Edge of War

“Yori?!” they all shouted, minus the demon, he said nothing naturally. Though it was his sister that leapt up to meet him as his hands stopped on the barrier that kept them imprisoned. She slammed a hand into the barrier as it sparked yellow light resisting her. “What are you doing here? How? Why?”

So many questions barrage Yori along with the emotions of finding his sister that he couldn’t answer her. He just stared almost in tears, happy.

However, Saki broke the mood with a sharp question. “Why are you working for the Association?”

“What the hell? Yori’s an actual Demon Hunter?” Seiji asked in surprise.

“He’s wearing their uniform.”

“Shit… Maybe he’s undercover.”

“I’d like to hear an answer from him, Seiji.”

Snapped out of his emotions by her glare, Yori looked at all of his friends now rather than just seeing his sister. He stepped back looking to compose him. “Yes, I’m a member of this organization.”

“What?! You know they’re a bunch of bastards that locked us up!”

“I know that they’re talking about war because of what you’ve been doing in the West. And a lot of people are going to die as a result.”

Seiji slammed his hands into the barrier next to Yumi staring at Yori. “The hell?! Are you siding with them?! I thought we were friends!”

Yori crossed his arms looking back towards the stairs. “No, I honestly don’t care that much about what’s happening here since it’s not even real anyway. I’m more interested in finding that annoying woman and stopping her from controlling my sister.” He stepped around in the hall going over to a wall around the corner. “That is now that I’ve found you, Yumi. I’ve been looking everywhere for you.”

The barrier suddenly disappeared from around the cell letting them free. Yori stepped back out holding a green jewel that he pulled from the array that controlled the energy flow. He crushed it in his hand and dusted off the powder ready to leave. “They were always only a temporary position until I could reach you.”

Chapter 427 – Edge of War

Walking over to the end of the hall in the dungeon, Yori put a hand on the wall. “I’d suggest we leave in a more discrete method than the front door. There’s too many risks.” He looked back at Yuki with expectations.

Yuki looked over at Yori’s sister who nodded to him. A small sigh came from him before a ring expanded out from his feet. He stepped forward as the wall transformed into a tunnel with fully furnished lighting. The first step was his as their guide. “What are my directions?” he asked, not knowing anything about the Capital or even where in the city they were located.

Following up behind him, Yori gave him instructions. Their exit came out near the edge of the city, but still within the walls. Everyone stepped back out in the light welcoming it. With the last one out, he shutdown his Field and wiped his forehead of sweat. “Now where?”

“I’d suggest we return back to my sponsor. It’ll be the easiest way to gain information about what’s happening without getting too much attention.”

Yori’s sister stared at the wall. It reminded her a little of Atlantis. While not nearly as impressive as that wall, it still was daunting. It was clearly the reason that the Capital still stood despite the age of demons that they lived in. ‘Beyond that wall is Masa somewhere. Behind the demon barrier and killing demons… I need to get back…’

“Yumi?” called Yuki, trying to get her attention back to them.

She snapped back, breaking her concentration. Besides Yori, they all looked at her for a decision. Yori seemed a little puzzled by any sort of reluctance to just act. He didn’t know anything about what happened. Their escape she kept quiet and to herself. She stepped out in front of the group motioning to Saki. “We can’t stay on the streets. And you probably want to ditch the uniform, Yori. It’ll probably cause more problems.”

“Oh, y-yes, you’re probably right about that.” He stared at her a little confused while the others started to move around him following her. Yori didn’t know what he was looking at. It shouldn’t have seemed strange, but it wasn’t something he had seen before. ‘Why is Yumi in charge and not Yuki? Everyone’s deferring to her rather than waiting on him or just acting on their own. What’s going on?’

While Yori didn’t get much of an answer, she kept things moving. “Where is this sponsor of yours located?”

“He’s in the noble district. I’ll be able to get us in.” For Nerine and Seiji it wasn’t the first time going into the noble district making it an easier trip. But the area of the Capital with the most influential people in the country was walled off and guarded. Specially trained and hired guards watched over the area.

Saki directed Yori’s sister to a different path than Seiji and Nerine remembered. They still got through the gate with ease. Only a couple of stares for the larger scale of their group. But Seiji spoke up once they passed out of sight. “Isn’t there a faster way through that other gate?”

“Not if we don’t want to be spotted by the Association. This is the place where those that run the government or affect it live. Meaning, the Association is also here. Some of the guards are actually Demon Hunters. And we need all the time we can get before they come knocking.”

Yori’s sister watched as Saki made the introductions for them at the gates to the mansion. She had to spend a few words to get the servants to accept them. The size of the group seemed to be giving them trouble. They likely were trying to protect their master from any sort of trouble that Saki might be trying to bring into the grounds. But they gave in and let them enter.

They almost made it to the hall with her room without interruption. But a middle-aged man appeared from a side room. “Miss Furukawa, I see you’ve returned. Though it would appear that you had quite the adventure, for one such as yourself.”

“Lord Konjo, I didn’t mean to disturb you,” Saki replied walking back to the main chamber.

Keeping her distance with the rest, Yori’s sister watched Saki curious if there would be any problem with them. Saki reassured that everything would be fine coming back, though she had her doubts. Given how things were in the world, as she began to learn, it seemed hard not to expect him not to want anything to do with them. She was prepped for it. In the end, they didn’t need the shelter.

“Not at all, I was not meeting with anyone. Did you just return?”

“That’s right. Though it would seem that things are more complicated in my return.”

“I’ve heard the talk.”

“Then I don’t need to go into details. We won’t be staying long, I can’t imagine they’ll give up.”

“I should be able to protect you for a bit. I’ve only heard stories about how they deal with criminals. You probably could use some rest.”

“They’re probably exaggerated. But I won’t over stay.”

“I’ve been giving you shelter this entire time. It’s no more of a risk for me than it was before. Stay until you’re ready, no need to rush.”

“Alright, I’ll keep that in mind. One thing that I’d like to ask of you is information about the situation. We’ve been isolated for a while now.”

“Of course, send for me once you’re ready and we can talk. I’ll let you get back to your friends.”

“Thank you.”

Saki returned to the group, guiding them to her room. “So you gonna explain for the non-super human of us?” Yuki asked.

“He’ll be able to answer our questions about the situation.” Saki opened the door to the room that she made her temporary home. With the whole group gathered in it, what used to be a fairly spacious room, larger than what she was used to having, became very tight. She closed the door.

Yori’s sister looked about the room, not sure what she was expecting entirely. It looked well furnished and decorated, though with nothing that she imagined Saki having selected or even owned. She thought it didn’t look in character for her. But none of that really mattered in the end, it was just a stop for them.

She went over to the window wishing that there was a better view. Being a flat mansion, it stretched out with a large estate, but had nothing for a second floor. Everything was locked behind the wall that partitioned the grounds from the rest of the district. Leaning against the wall, she looked back into the room.

It wasn’t long before the door opened shortly after Saki closed it. A female servant glided into the room providing a stack of clothing for their group. While varied in pattern, they all had a similar stylistic choice of what Saki had been wearing before their capture. Saki took the clothes and dismissed the servant.

“Best to clean up, then we can start figuring things out,” Saki opened, handing over the top of the stack to his sister. She went around handing out the rest.

Yori’s sister unfolded the kimono, finding it to be too traditional and restrictive. But Saki insisted that she put it on. Moving the men out into a different room, Saki didn’t hesitate to get out of their prison clothes, a simple tunic. Nerine just stared at the wall trying not to look around, apparently embarrassed even though they were all women. Yumi still had her doubts about the clothes, but it was better than looking like a prisoner.

It hadn’t been the first time she wore a kimono, though she didn’t have the practice of putting it on without help. She had to get aid from Saki to put on the layers and tie the obi. But she noticed that the kimono didn’t actually have a full length like she expected. It seemed to be like the one that Saki had where it was shorter up to her knees and loose enough to allow movement.

After finishing up for Yumi, Saki went over and started forcing Nerine into it as well. She had even more reluctance to do it than Yumi thought. It was like she was being attacked. Though as she thought about it, Nerine probably had never even worn anything close to traditional Japanese clothes before. She might not have even known the name.

Yuki and the others re-entered the room in a split of pants and shorts with a kimono. Yuki wore pants along with Manekamaru while Seiji and Yori went for the shorts. They all gathered around the bed as the room lacked any sort of place to really sit. Seiji sat on the ground while Yori and the demon leaned against the wall. Yuki sat on the end of the bed as Yori’s sister took the middle. Saki stood with Nerine taking to the shadows.

“Before Saki’s sponsor comes, has anything big happened Yori?” she asked, she sort of hoped that there might be some rumors about Masa given everything that she had done by now. It should have started making its way across Japan.

“The fake Demon Hunter rumors have been what they’ve mostly been talking about. Though there is also the worry about the movements of the demons. But I was never able to get anything useful out of them being so lowly ranked.”

“Given what Masa’s been doing on her own, things have to be getting worse.”

A knock came to the door. “Miss Furukawa, I heard you were all finished cleaning up.”

“He’s here.” Saki swiftly moved to the door, letting in Lord Konjo. “Thank you for coming, Lord Konjo.”

“I’ll answer what I can, though I’m afraid I’m short on time.”

“A meeting?”

“Yes, an emergency meeting has been called for an hour from now.” “About what?”

“Early reports say that the demon barrier in the West is down. Demons across the country seem to be waking up.”