Chapter 300: New Ally

So... These were the events that shaped who she was today... It was quite tragic. However, it was not the first tragic tale Moby had sat down and listened to, far from it.

Indeed, her story was interesting; it filled many holes and answered many previously unanswered questions yet brought up a few others.

On the outside, he sat there with a serious expression, carefully taking in and analyzing every part of her story, like if she and Yami were one person split by trauma or two actual people in one body, if her ability was one ability split in two or jus two abilities, one for each sister, and, if Hikari was the original, or if it was Yami? Yet, on the inside, those were only a small part of his concerns, as his brain was spinning in high gear trying to formulate an appropriate answer. 

Indeed, Moby was a demon, but he felt somewhat bad for her. He was the exact person she was describing, although admittedly slightly better. He did not simply see her as a tool, but as a valuable potential ally if enough trust was built. Even still, that did not change the fact that at first and even now he mostly only cared about her because of her strength and not who she was. If she were not as strong as she was now, he might have not even batted an eye in her direction.

He was not so naive to take everything told to him at face value and was not about to let some sad backstory and tears hinder him too much. 

Other than the fact that she indeed did not properly attend school like every other student, was seen by some people on the first day like he heard in the whispers at school and, many of her actions and tendencies lined up pretty much perfectly, there was no proof that what she said was true.

For all he knew, she might have just been trying to lower his guard with an elaborate and carefully planned sob story so he could sympathize with her. An easy check would have been to simply ask General Ryker, yet he was not sure when would be the next time he would ever be able to talk to him. Plus, he had still not forgiven or forgotten her contribution towards Alex's death and Abby's mental state and he was unsure if he ever will.

Nevertheless, some part of him in his demon heart sympathized with the crying girl in front of him and felt her story to be truthful. From what he saw of her, she was slightly weird, but she was not at all a bad person, only a little naive and childish, justifiably so— she seemed to genuinely care. She saved his life against that shalker then later stayed up for days looking after him when he went unconscious.

He began to think that if he turned her into a demon, would he truly see her as family and disregard the doubts and hints of contempt towards her? Would his good impressions of her be boosted and the bad be suppressed? It was part of his plan after all, a plan that he still felt like he should go through with anyways, especially considering that she was still bound by the demon contract to never share his secret with anyone.

He just hoped all would end well and that Hikari had been genuine with him the entire time. 

"Hikari, even if I can't fully forgive you for what happened with my friends, I care for you too. You're so kind and did so much to help me. I know you can't really help it after what you've gone through and I can't blame you, but Don't let those negative thoughts get to you because a lot of the time it's your own paranoia speaking. Don't even compare me and Emilia and put us both in the same boat! She absolutely disgusts me!" Moby spoke with a serious yet bright smile. 

Hikari in front of him sniffled lightly, a small simper appearing on her visage like light shining through cracks. 

"Thanks…" She mumbled in a low voice. "It really means a lot…"

"From your story, I see why you were acting so shy and reserved, almost scared. Emilia, the shining hope in your life and proof that humanity was not so bad after all turned out to be a complete lie, and your doubts and fears had once again resurfaced. What you're feeling is completely natural. You've clearly learned a lot from your first time going to school and you recognize going around and greeting everyone when they are around our same level wouldn't really end well."

"Yes… That's more accurate than you think…"

"Well, that's all the more reason we should stick together and watch over each other's back. We should expect the unexpected in this new environment and be wary of anyone we meet. Luckily, we ended up in the same class. Do you think this was Ryker's doing?"

Moby's comment made her subtle smile grow larger as she chuckled through the lingering tears on her pale cherry face. 

"You know what… It really might have been… Was this also part of your promise old man? Honestly, if you and I weren't in the same class, I wouldn't know what to do and might have given up early on," 

"Also, mind if I ask you something? If this is all so hard on you, why not let Yami take control for most of the time? I imagine she would have an easier time right?"

"..."

"Well, she might be too aggressive, start trouble, and make enemies early on, and, it might have ended badly considering she was not the apex predator anymore," As soon as Hikari finished her sentence, she almost seemed to have a smirk on her face, that was when her hair turned black and her other self arrived. 

"NO! I know how to control myself when needed! That was all a joke! Tell him the main reason Hikari!" Yami retaliated, switching back to her sister as soon as she stopped talking. 

"He, he. Fine, fine! Although Yami's temper was definitely a factor, it was not the MAIN reason. The main reason was that she wanted me to grow accustomed to environments like this, crowded, massive, dangerous, and competitive. Many of these to you might seem like simple things in life but, to me, they are now more like an impenetrable wall," She laughed once more, making a smile appear on Moby's face seeing that she was doing better. 

"Yeah! I can imagine… But, at least it must have been cool experiencing the world for the first time, not as a baby but as a teen. Maybe not cool, but rather unique… Right?"

"No! It really was cool! Trust me! After being locked up in a cell for your entire life and only seeing grey techy walls, everything seemed cool in comparison!"

For the next while, they were all uninterrupted as they ordered more food and simply chatted. The conversation never became dark or depressing like how it was before and stayed completely upbeat. Moby gradually saw her break out of her nervous, shy shell and moderately revert to how she was before. 

It seemed like she completely had zoned out everyone and solely focused on Moby. But, as soon as she noticed the crowds of people around her, her nervous demeanour began to slowly return which Moby could not help but tease her about. 

Then for the rest of the day, they both explored the area. It served to get a general map and feel of the city along with seeing some of the more important places to keep tabs on. Not to mention, it was a good practice to help Hikari get out of her anxious habits. 

Luckily, they had not met a single other student on their journey. Yet, Moby could not help but shake off an odd feeling following him where ever he went. 

Before they even knew it, the time was late and they had to go to their dorms. They exited the city through the same teleporters and re-entered the dark, oddly empty school; it seemed like everyone else was going about their own business too. 

The boys and girls dorms were on completely opposite sides of the school, and trespassing was not allowed for obvious reasons. So, Moby escorted Hikari as far as he could and tasked her with the mission of heading to her room all by herself. He was not too worried about her considering Yami was always watching her back.

As he trudged back towards his own dorm room, he could not help but take a deep breath and smile at the wild ride he had experienced today, and what tomorrow, the true first day of school had to offer. 

He was happy to see her doing somewhat better. But, the true victory was that he managed to secure himself an ally in this warzone where he was undoubtedly the target of many people, which was clearly proven not even a few minutes after he entered school grounds. He knew he had to watch his back from many people, especially that white-haired man with the golden gaze.

Now, before he even knew it, in front of him was the massive, mostly black and lightly purple dorm buildings— they seemed more like hotels than anything else. They were much larger, more high-tech, and cleaner than the dorms were in his old school, which should have come as no surprise to him.

He entered the quiet building and checked his watch to see what room he was in before he took the elevator up. 

It was not that he hated Ray's company, but he was happy to know that he was going to finally have a place all to himself. It was not like he wanted to share it with anyone here anyways. Not to mention, from the elegant yet futuristic designs of the walls around him, he could not help but feel excited to see what his new home was going to look like.

"RM 139…" He mumbled to himself, taking the elevator and walking towards his room with slightly tired yet excited eyes.

There, he stood face to face with his door. With a tired deep breath and a smile, he scanned his new military card and watched as the doors unlocked.

He was glad that there was a preparation day before the actual first day of school. He could not wait to rest and go to sleep. He had been sleep-deprived for weeks and the sex with Jayden the night before left him more tired than rested considering how wild it was.

There, the door was unlocked, and as he slowly pulled it open, the entire room came into view and he noticed that the lights had already been turned on. Yet, that was far from the most surprising thing he noticed as he looked in front of him with beyond-shocked, wide-open eyes. 

"HUH!?! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE!? THIS IS MY ROOM!!"