The Demon Slayers Sidekick

The group continued their adventure as if nothing was different than usual.

However, something appeared off with Quinta as she took glances at Rorio time and time again while the group made their way to their next destination.

Then, one day, Quinta looked like she had steeled herself for something before moving next to Rorio.

Feeling her next to him, Rorio turned toward Quinta only to find her eyes looked glossed over as if she was just letting her body move while her mind was elsewhere.

“Uh...What are you doing?”

“Hm? Eep!”

As if not realizing what she was doing, Quinta’s eyes returned to normal as she jumped back a few feet with her cheeks shining a light pink.

“Oh...uh..nothing!”

Rorio looked at her confused before shrugging it off.

Seeing he wouldn’t investigate any further, Quinta breathed a sigh of relief.

As she did so, she spotted smoke rising in the distance.

“Hey, what's that?” She asked aloud.

The group stopped and turned in the direction she was pointing.

Upon seeing where Quinta was pointing, Rorio frowned.

“It looks like goblin bandits are out there,” he groaned.

“Goblin bandits?” Quinta asked, confused. Rorio looked at her to explain only for her to turn her head away.

Deciding to ignore it, Rorio began his explanation.

“They're like normal bandits, but along with the supplies, they also try to steal women regardless of age so they can breed with them before leaving their bodies to rot. They're disgusting creatures. ”

Hearing this, Quinta turned to look at the monsters off in the distance and her expression soured.

“They sound terrible,” Risa said as she mimicked Quinta’s expression.

Thinking to himself for a moment, Domino turned to Rorio.

The group was far away enough that they could flee without being noticed. However, Domino wasn’t one to let monsters like that roam free.

“Might as well take care of these guys. Let's go Rorio!”

“Right!”

Rorio and Domino started to charge off before Rorio turned around to look at the two girls.

“You two stay here. We don't want to risk you getting turned into targets.

Risa frowned.

“Are you sure? I’m way stronger than I was six months ago. I think we can help out.”

Rorio shook his head.

“When it comes to these monsters, they’re not against using dirty tactics. If you go out there with us, there’s a chance they could grab you and use you as a meat shield.”

“That...sounds unpleasant.”

Rorio nodded.

“So stay here for now. We’ll be back soon.”

“O-Okay.”

Risa didn’t look happy being left on the sidelines, but if that’s what Rorio wanted her to do, then she trusted his judgment.

Seeing she understood, Rorio dashed off to catch up to Domino.

Risa watched the two of them running off toward the monsters and let out a disappointed sigh.

“I thought we were supposed to be teammates, but I guess sometimes it’s best to just take care of things yourself,” Risa muttered as she waited for the boy’s return.

Waiting alongside Risa, Quinta sat down on the ground as she thought about how the two boys ran off to fight in order to keep her and Risa safe. Those actions couldn’t help but make her feel giddy.

However, Quinta wasn’t aware of how much she was letting her feelings show and started giggling to herself rather creepily. Leaving Risa slightly disturbed.

“I...don't even wanna know what you’re thinking about,” Risa muttered as she watched the boys run off.

Rorio managed to catch up to Domino and looked over at him as they ran.

“So what's the plan?”

“Aim to kill. I want them dead as soon as possible!”

“Understood!”

After Domino relayed his orders, the two split off into different paths as they headed toward the goblin bandit group.

There were forty goblins in total spread throughout the terrain.

Rorio sped ahead of Domino as he pulled out the green blade he called Rolphin and immediately sliced off the head of the first goblin he came into contact with.

The goblin could only let out a single small squeak before its head plopped onto the ground.

Hearing the head hit the floor, the other goblins turned around to find their dead compatriot on the ground as blood leaked from its headless neck.

Not giving them a chance to react, Rorio gripped his blade tightly and charged straight forward as he brought his blade down on the monsters one after another. Cutting them with a strange amount of elegance.

Realizing the danger they were in, the goblins charged at Rorio under the idea that they had the advantage of numbers.

However, Rorio smirked with anticipation as the monsters came down on him.

He easily dodged out of the way of the first goblin and slashed clean through the chest of the second goblin that approached him.

Running over the bodies of their fallen comrades, the monsters once again tried to attack Rorio.

However, none of them had expected Rorio to leap into the air as Domino came running up at an incredible speed

“Earth Shattering Slash!”

Domino sliced through the monsters in front of him as he took out his fourth favorite sword Eihgt and with a single slash, destroyed almost twelve goblins before they even realized what had happened.

Landing next to Domino, Rorio whipped his blade to clean off the blood and the two started tearing through the group of monsters even faster then before.

After about another minute of fighting, Rorio and Domino stood at each other's backs.

Despite their rampage of attacks, the duo still found themselves surrounded by goblin bandits.

“There sure are a lot,” Rorio shouted.

“You said it!”

“So what should we do next!?”

“Hmm...Let's do plan eighteen!”

“What!? Dammit, I hate that one.”

With their plan set, the duo sliced through enough enemies to give them breathing room. After that, it was followed up by Rorio getting onto one knee and holding his hands out. Domino jumped up onto his hands and Rorio hoisted him into the air.

Domino's blade glowed a dark black as he raised it over his head and shouted a small chant mid-air.

“I call upon the technique of the ninja master Kojuju and his spinning blades of fury! Circle slash!”

Once Domino landed, he spun around in a circle. Then, all goblins within six meters of him were sliced in half as their corpses fell to the ground.

Domino could see the fear growing in the goblin’s eyes as they realized they were at a disadvantage.

Seeing those expressions, Domino chuckled to himself before turning his head.

“Now Rorio!”

At those words, Rorio's sword glowed a mix of yellow and green. As if giving it a lime hue while Rorio shouted out his attack.

“Death's Swing!”

He swung through the pack of goblins and all the monsters that were in the vicinity of the blade were immediately cut down.

The ground was littered with even more corpses than before as blood dripped down Rorio’s sword.

After those attacks, only four goblins remained. They were cut down in an instant.

After they were done, Domino let out another happy chuckle as he laughed off the massacre that had just happened.

Meanwhile, Rorio scanned the field to make sure nothing was missed.

After seeing their business was done, Domino and Rorio made their way back to the other two. Quinta was still giggling, while Risa was staring at her, completely lost.

“Uhh...Do I even wanna know what’s going on?” asked Rorio.

He was met with Risa shaking her head with a sigh while Quinta sat on the ground giggling to herself for some reason. It took a few minutes, but once Quinta was brought back to reality, the group continued onward.

However, Rorio noticed Risa seemed to have something on her mind while they walked.

But not wanting to bring it up, he kept silent and the group kept moving onward.

While Risa and Quinta were behind them, Domino and Rorio discussed the move they used before.

“Did we ever give that move a name?” Rorio asked.

Domino puts his hand up to his chin.

“Now that you mention it. I don't think we ever did. While our separate attacks have names, the plan itself doesn’t have one.”

“Hmm...”

The two seemed lost in thought.

Suddenly, Rorio sensed something rustling in a bush nearby and went to check it out.

“Rorio?” Risa was the first to notice him walk off as the group stopped to wait for him.

After about five minutes, Rorio came back with something in hand before slamming it into the ground.

“Why is it always this creep?” mumbled Rorio as he looked at the person in front of him in disgust. The one he was referring to jumped up in anger.

“You imbecile! I'm the king of the slave trade!” he started to shout.

The goofy-looking outfit was already a dead giveaway, but the one who stood before them was SpellsWorth. The man Rorio freed Risa from. He had been tracking them since the goblin bandit fight with only one goal in mind.

“I promise I will reclaim my property today!” He started shouting before he felt a glare from behind.

“I....I...I....” cold sweat started to drip down SpellsWorth's back as he turned to find Risa glaring at him. An unbridled rage in her eyes.

“I...I..I promise I will reclaim my property one day!” he shouted before shooting off in fear.

Apparently, the glare from his once most quiet slave was enough to scare him off in an instant.

After he was gone, Rorio sighed as he felt the stress and frustration leave his body.

“I hate that guy,” he muttered to himself.

Quinta, who was unfamiliar with SpellsWorth, looked at Rorio in confusion.

“Who was that guy?”

Rorio turned and looked at her.

“He's a slave trader who keeps trying to kidnap Risa. He’s a real pain in the ass.”

Quinta turned to Risa curiously.

“Wait. Slave trader? Are slaves still a thing?”

Slaves were still quite a prominent part of society. They were even allowed in Lust Street.

However, since Quinta never saw them herself, she didn't seem to grasp they were still quite commonplace.

Rorio nodded to Quinta’s question.

“Apparently. All I know is that as long as people like that creep exist, stuff like slaves are gonna be a thing. Not that I care. As long as Risa’s safe, that’s all that matters.”

Rorio stated that without thinking much of it only to turn to Risa whose cheeks were a light pink.

“Huh? Are you okay Risa?” Rorio asked, slightly confused.

Realizing she was blushing, Risa quickly turned around.

“Uh! No! It's nothing!”

Rorio wasn't really an expert when it came to emotions, so he wasn’t exactly sure how to react to Risa’s words.

In the end, he tried his best to shrug it off before turning to Quinta who seemed to be lost in thought.

“You okay Quinta?”

Realizing he was staring at her, Quinta’s face turned beet red.

“Oh! Yes! Perfectly fine!” she replied, sheepishly.

Rorio found her behavior odd but decided to shrug it off like he did Risa's.

Starting to walk ahead of the group, Rorio noticed Domino looking at him with a strange smile.

“What?”

“Hmm...Nothing.”

Domino then turned around and marched forward.

Rorio was still confused but decided it would be best to just get moving.

But as he began walking, he noticed Risa walking up to him.

“Uh...Rorio?” she seemed a bit nervous which made Rorio's mind speculate a ton of different things before giving a response.

“Yeah?”

He didn't really know why she looked at him like that, but it made him feel like she was about to ask something weird.

“Uh...I don't know if this seems strange to ask, but what exactly are you?” Risa asked.

“...Huh?”

With this out of nowhere question, Rorio looked at Risa completely lost.

“What do you mean?”

“Well. I've noticed for a while now that you’ve done multiple things no normal human can do. I thought maybe you were a demi-human, but you don't have any animal ears or a tail. So I was just curious.”

It was then that Rorio understood.

Up to this point, Rorio hadn’t been hiding his demi-human strength at all even in front of Risa.

And considering how high he was able to throw Domino when dealing with those goblin bandits, as well as the strength he would need to hold someone like SpellsWorth, it was safe to say she might’ve gotten a bit curious. Especially since Rorio never told Risa about his demi-human form.

There was a part of him that wanted to explain the truth to her.

However, he wasn’t quite ready yet.

“Hmm...I'll have to get back to you on that one Risa,” he replied.

Risa slumped her shoulders.

“Are you sure?”

“It's just...a very sensitive topic for me.”

As stated before, there was a part of him that wanted to tell her the truth.

However, knowing how most people react to his animal ears and tail, he wasn't exactly comfortable with the idea of sharing quite yet.

Realizing he wasn’t going to cave in on this, Risa finally gave up.

“I understand,” she replied clearly disappointed as the group continued forward.

After another hour, the group reached their next destination.

It was a place that could best be described as your generic town.

The reason for them coming here wasn’t a big one.

They just needed some more food and supplies. Simple as that.

However, as everyone began putting on their cloaks, Quinta approached Rorio.

“Hey...uh...Rorio?”

Rorio turned to Quinta who was fidgeting with her fingers.

“Need something?” he asked.

Her lips quivered as she tried to get the words out.

Rorio wasn't sure why she was struggling to talk, but he waited patiently for her to speak.

“Um...I was just wondering if it would be okay if just you and me hung out alone for a little while when we get to town?”

Risa's ears perked up in surprise as she looked at Quinta whose cheeks were a bright pink.

Rorio tilted his head in confusion.

“What for?”

As if not entirely expecting that response, Quinta fumbled with her words.

“Uh...Well, you see...I just...”

She continued to fidget around as she struggled to speak. Her ears glowed a bright red. Despite being hidden behind her purple hair.

Seeing as they weren't getting anywhere, Rorio sighed and turned around. Beginning to walk forward.

“Fine. But if we get ambushed by your friends as some sort of evil plan, you’re out of the party.”

He didn't know why she was acting this way, but with a few ideas floating around in his head, he decided to try his best and roll with it. Quinta responded with an excited nod of her head.

“Deal!” she shouted. Then she and Rorio continued ahead of everyone else.

Meanwhile, Domino and Risa watched them from behind.

While Risa seemed to have mixed feelings about this turn of events, Domino chuckled as he thought of what had just transpired.

Rorio and Quinta arrived in town first.

Rorio had put his hood over his head to keep himself disguised from the other creature’s views and found himself being tugged along by Quinta who had a sparkle in her eye.

“Come on Rorio! Let's check this place out!” she shouted happily as she dragged him from place to place.

She never told Rorio or the others what type of creature she was, but the other creatures didn't seem to mind her as they went on with their days as if nothing was wrong.

Quinta continued to drag Rorio around as he felt himself grow more and more mentally exhausted.

“Maybe it's because I don't know that many girls, but I don't think I understand them at all,” he thought to himself as he saw Quinta freak out over a dress in one of the shops.

It could almost make you forget she was originally a ninja who enforced romance no matter the cost.

A few hours passed and the sun was beginning to set as the moon started rising into the sky.

Rorio turned to Quinta.

“Remind me again why we’re doing this?” he asked.

He thought they had a reason for all this, but the only thing Quinta did was drag him around all day without any real explanation. She even attempted to make him buy her stuff. Which was where he put his foot down.

Quinta smiled as she responded.

“I want to show you how trustworthy I am so you'll see I'm capable enough to stay in your party!”

Rorio just looked at her confused as he thought back on the day’s events.

“I don't see how just the two of us hanging out is gonna help that. For all I know, you could be leading me straight into a trap.”

Quinta pouted at Rorio's words.

“You don't have to take everything so seriously!”

“So you're saying I shouldn't act like myself?”

“No! I just...haaaah...”

Quinta could tell she wasn't getting through to him so she tried to explain it better.

Meanwhile, two faces watched them from a nearby table.

Domino chugged down a cup of beer.

“I just can't believe it! Did Rorio seriously score a girl!?” he asked, astounded.

Risa just frowned as she watched the two of them.

“I don't know why, but this whole setup feels wrong,” she murmured in frustration.

Domino chuckled.

“Well, we are basically stalking their date. So it does feel slightly wrong.”

“It's not a date!” Risa shouted at him.

Domino raised his eyebrow curiously.

“Really? Sure feels like one to me” he said as he looked at Risa who turned away with a frown.

“I'm just...saying what Rorio would say in this situation,” she muttered as she looked down.

“Ohh. Makes sense. He probably would say that. He's never really been one for romance.”

Risa let out a sigh as she turned to look back at them when...

“Wait! Where did they go!?” Risa shouted, surprised.

“They left a while ago.”

Risa glared at Domino.

“Why didn't you tell me!?”

Domino responded with a smile.

“Because we were having such a nice conversation.”

Risa felt her anger about to boil as she jumped up from her seat and attempted to hit Domino only for him to easily dodge her and watch as she crashed into a wall.

Risa groaned in pain as she collapsed to the ground unconscious.

Domino tried his best to hold in his laughter as he lugged her over his shoulder.

“Now, where did they go?” he said aloud before taking Risa off somewhere where he could apply some first aid.

The moon had made its way into the sky. Its calm light illuminated the hill Rorio and Quinta sat on outside of town.

“It's a good thing Domino is so carefree. Otherwise, we never would have gotten out of there without them seeing us.” Rorio said as he let out a sigh.

Rorio had noticed the two of them following and knew they'd only continue to watch.

The idea felt somewhat uncomfortable, so he ended up leaving with Quinta while Risa was distracted.

He knew Domino lived for these kinda silly experiences, so he probably wouldn't have said anything until after they were already gone.

“I can't believe they would follow us and ruin it,” Quinta murmured so quietly that it was hard for anyone to hear.

“Hm? You say something?”

“Oh! It's nothing!” Quinta shouted as her ears turned pink behind her purple hair. Unable to be seen by Rorio.

Silence filled the air after that. But as they sat there, Rorio took notice of how much Quinta kept peeking at him.

“So you were wondering too huh?”

“Huh!? Uh...Wondering what!?” Quinta responded nervously. Rorio looked up into the sky.

“What I am. When Risa mentioned it, I’d almost forgotten you probably didn’t know either.”

Quinta looked down and nodded.

“Well. You’re not wrong. But in all honesty, that really doesn't bother me.”

She lifted up her head and smiled.

Rorio put his hand to his chin before looking at Quinta.

“Well then, let's make a trade. You tell me what you are, and I'll tell you what I am.”

“Huh!?”

Quinta was caught off guard by this sudden exchange. Rorio chuckled.

“What? You thought I couldn't tell that you weren't human?”

Quinta's eyes went wide and looked down, embarrassed.

“It's just...I thought I hid it really well.”

“This coming from the girl who walked around with no cloak on and no one batting an eye.”

Quinta groaned as she suddenly realized how obvious it had been from the start.

This made Rorio chuckle.

“So, whatta ya say?”

Quinta thought about it for a moment before nodding.

After the deal was made, Rorio deactivated his magic disguise and his wolf ears and tail popped out.

“You’re a Demi-Human!” Quinta shouted, surprised. Rorio nodded.

“I've never really been proud of it, but yeah.”

Quinta's eyes sparkled as she looked at Rorio's ears and tail.

Rorio started feeling a little embarrassed as he cleared his throat.

“Your turn.”

As if being broken out of a trance, Quinta nodded and slowly pulled back her hair to let her spiky ears poke out.

“I see. You’re an elf.” Rorio stated as he looked at her elf ears.

Elves weren't too uncommon in the Outbursts since they were technically considered monsters so they weren't really welcomed into normal human society.

However, there were occasions when elves became part of an adventuring party. But that was quite a rarity. They were usually sold off to the rich for things such as pleasure or to normal folk for labor. They weren’t really considered useful for anything else.

Rorio seemed to be looking at Quinta's ears for a bit longer than she expected as she turned around and her face grew bright red.

“Please don't laugh at me!''

This caused Rorio to look at her in confusion.

“Why would I do that?”

Quinta didn't really know how to explain how she felt.

“It's just....everyone out here says how useless elves are when it comes to adventuring. It's sometimes even frowned upon. I always got laughed at back during my training before I became a ninja for wanting to be an adventurer and I hid my elf side because of it.”

Rorio listened to her explanation before rolling his eyes.

“There's nothing wrong with wanting to be an adventurer. Whoever told you otherwise was probably an idiot.”

Quina's eyes widened in surprise at his response. Because of how elves were always frowned upon, she was always taught that she would never excel at anything. If it wasn't for her best friend as a kid, along with her caretaker in Lust Street, she would've never attempted to grow as a person and improve things for herself.

Without making a sound, Rorio laid down on the grassy plain with a smile.

“When I was young, I wanted to be an adventurer too. But because of the law, demi-humans were only allowed to travel if they had a human companion with them. I always thought that rule made it sound like my species were just pets to humans, and I hated it. But, Domino somehow made what sounded like discrimination and distrust a long-lasting partnership. Even if the rest of the world saw me as a lesser being, I still loved adventure. And that's why I'm glad to be here with everyone now.”

Rorio’s smile glowed brightly as he thought about his past. He still had some stuff he wasn't able to face, but just because there were some bad memories, didn't mean there weren't any good ones.

Rorio stopped thinking back for a moment as he noticed Quinta was staring at him.

“What is it?” he asked.

Quinta twiddled her thumbs nervously.

“Um...Would it be okay...if you kept your ears and tail out for a little while?”

Rorio raised his eyebrow, confused.

“What for?”

Quinta's face grew red.

“It's just...I think this look really suits you.”

Rorio didn't fully understand what she meant by that but decided to not think too heavily about it and shrugged.

“I suppose for a little while it wouldn't hurt,” he said as he went back to relaxing in the grass.

Quinta smiled.

“In that case, can I request one more thing?” she asked excitedly.

Rorio shrugged.

“Go for it.”

“Um...Could you be my boyfriend!”

“No.”

“Instant rejection!”

After the sudden confession and rejection, Quinta stared at Rorio with small tears in her eyes.

“Why not!?”

“Is the one who asked me that out of the blue seriously wondering why I rejected her? Sorry, but I’m not that easy to win over.”

“Well...Well...I don't care! I'm gonna make you fall for me no matter what!”

Rorio yawned.

“Knock yourself out. There’s no way that’s gonna happen.”

Quinta pouted, upset.

Little did Rorio know, that was the day his peace and quiet would slowly begin to diminish.

From nearby, the two heard the shouts of some familiar voices.

“There you guys are!” Domino shouted cheerfully.

Risa was right behind him with a bandage on her head when she noticed Rorio's animal ears and tail.

Stars shined in her eyes as she gasped with excitement.

She dashed over to him and stared at his ears.

“Can I touch them?!”

“What?!”

In an instant, Risa started petting Rorio's ears as he jumped up from his resting spot.

He tensed up immediately.

“You're a demi-human! Your ears and tail are so freaking adorable! Oh my gosh! They're so cute!”

Risa continued to pet him, despite Rorio's discomfort.

“Cut that out! They're sensitive!” Rorio shouted.

Risa just smiled and continued petting him despite his protests.

This caused Rorio to turn away his head in embarrassment.

That was when she started to stroke his tail and he tensed up even more.

Domino turned his head over to Quinta who had her elf ears in full view.

“So you're an elf huh? Glad to have you on the team!”

He didn’t seem fazed by this reveal at all.

Quinta responded with a smile and nod.

“Stop trying to touch my damn ears!” Rorio shouted as he got up and dashed away with Risa right on his tail.

And as darkness finished covering the sky while a shining moon sparkled from above, the group ended up staying at one of the town's inns.

As of today, their adventures were about to become a lot more of a hassle.