Moonlight Demon

Kasumi

Earlier

"Welcome to Amber!" Mizaki announced, spreading her arms after she hopped off the wooden vehicle as the caravan stopped. Kasumi jumped off as well and looked ahead at the place they'd arrived at. What stood in front of her was as though Magia had crafted a city in the middle of a barren wasteland. 

Finally,  Kasumi thought, rolling her shoulders. Mizaki gestured toward Amber, as she walked over to where Kasumi was. 

"Come on, I'll show you around!" 

A few guards glanced at them as they passed by, but Kasumi didn't make much of it as she and Mizaki entered the dirt path that made up Amber's main street. 

"Look around! You'll find all sorts of things here if you look hard enough. Mage shops, general stores, places to gamble, places to eat, places to sleep. They're all packed up, right on top of each other." 

"Sounds highly uncomfortable," Kasumi muttered. 

"Yep! It's part of the place's charm though," Mizaki replied. "Aaaah! I haven't been here in so long, ugh, I missed it so much! The dry air, the unbearable sun, the thieves sizing you up in broad daylight! No place like home!" 

A few citizens looked away as they heard her. Kasumi sighed. 

"I guess people can get homesick over any old place, huh?" The Savior muttered to herself as she looked around.

Indeed, however, this was all different from anything she'd seen before. Buildings made of wood looked to be common, and almost everyone she saw had a thin layer of sand over their skin thanks to the dirt getting scooped up by gusts of wind occasionally. 

Kasumi didn't care much for any of it, though. She was here for one reason, and one reason only. So, she walked up to the nearest guard, crossed her arms, and spoke with a firm tone, as Mizaki stood behind her. 

"Has a Savior arrived in town lately?"

"..." The guard, a young girl with short black hair, paused briefly. "Yes." 

"Okay, where is she?" 

"Last I heard, she was staying over at the Arcane's Manor. Need an escort?" 

"Eh, don't worry!" Mizaki said, snagging Kasumi away as she wrapped an arm around her waist. 

"M-Mizaki?" Kasumi asked, confused. 

"The chance of getting robbed is part of the fun! We don't need any escorts, it's okay!" 

Kasumi gave her a baffled expression as she saw Mizaki grinning back at her. Then, Mizaki started dragging her down the street. 

Luckily, nothing happened, though Kasumi was looking over her shoulder the entire time. 

"Over there!" Mizaki pointed ahead. "That's the place that guard was talking about." 

What Kasumi found as she looked forward was a large, white building that looked nothing like anything around it. It even had some fancy metal gates at the front and well-kept decorative plants gracing its front yard. 

"Go ahead, but once you talk to Ash, feel free to reach out to me. I'd love to show you around or give you some tips if you want 'em." 

"Okay... Where will you be?" Kasumi asked her. 

"At my house," she pointed to the west. "It's just down the street from here. Look for a blacksmith's forge. I live right next door to it. Ah~ I can't wait to see my family again!" Mizaki said, and with a rushed, "goodbye," she all but sprinted away. 

Kasumi was left alone, already feeling exhausted. 

Let's just get this over with. 

She walked up to the two knights posted by the gates, and they held out their weapons over the metal bars, preventing her passage. 

"I'm here to see a Savior, her name's Ash." 

"Yeah?" One of them asked. "And, who are you?" 

"Savior Kasumi," she replied, and then, she showed them her bag. Inside, her Savior's Weapon was resting, having been left unused. 

"Hm... Wait here," one of the knights said, and he entered the Manor. 

Kasumi raised a brow, wondering why they weren't just letting her through, but she obliged, so as to not turn this into a problem. A while later, the guard returned and he told her: 

"The Savior will be out in a moment. Please, wait here." 

Kasumi decided it was at least worth asking, then. 

"Why?"

"Access to the Manor is restricted, at the moment. Due to... recent events." 

"So? I'm a Savior," Kasumi shrugged. 

"Well, yes, but, there's always a chance that the people inside could be put in danger if we do not properly vet those who seek entry, or consult with the Senate first." 

"Are you calling me a threat?" Kasumi asked. There was no real bite behind her tone, she was mostly just amused. 

"No, my apologies, Savior. I did not mean to imply that," the knight responded. 

"Hm... This is a weird way of treating special guests," Kasumi muttered. 

"Once again, I apologize," the knight bowed. "It is simply the protocol that the Senate has put in place. I am merely following their rules." 

Hmph. The Senate?  Kasumi narrowed her brows at that. 

Before she could spend too much time thinking about that, however, the door behind the knights opened as she had started to ask about something. 

"So, where's the...?" 

However, she trailed off as she saw the white-haired Savior she'd come so far to speak with. Kasumi's eyes widened as the half-demon walked toward her. 

In all honesty, Kasumi felt strange as she saw Ash come closer. The two of them hadn't exactly been friends when last she saw her, but there was a sort of understanding that the two had of each other. That bizarre sensation of knowing you weren't exactly close with someone, but you still knew them like the back of your hand, was what Kasumi felt toward her. 

Mostly because, as the two had talked about in the past, they did have some similarities. However, the half-demon who approached Kasumi then didn't look as distraught and distant as Kasumi remembered her being. No, this woman was standing with her back straight, and a pair of confident violet eyes looking back at Kasumi. 

She barely noticed Satsuhiro, because Ash's presence, the way she carried herself, was just that commanding. 

When she was close enough, Ash spoke up first. 

"Kasumi?" She said, and the Savior's name hung in the air for a few seconds. "What are you doing here?" 

"..." Kasumi cleared her throat as she regained her composure. "I needed to speak with you."

"Oh. So, what are you doing outside? Come in," Ash told her, opening up the gates. 

One of the knights moved to stop Ash. 

"We should wait for..." 

However, the glare the half-demon gave to the knight, a look that challenged the knight to keep speaking, made him shut up, and he retracted his hand. 

"My apologies," he muttered. 

"Thought so," Ash replied, opening the gates up. "Come on." 

"Right," Kasumi said, and, walking by Ash's side, she entered the Manor's premises. 

"Is it anything urgent?" Satsuhiro asked. 

"It's... mostly just an offer, I guess." 

That was where Kasumi left it, as she was led into the building. 

About ten minutes later, she was sitting at a garden, in a stone chair, next to Satsuhiro's family, who Kasumi knew, and a few women that she didn't. Of course, she recognized Metsumi, the giant bundle of positivity that Kasumi used to be able to hear from her room as she tried to catch sleep back at the Savior House at Jade. She recognized Opah, her and Satsuhiro's daughter. Keiko was also familiar, though Kasumi hadn't quite interacted much with the girl.

On the other hand, there were three women here that Kasumi did not recognize. Firstly, there was the silver-eyed Zayama who was standing a little distance away, on her own. She looked a lot like Keiko herself, but with a more mature air to her. Wait, is that the same woman we met at the shrine? She thought but shrugged it off. Then, there was a girl with slitted yellow eyes, black scales at various points in her body, and an animalistic tail. Kasumi had no idea what was up with her. And, lastly, there was another half-demon, just a bit older than Opah, who was standing by Ash's side, subtly trying to keep the other half-demon in front of her. 

Okay, clearly, there's a lot I missed, Kasumi thought.  Hm... Actually, where's Kaori?  She wondered as she looked around. Kaori, Keiko, and Ash had been inseparable during the time Kasumi had spent with them.  Maybe she's in the city or something. 

"So, what's up?" Ash asked, crossing her arms. 

"Right," Kasumi nodded, getting ready to deliver the news. "The Royal Council thinks that, because of your recent victory against the demons, humanity is in a position now to fight back against the demon army." 

"... What does that mean?" Satsuhiro moved forward. 

"Well," Kasumi shrugged. "They want Ash's help with something. They..." She decided it was best to just come out and say it. "They want her to help take back Pearl." 

When Kasumi said that, a few different reactions became noticeable in the group. Metsumi's eyes widened. Satsuhiro gave her a skeptical look, and Ash, however, looked relieved. 

Then, without hesitation, Ash responded:

"Okay, I'll do it." 

"... What?" Kasumi blinked. "Seriously?"