The Prince Returns

Akuma appeared into the Star Realm (our world is called the Star Realm), wearing modern clothes (the ones in this picture) but yet, still had his katana. He growled to himself, "Pathetic...humans are so...annoying." he said as he stuck his hands in his pockets. Akuma was in the outer forest's edge, near Dreadwood creek. It stank of their scent. Akuma hadn't been in the Star Realm since the war that ended Mastermind's life...he grinned at that thought. His thoughts were brought back to the real world when he heard a sudden snap of a twig, he sniffed the air then growled as he pulled out his katana. He disappeared in a small puff of fire then reappeared behind his intruder...it didn't faze him it was a girl but he was annoyed it was, "WHo are you and why are you here? Tell me or your blood will paint the snow red."

(It's January)

Dawn shivered a little as she walked through the forest which had snow on the ground wherever she walked. She was wearing a polka dot dress with thick tights underneath it, as well as knee-high boots and a thick winter coat to keep her warm. Why was she wearing a dress anyway? Because she felt like it. 'Brrr... it's freezing...' Dawn thought to herself while she walked a little further through the forest. Her hands were holding her arms and her arms were crossed over her chest to try and keep as much insulation as possible. Every time she exhaled, her breath froze in front of her into a white mist. She blinked with alarm when she accidently stepped on a twig, but smiled again soon after as she realised what she had done. That smile was wiped off her face when she felt a precense behind her, and then heard a voice speak to her. She scowled as she heard the tone of voice this male used and the way he spoke to her, but she didn't really want to die out here.

"My name is Dawn... and I'm here out of free-will. Is that such a crime?" She asked the last part cooly without looking round to see who it was behind her. "So, if you're done asking me questions, I'll ask you in return. Who are you, and what are you doing here?" She asked, still not turning round. She only turned her head afterwards and flicked her long dark blue hair out of her way. "And by the way... it's not exactly 'polite' to threaten death to a girl who means no harm." She said with a slight grin.

Akuma scoffed at her, "All you humans are pathetic...I am Akuma Oji, the Prince of Demons." he said as he put his katana back in it's sheath then folded his arms. " And I am here because I got bored of being in my realm which you people wouldn't be able to begin to understand or comprehend." Akuma spoke in a straight tone but his expression was slightly annoyed. Not necessarily by her, Dawn, but more of the fact he had no clue where he was. His violet eyes looked over her for a moment, "If you are out here then why are you in a dress? Even I know that isn't smart to be wearing that in a forest with who knows who is out here...speaking of here, where is here?"

Dawn raised an eyebrow, not something she would usually do if somebody was at least civil towards her. If needs be she would become as spiteful, arrogant and cocky as those who came before her. "To say you're a prince of demons you don't look like anything special." She said casually, shrugging a little bit as she placed her gloved hands into her coat pockets. "And as for understanding your realm... I'm sure that if someone like you can understand it, it must be a pretty simple place." She smirked a little to herself as she shifted her weight onto her right leg, leaning to the side slightly. Her calm expression didn't change when Akuma asked her why she was in a dress, and then went on to say it wasn't a good idea to be wearing one out in a forest. She shook her head slightly when he asked where he was and rolled her eyes a little. "If you're implying that I can't look after myself, then you're wrong. Wearing a dress never slows me down; and it in fact frees up my movements, if you must know." She paused a little before she said where they were. After all, she was considering whether or not it was the right thing to do. "Well, we're currently in the forest near Dreadwood Creek. I usually come to walk here since it's somewhere nice to unwind after work." She said, her emerald eyes looking around them, glittering a bit as she began smiling.

Akuma shook his head when she said that he looked nothing special and that where he came from, it was simple to understand, "Humans..." He mumbled, his violet eyes flickered off in the distance behind her then back to her. Being here was...eery. Akuma went back to crossing his arms and drummed his fingers on his left arm, " Dreadwood Creek? So there is a town or something near by..." He said, even though she irritated him and he just arrived, he was tired. Transporting from 1 realm to another took allot of energy. Akuma let out a big sigh, maybe he shouldn't have been so...assuming about her...but ever since the Guardian Kind had been disappearing...it worried him. Akuma mumbled something under his breath then said, "Look...I didn't mean to threaten you...I'm just tired..." He said, somethings never change and one thing that hasn't...it annoyed him to be nice.

Dawn smiled and giggled softly, shaking her head a little. "It's alright; no need to apologise. I understand." She took her hands out of her pockets and clasped them together in front of her. A light, but chilling breeze raked across the small clearing that they were both stood in. Dawn's long dark blue hair billowed out to the side and spiralled down her back again when the wind died down. Her cheeks were flushed with red from the constant cold breezes, but she was wide awake due to being out in the cold since it woke her up. "So where are you going from here, Mr Demon Prince?" She asked in a chirpy tone, back to her usual self now that he had stopped being so harsh on her. It was like a strange defense mechanism; even though it wasn't to defend herself. "If you're tired, there's a place nearby that you can rest up at." She reccomended, tilting her head to the side as if she was thinking about it.

Akuma blinked at her, at her sudden change of emotion. Even though he was a demon and he had the fire element, the icy breeze made his shiver, sometimes he hated coming here...but he had to. When Dawn mentioned about a place to rest, his violet eyes lit up, "Really? Where?" he asked, trying not to sound pathetic about it but he was tried. The breeze stopped and Akuma stiffened, someone was near. He rested his hand on the hilt of his katana, "Tell me, Dawn, who or what else lives or comes to this forest?" He asked her.

Dawn smiled slightly, nodding to the distance in front of her. "Just as we come out of this forest due north, there's a small inn that used to be quite popular. But it's getting quite old now. I know the old couple who own it; and they always welcome anyone who comes to stay." She explained, running her gloved fingers through her fringe that kept falling over her eyes. Dawn also noticed the new lack in wind and felt her body tense a little bit with anticipation, knowing something wasn't quite right. Her eyes scanned the area quickly, searching for any source of danger. "I've been to this forest so many times... and nothing like this has ever happened." She said quietly. "So it's new on me, I'm afraid. But deeper in the forest... there are said to be dangerous creatures. They never come out this far though because of the frequent human activity." She said, remembering back to some of the old stories she had been told before by the very couple who owned the inn she was talking about earlier.

"Well I am not exactly human now, am I?" Akuma asked then pulled free his katana just in time to cut in half one of those electrical shock collars. Suddenly from the bushes, 7 ERC members came out, holding their guns at them. "Hault! Lower your weapon and come quietly!" Ordered one. Akuma laughed, "You must be joking?" He said then crouched on the ground, one hand outstretched on the ground, his fingers spread wide open, "Finally some fun!" He quickly closed his fist and then ground began to shake, "Makashi's Pillar!" He said as stone pillars appeared out of the ground to squish some of the ERC. 5 were left. Akuma then lunged at one, slashing his katana blade across to cut off the ERC's arm which was holding the gun then he plunged it into his chest. As Akuma spun around and kicked another in his chest, he pulled out the katana which sprayed blood. "Come on ya wimps! Is that all you got?" He said, his canine teeth were much longer now as his eye color changed to red. 2 run up to him and he spun the blade to cut one's throat and to stab the other in the chest. He dropped to the ground and spun his legs around to knock the feet of yet another ERC memeber, making him fall to the ground. Akuma rolled out of the way as the man got up and quickly picked out his gun to shoot at Akuma. The bullet his Akuma in the shoulder which only got him mad and he outstretched his good arm, hand open, to make the tree the guy was behind, crush him. Akuma turned around to see where the other one was but didn't see him, "Humph...must have ran away..." Akuma mumbled then looked to where the bullet had hit him then to Dawn, "So are you going to show me this place or not?"

Dawn blinked in surprise and instinctively closed her eyes tightly shut when she heard the voices of the infamous ERC members. "Crystal Dome Shield..." She muttered with her eyes still closed. Crystal began to weave its way up from the ground at her feet and wrapped its way quickly to cover Dawn completely in a perfect dome shape. She placed her palms flat against the crystal in front of her to keep it reinforced and to stop it shattering. As long as she concentrated, then she would remain unharmed. She watched through the transparent lilac crystal what was happening, observing Akuma's fighting skills. 'It's no wonder the ERC turned up...' She thought to herself, watching the elemental powers Akuma had. She wasn't completely clueless, and one of the main reasons she worked in a bar was because she heard all the gossip from everywhere. The ERC occasionally came after her too because of her element powers, but it hadn't been that bad as of late. Dawn continued to protect herself, but before she could make another temporary crystal shield for Akuma to deflect an incoming bullet, it had already hit him in the shoulder. She removed her hands from the crystal dome she had made for herself and went to join Akuma, wondering if he was okay. He seemed unaffected by the wound, but she felt bad for letting it happen too.

"I'll show you where to go when the last of the ECR is taken care of." She said calmly, not turning or shifting. Out of seemingly nowhere, a burst of sharp crystals errupted from the ground and impaled the last ECR member who was about to run away. "Alright. Follow me. It looks like that wound on your shoulder needs to be taken care of too. But I'm no medic." She smiled slightly and started to walk in the northern direction; where she had gestured earlier.

Akuma raised a brow when Dawn had impaled the last ERC member then looked to her when she said to follow her, "Alright and I know some stuff on medicine but I don't have what i need to get the bullet out." Akuma said, oddly calmly. He, none the less, started to follow her but kept a ready on hand his katana...just in case. It was kinda bothering him though, the bullet in his shoulder, it was itchy and stung. Akuma mumbled under his breath about it, once he got the bullet out then he could heal it by replacing his bodies energy on his shoulder to his hand, that way he could still use his shoulder and he could just simply wrap up his hand.

Dawn continued to lead the way, weaving her way through trees. She knew the forest very well from her many walks through here, so it was easy for her to navigate through it. "Oh, don't worry~ The old lady has lots of medical things she'll let you use." She said brightly, smiling back at Akuma over her shoulder. She walked a little further, and then took a sharp right turn. Almost directly in front of them now was a modest-sized mock tudor house with a swinging sign which was unreadable apart from the last word; Inn. Dawn strolled up to the building, knocking quickly on the door and then swinging it open. "Who's there?" An irritated old man shouted, running to the door with an old-fashioned gun in his hands. Dawn laughed and waved her hands as a placating gesture. "Calm down, gramps, it's me. I've brought a friend of mine who's travelled a long way and he needs somewhere to rest up, if that's alright." She walked inside anyway, gesturing for Akuma to follow. The old man still held onto his gun but nodded. "Dear! Dawn's come with a friend of hers!" He shouted through to the next room. Dawn led Akuma through to a cozy reception-type area, smiling round at him and then at the old lady who was already bustling about looking for her glasses. "Hello, dear, back again so soon? Ah, a guest, eh? What's his name?" The lady asked when she had her glasses on.

Dawn nudged Akuma gently as if to prompt him to introduce himself, giggling softly. The old couple who owned the little inn were pretty eccentric, but they were nice people all the same. The old lady noticed the bullet-wound on Akuma's shoulder and gasped. "Oh my! You have a pretty bad injury there. What happened?" She asked, getting out a typical medical kit from underneath a coffee table. "ERC." Dawn said flatly, rolling her eyes. The old woman understood immediately, being informed about such people through knowing Dawn.

Akuma grumbled that he was perfectly fine to take care of his own injuries but still, it was nice of her to help out. Akuma's eyes returned back to their normal violet color and so did his canine teeth. Akuma growled a bit when she cut across him but saw why, they arrived at the house. He eased his hand off the hilt of his katana but got annoyed when the old man came out with a gun, his lips curled back in a low growl but stopped. Akuma looked around the room as they entered, he relaxed a bit cause he liked the warm feeling but his attention was turned to the old lady who had just came in. Akuma looked at dawn who had given him a nudge, indicating that she wanted him to introduce himself, "I am Akuma Oji...nice to meet you." He said, the only reason he didn't add that he was the Demon Prince (which is what his name translates to) is because it wasn't necessary right now. Akuma raised a brow when she pointed out his shoulder, "It's fine, I can take care of it myself." he said as he crossed his arms. it wasn't like he was helpless, he knew how to deal with it.

Dawn sighed softly when Akuma said that he could take care of the wound himself and rolled her eyes, shrugging at the old lady who was looking pretty baffled at the moment. "Well alright then, dear, everything you'll need to take the bullet out of your shoulder is in this box." She said, placing the box on the coffee table. "I'll go and make some drinks. Coffee? Tea?" She asked, and Dawn smiled. "I'll have the usual tea, please." She said brightly, rubbing her hands together and pulling off her gloves, placing them in her coat's pockets. She then took off her coat and hung it up on the hook beside her. Underneath the coat she was wearing the polka dot dress with a white three-quarter length cardigan on to keep her warmer. She took a seat on one of the comfortable sofas, sinking back into it and smiling as she warmed up quickly. Her once cold hands were soon tingling with warmth, as were her cheeks.

"I'll just have a tea too." Akuma said as he sat down too. He took off his blue hoodie and then his black t-shirt. Akuma had a fair built and tanned skin, no doubt from the fiery heat from his realm. Had scars here and there, most were on his back. Akuma didn't even flinch when he popped the bullet out of his shoulder, he lifted it up in his hand, "Damn bullet." He mumbled and then took a cloth to clean up the blood then patched up his shoulder, he would have to do the healing when the old couple wasn't around.

The old lady nodded and went back into the kitchen to make the requested hot drinks. Dawn stretched and crossed her legs on the sofa, pulling her dress over her knees and placing her hands clasped together in her lap as she watched Akuma take the bullet out of his shoulder curiously. "Doesn't it hurt to just take the bullet out like that?" She asked him, tilting her head to the side. She couldn't say that she had any serious injuries before; either that or didn't remember them thanks to her amnesia over her past. "I'm off to get more wood for the fire!" The man called, grabbing an axe and his gun before heading out the door. Dawn laughed and shook her head, quite used to the random antics that the old man did whenever she was here. He had a tendancy to just disappear quickly.

Akuma looked to Dawn and blinked, "You really don't know anything about demons...do you?" He said then finished bandaging his shoulder. Akuma put just his shirt back on then took off his katana and set it down beside the couch. Akuma yawned as he stretched then leaned forward, "What is the date?" He simply asked her.

Dawn shook her head, still smiling all the same. "I always knew that demons existed, but I don't have a clue what being a demon is always about. Well... I've known that demons have existed for a little while anyway. Simply by word of mouth." She said carefully. She was close to saying that she had lost her memory a while back, but decided to keep that to herself for a little while longer. If she was lucky, then the situation wouldn't arise for her to say anything about it. She blinked at the very sudden and random question afterwards, and had to think about it for a bit. 'The date? I guess that I've never really thought about it recently... hmmm...' She thought slowly before finally smiling. "It's the 15th of January." She stated before tilting her head to the side. "Why do ya ask?"

(Lol random date picked out of nowhere x3)

Akuma looked at her, "For a little while? Nonescene, we have exsisted for many millions of years!" He said then grumbled under his breath, "Anyways, the reason I asked what today was so I knew what today was...its as simple as that..." Akuma said then yawned, "I am going to bed...I'm tried as hell..." He stood up as he grabbed his katana and hoodie.

Dawn blinked and held up her hands, giggling a little nervously. "Yeah, I'm sure that they have and all! But I didn't know that!" She said innocently and rubbed the back of her neck. She sighed under her breath and then nodded her head, getting to her feet and pointing round at the stairs. "I'll show ya to a spare room, then I'll be off home. I've got work tomorrow, so I can't stay here." She walked round and then quickly went up the stairs. She turned down to the left and went down to the end room, pushing the door open and leaning against the doorframe to signify which room it was that Akuma would sleep in. "Here ya go." She smiled and backed away again. "Well, I best be off. If you need anything else, just come and find me. I usually walk around in the forest after work most days." She shrugged and waved a hand at Akuma before walking towards the stairs again, running down them. "Byeeeee!" She called to the old lady who had just come back with her tea. She downed it and laughed, spinning round on the spot before heading to the door. She skipped out the door after grabbing her coat and slinging it on, and then went out into the cold snow once more.

[Exit]