もっと、もっと、もっと

[extrasodium-blog]

LULU:

  “Nothing else to do? You know talking to people is a very valid and encouraged form of entertainment.” She of course didn’t strictly mean talking to herself; It would be great to see him make efforts to socialize with anyone. He didn’t seem to be that sort of person from her observations, though.

  Lulu found herself confused for just a moment, but then remembered this patting Yuu had done was something done to offer a seat to someone by humans. It had been… a while since it was directed toward her. Nevertheless, she knelt herself down and stared on at Yuu as he slowly asked her one of the most strange questions she had ever received. He was so serious though, and somehow the spirit found herself curious about the answer.

  Following her companion’s actions Lulu reached her hand down and extended a single finger for a bug to walk up on, simultaneously making herself corporeal so it could actually accomplish this action. Unlike Yuu however, as soon as one of them touched her, she felt herself shudder. She had always found them creepy, but she persisted, letting it crawl onto her all the way before lifting them closer to her face.

  She felt energy. It was small and faint; Almost completely overridden by Yuu whom was right next to her. But it was there.

  “…I’ve never sensed a dream from a bug… but maybe they’re such small, simple dreams that I can’t feel them over everyone else.” With that, she lowered her finger and allowed the ant to scurry back onto the ground and rejoin its fellows, “That’s the best answer I can give you. Sorry it’s not super amazing, ehe,” She offered up an apologetic smile to Yuu, still hoping he would be somewhat satisfied with this.

     Yuu listened intently to Lulu’s explanation. “Small dreams, huh?” The boy set the ant back on the floor, where it scurried away, toward the rest of its little ant friends. “That’d make sense. There’s something kind of funny about that, though. Don’t you think? What’s small to us is probably pretty big to them.”

     Yuu leaned back so he could stare at the ceiling, and through the holes that littered it, appearing for a moment to be lost in thought. But he quickly snapped back to reality. “Look,” he said to Lulu, “I could talk to Kimizuki, but that lump would probably punt me into next week if I tried. You saw what happened to him the other day-- he slipped up and almost got totally hammered by that monster!” Snickering, he continued, “I may not be the brightest crayon in the box, but even I know not to poke a bear with a stick when its in a bad mood.”

     After quieting his snickers, Yuu stood up and stretched. “But, hey, you don’t look in too bad a shape. If it really matters that much to you, you can follow me around while I patrol this place. How’s that sound? Good? Ok, great. Let’s go.”

[extrasodium-blog]

LULU:

  Lulu had spent a decent amount of time the past few days pestering Yoichi due to his innate ability to see her even as she purposely hid herself through magical means. In fact, the first moment he saw her, she decided that she wanted to try and be friends with him as well! After all, he seemed to be a friend of Yuu’s, and anyone Yuu was friends with must be just as kind, right?

  Now though, after making what she considered considerable progress, Lulu turned her attention back to Yuu. His energy levels had increased a considerable amount due to their contract, but now that they had hit a slow moment, well…

  The spirit was standing somewhat nearby, but hadn’t really made any sort of attempts at conversation. She had instead made the decision to observe, slightly curious about what Yuu did in his free time. But honestly what he was doing now was… completely boring. There’s no going around it. Lulu couldn’t comprehend what sort of entertainment he could possibly get out of doing something mundane as counting bugs; And watching it was no better.

  It only took a minute for her to decide to float over so that she could inquire.

  “So, uhm… Are you having fun? Playing with the little bugs, I mean,”

     Yuu didn’t notice Lulu at first, too involved with his little game to be bothered. But the longer she stood there, the more obvious her presence became, until not even he could ignore it. He looked away from the ants. “Yeah,” he said seriously. “It’s fun. Besides... it’s not like there’s anything else to do. So it doesn’t have any competition.” Smiling crookedly, he added, “Kind of a broken contest, if you ask me. But between staring blankly at the wall and counting ants, I’d rather watch the things that move.”

     His attention returned to the ants, but then he patted the spot next to him, silently offering Lulu a front row seat. “You’re, like, the expert on dreams, aren’t’cha?” Yuu glanced at Lulu from the corner of his eye. “So you probably know everything there is to know about dreams. Well, I’ve got a question for you, Doctor.” After taking a moment to reach down and let an ant crawl up onto his finger, Yuu asked, “Do these guys dream?”

     It was a ridiculous question, but Yuu didn’t see it that way, as was made clear by the look in his eye. “They’re not so different from me and you, when you think about it. They have brains. They breathe. They’re alive. So... 

     “Do they have dreams?”

[extrasodium-blog]

@yoiyumede ::

     “One, two, three...”

     Yoichi had taken the news of Lulu’s sudden arrival well. But that wasn’t a surprise, considering it was Yoichi they were talking about, and the kid had nerves of steel. Not even a descent into Hell would rumble his foundations, and if he were to find himself in the company of a talking bug, he wouldn’t bat an eyelash.

     “...four, five, six...”

     The real problem had arisen after the mission they were assigned to was over and done with. The battle had been an easy one, so it didn’t take long to win. As such, Yuu and the rest of Shinoa’s squad were all left with nothing to do.

     “...seven, eight, nine...”

     It was brutal. Yuu had never been a patient person, but dealing with the gaps in-between missions was always the worst. Nothing could properly entertain him during these times. Not even counting a line of ants as they crawled passed him.

     “...ten, eleven, twelve...”

[letheane-deactivated20200121]

My great religion is a belief in the blood, as the flesh being wiser than the intellect. We can go wrong in our minds but what our blood feels and believes and says, is always true.

D.H. Lawrence, from ‘The Selected Letters of D. H. Lawrence’ (via sempiternele)

[luvisr4ge]

[extrasodium-blog]

LULU:

  Lulu just shook her head in response to Yuu, a smile still resting on her face. She wouldn’t tell him about what she had seen; Not now at least. There was no need to make him think of such events when she had just relieved him of them-

  The spirit was forced to abruptly turn around and face a new human once Yuu had pointed her out. Before she could get a single word in to him, he had started blathering on trying to explain something… that the girl couldn’t even see. As a spirit, Lulu had the ability to make herself visible only to those she chose, and this was a power she used very liberally when around clients.

  What’s this? Is that a mischievous look creeping up onto her face? With a gigantic grin Lulu crept towards Mitsuba. She turned herself incorporeal and looked toward Yuu as she spoke,

  “You know, I just remembered there’s something I never got to tell you!” Ears wiggling in excitement, she positioned herself behind Mitsuba and promptly shoved her hands through the poor girl’s face, hands acting as some sort of monster jaw, “RAWR!” She promptly bursts into laughter at her own joke, though quickly tries to recover herself so she can explain, “She can’t see me. No one here can. I am currently appearing to you and you alone, Sir Yuu,” She gave him a quick grin before turning back to Mitsuba, fooling around with her just a bit more by pretending to try and force her to smile which of course: would not work. Lulu apparently found this extremely amusing.

     If hell was real, Yuu had found it. He made a grab for Lulu when she floated toward Mitsuba but he was too slow. The spirit was already sticking her hands through his comrade’s face, moving her arms up and down like they were some kind of gaping maw.

     “This isn’t how it was supposed to end,” Yuu groaned. “I wanted to go out with a bang! In the heat of battle, after taking down a big monster!” He dragged his hands down his face, looking absolutely devastated. “It was gonna be awesome. Way more awesome than being strangled by a teammate.”

     Mitsuba couldn’t help but stare at Yuu as he raved on like a crazy person. “Right,” she said slowly. “Well, I wasn’t planning on it, but if it’s what you really want, I guess I can kill you. Wouldn’t be too hard.” Rolling her eyes so hard they nearly lodged themselves in the ceiling, Mitsuba turned on her heel. “Get it together, Yuu. We’ve got an important job waiting for us at the checkpoint! If you’re not on your toes, you’ll endanger the whole team.”

     While Mitsuba walked away, Yuu could do nothing but watch her, his eyes wide with surprise. After the last of her footsteps faded, he snapped in the direction of Lulu. “You’ve gotta be joking,” he said. “Wait, no, scratch that-- of course you’re joking! Haha! Wow, you-- you really got her good, huh?”

     Trying-- and failing-- to keep his snickering to a minimum, Yuu finished packing up his stuff, and then headed over to Lulu. “I don’t think Mitsuba’s ever gonna live that one down, and she doesn’t even know what happened!” He flashed the spirit a thumbs-up. “Man, imagine the look on her face when she finds out. That’ll be priceless. I can’t wait!”

     After motioning for Lulu to follow, he walked out of the abandoned store and onto the street where everyone was waiting for him. Kimizuki looked as impatient as ever, Shinoa was teasing Mitsuba about something or another, and Yoichi-- well, he looked nervous, his hands hovering over his bow.

     “Y-Yuu? Who’s that with you?” 

[whufy]

[extrasodium-blog]

LULU:

  Lulu freezes up as soon as she’s called out on her lie. With slight hesitation her arms lower to her sides and her gaze travels down to the ground. Without interrupting or turning around she listens to everything Yuu has to say. As his hands touch her shoulders the spirit flinched, but she didn’t flee; Even relaxed slightly. His presence felt warm.

  For a while Lulu just continually turned over everything he said in her head. Did he really mean all of it? Did he really not mind if she was just herself? She steals a peak at his turned figure. He could be a bit blunt, but these kind intentions she felt radiating off of him couldn’t be fake. Knowing this, the dream eater couldn’t stop the smile that slowly spread across her face.

  A sudden urge to hug the boy behind her raised up inside her. It probably wasn’t a good idea, he could be very particular about those who are allowed to get touchy, but…

  “Hug!” Lulu rushes in for her sneak attack, wrapping her arms around Yuu from behind and giving him a big squeeze, “…Thank you, Yuu. You’re a very kind human being,” Not wanting to make him uncomfortable she quickly releases him from her prison and steps a few paces back. Her expression suddenly turns embarrassed and she decides to inquire on something, “…Do you… really think what I did was cool?” She asks as she twirls a section of her hair.

     Yuu saw Lulu move from the corner of his eye, but he didn’t mind it, because he was no longer afraid of her. A more bitter version of himself, one who was both younger and lonelier, would probably think he was an idiot for letting his guard drop so quickly, but he didn’t mind that either. 

     For all he cared, the scrawny little asshole he used to be could choke on a dick.

     The sound of Lulu’s footsteps drew his attention back to her. Without his notice she had crept closer to him, her voice raised to shout a battle cry. Yuu made a face and then started to say something along the lines of, Okay-- Lulu, right?-- I don’t know who you think I am, but I’m not a sap. I might do some questionably sappy things sometimes, sure, I’ll admit to that, but that doesn’t mean I’m a sap.

     And yet when her arms looped around his waist, he didn’t move away. If you asked him about it later he would claim it was because he was too shocked to move. And maybe that was true after all-- the words of gratitude Lulu poured at him barely made sense, they were so foreign.

     She was gone before he could manage to spit out anything coherent.

     "Huh? What’d you thank me for?” He looked genuinely surprised as well as embarrassed. “In the end, you only have yourself to thank for being strong enough to bear the pain.”

     After picking up his sword and buttoning his cape to his jacket, Yuu looked past Lulu’s shoulder. His face paled at who he saw standing there. Quickly, he moved to stand in front of Lulu.

     “This looks bad,” he said in a rush to the figure just beyond the doorway. “Really bad. But I know that already, so you don’t have to tell me. Just let me explain! And don’t hack me to pieces while I’m doing it-- and try to ignore the, um, floating girl behind me...”

     Mitsuba stared back at him with the weirdest look she had ever worn-- and that was saying something. “What are you going on about?” she demanded. “Actually, here’s a better question: why are you still in there and not out here with the rest of us? We’re supposed to set out in five minutes! It can’t take you this long to put your clothes on-- not even Shinoa needs more than ten minutes, and she has that weird beauty queen thing going on.”

[extrasodium-blog]

LULU:

  Hearing Yuu’s voice directly above her caused the dream eater to frantically wipe away her tears. Absolutely no one was supposed to see her like this; She was supposed to be a beacon of hope and happiness for people in hard times. She wasn’t allowed to be sad herself, especially over the death of a family that wasn’t even really hers. The ache that surrounded her still felt very real though, even as the line between dream and reality became much more clear.

  Lulu remained still and silent as Yuu went through his different phases on conversation. From concerned, to excited, to kind words she suddenly couldn’t bear to hear.

  “I… I don’t know what you’re talking about!“ She suddenly slipped out from under Yuu’s touch and distanced herself, not once looking in his direction, “Me? Crying? As if that would ever happen! Lulu is always super happy-happy!” Her hands proudly sit on her hips, but the face she refused to show still held an ashen expression, “I am pretty awesome though. Like, super cool! I’m good at what I do, and I know for a fact that you had a good sleep!”

  Just give me a minute. All I need is one minute, and I can go back to being a useful tool for you. Please… just a little time.

     This world was full of many different kinds of people, so why did he always seem to get stuck with the ones exactly like him? Yuu frowned, his hand recoiling into his pocket, looking at Lulu in the same way he would look at an injured deer. 

     “That’s bullshit and you know it,” he said flatly. “I mean, look-- your cheeks are still wet! I might be denser than a pile of bricks sometimes, but I’m not blind, and you already gave me the show I wanted, yanno, the one with the crazy lights and all that other cool stuff. You don’t need to put on another one.”

     His fingers fidgeted, tapping anxiously against the fabric of his coat. “You’re right about one thing though. I don’t think I’ve slept that well since, uh, never?” Yuu laughed, a dry snort that reeked of sarcasm, even though he was being honest. “I gotta admit, it’s nice not to feel drop-dead tired for once. So, yeah, I’d say you’re pretty awesome.”

     The silence following that was almost deafening, but it didn’t last long. Yuu took his hands out of his pockets and placed them gently on Lulu’s shoulders. “Just listen to me for a sec. I don’t know what you’ve gone through, or what you’re going through right now, but it’s okay to be upset about it. Nobody should expect you to be ‘super happy-happy’ or whatever all the time. It’s just not realistic.”

     Yuu gave Lulu’s shoulders a light squeeze before stepping away and turning in the other direction. “Even heroes cry sometimes,” he said. It was unclear whether or not he intended for Lulu to hear what he was saying now. “But that doesn’t make them any less of a hero.”

[extrasodium-blog]

LULU:

@extrasodium​

  Lulu turned the dream cookie she had retrieved from her latest client over in her hands continuously, as if she were trying to memorize its every feature. Every nightmare was terrible, that’s why they were called nightmares, but this one radiated a sensation of death and despair; Her least favorite type of dream to retrieve from her clients. She should have just tossed it into storage, or even outright destroyed it, and yet…

  Her gaze shifted to the figure still sleeping nearby. In his current state of dreamless rest he appeared so peaceful, but he had much that was torturing him inside. This dream could possibly tell her something about it. Now, it wasn’t that she necessarily wanted to pry, but… She hadn’t even gotten a name from him the night previous, and she wanted what she wanted for everyone; To ease their troubles. She wanted to understand, and like this she couldn’t. She looked back to the dream in her hands. Now should be as good a time as any to see the frights that plagued him, right?

  Without giving herself a chance to change her mind or think of reasons why she shouldn’t be doing this, the dream eater popped the dream into her mouth and crushed it. She could sense the energy running through her… and the disgusting taste it had left in her mouth. It was that of death, blood, and fear. Before she could really even think about the taste however, the world before her flashed and faltered. She suddenly lost her ability to stand, viewing flashes of a white room and children’s faces as she fell down to her knees.

  At first it was peaceful. They were nervous, but a sensation of glee radiated throughout her. A door, that door! It was right in front of them, they were so close! But as she ran, distorted voices echoed behind her. They chanted, calling to her, ‘Yuu, Yuu, Yuu-chan’. They were familiar. They were who she cared for. With a smile, she turned to look at her family.

  For just a second she saw the rising figure of her client and then- Blood. There was so much blood. On the pristine floor, on her. One by one, her family was torn apart in front of her so quickly she couldn’t even react to try and save them…! 

  It hurts. Her heart hurts. It was heavy and suffocating, and she could feel the tears streaming down her face. She shook and struggled and trembled; Screamed out for the ones she cared for, but she had no voice. She was alone, and it was painful. She was alone, and it filled her with rage. Through her tears, she could barely see a tall figure approaching, and-

  The dream suddenly faded, and Lulu was left staring down at her tear covered hands.

     The world was quiet. Yuu couldn’t remember what he had just been doing, his breath coming in long, even strokes. A fleeting thought crossed his mind, something about how he shouldn’t be feeling nearly as peaceful as he was, but it was gone in an instant, and he was back to the stillness.

     By the time the sun broke the horizon, no more than an hour had passed, but Yuu felt more rested than he ever had. He sat up and yawned, rubbing the sleep from his eyes before looking around. The store he and his team had taken shelter in had not yet been bathed in sunlight; everything from the walls to the shelves was gray and dim. 

     A head of bright pink hair contrasted sharply with the dull gray tones of the store. It shuddered on the floor, tears dripping down its face, appearing to be far away. The head of hair was of course Lulu, the girl who Yuu had thought he’d made up thanks to Kimizuki slipping something into his dinner.

     “Huh... mark me down as surprised and weirded out.”

     Frowning, Yuu stood and then cautiously approached the sobbing dream eater. “Hey,” he said, his voice surprisingly gentle compared to how it been last night. “Lulu, right? What’s the matter with you? Wait--” His brows furrowed and his frown took on a different edge, because he suddenly remembered something. 

     “Hold on,” he muttered. “That DDR crap-- Y’know, the weird light show? You were there, so you gotta remember this-- whatever that was, you caused it, didn’t you?” A grin overcame him. Kneeling down, Yuu put a hand on Lulu’s shoulder, looking more like an excited puppy than a person. “That’s what I was talkin’ about! Uh-huh, you’re the real deal for sure. Listen, alright-- I’m sorry for doubting you-- that stuff you did was fuckin’ awesome!”

     The sparkle in his eyes dimmed and he returned to a more serious demeanor. He gave Lulu’s shoulder a squeeze before resting his hand on her head and wearing an expression far too kind for a child of war. “I’m not so much of an ass that I can’t admit I’m wrong,” he said to her. “’Cause sometimes, I am! And I was wrong about you.

     “Holograms don’t cry. People do.”

[extrasodium-blog]

LULU:

  For a few seconds Lulu seems almost taken aback by Yuu’s behavior. She would never ever admit it outloud, but despite the fact that he was speaking of a dangerous weapon, his enthusiasm was actually… Pretty cute.

  “…I know it can be a bit creepy, but you really know how to hurt a being’s feelings,” She kicks at the floor. Basically being told you didn’t seem like ‘a person’ didn’t feel very good. But she supposes her feelings shouldn’t really matter here, and soon enough her face is plastered with her cheery smile once again, “Okay! Round two; Fight!”

  The spirit links her finger firmly around the other’s and gives it a good shake. Yuu would feel no different, but Lulu could feel the magic binding her to the terms of their contract, “There! that should do it,” Releasing him, she gives a dramatic bow, “Dream eater Lulu; At your service for however long you should require me. Shall we get you to sleep?”

     Yuu shook his head when Lulu mentioned her feelings being hurt for the, what, fifth time? Looking up at her, he had a strange look in his eye, but an even weirder thing to say: “You’re the touchiest guy I’ve ever met. Not even Asuramaru is as emotional as you, and that’s his freakin’ job.”

     When Lulu clasped her finger around his, Yuu quieted, but nothing happened. “That’s it?” he asked flatly. “No tacky-as-all-hell supernatural light show? Not even Satan or, I dunno, another demon pissfuck, is gonna make a cameo to say some shit like, ‘Har-har-har, the contract has been sealed!’” Yuu frowned at his utterly lackluster pinkie. “This is just depressing.”

     For a pipe-dream, this was entirely too weak. In fact, if he actually smoked, Yuu would give his dealer a stern talking-to once he woke up for selling him such low-quality stuff. It was just that pathetic.

     “Yeah,” he said with a wave of his hand, “for as much good as an hour of shut-eye is gonna do me, I’ll have to pass. Unless your, uh, dream crumbs-- Is that what you call it? I dunno. They’re, like, cookies. Whatever-- unless that stuff is like a punch to the face, and it’ll knock me out, I don’t think it’d be worth it.” 

     After throwing a glance to the rising sun through a broken window, Yuu sighed. 

     “Besides, if Asuramaru can’t keep me in his weird purgatory hellscape forever, I doubt you can. I’ll snap out of this eventually.”

[extrasodium-blog]

LULU:

  “You don’t really have a vocal filter do you?” The spirit pouts, still recovering from the comments about her age when he dumped the werewolf one on her, “When the contract finishes you can renew if you want and if you don’t like my services you can send me away. Moon cycles are just… the way it’s done!”

  “Anyway, I’m not actually taking your pinky, I said it’s just a pinky promise! Hold up your finger like this,” Lulu demonstrates with a smile, “And then we’re supposed to sorta shake with them! Like-”

  Her finger slides right through his own and a total silence sweeps across her as she stares on, “…I’VE TOTALLY BEEN INCORPOREAL THE WHOLE TIME, AHHHH! I’m such an idiot!” She bursts out, now holding her head in her hands. This had to be one of the least professional meetings she’s had in a few years, “Can I ask you to pretty please forget about that? It’s like, mega-super embarrassing! Okay? Okay!”

  Making sure her feet were on the floor and that she wasn’t phasing through anything, the spirit suddenly loses her glow, appearing much more normal now that she’s gone corporeal. The only otherworldly things left to her now were perhaps her eyes and ears, “…Care to try that again? Eheheh,” She laughed nervously, having to hope her antics didn’t ruin everything, “I don’t screw up with my actual work, I swear. I’m good at my job! You’ll have the bestest sleep ever!”

     Yu shrugged. “Eh, I guess. But who needs one of those anyway? I’d rather have good teeth, or a gun. But not a lame one-- a cool one, y’know, with, like, three barrels! And a muffler!” He had sparkles in his eyes now, and he was practically bouncing in his boots, too. “With something like that, I could do anything. Those stupid vampires wouldn’t stand a chance!”

     Lulu’s talk about moon cycles and pinkies brought Yu back to the present. Eyeing her curiously, the boy extended his pinkie finger. He never expected her finger-- which had looked perfectly normal in the dark-- to pass right through his. It caused a shiver to run down his spine.

     “Look,” he said with more than a hint of freaked-out-ness in his voice, “I’ve seen some pretty weird stuff. Mitsuba’s face being one of ’em-- seriously, have you seen it? She looks like a pissed-off cat!” Another shiver racked his frame. “I’ve also been toe-to-toe with a demon. But I’ve, uh, never met anyone who was less of a person and more of a, what, hologram?”

     Honestly, his life was a goddamn mess.

     “Forget it. Second time’s the charm,” he muttered, having decided this was most definitely a dream, and wanting to get it over with as soon as possible so he could wake up and get on with his life. “C’mon. Let’s give it another go.”

[extrasodium-blog]

ASUNA:

     She stared blankly at the show, not having any semblance of understanding of what was going on. She was content to just stare at the tv, until she heard the bedroom door close. When Mika walked out, she hung her head upside down to talk to who she hoped was Yuu.

     “Yeah, totally. I strangled your boyfriend, then he took me home. Kinky, that one. We’re thinking of going steady.” Her voice was dripping with sarcasm, before she sat up and looked at him proper. Had she been told to stay still? Sure, but she wasn’t going to get bossed around by some magicians.

     “I’m gonna level with you, though. I don’t know. I completely lost myself for a while there, and don’t even know if he was there, or if it was just me and the other demon bitch.” She paused, thinking about it. “I doubt it was me. At the point were I lost control, I can promise you me squeezing his neck would have popped his head right off.”

     She stood up, and walked over to Mika, black eyes staring deeply at him. “You’d know the asshole better than me. You think he’d lug some unconscious broad back home if she had just choked him? I’d like to give him a little more credit than that.”

     Stretching out one more time, she sat back down on the couch, and patted the seat next to her. She was done trying to stand in people’s faces, when they clearly had some deep rooted racism. Instead, she was going to sit this asshole down, and try talking semi-reasonably. Who knows, maybe she’d even get some bonus points from the Kappa.

     Mika said nothing. His face was devoid of all emotion. He did not move. He simply watched and listened. In spite of all of these things, however, his eyes burned a toxic blue. The magic was cold. It was angry. “Shut up,” he finally said. “Why should I believe anything you have to say?”

     The kitchen cabinets began to shudder. Mika had endless self control, that fact was well known. And yet, when it came to Yuu, he seemed to have none at all.

     Scowling, the wizard looked away from Asuna’s face. He now focused his freezing gaze on her hands, which he forcibly kept in place, the blood coursing through them coming to an abrupt halt. “When I told you to sit still,” Asuna’s hands rose above her head, suspended in the air by Mikaela’s magic, “I meant it.”

     The door to the bedroom opened and Yuu stumbled out, woken by Asuna and Mika’s none-too-quiet conversation. He rubbed his eyes and then looked at the scene before him with a frown. “Mika,” he said, setting his hand on the boy’s shoulder, “Chill out. It’s fine.”

     Mika cast Yuu a worried glance. “Please stand back, Yuu,” he said. “I’ll take care of this. You should go back to sleep; you need to rest.”

     But Yuu shook his head and stepped in between Asuna and Mika, his hands raised in what was probably supposed to be a peaceful gesture, but really just looked like a tired human stop sign. “Look,” he said, “it’s fine. Really. She’s cool. Maybe a little bit of a jerk, but, hey, can’t say I don’t relate, so. Yeah.”

     Slowly, Asuna’s hands lowered into her lap and her blood flow returned to normal. Mika closed his eyes, obviously not satisfied, but pacified for the time being. “Why is there a demon in our living room?” he asked wearily. “The sun isn’t even out yet, Yuu.”

     “Where else was I s’posed to put her? In the street? C’mon, I’m not that much of a dick. Plus, she kinda saved my life, so I figured she could stay for breakfast.”

[extrasodium-blog]

ASUNA:

     It was hours later when Asuna had awoken. She groggily sat up, and was about to rub her eye when she saw how gross her fist was. She gags, and looks to the side. She was going to have to take care of… Well, pretty much everything. She looked around, happily noticing that the wizard had grabbed her bag, so she could actually get dressed.

     Groaning as she got up, she made her way around the house, trying to find the bathroom. Once she actually found it, she went ahead and took a shower, muttering some incoherent curses under her breath. Once she was changed into the clean clothes, she dropped the dirty ones in the garbage.

     She made her way back to the room he had dropped her in, and stared at him, asleep on the ground. She wasn’t really shocked that he had found her and carried her back, if he was worth his damn as a hero, but she was confused to see him on the ground. She picked him up, carried him over to his room, and dropped him on the bed, and tossing his blanket over him.

     She paused before leaving, looking at the blond male in the bed. So there was someone else here, huh? She’d probably have to prove herself, or some annoying bullshit like that. She sighed, and went back to the living room, and plopped herself on the couch, turning on the tv.

     Popping all her joints, she made herself comfortable in the wait for either of these magicians to get up and maybe explain a few things to her.

     Yuu didn’t wake up when Asuna threw him onto the bed, but Mika did. He cracked his eyes open after the demon left the room, relieved to see Yuu had made it back in one piece, even if it was... what? Five in the morning? 

     Sighing, Mikaela made a mental note to talk to Yuu about that later. The guy had never been good at keeping a curfew, but this was getting a little ridiculous, especially since he had come home with a necklace of bruises this time around.

     The room was deathly silent.

     Mikaela, his face drained of all color, peered closely at Yuu through the darkness. The bruises peppering his skin stood out even in the low light. Riddled with worry but not wanting to wake the obviously exhausted boy, Mika brushed his fingers across Yuu’s neck.

     A cold blue flame danced along the bruises on Yuu’s skin, dulling the pain he most certainly felt. Yuu’s tight expression finally relaxed and he sighed in his sleep. 

    “You have to stop being so reckless, Yuu.” The look on Mika’s face was sad, but the care in his voice was just as evident. “If you keep this up, once day you’ll get into big trouble, you know.” He pursed his lips. There was nothing else he had to say.

     Suddenly, the TV’s speakers drifted into the room. Mika sat up with a frown. After throwing his legs over the side of the bed, he crossed the small bedroom, and peeked out the door into the living room, where Asuna, the very demonic-looking demon, was sitting.

     He closed the door behind him.

     “Hey there. Don’t move, just answer my question: are you the one who hurt Yuu? I won’t be able to forgive you if that’s the case. In fact, I probably won’t anyway. It depends.”

[extrasodium-blog]

ASUNA:

     The beast stared at its hand, confused. Where was the body? It was supposed to– It flinched, grabbing at it’s head once more. A small voice in the back of it’s head was screaming at it, making it hard to think. It screeched, before slowly starting to give off a red mist.

     The small shred of Asuna was forcing herself to remember some of the things her friend would say to help wind her down. Though she stared tensely at Yuu, she made no move to do anything aggressively, until a large surge of red mist blasted off of her, leaving behind Asuna in a purely human looking form.

     After this, she collapsed. It didn’t take long for the woman to begin breathing gently, dead asleep. As the emotional turmoil and use of extreme power had worn her out, so she was likely to remain unconscious for the next few hours.

     Once Yuu was able to breathe normally again, he forced himself up onto his feet. The hand prints circling his throat throbbed painfully. Mika was going to kill him when he saw them, but he shoved that thought aside, because he didn’t have time to worry about it right now.

     He peered down at Asuna. God, he thought. Goddammit. God fucking dammit. She was out cold. Of course she was. Yuu kicked at the water, his entire body aching. “This is so stupid,” he said, his raspy voice bouncing off the sewer walls. Kneeling down, he hooked his arms under Asuna, and then he lifted her up, looking very, very, very uncomfortable.

     “One of these days, I’m gonna die, and when I do, I’ll blame it on you, ’cause you owe me for this, even though you don’t have any say at all, whatsoever, since you’re... uh, asleep, probably... it doesn’t matter, ’cause it’ll still be your fault, got it? Fuck. Whatever. Let’s go.”

     And so it was that the demon-hating wizard carried the literal demoness up out of a sewer, across town, and into his house. Because his life just sucked that much, apparently. 

[extrasodium-blog]

ASUNA:

     Asuna, already frenzied, didn’t respond to anything Yuu was saying - She didn’t even acknowledge his presence - and instead tossed Ira to the side, where if vanished into mist. Her hands gripped her head as she spiraled deeper and deeper into her mindless haze. The despair was gone, sure, but the voice had only gotten louder and louder, and now she was encouraging it. She had a plan.

     The red haze that had surrounded her had begin to flow into her, and slowly, she began to glow with a gentle red light. She was going to end this. Now. No one was going to get hurt, the semblance of consciousness deep within her said. She would do her best to contain it.

     The light got steadily brighter, until it eventually had grown to a blinding level. If one could manage to see her figure within, they’d see four horns sprout out of her forehead, and the wings on her back grow in size. Her teeth steadily grew longer, sharper, and a thick tail burst out from the base of her spine.

     As the transformation continued, she was telling herself that it was over, that she’d have to end it in one move. When the light finally faded, her transformation was complete, and her skin was now the same red as Ira, her hair now pure white. The four pure black eyes stared deeply into Janine, looking almost as though she was looking through her.

     She seemed eerily calm for a bit, hovering in place, before blasting forward, reaching her hand out to crush Janine’s skull. There was going to be blood, and it sure as hell wasn’t going to be her own.

     Yuu clawed at his throat but Janine would’ve rather died than let go. She sunk her nails deep into his flesh, drawing blood, staining her own skin red. She’d finish this fast, and then move onto Asuna, who she would take deep pleasure in beating, in slaughtering.

    Black spots crept across Yuu’s vision, his breath coming in short gasps. So maybe this was bad. And maybe it was terrible. But if there was one advantage Yuu had over Janine, it was his reckless determination, and his absolute inability to do anything smart, ever.

    The wizard pulled back his leg and kneed Janine square beneath the jaw. She didn’t even flinch. He hadn’t wanted her too. All he had needed was for her concentration to slip-- and it did, if only briefly, when her eyes flared with unrelenting anger.

    Through this opening, Yuu harpooned one of his bonding strings. The magic thing sunk into Janine’s cheek. It glowed a dim radioactive green. Yuu yanked on it by flipping his head back, the string straining against his teeth, and then he sent her a jolt of... happiness.

    Obviously that was the last thing she was expecting. Her eyes widened in shock in the face of her suddenly light heart, the rush of positive emotions loosening her grip around Yuu’s throat just enough to allow him some breathing room.

    After quickly grabbing Janine’s wrists, Yuu pulled himself up and kicked her in the chest. The stunned demon was thrown back. Right into Asuna’s outstretched hand.

    “I lost?”

    Black blood splattered against every surface. Janine’s headless body collapsed to the sewer floor with a sickly splash. Then, it melted into smoke, swept away by the wind.

    Yuu choked and gasped on his knees. His throat had already begun to bruise purple and green. “Thanks,” he whispered to Asuna. A wry, pained  smile stretched across his face. “Cool, huh? You didn’t even have to ask for it that time.”

[extrasodium-blog]

ASUNA:

     When Janine had created the hole, Asuna was able to catch herself with her wings, hovering just above the sewage. She normally wouldn’t mind the sludge, but she was wearing cute clothes, and as usual, they were white. She attempted to fly up, out of the sewer, only to be dragged under the muck.

     What happened next was a blur. Her raw fury spiked up high, and with the sudden surge of power, she had Ira explode outward, blasting away anything near her, including the other demon. When the smoke and rubble cleared, what was revealed was a furious girl in disgusting clothes. She remanifested Ira into it’s blade form, locked onto Janine, and blasted toward her at full speed, intending to slice her clean in half.

     Rather than any words, she let out a screech that didn’t sound like something anything on earth could create, causing intense vibrations in the sewers.

     Yuu landed in the sewer with a splash. The yellow-green slime coating the walls, the water, and the roaches clung to his boots, but he ignored it. His eyes were locked on Janine, the ocean of despair she surrounded herself with looking like a big dark sea, which he quickly worked to contain.

    The demon, on the other hand, paid no mind to Yuu’s sudden appearance; she simply focused on dodging Asuna’s attack. The nimble little girl easily outsped Asuna. Ira barely clipped her shoulder. Howling like a bloodthirsty hyena, Janine said, “Pathetic!”

    It was then that Yuu finally managed to tie up Janine’s wall of magic by using his own unique skill: emotion-bonding. The despair she had conjured pulsed and throbbed in a tight-knit ball, which Yuu literally drop-kicked onto her face, causing it to explode.

    Janine disappeared.

    Yuu leaned heavily against the sewer wall, grimacing. “Hey,” he said to Asuna. “Funny seeing you here. I almost didn’t recognize you now that you’ve got, what, actual clothes on? Heh. Imagine that.” Suddenly, the wizard’s ears perked up and he whipped around, right into Janine’s clawed hand.

    The out of control demon squeezed the wizard’s throat tightly. “One idiot was enough,” she growled angrily, “but two? Two?! I’ll bring both of your corpses to Lord Servius! In pieces!”