Chapter 12: Friendship Under Fire
Any time now… Isamu leaned against the pillar of the lowest torch and looked towards the door he should come through. As much as he'd like to be the hero this time, there was a big problem of all the demons hanging around inside this building. Pascal was pretty cool, but Isamu didn't think one dog was going to be enough against a bunch of oni and all their allies. But Naoki was half-demon now and really strong, plus he had his two demon partners. They should be able to pass through together much easier.
"Though I don't know why he gets two partners when I've just got you and he's got demonic powers of his own," Isamu muttered, shifting his hat.
"He's been recognized as a leader among demons," Pascal said. "You would have to learn about demon summoning and gain recognition that way to earn the ability to make contracts."
"You know, he's really just a normal kind of guy, mostly," Isamu said. "A little weird but not the cool kind of weird, not until now. But I guess everyone's a bit weird, so he's still average."
Pascal titled his head. "What do you mean, master?"
"Ah, nothing really," he said, then saw some people come in through the doors. Finally. "Hey, Naoki!"
"Isamu?" Naoki called, stopping where he was just past the doors.
Smiling, he went over to meet him. "Man, you have no idea how glad I was to find out that you were alive. I've been doing all kinds of stuff trying to find Ms. Takao and you, and I thought you really were dead for a while. It's been a crazy time."
Even thought he was admitting to this, Naoki didn't seem to be paying attention. He'd closed his eyes and seemed like he was concentrating on something else. He wasn't even emoting at all.
"Naoki? Hey, what're you up to?" Isamu tried to come closer to flick his forehead or something, but Naoki held his hand up and grimaced.
"Hang on, give him a minute to get used to this area," Uzume said, stepping between them. "He's sensing everything you can see and more, so he can't properly respond yet."
"Whoa, seriously now?" Did that make what he'd researched with the Amala drum less useful? If they hadn't been best friends, Isamu felt like he could be jealous of Naoki now.
"Of course," the guy in blue armor said. "So leave him be."
Isamu didn't like being told what to do, but if it was for Naoki's sake, he could be a bit patient. Although now that they were face to face, he had to admit that his friend was unsettling now. It'd looked cool through the Amala network, like he'd suddenly turned into a rebel of some kind. But those glowing bits on his markings pulsed like they were connected to his heart. Isamu's skin prickled like some kind of invisible entity was touching him. And even though he'd never been that superstitious, Isamu felt like Naoki was studying him although his eyes were closed. Just how powerful was he?
Naoki licked his lips in a creepy way, then looked at him. "I'm glad to see you too, Isamu," he said weakly, smiling a bit.
Smiling back and acting confidant, he replied, "Yeah, even if you've changed a lot. Actually, I was waiting on you here. I've been working with those terminals and finding out all kinds of things. That's how I knew you were coming; I tried looking into useful things for you. It's great because we're both looking for Ms. Takao now."
Then he had to go and lick his lips again. "Ah, that's why you taste like the network. You should be careful with those."
They should be talking about rescuing Ms. Takao now, not this. "What is this, do you taste your surroundings like a lizard?"
"More or less," Naoki said like it was a normal thing to him now. "The network can be really dangerous and swallow you up with its information. I traveled through there once, I've felt it to be so."
"It can't be that dangerous," Isamu said, to which Naoki shook his head. "Well, whatever, I can tell you what I found out. You know about how Ms. Takao is the Maiden that Nihilo is holding on to?"
"She is the Maiden of Conception that assisted to bring about this Vortex World," Naoki said.
"I've seen that, but it can't be true," he said. "She wouldn't do something crazy like this."
"Right," he said, even though he'd said the opposite just now. "I think Hikawa tricked her, but I can't say how much. They won't let me into their facility near Ginza, so I'm here to see if the Mantra can help me break in."
"Yeah, but these guys won't be much for negotiations," Isamu said. "They fight and kill each other for sport, and it'd be hard to get them to listen if you can't back up your words with strength. They've got this guy Thor who's the second in command and he's supposed to be some god of thunder."
"The real Thor or a shade?" Naoki asked.
That wasn't something Isamu had thought of. "I don't know, actually."
Naoki looked up at the skyscraper in front of them. "There is a true god here." He licked his lips again. "Not electricity, so I doubt it's Thor. And Narukami and Gaea, they're in there somewhere. Three candelabrum as well; there's a lot to accomplish here."
"How's any of that going to help us rescue Ms. Takao?" Isamu asked "You're just going to ask them for an alliance to get to where she is, right?"
"Do you know where she really is?" Naoki asked, looking back to him.
He scratched his head. "Actually, no. That guy Hikawa has got the information blocked somehow." Naoki sighed at that and looked back at the skyscraper. "But ah, no offense to you, but I think these guys will let me get in since I'm a human. We're supposed to be participating in some hokey elaborate ritual for the weird star, so humans are kind of valuable around here. These guys are even looking for one."
"It's not hokey, it's very real," he said. "Two Reasons have already been named, I felt them a while back. Maybe you should get with Hijiri and work with him on the terminals to figure out what Hikawa is up to. My followers and I should be enough to deal with the Mantra."
But that would relegate him to the role of a nerdy sidekick; he was already fighting to get a role as a hero instead. "Aw come on, we're buddies. We could find her much faster if we work together."
"I don't want you walking right into this place because you're my friend," Naoki said firmly. "And, because you're fully human. From what I've been hearing, unless you can come up with an official Reason that matches their philosophy, I don't think the Mantra will pull their punches with you. What have you thought about as a Reason bearer?"
"I'm getting sick of that question," Isamu said, trying not to be too annoyed. "Ms. Takao's definitely in trouble, I've been doing all I can to rescue her. But there's only so much I can do with only Pascal here to help."
"Hijiri's really knowledgeable, but he may be behind you on the terminal research," he said. "Or, you could help me in coming up with a Reason that will restore the world to the way it was. I don't think there was anything wrong with it, so if we can just restore it all, including the billions that died, that could be the best outcome."
"I don't want to deal with that, I never asked for that kind of chore," Isamu said, clenching a fist. "Man, I don't want to fight with you. We've finally met up and we've always gotten more done together."
"All right, but you've got to be careful," Naoki said. "Pascal here seems good for defending you and keeping out of trouble, so stick by him. I just hope we don't run into Thor."
"Well then don't say that because then we're sure to run into him," he said. Good, he knew his friend wouldn't let him down even if he was being overly cautious.
At the end of the torch-lined stairs, there was a tall door with glowing squares, looking more like it was made for giants than humans. A small snowman was swinging his arms and staring up at that door, but looked to them as they approached. "Oh, hee-ho-hello there!"
"Hi Heeho," Naoki said. "How's your quest going?"
"Great, I got the money to travel, ho! And I came to join the Mantra so I can be super cool and powerful!" The little demon then looked back up to the door. "But it's so hee-scary here. There's so much fire; I don't know if I can get in."
"I dunno if they'd want to take a little guy like you in in the first place," Isamu said. This Heeho seemed too cutesy to fit in with the demons he'd seen of the Mantra.
"Hey, I'm gonna be big and powerful someday, just you wait!" Heeho said, stomping a foot down. But it didn't look that intimidating with that permanent smile on his face.
"Well you got up here past the stairs of fire," Naoki said, still trying to cheer up the demon. Of course, always like him to be playing the good guy even when he was a demon now.
"But there's more fire just past the doors," Heeho said. "A hee-ho lot more! Maybe I'll bulk myself up against fire out here. When I can go through those doors, I'll definitely be stronger."
"You stay determined like that, you will," Naoki said, making Heeho bounce in glee. "Actually, have you seen a guy called Thor around here recently? I'm not sure what he looks like, but he's a powerful thunder god."
"Hooo..." he patted the side of his head. "I dunno! A few demons have come in and out, but they look right over the top of me. About the only guys that aren't giants are the hee ho pyro jacks, and the pyro I met here was a hee-ho jerk."
"Guess we're taking our chances huh?" Isamu said, though he felt excited for this. He might finally do something awesome and inspiring.
"Right," Naoki said, going up to the door. He closed his eyes there, then waved his demons closer. "There's some nues just inside. I can handle them, but stall for me in case they want to battle right off."
It was like that as they made their way through the halls. Isamu had copied some maps to his cell phone, but Naoki would just walk into the place and know how the current floor was laid out. While there were many demons, they never really got ambushed because Naoki always sensed them coming. He also somehow knew exactly what characteristics a demon they were facing had, something that took Isamu a while to figure out with the terminals. Uzume seemed better at magic, while Momunofu was better at weapon combat, but Naoki was good at both magic and fist fighting all of a sudden.
On the third floor, he sensed a problem. "Thor's ahead. He standing in the way of a different elevator. There's no stairs up, so we'll need that elevator. And he has Narukami." He put his hands over his face.
"Oh dear, you'll have to challenge him at some point then," Uzume said.
"Who's this Naru?" Isamu asked. Naoki had muttered about them and Gaea at a few points.
"It's a demonic parasite, where I get my powers from," Naoki said. After rubbing his cheeks, he put his hands down. "My thoughts get messed up when I'm near one, like I have to get them, whatever it takes."
"Well we need to meet with Gozu-Tennoh and Thor's his second in command," isamu said, determined to keep himself involved somehow. "A lot of these guys seemed to respect you when you were winning, so maybe you just have to challenge him too." Pascal whimpered a little, not being helpful.
"Thor would ruin your guardian," Naoki said. "And unfortunately, Uzume's a liability against him too. I'll probably have to call out Matador."
"Well maybe I can do something against him," Isamu said. There had to be something he could do.
"Against Thor?" Naoki asked skeptically.
"Well you gotta try crazy things at some point, right?" he said, starting down the hall. Pascal followed after despite how nervous he was.
"This is more than crazy," Naoki said, hurrying after him. "You could end up dead."
"They aren't supposed to kill the surviving humans, it's like a law or something," he said.
"Not exactly," Uzume said. "And there's plenty that would not care."
"Well I'm going," Isamu said, not stopping for them.
"Isamu!" Naoki said sternly, trying to stop him.
He turned and threw him off, not wanting to be patronized any more. Then a flash of light filled his awareness. Isamu couldn't feel his body; Naoki caught him. Why… couldn't he do anything? Naoki looked down the hall, then growled in an inhuman manner. He set Isamu down and barreled ahead after whoever had struck him down.
Why was Naoki the one getting to be the hero?
Heavy footsteps approached, shaking the floor with every stride. A rough hand grabbed him, pulling him up limply. A face shrouded by a helmet peered down at him, then snorted. When his other hand covered his face, Isamu felt like someone had a reach deep into his body. The grip tightened…
A multitude of colors and emotions shattered across his awareness.
Fog of nostalgia. But, this wasn't that long ago? Isamu had passed him a comic, claiming it was great. Naoki shook his head. "It's just a lame series of dick jokes."
"Aw come on, just look at that girl," he said, grinning. "Who cares what the joke is when you get art like that?"
He tossed the book back. "Keep your porn to yourself. Besides, that was pretty bad for the girl."
"Man, you're weird for not getting it," Isamu said, shuffling the book back to its semi-hidden spot.
People outside his family kept saying that he was ordinary and average, taking a moment to think of anything about him. Not only was it embarrassing, but sometimes it got bad enough that he'd think he wasn't worthwhile to anyone but his family. But Naoki knew he was weird for not getting these things. He usually kept it to himself because that was even more shameful than being forgettable. But he'd been wanting to talk about it with someone and Isamu knew him well. "Actually, I've been thinking..."
"Yeah, me too," he said. "In a few weeks, it'll be our last year of high school, right? So I've got one last year to get a chance at Ms. Takao's love."
Naoki felt embarrassed; he should have seen that coming. They had conflicting opinions more than not lately. And, Isamu didn't listen much to him. They'd been calling each other best friends for years, though, ever since second grade. Were they really falling apart?
"I will win her over, I swear it," Isamu said.
Naoki felt like he should try to fix things, even if it meant putting aside his own thoughts for now. "You might have better luck when senior year is over and we're not her students any more."
"Aw, but that's part of the allure," he said.
That was surprisingly consistent. Maybe it was his concern over Isamu this time. Was… was he okay?
Naoki bolted awake, feeling disoriented from the suddenness of it. He was in a square room… a cell, the door out had a slot of bars for observation. And he wasn't alone: Isamu was curled up in a ball against the other wall. Closing his eyes, Naoki focused his thoughts towards his horn until he was alert enough to get information from it. Isamu had been electrocuted (they'd been arguing because Isamu was being dumb and then he dropped right away from one electrical bolt) and was oddly light on magatsuhi. Had they already drained him? The manikins spoke of that.
Tasting a strong hot soup with wasabi, Naoki recalled a fury so intense that he could not see anything but the one who'd hurt his friend. His head came to Thor's hips, but he still attacked. Right for the knee, if he could make him buckle, he'd be on the right track to win. Thor had thrown him into the wall, but that was nothing. Naoki attacked again and…
Narukami got hold of his ear and invaded. Not expecting that, Naoki knew nothing of what happened after that. But the new magatama had not been enough, unlike with Forneus.
What now? Naoki crawled over to sit by Isamu's side. Tugging on Anhk, he was able to cast a weak healing spell on him. But that wasn't near enough. A lack of magatsuhi could destroy a demon's physical body, perhaps even their soul. What of a human? Was there a way to transfer what he had to Isamu to wake him up faster?
Anxiety bubbled up from the magatama. One didn't give away magatsuhi unless one had an excess. But he had more than enough to support himself and his two demons… well, three now when he called Matador in. Naoki closed his eyes and focused on sensing magatsuhi. Once he could see the red glow within his mind, he tried to move it.
He found he couldn't move it far away from his body. Maybe with more practice, but he didn't want to waste time. Bending over to put his forehead on Isamu's shoulder, Naoki focused on this transfer. Isamu had his own magatsuhi still, a different quality from his own… no, don't draw his in too close. Draw it close just enough to make contact, then pass over the energy. The two flows melded, his friend's growing until he could reclaim awareness and build his own energy back up.
Isamu grumbled, so Naoki set a hand on his side to sit back up. "Ugh… Naoki? What're you doing?"
"Waking you up," he said.
The transfer had worked well enough that Isamu pushed his hand away and started to get back up. "Hey, I don't like you that way."
Relieved some, he laughed softly. "That's not it."
"Well what am I supposed to think, waking up to you leaning over like that?" Isamu rubbed his arm. "Man, I feel so exhausted and numb."
"You got shot through with lightning and then drained of magatsuhi," Naoki said, going back over tot he other wall. "If I hadn't given some back to you, you'd still be out like a light."
"Is that like some magic CPR?" He closed his eyes. "Maybe I should have just stayed asleep."
"You can if you want." He felt energy swelling up. That was Kagutsuchi.
"Well now I'm awake, so where are we?" He looked around, trying to stay alert.
"A jail cell," he said. "Uh, hey, if I get really strange in a couple of minutes, it's because Kagutsuchi is full. I'd leave, but I don't think they'd let me."
"How can you tell? There's no windows."
"It's the way it affects demonic power," Naoki said.
"I already think this is strange," Isamu said.
Unfortunately, Matador chose that moment to appear within the cell. "Did you need me for this trial by combat?" he said, pulling his cape across his chest. Isamu stared at him.
"Yes, and I should get the other two revived beforehand," Naoki said. Not quite now, he'd rather not overwhelm Isamu with four demons afflicted by full Kagutsuchi. "Do you happen to know anything more than it's a trial by combat?"
"Si, I have wandered these halls as a shadow as it lies so near," Matador said. "There are three rounds with three demons they choose as executioners. If you can defeat all three, you prove your innocence. It's a classic form, typical for a god like Gozu-Tennoh. So far, you'll probably be up against an orthrus, a yaksini, and Thor himself."
"I might have a chance against Thor when I'm not distracted by a magatama," he said, rubbing his ear.
"Who is this?" Isamu asked.
"I am the mighty Fiend Matador, you had best show some respect," he replied haughtily.
"He's one of my followers now," Naoki said, which Matador tried to ignore in front of another person.
"Can he break us out?" Isamu asked.
"Not in the state you're in, no," Naoki said. They were still on the third floor, but Isamu was tired and wouldn't be able to move quickly.
"If I was dismissed and resummoned outside the door, something could be done to that effect," Matador said. "But he is right, you need more time to recover. You can bring your guardian back too, they aren't affected as powerfully by the Kagutsuchi phase."
Hearing that, Naoki called out a few small items. "I've got an extra revival bead and some life stones you can use."
"No, he hasn't been of much use to me," Isamu said.
"Doesn't he provide you with safe food and water?" Naoki asked. "That's what Chiaki said about hers."
"Well there's that, but nothing else." Naoki passed over the recovery items, although Isamu didn't make a move to use them.
"I came in part because I can control myself better under full moonlight," Matador said. "And Kagutsuchi. You're still a youth, Naoki. Since you don't wish to harm your friend, I shall keep an eye on things."
"Upgraded from a child, huh?" Naoki said, feeling some amusement. Yeah, it was starting. "Thanks."
"There is still much for you to learn to truly be one of us," he said. "Also, I can confirm that the angels are watching you closely as well, some very high ranking ones at that." He paused. "We'll discuss them later, it's important but not right now."
"Man, and you've got angels after you too?" Isamu said, trying to take this lightly. "You're like some anti-hero guy, that's cool."
"It's not cool," Naoki said, angered at the reminder. Maybe he should say exactly what he thought; no, he shouldn't be cruel to his friend.
"Don't be sensitive, that ain't good," Isamu said. "You've got all the cool stuff going for you, so you shouldn't be complaining when you're way better off than you were."
"What, do you want angels to be holding the souls of your entire family hostage because you're a threat to them?" he said. "That's what this gets me."
"That can't be right," Isamu said, looking over at the door for some reason.
For a moment, Naoki entertained the idea of forcing him to eat his dorky hat. Matador must have seen his expression since he tapped him lightly on the back with his cape. "What he says is the truth of the matter, that's one of the things I learned," Matador said.
"Oh, really?" Isamu shrugged, then looking down in thought.
Is that all he was going to do? Maybe it would take him a minute; talking seriously wasn't one of Isamu's strong suits. But he shouldn't be so heartless as to be disinterested on hearing that. Naoki's thoughts struggled with each other, but the light of Kagutsuchi still pierced through. After a bit, he laughed quietly.
"What's so funny?" Isamu said, taking that as a distraction from heavy topics.
He had no idea what he was in for. "It's just that my human side is being so desperate to keep polite as friends when its voice is weakest," Naoki said. "I want to talk, but you don't want to listen to what I have to say when it's not about your interests. That's always how it is, isn't it?"
"Well what the heck am I supposed to say to something like that?" he said. "And you said you'd say strange things now."
Feeling an impulse to really mess with him, he smiled and replied, "Not so much strange as being totally without normal human inhibitions. There was one full Kagutsuchi when I wrestled with a nekomata because she disrupted me in the shower. You know, one of the cat girls that are handy with charm magic."
"Oh really?" Isamu said, getting a dumb grin on his face.
"Does that turn you on?" Naoki said; Matador chuckled near him.
Red-faced, he stammered for a couple seconds in response. "H-hey, don't tease me like that!"
"Well that's what you get for not wanting to listen when I wanted to say something," he said, then leaned against the wall behind him. He had to do so at an angle due to his horn. "When I really wanted to discuss something with a human that demons wouldn't grasp. But you aren't interested enough to care. You know, there was another time when I wanted to talk with you about something important to me. But even though I had to be acting troubled because of all the doubt it was causing me, you completely ignored me and went into your latest ill-fated plot to romance Yuko."
"When was that?" Isamu asked, instead of what the matter was.
So of course, he couldn't be told directly. "That's why I've been avoiding you all break," Naoki said, startling him. "That's right, you failed me at a time that I needed you and so I ignored you. I told myself on several occasions that I'd call you some afternoon so we could meet up and talk, but then I'd convince myself out of it because you'd ignore me again. But really, you'd hurt me with all of your insensitivity. We have different interests, like we play different games and we prefer different restaurants. Whenever I'd suggest somewhere to eat, you'd shoot it down immediately and insist on the places you preferred."
"Hey, it wasn't like that," he said, tapping his hand on his leg. But they were trapped in the same cell, he had to listen.
"Then where do I like to eat?" he said as a challenge.
"Black Rabbit's? We ate there a lot."
He shook his head. "I hate the way they cook their fish, didn't you notice? And their vegetable dishes all tasted the same no matter what was in them, but it was marginally better than the fish."
"Well why didn't you say anything?" he asked, trying to pin the blame on him.
"I did, many times," Naoki said. "Like I always said that you'd not end up with Yuko while she was still our teacher. But neither matches what you want, so you conveniently forget about what I say. Yet I still thought I should turn to you when I needed someone; that was a foolish thing. You were so important to me and I'd get blinded by nostalgia instead of accepting how you'd changed for the worse."
"What, you had a crush on me?" Isamu asked, squeamish at that thought.
Naoki laughed at him. Maybe suffering was conducive to magatsuhi production? Because one couldn't tell now that he'd been drained recently. "If you'd listened all along, you'd know that was preposterous. But it has to always be about you, doesn't it? Or it's not worth paying attention to. If I was a girl so that you'd find it acceptable, I wouldn't be in love with you. Given how you treat me as a friend, I can't see how any girl could stand you for long in a relationship."
"Well stop acting all creepy and I wouldn't think like that," Isamu said, looking away from him again and wanting to be away.
"I guess our friendship really is dead," Naoki said. It hurt to say it, but there was also a feeling of relief that he didn't have to put up with this anymore.
Isamu clutched his knees with both arms. "Wait, what do you mean by that? I haven't done anything wrong."
"You've done so much wrong that I've been thinking that for months now," he said. "But I always thought I should try to fix things, because we were best friends, right? I agreed to all your dumb plans when I shouldn't have, especially the one that landed us in here."
"Well I'm not going to sit back and do nothing, I'm not that kind of guy," he said.
Naoki nodded. "I know, and that's stupid. You contributed nothing helpful to this effort; I could have found a way around Thor if you weren't around. Are you expecting that you can magically find Yuko and rescue her to automatically earn her affections? This isn't one of your dating games, it's not going to work like that. But I still brought you along because you insisted that it's what friends do. Although maybe that was a good mistake since I can finally give up on you."
"Stop that, you're completely wrong!" Isamu said, clenching a fist and starting to move.
Matador was quick to rebuke him with his cape. "Don't even try, boy. You'd be creamed if you provoke him enough."
The full Kagutsuchi was passing now. Naoki shrugged. "Maybe I am wrong, maybe you'll be different when you finally grow up."
While Isamu stopped his rash move, he still glowered over at him. Naoki closed his eyes, mentally cursing himself for saying all that. True, he did think things like that, but they were unchecked ideas that didn't need to be spoken. But what could he say now? He'd eviscerated their friendship and there was no taking that back.
"Hey, hey!" A pyro jack came up to the door and clanged his lantern against the bars. "You'd better be awake in there! We were supposed the hold the trial during full K, but then some doofus caused a delay. The crowd's getting restless, so you're coming out of here for the trial. Just leave your squishy human in here, he'll get splattered too early."
Now there was no time to try apologizing. Naoki got to his feet. "Come on Matador." As the cell door opened, he did think of something. "If you're recognizing him as mine, nobody should dare get in here and drain him again or I will rearrange their face."
"How do you think you're going to enforce that, huh?" the pyro jack asked smugly. "You're the prisoner here. Off to your trial!"
Naoki went right up to the pyro jack and glared down at him. "I'll enforce it with my fists, just like I'm going to do in the trial. And I know I'll win; you know why? Because I broke Lucifer's nose and walked away. This trial of yours does not scare me."
"Y-you're just bluffing," the pyro jack said, although he shrank away from Naoki's gaze.
Matador chuckled. "He tells the truth, little gourd head. So unless you want to say goodbye to the world, you ought to let the others know not to touch the boy in here while we go win that trial. Capiche?"
It wasn't really true, but it was effective. "A-all right, but if you lose the trial, all bets are off cause you have to be lying then. N-now get moving."
On the walk over to the trial arena, Naoki held back on a sigh. "You said you were going to keep me from harming him," he said quietly to Matador.
"I did that much," Matador said. "If he can't handle such criticisms, then he's no man, just a whining babe."
"I hope he can learn from that," he said, although he still didn't think there was a chance for their friendship to be rekindled now.
Isamu hoped Naoki hadn't noticed, but he was quivering. He hadn't been kidding when he said he got crazy just because Kagutsuchi was full. How should he feel about what had been said? Angry, afraid, ashamed? None of that sounded right because a cool guy should be confidant, collected, and unshakable. Getting emotional was a girl's thing, it was wimping out for a guy. Although Naoki had seemed anything but wimpy when he got emotional just now.
Had their friendship been dying for months? That couldn't be right. Naoki hadn't complained much before; he always seemed happy to hang out and goof off. And while Black Rabbit didn't have the best fish, it certainly wasn't enough to hate the place. Naoki couldn't have been avoiding him all of this past school break. Isamu had been hanging around some of their usual spots, they just happened to miss each other.
Was it because Naoki was half demon now? Yeah, that had to be it. He'd mentioned a couple times about how his human side tried to hold him back. And demons were known for lying. He couldn't take every word they spoke for granted, not even from Pascal.
Anyhow, Naoki wouldn't really be complaining that much as his normal self. And why would he complain? He had the power to do things he wanted. Even if that threat to the pumpkin ghost was a bluff, he still convinced it through sheer force of will. He was cool now, with angels watching him as a threat and crazy demons like that Matador serving him. Naoki should feel awesome right now and not let anyone hold him back.
And he probably could rescue Ms. Takao without trouble once he knew where she was. Isamu wished he had that kind of ability. He wouldn't mind all that much if his family was held hostage. Heck, he might not care at all with demon powers at hand. He'd been anticipating the time he could move out of that house because his parents were a drag to be around and kept fussing over what he was doing. Isamu was worried over Ms. Takao, but he was doing all he could to find her instead of sulking and snapping at people.
But he couldn't do anything.
No, he had to be capable of something. And Naoki would surely calm down, come back and apologize. They'd been best friends for years, something that wouldn't die so easily. Isamu would find a way to get what he wanted. Yeah. Even if it meant going along with the hokey rituals.