Ruri's stomach let out another loud grumble. She was sitting on a stool and leaning against the counter, her feet dangling above the floor. With her head in her arms, all that could be seen was her bright red hair and the yellow ribbons that tied it into twin-tails. Well, that and the bright pink dress she wore. In the small, brown diner, Ruri stood out like a peacock among penguins.

An elderly woman with white hair and a kind smile set a plate of food in front of Ruri. She perked up immediately, thanking the woman for the meal before digging in with gusto. The woman smiled at the girl's energy, then went back into the kitchen to continue cooking.

Ruri was finished in a matter of minutes; she'd barely taken enough time to chew. Washing it down with the glass of water, Ruri grabbed all her dishes and jumped down from the stool. She'd go in back and help the nice lady do the dishes, Ruri had decided. Before she made it around the counter, though, a loud crash came from the back room.

"Are you alright?" she called through the doorway. There was no reply forthcoming. No reply from the front, that is. Behind her, coming through the front door from somewhere else in the town, shrieks and screams began to pierce the air. Ruri's eyes widened and she dashed into the kitchen.

The woman was dead already. Above her stood a black beast, almost human in shape. It's arms were thinner, spindly, as though they could be snapped like a branch, and at the end of each was a clawed hand. The legs were shorter than a person's, so the creature could run on all four limbs, and ended in the same sharp claws as the hands. The coal-black skin was stretched taut over its body, showcasing the lack of muscle and jutting bones underneath. But the most horrifying part of the creature was its face--white, pupil-less eyes, two holes instead of a nose, and a mouth filled with three layers of razor-sharp teeth. And coating those teeth was a red liquid, as well as a few flecks of white flesh.

Ruri screamed. Not a cry of terror; she screamed in outrage. She threw the dishes at the creature before it could take another bite, then raised her now-empty hands in front of her. "Yala naur!" she commanded. A ball of flame appeared before her palms and shot forward, striking the creature in its face. It shrieked in pain, turning away from its prey to face the threat. It did not retreat, fleeing the girl that gave it pain. It screamed its defiance and leaped at her.

Ruri screamed her defiance right back, bringing another ball of fire into her hands. This one she did not launch; this one she kept, growing it larger until the beast was dropping through the air. She raised it to meet the creature, thrusting it at the head full of teeth. The beast's body crashed down on her, but after a moment of panicking Ruri realized that the thing lay still. The head was a pieice of charcoal.

Ruri pulled herself out from under the thing, examining her hands as soon as she'd made it to her feet. They'd turned bright red and were stinging from the intense heat. Ruri grimaced; she'd let it overpower her again. But the sight of the woman's body on the floor reminded her that she didn't have time to reprimand herself right now. The small girl ran to the older woman's side, desperately hoping against all reason that she might be alive.

She was not. Looking at the chunk missing from her neck, Ruri decided it was better that way. That didn't excuse whoever had done this, though; somebody had brought an abomination into the city. Maybe not just one, based on the screams outside. These things were not natural; they were the product of evil magic, magic that was never to be touched. They were Ghouls.

Tears filling her eyes, Ruri straightened herself and looked back to the front of the diner. One very kind woman was dead already. She said a small prayer over the body, then ran off. More people were in danger out there.