Break Time
Or
The Aside Where Kazuma Meets a Goblin, Gets Smacked by a Weak but Heavy Demon, And Makes a Friend
The sky was the same.
The view after leaving the New Tokyo domain was a sharp reminder that they had only reclaimed a small piece of the world. And that their friends and families were still outside the only safe zone.
And here he was, taking a detour. In Kazuma’s defense, the rest of the group was taking a break and he’d just gotten restless without a manga to read or a game to play.
Everywhere he looked, there were abandoned cars, mangled streetlamps, and fallen power lines, all set to a backdrop of shattered buildings, the wind whistling through their skeletons. But if he looked up, the sky was the same.
He looked back at the others. Julia was watching Setanta perform a kata with his spear, while Tetsuo and Kuroda were talking with Sherah and Mikoto.
In front of him was a convenience store. Probably the last one they’d see for a while before heading back to a more urban area. The window had been smashed in, and most of the shelves had been knocked over.
It had been weeks. At this point, it wasn’t looting; it was reclamation. That’s what he told himself anyway. Still, it was unlikely that an owner would be coming back for any of the stuff inside. He carefully stepped through the broken glass, stumbling for a moment and feeling a sharp edge scrape along his pant leg. It hadn’t torn at least, so no harm done. He carefully lifted his leg away from the glass and steadied himself.
Pushing one of the overturned shelves back up, he opened up his COMP and used the light from its screen to illuminate the boxes. He found a few bandages, which he packed away in his pockets before remembering that he not only didn’t need them.
He abruptly realized that he could smell something rotting in the shop, mixed with a stale metallic tang that he was growing morbidly familiar with. Kazuma frowned, snapping his COMP shut and tossing the bandages aside. The smell got worse the closer he got to the cash counter, and he figured he wouldn't have to look to know what was behind it. A scratching noise was coming from nearby and he almost drew his sword before realizing that whoever the victim or victims were, they had been here for a long time and the chances of the current resident being their killer was actually pretty low. The sound, a little like a chisel scraping against stone, was actually pretty easy to trace now that he’d noticed it. Moving to the other side of the store, he found another overturned shelf and heaved it upright.
“Hey, what’re you doing with that–put that down!”
The noise was high, yet guttural. A small feral sound, and not surprising considering its source: A vaguely humanoid imp about two feet high with a long nose and short red fur.
“Yo, human, the hell’re you doing?! I don’t go into your home and rearrange your furniture, what’s your excuse? Any particular reason ya had to expose my front porch to the harsh light of day?”
Kazuma looked at the goblin nonplussed. The demon had removed the unopened boxes from the shelf he was using for a ceiling and was in the middle of digging a hole underneath. It was only a few feet deep. Not enough to be called a tunnel. If this was his front porch, then he had a log way to go before he could make an actual living space.
“I was just looking for supplies,” Kazuma offered.
“What, you mean all the junk here? Wait, some of it’s not junk, some of it’s food, and that’s my food. And ya can’t take the humans just because they've gone stale, either, I keep them around for the air freshener.”
Very different opinions on what made something smell like home, clearly.
“Oh…kay?” Kazuma agreed. "I won’t take your food, then. Still, some of the junk here is actually useful to humans.”
The hospital could probably use medical supplies, even if he and his friends didn’t need them…
“Can’t imagine how.”
—thud—
“You have a noisy roommate, or something?”
—THUD—
“Probably just that damn ogre again. He hasn’t come in here yet, mostly just backs against the exterior wall in the back. That brute’s too stupid to look for a way arou—”
—CRASH—
Kazuma looked at the ogre. It was a purple-skinned giant tall enough to scrape the ceiling with its head. A shaggy mane hung from its head and down its neck and sharp tusks jutted from its mouth.
“An… akuma?” he stammered, drawing his sword. On the ogre’s part, it just growled and grabbed up a huge fistful of items from the detritus scattered on the floor. Kazuma could see a package of Pocky and what looked like a chocolate bar, but he couldn’t be sure without being able to read the label. It threw all of it into its mouth with what he would have described as reckless abandon. Then it picked up a bottle of melon soda and bit down on it, the seal at the top splintering with a crunch. It chewed on the glass a few times, some more deeply unsettling crunching sounds coming from its mouth before it popped the rest of the bottle in its mouth and chewed that up too. |
 |
And it was lugging a tree around with it. Or a very large branch. It was stripped of leaves for the most part, but had enough pointy edges to add an extra sting
even while it smashed through bones.
“You do whatever ya want, pal,” said the goblin. “I’m outta here!”
“What?!” Kazuma shouted, glaring incredulously at the goblin. “This guy breaks into your home, eats your food… uhh… chews on your glass? No, it sounds even worse than I thought it would when I say it out loud…never mind, let’s just kick this brute out.”
“How d’ya plan on doing that, human?” as agitated as the goblin sounded, he still managed a perfect deadpan stare. “Ya gonna ask politely?”
“I’m holding a sword, I have a COMP, and for some reason, I’ve been given magical powers. I’m going to use them.”
“Whatever ya say, kid. Nice knowin’ ya.”
“Okay, maybe this calls for a demonstration. How’s this?!”
He charged at the akuma and swung his sword at the side of the giant’s knee.
“OOOOOOOHHH!”
The akuma keeled over, balancing on its uninjured knee and it’s free hand.
“I was… kind of expecting you to fight back more. Or, you know, just fight back, period.”
Sharp teeth parted and Kazuma was hit with a faceful of foul demon’s breath and was distracted enough by the heat and the smell that he barely reacted in time to avoid the branch that very nearly smashed him into the ground. The akuma was crippled, but he’d been foolish to assume it was helpless.
“Could I get an Agi, or… honestly, anything you do would help!” he complained, but the goblin was apparently more interested in avoiding the stronger entities in the room. “Fine. On my own it is.”
He focused as the tree branch came down at him again. The akuma roared, and Kazuma avoided the strike and its follow-up before flames began to wrap around his weapon. He swept his sword overhead right as the branch came down a third time, and released the Agilao spell as the weapons collided. He was swatted flat against the floor by the ogre’s superior strength. His vision swam, and he saw stars from hitting his head against the tiles, but he could see the flames consuming the akuma’s club.
“I BREAK YOU, MAGGOT!”
“You should be thanking me. Flailing around with a giant stick is never a good idea, no matter what the context is. And I’ve had enough of this.”
He grit his teeth. His ears were ringing and the room spun like a carousel even if he didn’t move, but laying here was asking to get his face tenderized by a demon that probably only stood a chance because he‘d been careless. He forced himself to roll over and as soon as he got his hands underneath him, he pushed himself off the floor, his shoes struggling to find purchase as boxes of toothpaste and bandages crumpled and slid out from under his weight.
The akuma swung one arm at him, and only connected because he was still slipping on scattered products. Least. Convenient store. Ever. And that was a lame pun. He staggered as the blow sent him reeling with its sheer weight. However, as much as the impact hurt, it also reoriented him and he found his balance again. Turning around, he rushed the akuma and before it could punch him or swat him with its giant arms, he’d gotten far too close for the demon’s brutish attacks to be effective. One more step was all it took.
He drove the black sword deep into the demon’s chest, and then tore it out, leaving a lethal gash behind. The akuma roared, and made several grunts that sounded like profanities before slumping over and expiring.
“Swing that around, musclehead.”
He wiped the blood off of his sword on a tattered bathmat — probably a bathmat, at least — and took a deep breath. He looked around; the convenience store was a scene of devastation, so no harm done. No significant difference in its appearance at least. Maybe the goblin would feel otherwise, but if he was hiding somewhere, he was doing a good job of hiding.
“Is it dead?” came a voice from the store’s back room. It didn’t sound like the goblin.
“Uhhh… that might depend on who’s asking.”
A pair of red eyes glinted in the darkness. Kazuma nearly took up a combat stance again except for the frightened whinny that the sight of his weapon seemed to elicit.
“Ugh, come on, man. Is there anything you’re not afraid of these days?” this voice was similar to the other unfamiliar one but for a few subtle differences. A slight rasp, and possibly a higher pitch. Something shoved the red eyes forward and a pair of black horses trotted into the store. Well, one trotted, the other just stumbled out and cringed.
“Are you crazy?! It can burn the skin from our bones!”
“Hey, I resent that. What kind of savage do you take me for?” Kazuma frowned.
“Oh, ya actually killed the housewrecker,” said the goblin, “Go figure. Never thought ya had it in ya. Like, seriously, how're ya not cheap bratwurst material? Makes no sense. Feel like I'm losin' my mind.”
“Okay. Rude.”
“What? I’m serious. Ya look like you got lost on your way home from band practice. Never woulda guessed ya could trash something’ twice your size and with, what? 500% more muscle mass? Sounds about right.”
“I feel like you’re trying to compliment me, but you’re doing a catastrophically bad job of it,” Kazuma resisted the urge to roll his eyes.
“—doesn’t mean he will,” the second horse’s complaints continued, evidently not having stopped in the first place. “I legit can’t believe that you’re my older brother.” Kazuma stared at the two horses. There was something off about them — besides the very obvious fact that they were talking — but he couldn’t put his finger on what it was.
“So… yeah… it’s dead,” he said to the first horse.
“Oh, thank you so much!” it gushed back, “You have no idea what it’s like, not having hands, and only being able to run away. You’re the best human I’ve ever met!”
“Are you gonna be okay?” Kazuma winced at the demon’s overwhelming gratitude.
“No. No he’s not, and no he isn’t.” said Horse #2.
Kazuma snapped his fingers as he realized what was strange about the two horses: specifically, the pair of curved, goat-like horns jutting from the backs of their heads.
“Sorry if this comes across as rude, but what kind of demon are you guys?”
“Never seen a bicorn before, huh?” asked Bicorn #2.
“I actually haven’t. At least, not to my recollection.”
“Oh. Well, whatever, I guess.”
An awkward silence ensued.
“Yo, horseboys, ya got names?” the goblin demanded. “Y’know it’s rude to just barge inta someone’s home without even introducin’ yerself.”
“Uhhh,” the first bicorn hesitated with his now predictable skittishness.
“Not ready yet? That’s fine, I’ll start. I’m Skarrg. Your turn, human.”
“What?” Kazuma blurted, as much from being unprepared for the question as his ability — or lack thereof — to pronounce or comprehend the name.
“Yer name. How ya identify yerself in a crowd of other presumably identical humans. What people call ya when they don’t wanna say ‘hey, you, with the sad look on your face.’ The thing that—”
“Jeez, I get it! My name’s Kazuma. Can you stop now?”
“Fine. Nice to meet you Ka-zooma.”
“Uh, that’s not—”
“Okay, your turns now!” Skarrg interrupted, pointing at the bicorns.
“I’m not sure we should—”
“Ugh! The hell with it! I’m Snow, and this is my… older… brother, Fergold,” the second bicorn blurted out, interrupting his apparent sibling.
“Don’t just tell them my name! What if—”
“They haven’t killed us yet, and they've already introduced themselves. Could you be any more cowardly?”
“I just don’t want to get hurt again.”
Snow lowered his head and ground his teeth together in a surprisingly potent expression of equine frustration.
“Human, can we talk for a sec?” he growled.
“I’m not killing your brother if that’s what you’re about to ask.”
Fergold squeaked and hid behind one of the shelves that Kazuma had righted.
“Dude, the hell is wrong with you?” Snow squinted at him. “Look, maybe some demons are like that, but I don’t want my only family to die.”
Oh. Well, that was a relief.
“Okay, sorry for assuming. What did you want to talk about?”
“I noticed you've got one of those COMP things that devil summoners have. Could you make a pact with my brother?”
Kazuma had to admit that he’d considered offering to do that himself. He couldn’t help sympathized with Fergold. That in mind, he wasn’t sure that he could manage to take care of a demon who couldn’t fend for itself. Of course, he did have another option.
“I’m not sure that I’d be able to protect him. Right now we’re going to meet with the Yatagarasu, and it happens to… uh, live…? No, reside, near a pretty dangerous place, and even after that, me and my friends are probably going to be heading closer to where most of the fighting is happening in Tokyo.”
“Great. So you can’t do anything for me,” the bicorn huffed.
An easy smile worked its way onto Kazuma’s face as a plan came together in his head.
“Not as such, but I do think I can still help. Could you tell me a bit about your brother first?”
Snow looked at the shelf that Fergold was hiding behind and sighed.
“He wasn’t always like this. We used to watch each other’s backs like brothers are supposed to. This whole… you know… started a few months ago. We just had a long streak of bad luck and ran into a lotta demons that were all too happy to kill us.
“I figure that by now you’ve seen that that ain’t exactly outta the ordinary, but we were proud and made some bad decisions. Stood our ground when we shoulda galloped.”
“So he got beaten down a few too many times?”
“I guess? I dunno, but he got some serious injuries. Several times. I managed to get him patched up each time, but at some point, he just sorta changed. I used to look up to him, you know? He was my big bro. Took care of me and all that. But for the past while, it’s been the other way around. And I can’t do anything with him anymore, because he’s too damn scared of getting a few scrapes. A human like you wouldn’t get it.”
Kazuma grimaced.
“You might be surprised. Let me guess. You resent him. You still care about him. He’s obviously important to you, but you feel like you hate him for making you—”
“—deal with his bullshit, yeah, that’s exactly it! How the hell’d you know that?”
“Well, I was going to say ‘issues’, but close enough. TO answer your question… my friends and I… well, some of us get along okay, but I’ve been at odds with a few of them almost constantly. I wasn’t originally part of their circle. I just… they seemed to be having so much fun together, and I wanted to be part of that. So I sort of forced myself into their group. Some of them were accepting, but a few of them didn’t want me there at all. They’d make fun of me, or trash talk me, or just tell me to shut up… I admired these people so much, but I found that I also had to prove something to them. I had to make them see I was better than them, somehow. I just… I hated them for making me feel like an outsider, and even though I’m a part of the club now, I’m still jealous of how close they all are. And part of me… a really big part of me… still holds a grudge against them.”
“But you also admire them, so it’d be a bitch to just curb-stomp ‘em and toss ‘em aside, something like that?”
“Told you we’d understand each other.”
Snow gave an approximation of a smirk before narrowing his eyes into a squint.
“Wait, how does any of that do me any good?”
“Simple: I want to build some connections, and even if I can’t take care of your brother, there is actually a place for him.”
Fergold’s head popped out from behind the shelf.
“Huh? What do you mean?” he whinnied. “This isn’t a trick, is it?”
“No. Don’t worry, I’m serious. Basically, I’d like to make a pact with you, Snow. In exchange, I’ll tell you two how to get to New Tokyo. It’s a domain run by a human. My friends and our demons defeated the previous Lord, and one of our allies took over and made it into a safe zone for anyone who doesn’t want to fight for survival.”
“Sounds like Fergold’s idea of paradise,” Snow added wryly.
“Uh, yes, obviously,” said the other bicorn. “Don’t make fun, Snow, I’m sold on this place! If it’s real, I mean.”
Basically, you wouldn’t be safe travelling around with me, Fergold, but you’d be safe in New Tokyo without needing Snow to protect you.”
“So I could, like, send him there and go back to the way things used to be?” Snow pawed the linoleum floor eagerly.
“Not quite. You should probably go there together just in case. If we make a pact, you should be able to find your way back to me on your own. You don’t have to come find me immediately either if you want to stay in New Tokyo for a while to make sure your brother gets his feet on the ground. …Hooves on the ground? Never mind.”
“Huh. Okay. In that case, lemme introduce myself again. I’m Black Snow, a Bicorn of the Wilder clan. I like this. Sounds like fun.”
“I’m glad you approve. I’m Kazuma Ryumori. I look forward to working with you. New Tokyo is a few kilometers south-east of here. You can actually follow the road back there” he gestured back in the direction that his friends were (presumably) still sitting, until you reach the domain. If there’s anything else I ca—”
“ERHMHMMM!”
Someone cleared their throat and Kazuma jumped, having almost completely forgotten about Skarrg.
“Glad to see that you’ve got everything sorted,” the goblin said, in a faux chipper tone, his paws clenched into fists. “So that’s the end of that story. Now get the fuck outta my house! This ain’t a damn conference room, it’s my burrow!”
“Oh. Gosh, sorry about that,” Kazuma winced, bowing politely. “I’ll, uh, get out of your way.” Fergold was out the broken window well before he made it there, seemingly spooked by Skarrg’s temper.
“Thanks for gettin’ rid of that ogre, by the way,” the goblin added as Kazuma stepped over the smashed-our windowsill. “…but don’t come back!”
He suppressed the grin threatening to give him away as he and the two bicorns left the convenience store. He hadn’t gotten any supplies, but he’d made a friend. Possibly more than one. As he walked back to the his friends, he gestured to the road, pointing back the way they came.
“You just follow this road until you start to see humans and demons milling about. Don’t attack anyone, and you’ll be fine there.”
“Is that the only rule?” Snow asked.
“There are more, but as long as you don’t hurt anyone, no one’ll hurt you. But seriously, don’t hurt anyone. If this was all some elaborate trick, there will be consequences.”
Snow rolled his eyes.
“Fergold couldn’t pull the wool over someone’s eyes if he tried, and I just wanna live my life like I used to. You made me an offer that lets me get there, so I’ll stick with your plan.”
“Good. Stay safe.”
Snow gave him a look that said ‘are you for real, man?’
“Okay, okay, I get it,” he raised his hands in surrender.
He watched as the two bicorns set out down the road.
“You think there’ll be treadmills?”
“I don’t know, Fergold, but if there are, they probably won’t be demon-sized.”
“Hey, don’t be a killjoy!”
“I’m not, I’m just being realistic. And stop talking like a human, you’re freaking me out.”
“So… You gonna tell us what the hell you were doing just now, or do you want us to guess?” Julia asked, raising an eyebrow.
Kazuma grinned.
“It’s like this…”
Originally Posted by Igor
Reply With Quote
]
Break Time
