Chapter Text
"So, uh. Why did the higher ups send you two with me?" Chidori looked over at the blond. Junpei was a few steps ahead of them, carrying the box Shiomi had on his back after insisting, with the words he said being 'You'll end up with your back worse than my old man's state!' and just took it by force. So now her boyfriend was carrying Sanada on his back.
"Well, I suppose that after what happened in Mount Natagumo, they don't want a repeat of that carnage." she theorized "If I believe to be correct, both you and Junpei are Mizunoe. Meanwhile, I'm a Tsuchinoe, which is a higher rank." she explained.
"So... You're like our senpai, basically." Shiomi hummed.
"Mhm. That would be it." Chidori nodded. The blond rubbed his chin, nodding.
"Alright. Makes sense." he said. The two continued to walk, watching how Junpei was growing further and further away. The redhead started to jog to catch up with him. He was humming happily to himself.
"I can't believe I'm out on a mission with my girlfriend and my best friend! This is awesome! It's gonna be a breeze!" he beamed in excitement. Chidori shook her head, an amused smile coming to her face. Junpei's positive energy was something that contrasted with her usual negativity. It's not like she wanted to be negative, she just was more realistic to what could happen to them. This world was crueler than their last.
"Never let your guard down, though. We may have him on our side, but we still need to be careful of the demons." she warned.
"I know, Chidorita! My guard is up all the way!" he assured her, his smile almost contagious. She rolled her eyes.
"You better." she said.
"I think I see a village up ahead." Shiomi informed as he picked the pace up, starting to jog. He ran past the two, surprisingly.
"Wh- Damn, you're fast, dude!" Junpei exclaimed, surprised.
"Come on, let's hurry. We'll get left behind," Chidori shook her head, picking up her pace.
"Ah- Hold on!"
Yukari looked at the practice sword that Kanao was swinging, her gaze fixated on the wooden weapon. Her lips were forming a thin line, and her brows were furrowed. She wanted to reach out, to grab one. To swing with confidence the way Kanao did, the way Sakuya did. But something stopped her.
The memory of her Final Selection came to her mind. Of how she couldn't slay a single demon all the time she was there. How she had become nothing but a coward. And that's what made her hesitate. What made her confidence in herself waver. And she hated it. A lot. How could she lose all of the confidence she once had in herself like that? She was strong, wasn't she? She shook her head, finishing sweeping the floor and putting the broom aside. Sakuya said she was strong. And she believed him. She watched Kanao closely, seeing the way her swings carried her. Maybe she could be like Kanao? In a way? She hoped so. Kanao was strong.
"And? You still did your best. You still killed those demons, you still survived. Were there people better than you? I'm sure. But even then, you still were strong enough to survive. Back at Iwatodai, we would have been in many sticky situations. But it's thanks to you, to your healing and your abilities, that we pushed through. Yukari. You're strong. And I don't care what anyone else says."
And she was, too. She was. She had to be. She walked over to the area, seeing a battered practice sword resting by the wall. It almost looked like it could fall into pieces at any moment. And yet, the black haired girl walked over to it, picking it up. It was light, somewhat rough against her palms. But it was perfect. From the corner of her eyes, she saw Kanao giving her a curious look before she returned to what she was doing. She took a deep breath, Total Concentration Breathing flowing throughout her body.
'You're strong. You can protect others.' she thought, closing her eyes for a second. Concentrate, get ready. Just like in Tartarus.
"Water Breathing, First Form: Water Surface Slash!"
She slashed the air horizontally, releasing a water slash and cutting the head of a mannequin she hadn't even noticed was there. She exhaled shakily, her lungs burning. She hadn't used breathing techniques in so long, it hurts to even use one. What the fuck. "I did it, at least..." she mumbled to herself, happy. At least she hadn't lost her touch.
"What are you doing?" she flinched when she heard Kanao. She turned to her, seeing the curious glint in the girl's eyes, her head tilted to the side slightly. Yukari blinked.
"Uh... I was, um... practicing! Yeah, p-practicing!" she said, rubbing the back of her head nervously. That did not sound convincing at all. Why couldn't she lie better? Maybe then she wouldn't feel like she was being judged.
Kanao looked at her before flipping her coin in the air. Yukari watched how it flipped and flipped until the other caught in in her hand, revealing for it to have landed on tails. "Do you need help?" she asked. The blue eyed girl blinked. Help? Well, that'd be greatly appreciated if she was honest. She needed to get better with the sword. Even though she knew that her best weapon was her beloved bow, right now, all she had was a sword.
"Yeah. I-I appreciated, Kanao." she nodded. Kanao nodded as well, the smile not leaving her face. Yet it seemed more relaxed. More genuine.
Hanamada was peaceful, yet almost deserted. There were barely any people out in its streets, as if they feared going out. Sakuya understood why. The fear of being taken away was a normal fear to have. Sakuya had it once, too. When he was a child, he was terrified of being separated from his sister.
And then he lost his family in that night. And he didn't care about it anymore.
"Looks like we made it to Hanamada." Yoshino commented as she looked around, scanning the place.
"It looks dead." Junpei commented, rubbing the back of his neck.
"People are hiding in their houses. Probably so the demon doesn't kidnap them next." Sakuya commented, rubbing his palms together to warm them up as he walked up to one of the few people outside, an old man sitting on a bench and feeding his equally old cat. The animal looked up, and when it saw Sakuya, it hissed, crawling on the man's lap protectively.
"Oh- Kiriya, what's wrong?" the old man asked, curious. It seemed like he was blind.
"Excuse me, sir." Sakuya spoke, his tone polite and soft. He didn't want to set off the elder cat or make it angrier. The man looked up, his unfocused gaze falling on the blond.
"Ah. Are you a traveler, young man?" he asked, cocking his head to the side.
"Kind of. My friends and I heard about the disappearances in here and in Kishikawa." he started, noticing the way the elder man had stiffened "Do you know anything about it? Or maybe you possess some sort of information about the victims?" he inquired. There was a beat of silence as Sakuya heard Yoshino and Junpei approach, as equally curious as he was.
"...Women go missing every night. There isn't a pattern, no one understands why the victims are targeted." he explained, his tone sour as his cat nuzzled closer "All we can hear are their horrified screams. There's nothing we can do once that happens." Sakuya frowned.
"So the victims are completely random, then?" Yoshino hummed. The man nodded.
"A piece of advice. Get out of here while you can. It's dangerous." he warned.
"Don't worry, sir! We'll be a-okay!" Junpei assured the man with a bright smile while giving him a thumbs up. The blond nudged the other.
"He can't see." he whispered. The taller faltered, embarrassed. He quickly withdrew his hand, embarrassed.
"R-Right, I knew that..." he muttered to himself.
"Grandpa! Come on, let's go back home! Daddy says that dinner's ready!" a little girl called for the man. She was so young, still growing. And yet she was full of energy. The elderly man laughed softly as he got up from his seat, his body hunched forward just slightly. He reached his hand out for his cane, to aid in his way. Sakuya would have reached for it, but Yoshino had been faster than him, already having it in her hands and giving it to the man.
"Thank you, young one." he nodded as the cat meowed at his owner, guiding him back to the little girl. The group watched the small, heartwarming scene. For a moment, the blond swore he was seeing Bunkichi instead of the elder man, slowly walking around with a cane. And his body screamed at him to help him. But he didn't. That man wasn't Bunkichi. He wasn't the elder man that Sakuya had grown so fond of, that he once suggested Sakuya coming to stay with them for the summer when he went back home.
"...That man must have lost someone to the demon in the area." Yoshino commented softly, her mood souring just at the thought. Sakuya nodded, gladly snapping himself out of the thoughts of the elderly couple that sold books in Iwatodai, knowing that the more he thought about them, the more prone he was to shed a tear. He wondered who he must have lost. It definitely was someone important to him.
"Let's find an inn or ryokan. Then we'll prepare the plan to defeat the demon." he told the two, who nodded.