Yuki took a step forward, intent on not letting the dark warrior get away-
"Wait!" the succubus cried out, grabbing her arm before she ran head-first into the fog. "What are you doing!? Don't run into danger so easily! We have to stick together!"
Yellow eyes snapped to the young-looking girl, stormy as they regarded an unusually calm set of purple pupils.
The growing unease that stayed with her slowly lessened, the tension finally leaving her frame, around the same time as the fog finally began to give way.
Yuki didn't say anything as she took the chance to glance where their enemy once landed, it was gone, with the marks it left behind the only proof of it's existence.
"...Sorry." she eventually spoke out, eyes aimed at the floor in shame.
She lost her cool in the middle of a battle, it was shameful how she almost got herself killed, possibly twice.
Maria locked eyes with her, visibly uneasy at the young human's behavior. "...What was that?"
The hero shifted uncomfortably, internally unwilling to divulge why she acted the way she did. If there was anyone she would tell it would be...
She shook her head, she was contemplating on divulging some personal baggage to a friend while he was busy trying to protect a child? How selfish...
But still...that sword...and the stance that the warrior utilized while fighting them...
...Hero...
"...Don't want to talk, huh?" the succubus noted, tilting her head in interest.
Yellow eyes strayed away from her companion's form, feeling a slight pang of guilt.
"Ok, that's fine."
Yuki blinked.
"...Really?"
Maria nodded, cheerful again. "Of course! We all have our secrets to hold. Myself excluded! So I guess...I can't really complain about the stuff that you hold close to your chest, right?"
Yuki simply nodded slowly in agreement, feeling the unease within finally disappear.
With that, the silverette looked up to the sky, frowning.
"...It'a dark now. Maybe we should cover a little more ground, then find some nice grass to sleep on, hm?"
The hero nodded. "You're right. We shouldn't move too much in the dark...hard to see. Best just to rest for the night. I'm sure that Naruto has done the same as well."
With that agreement at hand, the unlikely duo continued on their trek towards Kyoto. Intent on completing their objective first thing tomorrow morning.
"...He's late."
"Patience." Cao Cao recommended, casually leaning back on his seat. "He's strong, he'll be back. Probably just encountered more trouble than anticipated."
Siegfried shot his leader a sour look. "Cao Cao...we don't know anything about the abilities that Uzumaki's allies wield, for all we know...your...'servant' could be dead. Then we'd just be wasting time-!"
A mist suddenly began to form around the group, an event that shut the silver-haired hero's mouth quickly.
The Hero Faction leader merely smirked, he had no doubts.
As expected, the dark figure that served Cao Cao emerged from the fog. Kneeling down immediately once it saw it's master.
Georg also emerged from the fog, scrambling away from the warrior, it gave him the creeps...!
"As you expected master, Uzumaki Naruto's companions are weaker than him. They can be crushed at will if necessary." the unknown warrior rumbled, head still bowed.
Cao Cao nodded, pleased. "Excellent. But can you pinpoint who they are? Devils? Humans?"
The masked warrior reared it's red visor up. "One of them is a devil, her devil wings were out when she charged me. The other was...a human...a fake hero."
The young leader's eyes narrowed slightly. "A...fake hero? Of the Hero Tribe? Are you sure?"
"...She recognized my blade."
Cao Cao leaned back into his seat, contemplating this knowledge. Not many 'heroes' knew of that blade...
"Well...it seems we have an interesting situation, don't we? It doesn't really change anything anyways. They must have split off from Uzumaki for a good reason, so it's best to keep an eye on them for now. We will focus our efforts on Uzumaki for now." the young hero leader stated assuredly, before turning to address the young man by his side.
The other young man.
"...Apologies Cao Cao, I can't seem to locate Uzumaki. There seems to be a lot of yokai roaming the area...it seems that their presence is disrupting my ability to pinpoint our friend's exact location." the young man apologized softly.
This young man was an average-built male with long brown hair that was tied with red ribbons on the left side of his face. All of this while his eyes were closed into slits.
The hero leader cursed. "Damn. If I was well prepared for his intervention then I would have had you on my staff from the beginning. But it seems that he's keeping low now. Sorry for the short notice."
The mysterious man just shrugged, not exactly upset. "It's boring when I'm at the Hero Tribe, this is more exciting. You won't hear any complaints from me about last-second deployments. That being said however...until Uzumaki flares his energy signal again...I won't be able to pinpoint him."
"I see...how much longer can you stay with us undetected then?" Cao Cao inquired quickly.
"...The Great Hero has his hands full with the rise of the Old Maou Faction, as well as the rising tide of rebellion in the Hero Tribe ranks. He won't notice my absence for another day at least. I'll have to return to my duties by then." the young man explained, a relatively tired smile appearing on his face.
The young leader leaned back into his chair again, shrugging. "A shame then, I suppose you have to return to your duties as well, hm? Well...destabilizing such an ancient organization like the Hero Tribe must be hard work, so I don't particularly blame you. How is your mission progressing going by the way?"
The young hero opened an eye to reveal a crafty red eye with a pupil shaped like a slit, smiling enigmatically. "As well as you imagine I suppose. Dissatisfaction is spreading, and the threat of rebellion is keeping Toujou from paying too much attention to your operations. Not only that, but his fear of losing the last family member he has left is crippling him as well. By this point...it's simply a matter of time before you can destroy him."
Cao Cao couldn't help but smirk at that, soon...very soon...
Then he frowned, eyes focusing back on his spy. "Speaking of which...how is the...other splinter group?"
The young rebel hero's face darkened slightly. "Unfortunately...I have no idea. The Hero Tribe has lost all contact with that man, and I haven't been able to pinpoint his location either. He's completely disappeared off of the face of the Earth."
"...How troubling. If it's that man...then he could cause us a lot of trouble down the road." Cao Cao asserted darkly, scrunching his eyesbrows in minor frustration.
"Um...who are you talking about, Cao Cao?" Siegfried asked uncertainly, knocking his the Hero Faction's leader out of his musings.
The young leader merely smiled in response. "Ah, apologies Siegfried. We were talking about...an old friend. You see, I wasn't the only one who left the Hero Tribe. Actually...I wasn't even the first."
The silver-haired man's eyes widened in surprise. "Y-You weren't? Then who-?"
"A village elder." Cao Cao interrupted smoothly, eyes glazing over as he delved into the memories of his youth. "Unlike my...rather violent exit, he left without warning and abandoned the Hero Tribe while I was still a mere child. I don't remember much about it...but I do remember that he was a brilliant man, perhaps too brilliant."
The young hero eventually shrugged. "They say that he went insane one day, out of the blue. Speaking about dreams he had of humans with incredible powers that surpassed what we as heroes were capable of. Apparently those dreams drove him to leave the Hero Tribe and create a new type of 'hero'. He was never heard of since."
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