“And that’s why you walked into our territory?” Manekamaru asked, starting to see it all e together. Yuki had an odd mystery about him and acted nothing like any of the other humans that he knew. The most surprising aspect was that he seemed to have almost no fear or prejudice against them, unlike Yumi. He didn’t really seem to fit into the world. Something that he felt his Lord likely saw in him.

  Nodding to the demon, Yuki folded his legs up, taking a more natural posture that didn’t make him look like he was an invalid. “Seeing Yumi e back from killing demons, I grew worried about how the world was affeg her growth. She’s bee too fortable killing, which is never a good thing. Even if that doesn’t carry with her directly out of her, it’s still going to influence her.”

  “You don’t approve,” Saki noted. She didn’t say it aloud, but it came out pretty clear that she referred back to Hiroshi. Yuki’s unwillio kill Takako even though she had gooo far beyond saving. And his speech to Chiharu about killing out of revenge. If it had been the younger Yuki, she wondered if he would still feel the same way about it. She agreed it wasn’t a good thing to do, but when it was necessary there didn’t o be hesitatioher, a differeweewo of them.

  “It’s a little more plicated than that. I uand the y for it sometimes, but it doesn’t make it any easier for me to approve of it either. I’m still going to disapprove of it, even though I know it’s going to happen. I will try to stop it though, we resolve things other ways. With Yumi, it’s less me being bothered by her killing and more bothered about the look I see in her while talking about it. There’s ess in her eyes that worries me like she’s getting caught up in the fighting and violenbsp; I think she’s starting to enjoy the thrill.”

  “I definitely firm that,” the demon added, from his own experien fighting her. “However, if you don’t wish her to, you still seem to have time. When I fronted her about her enjoyment in ht, she de quite strongly. She’s still in flict with herself and refuses to accept herself enjoying battle.”

  Saki stared at Yuki seeing how much he worried and watched over Yumi. ‘He’s worried that she’s going to walk down the road he did. He’s trying to make sure she doesn’t make the same mistakes as him.’

  “But didn’t you say you wanted Yumi to make her own damn mistakes and do things on her own?” asked Seiji, calling Yuki out on its tradi. “You wao do things her own damn way, but you're trying to trol how she goes about it.”

  “I just don’t wao fall into darkness.”

  “That’s the hell for her to decide though. Besides, do you really believe that’s a risk? Do you believe so little in Yumi?”

  “It’s not about believing in her. She’s a good person and kind. She’s also not used to the world that she’s stepped into by following us. I know where the path lead. I’d rather she avoid them.”

  “Isn’t that the damn mistakes that she o learn though as you said?”

  “But…”

  Saki could see how much it was affeg Yuki. She knew what he wao say and couldn’t. Watg his arms shake and him trying to hide it made it clear enough for her how it bothered him. “Seiji, you don’t uand what he’s saying.”

  “No, Saki, I do uand. And Yuki said before that this is about her, dammit, and we should let her stumble. Either it to that shit or don’t at all. If you wao be free to take a damn path, you shouldn’t be c up some of them. She o see them as well. We are her friends and we support her. So if she makes a mistake we’re here to point that out, but if you wao see this on her own don’t interfere. We pick her up a her keep going forward, but we ’t be damive.”

  Yuki looked over at Saki after his berating. His hands closed up tightly over the thought. Memories of his past tio pop up for him. Everything that he did he hoped to have her avoid. It seemed like the right thing to do. Protect her from the worst parts of things. “Maybe Seiji’s right. Maybe I’m being too protective of her. I know how dangerous the path she’s walking is and I want to hide her from the awful parts of it.”

  “If she keeps following us, she’s going to see that anyway. Didn’t this all start because her personalities were trying to protect her from the same thing?”

  “Yes…” Yuki stared over at the door that Yumi would eventually e back through. Dropping his head back against the wall, it ainful thing for him to accept. But Seiji was right in what he said. He couldn’t be half hearted about it. There was going to be pain and trouble, he had to accept that. It wasn’t going to be easy. “Seiji’s right. I wasn’t being a real friend to Yumi. I’ll stop interfering. This is Yumi’s story.”

  Chapter 418 – Painful Past

  With their decision agreed upon by everyohey sat around and waited for Yumi to return. Food in tow, she handed out what she picked up from the tavern, easy carrying food. And the down and looked over at Yuki. “Did Nerine fix you up already?”

  “Yes, she did. I’m feeling much better now. Sorry for slowing you down the whole time.”

  “I’m just gd you’re feelier.”

  Everyone looked around at each other with restrained expressions. However, Seiji didn’t keep that going for long. He recalled the reason for all of the excitement to begin with as they hadn’t even got to the most important thing. “Dammit, we’re fetting to tell Yumi, Saki!”

  “ht! With everything that happened, it slipped my mind.”

  “Tell me what?”

  “How and why we found you.”

  “What do you mean? Is something wrong?” I stared at Saki and Seiji with some fusion. They got really serious quickly about what they had to tell her. It remained a question in the back of her mind as well. She didn’t expect to run into them so randomly.

  “Nothing that we firm with certainty, but have reasonable fears.”

  “Huh?”

  “I’ll start from the beginning. I picked up a rumor about you in the East, which is ent looking for you.”

  Manekamaru rubbed his , curious about this little bit of news. “She’s made it outside of the West? That is surprising and signifit. I see why you’re ed.”

  Yumi looked bad forth betweewo as though they were exging words i underh their spoken words. A versation that only they could hear and follow. She o know what was happening. She leaned into the group more, making her presence pronounced. “What’s signifit about it? What aren’t you telling me?”

  “So that’s why you’re here then.”

  “Yes.” Saki got a very annoyed pouting gre from Yumi that made her pull back a little. A bit of sweat dripped down before she focused to give a proper expnation. “There’s a couple of details you o know about this try. First is, it is divided in half. The demons trol the West and humans trol the East. Humans and demons still live in both, but it’s sort of the agreement that they came to, I’m guessing.” She looked over at Manekamaru, since she really didn’t know anything about the peace treaty betweewo.

  “You’re not mistaken. The end of the war turies ago gave territorial ownership of the West to the numerous s. Both sides agree to uphold it regardless of the side that they make their home. Though what happens withierritory isn’t well governed. It’s more than a little one sided. The humans don’t engage in flicts that would viote the peace, while the demons mostly just do whatever they want withierritory so long as they follow the treaty outside of the West.”

  Yumi dropped her hand on the floor looking over at the demon. “Are you tellihat they agreed to a peace that just sold off half of the human popution to the demons to do whatever they wanted?!”

  “It likely would have meant utter defeat otherwise. It’s hard to say, the only reasoreaty came to exist was that many of the s lost i in the war. So they were looking for any reason to just stop. We ’t go home and most of the warriors that wanted a good fight lost that with the st of the strong humans. So while the humans within the West are subject to the whims of the demons, most still live.”

  “They live in fear of dying. What sort of life is that?”

  Saki pressed her hand over Yumi’s hand, gettitention. “I think we’re leaving out the important subject.”

  “What?! Saki?”

  “She’s n.”

  “Of course you’d say that.” Yumi pulled back seeing that it wasn’t a topiyone wao tinue. “What is it then?”

  “As we’re expining, there’s a treaty in pbsp; However disadvantageous it might be to humans, it keeps the peabsp; The problem however is your appearance.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “She’s saying that Demon Hunters are in essehe peacekeepers in the East and upholders of the treaty. The few that do e into our territory have been disavowed by their anization and looking for death. There are no active members w ierritory. That’s basically having enemy soldiers in your territory.”

  “But I’m not a Demon Hunter,” she stated ftly.

  “What?! You’re not a Hunter?”

  Yumi looked at the demon with some surprise. He looked more than a little taken back by that slip she casually dropped. She figured there was no good reason to keep up the lie around her friends or the demon. He was the least of her , since he knew her power. Yumi just didn’t expect to see him reag so poorly about it.

  Manekamaru looked over at Saki with an eveer uanding. “Now I see why you’re here. This is even worse than I thought.”

  “You going to fill in the gaps?” she muttered with annoyance over bei out of the versation.

  “He’s talking about a war, Yumi. And a dangerous one. The Demon Hunter Association knows you’re not a Demon Huhey would be aware of it. There’s probably a few people that make such cims, but they probably get killed or not believed. However, the problem is that your power is very real and very much a threat. The Association ’t allow you to keep g that you’re Hunter as it would give any demon that wants to fight a reason to break the treaty, si would appear the humans broke it first. And as we said, humans aren’t treated well in the West, only demons travel freely, not humans. This means the rumors e from demons and not humans. So demons already know about you and your achievements.”

  All of it started to fall into pce for Yumi. She could see the picture that the others already had in their mind. Yumi leaned baearly stumbling over her own arm. The weight of what she had been doing finally started to be felt. Sweat started to bead up on her skin as her body warmed up. “Are you saying I’ve triggered a war between the demons and humans?”

  “Not yet, we don’t know the situation here. But the risk is very real.”

  “If I just stop fighting it’ll be fihough, right?” No one gave her an answer and the looks on their faces didn’t give her any hope. Things might have gone past the point of urn. She never imagihat she would have been the cause of a war. Yumi sank in her spot.

  However, she didn’t get a moment to dwell with noises ing from outside. Panid screams erupted from the streets. Everyone jumped up and bolted for the door to find out what was wrong. Yumi was too slow to react as Saki rushed out to grab one of the locals. “What’s wrong?”

  “It’s the demons! They’re attag!”

  “What?! Why now?”

  “They’re looking for a woman!” The man then yelped as an explosion ripped away a house in the distanbsp; He ran away as fast as he could from the chaos.

  Yumi started shell shocked at the destru. Screams and cries poured in around her as fmes burned everything. It all rushed towards her. “They’re here for me. This is my fault...”