Chapter 18 – Trouble Brewing

The succubus was in danger. And it seemed to know it as it was begging Yuki to help her with her tearful eyes.

‘What could I even do to save her?’ Yuki wondered. ‘And why do they even want to kill her? She doesn’t look like an evil demon.’

“It looks so scary, Yuki,” Sayuri whispered. “It’s face is all wrinkly and evil. I think it's glaring at us.”

‘Huh?’ Yuki thought.

He took a closer look at the supposed demon in the cage and couldn’t see anything that looked evil or scary. He only saw a scared teenage girl that didn’t want to die.

‘Maybe she’s tricking me?’ Yuki wondered.

[No, rather you’re the only one she couldn’t trick,] Akira clarified. [I saw her use magic to manipulate what people saw.]

‘Then why did she make herself look scary?’ Yuki asked.

[That. Um, I don’t really know. But I want to help her,] Akira said.

‘Why?’ Yuki said confused. 'It’s a demon.'

[It’s just, I feel as if I should. She looks scared, not the way someone would look if they wanted to kill humans,] Akira answered honestly. [I feel as if she did nothing wrong other than be someone that wasn’t human. I don’t want to see someone like that die.]

Yuki agreed with Akira’s analysis. The girl in the cage didn’t look anything like a cruel demon. He also didn’t want someone that didn’t do anything to be killed. To Yuki, there was no reason to kill someone who did nothing wrong even if they were of another species.

‘But what can I do?’

[With your magic I’m sure breaking her out wouldn’t be a problem,] Akira said. [The only problem would be when to do it.]

‘They did say that they wouldn’t kill her yet. We can return during the night,’ Yuki planned. ‘Ask her questions of our own to see whether or not we should help her. If she seems like she would be a future threat then we leave her. If she seems harmless then we can sneak her out.’

[That seems like a good plan.]

Yuki nodded, then looked at the succubus again. He tilted his head slightly and raised is hand a little, showing his palm to show give the girl a message.

Wait.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Erica saw the motion and felt an immense weight get pulled off of her. She had a hope. Someone that might help her. She just had to wait.

‘May the gods bless her,’ Erica thought joyfully to herself. ‘And never let this girl’s cute face become ugly.’

And so Erica waited.

During that time, the humans that had captured kept on observing her, making her uncomfortable. They also were continuously asking her questions. Where are you from? Why did you come here? Are you here to kill us? Of course, she didn’t answer them since she knew that nothing good would come out of it.

‘Ahh, why are these humans asking such questions?’ Erica complained. ‘If I wanted to kill them I would have done that instead of running away.’

And so more time passed until it was 10:00 pm. The humans seemed to have gotten bored and had stopped asking her questions. They also left Erica unattended.

‘They must have great confidence in their little prison,’ Erica thought. ‘I hope my cute little savior comes by soon.’

Two hours later, Erica heard a small noise from the door at the end of the hangar. When she looked, she saw the small outline of a person creeping toward her cage.

‘She’s here!’ Erica thought, relieved. She was beginning to lose confidence.

Her potential savior stopped outside of her prison, dressed in a t-shirt and sweatpants, and looked at her contemplatively. Then she opened her mouth.

“Who are you?” the person asked.

‘Ahh, her voice is cute too~!’ Erica thought.

“My name is Erica, a succubus as you probably already could tell,” Erica answered out loud, waving her tail.

“Are you a demon?” the grey-eyed person questioned.

“Of course! Succubi are a type of demon,” Erica giggled. “Didn’t you know that? But I’m not dangerous. I can here to look around and watch humans.”

“So you’re not going to attack us?” she asked Erica flatly.

“No, silly,” Erica laughed. “I don’t kill without reason.”

The person seemed to be listening to something, her head cocked, before she nodded.

"It seems like you're not lying," she murmured to herself. She looked at Erica again with her grey eyes.

“Let’s get you out of here then,” she announced and put her hand on the lock.

A wave of mana pushed out from her and the lock opened, the pins and notches all manipulated by the magic.

‘Ah, she can use magic,’ Erica thought to herself as she tried and failed to stand up. 'My legs are tired from sitting for so long. My mana exhaustion isn't helping either.'

Seeing her collapse, her savior went in to help prop her up. With Erica leaning on the shoulder of her hero, they slowly and quietly sneaked outside of the hangar.

“What’s your name?” Erica whispered.

“Mayumi Yuki, yours?” Yuki replied.

“My name is Erica,” she replied. “Thank you for helping me.”

“It was nothing,” Yuki answered as she looked around to see if anyone was around them.

“No really, thank you,”

Erica began to tear up.

“I thought I was going to die,” she said in a small trembling voice. “Those humans were so scary.”

Yuki turned around and cupped her hand around Erica’s cheek, her thumb on Erica's lip. Erica became red at the sudden contact.

“Shh,” Yuki whispered quietly. “I told you it was nothing. Now don’t make too much noise.”

Erica nodded silently and followed Yuki, still leaning on her.

‘She’s so kind,’ Erica thought. ‘I wish I could know more about her but I have to go.’

They walked in silence, carefully picking their way through the dark forest. 

“Why did you rescue me?” Erica asked suddenly.

Yuki looked at her with a thoughtful expression. 

“People shouldn’t die needlessly,” she said after a long pause. Erica nodded.

'She thinks of me as a person, not a monster,' Erica remarked to herself, then was silent. The sounds of the forest enveloped them.

The next one to break the silence was Yuki.

“How did you get captured?” she asked in a whisper.

“Bad luck, really,” Erica replied bitterly. “I was attacked by a group then used up a lot of mana to get away. Then I ran into your group and had no more power to resist.”

“There’s another group?”

“Mhm, in the forest. Over there,” Erica said pointing.

“I should investigate when I drop you off away from here,” Yuki said looking at the direction Erica was pointing at.

“No no! Don’t do that!” Erica shouted in worry. Yuki quickly shushed her.

“Don’t go,” she said more quietly. “You’ll get hurt or killed. A girl like you shouldn’t do something like that. You’re not strong enough yet.”

Yuki stared at her.

“I’m male,” he said.

Erica stared back at her (or him?), mouth hanging open.

“Eeeeeh?” she said at last. “But, but you were wearing a skirt!”

“I’m a guy.”

Erica began to feel uncomfortable and confused. She didn’t want to be alone with a man. But Yuki looked nothing like a male. Even the aura he gave off reminded her of a female.

“Okay,” Erica said disappointed.

'Why couldn't Yuki be a girl?' she thought. 

“Wouldn’t a succubus usually want a male though?” Yuki asked as he half-carried her over a fallen trunk.

“Hmm? Ah, yes. Normally,” Erica replied, tersely. “I’m not a normal succubus though.”

“How so?” Yuki said ducking under a branch.

“I, um, what do you call it? Swing the other way?” Erica said, her face burning. This wasn't a topic that she was very comfortable talking about.

“A lesbian succubus?” Yuki said thoughtfully. “I - watch your head - wouldn’t have expected that. Don’t succubi need male energy to live?”

“Yes, but I've had a special quirk since birth,” Erica explained swatting a twig away from her face. “I can take life energy from both males and females. It’s probably because of my preferences.”

“What do the other succubi think?” Yuki asked ducking under another branch.

“They. They reject me,” Erica muttered quietly, looking away from Yuki. “They kicked me out of the village, telling me that I’m a mutant. That I wasn't one of them.”

Yuki turned his head and stared at her with thoughtful eyes. Then he turned around nodding.

“I understand,” Yuki replied with a knowing whisper. He stopped.

“Here we are, you can go,” Yuki said. “No one would be able to get you here.”

“Thank you,” Erica said with a small smile as she let go of Yuki’s shoulder. “Be careful out there, I don’t want you to get hurt. Humans are not the kindest beings in the world. I still don’t think you should look. They don’t accept you here too, right?”

“I know. But I have to,” Yuki replied curtly. “I live here now.”

“Then be careful okay?” Erica pleaded. “I want to see you again.”

“Don’t worry, I won’t die,” Yuki said, his voice steady and unworried. 

He then turned to leave.

“I hope you don’t run into trouble Erica-san,” he said waving behind him.

“I’ll come back one day to see you, so don’t die on me~!” Erica yelled at his back.

When Yuki’s outline disappeared she turned around and began to walk in the opposite direction.

‘I can trust him,’ she thought to herself. She had saw the bond mark on his arm when he reached toward her in the cage. ‘I really hope I can meet him again. Or her?’

Then she remembered the smell he gave off and became red, her face getting heated, when she remembered when Yuki touched her face.

“I still don’t believe you’re a guy!” she yelled as she stomped off with her hands on her face.

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