Night Watch

Knock Knock Knock

Oh shit!

The sun had long since set over the horizon when Shiro heard the knocking at the door. He should have been asleep by now. Instead he was on the balcony, performing calculations in the midnight air.

"Why are you still awake?"

Azura entered his room. She didn't wear her usual armor, instead she wore a simple summer dress. One that looked too short on her already long legs, and pulled further up by her massive reptilian tail.

"What are you starting at!?"

"Sorry. I'm just not used to seeing you without your armor"

Azura walked over towards the balcony and took a seat across from Shiro at the table.

"I saw your candles were still lit and came to check on you."

"Worried I was up to no good? It's been a few days, did you just miss me?"

"Of course I'm watching you! I still don't trust you...no...I do..."

Those last words were so quiet that Shiro almost couldn't hear them, yet they rang louder than any before.

"I know. I was there when you changed your vote."

"I voted for you to die, 'I know' you don't know!"

"You were going to change your vote at the end. Was it purely calculated? Did you believe you needed me to win? Or did you trust me?"

"I... We..."

Azura stopped herself.

She then stood up and leaned over the balcony to look at the city below.

The Stone walls that encircled the city now had large rail cannons built atop the connected towers of sandstone. The nation's banners hung from the newly installed weapons and fluttered in the midnight breeze.

"You know we had a conversation about trust in the past. And I already told you I decided to trust you."

"Yet you didn't tell me about the countdown!"

"And in the end, it was wrong."

"I trusted you! I had just started to trust you and then I found out you were hiding information for me!"

This is not about me being a traitor, it's more personal for her...

"I'm sorry."

"Why are you apologizing!"

There is no winning with this girl!

"... I'm the one who voted for you to die... just because I was upset.."

Shiro stood up and leaned against the balcony beside her.

"Eh, don't worry about it."

"Did you hear what I said?!"

"Yeah and I don't care. So drop it."

Azura looked at him. Neither a glare nor a neutral expression, Shiro couldn't tell what it was.

"Alright. So we are good now?

"We are good. I trust you..."

Shiro went and sat back down at the table.

"Good, now come and join. As you are now, your tail is pulling up your dress and revealing underneath as it moves."

Azura glare returned immediately. Snake eyes ready to kill.

"What? If you want to say there I don't mind the view."

Azura sat back down at the table. Her eyes were still glaring but less intense now.

"You know, sometimes, I don't get you at all."

"A lot of people here seem to say that about me. Maybe a cultural difference between our worlds?"

"No. I think they were too polite to say it to your face in your world."

"Oi?!"

Azura let out a genuine laugh. There on the balcony, the moonlight reflecting off of Azura's blue hair, Shiro found himself unable to speak. It was Shiro's first time actually seeing her laughing.

"What's wrong? usually you always have a reply?"

"Well...I.."

Azura noticed his expression and her eyes widened. Her cheeks turned red and she started to stand up.

But stopped herself.

Not ready to let the night end.

"So ummm, what are you working on anyways?..."

"Oh umm Yeah. Just some last minute calculations.

Azura leaned across the table, trying to make sense of the numbers scattered across the papers.

"Are these weapons?"

"Kinda. It's still a very rough draft. I have been keeping it secret with just Geraltavin. I figured it would be good to have an ace or two in the hole for the upcoming battle."

"You're not going to be on the front lines."

"I know but they will definitely make a play for me. When that happens, I'll pull out this guy."

Shiro pointed to one of the papers in particular.

"...I think a regular light rail cannon would be better."

"This is the coolest one, but I'm aware of its shortcomings. I'm assuming the traitor has already informed the demon about the rail cannons and air ship, As well as their abilities."

"You think they made countermeasures?"

"I don't know but we should assume so."

"Don't we lose a huge advantage then?"

Shiro pulled out more papers and handed them to Azura.

"We don't know how effective their countermeasures, if any, will be. Even so, I had Geraltavin make this in secret."

Azura looked over the papers. I can't read any of this.

"What happened to being able to infer?"

"Explain it!"

"Alright, alright. For starters I've intentionally avoided stress tests on the latest models. Intentionally over compensated on the structure. Intentionally made the cooling systems a separate module. Engineering changes that no one knew to check."

Shiro noticed Azura's stares. He had lost her.

"To put it simply, we've been pulling our punches for a while now. Any information they have. Any defense they made any tolerances they gave. All will be blown away by Imperial Might."

"You're Confident. Much less passive than before."

Shiro caught himself.

"I shouldn't be. Thousands. Tens of thousands of demons are about to die. Lives lost."

"That's a good thing. Demon lives lost. Not human."

"Still..."

Azura reached over the table and grabbed his hand. Holding it for a moment before speaking.

"I'm half demon, and I'm telling you to kill them all. When they come, if they win, they won't share your hesitation. Not for you, or the women and the child. Or me."

She's right. This is war. Am army of demons stand at our doorstep ready to wipe us out. Now isn't the time hold back.

Shiro squeezed her hand.

"You are right. You asked me not to hold back and you're going to see what that means! Try not to fall asleep when they come, because they won't be getting close."