Chapter 223 - Vol. 4 - 22

{Ash} 

She had been so surprised by what Keiko told her, she could barely focus on the conversation that came after that. 

"So... What did you need, again?" Ash asked. 

"A dragon's eye, a sand reaver's claw, and a flower from the Mist Realm. You, uh, don't have to do any of this immediately for my sake," Keiko told her, "just... I would appreciate it if you did." 

"Okay," Ash nodded. "I've got it." 

"... Well, okay then," Keiko took a deep breath and it looked like she couldn't stop smiling from how relieved she was. "What are you going to do now?" She asked. 

Trying to get her thoughts in order, Ash looked away. 

"Well... I guess I can train a little more, but then I have to go see what the sorcerer can teach me. After that, maybe I'll go out hunting." 

"... Okay," Keiko replied, nodding. Then, suddenly, she hugged Ash again, only this time, it was a much softer, long embrace. One Ash returned easily. 

When it was over, the two of them walked back over to where Sinneah and Yumi were. And, they discovered that everyone else had woken up and had also walked out to the back of the Manor. 

Satsuhiro, tapping his cane against the ground, yawned as he looked out at them, with Metsumi by his side. Luvine and Opah went around them, and when the latter saw Sinneah, she ran up to the draconic woman with an awed expression. 

"..." Opah stared up at Sinneah with wondrous eyes as Sinneah looked back at her. 

"Ash?" Satsuhiro said, approaching them. "Who is this?" 

"Everyone," Ash said, pushing the talk with Keiko out of her mind for a second, "this is Sinneah. Sinneah, that's Luvine, Opah, Metsumi, and Satsuhiro." 

"Do I perform the same greeting you taught me earlier?" Sinneah asked her. 

"Mhm." 

"I see," Sinneah said, nodding and turning toward them. "Hello." 

Ash then proceeded to explain the circumstances that had led to the two of them traveling together, from the moment Ash saw Gurron flying toward the mountain, to when she arrived and the two of them fought, to when she realized Sinneah was more human than she thought she was. 

Everyone listened intently while Ash told the story. Everyone except for Opah, who was too busy staring at Sinneah's tail. 

"... Can I touch it?" She asked, looking up at Sinneah. 

"... My tail?" Sinneah asked and Opah nodded. "Yes. I do not see why not." 

And so, Opah ended up with her little arms wrapped around it throughout the majority of this talk, with Luvine next to her, clearly wanting to do the same thing but hesitating. 

"Ash," Satsuhiro said. "What exactly do you intend to do?" 

"Just have Sinneah teach me some stuff," Ash replied. "So, yeah, is it cool if she stays with us for a bit?" 

"... I don't mind," Satsuhiro shook his head. 

Ash turned toward the oldest Zayama and said:

"And you, Yumi? It's your room she'd have to share." 

"... No, I do not mind either," Yumi shook her head. "I would like to learn a little from her as well." 

"Then, in that case, it all sounds pretty straightforward," Metsumi said as she walked up to Sinneah and lightly slapped her shoulder. "Welcome to the team!" 

Team?  Ash asked herself. 

As Sinneah raised a brow at what Metsumi said, Ash looked around. Seeing Opah strangling the dragon woman's tail while Luvine merely gave it a couple of pats here and there, seeing Yumi and Keiko standing next to each other, a lot left unsaid between them, and seeing Metsumi grinning at Sinneah as she welcomed her aboard, Ash sighed. 

... I guess this group is starting to get pretty big. She thought. 

Even then, there was one person who couldn't be there with them. One person who Ash knew would have loved to meet Sinneah, or learn her Fire techniques, or explore Amber with them. Someone who was currently asleep just a few rooms away, on a cold bed in a dark room. 

Right.  Ash took a deep breath.  Stop wasting time. Everything you're doing right now, you're doing for Kaori. You have to make the most of it. 

"Sinneah," Ash said, "can we keep going?" 

At that, Sinneah nodded. 

"Certainly." 

They then picked up where they'd left off, only with a little audience sitting on the benches nearby, as everyone sat down to watch. 

From the moment Ash had used that first ability, named [Divine Spear], she knew what she was learning would help her become much stronger than she currently was. She'd realized when she used the ability that, like Blessings and Curses, this magic was somehow tied to her connection to the deities. Only, she didn't quite know how intrinsically it was intertwined with that factor. She could, however, tell that her connection to Magia, as annoying as it made things for her sometimes, worked to her benefit here. 

With that being the case, she wondered what the rest of this strange category of magic had in store for her. 

"So, I'm at Proficiency 2 now," Ash said. "What do we do?" 

"In order to improve, you're going to have to learn the next set of techniques, and the next abilities will come naturally."

"What? So, you can't just give me the spells or whatever and leave it at that?" 

"No." 

"... Fine," Ash shrugged. "Show me." 

What followed was a series of motions and movements that almost made Ash feel like she was dancing, which was beyond embarrassing to do with everyone watching her so closely from the sides. Still, she did her best, as, of course, she wanted to squeeze as much value as she could from all of this. 

However, before long, the sun was centered above them, and Ash had to bring a stop to this session, for today.

"Wait, wait," Ash said. 

"Hm? What is it?" Sinneah asked. 

"I have some other stuff I needed to learn," Ash told her, without getting too specific, just to save time, "we can keep going later." 

"You're going to go see the sorcerer?" Satsuhiro asked. 

"Yeah," Ash nodded.  Honestly, I've been looking forward to having a real Dark and Light teacher. Hopefully, this won't disappoint. 

She turned away then, however, before she could leave the area, she remembered something. 

"Oh, right," Ash went back to them, "Satsu." 

"Yes?" 

"Is there a blacksmith or something in town?" 

"Mhm. What do you need?" 

"Not me," Ash responded. "Yumi. Her naginata broke. She needs a new shaft for it." 

Satsuhiro nodded, but Metsumi spoke up before he could continue. 

"Actually, Sinneah," she looked over at her, "how about you come with us?" She asked, with a kind smile. 

"Hm? Why?" 

"Because we could take the time to get to know you a little better," Metsumi shrugged. "We'll show you around a bit too. You came from afar, right? So, you haven't seen much of the city?" 

At that, Sinneah nodded. 

"Then, come with us. It'll be fun! Yumi, you can come too, so, in case any other weapons break, you can just go to the blacksmith whenever you like." 

"... I see," Yumi said, straightening up. 

Sinneah looked over at Ash and asked:

"Would you recommend I go with them?" 

"Yeah, I don't see why not," Ash shrugged. 

"Then, in that case, sure." 

"Great," Metsumi said, and knowing what they'd be doing soon, she turned away and headed back into the Manor. 

Now, it was time to learn high-level magic. Hopefully, anyway.  I fucking swear, if this is a waste of my time I am going to be so mad. 

She walked past multiple servants who all stepped aside respectfully went they saw her. Such a thing was still new to Ash, but, considering how some people treated her back at Onyx, she was slowly getting used to it. And, that was scary in and of itself. 

She went back to where she remembered the library was and saw the door open. She walked in, looking around and trying to find Sorcerer Alys, who was to be her instructor. It didn't take too long to do that, as the man was sitting at a table, just in front of the door. 

He had his arms crossed and his head resting on them, face-down. Ash walked over to him, narrowing his eyes at the man. 

"Hey." 

"Yes?" He asked, without moving, his voice slightly muffled. 

"... We're supposed to start the whole magic training stuff today, remember?" Ash asked. 

"... Yes," he replied and sat up. His eyes, strangely enough, reminded him of someone Ash hadn't thought about in a while. Kasumi. 

Just like the Savior, his eyes too told Ash that he would rather do anything else at all than teach her right now. Still, he stood up and looked back at her. 

"What do you want to learn about?" 

"Dark and Light magic. Advanced stuff," Ash specified, "I've been relying on low-level magic for way too long." 

"... Alright, sit down and let me go get a few books.. We'll start in just a moment."