Moonlight Demon

"Bo, please, give the kind lady her toy back," the man told the child, pushing him gently toward Ash. The Savior kept her eyes narrowed on the other half-demon, even as the kid approached her. This place felt like it was entirely out of a dream. 

"... Uh," Bo looked back at the man for confirmation, to which he nodded in return. Then, he lifted the cube up toward Ash, and the Savior grabbed it, quickly tying it to her waist again. 

Back at Jade, Ash hadn't grown up a true thief, mostly because she was terrible at that sort of thing, but she had seen a few other random strangers on the streets who had. And, this kid in front of her seemed like he was on that very path, only apparently he was being sponsored by someone at the same time. 

Ash turned around without a word as she received her  Lust. The others in this weird bar were still chatting, though her presence here had made the volume of their conversations lessen noticeably, as a few eyes strayed toward her. She was about to walk away, but just as she reached the door, she stopped. 

She was just too curious.

She turned around and walked right back over to the man, stopping in front of him. Bo ran off somewhere else as she approached, in a clumsy way that highlighted how young the boy was.

"What is this place? Who are you?" Ash asked. 

Those questions made the conversations around her even quieter. Ash could feel a sort of tension building up in the air. 

"Officer," the half-demon she was speaking to said, "I assure you, nothing of concern is happening in this building. Ask around, the other guards will vouch for us." 

He spoke with easy confidence, but Ash could tell that he was performing some basic threat assessment. His eyes were periodically scanning her body, likely trying to find any weapon she may have had on her person. 

That one word he used to describe her stuck out in her mind though, and Ash raised a brow. 

"I'm no guard," she told him. "You don't know me?" 

"... I'm afraid not," he shrugged. "We don't really concern ourselves with everything that happens on the surface, I'm afraid." 

... He could be lying, of course, but that doesn't sound unreasonable, she thought. 

"I'm... A mercenary," she shrugged. "I'm just new to town. So, I was wondering what this was all about. Looked interesting, is all." 

"Ah..." Ash could tell he didn't buy a word of that, but he played along. "In that case, welcome to Bin's Bar," he smiled at her. "I own this little joint. Feel free to grab a drink for yourself." 

"... Nah, I'm good," Ash shook her head. Turning around, she decided her curiosity wasn't worth wasting time here. "Thanks again." 

"By the way!" Bin called out. "Mercs are always welcome here. Feel free to come back anytime, friend." 

He laid that last word on so thick, the message was impossible to misinterpret.

He doesn't want any trouble,  she thought.  Hm. Still not used to having any actual respect. 

"Yeah?" Ash turned toward him. "Well, in that case, friend, how about you come over here and help me out." 

He tilted his head, surprised to hear that, but he stood up and walked over to her. A few of the men around the bar gestured like they were going to get up as well, but Bin raised a hand and they remained at their seats. 

"Sure thing!" He smiled again. "What do you need?" 

"Just need to know how the hell I'm supposed to get back up to the surface," Ash shrugged. "Like I said. I'm new in town." 

"... Okay," he nodded. "See that narrow alley right there? Take a left when you get the chance and there'll be a staircase that goes all the way up. There's also a manned elevator, in case you want that." 

"Thanks," Ash said. Of course, if he was sending her to some back alley murderer, she was going to come back and stick a spear up his ass, but she figured she'd try it. 

"That said," Bin added, "that offer for a drink still stands if you wanna stick around." 

"Nah, I've got shit to do," Ash shook her head. 

However, she did manage to get one more question in. 

"How did you end up here?" 

"Hm?" Bin raised a brow, and for the first time, he looked genuinely confused. 

"You're a half-demon," she said. "How did this," she gestured at him and then at the bar, "happen?" 

"... I, haha," he chuckled, "I'm not entirely sure what you mean, friend. I don't see what my being a half-demon has to do with anything, other than my mother not being too fond of me. Regardless, see you around, merc." 

With that, he turned around and walked away. 

And all Ash could do was stand there with her shoulders slumped, wondering how she'd been so unlucky as to not be born here instead of Jade. 

---

Yumi

Standing across Sinneah, Yumi prepared herself. Keiko was sitting at a bench nearby, watching the two of them. It had been a while since Yumi had used a sword, as her time with the others had meant she wasn't practicing nearly as often, but she tried to get a feel for it. Sinneah took up a fighting stance, and Yumi nodded. 

Then, the two of them charged at each other. Fighting with this weapon was different from fighting with a naginata in a few obvious ways. Most notably, her range was significantly reduced. So, that meant Yumi had to get far closer to her opponent. She slashed twice, flicking her sword from one side to another, and Sinneah dodged by spinning out of the way and closing the gap quickly. Yumi ducked under her punch and landed a sharp elbow at Sinneah's gut, and the woman let out a cough as she stumbled back. 

... That's for hogging the sheets so much. Yumi thought, blushing a little as she remembered how she and Sinneah had shared the same bed last night. 

Sinneah, however, transitioned into a kick as she moved away and Yumi dodged, going for another slash, that Sinneah avoided. To Yumi's left, the door leading to this garden opened and Metsumi walked out, along with Opah and Luvine. Yumi raised a hand, signaling for Sinneah to stop, and the draconic woman paused. 

"Hey there, getting some training done?" Metsumi asked as they approached. Opah and Luvine's eyes remained on Sinneah, still looking at her with some wonder. 

Yumi nodded. 

"I felt like this was a good opportunity to refresh my sword skills," Yumi shrugged. "Sinneah agreed to be a training partner, as well. She is almost as good at this as she is at snoring..." Yumi muttered. 

For some reason, that made Metsumi chuckle. 

"Seems like you two had fun last night. Sin, how did it feel to sleep on an actual bed?" 

"The bed was incredibly soft," Sinneah replied, the corners of her lips slightly curled in a smile. "I felt like I was floating." 

"I am glad one of us had an enjoyable experience," Yumi told her as she looked away, toward Keiko. 

When she saw her, Yumi felt something tugging at her heartstrings. Keiko had her head lowered, her legs crossed as she looked like she was intensely bored. Knowing why that was, Yumi felt sorry for her. She walked over to the girl and sat down next to her. 

Keiko noticed that, and looked up at her, though she remained silent. 

"... It is a beautiful day out, wouldn't you say?" Yumi asked. 

"Yes," Keiko politely replied. "It's great." 

Yumi leaned forward a little, to get a closer look at the girl. At this distance, it was even easier to see the melancholy showing itself on her face.  Hm...  Yumi looked away for a moment, trying to think of something. 

"Keiko," she said. 

"Yes?" 

"Would you like to try some sparring?" 

What Yumi had in her mind definitely ran the risk of making Keiko's day worse, but she couldn't help herself. Seeing her like this made Yumi want to try something. Anything, really. 

"What?" Keiko gave her a puzzled expression. 

"As I asked," Yumi held out the sword Keiko had lent her. "Would you like to?" 

"... But, I can't," Keiko replied. "It makes me sick." 

"Maybe last time we tried this we fought at too high a pace," Yumi said. "Come. Try this with me." 

Keiko paused for a moment. Then, her clear, silver eyes connected with Yumi's own and Keiko sighed. 

"... Okay." Keiko stood up. "What do you have in mind?" 

"Simple, just slash at me," Yumi replied, standing as well. Ahead, she could see Opah trying to climb Sinneah's back while the draconic woman watched her, baffled. 

"What weapon will you use?" 

"None."

She walked back a few steps. 

"But, I don't want to hurt you." 

"No faith in my Dexterity, Keiko?" Yumi asked with a smirk. "Trust me. But, please, do try to slow things down. There's no need to get too, ehm, worked up, alright?" 

"... Okay," the other Zayama replied, holding her sword out. "When you're ready." 

"Go." 

With that, Keiko hesitantly took a step forward and attacked. 

---

Satsuhiro

Ever since arriving in this city, Satsuhiro felt like things were... strange. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but even though this had always been a place shrouded in mystery and danger, it still felt to him like something was off. That feeling had started when he met Zafir, and it continued to needle away at his mind as he realized that he hadn't heard from the Royal Council in some time. Or how there were little to no tourists. But, most notably, the fact that the group hadn't run into the Arcane once since they'd arrived here. 

At the same time, that could just be his own paranoia, wanting to keep everyone safe. Still, he couldn't help but wonder. 

The older Savior walked out into the garden to see where everyone else was. When he emerged outside, he found Keiko throwing out slow swings at Yumi, which the older Zayama dodged with little effort. Everyone else, Metsumi, Sinneah, Opah, and Luvine were watching nearby. 

"Hello dear~" Metsumi greeted him as she saw him. He nodded. 

"... What is everyone doing?" 

"Nothing much, just playing around, I think," Metsumi shrugged. "So, any plans for today?" 

At that, Satsuhiro looked down. 

"... I'm going to write a letter." 

"Hm?" 

"To the Royal Council. I just want to know how things have been going in the other cities," he replied.  I may as well ask about the Arcane at first. See what he's doing that's keeping him so busy.