NaNoWriMo6

Whoever had done it… Kiyomi would defeat them. And if they were Kurogane Masahiro, well… that was even more reason to defeat him, wasn’t it? Nodding to herself, Kiyomi walked out of the alleyway and into the street, before taking a turn to go around the crime scene and the police cars and head through a neighboring alley. Maybe the killer was still nearby… if that was true, Kiyomi could stop them right there, before they could do anything else! She walked into the darkness of the alley, and slowed.  She had to keep an eye out, if they really were still close by she had to be prepared for them.

She exited the alleyway, and headed into the next street. There, again, were the lights of the police cars, the policemen themselves, the yellow tape closing off the alleyway, the confused bystanders watching, yet keeping their distance… Kiyomi continued past them, and into another nearby alley.

She continued on like this for a while, and the whole time it grew darker and darker. Eventually, she came to a pause in the darkness of yet another alley. By now, her parents were probably home… then again, they hadn’t called to make sure that their daughter was alright. Still, she hadn’t found any sign of the killer, or of Kurogane Masahiro(or both, if they were one and the same). Perhaps it was really best for Kiyomi simply to head home, now. She could investigate tomorrow, when it was light out and easier to find clues, or perhaps even find the mage himself.

As Kiyomi turned, she heard a sound behind her. A strange, rustling, slithering sound, like something was crawling along the ground like a snake.

Kiyomi quickly turned, eyes narrowing. But as far as she could see into the darkness, there was nothing there. Of course, this didn’t mean there was truly nothing in the blackness that consumed the alley… Facing the shadows, Kiyomi took one step back. She wouldn’t flee from whatever was behind her, if there was something there. But she wouldn’t let it sneak up on her…

There was a moment of nothing but the distant sounds of cars, and the few people still on the streets in the darkness. Kiyomi did not relax. She was sure something was there… But there was nothing in the shadows. Not even the slightest sign of movement…

Kiyomi finally turned to face the entrance of the alley, away from the darkness. Perhaps there really was nothing there…

Wait.

There. There it was. Something had moved beside her. Immediately, Kiyomi raised her right arm and swung it to the side… and there it was.

It was the size of a small child, some kind of tentacle-covered humanoid-shaped… thing. It looked like it was made out of the very shadows it had emerged from… What the hell was it?!

It had frozen, and fixed a featureless shadowy face on Kiyomi. Then, before Kiyomi had a chance to figure out what it was, a tentacle lashed from its back towards her.

Oh no, no it wouldn’t!

A spell was recited in Kiyomi’s thoughts. It was one of many she had developed in order to be able to use her unique affinity.

A spiral of light sprang from the ground directly in front of Kiyomi. It was pristine light, a pure whiteness that cut through the shadows like a knife.

Mana is not truly white. The color of mana is, in fact, impossible to register with the human eye. Thaumaturgical studies have led to the conclusion that mana would be registered as an impossibly pure white if it was possible to view it before it had been altered by an affinity.

The coil of white rotated around Kiyomi in a blur of light. There was a hiss, not unlike the sound of something boiling, and the tentacle went tumbling to the ground, dissolving as it hit the ground. The black thing shrieked.

This was the information Kiyomi needed. The way the creature’s body dissolved, it was a familiar, wasn’t it? The defensive spell dissipated, the light vanishing as quickly as it had appeared. The familiar hissed, and lashed out with another tendril.

Another spell ran through Kiyomi’s mind as she leveled her right hand with the black familiar’s head. Time seemed to slow as a white circle appeared in the palm of her hand. It took up her entire palm, the inside of the rim lined with kanji, which also lined the outside of a smaller circle inside the larger one. A star filled the inner circle. The star itself was occupied by yet another, smaller circle, which had a single horizontal line through the center.

This was Kiyomi’s magic circle.

From the edges of the circle, three tendrils of the white light that was mana twisted to the center, in the form of a spiral… and then gathered, growing. All of this occurred impossibly quickly, before the tentacle had even grown close to her.

And then, finally, the mana burst forth. The spiral had become a beam, the same size as the circle it originated from. The alleyway was lit up in a blaze of light, and the beam of mana tore through the familiar’s head. The head simply disintegrated, the body starting to dissolve as it toppled to the ground in a limp heap.

Kiyomi lowered her hand, and straightened.

Where had the familiar come from…?

She didn’t recognize the magic involved; it certainly wasn’t someone she had encountered before. What’s more, she was… angry. Someone just sending a familiar to attack her?! Who the hell would do that kind of thing?!

Yuichi… Yuichi was good at identifying the type of magic behind a familiar, at the very least. Turning on her heel, Kiyomi quickly began to head home. Perhaps he would be able to figure out where this came from…

~

Two had not returned.

Kurogane Masahiro sat in his room. Two of the familiars he had seeded the city with had not returned to him. He had heard of the powerful magi and onmyouji that resided in this city, that there were many people with a large amount of magical power. His familiars had been deployed with the intent to investigate and report back to him. Yet two had not returned. They had been ‘programmed’ to defend themselves if they were in danger, and yet two had been destroyed.

It was curious.

The others had reported various unusual individuals. A vampire with the body of a female child and her maid, a homunculus that had some kind of unusual influence on mana living with a mage family, a family of onmyouji, and some… dark presence lurking somewhere outside the city. Many of these were of minor concern. It was unlikely any would not attempt to stop him. While he would not allow this, killing them would leave them with worthless deaths. At the least, their deaths would fuel a worthy cause if they did not force him to directly kill them.

Kurogane Masahiro would kill them, if he had to. But for now… it did not seem to be necessary.

~

Rosalie Kreuz frowned.

“There was something in the mansion…?”

The girl looked around. She did not appear to be older than ten, but her incredibly pale skin and red eyes indicated that there was something somewhat… different about her.  She was a small girl, with blond hair current down to her shoulders, though it was sometimes up in pigtails. Her clothing was, as usual, a largely-black dress with a large number of white frills.

The interior of the mansion she lived in was red and black. The entrance hall held this theme up, along with being a very sizable room. Her maid, Maylene, stood before her.

Maylene Fairweather had been in Rosalie’s service for many years, now. She was, at least physically, sixteen. She had long grey hair, and wore the traditional outfit of a maid, in her case in blue and white. Maylene’s eyes were almost purple in color. At the moment, her soft face wore a serious expression, though at the same time she carried and air of apologetic feelings about her.

“Yes, Mistress, I’m sure of it,” replied Maylene, bowing low to Rosalie. “I am sorry, Mistress, I should not have allowed such a thing to happen.”

Rosalie inclined her head to the side, slightly, and approached her maid. Her frown became a small smile. She didn’t want Maylene feeling bad for something she wasn’t able to prevent. “You don’t need to apologize, Maylene. You were with me; it’s not as if you could’ve known. I’m surprised you were even able to figure it out.”

Still… something had been in the mansion while they were out? Rosalie didn’t like the sound of that. “Do you have any idea what it was?”

Maylene shook her head.

“I was able to discern that it was most likely inhuman, but beyond that I was not able to uncover the nature of the intruder. Again, I am sorry,” said Maylene, bowing once more.

Rosalie sighed, and came closer, reaching up to pat Maylene on the head.

“It’s not your fault, Maylene. Besides, I know you’ll protect me if it comes back, won’t you?”

Maylene’s response was immediate.

“Of course, Mistress!”

Rosalie’s smile grew. Her faithful, faithful Maylene, always there to protect her, to help her, and to prepare her meals, to do… everything for her, really. Maylene wasn’t just a maid, but an ever-present companion, who was there whenever Rosalie needed help. Rosalie didn’t want her feeling bad for something that was out of her control.

“Have you searched the mansion?” asked Rosalie.

“Yes, Mistress. The intruder is no longer in the mansion,” replied Maylene, straightening. Good, it looked like she was feeling better.

Rosalie stretched her arms. “Well, then, I suppose it can’t be helped.”

Pausing for a moment to think, she decided that she’d gotten a bit dirty on the walk. “I think I want to have a bath, Maylene.”

“Yes, Mistress! Follow me, Mistress!”

Maylene turned, and headed down the hallway, for the bath.

As Rosalie followed Maylene to the bath, she couldn’t help but wonder why her maid was always so enthusiastic about bathing her…