Akira had given her a few days off. "It's been a crazy couple days for you," she said. "You could use some time to get your head in order, yeah? Turn all those screws and plug yourself back together the right way. You must have some stuff to think on too. Call me anytime, but otherwise, I'll leave it to ya, Erina!"

  Even so, Erina couldn't exactly sit at her window and ruminate on philosophy from sunrise till sunset. As it happened, human bodies needed sustenance.

  Part of her still couldn't accept it. She was a mage that walked the boundary of reality and unreality. Had she really encountered the dreaded Great Witch and returned to tell the tale? And here she was, pushing a shopping cart around in the grocery store like anyone else going about their day. Now that she thought about it, Akira must do the same, right? Even people as lofty as the Three Equalizers.

  Erina bagged her vegetables and added them to the cart. No matter who they are, everyone shopped for food and had to go somewhere to lie down in a bed and sleep. Something about that thought was oddly… comforting. That even the most powerful and domineering forces of nature still had these mundane worries.

  Unless they were the kind to have servants at their beck and call for every little thing, that is. But she got the feeling they weren't that sort. No, even someone as great as Asayuki had to buy her own food.

  Erina knew that because they just grabbed the same pack of salmon at the same time.

  Green eyes met blue and they both froze. The exact same thought crossed their minds.

  "You're not supposed to be here," said Asayuki.

  "That's my line," said Erina.

  Asayuki tugged on the salmon. Erina didn't let go.

  "I got here first," said Erina. Thankfully, her voice and her hand didn't shake.

  "Battlefield awareness like that gets you killed," said Asayuki. "We arrived at the same time."

  "I saw it first."

  "This is the last pack on the last day of the 50% off deal."

  "Someone in your station needs to search for deals?"

  "What does it matter how I spend my money?" Asayuki's eyes were opaque; there wasn't anything Erina could glean from behind them. "Emisane… where are you taking this? At this rate, what do you think is going to happen next?"

  Erina couldn't tell whether that was a threat or that was just how she talked. "You seem like you would believe in kiri-sute gomen."

  Asayuki raised a fascinated eyebrow at that. Erina just referred to the right of the feudal samurai to kill any lowly peasant who sullied their honor, whether that peasant embarrassed him, bumped into him, or had the indignity to trip where he was walking and dirty the hem of his robes. "You know your history," she said mildly. "And you still won't let go?"

  "It's mine," said Erina simply. With a quick glance, she added, "And you didn't bring your sword."

  "To go shopping?" Asayuki was incredulous.

  Erina tugged. "You should let go."

  Asayuki refused to budge. "This isn't about the fish, Emisane. Right now, you're challenging me. I don't lose. Not to anyone, in anything."

  "Given two six-dimensional vectors, use the Fletcher-Reeves conjugate gradient method to solve for the optimal—"

  "Not in anything that matters," amended Asayuki.

  "This matters?" said Erina.

  "I don't want to hear that from you right now."

  Both of them were still holding the pack of frozen salmon. Neither wanted to let go.

  "It seems we're at an impasse," remarked Asayuki.

  "So we are," agreed Erina.

  "On three, we both put it down. We meet outside the store on the Reverse in five minutes. To first blood. We'll settle this there."

  Erina opened her mouth, but someone else spoke before she could.

  "Pardon me, misses…"

  A polite man's voice broke the rising tension. They both turned to the employee who had noticed their little tug-of-war in the freezer aisle.

  "Is it for that salmon?" he said. "I apologize, we actually moved some of the goods around. That sign shouldn't be there—if you're looking for the rest, it's two aisles over."

  "Oh," said Erina. "I see. Thank you."

  As he left, she let Asayuki have the frozen salmon. It crinkled loudly as she put it in her shopping bag. Erina noted a few cans of cat food mixed in with the rest of the groceries.

  "You're an odd one, Emisane," said Asayuki. "Quiet, but your actions and decisions speak for you. I can't tell if you're brave or foolish. You should get a handle on that before it lands you in trouble. Or maybe it already has in the past?"

  "If you don't mind," said Erina, "I can't help but take a grain of salt with advice from someone who nearly sliced me up because she forgot to check whether I was human."

  A humored breath left the swordmaster. "That's the nature of living on the Reverse. You fight, you shed blood, and you take it in stride—with mages, that is."

  Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.

  "And youkai?"

  "Swift death to evil."

  "I see…"

  "Good day, Emisane."

  Asayuki took her leave. Erina let out a breath she didn't realize she somehow managed to keep half of in her the whole time. Somehow, a little part of her felt… disappointed.

  No, that was stupid. Asayuki's idea of "first blood" probably started with "dismemberment," she reminded herself. This was for the best. Erina put it out of her mind and refocused on her shopping list.

  Or so it was until they found each other again at checkout.

  Asayuki pointedly ignored Erina, who did the same.

  It got a little harder to do that when they left the store at the same time, took the same turn, and walked down the same road in the same direction.

  "Stop following me." Asayuki didn't bother to look at her.

  Erina didn't either. "Likewise."

  "Where are you going?"

  "I'm headed to Sushi no Momoi. I woke up feeling like eating there this morning."

  It took Asayuki a moment to speak again. She muttered under her breath, "How do you keep doing that…?"

  "Should I take it you're headed to the same place?"

  "Yes. And I'm not interested in changing my plans for someone else."

  "What a coincidence," remarked Erina. "I had the same thoughts."

  Sure enough, they ended up seated next to each other. By this point, they weren't surprised anymore. Asayuki looked as comfortable as she ever did while she ordered. For her part, Erina did her best to look calm. Even with the ambient sound of chatter all around them, the air between them felt as frigid and solid as a sheer glacier. Erina couldn't enjoy her food at all.

  "Emisane." Asayuki broke the silence as they ate. "What did you find in the lab?"

  "I should ask you the same," said Erina.

  "That's confidential. In short, it's a key component to my work."

  "Your work of hunting youkai?"

  "Of course. Protecting humanity from the beasts of the night—what could be more important?"

  "Is that the whole truth?"

  "What answer were you expecting?" Asayuki chewed on her sushi. It was subtle—barely there at all—but she picked up the disparaging hint under Erina's flat measure. "I should've expected some bias, I suppose. Your first introduction to this world was through the lens of the youkai."

  Erina frowned slightly. Asayuki went for another bite of sashimi before continuing proper.

  "What do you think youkai feed on, Emisane?"

  Was that a trick question? "They feed on… food."

  "Do you conduct all your research alone? Or was the truth hidden from you on purpose?" Asayuki held up a piece of fish with her chopsticks. "To youkai, this is a luxury. Enjoyable, but as unnecessary as sleep and any other function of a physical body. Youkai aren't physical beings. They're embodiments of concepts—immaterial things. So it follows that their source of sustenance must also be intangible."

  Asayuki ate her sushi.

  "They feed on emotion," she said. "Gods, spirits, youkai—they all rise from the fear, terror, and confusion mixed with the primordial soup of the collective unconscious. Seeking answers to the unknowable, humans offer their faith to these conceptual beings. In short, to be a youkai is to prey on humanity by definition."

  "That's too broad," said Erina. "Like saying humans exist to prey on nature."

  "Were we sprung from the minds of beasts?" said Asayuki. "Think like this, Emisane. Humans are born without purpose. That is one of the great gifts afforded to us—the freedom to choose our own path and become what we wish to be. Since ancient times, youkai were born from a purpose: to answer questions. What lurks in the dark? What beast ravaged my crops? Who is to blame for the floods and droughts befalling my village? For a living concept, changing that purpose would be like expecting you to sprout wings and fly."

  Asayuki turned to look at Erina directly.

  "Don't be fooled," she said. "The human skin they wear is just that—a skin. They couldn't be any more different from us."

  Erina didn't look away from her gaze, but she didn't have a comeback either.

  Asayuki returned her attention to her food. "A youkai requires the fear of humans to continue existing," she said. "Where, then, would a newly formed youkai go? To an organization born to leech off of humans—one that harvests their fear and their dues in equal measure."

  "You're referring to the yakuza."

  Asayuki nodded. "They're predators to the last. Emisane, do you want to stay the way you are now? The way I see it, you're a slab of meat lying in a den of wolves."

  "Akira isn't like that," said Erina quickly. "I won't speak for the rest, but I will speak for her. Better than anyone, she knows what it's like to be helpless. She wouldn't do that."

  Asayuki scoffed, but let the topic drop. "You travelled through Eden's Gate."

  Erina started. It wasn't a question.

  "Julian reported," she explained. "Darius theorizes you must have encountered her in the abyss—the Great Witch. And to return with your own identity intact proves your force of will."

  "And what if I did?" said Erina.

  "A thought just occurred to me, Emisane. Why don't you work for us?"

  "Excuse me?"

  "Exit the yakuza and enlist in the Binding Association. Under the wing of the Three Equalizers, no repercussion from them could reach you." Asayuki met her gaze. "You're smart. Creative, tactical, and quick-witted. You should be able to understand the benefits on your own."

  Erina did. Right off the bat, she would be working under the tutelage of the greatest mages alive. She'd made enough of a name for herself to expect substantial status just for joining, regardless of whatever rank she might have on paper. She knew her worth too; they would want her knowledge of the laboratory's equipment. That was leverage in her favor. With the secret of her identity known to them, she was also likely to be speaking terms with the Three Equalizers—not just as a mage, but as the Great Witch's inheritor. Although…

  "Julian tried to stop me," she noted slowly.

  "His only interest is in safeguarding humanity," said Asayuki. "The best way to ward off a threat is to neutralize it. But here we are, eating at the same table, aren't we?"

  Erina thought about it some more. "What would I be doing, then?"

  "Saving the world, as Darius would put it."

  What a helpful and illuminating job description. But that started Erina down a certain line of thought. "In other words, protecting it from youkai."

  Asayuki nodded.

  "Defeating feral youkai…" mused Erina. "But then what about formed youkai?"

  "Isn't it obvious?"

  Green eyes met icy blue. "What about Akira?" said Erina.

  "Like I said." Asayuki's voice was calm and even. "Youkai are natural-born predators of humanity. It's a fundamental part of who they are. Humans can't coexist with the ones who would devour them. We destroy them or are consumed for the rest of history."

  "I'm afraid I can't accept."

  "For her sake?" There it was—the curl of disgust slipping into Asayuki's voice.

  "She's more than that," said Erina.

  "Your hope is misplaced. She'll never be more than that." Asayuki's hand drifted halfway across her body before stopping—remembering what it reached for wasn't there. "One sword keeps another in the sheath. But the best way to keep their blade sheathed is to cut them down before they could ever draw."

  "I owe Akira the roof over my head. The first place I was given in this world. And my own life, several times over."

  "And who put that life at risk in the first place?"

  "Her. And you. And as you would continue to do were I to join you. That's what being a mage means, isn't it?"

  A faint smile crossed Asayuki's face and she ate another piece of sushi. Touché.

  "To harness the gift of magic is to consign ourselves to use it," said Erina. "For better or worse. I wielded it on someone else's behalf because I had no conviction yet. I can't speak to the path I will continue wielding it on, but right now, I certainly won't wield it for you. You, and your convictions."

  She shook her head.

  "I can't accept your offer. I'm sorry."

  Asayuki sat back. Erina's answer was final.

  "Unfortunate," said Asayuki placidly. "Then the next time we meet on the battlefield can only be as enemies."

  "So it seems," agreed Erina.

  "You don't strike me as evil. Rather, you have a strong sense of loyalty and duty. I like people with a code of honor like that, but your heart is sorely misguided." Asayuki got up. "Consider the offer. Find the righteous path, Emisane—and do it soon. A sword in motion is hard to stop. I can't guarantee your life every time we cross blades."