a simple office worker

Riko furrows her brow when Kobayashi replies. A very Japanese answer from a Japanese adult. 

Adapt to survive. 

It reminds her of what he Father said when they considered moving overseas, what she remembers Mari saying about living in California. 

She doesn’t like it. Doesn’t like the idea that they have to get used to the idea of killing people in pursuit of their goals.

“Yes.” she responds simply, wringing water out of the left side of her skirt, letting raindrops slide down  the arch of her nose.

“My Servant is a warrior and I’ve spoken with other people…people who live in worlds where there are war. I don’t….”

She straightens up and looks at Kobayashi, eyes set and determined.

“It’s probably the logic of a child. But I don’t want to exist in a world where other people get to determine if someone lives or dies. It’s wrong. If someone who doesn’t care for people fight or…worse if they win, then what becomes of people who are even less capable than us? I don’t like it.”

She looked at the girl, eyes widened in shock. That wasn’t what she had intended to say, actually... A world where someone determined the life of another was certainly unfair, and she didn’t mean it that way at all. A quick wave of hands were gestured at her, hoping she could clear up some misunderstandings. 

“A-Ah that’s not what I meant...! I also agree that it's not right for someone else to have the power to take another person’s life away... That’s just too cruel even for a world like this.” 

Pausing, she tried to rephrase her words, hoping it would make sense for the younger.

“I only meant that we should adapt in this new city like a regular citizen... and hope that life will go as peacefully as it can go. I wasn’t thinking about the war at all.” Scratching the tuft of her hair a bit, she eventually placed her hand on the girl’s head, gently patting it to reassure her. 

“You’re the one I’m talking to so yes you.” Taking a few steps towards her. She hadn’t even notice that she was staring at her before she caught her attention. Remilia only picked her on a whim with very loose conditions.

“Of course I could. As you can see I stand out a bit. I can’t do much about these wings but clothes are an easy fix. I’m a bit out of touch with the current era so I’ll need your help for picking something in style. That’s all. Simple right?”

It wasn’t like she needed something glamorous or overly fancy. She wasn’t expecting her to be a fashion expert or anything like that. All she really wanted was a second opinion on whatever she was going to buy. Especially from someone from the current era.

She looked at her from head to toe in an apparent manner; she wasn’t wrong about that. There were some resemblances to a maid outfit, except... it looked a bit more decorated and suited for cosplay. Of course, she wasn’t an idiot to assume this person was a cosplayer. The wings seemed authentic enough, and she wasn’t going to disgrace someone here on the spot asking them if they were, in fact, real. 

To think that someone is asking her about fashion though... Did she really think she was someone that seemed to be an expert in that field? Even she admitted that she had the blandest style out of everyone that she knew.

Rather than a disguise…

She’s a completely alien species who somehow happens to look exactly human. Which is surprisingly a common trope.

Almost as if gaining a sense of self awareness–

“Oh… But big sis would not know that, uh-huh…”

She didn’t know who ‘Kanna’ was, but the answer was definitely yes. The only person her stomach might lose too would be her big brother, and even that would be a close contest.

Yato were a warrior race, after all. They probably dominated in every food eating contest they entered. Wait, what do you mean that’s not what a warrior race is…?

“Seaweed chips, seaweed chips!”

Kagura hums to herself, tugging lightly at the older woman’s top as she waits for an answer.

Kobayashi relents, and starts to lead the way into the store, and Kagura trails after her like an excited puppy. It would almost be cute, to an outsider.

“Thank you!!! Big sis, you are the coolest, yes…!”

As they patiently waited in line, she looked over to see how close they were. “It shouldn’t take that long...” Mumbling to herself, she looked down at the girl that seemed extremely excited about receiving her chips. 

“Oh, you’re welcome...” Why was she actually buying these chips for her? She just met the girl! She supposed it was better to not ask about it and go with the flow though... it was too late to change her mind, anyway. Her shirt began to extend down to her height, and thankfully she was very used to this sort of behavior. 

As they waited, however, a rather muscular man seemed to cut in front of them, and it appeared to be intentional.

“Uh... Excuse me,” she tried to capture his attention, somewhat irked about the situation.

“WHAT- YOU HAVE A PROBLEM WITH ME?” 

“Well... you just got in front of us, so....” What a bother... She honestly didn’t want to deal with someone like this today.

Ayano felt… very praised in the presence of this woman. A soft tinge of pink settled on her cheeks and she couldn’t help but smile. Nodding her head as if to say: ‘Thank you.’ She was grateful for the kind words Kobayashi spoke, it was a nice feeling that left her heart glowing, which showed in her face with a smile.

When the woman said thanks, Ayano waved dismissively, as long as it was good, she wanted to say, but then she was offered something from the convenience store. Glancing behind her, she peered through the glass for a moment before facing the older pink-haired woman. Her mother told her to never turn down a persons’ gratitude, especially if they were offering some sort of food. To be repaid is a kindness. Ayano’s gaze flickered to the towel on Kobayashi-san’s head, and then down to the coffee in hand.

“…Sure! Strawberry milk would be just perfect!” Usually something warm would be nice right about now, but the girl had a sudden craving for something sweet. Ayano couldn’t forget her manners. “I know it was all very sudden… But what’s your name, miss…?" 

Relocating the towel around her neck, she gestured a hand at the girl to come with her inside. Her answer was somewhat predictable, it definitely suited the girl’s personality. 

Oh? Speaking of manners, she almost forgot about introducing herself to her.

“You can just call me Kobayashi,” she replied. It was her surname, but she had always been called that. Well, at least everyone that she was acquainted with simply went with that, anyway. 

“What’s yours?” Tilting her head to the side, she introduced her to the drink section of the mart. Strawberry milk, strawberry milk... Ah, there it was. She grabbed it off the shelf and handed it to her.

     while there’s a plethora of in-team   (   can you call them on the same team? she’d like to think all masters are on the same team, but some of them really don’t like that idea.   )   fighting going on, ann does her best to ignore all of that. after all, more time dealing with petty squabbling means more time lost trying to find those fragments! or so she’d like to say, but even she’s gotten aggressive against a few of the masters who think they have a right to her treasures—yeah right, as if! she fought them off, so she gets the prize! finders keepers, losers weepers! 

     unfortunately, they don’t seem to share that sentiment with her—but ann isn’t keen enough to notice them following her and attempting to grab her when she spots another one hidden away in the shrubbery. only when someone shouts caution does she quickly grab the item and snap back in time to see a girl practically bodyslam into one of the guys.   ❛   ugh, you guys again! maragi!   ❜   she calls out as multiple flames erupt on their bodies, her enemies frantically swearing and trying to put themselves out. but before they can, she immediately grabs the girl’s wrist and pulls her forward, escaping into one of the nearby alleyways away from the crowd. 

     ❛   whew, you really saved me there! i got distracted; definitely not a good thing with everything going on, right?   ❜   she laughs amidst her pants, jogging in different directions until she pulls her savior in a hiding spot: a small room closed off by high wooden fences. the view is hidden away from the main street, so hopefully it’s a good place to relax. she lets out an exasperated breath as she lets go of the other’s wrists, taking a moment to compose herself before turning towards them.   ❛   that was crazy! it’s kind of rare to see someone stand up like that, so it was really inspiring! oh, but you’re not hurt, right? you didn’t get injured during that whole thing?   ❜

This was exactly something that would happen in a movie, and by this she could already tell she didn’t want to be in one. It was too late for her to say anything though, being dragged by the other far from the scene and going deeper into an alleyway that seemed to be vacant. She continued saying ‘hey! hey!’, hoping that she would listen and stop for a bit, but it wasn’t until they reached their private destination that there was a complete halt in their steps. 

She needed a moment to inhale properly, since she wasn’t trained to be the athletic type. Kneeling down a bit as she placed a hand on her chest, she finally rose once she fully caught her breath, now staring at the girl that appeared to be grateful for what she had done back there. 

Inspiring... She wasn’t planning on to be someone’s hero, actually. A small quick ‘thank you’ would have sufficed her rather than being praised for the entire hero act. Well, she supposed she could just let this one pass by just this once and never mention it again. Unlike the girl who was beaming a smile at her, she didn’t exactly return one of her own, and continued to have a unsatisfied look on her face.

“I’m... okay. I didn’t think I’d be able to knock them down with my strength... but I guess I can surprise myself too during these times. You really should be careful though. 

Sophie set down the spell she’d been working on for practice, crumpling the piece of paper with the scrawled instructions on it as she shoved it deep inside the recesses of her skirt’s pocket and turned her attention to the woman coming up to her.

“Mm, yes.” She let out a bit of an awkward laugh with her answer, canting her head ever-so-slightly towards the ground with embarrassment. Was it that obvious, the way she’d suddenly placed all of her eggs in this one specific basket in the hopes of winning the prize advertised? She had the habit of doing that, after all, focusing so intensely on one specific goal without really thinking about everything that would be necessary to achieve it.

But now that she’d been called out on it, there was really nothing she could do but own up to it. Trying to deny her considerable interest would only give the appearance of cowardice.

“My – my fiancé and I are hoping to obtain the assistance to create a business. We could probably do it on our own, given the time, but…” She shrugged. “I had hoped it to be worth the attempt. I take it you’re not the same-?”

Her eyes glinted as she told her reasoning to her, a wondrous glow that seemed to brighten her features despite being consistent with her reaction.

“Oh, a business? It would be nice to have one of your own around here, huh... especially when you have someone very special doing it with you.”

A special someone... A fiancé. What a glorious term that was; it was capable of swelling hearts up with pride and joy, but also deflated happiness to those that didn’t have one. Under the conditions of the latter, she had to admit that, like any other single woman out there, there was a tang of bitterness that came from it. All of her previous classmates were married at this point, some even already bearing children of their own. It wasn’t enough for her to be fatuously jealous about it though, and she respected the young woman’s status as it was.

Her goal was pure and simple, and she didn’t see a problem with it at all. 

Gently humming at the thought of it, it stopped once the question was directed to her.

“I wouldn’t say that... although, I wouldn’t know what to do with that much money. It’s not as if I’m living with an entire family at the moment, nor do I want to start a business right away like you’re planning to... 

So to keep that all to myself would probably just sit in my bank account all day long until further notice.”

Genuinely, she had no idea what to do if she were ever rich. Quitting her mundane job would be the first thing she would do, she supposed, but after that? That required a lot of planning.

It was obvious people were motivated to gather those shards just to gain wealth from it. As for her? She never felt luxury trickling in her hands, and so she didn’t have a good amount of greed inside of her to drive herself in trying to win them all. If she were to be frank, it seemed impossible anyway. There were masters that had quite amount of magic inside of them, so to fight them would have been a challenge for a human like herself. 

From the peripheral of her vision she noticed a young woman being careful with her movements, and she wondered if it was because she didn’t want to be involved with any of this violence. Coming from her, it was understandable. Curious though, she approached her and gave her a questionable look as the woman continued on her business.

While the two had agreed in not assassinating anyone, she did allow the doll to use any technique available that involved mostly defense rather than offense. Only during the direst of times was she allowed to do so, but she didn’t see it as an urgent need for now. This was the first time they were going to cooperate together though, huh? She could now see how they worked together as a duo, and she hoped nothing terrible would result out of it.

Watching the other gracefully handling the situation with whatever movement was available to her, she noticed there was an unsettling, bright smile on her face. Well, at least she was expecting it. Kneeling on the ground, she picked up a few fragments that were dropped by the infected and placed them in her coat pocket. She exhaled a bit to herself, shaking her head before dusting her knees off and standing back up.

She should tell her to stop now, it looked like she was going to actually murder them.

So much was happening, so much. People running around and shoving each other, throwing out disputes in trying to obtain the necessities to win such an award. Was this what it felt like to be in an actual war? The time she had spent here so far had been rather consistent and mundane (just as she preferred it), however, this tended to break that peaceful atmosphere into something much more. She was trying her best to avoid people, but at the same time she wasn’t planning to cower away. There were people that were in need of help, and that was exactly what she was going to do. Even if she didn’t have anything much with her to prove that she was worthy of a help... she still wanted to try. 

It was why when she saw a girl trying to gather a fragment, she quickly noticed a few Masters trying to grab hold of her from behind. 

That wasn’t fair at all- right? It was why what she did next was going to be the unthinkable.

While Kobayashi spoke, Ayano’s gaze drifted from her, out towards the rain. Watching as puddles formed, droplets causing ripples and crashing into each other. It was getting colder, as the temperature dropped, a bit of white clouds escaped from her lips. With a smile, she turned her head towards her. Nodding. She was happy to hear that she’ll help people out. She liked selfless people. 

She replied almost instantly. Though, light-hearted, smile still remaining on her lips. “It is. Honestly… Sometimes, when I think of helping people, my heart beats fast and i get confused as to what to do, how to help. It’s like an anxious feeling that won’t disappear.” A deep breath, and then she continued. 

“But as I interact, and meet, and get to know that person, even for a few seconds, it actually does disappear. It makes everything worth it! Like with you, miss. I-I don’t mean anything bad from it though!” Ayano waved her hands, shaking her head, hoping she didn’t offend her by implying she was a bit scary, she didn’t she was scary at all, she in fact started to voice her concerns. “It’s not that you’re scary, just I thought it’d be weird if someone randomly offered you something, but like… Er… I think you understand…” She smiled a bit sheepishly and scratched at her cheek soon after. 

“I’m not that special. Just a person who wanna helps. U-Uhm. How’s your coffee?”

The way she spoke about kindness sounded like she was admitting a crush she had on some student. It was interesting per se, and she found it cute to see how she reacted to the entire thing. Something as innocent as this was probably a delicacy to encounter nowadays, at least that was how she saw it.

“I think everyone is like that, actually. If you don’t know the person and want to help, it’s only obvious to be nervous in the first place. I admire you for being able to step up regardless of your feelings holding you back though. 

There’s not a lot of people like that around here to push their thoughts aside just for the sake of helping someone.”

Like she had just said, it wasn’t anything spectacular or special. Anyone was able to do it if they put their mind to it, but to be able to admit that fear truly held something unique about it. Her smile was still soft at her, and as she glimpsed at her coffee, she gave a nod at her.

“It’s good, thanks for it again.” She then looked behind her, which was the entrance to a convenience store. She may as well repay this debt right now before it was too late. Pointing at the doorway, she beckoned the girl with a hand. 

“Eh…? It’s not?!”

The girl looks genuinely surprised at that simple piece of information. What do you mean to say five chips in five seconds is too fast? Aren’t you just used to people eating too slow?

Thoughts like that run through the yato girl’s head, until…

“Well, maybe a human’s level of eating is different, uh-huh.”

In the end, she settles on that, turning her eyes to the side. The memory of Gin-chan’s face when he had first seen her eat… Perhaps she was on the right track, for once.

Master, schmaster–

The only thing Kagura is loyal to is her friends. And her friends are people who feed her. Which means she’s loyal to you, Kobayashi.

Besides, aren’t you used to having random girls just come up and pledge their lives to you by now?

“Yes please, big sis! Oh, oh, can we try the seaweed chips, too?!”

…..Didn’t this girl just eat a family pack size of potato fries? How is she still hungry? Even if she’s a yato, there’s got to be a limit, right?!

There was no point in getting common sense to her, huh? She may as well give up for now and move onward to their next objective.

A human level, though? Was she not human? Could it be she was similar to Tohru where her current appearance was nothing but a disguise to fit in with society? It was very likely that was it, considering there were many that weren’t human like her, and so she wasn’t entirely freaked out by the idea.

She sighed, uncertain of how to take care of her. It was true that she was used to odd people coming up to her... but she wanted to graduate from it as soon as she can.

Not to mention she was still hungry! Did she have a black hole instead of a stomach inside of her?

She began to walk back into the store again; there was no point in stopping her, so why should she bother saying ‘no’?

“Your stomach is amazing... I wonder if you can out eat Kanna if you ever meet her...” It seemed like it was going to be a competition, if that were to ever come.