Chapter Two: Bleeding out

“You know, you’re suppost the use a katana with two hands, right?” 

The clock ticked. There were twenty seconds left on the clock, counting down faster. She shredded through the grassy field, jumping and dodging all the other girls coming for her for the ball. In the corner of her eye, she could see another coming for the ball, but she knew she couldn’t stop her. Thinking quickly, the girl slides for the ball.

To have her kick the ball up, only meters away from the goal. The goalie not looking fully aware of the girl charging towards her, taking that as an advantage. Haru takes a large leap into the air with her left leg, the ball swirling at the height she needed it at. Twirling with her right, she violently kicks the ball with a clear path to the goal.

Her eye’s still looking at the ball as it sores, even when she fell harshly on the ground and the other girl kicking her knees when she slide kicked her, eyes on the ball. The ball seemed to have a mind of its own – hurling at a tremendous speed into the goal. The grass flying in midair as it tore through.

The other girls seemed jaw dropped as they watched in awe – the ball nearing the goal in a matter of inches. Everyone in the stands where speechless and off their seats, watching jaw dropped. One minute they were watching Eukwang Girls’ High schools Ace on the girls’ soccer team, Haru Jung, charge through the field and the next, they weren’t quite sure what they saw.

Haru’s heart quickened as she watched the ball. Hell, she wasn’t quite sure herself if she was about to pass out from the speed it raced at. The feeling she had in her heart was gone, instead, a wide grin was plastered onto her face as she saw it. The ball went successfully in.

The clock buzzed, indicating the game was over. Everyone snapped out of there trance due to the loud buzz. Cries and cheers echoed in the crowd, as well as the field, as Haru scored the last game of the season.

“WOOOOOOOO HARUUU! THAT’S MY GIRL!!!” Yelled her friend, the captain of the team, Jungah. Jungah enveloped Haru into a hug as the girl picked herself off the ground with wobbly legs.

The other girls groaned in frustration for losing another season to Eukwang’s. Her other team members hugged and patted Haru’s back, before throwing the girl up into the air and cheered her name. “Haru! Haru! Haru!”

Haru just smiled at the unreal feeling, just the beginning of the season, she was one of the worst players who couldn’t even juggle a ball correctly. And here she is now, field echoing with sounds of her success. Haru wiggled out from the grip above her members hands, then enveloped them in a group hug,” We all did it!” she cheered back.

---

The game was late after school, unfortunately, Haru still had to walk home by herself in the dark. She’s seen some kids from her school on her way back though, giving her a grin or smile, or congratulating her on another big win for the game. 

Haru even noticed little things she haven’t seen before, black small butterflies lingering around the area. She asked a passing pedestrian if they saw it too, but they simply thought she was crazy.

‘These must be some kind of demon…’ she thinks to herself, letting one crawl onto her finger. It didn’t seem harmful, so she took no heed to it.

“You over there, with the red hair.” Someone called behind her. She turned, causing the butterfly to fly away along with the others that were gathered by a nearby wall. Haru came in contact with a man slightly taller than her, but far more built. His hair was dark brown, along with almost everything else on him. Wearing a simple black suit under a long black trench coat with a small emblem on his right pocket. He was pretty handsome too, better looking than any man Haru’s seen in a while. He walked closer to her causing Haru to clutch her backpack strap and walk a step back.

He grinned at her sudden action,” Are you Jung Haru?”

She nodded,” So what if I am?”

“I need you to come with me.” He takes a few steps close to Haru, attempting to grab Haru by the wrist, only to have her back up in steps.

“I don’t even know you, sir. For all I know, you can be trying to or kill me. I listen to my parents and don’t talk to strangers,” With a whip of her hair, she returns to her path home with a hurrying pace.

“You’re fake parents or real ones?” she hears him scoff from behind. 

Haru stopped with a turn on her heels back to him, with a grunt of her teeth,” Who are you?”

“My name’s Hoya. I teach at a school for exorcist and was asked by the headmaster to come get you.”

Haru stood in shock. ‘He must be an exorcist, but Mother Suni said exorcist where really rare to come by. And he’s a teacher for a school full of them? She must’ve been out of touch with exorcism weekly.’

“W-Why does he want me for?” Haru asked, choking on her words.

“To enroll of course. Ever since that nun made you aware to demons, you’d been danger.” Hoya stated, pushing up his glasses.

“What do you mean,’ made aware’?”

“How much of a noob are you?” he scoffed. “When exorcist, people who are born with it, or others who demons hurt physically, they become aware to demons then normal people do. It’s like some kind of aura or scent we give off, it pisses them off in a way, causing them to try to hurt us or well- kill us.”

“Kill? What why?”

“Because we’re exorcist. ‘Kill or be killed’. That’s the way there brain works.” Hoya replied, looking at his pocket watch for the time. “So how about it, Ms. Jung? Are you coming with me? Time is of essence.”

“I-I.. I need to talk to my parents about it…”

He nodded understanding,” Alright, I get it. Here.” Hoya hands her a small piece of paper. “Call me when you’re ready.” Haru nodded before leaving once again. “Oh, and Haru-sshi,” she stopped to look at him,” Be Careful.” And with that, Hoya took his turn to leave too, heading down into the darkness of the streets.

“Weirdo..” she muttered before taking leave as well.

On her way home, she only thought about her encounter. A school for exorcist… What good will that be to her? The nuns somewhat trained her, but only in simple hand to hand combat. Does your fist phase through a ghost or demon? Do they even feel it? How do you even fight them? With a cross and garlic?

‘Don’t be stupid, Haru. That’s vampires… but I guess they fall into the demon category too…’ she sighed to herself opening her house gate. Haru stopped walking as she walked up to the house, it felt like something hit her, but there was nothing insight. She felt in internal shaking, a feeling shivering down her spine. The feeling you’d usually get when something really really bad was going to happen.

Haru dragged her heavily feeling feet to the home entrance. Her hands shaking as she tried to open the door, she dropped her keys. ‘Goddamn it, Haru! Get yourself together! There’s nothing wrong, everything is going to be okay, nothing’s wrong…’ she swore to herself as she picked up her keys. Hands slightly shaking less when she opened it again. With a gentle push, the door swung open.

She sighed to herself in relief as the entrance and living room looked normal as usual. Haru dropped her backpack and shoes, stretching her sore muscles after the game as she walked to her usual route to the kitchen. “Hey, mum? I won the game today, I met some guy too talking about exorcist school crazy-“

Haru’s heart sunk landing somewhere in her stomach, her eyes open in complete shock. Even if the kitchen was pitch black with the moonlight seeping in, she could see everything clearly. The kitchen was splattered and painted with red. Claw marks and blood scattered across the walls. The cabinets in shreds and broken. The island in the middle was no more. Fridge on the ground missing the top part of it as it looked like something cut it straight in half. Dining table crumbled into pieces, floor looking filled with small toothpicks. Plates broken, everything thing was in utter ruins, looking like a tornado torn right through.

“Right…” she finished, not noticing the word slipping out of . Behind the somewhat intact island, she heard gurgling. Quickly running behind it, she found her mother first. Throat ripped completely out, she missing a leg and arm, stomach ripped in half, clothes drenched in her own blood, laying in a pool of it.

“MOM!?” Haru hurriedly rushed to her side, shaking the lifeless body as tears dropped down her face. She brought her mother’s body closer to hers, arms wrapped around her, hugging her tightly. Haru knew very well she was gone, but she couldn’t help not too. Even if the blood started to soak into her uniform.

“H-Haru…” A voice whispered behind her. She whips behind to see her father, also an arm missing. His glasses cracked, blood leaking from his head down his face, he coughed up blood as he tried to speak to the girl again,” Ha-Haru come here.” She softly set down her mother’s lifeless body and crawled, hands and knees soaking in blood, to her father – who propped his head against the cabinet.

“Dad! What happened!? Mom! Wh-“ her father cut the girls yelling with a hand to the mouth.

 “Haru, you need to be quiet.” He warned quietly. “We don’t know if it’s still in here.”

“What’s it? Dad, I don’t understand. Who did this?” Haru questioned back quietly, trying to remain calm that her mother was dead and her father was close on the verge.

“A demon attacked us while you were at the game – good job on the win by the way,” he chuckled, being the lively person he is. “He was chanting your name while attacking us. We tried to fight back with the things Mother Suni gave us in case of this, but it was no use. I was knocked out when it ripped off my arm, it complexly forgot about me, but you’re mother wasn’t too fortunate…” he cracked a smile at the end, losing his voice.

“W-Where is it?”

“I don’t know, it escaped through the back door, but I don’t know when it will be-“ the opened back door shrieked in the same way the prison cell did in the church. Loud, ear tearing and animalistic. “Haru, you need to run, go to Mother Suni, she’ll protect you.” Her father tried to explain while remaining calm. “Don’t forget your sword. You need to protect that thing with your life.”

Haru nodded understanding, trying to ignore the crunching of footsteps coming from the garden, fighting back her tears. “Dad, I love you.”

He smiled,” Your mother and I might not be you’re real parents, but we always loved you like a true daughter.” He whipped off Haru’s tear, leaving a small blood trail for his hand. “We will always love you too, stay low and be quiet.”

“But dad you can come with me, we can both live through this.” She fought back not wanting to let him go.

“It’s alright, I fulfilled my life to its fullest. Seeing you live. I’ll be doing a disservice to your mother and father if you die now… Go, Haru, I’ll be fine.” He smiled at her again. Haru opened to talk, but the being outside’s breathing grew louder, closer to them. She closed it, not wanting to make things harder than it already it is.

Haru gave her father one last tight hug before crawling behind the island and looking out the door. She could see the thing approaching closer. It crawled on his spider long arms and legs, mouth drooling with blood of her parents, eyes beating a bright red, skin a slimy gray, everything about it looked disfigured and disturbing. If not in the situation she was in how, she would’ve puked on the ground.

Using the shadows, she rolled to the other side of the wall to where the stairs upstairs was. Haru flashed a forceful smile at her father before quickly running upstairs. The being not noticing her at all. Its head looked around the kitchen as it entered, noticing the familiar scent it was tracking earlier. A wicked grin ran across its ‘face’, before walking into the direction of the stairs.

Before it reached any closer, a plate came hurdling to its head. Whipping its head around with a low growl, he starred with blood shoot eyes. Haru’s father panted with the throw from his injures already taking a huge toll on him, especially with an arm gone,” Yo-You and me.” The demon creped another wicked smile before charging at the man.

Haru jumped when she reached her room and locked it, after hearing a series of plates braking with growls and shouts. She quickly ran to her bed and flipped off the mattress, revealing the sword given to her yesterday by Suni. Knowing she couldn’t go out the front door, she ran to her balcony window which lead back down into the main street. Her feet on the rail as she was ready to jump, though her body came to a sudden halt when she heard a blood curdling scream. Her father’s scream.

A tear let her eye as she bit her lip from not going back to save him,” It’s already too late. He said to live, Haru. And that’s what you’re going to do.” Trying her best to fight her inner self to go back and help him, she jumped out the window and landed on the street with a thud and a groan. Ignoring the pain in her left knee from the impact, she sprinted at her full soccer speed to the church with her sword clenched tightly in hand.

---

“MOTHER SUNI! MOTHER SUNI!” Haru screamed banging on the church door. After a few loud bangs, the door cracked open.

“Haru-sshi? What in the world are you doing here? It’s nine at night, missy.” Yoona scolded with her PJ’s on. Haru ignored her, pushing her aside and into the church. Locking the door tightly behind them. Yoona looked at her with wide eyes,” Haru! I don’t know what’s gotten into you, but-!”

Haru cut off her yelling,” Yoona, a demon killed my parents and is going to be here at any minute. I don’t know what to do.” Yoona noticed the girls’ blood stained clothes, slight blood on her face along with dry blood, a cut knee, and sword clutched in hand. She knew Haru was a prankster and would make up the blood, but she better that the sword was not to be taken lightly.

“Don’t worry, child.”  Mother Suni assured, walking up to the two out of nowhere with her nightgown on. “These are holy grounds, the demon can’t get i-“ A loud burst sounded on the door, as if something threw itself against it. “B-But this is a church!? How!?” Mother Suni yelled in disbelief. Another sound bolted at the door, Yoona and Haru quickly walking back to where the elder was.

“It must be a high or mid-level demon!” Yelled Yoona. “Those are the only ones that can break the seal around the church!”

“What about the ones below!?” questioned Haru.

“Those have been there for thousands of years and is blessed, so they lost most of their powers, but this one must have been around and about.” Yoona quickly explained, running behind the statue in front of the room.

A long drag of a nail sounded at the door, Haru’s back hairs quickly rising up. “Haru~” the voice called, sounding deep and barely auditable. “Come play~ I was asked to come get you~ Come on~ I played with those parents of yours~ It’s your turn~” and with that, it rammed itself against the door again. The door groaning loudly, close to breaking.

Haru turned to Mother Suni was a shocked expression. “M-Mother what do we do!? How do we fight!? It’s going to kill us!”

Mother Suni look a deep breath, holding it in, and letting it out slowly. “Haru, everything will be okay.” She calmly said.

Haru looked bewildered. “Okay!? OKAY!? We’re all going to die and that’s all you can say!!”

“Haru, how do you think we survived all these years? We know how to fight, I was just a bit shocked how this was the first to enter the ground, but it’s nothing we can’t handle right?” Suni questioned, looking over her shoulder to a approaching Yoona.

“She’s right, we were just shocked, but we’ll handle this.” Yoona winked. Haru’s noticed the girls’ hands as she brought it up to her face to make a cute peace sign. Both left and right hand was covered a metal thick glove, gantlet like.

“W-What’s that on your hands? Why the hell am I the only one freaked out here!?” asked Haru.

“Hum?” Yoona remarked, not shocked by the massive metal like hands. “These are my exorcist weapons, I’m a Jett and that’s because you stress too much sweetie.”

“YOU’RE AN EXORCIST!?” Haru exclaimed, but right as she did so, the door broke under the demons last thrash against it. Its winked smile returning as its eyes landed on Haru. It charged its way towards her, a full speed on its hands and knees, mouth hanging open ready to get a bite out of her. Haru closed her eyes in for the impact, but a sudden gush of wind passed right past her.

Haru opened them, to see Yoona stop its charge by upper cutting the beast. The demon flew back words and onto it’s back, growling in pain. “Yoona!” yelled Haru as she watched the girl get ready for another attack.

“Don’t worry, Haru. She can take care of herself, she’s been doing this for years.” Assured Suni.

“But we can’t just sit here and do nothing!” Haru yelled back, running out to help Yoona. “I’m not going to sit around anymore and watch another person I love die!”

“Then you’ll die a foolish death, child,” Suni stated glaring at the younger, grabbing her wrist. Stopping her in her tracks.

“And you’re parent’s death will go in vain. Both of your parents.” Haru bit her bottom lip till a small amount of blood leaked out. She wanted to scream and out at the elder for pulling at card, but she knew better. She knew she was right. She clicked her tongue before looking away at the other, eyes forced in worry at Yoona, her sword shaking in her hand from how tight she held it in.

Yoona was ready when the demon recovered again and lunged at her. She jumped into midair, using the demons head as leverage before turning and slamming back down to hit it straight in the head. Causing the being to howl in pain as its bite its tongue off, blood splashing the walls. “You little .” It grubbed looking at Yonna.

“Is that what you call a lady? My, my, you serially have no manners.” She joked, standing in a fighting stance. The demon groaned before lunged itself again at her.

The two were at it for quite some time. Yoona usually throwing punches all over its body, its gray covered body turning black and purple in bruises. Scratches and cuts all over itself from Yoona’s attacks, blood adding onto the gray, black, and purple.

Yoona on the other hand was lightly scratched from its attacks and wooden benches being thrown at her. Her right dominate arm leaking in blood from the wooden bench scrap being lodged into it. She panted lightly as well as a light layer of sweat on her,” Are you tired human?” laughed the demon.

“Shut up, demon!” Yoona yelled, throwing herself at the hideous monster. Her fist aimed for its rib cage, but its long arms grabbed hers. Throwing her across the room, hitting her back against the wall. Yoona coughed out blood as her back made contact, hissing as she slid down the wall. “YOONA!” yelled Haru making her way towards her unconscious girl.

“Yoona, wake up! Yoona!” Haru called out to her, shaking the girl, but she remained silent. Church benches flew across the room, breaking against the walls with the tremendous force it’s been thrown at, the demon coming into view of the two. Haru quickly stood in front of Yoona, hands on the handle of her katana, ready to protect the girl.

“Are you sure you know how to fight with that, girl?” grinned the demon, amused at the trembling Haru.

“I-I do! Don’t test me!” she yelled back at the demon.

“Let’s see about that.” The demon charged at her, Haru releasing her katana at the demon. Haru held it in in her one hand, doing it like they did in movies, and swung at the demon. Barely touching the beast, it just stood there looking at Haru swing at it with eyes closed. “Girl, you’re going to die.” With that, the beast held its hand up and swept at Haru, sending her to the other end of the room and having to collide with the wall that caught her.

“Haru!” called Mother Suni, trying to run to the girl with her old age.

“Don’t even try, grandma.” Giggled the demon, throwing her as well.

Mother Suni cried in pain as she shot back against the church statue, breaking the structure in half before falling down to the floor. It looked at the elder not move at all, then continued to Haru. She tried to pick herself off the ground with her sword still in her hand, but with a shattered left arm, she cried in pain before falling back onto the ground. Coughing up slight blood from her on broken rib.

“The poor trash,” the demon cooed approaching her. “I thought this would be more fun.”

Haru splat at it, but lied on the ground still. The demon giggled before taking a kick at her. She closed her eyes ready for the pain, but this didn’t come either.

She opened her awaiting eyes to find a main in front of her, a bow in his hands. His body shaking slightly as he stopped the blow. “You know,” he grunted, looking over his shoulder to her. Haru gasped at the shine of his glasses against the moonlight. “You’re suppost the use a katana with two hands, right?” He gave the demon a push with his bow in hand, causing the being to fly back a bit. He loaded his crossbow with a bright glowing arrow that seemed to come out nowhere and aimed it straight at the things.

“You damned exorcist!!!” screamed the demon with its high pitched voice, charging at Hoya.

“You things make me sick.” He pulled his crossbow trigger, successfully hitting a completely target at the demons head. It howled it pain and soon enough, it bursted into black.

Haru looked at Hoya in shock, still on the ground. Yoona fought her heart out against the damned thing, but it didn’t do down. Hoya just shot it in the head effortlessly and it went down. Hoya sighed and pushed his glasses up before making his way toward her. “You dead?” he asked with a chuckle.

“Shut…up…” Haru responded back before slipping into unconsciousness.

---

Haru awoke the new morning, the sun light smacking her straight in her eyes. She groaned as she sat up in bed, her left arm wrapped in gaze. Looking around the room, she wondered where and was and how she got there. Till it hit her.

She was attacked last night. Her parents died, Yoona and Suni got hurt, she almost died and Hoya saved them out of the blue. Haru turned to get out of bed, noticing she was still in her blood soaked clothes. There was not a sound in the halls as she stepped out, looking left and right, she waked into the main hall noticing some voices, echoing in the now empty room.

The light in full view of the once intacted hall. Broken benches, broken somewhat blood spattered walls, the large door completely gone, the one massive statue spilt in half, and a large gray demon laying in the corner of the church, laying in its own blood. Haru noticed Yoona and Mother Suni up and about, talking to Hoya and another.

He wasn’t in plain view, but he looked to wear the same attire as Hoya. He had red hair and rested his hands on the crane in front of him, he being a slight taller than Hoya. Haru casually made her way to the group, Yoona smiling in glee as she noticed the shocked girl.

“You’re up!” Yoona gave her a quick hug before retreating after hearing the other hiss in pain. “Oh! You’re arm, my bad.” Yoona apologized. The others turned around as well, noticing her presents.

“I see you’re doing well.” Haru looked at Mother Suni, who was sitting down in a wheelchair with a casted leg.

“My arm hurts a little, I could have sworn I shattered it, but you’re leg…”

“It’s alright, it’d be fine tomorrow. It’s just healing now.” Suni insured.

Haru noticed the two males looking at her, the other who she did not know grinned at her. His eyes were small, but she found them charming along with his round cheeks. Her eyes widening when she notices his left was actually a different color of a metallic blue with a white symbol inside of it. “Hello…” she greeted the other.

“Hello,” he greeted back. “How’s your arm holding up?”

“Y-You did this?” Haru asked amazed, pointing to her arm.

He nodded his head. “That’s the best I could do in short notice, as well as Mother Suni here and Sister Yoona.”

“How?”

“It’s something exorcist can do.”

“Are you one as well?” she asked.

He nodded once again,” In a way I am.” He took Haru’s hand into his before placing a light kiss on the back of her backhand. “I never introduced myself, Ms. Jung. I’m Kim Sunggyu. I am the headmaster of the school you will be attending.”

Haru looked at him in shock, retracting her hand,” What are you talking about?”

“Haru,” Suni started after rolling up to her. “After what happened last night, I think it’s best to go. Yoona and I already signed off the papers, being your current guardians. It’s safer.”

“Safer? Going to a place I have no clue what’s there? Studying something I don’t want anything to do with?” Haru snapped back bitterly with everything that happened so fast and sudden without a chance for her to grasp reality, she could only be cranky and a .

“Haru…” Suni sighed out. “We couldn’t protect you like we promised last night. If Hoya-sshi didn’t show up, you’d be dead. I’d be dead and Yoona would’ve died. Who knows? Maybe he didn’t want to stop there, maybe he found the orphans in the back and killed them too, then took out everyone in this small town. Don’t be difficult, Haru. Think of others too.”

“I’m still not going.” 

Suni sighed, not wanting to break to the reality to the already mentally broken girl. “You’re mother and father that raised you, they died because of you. And you couldn’t even protect them. If you become an exorcist, you can protect everyone you hold dear and more than that.  You can save others from the pain demons bring. As I told you too, God only locked up that basterd demon. Who knows when it’d break the seal again? Who knows when we’d fall into a dark plague, having no exorcist or any line of defense to protect us? Haru, this is the best future planed out for you. Ever since you had those dreams, this has become your path.”

Haru looked at her, biting the inside of her cheek. Wanting to blink back the tears in memory of her parents, both of them. She wanted to storm out of there and run away, but Suni was right. She was weak. She couldn’t protect her parents and they died because of her. She couldn’t protect Yoona or Suni and they could’ve died. Haru knew every well she was weak, hell, even if she did run away. A demon would’ve found her and finished the job. She thought about it. The only thing she had going for her was soccer. She only had 4 friends at school, plus, she didn’t even know who she wanted to be.

She bit her bottom lip before replaying,” I’ll do it, for my parents.”

Ayyeee~

So as "author", I think im alright, but i still need to improve here and there. One thing i in, is scenery. I can not describe anything for . I'm serious. Things like a long brick road, moldy sidewalk, the bright clear sky or something like that doesn't do it for me and i feel like i do a disservace to you all if i put nothing. So at the end of every chapter with major scenery of such, I'll post a picture thats close to the ones in my head. I'll do better in the future!!

 What i think the church looks like~