#catboyinabox

Was there something she was forgetting? Did they meet before she first found herself in that forest? If they did, what did she do?

She knew his favorite cigarette brand and knew he stored his silver bullets in his back pocket. She knew the sound of his footsteps and his limp from breaking a bone fifteen year ago. She knew his voice would turn gravelly when he was angry but she never knew his favorite food or the movies he’d take Yui to or what a hug from him would feel like. How strange it was to know a stranger so well.

Seiji always made sure to keep her as far away from other people as possible, most especially from Yui. She wasn’t allowed to leave her room unless it was necessary, and she was enrolled in a night school at the other end of the city. As much as possible, they’ll never cross paths. She never ate with anyone from the church. Her clothes are all from church donations.

He wished to assert power over her, but he was also terrified of her at the same time.

Still, as master and apprentice, Seiji was anything but ineffective. In terms of technique, her raw talent and careful instructions lead her to a rare level of skill that’s valued amongst even experienced hunters. Still, the most “valuable” lesson she learned from him was brutality.

Never pity them. They prey on humans, so it’s natural that they must die. Why won’t you kill them? Are you a coward? Or is it because you’re just like them? Demon child—

She never fully absorbed that lesson. She killed, and did it many times, but she would always cry for them afterwards. She always made their deaths quick and painless, too. They don’t need to suffer more than they need to.

It only really changed when she lost her eye and came back as the hunter. She still followed Seiji’s orders and acted as his subordinate, but in the end, it was her pulling the strings with him. He can’t do anything to displease her, and she’ll always have the final say in things. After all, there was no longer little things such as empathy or fear holding her back from just killing him if he pissed her off. Even her personal rule to not kill demons without orders or approval is more of a fun little restriction rather than something she actually cares to follow.

As for Yui, Kayo’s existence was always hidden from her. The little girl was sure she was seeing a ghost every time she saw a flash of dark hair pass by her, until the two met one midnight on the church’s roof. She was fifteen, Yui was fourteen.

Kayo isn’t very well-versed on what it means to have your shoes neatly by your side as you sit at the very edge of the roof. She just genuinely wanted to feel the night breeze between her toes. Good thing Yui was there to teach her by shoving her off towards the roof floor with wet tears in her eyes. She swears her back still hurts sometimes from that fall.

It was equal parts endearing and ridiculous. The two sat on the roof for a while as Yui prattled on about school and difficult homework, with Kayo quietly teaching her without as much a bat of an eye. 

Yui knew her, of course. She was the ghost of the church, the demon child, but she wasn’t anything like she thought she would be. She looked lonely, not like someone who’d be ready to attack at a moment’s notice. 

Not that demon that father claimed attacked him a few years before he found her.

They never meet again after that night, not until Yui is about to leave for the mansion, with the black-haired girl once again showing up—this time, with a smile on her face. She hands her a ticket. 

You’re going to Europe.