Undesired Return

In complete darkness and almost no room to move, there were no hints of what was happening. Not even the signs of a bumpy road from travel or shifting weight from turning. The acceleration inertia didn’t exist. A complete void lacking any sort of connection to reality.

“At least we’re on our backs,” Yuki said optimistically, “The way he threatened I thought it’d be worse.”

All six of them laid on their backs side by side with no range of movement. They could lift their arms only a few centimeters making it impossible to even cross arms. Whatever container that held them rigidly held them in place at their chest making even breathing a little difficult. It was uncomfortable and not healthy to breathe so shallowly, likely meant to weaken the prisoner.

Due to the transportation method, they didn’t even know how the group would cross the demon wall. That part still remained a mystery for them. Though it was more of a concern for what their future would be rather than what they did to cross the border.

“We can’t move and are completely isolated from any other space,” bemoaned Saki, “I’m not really interested in the bright side.”

“It does save us the trouble though. If any war is going to happen, it’ll probably be easier to do something about it on the human side.”

“Speaking of that,” Seiji interrupted, “Why the hell are you here with us, Manekamaru? You’re a demon.”

“If my rival is going to the East I will too.”

“That simple, huh?”

“Yes.”

“I can understand that shit. Just didn’t think you’d let yourself be arrested with the rest of us.”

“Oh I don’t believe this is the end. I look forward to seeing how things turn out.”

“You sound like you’re having fun ass time.” Seiji turned his head and pressed more than the rest, having a larger frame than the others. At his left was Saki while on the right was the demon, further down next the demon was Nerine and then Yuki and Yumi on the other side of Saki. “So what’s your story, Saki?”

“What are you talking about?”

“That old man that you were getting into a pissing contest with.”

“Pissing contest?” asked Yuki, a little surprised to hear that Saki had someone that ticked her off. One of the valued qualities that Saki possessed was being composed. “What he do to get on your bad side?”

Saki remained silent, keeping an immediate answer hidden. She tried to find the best way to explain it without getting into unnecessary amounts of details. “It’s less about him specifically and more the Association itself. He’s just the one I dealt with.”

“But that’s still not really an answer.”

“Ugh…fine…”

Chapter 426 – Undesired Return

“Shuichi Raikatuji, a respected Demon Hunter, if you ask anyone in the Association that is.” She in truth knew little about the man that wasn’t more than rumors. After their first encounter, she tried to keep out of his influence. Though that didn’t always prove successful.

“They’re really on your shit list,” noted Seiji, remembering that she didn’t speak very well of them in almost any time she had to talk about them. The way she sounded made it seem like they were worse than the demons, the true villains in this world. But she never fully explained it. Seiji got enough of a picture from her that they were assholes at least.

She barely acknowledged Seiji’s comment as she continued, “He is the leader of a special group within the Association known as the Reverse Eyes.”

“That man’s their head,” Manekamaru jumped in, having heard things about them. “Most demons don’t know or care to pay much attention to the Demon Hunters, but the Reverse Eyes are well known. Their exploits certainly show the darker aspects of humans.”

“So he’s a shitty bad guy.”

Saki clinched her hand tightly together. “I wish I could say he is. The problem with him is that he’s sanctioned by the government in all his actions and the actions he takes are always in the best interests of the survival of the country.”

“But doing what’s needed is not always good or moral.” Yuki could see where Saki took it. An all too common sort of tale to spin a dark sort of justice where the results justify the action. Inhuman actions for the sake of a better future. The world within Yumi constantly reminded him of how complex it wove its world and people. A certainly surprising trait.

“Yes, the man’s a bastard that will accept any job no matter what because it is deemed necessary by the Association and government to be for the survival of humanity. He’s not someone that takes enjoyment in the things he does, but holds the pride of the Association in the highest position. There is no greater cause or justice, but that of the Association. He believes it wholly, no matter the price it pays.”

“So how’d you meet then?”

“I was trying to help someone. They were being exiled because they had become tainted with demon blood. It put me on their bad side and I became a target for them. In the end, I had to get support from someone wealthy to get them off my back.” It became an annoying reminder for Saki how there were too many things that fists couldn’t solve. There was a time for people with position, money and power to be of use more than what she could do. “I got caught up in more things than I care to talk about. So now I have a target on my back, not too unlike Yumi.”

“But you’re able to move freely and take bounties. You even kill demons and shit, what they got a problem with.”

“There’s more going on than killing demons, Seiji. Maintaining their power and authority is more important to them than demons.”

“The hell?! People are dying and they only care about their positions?”

“They care but they need the respect and order of the citizens. They need the citizens to trust and believe that what they are doing is going to keep them safe. So having someone disrupting that shows weakness and casts doubts on their authority. They haven’t made a bigger deal about it because they managed to cover up the incident and I don’t stick my nose into their matters. Not that they would ignore a free opportunity to capture me.”

Up until meeting up with Seiji, they had nothing they could do against her. Since she had no ties to anyone outside of her sponsor, who they couldn’t touch. It left them with no actions to blackmail her. But with her friends, they could bend her to their will much easier.

“So what’s the plan?” Seiji had already tried making an exit on his own and failed. Getting any sort of leverage or position to get any force proved impossible and even then it was uncertain if he had the power to break out.

Yuki remained silent until it seemed that everyone expected him to say something. “I’ve just been enjoying the free ride that I don’t have to provide.”

“C’mon man, you took turns with Nerine.”

“It’s still exhausting keeping the exact same mental image for half a day.”

“You did all that shit for the boat ride.”

“And I got tired out then too.”

“But not as quickly and you bounced right the hell back.”

“Either way, I’m just resting.”

“Yumi, got any ideas?”

“Huh?”

“The situation, got any ideas for what the hell we do next?”

“Oh…” She came back to reality. Ever since her capture, she kept silent and distracted. Her mind fixed on the situation outside. It seemed more clear that Masa’s actions would end up having a greater effect on the humans and demons than her. Though, that didn’t seem to be an issue anymore. The Demon Hunters focused on her, either because they thought she was Masa or actually believed she was root. Everything she did was going to be weighed against her. It shouldn’t matter to her in a fake world, but it gnawed on her what was happening. Perhaps because it all seemed too real to ignore.

Unlike with Atlantis, she didn’t have Yuki to pardon them. They had no one to fix things for them. Those with the real power would judge her and she would have to take the responsibility this time.

Fairness in the world was gone.

Back to Seiji’s question, Yumi had no answer for him anymore than she did for her personal crisis. “I don’t have anything right now. As we are right now, we’re stuck. Once they let us out, maybe we can escape.”

“In the middle of the damn city?”

“I don’t know Seiji. I’m not used to this. I don’t have a plan. I just make it up as I go.”

“Well just give me a damn signal then. I’m ready to act.”

“I doubt he’ll make that easy for us. Shuichi isn’t a fool. You may be required to act, Yuki.”

It wasn’t missed on him. He would keep to their agreement for as long as he could. However, letting Yumi die wasn’t part of it. “I know. If it comes to it I’ll step in. But let’s try to find a solution that limits my exposure.”

Silent resumed in the black room. Small idle talk kept them from going completely insane. But it wasn’t until the lack of food and water started to wear on them. In silence, they could hear each other starting to hit that point of wanting food. Yet it remained unattended by their captors. Their prison made no signs of changing.

The lack of any sense of time made it even hard to know how long they had been inside the void. Once the hunger started hitting they guessed it had been half a day. But now that it had gone unanswered even longer, it might have been a day or two, maybe three. Though it wouldn’t be much longer, especially without water. They wouldn’t last, Yuki and Nerine at the very least.

When it seemed that they might have the threat of death, the void broke down. For the first time in who knew how long, they had light. And it was blinding, having been trapped in darkness for so long. Their bodies weakened from lack of food and poor conditions, none of them could move.

“Where are we?” Yumi asked, trying to see through the light. She couldn’t even hear their captors. It seemed like they were all alone. But as she fumbled about her hand hit something solid. She expected a wall or bar, some sort of physical prison that they were dumped in, but it didn’t have that feeling. The light started to fade for her, giving her a first glimpse of the prison.

A transparent soft white glow hugged the barrier that locked them into their cell. Talismans of some sort lined every part of the stone walls and floor. It seemed that they were the part of the barrier keeping them in. She tried to peel one off, but it refused her. Some powerful energy sealed it. Attacking the stone did the same thing.

No escape, not a simple one at least.

Recovered fully, they all gathered up at the center of the cell. It had been more than an hour without seeing the sign of any one. They didn’t know where their captor would return about the arrest and charges. “We need to come to an agreement on what we’re doing,” Yumi started.

For whatever responsibility that she felt, she couldn’t die in a cell or whatever they had planned. She would take responsibility, but differently. It was all she could do for now. Not that she knew anything about what that would mean. She only decided that she couldn’t stay inside.

However before they could get too far into their plans, a creaking from the door silenced them. Distant footsteps echoed through the underground before the individual could reveal themselves. It seemed most likely that it would be Raikatuji finally coming to give them their sentence or to bring them to be judged. It was unclear the order that they went through.

Against their expectations, it wasn’t him that appeared. To their surprise and relief, it was Yori, wearing a Demon Hunter uniform. “Yumi! You’re safe!” He came running to the cell with his hands up against the barrier. “I finally found you!”