Chapter 288 - Interlude 4 - Kaori, The Actress, Part 5

It took Kaori a moment to internalize what she'd just heard. 

... What? 

"What level are they? Can you tell from here?" Kasumi asked Ash. 

"Uh, level 15, level 16, around there," Ash replied. 

"Alright. Get ready." 

Ash then ran over to Kaori and harshly dragged her by the wrist back to the carriage. At the same time, Kaori realized this was actually happening. The horses, which had been asleep, started freaking out. The guards, some of which had been asleep, were scrambling to prepare themselves. And, as Kaori entered the carriage, Kasumi went over to her with a serious expression on her face. 

"Listen," she said. "A lot more than just those two are about to be here. If anything happens, you run away. Got it?" 

Kaori tried to respond, but no words would come out of her throat. 

"Do you understand?" Kasumi asked again, louder. 

"Y-Yeah." She said, after a moment of hesitation. However, that was all Kasumi wanted to hear, apparently, as she then woke up the coachman, told him the same things she'd told Kaori, and then ran off in the direction that the blonde had seen those winged creatures appear. 

Suddenly, she could hear them. Ominous animalistic screeches. The sounds of demons, apparently. 

She saw Vermia stirring on her own, her eyes blinking open most likely due to Kasumi's loud question.

"Vermia, wake Sin up," she told her.

"What?"

"Something's happening, just do it."

As she sensed the urgency in Kaori's tone, she nodded and did as the blonde had asked. She turned toward the Zayama, then, crouching in front of her. 

"Yumi," she said, putting a hand on the woman's shoulder and shaking her a little. "Yumi!" 

"Huh? Kaori?" The woman asked, as she slowly awoke. "Goodness, what time is it?" 

"Still night, just get up, we're under attack." 

When the woman heard that, she sat up so quickly that she nearly struck Kaori with her shoulder, as Kaori had been hunched over her just a little. Her eyes looked concerned as they searched around the carriage, through the open spaces between the roof and the seats.

With perfect timing, a man screamed, and those animalistic noises Kaori had heard earlier reached the campsite. When they did, grunts, roars, slicing, and tearing sounds began to fill the air in an explosion of sheer chaos. 

Sinneah was awake, and she too was looking around, as nervous as everyone else was. 

"Stay down!" She said, pulling the girl to the floor of the carriage. Yumi and Vermia crouched on their own when they saw that. 

Trying to remain as hidden as they could, each of the women backed up into the corners of the carriage, with Yumi and Vermia on one side, and Sinneah and Kaori on the other. As terrified as she was, Kaori couldn't help but wrap her arms around the larger woman for some support, and Sinneah held onto her tightly.

All around them, the sounds of battle continued to rage. Honestly, Kaori wondered if she was going to wake up anytime soon. This felt like a bad dream. It was the sort of thing where, a person would hear about it happening to others, but go through their whole lives without ever thinking that it could happen to them. 

Kaori was just an actress, after all. Getting slaughtered by a demon had never been too high on her list of concerns, but this night made it a possibility. 

One that grew even more likely when she looked to her left, peaking over the carriage seat, and saw a demon devouring the remains of one of the guards. 

By... By Lumina...  Kaori thought, feeling her heart pound against her chest as she saw the demon's teeth rip some flesh off of the guard's dead body. 

And, then, the demon's head snapped up, and its violet eyes met Kaori's own. 

The sounds of the ensuing combat were so loud that she couldn't hear the snarl the creature visibly made as it let go of the corpse in its hands. 

Then, it lunged toward Kaori, and she felt Sinneah pull her back. 

However, before the demon could reach it, a golden arrow shot through its head. 

Instantly, the demon was dead. Kaori's eyes remained fixed on it for a time, before she went to search for whoever had just saved her, and probably the rest of her friends. Up ahead, Ash had a golden, shining bow in her hands that then transformed into a spear, as she turned her eyes away from Kaori's area. 

One steady breath after another, Kaori kept watching the dead demon. Then, looking up, she continued to watch the half-demon Savior as she fought off the other demons around her. She moved with a ferocity that spelled certain death for any enemy nearby. An impressive display that Kaori could feel burning itself into her memories. 

Just as quickly as they'd come, soon, the sounds of battle began to fade. That strange violet haze in the sky disappeared. And, the only things left that even indicated that a battle had just taken place were the corpses on the bridge and the terrible smell in the air. 

---

When it was all said and done, around half of the guards had died. The Saviors were both left unscathed, as were the actresses since they'd been largely ignored by the attacking demon forces. Kasumi called it a successful defense and wore a wide smile on her face the next morning. 

As for Kaori, however, that demon's face was there long after the fight had concluded. She knew, she just knew, that she would be seeing that moment for several nights. The demon's eyes were on her, the dead guard under its chin, whose blood was dripping down from the monster's face. 

I'm going to have a lot of trouble sleeping, aren't I?  She asked herself, as she rested her head on Sinneah's shoulder while the carriage continued on its journey. 

Although Kasumi had been proud of the results last night, there was no friendly conversation this morning. Ash kept her arms crossed, Kaori kept her eyes low, Yumi and Vermia were both silent, and the only indication that Kaori even had that Sinneah was awake was how she would comfortingly stroke her hair every couple of seconds. 

Understandably, this kept going for several hours, until everyone decided it would be a good idea to stop to have some food. 

So, with just half a day left in their journey, the carriage halted its progress once again. The remaining guards walked out of it, stretching and speaking to each other with far less eager tones than before, as this time they stopped at a clearing in the middle of the forest. 

As for Kaori, she remained in the carriage while everyone else went outside. She told the others that she wanted to see if she could manage to start a small nap after she ate some bread she'd brought, and they were fine with that. Yumi offered to stay, but Kaori politely declined. 

Because of that, she was currently on her own, with her knees curled up to her chest, as she tried to put her mind at ease. 

Just think about the play,  she told herself.  Don't focus on that horrifying face you saw last night or the dead body. Just focus on... 

That thought was interrupted, though, when Ash walked up, into the carriage. Kaori's eyes widened a little, as she hadn't expected this to happen at all. 

"How are you holding up?" Ash asked, sitting down next to her. 

Looking away, Kaori shrugged. 

"Fine, I guess," she took a shaky breath. "Oh, uh, thank you, by the way. For stepping in when the demon was about to try to bite my face off and all." 

Ash's response was a simple nod, as she crossed her arms and leaned back. 

For a moment, neither one said anything. However, a question appeared in Kaori's mind, and she couldn't help but ask about it. 

"By the way... What was it like for you?" Kaori asked, and Ash turned toward her. 

"Hm?" 

"Your first time seeing a demon. What was it like?"

"... I was scared shitless."

Kaori was a little surprised to hear that. Ash looked like the type of person who wasn't scared of anything. Though, she could have said the same for Sinneah until last night happened. 

"It was in the middle of a mission I had with Kasumi," Ash explained then, continuing to speak as Kaori turned to face her, listening. "The Council wanted me to investigate some random estate near Jade that belonged to a rich guy, that hadn't contacted anyone in a while."

Ash waved a hand, as though the mission was unimportant. 

"I went there with Kasumi, and with my little sister, though." 

"Oh? You have a sister?" Kaori asked. 

"Hm? Yeah, her name's Luvine," Ash answered.

"Cute name," Kaori replied.

"Yeah, anyway, at that point and time, I was taking Luvine everywhere. When I first got this job, the reason I even took it was because I thought it would be a good chance to take Luvine out of Jade and help her see the world. So, I took her with me to this place. Point is," she elaborated. "Guess what? What had happened was that everyone in the estate had been killed. And, to make matters worse, by demons. A lot of them, actually. I was pretty low-level at the time, so even though I helped Kasumi fight them off, I struggled. I remember, this one demon charged right at me and tackled me out of the building, right through the front doors. That was where Luvine was waiting." 

A slightly sad smile appeared on Ash's face. 

"And... Honestly, seeing a demon for the first time was scary, but the worst part was seeing Luvine's face when she saw me fighting it. We ended up winning out in the end, but... Yeah. I still remember that moment perfectly, to this day. It's why I don't take her out on missions anymore." 

"Wow..." Kaori replied. She had nothing else to say. She was just stunned to hear that. 

"Yeah, that day sucked. But, it could have sucked a lot worse. Just like last night could have sucked a lot worse for you. So, hey, I think I deserve some thanks for that." 

"I already said thanks," Kaori replied with a smile. 

"Eh, I could stand to hear it again," Ash shrugged. At that, Kaori chuckled and gave the woman a warm little smile. 

Alright, how's this for some gratitude? 

Kaori scooted closer to her then. Ash froze up, but Kaori didn't let that stop her as she kissed the woman on the cheek and said: 

"Thank you, you are truly my Savior. How's that?" 

Ash blinked. She took a sharp breath and looked away as she replied:

".... Fine."