Thunder & Metal
Chapter Two
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Kagome shivered, trying to keep her face blank, her own powers in check lest he realize she -
"How do you know the lock doesn't work?" she repeated through tight lips, sweat trickling down her back.
At her question, the man grinned cryptically, the barest hint of a fang revealed, and Kagome's breath caught.
Truthfully, he might've been handsome, beautiful even…had the thunderous line of his furrowed brow not cast his face in a scowl that had Kagome searching for her keys and pepper spray with more urgency.
He looked down his long sculpted nose at her, unimpressed at her apparent fear. "Change the lock, little girl." he warned with a thunderous voice that rivaled Norse gods. "Lest rats and other creatures slither in during the night." Cryptic warning delivered, he disappeared inside his living quarters with a bang of his door, leaving behind a breathless Kagome to stare at his wake.
Fighting the dizzying rush of fear pulsing through her limbs, she thrust her own door open – he was right, the lock was decorative, wasn't even closed – and rushed inside. With more force than necessary, she slammed the door shut behind her, aware of the frail barrier between her and the outside world, which suddenly seemed much more frightening than it had a few seconds before.
Kagome leaned against the closed door, trying to steady her breath. Belatedly, she realized that renting on the 'scarier side of town' also meant coexisting with its charming inhabitants, like her new neighbor for example. She made a mental note to buy new locks the moment she got off work from the hospital tomorrow, and reaching for the nearest piece of furniture – a small side table – blocked the door with it from the inside.
Now, demons weren't that uncommon in this day and age, quite the contrary actually. Japan's government was rampant with greedy humans and ancient demon lords ruling all the high-powered positions in the country. Her surprise at his being of demonic origin had little to do with the traditional fear of the more superstitious and bigoted people that discriminated against them and instead stemmed from a deeply ingrained sense of self-preservation unique to her own, erm, special set of circumstances.
Kagome had hoped, prayed really, that her neighbors would be human. Again, not because she was superstitiouslty opposed to demons in the good vs. evil type of way that most humans viewed them. No, she had hoped for mortal neighbors because of their inherent humanity; their senses were traditionally duller - with the rare exception like herself - and thus less likely to pick up on strange energies and report them to the Magical Law Disciplinary Committee. The local magic enforcers would be more than happy to get their hands on individuals like her once they found out about her existence.
So yes, humans in this case were benign. Safe.
But demons, on the other hand, were perceptive - more atune to the way of magic, having themselves been born of it...
...and historically much less inclined to show mercy to those of her...kind. If her neighbor found out about her, he'd report her in an instant. Kagome's life would be over before it could even begin. All those years of hiding, for nothing.
With grim realization, Kagome concluded she had no one to blame but herself. The petite raven really should have done better research on her new living quarters before settling down, but work had kept her from doing so.
Kagome had not been able to purview the dilapidated building until that very moving day, having only seen the location advertised online and signing the contract immediately over the phone so as to secure the place. It was a risky move to pull for any tenant - Kami knew the state of the living commodities in comparison to the pictures, which were notoriously misleading. But studio apartments, let alone those without roommates, were near impossible to find in the ever-growing metropolis of Tokyo, and she needed the place ASAP for her new job. Kagome couldn't afford to be picky so, burning incense to the gods of Recently Graduated College Students and throwing caution to the wind, she had applied.
The apartment complex approved her submission right away, suspiciously fast even. Though ever the sickly optimist, Kagome overlooked it and drove up the very next day.
Upon arriving, the raven-haired woman had to admit that the premises had limitations; from the windows with metal bars all across, the strong smell of urine in the entryway and suspicious broken down cement walls every two doors or so, definitely one of the older buildings in the city that did not at all pass most city regulations; but all in all, not terrible!
'It's got character, that's all!', she had thought shrilly, climbing the stairs to the third floor as the elevator was broken. And how fortuitous for her that at the very same moment she got to her new place she would be provided the chance to make acquaintances with the fellow tenants so quickly!
Or so she had thought before his scent had hit her like a semi-truck through a cupcake display.
Although knowing later what was to come, a semi-truck would have been welcome by the unlucky raven.
Well, shit!, Kagome thought eloquently, and for the first time in her life she could not muster the optimism to search for a silver lining.
She was in deep trouble.