"Black magic?" Azusa tilted her head and Toru let her go with a heavy heart. He needed to concentrate and being this close to Azusa didn't help, so he cleared his throat and drank the rest of the tea – forgetting that there was alcohol in it. Thankfully it jolted him back to his senses.

"I think so. When we were young, she loved to kill small animals with her bare hands, and drew circles, used black candles, and all the cliches of the witch movies. She even studied the old wives' tales, legends, superstitions, stuff like that. And she collected knives. Ritual knives."

And it was the vibe that she exuded.

How could he explain that?

Sure she looked like a normal high-schooler when she was with her friends and fans, but Toru admitted that he used to have a crush on her before he started to notice her strange behavior.

The first time was a coincidence, when he only just got into high-school – a year after Chiaki came to the island.

Toru was starting to get curious about the opposite gender and he had a crush on beautiful Chiaki so he naturally followed her from a distance, to get the courage to somehow tell her that he wanted to know her better.

But then he started to get suspicious when more often than not, she deviated from the main road to the forest that was on the opposite side of her house. 

One day, he followed her into the forest to see that she rescued small animals from the traps that were around, and he was so touched that he almost wanted to help her – when she snapped the neck of the little squirrel easily and without even flinching.

The scene caused him to not be able to sleep that night and after that he found out strange little things here and there that confirmed his suspicions up until when he caught her in the beach hut.

"Hmm…" Azusa seemed to be in deep thought when the door to the house was opened and Azuma came in with another guy.

"Hey, we're back. Do you want to go search for Chikara now?"

Toru turned around to see Lee, his partner, followed behind Azuma and he could see how his eyes locked into Azusa and he gaped like an idiot.

Understandable.

She was a beauty with a face that could move a thousand ships, and the good news was, she liked him.

When he thought of that, his chest puffed up a bit in a proud gesture and he pulled Azusa closer to him – and asserted his territory.

Lee was a lady killer and he would definitely make a move on Azusa if he thought that she was single and available. 

Well, she was single, but that should change soon.

"Lee, thanks for coming, I appreciate it." His hand was around her waist and she looked at him in amusement. "We should move while it's still early." He stood up and touched Azusa's cheek softly. "See you soon." And he kissed her before he left, dragging Lee with him.

"Did he just mark you?" Azuma chuckled at the blatant display of neanderthal behavior. "Glad to see that something doesn't change."

"Yeah, he did." Azusa's gaze softened. "Anyway, have you found how many of the seals have left?"

"I have, and it doesn't look good." Azuma's face turned serious. "Out of forty six, only five left. And more bad news. There are two other people missing other than Chikara and it fits the count perfectly."

"I guess the last two are probably reserved for us. How long do we have?"

"Until the next full moon, which is tomorrow."

Azusa tapped her chin as she was in deep thoughts. Everything moved faster than her prediction. Was it because she interfered with the turn of events by coming to the island?

No. 

It all had started with the accident that caused her to lose something precious to her, and she swore she would take revenge, whatever it cost.

"We need to move now. Have you found the altar?"

"Only the general location. There are a lot of caves there and we have to search one by one. I haven't tried to use the echolocation because I'm afraid the vibration will cause the smaller caves to crumble. And if those kids are inside..."

"We don't want that." Azusa nodded as she activated her bracelet. "I've activated the safe zone last night, so in case something happens to me… please take Toru there." She squeezed Azuma's hand. "Keep him safe. Please."

"I'm more concerned about you, but whatever. You know I'll keep him safe. I don't want Arisu to be orphaned, you know."

"As long as you keep Toru safe, I will be able to come back." She squeezed Azuma's hand. "And don't worry, Arisu won't be an orphan. She had you, Noah, and the others to take care of her."

"Nee-san…"

"Well, why is it only in this kind of situation that you call me nee-san?" Azusa chuckled. She was older by a few minutes but Azuma never called her nee-san before because he hated the fact that he was younger.

Azuma cleared his throat when he heard the teasing, and Azusa could see that he was blushing.

"Anyway, I'm not going to die that easily, so why don't we search the caves now?"

"...fine."

"So, Toru, how do you snatch Azuma's sister?" Lee asked Toru when they were walking toward Chiori's house to find out about the latest news. "The Demon has such a sister complex, anyone dare ask about her, he would go berserk. And yet he let you kiss her?" Lee was perplexed by how different the demon Azuma – with the mean left hook – treated Toru.

"The Demon?" Toru quirked his brow when he heard the name. "That's the Demon?" 

The nickname Demon was famous throughout the entire police force as the most dangerous bounty hunter, and the craziest one, even Toru heard of it. Rumor said that he could even kill a huge bear with one hand only, and after he sparred with him, the rumor was not exaggerated.

But to think that The Demon was actually Azuma… well, he could see it now, the way he easily fought him in a spar, the dangerous aura he emanated, and how he was so protective of his sister.

"Yeah, that's the demon. I was surprised when he called me and asked for my help to find a missing boy. But I thought it's better to be on his good side rather than his bad one. Besides, I have some vacation days left. Who knows that you already got cozy with The Demon's sister and he didn't kill you. Yet. Congrats man." Lee smacked Toru's back. "And she's more beautiful than the rumor. Lucky you."

"Mm…" Toru didn't know how to respond to the information, so he decided to change the topic and inform Lee about Chikara's disappearance. 

"So, I know that it's too early to call this a missing person case since the boy has only been gone for less than twenty four hours, but he is not the kind of someone who just disappears without telling anyone his whereabouts. We will see his grandmother first and then search for him in a more likely place after questioning his friends."

"Sure, whatever you say, Boss. I'm with you all the way."