Chapter 70 - Vol. 2 - 35

Satsuhiro

2 Years Ago

A 28-year-old Satsuhiro walked through the deserts south of Jade with a younger, bubbly Savior by his side. She had short black hair and was missing a front tooth, which was endearing in a way. The both of them were dressed in Savior's Armor, shining brilliantly under the sun. Satsuhiro's Savior's Weapon,  "Conviction", rested at his waist, on the last day on which he'd hold that thing.

"This is so cool!" Ginovea told him. Satsuhiro listened as he kept his eyes on the map in his hands. He was level 33, and she was level 29. He hadn't been out in the wilderness too much since his retirement. With Ginovea, his junior, and his friend, relying on him, he certainly didn't want to get lost. 

"Is it?" He absent-mindedly asked. 

"Yeah! I mean, I haven't gotten to work with you since, pssh, what, when we went up to Sapphire?"

"Hm... Yeah," Satsuhiro looked up. "When you got that brilliant idea to take on a hydra for the sake of training?" 

"Yep, I had the even better idea of bringing you along with me though, so thanks for saving my neck that time." 

"It's what I do," Satsuhiro shrugged. 

Currently, the pair were headed south to the Rose-Covered Canyons, a place almost exactly between Jade and Amber. The two Saviors had been told that an old Amber fort had been taken by demons. As such, they were sent to deal with it. 

"According to Varcon, the attack will be taking place just up ahead now. No sense in wasting time," Satsuhiro stated, "so as soon as we get there we'll let everyone know what's up and we'll start the mission. With the forces we've been given, it should be a quick job." 

"Hope so, I'm starving." 

"Maybe when we go back, I can get Metsumi to cook you something." 

"Aw, hell yeah!" Ginovea said. "Ugh, how did you end up with such an awesome family? Who'd you steal them away from?" 

Satsuhiro shrugged. 

"Things just kind of ended up that way." 

"Is that so? Wish it were that simple for the rest of us. I'm on my 4th boyfriend this year and it's looking like there's going to be a 5th." 

"Is that so? At what point does that become a personal problem and not a societal one?" Satsuhiro asked. 

"Pfft. Like I'm not the very best girlfriend a random guy could ask for." 

"If you're picking random guys, that's even more troubling." 

A few moments later, they were coming up on the fort. Beyond a part of the land that was as though a god had sliced it in half, there was an old ruin up ahead. Satsuhiro could see maybe a little over thirty soldiers, including some priests who happened to be proficient at combat that Varcon sent with them. 

None of them went over level 25, but that should have been fine, as the area was said to hold creatures between levels 20 and 24. With Satsuhiro and Ginovea here to assist them, it was supposed to be an easy mission. 

Satsuhiro identified their leader and told him what they had in mind. The two Saviors would take point and attempt to lead the others through the fort. Once it was clear, they'd let Varcon know the mission was a success and that would be it.

And, hopefully, Satsuhiro could go back to being retired, and actually stay retired. 

But, that wouldn't be the case. 

---

Present Day

Satsuhiro shook his head. 

"Ugh," he sighed as he tried to wake himself up. After reporting to the Council, the higher-ups sent him another request, asking him to write a detailed report. One they could copy and send to others. He was currently in the middle of that, doing this in the living room of the Savior House. 

"Here you go," Metsumi handed him a mug full of black coffee. Satsuhiro nodded. 

"Thank you." Satsuhiro took a sip, the liquid nearly scalding his lips but right now, the heat was appreciated. He was dangerously close to passing out. 

"Still at it?" Metsumi asked, walking over and rubbing his back. 

"Mhm," Satsuhiro tried his hardest not to focus on the feeling of his wife's hand soothingly moving over him. If he did, he'd likely fall asleep instantly. "How's Ash?" 

"Well, she's still down and all," Metsumi stated, putting her hands on her hips and sighing. "Between what you said with the whole demon stuff and the whole 'passionate kissing in front of several people who may as well be strangers' thing, she's not having the best of times."

Satsuhiro nodded. 

"Can't imagine what's going through her head." 

"I can," Metsumi said. "She's dealing with feelings for the first time, and on top of that, she's got the weight of the world on her shoulders. She's probably thinking she'd rather run away than deal with all of this."

"Is that so?" 

"I've talked to her but... Maybe you should take a second to prod her mind a bit." 

"Hm? What good would that do?" 

"Well, you were there when it happened. I'm guessing she's thinking she disappointed you somehow." 

"Right. Like she cares how I feel about her. She doesn't give a damn what anyone thinks," Satsuhiro countered. 

"You sure about that? Maybe she doesn't care how random citizens see her, but you? Me, the girls? She might put on a tough act but we're the first people in her life who ever treated her like she's more than just a half-demon. And, maybe now, she's worried that'll go away. You know?" 

As Metsumi's tone softened and Satsuhiro remembered that moment when he saw Ash devouring the last Nightmare they'd fought, the look of complete and utter shame that came over her once she'd realized what she'd done. 

Satsuhiro put his pencil down and nodded. 

"I'll see what I can do, but no promises," Satsuhiro stated and Metsumi smiled. "Where is she?" 

"She's sitting outside, just in front of the house. Good luck." 

He made his way to her. He saw that Kaori was standing by the curtains, looking outside. As Satsuhiro walked into the living room, she startled and turned around, her face reddening as she realized she'd been caught looking out.

"I-I was just..." 

"Yeah, yeah. Just checking on her, I get it." Satsuhiro replied. "She'll be fine," he said. "She's a strong girl." 

"O-Of course, I... Yeah." Kaori sat down as Satsuhiro walked out. 

He saw her with her back hunched over, eyes low, and her hands twiddling with her fingers. Satsuhiro approached her, and her eyes briefly looked up. She went right back to looking down and Satsuhiro sat next to her. 

Okay... Now what? He thought. These sorts of talks weren't exactly his expertise. He wasn't sure of what to do, what to say. As they remained in some awkward silence, Ash looked at him and smirked. 

"I appreciate the effort though," she suddenly said. "I'll be fine." 

...

"Hm." Satsuhiro leaned back against the bench and looked up at the sky. 

"Nah, seriously, I get that you're here to like, try to make me feel better or whatever, but it's alright. I'm good." 

"Mhm." Satsuhiro wasn't about to just leave though, without giving it a shot. 

He'd learned from none other than his wife to always go ahead with the plan, even when it's hard to do so. 

---

Ten Years Ago

"What?" A 20-year-old Satsuhiro raised a brow. 

Metsumi stood in front of him, the strong woman's hands on her hips as she grinned. She was a beast of a woman, standing taller than most men Satsuhiro had met, with toned, well-trained arms, dark skin, dirty blonde hair, and the kind of confident expression that only came with people who were completely sure of themselves. 

And right now, she was standing in front of him, asking something inconceivable. 

"Go out with me," she reiterated.

"I... What?" Satsuhiro couldn't comprehend what was going on. Currently, he was sitting in a public designated training area in Jade, just a few weeks after he'd been chosen to become a Savior.

From the start, he knew he'd want to be a mage. The way he saw it, if he could stand back and kill enemies before they ever drew close enough to hurt him, well then, why not? However, the Council told him that he still needed to be trained with weapons, even if he never planned to use them. They made him come here week after week to get his physical attributes up before he could start to focus on what he actually wanted to do.

So, he was here, working up a sweat with several, more experienced, soldiers. Among them though, were people who had no intentions of going to battle. This was after all, a *public* training area, and so, ordinary people could come and hang out or even spar a little. 

This was something he'd never expected though. One of those people walked up to him and asked the strangest thing.

"Uh, I'm sorry, I don't... What?" Satsuhiro asked. 

Metsumi laughed. It was almost a cackle, honestly. 

"Is it that hard to understand?" She leaned over the table, her shirt dipping and showing off the top of her chest. Satsuhiro respectfully looked away. "Me, you, a tavern, some drinks, and a good time." 

Satsuhiro sighed. 

"But... Why me?" He asked. 

"Eh, I don't know. I've seen you around a few times and you just seem like fun." 

"Me?" Satsuhiro genuinely laughed at the thought. "I  seem like fun?"

"Yeah," Metsumi nodded eagerly. "Come ooon, if you don't like it, I'll fuck off, and then you can talk to all your friends about this weird girl who bullied you into getting some drinks with her. Worst case scenario, you walk out of that tavern with a good story to tell. Right? And, best case scenario..." she leaned in and smiled at him with half-lidded, mischievous eyes. "We walk out with a good story to keep to ourselves."

At that, Satsuhiro raised a brow. Then, he looked away. 

I mean...  He thought.  It has actually been a while since I got laid, I guess. 

Looking back up at her, the two locked eyes for a moment and Satsuhiro finally nodded. 

"Alright, but if you're gonna ask me out, you're also gonna be the one paying." 

"Works for me," she stood up straight and flexed her biceps, "wouldn't be the first time I've had to do a man's work for him." 

Satsuhiro chuckled, shaking his head. 

"What did I get myself into?" 

---

It was a memory he remembered fondly. Later, Metsumi would tell him all about how nervous she was, how she had to talk herself into approaching him. And now, all Satsuhiro could do was thank her for it. The beautiful daughter the two would have, the other memories they'd come to make, it was all because she had the courage to talk to him. 

And now I'm married to her. Fuck, it's weird how things happen. 

Looking to the right, he saw Ash looking at him. 

Right. This.  Take a page from her book, he told himself.  See it through. 

"I'll be honest, I was pretty grossed out," Satsuhiro said. Ash raised a brow, and then, she looked away. 

"Yeah... I can imagine." 

"But that's about it," Satsuhiro said. "I was just grossed out. I wasn't scared of what you did or... What was happening, I didn't think any less of you. I mean, unless you're going to tell me demon meat is one of your favorite meals now, are you?" 

Ash didn't seem to react to his jest. He looked back up at the sky. 

"To me," he added, "you're always going to be the passive-aggressive and, sometimes aggressive-aggressive, pain in my ass they're making me teach. That's it. Not a demon, not whatever it is you think you're becoming. You could eat 5 Nightmares in front of me, and all I'll do is gag a little." 

"What if I go further?" Ash asked. "I... I could always get worse." 

"Then we'll deal with it as it comes," Satsuhiro replied. "As far as what we're doing right now though, you're still just Ash. You might be a little scared because of that last fight, but that was nothing to be too concerned about. You're still just my student." 

"..." Ash remained in silence. She nodded and Satsuhiro stood up. 

"Well, that's about as much consoling as I've got in me to do. See you later." 

"Yeah." And so, Satsuhiro walked back into the house, hoping she'd figure things out. 

Metsumi was washing some dishes in the kitchen. Those memories went through Satsuhiro's head again, and he walked up to her, putting his hands on her hips. Metsumi glanced back and smiled. 

"Went well?" 

"Fuck if I know," Satsuhiro muttered. She turned around, setting down what she had in her hands, and wrapped her arms around him, leaning in to plant a brief kiss on his lips, which he returned.

"What's got you so warm all of a sudden?" She asked. 

"... Just remembering things." 

"Yeah?" 

"The tavern... Ten years ago." 

"Oh? First time we went out?" Metsumi asked. "Can't believe I puked over your shirt like that. Sorry, by the way." 

Satsuhiro looked down, smirking. 

"You're still not forgiven for that." 

"Aw, and how can I make it up to you?" 

"Guys, please," Kaori said, from the living room. Both of them looked over at her. She gave them a fake disgusted look hiding an amused smile. "I'm right here. Take your middle-aged flirting somewhere else." 

"How about we do just that, huh, Satsu?" Metsumi asked, dragging him away.