Chapter Eleven- The Request

Chapter Eleven in the "Hina's Tears" series

Chapter Eleven

The Request 

Angel opened her eyes slowly.  A warm breeze came through the open window of her bedroom.  She yawned, stretched, and sat up in her bed.

How did I get to my room?  Did Ryo bring me here?

She got out of bed and opened her bedroom door.  Someone could be heard downstairs in the kitchen.  

Mom must be making breakfast.  I should take a shower before seeing her.  

Angel went to the bathroom, got undressed, and turned on the shower.  As steam filled the room, she looked herself over in the mirror.  Her face was covered in dirt with small scratches on her cheeks.  

Just as I thought.  I look like a disaster.

Slowly, she got into the shower and felt the hot water hit her body. She sighed and closed her eyes as her head went under the spray.  

What am I going to do?  I told Kai last night that I don’t want to be protected.  That was a lie, but I don’t want to appear weak.  So much happened last night.  First, I felt something awful when I saw Anna and Kai.  Was it jealousy?  Was I afraid things would change if they got together?  Also, who was the girl Kai wanted to be with?  Would all this fighting mean I would have to stay away from Ryo to protect him?  Could I even do that?  

She opened her eyes and brushed away the hair that had fallen in front of her face.  Then, she reached for the shampoo, poured some in her hair, and put the bottle back on the shelf.  

How do you even fight a demon?  I know I have a power called Spirit, but I don’t know how to use it.  It’s only happened twice now.  Once when I was seven and thought I would die, and then last night when I saw Kai and Anna. So, if I get super upset I can use it?  

She rinsed the shampoo out and grabbed the conditioner.  

Most importantly, can I even KILL a demon?   

She finished washing,rinsed, and got out of the shower.  With a towel wrapped around her, she went back into her room and opened her closet.  

I think today I just need a normal day.  I need to think things over and figure things out on my own.  I need a day without demons and Kai.  Even if I wanted to be with Kai right now, he is probably with Anna.  I don’t want to interfere with that.  

She grabbed a white and pink t-shirt, bra, underwear, white shorts, socks, and her boots.  After changing, she looked herself in the mirror.  After brushing her hair and pinning her bangs, she went to the bathroom again to brush her teeth.  

Other than the scratches, I look normal again.  

She left and went downstairs.  Her mother was in the kitchen with an apron on.  She was humming a tune when Angel walked in.

“Good morning, mom.”  Angel said.

“Good morning, Angel.  Did you have fun last night?”  she asked as she turned over a pancake on the stove.  

Angel nodded and sat down at the dining room table.  

“What’s on your mind?”  her mother asked as she came over and with the pancake on the plate in front of Angel.  “You look troubled.”  

“Oh, sorry.  I was thinking…”  she bit her lip and looked down at the pancake.  “There’s this book I’m reading in class about a fight between demons and humans.  In the book, the main character is a girl who has no idea how to fight the demons to save the world.  She just got pulled into the war.  I was trying to imagine what I would do if I was her.”  

“Well my first advice would be to finish the book.”  Her mother laughed as she placed down the syrup with a fork.  “But, if I was the girl, I would still try to find a way to fight even if I was terrified.  I think that that I would realize that it wasn’t about me anymore but about the world.”  She smiled and went back to the kitchen.

Not about me anymore.  I know that much.  I can’t just quit because I’m scared.  I have to fight because people depend on me with their lives.  

“When you finish the book, let me know what she ends up doing.”  Her mother stated as Angel cut into the pancake and took a bite.  

“I wonder if I could be strong like that.”  Angel mumbled after she swallowed and picked up another bite.  

“It’s not about strength.”  Her mother replied as she sat down at the table.  Angel looked up at her with raised eyebrows.  “It’s about doing what’s right regardless of the consequences.”

Angel finished her pancake, swallowed hard, and stood up suddenly.  

“You’re right mom.  I have to go out for a while.”  She leaned over and kissed her mom’s cheek.  “I’ll be back late so don’t wait up for me.”

“My you are growing up.  Alright, I’ll trust that you aren’t doing anything dangerous.”  She smiled and watched as Angel picked up her bag and left the house.  

Angel walked down the street and straight to the ocean wall.  The breeze was warm on her face.  She smiled and started walking towards the shopping district.

As she walked further down the street, she could hear a commotion around the corner.  

What’s going on here?

She turned the corner and saw a crowd of people in a circle around a girl.  The crowd was cheering and taking pictures with their phones.  The girl was waving at the crowd and smiling.  Her long blond hair was under a sun hat.  She wore a yellow dress and white boots up to her knees.  Angel stared at her for a long moment just watching her until the girl’s golden eyes turned and met Angel’s.  

Angel blinked and looked away.  

She’s rather beautiful.  She must be a celebrity.  

“Um, excuse me, but who is she?”  Angel whispered to a girl she had seen in one of her classes.  

“You don’t know Elizabeth Klein?  She’s a super awesome model and singer!  She’s not from Anicon.  She lives in Wales, and she’s only fifteen!”  she girl swooned over Elizabeth.

Angel looked back at Elizabeth.

“Thank you so much for the welcome to Anicon.  I do hope to have a wonderful experience here.”  Elizabeth flipped her hair and started walking away as she waved at the crowd.  Angel watched her leave than felt tingling on her neck.  She turned and saw Bryan sitting on the ocean wall watching her.  

Angel walked over to him and smiled.  “It’s good to see you again.”  

“Same, I was hoping to get to know you and the other boy better.  You know since we all have to fight together and all.”  He slide off the wall and landed next to her.  

“Want to walk with me?”  Angel asked as she turned and started down the street.  He nodded and followed.  

“So what’s your story?”  he asked as they turned the corner to avoid the crowd.

“Well, to be honest, I just remembered my past.  I was captured when I was young and escaped.  I fell into the ocean and was found by my adopted mother.  We moved away, and I forgot everything.  This year, we came back and things started happening fast.  What’s your story?”

“My parents died when I was young.  I was never captured, but I knew what had happened.  I learned to fight and one day ran into demons.  I managed to kill them and save a little girl.  That’s Skyler.  We have been together since trying to find answers and a way to defeat Akuma.”

“I wish I knew how to fight.  Say, could you teach me?”  Angel stopped and stared at him.  “I promise I will learn and do my best!”  

Bryan looked her over and laughed.  “You look like you have never thrown a punch before let alone used a weapon.”  

“That’s true, but I’m willing to learn.  Please.  Teach me how to fight.”  Angle bowed and waited.  “I want to protect myself.”

“I can understand that.  Fine, we start tomorrow at dusk at the mansion.”  Angel straightened up and smiled.  

“Thank you so much!”  she started walking again with him following.  “So what are your powers?”

“First off, how much do you know about the fragment powers of Hina?”  he asked.

“Well, I know the story of Hina, but that’s it.  I have so many questions like how different are fragments and lesser?  How many powers are out there?  How can we know if someone is a fragment or lesser?  What do we do when we get everyone together?  Can demons change forms to look like humans?  Are all demons bad?”  she took a breath and laughed.  “Told you I had many questions.”

“Alright, alright.”  Bryan smirked and turned into a closed alley way.  “Well I’m fire and Skyler is wind.  The difference between a fragment and a lesser is that a fragment is the chosen child of Hina.  A lesser just has some power from Hina through birth.  Lessers can use their powers but not the same as a fragment. To my knowledge, there are ten Fragments out there; two spirits, water, fire, air, lightning, soul, animal, mind, and light.  The only sure way to know is through a chemical test called ‘Hina’s Tears’ which will rip out your soul if you are an lesser but won’t if you are a fragment.  This is how Akuma finds us.  The only we know is by him or by finding out by random.  I think that once we are all together, we will then know what to do.  Yes, demons can change their forms to look like humans.  As to if all demons are bad, my belief is yes they are.”  

So anyone could be a demon.  I have to be extra careful for now on.  

They walked to the end of the alley way and stopped.  No one was near them as Bryan leaned against the wall.  

“You do realize that we are on a time limit right.”  He stated quietly.  She looked at him and raised her eyebrows.  “These powers go dormant once the carrier turns eighteen.  After that happen, we won’t be able to defeat Akuma.”

Angel’s eyes grew.  “I’m fourteen.  Kai is fifteen.  How old are you and Skyler?”

“I’m fifteen as well.  Skyler is fourteen.”  

“So out of the four of us, we only have three years left.  It doesn’t seem like a lot of time for all that has to be done.”  Her voice went hoarse.  

“No it doesn’t.  Yet, this is the last chance for mankind.  If we don’t do something soon, Akuma will control both the demon world and ours.   We have to win.”  

“So we do.  Alight, time to really get into gear!  We have to find the rest of the fragments before he does!”  

Suddenly, a laugh came from the entrance to the alley way.  Bryan and Angel jerked their heads and glared at the man that was blocking the exit way.  His black hair was in a Mohawk with blue tips on it.  His crimson eyes were wide as his smile reached across his face.  A piercing from his lip ring ran to his left pointed ear.  

“S**t.”  Bryan muttered as he walked in front of Angel.

Again I’m getting protected.  

She balled up her fists and walked next to him.  He glanced over at her before giving a small smirk.  She nodded and waited for his actions.  

“My, what to my surprise to find two fragments here and alone?”  He laughed in a high pitch manner and took a few steps closer.

“You won’t attack us here with possible humans nearby.  Your lord wouldn’t want to cause attention.”  Bryan stated as his smirk grew.  “Shame, I wanted to rip you to pieces.”  

“Oh, didn’t you know that demons could put up a barrier to block people’s view.  We can only do it in confined areas, but it is very effective for a closed off alley way.  Don’t you agree?”  he took another step closer.  

“Fine with me.  Like I said before, I wanted to rip you into pieces.”  Bryan put both of his arms out.  Red light formed into his hands and faded quickly as a katana with a red blade appeared.  He grabbed it and got into position.  “Ready when you are.”  

What can I do?  Get upset?  What makes me upset?  People dying because I can’t protect them.  

She felt a small surge run through her body.  

Not enough, I’m upset that I can’t use my powers.  

Another surge ran through her.  She gasped and touched her chest.  Her eyes wide with her hands still clinched.  

It’s not enough!  What really makes me upset?  

Images ran through her mind as she saw remembered Kai and Anna kissing.  Her body tensed up as a much larger surge ran through her.  

Why does that bother me so much?  Okay Angel, now control the power.

Her breathing got faster as she took a step forward.  The demon laughed at her, and Bryan glanced over with a slight tilt in his head.  A pink light started to form around her and Angel slowly looked over at the demon.  “You can’t defeat us.”  She whispered.  

The demon laughed and jumped forward at Angel.  Bryan cut him off with his katana.  They started fighting and Angel tried to concentrate her power.  

What if I hit Bryan?  I could kill him!  No, I have to be sure I don’t…

Before her train of thought could finish, a pair of arm wrapped around her body and pulled her into the air.  She let out a scream as Bryan snapped his head towards her direction.  

“Bryan!”  she shouted as the power she had built up surged back into her.  She screamed from the pain as her powers returned and felt her vision get dark.  The last thing she saw was the demon on the ground hitting Bryan while Bryan was shouting two words at her, “I’m sorry”.