Bubbles was still very much confused as she wandered the empty village, wondering just why Adeline had helped her. Was this a good demon, like Bill and the other Ciphers? No, if that was the case, they wouldn't call the Corps. Something about the case smelled strange to her. She was missing a piece to the puzzle. But what?

It was at that exact moment that she heard yells, filled with anger and malice.

"YOU KILLED MY SON, DEMONS!"

"DIE!"

Bubbles' eyes widened, and she sprinted off to the source of the voice. Had she found the demon Adeline had told her about?

Unfortunately, what she found was a group of villagers hurting someone around her age. She could see the long carrot-coloured hair she owned, and the fear in her aquamarine orbs was clear.

"Hey! Stop that!" She immediately rushed over and put her body in between the two sides. After a while she quickly noted, to her growing fury, that the girl was also protecting two babies. How dare they...!?

"What right do you have to beat them up like that?!" She turned to them, light blue eyes lighting up in rage. "They're still kids!"

The crowd took notice of the uniform, and promptly ignored her words. Instead, they crowded around her and said, "Great, a Demon Slayer! Go destroy those pieces of trash! They're demons! Full-fledged ones in the making! They killed our children!"

"I-I did no such thing!" The girl finally protested, and Bubbles noted a slight accent that came out when one's first language was not Japanese. "Y-You have it all wrong!"

"As if! We saw you standing over a corpse, ready to eat it!" One of them yelled.

"I-It was a misunderstanding!" She weakly defended herself. "I-I was trying to get the fruits!"

Fruits? Bubbles had never heard of demons eating fruits. Well, the demons she was assigned to slay, anyway. Perhaps the good ones did?

"Stop lying! You should be burned at the stake!"

Sounds of agreement only fueled the disbelief Bubbles felt.

What?

Bubbles had read up about the witch trials in different places while training under Keita, and she had been horrified by them. To hear that this girl was to be treated that way...

No, she wouldn't let it!

"Stop! You have no right to judge people like that!" She argued as she stood in front of the girl, shielding her and the babies from the crowd. "What if she's not the demon you're after!?"

"She's still a f*cking demon who should perish! All of them should!"

Why did that line sound so familiar- OH RIGHT. Blossom had been the same way before.

"So you want most of the Hashiras in the Corps to die?" Her tone went chilly as her eyes grew cold. She took out her sword and aimed it at them, saying, "You have quite the nerve to think that every demon is the same. Have you met Amano Keita, Yagami Taichi, or Matsuda Takato? They're demons. And so are Robert Langdon, Cha Hana, Cha Duri, and Hse Tsing. If you have any complaints about what they are despite how much they're fighting for YOUR safety, then I would be happy to end your lives straight away."

She knew the reason Keita had gone back to the Alchemist Style; Bubbles. He had been unsure what to teach her using the Serpent Style, so he had opted to teach her the Alchemist Style. She had witnessed the happiness he had emanated as he worked on potions, and told him to go back to this style, saying that perhaps it would be best for everyone. She remembered the tears he had shed as he thanked her for giving her the speech he had needed to hear.

She wasn't about to give up here. She would ensure that kind people like Keita, demon or not, would live happy lives, starting with this child.

"T-Tch! Fine! But don't blame us if it goes south!"

With that, the villagers dispersed, leaving the two there.

"Are you okay?" She then turned to the girl, concerned eyes obvious.

"I-I'm fine. D-Don't worry about me," she smiled, but winced as some bruises began to open up, releasing blood to the surface.

"You are definitely not fine," Bubbles sternly rebuked. "Do you live nearby? I'll take you home."

"I-It's just at the entrance of the village," the girl stammered, gripping the babies she held tight.

"Alright then," she gave her a warm smile. "I'm Bubbles Utonium, by the way. What's yours?"

"S-Sofia Lillian Enchancia. A-And these are my younger siblings, A-Amber Enchancia and J-James Enchancia," she introduced herself.

"Nice to meet you, Sofia," she said. "Now, let's get you home for some rest, okay?"

Sofia numbly nodded, and Bubbles began to sprint away, her crow following her from behind.

~~~

"You live alone?" Bubbles was quite surprised to hear that.

Sofia nodded, gently sipping on some warm water, "M-My mom was killed by my dad... A-A few months back. H-He's been tormenting this village ever since."

"Wait, your dad's tormenting the village?"

"Yeah... He's crazy... Even for demon standards," she drew circles on the tables while Amber and James slept peacefully in another room. "Before I even knew him, m-my mom would tell me to stay away from him, s-saying that he had killed people and would not hesitate to do so again and again until his objective's satisfied."

"What IS his objective?"

"H-He wants to kill someone named Akame Matsuda or something... I-I don't know..."

Her eyes widened. Matsuda Akame? The Tsukugo to the Elemental Master himself, Makoto Naegi? Who had a lot of younger siblings AND was the twin to Matsuda Takato, the Flower Hashira?

"Why?"

"I-I don't know," Sofia shook her head quietly. "D-Do you know the guy?"

"I've met him a number of times while studying under Keita-san," she answered. "He's the Tsukugo to the Elemental Master, Makoto Naegi."

"M-Master? I thought the Corps had only Hashiras as the strongest?"

"Hashiras are pillars. They hold up the corps. Masters work behind the scenes. I hadn't even known about them until meeting Naegi-san," she remembered the kind brunette who donned a colourful Yukata, smiling as he introduced Akame to her. Oh, not to mention Hari, his kid with Cha Semo, younger brother to Cha Hana and Cha Duri.

"I see," Sofia looked down, but her grip on her cup tightened as she suddenly looked up and bowed, "I know this is very selfish, b-but can you please stop my father?"

"B-But even if he's bad, he's still your dad..." Bubbles' eyes widened.

Sofia gave a sad smile, eyes conveying pained determination as she said, "I've lived many years without him, and I'm okay with living longer without him. I can focus on raising Amber and James."

"Sofia..."

Bubbles knew that in the end, Sofia's dad was still the reason she had come here, and she was going to make sure he never tormented the village again.

"Alright then," she finally said. "But before that, why didn't you tell them the truth?"

Sofia gently shook her head, "It's my burden to hold, not his."

"He really doesn't deserve you, Sofia," Bubbles sighed, but smiled as she ruffled her carrot-coloured hair. "You stay safe, okay? I'll come back once I'm done with the job."

"Thank you, really," Sofia smiled back. "This means the world to me."

-
This chapter was written by FictionalMagicTamer