Chapter 6: Asahi

It had been three days since they first left the hide out. So far, no other survivors had been found. Still, Kosuke would check to see if his mother had returned home, but every time he opened the door to his apartment, his letter still sat there, collecting dust.

Kosuke dashed through the streets, he lit his blade ablaze as he leapt into the air, splitting his robotic target in half. He posed, exhaled, letting the flame gradually go out. He gazed back to where he came from. “Got another bot!” He called out.

Kotone came running up to him giving him hug as soon she reached him. “Great job! You got six demons today and ten robots.”

“Tsk, you beat me today.” Kanako growled as she appeared. “I only got five demons and four bots.”

“Wow, you’re slacking today. Are you feeling alright?" Kosuke teased.

Kanako clenched her fists, growled, then pointed at him. “I’ll beat you out by the end of the week!”

Shingo touched Kanako’s shoulder. “You’re running out of week. Remember we are going to stay home Saturday, so you only have two days.”

“I know that!” She screeched, causing Shingo to back away.

“Hm?” Kosuke noticed how muddy Shingo’s pants were, they were also torn at the knee. “Shingo what happened to your pants?”

Shingo couldn’t meet anyone’s eyes out of embarrassment. “N-nothing. Don’t worry about it, it’s my turn for the laundry anyway. Hehe.” He half laughed, trying to cover up the fact he tripped over his own water.

“You worry me, Shingo-kun.” Kotone shook her head as she put her hand on her cheek.

Kosuke flicked his blade clean then sheathed it. He sat down under a tree and put his hands behind his head. “I wonder how senpai and sensei are doing.” Kosuke stated.

“This is no time to relax!” Kanako shouted. “We have demons to kill, you lazy turd!”

“It’s safe here for now, we should catch our breath.” Kotone calmly argued as she sat next to Kosuke. “I wonder if there are any good demons.” She pondered, becoming lost in thought.

“Oh, so we’re playing the ‘I wonder game’ are we?” Kanako snarled.

“Probably.” Shingo scratched his chin as he leaned his back on the tree on the other side of Kosuke, completely ignoring Kanako.

“Ugh, you too? Fine!” Kanako huffed as she sat cross legged in front of Kosuke.

Shingo then continued. “More so, I think they have the potential to be good. I don’t think their society has room for good, and that any attempts to be good would be corrected, like how doing bad is punished here.”

“Ha! Taro you are grounded for sharing! Haha!” Kosuke laughed at the made up scenario.

A few blocks away, a teenage girl with brown hair ran through the street with a robot and two demons hot in pursuit. The girl pivoted throwing a fireball at a demon. The demon kept running, unfazed. “Crap!” The girl continued to run. Her eyes grew in fear as the robot surpassed her. The robot stood in front of her, grabbed her by the neck and slammed her into a the pole of a nearby road sign. “Gah!”

“Hehe, we got ‘er!” One of the demons shouted.

“Ah, she’s a pretty one too. We could sell the imps she makes for a good price.” The other one smiled deviously. The girl tried her best to free herself from the robot’s grip hearing his words.

“The ones we don’t eat.” The first one snickered.

“Get away from her you creeps!” Yuzuru shouted.

The two demons turned around. “Aww the little guy has a little sword, and he thinks he can beat us with it.” The second one said in a condescending voice.

Yuzuru created two huge boulders that floated beside him. “We’re the same height, by hey, obviously you’re stupid, I can forgive that, what I can’t forgive is how you were talking about that young lady. Now die!” The boulders took that as a command, flying towards the demons, crushing them. Yuzuru ran over to the girl, he cut the robot’s arm off, then it’s head.

The demons were able to destroy the boulders that they were under. “Why you little punk, I’ll kill you!” The first one screeched.

Yuzuru walked forward, he pointed his blade in front of himself, and the demon impaled himself. Yuzuru split the lower half of his body in half, he did a twirl, dodging the falling demon and cutting off his head. “Y-you killed him!” The other one stammered.

“You’re next.” Yuzuru stated, his footsteps unwavering. The demon tried to run away, but Yuzuru picked up speed, when he caught him, his head came off. Yuzuru turned back to the girl. “Are you alright?” He asked her. The girl was awestruck by Yuzuru. He walked over to her. “Is your throat hurt? Can you speak?” He gently questioned her.

She snapped out of her trace, blushing hard. “Uh, oh uh. Yes, I’m fine. Just a little sore.” She gave a bow, nearly headbutting Yuzuru. “Thank you for saving me.”

“I’m Yuzuru. Would you like to come join my group of survivors, we have a secure hideout. If you are already with a group, they too are fully welcome to join us.” He offered.

“Yes, I would like to live with you!” She answered a bit to quickly. “Oh, um, sorry, that came out wrong!” She covered her blushing face with her hands. “I’ve been alone ever since the attack, I’d be delighted to join your group. I’m Higashi Asahi, but you can just call me Asahi if you like.”

“Is there anything you need to get from where you were staying before we head back to the hideout, Asahi-chan?”

Hisakawa joined Yuzuru and Asahi on the way back to her apartment. Soon Asahi was loading up their arms with various potted plants and cooking materials. “Maybe I should go get the others.” Hisakawa suggested.

“How many more of you are there?” Asahi asked, not looking up from her rummaging.

“Four.” Yuzuru answered. “Hold on.” He set down the plants he was holding. He then extended his arms and created a rock tray around one hundred centimeters long. He placed the plants inside the tray. “There, I can just levitate them now.”

“Wow, you’re really smart!” Asahi chirped.

“Heh,” Yuzuru rubbed the back of his head, “thanks.”

As the western sky began to turn red, the younger teens waited at the abandoned station. “It’s getting late.” Kosuke growled as Kanako ascended half away up the stairs to watch for Yuzuru and Hisakawa.

“I hope they are alright.” Shingo murmured. “Should we go look for them?” His question targeted no one in particular.

Kanako squinted her eyes as shadows stretched out towards the top of the stairs. “Hey, someone is coming. Ah! It’s them, and there is a girl with them!” She motioned for the others to follow her. “Looks like they have a lot of stuff, let’s go help.”