Lucen's eyes opened and he found himself lying on a bed.
Is this the infirmary, how'd I… Oh right. Passed out.
"Ah! You're up!"
"Eh?"
"Geeezz! I was worried about you!" Right next to the bed was Shuyi, who was sitting down on a chair.
"What are you doing here?"
"I saw you drop to the floor in the library and called for help. That was kindaa scary, man!"
"I see…" Lucen said, swinging his legs off the bed.
"Hey, I don't think you should get up so quickly."
"I'm feeling a lot better now."
Lucen stood up and stretched. "By the way, what time is it?"
"Umm, 2 o'clock."
"Guess I wasn't out that long then. Wait— You haven't been here the whole time, have you?"
"Well yeah."
"…Why?"
She scoffed. "Uhh helloo? I was worried about you, obviously! Of course I'm still here!" Shuyi lightly punched Lucen's shoulder.
"But why…? Actually, nevermind. Perhaps, I've been too harsh. Thank you. I appreciate it. Really."
"Mhm!"
Lucen finally let up, realizing he won't ever get an answer to anything if he kept brushing her off. He grabbed his bag and began walking out of the infirmary but was stopped by the nurse. After reassuring them that he was fine and that he was feeling better, he was let go and walked out of the infirmary with Shuyi following right next to him.
"Going home?" Shuyi asked.
"Not yet. I finish classes at 1 but I usually stick around, volunteering to clean up the cafeteria. All I have to do is just sweep and pick up a few pieces of trash and the lunch ladies let me have those oh so delectable but stupidly overpriced, honey buns for free."
In the distance, behind them, stood Jace and Theo, who spotted the two.
"What do we have here? That Lucen I see with… Who is that?" said Jace.
"I think that's Shuyi Lin from the next class."
"Look at 'em, got her giggling and everything. Already know what I gotta do."
Jace approached the two. "Woulda ya look at this here! You dirty fuggin' dog!" Jace said, wrapping his arm around Lucen's neck.
"What are you doing?"
"He's jealous because he himself can't get a girl to talk to him for more than 5 minutes." Theo said, joining the three.
"Huh?! Stop lyin', you ass!"
"Already forget the last time you tried approaching someone? What was that girl's name again? Be—"
"You finish that and I'll pound that pretty lil' face of yours in."
"Pretty?? You're gonna make me blush man…"
"You little—" Jace grabbed Theo's shirt collar, shaking him aggressively.
Lucen and Shuyi, watching, began laughing at the two.
"The hell you laughin' at?? You want some too, jerk??"
"Come on, Jace. We all know I'd put you to sleep, hahaha."
"One day, I'll get you. One day."
The group continued down the hallway, laughing and talking along the way.
~A Few Hours Later in the Azaroth Estate Lounge Room~
Vonica sat on the chair of the piano, her fingers resting on the piano keys and her eyes closed.
"Papa! Why do we have a piano? I never see you or mama play it."
"I used to play a lot back in the day. That's how I got your mama to fall for me actually. Don't tell her I told you this but she was pretty easy, haha. But would you like me to play you something? I still remember a few pieces."
"Yes please!"
"This piece is mama's favorite. It's called Moonlight Zonata."
Vonica took a deep breath, opened her eyes, and began playing Moonlight Zonata. Her fingers moved across each key gently and fluidly. She mirrored, as close as she could, the way she witnessed her father play with her young eyes that day. She finished and took another deep breath.
Still not there yet… It is quite difficult trying to replicate the way he played. I am still not sure what I am missing.
She stared at the piano keys and lightly ran her fingers across the piano. Suddenly the doorbell rang, knocking her out of her thoughts.
"I will get it!" Vonica got up and walked out of the room. Meanwhile, Lucen stood outside of the front door.
Feels a little weird showing up uninvited this time but this is practically my second home now, isn't it?
The door opened. "Ah Lucen! Perfect timing! Lia was just about to leave to find you."
"Oh really? Something happen?"
"We have a new request. Come in, please. Lia will give you the details."
"Alright then."
Lucen followed Vonica inside and the two made their way into the lounge room.
"Yo."
"Good you're here. We have two new requests."
"Two? There's two strays this time?" Lucen said, walking up to Lia at her desk.
"Yes. This is an important one as we've been requested by the Gallion Family to hunt two stray devils. Both were reported to have found their way into District 8."
"What's so important about these ones compared to the other requests?" Lucen asked.
"The Gallion Family holds a decent amount of influence in the Underworld. If we can get on their good side, we'll improve our standing and become more known. More notability, more requests."
"Gotcha. So are we leaving now?"
"Yes, I'm assuming you're ready?"
"Yeah— well not really but I'll suck it up."
"Hopefully there's more of those ferals! I looove beating them up!" Sana said, suddenly popping out from the couch across the room.
"Hopefully not. It is quite abhorrent watching their bodies pile up..." Vonica added.
"Let's get going."
Lia walked to the middle of the lounge room and the others gathered around her. She pulled out the Transfer Seal and activated it. A red circle appeared on the ground and just like last time, Lucen's vision became obscured by darkness and in an instant, he opened his eyes to the same worn down room.
Yup, second time and it still feels super strange…
Lia and the group walked out of the building to the unfortunate sight of District 8.
"Alright everyone. One of the strays is known for their stealth and they are also adept at long range combat. They'll be hard to locate as it was noted they conceal their demonic energy but it only lasts a certain set period so traces of them should be left somewhere they've been. Their description is as follows; red hair with black highlights and a leather coat with a white star on its sleeve. The second stray is known to be hyper aggressive and is dangerous to fight up close. Their description is as follows; no hair with a large amount of piercings on their head. I can sense him west from us so we'll split up right here."
"Eh? Split up?"
"This place is too large so splitting up makes things faster and we'll cover more ground that way."
"Yeah, that makes sense but what if they're together?"
"Very low chance. Strays rarely work with one another."
"Alright then..."
"Lucen, you go east with Vonica. Sana and I will head west."
"Let's go get that baldy!" Sana said, enthusiastically.
"We will handle this efficiently. Right Lucen?"
"For sure." More like you alone will handle this efficiently. I've come to realize just how useless I am in these situations. It's quite unfortunate really. Maybe if I was blessed, I'd be granted some crazy ability right off the bat or something. Not this useless blue flame that does nothing.
The group split off into two opposite directions. Lia lingered for a bit, watching Lucen and Vonica leave. She then continued down the other direction with Sana.
"Alright, so how do we find this stray devil if he hides his demonic energy?" Lucen asked, walking next to Vonica, remaining aware of his surroundings.
"We will have to ask around."
"Ask around?? Ask those people??" Lucen pointed to a group of people standing a good distance from them in front of one of the many run down buildings that looked like they used to be homes. Practically every person in the group's eyes were red and they made erratic movements every so often. They were clearly in a place very far from planet earth mentally.
"Perhaps not them. I am sure we will find someone we can have a conversation with."
Lucen and Vonica continued walking through the streets of District 8. They passed by many people just like that group earlier as well as people who clearly shouldn't even be approached. They received frequent glances and some of the men had foul faces staring at Vonica. Amidst the vile atmosphere though, there were stalls and people trying to make a living. Either by selling narcotics or food that probably would immediately poison any healthy person.
"We could try asking those people running the stalls. They do see a lot of people come and go so maybe one of them saw the stray pass by here."
"Good idea. At least they look like they can be talked to."
Lucen and Vonica approached one of the food stalls.
"Good afternoon! Would you like to purchase some of my soup?" The man running the food stall said enthusiastically. He seemed to be a man in his 50's. Clearly on the older side.
Why does it smell kinda good…? No no! Can't trust anything from down here! But man…
"Thank you for the offer but we will pass. We were actually wondering if you happened to see a man with red hair and a jacket with a white star come by here?" Vonica asked.
"Hmmm. I don't think so. I think I'd remember seeing someone like that but you know what? There's a bar not too far down the road if you just turn right from here and then continue walking straight. There's quite a lot of people there. Someone there could've spotted the guy you're looking for."
A bar? In this type of place? How the hell…
"I see. Looks like we will have to check out that bar. Thank you very much sir. We will be on our way."
"Wait, how much for a bowl of that soup?" Lucen asked.
"Surely you do not plan to…"
"50 Caps!"
"I'll buy it…"
"Really?? Of course! Here you go!" The man poured some of the soup into a small plastic bowl and handed it to Lucen with a plastic spoon. Lucen stared at the soup for a bit, hesitant to actually consume it despite the smell enticing him.
Can't back down now… I already bought it… I gotta own it!
Lucen scooped up a spoonful of the soup and placed it in his mouth. He then did it again and again and again until his mouth was full. His eyes widened.
"Woah! You must like it! I'm glad! My soup's pretty popular down here, hehe."
"Lucen? Are you…?"
"MHM!" Lucen nodded aggressively.
"Thank you for buying!"
"MHMM!" Lucen nodded, waved, and ran off towards a corner of a building. Vonica bowed to the man and followed Lucen.
"BWEGHH! Oh my God! I think I actually just put something radioactive in my mouth! The hell was in that?! How does something that smells that good turn out so completely atrocious?!"
"Are you okay?" Vonica asked.
"Yeah… luckily nothing went down the hatch. But lesson learned. Never consume anything that's made down here, ever."
"That was quite a kind act, Lucen. You bought that soup to support him, right? I even saw you slip a Virso on his stand while he was not looking."
Lucen let out a few coughs to clear his throat. "I felt bad for him. A kind old man like that, living down here in this slump. Just thought I'd give him something. Anyways, let's get to that bar."
Lucen and Vonica made their way down the road as per the man's instructions.