Chapter 12

It felt as if an hour had passed in the mall, and Lucas started to worry about Ann. He left one of his best friends with a dangerous monster that killed two people and could have killed him if he didn't make a deal. He always felt that Ann was the strongest person out of their group. Chris, Joe, and he always figured Ann could take out anyone with her punches due to her being heavy-handed or giving them a stern lecture on properly treating someone. Yet, he didn't think she could take on something that ripped the head off of a grown man. This very thought gave him shivers. His thoughts drifted as he looked down at his own hands. He could still feel that weird sensation from everything.

"Why do I feel.....joyful from all of this?" Lucas asked himself. He was worried and terrified about all of this new stuff that unfolded before him. Yet, a part of him felt glad he wasn't fully normal. He thought the idea of magic and beings from another world or dimension was impossible or extremely unlikely. Watching anime and different cartoons about this as a kid did make him wish for something interesting and new to happen in his average life. Nothing on the level of last night, but something new. It was like a dream come true if the dream was fucked up more or less. "At least it's something new."

"Then there's her." His inner voice said while he placed both elbows on the table while resting his hands on his lip. He felt that Amay could kill him at any moment and wouldn't even bat an eye at it. However, shopping with her and the whole trip here, she seemed normal....ish. She was taken aback by everything and seemed very curious to know about all of it.

"I guess her waking up to a whole new world would be breathtaking." He said to himself. A small chuckle left his mouth as he thought about how he had to tell her basic things like don't walk in front of a car, how to use an automatic door, and even going up and down the escaladed was kind of funny. He thought about the look in her eyes for a moment. She looked hungry to know more and star-struck after seeing it in action. For a moment, Lucas could feel himself smiling as he thought about her expression and reactions to things.

"What the hell is wrong with me," Lucas said in a low voice as he realized that his mind was doing it again. He shook his head, trying to push back those thoughts. "Damn you, brain; She's a monster that kills people." He told him as he looked around at the food court to see if they were almost here.

As he looked around the food court, he could feel his stomach rumbling. They had many options to choose to eat, and since it was a weekday, not many people were here. Besides the occasional elderly, people on their break, or some kids hanging around, the mall wasn't too busy. He didn't see either Ann or Amay and just went back to his phone. He wanted to wait for them; that way, they could grab something and eat together. A new thought did come across his mind on whether Amay actually ate regular food or not. He would have to ask her that himself.

After another 30 minutes or so, Lucas could hear two people laughing as they seemed to get closer. He quickly raised his head and felt a bit of relief wash over him as the two women were making their way over to him. He had noticed that they had a lot more bags compared to the ones he was stuck with. As he stood up, he couldn't help but look at Ann with a very concerned look.

"Sorry about that," Ann said, seeing the worried look on his face. "We got carried away for a moment. Why didn't you tell me your friend had no idea about the different kinds of shading and nail colors. Nor the difference between a sports bra and a regular one?" She teased him while smiling at Lucas before handing him back the card.

"Yeah, Lucas." Amay chipped in.

"I mean….not my area of specialty. I can tell you the difference between two comic characters. However, anything women-related, I have no clue. Data not found." Lucas jokingly shrugged at them.

Ann shook her head. "This is why we need to get you a girlfriend," She said, remembering her, Joe, and Chris running joke. "Anyway, I was able to get her everything and also explained some stuff as well. I might have gone a little overboard on some things. I hope you don't mind."

"Not at all. And thank you for this. I'm sorry I had to call you out of your busy day." Lucas shamefully looked away.

"Hey. Stop that. Say sorry again, and I will punch you." Ann scolded him with a smile.

"I'm sorry for saying sorry again." He said, messing with her.

"Lucas!" She hissed while balling up her fist.

"Okay. Okay." Lucas chuckled as he took a step back.

Amay just stood there watching their interaction as a smile came across her face. Part of her was shocked at how helpful this girl was, and another part reminded her of a good memory. As she seemly zoned out, she was pushed a little by Ann to come back.

"Hey. I have to leave. If you need any more help or helpful advice about what to wear or make-up color, just have Lucas call me. Or when you get your phone back, have him give you my number." Ann told her in a genuinely helpful tone with a smile.

"Th…thank you for this. I had a lot of fun." Amay confessed and planned to take the girl on her words.

"So did I. Not every day I get to help someone out." Ann said, giving her a small nod. She then turned back to Lucas. "Will I see you at work tomorrow?" She asked and remembered how yesterday went with their boss. Her face became very concerned as she wasn't sure what he would say.

"Yeah. I will be in tomorrow." Lucas said, smiling at her. He knew she was worried and could hear it in her voice. So he tried to play it off. "Hey. Don't worry. I'm fine. Thank you again." He reassured her.

"No problem. I-" She was about to say something but got a phone call.

Lucas and Amay could see her visibly mumble curse words as she quickly placed the bags down and gave a small wave before heading off. They each waved back and watched as Ann left in a hurry. Turning their attention back to each other, a long second had passed as they waited for the other to say something. Amay's smile quickly turned into a resting expression as she could see Lucas was still a little jumpy. Lucas couldn't help but scratch the back of his head as he didn't know what to say or ask her. He then felt a tightening sensation along with a low rumble from his stomach.

"So.... do you want to grab something to eat?…." He nervously asked her. "Or do you even eat? I'm sorry, I don't know if creatures like you eat or not. Not to sound offensive or anything. Oh, God. Maybe I should shut up?" He said, catching himself in a ramble.

Amay just giggled at him. "You're a funny one. I can sustain myself off of the blood I absorb. So while I can eat human food, I don't have to. And since I absorb two whole people's blood, I don't need to eat for a good amount of days." She said with a smirk on her face as if she was praising her own ability. However, her nose began to twitch as all the smell from the food court began to fill it. This made her throat dry, and her stomach began to disagree angrily. This caused her face to turn a bright red as she was left speechless.

"Right," Lucas said, crossing his arms at her as he heard her stomach as well. "So I'm going to grab some Chinese food. If you do happen to follow me over there, I will buy you something as well."

"I would appreciate that a lot," Amay sheepishly took his offer.

After grabbing himself and Amay some food and sitting down across from one another, they began to eat. Lucas caught himself looking up from time to time, watching Amay eat her food and drinking her soda. He noticed the first time she drank her soda, it nearly caused her to choke from the carbonation, but she quickly got used to it and drank the whole cup with no problem. They even shared a fun moment where she wanted to try some of his spice beef. He couldn't help but have a nice time with her, even with his questions burning in the back of his head.

"So, what did you think?" Lucas asked her while wiping his lips.

"This is really good. The best I had in a long time." Amay admitted while licking her lips. "I forgot humans could cook such good food."

"I will take that as a compliment," Lucas said while taking another sip of his drink. He then let out a sigh as a genuine smile came across his face. "This was nice. I'm actually having a good time."

"See!" Amay said, pointing her fork at him. "You have to live a little. You need to learn to relax and go with the flow of things."

"You're right," Lucas admitted to her. "I need to do that a lot more. I honestly was just worried that you were going to kill Ann or so. But I was worrying over nothing." He confessed, nearly laughing at his earlier worry.

"Oh no. I would have, but she's a good person and would have been a waste." Amay casually said while taking a sip of her drink.

"Huh?" Lucas asked as his bliss happiness came crashing down. A slightly concerned looked plague his face as he looked at the girl across from him. His questions began to bubble out from him. Starting with the most concerning.

"What do you mean?"

"She's not a threat. Your friend was only human, so the necklace worked on her." Amay explained before tapping on the bead of the necklace.

Lucas looked confused for a moment and remembered she pointed at it earlier. Yet, this still left him lost.

"The necklace my mom gave you? What's special about it?"

"Since we don't have a contract and your magic is so low, I need this necklace in order to be around you." Amay began to explain. "It works by supplying me enough magic until we build a proper contract together. It also hides my true appearance from non-magical beings like with your friend. She saw me as the closest race I would be to you humans." She said, pushing her hair out of her face.

This made Lucas think for a moment. He then remembered the mirror from earlier with her appearing different. That also explained why his mom handed her the necklace in the first place. He swallows a little food as he finally asked the question that's been killing him.

"What are you then? I, mean you say you're not a demon, and you drink blood. So are you a vampire then?"

"Don't you dare compare me to those disgusting creatures!" Amay snapped at Lucas while pointing her finger at him. Her eyes dilated to small dots as if Lucas had touched a nerve. The few people that were in the food court began to look at them.

"Okay. Okay." Lucas held his hands up defensively. "Quite your voice." He whispered.

"Apologize for dare calling me one of those filthy things." She demanded as she crossed her arms and waited for him to do so.

"Okay! I'm sorry for calling you one. Jesus." He spits out quickly. At this point, he was afraid she might jump across the table at him. To his surprise, she began to take deep breaths and started to relax.

"Good. Being compared to those disgusting things is the worst insult." She said, taking another breath before moving her hair back into place.

"Then what are you?" Lucas asked again.

A smirk came across her face as her eyes began to grow. "I am Amay Yangu. The Oni who was raised by the Mikadzuki Clan but studied in the arts of the Buraddo Mūn Clan." She stated proudly to Lucas.

The way she said it caught Lucas off guard a little. He had to admit she sounded proud of what she was. He then got to remembering something from high school and the one college class. "Wait. This probably is going to sound racist as hell or just really ignorant, but any chance are you Japanese or from there." Lucas asked, readying himself for any backlash.

"Well, not exactly." She said, scratching her head. "Uh. The way Lizzy put it, we, demi-humans, are what you, humans, have used as lore or inspiration for your stories and myths, but you guys also inspire our culture as well. I've visited Japan before, but it was a very, very long time ago."

"I don't think I understand," Lucas admitted to being lost.

"Just ask Lizzy when we get back. She's better at explaining stuff than me." Amay said, letting out a sigh. "She's always been good at telling people what they can or cannot do," Amay said in an annoyed voice while thinking about Elizabeth's need for control.

"I hear that." Lucas agreed. He felt relieved that someone finally understood his mom as he did. He then thought about earlier that morning. "Thank you for standing up for me this morning." He confessed to her.

"Don't worry about it," Amay said, knowing what he was talking about. "Lizzy wants the best for everyone at times. She just has bad ways of going about them. And sometimes forgets how her actions affect the ones she loves." Amay clenched her right arm when she said the last sentence. She could feel her heart tightening as she thought about last night.

"Yeah. Sometimes I wonder about that." Lucas said, looking away from Amay for a moment. They sat there quietly for a moment, lost in their own thoughts. Lucas then broke the silence. "So, how does a contract work? Do we have to kiss again?" His last question made his face blush a little.

"Oh. You want to continue from last night?" she said, moving closer to the table and resting her arms on it. She went as far as to blow him a kiss with her cherry red lips. She could see the red in his face become brighter as he avoided her eye contact. She then pushed her back into her chair with a giggle. "I'm only playing. No offense to you, but you're not really my type."

"Oh, okay," Lucas said, a little relieved. "Never thought I would be turned down by a monster girl," The thought went straight through his mind.

"It's quite simple. We both say a goal or desire that we want and agree to help each other achieve it. Basically, I help you, and you help me kind of thing. There's a whole lot of other stuff to it, but that's if you want more than just a partner and the demi-human, really. Just the bare bones of it for now." Amay explained while waving her hand around.

"So we just make a deal, and that's it?" Lucas asked, a little unsure.

"Yep. Yep." Amay said as a piece of paper appeared out of nowhere in her hand that she waved. She then passed it to him to look at. "All you do is just say what you desire and wish to achieve, and it will appear on the paper."

Lucas looked at the blank paper for a moment. "It couldn't be that easy as she said it was." He thought to himself and looking back up at her. "But she hasn't lied to me so far, and she did volunteer to be my partner beforehandnd." He began to wonder. Staring at the blank paper, he couldn't think of anything to work on as his mind began to draw blanks.

"Having a problem there?" Amay asked, noticing Lucas not saying anything and looking stuck.

"How about I go first?" she said, holding out her hand for the paper. Lucas passed it over and cleared her throat a little. "I want to become the strongest Demi-Human that rivals that of a Divine Serpent."

As she spoke, Lucas was taken back by the words actually appearing on paper. He looked around to see if anyone else had noticed this, but to his surprise, no one was paying attention to it. It was as if nothing was happening.

"I would also like to explore all the new stuff in this realm and enjoy being free," Amay said as the last words came onto the paper. She looked at her own words for a moment and took in the fact she was much further away from her goal now more than ever. "I can do it. Even with this setback." She told herself before turning her attention back to Lucas, who looked amazed yet confused. "What?"

"Oh. Nothing." Lucas said, looking away for a moment. "Well….I kind of like your last goal a little. Since finding out about all of this, I do want to find out more. Even if it's a generic kinda goal." He said nervously.

Amay paused for a moment before looking away from him. "That's because it is one. However, it's one my uncle told me. 'Keep an open mind and explore and enjoy new things.' Besides, seeing new things is fun at times." She said, trying to hide her embarrassment.

"So could I make my part similar to yours then?" Lucas asked.

"I don't care. It's your part of the arrangement." She said, passing him the paper while still trying to avoid eye contact. "You can always add more to it when you think of something."

"Oh, cool," Lucas said, glad to hear that part. He then took a deep breath and spoke what he wanted. "I want to learn more about magic and this whole new world. And to get a little stronger." He said but whispered the very last part so that Amay couldn't hear him. The words appeared on the paper before it rolled up neatly in his hand.

Lucas looked at Amay for a moment, confused about what to do next. He then saw her try to reach across the table. He took one side of the scrolled-up paper and passed it to her. As both of their hands held the paper, they both felt a warm sensation run through their arms as a seal formed on the paper.

"And there we go," Amay said in a cheerful voice as she took the scroll fully away. "You made your first contract with yours truly. I am your official Demi-partner now." A smile came across her face as the scroll faded away.

"It feels….weird a little," Lucas confessed as he looked down at his hand that held the paper. The warm sensation felt almost tingling as if he hit his funny bone. He then looked around to make sure no one was looking at them, but it was the same. No one was paying any attention or even noticed what had just happened.

"That's normal. It will fade after a while." Amay said, letting out a small yawn. She then remembered something. "Oh, try not to break the contract. Let's just say it's a pain to do so." She said, not wanting to scare him away.

"Oh. Okay." Lucas said, wanting to ask her why but felt like he would rather not deal with that on top of other things. He then felt another question pop into his mind. "Why did you volunteer?" He spoke before catching himself.

"Huh? Why did I what?" Amay asked while trying to take another sip of her now empty cup. Even giving him a tilted head a little.

"To be my partner. You said you would do it without hesitating. I just wanted to know why that is." He told her straightforward. His mind began to put different ideas in his head of what she could say. "Did she do it out of pity? Was it just an excuse to stick it to his mom?" Thoughts like that began to weigh down on him as he waited for her response.

Amay listened to what he asked while taking the lid off of her cup and looking for any more of the soda. She then began to pull ice out of her cup and into her mouth. "Oh, that." She said while crunching on the ice. "I guess curiosity." She said without hesitating and didn't even look at him.

"Oh?" Lucas said, even more, curious about why she said that. This wasn't an answer that came to his mind. Before he could ask her more, he got a text from his mom. "Mom is here, so let's go." He told Amay before letting out a sigh.

"Alrighty." She said while still chewing on some ice.

Both of them cleared the table they were sitting at before grabbed all of the bags. After doing a final check of the table, they left to meet with Elizabeth and Martha to head back home for the day.