Eraba continued to dig into her food.
"Well we were at war with another family..and we couldn't defend ourseleves since a sickness started to plague us. Most of our family was wiped out and we went into hiding for the most part."
"Why were we fighting that other family? Did we not like them?"
"Yeah…we've been fighting since the first ever two of our family. The Akuma and Sāmatu.
Eraba ate more steak, before moving to her sides and devouring them, but taking her time and enjoying the taste.
"You see the Akuma were very poor. They slaved for the Sāmatu, The Zenin, The Akiko and the Nayvadius. You see not every Sāmatu was rich though. In fact a lot of us were poor for a very long time. On one fateful day the first two of our clan met. Toyoko and Norowareta met. They were best friends and even rose rank together. All the land you would see on a map of this world was inhabited and built by them. Yoshiwara, Ashina, Shibuya…every city and town was built into villages. Multiple villages that housed thousands of humans."
"Soon, Toyoko rose rank to the greatest human to have ever lived.
Eraba shoveled more food into her mouth.
"For a while we lived peacefully. That was until a moment that changed everything. It was said at some point Noro started to have dreams. Dreams of the cursed one…the one that haunts us in our sin. The first Akuma betrayed us and his best friend…for ultimate power and wealth with a deal with Lucifer…The son of Satan. At the same time we unfortunately inherited a Mana Cancer…Most likely due to the overuse of our eyes. We couldn't fight anymore."
Matsumi ate like a complete mess, but surprisingly none went over to Eraba's side.
"He betrayed Toyoko for money? Where they even really friends then? Couldn't he just have asked Toyoko for help? He sounds like a cool guy."
"The other clans didn't believe the Akuma were worth much. He'd have to convince all the world leaders at that time to give them an opportunity…It wasn't up to Toyoko."
Eraba watched him eat and rolled her eyes continuing to eat herself.
"We're talking about enough money to break the worlds economy."
"Well, if I was Toyoko, I would've just punched the world leaders till next month for not taking my friend seriously!"
He was still naive but his mind was in the right place.
"But why so much money? Were there a lot of them?"
"There were probably close to one thousand Akuma. So if you have to take care of that many people you're going to try and overshoot how much money you need…"
Eraba sat back in her seat.
"Yeah it's a good thing he didn't punch them though…otherwise none of us would be alive."
"So, how many of us are left? Is there a way to tell?"
"Hm. Including us there's only eight Sāmatu."
"Only eight? But that's so little! If I know you, Kurai, and me, there's only five I don't know! Do our parents count?"
"Have you ever seen them with red eyes?"
"No, my dad has brown eyes. We never really knew why I have red."
"My parents count but they're dead..Yours don't…Also eight is the only number I know…There could possibly be more scattered across the world."
He finished the last slice of pizza as well as chugging the two sodas back to back.
"Do you know where they are then? The others you know?"
"Nope. No clue…I can only feel them in this world."
"Then we'd better find them when we get outta this tower!"
He stood up, holding his stomach.
"You done eating?"
"Yeah….What you ready to go to bed?"
"I didn't want to! But after you made me eat all that stuff I can barely move now…"
"I guess that's a valid point..but why do you want to find the other Sāmatu?…You didn't even know you were one until a few hours ago."
"Well…I never got to meet my mom. She was already gone after I was born. I don't mind it anymore, it's just how it is! But, I've always wanted a big family, so I want to meet all of them. My friends back home don't have fun the way I do, but you do! So, maybe they're all like me!"
"I don't know. The Sāmatu have disbanded for the most part. It's possible that any lasting family out there might be evil."
"Are you evil?"
"Why do you ask?…"
"Just answer!"
"I don't know how to answer that question..but my only goals are to find the remaining Sāmatu and bring the Sāmatu back to glory….reviving all of our ancient texts and techniques. I don't have any interest in hurting anyone, not even the Akuma."
"Then that means there's a chance the others aren't evil! That's good enough for me. I don't need to know anything certain, all I need is a place and I'll be there!"
"I'm just trying to help you understand that not everyone or everything is at it seems. It's possible that we may even have to fight other Sāmatu in the future. I'm trying to protect you and the ones you love."
"I get that! I'll just figure them out once I get a good look at them."
"Do you think you're evil Matsumi?"
"Me? Nah, no way! I'm way too cool for that."
"Are you saying evil people can't be cool?"
"Duh, have you ever seen a cool bad guy?"
"Yeah actually…a lot of the time.
"Yeah, right. What's so cool about a guy that sits in dark places all the time? You must've imagined it."
"That sounds pretty cool to me. Sounds like this comic they used to make a long time ago."
"You used to read comics? I thought they wouldn't have existed in your time."
"They were very popular because there was no such thing as a TV or anything back then..only books and comics."
"What was the comic about this dark and brooding guy about then? Can't be entertaining, I'm sure."
"Well, he was actually a superhero. He would fight crime at night time in the streets and save his city from other villains..and he had all kinds of gadgets and tools."
"I'd rather wear a bunch of bright colors instead! That way people could see me from far away easier. By the way, we don't have to pay these guys right?"
"There is no concept of money in the tower. You pay with mana. The point is that he can't be seen in the night, and he wants to keep his identity a secret…"
"Well, that's dumb. Why would I hide who I am? Let everybody know! But, let's get outta here already then."
Eraba stood up, refusing to entertain Matsumi's banter any longer. She stacked the plates on top of each other before she left, leaving the door open for Matsumi.
"Thanks."
He walked out and took a deep breath of his surroundings.
"This place is still so interesting!"