Moonlight Demon

2 Days Later

"Okay!" Kaori clapped her hands. "Time to pick up some spells!" 

Keiko sighed. 

This was the next step in her time here. She knew it would come at some point, and a part of her wanted to just get this over with, but another, her more honorable side, felt like she was insulting her family just by listening to this. Still, she remained silent as Kaori began to explain things. 

"So, basically, listen, first thing we're gonna do is test you for any affinities. I'll give you a basic Fire spell and then, once we see how your body reacts, we'll go from there." 

Unsurprisingly, Keiko had none. That meant that she could learn spells from all categories, but that all of this would be at base power, as they wouldn't be enhanced by affinity. Keiko was fine with that, as she had no plans to use magic anyways. 

Kaori ended up gifting her a very basic Fire spell called Fireball. 

"Is that it?" Keiko asked, after performing the spell a few times. 

"Yeah, I'll just give you a few spellbooks. Don't worry, I can tell you don't really want to learn much of this, so most of what we'll be doing together will be focused around the field," Kaori told her. 

"Oh... Thank you," Keiko bowed. That was a pleasant surprise. At least she and her teacher appeared to be on the same page. 

"For now though, come on," Kaori said, taking her by the hand. Keiko was still trying to get used to it. "I'll cook you up some lunch!" 

With that, the two of them headed back into the house where Keiko sat down at the kitchen table while Kaori went to work. She'd expected them to enjoy a nice, quiet meal together, but that was not the case. 

Kaori didn't do "nice and quiet", after all. 

"So," Kaori said as she worked on their lunch, "you haven't really told me much about yourself." 

"... Do I have to?" Keiko asked. 

"Not if you don't want to, but, I just figured, well, you know, we're gonna be together for a while," Kaori explained. "We may as well get to know each other, I think." 

It made sense, and yet Keiko still didn't want to do it. As work-focused as she was, making friends was something she'd tried before, and it had never turned out well. Still, maybe it was because of the fact that she knew Kaori would soon break that barrier down, but Keiko found herself reluctantly nodding. 

"... What do you want to know?" Keiko asked. 

"Well, now you're making it sound like a job interview," Kaori giggled and Keiko heard her take a few steps towards Keiko's table. She placed a couple of plates down on the wood and Keiko smelled bread of some sort in front of her. "I'm not gonna grade your responses or anything, sheesh, lighten up." 

"That's not something I'm used to doing." 

Keiko regretted saying those words as soon as they escaped her lips, as she knew they'd plant a seed of curiosity in Kaori's mind. 

"Oh?" Thankfully though, Kaori went in a different direction. "So, uhm, how does it feel? Being a Savior and all." 

Keiko lowered her head as she ran a hand over the sandwich on her plate. 

"I... I would say this feels no different." 

"Seriously?" Kaori asked, some surprise in her tone. 

"Is that a strange answer?" Keiko asked. 

"Well, yeah! I mean, most people dream about this sort of thing. Back when before I got chosen, my classmates used to talk about Saviors all the time. They're heroes, you know? Well, they're considered heroes. We literally are Saviors, after all. I don't want to sound like I'm bragging." 

"No, I understand, it's just," Keiko paused. "It's just a duty we must perform. I see it no differently than any job I would be assigned." 

That's not true.  Keiko thought.  There is a difference. Other jobs would have me back home, this one meant that my grandmother could get rid of me. 

"We have instructions. We have a mission. Isn't that what matters at the end of the day?" Keiko asked. 

"... You're really mature, aren't you?" Kaori asked with some fondness and Keiko blushed, thinking wow, I must sound older than she is. I need to spend less time around Haruna. "It's not a bad thing, I don't mean to embarrass you. Just saying, I've met plenty of Saviors and a lot of them let this whole thing get to their heads." 

Kaori took a bite out of her meal and spoke with food in her mouth. Moments like these, Keiko was glad she couldn't see that. 

"It's understandable though, I mean, we're  literally  chosen by gods, and  literally  just statistically better at learning and performing than most people. Still... Your answer was pretty refreshing to hear." 

"I... Thank you?" Keiko responded and Kaori chuckled. 

"Oh, crap, almost choked," Kaori said, gulping her bites down. 

The rest of the meal went by fairly nicely and, all in all, the talk the two of them had wasn't as awkward as Keiko had thought it would be. Mostly though, Keiko felt like she was learning things about the world she would have never been told about back at her home.

"So..." Keiko had said, responding to something Kaori had let her know, "what you're saying is..."

"Yep! You seriously didn't know about escorts?" 

"I-I, I'd heard about them," Keiko muttered, "I just... Well, we don't have those in the Compound. I... I guess I doubted they were real." 

"Oh, they're very real," Kaori said, a strangely suggestive tone slipping into her words, "Pearl is the best place for that sort of stuff. They're more accepting of intimacy than other cities. Ah! You need to check it out someday, everyone there is sooo beautiful!" 

"I will take your word for it," Keiko muttered, doubting that she would ever participate in any such activity, but Kaori took her words a different way.

"U-UH, SORRY! Right, sorry, you can't... Sorry." 

...

Oh. Once she realized the misunderstanding that had just occurred, Keiko genuinely found herself laughing. It was a strange sensation, one she didn't get to experience often. 

"No, no," Keiko said, between breaths, waving her hands back and forth. "I did not mean it like that... I just meant that... Although these things are fascinating to hear about, I do not think escorts and the like are for me." 

"OH! Oh, okay, sorry, I... I thought I messed up there..." Kaori chuckled. 

"You're okay," Keiko let her know, a little smile setting on her face. 

This...  She thought.  This isn't as bad as I thought it would be. 

"So..." Keiko paused before asking, hoping this wasn't too rude or forward of her, "intimacy, you're...?" 

"Hm? Oh, yeah, I used to sleep around a lot," Kaori brazenly admitted and Keiko recoiled. Back at the Compound, any talk of sex was usually done in hushed whispers and met with shock and awe. "So when I went to Pearl and I heard about the escorts and stuff, well, yeah, I had to try it out." 

Keiko's face reddened a second time. 

"Oh, I see." One thing that did not escape Keiko though was the fact that Kaori said, "used to." Well, she thought,  there's no doubt the isolation of this farm has interrupted her... uh... nighttime affairs. Keiko reasoned.  Why would someone like this live here though? Kaori certainly does sound like the type that would love to live in a proper city.

"What about you?" Kaori asked. Keiko shook her head, focusing back on the conversation. 

"Hm?" 

"I mean, you're seriously cute," Kaori let her know, "I'd think someone like you would be pretty popular... Did you ever...?" 

"Oh. No." Keiko shook her head firmly. "I'm a virgin." 

"Seriously!?" Kaori asked, shocked. 

Is it that surprising?  Keiko thought. 

"Yes." 

"Wow. So, what is it, are you just not that into anything sexual or what? It's fine if you aren't, I'm just curious, is all." 

"I just..." Keiko took a deep breath. "Training and improving has taken up most of my time. Plus, well, it seems you believe that I'm... good-looking," Keiko mumbled, "but others back home would disagree." 

"Then they need to get out more or something because trust me, Keiko, you're stunning." 

"..." 

Keiko did not respond to that. She didn't know how to. All she knew was that hearing that compliment, said by someone who had as pretty a voice as Kaori's was, it made her heart race. 

She scolded herself for that reaction though.

No, no, Keiko. She thought. She doesn't mean anything by it. Maybe this is normal. She told herself. Maybe people give each other compliments like this all the time. I shouldn't assume anything. 

That last interaction aside, Keiko found herself feeling better about all of this. If her teacher had been someone else, someone less sociable, someone less agreeable, then Keiko would have likely hated her time here. However, Kaori was proving to be, at the very least, a fine person to be around. 

Because of that, Keiko allowed herself to feel better about this situation. 

---

Kaori

At night, the blonde Savior did the same thing she'd done since Keiko had gotten here. Once she saw the blindfolded girl go to her bed and rest for the night, Kaori got up and walked to Ash's grave. 

This time though, there was a small amount of optimism in her voice. 

"Hey..." She greeted the tombstone, sitting down on the dirt in front of it. Sighing, Kaori huddled her knees up to her chest. "Today went well, I think. I... Keiko is fun to talk to, in her own way, so that made things a little more bearable." 

Kaori looked up at the stars, hugging herself. 

"I still feel like I'm not cut out for this though." She paused and then looked down at the tombstone. A memory appeared in her mind and she chuckled. "Remember when Satsuhiro took us to Amber and the first thing we saw as soon as we entered the city were those drunk mages fighting on the street? How Satsuhiro knocked them both out with a fire spell because they were getting out of control and we nearly got arrested?" Kaori chuckled. "All that stuff feels like it was so long ago, but I can still remember how Satsu and Metsumi helped lead us everywhere. Helped us learn everything we needed. I didn't really think anything about it at the time, but now, looking back, I realize how talented they were. Guidance is a talent, I think, and now... I'm just wondering if I have it." 

Another pause and Kaori closed her eyes. 

"Keiko needs me to be that for her, but I don't know if I have it in me. Maybe I should drop her off with Mizaki or Takomaro, or whoever... But, if I can't be a good teacher," Kaori smiled, "I've at least decided, I'm going to be a good friend. It seems like she needs that just as much." 

Suddenly, a voice spoke behind her. 

"Kaori?" 

Her eyes opened and Kaori was on her feet instantly, her fists aimed back, ready to unleash a Fire spell, but instead of an enemy, what she saw was Keiko, waddling towards her. Her hands were outstretched, probably trying not to collide with anything. 

"Is that you?" Keiko asked. 

Kaori went up to her and took her hands lightly, trying to help ground her. 

"Yeah, yeah. Why did you come out here?" Kaori asked. Her hands were cold to the touch and Kaori noticed she was shaking a little. Right, Zayama's senses are better than most people's. She's probably feeling the cold air even worse than I am. 

"I heard the door open and I feared there was an intruder of some sort. Then, I heard your voice and I came over here. Are you alright?" Keiko asked. 

There was so much genuine concern on her face, that Kaori thought it was adorable. 

"My hero~" Kaori couldn't help but tease and Keiko's pale face flushed. It was quickly becoming one of Kaori's favorite things to see.

"I'm serious..." Keiko muttered.

She laughed, patted Keiko on the head, and said:

"Silly, I'm your teacher. If something were getting the better of me, what would you do?" 

"O-Oh... I suppose you're correct." 

"Not that I don't appreciate it, Savior," Kaori quickly added. "Come on, it's way too cold out. Let's go back inside." 

Suddenly, Keiko was becoming a very endearing figure to the blonde. 

I'll try to guide you, and if I can't do that, then maybe we can at least have some fun before our time together is up. I can at least do that for you.

"By the way, who were you talking to?" Keiko asked. 

"Oh... No one, I was talking to myself," Kaori replied, and the two went back into Kaori's house.