Chapter 232 - Vol. 4 - 31

Yumi

"Good!" Yumi said, dodging as Keiko slashed at her. It was a meager swing, one without too much effort, but that was exactly how Keiko had to move. Any further exertion would result in her throwing up. 

"Ah," Keiko said, breathing heavily. "Uh, give me a moment," she said, walking over to the nearest bench and sitting down. 

"Still feel alright?" Yumi asked as she sat next to her, putting a hand on her shoulder. 

"Yes," Keiko nodded. "I'm just tired." 

That was understandable, as they'd been at this for several hours. Not to say that they'd spent every single second of those hours fighting, but rather, Keiko would swing her sword a little, the two would take a long break once she tired herself out. Then, later, once she'd feel ready, they'd go at it again.

Metsumi, Satsuhiro, and the kids had gone somewhere else after Satsuhiro had sent out some strange letter in the form of a flaming bird out in the air. The only other person there was the exceptionally tall woman sitting to Yumi's right. 

Sinneah had remained silent throughout most of this, keeping her head low, her tail on her lap, and her eyes on the ground. It seemed to Yumi like she was deep in thought, but the Zayama had no reason to question her about it just yet. 

"I..." Keiko said, and Yumi's eyes went back to her. "I just wanted to say, thank you, for... this. I really appreciate it." 

"It is no problem, Keiko. I am more than happy to help you keep your skills honed." 

At that, Keiko paused. 

"... About, uh, everything that happened earlier," she suddenly said and Yumi's brows shot up at the mention of this, "I also wanted to say that, I think I figured out what was happening with me."

"Hm?" Yumi tilted her head. 

"Well, because of this," she gestured at her stomach, "whole thing, I've been... Sort of feeling a little bit down and, well, I let it get to me, a bit. But, now, I've been thinking about stuff for a little bit and... I think it's okay." 

"I... do not follow," Yumi stated.

"... I think it's okay," Keiko spoke slowly, almost as though she was forcing herself to continue. "If you and Ash, well, you know..." 

"Keiko, do not worry about that," Yumi waved a hand. "I... I was just feeling a certain way, a couple of days ago. It's passed. I won't do anything with her." 

"No, no," Keiko shook her head. "I mean, you say that now, but... You had sex with her already, right?" Keiko asked, and Yumi nodded, though she didn't know where she was going with this. "Yeah, it's going to happen again, then." 

"What do you mean?"

"It's, uh, how that works, I'm pretty sure. After I did it with Ash for the first time," Keiko took a deep breath, and now her words were coming out a little more fluidly, though she still wasn't looking Yumi in the eyes, "every now and then, I'd just get the urge to... Well, do it again with her. Even nowadays. I'm sure half of it is natural, but I'm also pretty sure it has to do with her whole Demon side. So, yeah. I'm pretty certain those 'urges' are going to pop up in the future. And, when they do, I don't want you to have to keep yourself restrained on my account." 

"... I..." Yumi started but then went silent. She didn't know what to say to any of this. 

"It's hard for me," she continued as she chuckled awkwardly. "There's absolutely a part of me that wishes I could have Ash all to myself... And Kaori, but, yeah. Still, I feel like that's too selfish of me. I mean," she said, and finally, she looked up at Yumi. Her clear-silver eyes were looking back at Yumi's, as though searching for confirmation or agreement. "Just because she does... stuff, with you, doesn't mean she likes me any less, right?" 

"..." Yumi had no answer for that. 

"I'd like to think so, anyway," she looked away again. "So, yeah. If you want to do anything with her... Go for it. I won't act like I'm not jealous, but I still support it." 

"Keiko, I... This is..." 

"I mean, it could have been worse," Keiko continued. "It makes it easier to do this since you're someone I like, you know? I mean," Keiko blushed, "not in that kind of way, I mean, it's just I like you in a different way! Not that you aren't beautiful, because, well, you are, but, it's, uh... I'm... just... gonna... stop... talking... now." 

Yumi blinked. By the time Keiko was done, she started cackling, pulling her in for a hug. 

What an adorable person,  Yumi thought as Keiko let out a deep breath. 

"Thank you. I'll, ehm, I will think about it," Yumi said. 

"... It is amazing how, even though my father taught me many words in human language, I understood almost none of what the two of you just spoke of," Sinneah suddenly said from Yumi's right and the Zayama flinched, having forgotten she was there. "Truly, I have much to learn." 

"Anyway," Yumi said, looking back at Keiko. "Would you like to continue?" 

"Uh, no, I'm starving," Keiko said. "Could we..." However, Keiko stopped in the middle of her question. Suddenly, violet lines appeared all over her body, and she gasped, falling over to the left. Her hands, clutching at her own chest.

"K-Keiko!?" Yumi asked as the other Zayama hit the ground. 

"Hm? What is happening to her?" Sinneah asked, far more confused than alerted.

She looked like she was struggling to breathe. Keiko, however, pointed at the door ahead and managed to squeeze out the words:

"P-Potion... in my room... table..." 

Yumi ran into the manor. Knowing where Keiko and Ash were sleeping, she found their room quickly and almost broke the door with how quickly she opened it. Inside, she saw a few drawers, Kaori sleeping in the center of a large bed, and besides that bit of furniture, she saw a nightstand with a small flask on it. She grabbed it and ran back outside, quickly kneeling in front of Keiko. 

The other Zayama snatched the potion out of her hands, drank from it, and slowly, those violet lines disappeared. 

Her breathing went back to normal, and Keiko lifted herself up, sitting back down on the bench. 

She teared up, and slammed a fist into the stone bench, as Yumi and Sinneah just watched. 

"... I hate this," Keiko said in a low, angry, voice, after a moment. "I hate this so much." 

---

Ash

After the fight with the snake, Ash brought that family back to the church she'd just exited. Here, she picked her map back up, and the two parents she'd rescued, along with their baby, sat down on some of the old chairs. The father took out a glass bottle of water and passed it over to Ash. The half-demon drank from it greedily as they told her how thankful they were. All while Ash's mind felt clouded. 

"The gods were on our side today," the man laughed. "That snake would have devoured us easily if you hadn't come along." 

"..." Ash nodded as her eyes naturally drifted to the half-demon to her right, the baby's mother. "Who the hell are you people, anyway? What were you doing out here?" 

"O-Oh, our apologies, warrior, we didn't introduce ourselves. I'm Lane, and he's Carl. We're explorers!" The mother said, smiling widely at Ash. "This one," she gestured at the baby, "is Trin." 

"Wait, wait, explorers? What does that mean?" Ash asked. 

"Uh, we go around and we explore," Lane shrugged. "We walk to random places, see what the world has to offer." 

"... For fun?" Ash asked, raising a brow. 

"Yes," Carl replied in front of her. "Of course, we take things from the places we find and sell them. Have to put food on our plates like everyone else, after all." 

"Still, we were not well-informed of this place's dangers," the mother added. "We just arrived in Amber, after all." 

"... And you're running around, in the wild, alone, for fun?" Ash asked. 

"Well, when you put it like that it sounds questionable," the man chuckled. "But, it's fulfilling! The world has so much to offer, it's a waste not to taste it." 

Shaking her head, Ash took another sip from that bottle. She glanced over at the half-demon woman again, and couldn't resist asking about her. 

"How did you two meet?" Ash asked, quietly. "How did this," she gestured between them, "happen?" 

"It is a long story," Lane said, "but... We met in Sapphire, as children. Carl, he grew up quite impoverished and I... Well, sister," she told Ash, pointing at her horns, "things were not easy for me. But, as soon as we met... I just knew that he was 'the one', you know?" 

"Aw, honey~" Carl said and the two leaned in for a kiss. Ash just rolled her eyes as the story sunk into her thoughts. 

She had lived the same way as Lane had, from the looks of it. Yet, no. She couldn't say she had ever just 'met the one', like that. She wasn't even sure what that meant, honestly. 

... Doesn't matter, Ash shook her head, as she handed Carl the bottle back and turned around. I need to keep going. 

"T-Thanks again, warrior!" Lane called out. 

"We will keep you in our prayers, kind one," Carl added. 

And Ash just ignored them as she walked away from that church then, heading northeast to where the sand reaver supposedly could be found. 

Still, a question did pop up in her mind, as she pictured the three of them there, smiling and laughing with each other. 

... Could I ever have something like that?

But, just as quickly as the question appeared, she laughed it off. 

Nah... I wouldn't be good at it, anyway. All I'm good for is cutting heads off of demons.. That's probably all I'll ever be good for.