Now, with the route that this new version is going in, I might also edit the sequel as well. Either way, if it means improvement, then I'm all for it! Anyways, hope you enjoy Chapter 12!
Disclaimer: Beelzebub belongs to Ryuuhei Tamura, not me.
Chapter 12- A Really Interesting Girl
(Hecadoth's POV)
"Good morning, Hecadoth," Laymia greets me as I head for Yumi's quarters.
I nod. "Morning, Laymia," I greet. "How are the sessions with Yumi going?"
"They're going well for the most part," Laymia says. "She seems to be becoming more confident in herself and less afraid of her powers. But I have something I'd like to ask you, Hecadoth. What made you decide to help her control her powers?"
For some reason, this question stumps me. In all honesty, I have no idea what made me decide to train her. But then, I remember. I remember that I had gone through the same emotional turmoil that Yumi's currently going through, that I needed to control my powers as well. "I guess it's because... because I had gone through the same thing before. Even though I'm not a Konketsuji, I understood what she was feeling and how scared she was of the alternate side to her."
"I see," she muses. "And tell me, what do you think of her?"
I raise an eyebrow and turn to her. "Why are you asking me this?" I ask, feeling suspicious.
"Oh, no reason," Laymia reassures me, smiling. "Well, I'll let you start your training." She walks off in the direction of the meeting halls.
"Hecadoth, I'm ready," Yumi tells me as she leaves her quarters, wearing her usual training clothes.
"Good," I say. "Let's start now."
Upon arriving at the arena, we start to do some mock-fighting as our warm ups, and I can't help but notice just how much Yumi has improved in her fighting. I also notice the grace that's displayed in her movements, and I remember seeing the same kind of elegance in her fighting from our earlier sparring sessions. Her fighting is more like an art rather than just simple fighting.
"You've improved," I praise her. "However, I just want to know something. How is it that you show grace in your fighting?"
She brushes away a strand of her hair. "I used to do a form of dance called ballet, and I was doing competitive ballet," she explains. "It's a very graceful dance, and it's beautiful to watch, especially shows like Sleeping Beauty and The Nutcracker."
"I see," I say. No wonder she's so graceful. She also has the figure of a dancer: slender and well-toned legs, well-toned arms, and a certain kind of grace whenever she walks. "Now, let's focus on your powers."
Before I start to demonstrate, I suddenly recall yesterday, when Yumi was very much thrown off when I had removed my shirt just to show where the demon powers mainly lie. Right then, an idea forms in my head. She needs to learn not to get so distracted, and I think I can help her with that.
I proceed to take my shirt off and throw it to the side, much to her shock. For some reason, I find it rather amusing to see her mouth drop open in shock and her face flush red before she tries to hide her face. "He-Hecadoth!" she protests, flustered. "What the hell are you doing?! Why're you taking your shirt off?!"
"To help you overcome your distraction," I reply. "It's important not to get so distracted, Yumi."
She stares in surprise before frowning in annoyance. "Wait a minute… you're doing this on purpose are you?! Do you think I'm an idiot?!" she demands, her voice becoming an octave higher. Right then, she averts her eyes, her face still flushed. "Well... it's not like it bothers me... or anything..." She then glares at me. "So... So don't get the wrong idea, okay?!"
It takes a lot of willpower not to laugh, but in all honesty… I find it rather endearing to see her like this. This is a side to her that no one has ever seen, actually. I let out a small chuckle. "So this is what Furuichi was talking about when he said 'tsundere'," I muse to myself.
"Huh?" she asks, but I wave her off.
"It's nothing," I say. "Let's start now."
For the most part, it seems like Yumi's determined to show me that she can be focused. Unfortunately, I find myself getting slightly distracted by her. A part of me wants to find out more about her, because she seems like a very interesting girl. One thing that I really like about her is her voice. It's not high and girlish like a lot of Japanese girls, but it's not too low and ear-grating like the Ishiyama girl Hanazawa Yuka. It's gentle and melodious, making her sound both sensible and mature, as well as kind and compassionate.
What the hell am I thinking? I think to myself. I'm a Pillar General, not some schoolboy with a crush! I must stay focused on training her! But just as I think that, I notice that her stance is slightly off. Even though I can easily tell her where to fix it, I still go over and move her arms and legs in the right position. "Your stance is wrong," I tell her. I then take her leg and position it in the right way, as well as her arms.
This time, I watch as tendrils of black energy surround her fists and feet, swirling around her. The energy is definitely stronger this time, and I can sense a calmer mindset. I watch in amazement as she performs a series of attacks on a training dummy as practice before stopping. "How was that?" she asks.
I nod approvingly. "Again, you're getting better," I praise her. "Good job. Why don't we take a break?"
"Sure." She heads off to the mess hall to get some water and I follow her.
As we walk through the halls, we suddenly see two squadrons picking on Elim by taking her hat and her staff. "Hey, give me my hat back!" she protests, sounding like she's about to cry.
"Try and catch it!" one of them taunts, tossing it to his friend.
"Stop it!" Elim shouts. I press my thumb and forefinger on the bridge of my nose in annoyance. Those squadrons seem to love to pick on Elim simply because she's a child. Those idiots. Usually when it happens, either myself or another general intervene and scold them. Although in my case, I usually just hit them across the face.
However, I suddenly see Yumi glare in anger and walk up behind Elim, who's trying to act tough. I have to stifle a laugh when I see the squadrons stop taunting Elim and start shaking in fear upon seeing Yumi's death glare.
"Oh shit, we're dead, aren't we?" one of them asks.
"Dammit, we're caught!" another exclaims.
Right then, Yumi gives them a whack upside the head, a vein appearing on her forehead. "You jerks!" she scolds. "What the hell are you doing, picking on a child like that, huh?! Grow up and give her the staff and hat back!"
"Ow, that hurts!"
"Okay, okay, okay! Just stop!"
I smile in amusement at their reactions, but I find myself laughing when I see Yumi scolding them like a mother scolding children. When she's done, she gives the staff and the hat back to Elim and walks back to me. "Sorry about that," she apologizes.
I laugh. "It's fine," I reassure. "Let's go back to training now."
At the end of the day, she's becoming better and better. We had tried sparring with demon powers, but she found it rather overwhelming, so we'll get to that tomorrow. "You know, I kind of like your no-nonsense attitude," I tell her at dinner.
Yumi looks surprised at that. "Really?"
I nod. "Back there, you weren't even afraid of those squadrons. And those guys are really lecherous," I say.
She laughs slightly. "My dad is a very blunt and no-nonsense person as well," she says. "Like, he won't hesitate to scold someone if they're acting stupid or something. In fact, the mean girls hated my guts because I wasn't afraid of them and I was very blunt when standing up to them. I wouldn't say, 'Hey, stop, that's not very nice', I'd often say, 'Hey. You're being a real douche right now, so knock it off!'"
As I continue to talk to her, I find myself becoming more drawn by her. I even find myself liking her tendency to hold her hand to her mouth when she laughs. It's something that's rather endearing and even… adorable. At that thought, I feel my face heating up. Damn, how can I react like that? I'm a demon, not a lovesick school boy.
As I sit in the common area, I see Graphel approaching me. "So, the Konketsuji girl," Graphel starts. "You seem to have gotten rather close to her, Hecadoth."
"So?"
"You've never shown any interest in females before and at some points, I honestly thought you were gay." At that comment, I feel my eyebrow twitching slightly. Graphel used to tease me because I rarely show much of an interest in girls, let alone trying to court them, so he often teased me by saying that I'm still in the closet.
"Tease me about that again and you'll feel my spear in your abdomen, dumbass," I retort, glaring at him.
"I'm just saying," he comments. "You've never shown much interest in girls before, until you met this one. Tell me, what's so special about her?"
"Why're you asking me about this?" I ask. "I thought you hated her."
Graphel shrugs. "That's not what I said," he counters. Right then, I can almost sense a smirk crossing his face. "You have feelings for her, don't you?"
At that moment, my eyes widen in shock and I feel my face heating up. I'm only glad that my face is turned away now because I really don't want him seeing my face right now. "Graphel, you say something like that again, and I'll rip your tongue out," I threaten, even though it's half-hearted. We both know that I wouldn't carry it out on my comrades.
After Graphel leaves, I find my mind wandering to Yumi. She really is an interesting girl, a girl full of class and charisma. She's not helpless or dependent on others. She's tough, blunt, strong-willed, and fiery. And she's not afraid to give a scolding to others, but at the same time, she's kind, sensitive, and even maternal. I recall when she had scolded those squadrons, like she wasn't afraid of getting severely beaten up. Then again, her glare was enough to scare them.
When I pass by the arena, I hear the familiar sound of a training dummy being blasted. Wait. Who's training right now? I silently open the door and to my surprise, I see Yumi, holding a steel fan while surrounding herself with demonic energy, preparing to attack.
"Black Midnight… Demonic Rain!" She suddenly slashes the unfurled fan through the cloud of demonic energy, causing it to break apart into smaller droplets and completely slash the dummy. However, a look of disbelief crosses her face.
"Damn, that's such a lame name for a finisher!" she says aloud to herself. "I need to be more creative!"
At that, I can't help but laugh silently to myself. A small smile crosses my face. "Damn. You're one interesting girl, Yumi," I muse to myself. "You really are."