~13 years later... ~

"Mizu-chan! Mizu-chan, wake up!" Mizuko groaned sleepily and swatted blindly at the disturbance. The girl sighed. "Mizu-chan, wake up. Class is over." she said coaxingly.

Someone threw a book onto her desk and Mizuko sat up with a jolt, wide awake. Seichi stood in front of her desk, leaning on the book. "I see you slept through Mr. Tsukaya's lecture...again." he said coldly. Mizuko squirmed under his cold stare.

"Mizu-chan, how do you expect to pass the Slayer Exam...when you never listen to any of the lectures...?" the girl asked.

"Not you too, Tsukiko..." Mizuko complained. Seichi reclaimed his textbook and led Mizuko and Tsukiko out of the classroom.

"You head home, Tsukiko. I have to tutor Mizuko. Again." Seichi said, sounding annoyed. The tan haired girl nodded.

"Alright. See ya back at the house, Sis." she said as she ran out of the school. Mizuko groaned the instant she was out of hearing range. With Seichi, "tutoring" meant getting yelled at until you finally got sick of him and walked away. Seichi sighed once she left the school grounds.

"Heh. you two are twins, and she's one of the Academy's top students. Are you sure you two are related?" Seichi asked teasingly. Mizuko glared at him and punched his upper arm; he didn't even flinch. "And on top of that, you're way too weak. How do you expect to fight demons, when you can't even manage a decent right straight?" he asked.

Mizuko glowered at him and the silver in her ocean blue eyes became more obvious. Seichi sighed again and roughly grabbed her arm, pulling her towards the library. They walked past several rows of bookshelves until they came to a relatively private section.

"Alright, Mizuko. What's the real reason you joined the Academy? It's obviously not to carry on a tradition." he said coldly. Mizuko's confidence caved as his sharp violet eyes bored into hers. It always seemed like she was drowning in them. Then she saw it, a flicker of a long ago memory. A pair of warm, honey gold eyes staring at her through the darkness.

"That boy..." she whispered. It wasn't a conscious action, but Seichi heard her anyway. His expression remained the same but she saw the anger and disgust welling in his eyes.

"Are you insane?! That boy was an outcast; a DEMON. It's forbidden for you to even consider..."

"He saved me from a scary demon that day...and I never thanked him..." Mizuko said quietly.

"That doesn't matter. He was a kid back then, and now he's just as dangerous as any other demon, and needs to be treated as such." he replied. Mizuko frowned but decided it was best not to respond. Seichi's expression softened. "Look. Exam's next week. If meeting that demon is your only motivation for graduating, then I really think it'd be best for you to drop out. This is a really dangerous business, you know that, don't you?"

"Yeah. I know it's not easy. But I've made it this far..."

"Heh. YOu really are a stubborn fool." Seichi said with a smirk. Mizuko felt her face grow warm with indignation.

"Yeah, well...thanks for the stupid lecture." she grumbled at him, as if it were somehow a come-back, and then stormed out of the library, then out of the Academy. Instantly she was surrounded on all sides by the immense pearl white buildings of the city. Sleek cylinder shaped cars drove past her from nearly every side. Everyone in Tokyo seemed to own the latest model these days. Mizuko was one of a small handful that still walked; even Seichi owned one.

Not that that's so impressive. In two days I'll be 18 and legally able to drive one she thought smugly. She paused as a giant shadow consumed the area around her, completely blocking out the sun. She looked up at the building in front of her. It was larger than all the others around it, the letters 'SNT' were painted in a brilliant gold near the roof.

This was the SNT Headquarters, the largest company in the world. It provided power all the power in Tokyo, acted as the head governing body and military, and provided the majority of paying jobs. Once the Final Exam was over, she would be working there as well.

If I pass the Exam, that is...she thought.

She continued on towards her house. "I'm home!" she called out. No one answered. It didn't surprise her. Tsukiko was probably out with her boyfriend again and her parents wouldn't be back from their latest assignment for at least another month. They were the best Slayers the company had ever seen, so they were always gone on extensive missions, and she'd become comfortable with the resulting quiet solitude.

Cause a 14 year old thinks she's in a serious relationship, and the self-proclaimed government/company thinks it can send people into constant danger whenever it wants... she thought sourly.

She ignored the sudden complaints of her stomach and went up to her room. The best part about their home was that it was on the edge of civilization, so she could see the forest over the electric wire fence. The easy school and work commute was just a bonus. Mizuko glanced out the window, ignoring the cool breeze playing with her short hair. Until it fell in front of her eyes.

I wonder what he's doing right now... she thought to herself, barely aware of the warmth rushing to her cheeks. In her mind he was always on some gallant mission to restore peace between their worlds, until she reminded herself that he could have been captured or killed by now.

She sighed and walked over to the full body mirror hanging on the back of her door. A skinny, pale complected girl stared back at her. Brown red hair curled around her face and barely fell to her shoulders. The only thing she liked about appearance was her eyes. They were the reason she had been named 'Mizuko'. Swirling blue and silver orbs that were as relentless and changing like the crashing waves. It was the first thing anyone noticed about her. Then they saw the rest, a short, 'flat chested' girl that was ignored by pretty much every other member of society. Except her sister and Seichi, but neither were worth bragging about. She left the mirror and crossed off another date on her calendar.

One more week...and then she'd have her chance. She'd meet that boy again, and truly thank him.

I wonder what his name is... she thought. She'd considered this many times in the past, but nothing seemed right to her. They probably have their own exotic names... she smiled a little, of course I wouldn't be able to think of any. Their world is so different from ours. I wonder what theirs is like...do they live in towns together, or do they just wander around...alone?

"Mizu-chan, are you here?" she heard Tsukiko call out.

"I'm upstairs!" she shouted back. The door creaked open and her little sister came into the room.

"Have you been staring at the trees again?" she asked.

"I think the answer's obvious."

"Mizu-chan, why are you so entranced by that place? It's a scary, barbaric place, and those animals were banished for a reason!"

"But why? Do you know why they were thrown out of our world?" Mizuko challenged. Tsukiko frowned and fell silent. "See? You can't, and do you know why? Because NO ONE knows why! Every person I've asked has had that same stupid blank expression!!"

"That's because we're not supposed to question how things have always been! What HE says is..."

"I know, what the Taishou says is law." Mizuko interrrupted. She'd been taught that from birth. That there were certain things about their world that simply were not questioned. Like the existance of demons and why they were feared. Of all people, Mizuko had the best, or should've had the best, understanding of how dangerous they really were. She was of a select few that had ever encountered one. Instead, she questioned the natural order of their world-something no one had ever bothered to do- and even planned to find one.

"Come on, I'll help start dinner." Tsukiko said, realizing that this conversation was going nowhere.

Mizuko smiled eagerly and the two sisters headed off to the kitchen.

"Master Seichi?"

He didn't respond. Seichi simply stared out the massive picture window at the immense courtyard.

"Master Seichi." the maid said again. "Your father wishes to speak with you."

Seichi sighed and followed the maid into the hallway. Another maid stood near the opposite wall; she was carrying a small tray with a phone on top. Seichi grumbled as he picked up the receiver. Their "conversations" were always like this.

"What is it now, dad?" Seichi grumbled. He hated his father's 'check-ins'.

"I heard that you're still talking to that girl..."

"Mizuko's an old friend, dad. There's no law saying that I can't be around her." He interrupted. This ALWAYS came up, and made him glad that his father was never home these days.

"Don't put that girl before your duty, Seichi. You're in that school for a reason." his father warned sternly. Seichi rolled his eyes.

"Ya. Whatever." he retorted. The line went dead and Seichi handed the phone back to the maid before walking back towards his room.

"Um...will you be needing anything else, sir?" one of the maids asked. Seichi waved hand at them.

"Nah. Feel free ta' shove off for the night." he answered as he vanished down the dark hallway.