open her eyes, but she kept her ears on full alert.

Better not be any damn rats in here...

After a few more seconds of listening, she shrugged it off and relaxed her shoulders.

Not even a moment went by when she heard the sound again. Now she was sure that it was no rat. She opened her eyes, but she couldn't see anything except the shadows that were cast by the bars under the light of the lamp.

She heard the sound once again.

One of the shadows moved.

Shinobu made an audible gasp and quickly put her hand over her mouth. The shadow froze as well. In an eerie silence, they were in a standoff, waiting for the other to make a move.

The shadow moved again, quicker this time. Shinobu forced her body out of it's sleepy trance and turned around. There, she saw Rika, her teeth sticking out with a nerve visible on her forehead. Rika paused for a moment in shock, then violently swung her hand at Shinobu's face.

Shinobu, with her superior speed, easily evaded the attack. Without any hesitation, she grabbed Rika's collar and slammed her to the bars. However, Rika grew out her fangs and tried to gnaw on Shinobu's hand, which she pulled away. Before Rika could lunge in for another attack, she was restrained from behind by a pale hand.

"Rika, stop it."

It was Douma.

Rika struggled and screamed, but Douma slipped her to his side of the bars and held her shoulders as she tried to wriggle out of his grasp.

"YOU KILLED MY FATHER! AND MOTHER! YOU KILLED ALL OF THEM!" She screamed, her arms flailing around the room. Finally exhausted, her screams diluted into sorrowful sobs. She turned around and hugged Douma, who unsurprisingly didn't hug back. Instead, he scratched the back of his head and laughed awkwardly.