Wait! I'm not a Demigod, I'm a Gamer!

Chapter 23: Trust

While the humans are fighting against the banshee, Yuuya is lying amongst the trees, his wound still bleeding as his conscious is far away. Yuuya faintly feels himself floating, he is once again encased in darkness, this time more unsettling than the last time. "Where...am I?" As if hearing his mind, a voice answers, "Child. Wake up." Yuuya tries to open his eyes, his eyelids too heavy for his weakened form. "I...can't." The voice, a familiar woman's voice, answers him again, "Yes you can. Your friends need you. I will lend a bit of my power. You must wake up. You must fight to stay alive. Sam and Damian need you. Wake up, child. Wake up..." Her voice fades towards the end, a surge of energy courses through his body, making him gasp as his eyes finally open wide. He sits up suddenly while coughing, the pain quickly fading away. Yuuya's breathing coming out fast as he tries to recall what has happened. "What the hell?" Yuuya looks down and notices the massive hole in his chest gone, showing no signs of ever existing, his blood stained clothes the only evidence the man was ever hurt. He looks around, his confusion growing. "Did I...die again?" He touches his skin through the hole, feeling no pain whatsoever as he thinks aloud, "Did she...heal me? I'm so confused..." His ears pick on the sound of yelling and screaming. The banshee. Sam. Damian. Yuuya suddenly stands, forgetting his earlier confusion. "Oh God Sam! Damian! I'm coming!" He rushes past the trees, looking at the clearing and seeing his friends being held down by the monster. Yuuya furrows his brows in anger, he grabs Damian's sword, having been thrown during the fight, and runs straight at her. He stabs her right through her heart from behind before she could impale the humans beneath her. Her screams cut off instantly, her body turns to the dust, a purple core drops to the ground.
Yuuya pants in exhaustion, finally glad they finished their quest. The beast-man looks and sees his friends stunned faces, they don't even looking like they were breathing. "Sam! Damian! Are you guys okay?" He smells blood and sees the various wounds the two were sporting. "Shit, you're hurt! Hang on, I'll heal you okay?" He leans while putting down the sword, not expecting a response, and proceeds to use his light magic to heal them. The pair don't say a word as they watch him work, not believing their eyes. Yuuya finishes healing the pair and gives them a smile. "There! How do you feel?" His worry grows as they continue to say nothing. "Maybe they have a concussion..." Sam finally moves and shakily caresses Yuuya's cheek, "Y-Yuu-Yuuya..." The beast-man blinks and answers rather unconfidently, "Uhh yes?" Yuuya yelps when he is pulled into a bone crushing hug, his face shoved into Sam's shoulder, allowing him to feel the man shaking as he sobs happily. "Oh Goddess! I thought you were dead! You-you were-weren't breathing and-and-and I couldn't st-stop the bleeding and and..." His sobs cuts him off, too relieved over his friend. Yuuya hugs the man back, shushing the man while rubbing his back comfortingly. "It's okay Sam, I'm here. I'm fine. There's no need to worry anymore. Take deep breaths." Damian still hasn't said a word, finding it hard to believe that the beast-man next to him was Yuuya. His silence doesn't go unnoticed by the beast-man, Yuuya looks over at him with worry in his eyes. "Damian? Are you okay?" This snaps the man into action, he quickly grabs his discarded weapon and points it at him, making Yuuya's and Sam's eyes widen in shock. "What the fuck are you!?" Yuuya blinks in surprise before Sam tugs on his shirt, gaining his attention slightly, not wanting to look completely away from the man holding the sword, "Yuuya, your disguise!" Sam whispers urgently. Yuuya reaches his head, feeling his tall ears, shocking the beast-man. "Crap...I must've stopped pouring mana into the amulet when I passed out. I was in shock when I woke up and rushed to their aids so quickly that I forgot to check on my disguise..." Yuuya looks back at Damian, his golden orbs filled with rage and betrayal, making him gulp nervously. "Damian, just listen-" Damian makes a swipe with his sword, Yuuya leans back with Sam behind him, dodging the attack in time. "Shut up! I don't want to hear it from a disgusting beast-man." Yuuya's ears flatten on his head, his heart hurting from the cold words. He pushes through, trying to plead his case, "Damian! I'm sorry. I really am! I wanted to tell you, but...I wasn't sure you were ready to hear the truth." Damian stands up, hating the fact that he was healed, still pointing his sword at the beast-man as he too stands, Sam following their lead. "I don't care! You're a monster! I hate beast-men, you're all the same. How did you even hide your true from?" Yuuya sighs and removes his necklace and shows it to the man, careful to stay out of his sword's range. "This. It's a magical item that allows you to change your appearance. I uhh...used it to blend in..." Damian narrows his eyes and snatches the necklace, looking at it more closely while still holding his sword up. Yuuya watches with saddened eyes and continues, "I know...humans don't like beast-men or other races, but I really mean no harm...I just wanted to be an adventurer." Damian looks up from the necklace, hesitation still evident on his face. Yuuya face grows more sad, "I told you...you would hate me if I ever took this off." Damian scoffs, finding his accusation true, "Guess you were right about that." Sam moves forward, pushing Yuuya behind him, deciding to be his shield this time, "Listen Damian! Yuuya really is a nice guy, he saved my life and even rescued my entire village from bandits, human bandits! He even saved you several times. He's different from other beast-men." Damian summons his fire, his rage grow bigger, "Different!? He's a beast-man, they're all savages! Why should I believe him or you!?" He clutches onto the necklace tighter, a sudden thought crossing his mind, "Without this, I bet you won't be able to go back to the capital. Hell, you probably won't be able to go back to any human village. Ha! Whatcha gonna do now?" Sam glares at the man while Yuuya looks down. Before Sam could respond with a comeback, Yuuya steps in, "Nothing." His answers stun the humans, both saying, "What!?" Yuuya looks directly into Damian's eyes, making him uncomfortable, "Nothing. You can do whatever you want. I won't stop you." He walks away, grabs the purple core and tosses it to Damian, the man barely catching it while holding his sword up and the amulet. He looks up in surprise as Yuuya stands from his position, "Take it, you deserve to be B rank, it took you so long to reach it. I won't hold you back." Yuuya walks over to a giant boulder, sitting down, exhaustion spreading in his body. The humans watch his every step, "I won't keep you in this party either. I just thought...it'd be cool having a new friend. Thank you Damian." He bows in respect, missing the men's eyes widen. "You taught us so much about adventuring, I will always treasure all those moments we shared and every quest we went on, all the meals we shared, the times we laughed and had fun." He looks up and gives Damian a sad smile, "If you think I truly am a threat to everyone, then go and tell them...I won't stop you. You're a veteran adventurer, your instincts are much sharper than my own." Sam gasps while looking sad, "Yuuya..." Damian clenches his teeth, finding the whole conversation irritating, "Fine! I'll tell the whole world what you are! You won't ever come near the Adventurer's Guild or me ever again." He turns and runs off, heading in a random direction, still holding onto the amulet. Sam tries to chase after the man, but Yuuya stops him, "Let him go. A promise is a promise..."
Damian dashes through the woods, intending to head back to the village, however, Yuuya's voice fills his rattled mind, "I won't stop you...You deserve to be B rank...I just thought it'd be cool having a new friend...I just wanted to be an adventurer...Thank you Damian..." The ombré haired man roars in rage, trying to block out the image of Yuuya's sad face. "He's just a beast-man! A disgusting, savage, brutal, barbaric beast! So what if he defended you, that was just a ploy. Or that he healed your wounds or lectured you over safety or cried over your wellbeing or...comforted you when you talked about your mother..." The more he tried to convince himself that Yuuya was bad, the more memories he recalled and seeing how much good the beast-man did not just for him, but to everyone around him. The times he helped other adventurers by healing their wounds or cheering them up with funny stories. The times he helped townspeople fill up their stalls or stop some muggings. Hell! He even helped the muggers get decent jobs at various places. Kids loved him, the way he chased after them playfully and showed them his amazing magic spells. Each memory slows the man down till he stopped entirely by a tree. He pounds on the wood hard, his face slowly growing sad. "He's just...Yuuya..." The man slumps on the tree, exhausted. Damian breathes heavily, the moonlight shining on the amulet still clutched in his hand. He looks at the pendant, Yuuya's smiling face filling his mind, "Damian!" The man squeezes the jewelry as he bangs his head on the tree, tears filling his eyes as Yuuya's face shifted to a sad smile, "I will always treasure all those moments we shared..." Sam's voice fills his mind, "He saved my life...He's different from other beast-men..." Damian feels something gently tapping against his leg, making him slowly look down. The talisman Yuuya gave him is swaying slightly around his waist. The man grabs the charm carefully, afraid the pendant would break if he put any pressure on it. He rubs it, tracing the tigers' forms. " It's called the Leonis talisman. It'll protect you." "Protect me?" "We protect each other, okay?" "Okay." "Okay Sam?" "Understood." Their conversation finally cracks him, tears go down his face as he grips both the talisman and amulet in both hands, so many emotions swirling like a tornado in his heart. "Goddess why...why did he have to be a beast-man..why couldn't he have been like other beast-men...why did he...have to have such a kind heart..." His sobs the only sound in the woods.
Back with Sam and Yuuya, Sam paces in front of Yuuya, trying to come up with a plan. "Okay okay, we should just leave. Yeah...We could go back to my village! Everyone would be thrilled to have us back. Oh wait! Damian is gonna tell everyone, that means the royal guards will investigate everywhere...including my home...Fuck! Okay then, we'll just run! We'll go far away and hide. We could live in the woods! No one could find us..." Yuuya sweatdrops the longer he listens, worried his friend will short circuit. "Sam. Sam. Sammy." The beast-man tries to catch his friend's attention, the man still pacing while loudly speaking. "Maybe we should go to Basmor..." Yuuya grabs his shoulders and shakes him gently, "Sam! Stop for a second." Sam looks up in surprise, he immediately stops talking as he stares into his violet eyes before voicing his worries "Yuuya, this is serious! If the royal guard learns that a beast-man infiltrated not only the royal capital, but also the Adventurer's Guild, they won't just lock you up...They'll execute you! In public!" Yuuya gulps nervously, but continues to try to calm the man down, "I understand Sam, but freaking out like this isn't gonna help us. Take a deep breath, let's take this one step at a time." Sam sighs and places his hands over his face, finding their situation too stressful. "Why did you let him go? We could've done something..." His soft voice reaches Yuuya's ears, making him look down sadly. "Because...we lied to him, he deserved to know the truth, but we didn't say anything. Plus, he didn't even want to be a part of our party! I practically held him against his will...I just thought...we could be happy. That we could go on adventures together! That's part of the adventure, making new friends. Damian...he really is a good person. I really liked him...I wanted to trust him. I'm sorry Sam...I didn't mean to drag you down." Yuuya sits back on the boulder, holding his head as tears fill his eyes. "I thought if I tried to interact with people more in this life, I might avoid the same fate from my last one...Damian's scent told me he was a good person, I guess it didn't count for his hatred on beast-men...especially what happened to his mother." He still remembers their conversation last night, how Damian revealed his trauma, how he grew uncomfortable at the fact that it was beast-men that killed the only person who cared about him. Yuuya had originally planned on informing the man the truth when they completed the quest, but the plan went out the window right after the story. "I just thought...Damian would be a good addition to our group...he's nice, strong, passionate, and he always does the right thing." He looks up at Sam, a couple of tears escape down his face. "Like you..." Yuuya hugs his knees as he quietly cries, Sam stares at his friend sympathetically. He sits next to the beast-man, careful not to sit on his tail, and rubs his back. "Yuuya...*sigh* You know, you're too innocent sometimes." He pulls the saddened man to lean on his shoulder, his ears still down which allows the human to gently rub them against his face, finding them so soft, while he rubs his shaky form. Yuuya continues to cry softly when a sweet, spicy scent fills his nostrils. The smell is very familiar to him, Yuuya looks up suddenly as remembers who that scent belongs to, seeing a figure a good distance away. Sam looks at his friend in confusion before following his eye line, his eyes widen at the figure. "Damian?"
Damian doesn't say a word, his eyes still glaring as he walks up to the pair, making Sam glare back while pulling Yuuya closer. "What do you want?" Sam hisses, ready to fight the man if he needed to. Damian doesn't answer, staring at Yuuya whose eyes are red and teary. The beast-man stares curiously at the man, confused over his sudden return. "Damian?" Questions Yuuya again as waits for a response. The man tosses his amulet at him, Yuuya catches instantly. The pair stare in puzzlement as Yuuya observes the pendant, wondering what the man was thinking. "Here, take it." Yuuya looks up, hope shining in his eyes, making Damian look away, embarrassment filling his cheeks. "Why did you come back?" Sam questions suspiciously. Damian growls frustratingly while combing through his hair. "Look! I don't get you two. You're a beast-man and you're friends with a beast-man. I mean this is fucked up!" The pair share a worried glance as the man paces in front of them while shouting, "I don't understand you guys! Especially you!" He points angrily at Yuuya, making him jump. "What are you!? All beast-men care about is their own kind and are so aggressive. You don't fight every single person you come across. Sam picks fights more than you do!" Sam narrows his eyes in irritation, but doesn't argue, his statement being true. "Not only that you can also use not one, not two, but three magic types! Including light magic! Beast-men can't use light magic!" Damian stops pacing and looks directly into Yuuya's eyes, determination filling his core. "Just, tell me: who are you?" Yuuya looks at Sam, motioning him to back up as he sits up straighter while clearing his throat. "Well... I'm a fox-type beast-man." Damian scrunches in confusion, looking at Sam to silently ask what the hell, his question put on hold as Sam puts a finger up to his lips, signaling to listen. "And I don't have three magic types...I can use eight." Just to prove his point, Yuuya summons a ball of water into his palm, vibrant red flowers growing all around them, a giant boulder out of dirt lands next to the group, a dark swamp the size of a puddle, and small sparks of electricity in his other hand. Damian stares in disbelief, unsure how to respond. Sam grips Yuuya's shirt, urging him to put his magic away. Yuuya listens and makes everything, except the flowers, disappear and waits for the stunned man to speak. "Uhh Damian?" A few more seconds go by before Damian yells out, "What the fuck!" Startling the pair, Yuuya hides behind Sam as Damian shout out curses while his fire was going bonkers. By the time Damian had calmed down, the entire area around him was charred to a crisp, leaving only the pair on the boulder and the flowers Yuuya summoned untouched. Damian snaps his head the pair, making them sweatdrops nervously. The man marches up to them and yanks Yuuya out from his hiding spot. Damian eyes him up and down, taking note of his tall ears, folded back in fear, and his fluffy tail wrapped around his leg. He continues to observe until he notices a dark mark on his chest peeking out slightly through the hole in his shirt from when the banshee impaled him. Damian narrows his eyes and rips his shirt open, making Yuuya shriek and Sam's jaw drop. Damian gawks at the mark, lightly tracing the design. "What the hell..." Yuuya yelps at the touch, drawing his attention away from the mark. He sees the beast-man red as a tomato, his ears flatten to his head but he can faintly see the white tips turn slightly pinks. Yuuya looks up shyly but quickly looks down, "Uh um...could you...look away...please?" The man pleads quietly. Seeing him so embarrassed, Damian's face turns bright red as well and lets go of him while coughing into his hand, trying around to provide privacy. "Sorry." Yuuya quickly covers his chest with the pieces of his ruined shirt, his blush reaching his chest. "Probably a good thing I don't have a female chest right now, but still! That was uncalled for." Sam walks over to the flustered beast-man, handing him his jacket while looking away, his face also a shade of red. Once fully covered, Damian turns back around continuing to interrogate, "Right, ahem, anyway. What was that? Why do you have a royal mark?" Question marks pop up around Yuuya's head while Sam's eyes widen in surprise. "Royal mark? What's that?" Now it was Damian's turn to be confused, "You don't know what a royal mark is? It's the mark of the first beings of each race that the Goddess created. Each descendant in each race has the mark on their bodies. For us humans it's on the neck. Beast-men usually have it on their stomachs, but your's is too high...And the design is different too." Realization crosses his mind, making him snap his head up from his thinking. He shares a look with Sam before looking back at Yuuya, remembering his talk with the human last night, "Where did he come from?" " Honestly, I don't know. He told me he woke up in the middle of the Escal forest, alone." Yuuya gulps nervously, holding the jacket closer, afraid he was gonna be striped again. Damian takes a deep breath, trying to calm his racing mind, before asking, "Yuuya, where did you come from?" Yuuya blinks in surprise and answers, "Well to be honest, I'm not sure. I woke up in a random clearing with a lake next to it in the middle of a forest." Sam intervenes, "Escal forest." Yuuya nods and continues, "Yeah, Escal forest. It was after..." Yuuya hates having to recall his past life, the way he died as Sakura, his siblings crying out to her. Damian waves his hands impatiently, "After what?" Yuuya sighs and looks into his eyes, "He deserves the truth, even if it's not the whole truth..." "After I died." Damian's eyes widen in shock, his suspicions slowly being confirmed, "No way, he can't be..." Hearing no response, Yuuya continues with tears slowly filling his eyes but he refuses to allow them to fall, "I was with my younger siblings, we were having fun planning for the day...but then a child was in danger and I...pushed them and got hit instead. The last thing I remember is feeling so much pain and my blood spilling on the ground! My siblings were crying so loudly and I tried so hard to stay awake, but then I-" His own shaky voice cuts him off as the tears finally fall, Yuuya no longer containing the strength to hold them back. He tries to rub them away, but they just kept coming, his siblings' crying faces flashing in his head. The beast-man is gently pulled into a warm embrace. He expected the man holding him to be Sam, but the smell of cinnamon hot chocolate is practically smothering his senses, informing him that someone else was hugging him. "I'm sorry. Don't cry, please?" Damian's soft voice takes the beast-man by surprise, more tears fall as the man he once thought hated him was comforting him.
Damian sweatdrops nervously as the man in his arms cry harder, he looks at Sam, pleading silently for help. Sam rolls his eyes, finding the human annoyingly useless, and quickly changes gears to take care of Yuuya, knowing from past experiences how sensitive the beast-man was when it comes to his family and death. "It's okay, it's alright. Shhhh." When the tears slow down, Damian glares at the human, slightly jealous over how fast he got Yuuya to calm down. Yuuya pulls away, sniffing slightly and rubs his eyes again, getting rid of the last of his tears. "Sorry...It's still hard for me to fully accept what happened...And I'm sorry for not telling you sooner, you deserved the truth. I just...was so afraid you'd hate me after you told me your past...I must remind you of those beasts huh..." Damian doesn't say anything, taking a good long look at the beat-man in front of him. Surprisingly, the man doesn't see a savage monster who would kill for fun like those beast-men have in his past, their sick laughter haunting his mind as his bodyguards and mother screamed in agony. No, instead he sees Yuuya, a friend willing to have him in his party despite all the crap he threw at him, laughing in glee as they handle quests together. No where near to those that took his mother away. Damian sigh and combs his hair while answering, "No, not really. You are nothing like those monsters. I...I shouldn't have judged so quickly. You're actually a nice guy..." Damian looks away, feeling embarrassed over his confession, Yuuya wags his tail subconsciously as warmth fills his heart. "Really?" Damian blushes darkly at the cute look Yuuya is showing unknowingly with his ears standing tall as his tail wags slightly faster. He clears his throat and answers begrudgingly, "Of course! Why would I lie to you now?" He grunts as Yuuya suddenly flies into his chest, hugging the surprised man, "Oh Damian! I'm so happy!" He looks up with a warm smile, making Damian gulp, "Does that mean you'll stay with us?" The flustered human groans, putting his hand on Yuuya's head with the intention to push him away but rubs affectionately instead. "Of-of course I am, why else would I come back?" Yuuya squeals happily and holds the man tighter, their group whole once more. Sam watches, envy filling his eyes, and asks, "And you didn't tell the entire world about him?" Yuuya looks at Sam before looking back at Damian, the human narrows his eyes in irritation. "No I didn't. I didn't even make it back to the village." Yuuya lets go of Damian, worry filling his eyes. "Why? Are you still hurt?" He pats the man down, trying to detect any injuries on the man. Damian grows hot at each touch and shoves him back at arms length, trying to cool down. "N-no! I'm fine. I just...thought over what you said and...decided to get more answers..." Yuuya blinks before his face grows determined. "Damian, Sam. If we're gonna be a party, then we should come up with some rules. First, no more lying. We all deserve the truth, I promise never to hide anything from you guys." "Except the fact I was a human girl in another world and that this is my favorite game's avatar." Damian and Sam nod, as they come up with some rules themselves. "Second, no more fighting. We're a team and we need each other." Sam explains while explicitly looking at Damian. Damian glares and says, "Third, we don't ever bring up our pasts. They suck and no one likes it. Let's just focus on the future and live in the present." Sam and Yuuya look at him in surprise, not expecting such wise words from him, the looks pissing him off, "It's something my mother used to say, okay? So, shut up!" Sam and Yuuya raise their hands in surrender, not wanting to engage with the man. Damian searches through his pocket before tossing a mystery item at the beast-man. Yuuya catches it easily and looks at quizzically, seeing it was the purple core from the banshee they defeated. Yuuya looks up in surprise as Damian has his back to him, "I can't go up to rank B without you two. Everyone in the party also has to survive in order to pass..." He looks behind, a small blush on his cheeks. "So it looks like we're stuck with each other anyway." He starts to walk away, leaving Sam and Yuuya confused. Sensing no one following him, Damian sharply looks behind and yells out, "What are you waiting for? Let's go!" Yuuya and Sam share a look before rushing to their third party member's side, happily enjoying themselves now that Yuuya's secret was finally out.
The trio stop by the abandoned house, Sam and Damian force Yuuya to stay outside, his nose still bothering him and they were worried the body of Miss Cross might traumatize the innocent beast-man. They untie the ribbon and gently set her down, carful not to disturb the organs dropped on the ground. While they cover her body, Yuuya equips the Reaper's cloak once again in an attempt to contact Miss Cross's spirit. Luckily, she appears in the same spot Yuuya found her the first time. This time, she is standing along with other spirits, smiling at the beast-man, their forms having a golden light surrounding them. Yuuya smiles back and walks over to them. "Hi Miss Cross, I see you have friends this time." She nods as she looks at him, her smile never leaving her face. "I see you finally set yourself free. You're very pretty in this form." Yuuya looks down at himself, not really seeing the change until he remembers that he was in disguise when they first met. "You knew I wasn't human?" Says the stunned beast-man. She nods again, showing no fear, "But of course. Spirits can see more than the living. Took me a while to realize this fact." Yuuya leans back suspiciously, not expecting her to be so calm. "Annnnd, you're not afraid of me?" She and other spirits laugh at his question before answering, "How could we fear you? You set us free. We couldn't move on with that monster lurking around. She held us prisoner. Some of us have been trapped longer than the rest." A few spirits nod their heads, signaling her statement was true. Yuuya flattens his ears, pitying them. "I'm so sorry...I wish we had arrived sooner." Miss Cross steps up to him and rubs his cheek sweetly, her touch somehow warm even though he couldn't feel her fingers. "You have nothing to be sorry for. Be proud for what you did. You saved our families and home. You finally put her to rest, she has been haunting this land for far too long. Thank you." Everyone bows to the beast-man, making him flustered. "P-please! You don't have to bow. I was just doing my duty as an adventurer. It was pure luck we got here." One of the spirits, a man looking to be in his mid-thirties steps up, still holding a smile at the man. "Perhaps fate has brought you here oh great one." Many spirits voice out agreements, confusing the beast-man. "What do you mean 'oh great one.' I'm not that special." Miss Cross removes her hand and steps back, her form slowly disappearing. "Oh but you are, you're very special. You're the revived kitsune..." Her voice fades as she finally disappears, her soul finally moving on. The other spirits start to disappear along with her, leaving Yuuya in a panicky confused state. "W-wait! I'm not who you think I am! I'm not that guy!" The spirits ignore his words as they disappear, the man from before speaks one last time, "Yes you are...You will save them from the dragons...Good luck...Yuuya." The beast-man looks all around, not seeing a single soul. Yuuya sighs angrily as he rubs his hair aggressively. "You got the wrong guy...I'm not the one..." Sam and Damian walk out carrying the wrapped body, seeing Yuuya sitting on the ground in a depressed state. They notice him wearing the cloak, worried the spirits were angry or mean to their friend. "Yuuya? Are you okay?" Sam questions as he rushes up to the beast-man, leaving Damian to hold the body. Damian grunts in effort, not expecting his helper to abandon him. "Oi! Warn me next time will ya! Jeez..." Sam pats Yuuya gently, trying to comfort the man. "You okay?" Damian delicately places the body and walks over to the pair, his worry growing the longer Yuuya remains quiet. "Yuuya?" The beast-man finally lifts his head, unshed tears in his eyes as the he tries to smile at them. "I'm fine. Just got to say goodbye to Miss Cross and to the many people trapped by the banshee. They finally...moved on to a better place." The humans share a look, sensing the man was still depressed. Yuuya suddenly gets up and rubs his eyes, wanting to move away from the current topic. "Let's go, her family is waiting." Before they leave, Yuuya's ears pick up on the sound of soft sobs. He stops his movements and looks over to the side, seeing a transparent woman in a white dress, her hair a pale blonde color that sways slightly. Her face hidden in her hands, blocking Yuuya's view. Yuuya's eyes furrow in deep concentration and walks over to the woman, confusing his human companions in the process. "Yuuya?" "Where are you going?" The humans stare as the beast-man stops right in front of the entrance of the house, kneeling down as if observing something. The woman doesn't acknowledge his presence, still crying into her hands. Yuuya gently places his hand on her shoulder, not wanting to startle the spirit. "Excuse me miss, are you alright?" The woman continues to cry as though she hadn't heard his voice. "Music...Music...I need...music..." Yuuya could barely her words despite kneeling right next to the spirit. He ponders over the few words she provided before a thought suddenly comes up. "Could she be..." Yuuya gets up carefully and walks inside, startling his human companions. "W-wait! Yuuya!" "Don't go in there!" Sam and Damian yell out to the beast-man, worried he would see the bloody scene. "Maybe we should've cleaned up the blood..." They think at the same time. Yuuya walks in the house, the smell worsen the deeper he goes. He holds his nose as he turns his head around, looking. He spots a door slightly ajar and walks in. His eyes zero in on the object that started this whole tragedy, thankfully missing the horror show on the floor. Yuuya gently takes the delicate item and walks back outside, Sam and Damian stand up straighter, waiting for any signs the beast-man was in distress. Yuuya walks down and kneels before the woman again, holding out the object in his hands, revealing the silver music box. "Is this what you were looking for miss?" He carefully opens the box, allowing the little hummingbird statue to rise and spin while music plays. The moment the music starts playing, the woman stops crying and looks up, revealing shiny brown eyes glistening with tears. "M-my *sniff* music box..." He holds it out closer to her, allowing her to take the offered item. She watches the hummingbird spin and listens to the calming music, smiling a little. Memories of her childhood and life before crossing her mind, bringing peace and comfort to the damaged woman. Yuuya smiles at her small smile, enjoying the music as well. She looks up at him and smiles shyly, "Thank you...This...is very...precious...to me..." She holds the music box to her chest, her form slowly disappearing. He watches until she disappears all together, leaving behind the music box as it continues to play. Yuuya sighs sadly, wiping away a couple of tears off his cheek, surprised to find his face wet. He gently takes the music box and places it in the doorway, closing it once the song ended. He takes a deep breath and turns around, seeing his friends flabbergasted. They had watched the entire scene, not seeing the woman at all until she held the music box in her hands, scaring the daylights out of them. Yuuya smiles sadly at them and walks past them, calling out softly, "Let's go."
Once the humans shook off their surprise, the trio head back to the village, Damian and Sam carry Miss Cross's body the whole way. Just before exiting the woods, Yuuya puts on his disguise, glad to have his amulet returned to him. The family of Miss Cross cry in grief, having seen the state her body was left in due to the banshee's brutal attacks. Yuuya informs them that he had met up with her spirit, letting them that she was happy to be free and was able to move on to a better place. The village chief thanks them and signs their quest form, officially completing their mission. The group celebrate back in their room, wanting to give the village some space to process. The inn keeper hands them their food, thanking them for all their all hard work. Yuuya releases his disguise, no longer needing to keep up his appearance around Damian. The group eat in peace, planning their trip back to the royal capital. Yuuya decides to sleep on the bed this time, his exhaustion finally catches up to him, he plants himself in between Sam and Damian. He bids the humans goodnight before slipping to unconscious land, leaving the two to talk.
Yuuya snores softly, Damian and Sam watch with many emotions and thoughts swirling around in their heads. Damian is the first that breaks through the silence, "He's the revived kitsune from the prophecy, isn't he." It was a question, but the way he phrased it made it sound more like a statement. Sam looks away from Yuuya's sleeping face and nods, "Yes. He transformed into a kitsune back when my village was kidnapped. He defeated a Class-S summoning monster, Orzahs the Raging Hydra. He was so powerful...He managed not to kill anyone, he just incapacitated the culprits, he was amazing..." Sam can't hold in his admiration as he thinks back to Yuuya's rescue. His kitsune form was so beautiful as he recalls the way his tails moved and the color shifted. He was enchanting to the human. Damian sighs as he combs his hair nervously. "Damn...He really is the one. It would explain why he suddenly appeared in a random field." He thinks back to the mark he saw on Yuuya's chest. Being familiar with royal marks thanks to his noble connections. He met the queen back when his mother was still around, she would occasionally visit Her Majesty for some tea. He was invited during those events and was able to see the mark on her neck. The detailed lines captivating him just like how Yuuya's mark had done. "I didn't expect he would bear the royal mark of the kitsunes. That's impressive." Sam tilts his head in confusion. "Royal mark of the kitsunes, what do you mean?" Damian rolls his eyes and gently moves Yuuya's shirt to the side, carefully not to awaken the man while he points to the mark. "That's, a royal mark. I've seen that type before on the Queen's neck. It had a different design, but it was still similar. He bears the mark, that must mean he's royalty." Sam gasps in thought, never realizing how significant that tattoo was. "Dear Goddess...This is huge!" Damian nods and leans forward to whisper more quietly, "We have got to protect him, no matter what. He is the only that can stop the dragons. He's so dumb and will fall for every scam. How much does he know? I suspect he's been dead for a while, so his knowledge might be outdated." Sam answers, "Not much, he didn't know the race's grudges. I had to explain everything to him. Money, monster cores, the kingdom, everything! He still doesn't understand all of it yet..." Damian nods, staring back down at the sleeping beast-man, warmth filling his chest at the peaceful look on Yuuya's face. "Then I guess we'll have to teach him. But until then, we got to protect him from all the bad humans out there. Just because we accept him, doesn't mean the world will. Even though he looks like a beast-man, he isn't one at all. None of them can wield more than one magic type much less a a light or dark magic type. We have got to keep this on the down low." He raises his hand to Sam, stating, "Okay?" Sam doesn't hesitate and shakes his hand once, "Deal." The men turn to look down when they hear a groan. They stare in worry, believing they have disturbed their friend. Yuuya simply rolls on his side, still fast asleep. They stare with blushes decorating their cheeks. They share a look again, slightly glaring at each other, thinking, "I better make sure he keeps his hands off of Yuuya!" With that last thought, the humans lie down and close their eyes, joining their friend into the land of unconsciousness, their promise filling inside their minds.