Igawa Asagi - 1
The winds stilled. Leaves and trees stopped rustling.
The whole forest went silent at the manifestation of a dark presence.
Kotaro had been waiting for this moment, he drew the blade and jumped out of his hiding spot. From atop the tree, the katana pointed downward for a critical strike, its aim was right within sight. The demonic presence that engulfed the body of a wolf flinched, it detected Kotaro as soon as the leaves shuffled. It managed to dodge the attack and retreated a distance away, the ambush failed.
"Tch! Almost had it!"
The possessed wolf howled, sharp fangs bared in its turn to attack him. Kotaro quickly moved out the way, raised his blade in the way to shield the claws tearing through the air.
The Demon Gate hidden within the ancient forest had somehow became active again, allowing the dark presence on the other side to enter the Human World and wreck havoc. By possessing the animals, it caused them to go berserk, attacking everything on sight. The village nearby had requested help from the government to stop the rampage.
After Section Three took over the case, a two-person squad from Gosha headed out to neutralize the cause.
Kotaro grazed the back of the possessed wolf, the animal's body was unharmed as the blade was made of special materials to be effective against the bodiless nature of the dark presence. However, the dark mass was only forced to break off from the wolf shortly before swallowing whole the animal again. The hit was too shallowed it didn't deal much damage.
Kotaro readied the special blade, multiple shurikens prepared in the other hand. The possessed wolf launched toward him at its top speed, it zipped through sharpened metal stars in a swift run.
"Fast?!"
The possessed wolf roared, the screeching howl failed to hide away the yelps in-between. The body was moving against its will, providing no sort of enhancement, such abnormal speed was too much for the wolf's legs to endure.
Quick! Think of something to stop this fight or else the wolf's body would break down!
[Fuuma-kun, behind you.]
His partner's voice echoed from the earpiece, another presence was approaching this battle. And it was already here. Kotaro's head ducked down, right on time for a glimmering sword to pass through. A purple blur zipped past him and the possessed wolf in the blink of an eye.
Asagi'd arrived with two blades strapped on her back. Her signature weapon - the modified Ninjato - torn off the bodiless dark mass from the animal. Freed from the entity's clung, the wolf ran off and quickly disappeared into the wood.
With the hostage released, Asagi unleashed Hawk Art to reinforce her speed. Crimson sparks shone as she drew the Cursed Blade of Senketsu. Using the trees as stepping stones, she reduced the demonic presence to pieces in a fiery red dance of slices and cuts.
Once Asagi stopped, there was nothing left. She vanquished the otherworldly being using the ability of Senketsu's creation and without breaking a sweat.
Kotaro watched in awe and amazed, her low effort performance against a major threat from another world grew deeper as an impression in his mind.
"Threat neutralized." Dusting her hands, Asagi said with a smile. "Good work, Fuuma-kun."
"...I didn't do much." Kotaro admitted. "My right eye is inactive, too."
"It's alright."
With the ambush failed, all he'd ever did for this mission was locating the dark presence. Though, Asagi still wanted him to recognize his own achievement. If he didn't send the coordinate to her on time, the battle would have dragged out and the wolf could have been hurt in the process, even Kotaro himself would be in harm's way.
The search had been tedious, it took them days to track down the entity. They didn't know much about the threat, but now that Asagi defeated the dark bodiless mass from the other world, there was no point to dwell on the matter.
"Either way, that was a good test run on the Crimson Blade. A sword that can cut through the most abstract concepts, Senketsu's craft truly lives up to its name."
A dangerous situation quickly resolved in an encounter that didn't last more than ten minutes. They had the Crimson Blade's ability to thank for the result.
"How are you feeling?"
"I hear no voices in my head."
"Guess that's that."
The comm link buzzed, both reached to their earpieces.
"The Gate is closing." Asagi stretched her arms. "Hmmn~! Mission completed."
The ancient forest finally returned to its peaceful nature. Kotaro checked the clock. Since they completed the mission earlier than expected, they had plenty of times to pack the luggages and leave on the last train.
"No, get some rest first." Asagi suggested otherwise. "We'll return to Gosha in the morning."
"Yes, Sensei."
The smile on her face was gone, replaced by a blank look - No, the eyebrows was knitting together, barely noticeable. Asagi looked like she was holding back a frown as he addressed her with formality while they were alone.
"Eh, A-Asagi."
Asagi shot him a glance, scanning the awkward change in his voice and left no room for him to detect the underlying tease she'd hid too well behind the stoic expression. She understood his reaction, the adrenaline rush from the battle was still bumping, not yet calming down, it caught him in the moment.
Even though the mission was over, Kotaro still held onto the mindset of a Taimanin's duty and his position as her subordinate.
"You're my Captain, Fuuma-kun. Depending on the situation, It'd be awkward for me to be both your mentor and subordinate."
"Okay."
"Come on, let's head back to the inn. I could use a bath."
"Same here."
The inn where they rented had a public bath.
Asagi had just came out the hot tub, her body cleared of fatigues and the skin naturally glowed a healthy tone. Steams rose from her hair, covered up by a towel. Asagi left the bath wearing a light yukata and on her way to the room where she was sharing with Kotaro.
For a whole week, they'd been staying here for the mission. Surrounded by a dense forest and away from the main roads, the small place didn't get much visitors.
Asagi wouldn't mind the silence as long as it served an advantage in protecting their identity, the last thing she needed was a civilian who had too much times on their hands. Such cases had happened before, it certainly didn't help when the women of Taimanin clans could attract attentions so easily as they were naturally beautiful, a blessing of the demon blood.
In order to be sure, she had Kotaro looked over the guest list each day. Asides from the staff, it was just the two of them staying in the inn.
Just...the two of them. Alone.
Asagi licked her lips to wet the lingering dryness around the corners of her mouth, she missed the taste of sake. A deep earthy flavor blended with a bit of sweetness emerged at the tip of her tongue as she thought about it. As the leader of all Taimanins, she rarely had a day off, much less a moment where she wouldn't be haunted by the paperwork and months worth of intel piling up in stacks. Maybe she needed to take it as a sign, to get back to the little hobby that helped her relax after a hard working day.
Lucky for her, the inn was selling premium drinks, prepped in perfect condition. Asagi liked to drink sake while it was slightly chilled, the taste could never go wrong with a sashimi dish.
"A sake and one sashimi for you, dear guest!"
The staff made her order immediately, the kitchen here worked fast. Now, Asagi was ready to call it a night with her roommate.
Tap Tap Tap!
Speaking of him, he was already typing away on the laptop. The warm air around him, the dripping unkempt hair which didn't dry off properly and the towel hanging on his shoulder gave her enough hints about his trip back from the shower. He'd only taken a quick bath before jumping right back into the paperwork.
"Are you writing the report?" She asked. "You're supposed to rest after the mission, Fuuma-kun. You can submit it to me later."
"The details are fresh in my head, I want to jot them down first." He said without turning to look at her. "Almost done."
Such a diligent young man, she was glad to have someone like him supporting her in time of need. To think he was once the problem student at the Academy, making him the Captain of the Task Force was the right push to his growth.
She gave a quick look at the outline over his shoulder, words kept pouring out as Kotaro was typing non-stopped on the keyboard. He described the mission in great details, included the appearance and abilities of the demonic presence. Oh! He also gathered pictures of the possessed victims too.
"So far, we've known this thing possessed animals, forcing control over the host's movement and caused its mind to berserk. No enhancement was done unlike the previous cases where there were significant changes to the body during a possession."
Listening to his explanation, an idea came to Asagi.
"You think this demonic presence could be similar to the entity inside Mido Haruka."
"Yes." He nodded. "But it's just my speculation, this dark mass shared the same nature with the formless demon inside Haruka. But the difference between the two is cleared, this thing was hostile to every living things in the forest."
They defeated it, nothing was left after it vaporized into thin air. Then again, lots of questions were left unanswered. They didn't know much about the dark presence that came from the other side of the Gate.
"There're not much records on this. Seems like a rare type of demon the Taimanins don't often come into contact."
It would be no use to dwell more on the topic. Kotaro closed the laptop and let out a long sigh, he'd wanted to know more. What he needed was the knowledge to prevent the incident from happening again. Asagi could sympathize with that, her student's actual strength came from experience he'd gained from others.
She set down the food tray and poured sake into the cup while he propped his head in thoughts.
"Pardon, I hope you don't mind me drinking here."
"Not at all."
Smiling, Asagi took a sip. The warm taste of sake was a nice reward after a long mission, she couldn't ask for more. A sweet, fulfilling sign escaped her lip and the cup filled up for a second time.
"Here." She pushed the dish to his side. "Have some sashimis if you like, I don't intend to eat all of it."
The moment his lip parted to reply, Asagi knew he would decline the offer out of politeness.
"I insist. Don't be shy." She quickly added.
"I'm not. I don't often eat raw fish." He grabbed the chopstick, stiffed and reluctant. "Except salmons, those are good."
He picked the thinly chopped salmon piece and dipped it into the wasabi mixed soy sauce. Kotaro whined harshly as the strong, pungent flavor overwhelmed his sense of taste.
"Huhgh!"
In a hurry, he ran over to the mini fridge and snatched a bottle of water, gulped it all down. Asagi giggled at the funny reaction.
"It goes well with sake. Give it a few tries, you'll like it."
"In that case, one cup of sake please." Kotaro said as soon as Asagi refilled the cup.
"Are you sure? Don't force yourself to share a drink with me."
"I don't mind being your drinking buddy. It's just for a few cups."
"Fuuma-kun, I'm doing this because it helps me relax my thoughts and I can sleep well at night. You're my student, and as your mentor, I wouldn't want you to indulge in this sort of thing."
The cup raised to her lip.
"I'll start calling you Asagi-sensei again when we go on missions then."
Asagi flinched. Even though it sounded like a light-hearted joke from him, the wide grin on his face told her half of the reason why he said it. What Asagi wanted was being used against her.
"How cunning. Do you really think that would work on me?"
She threw him a sharp glance, making Kotaro raise his arms with a strained smile.
"Okay, I'll stop with the joke. But worry not, tending to Shizuru-sensei's bar built up my tolerance. There were some really persistent customers who constantly interrupted her work so I had to step in."
"You drank?"
"As part of my disguise as a bartender."
"While we Taimanins are built different, don't forget there're regulations to follow, Fuuma-kun."
"To disguise is to have the ability to adapt in any situation." Kotaro quoted a lesson he learned from Gosha Academy. "I applied that and I came to know how this works. I'm willing to do this together with you, Asagi. It's been a while since the last time we talked in person about things outside of work and not just through notes exchange."
Asagi's skin flushed a faint red, probably because the premium sake was stronger than she'd expected. Finishing the third cup, she placed it in front of Kotaro and filled it up. His left eye sparkled when she did. Could this be another one of his strategies to persuade her? Somehow, Asagi had a feeling that was the case.
"Fine, I'll make an exception."
"Thanks!"
Kotaro knocked it down in one gulp. Good grief, he was supposed to drink it slowly. The taste didn't seem to change much of his expression, it made her feel a bit relief.
"Wow, this is some strong stuff."
"Another one?" She asked him, and he nodded his head while returning the cup to her to fill it up.
He took his second shot as swiftly as the first one, added by a sashimi slice. 'It's good!' - he said while exhaling a long sigh, the sake and the taste of raw salmon which already digged deep in the wasabi-filled soy sauce complimented each other.
"Something tells me you're used to this not from just the part time job at the bar. What else did you do?"
He glanced away, earning an amused look from Asagi.
"Francis." He gave a name, one which she had heard.
"You were also drinking with that Oni girl?"
"In my defense, weird things happened every time the Task Force asked for her support. If it's not a drinking contest, it's going to involve guns and bullets with some shady gangs in town. The former is less problematic anyway."
"Quite the dilemma you've got there. Though, I suppose it comes with perks. You've always made careful considerations when it comes to recruitment. At this point, I wouldn't be surprised if you managed to recruit Ingrid into the Task Force."
"...Asagi, your smile looks so deadpanned while saying that."
"An affiliative smile, Fuuma-kun. It is expressive and recognizable, you should pay more attention to the muscle movements on people's faces."
"Observational Learning?" He asked.
"Observational Learning." She nodded.
"..."
"While you're sticking to my advice, don't stare too much."
"I don't get to see you totally relaxed like this every day. Don't mind me."
Asagi felt her cheeks warming up. Surely it was the sake's doing, not because Kotaro kept his gaze on her and didn't avert to anywhere else.
The bottle of sake soon dried up while they took turns, she didn't feel the slightest bit tipsy. One bottle wasn't enough to soothe the mind, the list of things they needed to be done tomorrow after going back to Gosha were forming, occupying her thoughts.
She needed to order another one.
"I'll go." Kotaro volunteered.
He returned quickly with more bottles and a second cup. Wait, why should he need another cup for himself? They were sharing one until now.
"Are you tired of using the same cup with me?"
"Huh? I just wanted to have a toast with you."
Not surprising, her tease went over his head. Asagi'd expected such obliviousness from him. They brought their cups together and the conversation stretched into the night.
It was getting late.
The drowsiness came right on time as Asagi poured the last drops of sake into the cup.
It was fun sharing the evening with him, but she realized that might have led up to a mistake on her part. Asagi wasn't supposed to enjoy her hobby this long, her head was slowly spinning together with the room. Unlikes wines, premium sake sunk at a steady pace, now she felt more than just being tipsy.
There was a loud noise in the bathroom, then running water rushed from the sink. The tatami door slid over as Kotaro walked out, shoulders drooped and slightly paled in the face.
"Guuhh, I underestimated sake."
No. He overestimated his tolerance to beverage and as a consequence, he would have to sleep on an empty stomach.
"You should rest, Fuuma-kun. I'll clean up."
"I'm sobered, let me do that...wait."
After sipping the last drops, she made a long satisfied gasp.
"Asagi, isn't that...mine?"
When Kotaro pointed at the cup in her hand, Asagi looked around the table once more. Hers was next to the empty sake bottle.
Blink.
Which meant...
"Oh."
Asagi just drank from his cup. She touched the lips, traced the sensation of an indirect gesture they'd shared tonight. It was a pleasant warmness, wet and filled with an earthly taste. Maybe savoring this feeling would help her sleep better for the busy days ahead.
"I don't really mind it though." She glanced at him. "Do you?"
"I do think a good sleep is waiting for you."
Of course, he didn't pick up the hint. That tactical mind had such a blinded spot for this type of conversation.
"Then, let's call it a night."
Asagi climbed onto the mattress, allowing the softness from the pillow to caress her head. Sleepiness took over as she relaxed her body, the disheveled yukata showed off the shoulders and nape.
"Mmmhh~."
Asagi covered her mouth after an involuntary moan slipped out. Lucky for her, Asagi's back was facing him, reddened cheeks hid away from view. Kotaro heard the noise and turned over. And she felt his gaze. Without looking at Kotaro, she wasn't sure what kind of thought was going through his mind.
The mattress on his side shuffled. Gentle echoes of footsteps came closed and stopped by her side. As his shadow hunched over her figure, Kotaro reached out.
Fuuma-kun...did he?! Did he somehow misunderstand the sight of her exposed skin when the yukata fell off as a signal?!
If that was the case...
Would it be okay for her to accept the intimate gesture?
"Good night, Asagi."
After his whisper, the blanket pulled over her legs and up to her torso, fully covered Asagi with warmth. Kotaro returned to bed and dozed off as soon as his head hit the pillow.
"..."
She shot him a deadpanned look. He just had to leave her emotions hanging in the air like that.
"...really now..."
While staring at Kotaro sleeping face, Asagi couldn't help but smiling, her body relaxed once again.
In the morning, she woke up first feeling refreshed and contented. Kotaro had yet to awake. And before he did, she stroked his hair in secret retaliation. Kotaro would have no idea about the unspoken affection.
/
