A Cheap, OP Brawler

"Uweeeeeeeh~! Jin-chan, I"m shorryyyy~!"

"Huh?"

It was bright in daylight at the park where Hyo-chan and I always played with a couple of other kids from primary school. Hyo-chan was in a bright yellow sundress as she bawled her eyes out while apologizing to me. She sat in fetal position while hugging her knees as she did so, her long, straight black hair fell to the middle of her back. I scratched my head in confusion and the itch bothering me, only to find the latter was caused by the bandages wrapped around it. I wondered how much longer I needed to wait until it was okay to take them off, but that was the least of my worries then.

"Why are you crying, Hyo-chan?" I asked, confused and concerned.

"I ruined your chance to play the "hero" and they won"t let you ever do it now!" she cried after sniffling. "Just because I said you"d be a better hero than "***"-kun ever would! It"s not fair that you always played the "demon" when you wanted to play the hero at least once, you know?! Just when we came out of the hospital and I actually wanted to play the princess to be saved, too~!"

Ah, right. Hyo-chan and I played "Save the Princess from the Demon" game with some cla.s.smates from time to time, but looking back, that might"ve been some form of bullying. Of course, I always played the "demon," the boys who were with us would switch being the "hero," and the girls, the "princess." The others who were there would act as supporters of the hero"s party. Hyo-chan didn"t want to play the princess as the other girls did, but when pushed into it, she made the "game" not as fun as when she played one of the supporters, even though she didn"t really play the "supporter" very well back then, either.

It was around this time that I brought up the question, "Why am I always playing the demon?" and somehow that spiraled into some kind of heated argument. Truthfully, back then, I wouldn"t mind even playing some kind of support role on the side of "good" for a change.

I might"ve wanted to play the "hero" at one point, but something happened around that time the role didn"t really appeal to me as much anymore. A lot of things around me seemed different to me then. I didn"t even know those kids Hyo-chan and I were playing with all that time, not now, not even way back then. Was I always that oblivious and ignorant of their names? Did I really not care for them that much?

Could it be that whatever led me to that hospital had changed my way of thinking at such a young age?

"I hate this game!" Hyo-chan cried. "I don"t want to play with them anymore if they don"t let Jin-chan be the hero, but I don"t think they ever will and it"s all my fault~! I"m sorry, Jin-chan, please don"t hate me~!"

Hyo-chan and I did a lot together for as long as I could remember, definitely more so with just the two of us than with the other kids, so it"d make sense for her to feel so strongly about this. I didn"t really care what we were doing as long as we had fun, that was the thought I had up to that point. Even playing "house," a game usually fitting between girls, was quite fun for how things went between the two of us.

And yes, we played "doctor" and had baths together, too. We were close enough at a young age that I wouldn"t be surprised if she suddenly became a sister of mine one day.

I didn"t blame Hyo-chan for what happened here. It wasn"t like I want the two of us to stop playing together over something as silly as that. I only just brought up a question that didn"t occur to me until then. h.e.l.l, I didn"t even care for the other kids much, hence why I couldn"t register the name to the boy Hyo-chan mentioned, I just cared about playing with her since she always jumped at the chance to do something with me first thing out of everyone else. I was always so happy to see at least one person around my age wanting to play with me so much when Mom or my aunts either weren"t around or had the energy to do so. I cherished her as a friend and playmate, so even if it was something mellow like "house" or "doctor," I would go along with it and then find how fun it turned out to be once I got into it.

{How do I make Hyo-chan feel better?} That was the thought I had then until something came to me.

{"You have the right to live your life any way you want to. Decide for yourself what"s best for you, what and who is worth protecting, and don"t let any of those b.a.s.t.a.r.ds get away from doing anything to what matters to you most."}

There it was again, the voice from that "old man." I remembered that ringing through my head for some reason, but I didn"t know where it came from.

I didn"t know, but it sounded so awesome that it motivated me to do something, something completely unexpected that no one would see coming and stop Hyo-chan"s crying.

Something so cool and crazy that not even those lame "heroes" would be mad enough to pull off.

"Kh kh kh, ge he he he, ga ha ha ha … FWAAAAHAHAHAHA~!" I suddenly cackled to the sky in the most deranged, evil laughter I could recreate from the anime shows I watched.

My outburst started paying off as Hyo-chan stopped crying and looked at me confused.

"So, they don"t pa.s.s me off as a "hero," do they? An expected response, for my great powers as a demon only sends fear down to their very bones. This only proves how much time I"d be wasting with those goody-two-shoes," I said while looking as cool as possible, a conniving grin spread across my face.

"J-Jin … chan?"

"Fighting for what"s right? For justice? For the "good of the people?" If those "heroes" even knew what was good for them, they"d do something to permanently stop the villains from terrorizing citizens, again, and again, and again, every time they come back. Their ways of handling villains only show just how spineless these "heroes" really are. It"s just not how demons like me roll.

"To keep what"s precious to us close, to use any means necessary to take back what"s rightfully ours, those are the only things we demons need to know while dealing with enemies, and so …"

"Uwah?!"

I suddenly pull Hyo-chan off the ground before wrapping an arm over her shoulders and another around her waist with a confident smile from behind.

"Prepare yourself, princess, because I"ve just decided to claim you as my precious hostage! I won"t leave you out of my sight and be taken away by those dumb heroes so easily! If they do, then I"ll use my dark powers to take you back, no matter how many times it takes, because keeping what"s precious and rightfully ours close to us by any means necessary is what we demons do, and no amount of "good and justice" will ever change that! FWAAAAHAHAHA~!"

"But, Jin-chan, you"re only by yourself when you fight those heroes, and when there are many of them against you, it won"t be so easy to win, you know?"

"Then, I"ll just have to get stronger! If my powers are already to be feared now, just wait until I get even better in strength! Punches that make things go flying with one hit! To lift giants off the ground with my bare hands! To summon the hottest fires from h.e.l.l with my great magic! I"ll become so strong that nothing will stand against me! Ah, but it will be difficult to get stronger on my own, of course."

I pulled myself away and paced around to think. "Right, I"ll have to do some research. I heard some people have made "contracts" and pledges to some G.o.ds through rituals to get great powers beyond imagining. I just have to find them and the great powers to keep the princess to myself will all be mine!"

"In that case, let me help you!"

I jolted with widened eyes to Hyo-chan who said that.

"I don"t like those guys anymore, I"m tired of being saved by the wrong person, I"m tired of being pulled away from you, demon or not, and I"m so sick of not being able to do anything to defend myself! I"ve devoted myself to the ways of the sword before I even met you, I should be the one fending them off from bothering us! I want to be strong as you, Jin-chan, and if I have to become a demon to do so, then I will! I want to be with you forever!"

"Hyo-chan …" I was so touched I almost slipped out of character, so I shook it off. "So, you wish to join me and become a demon, is it? To become strong enough to defend yourself and me from anyone bothering us? You know that will include the "heroes" as well, do you? You may be branded as a villain just for even a.s.sociating with me. Do you still want to be with me even after knowing all of that?"

"Yes! Even if the entire world is against me, I"ll never be afraid and sad as long as I have Jin-chan, so please, let me get stronger with you!" Hyo-chan then bowed deeply, like a potential disciple begging a master to be their teacher.

"Ha ha ha~! I like your spirit, just what I needed for an accomplice!"

"Accomplice?"

"If I"m going to be the "villain" to those "heroes," then those who follow me will become my accomplices. They"ll probably still see you as their princess that needs to be saved, though, hmm … maybe we can put that to our advantage. Yes, yes, I like it! Oh, how terrifying my genius of intellect can be!"

I then point a finger to her. "A princess devoted to the way of the sword, we will use your talent to be realized in the worst way possible for them as you willingly come to this side as my right hand and we do whatever we please! From this day forth, you shall be the Demon Sword Princess, Hyoko!"

"Demon Sword Princess …" she trails off before giggling, which then grows into laughter for some reason, but that"s what I was hoping for from the start.

{Ah, there"s that laugh. Hyo-chan always looks so nice when she laughs and smiles like this.} That thought crossed my mind.

Hyo-chan calmed down after a bit and wiped a few stray tears. "You really are amazing, Jin-chan. Everyone"s so wrong about you."

"Huh?" That comment took me off guard. I didn"t really pay attention to other people, which made sense that I didn"t think about how they thought of me up to then.

Hyo-chan walked past me with hands behind her back as she looked up at the sky. "People usually put scary things together with "evil" and "villains." I don"t know why they do when they don"t even know who or what it is they are looking at, especially if they haven"t done anything yet. There may be demons that really are "bad," but I think there can also be good demons out there, too, because …"

Hyo-chan then spun on her heel toward me with a bright smile on her face. "Jin-chan is a "good demon," after all!" [TN: The characters in Jinma"s name, "Jin" (仁) can be translated as "benevolence" or "good," and "ma" (魔) by itself can mean "devil," but putting it in "Ak.u.ma" (悪魔) can translate to "demon."]

My cheeks flared enough that I had to scratch one side from an itch while averting my gaze. "Um … thanks, but that pun wasn"t very well thought out."

"Who said I was making that a joke?!"

It was when my eyes were averted that something caught my sight. It seemed to notice my attention and hid out of instinct.

"You there! In the bushes! Show yourself!" I exclaimed.

A few moments later, as if by command, the bushes rustled before a figure dutifully stepped out of it. The first thing that drew my attention was the blonde locks of hair tied in a ponytail that shined under the sun as the girl in a t-shirt and shorts approached us.

"Ah! I recognize her! She goes to our school, but I think she"s in another cla.s.s from us. I"ve seen her watch us play that game from time to time, though," Hyo-chan says.

"She was?" I never really noticed her until then.

"I don"t know her name, but if I remember correctly … I heard her mother is from a country in Europe. That"s probably why her hair"s so different from us. It looks so pretty, too."

"Ohh." Somehow, I looked at Hyo-chan"s black hair after she said that.

"I think I heard something happened to her parents and so she"s been closing herself off from everyone more than usual. I don"t know how long ago that was before we got admitted to the hospital, though … what are you looking at?"

"Huh? Oh, I was just thinking how your hair also looks pretty, Hyo-chan."

She widened her eyes and turned away before fiddling with her hair. I made out her ears turning bright red.

Okay, I know I was too oblivious then to even know what she was thinking after I said something so bold but come on, I was a kid, all right? Cut me some slack.

It took us a moment to realize the blonde-haired girl already got close enough to us. All she did was stare at us with her hands behind her back, standing straight at attention. Her face was rather unreadable and hard to make out what she was feeling. For some reason, an image of a police officer or a soldier came to mind when I looked at her. She seemed to be staring my way most of the time, though.

"Um …" Hyo-chan attempted to break the silence that was starting to get awkward. "You go to the same school as us, right? I don"t think we"ve ever met being in different cla.s.ses. I"m Hyoko Ishima, and this is Jinma Kotori."

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"…" The blonde girl stayed silent; her expression unchanging.

Hyo-chan and I exchanged a glance for a bit. "Uh … would you tell us your name, please? Something we can call you, at least?" I then asked.

She looked around the park as if the check on something before turning back to us and took a deep breath. "… My name is Komiwa Karuga." she introduced before quickly bowing. "Hyoko-chan, it"s good to see you again and doing well. Kotori-sama, it"s a pleasure to finally meet you properly. I"ll leave how I can be addressed to you."

And that was the last I could recall of that memory in my dream before I woke up this morning.