The Demon Queen

Ume's Awakening

I had to admit, the speed and precision with which Gyutaro jumped over me was impressive. It was almost as if he was some kind of praying mantis in human form.

"Ume! Ume! Can you see me? Can you hear me?"

Right. I can't think about that right now. There's work to do, I thought and turned to face Gyutaro and Ume.

"Where are we, Onii-chan?" Ume asked him. She then started to cough.

"Don't talk! Don't talk!" Gyutaro exclaimed in a panic and held his sister against his body as she continued to cough. He snapped his head towards me to look at me with bulging, hysterical eyes. "Sakura-sama, help her!"

I calmly cupped my hand over his mouth. "Stop screaming," I said. "You're not helping any of us by screaming." I glanced at Ume, who hadn't stopped coughing.

Damn it. Gyutaro's going to lose it if I can't fix this.

Suddenly, I thought of something.

Douma used his Blood Demon Art and ice to heal my scars some, I thought. So, if he can use his power to kill or heal, then why can't I?

I nodded to myself.

If I can use my Blood Demon Art to poison people, causing their skin to rot, then I should be able to somehow remove poison from the body as well. Ume's lungs are filled with toxins from ash and smoke from the fire she was in. That's why she's coughing.

I looked to Gyutaro, who was fighting against my hold over his mouth, trying to continue to speak in what was sounding like a mish-mash of panicked mumbles.

If I fail and rot Ume's skin, this kid is going to seriously go berserk, I thought. But then, well, I'll just have to kill him. I turned back to Ume. It's not my preferred solution, but if that's how it turns out to be, that's how it is.

"Gyutaro. Shut your mouth for five minutes and let me help your sister," I said.

To my surprise, he immediately quieted.

The kid seems to trust me, I thought.

I removed my hand from Gyutaro's mouth. He remained still and silent, except for his panting breaths. I then turned Ume's body in Gyutaro's hold so that she was facing towards me.

Don't think of anything, I told myself as I rubbed my hands together, preparing to use my Blood Demon Art. I closed my eyes for a moment. Just do it. You aren't losing anything if you mess up. These kids will die, but nothing will happen to you. So try. Think nothing of it. Like Douma does.

I put my palms to hover over Ume's nose and mouth. Concentrating, I allowed the purple-coloured misty light to weakly emit from my palms. Instead of pressing my hands to Ume's skin, I started to slowly pull my hands away from her. I focused into my power the concept of dragging out the toxins like a magnet.

It feels like I've got something! I thought. It's like dust particles are sticking to my energy!

I distanced my hands further from Ume's face.

Just like this. A little further ...

All of a sudden, I noticed something. The purple light coming from my palms started to turn red, and then orange, and then yellow. The more I continued, the lighter and brighter the yellow light became, until it was almost white.

And then suddenly, Ume stopped coughing in an instant.

"Ume!"

To not abruptly cut off whatever power healed her, I slowly let the light dissipate and sink away into my palms. Although Gyutaro called out to his sister, he didn't make any movements until I looked to him and signalled with a nod that I was finished.

Ume's eyes, which were closed during her coughing fit, opened and looked up at her brother. She smiled a little with her lips.

"Are you all right?" Gyutaro asked anxiously. He took fast, heavy breaths, almost as if afraid of her answer.

"It was like the sun was shining on me, Onii-chan," Ume replied.

The sun? I asked myself curiously.

A relieved grin spread over Gyutaro's face. "I'm so glad! I'm so glad!" He hugged his sister tightly in his arms. "I thought I was gonna lose you!" He started to sob a little.

A whimpering wail came from Ume as she held on to her brother. "Onii-chan! I was so scared! They tied me up and -- and they --" She started to whimper and cry.

"Don't talk about this now," Gyutaro said. "You're safe and I'll never leave you alone again. I promise."

I feel I shouldn't be watching this right now.

"I forgive you! I forgive you, Onii-chan! I know you've done the best you could!"

Sniffling, Gyutaro looked up at me. "Sakura-sama, thank you. I owe you. I -- I'm indebted to you."

I smiled. "I'm glad she's better now."

I'm certainly not telling the kid that I didn't know if it would work or not.

"What you did was amazing, y'know," Gyutaro said. "The light from your hands was like the sun."

This again? I thought. How is that possible?

"And the scars on your face, too."

"What?"

"They were shining with the same kind of light you used to heal Ume," Gyutaro said. He then chuckled a little. "Can you teach me how to do that? To make my birthmarks glow like the sun? When you make us demons, you can teach me, can't you?"

Ume pulled herself out of her brother's hold and sat next to him. "Onii-chan," she said in somewhat bossy tone. "What do you mean, make us demons?"

She changes her attitude so quickly? And to think she was near death just a couple minutes ago.

"We'll become demons and everything will be better for us," Gyutaro replied.

"Onii-chan, what are you talking about?" Ume continued in the same tone of voice.

"Hey, Gyutaro," I cut in before either of them could say anything more. "I'll get Akaza to bring more food and tea for you two. Food. Tea. Clothes. Blankets. In the room we were in before." I looked to the bathtub and then back to Gyutaro and Ume. "Get cleaned up first. I'll leave you in private," I added, and then left to fetch Akaza.