Well, if there is one thing this volume showed, it is that there leaves very little doubt how terrible Higashi Village was. This gives some pretty good focus onto Dera because he was part of it, but he turned a blind eye. That while, yes, he was a part of it, when you also consider his father made a choice to help the twins parents escape, that means he could have a choice to protect Yuru. The only question is how much is Hana in the dark?
I have to say the plan that Jin pulled to see if Akio turned on the family was genuinely surprising. With him killing the leader of the raiders that attacked the Kagemori home and even the suspicon that Yuru would attack Akio first, this is not what I would expect. Having Asa be on the mission while having Gabby and Natsuki stay at the manor was well done.
Quite curious why Akio betrayed the Kagemoris for what seems like the Shingo family. Is it an inferiority complex or wanting the power the twins possess? No doubt Haruo deeply cares for Akio considering he asked him for one chance to beg for forgiveness. Still quite impressive, with the teamwork of Gabby and Natsuki they capture Akio.
It does seem apparent that Gabby herself feels emotionally connected to Asa. She is her bodyguard, but Asa joined the Kagemoris to get away from the treatment in Higashi Village. It is not exactly that it stopped. Asa got kidnapped where she inherited Break. But even then the manor isn’t completely safe. Gabby’s frustrations with everything Asa has to deal with are understandable. With that being said, Natsuki is right that killing Akio wouldn’t be doing something for Asa; she’d be doing it for herself, which is the wrong move.
Insighting on the mission, we see that Gonzo Kagemori, despite being the head of the clan, is no pushover. It makes sense that for one master owning many pairs of Daemons would be something that would cause friction. Having many children or pets can be overburdening. His Daemons Hyakki Yako makes the tension between Daemons go away. While Gonzo may be a good guy, he is definitely quite terrifying. Asa’s breakability and Fuyuki’s daemon’s ability to get information from broken daemons make Gonzo so terrifying.
Interestingly enough, despite Asuma being suspicious for most of the manga so far, that truly isn’t the case. As Asuma’s uncle exploited the connection to the Kagemoris, it is clear he took advantage of his nephew. More than likely, I assume Asuma went to his father, but this was the plan to take out the Shingo family. So very nice surprise that Asumi himself is on the side of the Kagemoris.
Now, for Yuru he has the opportunity to head back to his daemons and encounter Ivan to try to learn more about what happened to his parents. Or head back to where Danji is and save the fake Asa. Considering that Asa herself ended up where the fake Asa is, it will be curious if Yuru meets her there or if he will head to Ivan, as it is the best time to get as much information as he can.