* * * *
“So, you’re going on a mission soon?” Akira asked Rei. Rei had come to visit her friend and they were in the sitting room again. A servant had brought a tray with a teapot and three teacups and Akira was now pouring the tea.
“Yeah. It’s one of the rare instances where I’m actually on a team instead of just going with Kuro,” Rei replied as she took the teacup Akira handed her.
“Who’s on your team?”
“Ichiro and an American girl named Kim whose family moved to Japan recently. They do not get along at all, so it should be interesting.”
“I see. Do you want any tea, Kuro?” Akira asked.
“No, I’m fine,” Kuro said. He was lying on the couch, staring at the ceiling. “Thanks for asking.”
“You’re welcome.” Akira took a sip of her tea. She turned to Rei and asked, “So, what kind of mission is it?”
“We get to go undercover,” Rei said, smiling. “There’s this power plant that produces electricity that is requesting protection for some new technology for generating electricity. Supposedly, this machine they have produces absolutely no pollution.”
“Why do you need to go undercover for that? Couldn’t you protect them well enough as yourself?” Akira asked, puzzled.
Rei’s smile broadened. “They requested demon slayers for the job. Some thunder demons have been giving them trouble, apparently. The Clan decided that this sounded suspicious, so they’re sending us,” she explained.
“What I don’t understand is why these particular thunder demons would care about a human electric plant,” Kuro said. “I’ve met this group before. They’re completely uninterested in humans. They’d only attack them if they did something that affected them directly.”
“Are you sure it’s the same group?”
“Positive,” Rei said. “Kuro is like an encyclopedia when it comes to groups of demons he’s come in contact with.”
“Besides, it wasn’t too long ago and demons do live a whole lot longer than humans do,” Kuro reminded Akira.
“Well, it defiantly sounds like it’s worth investigating. Just be careful, all right? If they find out who you guys are, they might think you’re working for the thunder demons,” Akira said.
“You make it sound like I’m a mercenary,” Rei muttered.
* * * *
