The Nature of the Shopping Mall Demon

As soon as the other Hunters and I crossed the threshold of the Labyrinth, I felt the energy around me shift and distort, as if I'd entered an area of space far away from the Earth itself. A chill ran down my spine as I looked over the twisted view around me. The place I found myself in was recognisable as the shopping mall, but only barely. It was as if in the moment we entered the Labyrinth, a hundred or so years had passed. The windows and signposts that dotted the area were all destroyed, and a lifetimes worth of grime and decay had taken hold.

Now, I'm no clean freak, but even I recoiled in horror at the sight, though my fellow hunters were completely stoic. It stands to reason, since they've probably seen similar sights multiple times.

“It's definitely a Spender-Type.” Date reasoned. “And one that held a grudge against the mall, or perhaps it's patrons, by the looks of it.”

“How odd.” Mei notes. “I was thinking the opposite, Date-senpai. A Gambler-Type who spent all of their money in life on expensive items sold here.”

“Both options. Reasonable.” Fukada mutters. “More investigation required.”

“Fukada-senpai, are you going to be okay?” I have to ask, part of me still blames myself for how badly injured she was yesterday.

“I will. Kato-sensei. Skilled healer.” Fukada tells me, but I still can't help but worry. I mean, skilled as she was with that staff, a slightly powered up human was enough to take us both down, the others are with us this time, but are the two of us going to end up as liabilities against an actual demon?

“Wahaha! Worry not, Sekigahara!” Date says, a little too loud considering as far as I'm aware, this is meant to be a stealth mission. “Did I not already ensure you that against the combined might of the Kitaminami Demon Hunting Club, even the Lord of Demons himself would stand little chance!?”

I think you're massively overstating our abilities, Date!

“I think you're massively overstating our abilities, Date-senpai.” Mei states what I'm too scared to say without even a hint of hesitation. I guess we're more in sync than either of us would care to admit. “But it is nice to hear how highly you think of us from time to time.” Is she blushing!? Now isn't the time to hit on our leader! Ignore what I thought earlier, we aren't in sync at all, that was just a fluke!

“So what do we do now?” I desperately try to change the subject. “Is hunting demons anything like hunting animals in the real world?”

“The premise is similar, but the execution couldn't be further from it.” Konishi tells me. “You see, unlike hunting animals for food, with demons, humans are the food. It's more a case of killing them before they can kill any of us.”

“Which is why we hunt in groups.” Mei tells me. “Even though hunters are strong, we wouldn't last a second in a one-on-one, or even two-on-one fight. Some of the more demons can take down entire ten-man teams of hunters in a matter of minutes.” A wave of fear washes over me, and no doubt Mei notices, because she immediately backpedals. “O-Of course, that's only incredibly powerful demons, nothing like this one. And we're taking all the necessary precautions, as well.” She pauses for a moment, before breaking into a pout. “Wait, why the hell am I reassuring you!?”

“You guys, shh.” Date, the woman who had been yelling about how strong and great we were not a moment earlier, tells us to quieten down, even going so far as to put a finger on her lips.

“Now you've gotten me in trouble too.” Mei quietly fumes.

“Don't just immediately blame all of your problems on me.” I tell her, equally quiet.

“WHAT!?” Mei shouts, earning her a glare from both Date and Fukada. Okay, that was definitely my fault.

“Sorry, Mei-san.”

“And stop calling me by my first name. You know Akira's now, so call him that.” Mei commands me through gritted teeth. I guess she's right, but I'm the kind of man who won't back down.

“We're teammates now, aren't we? Why shouldn't we call each other by first names?” I suggest. “I mean, you and Konishi-san do right?”

“I-It's different if you're a boy.” Mei stammers.

“Actually, I think Seki... Kuro-kun's right.” Konishi chimes in, and as much as I hate to admit it...

“My apologies, Nishida-san, you were right.” I mutter. “It's completely different.”

“Eh?” Konishi gasps.

“Everyone, please come and look at this!” Date, the woman who told us all to quieten down not a moment ago, shouts us over. “I believe it may be a vital clue as to the demon's identity!”

It's not hard to understand exactly what Date was so excited about, as she and Fukada are stood at the door of the most violently destroyed store in the entire Labyrinth.

“Based on the layout of the mall...” Konishi muses. “I think this is a beef bowl store.”

“Wahaha! Tsuki Konishi's golden memory strikes again! Indeed, Fukada and I have cross referenced a floor plan that we appropriated and this is, beyond a shadow of a doubt, one of the many eateries dotted around the shopping mall!”

Would you please make your mind up about whether we should be quiet or yelling at the top of our lungs!? Or is this some sort of 'rules for thee, not for me' situation!?

“Found this. The floor. Discarded.” Fukada shows us all a name badge. 'Rin Mori'. The name rings a bell, but I'm not personally familiar with it.

“Ah!” Konishi, on the other hand, seems to know exactly why it's bothering me. “D-Date-senpai, just how long has this Labyrinth been here?”

“A Labyrinth of this size and scope... it would have taken at least a month to fully form, why?”

“Rin Mori was in the news six weeks ago.” Konishi says, a sharp, distinct sadness in her voice. “She was killed in a kitchen fire.”

“Killed?” I note the odd choice of words. “Don't you mean she died in a kitchen fire?”

Konishi shakes her head. “No. It was definitely manslaughter. One of her co-workers admitted to setting the fire.”

The news of how Rin Mori died leaves all of us stunned. I'd gotten used to the fact that Demons were former humans, but hearing that the one we were currently hunting had died in a tragedy like that made it harder to justify.

“Regardless, Mori is now taking the lives of innocent people to satiate her hunger. If we allow ourselves to be waylaid by sentimentality, it would be tantamount to deciding that those who have been hurt have a right to harm, and kill, random people. We cannot allow even more people to die.” Date's tone is strong, decisive, and unusually serious. And, of course, everything she was saying was absolutely true. Rin Mori died in a tragic accident, that gives her every right to be angry at the world. What it doesn't mean is that she can murder anyone unfortunate enough to cross her path.

“If I remember correctly, the person who started the fire mysteriously vanished not long after the incident as well. The police and the papers all chalked it up to her running away from the law, but if Mori-san became a demon...”

“Then it's likely that the woman responsible for her death became one of her victims.” Date muses. “An awful way to go, to be sure, but in a terrible way, it seems that justice was served.”

I guess she's right. Which just means that everyone else who was killed in this Labyrinth was completely innocent. Not that I actually wish death on the person responsible for Mori's demise.

“Still, nothing's changed. We're hunters, after all.” Nishida states, as if it were obvious. “People only become demons if they die with a strong regret. It stands to reason that some of them died tragically.”

“Correct. That is a classification of demon that the rest of you have yet to encounter.” Date tells us, her tone still deathly serious. “The strongest class of Demon. Revenge Seekers.” Her expression lightens. “Still, I am more than certain that we are capable of handling such a Demon. Especially one still in it's infancy.”

“Date-san. Look.” Fukada taps Date on the shoulder, and point further within the Beef Bowl store. “Movement. Just a moment ago.”

From the bewilderment on everyone's faces, I'm not the only one who didn't notice whatever it was that Fukada saw. Date, however, simply lets out a laugh.

“Wahaha! And now we are treated to a spectacle of Kyoko Fukada's perfect eyes! This is indeed a joyous day!” She announces. Does every member of the club have some sort of skill like that? Konishi's 'golden memory', Fukada's 'perfect eyes'. What would I have? The metal hand? “Yes, yes... Indeed! No doubt this is a sign that we are about to experience the greatest hunt ever!”

For what I hope, but definitely don't believe, is the last time, please curb your expectations even slightly!

“Fukada, please direct us to this movement you saw!” Date requests, and with a nod, Fukada presses forwards, the rest of us close at her heels.

The inside of the beef bowl store looks like a warzone on top of a graveyard on top of a nuclear test site. Which is to say, it's a complete mess. Broken pieces of ceramic line every surface, as do the stools normally neatly arranged around the countertop, one of which has even been embedded in the wall, jutting out just above eye level. Every word on the menu has been scratched out and replaced with 'Forgive me'... wait, forgive me? Why would the demon be asking for forgiveness?

“If only more demons kept their mess contained inside a Labyrinth.” Nishida scoffed, and, to be honest, I was thinking something similar. The state of this store and that of my classroom at school yesterday have obvious parallels. It seems that without human victims, Demons are forced to vent their frustrations on inanimate objects.

“Further in.” Fukada tells us, but before she even takes a step, the air around us rapidly heats up.

“Run!” Date commands, pushing us out of the door, and just in time, too. The instant we're all safely out of the store, the air inside erupts into flame, incinerating the already destroyed interior. And in the middle of it stands a single woman. Her face is covered in ash, and her hair is burned completely off in places, as are her clothes, which is instantly recognisable even to somebody like me as the work uniform of the same store that just went up in flames. The woman takes a slow, laboured step towards us, but is halted by a loud voice.

Needless to say, that voice belonged to Date. “Rin Mori. The circumstances surrounding your death are heartbreaking. But you have no right to take out your anger on innocent people.”

“Rin... Mori?” The demon asks, her voice is hoarse and it seems that even speaking at all is painful for her, but still, she continues. “You... know Rin-chan?” What is she saying? Why is she talking like she... isn't Rin Mori? “Forgive me... please, forgive me! I never meant... she wasn't...” The demons movements are as frantic as her words, it almost seems as if the pain she was feeling just a moment ago has completely vanished. “I never meant to kill Rin! She was my... I...” Before the demon can finish what she was saying, the pain that racked her body seemed to return in an instant, as her entire body seizes up, stiffening to the point where she was forced to stare at the ceiling, before she lets out a deafening roar, and the air around her explodes once again, knocking me, Konishi, and Nishida back and over the guard rail.

“Date-senpai!” Konishi yells, desperately hanging on to the floor. With imperceptible movements, Nishida grabs her hand, and I grab on to her feet. Don't look up. Don't look up. If I look up, Nishida will snap my spine into at least 100 pieces. Not that I need a reason not to look up, of course. I'm a gentleman, after all.

“Fukada, go and grab-” Date tries to save us, but the combined weight of the three of is clearly too much for Konishi to handle, and her fingers slip away from the floor, sending all of us tumbling to the floor, and leaving Date and Fukada to kill the demon form of the woman who killed Rin Mori.