"Excuse me but…why are we here?" A confused Judai asked Henry as both darkspawns relaxed inside a hot spring a couple of feet apart.

The cowboy turned to face Judai with a surprised expression. "Wow, I was about to wonder if you would even ask! What took you so long?" Henry teased. Judai raised an unamused eyebrow.

Seeing Judai wasn't much for jokes, Henry answered as he turned to face ahead. "Jeez, no need to look at me like that. You see, although I did say back then for you to show me the way, I couldn't resist the urge to go for a quick bath in the hot springs, especially after the trip I took to get here. Urgh, don't even get me started." Henry gave Judai a dry chuckle.

"What about our orders?" Judai asked, becoming progressively more baffled at Henry's laid-back behavior. Even though he already knew how frustrating Henry could be, the cowboy still found ways to annoy Judai further. Before Judai came back in time, if everyone else hadn't shared his opinion of Henry on some level, Judai would have probably lost his mind.

As Henry heard that, he paused for a moment, then chuckled again, which baffled Judai further. "Oh, that..." He waved it off with his hand. "Don't worry about it. As long as we still have the intention of doing it in the end, it doesn't matter how much time it takes. Unless, of course, she specifically puts a time limit on her orders, right guys?"

Judai tilted his head. "Wait, with whom are you talking?"

Henry noticed the confusion in Judai's voice and raised an eyebrow at him. "These guys." He raised his hand from the water and pointed ahead of him.

Judai scowled at Henry as he followed where the cowboy was pointing with his eyes. "What are you saying? There's only us here at this..." Before he finished his sentence, his line of thought was interrupted when he laid eyes on a group of men relaxing in the spring like them.

In an instant, Judai's fight-or-flight instincts flared up, and he jumped out of the spring. His back was now against the wooden wall that separated the masculine and feminine sides of the baths. Judai traded looks between the group of men that had appeared and Henry without blinking. Again...this would be the second time I was right next to him when he used his magic, and I still couldn't sense it! What kind of absurd control is this?

Judai's eyes finally fixed on Henry, staring at him for a couple of seconds. Before Henry could ask what was wrong, Judai did it first. "Could you...stop doing that?" Judai nudged his head at the group of men that had just shown up in the spring.

When Henry heard that question, he tilted his head for a few seconds before he turned to face the group of men who had suddenly shown up. After a few seconds, he burst out in a fit of laughter.

After he had finally calmed down, with his laughter reduced to a giggle, he said, "Right, right. I forgot that not everyone can sense when I use magic. Sorry about the scare; they would get grumpy with me if I hadn't let them relax with me."

Henry motioned for Judai to return to the spring. "Don't worry, they don't bite," he teased with a smug grin.

Judai scowled at him for a few seconds before he sighed and returned to where he was in the hot spring. Henry soon resumed the conversation, now that it was less awkward. "So you see..." He trailed off as he seemed to realize something. "Wait...what should I call you again?"

Judai just stared at him with an unreadable expression. "You heard from Kurai already, call me Konchu."

Henry rolled his eyes, slightly annoyed. "Oh, come on, you might be able to fool her, but I know you have an actual name. Everyone who has worked in this job for long enough has given themselves one. Or at least, everyone that I know of. Also, it will make it easier to differentiate you from, let's say...another Konchu that we may encounter as a stray or if Kurai summons another one for whatever reason."

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After giving some thought, an idea soon crossed Henry's mind. "Say...do you know the name of the person that you're disguising yourself as?"

Judai calmly nodded. "Yes, his name was Judai if I'm not mistaken, why do you ask?" He raised an eyebrow at Henry.

Henry smirked at Judai, who reconsidered whether he should have lied. "Well, how about using that name then, partner?"

After a few seconds of consideration, Judai relented. His new boss already called him that anyway, so he might as well make it official. "Very well, if it makes communication easier. I suppose that's an appropriate name...for now."

Satisfied with his answer, Henry nodded. "Alright, now where was I...Oh yeah!" He snapped his fingers.

He faked coughing before continuing. "Y'see Judai, as a skeleton, my innate magic is [Skeleton Crew], which allows me to call a couple of friends to help me, like this!" Henry vanished from Judai's sight and in his place was one of the men who had appeared out of nowhere.

Startled, Judai searched for Henry, and there he was, relaxing in the same spot where the man standing next to him was before they switched places. Before Judai could say anything, Henry switched places with the man by Judai's side again, leaving things as they were before. "So, what did you think?" Henry asked with a shit-eating grin plastered on his face, expecting Judai to be impressed.

Judai was indeed impressed by Henry's magic, but he soon realized something else. Wait...I didn't know that. Judai shrugged that off for the foreseeable future before he replied to Henry with an indifferent shrug. "I suppose it's a pretty powerful ability, I guess?"

Henry smirked as he nodded before standing up from his spot and leaving the hot spring. The group of men all soon vanished suddenly as he got out. "Ok, I guess that's enough of a bath for today for both of us. Let's grab a meal on the way. Hopefully, they are still open."

Judai soon followed, wondering how much longer this would last. He somehow felt more tired than when he first entered the hot spring.

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"A movie?" Yoshino asked Nozomi with genuine curiosity as they exited the school premises, classes over for the day.

Nozomi nodded as she gave her usual cheerful smile. "Yes, after these last few days, I thought we could see if there was any movie worth seeing at the cinema. It would also be Seiza's first time inside of one..." Nozomi looked away and scratched her head as she blushed a little. "I-if you're in the mood for it, of course!"

Her offer made Yoshino look down in thought. The obvious answer would be to deny her offer with the argument that as long as they were targeted, the safest option would be to hide in their respective homes until whoever was looking for them either gave up or an opportunity came where they could end this once and for all.

But at the same time...for how long would we need to hide? A day? A week? A month? Maybe even years? Could she, in good faith, accept letting her fears define not just her life but her best friend's too?

When Yoshino turned to give a more attentive look at Nozomi, she noticed how although her best friend's expression was cheerful, there were hints that it might be forced. Soon enough, a realization hit her like a truck.

Oh. Was all that Yoshino thought as she realized Nozomi was also scared, but unlike her, she was trying her best to help.

Yoshino seemed to have stared for too long as Nozomi's blush became more pronounced. She looked almost about to retract her offer, with her cheerful expression faltering. "H-hmm...actually..."

"Sure." Yoshino answered as she turned to look ahead. It might not be the smartest move, but hiding in her house until the day she died could be argued to be a fate worse than death. If more of these monsters were to ambush them, they would deal with them just like they did with the ones that came before.

Although her answer had been just one word, it was enough for Nozomi to return to her cheerful self and then some, with a genuine smile instead of a forced one. "Alright! To the cinema we go!" She pointed ahead, leading the way. Seiza seemed to play along with Nozomi's enthusiasm as he raised his paw and pointed ahead while most of his body remained on the school bag.

Yoshino couldn't help but chuckle a little at her friend's antics, as her expression grew a small smile. It will be okay, it will be okay, it will be okay... Yoshino kept telling herself that as she followed her best friend, but not before she glanced to see if anyone was following them. After she was sure no one was, Yoshino returned her attention to Nozomi before she could notice she had looked away just now.