“The woman nearly killed you last time.”

“But she didn’t. She could have, but didn’t.”

“Well yeah, but what about next time?”

“I’ll face that when I come to it. I have to see her again.”

“Is there a reason you feel so strongly about it?”

“I can’t really explain it, but something about her seems familiar. Ever since I heard her name, it’s like something inside me knows her. I don’t know why. I’ve never seen her before, but there has to be a reason for it. I want to know why.”

“You sure part of it isn’t because she’s strong?”

“Maybe a little.”

Yuki grinned seeing an improved look on her face. She turned back away from the view to look at the gathering. ‘I’m going to lose time, but I can’t leave things unfinished here…’

Chapter 424 – Empty Trails

Two days after the battle, Yumi and her friends could finally leave. Yuki and Nerine helped with the reconstruction in discrete methods that went unnoticed by the townspeople, thanks to some clever distractions by Saki. Life improved quickly for them, though the fear of another demon attack still loomed over their heads. However, the fact that the demons were after Masa helped to give them some relief. It was nothing that they did. Not that it was a certainty.

Small things to give comfort.

Yumi knew things could get worse if the greatest of their fears came to pass. Nothing would save them then. The only comfort she had was knowing it wasn’t real. Something that slipped from her mind more often lately than she cared to admit.

Yumi led the group on the search for the mysterious woman known as Masa. Two days behind, she had a lot of ground to cover and nothing to go by. The demon attack on the town shutdown any trade. Everyone turned around once they saw the carnage. Getting any rumors to what might be happening beyond proved impossible. They were going to need to get to a new village or town for any hopes of a rumor.

The only thing working in their favor would be that she likely would have left an easy trail to follow. Just needed to find dead demons. She got up to speed on Masa from Saki, learning that she had started to make a sudden name for herself in the West. Her mysterious and convenient appearance left Yumi with a lot of questions. There were things that she still didn’t understand.

However, the most important thing wasn’t the questions, but getting stronger. She had to survive in this demon world until Phoibe rescued them and it seemed Masa’s actions were making things worse. If an army was stirred up by her slaying of a Demon Lord, there was no telling how much worse the world would be to live in with a war between demons and humans raging once more.

She had to find Masa quickly.

Unfortunately, the first village that they found on their trip had nothing to work from. The only rumors that they had were from the battle that they were part of. Though thanks to no eye witnesses to the battle, the tales of the battle drastically exploded out of control. The tale of a merciless demon slaying woman killing thousands of demons in a single swing of her sword spread quickly. There seemed to be a hint of excitement and hope in the people that they spoke to about the stories.

They all became more worried about the state of Japan after visiting a few more villages. The acceptance that Yumi saw before of the beaten down and defeatist attitude no longer seemed to be present. A bold and dangerous air started to circulate.

Saki flipped Yumi on her back after another failed attempt at an attack. It was a rest time for Yuki and Nerine after going all day and night on their power. Yuki hadn’t recovered enough yet from his first shift. So at Yumi’s insistence, she sparred with Saki.

Rolling over, Yumi got back to her feet. Nothing had changed for an hour. She focused back on Saki trying to formulate a plan of attack. Everything she tried before failed. ‘I just can’t see her movements… She’s too fast…’

The constant rock, Saki accepted any attack Yumi prepared. “Remember to watch everything, Yumi. The slightest movement or flinch can give away your opponent’s action. You’ve been fighting only on instinct, but if you want to improve you’re going to need to start seeing and observing.”

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Yumi already knew it, Saki just continued to repeat it as though she hadn’t heard it ten times before. ‘Her left foot…but also her right side…and her eyes are looking to my left…’ She saw different possibilities, they all could be an attack or even a feint.

But none of that mattered as Saki disappeared from her sight and appeared behind her. Her arms quickly got her in a submission hold and then threw her to the ground in a pin. “You also can’t over think the problem. A skilled opponent will give off false moves as tricks and leave their real action hidden.”

Sighing, she surrendered the round to Saki again. “I’m never going to get this…”

“It takes time. You’ve been fighting on instinct for months and never had any formal training. Undoing instinct is not easy. You just need practice.”

“Hey don’t talk shit about instinct!” shouted Seiji, not ignoring all of the advice Saki handed out, almost like a passive aggressive attack on him.

“And don’t pay attention to him.”

“The hell?!”

“Seiji’s a special case. Years of street fights have given an inherent second sense for fighting that you don’t have the luxury of earning.”

Manekamaru kept his usual soft smile watching their antics play out. He kept Seiji company watching the two women fight it out. “You two have an amusing relationship.”

“She’s a pain in the ass and makes no sense,” he replied, crossing his arms to look away.

“The best things are never easy.”

“Is that why you’re letting Yumi get stronger? Once Saki’s finished with her, she might just end up completely kicking your ass.”

The demon lightly chuckled at Seiji’s suggestion. “That doesn’t sound too bad.”

“You really just want her to kill you. I don’t get that shit.”

“Live for centuries with no way home and no purpose, let me know if what you desire makes sense at that point.”

“So even you admit it.”

“It’s just not something I worry about. Besides, I haven’t felt this alive in a long time. I’m not missing our rematch.”

Seiji nodded, getting that part well enough. “That’s some shit I can understand.” He glanced over at Yuki in thought before looking back at the demon. “Things are getting a little scary now.” The last village they visited still fell within eyeshot of them. He saw it over Manekamaru’s shoulder.

“Yes, this is an unexpected turn of events.”

“Who the hell is that woman though? You sure you don’t know her?”

“As I’ve said before, I’m not the best one to ask. Being isolated from the rest of the humans, we only take notice when they do something. We don’t monitor them. A different clan might know something more.”

“But how does someone that insanely powerful just magically appear one day. She could have wiped out half of you guys the way shit’s going.”

“Which is worrisome, but in the end it may be for the best.”

“Still on about dying. I’ll never understand you.”

“That’s probably for the best.”

Grumbling a little, Seiji pressed against the rock, cracking it a little from his strength. He really wasn’t getting anywhere with the demon. His way of thinking didn’t make any sense for Seiji. Wanting to fight just to die seemed backwards, he couldn’t fight anymore if he did. Yet that didn’t seem to be a concern for him.

After a few more hours of rest, Yuki finished recovering to be able to start back up on the road along with Nerine. She actually seemed to bounce back sooner than him with them both ready. But he still took the first shift and eventually swapped out with Nerine later.

Days trickled out for them in their traveling over all of West Japan in hunting down the rumors of Masa. They managed to get far enough away from the battle they were part of that it hadn’t reached the villages that they visited. It did mean that the rumors started to disappear. Though not all of them were misses. Masa caused just enough of a scene in the places that she traveled to leave spotty rumors.

They had just enough to track to the next point, but not enough to actually be getting close. The rumors were a day old most times, putting them further back than they wished. All they hoped for was the time between the rumors shortening.

Yumi worried more than anything that it would take too long to catch up to Masa. She moved quickly and didn’t stick around for long. The rate at which the situation in West Japan continued to boil increased at an alarming pace. It didn’t seem like it would be long before something happened. And she was afraid of what that might be.

“Are you the Demon Hunter?” a random boy asked, coming up to Yumi suddenly during their visit. They had been in the town for an hour or so asking around for rumors. She looked down at the boy, likely only eight or nine, not sure how he might have heard about her.

Yumi knelt down to meet with the boy at eye level. “There’s no Demon Hunters out here,” she replied, knowing better about the situation. She couldn’t keep the mistakes going that she started. No additional fire needed to be added.

“But you’re one.”

“Why do you think that?” He seemed oddly insistent about it being true. Yumi’s face twisted a little in confusion, not sure why he pressed the issue.

The boy jumped up excitedly for her. “Because you kill demons!”

“I kill demons? Did someone tell you that?”

“You do, don’t you?” He almost seemed to be pleading with her through his eyes. The desperation for something to believe in something that would save him was almost tangible for her.

‘Is this what’s happened to them now? Given a little bit of hope, they need that reassurance that their lives could be better? But I can’t do anything about it.’ The boy stared at her not understanding the greater forces at play. His world was a simple one that just needed someone to look up to. Yumi sighed, relenting to the boy finally. “I do.”

The boy’s eyes lit up with excitement and energy. “I knew it! You’re the hero that’s going to save all of us!” He ran off carrying the enthusiasm in his step disappearing out of sight.

Yumi smiled softly watching him. She didn’t think about keeping her presence down. Seeing his happiness was enough for the risk of it. Turning away, Yumi began walking back to the square to meet with her friends.

However, she found herself stopped before reaching the next street. Two hooded figures cut off her paths. They didn’t have the same sort of presence of a demon, but they were looking for trouble. “What do you want?”

A third figure came out of the shadows from the side drawing Yumi’s attention immediately. Rolling the hood off their head, they revealed themselves to a mid-aged man with scars all over his face, likely having seen plenty of battles. He had a commanding presence just from the stare he fixed on her. “By order of the Demon Hunter Association, you’re under arrest for impersonating one of our Order.”