I stared in awe at the bright sun that shone down on us as we reached the edge of the forest. Not going to lie, I was not looking forward to the long walk to the shelter, but its not like I could do anything about it. Perhaps if I found the underground entrance as soon as we arrived in B06-32 I could cut the time down... 

"Noooo Mujika! I don't want to say goodbye!" Sure enough, all of the kids were sad about the departure. And although I didn't want to admit it either, I was feeling the hit of goodbye strongly as well. 

I watched as everyone hovered around Mujika and turned to Sonju. He was looking down at me expectantly and I gulped the rising frog in my throat down. "Well..." I began, scratching my head awkwardly. 

"Here." I heard from up above, feeling a tap on my head. I reached up and grabbed the thing that Sonju had placed there, pulling it down and inspecting it. It was a small dagger, cleanly cut and sharpened. It was much smaller than the ones that Sonju had let me use for practice. I looked up at him once again in question and he sighed. He knelt down and took my hands in his own.

"See?" He said, placing the knife in the middle of my outstretched finger. It stayed there without tipping and I gasped.

"It's a throwing knife!" I said, tossing the knife in the air and catching the handle. 

"Correct." The red-haired demon said, standing up. "I've been working on it for a few days now. It should suit the other knife you have well."  He said, gesturing for me to pull it out. "To block a much larger blade with much less resistance, you'll need to cross the blades, like so." He continued, showing me the same with his own hunting daggers he used. "I've never used this technique before- its a human technique that the old ancestors used. Those warriors were fell feared by demons and skilled in blade work." He finished the demonstration, then gesturing for me to do the same. 

I planted my right food back and raised the two daggers, crossing them at the blade. Sonju suddenly swung at me with his own dagger, clanging against my blades. I let out a small groan under the weight until he released, placing his dagger back into his belt.

"See the blade?" He asked, pointing to my daggers which were still raised above my head. I did as he said and inspected the one that blocked the blade, expecting a large chip in them, and finding none. "The small one is the hardest mineral substance we demons know how to use. It should withstand many strikes directed at it before needing to be sharpened..." He finished, now out of things to tell me. 

We stood in silence when an unexpected presence showed up beside me. "Y/N?" Mujika began. "I'd like to speak to you..." She said, looking between Sonju and I.  

"O-oh! Yeah, of course!" I answered quickly, before turning towards Sonju for my final goodbye. The demon man stood towering over me, looking scary in every way, manner, and form. But deep down inside, he must be a real softie. In this universe, at least. 

I hesitated for a moment, before wrapping my arms around the big guy. Perhaps he hadn't intended to, or perhaps he hadn't realized it himself, but we were close now. And there was nothing he could do about it. "Thanks, Sonju." In his own way, he was trying to keep me safe by teaching me how to use the daggers and how to fight. And I was forever grateful to him for that. 

Sonju stood shocked for a moment before he reached down a hesitant hand and patted my back- awkwardly at first, but then he got comfortable and nestled into the hug himself.

I backed away and quickly wiped a tear, sniffling all of my feelings back inside. "See you, Sonju." I waved before walking over to Mujika. 

"See you, kid."

-----

'What?!' 

I stared wide-eyed at Mujika as she pressed the amulet into my hands. This isn't supposed to happen! It's supposed to be Emma, not me!!

"I-" I began, but Mujika hushed me with a finger tapping to her lips. 

"It's an amulet. Hold onto it. I'm sure it will protect you." 

'No no no no, no! This isn't how it's supposed to go-!!' 

"Yeah..." I said, trying to keep my composure. 

"Please, keep Emma and the others safe." Mujika said, looking down to the amulet that now lay in my hands. "I don't know why myself I'm so compelled to leave this to you over her. But..." She looked back up to me, and I could feel her gaze through her hard mask. "Look for the seven walls." She finished, giving my hands another tight squeeze, her hands warming my own which had turned ice-cold. 

"Oi!" I heard Poppy shout and turned to her, my face still pale. 

"Hurry up or we'll leave without you." Ray spoke now, sighing. 

I took a deep breath, trying to steel my nerves. I turned once more to the two demons who had accompanied us on our journey and managed to smile.

"Bye Mujika! Bye Sonju!" I said, waving to the two demons. Emma called her goodbyes to them along with me, and Mujika called back in response;

"Let's meet again!"

Oh, you bet. 

-----

"You got pretty attached to them." I said to Mujika with a grin. "At first, you weren't that interested." I sighed, remembering Mujika's nonchalant offering of turning them in upon discovery.

"...Says you." She said unexpectedly, punching my arm as we watched them leave. An image of Y/N and the other flashed through my mind and I pushed it away quickly.

"Of course not." I said quickly, turning away from her.

"The long hours you spent working on that dagger says otherwise~" She teased. 

"Well then. I'm going to go take care of some business." I said, grabbing my spear and giving Mujika a small wave.

"Business?" The girl asked curiously.

"I'll be right back. Just wait here." I spoke as I walked past her. "...By the way, what were you and Y/N talking about?" I questioned her peculiar actions.

"Nothing really. Just the usual goodbye." Mujika answered plainly.

"...I see." I doubted she was telling the whole truth, but decided not to inquire further. "Okay then. Im going to get rid of 'The Nuisance'. 

-----

Back to Y/N's POV. (BTW incase you didn't know last area was Sonju's POV. Sorry if that was confusing.)

"Oi." A voice broke into my thoughts and I jumped, shoving the amulet I was inspecting back into my pocket. "Are you okay?" Ray asked me after slowing down to meet my pace near the back of the pack.

"Yeah." I lied, giving him a small smile.

"Hmm?" He hummed, clearly not buying it. But he avoided the subject nevertheless, thankfully.

"So, why do you ask?" I said, nudging him with my elbow.

"Everyone keeps on giving you worried glances. It's distracting." He answered quickly. I looked around to see what he meant and caught the eyes of multiple different children casting worried glances in my direction. I smiled brightly at them and gave them all a small wave. Their worried faces and tense postures seemed to relax a little as we continued walking. 

We talked for a bit before settling back into  silence, only it being a bit more comfortable this time. That is, until Ray opened his mouth to speak again.

"Does it have to do with your conversation with Mujika?" Ray asked out of nowhere, hitting the nail on the head. I looked at him, surprised, and he rolled his eyes and huffed. "If you didn't want me to know, maybe you shouldn't make it so obvious. Everyone else probably has if figured out too." He sighed, crossing his arms and looking back ahead. "You know, for a perfect scorer, you sure are thickheaded." He scoffed once again.

"Ah..." I thought, looking to the ground. "Gee, you're right, aren't you? I'm quite the idiot, aren't I! hahaha..." I grinned, the amulet in my hand digging into my palm as I squeezed it. 

Ray looked the other way and sighed. "...Only an idiot would keep their pain all to themselves. Honestly, you and Emma both." He said suddenly, his voice softening unexpectedly. 

I blinked in confusion before deciding to ignore how sensitive his previous statement was. "Says you!" I shouted in response to earlier, elbowing him in the side. 

"Ouch!" He yelled, grabbing the spot I hit him. "Was that really necessary?!" He yelled, turning to me.

I threw my head back and laughed before leaning into him and pointing my finger into his face. "That's what you get for calling me an idiot!" I declared, my mind now off of the amulet buried deep into my pocket. 

"I called you an idiot because its true!" He yelled back, beginning a series of arguments that followed.

"...they get along well..." We continued our fighting, unaware of the statement thought in unison by everyone around us.