They called us monsters part 9

Chapter 9: Exchange of hearts

Ketsu followed closely behind the young male, trying to shake off her friend’s doings. She was more than curious of his abilities and powers and whether they rivaled a well fed demon’s or not. Elise had definitely been experimenting on all levels and it excited Ketsu more than it worried her at that point. Nero led her to one of Rekis’ inns, the loud music and conversations were audible from a few blocks away and Ketsu had to wonder about the reason that they approached that certain location.

‘’One of the members of the team we are hunting down had been seen in that tavern last night.’’, the young man explained, without turning his head to acknowledge the female demon. Ketsu pursed her lips, hating the fact that he had read her mind. ‘’They let him go in hopes that he returns and leads the guard back to the group. Well, now us, as it seems.’’, he added and glanced back at her, his blue eyes hid the crimson coloring that she had earlier seen. He could control all of his senses. The boy was too skilled for his own good.

As soon as they stepped into the tavern of the inn, the scent of grilled meat, alcohol, tobacco and human sweat, overwhelmed the female’s nostrils. She was looking forward to getting out of here and hunting the group down, giving her the opportunity to sink her teeth into some fresh human organs. Her mouth salivated at the thought and she forced her focus on the woman behind the bar, a sturdy, tall female, with ample bosom and a large nose. Her blonde hair were braided to the side and her fierce chestnut eyes fell on Nero. Her indifferent and slightly vicious expression showed hints of worry as the short haired young male leaned over the bar, mouthing a few words to her. She nodded and the human turned to approach the female demon. With a motion of his hand, he guided her to an empty table where they sat, to be immediately served a pint of beer each. Ketsu brought the foamy liquid near her lips, taking a few generous gulps, enjoying the bitter yet refreshing taste. She observed Nero, as he downed his own pint, his pair of blue eyes pinned on the server girl who brought the third pint of beer on her tray to a customer at the back of the room.

The demon pursed her lips, considering the reason Nero was that focused on the waitress’s move, as well as the customer she served after them. It was another male, human, with short brown hair and black eyes. He had been conversing loudly with two other men, way older than him, probably relatives’, judging by the similarities in their round faces and eye shape. The young man brought his mug down with a thud, forcing a mature manliness on his stance and the face he was currently making. His usual indifference that Ketsu had decided to ignore, had been replaced by an odd thirst, just like a demon who hadn’t fed in days. It excited her and made her feel a bit envious of Elise.  

‘’This is our guy.’’, Nero spoke, his voice sounding heavier than usual. Ketsu smirked behind the rim of the cup and took a few more gulps as the human male who had received the beer, probably on Nero’s behalf, glared at them with widened eyes. In the blink of an eye, the man who looked around Nero’s age, was on his feet, heading towards the door. As soon as Nero stood up, so did Ketsu. They hastily followed the target outside the inn, trying not to disturb any customers in the process.

The cold wind hit the demon’s face again and her eyes changed into crimson as they turned into running, chasing the human in a leisured pace, letting him believe that he could actually escape them.

‘’I had a deal with the guards!’’, he yelled back at them, ‘’Who the fuck are you?’’

Ketsu was curious about the person who gave Elise the bounty, but she would have to ask her as soon as they got back.

‘’Look at this idiot.’’, Nero commented, slowing his pace to run beside Ketsu, not a drop of sweat in sight as they passed through half of the town to get near the docks, where some merchants spent their night on deck, before leaving the next day. ‘’He will lead us to the rest of the team.’’, the young male added and scoffed before glancing at the female demon, his expression turning indifferent, as if he was cooking in Elise’s kitchen. His eyes turned crimson and an ethereal aura surrounded him, the same aura some demon’s emitted. Ketsu wasted no time at all and allowed herself to become engulfed by her own demonic self, enjoying the sensation as always. Nero reached for two blades from the collection of daggers across his torso, moving his cloak to the back in order to reveal the rest of his weapons.

When the man they run after turned towards a large ship, docked near the end of the port, Nero flung one of his blades at him, landing a hit into his head, the blade going through the middle of the skull. The body fell on the moist, cold rocks of the port and Ketsu felt a shiver of pleasure by the clean kill the boy had delivered.

‘’Eat some if you like.’’, he spoke as he stood in front of the ship. One of the members of the crew, and possible targets, was peeking from the edge, trying to figure out what had happened, looking a bit drunk. Another precise and elegant throw followed, the second blade going through the male’s throat. His hands circled around the wound, blood gurgling into his mouth as he strived to take a breath.

‘’No need.’’, Ketsu managed to speak over the odd thoughts and feeling that overwhelmed her. ‘’I want to kill, now.’’, she expressed herself like she usually did and Nero simply looked back at her, his lips curling up into a smile, crimson eyes wide open.

The moment the two of them stepped on the deck of the ship, nearly a dozen men spilled out on it, some of them drunk, some of them sober enough to fire shots against the intruders. Ketsu was too fast for them and Nero had drunk enough blood to be categorized as a demon too. The female dashed at any human being she saw in front of her, her clenched fingers and superhuman strength letting her get the fight she so desired, decapitating, dismembering and even biting off pieces from the humans in the middle of the fight. She suffered minor injuries, simply because she went all out, aiming for the sober ones at the back who tried to shoot her and run off to warn the guards. She had lost track of time, but even beneath the dark sky, her demon eyes were able to catch glimpses of Nero’s impressive fight. He was as skillful as her, throwing knives, using his chain to catch the one’s trying to escape, ducking and jumping to avoid attacks, all with an indifferent expression pasted on his young features.

When the fight was over, Ketsu found herself doing what had been natural for her all these years. Sitting cross-legged in the middle of the deck, surrounded by corpses and blood, the female demon held two hearts she had ripped out in her hand, proceeding to take mouthful after mouthful, her eyes fixated on the moon, her prayers to it feeding her power, blessing the very waters of the sea around the ship, just like how she had done in the lake before. Nero paced around her, picking up his blades, cutting through the bodies and collecting various organs in clean linen pouches, before storing them in a bigger bag. They had to go home in order to store the organs properly, as well as claim the bounty from the guard.

‘’These idiots thought that by bribing the guard they’d be safe here.’’, Nero mumbled to himself and Ketsu glared up at him as he stood there all ready to go. The female wiped the blood from her face, her red eyes glowing bright, her chest rising and falling with every breath she took.

‘’This was… nice.’’, she spoke in all honesty and rose to her feet. Taken aback by the faint pink across Nero’s expression, the demon turned her back to him and descended the ship.

---

‘’Good job as always, Nero.’’, Elise exclaimed as soon as she saw the organs placed neatly on the kitchen bench.

‘’Have some while its fresh, doctor.’’, he commented and gave her one of the lungs. Elise bit on it with a smile on her face, her eyes turning crimson red at once.

‘’Why did they have a bounty on their heads?’’, the black – haired woman suddenly asked, swigging a glass of wine in her hand while staring at them both.

‘’Human trafficking.’’, Nero spat out flatly and all Ketsu could feel was pure disgust, before the satisfaction of her meal kicked back in.

‘’How was he, Ketsu?’’, Elise questioned with a smirk, forcing her demon friend to frown her brows.

‘’I can tell he has been trained a lot.’’

The redhead nodded and glared at her adopted son before chuckling.

‘’He hasn’t had your experiences though, and neither have I.’’, she suddenly added and took another bite from the bloody organ. ‘’I would love to have you stay here and work with me on my experiments and start your own.’’, her words made Ketsu widen her eyes, giving her an instant solution to her troubles of how to settle in and gain a front job quickly. She wanted to accept, yet there was a hint of ‘’but’’ in the tone with which the redhead spoke. The black-haired female lifted her brows in anticipation of the words that would follow.

‘’On the condition that you take over Nero’s battle training.’’

The young man froze, mid scrubbing a pot, his blue eyes widening in the sound of the doctor’s words. For a few seconds nothing was heard and as if he had woken up, the man resumed his work. Ketsu chuckled.

‘’Very well.’’