A Place to Belong

Shiori's blade was stopped in its tracks. Kagura is clenching it with her bare hands, not paying any mind to the blood dripping down as a result. They all heard everything.

"Aw, look Shinatsu. Your friends are here!"

"Step away from her," Kagura spoke sternly.

"Hm? What was that?"

Without repeating herself, she unsheathes her blade at an incredible speed. Although most Hunters don't do this, a lot of them still keep their blades on them even when off duty. This is the case for Chifuyu and the others as they know they can be targeted at any time.

Kagura didn't attack with the intent to kill, but she still put considerable power into the slash because of her anger. Shiori blocks the attack effortlessly with her sword. Chifuyu and Ariel push in afterward, with Iris and Diego following behind.

"5 on 1? That's dirty." Shiori backs away.

"… What're you doing here, Odd Jobs?"

"You say that like you're not one of us," Chifuyu replies.

"I'm not. Get out of here."

'Please.' Shinatsu looks down. She forces herself to. She can't look up, not at this hope presenting itself to her.

"We're not going anywhere. Stop with the tough act."

"You don't know the first thing about me. I don't wanna say it again. Leave."

Iris looks over at her shoulder at Shinatsu. For the first time ever, she got angry. "DON'T LOOK DOWN, SHINATSU! LOOK AT US! WE'RE HERE WITH YOU!"

Reluctantly, she slowly moves her head upward. She wanted to forget her past and move on, but people won't let her. She wants to give up on any lingering hope, but her friends won't let her. In front of her are the backs of 5 people she barely knows. Yet they're going to such lengths for her. Shinatsu's will to live and urge to let go weigh about the same. She just needs one last push. One more reassurance.

"It's true we don't know anything about you. But that doesn't deny the time we spent together, no matter how short." Kagura speaks from her heart.

"Tell us to leave again and we will. If not, we'll put our lives on the line for you. Right here, and whenever the time arises."

Shinatsu is overwhelmed with emotions. The scales in her mind are at last coming to a conclusion. How can she let go, when there's those who are reaching out to her.

Tears flow as Shinatsu grabs firmly to this hope, never letting go again.

"Please.. Help me, Odd Jobs."

Her dead eyes regain their color. Words that Shinatsu has never spoken in her life. The others don't look back, they're only looking forward at the enemy in front of them.

"Should we take this as an Odd Job, Kagura?"

"Yeah. I guess we'll have our client pay us after this is done."

This is a serious situation, but they still had to get to a joke off. They wouldn't be Odd Jobs otherwise. Shinatsu is put at ease with this.

"I hate you guys," she says with a smile. They let out wry laughs in return.

"How beautiful, you guys are gonna bring me to tears over here. Good for you sis, you still want to live in this sad world."

"So, what's her deal Shinatsu? She's your sister yet she's also a vampire."

"I'm on the same page as you. What happened, Shiori?"

"Oh, you're curious now? How sweet of you. All you need to know though, is that I'm a half-vampire just like that boy. I became one of my accord."

"What?!"

Everyone is shocked. This is major news finding out there's another half-vampire besides Chifuyu.

"The situation remains the same. Since you're not going to join me, I'm going to kill you."

Shinatsu still hasn't fully processed this. It was a big enough a shock to find out her sister was still alive, but becoming a half-vampire on top of that is too much to think about immediately.

"Do you really think you can do that when I'm here?" Ariel finally speaks.

"The has-been Vampire Lord, I'm not interested in you."

"Oh well, I'm plenty interested in you. How did you become a half-vampire? Whose blood did you take?"

"Hm… If you can land one hit on me, I'll consider giving you an answer.

"Is that so?"

Ariel promptly charges in and starts with a heavy dropkick, Shiori blocks it with her blade.

"Don't kill her, Ariel!" Shinatsu shouts.

"Don't worry. If it's a hit she wants, then I'll give her one!"

Diego looks on in awe. "Wow, she's strong! She's not even using her blade."

"I've heard about your vow. Are you sure it's a good idea to be attacking me, I'm still half-human after all. You might die!"

"Let's test it out then."

Their fight moved a bit further from everyone else, so they can't hear them talking. Testing her luck, Ariel lands a punch right in Shiori's stomach blowing her back. She proceeds to look at her hand, waiting for something to happen. A single drop of sweat slides down her face in anticipation.

"Looks like nothing happened!" Ariel yells triumphantly.

"Haha. You're insane."

"Maybe, but now I know I can beat your ass. So, you gonna tell me your secret?"

"Nope."

"Figures." Ariel charges back in, but is suddenly brought to her knees.

The others see Ariel suddenly on the ground and hop into the fray. Shinatsu stays behind though, she can't bring herself to fight her sister, not at this moment.

"Ariel!"

"You guys should follow suit."

The rest fall, being pushed down by an immeasurable pressure.

"What is this?" Ariel questions.

"Neat, isn't it? It's my curse."

"What, half-vampires can use a curse?!" This is news to Chifuyu.

"Tch. So you have one. You must've killed several humans. No. A lot more to also be able to produce this strength."

"Is she.. pushing us down with gravity?"

"Bingo! You get a prize." Shiori throws Diego a piece of candy that she had in her pocket.

"Shiori, please stop!" Shinatsu ran up to them. She's not armed so it's not like she can fight.

"No. I don't think I will."

"I could've followed down the same path as you, but I knew it wouldn't lead me anywhere in the end. This revenge against the world shit should only be in manga."

"Hahaha! Don't put me in the same category as the cliche characters whose sole purpose is revenge. My goals are far beyond that."

"Are you not with the Slayers?"

"Nope. I guess you could say I've gotten to know a few of them though." Shiori yawns. "It's getting pretty boring right now, I thought you guys would put up more of a fight."

"Don't look down on me." Ariel's force is breaking the very ground below her as she breaks free from Shiori's gravity. She uses the momentum from the force she created to pounce straight to the sister, grabbing her face.

"Spoke too soon huh?"

After getting her quip out, she gets slammed into the ground causing the others to be set free.

"Ah.. Finally. I could feel my back slowly giving in," Diego comments.

"So, feel like answering me now?"

"Let me think about it… No!"

Shiori tightens her grip on the blade she's been holding. Noticing something, Ariel jumps away seconds before purple lightning surges the spot she was in.

"Aw. Saw that coming?"

"Another curse? No, it has to be from that sword."

"Bingo! I'd give you a kiddie treat but unfortunately I don't have any on me."

This visibly ticks Ariel off. "Shinatsu, let me mangle her just once," she asks while twitching her fingers.

"Please don't."

"Well, I wasn't expecting a drawn-out fight so I'll be taking my leave now. If you weren't going to join me sister, I planned to kill you so I could move on. But I suppose I'll abstain. I do want to see where you go from here now."

"…" Shinatsu remains silent.

"Well, should we let her go?" Ariel asks.

"Sorry, please do."

"If you say so."

"You really are kind. Here, a gift." Shiori tosses them the Alter Weapon.

"What? You're giving this to us?"

"I'm not much of a swordsman. My curse is all I need anyway, along with some knives."

She gives Chifuyu one last look before leaving.

"See you soon, Odd Jobs."

***

Minutes have passed since Shiori left, Odd Jobs is still at the park just sitting down.

"Looks like we have an off-duty report to write."

"Yay.."

"I still can't believe you guys actually followed me the whole day."

"It was Chifuyu and Kagura's idea."

Those two saw Shinatsu's eyes earlier. They were more familiar with them than they'd like to be. They were the eyes of someone who lost the will to live.

"Would you guys mind listening to what I have to say?"

For the first time ever, she told others what she had been bottling up for years. She told everyone what's happened in her life, the happy memories of her childhood, her cruel upbringing in the Boreas family, and about wanting a place to belong. Everyone listened attentively, as she continued to talk for over a couple of hours. Shinatsu told them how much she's enjoyed being at Odd Jobs, apologizing for not wanting to live anymore. She left out why she was sent to Odd Jobs, she just couldn't get herself to tell them. For the time being, she couldn't help but still have some reservations. But this is without a doubt progress.

Iris was trying to hold back from crying, but she can't stop herself as she goes to hug Shinatsu.

"Don't ever say you don't want to live again. You have people who care about you. We care about you!"

"I won't. Thank you, Iris."

"Not too long ago, living was also hard for me. Someone changed that though, without them knowing. That's why I was inspired to create Odd Jobs. To help people who are also struggling, and to build a group who wants to do just that. Whenever things get tough, we'll be there for each other. That's the kind of ideal I wanted for us to have when I first thought of starting Odd Jobs. You have a place where you belong. Right here with us, Shinatsu."

"I have issues with family, so I can tell you with certainty that you can't let them get the better of you. Strive for a life you can be proud of. I know that's easier said than done. I needed a wake-up call myself. But once you truly feel like you're happy with where you are and your family tries to interfere, give em the good ol finger and tell them to go to hell."

"I've learned that life is full of surprises, good and bad. You never know, the good ones may just be worth pushing through to see." Ariel slaps her in the back.

"Don't stop taking steps forward. The road ahead won't be a straight path, and it's sure to have a lot of bumps. But we'll be there, taking them with you."

Uncontrollable tears stream down Shinatsu's face once more. "Thank you guys. This means everything to me.."

Everyone smiles.

"Oh right." Remembering something, Kagura runs over to some bushes. "I had this with me the whole day, I've been meaning to give it to you." She quickly runs back over to the group with a bag.

"What is it?"

"A gift. Go ahead and open it."

"Okay.." Shinatsu opens the bag with a quizzical look and takes out the wrapped item.

"A beanie with a cute bunny." She states what it is.

"Well, what do you think?"

Awkwardly putting it on, she blushes as she looks down away from everyone. The truth is, she loves it.

"Still playing tough are we? Those cheeks are bright red," Chifuyu jokes.

"Shut up!"

"I think she loves it," Diego joins in.

"M-me too."

"Sure seems that way."

"All of you, shut up!"

"Watch out, the adorable little cub is going to attack us!"

"Hahaha!"

"Hahahaha!"

"Hahaha!"

"Hehe."

"Teh.. Hahahaha!"

They all laughed, including Shinatsu.