kewlgurl & scmarshtacky~DemonXDemon Hunter [Possible M]

[Castiel]

Verena smiled wistfully, though nodded. Even now, it was still weird to think of Seijiro as a ‘king’ of any sorts. He didn’t look too much like one, though his newly adopted attitude suited him. Really, it suited any demon better. “It’s fine,” Verena replied evenly, still smiling. “Do you what you need to as a demon king,” she said, trying not to let the sarcasm leak into her voice. She really wished she could have Seijiro as a friend.

“That’s horrifying,” Arun said dryly, “Though I hope you realise that I come out here looking for ruthless individuals?” he asked, “Oh, and I have to stay for Verena. It’ll probably make both of our lives easier and better,” Arun said. For that, Verena thanked him, though not out loud. “When someone says you ‘interesting’ or any other sort of open-ended attribute, just consider it a compliment and don’t ask,” she mustered, looking away towards Arun instead. “And thanks. I appreciate it.”

Verena took a step back at the group of demons. It was like being trapped in the lion’s cage of a zoo, the lions seemingly asleep, though not all were visible. Arun, too, was easily able to tell that they weren’t so welcome. “If it comes to something, we can break the no weapon rule,” he offered, getting another jab in the stomach from Verena. But she nodded in response anyways; it was probably safest not to even trust Seijiro.

“I’m fine,” Verena responded with a kind smile, even dropping her head into a quick bow as she spoke. She was normally the type to be polite, though she also felt threatened here – even if she did have to end up breaking the ‘no weapon rule’, she doubted she’d live all that long. “Thanks though,” Verena added hastily, taking a couple steps forward. “Verena,” she said, offering a hand, but still standing as far away as possible.

[Castiel]

(friendly bump. )

[scmarshtacky]

(I apologize for my slowness. >.<)

Seijiro snorted lightly and rolled his eyes. It wasn't as though he asked to be in such a position. Really, he'd rather give the job to someone else, but he was concerned about what would happen if he did. Certainly things would probably turn in a different direction, away from the teachings of the late Seventh King. Seijiro suppressed a sigh. He had all but forgotten what it was like to have a relaxing day.

"Naturally I realize that," he replied, voice emotionless as he narrowed his eyes on the second hunter. "But finding them is the easy part. Well, it's not like it's my place to advise an arrogant hunter." Seijiro shrugged lightly and turned away from him. If he wanted to run off to his death, that was his problem. Seijiro honestly couldn't care less. "Is that so?" Seijiro said in response to Verena. "Though I'm not entirely convinced you meant it as a complement."

Shion's eyes scanned over the female hunter. "You can call me Shion," he offered, taking her hand and giving it a light shake before letting go. Shion was debatably the closest to the late King. Seijiro and the old man had been close, but it was more of a mentor-apprentice relationship, whereas Shion could truly be called the man's friend. Though he had never been as open with humans as the previous King, he was much more adept at handling them than most of the others. "And what about you young man?" Shion questioned, turning to the second hunter.

As Shion spoke, the twins crept out from behind the counter to examine the two newcomers. Rena moved first, driven by curiosity while Zane was left to chase after her. "Wait Rena," Zane protested, grabbing ahold of his sister's shoulder before she could cross the room. "They'll eat you alive if you get close!" He cast a suspicious glare at them both as if just waiting for them to pounce and rip them to shreds. "But they smell funny brother," Rena said, pulling out his grasp and inching closer. "Hey miss, why do you smell so funny?" She asked lightly, tugging on the hem of Verena's shirt. "Like blood and medicine and something else…" she trailed off, as if trying to place what that something else was.

Seijiro sat back all the while, watching the lot of them interact. All except Rena were tip-toeing around the hunters, hesitant to draw too much attention to themselves. Even Shion, who was putting a polite front was moving stiffly. Seijiro glanced over at Ryner who had his gaze trained on the hunters so intensely, Seijiro wondered if he was trying to stare them to death. With a short sigh, he began to wonder if it was too much to ask for them to behave while in the same room.

[Castiel]

(It's fine. Don't mind me~)

"Compliment," Verena said quickly, finding tone to become slightly cold. Why was she making so much effort to be friendly when it was clear that everyone else in the room hated her? She wanted to defend Arun, though couldn't bring herself to. Whatever the reason was, Verena felt determined to befriend Seijiro. "Don't mind Arun," she added hastily, forcing half a smile. She nudged him quickly, and gave him a pointed look. It was clear that he knew what reputation he was developing around here. Either Arun wanted that reputation, or he just didn't care.

Shion seems nicer, Verena thought too herself, offering a genuine smile as she shook his hand. "Hi there Shion. It's... well, nice to meet you. It really is. I mean, well, you don't look like to want to kill us that much. Which is nice. Thanks. I appreciate it," Verena said, her voice slightly robotic. "And this is Arun. Arun - please don't say anything," she said quickly, throwing her hand up to stop him. Verena would much rather let Arun loosen his frustration on someone less considerate. It wasn't the greatest feeling, to be trapped in such a place. But she still felt as if she hadn't done enough for Seijiro. He had after all spared her life, then saved it, then spared it again.

Arun frowned, though couldn't bring himself to lash out at the younger demons. Seijiro seemed to have a good amount of authority, Shion was simply stuffy, and the demon that had been glaring at them was just... unfriendly. "I smell funny?" Verena asked, a blank look on her face. "Uhh. I don't know," she fumbled, not knowing what else to say. "Hey, we're not going to eat you alive," Arun cut in, smiling a little. "That's horrifying," Verena added with an earnest nod. A second later, she felt her pocket vibrate. "So what's your name?" Arun asked, gesturing to the girl. Verena looked behind her, and stepped away to stand a short distance away from Seijiro.

Flicking her phone open, she saw a text from El. Don't come back. Things got ugly. Verena bit her lip, concerned. It was a depressing thought, that she'd never be able to earn her life back again. Arun might've had an idea of how, but Verena was almost certain she wouldn't like it. Did she even want to spend the rest of her life with Arun as her only friend? Did she have much of a choice. She slid down the wall and sighed, throwing her head against it a couple of times. Reminding herself not to mourn and complain, Verena directed her attention at Seijiro, who didn't look so happy at the moment.

[scmarshtacky]

"Now I'm definitely not convinced," he muttered quietly. He truly wondered if a hunter was even capable of complementing a demon. His bets were on the negative side. "I can manage that," he responded. Arun would be easy enough to ignore as long as he kept his mouth shut and his weapons sheathed.

Shion accepted Verena's works mutely, and nodded his head toward Arun when Verena indicated him. "Well then, just call if you change your mind," he said, as he excused himself to the kitchen to prepare the dishes for the next day, not that there would be any more customers tomorrow. "That guy, he just up and left!" Ryner hissed under his breath as he watched the encounter. "Some friend he is." "You know Shion's not much for a lot of attention," Seijiro responded quietly. "He probably just felt awkward standing there with nothing else to say." Ryner snorted in response, and then turned to look at the wall. Seijiro imagined that if anyone wanted to get out of this situation, it was him, but loyalty to his friends and fear of what the hunters could do in his absence kept him in the bar.

"I know the what that last scent is!" Rena said, hand shooting into the air as if waiting for a teacher to call on her for the answer. She turned to Zane and whispered none to quietly, "She smells like the boss." The two siblings turned their attention to Seijiro, who shrugged under their gazes. "Well we all were outside just a moment ago," he answered in response to their unspoken question. It was far better for them not to know what his afternoon had consisted of.

Zane turned his attention back to Arun as he spoke. "Of course you wouldn't," he said gruffly. "'Cause hunters don't eat us, they just slaughter us and burn our bones until there's nothing left." He glowered at Arun, as if just daring him to try, but under the hostility was a layer of fear. "Why do you even care what our names are?" he continued. "We're nothing more than your prey right? No one bothers to remembers the names of their prey!" Zane bit his lip and turned his head to stare angrily at the wall. Rena put a soft hand on his shoulder. "Brother, lashing out at them won't bring Asura and Anon back," she said, and then she turned to the two hunters. "My name is Rena, and my brother's name is Zane," she said, pointing first to herself and then to Zane as she spoke.

"What?" Seijiro asked when he felt Verena's gaze fall on him. "Message from your other hunter friends?" he questioned, glancing from the phone in her hand to her somewhat depressed expression.

[Castiel]

Verena twitched. She smelled like... Seijiro? Goodness, did he even smell like anything at all? Last she remembered being near him, Seijiro smelled like nothing. Gosh, why had Verena taken note of how Seijiro smelled? "Uh... I do?" she asked curiously, leaning forward, "What does that smell like?" she asked teasingly, though she was rather curious. It seemed that demons did have a way of recognizing people by scent. It couldn't have rubbed off on Verena that must, would it?

Suddenly, Verena wondered what the smell was based on. Could it be their magic? She was pretty sure that dagger could have something to do with it. But she wanted to keep it's existence to herself for more than she could. Plus, she had more to worry about. Or maybe that daggar should be her greatest concern? Perhaps she could just get rid of it? Give it to a demon, who would perhaps be better off with it than Verena.

"Yes. It's a message. A depressing one. I have some problems you don't have right now," Verena replied. While the words were harsh, she sounded more wistful and thoughtful. She pulled herself up and stepped up to him. She sighed to herself, and forced herself to speak again. "Seijiro," Verena said cautiously, "I'm not sure if you realized yet, but I can't be going back. Obviously I don't want to stay here, so I just thought I'd let you know... That well, I'll be out in an hour, and... I'd really like to not see you again. For real," she said, nodding slowly.

Arun stepped back. He had never talked with many demons, despite believing that there were ones who weren't completely heartless. Arun had never considered that demons would despise hunters, not that it wasn't understandable. "Well... A lot of them are like that. Just as there are demons who are, well, mean. Oh you know what? Demons do have more justice than hunters do. Remember that, Zane. Most of us are terrifying and horrible," Arun decided, ready to leave. "And, well hi there Rena," he added.

[Castiel]

(friendly bump~)

[scmarshtacky]

(Here's a nice long post to make up for my absence.)

"Hm..." Rena put a finger to the corner of her mouth and tilted her head slightly as she tried to come up with a word to match his scents. "It smells a bit musty like an old attic, but has a bit of a sweet vanilla fragrance, and the scent of the outdoors. Oh, and a bit of sweat too," she added as an afterthought. "Rena," Seijiro said, a light teasing hint entering his otherwise emotionless tone, "something like that means little to a human whose senses are too dull to smell much of anything. Why don't you and Zane find something nice to watch on television." "Alright!" Rena said happily, running around to the counter where Shion had placed the remote. She clambered up onto the stool, flipped on the TV, and almost immediately began to fight with Zane about what channel they should put it on: a TV drama, or a survival reality show.

"Yes," Seijiro said slowly, "but I also have problems that you don't, and problems you couldn't even begin to comprehend." Seijiro listened quietly as she went on. "Yes well, remember that it was you who came to me and not vice versa," his voice was barely above that of a whisper. "I'd be more than willing to leave you be, and I also expect you to do the same." He held her gaze for a long moment before returning it to the empty glass in his hand.

Zane grudgingly listened as the hunter spoke. Even if he really didn't want to hear his voice, he had been brought up to understand respect, and he wasn't about to go firing off when these people were the Boss's guests. "Hi!" Rena greeted happily, waving her hand in the male hunter's direction.

Seijiro had just stood up to see them off like a proper host when a presence outside caught his attention. He immediately recognized it as one of his own, and a second later Levy came bursting through the door. His appearance was highly disheveled, with his eye-length dirty blond hair blown back and sticky with sweat while his lean body heaved with his heavy panting, indicating that he'd run a great distance incredibly quickly. "Boss - " he drew up short as he his eyes caught the hunters. Seijiro could see the flash of hostility in his eyes a split second before Levy drew a dagger from a sheath at his waist and charged for the nearest hunter, Verena.

Seijiro moved toward him faster than they could blink, so quickly in fact, that even Ryner couldn't track his movements. Speed had always been one of Seijiro's specialties. Before Levy had charged more than two steps toward Verena, Seijiro was in front of him. He grabbed Levy's right wrist and jerked it upward, letting the boy's momentum pitch him forward slightly; Seijiro kept him up upright with his hold on Levy's wrist and the knife fell from his hand, clattering loudly to the floor. "Now then, calm down and explain what exactly has happened," Seijiro commanded, his voice calm and emotionless.

"Now's no time to be calm!" Levy shouted, his gray eyes wild with a mixture of fear and anger. "Kana, Cayal, Saya and I," he gasped for breath in between his words. "We were all attacked while we were passing through Ruffian's Row downtown. We were jumped by a handful of demons - I don't know who they were - but they smelled of rotting meat and sewers, and then there were some humans laughing, just laughing in the background. I think those demons were paid off by them but - " He shook his head lost for words. "And they attacked. We tried to defend ourselves but Cayal and then Saya. I tried to get away with Kana but..." Levy's knees suddenly buckled, and Seijiro had to grab at his arm to keep him from crashing down to the floor. It was then that he realized that blood was shining through Levy's dark red shirt.

Seijiro shifted Levy over to the couch, straightened up and began issuing orders in a hard voice. "Rena, tend to Levy's injuries. Shion, call around and see who else is close to that location. If they are, have them hunt around for underlings of the Sixth, and tell them to be stealthy about it. Ry, you're with me." Seijiro cast a glance at the hunters, whom he'd nearly forgotten in the chaos of the moment. "I imagine the Sixth got wind of our little adventure, so do be mindful not to get killed on the streets tonight," he said softly, aiming his words at Verena.

[Castiel]

(Thanks!)

"Sweet vanilla?" Verena asked with a light smile, waving the young demon off. Turning back to Seijiro, she prepared herself for something rather unpleasant. In the end, she flinched at his words anyways, though only barely. "Exactly what I needed to hear," Verena said coolly. Never having to think about Seijiro again seemed like a good plan. She didn't want anything to do with him anymore. Really, she didn't want to have anything that even related to him.

Forcing herself to turn away, Verena decided if now was the right moment to leave. It seemed that Seijiro was prepared to leave her be. About to call for Arun, an idea struck her head. There was probably one last thing she wanted to do. Verena wasn't about to take any thought of Seijiro with her. But maybe she could leave an impact on his own. Or perhaps she knew she was going to remember Seijiro, and wanted to return the favour.

Arun waved back, not sure how to respond to the two demons. They were pretty different, or just polar opposites. Though somehow seemed to be friends. The thought puzzled him, yet didn't surprise him. He thought of his sister. She and Arun had completely different tastes and personalities, but they found themselves agreeing on things anyways. Like how demons might not have all been cruel. Arun and Verena were considerably different, and even though she had never admitted that he was a friend, she enjoyed his company as well. Or, at least, Arun liked to tell himself so.

About to head out to grab something, Verena turned around to see another demon. Ragged, sweaty and panting. And bleeding. She immediately felt sorry for him. But as she was about to reach out, he made a violent move, chasing away any pity that she had felt a moment ago. Verena had pulled out a long dagger - he was already injured, she could've held him for a long while. However, Seijiro moved faster, and had the other demon constrained before she herself had barely moved. Verena's heart wrenched. Yet again, Seijiro had done her a favour. As of now, she already felt like the cold and emotionless Seventh King had overridden whatever it was she remembered from earlier.

Verena bit back a thankful comment, gesturing to Arun. She tried to remain oblivious to what was happening with Seijiro, but was overhearing the conversation anyways, taking note of every word. Verena wished to help, and help she would. She just wasn't about to tell Seijiro that she did care. Sticking to mindless demon killing hunter was easy enough. However, as Verena slowly led Arun out, her gaze lingered on the injured demon, though turned away a second later.

Verena had her head dropped low as she noticed Seijiro tending to the issues. She swallowed, and shrugged lightly at Seijiro's words. Which seemed to be kinder than usual. "I will," Verena said, lifting her head up with a short-lived smile. "Try not to die yourself. Your absence from this world would be quite depressing," she replied, a note a sarcasm in her voice.

Finally making it out the door, Verena turned to Arun. "You know, you still haven't asked me how I came to know Seijiro and how I came to understand demons a bit better," she said casually. "You haven't asked me either," Arun said with a shrug, "I'm sure it's a long and depressing story for both of us. On the other hand, you aren't really going to leave that guy to fight whatever it is, are you?" Arun asked with a slight tilt of his head.

"Of course not," Verena replied, already beginning to head off, "You take the car and leave. Don't feel obliged to get involved," she added with a shrug. Arun snorted, and just followed her, poking her lightly on the shoulder. "Nope. Going with you," he said, voice slightly teasing. Verena responded with a light laugh, though she felt distant from the world around her, blindly headed in the direction that the demon had mentioned. It wouldn't be too far if she jogged at a reasonable pace.

[Castiel]

(light bump. c:)