The Familiar Taste of Poison

"Lady Karin, I really must beg you to leave your room."
"Come in here and get me, I dare you."
"Even if I wanted to, my lady, you've barricaded yourself inside"
Karin rolled over in her bed and stared at the door. It was frozen shut and locked with giant cuts of wood to prevent it from sliding open just in case someone managed to break through the ice. She was proud of herself for doing that; it had come to her on a whim, and it seemed to be working in her favor. Dreading that day for weeks, Karin had tried anything she could think of to avoid letting it happen the way others had planned for her. She didn't like being told what to do, but that day was truly the worst. The exact thing she didn't want was happening. Karin was getting a body guard.
"Listen, If you were really begging me, you'd be in here with me." Karin hissed and sat up in her bed. She knew she was going to end up going, she just wanted to make her assistant's life as difficult as possible because she hated her. The girl was spineless and jittery as if someone was always whispering in her ear and she was trying to ignore it. Her name was Funatsu and she was a tall woman, had green hair, a small bust, a slim waist, and brown eyes. Her demonic features were very weak and she looked very similar to a human. Her nose was slightly too big, her lips were very thin, and she had acne scars on her forehead. Karin was convinced that she was a half-breed or something of that sort because she wasn't very demonic at all.
"Lady Karin, please come out. I-I'm going to g-get in trouble if you're late! Please don't do this to me!" Funatsu pleaded and attempted to slide the frozen door open.
"That's really funny that you say that, Funatsu. I remember saying the same thing when the council told me I was getting a body guard." Karin said maliciously as she pulled the blankets off of her and shifted out of her bed. She dragged her feet over to her full body mirror and let her yukata fall to the floor. The fabric swished as it came off her body and floated down.
A checkerboard kimono along with a red obi with black lillie patterns sat folded neatly on Karin's vanity.
She was annoyed by that because it meant someone had been her room. Karin had one rule that was completely set in stone; do not go in Karin's room under any circumstances. She would have to find this person and make them pay for it later; she was too busy at that time to deal with it.
Putting the first layer of kimono upon her body, Karin studied herself in the mirror in front of her. She was short, had pale olive skin, long white hair, dark blue eyes with splashes of green around her pupil, pink plump lips, and a small round nose. She liked her face, but not herself. She saw a lot of destruction in herself, a monster really. She was only good at taking lives, not coexisting with them. Everyone was only ever afraid of her or used her for something.
Karin didn't want a body guard. She just wanted to be left alone so she could focus on ridding the world of bad demons and maybe someday helping people see the good ones. It would take a lot of effort, but that's what she wanted most of all.
Karin put on the final layer of kimono, the one with the checkerboard pattern, and tied her red obi in the front and slid it around her waist so the bow would be in the back She straightened out her sleeves, pulled her hair into a tight high bun, put a small amount of pink lipstick on, slid on her socks and sandals, and gave herself one last look over. Karin looked so official as if she were a real powerhead.
She loved her house, and all the things that came with it. When she told the council of demons that she had studied Japanese culture from the humans around her, they were quick to design a giant estate using Japanese architecture. Her house looked like a castle in Japan called Matsumoto castle. It had a black exterior along with dark wood for the flooring, sliding doors, and walls. It was simple perfection to the lady of the house and that's what the council wanted more than anything.
"Lady Karin, I know you don't want to do this, but you are very important to the high council of yokai. They want to ensure no one tries to kill you as much as possible. This person is said to be very skilled in combat and the protection of others. Forgive me if I'm out of line, but do you value your life at all? You are very very dire to the demon world's survival. We cannot afford for you to die. Please come out. I beg you, my lady." Funatsu said frantically on the other side of the door.
Karin sighed angrily and unfroze the door and removed the wood so it would slide open. She glared up at Funatsu and growled under her breath and walked past her so they could be on their way.
"I'm going, please just don't talk to me anymore. I'm 15 years old and you're giving me wrinkles around my eyes. A demon is supposed to stay beautiful for hundreds of years and you are ruining that for me."
Funatsu bowed and began following Karin while asking her to forgive her over and over. Karin just growled and ran ahead of her assistant, jumping from building to building because she knew Funatsu would never keep up. She hated being around her because she was constantly being nagged about something. All Karin wanted to do when she wasn't out killing demons was read about humans. They were very confusing and awful creatures. They were scared of almost everything but showed no fear in being cruel to each other and to people of other species such as demons. Karin had to put her thoughts about humans on pause, because she was finally at the building where the six strongest known demons in the World of Two Souls lived.
The building itsself was very intimidating. It's exterior was a dark red, resembling the color of blood and fear and the windows were tinted black. Karin thought it was beautiful and loved studying it. Before she went inside, she took a deep breath and told herself that she was going to behave and be nice to her body guard and maybe make her first friend. However, as soon as she stepped inside, she lost all calming thoughts and found herself very upset.
Sitting upon six thrones made of black metals were the Council of Yokai. They were all very stunning demons. Their features and bodies were all perfect in a way. Muscular, curvey, pretty eyes, perfect jaw lines, straight pointed white teeth, and long god-like hair. Karin very much wanted to stare at all of them, but that was a sign of dominance so she looked at the floor the entire time as she walked to the center of the dark room.
"Good day, Lady Karin." The demon in the middle greeted with a deep warm voice. He was their leader, Kira. His skin was a dark grey and his hair was as black as ebony along with piercing yellow eyes that dug straight into Karin's soul. He rose from his chair and bowed deeply in respect to her then sat down again, watching the other five follow his lead. "I must say, I am a bit surprised that you made it on time. I figured you would act like a child like you usually do." Kira's voice boomed and echoed in Karin's head. She knew he was doing it to see if she would challenge his authority. Karin knew she would never do that.
"I knew today was very important, Lord Kira. I must put my feelings aside and do what is best for the council." Karin said softly, trying not to sound restrained. She didn't want to put her feelings aside. She wanted to tell everyone how she really felt, but then she would lose everything. She owed the council so much, so her feelings would forever remain silent.
"Well," Kira said and flashed Karin a smile revealing a row of sharp teeth. "I'm glad you've grown up a bit." He laughed and the other five started laughing too. Karin had to try not to get angry as hard as she could and she smiled sweetly before returning her gaze to the floor.
"Anything for you, my lord." Karin mumbled and shifted around uncomfortably.
Kira eased his laughter, but remained smiling as he waved his hand lazily toward himself. "Now that we've whipped our dog, lets show our lady her new best friend. Chiharu, come out here."
A young man who appeared to be sixteen walked out from behind Kira's throne. He was tall and his wavy hair looked as if it were made from real gold. He seemed to be nervous because whenever he and Karin locked gazes for the first time, he instantly looked away and rubbed his right arm subconsciously.
"My name is Chiharu Watanabe. I'll protect you with my life, Lady Karin."
The Council of Demons started laughing at Chiharu's cliche introduction and Kira waved for both Karin and Chiharu to leave finally. Karin bowed deeply and started leaving before her new problem could catch up to her, but Chiharu ran after her and eventually was in front of her outside of the building.
"Lady Karin! It's nice to finally meet you. You won't have to worry about getting attacked anymore!" Chiharu said with a tender tone and smiled as he bowed on the ground.
Karin was very annoyed. This guy was arrogant and he was trying way too hard to impress her. She hated him already. Smiling slightly and staring down at him, Karin laughed. "Chiharu, was it?"
Chiharu nodded quickly in excitement to make his new boss happy.
"Well Chiharu, I'm just gonna let you in on a little secret about how things work at my house." Karin hissed and paused. She really enjoyed watching the smile fade from Chiharu's innocent little face. "I don't want to be around you. I don't want to smell you, hear you, see you, live in the same house as you, or know that you exist in the first place."
Chiharu quickly sat up with a worried expression. "My lady did I--"
Karin put her hand up silence him. "Hush. I'll make you a deal; you don't bother me ever in your life and I'll tell the council you're doing a great job, deal?" Before Chiharu could protest, Karin started jumping from building to building to get away from him.
Chiharu just sat there going over what had just happened in his head. He had said all the right things, right? How did he make her mad after the first five minutes? "I'll..." He said to himself. "I'll prove to her that I'm not a bad guy! This must be a test!" He jumped to his feet and took off after her, grinning in excitement. He was going to be the best body guard Karin Komatsu had ever seen.