Double Encounter

Kizou ran as fast as he could, since he realized that he spent too much time talking to Geet and Ty. As he reached the gates, Naota and Luna stood there. It was too hard to see whether or not they were mad or annoyed, since their masks were on, so Kizou relied on how their voices were to determine how they were feeling.

“We don’t have time for you to be so late,” said Naota who was clearly angry.

“It’s okay, he must’ve been busy,” said Luna with a condescending tone.

“You give too much freedom to him, you know that, right?” said Naota to Luna while letting out an exhale.

“Our focus is to complete this mission, so the faster it gets done, the better for all of us,” said Kizou with a confident demeanor.  He wanted to feel like he was on the same level as them.

Both Luna and Naota looked at Kizou. Kizou couldn’t tell what they were thinking, but it was clear that it wasn’t anything pleasant. They all walked out of the Kingdom’s gates and down the dirt road.

“Alright, our objective is to kill two humans who entered the Demon Realm. Our last scouts who went out never came back, so let’s assume that they’re decently strong,” said Luna to the group.

“Leave the work to us, you’re just here, because the King asked you to come. If you interfere in any way, I’ll kill you on the spot,” said Naota without even looking anywhere near Kizou’s way.

As they continued walking through the dirt road, the scenery of the area was a sight to behold.  While the interior of the Kingdom had the bustling atmosphere, the exterior presented the beauty of nature.  Kizou looked towards his right and saw the barren field that seemed to stretch for miles. The grass was green which showed that the workers in the Kingdom definitely tended to the area. Kizou looked towards his left and saw a large pond that seemed to have some demons fishing.   He could see them laughing and cheering whenever they caught something.  In addition, the sea monster was a fabled tale that seemed to still attract the attention of any demon that was around the area.

They finally reached the forest after their long trek through the dirt road. As they walked through the forest, broken branches could be seen scattered across the floor along with leaves. The forest was quiet without any noise at all. Luna was known for having strong sensory ability and seemed to notice a familiar presence far behind them. Kizou and Naota weren’t able to notice.

This should be interesting, Luna thought to herself with a smile.

The further they walked down, they found trees sliced in half that seemed to be from a sword. Kizou, Naota, and Luna put their hands on their hips in preparation of a possible attack. As they crept deeper into the vast forest, they managed to find two bodies with stab wounds into their body. It seemed that whoever killed them put them through a quick death as there wasn’t any other sign of damage. Kizou looked over the bodies and realized that whoever killed them was on a different level than the group of humans he faced off with last time. Luna crept near the bodies to inspect them. It was the scouts that ventured out of the Kingdom under the King’s orders.

“Looks like they’ve been dead for around a couple of hours,” she said as she continued to look at them.

“These were two of the stronger demons within our ranks, and it looked like they weren’t even a match,” said Naota as he clenched his fists hard.

The sound of rustling could be heard behind them, and they all grabbed the sword out of their waists and took it out.

“... which is why I should’ve been leading the way,” said the voice of a man. 

He wore grey armor that covered his upper body and lower body. He had a sword on his side and wore brown shoes that looked worn out from continuous journeys. His black hair was short, but unkempt which was probably due to recently taking off a helmet. His face showed age, but he had to have been at least 20 years old from how he was acting.

“Last time you did, we got just as lost as we did now, Kota. How are we supposed to be Chariots in the future?'' said the voice of a little girl. 

She was around Kizou’s height and wore a black hoodie that was definitely too long for her body. She had her hood over head, but there were signs of pink strands of hair that seemed to pop out. She wore shorts and black shoes with a small sword by her waist.

As they both walked out of the forest, they were met with three demons who clearly had a sense of bloodlust towards them.

“Whoa, whoa,” said the man as he put his hands up to signal no harm. “Put your hands up too, Tina.”

“Putting our hands up means we give up, and I don’t give up,” Tina said as she decided to cross her arms instead.

“Look at this kid, do you not understand the situation you’re in right now? Put your hands up,” said Naota with his sword pulled fully out.

“We don’t mean any harm, we’re just looking for some humans,” Kota replied with his hands still in the air.

“That’s crazy, because we were looking for some humans too,” Naota answered.

“Can you put your hands up already, please?” Luna asked as if she was begging her.

“I don’t think I will, Flattie,” replied Tina as she stuck her tongue out.

Kota hit Tina on top of her head. “I’m sorry, she doesn’t mean that at all. Can we just look for our friends and get out of here?”

“How about we kill you two first, and then we’ll go look for your friends and kill them as well?” replied Naota with more assertiveness in his voice.

“Well, I can’t have that going on right now. I actually have a date after this,” said Kota as he ended up dropping his hands down and letting out an exhale of sadness.

“Hey, who's that kid in the back?” asked Tina as she started angling her body to try to get a look at Kizou.

We’re probably the same age, Kizou thought annoyingly to himself.

“Don’t worry about him, he’s just here,” said Naota with annoyance in his voice.

“Wait no, but he’s kind of cute,” said Tina as she continued to try to get a better look at Kizou from a distance.

“You know that he’s a demon, right?” asked Kota towards Tina.

“Demon, human, what’s the difference?” asked Tina who clearly showed that she was still a kid.

“Sweetie, how about you just run out of here?” asked Luna again as if she was begging her.

“Why does Flattie keep talking to me?” replied Tina almost instantaneously.

Kizou looked over at Luna who looked as if a vein was about to pop out of her head which honestly scared Kizou.

“Okay, that’s it. I’ve had enough!” yelled Naota. 

He clenched his sword tightly and rushed right towards Tina. Kizou couldn’t keep up with his speed, but then he realized that there were traces of lightning which showed that he must’ve used lightning magic. He didn’t chant any spells or anything, so either the book was lying, or he had more to learn.  Tina stood there with her eyes wide open as the sword was about to reach her neck.

Clang!

Another sword managed to block Naota’s strike just at the right moment. “Can’t have you hurting one of my comrades now, can we?”

Naota was visibly surprised and leapt back. “Looks like you aren’t as weak as you look.”

“I was about to cut him until you got in my way!” yelled Tina as she was pouting and stomping the ground.

“I’ll handle her,” said Luna as she rushed towards Tina.

“Finally, I was wondering when Flattie was going to do something!” said Tina as she leapt back everytime Luna started to get closer.

Luna and Tina ended up moving deeper within the forest and managed to isolate themselves from everyone else. Naota and Kota stayed in the same location until Kota seemed bothered by Kizou's presence as well.

“So what’s the deal with that kid behind you? He looks like he’s the same age as Tina, but I don’t sense any sort of malice or anything from him,” said Kota.

“Don’t worry about him, he’s beyond weak,” Naota replied without even having to look back.

“I’m kind of extra baggage,” Kizou answered pathetically. He let out a nervous smile and scratched his head without any further comment.

“Hmmm, sounds like a waste of time then,” Kota said while looking over at Kizou curiously.

“Pay attention, your fight is with me!” exclaimed Naota as he charged at him.

The sounds of swords clanging could be heard, but Kizou couldn’t keep up with their movements at all. Every strike that either side launched was easily parried by the other. The more that they dashed at each other, Kizou got even more lost. The speed seemed to be increasing every other second, but they both seemed to be on even ground. He was also amazed that there was a human that could keep up with one of the members of Hell’s Group even if he was the lowest ranking member. It looked as if the human might’ve been stronger.

“Wow, you’re not half bad,” said Kota as he backed up away from Naota.

“Who said I was even trying in the first place?” Naota replied as he backed away as well.

Meanwhile, Luna and Tina continued their fight which was reaching a stalemate. Every strike that Luna launched seemed to be dodged or parried by the little girl. However, it was the same for Tina when she threw out her strikes as well. Luna threw out multiple feints and tried to catch Tina off guard, but she was able to counter easily.

“Surprised that someone as small as you could actually keep up,” Luna said with a slight laugh as she put her hand over her mouth.

“Who are you calling small?!” yelled Tina as she continued to push Luna back until they reached back to where Kota, Naota, and Kizou were.

“Looks like I won!” exclaimed Tina as she backed up to Kota.

“Winning means that one of us has to die, and all of us are alive right now,” replied Luna almost immediately as if she was trying to get in Tina’s skin.

“Shut up! I won, right?” Tina asked with a pout towards Kota.

“Yeah, yeah. You won,” replied Kota as he scratched his head.

“Stop teasing the kid, you might’ve been able to kill her by now if you did,” Naota said towards Luna.

“Surprisingly, the kid is pretty difficult, but I think it must’ve been the same on your end if he’s still alive,” Luna answered back.

“Mine is older, and yours is younger. Experience versus no experience,” Naota replied with a small blush.  "You're just supposed to be stronger."

There’s the Siscon that Miya was talking about, thought Kizou to himself as he looked at Naota.

“I want to fight the kid in the back now!” yelled Tina.

“What, me?!” exclaimed Kizou in fear.

If Luna and Naota couldn’t keep up, it was definitely bound for Kizou to struggle even more. Kizou looked at both Luna and Naota who seemed to give Kizou goosebumps as if they were about to do something drastic. They both whispered at each other and looked at each other with a nod. Kota looked at their reactions and let out a smirk as if he understood what they were thinking.

“Okay, you’re free to fight him,” said Luna ecstatically. Even though she wore a mask, Kizou was almost positive that she was saying it with a smile.

Wait, I thought you said that I wouldn’t have to do any fighting, Kizou nervously thought to himself. He was too afraid to speak out against both of them.

“Feel free to give it all you’ve got, don’t underestimate him. I was told that he was very strong by that demon over there,” said Kota while giving a wink towards Naota. Naota crossed his arms without even showing any acknowledgement.

Wait, didn’t you just hear about how weak I was? Didn’t you just say I was a waste of time? Kizou thought to himself.

“Okay, here I come!” yelled Tina with a bright smile.

Kizou couldn’t get any words to come out of his mouth from how afraid he was. He stood there frozen as both Luna and Naota already leaped back to give him room. Kizou slowly turned his head around to see the masks of both Luna and Naota looking at him. Even with their expression of both laughter and anger on their masks, Kizou could almost feel like they were showing no emotion at all as to what the possible outcome would be.

Why won’t you acknowledge me as a comrade? Kizou thought to himself.

Kizou mustered all of his strength to yell at them and to yell at the humans. He wanted it all to stop, he didn’t want to be there anymore. He didn’t want to die.

“STO-”

Rustling could be heard coming out of the woods, and all eyes instantly focused towards them with the exception of Kizou still frozen in despair. With just a stroke of luck, Kizou was able to dodge the conflict even for a brief moment. However, what awaited him was even worse.

Two humans could be seen popping out of the woods.

“Tristan, Miko, we found you!” exclaimed Tina in excitement.

Just then, Naota could be seen rushing towards them with his sword out.

“Wait, stop!” yelled Kota with his hand pointed out to grasp the event that was about to occur.

Naota ended up already reaching them with his sword still clasped in his hands.

“He always did like to rush things,” sighed Luna with her hand palmed to her face.

“You jerk! We were just looking for them this whole time!” yelled Tina with tears welling down her eyes.

Kizou was finally able to turn around and was able to witness what had just occurred. Both bodies were sliced in half and were all over the ground, but there was no blood flowing at all. Naota stood there without moving an inch. Kizou realized ahead of everyone else that there was something wrong with this situation as he felt some sort of magic. He quickly moved back next to Luna.

“Alright, Naota! Mission is over. We were only assigned to get rid of the humans that killed our comrades,” said Luna as she waited for Naota to come over.

“Let’s go as well Tina. We were only assigned to pick up Tristan and Miko. I think they know as well as us that if we all went all out in a fight, there wouldn’t be any winner,” Kota said depressingly towards Tina.

Immediately, Naota leapt back next to Luna which caused her to be concerned.

“What’s wrong, Naota?” Luna asked while watching him.

“I wasn’t the one that cut them up,” Naota replied.

“Wait, what do you mean?” Luna asked. “They were cut into pieces, isn’t that something you like to do?”

“They were already cut up once they reached out of the woods. It definitely wasn’t their human friends, and we were the only ones deployed out besides our other comrades that died,” Naota said while piecing the information together.

“What did you just say?!” yelled Kota from across. Naota looked at him and ignored him.

A gust of wind could be seen spiraling in the middle of both of them. Everyone braced themselves due to how powerful the wind was.

“Look at what we have here,” said one of the voices a bit too excitedly.

“Who knew that we would find both humans and demons?” said the other voice.

The wind faded away and two figures could be seen standing from the wind.