Chapter 249 - Vol. 4 - 48

Ash

As soon as Ash heard what Kasumi had to offer, she decided it was a no-brainer. After her talk with Lumina she knew that, somehow, someway, she needed to squeeze in some portal closing into her schedule. However, Satsuhiro was quick to raise his hands up. 

"Hold on, hold on," he said. "Ash, you've got a lot on your plate right now, don't you?" 

"Yeah, but..." 

"Take care of business first, then," Satsuhiro told her. "Something like this, it would take a lot longer than you might be thinking." 

"I think at some point I should do it, though," Ash shrugged. 

"Sure, if you think it's the right move, then go ahead, but get all of your other priorities out of the way first." 

Listening to what he said, Ash toned down her excitement a little. 

Right,  she thought,  I need to finish up Keiko's potion too. I can... probably finish that before I head up there.

As Ash said that to herself, she glanced over at Sinneah, who was watching this all apathetically. She still hadn't talked to her about those eyes.

"Anyway, Kasumi," Satsuhiro said, stepping forward, "has the Council been doing anything important lately?" 

"Not that I know of," Kasumi responded. "To be fair, I don't really keep track of anything... I just came here to tell you about Pearl because... Well, I don't know," she trailed off. 

"I see," Satsuhiro nodded. 

"So," Kasumi looked back over at Ash, "you'll do it?" 

"Yeah," Ash replied. "Not right now, though. Satsu's right, there's some shit I have to take care of first, but, once that's done... I'm gonna have to help with that." 

"Have to?" Kasumi asked, crossing her legs. "Why's that?" 

"It's a long story." 

"Anyway," Metsumi walked up. "How about we get you settled into one of the rooms before we do any more talking? Let you slip into something comfier. How's that sound?" 

"... Sure," Kasumi replied. "Thanks." 

As that was said, they tried to find someplace for her to stay. Kasumi was briefly taken somewhere else by one of the servants, while Ash tried to internalize the information she'd received. She went outside, while the others remained indoors, and tried to put her mind to work. 

So,  she started,  taking back Pearl, huh? Holy shit. I guess what we'd be able to do depends on whether the demons in the area have stayed as weak as they were. If the monsters' levels still depend on their area, which they should, then... Yeah, it would probably be easy for me, at this point, to help the army take the place back. But, then again... Keiko's potion, she took a deep breath.  I need to finish that up. No matter how weird it feels. 

The Manor's backdoor opened behind her, and Ash turned toward it. The person who emerged was Kasumi, who had changed into a white shirt and a black skirt, still wearing the same boots as before. The two locked eyes and Kasumi walked toward her.

Seeing her, alone, as the surprise had faded, Ash remembered one unfortunate fact. As her eyes drifted toward her chest of their own accord, she remembered that Kasumi was one of the individuals who could trigger Ash's  Lust. 

"... It's been a while," Kasumi said, as she walked up to the half-demon. 

Nodding, Ash crossed her arms. 

"How have you been?" 

"Fine, I guess," Kasumi walked over to the same railing Ash was on and put her elbows down on it. "Same as ever. You, on the other hand, damn," she turned toward Ash with an impressed look. "You've been working, huh?" 

"I've had reason to," Ash replied. "I never would have expected you to come out this far for this Pearl thing. What's the deal with that?" 

"It's nothing, I just..." Kasumi paused, looking away. "I don't know, honestly. I guess I got tired of sulking all day." 

"Okay, now I know you're not actually Kasumi, who the hell is this?" She asked and Kasumi scoffed. 

"Shut the fuck up," Kasumi muttered as a smirk appeared on her face. 

Ash smiled a little, and the two remained in silence for a little while. Kasumi glanced over at Ash, then, however, and said: 

"... Do you remember what we talked about? Like, a month ago." 

"Hm?" Ash turned toward her. "Can you remind me? A lot's happened since then." 

Kasumi paused, and an embarrassed expression almost came over her. 

"Eh, forget it," Kasumi turned away. 

"Nah, come on, what are you talking about?" 

The crimson-haired woman hesitated for a second before she elaborated. 

"We had talked about, well, moving on from shit. You know?" She looked away from Ash, mumbling a little, which the half-demon found strangely cute. "Something about letting go, moving on, talking to each other?" 

Slowly, Ash started to vaguely recall something like that. 

"Yeah, yeah, I think I remember."

"I dunno, I just..." Kasumi sighed, letting her head fall on the railing. "I think about that, every now and then." 

"Aw, that's sweet," Ash said and Kasumi rolled her eyes light-heartedly. 

"Bitch, I'm venting. At least, wait for me to finish my sob story before you make fun of me." 

"My bad, my bad," Ash told her with a cheeky grin. "Seriously, though, have you made any progress on that?" 

"None," Kasumi replied. "I suck. Anyway," she changed the topic, "who were those women in there? I saw a few new faces."

"One of them ain't so new," Ash said. "Yumi, the shrine maiden from before, ended up coming with us to help us train. The little girl, half-demon like me, her name's Luvine. Kaori and I found her while shit was going down in Onyx. And, last but not least, the dragon girl." 

"Dragon girl?" Kasumi asked, bewildered. 

"Yep. I, uh, just sorta ran into her. She ended up helping us train though, like Yumi." 

"Understood... Actually, where's the blonde?" Kasumi asked, and Ash froze. The other woman didn't notice, however, and kept going. "I was thinking your group was a little quieter than normal. I'd like to think I'm not that depressing to look at, so, where is she?" 

"She..." Ash took a deep breath. "Something happened..." 

At that, Kasumi's eyes widened. 

"Oh. She didn't...?" 

"No, no," Ash shook her head, knowing where Kasumi's mind had gone. "She's still alive, it's just... it's weird. Long story." 

"... Well," Kasumi got a little closer. "I traveled all the way here and, personally, I'm not really looking forward to being on the road again anytime soon, so... I've got some time if you wanna tell me." 

It didn't take much convincing to make Ash nod to that.

"... Okay." 

And so, Ash promptly gave her the run-down on everything that had happened after Kasumi had split up from the group after they'd activated the Site of Power near Onyx. She told her everything then, from the fighting that had happened to the absurdly powerful Nightmare, to Kaori's coma, and what Lumina had advised her to do. By the time she was done, Kasumi's brows were just about touching the sky.

"Damn," Kasumi said as she took everything in. "So, that's why you're working like this. Now it makes a little sense." 

"Yeah," Ash nodded solemnly. "Just... doing my best to get her back." 

"If it's worth anything," Kasumi shrugged. "I noticed almost immediately, so, yeah, I'd say you're doing well." 

"... Maybe," Ash replied.

Then, the door leading to the garden opened, and Ash's group walked out. Metsumi and Satsuhiro were the first, then Keiko, then Opah and Luvine, and finally, Sinneah and Yumi were at the back. 

"Hey! Kasumi, you sort of got away from us," Metsumi said with a smile. 

"I tried my best," Kasumi shrugged.

"Aw, don't be like that! Here, I wanted to introduce you to some of the new faces." 

"You don't really have to, Ash-" 

"This one here," Metsumi said, ignoring her, "is Luvine, over here is Yumi, and that is Sinneah. Any of you want to say 'hi'?" 

None of the three women said anything. 

I could have guessed it would be like that. Ash smiled a little. 

"Come on! Be polite to your guest." 

"Metsumi," Kasumi said, holding her hands up. "It's alright. Hey, hi, nice to meet you. There, done." 

With that, everyone went about their business. Opah started playing with her dolls in front of Luvine, while the half-demon mostly just watched with great interest. Keiko Yumi borrow her sword so she could pass the time sparring with Sinneah. Satsuhiro started asking Kasumi about how things were back at Jade. 

Ash, however, stood up and walked inside the Manor. She took a second to stretch, closing the door behind her before she went over to her room. Here, she stood by the doorway, glancing over at Kaori. 

"Give me a little more time," she sighed. "One month and you'll be back with us." 

Then, the same door she'd just taken opened, and Kasumi walked inside. Ash gave her a questioning look as she walked over to Ash. 

"... Had enough of Satsuhiro's questions already?" Ash asked. 

"Yes, I think he's severely underestimating how much of a recluse I've been," Kasumi said as she walked over to Ash. Then, she looked into the same room, and she saw Kaori. 

"Damn," she said. 

"Mhm... Sucks, but it can be fixed," Ash told her. "That's all that matters." 

When she heard that, Kasumi turned toward her, crossing her arms and smirking a little. 

"You've turned into quite the inspiring sight, though," Kasumi told her. "I almost feel ashamed of myself, honestly." 

"... I'm still the same dumbass from before," Ash replied. "Just a dumbass with a plan now, I guess." 

"That's more than I can say," Kasumi countered. "So, how exactly do people pass the time down here?" 

"Nothing much to do but get robbed and train a little," Ash responded.

"Hm... Can't remember when the last time was that I really worked on anything. Maybe the fight for Sapphire, if you count that as 'training'." 

Hearing that, Ash said:

"I've got a lot to do, nowadays, but, maybe in between, we can work on stuff. Sounds good?" 

"Nope, but it's better than getting interrogated by a grouchy, retired Savior, so, I might take you up on that."