When Lysonna called out to the group, Black spun on his heels and started down the path without another word. He'd lost interest in the current conversations and was itching for some rest. Ijemaru was obviously still lost in thought, so he hesitated a bit, but he got moving too. Black fell into step beside him. It was odd. The demon had wanted to see the human fazed for a long time now, but now that he finally was... it made the demon feel strangely...<span style="font-style: italic">unguarded</span>. Yes, the boy was arrogant and annoying, but he was also extremely confident. Black had gotten used to that self-assured aura always being near him. Now, without it, it felt as if his own confidence had dropped.<br/><br/>Also, while the child clearly wasn't a fighter, he was a good strategist. Black had quickly grown used to the reassurance, that if his ideas didn't work, if his plans failed, and if he ran out of options, that kid would always have an escape route set up for him. Obviously, he could manage without it; he'd done so before and he could do it again with ease, but such a thing was uncomfortable to him now.<br/><br/>In battle... in the war, Black had been independent; that was how they fought at that time. He'd never been presented with specific orders to follow-- techniques or strategies to use. After a thousand years without war, and his only fighting being hunting for food, the prospect of every demon for himself--even in an army-- had dulled just so slightly. Then, to be immediately thrust from that lifestyle into one where he always had a "commander" surveying his battle, and giving orders if he made mistakes or ran into a wall, Black realized something: it wasn't the fighting he'd grown tired of all those years ago. No, he still enjoyed battle. Even now there was a subtle joy he got from inflicting pain on an enemy. What he'd truly gotten tired of was taking charge-- and that didn't mean doing things, it meant figuring out what to do. What should the next step be? What now? How do I proceed? If he corners me, how should I react?<span style="font-style: italic">That</span>was the kind of pressure Black hated. Instinct got him out of those situations ninety percent of the time, but every time he reached that other ten percent, he had the knowledge pressed on him that there were infinite wrong answers, a few right answers, and only one or two best answers. Some of his few mistakes in battle occurred during those moments when the pressure overwhelmed him and he couldn't come to a decision.<br/><br/>Black was realizing that he was a natural follower. Perhaps that should have bothered him. He was strong, surely. Shouldn't he also be able to be independent? Most demons were, right? But no, there was something oddly soothing in the understanding. He found himself having one more revelation:<span style="font-style: italic">I'm no good at making strategies; it slows me down. If he does that for me, then I don't have to worry about it. I'll be able to use even more of my power if I don't have to waste time thinking about how to use it.</span><br/><br/>Meanwhile, Ijemaru was questioning not his mental prowess, but his level of knowledge. The more things he knew, the more effective and intricate strategies he could come up with-- but there were too many things he didn't know! Though variables were annoying, he could overcome them with enough creativity. Complete lack of knowledge, on the other hand, was unavoidable. The only way to avoid getting tangled up was to avoid it all together, and if one did that... they could never reach the goal lying somewhere within that darkness.<span style="font-style: italic">I need to know more,</span>the human thought, eyes narrowing.<span style="font-style: italic">Unlike everyone else here, my time is more limited. Whatever goals I claim to be aiming for... those don't matter. But by any means necessary, I won't waste this meager lifespan on a boring existence. I will see this world's most interesting secrets, and I will see the world itself become more interesting. I'll force it into action if I must. Either way, I will make an impact on this world in the short time I have.. because that's what humans do.</span><br/><br/>Black looked at his master again after a while and was surprised to see the fire back in his eyes again. The look reassured him quite a bit, and a small, amused smile fell onto his lips.<span style="font-style: italic">You change your mind too quickly,</span>the demon thought.<span style="font-style: italic">It's difficult to keep up.</span>Then, after gazing at the rode for a while more,<span style="font-style: italic">Screw food. I'm going straight to bed. He'd better not wake me up at the crack of dawn again.</span>