As Cade watched in awe of Kanae's sword technique, the world around him seemed to blur. Her movements were so fluid, so precise, that it was as if she were dancing through shadows; a light scent of flowers permeated the air. But in that fleeting moment of admiration, Cade noticed something—the slightest break in her focus after she slayed the nine demons. And unfortunately, the last of the demons noticed it too.
The creature lunged toward her exposed back, fangs bared and claws outstretched. A red aura covered his claws.
Cade's eyes widened.
He moved without thinking.
In a blink, he drew his blade, the motion so swift it warped the air around him with a low hum, like space itself recoiling from the sheer force of his intent. He slashed in a wide arc, the ground beneath his feet splitting open with a thunderous crack as a shockwave trailed behind his sword. The demon never stood a chance—its body was cleaved cleanly in two.
It screamed.
Its mangled form writhed on the ground, already trying to regenerate—but Cade's strike carried with it a sharp sword intent. Each time the demon's flesh tried to knit itself back together, the sword intent would tear it apart again.
Kanae turned, hearing the wail behind her.
As she moved, her long black hair flowed in the wind like silk caught in a breeze, and her violet eyes—calm and endlessly deep—locked with Cade's. He froze as his perception of time slowed. Her presence was like the moon in a quiet night sky—serene, beautiful, untouchable. Cade had never seen anyone like her.
"助けてくれてありがとう," she said softly—Tasuketekurete arigatō—her voice smooth as falling snow, layered with gratitude and calm.
And in that perfect, cinematic moment… Cade blinked.
'…I don't speak Japanese,' he realized.
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As the last remnants of the demon smoldered and faded into black ash, Cade stood tall, the tip of his sword still crackling faintly with residual sword energy. He wasn't winded—not even close. yet his heart was beating rapidly. Something else had thrown him off balance.
Kanae turned toward him, brushing a lock of hair behind her ear with elegant ease. Her violet eyes caught the fading light, glinting like gemstones—cool, composed, and just a little too knowing.
She smiled faintly, the barest curve of her lips betraying amusement.
"So… you don't speak Japanese," she said, her voice like velvet and mischief intertwined, this time in perfect English.
Cade blinked. "Wait—you speak English?!"
Kanae gave a nonchalant shrug. "I said thank you. And I was curious how long you'd stand there staring before saying something dumb."
Cade sheathed his sword, raising both hands in mock surrender. "Okay—fair. But in my defense, I did just save your life. You could maybe cut me some slack before going full sass ninja."
She tilted her head, expression unreadable. "Sass ninja? Sass ninja? That's what you're going with??"
"Never mind that, I panicked," he said with a grin. "Not because I was scared. Just overwhelmed by how cool your hair looked when the wind caught it like that. It was very dramatic."
Her calm smile widened just slightly. "So you were admiring the wind."
"I was admiring everything," he replied. "It was a full package moment."
She blushed a bit before rolling her eyes—slow, deliberate, amused. " You're quite forward, aren't you?"
Cade's smile widened, " Nice to meet you my name is Cade Vincent."
"Kanae Kocho."
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5 hours before Cade landed in Japan
Kanae strolled through the quiet village with a calm, measured pace, her white haori fluttering faintly behind her. The late afternoon sun filtered through the clouds, casting long shadows across the dirt road. Children played near shuttered stalls, but there was a nervous edge in the air—shopkeepers speaking in hushed voices, doors closing too quickly, eyes watching from behind curtains.
Something was wrong here. No one knew what but they all sensed it.
Kanae approached a small tea house near the village's edge. A wrinkled old man sat outside on a wooden bench, pipe in hand, his eyes distant as if they'd been staring into memory for too long.
"Excuse me," Kanae said gently. "I'm looking for information about the disappearances."
The man didn't flinch, but his grip on the pipe tightened. "You're not from here."
"I'm not," she replied. "But I'm here to help."
He was silent for a long moment. Then:"They vanish at night. Always in the forest. No bodies. No blood. Just gone."
"Anything strange in the days before?"
He exhaled slowly. "The trees stopped singing. No birds. No insects. Just silence."
Kanae's eyes narrowed slightly. "How many?"
"Twelve. In the last month. The last two… were hunters. Armed. Good fighters."
A pause.
"But they didn't come back."
Kanae thanked him with a graceful nod and turned away, her violet eyes scanning the forest beyond the village gates. The treetops swayed with the breeze, but something about them felt off—too still, as if the forest itself was holding its breath.
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Less Than 1 Hour Before Cade Landed
Deep in the woods, Kanae was looking for any trace of the demons until she saw something out of the corner of her eye. She knelt beside a broken branch. Dried blood painted the leaves nearby, and claw marks gouged the bark of the surrounding trees—long, deliberate, and too evenly spaced to be animal. She ran her fingers over one of the gouges. 'Demon work. And more than one seeing how different they are.
Her expression didn't change, but her grip on her sheathed blade tightened.
She was being watched.
"I know you're there," she said, her voice calm, almost amused.
The forest remained still.
Then came a voice—high pitched and thick with malice. "Sharp senses… little flower."
Shapes moved between the trees—nine of them, surrounding her in a slow, deliberate formation. They were twisted, humanoid things with stretched limbs and distorted features, their eyes glowing crimson in the dim light. Mid-ranked, all of them.
Then the air grew heavier.
A shadow emerged from deeper in the forest—taller than the rest. Curved horns arched from its skull, and its presence alone made the trees seem to shrink back.
The high-rank.
Kanae stood slowly, brushing a speck of dust from her sleeve, her violet eyes unblinking. The wind caught her haori just then, lifting it gently behind her like a banner, the soft flower patterns shimmering faintly in the dappled sunlight.
"So this is where you've been hiding," she said softly. "Took you long enough to say hello."
The high-rank grinned, blackened fangs glinting beneath the shadows. "You came alone. Foolish."
She smiled faintly
She drew her blade in a single, graceful motion. The soft ring of metal echoed through the trees. her light pink katana shining in the sun.
The demons snarled.
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Author's note: What do you guys think? I tried a different style in my writing with the flashbacks and all that. Also, tell me if I made a mistake with Kanae's personality because from what I gathered, she is smart, calm, kind, and a bit mischievous. I also figured that Kanae speaking English made sense, considering she is a doctor and has probably read some Western medical studies and even interacted with western doctors. please tell me if I've got something wrong.