Chapter 28 - 25

After several minutes of much-needed relief, Ash fell asleep, alone.

Keiko hadn't gotten in bed by the time Ash's mind drifted away. She hadn't expected to have a dream similar to the one from before, but alas, she wound up in a black room. Her eyelids felt like someone was pulling them down, she tried to breathe in but no air came to her lungs. Then, the darkness faded, replaced by a swirling of colors that nearly blinded her.

The same woman from before appeared in front of her and Ash's eyes widened.

"You!" She thought and the woman silently chuckled. She walked up to her and tilted her head up with a finger on her chin. Then, as she leaned in and kissed Ash's lips, the half-demon felt herself getting warmer. The mere presence of the golden entity in front of her was burning Ash's skin.

"Who are you?" Ash asked.

The woman looked away for a moment, then she turned around and looked back at what Ash could only see as a wall of multiple colors. They morphed slowly into an image, one Ash knew.

The altar Ash had seen at Jade's church, with Magia's statue looming over it.

With her lips parting of their own accord, Ash looked back at the woman as she turned with a grin.

"Magia?"

She nodded and floated up to Ash, wrapping her in a tight hug.

"What the hell, seriously?" Ash replied and the woman nodded.

She turned around once more and the colors changed to form a different image. This time, it was a much more active scene. Random people being attacked by demons. It was an incredibly violent image, but one that didn't last too long. Eventually, Magia went up to Ash, pointed at her, and then pointed back at the scene playing out behind her.

Almost like she was saying "deal with that".

"What am I supposed to do?"

Magia opened her mouth to say something, but when no sound came out Ash saw her give a frustrated expression, looking down at herself. Is she supposed to be able to talk? Is this not normal? Then, she shook her head and turned back to the wall. It changed one final time, showing what looked like a broken-down church. Like the one in Jade, but ruined, surrounded by vegetation, and far, far, larger. Magia pointed at her own mouth, then at the image behind her.

Wait, I think I get this.

"You mean... if I go there... you'll talk?"

The goddess excitedly nodded, flying up to her and pressing multiple kisses to her cheeks.

"B-But, where is this place?" Ash asked, but Magia shrugged. "You don't know?" Ash asked and Magia nodded. "What do you mean!? You're a literal goddess!"

Magia shrugged again, her smile never faltering.

Then, she pointed at herself, made a heart symbol, and pointed back at Ash.

The half-demon sighed. Yeah, yeah, you love me or whatever. You said that before. The goddess laughed voicelessly.

Then, Magia's image faded and the room's colors disappeared along with her. The darkness returned.

And Ash's eyes opened.

---

Wearily, she blinked a few times. Wow, something smells amazing. She thought as she tightened the hold she had around her pillow. She buried her face in it. Maybe I can avoid getting up for a few seconds. However, she noticed something strange after a few seconds of being in this position. Her pillow was rising and falling slowly. Huh? She shook her head, leaning up a little.

Her eyes widened.

Her "pillow" was Keiko's chest. She was currently lying on top of her, her arms wrapped around Keiko's body. Fuck.

"Ash?"

And, to make matters worse, Keiko was wide awake.

"Sorry." Ash tiredly said as she released the woman and backed away.

Keiko chuckled a little as she sat up.

"No, it's not your fault. I guess you're a bit of a hugger when you sleep."

"Mhm." Ash hummed as she stood up.

I have to tell her. Them, her, and Kaori. I have to tell them before this lust makes me do something too strange to explain.

"Um... By the way," Keiko coughed, "what... what were you doing, last night?"

"What do you mean?"

"There was this... This smell in the air, uh, kind of like... Well, I don't want to assume... It's just..." Keiko blushed and Ash slowly realized. "Well, never mind."

Ash shook her head and walked out of the room.

Outside, Satsuhiro, Metsumi, Opah, and Kaori were having breakfast. Ash's eyes fell on the blonde Savior, who smiled warmly when she saw her. Ash averted her gaze, feeling slightly guilty. Kaori was probably looking at her with thoughts in her mind that were far purer than what Ash was thinking about. When Metsumi noticed her, the woman quickly placed a bowl full of some kind of chicken soup in front of an empty chair.

With the chill of the morning air hitting Ash's skin, she sat down and grabbed a wooden spoon, stirring the soup a little before taking a sip of it.

"Wow, this is good." She noted.

"Thank you!" Metsumi replied joyously.

"Hey," Satsuhiro said, "So, now that you're capable of being a mage, I want you to think about what sorts of spells you'd like to learn."

"Satsu! She just woke up, can't you give her a break?" Metsumi asked.

Satsuhiro shrugged.

"Nah, it's fine," Ash stated. "What do you have in mind?"

"I'll give you a small list of Light and Dark spells, ones that I don't have mastered, and you can check them out yourself and decide where to go from there. Remember, don't just pick a spell because it sounds cool or because it seems powerful on its own. You have to learn magic that helps your style as well."

"Sounds good." Ash nodded. Then, she glanced at Kaori. "Hey, do you know any spells? I haven't seen you cast any."

"No, uh, I haven't." Kaori shook her head. "Spells are hard to learn and expensive to be taught unless someone just passes their knowledge to you like how Satsuhiro did, but even then, a lot of mages put a high price on that."

"Gotcha." Ash nodded. Satsuhiro looked over at Kaori.

"Have you ever tried to cast a spell?" He asked.

"No," Kaori replied.

"Hm..." Satsuhiro looked down at the table, as though using it to formulate his thoughts. "We might want to test you for any affinities since you're officially training with us. How does that sound?"

"Okay!" Kaori grinned.

With that settled, the rest of Ash's breakfast went by fairly uneventfully.

Soon, she was outside with Keiko standing in front of her, her sword unsheathed. Ash was ready to begin training, as Lust was in its sword form. Keiko told her they'd be practicing basic defense, and so she was made to deflect Keiko's attacks as they came.

It was as difficult as it usually was, but Ash could sense that she was getting better at this little by little. Still, there were a few times where Keiko would clash with her just a bit too harshly and Ash would nearly find herself being inadvertently slashed. It never happened, but still, Ash ended up being frightened a few times.

She continued until her sword proficiency increased to 5.

Beside them, Satsuhiro was with Kaori.

"Alright, so, I'm going to give you some random spells, you try to cast them, and we'll see."

"Sure." Kaori nodded.

"First up, this one." He explained a few things to Kaori that Ash didn't quite catch. She was too busy with her own training. "Go ahead."

"Mhm." Kaori nodded, breathed in, and raised a hand aimed at Satsuhiro.

"Flame of the soul, strike!" Ash turned to watch and saw a ball of flames appear and shoot out from her palms. Satsuhiro wasn't even fazed by it.

"Good, good," Satsuhiro told her. "So, you can cast Fire magic. That happens to be my own field of expertise."

"Really!?" Kaori asked excitedly.

"We can work with this. Now, let's see how you do other categories."

But, as they tried others, they didn't work. In the end, they found out Kaori had one affinity, Fire. Satsuhiro explained to her the same things he'd told Ash about meditation and the Wisdom stat. Then, he retreated inside the house as Kaori bounced around energetically.

As noon arrived, Ash went from weapons to magic when Satsuhiro came out with a paper in his hands.

"Here, take a look. Here's that list of spells I told you about."

"Okay." Ash took the paper and scanned over it.

Barrier, Lumina's Presence, Lumina's Spirit, and Enlightenment. She read through the Light category, then, her eyes went to the Dark spells. Corrupt, Curse, Perish, Decimating Touch.

"So, what do these do?" Ash asked.

"Barrier is self-explanatory, just makes a barrier that stops spells from passing through. Lumina's Presence slowly heals, Lumina's Spirit restores some of your energy, and Enlightenment is a spell that's more useful for mages, should you choose to go down that route. It temporarily increases your maximum mana." Satsuhiro paced back and forth. "As for the Dark spells, as you know, these spells directly affect a person's life force, so they're... stranger in nature. Corrupt will irritate a creature's very being, Curse will briefly curse a creature, making it so that healing magic doesn't work on them. Perish will hurt a creature's soul while Decimating Touch is a touch-based version of that same spell."

"I think I get it." Ash sighed as she looked at the paper again. "Does sound weird though."

"Now, remember, I explained this to you before, people with affinities cast stronger versions of the same spells. So, these spells, while basic to me, may be more useful to you. I'd recommend you pick a Light spell and pick a Dark spell, focus on learning those two and work with them for the time being. You'll probably find that their impact is way more than you expect. Hell, if you had known a couple of spells in your fight against the Nightmare, it might have ended even faster."

"Could I have beaten it without Demon Form?" Ash asked.

"Hell no," Satsuhiro replied. "That thing was way out of your league without your other form. Your Demon Form saved your ass. Anyway, yeah. Try to learn two."

Well, Ash thought as she considered her options if I had to say which ones seem the most useful... Probably Lumina's Presence and Perish. Maybe Barrier?

"Alright. I think I have some idea of what I want to go with."

"Good. Now, the way you learn a spell without having the knowledge passed to you is simple. You have to read through a spellbook. The ones for all of the spells are in my room, I'll bring them to you. Just read through the book and try to understand what's being said, okay? It takes time but the more basic the magic the faster it is."

And so, Satsuhiro departed and returned with two books. The Mechanisms of Lumina and Voidborn.

"These two are the fundamental books of Light and Dark magic, read through 'em and you'll find the spells you're looking for."

"Gotcha."

Behind her, Kaori walked up.

"Uh, Ash."

"Yeah?" She turned towards the blonde.

"Do you want to train for a little bit? Together, I mean."

Ash heard her and put her hands on her hips.

"Are you that eager to humiliate me again?"

"N-No! I just meant..."

"Relax," Ash smirked, "I'm just fucking with you."

"O-Oh." Kaori blushed and laughed a little. "Sorry, uh, well, yeah. Do you want to?"

"Yeah, come on. I do have to warn you, I'm way stronger now than I was when we practiced before. You're probably about to get your ass handed to you." Ash shrugged and Kaori smiled.

"I look forward to that."

---

No. Ash did not manage to beat Kaori, though she was nowhere near as overwhelmed as she had been before. And, as she was kicked to the ground and Kaori flashed a proud smile, Ash looked up at her and found that she wasn't as frustrated with the outcome anymore.

"How did it feel?" Keiko asked. "Fighting Kaori now that you're stronger, I mean."

"Well," Ash started, and, without looking at Keiko, she then said, "I don't know, it's hard to focus on fighting when someone as hot as you is standing so close, distracting me."

...

A deep silence spread as Ash realized what she'd just said. She looked to her trainer and found that her face was so flushed, she almost looked sunburned.

Shit, shit, shit!

"I mean... The pressure, I..." Ash sighed and transformed Lust back into a cube, "fuck this. Listen," she said to the both of them, "we need to talk."

She took them both and pulled them a little bit farther from the house.

"Uh, okay." Kaori did the same with her swordstaff. "What's up?"

"I... I have a problem." Ash said.

Keiko was frozen, still visibly reeling from what Ash had said while Kaori simply looked concerned.

"What's happening?"

"It's nothing it's just... Ugh. This is so weird." Ash shook her head and crossed her arms. "You know how I'm a demon, right? Or, half of one, anyway."

"Yes?" Kaori asked, confused.

"Well... It kind of turns out that comes with more baggage than I thought it did." Ash started to explain as she walked around, trying to position herself between Keiko and Kaori. "After I went into my Demon Form a second time, after... whatever," she said, trying not to remind Kaori of anything Varcon-related, "I woke up and found out I had a new trait. That trait, uh, it... changes me."

"In what way?" Kaori asked.

"Well, yeah I guess there's no other way to say it really. It makes me horny as fuck. Okay?" Ash felt like she was heating up as she spoke. Almost angry at her own reality. "Particularly, it makes me like this towards uh... Anyway, the point is, it affects how I feel towards you."

"Me!?" Kaori asked, pointing at herself with a blush.

"Both of you." Ash clarified, gesturing at Keiko.

"... Oh," Keiko muttered. "I see."

For a moment, no one said anything.

"I, I wasn't even planning on saying anything about it because I thought I could just not focus on it." Ash continued, "but the way this thing works, it stacks every time I use my Demon Form, and stacks up to four times. Every time I add to it, it gets harder to control. And, well, I haven't gotten to four stacks yet, and I'm afraid of what'll happen if I do, someday. So, I wanted to warn you. That's it."

Again, neither Kaori nor Keiko said anything for a while.

"Is there any way to deal with this?" Keiko asked.

"Uh, well," it was Ash's turn to blush. "If I... do stuff, like, with my hands, down there. It makes a stack of this shit go away."

"What do you mean?" Keiko asked.

"You mean... like, masturbate?" Kaori asked and Ash sighed. Keiko blushed so hard Ash wondered if she was still breathing.

"... Yes, that helps. But, every time I use my Demon Form, it gets worse again."

"Oh." Kaori looked away, her hands clasped together in front of her. Keiko was still silent.

"Listen, I just wanted to let you know, because, yeah. Sometimes I might slip up because of this thing. Now," she quickly said to Kaori specifically, "I promise, I'm not going to do anything bad or whatever, it's just... I wanted you two to be aware. That's all."

And with those words, Ash, who felt like she couldn't handle the awkwardness anymore, left.

---

Later, at night, Ash was reading through the books Satsuhiro had brought her. She understood what he meant about it being time-consuming, as when she started reading the Light book, specifically the part about the Lumina's Presence spell, she saw a bar pop up over her own head and slowly start to fill. She guessed that when it filled up, it meant she knew how to cast the spell. So, she kept reading, as well as her school drop-out mind could allow her to.

However, the door opened and her concentration was shaken. Keiko came in, wearing a white nightgown she assumed belonged to Metsumi. Ash's eyes roamed over her body until she tore them off and put them back onto the book, while Keiko got in the bed and lied down.

"So... This morning." Keiko started.

"Yeah?" Ash asked.

"When you were... hugging me." Keiko started. She turned onto her side, her face aimed at Ash. "Was that because of this trait?"

"Think so. I don't know though, I could just be a hugger when I'm asleep." She shrugged.

"Hm." Keiko scooted closer and as her scent drifted into Ash's nostrils, she said, "I... Do you need help?"

...

Silence.

"What?" Ash asked.

"Ash." Keiko started. "I... I see you as my responsibility. When we first came here, my own problems got in the way of my duty and I allowed you to put yourself in harm's way." Are you still not over that? Ash thought. "I don't want anything to happen to you, or, well, us, that I could have helped prevent. Do... do you understand?"

"No, I can't really say I do." Ash sighed as she turned to her side as well. She and Keiko were so close, she wondered how big her eyes would look without the blindfold on, what color they'd be.

"I'm trying to say that... If this problem becomes too much for you to handle," Keiko reached out and her hand landed on Ash's shoulder. Once there, she gave Ash a gentle squeeze. "I want to be of some use."

As Ash finally got what Keiko was trying to get across, her lips parted and her eyes widened.

Ash took a few deep breaths. Now, maybe without this trait, hearing something like that she'd instantly start telling Keiko about how she didn't need to do anything like that. Instead, as she heard this with her Lust at 2 stacks, she leaned closer.

"Have you done anything like this?" Ash asked.

"No, have you?" Keiko asked.

"Nah. There, um, wasn't exactly much time for fucking around with girls while I was on the streets."

"What do you mean?"

"I was homeless." She said, looking over at Keiko. She realized something then. Wow. She shook her head. So much has happened since I started this whole thing, and she still doesn't know much about me. She wanted to remedy that situation. "Keiko," she started, "when I was twelve, I got kicked out of my house. I lived for the next six years on the streets of Jade, asking people for coins every day, trying to get by. So... Yeah. Honestly, you were..." She stopped before she finished.

"I was what?" Keiko asked, not letting that slide.

"... You were the first person I can remember feeling this way about. Like, uh, attracted or whatever."

"... I see." Ash heard Keiko gulp. "I um... I also haven't really done anything like this."

"Yeah, you said that."

"No, I mean to say, I haven't been attracted to anyone." She clarified. "In the Zayama compound, not many people ever cared to try getting to know me, because I haven't awoken my Spirit Eye."

"What's that?" Ash asked.

"Nothing, just, this stupid thing... Anyway, yes, because of this I have never... explored this area of my world."

Ash chuckled.

"And here you are telling a filthy half-demon that you'd do that kind of thing with her."

"No." Keiko shook her head. "Ash, I don't think any less of you for being what you are. That doesn't matter." Keiko said and her voice turned softer. "I... I believe what matters is whether you and I are okay with this and... being, you know, each other's firsts."

"Hm. So, what do you think?" Ash asked. "I'm a horny mess. What you think is what matters."

Ash saw Keiko smile.

"I see. I... I believe I'm fine with it." Keiko told her. "I haven't seen you, maybe I'll never see you if I don't open my Spirit Eye, but... I don't think negatively of you. Much at all. Plus, I think your voice is fairly attractive. That's good."

"Well, if I find a way to talk you to an orgasm I'll let you know." Her attempt at a joke only got a chuckle out of Keiko, but it was better than nothing. Ash's eyes honed in on Keiko's lips. Thin, elegant lips set in a straight line that split as she said something else.

"So... What now?" Keiko asked.

"Maybe... We could, I don't know, start with a kiss or something?" Ash asked.

"I... I am okay with that."

She leaned in.

Yeah, this is probably me thinking with my pussy, she thought, but whatever. I got this far, I may as well.

She softly pressed her lips against Keiko's, muffling a gasp from the other woman. As the moonlight bathed them through the window, Ash did what Magia had done to her in her dreams, only, she didn't expect to wake up after this. She tugged on Keiko's lower lip, then pulled back to see how Keiko was feeling.

"How was that?"

Keiko was taking deep breaths.

"I... Good?" Keiko said, sounding more like she made a question.

"Uh, do you want to do it again?" It was taking all of Ash's restraint not to just pull her in, but she wanted to make sure.

And, as Keiko slowly nodded, she got her response and leaned back in, reaching up and placing a hand on Keiko's back.

This time though, as the desire in Ash started to grow, she found herself trying to slip her tongue between Keiko's lips. Surprisingly, Keiko let her. As the kiss grew more passionate, Ash shifted where she sat to get her body closer to Keiko. She felt the woman's chest press up against her own and her right hand balled up into a fist as lust spread within her.

Thirty minutes of an intense make-out later, Keiko raised a hand.

"Can we stop here?" She asked. "I'm... I'm not quite ready to go further."

Ash blinked.

Although Ash's mind was okay with stopping things where they'd ended, her body sure as hell wasn't. As they turned away from each other, Ash felt a fire burning between her legs.

I guess I have to deal with this now. Fuck, fuck! She thought as she turned away and dipped her hand under her shorts' waistband.

As she got started, Keiko spoke up though.

"Uh... What are you doing?"

Ash's eyes bulged out of their sockets.

"... What do you mean?"

"I can hear, um, a strange sort of schlick sound, and the air smells weird."

"Nothing. Just... Yeah, nothing."

"... Oh, OH!" Keiko basically yelled. "U-Uh, okay!" She said, turning away and covering herself up with the sheet they were sharing.

In her entire life, that might have been the most embarrassed Ash had ever been.

But, she didn't stop.

---

The next day, Ash was having breakfast with the others, but she noticed two things. Keiko looked incredibly distracted, which was understandable, she probably had a lot to think about given what happened last night, and Kaori would turn away every time her and Ash's eyes met. The half-demon was afraid she was scared of her now, because of what she'd said.

Someone knocked on the front door though, breaking her out of her thoughts.

"I'll get it," Satsuhiro said and walked over. A courier handed him a letter and he quickly thanked him, closing the door again and bringing it inside.

At the table, he opened it up.

"What does it say?" Metsumi asked.

"Hm... A mission. From the council." He explained. "They found another Nightmare."

"Where?" Kaori asked.

"Some old ruin to the west."

As he said those words, Ash nodded.

"Uh, where is it? What is it like?" Ash asked.

"Doesn't really say much about it," Satsuhiro replied. "Just that it used to be part of a bigger town that slowly decayed over time. Anyway, the area ranges from level 10 to 15, which of course means the Nightmare is likely to be around that level as well.

"Time to get to work then."