Kasumi

When the half-demon walked into the room, Kasumi couldn't help but glare. She recognized her from the vision in the pond. She and the blonde, of course.

She didn't know anything about her, but she felt like she knew enough.

These were the same creatures who took her daughter from her, and here was a living reminder, casually walking up to the table and putting her hands on her hips as though she couldn't be bothered to be there.

It didn't seem like the half-demon recognized her. Kasumi however, did. And, all she could think was that the woman was basically a walking reminder of what the demons took from her. She hated her for that.

"Alright, so," Takomaro began, "as you know, we've recently gained a sudden influx of soldiers. This means that we will need to coordinate ways so that we do not end up accidentally harming our own allies."

"I got one," Akiven said, "how about, we do cool shit and they get out of the way?"

"If it were that simple we wouldn't need to call everyone here," Takomaro stated, annoyed. "In the heat of battle, they are likely to lose their heads and scramble. In that event, considering Satsuhiro's Fire magic, your own... flashy form of fighting and whatever they're supposed to do," he gestured at the half-demon and her friend, "things could get ugly."

"Oh, oh!" Mizaki raised a hand as if she was in a school. "What if we set up an area, maybe a specific street and we tell the soldiers 'hey, don't cross this place, we'll be fighting here,' huh?"

"That sounds somewhat reasonable, though maintaining that sort of order in the middle of battle still seems difficult," Takomaro replied.

"I'll try to keep my Fire magic targeted," Satsuhiro said with a sigh. "I'll be sure not to burn anyone. Now, we need to come up with something to do about the Nightmares. That's probably our biggest issue."

"Satsuhiro's right," Takomaro nodded, "due to their ability to turn people into demons, it is likely that many of the soldiers who fall will end up as enemies to cut down. In that case, every Nightmare that is allowed to live for too long means the battle is that much more difficult to win."

"It helps, of course, that they're easily recognizable, that said," Satsuhiro looked towards each of them, "consult Ash before you take one on." He pointed at the half-demon.

"What?" Kasumi asked with some bite. "Why?"

"Because she can see their levels. If we should encounter a Nightmare of a level that is too high to deal with, there's no way you will be able to defeat them individually."

Kasumi couldn't help but glare as she put a hand under her chin. It's bad enough that I have to tolerate her presence, I have to rely on her to help me too?

"Yeah, about that," Ash told Satsuhiro, "I still say it's better to just run the fuck away. This is so fucking stupid."

"I agree," Satsuhiro said, "but telling people to lose their whole city, so casually, wasn't going to get any other response."

"Let's not get sidetracked," Takomaro said. "In the likely event that we see Nightmare's coming in, highlight them, call them out and make sure you kill them before you continue. Now, besides that..."

The planning continued past that, but largely only the same things continued to be reiterated. Mainly, that they needed to avoid hurting the soldiers, that they needed to target the Nightmares, and that they'd need to try to find streets they could fight in on their own.

However, Satsuhiro said something that made Takomaro raise a brow.

"Ash has an affinity for Light magic," he stated.

"What?" Takomaro asked, stunned. Kasumi understood why. Although it wasn't a technical rule, Light magic was heavily associated with holiness. Something Ash should have lacked.

"Yes, so, it would be beneficial for us if you could teach her a few spells before the fighting starts."

"Hm... I'll try to think of a few," Takomaro nodded.

And, after a while, something else was brought up.

"As much as it pains me to say this, considering what happened the last time," Takomaro started, "another trip inside the portal might prove to be informative."

"Sure," Ash suddenly said, "if you feel like having fifty demons chase you around Jade."

"What?" Takomaro asked. "You went in?"

"Yeah," Ash nodded. "One of those portals popped up outside of Satsuhiro's house. It took us to a dark version of Jade. And, well, all of the demons were insanely strong."

"Jade... Could that have been the city we saw?" Takomaro asked Satsuhiro.

"If that's the case, then the inside of the portal likely doesn't lead to a different place, but rather, a mirror realm," Satsuhiro noted. "However, that's something to analyze in a different time."

In the end, the meeting only reinforced something Kasumi believed going into it. That she would probably die here.

Maybe that's for the better. She thought with a sigh as she got up, about to follow the others as they filed out of the room.

Somehow, she ended up close to Ash.

She looked up at the half-demon. For a woman in Pearl, Kasumi was already fairly tall, so, seeing that Ash was taller than her was surprising. She didn't hold back the glare that her eyes naturally formed.

"What the fuck?" Ash asked as Kasumi walked past her, ignoring the question.

The city had a different atmosphere now that this battle was imminent. Kasumi saw multiple groups of soldiers gathering citizens to send them to the back of the castle, where they would be safe to an extent. At least, until the demons inevitably reached them.

Kasumi didn't pay them any mind. Instead, she headed straight for her own house. Before she reached it, a hand landed on her shoulder. She turned and saw her brother, a stoic expression on his face as he looked at her.

"Lyo? Shouldn't you be with your family?" Kasumi asked.

"That's why I'm here," Lyo said. "We'll be leaving. I want you to come with us."

Kasumi merely blinked. She understood exactly what he meant. She'd be doing the same if she weren't so tired with everything.

"Will you be fighting?" Lyo asked her.

"Yeah," Kasumi answered, looking away. "I... I don't know, I figure I may as well."

"Hm..." Lyo looked down. Then, he nodded. "If that's what you want to do, then that's that." And so, he stepped up to her and hugged Kasumi.

The crimson-haired Savior returned it, albeit a little sluggishly.

"I..." Lyo started. Then, he shook his head. "Then that's it. Take care."

"... You too."

Seeing her brother walk away like that let things sink into her mind. She began to fully realize what would happen to her soon.

And, she was surprised at just how fine with it she was.

---

Keiko

It had been a very long time since she'd read any books. Her skills had dulled, but as the others spoke about the battle to come, Keiko opened the book Ioko gave her and took a deep breath.

Manage your expectations. As he said, there's no guarantee this will help in any way... But goodness, I hope it does.

She opened the front cover, taking a deep breath. Passing her fingers over the first page, she felt the indentations that made up the language.

The Great House of Zayama, by Ioko Zayama. Keiko read, and smiled. A bit self-congratulatory, it feels like.

She began to read through a few pages, trying to get a feel for Braille again, mostly just so she could skip as much as she could. She wanted to get to the parts about meditation, after all. Still, each section took her a long time to get through.

"The Great Era of the Zayama house began when Hatsumoto Zayama orchestrated a defense of Old Sapphire, then named Alvere, against the massive forces of the rising Jewel Empire. This event went on to become a tale known as 'The Last Zayama' and brought much recognition to the house due to his blah, blah." Keiko skipped.

"Once, it was believed that a great dragon had been spotted in the east, by the city of Onyx. It is said that a Zayama woman tamed this dragon, though there is absolutely no evidence to support this." Keiko read. "Then why is it even here!?"

"During his fifth meditations," as soon as Keiko read this part, she gasped. YES! "The Zayama master known as Ichiro decided that maybe, a change of scenery was what he needed. He concluded that his surroundings were impeding him from fully focusing and that the Spirit Eye could only be achieved when True Focus, as he called it, was attained. It is said that upon meditating in an unknown location, he returned to the compound with his eye awoken."

"A change in scenery?"

The meaning of that statement would be on Keiko's mind for the rest of the day.

And that was how the first day of preparation, the first of three, possibly, was spent in Pearl.