Chapter 129 - Vol. 3 - 2

Ash

The half-demon had no idea what time it was. Kaori, Keiko, and Ash had gone out of the Savior House at around 5, and now, the twin moons were directly over their heads as the three sat side by side. They were currently at the roof of one building where there was an open bar. This place was normally reserved for parties, but no such festivity was ongoing, so the group was able to secure a small spot for themselves.

It was just the three of them, the cold midnight air, and a few cups of alcohol on a glass table in front of them. Ash had been staring up at those two moons for a while now. Every time she allowed herself to drift off in thought, her mind ended up in a few usual places. So often, that she hated it by now. 

Whether it was Magia's glare as Ash exited her realm the last time she saw the goddess or Ren's lifeless body on a bed in front of Kaori, his face still holding a smile, or the demons that Ash ripped apart as she helped defend Sapphire. These sights flooded her mind's eye anytime her thoughts weren't occupied. 

She was getting pretty damn tired of it. 

"Ah! This is the best~" Kaori said, as she downed her third drink in a row. 

"Is it?" Ash asked, watching her with an arched brow. 

"Heck yeah!" Kaori giggled. She sighed happily and then spoke with some nostalgia in her tone. "I used to do this sort of thing all the time."

"Really?" Keiko asked somewhat surprised. "Actually, I can somewhat see that..." 

"Well, when you put it like that you make me sound like some sort of drunk." 

"You aren't?" Ash teased and Kaori pouted at her. 

"I'm not! I drink... a little responsibly," Kaori blushed as she responded. 

"Hey, I'm not judging, I'd be the biggest alcoholic there had ever been if getting drunk was something I could do," Ash shrugged. 

"In that case," Kaori said, reaching over and snatching Ash's cup out of her hands, "I'll make up for both of us." 

Ash and Keiko just laughed. 

Ash hadn't felt like this in a very long time. Maybe ever, honestly. These past couple of weeks, being with Kaori, Keiko, and the others, without having to worry about demons, Nightmares, and warring deities, was comfortable. 

Comfortable. A word Ash couldn't use to describe many moments in her life. In all honesty, it felt like this was all some sort of illusion. Like any moment now, Kaori and Keiko would both fade into the air, Ash would open her eyes and she'd find herself back on that scalding street, where Varcon had first approached her. 

"HEY!" Kaori knocked on Ash's head, literally, as if her skull was a door. "Stop thinking!" 

"Hm?" Ash hummed. 

"You've got that face on," Kaori leaned forwards, so close that Ash could smell the alcohol in her breath, "you've got that 'brooding Ash' look." 

"Brooding Ash?" The half-demon reiterated with a chuckle. 

"Yes. Eyes all low, a frown, your eyebrows all narrowed and stuff. Right, Keiko?" Kaori leaned across Ash's chest. "The 'brooding Ash' look!" 

"I... suppose?" Keiko chuckled. 

"See! She agrees!" Kaori put on a posh tone. "I must say, it's one of my least favorite Ash faces." 

"Kaori, what the fuck are you talking about?" Ash asked as she laughed a little. 

"Your face!" Kaori put her drink down on the table and put her hand on Ash's cheek. "That beautiful, brooding face!" 

"... Thanks, I guess," Ash replied and Kaori leaned a little closer and gave her a peck. The alcohol she'd been drinking burned a little on Ash's lips. 

"You're welcome!" 

---

By the time they left that place, Ash was carrying Kaori on her back. The blonde had fallen asleep at some point, and so Ash had her arms under Kaori's legs, the blonde's arm wrapped around Ash's neck. 

The half-demon was trying her hardest not to focus on the warmth of Kaori's body on hers, the way her soft chest pressed against her. She didn't need the kinds of thoughts that feeling was bringing. Not right now, at least.

Keiko walked next to her. Ash looked up and saw that the sun was no closer to coming out. 

"Kaori can be a bit intense sometimes, huh?" Keiko asked and Ash nodded. 

"Yeah," Ash replied. "I do wonder what you'd look like if you drank as much as she did though." 

"Oh, uh, no," Keiko replied with a nervous laugh. "I don't believe my stomach could handle that. You though..." Keiko said, contemplating. "I believe you would be an interesting drinker." 

"In what way?" 

"W-Well," Keiko cleared her throat. "I suppose it depends." 

"On?" 

"Your Lust levels, for one," Keiko quickly replied and Ash raised a brow, smirking. 

"Oh, was that where your head was at?" Ash asked and Keiko waved her hands. 

"N-No!" Keiko said. "I was just... explaining the facts." 

"Understood," Ash nodded. 

"... Did you ever get to experience it?" Keiko asked. 

"Hm?" 

"Being drunk, I mean," Keiko continued. "Before you developed that trait, did you ever get drunk?"

"Hm," Ash stopped, closing her eyes to think. Kaori, still asleep, mumbled something about demons in her right ear. "Not that I can remember. But, I got my Iron Stomach trait a while ago, so, I think I never did." 

"I see," Keiko replied. "Do you ever think about it?" 

"I'm thinking about it right now, does that count?" 

"No," Keiko shook her head. "I mean, does it ever make you sad that you haven't had that experience." 

Ash gave the question a serious moment of thought. Her eyes half-closed and she took a deep breath. 

"I don't think so," Ash replied. "I mean, if I got sad over every single thing humans got to do that I never did, I think I'd spend most of my time depressed." 

You could probably make the argument that I did,  Ash added in her thoughts.  Before I met you two. 

"... Hm, I believe I see it." 

"What do you mean?" Ash asked. 

"The 'brooding Ash' face Kaori talked about," Keiko chuckled. "I think I saw it." 

Ash laughed a little. 

"Fuck off." 

---

Eventually, they reached the Spirit Gardens District. Just outside the Savior House, the tree that gave the district its name was covered in white embers, the spirits of fallen citizens dancing around its bark and lighting up the area almost as well as the light posts were. Ash and Keiko walked up to the door and the Zayama unlocked it. 

The inside of the house was quiet. A few plates and cups were left on the kitchen table, unwashed. Ash saw a pair of shirts on the couch and determined that they belonged to Satsuhiro and Metsumi. 

... Okay.  She ignored them and walked with Keiko to the room they'd taken. Once here, Ash gently dropped Kaori on the bed. Ash laid next to her and Keiko laid down as well. 

For a while, Ash simply stared up at the ceiling, but she turned her face towards Keiko when she felt her looking her way. The Zayama had been watching her, and cutely turned away when Ash looked back. The half-demon smirked and turned fully towards her. 

"Something on your mind?" Ash whispered, trying not to wake Kaori, though she doubted she would. 

At that, Keiko looked back at her. 

"This feels like a dream," Keiko responded. 

Hm. Shit.  Ash sighed. She didn't need Keiko to elaborate. She knew exactly what she meant. 

"I keep expecting it," Keiko continued. "Some letter from my family saying that I need to return, or the Royal Council informing us that a new portal appeared. This feels so... temporary." 

Ash wished she had something meaningful to say, but she didn't. Keiko was going through the same thing Ash was. She hadn't figured it out yet for herself, she couldn't do so for Keiko. 

"Just try not to think about it," Ash replied, raising the sheets and covering herself and both girls with them.  "Just enjoy it while it lasts." 

"... I suppose." 

Just like that, the night was over. 

---

Kaori

For Ash and Keiko, at least. 

Kaori was standing in the middle of Sapphire's snow-covered streets, her armor weighing heavily on her while the battle raged. Ahead, a Lust demon had used its tail to stab through a man's chest. To her left, a Wrath demon bit down on a soldier's neck and ripped his throat out, blood spraying into the air. Behind her, a Glutonny demon was swallowing civilians whole, one at a time. Kaori watched it all in horror. 

Then, she heard Ren's voice, but no relief came with it. Instead, beyond a few groups of battling soldiers and demons, she saw Ren battling a Nightmare. A demon that stabbed a sword straight through his gut. She screamed, trying to run towards him to help, but her legs wouldn't move. 

She was frozen in place. She heard another voice. Keiko. Kaori searched for her and to her right, saw the girl trading sword slashes with a pair of demons. One tackled her, and stomped on her head, crushing it. Kaori's voice wouldn't come out. She wanted to cry, call out, yell, but her voice produced nothing. 

Finally, she heard Ash. Above, Ash was fighting off multiple Lust demons in the air. It had seemed like she was doing well at first, but the one grabbed her right arm, another grabbed her left, and both pulled. The half-demon's body was ripped apart and her violet blood fell like rain on top of Kaori. 

And she saw it all with wide eyes and a choked throat. 

Her eyes opened. The sun was pouring in through a window. Kaori felt liquid slide down her cheeks and reached up, finding that she'd been crying. 

More images then came to her, but they weren't from the dream. They were from what she'd actually seen. Satsuhiro's leg being ripped off, the hundreds of soldiers who died around her, the ones she'd failed to protect. Her hand started shaking. 

To her right, Ash slept soundly, and to the half-demon's right, so did Keiko. Kaori turned towards them and, trying her hardest not to wake them up, scooted closer. She put her head on Ash's left shoulder and took a deep breath. 

She hadn't told anyone about this, but these nightmares and these mental images had been popping up every other night, throughout the last three weeks. 

...  Maybe they'll go away on their own.  Kaori nodded to herself, holding onto Ash tightly. 

Yeah. Yeah. Just... Just wait.