Happy New Year!

— ML

Chapter 20: Silence, You Idiots

22 October, X820

Nearly two hours had gone by since Ryouichi, Shugo, Miratona, and one other mage had returned from their search in the desert. A heavy-hearted atmosphere lingered around the group. The one mage wiped his bald head with a towel while drinking the last of his water from a pouch. Ryouichi sat on the ground against the forcefield, eyes closed.

Miratona unlocked an entrance through the boundary's palm scan. Her palm transformed into her Algalenah claws, like always. Her expression was dark with worry.

"I don't understand," Shugo murmured. "I thought it'd be a few days, not this long."

He ran his fingers through his hair that fell back on his face. Shugo kind of understood why Reiji would jump at an opportunity to learn about her curse. What he couldn't understand was how the hell she got through the boundary and managed to avoid everybody for over a week straight.

"We've searched for days; it's a hopeless case out there!" the unnamed mage gave an exasperated sigh. "I've stretched my telepathy thin and haven't heard a single thing about those two."

"I know, Walter. And you did great," Miratona reassured him with a lighthearted smile.

"All I hear is sand and Ferals," Ryouichi grumbled sarcastically. Shugo grabbed his arm.

"Off your ass, we're going inside."

"No!" the Beast Soul demon yanked his arm away and then got up. "We can't give up yet. She is still out there somewhere, probably scared and lost!"

"Maybe lost, but I doubt she'd be afraid with someone she knows," Walter said.

"Come along, everyone. It is hot, and irrational thinking will get us nowhere," Miratona said, mostly aimed at Ryouichi.

Ryouichi decided to obey her, dragging his feet back through the invisible forcefield. Shugo and Walter followed, then the mission secretary entered last.

Thank the gods for suppressants and deodorant, Shugo thought. Ryouichi would have reeked of B.O. and pheromones. He wondered if Miratona also dealt with the same problem as a fellow takeover mage of beasts.

"Mira, do you take pheromone suppressants too?" Shugo asked. Ryouichi looked at him as if he had slapped the female in the face. Walter burst with laughter, having eavesdropped on his whole train of thought. He did not expect Shugo to actually say anything out loud. The Jade Dragon Slayer immediately regretted speaking up when Miratona's icy cold glare burned a metaphoric hole through his face.

"N-never mind!" he chirped.

Ryouichi and Shugo went straight to Mina's Café. It was a slow day, judging by the three customers present in the place: Cani, Ushizumo, and Takeshiro. The blind boy waved at them. Ushizumo turned in her seat, her wide brown eye lighting up for a moment. Her lips curled in a deep frown similar to the little sad face stitched into her blue eyepatch.

"Rei-tara..." She turned back around, hanging her head solemnly. Shugo patted her head as he sat beside her. The siblings sat in chairs while Ryouichi and Takeshiro sat on the booth side.

"Hello, lovely creatures!" Lunalu sang. She skipped to their tables with her notepad and pen ready. Lunalu waited a good hour for Shugo and Ryouichi to arrive. She was eager to finally serve customers.

Today, she wore a dark green dress with a purple apron. Her frilly skirt was paired with a white petticoat. Her long sleeves ended with little loops over her middle fingers. The look was complete with her usual black nonslip shoes.

Menus were distributed by Shugo. He searched the list for his usual order. He already knew the things he liked to eat; searching just added the dining authenticity.

"Why bother? You order the same shit," the Beast Soul demon teased.

"Actually, you moron, I order three things!" The Jade Dragon Slayer smacked his head with the menu. Lunalu snatched the menu and smacked Shugo's head. Ryo pointed while laughing.

"Sorry, Luna," the male ginger pouted. This time, Zumi was next to burst with giggles.

"You're blushing!"

"Am not!"

"Spicy chicken ramen with three eggs cracked in the broth," Lunalu said aloud while writing. Shugo nodded. "Hmm... feeling a gin and tonic or a strawberry shot?"

"Plumberry sunrise," Shugo corrected her. Her bleached brows raised in surprise.

"Careful now, it's a little early for the strong stuff," she warned him.

"Che! Who you tellin'?" Cani called from the bar.

"That's basically water to you, Cani!" Shugo chuckled.

"I'll have the pie of the day with chai," Ryouichi said, handing the maid his menu.

"Can I get a strawberry cake, Shugo?" Zumi asked.

"Eat something with more nutrients first," her older brother replied.

"Um..."

"I'll go next," Takeshiro piped up. "What is the soup of the day?"

"Vegetarian chicken and lentils. It's actually really good for fake meat," Lunalu replied. Takeshiro thought (more like read her thoughts) for a few seconds. She was definitely telling the truth.

"... Mhmm. Okay, I'll try that with chai as well."

"Yush!" she beamed with a fist pump.

Zumi whined, still indecisive.

"Strawberry cake for Zumi," Shugo sighed. He looked at his sister for a moment. "Add the gold drizzle."

"The good stuff? You're the best!" Ushizumo shouted with glee.

"It's your favorite dessert, and it's been a while," he shrugged. It made him happy to see his sister smiling.

"Hot chocolate and water," the bubbly ginger added. Lunalu wrote everything down and then skipped off back to the kitchen. Ezra was the only chef on a slow day like this, Takeshiro noted. Her soups were excellent.

This was their first time visiting the cafe without Reiji in a while. The group did not intentionally avoid the place; it just happened. Between prioritizing Reiji's training and their own lives, eating out was eventually pushed to the back burner.

Shugo also wanted to spend time with his sister, even if that meant bringing the blue knuckleheads with him.

I heard that, Takeshiro intercepted. Shugo rolled his eyes.

Am I wrong?

You and Ryo are the real knuckleheads.

"Hey, I'm not a knucklehead!" Shugo protested.

"If Takeshiro is calling you a knucklehead, it's probably true," Ryouichi smirked.

"Shut up, you blue fucker!"

"Lizard breath!"

Shugo and Ryouichi exchanged more heated words. One stern look from Mina shut them down rather quickly. If Reiji wasn't monitoring her hot-headed friends, it was one of the Strauss twins.

"Hard to believe the secretary and the boss are related," Shugo mumbled.

"They don't really look alike to me," Zumi said.

"Of course they're related," Takeshiro chimed in. "They have the same build, hair color, eyes, and takeover magic too."

"Ayy-yo! That makes three of us!" Ryouichi beamed.

"She's animal soul, you're feral beast soul, and Miratona is—"

"Also a beast soul," Shugo interrupted. Takeshiro opened his mouth to correct him, but he decided to let them remain stupid. Miratona was obviously a Satan soul with just one form. How did nobody figure that out yet?

Lunalu stopped by with a round of ice water as well as their drinks. She placed the cups and mugs on napkins as well.

Takeshiro and Ryouichi carefully sipped their chai, as it was too hot to casually drink. Shugo thought it was kind of cute how similar their taste in tea was. They might as well be related at that point.

Zumi did a small happy dance in her seat while drinking from her mug. Sprinkled with miniature marshmallows, the chocolate was perfect!

On the other hand, Shugo stirred his straw into his drink. Plumberry juice from freshly squashed berries, club soda, three shots of black rum, and syrup mixed with edible purple glitter. Best damn sunrise in town for an alcohol-laced sweet tooth. He took a small sip, savoring the first wave of strong flavor.

"Oi, Luna! Another beer on the rocks!" Cani ordered. She downed the last of her mug, then slammed it on the counter. The actual bartender, Mina, stood nearby, chuckling to herself.

"Cani, I'm not allowed to touch alcohol after that one time," the female demon reminded her intoxicated patron.

"Ooooh, that," she snickered with a hiccup.

Takeshiro held back his reaction to that memory. Lunalu discovered that her power was influenced by the smell of too much alcohol. One day, someone dropped a bottle of rum. Lunalu was overwhelmed by the odor and nearly went feral. It took three cooks and Mina to restrain her from destroying the café. But going "feral" was easily treatable, so no one really cared as long as the issue was fixed. Takeshiro could tell from the memories that the incident happened after Reiji had quit.

The quiet dragged on for several long seconds before one of them spoke up.

"When Reiji comes back, let's buy her groceries," Ryouichi suggested.

"Definitely. I think I used just about every ingredient in her kitchen," Shugo replied. "It is very hard to cook with just bread and cheese on the menu."

"That'd make a mean, bland grilled cheese," Ryo chuckled. "I swear, Reiji shops and eats like she's poor!"

"Shugo gradually compiled a list after each visit. Now all you have to do is write it out," Takeshiro added.

"I like shopping. Otto grills the best meat skewers, and... oh," Zumi fizzed out, having forgotten about his untimely death. The energy of the whole cafe seemed to shift suddenly. But then, Zumi lightened up.

"We could get some soda! The market gets soda alllll the way from Jupetoresoid!"

"Strawberry pop," Shugo sighed contently. "I've been craving that with some whiskey."

"Dude, that's disgusting," Ryouichi wrinkled his nose. "The best combo is pepper cream with whiskey."

"You guys would drink anything with whiskey," Zumi giggled.

"Mmm, chai whiskey," Takeshiro sighed with mockery towards Shugo. Ryouichi made a fake gagging noise while blowing his cheeks out.

"Burrh! You're sick!"

Lunalu emerged from the kitchen with their food on a larger tray. Ushizumo squealed with joy when her cake was set down in front of her. Shugo received his ramen with wooden chopsticks. The pie of the day was called mud pie. The "mud" in question was actually lots of chocolate, chocolate crust, and white whipped cream on top.

After lunch, the group left Mina's Café for a walk. Ushizumo kept skipping ahead of everyone, heavily distracted with whatever song played on repeat in her head. Each time the bubbly female got too far ahead of the group, Shugo jogged with her until she remembered nobody, Takeshiro in particular, wanted to run anywhere.

It was not long before Ushizumo began peping her step again. This time, Takeshiro decided to skip with her. The telepath had to listen to her favorite song on loop too, "Smile," sung by a certain pink Earthling pony. He understood that she had bought an old CD from the market two days ago and had fallen in love with that song ever since.

Giving in to the temptation, he skipped right beside her. The bubbly ginger grabbed his hand, singing the chorus without a care how loud her pitch was.

Come on everypony, smile, smile, smile!

Fill my heart up with sunshine, sunshine

All I really need's a smile, smile, smile

From these happy friends of mine!

Shugo and Ryouichi watched their friends skipping ahead and carrying a consistent vocal tempo. Shugo's heart soared warm with joy watching his little sister have fun. It was probably the alcohol running its course, but her contentment was more important than everything else. He was practically her parent, after all. She needed the simple joy, mostly as a distraction. Without Reiji, she's just... sad.

Ryouichi noticed a solemn look in his friend's eyes. He raised a brow.

"Dude, you look like you're at a funeral," he teased the male ginger, assuming that would pull him from his mood. As expected, Shugo glared at him.

"Shut it, dog breath."

"What? I was just observing!" Ryouichi replied defensively. Shugo simply rolled his eyes, saying nothing more. That was strange. Shugo always wanted to fight or argue over childish words. Before the Aegean-haired demon could clap back, Shugo ran after his little sister and Takeshiro. The Beast Soul followed, forgetting his failed plan for now.

Eventually, Ushizumo really had to stop skipping so that Takeshiro could catch his breath. The group was stopped roughly between Loner Lumber and Shugo and Ushizumo's home. Ushizumo wanted to go straight home with Takeshiro.

"You have to hear the whole playlist. It's a culinary masterpiece!" she exclaimed excitedly to the telepath.

"'Culinary' refers to cooking, Zumi," Takeshiro gently corrected her.

Ushizumo immediately replied, "Whatever! A genius cooked this album! So, therefore, it is a culinary masterpiece!" Takeshiro laughed softly at her response. What a silly description for music. It was so like her.

"Fine, I'll give it a listen. But please don't smoke that stuff around me; it smells weird," he said, hinting at marijuana. Ushizumo's jaw dropped. Shugo shot her a stern look. She then closed her mouth into a pout.

"Okay," she mumbled. Takeshiro held his hand out.

"Skip or walk?"

"Yes!" she chirped, pulling the telepath along into a run instead.

Pray for me, Ryo.

Good luck, you knucklehead.

Ouch!

Shugo and Ryouichi walked in silence, several feet apart. Their surroundings were quiet save for the buzzing of insects, croaking of frogs, trickling of water streams, and other sounds of nature within the Loner Lumber community.

Ryouichi had only one thing on his mind, related to the feral entity possessing Reiji. What he wanted to figure out was why that creature would go through the trouble of burying bodies. Ferals don't bury their prey. They make a mess of the kill when they feast, then leave it to rot in the same place. He figured Shugo was one of the few people he could talk to before losing his ever-loving mind.

Ryouichi let them both in. The neighborhood was peaceful enough to leave one's door unlocked, so there was no need for his key at the time. Shugo kicked his shoes off at the door before settling on the living room couch. He sighed audibly, probably tired from chasing after his sister all afternoon.

"Aww, ish da wittle baby tiwed?" Ryouichi cooed with a fake pout. Shugo lit his fist in jade green flames.

"Wanna try that again?"

"Hey, put that shit out!" the Beast Soul demon barked. Shugo snickered, extinguishing the flame.

"Sucker."

"Whatever!"

"Why'd you two separate us?"

Busted...

"W-what do you mean?" Ryouichi asked, feigning innocence. He knew Shugo was referring to Takeshiro going away with Ushizumo. The telepath only ever did that when they planned a little talk.

"I'm not stupid, Ryo." Shugo leaned back with his arms over the couch. "You guys only ever do that when you wanna talk about something. So split it out."

"Uh, w-well..." Ryouichi winced a little, unable to come up with any small talk. He came out to his living room and leaned against the wall.

"It's just, I didn't wanna talk about the M-O-K incident around Zumi," he began, looking at the floor. Shugo nodded slightly, frowning. "It's just, uh... How do I say this? Do you ever, I dunno, wonder who buried the evidence?"

The Jade Dragon Slayer's expression was hard to read. He clenched and unclenched his jaw, thinking. The Beast Soul demon waited uncertainly for a response.

"The cursed demon thing, obviously," the ginger answered. He did not look like he believed his own words.

"But it's supposed to be a Feral, Shugo. Think about it: they hunt, eat, and then leave the remains to rot. They're not demon folk anymore. Reiji's demon thing lured them into traps—one we even know of—killed them, then only ate their eyes and one arm. After that, she dug a fucking four-foot grave in the forest and managed to hide the evidence from everyone for months!"

Shugo took another moment to think about it. He too understood that a Feral was not capable of that kind of behavioral pattern.

"Well, maybe it's not as feral as we thought?"

"That's bullshit."

"Ferals don't swing weapons or talk either," Shugo pointed out. Ryouichi had to agree with that much.

"Obviously not, but it's still pretty uncivilized. What if... someone else was involved?"

Shugo's eyes widened in shock. "No way, that's impossible! Any sensible idiot around here would've noticed and reported it!"

"Not if someone helped this Riki creature hide well enough!"

"Ryo, it doesn't really matter if it had help; it's a brainless monster beyond our understanding."

"A brainless monster that's capable of hiding murder from the host?" Ryouichi challenged him.

Shugo rolled his eyes, cursing under his breath. Why was Ryouichi so invested, anyway? For all they knew, the council might have covered up what happened in those woods! Otherwise, there would have been a trial and no assessments for Reiji, right? He was not interested in investigating a damn thing, especially not with Ryouichi of all creatures.

"I've been pretty suspicious about Miratona, too. She looks like she knows too much. We could ask her next and try to—"

"That's a really stupid idea," Shugo frowned.

"You really don't see what I see? So typical," he scoffed.

"I do, Ryo. I really do," Shugo said. "It doesn't make sense to me. But you know what all this conspiracy talk accomplishes? Not a damn thing! Instead, we should focus on Michele and Rei, who are still missing in real time."

Shugo stood up, cracking his back, then his elbows and neck. "Do you know how hard it is to distract Ushizumo from worrying? I had to pull her out of stress smoking over this. If I get caught up in your play-detective bullshit, Zumi'll be more worried.

"Mira's probably gonna send out one last morning search party for good measure," the male ginger informed his friend. "Put your energy into that. And then, whatever training we can do in a few days' time. And maybe we'll try to figure out why Riki is so damn smart for a Feral. Besides, Takeshiro could find out a lot easier than us knuckleheads," Shugo shrugged.

"Right, right!" Ryouichi nodded. "Rei has to join a guild. It's what she wants, right?"

"Eh, probably not," the Jade Dragon Slayer murmured. "You know she's anxious as fuck about big decisions. We basically pressured her."

"Yeeeaaah... What if she ran away because of the assessments?" the Beast Soul questioned. "We made her feel like she had no choice. She might not want to be found!" Shugo grabbed his shoulders, looking him sternly in the eye.

"Dude, shut the hell up. Now you're more annoying than stressful!"

"You're stressed now? I'm fucking stressed!"

"Stop stressing, then! And stop forgetting to take your pills. Your pheromones smell like shit!"

"Your face is shit!" Ryouichi punched Shugo across his face. Shugo punched him right back with a right hook, an uppercut, then a swift kick to the stomach.

Ryouichi fell to the living room floor, bumping his head a little too hard. He moaned and groaned in pain, losing the will to fight inside his house.

"Fuuuuuuck, shit, damn it!" he hissed. Shugo flared his nostrils, smirking. He grabbed Ryouichi's free arm, pulling him up.

"See what I mean? You can't even defend yourself in that state."

"It's not my fault," Ryouichi whined.

"It is your fault, you idiot. Stop skipping your meds!"

"I'll punch you again," the Beast Soul demon grumbled.

"Dude, I'll knock you out, and you know it."

Shugo helped Ryouichi walk to his room. Jeez, he even lost the energy to walk straight? What a dumbass! Ryouichi landed on his back in bed.

Riki would have to wait until tomorrow. Before Shugo even left the room, Ryouichi had already fallen asleep. Yellowish green eyes observed the Beast Souk demon for a moment, then he left. He had a nagging feeling someone was smoking without permission again.

The Following Morning

As expected, Shugo and Ryouichi were telepathically summoned to the town hall for another search. Miratona's patience was probably thinning, or perhaps the village chief was no longer willing to wait for Reiji to return. Shugo and Ryouichi couldn't guess what the truth was.

The same group—Miratona, Walter, Ryouichi, and Shugo—set out into the Scarlet Desert wilderness on their expedition. This time, the search lasted all morning and a good chunk of the afternoon. This was made possible by travel packs of food and water that everyone was instructed to prepare. If they wanted to find Reiji, they needed as much time as possible outside. Fending off Ferals was a simple task since they all had plenty of experience in the wild.

Shugo and Ryouichi's directionless search led them to a lake well over four hours away from the village. Ryouichi sat by the water, taking time to catch his breath. He drank plenty of water from his pack prior to the break, while Shugo cupped his hands together to drink from his palms.

"Hey, look," Ryouichi said, pointing to the horizon. They noticed tiny structures far down the river. "You think that place is abandoned?"

Shugo gasped for air after a last gulp of water. He looked at Ryouichi like he had grown three heads. "Definitely. Who the hell would live out here?"

Ryouichi hummed "I don't know" with a shrug. Suddenly, he dropped to his hands and feet, sniffing the ground. Shugo snorted back his laughter.

"What the hell are you doing?!"

Ryouichi ignored his friend, crawling around cautiously. He recognized that natural musk anywhere: Reiji was here! The scent trail led him away from the lake. Shugo followed, full of giggles at his friend's typical idiocy. He decided to try smelling whatever Ryouichi followed. His eyes widened in shock. Reiji was here?

Shugo walked ahead of his crawling partner toward a cluster of boulders and other large rocks. Ryouichi definitely smelled a dead feral, but all he found was soft ground and a few discarded bones. He stood on his knees, puzzled. That was odd. A mere Feral wouldn't bury its prey, unless...

"Someone... someone ate here, then buried it," Ryouichi said. "Reiji and Michele must've camped here recently."

"I don't see proof of a campfire, but judging by the couple of bones and the scent, the animal was killed at least three days ago," Ryouichi added. They nodded with certainty. Reiji had to be close by still.

"Did you smell anything else?"

"Not really. We should tell Mira and Walter first," Ryouichi replied, standing up.

"That will not be necessary!"

"FUCK!" Shugo shouted in surprise. Miratona and Walter walked around the rock pile. For a heavy-footed Beast Soul, the female demon was quiet as a dust bunny.

"You heard?" Ryouichi asked.

"I found evidence of a recent visit at the other side of the lake. For now, we should wait here for their return."

"What did you find?" Shugo asked.

"A small fire pit and some really dark green clothes," Walter replied. He wiped sweat from his bald head.

"Dark green clothes?" Ryouichi tilted his head to the side. Shugo slapped his arm.

"Are you dumb, or something? Reiji can make almost any clothes with her hair."

"Calm yourselves," Miratona ordered. The duo looked away from each other. The mission secretary sat down with her bag, taking out a steel container, then another, then two more. The other three mages sat around her.

"That's a lot of food," Shugo commented. He glanced over to Ryouichi, who was eating a sandwich.

"Wait, we were supposed to bring food too?!"

Ryouichi handed him a sandwich from his own food box. Shugo's eyes twinkled with gratitude as he accepted the offering. The Aegean-haired demon knew Shugo would come underprepared, even with instructions. That habit of his probably followed him from the womb.

Fucking moron.

Meanwhile...

Reiji and Michele sat with their backs together in some random underground cave. Michele cast a Split Vortex circle so that the duo could let loose uninterrupted.

Metal clashed with metal over and over again. For hours of the day, Reiji used nothing but her battle axe against the mallet wielder. Any other magic or curse was deemed as cheating. No spells were allowed for any reason beyond healing the worst of their wounds. This was purely a test of their raw strengths and weaknesses while their bodies in the real world endured an extended period under a spell.

In the pocket dimension, Reiji learned the hard way how little her strength actually compared to Riki's. She felt like this was a fight both inside her body and outside.

Just yesterday, the buxom demon was able to take on Riki's form as her own. It drained the last of her energy, but it was an awesome rush of power.

The lithe Michele carried herself with the strength of Trevon as if it were always her own. Her mallets were heavier than Reiji's actual weight. To her, Reiji and her massive axe were as light as a dainty feather.

The green-haired demon learned about that by attempting to pick up a mallet. How a petite mage managed to effortlessly swing those hunks of metal was beyond Reiji. Interesting enough, Michele struggled to carry Reiji's axe as well. Of course two different Jewels couldn't share weapons. Who would have guessed! These random discoveries would be solved another day.

The most recent clash of metal threw the dueling demons to opposite ends of the abyss. Michele and Reiji both slid backwards on their feet. Reiji had to slam her axe into the ground to slow her body to a stop. Both of their bodies were covered in wounds of varying degrees, from small cuts to swollen bruises. Reiji personally ached all over from her vigorous training.

Thankfully, they managed to avoid fracturing, breaking, dislocating, or shattering each other's bones. Well, they at least tried to avoid it.

Michele gave Reiji less and less recovery time before striking in any random direction. At first, the green-haired demon was given half an hour, 25 minutes, 23, 17, 14, and so on. Eventually, Reiji had only a few seconds to catch her breath before a swift kick to the back, a hammer to the stomach, or a punch to the leg ambushed her.

This time, Michele swung Reiji to the ground by her hair. The green-haired demon still had not stood back up. Reiji screamed out as she flew across the empty space suddenly. She tried to land on her feet, only to crumble to the floor on an irritated ankle. Reiji could not suppress the painful cries from escaping her lips. Michele held her two mallets over her shoulders.

Reiji barely pulled herself to her elbows, then collapsed to the ground. The blacksmith's smug smirk faded to a look of concern. The mallets disappeared as she ran to Reiji's side. The silver-haired female took a knee.

"I hurt yer ankle, didn't I? The wounds ain't gonna hurt ya in the real world," Michele tried to reassure the dark green-haired demon. Reiji shook her head defiantly.

"N-no! W-we barely did... anything yet!" Reiji grunted, attempting to get up again. She fell once more, groaning weakly. Her whole body felt like a ton of gravel.

"That's enough. Ye did great, Rei," she smiled, offering a hand. "Well, I guess a hand ain't necessary."

Their surroundings slowly bled back into reality. The cool humidity of the cave hit their still bodies in seconds. Their legs and butts were numb or asleep from sitting for so long. Sweat soaked their nude bodies, bringing with it a reminder for a long shower. Reiji shakily climbed to her feet, then collapsed. Michele did no better at getting her legs to work properly. The naked females burst with laughter at their struggle to stand.

"I feel like a damn baby!" the blacksmith snorted after yet another fall. Dark green locks pulled her up to help balance her. Reiji used a wall for support.

"Jeez, how long was that?"

"Wait, you weren't keepin' track?!"

"I lost track after the first thirty minutes!" Reiji giggled. Michele facepalmed. She stretched her legs, kicking them out until something popped, then cracked other areas of her body using the cave wall for support. Reiji detangled her individual strings of hair and shook them off any dirt and dust that might have built up. A deep wash was definitely a must.

Michele looked towards the cave entrance, covered by a boulder. It was Michele's idea, so that no one would find them just yet. The path went up a rather steep slope to the desert surface. And beyond that, both cursed demons could hear the distant commotion of demon folk. Reiji's stomach nearly dropped to the floor.

"I'll kick her ass myself for taking off!" she heard Ryouichi say with a little too much anger in his voice. Her heart began to pound steadily. She knew someone would come searching eventually, but it was still so soon!

"Ryo. But there're three more," Michele whispered.

"Yeah, I-I know," Reiji replied. They both heard Miratona, Shugo, and a mage Reiji did not recognize. Her body robotically moved toward the sloping ground. Her hair wove onesies for herself and Michele in a few seconds. It was the only outfit she could think of. She made sure to bind her large breasts, mostly out of habit, to feel more decent in front of whoever they might encounter.

Michele pulled Reiji into a hug. The green-haired demon hugged her tightly.

Reiji thought of her dynamic with Ryouichi. In truth, she still wanted to have her secret times with Ryouichi and have Michele too, if the blacksmith actually wanted to date. At the same time, that could easily get complicated.

"I'm sure ye still want to train with Ryo," Michele murmured. Reiji nodded quietly. The blacksmith cupped her cheeks.

"You'll be leavin' soon if this goes well. Ye don't need to save yerself fer me or yer friend. We ain't datin' and Ryo ain't yer mate either."

"I know," Reiji whispered, looking down. "I want you, and I want to keep the dynamic with Ryo. It... it feels wrong, but it's also not..."

"Ye got plenty of time to figure it out. Until then, we shouldn't tell anybody, alright?"

Reiji nodded again. Before Michele stepped away, she kissed her cheek. The blacksmith blushed lightly, patting Reiji's cheek in return.

"I hope you don't regret this because of me," Reiji said.

"I don't," Michele smiled warmly.

The female demons began to climb up the slope to the covered entrance to face reality again.

Miratona watched Walter, Ryouichi, and Shugo chat about nothing she really cared about. Ryouichi shouted in frustration at something, pacing around.

It was Walter who was first to notice the approaching creatures through his telepathy. Finally, Shugo and Ryouichi looked up at the mage. Shugo had busied himself drawing in the sand with a bone.

"Quiet, someone is coming," Walter hushed the rest of the group. With a middle and index finger on his forehead, he listened. He gasped, eyes wide.

"It's them!"

"What? Where?!" Shugo questioned.

Miratona lifted a boot-covered foot, tipping over a rather large boulder at the base of the pile. Walter jumped away from the massive rock. Behind the boulder was a passageway leading underground.

"Come on out, you two," Miratona called with a hint of frustration. It was clear that she was hot, tired, and moments away from yelling at someone.

Reiji and Michele stepped into the grey daylight. Both wore aforementioned clothing made from Reiji's hair. Shugo's mouth hung open in shock, as he never would have expected the two to be this close after the day the blacksmith rejected her.

"Reiji?!" Ryouichi perked up. He rushed toward her for a hug, then Shugo yanked his collar back.

"Chill out, you idiot!" the Jade Dragon Slayer shouted at his friend.

"Fuck off, I'm entitled to a damn reunion hug!" Ryouichi protested, kicking Shugo. The Jade Dragon Slayer reacted by punching the back of the Beast Soul demon's head. Reiji facepalmed at the tussling friends but did not try to immobilize them that time.

"SILENCE!" Miratona snapped. They froze, Ryouichi's large fist in a bunch of ginger hair, and Shugo's fist grabbing his shirt collar. The two immediately split, staring at the ground in embarrassment. Even Reiji froze up in alarm.

"You two," Miratona began, pointing at Reiji and Michele. The female demons avoided Miratona's sharp gaze, also opting to admire the red ground. "What the hell have you been doing all this time?"

"T-training?" Reiji whispered, wishing to shrink into herself. She had never seen Miratona so angry before. How long were they really gone?

"Oh, really? And who gave you permission to leave the village? How did you leave?" the mission secretary inquired, glaring at Michele specifically.

"The chief," Michele mumbled in a monotone. "He, uh, let us out. It wasn't very hard convincin' him."

Miratona facepalmed. "Right. Master Pruzo," she grumbled, wiping her hand down her sweaty face. "He failed to inform us, so it seems. For the last week, we have sent search parties for you two."

"I-I'm sorry I worried you all. I shouldn't have given in to my impulsiveness," Reiji murmured, bowing to the group. She knew her friends would worry, but not to this extent! Shame tugged her heartstrings into knots. Michele bowed as well.

"I'm sorry too, ma'am. I wanted ta help Rei with her curse. Y'know, since I got one too," the blacksmith peered up at the mission secretary. Her one spectacle reflected light from the angle. Her visible eye softened at her short explanation.

After all, Miratona was in the council at the time of Michele's first and only dark guild assessment that never happened. Michele should have joined a level two dark guild, but certain events led to a very different path. It made sense that she would want the only other creature like her to get that opportunity.

Many townspeople at the time knew Michele's situation. For Walter and other common demon folk, they had no idea Michele and Reiji had anything in common. The look of surprise on the male mage's face was obvious. Shugo and Ryouichi understood, as always.

"... Stand up," Miratona ordered. "Once you get yourselves settled back with society, you will tell me what you've learned." Reiji and Michele straightened their postures. "Don't forget your things," Miratona added. Ryouichi grabbed his bag from the ground as they all set off.

"What about their clothes and shoes?" Shugo asked.

"I'm used to bare feet," Michele shrugged. On the other hand, Reiji extended stitches of hair threads further into makeshift slippers. It was not a perfect fit, but it was better than straight pebbles and hot sand.

Miratona eyed her slippers. "Keep those on. I will not hear a word of complaints."

"Y-yes, Miss Miratona," Reiji replied, reaching up to adjust her... oh yeah, no glasses. Ryouichi chuckled, aware of her subconscious habit.

"You have to tell us what you did out here!" Ryouichi grinned. He wrapped his arm behind her shoulders, nearly tripping the green-haired demon. Shugo grasped her other arm gently to balance her.

"S-sorry, my legs are still weak," Reiji said.

"Your legs? What were you even doing? Wait..." Ryouichi trailed off, looking between Reiji and Michele. Before he could voice his very idiotic assumption, Michele smacked the back of his head.

"We didn't do nothin' of the sort, ya pervert!"

"T-that's exactly what I thought!" Ryo exclaimed, rubbing his head. "That hurt, you know!"

Reiji couldn't suppress a giggle. Michele was not close to any of her friends, but she enjoyed watching their few interactions. They bickered just like siblings.

Reiji slowed her walking until Miratona and Walter were a bit farther ahead. Watching the mission secretary carefully, she braced herself to summon her battle axe.

Work with me, Riki.

Shugo and Ryouichi marveled at the reddish-white light erupting from her palms. Ryouichi jumped behind Shugo when a long blade nearly bonked him on the head. The crimson red jewel at the center of the weapon gleamed in the light.

"You did it without Riki taking over! That's freakin' awesome!" Ryouichi whispered excitedly. Reiji blushed at his praise.

"I think of it like takeover magic with a weapon. It could show you what I did to tame Riki," she suggested.

"That's amazing, Rei!" Shugo grinned. "I can't believe you actually tamed that thing!"

"Now all we have to do is refresh your memory on everything else in three days!" Ryouichi announced. I'm so excited for her!

Three days... three... days...

"THREE DAYS?!" Reiji shrieked. Miratona and Walter whipped around. The green-haired demon fell to the ground, crying out in despair.

"I'm screwed! I'm so screwed! I can't sing, I forgot about the potions, and I'm freaking screwed!"

"Shugo, you blabbering idiot!" Ryouichi tackled Shugo for making Reiji panic. Miratona's long tail slapped the duo to the ground.

Michele scratched the back of her head while laughing nervously. This was technically her fault, after all.

"SILENCE!" Miratona shouted with more ferocity. Reiji gulped, dropping the panic instantly. Shugo and Ryouichi brushed sand and dirt off of their clothes and hair, also quiet. Michele and Reiji exchanged glances, smirking a little. Walter turned on his heel, continuing his walk. No one dared to act a fool for the rest of the trip back home.