Of Death and Demons

Chapter 25- Imaginary Friends

"Your imaginary friend?" Reika asked in confusion.

"I thought so." I said, stilling staring in awe.

Hajime smiled and chuckled a little.

"I believe I should explain, even the princess doesn't know. But now is not the time for that. You are here to see your mother, are you not?" he asked.

"That's right! Come on!" I exclaimed.

I grabbed Hajime's hand and started running, heading towards my old house. The others followed, trying to keep up. I turned the corner and saw it. The small but beautiful one story house, with it's perfect green lawn and big bright porch. I stepped onto the white wooden porch and knocked on the door. There was a small delay, making me wonder if my mom was even here. Then I heard the lock click.

The door opened and my mom's thin, smiling face appeared. I always thought my mother was so beautiful. Her long, dark brown was braided down her back, leaving two shorter pieces to frame her face. Her kind, sparkling green eyes, I wished I had when I grew up, matched her bright smile. She reached forward and hugged me.

"Oh Emma! Oops, I mean Misaki." she said.

"Wow Misaki, your mom is so pretty." Reika said.

"Oh, you must be Reika." my mom said, pulling away.

"Eh? You speak japanese?" Reika asked, again confused.

"I may have been born in America but I grew up in Japan. Quite the opposite for Misaki." My mom said.

"Hey, Hana." Rin said.

My mom smiled then smacked him on the back of the head.

"Idiot!"

"Ow! What was that for?"

"You're Rin, I know you did something."

My mom glanced at me as she said this. I knew what she was implying, and unfortunately she was almost right. Rin refused to let me sleep in my room alone. He claimed he had to keep watch of me but I think it was just an excuse to sleep in my room. And worse, my bed. He would sleep next to me every night, holding me. I blushed and looked away. My mom took notice and slapped Rin again.

"Haha, after all these years, Hana still hits you!" Ratio laughed.

"You want to add something?" She asked, turning on him.

"No." He squeaked.

"Anyway," my mom said, regaining her cheerful composure. "I just made some cookies, let's have some."

We all sat around the porch, enjoying freshed baked chocolate chip cookies. They were my favorite growing up. My mom already knew my friends from all of the stories I told her. She finally took notice of Hajime, which was pretty odd. Hajime began to explain.

"I should first start with who I am. I am Hajime, the last Great Dragon demon."

"Are you serious!?" Rin interrupted. "I've heard of them. They were incredibly powerful and awesome. But I thought they disappeared over a thousand of years ago. Do you remember grandfather tell us about them, Ratio?"

"Yeah, I remember want to battle one when I was little. But grandfather scolded me for it. The Great Dragon demons were one of few demons in history to help us. And not just one but the whole species." Ratio said.

"Yes, we were. But alas, we are no more, I am the only one still living. If you are wondering why we helped you I will be happy to answer. We, the Great Dragons, realized something. Demons are able to go to the upper world too. If someone blesses, or feels sadness over a demons death, that demon is able to go to the upper world. That is where my family is." Hajime said, his voice filled with sadness.

"There's one thing I don't understand thought. Why did you come to me and let me think you were an imaginary friend?" I asked.

"You are my princess, and I wanted to protect you. I kept the demons away from you until your own power was strong enough to repel them. I let you believe that I was your imaginary friend so that if you ever saw me, you would believe it was just your imagination. You weren't ready to know what you were." he said.

"So, you're a Great Dragon demon?" Harumi asked.

"Yes, would you like me to show you?"

We all nodded. Hajime unbuttoned his shirt and took it off. He was very muscular, my cheeks felt warm just looking at him but I was too captivated to look away. His arms were wrapped in large dragons, colored in black, blue, green and purple. The dragons wrapped around his arms, circling his chest, their tails resting on his hips. It was incredibly detailed and magnificent, it almost seemed like their golden eyes were watching me.

"Wow...." Katsu mumbled.

"That's incredible." Izumi said in awe.

"Amazing." Harumi said.

Hajime put on his shirt again, covering the tattoos completely. It was a good thing he did, because an all too familiar voice suddenly called out. I saw Dylan running down the street, waving to me. Oh no, I hadn't thought of a way to explain this. I dissappear for half a year, come back in a uniform, speak another language, have a sword, and foreign friends in tow. And a boyfriend. Oh god, how was I going to explain all of this?

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A/N- I actually remembered! So, things are getting more interesting! And just wait, new characters showing up and of course..... Shoot! I don't want to spoil anything but I want to tell you! I am upset that all of my friends (you know who you are!) keep making me tell them about this story! I mean seriously, there's a reason I didn't tell you guys! Sigh. Whatever, enjoy. Nya~!