Chapter 235 - Vol. 4 - 34

Kasumi

... I'm going to regret this, aren't I? 

Kasumi was packing up her clothes. Outside, a drizzle of rain fell on her windows, casting a chill over the air as she continued to do this absent-mindedly. She didn't want to think about this too hard, otherwise, she'd quickly change her mind. She was running on only a minuscule amount of willpower as it was. Every bone in her body was begging her to remain at her home, but, she wanted to at least let Ash know what she'd heard. 

She still wasn't convinced that Pearl could be recovered, that the city could be rebuilt after what the demons had done to it, but she wanted to, at least, pass the idea by the half-demon. If she declined, then Kasumi would return to her home and do exactly what she'd been doing all this time. Her bed would always be there for her, after all. 

She finished up and walked out of her home with a nervous shaking in her legs. Right now, there were barely any planned trips to Amber, given the state of the roads and the ferocious demon army's constant attacks, but she'd managed to secure one such trip recently and was heading to the southern part of Jade now, to make the journey. 

How long it would take to get there depended on the weather and the pace the people planning the trip were intending on traveling at, but she believed they'd arrive within a few days, if not a little more. 

All she carried with her were a few different outfits, enough food to have two solid meals a day, and, just in case Amber's guards gave her any trouble, she was reluctantly carrying her Savior's Weapon with her, though she planned on never using it in battle. She still hadn't changed her mind on that. 

Ahead, she saw the passengers she'd be sharing this trip with. Some elderly men and women, a few kids, one young man with clear silver eyes, which Kasumi took to mean that he was a Zayama, and... 

Wait... 

There was one short, dark-skinned girl with big, optimistic, eyes standing just a bit to the left who was carrying a massive hammer on her back, that looked funny on her. She was humming a song to herself as she sat on a bench, seemingly waiting for everyone else to get on board the caravan first before she'd do the same. Kasumi approached her. 

"... Mizaki?" She asked. 

"KASUMI!" The younger woman saw Kasumi, stood up, and tackled her with a hug. 

This was the younger Savior that Kasumi had helped train, back when she lived in Pearl. She was also, of course, one of the other Saviors who were present when Magnolia died, during their venture inside Pearl's portal. Kasumi had many bitter memories that surrounded this girl.

Still, she was shocked to see her, and her confusion overpowered whatever negativity she felt. 

"I haven't seen you in, wow, forever!" 

"... Yes," Kasumi nodded as the girl smiled up at her. "What are you doing here?" 

"Huh? Oh, I'm heading back home!" 

Right.  Kasumi had forgotten that, unlike her, Mizaki wasn't from Pearl. She'd traveled there from Amber shortly after becoming a Savior. 

"I see." 

"And you? Are you heading to Amber too?" Mizaki asked. 

"... Yes," Kasumi nodded. "I... I needed to go speak with someone there." 

"Ohhhh. Well, cool! We can be travel buddies!" Mizaki giggled and Kasumi sighed, sitting down on the bench she'd just been on. Mizaki sat down next to her, a radiant grin aimed at Kasumi. "Wow, this takes me back! I mean, we never did much traveling but when we used to train together, it was so fun!" 

"Really?" Kasumi asked, keeping her eyes away from Mizaki's brilliant smile and instead focusing on the apathetic citizens filing into the caravan. 

"I remember everyone at the barracks would always laugh when they saw us together," Mizaki continued. "You used to be so... Well," she laughed awkwardly. "Things... Things have changed, I guess." 

Hearing that, Kasumi turned her eyes over to the girl. 

"Did the Royal Council tell you to go to Amber?" Kasumi asked, curious. 

"What? No, no..." At that, Mizaki looked away. Kasumi was stunned to see genuine sadness come over her. "Uh, I don't think they'll be talking to me much anymore." 

"What? Why?" 

"... I quit," Mizaki said, looking back at Kasumi and chuckling. 

"..." Kasumi was baffled. That was something she hadn't expected to hear. Indeed, she should have, considering how none of the Saviors from before had shown up to Sapphire or, to her knowledge, to Onyx after that, but still. Hearing it said like this was shocking. 

"Yeah... Me and Akiven both, actually. I don't know what happened to the others, Akiven's the only one I've spoken with lately, but, yeah, I'm guessing they all did the same. When everything went down at Pearl, and then at Sapphire, yeah, a lot of us realized we were a bit in over our heads."

"But..." Kasumi muttered. It was hard to process this. Not the part about them quitting, she and Satsuhiro had both tried to do the same, after all. No, what confused her was that the Royal Council hadn't pushed them to keep going at all, apparently. 

"I tried though," Mizaki continued. "But... Yeah, I'm just not strong enough for this. So, I'm heading back to Amber!" She brightened up again. "I can't wait to see my family again, it's been years. And, I'm glad you'll be coming along too. I always liked you, you know?" Mizaki told her. "I know what happened with your daughter was... rough, but I've always looked up to you. Even now!" 

It was too much. Kasumi just nodded as she looked up and saw the last of the civilians getting on board. 

"... Come on, let's get in." 

"Right," Mizaki answered and, with that, the two of them boarded the caravan. 

---

Sinneah

"Father, can I ask you something?" 

The dragon turned its eyes onto her. Sinneah looked down at the city below the cliffs. "Onyx", Gurron had called it. 

"Yes?" 

"... What was my mother like?" 

"She was an excellent warrior." 

"... Yes, but, what was  she  like?" Sinneah asked. She'd heard this response before, many times, in fact, from her father. She'd grown tired of it. 

"Hm... This type of discussion is, even after all these years, still difficult for me," Gurron replied. "Our kind were not designed to think in... such abstract terms. All I can say is that she was... a bright spot in the world. That is the best way for me to explain it." 

Sinneah's eyes opened. The room was a bit dark, but she could still see thanks to her draconic eyesight and the fact that the door to her room was open, for some reason, despite the fact that Yumi had said many times that she wanted to remain closed.

She could see the strange objects scattered around, including the one where she'd placed her father's eyes, to store them so she wouldn't have to carry them around all day. She could see the clothes that Metsumi had given to her so that she wouldn't be running around naked all day. And, besides her, she could see Yumi, curled up. 

The black-haired woman was facing away from Sinneah, her body fully uncovered and with one hand tucked between her legs as Sinneah turned toward her. 

"Ah~" Yumi let out a soft sound. 

What is she doing? Sinneah wondered as she heard a little schlick. Sinneah sniffed the air as she heard Yumi taking deep breaths. 

Hm... What a strange scent. 

She only just now noticed this, but her own tail was wrapped around one of Yumi's legs. Oh? Did I do that in my sleep? 

She saw Yumi's body tremble, her arm shaking as she gasped, and then, Yumi let out a relieved breath. Afterward, she covered herself up with the sheet that was laying by the bottom of the bed, and finally, Sinneah spoke up. 

"Yumi?" 

She saw the woman freeze, not even turning to face her. 

"Y-Yes?" 

"..." Sinneah sat up, took back her tail, and got out of the bed. "That was quite interesting. Do humans normally do that? I would appreciate it if you taught it to me. I still have a lot to learn." 

Yumi did not respond. So, Sinneah got up, shrugged, and walked out of her room. 

Outside, there was a servant passing through the hall who yelped when Sinneah walked out. She hurried away and Sinneah just watched her go. 

... Confusing.  She thought as she looked around. One of the doors leading into the other rooms was open, just like hers had been, but the rest were closed. Nodding to herself, Sinneah walked out of the Manor and went into the "garden". This was the only place she was familiar with in this city, so she wanted to wait here until Ash came out to train with her again. 

However, as she walked out into the open, colorful, and bright area, she saw one more thing that was all too strange to her. Ash and Keiko were already sitting at one of the stone benches, but they were performing that weird technique that they'd done earlier. Leaning toward each other, their lips intertwined, as Sinneah just stood there. 

... I can't tell who's winning.  She thought as she walked closer. When she got close enough, she put her hands on her hips. 

"How goes the fight?" 

"AH!" Keiko pulled away, as though she'd been burned. Beside her, Ash, who was almost covered in a purple aura, just looked down and breathed in slowly.

Oh.. Maybe she lost.