Prologue

For him, the night wasn't that unusual. Even when taking the time to look back on all that happened in the last half an hour, he didn't find anything strange. He was just doing what he always did, doing what came natural. For the time being he will be content with that. He takes pride in being what he is.

It was extremely late after closing down the convenience shop on Tobuka St., at least a quarter past one in the morning. The streetlamps lazily cast their dull yellow flickers in to the gutters and alleys. He finished the rundown of closing up shop, then locked the front door and was on his way home. When there were no missions, he worked in this shop. It wasn't anything special of course, just something to keep food on his table. After all, it isn't easy to live on your own when you're only eighteen years old.

It was at the corner of Yabuza and Tobuka that he heard the high-pitched shrieking of a girl coming out of a nearby alley. He dropped the groceries he had bought for himself and quickly ran to the commotion. Before fully reaching a halt at the mouth of the alley, he noticed two men approaching a young girl who was huddled at the end of the dead-end alley. One of the men had a crowbar in his hand and was taunting her, while the other kept making snide remarks on how they were about to traumatize her for the rest of her life. The girl panicked, and buried her crying face in her hands. She could think of nothing else to do other than cry.

"Hey!, you bastards there!"

The young girl looked up with startled eyes. Both men straightened up at once, and slowly turned their necks towards the mouth of the alley. He stood there in his worn t-shirt and jeans, staring at them with eyes of contempt. Then he walked past both of them, and knelt down beside the young girl. He gently put his hands on her shoulders.

"It's going to be okay", he told her.

"They aren't going to do anything to you, I promise", he said.

"So don't worry, it's going to be Oka---"

"Hey!, you punk kid", said one of the two men. "Quit telling that girl she's gonna be okay, when we both know tonight's a night she's -never- gonna forget!", he continued to boast out while laughing.

The girl began to weep again, and likewise buried her head in to her trembling hands once more. The boy stood in front of her, and held his arms straight out to his sides. The men approached him cautiously, unaware of any weapons he might have on him. The girl didn't know what to think any more. Was this kid some kind of black belt? Had he called the police? What was he going to do? Was she going to be kidnapped? Raped? Or worse...? The men were an arms length away from the boy when it began.

---

One of the two men hit the boy in the back of the head with the crowbar. He hit the ground on all-fours and began to cough up blood after the second had kicked him in the chest several times. The boy immediately collapsed on his chest, for his arms were no longer able to support the weight of his upper body. The man who kicked him continued to do so, sharply in to his side, while the man with the crowbar sat on his back and began to strangle him with the crowbar. They continued the brutal beating for another good minute before they were satisfied with their work.

"Hey, go to check and make sure no one heard anything!", said one of the men. "I'm going to go clean this crowbar off. Don't want things to get messy with the girl, heh-heh-heh". The second man checked to make sure that no one had heard the savage beating of the boy. The second had finished rinsing off his crowbar with a nearby hose. After finishing their tasks, they both began advancing on the now-helpless girl. Covered in dirt, sweat, and tears, the girl pounded frantically on the chain link fence behind her, but it yielded no results.

The men were advancing on her, when suddenly the boy struggled to get on all-fours again. The men, taken aback, watched his feeble efforts to maintain consciousness. He was a bloody and broken mess by now, and was shaking horribly.

"Don't worry. These men aren't going to do anything to you", the boy said.

"What was that, brat!?", the man with the crowbar snarled.

"I'm telling this girl not to cry, because nothing bad will happen to her tonight", the boy managed to choke out.

"Aw, how nice. You two friends? Or you jus' go 'round treatin' strangers all nice, 'an take to comfortin' them 'an such, like some kinda hero?", mocked the second man.

Before the boy could respond, both men were pummeling him yet again. This time the girl couldn't even tell how long it lasted. Five minutes? Ten? An hour? All this boy was doing was delaying the inevitable. Whatever unspeakable horrors these two men had in plan for her, this boy was just making it worse by forcing her to wait. Finally, when the men had beat him to within an inch of his life, they began their final pursuit of their prey.

The second man grabbed both of her wrists, and the man with the crowbar grabbed her chin with one hand.

"Well, that was a little more effort that I would've liked to put forth, but I'm sure the -prize- will more than make of for it", said the man with the crowbar.

"Heh-heh-heh, you said it Ted, this here's one hot piece of----"

But before Ted's friend could finish the sentence, something caught hold of his ankle. The boy, whose face was now a mixture of stark whiteness and crimson, had his ankle in a death grip.

"H-h-h-he won't let go Ted!", said the second man.

"Just hit him harder!", said Ted, and he wacked the boy on the head and face repeatedly with the crowbar.

"Stop! Stop! Please, just leave me!", screamed the girl to the boy. "Please stop, they are going to kill you!"

But the boy, who would not be moved by this plea, continued to hold on and thrashed around violently.

"I promised you that nothing bad would happen to you tonight", the boy managed to sputter out through coughing up blood. "I am going to do my best to protect you".

The men continued to beat the boy, but eventually it was like hitting a bag of rotten meat. The boy simply would -not- let go of the second man's ankle.

"Aw, fuck it, Ted!", said the second man. "This is too much trouble for a little bit of fun!"

"Yer right", said Ted. "Let's leave this whore and teenage brat and get the hell outta here 'fore anyone else comes".

The two men sprinted out of the alley, the young boy fell to the ground unconscious, and the young girl continued to cry. Her mind was whirling. Who was this boy? Why had he come here? Why had he protected her? How was it that he happened to pass by this alley, at this time, on this night? What would have happened if he hadn't shown? Her life would have been changed forever. The boy glanced up at her from his position on the ground, which startled her.

"There exist out there many kinds of demons which will force you in to their darkness", the boy began. The girl didn't quite understand, but before she could inquire as to what he meant, he continued speaking. "But always remember that for every demon in the world, there exists an angel who is there to save them".

The girl, now utterly confused, didn't know what to make of this speech.

"I-I'll be right back", the girl said to the boy. "I-I-I just h-have to c-call my m-m-mom. I know she's worried sick about me. I was supposed to be home over two hours ago, b-b-but the bus n-never came".

The girl ran to the mouth of the alley, and took out her cell phone to call her mother (which she would have done earlier, but she knew she would've been in trouble for being out this late). Her mother, who was very worried, was in the car and on the way to get her in less than ten seconds. The girl told her mother on the phone that she was attacked by two men in an alley, but that a boy had saved her. She told her that she thought she was going to be kidnapped and/or raped. The girl told her mother that if it wasn't for that boy, her life would have just taken a severe turn for the worst. Just then, she remembered that she never thanked her savior. She turned around to extend her most heart-felt thank you, but---

The boy was gone.

By the time the girl turned around, he was already halfway home, limping and barely managing to hold on to his groceries. He looked back down Yabuza St., where he knew a young girl was depsarately waiting for her parents to pick her up.

"Yea", he thought to himself, "Once again, another day, another night, and nothing at all that unusual".

---

Later that night the girl would go on to write in her Diary about the traumatic event:

Dear Diary,

Tonight may have possibly been the most horrifying night of my entire life. I had to walk home because the bus never showed up to the stop. On my way home, two suspicious men were following me for a long time. My heart leapt when soon they started chasing after me and ended up cornering me in a dead-end alley, where they were taunting me with horrible gestures and words. I've shared alot of bad times with you Diary, and you know there've been times where I've felt absolutely hopeless. But Diary...tonight was the absolute worst experience I've ever had in my life.

The closer and closer these men got the more hopeless I felt. I could see them inching nearer, relishing in whatever unspeakable acts they were about to perform. I had saved myself my entire life for someone special. I was going to wait until I married this special person before giving myself to them. It was an Oath I made several months ago. But tonight...I could see it all going straight down some dark and empty gutter. I could do nothing but cry, Diary. I was paralyzed with fear, and prayed to God to save me. I held my Cross necklace in my hands, and continued to cry in to it for what seemed like hours. Just as the men approached me, a boy showed up and saved me from the men.

I don't know anything about him. I couldn't even see what he looked like through all of my tears. All I could make out was that they were -beating- him, Diary! And very bad! I -really- thought he was going to die! I couldn't have someone's life on my conscience, so I pleaded with him to stop, but he refused. He stayed with me, Diary. A boy I don't even know protected me from men that he didn't even know. He said something about demons and angels, but I don't quite remember all of it (I was in a pretty bad shock, and I still am right now). I just wish I could've thanked him for saving me, Diary.

I wish I could tell him how much his act meant to me. He made it so I can keep my Oath intact. He protected me from evil tonight, and I will never forget him for it.

---

Meanwhile, the boy was getting ready to sleep. His only hope going to bed was that everything will have stopped bleeding by the time he wakes up. He said a silent prayer for the girl he had saved merely minutes ago, and fell asleep.

(Next Chapter: The First Mission)