"I'm not weak!" Ako yelled at her opponent.

"Oh? Then how come you haven't managed to land a single blow but I've almost defeated you already?" Her opponent taunted.

Ako growled. She charged at her opponent. He easily dodged her. He landed a swipe at her ear. Ako yelped in pain as her ear was sliced open. Blood dribbled down her neck.

"Weak. You should've let your sister fight for you. Oh wait. She left you all alone for those friends of hers." He spat, "What a traitor."

"Don't talk about her like that!" Ako yelled as she charged again.

She missed again. He tripped her and she went falling into the dirt. Her opponent laughed.

"I think I've won." He stated, "Don't ever try and fight me again. Next time I'll kill you."

Ako pushed herself to her feet. She bit back tears. Why was she so weak? She had to be strong. She had to be. Otherwise no one would ever treat her with respect.

Ako ran away. She lost the fight. Again. No matter what she did, she always lost. Ako had tears streaming down her face as she locked herself in her room. She threw herself onto her bed.

After a few minutes, she got up and went to clean her ear. It was still slightly bleeding. She winced in pain as she cleaned it off with a wet towel. Once she was satisfied, Ako put a bit of medicine on it. She placed a bandage and gauze on it.

Ako went back to her room. She sighed as she plopped down onto her bed. She hated this. Life was unfair. Why was she so weak? Why wasn't she strong like everyone else? Ako wished she knew.

It wasn't like weakness ran in her family. Everyone else was fearsome. Everyone else was strong. And yet there Ako was. Couldn't handle a simple fight. She didn't know why.

"Onee-chan... Why'd you go? I need you here..." Ako whispered.

Ako stayed in her bed for a long time. She couldn't stop thinking about her failure. Whenever she lost a fight, she'd mull over it for ages. Ako hated showing her face after a loss. It was always hard. Everyone knew about it by now.

Ako sighed. She buried her face into her pillow. She groaned. Why couldn't she just be normal? As much as she constantly went on about wanting to be cool, she'd settle for just being normal. At least then people would actually talk to her.

Rarely anyone in her group said a word to her. Ako knew why. No one wanted to associate with a family that had a traitor in it. Ako hated that they called her that. She wasn't a traitor. Tomoe would never do that. She just... did what was best for her. Right?

Now that Ako thought about it, maybe they were right. She had always wanted to believe in her sister. To believe that she was capable of only doing right. But now, in her despair, she started to consider that maybe everyone had been telling the truth.

Was Tomoe a traitor? Sure, she did abandon her group. But, Ako could understand why. Tomoe always wanted to be with her friends. She'd do anything to protect them. And she left with them when one was kicked out.

"Maybe I should leave too?" Ako whispered, "Maybe then they'll see I'm not weak. If I can survive on my own... then I can prove to them in strong."

Ako stood up. She had decided. She would run away from the group. It wasn't like she was wanted anyway. Why would they care if she just got up and vanished one day. It wasn't their problem.

Ako knew very well that no one would come looking for her. They'd all just lie and say that maybe she was taken. Or they would just assume she was dead. Ako sighed. She wished she would be taken.

Groups would sometimes to that. They'd steal members to weaken their enemy. Ako realized she'd never be a target. She was too weak. But, why didn't Tomoe come get her? Why couldn't she have run away with them?

Ako refused to believe that Tomoe hated her. Unless she heard those words from her, she'd continue to believe that she was loved. Ako tried her best to come up with as many excuses as she could as to why Tomoe didn't allow her to come.

But, it didn't change the fact she was still here. That she wasn't with them. It hurt her. She had always looked up to Tomeo so much. And yet, she had been left alone. Her parents were dead. Had been for a while. It had only been the two of them. And now it was just her.

Ako grabbed a bag and packed up a few things. She glanced around. The sun was coming up. Everyone would soon go to bed. She'd wait until the sun was farther up and then she'd leave. Demons didn't like the sun. They'd never come out during it.

Ako waited for an hour. She looked outside again. Not a demon in sight. Now was her chance. She knew a secret way out. No one seemed to know about it but her. That was perfect for now. No one would see her leave. Not that they'd probably care at all.

Ako quietly left her house. She looked at it one last time, before she started walking. She found the hidden path and headed down it. Ako remained on high alert. There was always a chance that someone would see her.

Thankfully, she made it to the end without any issues. Ako nervously stepped into the forest. She started walking in one direction. Eventually she'd have to find something, right? That was what Ako hoped. She'd need shelter. That much she knew.

Ako soon exited her ex-group's territory. She became increasingly nervous with every step. Who knew what could lurk out here. Ako jumped at every noise. Anything she saw out of the corner of her eyes spooked her. She hoped she'd find a place soon. This area gave her the creeps.

"Oh. Would you look at that?"

"Seems like a little demon got lost."

Ako froze. Two demons were here. They found her. Ako didn't recognize anything about them. They looked unfamiliar, they smelled weird, their voices weren't ones she knew. Ako nervously looked at them. They definitely were not something she wanted to fight with.

"U-um..." Ako didn't know what to say. She didn't think they'd let her go without anything happening.

"You know, I'd think you'd make a great game. Shall we play?" One of them teased, "Run and we'll chase. If you elude us, you win. If not, we'll kill you. But not before having more fun. You have a nice body, after all. I'm sure it's not been spoiled yet."

Ako gulped. She took off running. She heard them run after her. Ako was terrified. She had to escape them. But how? They knew this forest. She didn't. She was at a heavy disadvantage. There was only so much she could do.

Ako kept running. The fear kept her moving. She could hear them close by. She wasn't putting any distance between them. That wasn't a good sign. She needed to get farther away so she could hide. But where?

She'd needed a way to hide her scent. That was going to be difficult. She'd have to find something that smelled. Ako kept her senses on high alert for anything like that.

She made a mistake. She had miscalculated a jump and ended up sprawled across the forest floor. Ako was pinned down before she had time to even think about getting up.

"Looks like we won."

Ako felt tears running down her face as she was roughly grabbed and shoved against a tree. The two demons eyed her hungrily. Ako whimpered as one of them drew closer. He ripped her clothes off. Ako weakly tried to cover herself.

"Get away from her!"

"Oh. The mysterious duo has arrived. Don't like us claiming our prize?" The two demons glared at the two covered figures that stepped into view.

"She is a child. We will not allow it."

They fought. They won surprisingly fast. The two demons growled as they sauntered away in defeat. Ako nervously looked at the two demons who had saved her.

"Come. Let's get you some clothes." The shorter of the two held out a hand to Ako.

"O-okay." Ako shakily took it.

They walked deep into the woods. They came to a base. The shorter demon vanished into a room. Ako guessed it was to get her clothes.

"Are you hurt, darling?" The other demon asked.

"J-just some scratches..." Ako mumbled.

"Come sit. I'll make you a drink while we wait." The demon invited.

Ako nodded. She was led to a living room looking area. She sat on the couch. The demon wrapped her in a blanket and then vanished into another room. Ako took the time to look around. Their base was pretty bland, as she expected. But, it felt homely.

"Here. These should fit well enough." The first demon returned with clothes.

"T-thank you, u-um..." Ako wasn't sure what to address the demon with.

"I'm afraid I can't give you my name." The demon replied, "You can call me M for now."

"Okay. What about-"

"Her? Ah... she keeps changing her alias. I'm not quite sure what she goes by now." M sighed.

"Oh."

The unnamed demon came back with a cup of water. She handed it to Ako. Ako thanked her and drank. She trusted them. They seemed to just genuinely want to help her out.

"What do you want her to call you?" M asked.

"Ah. I suppose just call me K." The demon shrugged.

Ako wondered what the letters meant. If anything. They could just be random letters they used.

"Um... what's gonna happen with me now? Are you gonna take me back home?" Ako frowned at the thought.

"You don't want to return home?" K asked.

Ako shook her head, "They hate me... cause my sister ran away with her friends... called her a traitor and they think I'll be one too."

"I see. Well, you can stay for a while. Afterwards, we'll show you to a safer place than the unclaimed woods." M said.

"Thank you! You guys are really nice. Um... who exactly are you, though? What do you do?"

"We are rebels. We want to take down the organization. We don't approve of their laws." M stated.

"Oh. That sounds like a lot of work." Ako commented.

"Indeed it is." They both nodded.

"Well, good luck with that task." Ako smiled.

"Thank you. Would you like to rest? I can show you to a spare room?" K asked.

Ako nodded. K led her to an empty room. There was a bed in it and that was it. Ako thanked her and then laid down. She was exhausted. All that running had taken it out of her.

She curled up on the bed and drifted off. At least she was safe for now. But, would that last?