Chapter 300: New Ally (1/2)
So... These were the events that shaped who she was today... It was quite tragic. However, it was not the first tragic tale Moby had sat down and listened to, far from it.
Indeed, her story was interesting; it filled many holes and answered many previously unanswered questions yet brought up a few others.
On the outside, he sat there with a serious expression, carefully taking in and analyzing every part of her story, like if she and Yami were one person split by trauma or two actual people in one body, if her ability was one ability split in two or jus two abilities, one for each sister, and, if Hikari was the original, or if it was Yami? Yet, on the inside, those were only a small part of his concerns, as his brain was spinning in high gear trying to formulate an appropriate answer.
Indeed, Moby was a demon, but he felt somewhat bad for her. He was the exact person she was describing, although admittedly slightly better. He did not simply see her as a tool, but as a valuable potential ally if enough trust was built. Even still, that did not change the fact that at first and even now he mostly only cared about her because of her strength and not who she was. If she were not as strong as she was now, he might have not even batted an eye in her direction.
He was not so naive to take everything told to him at face value and was not about to let some sad backstory and tears hinder him too much.
Other than the fact that she indeed did not properly attend school like every other student, was seen by some people on the first day like he heard in the whispers at school and, many of her actions and tendencies lined up pretty much perfectly, there was no proof that what she said was true.
For all he knew, she might have just been trying to lower his guard with an elaborate and carefully planned sob story so he could sympathize with her. An easy check would have been to simply ask General Ryker, yet he was not sure when would be the next time he would ever be able to talk to him. Plus, he had still not forgiven or forgotten her contribution towards Alex's death and Abby's mental state and he was unsure if he ever will.
Nevertheless, some part of him in his demon heart sympathized with the crying girl in front of him and felt her story to be truthful. From what he saw of her, she was slightly weird, but she was not at all a bad person, only a little naive and childish, justifiably so— she seemed to genuinely care. She saved his life against that shalker then later stayed up for days looking after him when he went unconscious.
He began to think that if he turned her into a demon, would he truly see her as family and disregard the doubts and hints of contempt towards her? Would his good impressions of her be boosted and the bad be suppressed? It was part of his plan after all, a plan that he still felt like he should go through with anyways, especially considering that she was still bound by the demon contract to never share his secret with anyone.
He just hoped all would end well and that Hikari had been genuine with him the entire time.
”Hikari, even if I can't fully forgive you for what happened with my friends, I care for you too. You're so kind and did so much to help me. I know you can't really help it after what you've gone through and I can't blame you, but Don't let those negative thoughts get to you because a lot of the time it's your own paranoia speaking. Don't even compare me and Emilia and put us both in the same boat! She absolutely disgusts me!” Moby spoke with a serious yet bright smile.
Hikari in front of him sniffled lightly, a small simper appearing on her visage like light shining through cracks.
”Thanks…” She mumbled in a low voice. ”It really means a lot…”
”From your story, I see why you were acting so shy and reserved, almost scared. Emilia, the shining hope in your life and proof that humanity was not so bad after all turned out to be a complete lie, and your doubts and fears had once again resurfaced. What you're feeling is completely natural. You've clearly learned a lot from your first time going to school and you recognize going around and greeting everyone when they are around our same level wouldn't really end well.”
”Yes… That's more accurate than you think…”
”Well, that's all the more reason we should stick together and watch over each other's back. We should expect the unexpected in this new environment and be wary of anyone we meet. Luckily, we ended up in the same class. Do you think this was Ryker's doing?”
Moby's comment made her subtle smile grow larger as she chuckled through the lingering tears on her pale cherry face.
”You know what… It really might have been… Was this also part of your promise old man? Honestly, if you and I weren't in the same class, I wouldn't know what to do and might have given up early on,”
”Also, mind if I ask you something? If this is all so hard on you, why not let Yami take control for most of the time? I imagine she would have an easier time right?”
”...”
”Well, she might be too aggressive, start trouble, and make enemies early on, and, it might have ended badly considering she was not the apex predator anymore,” As soon as Hikari finished her sentence, she almost seemed to have a smirk on her face, that was when her hair turned black and her other self arrived.