Chapter 2 - Aftermath

Author's notes:
-Unfortunately enough, my computer lacks spell check for one reason or another, and so, any spelling and grammar errors in this chapter are my fault.
-I tend to focus a lot on character development and the emotional aspects of a story, and so often times the storyline itself is lacking. Again, this is entirely my fault.
-While the last chapter of this story was written by my friend, Brian (Dolosus), this one was written by me (Demonic). The next chapter will be written by him, and then I’ll write the one after that, and so on and so forth until we can’t think of anything else to write. That may take a while haha.
-The crows are not going to be named, apparently. They are simply, The Crows. A boy and a girl.
-“You wretch” is one of the most entertaining insults I’ve ever had the pleasure of including in my writing.





Failure is a fate worse than death. That was common knowledge among those who worked for Demonic. The horrors experienced by those who dared to let their own wretched life continue long enough for her to learn of their failure were often whispered in hushed and fearful tones. Nobody really knew exactly what Demonic’s tortures entailed, however. In most cases, the poor soul would take their own life first, rather than let the dark mistress have it instead, and so there were no survivors. There never would be.
This being the case, the organization’s hideout was in a state of unrest when news of Dolosus’ last mission managed to circulate. In the case of Dolosus, any news regarding his missions and battles tended to "circulate” as more of a wave among the organization, rather than being a slow leak of information. It was no secret that he was Demonic’s favorite. His frighteningly superior abilities were also well known, and so jealousy of him ran deep in many other organization members. Thus, when news got out that he had failed twice, the whispering began accordingly.
“It’s about time he slipped up,” one would mutter, “I was getting sick of that attitude.”
“I don’t know…” another replied, hesitantly, “the master does take a liking to him. He might even be spared.”
“He’s already been spared once. There’s no way Demonic will accept two mistakes in a row. No way in hell.”
And so on and so forth, until not a single member could wait for Dolosus’ return and to hear screams of agony echoing from their master’s chambers. They always did when a failed mission was reported. Often, the tortured song of their lament would keep up the other members all night. They didn’t mind, though. One more rival out of the way. They were closer to earning their master’s favor with fewer people to compete with.
“He’s here!!” a shout sounded down the hallway which was lined on either side with the rooms of the other members. Immediately, doors began to open, and heads peeked out of rooms to watch the doomed man, as he walked his lonesome funeral procession to the large oak doors at the end of the hallway.
His walk was silent but for a few nervous whispers and the soft rustling of the others trying to position themselves to get a good look at his face. Some managed to do so, and the expression he wore puzzled them. His head was hung, his hands were shoved into his pockets, and his entire countenance gave off an air of grim resolution. His face, however, gave the look of one lost in thought. He seemed confused, frustrated, helpless, as if fighting a battle in which both sides lost.
All of this did, of course, spark the curiousity of nearly everyone present, but no one dared approach him. There were two reasons for this. For one, Demonic’s voice rang out, calling for Dolosus impatiently, and none dared to cause any further delay. Secondly, one fool had begun to make a snide remark to him, thus exemplifying exactly why they should not do so. Dolosus had promptly slammed the poor fool’s head into a wall, whithout so much as a twitch of the eye.

“Ah, Dolosus, there you are.” A cheshire cat grin played on Demonic’s lips at the sight of her most skilled assassin, kneeling prostrate before her.
“Yes, master.” Was his only response. Her grin widened, but anger was prickling inside of her, ready to burst out at the slightest provocation. A long pause ensued, during which Dolosus knelt in silence, hanging his head, and Demonic considered her words carefully. Finally, she got to her feet, leaving the throne-like chair from which she usually addressed her subordonates.
“So… you’ve failed me once again.”
“…yes, master.”
“Have you anything to say in your defense?”
“No, master.”
“Really, now…” a hint of that prickling anger began to show itself in her voice. Another long silence. Demonic now stood directly in front of Dolosus, looking down at him condescendingly (though she couldn’t look down at him too much due to his height even when kneeling). He stared solemly at her feet and the hem of her robe.
“Look at me, Dolosus.” He did so obediently, and was met with a swift backhand across the face. The force of the blow nearly sent him falling to the floor, but he quickly flung out a hand to steady himself. He wiped a smudge of blood from his lip and gazed up at his master, his eye unintentionally betraying a hint of disdain. A spark of rebellion. This furthered Demonic’s amusement, but was also a cause for curiousity. She must know what it meant.
“Dolo-kun…” she said sweetly, her voice kind and flowly gently like a calm river, “How is it that you’ve failed me twice?” she took his chin in her hand and force him to look at her as she spoke, “I’ve asked you twice for a simple favor. All I want from you is the death of that one silly little girl. Why can’t you do that for me, Dolo-kun?”
“Sh-she… has help. It was never a one-on-one battle… someone always helps her…” he muttered back, faltering only slightly under her gaze.
“Tell me, Dolo-kun,” she cooed sweetly, “who is it? Who continues to stand in our way?”
“…Her name was Kitty…”
“Kitty?” she repeated, “Who is she?”
“She’s… Crimson’s f-friend…” his brow furrowed as if he were struggling with some unknown concept, “They all are. Everyone who has come to her aid. They’re her friends…” once again, Demonic saw a startling show of emotion in his eyes. What had caused this change? What had affected her creation so dramatically?
“Her friends…?”
Dolosus was silent. His master regarded him with mirror-like eyes which betrayed not a single flicker of emotion. Dolosus too had possessed these eyes before, but now, the mirrors had cracked, and a flood of thoughts and feelings were revealed in them.
“You are upset.” She stated plainly. He looked up at her curiously, then, slowly, he nodded and hung his head once more.
“something has changed in me, master.”
“I know.”
“…I’m confused. I don’t know why I feel these things… I doubt, now. I question.” Again, she only said,
“I know.”
Rage flared up in Dolosus’ mind as soon as the words left her lips. He looked directly at her, his teeth clenched, his eyes burning,
“Stop it! Shut up! You don’t know at all!” he shouted at her, giving her a start, “I have no purpose! No family, no friends- nothing to fight for or protect! I’m an assassin, I kill for you, I end lives for you… but why? I have nothing, master, nothing to live for. How can you say that you know how that feels?!” Dolosus looked like a madman. Sweat beaded his forehead, his eyes were wide, and his complection was flushed a deep red. If he had looked mad, however, then Demonic was the portrait of fury. She opened her mouth as if to speak, then closed it. Then opened it again and closed it again. It seemed her rage was too strong for words to express, and so she instead summoned her weapon, a three foot long paintbrush, to her side.
“Stupid fool!!” she roared, and in an instant, Dolosus was pinned to the floor, the shaft of the paintbrush forced against his neck, just below his chin, “How dare you speak to me in such a way!! You should be worshipping me, begging me for mercy and forgiveness! Have you managed to forget that I have already forgiven you once?” she knelt over him, one knee on either side of his stomach, pushing the brush harder against his neck and bringing her face close to his. She whispered menacingly, her voice like the hiss of a snake, “I am your master, and you shall speak to me with the respect that I deserve, understand, Dolo-kun?”
“Don’t call me… Dolo… kun…” he gasped out defiantly, and Demonic pressed down even harder on the brush. Now, every breath Dolosus took was laborous. He fought against dizziness, and blotches of color began to stain his vision as he struggled to maintain his consciousness.
“I said: do you understand?” she persisted. Dolosus tried to speak, or even to fight back, but he could not harm his master. He was not physically capable of raising his hand to strike her, and even speaking against her was a psychological battle in and of itself. After this long pause during which Demonic got no reply but a small groan of pain, she smiled in satisfaction.
“Good. I’m glad you’ve learned where you stand.” She said, and stood up, releasing Dolosus from her chokehold. He took in a gasp of air and rubbed his neck. He began to get up as well, but a swift kick to the stomach sent him sprawling on the floor, clutching his sides in pain. Demonic smiled again and turned away from him. She returned to her throne and seated herself comfortably.
“Come to me, Dolosus.” She ordered, her voice a careful monotone. Dolosus slowly got to his feet and glared at her, his attractive features contorted in rage.
“Yes… master…”
“Kneel before me, Dolosus.”
“Yes, master.” He did as told and knelt before his master, glaring at the floor and still struggling slightly to breathe. Demonic leaned forward and reached out a hand to touch the side of his face. He instinctively flinched at her touch, and found himself longing to pull away. Doing so would undoubtably anger her, however, and so he remained still.
“You poor fool…” she murmured, “my pathetic little pet…” her hand carressed his cheek gently, brushing a few stray strands of dark brown hair from his face, “Such a beautiful pet, you are. It is truly a shame that you have become so useless to me.” Dolosus was silent. He would not provoke her temper again. Surely, obedience was the only way to get the answers he sought. “Do you really wish to know? I have the answers to all of your hearts desires. Indeed, I know more about you than you do. Shall I tell you?”
“Please, master.” He bowed his head and regarded her with a nausiating show of respect, “I beg of you…” she gave a short laugh, then crossed her legs, folded her hands on her lap, and began in an oddly conversational tone,
“I created you. Two years ago, not long after I enherited this branch of the organization and began creating my own fighers and assassins to replace the idiots who had previously occupied those jobs. I created you to be my star pupil, so to speak.” Dolosus’ expression became more troubled as she spoke, and after a short pause, she continued, “A strong sense of duty and responsibility, peerless fighting abilities, striking intelligence, and stunning good looks,” she laughed, “yes, you were to be my perfect creation. You may have even noticed that that body of yours does not age. You will always be the perfect being that you are now, until death.” He flinched at the last words.
“I… I see…” he responded. His mind was in a state of more panic and confusion than before. He was just a creation? Just another of Demonic’s works of art? His will was not his own. All he could do, all he had ever known was murder. Was he doomed to this path forever? It all seemed so pointless now, so empty. His entire existance was pointless. Others had been born out of love. He had been created to serve.
“But you see,” Demonic continued, tearing Dolosus from his thoughts, “you… you are different from the others. You have something that the others lack.”
“Master…”
“These emotions and longing which you feel so deeply are most likely a result of my own carelessness.”
“Master,” he repeated, frowning slightly, “I don’t understand. What caused this? Why am I so different?”
Demonic scowled as if being forced to eat something particularly unpleasant. After a long silence that seemed to Dolosus to drag on forever, she answered,
“I let my own emotions interfere with your creation.
“I… don’t understand…”
“These feelings that have stirred inside of you as of late,” she explained with a sigh, “are the feelings that I harbored during your creation.” She paused, closing her eyes and pondering the situation carefully, “as a work of art, you naturally express a part of me in a way. When I painted you, my own longings and feelings of emptiness… they entered you because of my carelessness. They have been dormant for the last two years. My guess is that your encounters with Crimson have triggered those dormant emotions, and now…” realization dawned on her, and she touched Dolosus’ cheek once more. This time, he did not flinch. He closed his eyes, and when she spoke again, he swore he could hear some hint of genuine, human emotion in her voice,
“Now, you long for acceptence from others. You long for someone to call a friend… I know, because I experienced it all before.”
“But… how could you…?”
“…I am also, like you, just a creation.”
Dolosus felt his heart stop. Demonic seemed about to say more, but at that moment, the large oak doors of her room flew open with a resounding slam.
“Master!” the man who entered cried out breathlessly, running towards the two of them and dropping to his knees before Demonic, “A thousand apologies for the interruption, master, but there’s an intruder!”
“Well, what are you all doing, then?!” she replied, her voice once more wrathful and authoritative, “Get rid of the filth! Kill it and wear the skin as a coat, for all I care!”
“Master, she has already destroyed our defenses- she’s on her way right n-“
“It’s rude to talk about people behind their backs, you know.” Said a voice from the still open doorway. It was a girl, seemingly no older than sixteen. Her hair was cut short, and was a shocking shade of pink. She wore a skimpy kimono style outfit, with just bandages on her feet, and in her hands she carried a huge leaf. Her golden eyes glinted with a playful yet homocidal excitement.
“You!” Dolosus gasped when he saw her, but he didn’t move. In an instant, the girl stood behind the man who had reported her arrival,
“Thanks for the introduction,” she told him, “but I’ll take care of the formalities from here.”
She put a foot on his back, and a hand on his head, and with one quick motion, she lurched his head back and snapped his neck. He was dead in seconds. She smiled in satisfaction and tossed his body to the side. Demonic raised her eyebrows, but remained emotionless for the most part. Dolosus, however, got to his feet and faced the intruder,
“You!” he repeated, “What are you doing here? What business do you have with my master? Speak now, or fall by my hand.” The girl simply giggled, smiling like a small child with a new toy.
“My, my, you’re even cuter when you’re mad.” She said innocently. Dolosus scowled and opened his mouth to speak, but Demonic interrupted him, speaking in a complete monotone,
“Dolosus, who is this? A friend of yours?”
“Hardly, master.” He responded through clenched teeth, “this is one of Crimson’s friends. She fought against me in my first battle with her.” He now addressed the girl, “But why are you here? And without Altojo, as well. Without him, your attack strength must be nearly cut in half. That’s quite a gamble.”
“Altojo?” Demonic questioned.
“Another pest. He and this girl combine their attacks. He possesses fire manipulation abilities, and this one has wind manipulation.”
“I see…”
A heavy silence. The three simply stood there, in front of the throne, willing for one of the other two to speak first. Demonic shifted her gaze between the others, the intruder did likewise, and Dolosus’ eye swere fixed on the girl, as if sizing her up. It was she who finally broke the silence. She cleared her throat,
“Sooo… uhm… call me Kat!” she said cheerfully, “I’m no enemy of yours—not anymore at least. I’d like to join you. Afterall,” she continued with a laugh, “I’m sure that you could use the help, since I basically massacred the others.” She offered her hand to Dolosus in a gesture of politeness. He took it hesitantly, still unsure of whether she could be trusted. She also offered her hand to Demonic, who gazed at it as if it were diseased, then spoke coldly,
“State your reasons. I want a full story. Don’t try lying to me. I’ll know if a single falsehood passes your lips.” Demonic’s gaze was penetrating. She made eye contact with Kat, and Kat could not look away. She gave a cute, nervous laugh and shrugged,
“I guess I don’t have much of a choice, do I?”
“No, you don’t.” Demonic replied, and her eyes narrowed.
“Well,” Kat began, shifting uncomfortably under Demonic’s leering eyes, “As he said before, I’m a friend of Crimson’s, and I helped her out once in battle, but it sounds like you already know all about that. Anyway, I was going to meet Crimson at the park, and when I saw this handsome fella pickin’ a fight with her, I was going to help her, but I figured I’d sit back and see if Crimson could handle it herself.” Dolosus gave a snorting laugh and rolled his eyes.
“Your restraint nearly sent your friend to her grave.”
“But it didn’t, did it, Dolo-kun?” Demonic returned with a mocking sneer, “Keep your stupid comments to yourself. This entire day has put me in a foul mood. Continue.” She demanded of Kat.
“…Right, well,” Kat went on, “Crimson was in bad shape, and I was about to go help her, but my sister, Kitty, showed up and took care of that instead.”
“Your sister…” Dolosus frowned.
“Yeah, but we’re not really… close. Anyway, to make a long story short, they fought, and I guess you could say that it was a tie. But that surprised me, because, you see, my sister isn’t exactly a pushover. This guy is the only one of her opponents to walk away without at least a few broken bones or misplaced internal organs.
Naturally, I was curious, so I tailed him back here. Once I saw that he worked for an organization of sorts, I made up my mind that I wanted to join, too.” She acted as if she had nothing left to say, but it was obvious to both Demonic and Dolosus that there had to be more.
“Curiousity?” Dolosus questioned, “You’re just joining out of curiousity?”
“Keep your stupid comments to yourself!” Kat said importantly, thrusting out her chest and deepening her voice dramatically.
“You dare to immitate my master…?” Dolosus grabbed a fist full of her shirt and lifted her up off the floor, glaring at her, his teeth bared like a vicious dog. Kat maintained a smug smile.
“I don’t know, do I dare?”
“You will learn to hold your tongue, you wretch. One more witty remark, and I may wash my hands in your blood.”
“Let’s see you try! You’ve got no weapons!”
“I’ll need none.”
“Oooh, tough guy.”
Just as Dolosus lost control, and was about to plow his fist into Kat’s face, Demonic interceeded. She got to her feet quickly and took a hold of his wrist, holding him back. He seemed to slowly come to his senses. Slowly, he set Kat back on her feet, and he sighed.
“Both of you will shut up this instant.” Demonic commanded, “Your antics are giving me a headache.”
“…Yes, master. My apologies.” Dolosus said quietly, ashamed. Kat said nothing. Demonic turned to Kat.
“My foolish servant is right in one matter: you clearly have further reasons for wishing to join us. One does not simply walk into my room and request a position in my organization. You will be sent to murder, betray, spy, and every day could lead to your death. They say that curiousity killed the cat, but not in this case. Something else drives you. An alterior motive.”
Kat hung her head, and after a short silence, she said, “To find someone that I care about. Your organization could have some knowledge of his whereabouts, and for that information, I will readily kill whoever you need me to. You’ve seen my abilities—I promise that I can be useful to you.” She pleaded, clutching her hands together at her breast, “Please, I must find him. He’s like a brother to me, and he needs me, I just know it!” Dolosus noted that long silences seemed frequent as of late. Demonic sighed heavily and seated herself once more in her throne, crossing her legs and closing her eyes.
“Dolosus.” She said at last.
“Master?”
“Find the crows and send them to me. You need not return to me after you’ve done this task. Oh, and tell them that their food for the week is laying out in the hallway, and that they may do with it as they please.”
“It will be done, master.” Dolosus bowed to her and turned to leave. Once he reached the doorway, however, he stopped. Without turning back to look at her, he said, “Kat… I may have been wrong about you. Do not mistake me, your blood will spill if you show disrespect to my master… but, I think I like you enough to at least kill you quickly and somewhat painlessly.” That being said, he left the room in search of the crows. He should be able to find them in their living quarters. He made his way to their room, and all the way, Kat’s words echoed in his mind,
“To find someone that I care about.”

“Nice guy, that Dolosus.” Kat said once he had gone, “So charitable, willing to kill me quickly an’ all.”
“Mhm…” Demonic replied absentmindedly.
It was not long before the crows arrived, garbed in their usual blacks and reds, and chatting back and forth like a pair of chirping birds.
“Ah! You must be Kat.” said the girl when they reached where Demonic and Kat waited.
“Must be.” the boy confirmed, “Thanks for all the food out there. Man, I was starving.”
Demonic sighed, “Enough. I have a job for you two, so shut up and heed me closely.” The crows were silent, and she continued, “First, I want you to arrange a room for this one,” she gestured to Kat, “and when that’s settled, have her describe a man by the name of Altojo. Get as much information as you need, and then begin searching for him immediately. Do not engage him, and do not make yourselves known to him. Report back to me, and then Kat will give your orders on how you are to deal with him.”
Kat gazed at her in surprise, stuttering slightly, “H-How did you know it was-“
“That IS who you’re looking for, right?” Kat smiled and nodded vigorously.
“Yes. Thank you, master.”
“Whatever.” She muttered, “now, get out. I’ll have an assignment for you in the morning.” Kat nodded once more, and bowed deeply, her hair nearly brushing her knees. The three then left, picking up on their previous conversation where they had left off. Demonic let out a long, heavy sigh and sank into her chair, massaging her temples in an attempt to alleviate a particularly irritating headache.
“So, Dolosus now knows what he is…Pah. Troublesome. That man is turning me soft. I’m too nice to these idiots…”


Owari.

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