Moonlight Demon

The first day there, Keiko did literally nothing. Not through lack of trying, mind you.

"No, no!" Her teacher, Kaori, had said. "You need to get used to my farm! Tomorrow, we'll start with all the business stuff, but for now, just sit back and relax!"

That was a problem though because Keiko had no idea how to do that. Her entire life, she'd never "relaxed". All she knew was to keep bashing her head against a wall she knew would never break. So, sitting around was extremely foreign to her as Kaori moved things around, saying she wanted to make sure she wouldn't have to move anything again so that Keiko could properly learn where everything was.

The good part of that though was that it didn't take long before Keiko felt that she understood her new home, though it came with a few peculiarities. For one, Keiko felt like if she heard Kaori continue to sing her lungs out, she'd go crazy. Not that the girl had a bad singing voice, but she did it so energetically that the past few hours had been harsher on Keiko's ears than anything at the Compound had been in a long time. Still, if she had to pick between this singing or her grandmother barking insults at her as she failed to produce results, the choice was an easy one. 

The second thing she noticed was that anytime Keiko drew close to one particular room, the last one on the right side of the hall at the back, Kaori would get strangely silent. She noticed this early on enough to where she didn't try to open the door to that room, but she did make a mental note of that. 

Um... Could she be a serial killer or something? Is there a body in there? Keiko worried, but she convinced herself she was being dramatic. 

At night, when it came time to rest, Kaori went up to her. 

"By the way, you can sleep at my bed if you want to." 

"O-Oh, no, sorry, I could not do such a thing..." Keiko replied. 

"Nonsense. You're a guest! When I inherited this farm, it came with a few rules, and one of them is 'no cute girls shall sleep on couches or floors!' SO, by all means, take mine!" 

"... Well, alright then." Keiko bowed. "Thank you, siya." 

"Siya? What does that mean?" 

"Teacher, basically." Superior, is more like it, but yes. 

"Ah, gotcha. Welp! Go ahead, my room is the first one on the left. Just walk in a straight line and you'll hit the bed. Goodnight!" 

Nodding, Keiko stood up and walked over there. 

Here, she ran into another problem.

This... Will not do. This will not do at all. 

That woman's scent covered the entire room, and it was entirely overwhelming. She had noticed it whenever Kaori drew close enough, but it wasn't strong enough for her to regard it. Here though, she couldn't escape it. See, Kaori smelled like chocolate, and thanks to Keiko's enhanced senses due to her years of blindness, that scent was waging war on her nostrils at the moment. 

"... I'm going to go dizzy," she took a deep breath. "Though... It's not a bad smell, I suppose." 

---

Kaori

As her new apprentice went to sleep in her room, Kaori took a deep breath and walked out of her farm. It was pretty clear that Keiko was feeling apprehensive about this, but she wasn't the only one. 

Kaori had hoped she'd done a good job of masking her nerves, but she didn't know for sure if she had. So, before any of the actual teachings could start, she needed to let her worries go. And she went to do that the only way she knew how. Behind her house was a spot that Kaori had laid out, a small garden of lilies and roses, just as she used to like them. 

Feeling the cold of the night on her shoulders as she took steps towards it, between the flowerbeds she saw it. The tombstone she'd be talking to tonight. With every centimeter that she drew closer to it, it felt like it was getting harder to breathe. Still, Kaori made her way there and finally sat down in front of it, keeping her hands on her lap. 

"I... This feels so weird, I don't know if I'm ready for this," Kaori muttered. "It... It hasn't even been that long since... Though, maybe someone else would have moved on in a year."

Shaking her head, Kaori looked up at the twin moons and gave a sad smile. 

"You used to love nights like these so much. Gosh, I wish I could still share them with you. I feel so lost without you here. I don't know, I wish you were still around to be her teacher. You were always better at that sort of thing, even if people thought you came across as mean," Kaori chuckled. "I... I don't know what I'm doing." 

Her eyes roamed over the stone and briefly, her pupils landed on the name carved into it. 

Here lies, Ash. A proud Savior, servant of the realm, and a doting wife.

I will always love you. 

Kaori looked away for a brief moment and scratched her head. 

Maybe you're watching me right now, she wondered.  If that's the case, hopefully, you're cheering me on. 

Kaori stood up, walked closer to the stone, and placed a hand over it, imagining for just a moment that the rock she felt was actually her late wife. 

Well... I have to do my best. Wish me luck, my love. 

With that, Kaori turned away and walked back into the farm. 

---

Keiko

For her first lesson, Kaori decided that Keiko needed to learn how to fight. Not that she didn't know how to wield a sword, she was, after all, perhaps even more experienced in that regard than even her teacher. But rather, that she needed to learn what a life-or-death situation was like. 

So, Kaori held her hand and brought her to a forest of some sort. The smell of nature was unlike anything she knew back at Jade. Beyond that, the sounds of birds chirping filled the air above, and Keiko found herself startling every now and then, whenever one such creature would start. 

Eventually, Kaori stopped her. 

"Okay!" Kaori said. "There's a goblin right in front of you. Mess it up." 

"Wait, what?" Keiko asked, as she heard a monster growling. "Right in front of me?" 

"Mhm. It's walking this way too. Looks pretty mad." 

"... And you're not gonna give me any tips or..." 

"Well, it's just a goblin. Just do what you can." 

... I already miss Haruna. 

Still, Keiko nodded. 

"Sword," with a word, her  Perseverance  transformed. Keiko took a deep breath and waited as the animalistic sounds got louder. "So, what is it using?" 

"A club, a big long piece of wood, pretty much." 

"Okay..." 

Its strength is probably somewhat high. Maybe, I don't know. 

"There's nothing around me?" 

"Uh, nope." 

Finally, as the goblin drew close enough, Keiko focused on what she could hear. She listened to the goblin's snarling, its feet landing on leaves underneath, and Keiko charged towards its position. 

When she figured she was close enough, she slashed horizontally. She felt her blade slice through flesh so smoothly, it was like cutting through a veil and she was rewarded with a squeal, and a flop, and just like that, her opponent was dead. 

Oh. Well... That was easy. 

"HEEEY! GOOD JOB!" Kaori cheered her on and Keiko transformed the Savior's Weapon back into a cube. 

"Uhm... Thanks?" Keiko replied. "I don't know, that felt pretty easy." 

"Well, of course. You're already pretty good at combat, right? This should all come naturally to you. Now, come on!" Kaori said. "Let's get you some more practice!" 

---

By the time they were done, Keiko had gone up a few levels and found that she hadn't suffered a single scratch. The goblins were as slow as they were predictable, and that meant that Keiko could land killing blows from the very beginning of each fight. 

Kaori seemed to think this was a good enough achievement to merit a small celebration. 

"HERE!", she said, handing Keiko a cup. "TO YOUR FIRST, AND VERY SUCCESSFUL, DAY AS A SAVIOR! YAAAAAY!" 

Kaori applauded and Keiko felt like the gesture was a bit awkward given the silence of the house, but, at the same time, she felt... strangely warm. 

This was the first bit of positive reinforcement she'd received in a very long time. 

Wow. Is my life actually that sad?  Keiko sighed as she drank from the cup. 

Instantly, she regretted it, feeling fire flowing down her throat. Kaori must have seen her reaction and found it funny as she started laughing. 

"Not much of a drinker? Sorry, sorry. I should have asked," Kaori said as Keiko coughed. 

"I really hope I wasn't put to train under an alcoholic," Keiko said, hoping she wasn't being too rude. Kaori didn't seem like the people back at the Compound. Keiko didn't think she'd care too much. 

Indeed, Kaori snorted. 

"Hmph. Well, I think that maybe an alcoholic is exactly what we need to get that stick out of your ass!" 

Kaori laughed as she said that and Keiko sighed dramatically. 

This. Woman. Is. Exhausting.