A New Family

Moon Demon Company

Four years later

A light breeze blew through the city ruins and ruffled my hair slightly. I cautiously examined my surroundings: a stray cat was pawing at a piece of trash, two of my comrades were talking a few feet away, and Yuu was at my right side, observing his surroundings just like me. A sudden crash sounded from right behind us, causing me to jump in fright and spin around. A Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse was looming before us all, ready to attack at any moment.

"A Four Horsemen?! Dammit!" one of our comrades exclaimed. "Yuuichirou, Sachiko, get out of here!"

I, knowing my own limits, backed away slightly, but not Yuu. "I'm perfectly capable of killing this thing," he bragged. "Revenge against vampires is my only reason for living. Well, and to protect Sachi, too. But if I can't kill a stupid Horsemen, how will I ever be able to kill vampires and protect my sister?" He launched forward with his sword gleaming and sliced the monster in half. He landed a few feet away with a cocky smirk on his face.

"He's ignoring orders again," a voice muttered angrily from behind me. I facepalmed and sighed. I knew Yuu would be facing some big consequences. 

We were pulled back into the city after Yuu's attack. Yuu was taken to talk to Guren while I was released to go home. I'd lived with Shinya Hiiragi ever since I came to the human world. I never told anyone, but Shinya was like the father I'd always wished to have. I was quite cautious around him at first, but he was so kind and calm and always knew how to calm me down when I woke up from nightmares. I even called him "Dad" in my head. It's stupid, I know, but it was something to hope for.

"Shinya, I'm home!" I called as I sauntered through the front door of our apartment. I tossed my cloak on a chair and flopped onto the couch.

"Welcome home, Sachi!" Shinya greeted with a grin as he came into the room. "Anything interesting happen today?"

"Well, Yuu killed a Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. Against orders, of course," I sighed. "He's probably getting kicked out of the army as we speak."

"Ah, yes. Guren mentioned something about having to talk to a troublemaker," Shinya chuckled. "Which reminds me, how is the army working for you?"

"I like being able to protect people. It's hard work, but worth it," I answered. "Why?"

"Well, I was thinking about putting you in the Moon Demon Company," he said nonchalantly. 

I froze. "Are you serious?" I whispered. He nodded happily.

"I've spoken to your higher-ups. They seem to think you're a perfect candidate for it. What do you think?"

I nodded enthusiastically and jumped to my feet. "Thank you thank you thank you!!" I screamed, hugging Shinya tightly. He chuckled and patted my back. 

"I'll set up everything tonight. Tomorrow, we'll test you to see what series of weapon you'll get."

I released him and flopped back on the couch with a huge smile. I, of all people, was going to be part of the Moon Demon Company.

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I stood in front of Guren and Shinya with an eager look on my face. It was time to decide what series my weapon would be from. I was hoping for the Black Demon Series, but I was honestly excited to be getting anything other than my government issued katana. 

"So, you're in the Moon Demon Company now, huh?" Guren asked with a slight smirk. I nodded. "Seems like just yesterday you were a helpless little girl who clung to her big brother. Or maybe I'm just getting old, I don't know." He paused. "Alright, let's make this quick." Before I could ask what I'd be doing, he pulled his sword out of his sheath and stabbed it into the floor. A strange light emanated from the tiles and seemed to surround me. I felt as if I should be worried, but I felt nothing out of the ordinary. A moment later, Guren pulled the sword out of the floor and smiled at me. "You've passed the test. You can officially get a Black Demon Series weapon. Congrats."

I yelled in excitement and threw my fist in the air while the men in front of me chuckled. "What are we waiting for?! Let's go!!"

Five minutes later we were standing in a shrine underneath the city. The room was dark and eerie, with statues of demon kings kneeling in front of circular designs on the floor. Each of the statues had a corresponding weapon in front of it.

"This is where you'll make a contact with a demon.....hopefully," Shinya explained with a small chuckle. "Pick a weapon, step inside the circle, and grab the weapon. The ceremony starts when you touch it."

I looked at all the weapons there were to choose from: a sword, a mace, twin katanas, a bow, some freaky looking ax, and something else. When held, the black blades curved away from your body and down, almost looking like disfigured daggers. The tops were serrated with little holes in the metal just under the serration. They were ulaks, not a common weapon at all. Those were the ones I wanted.

I walked forward and stepped into the ritual circle and grabbed the blades without hesitation. The world suddenly faded away.

I looked around my new surroundings. I seemed to be in a child's bedroom.......my old bedroom, from when I was still with my real parents. My breath hitched in my throat as I heard footsteps approaching me. I knew full well that this all was merely an illusion, but when it came to my parents, I was always terrified.

"Chiiiko-chaannn~" my father sang from the hall. I took a deep breath and prepared to fight a demon.

"This is obviously just an illusion. You'll have to do better than that, demon," I announced with a surprising amount of confidence. 

"That was quick. I thought that might get to you quite a bit. Traumatic childhoods are my specialty," a voice complained from somewhere near me. "How about this?"

My bedroom morphed into the gate in Sanguinem. The mutilated bodies of my family were surrounding me, each in their own puddle of blood. I paled slightly and closed my eyes. "S-sachi-chan....help us....." I spun around and opened my eyes to see Haruka laying on the floor with a pained expression.

"Haru...." I murmured. A warm hand grabbed my ankle; I glanced down and saw Mika trying desperately to get my attention.

"Sachi-chan......save us.....please."

I forced myself to look away and ignore the sensation of Mika's hand on my leg. "It's an illusion, demon. I know what you're trying to do."

"Ahaha, you're a tough nut to crack, aren't ya?" the voice from before mused. The scene cleared into a pure white space with only me and a man in it. The man was quite a bit taller than me and had long white hair in a ponytail and eyes that highly resembled the moon. "Hi there, I'm Tsukiyomi. God of the moon. How a god like me got caught up in this demon business, I'll never know. Anyway, you are?"

I gulped slightly at the thought of being in the presence of a god. "I'm Sachiko Hyakuya."

"You mean Manami. Sachiko Manami," he corrected. "Remember, I can see into your mind."

"No, my surname is Hyakuya. You can see into my mind, so you should know that the Hyakuyas took me in."

"Ahh, yes. After your parents dropped you out of a car," Tsukiyomi mumbled. "Anyway, I can see that you have the capability to wield my blades. Whenever you need my power, just call out my name. Try not to use my power too much, okay? It'll essentially destroy you, and we can't have that happening, can we?" I grinned and shook my head a bit. "Alright. Oh, and one more thing, try to be happier, okay? I can see that you haven't exactly had a charmed life, but things aren't as bad as you think."

"Wait, what are you-"

I suddenly jerked awake in the shrine, facing the giant demon statue in front of me. I slowly sat up and rubbed my eyes. 

"Ah, Sachi, you're awake! How'd it go?" Shinya asked as he knelt next to me.

"Um.....fine. He said something that confused me, though," I answered softly. "He said...that I should be happier. He acted as if I'm clinically depressed or something."

Shinya sighed and laid a hand on my shoulder. "You might have some PTSD going on, but I wouldn't say you're depressed all the time. You're just fine," he explained carefully. "Now come on, let's go home. I bet you're tired."

I got to my feet and thanked Guren before following Shinya back home. I put a hand on the ulaks attached to my belt and heard Tsukiyomi whisper in my head. "I think we'll make a good team, Sachi. Thanks for picking me."