BEGINNING TO THE END

            "A child can't make a deal until she's turned eighteen!"

            His right hand man was righteous, and sometimes he wondered if Jinki was born in the wrong clan. His sweet demeanor was as sweet as his gentle soul.

            "His parents made the deal. I simply sealed the bargain," The leader of the Demon clan was exactly as the others had described; rough and merciless. There was no care in his indifferent tone. What he wanted to do now was to finish the end of the deal and went home to his lovely wife.

            "Still. Her human parents didn't know what they got into. They are entrusting their daughter with demons! She could've had other choices in life." Jinki's response was what he expected. His duty was to keep him sane. And to deal with the little bits of clan's internal conflicts once in a while.

            "Shut it, Jin. I don't need any more advices in dealing with humans. They are pathetic creatures with greed and ambition of the earthly life."

            Jinki chuckled but followed him still. He'd followed him anywhere. Even in Hell and earth they were together. The house was more like a hut, in Jinki's humble opinion. Nothing sheltered the place other than the roof, the door and the wall. To the family living inside, that was more than enough.

            They were a family of three. They were lovely people in despair. They had prayed but God gave no answer, so they turned to him. The parents believed in the magic of the demons. They knew how powerful these deadly creatures were. And they cared not for the consequences. As long as their daughter was alive and well...

            The daughter was a beauty for her age. Even then Jinki knew she would grow up to be a memorable face. She hid behind her mother, trembling badly that she dared not to see his comrade in the face. It didn't help either that he put on a straight face. This was the girl they were supposed to help? She was barely twelve, and already suffering from deadly disease. Jinki didn't have to check the Book of Death to know her death was coming near. And there was no escape. Not unless his leader helped her changed her fate.

            “Woman,” He spoke in a hoarse voice, something everyone found y and intimidating. “You know the bargain, don't you?”

            The wife held onto both her daughter and husband. The man looked at her with great fear, but he didn't say anything else. This was the time, Jinki knew, that motherly love could be both powerful and destructive. Her daughter would survive. Surely. Then everything else came to question.

            “I know the risk,” She bravely, or stupidly replied. There were tears stains in her eyes, something the Great Demon didn't know of. The emotion, he couldn't fathom. Why, or how, human was so weak. And fragile. “Anything to keep my daughter alive.”

            Jinki stepped back. He couldn't bear to see so much sadness in the house. His Leader, however, simply motioned the little girl to take his hand. The little girl shook her head and held onto her mother tighter. The mother bit her lips until it bled, and pushed her precious daughter forward.

            “You know she will turn eighteen in six years,” The Great Demon spoke in a humming tone it was almost dreamy. His voice was velvety, but there was a sharp edge to it, like a polished knife. “In our world, six years equals to seconds.” He spoke of fact. A decade equals to nothing in the Shadow world.

            “We know how to cherish our time together,” The husband spoke his first words in the night. It was after a long pause, because he knew his wife was biting back tears.

            “I'm sure you do,” He spoke in a sarcastic tone. Humans never knew anything about time. Their life was a fleeting moment of waste. Their bodies too weak. Soon after death, their bodies returned to the ground, buried and forgotten, forever. “Tell her to come here and take my hand.”

             “Go,” Her father ushered her, and hugged his wife's trembling figure. Jinki heard stifled sobs. He sighed. Humans. They made a deal and cried over it. What was the point of regretting after everything?

            The Great Demon took one good look at the girl. She was so tiny. He could easily break her. Her eyes burnt bright for someone her age. They spoke of words those lips would never say. She looked smart. And proper. Even though she came from such a poor family. Sparks. Then gone. Just like that. He ignored them.

            “Eighteen years-old is the limit,” He hushed a whisper and smiled at her, taking in her soft, small hand onto his. She didn't look that scared anymore. Her pain in the brain was gone. Numbed. Disappeared. The deal was made. She was alive again. But not for long.

            The case had happened decades ago. No one knew about it but Jinki, now that his leader was deep in slumber and was yet to be awakened. He smiled to himself every time he remembered the night they sealed off the deal. The bargain, he realized was what would keep this clan alive and brought it back to their former glory.