Chapter 21: So Long as There is Fish

Eigis got up and sat down near the fire, but not too close at a warning movement from Hiryu. The demon sighed, resting his face in his hands, looking absolutely dejected. His orange ears drooped. After a minute or so he turned his head towards Hiryu.

“She’s not going to give up, is she?”

The young warrior looked surprised at being asked a decent question, and then sadly shook his head. “No. I’m afraid you’re doomed.”

The demon was curious at the melancholy in his tone. “What is troubling you?” he asked. “You’re not the one in chains, treated like a beast.”

“True,” Hiryu agreed, tossing another log onto the fire with his good hand. He sat down to the left of Eigis, but still well out of reach. “But the thought of you nearby while I sleep, even safely tied up, is not exactly comforting.” His voice took on a hard note of warning. “Also, she will muzzle you and make it impossible to escape or attack us while we sleep. Bells likes you, but she’s not stupid. She knows you’re a demon, and dangerous.” He rubbed his left arm and the scar on the middle of his chest absently. Remembered how close he’d come to having his rib cage yanked out of his chest. Yes, he’d had nightmares in plenty for weeks.

A crafty smile curved Eigis’s mouth.

“So, you’re afraid of me, hm? That’s something, I suppose.”

Hiryu frowned, jutting out his chin. “No, not afraid. You make me feel sick, remembering how you tortured me, how much you enjoyed – eating me. But I am not afraid of you.” He patted the hilt of his katana, now resting against his shoulder. “Not when I can slice you in twenty different ways in as many seconds. Even one-handed.”

Eigis’s eyes narrowed, and he bared his teeth, but he did not argue the point. The still healing wound on his chest attested to the young warrior’s skill. It took more than a sharp blade to hurt a demon. Instead he laid down, curling up facing the fire.

“I have a feeling that I am going to despise my life from now on. Very much the same as you were, when we were discussing how long I wanted to keep you alive.” He sighed regretfully. “Surrounded by tasty humans, unable to have a single bite.”

To his surprise Hiryu made a noise of equal bitterness.

“I’m going to hate my life as well too, probably.”

They exchanged a dejected look.

Hiryu couldn’t remain down for long however. Soon he perked up.

“But hey, Bells could be right. Maybe you actually will enjoy fish more than people.”

As it turned out, his guess was correct. Eigis found fish to be possibly the most marvelous food in the world. Breaded and fried over the fire, the sent made his mouth water, and when he finally bit into a piece, he found the juicy white inside filled with bones, which made a delicious crunch with the crispy golden outside. Even more tasty than fingers.

Still, even with the delicious fish, he couldn’t help but wonder, as they finished eating and continued on towards Bells and Hiryu’s home, if he could survive on eating human food instead of humans themselves. Or even if he really wanted to.