Not Harsh After All

With everything that happened in the Capital, Yumi had sort of forgotten about him. She would have said that she hoped that he had just died in Guri’s attack or in some sort of collateral damage during the fighting, but that would imply that she had spared any sort of thoughts for him after the battle.

So she was genuinely surprised to see him. Though after a moment to process it all, she found it not surprising that he was tracking them. Possibly a bit of a surprise that he didn’t just walk up to her in his usual uncomfortably friendly manner as though they were already cordial acquaintances. It would have been more natural for him to do that, giving the time that they already had spent together. Leaving Yumi a little confused why he would be playing so coy with her.

The last (question mark, most likely not) demon in Japan turned around to face her (though most likely the last demon of any sort of threat to Japan). As always, he had that same handsome movie star slash super model perfection going on. Any of the higher level demons fit the same sort of mold as she noticed. She was never certain if there was an ironic statement to be made by the fact that the perfect human was a demon or if she was thinking too much about a fake reality.

He looked down a little at her with a look that she might have confused for happiness, if it weren’t coming from Manekamaru and having become accustomed to not really ever being able to read him. Assumptions could only go so far as that whatever it was that he showed was only so much as he wanted for the purposes of whatever point he wanted to make at the time. An oily sort of convenience that made him even more annoying, but in a way that she had found a rhythm in as painful as it sounded in her mind. Yumi could accept a little small bit of emotion given to him, maybe joy or happiness, she couldn’t really figure out what her feelings were beyond the initial bit of disappointing exasperation that she felt in seeing him again.

In the next instant, he gave her a very slight bow of his head in greeting before speaking to her. “That was quite the range of expressions you had in that second.” Of course, the first that he would say would sound so condescendingly superior like always. Yumi wondered how she managed to put up with it for so long and thought back to the brief time that she had alone with Yuki where she wasn’t thinking about him. Not fighting his verbal sparring made her day a little less straining. Seeing him again, she might have missed it thinking about it now. Not that she was really going to openly declare that to him.

An annoyed scowl washed over her face the moment his word left his mouth. “That’s the first you thing you have to say to me.” She wasn’t sure if she wanted a congratulatory or consolatory remark from him, just feeling like it would have come out sounding high and mighty from someone like him.

“It’s a compliment,” he replied simply as though that just explained everything. The demon offered nothing further in his cryptic words. It didn’t even make any sense, as though he just wanted to confuse her. Or said it demanding that she ask him back for a meaning so that he had permission to keep speaking. It felt oddly more vague than his usual pattern despite still carrying that same know-it-all attitude that never left him once since she met him.

Even after the near extinction of his race, as far as the ones in Japan went, he remained unchanged in his attitude towards her. Consistency could be counted on at least it seemed. “I’m going to regret saying anymore, but that’s just too damn obtuse to even count as anything other than a ploy to make you talk more. What the hell are you on about?”

“I’m merely noting your change. You’re not the same woman that I departed company with before your battle.”

“Right…” Yumi stared at him for a good half minute pondering the subject. She knew that if she baited into his pace that they could be stuck like that for who knows how long going in his arrogance logic that would only make her more frustrated. The temptation was there. He left so little explanation that curiosity alone was enough to want to understand what the hell he was trying to make a point about. The thought of the mental leap he would have to show her to get her to reach the same conclusion only made her sick to consider. “Come on, Yuki’s waiting on us.”

A different road to travel.

Chapter 467 – Not Harsh After All

Yumi motioned out to Yuki for the all clear as they walked up to him. “Look who I found,” she gestured back to Manekamaru, their traveling companion, as best as she could describe their relationship.

Yuki had a less surprised reaction than Yumi, who hoped to have gotten a better reaction out of it. Yet, she figured that he probably already counted on the demon being alive. If she had given him a thought, she would have reached the same conclusion as well. “A little surprised I didn’t find you sooner. I couldn’t find you in the Capital.”

“Yes, given that the remaining Demon Lords were all going to be fighting, I saw it best to leave. Strong as I am, I would not have survived such things.”

“Just caught up with us then?”

“I had a little trouble locating you since you don’t have demon blood on you.”

“Yeah, I didn’t really want to be a magnet.”

“Understandable.” The demon looked over the horizon in the direction to where they were going. “And what is your destination now?”

Yumi stepped back into the conversation to take control. “We’re going to find the swordswoman. She showed up during my battle and I’m wanting some answers from her.” She made sure to include a dismissive tone to her voice to imply that she didn’t want him following, not that she felt that was really going to change anything for her. He did what he wanted ignoring any of her wishes.

The demon nodded with what she said, agreeing in whatever way it was making sense to him. It already was clear that he made the decision that he would be traveling with them. He took all the effort to track them down after the battle, so it hardly was a surprise. Aside from the fact that he invited himself along after meeting his Lord. He was attached to her no matter how she looked at it. “She is an unknown force, someone that even we knew nothing about. I can admit some of my own curiosity as well to who she is and how she came to be.”

‘So that’s it then…’ A small sigh came out of her lips with the resignation that he would be coming along with them. It would be just like before in the end. Though his addition wouldn’t make any sort of difference in hunting down Masa. They still flew blind going into the search. ‘Though I’m surprised he makes no comment about me being out of place like Masa. I did randomly show up in the world.’

Yumi stepped out ahead of them putting out a large foot forward in deliberate fashion to break up the awkwardness that she created, seeing how neither of them seemed to be caring at all about the situation. Yuki accepted it as easily as anything else and Manekamaru's assertion ignored any sort of issues that might have been created.

Now with their party restored, as they would think of it, their march for Masa continued. Nothing further came to them that day. The villages that they visited heard nothing. Masa must have completely missed them. Though how she decided to travel remained a mystery to them. It wasn’t something that they ever figured out. She merely seemed to be a force of nature that existed and went wherever was needed. Which made her very challenging to track as they already knew from their previous efforts to try to locate her.

They rested for the night with their dinner being watched over by Manekamaru. While he sat at the fire, Yuki continued to work with her on her martial exercises. “Your breathing is off, Yumi,” he corrected, stopping her in their matched movement.

She snapped her eyes away from him trying to get her focus back. When she paid attention, she noticed it as well. “Dammit…you’re not even superhuman, how are you picking it up?”

“I did practice for a while, even after I stopped going I continued it. So you develop an instinct for it. There is a rhythm that you can feel. It’s pretty easy to see when it’s off.”

Yumi looked down at her feet trying to find anything to get her concentration back. “Makes sense…”

“You’ve only been learning formal training for a week. You’re not going to get it that quickly. It’s practice and time.”

“I know. It’s just weird. I’m so strong, yet I can’t even do something as simple as breathing right.”

“It’s not about strength, but control. I believe that was something that Saki was trying to show you. Power itself is destructive, but when you control it you can wield it honed as a sharp blade rather than a blunt hammer.”

“I know…” Her mind went back to the sight of the mountain. Her battle with Hokuren caused so much devastation to the land that it seemed almost unbelievable to her. Such power felt impossible, yet the reality of what she did couldn’t be denied. What Yuki and Saki spoke of before were right. ‘If I don’t control this power I could do even worse once we leave this reality. It’s no wonder that the UN and the world are so scared of us. I’m not alone in this sort of strength. Bad, terrible people could have this strength as well and the damage they could do to the world…only we would be able to stop an apocalyptic event from happening.’

Interrupting her thoughts, he reached out for her so that she didn’t go down a deep hole in reflection of the nature of their power. “Let’s resume. After dinner you can practice.”

“…right…” She nodded to him matching his position to start in the motions once more.

Their meal started and ended with little attention. Manekamaru continued to go about being just a normal member of their group, though mostly just being an observer to everything rather than playing any sort of role to deliver a sermon.

After the meal and their dishes were cleaned up, Yuki prepped her for her practice. He pointed to the clear chamber-like structure that he crafted for her. It had a simple door entrance as though it was just going into an apartment building even with something like a concrete or stucco finish for the wall. But that was merely a façade for what he crafted. The entrance was the only solid part of what he crafted and fit within a three by three meter size square. Everything beyond was a transparent film that reflected the moonlight like a prism as well as shattering it throughout the surface, giving it something like an oil spill in appearance.

Yuki pointed over to the open door inside the chamber. “I made the dummy look like Saki, since that’s what you’re used to right now. I’ll mix it up for you as you get comfortable with this. The floor as well as the barrier are completely indestructible, so you can focus on fighting and not worry about any sort of damage you might cause.”

“Sounds perfect. How long can you maintain something like this?”

“A few hours probably, since it’s a focused task it’s not as draining as combat. But we still need to sleep.”

“I’m not planning on going that long.”

Manekamaru stood up, having remained out of the situation. Yumi saw the way that he looked. His eyes were focused solely on her. It didn’t matter that he didn’t show anything on his face to read that she already knew what he had going through his mind. It was the one thing that she avoided bringing up since she didn’t want to confront it. Considering how he was before, she counted on him getting to it eventually and if he didn’t all the better. It wasn’t the sort of thing that she really wanted to face.

The demon stepped out in front of Yumi, standing between her and Yuki. He had a serious look suddenly that seemed a little odd on him. While she always knew him to be serious, this was something different. There wasn’t the usual casual attitude about him, even if he meant everything that he said. She wouldn’t be escaping this, that was what he was telling her. “Before your training, I believe it’s time for our rematch.”