Chapter 287 – Interlude 4 – Kaori, The Actress, Part 4

The rest of the day felt like it passed somewhat uneventfully. Hours went by in a flash, as Kaori started to feel like she was getting tired. Although everyone in the carriage had tried making conversation for a long time, eventually, everyone settled into a comfortable silence, as it seemed like the tiredness Kaori was experiencing was shared by the others. 

It was as the sun was beginning to descend past the horizon that the carriage finally stopped. 

As it did, Kaori, who had been about to fall asleep on Yumi’s shoulder, opened her eyes and looked around. 

“Huh?” She asked. “Is anything happening?” 

“We’re making camp for the night,” Yumi informed her. 

Ahead, the guards were exiting the vehicle. The two Saviors had already done so, and soon, all of the actresses were the only ones left. 

“Thank the gods, I need to stretch my legs,” Vermia stated as she stood up and quickly stepped outside.

“Wait up,” Yumi called out. “I’ll join you,” she told the other woman as she followed after her, and Sinneah took that chance to speak to Kaori. 

“By the way, are you alright?” 

“Hm? Why do you ask?” 

“I saw you alone with that Savior,” Sinneah said, and those firm eyes of hers were looking back at Kaori with a hint of concern. “She didn’t threaten you or anything, did she?” 

“No, no,” Kaori shook her head quickly. “We just… talked.” 

Even though she was the one saying it, even though she had lived it, she knew it was a little hard to believe. Saviors were, after all, this higher tier of existence in the world. Why would one of them choose to waste time speaking with her? 

Still, it had happened. 

“Wow,” Sinneah replied. “So, is she cool, or what?” 

At that, Kaori looked away for a second. 

“Yeah… I guess I’d say so,” she shrugged. “From what I could tell, at least.” 

“Awesome,” Sinneah replied. “So, when are you gonna hit on her?” 

“… What?” Kaori blinked. “Uh, never.” 

She was so caught off-guard that her answer sounded like a question. Sinneah smirked a little. 

“Really?”

“Why are you so surprised?” 

“It’s not every day you get the chance to fuck in the middle of a forest. You’re not gonna take advantage of it?” 

“Sin,” Kaori chuckled, “just cause she didn’t curse me out or whatever doesn’t mean she likes me.” 

“Bullshit. Everyone likes you.” 

Rolling her eyes, Kaori stood up. 

“Nah, you’re just projecting,” Kaori replied. 

“Really?” Sinneah asked, amused. “How are you so sure?”

“Mm. Considering the amount of times you’ve stuck your tongue down my throat in the middle of a kiss scene? Yeah, I’m fairly certain.” 

“I just give audiences what they want to see. The fact that I’m making out with one of the hottest women I’ve ever met while I do it is just a bonus.” 

On that note, as Kaori grinned a little, both of them got off of the vehicle. 

The Saviors, and the guards, built up a decent camp for the night, making a small fire near the carriage that everyone gathered around. Vermia was laid down, asleep, behind everyone. Near her, Sinneah was resting with her back pressed against a tree, looking up at the stars.

Yumi and Kaori were at the front, by the fire, dancing together as the guards sang something, clapping their hands in a rhythm. 

“Till the dawn comes, till the sunrise, make the morn’ long, make the gums dry!” 

Everyone watched on with some joyous smiles as Kaori held Yumi’s hands and spun her around a couple of times. In the middle of it though, she spotted the Saviors, and her steps were briefly interrupted. They were sitting next to each other, with some serious expressions on their faces. Kaori was a little far, but from what she saw, it almost looked like Ash was being scolded. 

Hm. Are they alright?  Kaori wondered for a while, before, soon, an idea came to her mind. 

Before she ever considered whether it was a good idea or not, Kaori jogged over to where the two of them were, as Yumi continued dancing on her own, and she moved up in front of Ash. Both of them paused, looking up at her. Ash tilted her head, as Kaori extended a hand toward her. 

“…” Ash looked down at her hand, then up at Kaori, and then back down at her hand. “What?”

“Let’s dance!” She proposed, and Ash looked at her as though she’d actually just grown a second head. 

“… What?” Ash asked again, and Kasumi chuckled a little. 

“Hey,” Kasumi put a hand on Ash’s shoulder. “Go ahead.” 

“Huh? But, the-” 

“We can keep talking later,” Kasumi waved her off. “Enjoy yourself.” 

“…” Ash looked like she was trying to think of something to say, but couldn’t. 

“Come on! It’ll be fun!” Kaori promised, before reaching down and trying to pull the girl up to her feet. She failed miserably, but Ash stood up on her own, as she looked down at Kaori, completely baffled. 

Kaori then tried to pull her closer to the campfire, without getting so close to where the guard’s eyes would move to them, but close enough to where they could hear them singing in the background. She then took the Savior’s hands and tried to move in some simple patterns, mostly just swinging her hips from side to side. All the while, Ash seemed stunned. It made Kaori giggle a little, as she kept going. 

“Not much of a dancer?” Kaori asked her, in the middle of it all. 

“… No.” 

“Well, it’s never too late to learn,” Kaori pitched. “Do you wanna~?” 

“…” Going back to nothing but silence, Ash blinked as Kaori pretty much began moving around her, singing along in a low volume. Getting a little closer to the half-demon, Kaori nearly stopped when she looked into the other woman’s eyes and saw a confusion so pure that she wondered if Ash had ever even danced before. 

Before long, she stopped and giggled a little. 

“Okay, okay, you win,” Kaori said. “Sorry for springing this onto you like that. It just seemed, uh, seemed like you weren’t having much fun. Are you alright?” 

As she heard that, the surprise slowly faded from Ash’s face. The confusion, however, remained. 

“Yeah, we were going over some training stuff. I…” Ash narrowed her eyes a little. “Why do you care?” 

“… Uh, what?” Kaori tilted her head. “I dunno, you looked a little weird. Wanted to see if I could help.” 

“Okay, but why?” 

That almost made Kaori’s confusion rival the Savior’s. 

“Because I could?” She shrugged. “I mean, do I need any more reason than that?” 

When she heard that, Ash looked away. 

“Guess not.” 

Once the singing died down, and everyone began to fully settle into a sort of resting mode, the only sound in the air was that of the fire crackling away. Everyone was sectioned off into their own little subgroups. Kaori and her troupe were all inside the carriage so that, in the case of a sudden attack, they could hide there. The guards were farthest from the carriage. And, finally, beside the girls, the Saviors were sitting by the fire. 

Kaori was sitting on the right-hand side, but, for some reason, she just couldn’t sleep yet. That tiredness she’d been feeling before had pretty much faded. So, she sat up, turning to look around at everyone, to see if anyone else shared her sentiment. 

Sinneah was on her own, at the back of the carriage, fully asleep. Vermia and Yumi were laid down next to each other, as though they’d gone to sleep in the middle of a conversation. 

Hm. Guess not.  Kaori thought, as she stood up and quickly hopped out of the carriage. 

By the fire, the two Saviors were speaking to each other. Ash glanced over at the blonde but quickly went back to her talk. As for the guards, some had fallen asleep but the rest were still up, looking out toward the trees as if checking to make sure everything was alright. Kaori noted all of this and moved by the back of the carriage, stretching her arms and staring out into the road. 

I’ll just stay out here until I feel a little more tired, I guess. 

Thus, keeping her eyes out on the bridge, she did just that. 

For a while, her mind was blank, but soon some thoughts here and there began to circle in her brain. She wondered what performing in Pearl would be like. What the stage would be like, as she hadn’t seen it before. She wondered if she’d get to meet any other artists or actors like her. For now, though, all she could do was look forward to it. 

After a few minutes out here though, she noticed something. 

… Hm? 

Above, the sky was subtly changing colors. A shade of violet seemed like it was beginning to cover it. 

Does that happen a lot in this region?  She asked herself, putting her hands on her hips. 

Then, she saw something in the distance, above. 

Wait, that’s not a bird… That’s a woman?  She asked herself, as she saw what looked like a woman with wings. Then, another one popped up, and soon, she was walking over to where the Saviors were. 

“… can’t handle it,” Kasumi was telling Ash as she arrived. “As soon as we’re done with this, you’ll see her again.” 

“I know, but…” Ash replied before she paused, looking up at Kaori. “Is something wrong?” 

“Yeah, uh, are those things normal?” She asked, pointing toward the winged women. 

As soon as Ash and Kasumi saw them, their eyes all but bulged out of their sockets, and quickly, they stood up. 

“Hide,” Kasumi quickly told Kaori. 

“W-What?” 

“Hide! Go!” She yelled, pointing at the carriage. “Guards!” She alerted them. 

“What’s going on?” Kaori asked. 

And, Ash answered. 

“Demons.”